Albireo Pharma (ALBO) S-3 Shelf registration

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 15, 2022

Registration No. 333-       ​

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM S-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

Albireo Pharma, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware (State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization) 90-0136863 (I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

53 State Street, 19th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
(857) 254-5555

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Ronald H.W. Cooper
President and Chief Executive Officer
Albireo Pharma, Inc.
53 State Street, 19th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
(857) 254-5555

(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

Megan N. Gates, Esq.
John P. Condon, Esq.
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
One Financial Center
Boston, Massachusetts 02111
(617) 542-6000 Jason G. Duncan, Esq.
Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Secretary
Albireo Pharma, Inc.
53 State Street, 19th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
(857) 254-5555

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public:
From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement as determined by the registrant.

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box: ☐

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box: ☒

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☐	Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☒	Smaller reporting company ☒
​	Emerging growth company ☐

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of Securities Act. ☐

THE REGISTRANT HEREBY AMENDS THIS REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON SUCH DATE OR DATES AS MAY BE NECESSARY TO DELAY ITS EFFECTIVE DATE UNTIL THE REGISTRANT SHALL FILE A FURTHER AMENDMENT WHICH SPECIFICALLY STATES THAT THIS REGISTRATION STATEMENT SHALL THEREAFTER BECOME EFFECTIVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 8(a) OF THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR UNTIL THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE ON SUCH DATE AS THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, ACTING PURSUANT TO SAID SECTION 8(a), MAY DETERMINE.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This registration statement contains:

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a base prospectus which covers the offering, issuance and sale by the registrant of up to a maximum aggregate offering price of $400,000,000 of the registrant’s common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants, rights and/or units from time to time in one or more offerings; and

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a sales agreement prospectus covering the offering, issuance and sale by the registrant of up to a maximum aggregate offering price of $100,000,000 of the registrant’s common stock that may be issued and sold from time to time under a sales agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC.

The base prospectus immediately follows this explanatory note. The specific terms of any securities to be offered pursuant to the base prospectus will be specified in a prospectus supplement to the base prospectus. The sales agreement prospectus immediately follows the base prospectus. The $100,000,000 of common stock that may be offered, issued and sold by the registrant under the sales agreement prospectus is included in the $400,000,000 of securities that may be offered, issued and sold by the registrant under the base prospectus.

THE INFORMATION IN THIS PROSPECTUS IS NOT COMPLETE AND MAY BE CHANGED. WE MAY NOT SELL THESE SECURITIES UNTIL THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION IS EFFECTIVE. THIS PROSPECTUS IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL THESE SECURITIES AND IS NOT SOLICITING AN OFFER TO BUY THESE SECURITIES IN ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE THE OFFER OR SALE IS NOT PERMITTED.

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED AUGUST 15, 2022

PROSPECTUS

Albireo Pharma, Inc.

$400,000,000
COMMON STOCK
PREFERRED STOCK
DEBT SECURITIES
WARRANTS
RIGHTS
UNITS

This prospectus will allow us to issue, from time to time at prices and on terms to be determined at or prior to the time of the offering, up to $400,000,000 of any combination of the securities described in this prospectus, either individually or in units. We may also offer: common stock or preferred stock upon conversion of or exchange for the debt securities; common stock upon conversion of or exchange for the preferred stock; or common stock, preferred stock or debt securities upon the exercise of warrants or rights.

This prospectus describes the general terms of these securities and the general manner in which these securities will be offered. We will provide you with the specific terms of any offering in one or more supplements to this prospectus. The prospectus supplements will also describe the specific manner in which these securities will be offered and may also supplement, update or amend information contained in this document. You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, as well as any documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, carefully before you invest.

Our securities may be sold directly by us to you, through agents designated from time to time or to or through underwriters or dealers. For additional information on the methods of sale, you should refer to the section entitled “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus and in the applicable prospectus supplement. If any underwriters or agents are involved in the sale of our securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of such underwriters or agents and any applicable fees, commissions or discounts and over-allotment options will be set forth in a prospectus supplement. The price to the public of such securities and the net proceeds that we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement.

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ALBO.” On August 12, 2022, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $23.85 per share. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to any other listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market or any securities market or other securities exchange of the securities covered by the prospectus supplement. Prospective purchasers of our securities are urged to obtain current information as to the market prices of our securities, where applicable.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should consider carefully the risks that we have described on page 5 of this prospectus under the caption “Risk Factors.” We may also include specific risk factors in supplements to this prospectus under the caption “Risk Factors.” This prospectus may not be used to sell our securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is                 , 2022.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

​	Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS	​	1
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY	​	2
RISK FACTORS	​	5
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	​	6
USE OF PROCEEDS	​	9
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION	​	10
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK	​	12
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED STOCK	​	13
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES	​	14
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS	​	20
DESCRIPTION OF RIGHTS	​	22
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS	​	24
CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF DELAWARE LAW AND OF THE COMPANY’S CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS	​	25
LEGAL MATTERS	​	28
EXPERTS	​	28
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION	​	28
INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE	​	28

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may offer shares of our common stock or preferred stock, various series of debt securities and/or warrants or rights to purchase any of such securities, either individually or in units, in one or more offerings, up to a total aggregate offering price of $400,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer a type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings.

This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For a more complete understanding of the offering of the securities, you should refer to the registration statement, including its exhibits. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. However, no prospectus supplement will offer a security that is not registered and described in this prospectus at the time of its effectiveness. This prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplements and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus, includes all material information relating to the offering of securities under this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement, the information and documents incorporated herein by reference and the additional information under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” before making an investment decision.

You should rely only on the information we have provided or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representation. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. You should assume that the information in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate only as of the date on the front of the document and that any information we have incorporated herein by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of a security.

We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is filed as an exhibit to any document that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreements, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.

This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of our securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement. To the extent there are inconsistencies between any prospectus supplement, this prospectus and any documents incorporated by reference, the document with the most recent date will control.

Unless the context otherwise requires, “the Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar terms refer to Albireo Pharma, Inc. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries.

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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

The following is a summary of what we believe to be the most important aspects of our business and the offering of our securities under this prospectus. We urge you to read this entire prospectus, including the more detailed consolidated financial statements, notes to the consolidated financial statements and other information incorporated by reference from our other filings with the SEC or included in any applicable prospectus supplement. Investing in our securities involves risks. Please carefully consider the risk factors set forth in any prospectus supplements and in our most recent annual and quarterly filings with the SEC, as well as other information in this prospectus and any prospectus supplements and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein, before purchasing our securities. Each of the risk factors could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition, as well as adversely affect the value of an investment in our securities.

About Albireo Pharma, Inc.

We are a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel bile acid modulators to treat orphan pediatric liver diseases and other liver or gastrointestinal diseases and disorders. Our product Bylvay has been approved in the United States for the treatment of pruritus in patients with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) ages 3 months or older, and authorized in Europe for the treatment of PFIC in patients ages 6 months or older. In October 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, granted the Company orphan drug exclusivity for Bylvay for the treatment of pruritus in patients ages 3 months or older with PFIC. In July 2021, the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, granted the Company orphan drug exclusivity for Bylvay for the treatment of patients 6 months or older with PFIC. In September 2021, Bylvay was also granted marketing authorization by the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, for the treatment of PFIC in patients 6 months or older. Bylvay is available by prescription to patients in the U.S. and became available by prescription to patients in Germany in September 2021 and in the United Kingdom in the second quarter of 2022. PFIC is a rare, life-threatening genetic disorder affecting young children and Bylvay is the first approved drug treatment in the disease.

We are also pursuing the development of Bylvay in biliary atresia and in Alagille syndrome, or ALGS, each of which is a rare, life threatening disease that affects the liver and for which there is no approved pharmacologic treatment option. We initiated a pivotal clinical trial of Bylvay in biliary atresia, the BOLD trial, in the first half of 2020. At the end of 2021, we had enrolled over 50% of the targeted patients in the trial. We expect topline results from the BOLD trial in 2024. We also initiated a pivotal trial of Bylvay in ALGS, the ASSERT trial, in the fourth quarter of 2020. In March 2022, we announced the completion of enrollment in the ASSERT trial and we expect topline results from the trial in the fall of 2022.

We are expanding development to compounds that are intended for adult liver and viral diseases. Our lead candidate for adult liver diseases, A3907, is a selective inhibitor of the apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT) that has, based on animal studies, high predicted oral bioavailability and systemic exposures in man. As a result, A3907 has the potential to not only affect the bile acid pool by increased bile acid excretion in the stools but also through other pathways, including increased urinary bile acid excretion. This unique approach may yield greater dosing flexibility, greater efficacy and lower rates of adverse events, such as diarrhea, associated with the non-systemic IBAT inhibitors acting locally in the intestine. In December 2021, we announced topline results from our Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy adult subjects to investigate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics of orally administered A3907. In the top-line results the trial achieved both primary and secondary objectives. A3907 demonstrated a positive safety profile and was well tolerated in the Phase 1 clinical trial at systemic exposures that demonstrated therapeutic benefits in preclinical models. With the potential to inhibit ileal, renal and hepatic ASBT, we hope A3907 will provide the optimal balance of efficacy and tolerability in patients in multiple liver diseases. A composition of matter patent for A3907 has been granted, with expiration in 2040 without patent term extension. We expect to initiate a Phase 2 trial for A3907 in adult liver disease by the end of 2022.

We also have a preclinical program in adult liver and viral diseases. Our lead preclinical candidate for adult viral and liver diseases is A2342, a potent small molecule inhibitor of the sodium-taurocholate co-transporting peptide (NTCP). NTCP is a key transporter of bile acids into the liver cells and also serves as the entry mechanism for the hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis D (HDV) viruses. A2342 protects primary human hepatocytes from HBV infection in vitro. In addition, A2342 reduces markers of infection in

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HBV-infected humanized mice. A2342 has demonstrated target engagement in non-human primates with biomarker increases comparable to increases achieved in humans by a now commercial subcutaneous peptide NTCP inhibitor. A composition of matter patent for A2342 has been granted, with expiration in 2040 without patent term extensions, and IND enabling studies are being completed. We expect to initiate a Phase 1 trial for A2342 in healthy volunteers by the end of 2022. Preclinical efforts with other bile acid modulator approaches continue. The first IBAT inhibitor developed by Albireo is elobixibat, which was approved in Japan and Thailand for the treatment of chronic constipation and is marketed by our partner EA Pharma Co., Ltd., or EA Pharma, in Japan and its sublicensee in Thailand.

Additional Information

For additional information related to our business and operations, please refer to the reports incorporated herein by reference, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports, as described under the caption “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” on page 28 of this prospectus.

Our Corporate Information

Prior to November 3, 2016, we were a specialty biopharmaceutical company known as Biodel Inc. that historically had been focused on the development and commercialization of innovative treatments for diabetes. Biodel was originally incorporated in the State of Delaware in December 2003 under the name “Global Positioning Group, Ltd.” and subsequently changed its name to “Biodel Inc.” Albireo Limited was formed in connection with a spinout transaction from AstraZeneca AB in 2008 in which AstraZeneca assigned to Albireo AB all of its rights in and to its portfolio of IBAT inhibitors, including elobixibat and Bylvay, as well as other programs that are currently at a preclinical stage.

On November 3, 2016, we completed a share exchange transaction with Biodel Inc., pursuant to an Amended and Restated Share Exchange Agreement dated July 13, 2016 that we entered into with Albireo Limited and the shareholders and noteholders of Albireo Limited. As a result, Albireo Limited became a wholly owned subsidiary of Biodel, Biodel’s corporate name was changed to Albireo Pharma, Inc. and the business of Albireo Limited became our business.

Our corporate headquarters are located at 53 State Street, 19th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02109 and our telephone number is (857) 254-5555. We also have an office in Gothenburg, Sweden. We maintain a website at www.albireopharma.com, to which we regularly post copies of our press releases as well as additional information about us. The information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.

Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, are available free of charge through the investor relations page of our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.

All brand names or trademarks appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective holders. Use or display by us of other parties’ trademarks, trade dress, or products in this prospectus is not intended to, and does not, imply a relationship with, or endorsements or sponsorship of, us by the trademark or trade dress owners.

Offerings under this Prospectus

Under this prospectus, we may offer shares of our common stock or preferred stock, various series of debt securities and/or warrants or rights to purchase any of such securities, either individually or in units, from time to time at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions at the time of the offering, up to a total aggregate offering price of $400,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer a type or series of securities under this prospectus, we

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will provide a prospectus supplement that will describe the specific amounts, prices and other important terms of the securities, including, to the extent applicable:

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designation or classification;

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aggregate principal amount or aggregate offering price;

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maturity, if applicable;

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rates and times of payment of interest or dividends, if any;

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redemption, conversion or sinking fund terms, if any;

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voting or other rights, if any; and

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conversion or exercise prices, if any.

The prospectus supplement also may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in documents we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. However, no prospectus supplement will fundamentally change the terms that are set forth in this prospectus or offer a security that is not registered and described in this prospectus at the time of its effectiveness.

We may sell the securities directly to investors or to or through agents, underwriters or dealers. We, and our agents or underwriters, reserve the right to accept or reject all or part of any proposed purchase of securities. If we offer securities through agents or underwriters, we will include in the applicable prospectus supplement:

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the names of those agents or underwriters;

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applicable fees, discounts and commissions to be paid to them;

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details regarding over-allotment options, if any; and

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the net proceeds to us.

This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of any securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves significant risk. The prospectus supplement applicable to each offering of our securities will contain a discussion of the risks applicable to an investment in the Company. Prior to making a decision about investing in our securities, you should carefully consider the specific factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the applicable prospectus supplement, together with all of the other information contained or incorporated by reference in the prospectus supplement or appearing or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should also consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” included in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as revised or supplemented by our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or our subsequent current reports on Form 8-K that we have filed with the SEC, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, and which may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports we file with the SEC in the future. The risks and uncertainties we have described are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our operations. The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the offered securities.

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, that relate to future events or to our future operations or financial performance. Any forward-looking statement involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements include statements, other than statements of historical fact, about, among other things:

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our commercialization plans and expectations for commercializing Bylvay™ (odevixibat) globally;

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the progress, number, scope, cost, duration or results of our development activities, nonclinical studies and clinical trials of Bylvay, elobixibat, A3907, A2342, or any of our other product candidates or programs, such as the target indication(s) for development or approval, the size, design, population, conduct, cost, objective or endpoints of any clinical trial, or the timing for initiation or completion of or availability of results from any clinical trial (including BOLD, our pivotal clinical trial of Bylvay in patients with biliary atresia, or ASSERT, our pivotal trial of Bylvay in Alagille syndrome, or ALGS), for submission, review or approval of any regulatory filing, or for meeting with regulatory authorities;

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the potential benefits that may be derived from any of our product candidates;

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the timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our existing product candidates, any product candidates that we may develop, and any related restrictions, limitations, or warnings in the label of any approved product candidates;

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any payment that EA Pharma may make to us or any other action or decision that EA Pharma may make concerning elobixibat or our business relationship;

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the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business operations or financial condition;

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our future operations, financial position, revenues, costs, expenses, uses of cash, capital requirements, our need for additional financing or the period for which our existing cash resources will be sufficient to meet our operating requirements; or

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our strategies, prospects, plans, expectations, forecasts or objectives.

Words such as, but not limited to, “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “targets,” “likely,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “continue,” “scheduled” and similar expressions or phrases, or the negative of those expressions or phrases, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, we caution you that these statements are based on our estimates and projections of the future that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance, experience or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. Actual results, level of activity, performance, experience or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement as a result of various important factors, including our critical accounting policies and risks and uncertainties relating, among other things, to:

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our ability to effectively commercialize Bylvay for its approved indications;

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the design, size, duration and endpoints for, and results from BOLD, our pivotal trial of Bylvay in biliary atresia, and ASSERT, our pivotal trial of Bylvay in ALGS, or any other trials that will be required to obtain marketing approval for Bylvay to treat patients with PFIC, biliary atresia, ALGS or any other pediatric cholestatic liver disease or for A3907 and A2342 as potential treatments for adult liver and viral diseases;

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whether favorable findings from clinical trials of Bylvay to date, including findings in our completed Phase 3 clinical trial in PFIC and findings in indications other than PFIC, will be predictive of

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results from future clinical trials, including our pivotal trial of Bylvay in biliary atresia and our pivotal trial of Bylvay in ALGS;

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the outcome and interpretation by regulatory authorities of an ongoing third-party study pooling and analyzing long-term PFIC patient data;

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the timing for completion of, or for availability of data from, our pivotal trial of Bylvay in biliary atresia and our pivotal trial of Bylvay in ALGS, and the outcomes of such trials;

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delays or other challenges in the recruitment of patients for the pivotal trial of Bylvay in biliary atresia;

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the COVID-19 pandemic, which may negatively impact the conduct of, and the timing of initiation, enrollment, completion and reporting with respect to, our clinical trials; negatively impact the supply of drug product for our clinical and preclinical programs; and/or result in other adverse impacts on our business;

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the competitive environment and commercial opportunity for a treatment for PFIC and potentially other orphan pediatric cholestatic liver diseases;

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the conduct and results of clinical trials and nonclinical studies and assessments of Bylvay, A3907, A2342 or any of our other product candidates and programs, including the performance of third parties engaged to execute them and difficulties or delays in patient enrollment and data analysis;

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the medical benefit that may be derived from Bylvay, A3907, A2342 or any of our other product candidates;

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the extent to which our agreement with EA Pharma for elobixibat generates nondilutive income for us;

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the timing and success of submission, acceptance and approval of regulatory filings and any related restrictions, limitations or warnings in the label of any approved product candidates;

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whether we are able to effectively commercialize Bylvay in patients with PFIC;

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the significant control or influence that EA Pharma has over the commercialization of elobixibat in Japan, and through its sublicensee in Thailand, and the development and commercialization of elobixibat in EA Pharma’s other licensed territories;

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whether we elect to seek and, if so, our ability to establish a license or other partnering transaction with a third party for elobixibat in the United States or Europe;

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the accuracy of our estimates regarding expenses, costs, revenues, uses of cash and capital requirements;

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our ability to obtain additional financing on reasonable terms, or at all;

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our ability to establish and maintain additional licensing, collaboration or similar arrangements on favorable terms and our ability to attract collaborators with development, regulatory and commercialization expertise;

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the success of competing third-party products or product candidates;

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our ability to successfully commercialize any approved product candidates, including their rate and degree of market acceptance;

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our ability to expand and protect our intellectual property estate;

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regulatory developments in the United States and other countries;

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the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting;

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the performance of our third-party suppliers, manufacturers and contract research organizations and our ability to obtain alternative sources of raw materials;

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our ability to attract and retain key personnel; and

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our ability to comply with regulatory requirements relating to our business, and the costs of compliance with those requirements, including those on data privacy and security.

These and other risks and uncertainties are described in greater detail under the caption “Risk Factors” in this prospectus, as updated and supplemented by the discussion of risks and uncertainties under “Risk Factors” contained in any supplements to this prospectus, or in the sections entitled “Business,” “Risk Factors,” “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” or “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as revised or supplemented by our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or our subsequent current reports on Form 8-K, as well as any amendments thereto, as filed with the SEC and which are incorporated herein by reference. As a result of the risks and uncertainties, the results or events indicated by the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus or in any document incorporated herein by reference may not occur.

Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. Each forward-looking statement represents our views only as of the date of this prospectus or the date of the document incorporated by reference in this prospectus and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments may cause our views to change. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make. All subsequent forward-looking statements attributable to us or to any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we intend to use any net proceeds from the sale of securities under this prospectus for our operations, the commercialization of Bylvay in its approved indications, and our further development and potential commercialization of any or all of our product candidates, including Bylvay, A3907 and A2342, as well as the development of other product candidates, and other general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, working capital, intellectual property protection and enforcement, capital expenditures, repayment of any existing indebtedness, investments, acquisitions and collaborations. Our management will have broad discretion to allocate the net proceeds, if any, we receive in connection with securities offered pursuant to this prospectus for any purpose. Pending application of the net proceeds as described above, we may initially invest the net proceeds in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities or apply them to the reduction of short-term indebtedness.

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We may offer securities under this prospectus from time to time pursuant to public offerings through one or more placement agents or underwriters, negotiated transactions, block trades or a combination of these methods. We may sell the securities (1) through underwriters or dealers, (2) through agents or (3) directly to one or more purchasers, or through a combination of such methods. We may distribute the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at:

•

a fixed price or prices, which may be changed from time to time;

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market prices prevailing at the time of sale;

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prices related to the prevailing market prices; or

•

negotiated prices.

We may directly solicit offers to purchase the securities being offered by this prospectus. We may also designate agents to solicit offers to purchase the securities from time to time, and may enter into arrangements for “at the market,” equity line or similar transactions. We will name in a prospectus supplement any underwriter or agent involved in the offer or sale of the securities.

If we utilize a dealer in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, we will sell the securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale.

If we utilize an underwriter in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, we will execute an underwriting agreement with the underwriter at the time of sale, and we will provide the name of any underwriter in the prospectus supplement which the underwriter will use to make resales of the securities to the public. In connection with the sale of the securities, we, or the purchasers of the securities for whom the underwriter may act as agent, may compensate the underwriter in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions. The underwriter may sell the securities to or through dealers, and the underwriter may compensate those dealers in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions.

With respect to underwritten public offerings, negotiated transactions and block trades, we will provide in the applicable prospectus supplement information regarding any compensation we pay to underwriters, dealers or agents in connection with the offering of the securities, and any discounts, concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers. Underwriters, dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any discounts and commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions. We may enter into agreements to indemnify underwriters, dealers and agents against civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments they may be required to make in respect thereof.

If so indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will authorize underwriters, dealers or other persons acting as our agents to solicit offers by certain institutions to purchase securities from us pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on the date stated in each applicable prospectus supplement. Each contract will be for an amount not less than, and the aggregate amount of securities sold pursuant to such contracts shall not be less nor more than, the respective amounts stated in each applicable prospectus supplement. Institutions with whom the contracts, when authorized, may be made include commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies, educational and charitable institutions and other institutions, but shall in all cases be subject to our approval. Delayed delivery contracts will not be subject to any conditions except that:

•

the purchase by an institution of the securities covered under that contract shall not at the time of delivery be prohibited under the laws of the jurisdiction to which that institution is subject; and

•

if the securities are also being sold to underwriters acting as principals for their own account, the underwriters shall have purchased such securities not sold for delayed delivery. The underwriters and other persons acting as our agents will not have any responsibility in respect of the validity or performance of delayed delivery contracts.

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One or more firms, referred to as “remarketing firms,” may also offer or sell the securities, if a prospectus supplement so indicates, in connection with a remarketing arrangement upon their purchase. Remarketing firms will act as principals for their own accounts or as our agents. These remarketing firms will offer or sell the securities in accordance with the terms of the securities. Each prospectus supplement will identify and describe any remarketing firm and the terms of its agreement, if any, with us and will describe the remarketing firm’s compensation. Remarketing firms may be deemed to be underwriters in connection with the securities they remarket. Remarketing firms may be entitled under agreements that may be entered into with us to indemnification by us against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.

Certain underwriters may use this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement for offers and sales related to market-making transactions in the securities. These underwriters may act as principal or agent in these transactions, and the sales will be made at prices related to prevailing market prices at the time of sale. Any underwriters involved in the sale of the securities may qualify as “underwriters” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act. In addition, the underwriters’ commissions, discounts or concessions may qualify as underwriters’ compensation under the Securities Act and the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA.

Shares of our common stock sold pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part will be authorized for listing and trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to any other listing, if any, on The Nasdaq Capital Market or any securities market or other securities exchange of the securities covered by the prospectus supplement. Underwriters may make a market in our common stock, but will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. We can make no assurance as to the liquidity of or the existence, development or maintenance of trading markets for any of the securities.

In order to facilitate the offering of the securities, certain persons participating in the offering may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the securities. This may include over-allotments or short sales of the securities, which involve the sale by persons participating in the offering of more securities than we sold to them. In these circumstances, these persons would cover such over-allotments or short positions by making purchases in the open market or by exercising their over-allotment option. In addition, these persons may stabilize or maintain the price of the securities by bidding for or purchasing the applicable security in the open market or by imposing penalty bids, whereby selling concessions allowed to dealers participating in the offering may be reclaimed if the securities sold by them are repurchased in connection with stabilization transactions. The effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. These transactions may be discontinued at any time.

The underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in other transactions with us, or perform other services for us, in the ordinary course of their business.

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DESCRIPTION OF COMMON STOCK

We are authorized to issue 60,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share. On June 30, 2022, we had approximately 19,602,445 shares of common stock outstanding and approximately 22 stockholders of record.

The following summary of certain provisions of our common stock does not purport to be complete. You should refer to the section of this prospectus entitled “Certain Provisions of Delaware Law and of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws” and our restated certificate of incorporation, as amended, which we refer to as our restated certificate of incorporation, and our amended and restated bylaws, which we refer to as our restated bylaws, both of which are included as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. The summary below is also qualified by provisions of applicable law.

General

Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders and do not have cumulative voting rights. An election of directors by our stockholders shall be determined by a plurality of the votes cast by the stockholders entitled to vote on the election. Holders of common stock are entitled to receive proportionately any dividends as may be declared by our board of directors, subject to any preferential dividend rights of any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future. All shares of common stock outstanding as of the date of this prospectus and, upon issuance and sale, all shares of common stock that we may offer pursuant to this prospectus, will be fully paid and nonassessable.

In the event of our liquidation or dissolution, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive proportionately our net assets available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all debts and other liabilities and subject to the prior rights of any outstanding preferred stock. Holders of common stock have no preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. Our outstanding shares of common stock are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of common stock are subject to and may be adversely affected by the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, with offices at 1 State Street, 30th Floor, New York, NY 10004.

Stock Exchange Listing

Our common stock is listed for quotation on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ALBO.”

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DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED STOCK

We are authorized to issue 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share. As of the date of this prospectus, no shares of our preferred stock were outstanding. The following summary of certain provisions of our preferred stock does not purport to be complete. You should refer to our restated certificate of incorporation and our restated bylaws, both of which are included as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. The summary below is also qualified by provisions of applicable law.

General

Our board of directors may, without further action by our stockholders, from time to time, direct the issuance of shares of preferred stock in series and may, at the time of issuance, determine the rights, preferences and limitations of each series, including voting rights, dividend rights and redemption and liquidation preferences. Satisfaction of any dividend preferences of outstanding shares of preferred stock would reduce the amount of funds available for the payment of dividends on shares of our common stock. Holders of shares of preferred stock may be entitled to receive a preference payment in the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of our company before any payment is made to the holders of shares of our common stock. In some circumstances, the issuance of shares of preferred stock may render more difficult or tend to discourage a merger, tender offer or proxy contest, the assumption of control by a holder of a large block of our securities or the removal of incumbent management. Upon the affirmative vote of our board of directors, without stockholder approval, we may issue shares of preferred stock with voting and conversion rights which could adversely affect the holders of shares of our common stock.

If we offer a specific series of preferred stock under this prospectus, we will describe the terms of the preferred stock in the prospectus supplement for such offering and will file a copy of the certificate establishing the terms of the preferred stock with the SEC. To the extent required, this description will include:

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the title and stated value;

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the number of shares offered, the liquidation preference, if any, per share and the purchase price;

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the dividend rate(s), period(s) or payment date(s), or method(s) of calculation for such dividends;

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whether dividends will be cumulative or non-cumulative and, if cumulative, the date from which dividends will accumulate;

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the procedures for any auction and remarketing, if any;

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the provisions for a sinking fund, if any;

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the provisions for redemption, if applicable;

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any listing of the preferred stock on any securities exchange or market;

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whether the preferred stock will be convertible into our common stock, and, if applicable, the conversion price (or how it will be calculated) and conversion period;

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whether the preferred stock will be exchangeable into debt securities, and, if applicable, the exchange price (or how it will be calculated) and exchange period;

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voting rights, if any, of the preferred stock;

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a discussion of any material or special U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred stock;

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the relative ranking and preferences of the preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the affairs of the Company; and

•

any material limitations on issuance of any class or series of preferred stock ranking pari passu with or senior to the series of preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our preferred stock will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

The following description, together with the additional information we include in any applicable prospectus supplements, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any future debt securities we may offer pursuant to this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any debt securities that we may offer in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. If we so indicate in a prospectus supplement, the terms of any debt securities offered under such prospectus supplement may differ from the terms we describe below, and to the extent the terms set forth in a prospectus supplement differ from the terms described below, the terms set forth in the prospectus supplement shall control.

We may sell from time to time, in one or more offerings under this prospectus, debt securities, which may be senior or subordinated. We will issue any such senior debt securities under a senior indenture that we will enter into with a trustee to be named in the senior indenture. We will issue any such subordinated debt securities under a subordinated indenture, which we will enter into with a trustee to be named in the subordinated indenture. We have filed forms of these documents as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part. We use the term “indentures” to refer to either the senior indenture or the subordinated indenture, as applicable. The indentures will be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, or the Trust Indenture Act, as in effect on the date of the indenture. We use the term “debenture trustee” to refer to either the trustee under the senior indenture or the trustee under the subordinated indenture, as applicable.

The following summaries of material provisions of the senior debt securities, the subordinated debt securities and the indentures are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the indenture applicable to a particular series of debt securities.

General

Each indenture provides that debt securities may be issued from time to time in one or more series and may be denominated and payable in foreign currencies or units based on or relating to foreign currencies. Neither the senior indenture nor any subordinated indenture limits the amount of debt securities that may be issued thereunder, and each indenture provides that the specific terms of any series of debt securities shall be set forth in, or determined pursuant to, an authorizing resolution or a supplemental indenture, if any, relating to such series.

We will describe in each prospectus supplement the following terms relating to a series of debt securities:

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the title or designation;

•

the aggregate principal amount and any limit on the amount that may be issued;

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the currency or units based on or relating to currencies in which debt securities of such series are denominated and the currency or units in which principal or interest or both will or may be payable;

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whether we will issue the series of debt securities in global form, the terms of any global securities and who the depositary will be;

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the maturity date and the date or dates on which principal will be payable;

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the interest rate, which may be fixed or variable, or the method for determining the rate and the date interest will begin to accrue, the date or dates interest will be payable and the record dates for interest payment dates or the method for determining such dates;

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whether or not the debt securities will be secured or unsecured, and the terms of any secured debt;

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the terms of the subordination of any series of subordinated debt;

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the place or places where payments will be payable;

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our right, if any, to defer payment of interest and the maximum length of any such deferral period;

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•

the date, if any, after which, and the price at which, we may, at our option, redeem the series of debt securities pursuant to any optional redemption provisions;

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the date, if any, on which, and the price at which we are obligated, pursuant to any mandatory sinking fund provisions or otherwise, to redeem, or at the holder’s option to purchase, the series of debt securities;

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whether the indenture will restrict our ability to pay dividends, or will require us to maintain any asset ratios or reserves;

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whether we will be restricted from incurring any additional indebtedness;

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a discussion of any material or special U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to a series of debt securities;

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the denominations in which we will issue the series of debt securities, if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof; and

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any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of, or restrictions on, the debt securities.

We may issue debt securities that provide for an amount less than their stated principal amount to be due and payable upon declaration of acceleration of their maturity pursuant to the terms of the indenture. We will provide you with information on the federal income tax considerations and other special considerations applicable to any of these debt securities in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Conversion or Exchange Rights

We will set forth in the prospectus supplement the terms, if any, on which a series of debt securities may be convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock or our other securities. We will include provisions as to whether conversion or exchange is mandatory, at the option of the holder or at our option. We may include provisions pursuant to which the number of shares of our common stock or our other securities that the holders of the series of debt securities receive would be subject to adjustment.

Consolidation, Merger or Sale; No Protection in Event of a Change of Control or Highly Leveraged Transaction

The indentures do not contain any covenant that restricts our ability to merge or consolidate, or sell, convey, transfer or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets. However, any successor to or acquirer of such assets must assume all of our obligations under the indentures or the debt securities, as appropriate.

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not contain any provisions that may afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event we have a change of control or in the event of a highly leveraged transaction (whether or not such transaction results in a change of control), which could adversely affect holders of debt securities.

Events of Default Under the Indenture

The following are events of default under the indentures with respect to any series of debt securities that we may issue:

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if we fail to pay interest when due and our failure continues for 90 days and the time for payment has not been extended or deferred;

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if we fail to pay the principal, or premium, if any, when due and the time for payment has not been extended or delayed;

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if we fail to observe or perform any other covenant set forth in the debt securities of such series or the applicable indentures, other than a covenant specifically relating to and for the benefit of holders of another series of debt securities, and our failure continues for 90 days after we receive written notice from the debenture trustee or holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series; and

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if specified events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occur as to us.

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No event of default with respect to a particular series of debt securities (except as to certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization) necessarily constitutes an event of default with respect to any other series of debt securities. The occurrence of an event of default may constitute an event of default under any bank credit agreements we may have in existence from time to time. In addition, the occurrence of certain events of default or an acceleration under the indenture may constitute an event of default under certain of our other indebtedness outstanding from time to time.

If an event of default with respect to debt securities of any series at the time outstanding occurs and is continuing, then the trustee or the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may, by a notice in writing to us (and to the debenture trustee if given by the holders), declare to be due and payable immediately the principal (or, if the debt securities of that series are discount securities, that portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of that series) of and premium and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all debt securities of that series. Before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained with respect to debt securities of any series, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series (or, at a meeting of holders of such series at which a quorum is present, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of such series represented at such meeting) may rescind and annul the acceleration if all events of default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, with respect to debt securities of that series, have been cured or waived as provided in the applicable indenture (including payments or deposits in respect of principal, premium or interest that had become due other than as a result of such acceleration). We refer you to the prospectus supplement relating to any series of debt securities that are discount securities for the particular provisions relating to acceleration of a portion of the principal amount of such discount securities upon the occurrence of an event of default.

Subject to the terms of the indentures, if an event of default under an indenture shall occur and be continuing, the debenture trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under such indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders of the applicable series of debt securities, unless such holders have offered the debenture trustee reasonable indemnity. The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the debenture trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the debenture trustee, with respect to the debt securities of that series, provided that:

•

the direction so given by the holder is not in conflict with any law or the applicable indenture; and

•

subject to its duties under the Trust Indenture Act, the debenture trustee need not take any action that might involve it in personal liability or might be unduly prejudicial to the holders not involved in the proceeding.

A holder of the debt securities of any series will only have the right to institute a proceeding under the indentures or to appoint a receiver or trustee, or to seek other remedies if:

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the holder previously has given written notice to the debenture trustee of a continuing event of default with respect to that series;

•

the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made written request, and such holders have offered reasonable indemnity to the debenture trustee to institute the proceeding as trustee; and

•

the debenture trustee does not institute the proceeding, and does not receive from the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series (or at a meeting of holders of such series at which a quorum is present, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of such series represented at such meeting) other conflicting directions within 60 days after the notice, request and offer.

These limitations do not apply to a suit instituted by a holder of debt securities if we default in the payment of the principal, premium, if any, or interest on, the debt securities.

We will periodically file statements with the applicable debenture trustee regarding our compliance with specified covenants in the applicable indenture.

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Modification of Indenture; Waiver

The debenture trustee and we may change the applicable indenture without the consent of any holders with respect to specific matters, including:

•

to fix any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency in the indenture; and

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to change anything that does not materially adversely affect the interests of any holder of debt securities of any series issued pursuant to such indenture.

In addition, under the indentures, the rights of holders of a series of debt securities may be changed by us and the debenture trustee with the written consent of the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series (or, at a meeting of holders of such series at which a quorum is present, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of such series represented at such meeting) that is affected. However, the debenture trustee and we may make the following changes only with the consent of each holder of any outstanding debt securities affected:

•

extending the fixed maturity of the series of debt securities;

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reducing the principal amount, reducing the rate of or extending the time of payment of interest, or any premium payable upon the redemption of any debt securities;

•

reducing the principal amount of discount securities payable upon acceleration of maturity;

•

making the principal of or premium or interest on any debt security payable in currency other than that stated in the debt security; or

•

reducing the percentage of debt securities, the holders of which are required to consent to any amendment or waiver.

Except for certain specified provisions, the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series (or, at a meeting of holders of such series at which a quorum is present, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of such series represented at such meeting) may on behalf of the holders of all debt securities of that series waive our compliance with provisions of the indenture. The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all the debt securities of such series waive any past default under the indenture with respect to that series and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the principal of, premium or any interest on any debt security of that series or in respect of a covenant or provision, which cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security of the series affected; provided, however, that the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may rescind an acceleration and its consequences, including any related payment default that resulted from the acceleration.

Discharge

Each indenture provides that we can elect to be discharged from our obligations with respect to one or more series of debt securities, except for obligations to:

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transfer or exchange debt securities of the series;

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replace stolen, lost or mutilated debt securities of the series;

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maintain paying agencies;

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hold monies for payment in trust;

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compensate and indemnify the trustee; and

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appoint any successor trustee.

In order to exercise our rights to be discharged with respect to a series, we must deposit with the trustee money or government obligations sufficient to pay all the principal of, the premium, if any, and interest on, the debt securities of the series on the dates payments are due.

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Form, Exchange, and Transfer

We will issue the debt securities of each series only in fully registered form without coupons and, unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, in denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof. The indentures provide that we may issue debt securities of a series in temporary or permanent global form and as book-entry securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company or another depositary named by us and identified in a prospectus supplement with respect to that series.

At the option of the holder, subject to the terms of the indentures and the limitations applicable to global securities described in the applicable prospectus supplement, the holder of the debt securities of any series can exchange the debt securities for other debt securities of the same series, in any authorized denomination and of like tenor and aggregate principal amount.

Subject to the terms of the indentures and the limitations applicable to global securities set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the debt securities may present the debt securities for exchange or for registration of transfer, duly endorsed or with the form of transfer endorsed thereon duly executed if so required by us or the security registrar, at the office of the security registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us for this purpose. Unless otherwise provided in the debt securities that the holder presents for transfer or exchange or in the applicable indenture, we will make no service charge for any registration of transfer or exchange, but we may require payment of any taxes or other governmental charges.

We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement the security registrar, and any transfer agent in addition to the security registrar, that we initially designate for any debt securities. We may at any time designate additional transfer agents or rescind the designation of any transfer agent or approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts, except that we will be required to maintain a transfer agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of each series.

If we elect to redeem the debt securities of any series, we will not be required to:

•

issue, register the transfer of, or exchange any debt securities of that series during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption of any debt securities that may be selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of the mailing; or

•

register the transfer of or exchange any debt securities so selected for redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of any debt securities we are redeeming in part.

Information Concerning the Debenture Trustee

The debenture trustee, other than during the occurrence and continuance of an event of default under the applicable indenture, undertakes to perform only those duties as are specifically set forth in the applicable indenture. Upon an event of default under an indenture, the debenture trustee under such indenture must use the same degree of care as a prudent person would exercise or use in the conduct of his or her own affairs. Subject to this provision, the debenture trustee is under no obligation to exercise any of the powers given it by the indentures at the request of any holder of debt securities unless it is offered reasonable security and indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities that it might incur.

Payment and Paying Agents

Unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will make payment of the interest on any debt securities on any interest payment date to the person in whose name the debt securities, or one or more predecessor securities, are registered at the close of business on the regular record date for the interest.

We will pay principal of and any premium and interest on the debt securities of a particular series at the office of the paying agents designated by us, except that, unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will make interest payments by check which we will mail to the holder. Unless we otherwise indicate in a prospectus supplement, we will designate the corporate trust office of the debenture trustee in the City of New York as our sole paying agent for payments with respect to debt securities of each

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series. We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement any other paying agents that we initially designate for the debt securities of a particular series. We will maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of a particular series.

All money we pay to a paying agent or the debenture trustee for the payment of the principal of or any premium or interest on any debt securities which remains unclaimed at the end of two years after such principal, premium or interest has become due and payable will be repaid to us, and the holder of the security thereafter may look only to us for payment thereof.

Governing Law

The indentures and the debt securities will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, except to the extent that the Trust Indenture Act is applicable.

Subordination of Subordinated Debt Securities

Our obligations pursuant to any subordinated debt securities will be unsecured and will be subordinate and junior in priority of payment to certain of our other indebtedness to the extent described in a prospectus supplement. The subordinated indenture does not limit the amount of senior indebtedness we may incur. It also does not limit us from issuing any other secured or unsecured debt.

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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

General

We may issue warrants to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities in one or more series together with other securities or separately, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Below is a description of certain general terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer. Particular terms of the warrants will be described in the warrant agreements and the prospectus supplement relating to the warrants.

The applicable prospectus supplement will contain, where applicable, the following terms of and other information relating to the warrants:

•

the specific designation and aggregate number of, and the price at which we will issue, the warrants;

•

the currency or currency units in which the offering price, if any, and the exercise price are payable;

•

the designation, amount and terms of the securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrants;

•

if applicable, the exercise price for shares of our common stock and the number of shares of common stock to be received upon exercise of the warrants;

•

if applicable, the exercise price for shares of our preferred stock, the number of shares of preferred stock to be received upon exercise, and a description of that series of our preferred stock;

•

if applicable, the exercise price for our debt securities, the amount of debt securities to be received upon exercise, and a description of that series of debt securities;

•

the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will begin and the date on which that right will expire or, if you may not continuously exercise the warrants throughout that period, the specific date or dates on which you may exercise the warrants;

•

whether the warrants will be issued in fully registered form or bearer form, in definitive or global form or in any combination of these forms, although, in any case, the form of a warrant included in a unit will correspond to the form of the unit and of any security included in that unit;

•

any applicable material U.S. federal income tax consequences;

•

the identity of the warrant agent for the warrants and of any other depositaries, execution or paying agents, transfer agents, registrars or other agents;

•

the proposed listing, if any, of the warrants or any securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrants on any securities exchange;

•

if applicable, the date from and after which the warrants and the common stock, preferred stock or debt securities will be separately transferable;

•

if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of the warrants that may be exercised at any one time;

•

information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any;

•

the anti-dilution provisions of the warrants, if any;

•

any redemption or call provisions;

•

whether the warrants may be sold separately or with other securities as parts of units; and

•

any additional terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the warrants.

Outstanding Warrants

As of June 30, 2022, we had warrants to purchase an aggregate of 5,311 shares of common stock outstanding, having an exercise price equal to $18.83 per share, subject to certain adjustments as specified in the warrants. These warrants were issued to Hercules Capital, Inc., or Hercules, in connection with our

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entry into a Loan and Security Agreement with Hercules in June 2020. The Loan and Security Agreement was terminated on July 27, 2022, in connection with the execution of that certain Payoff Letter we entered into with respect to the Loan and Security Agreement and the repayment of our outstanding obligations under the Loan and Security Agreement. The warrants are exercisable for a period of seven years from the date of the issuance of the warrants.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for any warrants will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

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DESCRIPTION OF RIGHTS

General

We may issue rights to our stockholders to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or the other securities described in this prospectus. We may offer rights separately or together with one or more additional rights, debt securities, preferred stock, common stock or warrants, or any combination of those securities in the form of units, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Each series of rights will be issued under a separate rights agreement to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as rights agent. The rights agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the certificates relating to the rights of the series of certificates and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders of rights certificates or beneficial owners of rights. The following description sets forth certain general terms and provisions of the rights to which any prospectus supplement may relate. The particular terms of the rights to which any prospectus supplement may relate and the extent, if any, to which the general provisions may apply to the rights so offered will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. To the extent that any particular terms of the rights, rights agreement or rights certificates described in a prospectus supplement differ from any of the terms described below, then the terms described below will be deemed to have been superseded by that prospectus supplement. We encourage you to read the applicable rights agreement and rights certificate for additional information before you decide whether to purchase any of our rights.

We will provide in a prospectus supplement the following terms of the rights being issued:

•

the date of determining the stockholders entitled to the rights distribution;

•

the aggregate number of shares of common stock, preferred stock or other securities purchasable upon exercise of the rights;

•

the exercise price;

•

the aggregate number of rights issued;

•

whether the rights are transferrable and the date, if any, on and after which the rights may be separately transferred;

•

the date on which the right to exercise the rights will commence, and the date on which the right to exercise the rights will expire;

•

the method by which holders of rights will be entitled to exercise;

•

the conditions to the completion of the offering, if any;

•

the withdrawal, termination and cancellation rights, if any;

•

whether there are any backstop or standby purchaser or purchasers and the terms of their commitment, if any;

•

whether stockholders are entitled to oversubscription rights, if any;

•

any applicable material U.S. federal income tax considerations; and

•

any other terms of the rights, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the distribution, exchange and exercise of the rights, as applicable.

Each right will entitle the holder of rights to purchase for cash the principal amount of shares of common stock, preferred stock or other securities at the exercise price provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. Rights may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date for the rights provided in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Holders may exercise rights as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Upon receipt of payment and the rights certificate properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the rights agent or any other office indicated in the prospectus supplement, we will, as soon as practicable, forward the shares of common stock, preferred stock or other securities, as applicable, purchasable upon exercise of the rights. If less than all of the rights issued in any rights offering are exercised, we may offer any

22

unsubscribed securities directly to persons other than stockholders, to or through agents, underwriters or dealers or through a combination of such methods, including pursuant to standby arrangements, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Rights Agent

The rights agent for any rights we offer will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

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DESCRIPTION OF UNITS

The following description, together with the additional information that we include in any applicable prospectus supplements summarizes the material terms and provisions of the units that we may offer under this prospectus. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any units that we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any series of units in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any units offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below.

We will incorporate by reference from reports that we file with the SEC, the form of unit agreement that describes the terms of the series of units we are offering, and any supplemental agreements, before the issuance of the related series of units. The following summaries of material terms and provisions of the units are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the unit agreement and any supplemental agreements applicable to a particular series of units. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplements related to the particular series of units that we may offer under this prospectus, as well as any related free writing prospectuses and the complete unit agreement and any supplemental agreements that contain the terms of the units.

General

We may issue units consisting of common stock, preferred stock, one or more debt securities, warrants or rights for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities in one or more series, in any combination. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each security included in the unit. The unit agreement under which a unit is issued may provide that the securities included in the unit may not be held or transferred separately, at any time or at any time before a specified date.

We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of the series of units being offered, including:

•

the designation and terms of the units and of the securities comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances those securities may be held or transferred separately;

•

any provisions of the governing unit agreement that differ from those described below; and

•

any provisions for the issuance, payment, settlement, transfer or exchange of the units or of the securities comprising the units.

The provisions described in this section, as well as those set forth in any prospectus supplement or as described under “Description of Common Stock,” “Description of Preferred Stock,” “Description of Debt Securities,” “Description of Warrants,” and “Description of Rights” will apply to each unit, as applicable, and to any common stock, preferred stock, debt security, warrant or right included in each unit, as applicable.

Unit Agent

The name and address of the unit agent for any units we offer will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

Issuance in Series

We may issue units in such amounts and in such numerous distinct series as we determine.

Enforceability of Rights by Holders of Units

Each unit agent will act solely as our agent under the applicable unit agreement and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust with any holder of any unit. A single bank or trust company may act as unit agent for more than one series of units. A unit agent will have no duty or responsibility in case of any default by us under the applicable unit agreement or unit, including any duty or responsibility to initiate any proceedings at law or otherwise, or to make any demand upon us. Any holder of a unit may, without the consent of the related unit agent or the holder of any other unit, enforce by appropriate legal action its rights as holder under any security included in the unit.

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CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF DELAWARE LAW AND OF THE COMPANY’S CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS

Anti-Takeover Provisions

The provisions of Delaware law and our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws could discourage or make it more difficult to accomplish a proxy contest or other change in our management or the acquisition of control by a holder of a substantial amount of our voting stock. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish, or could deter, transactions that stockholders may otherwise consider to be in their best interests or in our best interests. These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our board of directors and in the policies formulated by the board of directors and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened change of our control. These provisions are designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal and to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. Such provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our management.

Delaware Statutory Business Combinations Provision

We are subject to the anti-takeover provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Section 203 prohibits a publicly-held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is, or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder was, approved in a prescribed manner or another prescribed exception applies. For purposes of Section 203, a “business combination” is defined broadly to include a merger, asset sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder, and, subject to certain exceptions, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with his or her affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years prior, did own, 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock.

Classified Board of Directors; Removal of Directors for Cause

Pursuant to our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws, our board of directors is divided into three classes, with the term of office of each class to expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders following election. At each annual meeting of stockholders, directors elected to succeed those directors whose terms expire, other than directors elected by the holders of any series of preferred stock under specified circumstances, will be elected for a three-year term of office. All directors elected to our classified board of directors will serve until the election and qualification of their respective successors or their earlier death, resignation or removal. Members of the board of directors may be removed only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of our then outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class. These provisions are likely to increase the time required for stockholders to change the composition of the board of directors. For example, at least two annual meetings will be necessary for stockholders to effect a change in a majority of the members of the board of directors.

Advance Notice Provisions for Stockholder Proposals and Stockholder Nominations of Directors

Our restated bylaws provide that, for nominations to the board of directors or for other business to be properly brought by a stockholder before a meeting of stockholders, the stockholder must first have given timely notice of the proposal in writing to our Secretary. For an annual meeting, a stockholder’s notice generally must be delivered not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary of the previous year’s annual meeting date. For a special meeting, the notice must generally be delivered not earlier than the 120th day prior to the meeting and not later than the later of (1) the 90th day prior to the meeting or (2) the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the meeting is first made. Detailed requirements as to the form of the notice and information required in the notice are specified in the restated bylaws. If it is determined that business was not properly brought before a meeting in accordance with our bylaw provisions, such business will not be conducted at the meeting.

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Special Meetings of Stockholders

Special meetings of the stockholders may be called only by the chairman of our board of directors, our Chief Executive Officer, our President or our board of directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of our board of directors.

No Stockholder Action by Written Consent

Any action to be effected by our stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of the stockholders.

Super Majority Stockholder Vote Required for Certain Actions

The Delaware General Corporation Law provides generally that the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares entitled to vote on any matter is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, as the case may be, require a greater percentage. Our restated certificate of incorporation requires the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of the voting power of all of our outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class, to amend or repeal any of the provisions discussed in this section of this prospectus. This 75% stockholder vote would be in addition to any separate class vote that might in the future be required pursuant to the terms of any preferred stock that might then be outstanding. A 75% vote is also required for any amendment to, or repeal of, our restated bylaws by the stockholders. Our restated bylaws may be amended or repealed by vote of a majority of the authorized number of directors.

Limitation of Liability and Indemnification

Our restated certificate of incorporation and our restated bylaws provide that we shall indemnify our directors and executive officers to the fullest extent not prohibited by the Delaware General Corporation Law or any other applicable law, except that we are not required to indemnify any director or executive officer in connection with any proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person unless (i) such indemnification is expressly required to be made by law, (ii) the proceeding was authorized by our board of directors, (iii) we provide such indemnification, in our sole discretion, pursuant to the powers vested in us under the Delaware General Corporation Law or any other applicable law, or (iv) such indemnification is required to be made under the enforcement provisions of our restated bylaws.

Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law permits a corporation to indemnify any director or officer of the corporation against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred in connection with any action, suit or proceeding brought by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of the corporation, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, if he or she had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. In a derivative action (i.e., one brought by or on behalf of the corporation), indemnification may be provided only for expenses actually and reasonably incurred by any director or officer in connection with the defense or settlement of such an action or suit if such person acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification shall be provided if such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation, unless and only to the extent that the Delaware Chancery Court or the court in which the action or suit was brought shall determine that such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses despite such adjudication of liability.

Pursuant to Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, Article Sixth of our restated certificate of incorporation eliminates the liability of a director to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for such a breach of fiduciary duty as a director to the fullest extent under applicable law, which does not include liabilities arising:

•

from any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;

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•

from acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

•

under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law; and

•

from any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

We have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers, in addition to the indemnification provided in our restated certificate of incorporation and our restated bylaws, and intend to enter into indemnification agreements with any new directors and executive officers in the future. We have purchased and intend to maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director or officer against any loss arising from any claim asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, subject to certain exclusions.

The foregoing discussion of our restated certificate of incorporation, restated bylaws, indemnification agreements and Delaware law is not intended to be exhaustive and is qualified in its entirety by such restated certificate of incorporation, restated bylaws, indemnification agreements or law.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.

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LEGAL MATTERS

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., Boston, Massachusetts, will pass upon the validity of the issuance of the securities to be offered by this prospectus.

EXPERTS

Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as set forth in their report, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement. Our financial statements are incorporated by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. SEC filings are available at the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov.

This prospectus is only part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we have filed with the SEC under the Securities Act, and therefore omits certain information contained in the registration statement. We have also filed exhibits and schedules with the registration statement that are excluded from this prospectus, and you should refer to the applicable exhibit or schedule for a complete description of any statement referring to any contract or other document. We also maintain a website at www.albireopharma.com, through which you can access our SEC filings. The information set forth on our website is not part of this prospectus.

INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information that we file with them. Incorporation by reference allows us to disclose important information to you by referring you to those other documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. We filed a registration statement on Form S-3 under the Securities Act with the SEC with respect to the securities we may offer pursuant to this prospectus. This prospectus omits certain information contained in the registration statement, as permitted by the SEC. You should refer to the registration statement, including the exhibits, for further information about us and the securities we may offer pursuant to this prospectus. Statements in this prospectus regarding the provisions of certain documents filed with, or incorporated by reference in, the registration statement are not necessarily complete and each statement is qualified in all respects by that reference. Copies of all or any part of the registration statement, including the documents incorporated by reference or the exhibits, are available at the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov. The documents we are incorporating by reference are:

•

our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 that we filed with the SEC on March 1, 2022;

•

our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2022 and June 30, 2022 that we filed with the SEC on May 16, 2022 and August 15, 2022, respectively;

•

the portions of our definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A that we filed with the SEC on April 21, 2022 that are deemed “filed” with the SEC under the Exchange Act;

•

our Current Reports on Form 8-K that we filed with the SEC on January 5, 2022 (as amended by the Form 8-K/A that we filed with the SEC on January 5, 2022), June 17, 2022, July 29, 2022 and August 10, 2022 (in each case, except for the information furnished under Items 2.02 or 7.01 and the exhibits furnished thereto);

•

the description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on May 8, 2007, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description; and

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•

all reports and other documents subsequently filed by us pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus and prior to the termination or completion of the offering of securities under this prospectus shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus and to be a part hereof from the date of filing such reports and other documents.

The SEC file number for each of the documents listed above is 001-33451.

In addition, all reports and other documents filed by us pursuant to the Exchange Act after the date of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and prior to effectiveness of the registration statement shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

Any statement contained in this prospectus or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or any other subsequently filed document that is deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus modifies or supersedes the statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.

You may request, orally or in writing, a copy of any or all of the documents incorporated herein by reference. These documents will be provided to you at no cost, by contacting:

Albireo Pharma, Inc.
53 State Street, 19th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
(857) 254-5555

You may also access these documents on our website, http://www.albireopharma.com. The information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.

You should rely only on information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus and any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We are not making offers to sell the securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.

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THE INFORMATION IN THIS PROSPECTUS IS NOT COMPLETE AND MAY BE CHANGED. WE MAY NOT SELL THESE SECURITIES UNTIL THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION IS EFFECTIVE. THIS PROSPECTUS IS NOT AN OFFER TO SELL THESE SECURITIES AND IS NOT SOLICITING AN OFFER TO BUY THESE SECURITIES IN ANY STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION WHERE THE OFFER OR SALE IS NOT PERMITTED.

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED AUGUST 15, 2022

PROSPECTUS

Albireo Pharma, Inc.

$100,000,000

Common Stock

We have entered into a Sales Agreement, or sales agreement, with Cowen and Company, LLC, or Cowen, dated August 15, 2022, relating to the sale of shares of our common stock offered by this prospectus. In accordance with the terms of the sales agreement, under this prospectus we may offer and sell shares of our common stock, $0.01 par value per share, having an aggregate offering price of up to $100,000,000, from time to time through Cowen, acting as our agent.

Sales of our common stock, if any, under this prospectus will be made by any method permitted that is deemed an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, including sales made directly on or through The Nasdaq Capital Market or any other existing trading market for our common stock. Cowen is not required to sell any specific amount, but will act as our sales agent using commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in any escrow, trust or similar arrangement.

Cowen will be entitled to compensation at a commission rate of 3.0% of the gross sales price per share sold under the sales agreement. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on page S-17 for additional information regarding the compensation to be paid to Cowen. In connection with the sale of the common stock on our behalf, Cowen will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act and the compensation of Cowen will be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We have also agreed to provide indemnification and contribution to Cowen with respect to certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ALBO.” On August 12, 2022, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $23.85 per share.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should consider carefully the risks that we have described on page S-5 of this prospectus under the caption “Risk Factors” and in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Cowen

The date of this prospectus is           , 2022.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

​	Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS	​	S-1
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY	​	S-2
THE OFFERING	​	S-4
RISK FACTORS	​	S-5
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	​	S-7
USE OF PROCEEDS	​	S-10
DILUTION	​	S-11
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK	​	S-13
CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF DELAWARE LAW AND OF THE COMPANY’S CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS	​	S-14
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION	​	S-17
LEGAL MATTERS	​	S-18
EXPERTS	​	S-18
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION	​	S-18
INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE	​	S-19

S-i

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may from time to time sell shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $100,000,000 under this prospectus at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions at the time of the offering.

This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For a more complete understanding of the offering of the securities, you should refer to the registration statement, including its exhibits. This prospectus, together with the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus, includes all material information relating to the offering of securities under this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus, the information and documents incorporated herein by reference and the additional information under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” before making an investment decision.

You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We have not, and Cowen has not, authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representation. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the shares of our common stock offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. You should assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front of the document and that any information we have incorporated herein by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of a security.

We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is filed as an exhibit to any document that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreements, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.

To the extent there are inconsistencies between this prospectus and any documents incorporated by reference, the document with the most recent date will control.

Unless the context otherwise requires, “the Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar terms refer to Albireo Pharma, Inc. and its direct and indirect subsidiaries.

S-1

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

The following is a summary of what we believe to be the most important aspects of our business and the offering of our securities under this prospectus. We urge you to read this entire prospectus, including the more detailed consolidated financial statements, notes to the consolidated financial statements and other information incorporated by reference from our other filings with the SEC. Investing in our securities involves risks. Please carefully consider the risk factors set forth in our most recent annual and quarterly filings with the SEC, as well as other information in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein, before purchasing our securities. Each of the risk factors could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition, as well as adversely affect the value of an investment in our securities.

About Albireo Pharma, Inc.

We are a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel bile acid modulators to treat orphan pediatric liver diseases and other liver or gastrointestinal diseases and disorders. Our product Bylvay has been approved in the United States for the treatment of pruritus in patients with progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis (PFIC) ages 3 months or older, and authorized in Europe for the treatment of PFIC in patients ages 6 months or older. In October 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, granted the Company orphan drug exclusivity for Bylvay for the treatment of pruritus in patients ages 3 months or older with PFIC. In July 2021, the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, granted the Company orphan drug exclusivity for Bylvay for the treatment of patients 6 months or older with PFIC. In September 2021, Bylvay was also granted marketing authorization by the UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, for the treatment of PFIC in patients 6 months or older. Bylvay is available by prescription to patients in the U.S. and became available by prescription to patients in Germany in September 2021 and in the United Kingdom in the second quarter of 2022. PFIC is a rare, life-threatening genetic disorder affecting young children and Bylvay is the first approved drug treatment in the disease.

We are also pursuing the development of Bylvay in biliary atresia and in Alagille syndrome, or ALGS, each of which is a rare, life threatening disease that affects the liver and for which there is no approved pharmacologic treatment option. We initiated a pivotal clinical trial of Bylvay in biliary atresia, the BOLD trial, in the first half of 2020. At the end of 2021, we had enrolled over 50% of the targeted patients in the trial. We expect topline results from the BOLD trial in 2024. We also initiated a pivotal trial of Bylvay in ALGS, the ASSERT trial, in the fourth quarter of 2020. In March 2022, we announced the completion of enrollment in the ASSERT trial and we expect topline results from the trial in the fall of 2022.

We are expanding development to compounds that are intended for adult liver and viral diseases. Our lead candidate for adult liver diseases, A3907, is a selective inhibitor of the apical sodium-dependent bile acid transporter (ASBT) that has, based on animal studies, high predicted oral bioavailability and systemic exposures in man. As a result, A3907 has the potential to not only affect the bile acid pool by increased bile acid excretion in the stools but also through other pathways, including increased urinary bile acid excretion. This unique approach may yield greater dosing flexibility, greater efficacy and lower rates of adverse events, such as diarrhea, associated with the non-systemic IBAT inhibitors acting locally in the intestine. In December 2021, we announced topline results from our Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy adult subjects to investigate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics of orally administered A3907. In the top-line results the trial achieved both primary and secondary objectives. A3907 demonstrated a positive safety profile and was well tolerated in the Phase 1 clinical trial at systemic exposures that demonstrated therapeutic benefits in preclinical models. With the potential to inhibit ileal, renal and hepatic ASBT, we hope A3907 will provide the optimal balance of efficacy and tolerability in patients in multiple liver diseases. A composition of matter patent for A3907 has been granted, with expiration in 2040 without patent term extension. We expect to initiate a Phase 2 trial for A3907 in adult liver disease by the end of 2022.

We also have a preclinical program in adult liver and viral diseases. Our lead preclinical candidate for adult viral and liver diseases is A2342, a potent small molecule inhibitor of the sodium-taurocholate co-transporting peptide (NTCP). NTCP is a key transporter of bile acids into the liver cells and also serves as the entry mechanism for the hepatitis B (HBV) and hepatitis D (HDV) viruses. A2342 protects primary human hepatocytes from HBV infection in vitro. In addition, A2342 reduces markers of infection in

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HBV-infected humanized mice. A2342 has demonstrated target engagement in non-human primates with biomarker increases comparable to increases achieved in humans by a now commercial subcutaneous peptide NTCP inhibitor. A composition of matter patent for A2342 has been granted, with expiration in 2040 without patent term extensions, and IND enabling studies are being completed. We expect to initiate a Phase 1 trial for A2342 in healthy volunteers by the end of 2022. Preclinical efforts with other bile acid modulator approaches continue. The first IBAT inhibitor developed by Albireo is elobixibat, which was approved in Japan and Thailand for the treatment of chronic constipation and is marketed by our partner EA Pharma Co., Ltd., or EA Pharma, in Japan and its sublicensee in Thailand.

Additional Information

For additional information related to our business and operations, please refer to the reports incorporated herein by reference, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports, as described under the caption “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” on page S-19 of this prospectus.

Our Corporate Information

Prior to November 3, 2016, we were a specialty biopharmaceutical company known as Biodel Inc. that historically had been focused on the development and commercialization of innovative treatments for diabetes. Biodel was originally incorporated in the State of Delaware in December 2003 under the name “Global Positioning Group, Ltd.” and subsequently changed its name to “Biodel Inc.” Albireo Limited was formed in connection with a spinout transaction from AstraZeneca AB in 2008 in which AstraZeneca assigned to Albireo AB all of its rights in and to its portfolio of IBAT inhibitors, including elobixibat and Bylvay, as well as other programs that are currently at a preclinical stage.

On November 3, 2016, we completed a share exchange transaction with Biodel Inc., pursuant to an Amended and Restated Share Exchange Agreement dated July 13, 2016 that we entered into with Albireo Limited and the shareholders and noteholders of Albireo Limited. As a result, Albireo Limited became a wholly owned subsidiary of Biodel, Biodel’s corporate name was changed to Albireo Pharma, Inc. and the business of Albireo Limited became our business.

Our corporate headquarters are located at 53 State Street, 19th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02109 and our telephone number is (857) 254-5555. We also have an office in Gothenburg, Sweden. We maintain a website at www.albireopharma.com, to which we regularly post copies of our press releases as well as additional information about us. The information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.

Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, are available free of charge through the investor relations page of our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.

All brand names or trademarks appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective holders. Use or display by us of other parties’ trademarks, trade dress, or products in this prospectus is not intended to, and does not, imply a relationship with, or endorsements or sponsorship of, us by the trademark or trade dress owners.

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THE OFFERING

Common stock offered by us

Shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $100,000,000.

Manner of offering

“At the market offering” that may be made from time to time through our sales agent, Cowen and Company, LLC. See “Plan of Distribution” on page S-17 of this prospectus.

Use of proceeds

We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for our operations, the commercialization of Bylvay in its approved indications, and our further development and potential commercialization of any or all of our product candidates, including Bylvay, A3907 and A2342, as well as the development of other product candidates, and other general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, working capital, intellectual property protection and enforcement, capital expenditures, repayment of any existing indebtedness, investments, acquisitions and collaborations. See the section entitled “Use of Proceeds” on page S-10 of this prospectus.

Risk factors

See “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-5 of this prospectus and the other information included in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus for a discussion of certain factors you should carefully consider before deciding to invest in shares of our common stock.

Nasdaq Capital Market
symbol

“ALBO”

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in our common stock, you should consider carefully the risks described below and discussed under the sections captioned “Risk Factors” contained in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as in any of our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC, which are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety, together with other information in this prospectus, the information and documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, and in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering. If any of these risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flow could be seriously harmed. This could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline, resulting in a loss of all or part of your investment.

Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks. The trading price of our securities could decline due to any of these risks, and you may lose part or all of your investment. This prospectus and the incorporated documents also contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including the risks mentioned below. Forward-looking statements included in this prospectus are based on information available to us on the date hereof, and all forward-looking statements in documents incorporated by reference are based on information available to us as of the date of such documents. We disclaim any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

Risks Related to this Offering

Shares of our common stock offered hereby will be sold in “at the market offerings,” and investors who buy shares of our common stock at different times will likely pay different prices.

Investors who purchase shares of our common stock in this offering at different times will likely pay different prices, and so may experience different outcomes in their investment results. We will have discretion, subject to market demand, to vary the timing, prices, and numbers of shares of our common stock sold, and there is no minimum or maximum sales price. Investors may experience a decline in the value of their shares of common stock as a result of sales made at prices lower than the prices they paid.

The actual number of shares of our common stock we will issue under the sales agreement, at any one time or in total, is uncertain.

Subject to certain limitations in the sales agreement and compliance with applicable law, we have the discretion to deliver a placement notice to Cowen at any time throughout the term of the sales agreement. The number of shares of our common stock that are sold by Cowen after delivering a placement notice will fluctuate based on the market price of our common stock during the sales period and limits we set with Cowen. Because the price per share of common stock sold will fluctuate based on the market price of our common stock during the sales period, it is not possible at this stage to predict the number of shares of our common stock that will be ultimately issued.

Our management will have broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from this offering, and you may not agree with how we use the proceeds and the proceeds may not be invested successfully.

Our management will have broad discretion as to the use of the net proceeds from this offering and could use them for purposes other than those contemplated at the time of this offering. Accordingly, you are relying on the judgment of our management with regard to the use of these net proceeds, and you will not have the opportunity, as part of your investment decision, to assess whether the proceeds will be used appropriately. It is possible that the proceeds will be invested in a way that does not yield a favorable, or any, return for the Company.

Purchasers will experience immediate dilution in the book value per share of the common stock purchased in the offering.

The shares sold in this offering, if any, will be sold from time to time at various prices. However, we expect that the offering price of our common stock will be substantially higher than the net tangible book

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value per share of our outstanding common stock. After giving effect to the sale of shares of our common stock in the aggregate amount of $100.0 million at an assumed offering price of $23.85 per share, the last reported sale price of our common stock on August 12, 2022 on The Nasdaq Capital Market, and after deducting commissions and estimated offering expenses, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of June 30, 2022 would have been approximately $193.3 million or approximately $8.12 per share. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of approximately $3.20 per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in as adjusted net tangible book value of approximately $15.73 per share to purchasers of our common stock in this offering. Because the sales of the shares offered under this prospectus will be made directly into the market, the prices at which we sell these shares will vary and these variations may be significant. Any purchaser of the shares we sell, as well as any existing stockholder, will experience significant dilution if we sell shares at prices significantly below the price at which the purchaser or existing stockholder invested.

Further, the exercise of outstanding options or warrants or the vesting of restricted stock units could result in further dilution to investors and any additional shares issued in connection with acquisitions will result in dilution to investors. In addition, the market price of our common stock could fall as a result of resales of any of these shares of common stock due to an increased number of shares available for sale in the market. As of June 30, 2022, we had 2,874,941 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding, of which 1,861,440 shares were vested as of such date, 5,311 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding, 656,185 shares issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units outstanding, 148,564 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2020 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2020 Inducement Plan, 3,277,083 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2018 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, or the 2018 Plan, plus up to an additional 472,658 shares subject to outstanding stock options granted under our 2016 Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2016 Plan, the Biodel Inc. 2010 Stock Incentive Plan, as amended, or the 2010 Plan, or our 2017 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2017 Plan, which may be issued under the 2018 Plan solely after the forfeiture, expiration or cancellation of such stock options, and 226,550 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or the 2018 ESPP.

Future sales or issuances of shares of our common stock in the public markets, or the perception of such sales, could depress the trading price of our common stock.

The sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public markets, or the perception that such sales could occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We may sell large quantities of shares of our common stock at any time pursuant to this prospectus or in one or more separate offerings. We cannot predict the effect that future sales of shares of our common stock would have on the market price of our common stock.

You may experience future dilution as a result of future equity offerings.

In order to raise additional capital, we may in the future offer additional shares of our common stock or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock. We cannot assure you that we will be able to sell shares or other securities in any other offering at a price per share that is equal to or greater than the price per share paid by investors in this offering, and investors purchasing shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing stockholders. The price per share at which we sell additional shares of our common stock or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock in future transactions may be higher or lower than the price per share in this offering.

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, that relate to future events or to our future operations or financial performance. Any forward-looking statement involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements include statements, other than statements of historical fact, about, among other things:

•

our commercialization plans and expectations for commercializing Bylvay™ (odevixibat) globally;

•

the progress, number, scope, cost, duration or results of our development activities, nonclinical studies and clinical trials of Bylvay, elobixibat, A3907, A2342, or any of our other product candidates or programs, such as the target indication(s) for development or approval, the size, design, population, conduct, cost, objective or endpoints of any clinical trial, or the timing for initiation or completion of or availability of results from any clinical trial (including BOLD, our pivotal clinical trial of Bylvay in patients with biliary atresia, or ASSERT, our pivotal trial of Bylvay in Alagille syndrome, or ALGS), for submission, review or approval of any regulatory filing, or for meeting with regulatory authorities;

•

the potential benefits that may be derived from any of our product candidates;

•

the timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our existing product candidates, any product candidates that we may develop, and any related restrictions, limitations, or warnings in the label of any approved product candidates;

•

any payment that EA Pharma may make to us or any other action or decision that EA Pharma may make concerning elobixibat or our business relationship;

•

the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business operations or financial condition;

•

our future operations, financial position, revenues, costs, expenses, uses of cash, capital requirements, our need for additional financing or the period for which our existing cash resources will be sufficient to meet our operating requirements; or

•

our strategies, prospects, plans, expectations, forecasts or objectives.

Words such as, but not limited to, “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “targets,” “likely,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “continue,” “scheduled” and similar expressions or phrases, or the negative of those expressions or phrases, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, we caution you that these statements are based on our estimates and projections of the future that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance, experience or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement. Actual results, level of activity, performance, experience or achievements may differ materially from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statement as a result of various important factors, including our critical accounting policies and risks and uncertainties relating, among other things, to:

•

our ability to effectively commercialize Bylvay for its approved indications;

•

the design, size, duration and endpoints for, and results from BOLD, our pivotal trial of Bylvay in biliary atresia, and ASSERT, our pivotal trial of Bylvay in ALGS, or any other trials that will be required to obtain marketing approval for Bylvay to treat patients with PFIC, biliary atresia, ALGS or any other pediatric cholestatic liver disease or for A3907 and A2342 as potential treatments for adult liver and viral diseases;

•

whether favorable findings from clinical trials of Bylvay to date, including findings in our completed Phase 3 clinical trial in PFIC and findings in indications other than PFIC, will be predictive of

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results from future clinical trials, including our pivotal trial of Bylvay in biliary atresia and our pivotal trial of Bylvay in ALGS;

•

the outcome and interpretation by regulatory authorities of an ongoing third-party study pooling and analyzing long-term PFIC patient data;

•

the timing for completion of, or for availability of data from, our pivotal trial of Bylvay in biliary atresia and our pivotal trial of Bylvay in ALGS, and the outcomes of such trials;

•

delays or other challenges in the recruitment of patients for the pivotal trial of Bylvay in biliary atresia;

•

the COVID-19 pandemic, which may negatively impact the conduct of, and the timing of initiation, enrollment, completion and reporting with respect to, our clinical trials; negatively impact the supply of drug product for our clinical and preclinical programs; and/or result in other adverse impacts on our business;

•

the competitive environment and commercial opportunity for a treatment for PFIC and potentially other orphan pediatric cholestatic liver diseases;

•

the conduct and results of clinical trials and nonclinical studies and assessments of Bylvay, A3907, A2342 or any of our other product candidates and programs, including the performance of third parties engaged to execute them and difficulties or delays in patient enrollment and data analysis;

•

the medical benefit that may be derived from Bylvay, A3907, A2342 or any of our other product candidates;

•

the extent to which our agreement with EA Pharma for elobixibat generates nondilutive income for us;

•

the timing and success of submission, acceptance and approval of regulatory filings and any related restrictions, limitations or warnings in the label of any approved product candidates;

•

whether we are able to effectively commercialize Bylvay in patients with PFIC;

•

the significant control or influence that EA Pharma has over the commercialization of elobixibat in Japan, and through its sublicensee in Thailand, and the development and commercialization of elobixibat in EA Pharma’s other licensed territories;

•

whether we elect to seek and, if so, our ability to establish a license or other partnering transaction with a third party for elobixibat in the United States or Europe;

•

the accuracy of our estimates regarding expenses, costs, revenues, uses of cash and capital requirements;

•

our ability to obtain additional financing on reasonable terms, or at all;

•

our ability to establish and maintain additional licensing, collaboration or similar arrangements on favorable terms and our ability to attract collaborators with development, regulatory and commercialization expertise;

•

the success of competing third-party products or product candidates;

•

our ability to successfully commercialize any approved product candidates, including their rate and degree of market acceptance;

•

our ability to expand and protect our intellectual property estate;

•

regulatory developments in the United States and other countries;

•

the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting;

•

the performance of our third-party suppliers, manufacturers and contract research organizations and our ability to obtain alternative sources of raw materials;

•

our ability to attract and retain key personnel; and

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•

our ability to comply with regulatory requirements relating to our business, and the costs of compliance with those requirements, including those on data privacy and security.

These and other risks and uncertainties are described in greater detail under the caption “Risk Factors” in this prospectus, as updated and supplemented by the discussion of risks and uncertainties under “Risk Factors” contained in any supplements to this prospectus, or in the sections entitled “Business,” “Risk Factors,” “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” or “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as revised or supplemented by our subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or our subsequent current reports on Form 8-K, as well as any amendments thereto, as filed with the SEC and which are incorporated herein by reference. As a result of the risks and uncertainties, the results or events indicated by the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus or in any document incorporated herein by reference may not occur.

Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement. Each forward-looking statement represents our views only as of the date of this prospectus or the date of the document incorporated by reference in this prospectus and should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments may cause our views to change. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or alter any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures or investments we may make. All subsequent forward-looking statements attributable to us or to any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We may issue and sell shares of our common stock having aggregate sale proceeds of up to $100,000,000 from time to time. Because there is no minimum offering amount required as a condition to close this offering, the actual total public offering amount, commissions and proceeds to us, if any, are not determinable at this time. We currently intend to use any net proceeds from the sale of securities under this prospectus for our operations, the commercialization of Bylvay in its approved indications, and our further development and potential commercialization of any or all of our product candidates, including Bylvay, A3907 and A2342, as well as the development of other product candidates, and other general corporate purposes, including, but not limited to, working capital, intellectual property protection and enforcement, capital expenditures, repayment of any existing indebtedness, investments, acquisitions and collaborations. The amounts and timing of our actual expenditures will depend on numerous factors, including the progress of our clinical trials and other development efforts and other factors described under “Risk Factors” in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein, as well as the amount of cash used in our operations. As a result, our management will have broad discretion to allocate the net proceeds, if any, we receive in connection with the shares of our common stock offered pursuant to this prospectus for any purpose. Pending application of the net proceeds as described above, we may initially invest the net proceeds in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing securities or apply them to the reduction of short-term indebtedness.

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DILUTION

If you invest in our common stock, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the price per share of our common stock you pay in this offering and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering.

As of June 30, 2022, our historical net tangible book value was $96.4 million, or $4.92 per share of common stock. Historical net tangible book value per share represents the amount of our total tangible assets less total liabilities, divided by 19,602,445 the number of shares of common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2022.

After giving effect to the assumed sale of our common stock in the aggregate amount of $100.0 million at an assumed offering price of $23.85 per share, the last reported sale price of our common stock on The Nasdaq Capital Market on August 12, 2022, and after deducting commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of June 30, 2022 would have been $193.3 million, or $8.12 per share of common stock. This amount represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $3.20 per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of approximately $15.73 per share to new investors in this offering.

The following table illustrates this calculation on a per share basis. The as adjusted information is illustrative only and will adjust based on the actual price to the public, the actual number of shares sold and other terms of the offering determined at the time shares of our common stock are sold pursuant to this prospectus. The shares sold in this offering, if any, will be sold from time to time at various prices.

Assumed offering price per share	​	​	$	23.85
Historical net tangible book value per share as of June 30, 2022	$	4.92	​	​
Increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to this offering	​	3.20	​	​
As adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering	​	​	​	8.12
Dilution per share to new investors participating in this offering	​	​	$	15.73

The table above assumes for illustrative purposes that an aggregate of 4,192,872 shares of our common stock are sold during the term of the sales agreement with Cowen at a price of $23.85 per share, the last reported sale price of our common stock on The Nasdaq Capital Market on August 12, 2022, for aggregate gross proceeds of $100.0 million. The shares subject to the sales agreement with Cowen are being sold from time to time at various prices. An increase of $1.00 per share in the price at which the shares are sold from the assumed offering price of $23.85 per share shown in the table above, assuming all of our common stock in the aggregate amount of $100.0 million during the term of the sales agreement with Cowen is sold at that price, would increase our adjusted net tangible book value per share after the offering to $8.18 per share and would increase the dilution in net tangible book value per share to new investors in this offering to $16.67 per share, after deducting commissions and estimated aggregate offering expenses payable by us. A decrease of $1.00 per share in the price at which the shares are sold from the assumed offering price of $23.85 per share shown in the table above, assuming all of our common stock in the aggregate amount of $100.0 million during the term of the sales agreement with Cowen is sold at that price, would decrease our adjusted net tangible book value per share after the offering to $8.06 per share and would decrease the dilution in net tangible book value per share to new investors in this offering to $14.79 per share, after deducting commissions and estimated aggregate offering expenses payable by us. This information is supplied for illustrative purposes only.

The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on an aggregate of 19,602,445 shares of our common stock outstanding as of June 30, 2022 and excludes:

•

5,311 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding as of June 30, 2022, at an exercise price of $18.83 per share;

•

2,874,941 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of June 30, 2022, at a weighted average exercise price of $26.80 per share, of which 1,861,440 shares were vested as of such date;

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•

656,185 shares of our common stock issuable upon the vesting of restricted stock units outstanding as of June 30, 2022;

•

148,564 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2020 Inducement Plan as of June 30, 2022, and 3,277,083 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2018 Plan as of June 30, 2022, plus up to an additional 472,658 shares subject to outstanding stock options granted under our 2017 Plan, 2016 Plan or 2010 Plan as of June 30, 2022, which may be issued under the 2018 Plan solely after the forfeiture, expiration or cancellation of such stock options; and

•

226,550 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2018 ESPP as of June 30, 2022.

To the extent that any shares are issued upon the exercise of outstanding options or outstanding warrants, the vesting of outstanding restricted stock units or otherwise pursuant to any grants made in the future under our 2020 Inducement Plan and 2018 Plan or any shares are issued under our 2018 ESPP, you will experience further dilution. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that additional capital is raised through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities may result in further dilution to our stockholders.

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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

We are authorized to issue 60,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, and 50,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share. On June 30, 2022, we had approximately 19,602,445 shares of common stock outstanding, no shares of preferred stock outstanding and approximately 22 stockholders of record.

The following summary of certain provisions of our capital stock does not purport to be complete. You should refer to the section of this prospectus entitled “Certain Provisions of Delaware Law and of the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws” and our restated certificate of incorporation, as amended, which we refer to as our restated certificate of incorporation, and our amended and restated bylaws, which we refer to as our restated bylaws, both of which are included as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. The summary below is also qualified by provisions of applicable law.

Common Stock

General

Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders and do not have cumulative voting rights. An election of directors by our stockholders shall be determined by a plurality of the votes cast by the stockholders entitled to vote on the election. Holders of common stock are entitled to receive proportionately any dividends as may be declared by our board of directors, subject to any preferential dividend rights of any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future. All shares of common stock outstanding as of the date of this prospectus and, upon issuance and sale, all shares of common stock that we may offer pursuant to this prospectus, will be fully paid and nonassessable.

In the event of our liquidation or dissolution, the holders of common stock are entitled to receive proportionately our net assets available for distribution to stockholders after the payment of all debts and other liabilities and subject to the prior rights of any outstanding preferred stock. Holders of common stock have no preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. Our outstanding shares of common stock are validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. The rights, preferences and privileges of holders of common stock are subject to and may be adversely affected by the rights of the holders of shares of any series of preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, with offices at 1 State Street, 30th Floor, New York, NY 10004.

Stock Exchange Listing

Our common stock is listed for quotation on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ALBO.”

Preferred Stock

Our board of directors may, without further action by our stockholders, from time to time, direct the issuance of shares of preferred stock in series and may, at the time of issuance, determine the rights, preferences and limitations of each series, including voting rights, dividend rights and redemption and liquidation preferences. Satisfaction of any dividend preferences of outstanding shares of preferred stock would reduce the amount of funds available for the payment of dividends on shares of our common stock. Holders of shares of preferred stock may be entitled to receive a preference payment in the event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of our company before any payment is made to the holders of shares of our common stock. In some circumstances, the issuance of shares of preferred stock may render more difficult or tend to discourage a merger, tender offer or proxy contest, the assumption of control by a holder of a large block of our securities or the removal of incumbent management. Upon the affirmative vote of our board of directors, without stockholder approval, we may issue shares of preferred stock with voting and conversion rights which could adversely affect the holders of shares of our common stock.

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CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF DELAWARE LAW AND OF THE COMPANY’S CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS

Anti-Takeover Provisions

The provisions of Delaware law and our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws could discourage or make it more difficult to accomplish a proxy contest or other change in our management or the acquisition of control by a holder of a substantial amount of our voting stock. It is possible that these provisions could make it more difficult to accomplish, or could deter, transactions that stockholders may otherwise consider to be in their best interests or in our best interests. These provisions are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our board of directors and in the policies formulated by the board of directors and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened change of our control. These provisions are designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal and to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. Such provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our management.

Delaware Statutory Business Combinations Provision

We are subject to the anti-takeover provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Section 203 prohibits a publicly-held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is, or the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder was, approved in a prescribed manner or another prescribed exception applies. For purposes of Section 203, a “business combination” is defined broadly to include a merger, asset sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the interested stockholder, and, subject to certain exceptions, an “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with his or her affiliates and associates, owns, or within three years prior, did own, 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock.

Classified Board of Directors; Removal of Directors for Cause

Pursuant to our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws, our board of directors is divided into three classes, with the term of office of each class to expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders following election. At each annual meeting of stockholders, directors elected to succeed those directors whose terms expire, other than directors elected by the holders of any series of preferred stock under specified circumstances, will be elected for a three-year term of office. All directors elected to our classified board of directors will serve until the election and qualification of their respective successors or their earlier death, resignation or removal. Members of the board of directors may be removed only for cause and only by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the voting power of our then outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class. These provisions are likely to increase the time required for stockholders to change the composition of the board of directors. For example, at least two annual meetings will be necessary for stockholders to effect a change in a majority of the members of the board of directors.

Advance Notice Provisions for Stockholder Proposals and Stockholder Nominations of Directors

Our restated bylaws provide that, for nominations to the board of directors or for other business to be properly brought by a stockholder before a meeting of stockholders, the stockholder must first have given timely notice of the proposal in writing to our Secretary. For an annual meeting, a stockholder’s notice generally must be delivered not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary of the previous year’s annual meeting date. For a special meeting, the notice must generally be delivered not earlier than the 120th day prior to the meeting and not later than the later of (1) the 90th day prior to the meeting or (2) the 10th day following the day on which public announcement of the meeting is first made. Detailed requirements as to the form of the notice and information required in the notice are specified in the restated bylaws. If it is determined that business was not properly brought before a meeting in accordance with our bylaw provisions, such business will not be conducted at the meeting.

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Special Meetings of Stockholders

Special meetings of the stockholders may be called only by the chairman of our board of directors, our Chief Executive Officer, our President or our board of directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of our board of directors.

No Stockholder Action by Written Consent

Any action to be effected by our stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of the stockholders.

Super Majority Stockholder Vote Required for Certain Actions

The Delaware General Corporation Law provides generally that the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares entitled to vote on any matter is required to amend a corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, unless the corporation’s certificate of incorporation or bylaws, as the case may be, require a greater percentage. Our restated certificate of incorporation requires the affirmative vote of the holders of at least 75% of the voting power of all of our outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, voting together as a single class, to amend or repeal any of the provisions discussed in this section of this prospectus. This 75% stockholder vote would be in addition to any separate class vote that might in the future be required pursuant to the terms of any preferred stock that might then be outstanding. A 75% vote is also required for any amendment to, or repeal of, our restated bylaws by the stockholders. Our restated bylaws may be amended or repealed by vote of a majority of the authorized number of directors.

Limitation of Liability and Indemnification

Our restated certificate of incorporation and our restated bylaws provide that we shall indemnify our directors and executive officers to the fullest extent not prohibited by the Delaware General Corporation Law or any other applicable law, except that we are not required to indemnify any director or executive officer in connection with any proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person unless (i) such indemnification is expressly required to be made by law, (ii) the proceeding was authorized by our board of directors, (iii) we provide such indemnification, in our sole discretion, pursuant to the powers vested in us under the Delaware General Corporation Law or any other applicable law, or (iv) such indemnification is required to be made under the enforcement provisions of our restated bylaws.

Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law permits a corporation to indemnify any director or officer of the corporation against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred in connection with any action, suit or proceeding brought by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of the corporation, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, if he or she had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. In a derivative action (i.e., one brought by or on behalf of the corporation), indemnification may be provided only for expenses actually and reasonably incurred by any director or officer in connection with the defense or settlement of such an action or suit if such person acted in good faith and in a manner that he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification shall be provided if such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation, unless and only to the extent that the Delaware Chancery Court or the court in which the action or suit was brought shall determine that such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses despite such adjudication of liability.

Pursuant to Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, Article Sixth of our restated certificate of incorporation eliminates the liability of a director to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for such a breach of fiduciary duty as a director to the fullest extent under applicable law, which does not include liabilities arising:

•

from any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;

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•

from acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

•

under Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law; and

•

from any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

We have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers, in addition to the indemnification provided in our restated certificate of incorporation and our restated bylaws, and intend to enter into indemnification agreements with any new directors and executive officers in the future. We have purchased and intend to maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director or officer against any loss arising from any claim asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, subject to certain exclusions.

The foregoing discussion of our restated certificate of incorporation, restated bylaws, indemnification agreements and Delaware law is not intended to be exhaustive and is qualified in its entirety by such restated certificate of incorporation, restated bylaws, indemnification agreements or law.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors, officers and controlling persons pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We have entered into a sales agreement with Cowen, under which we may issue and sell from time to time up to $100 million of our common stock through Cowen, as our sales agent. Sales of our common stock, if any, will be made at market prices by any method that is deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act. Such sales may be made directly on The Nasdaq Capital Market or on any other existing trading market for our common stock.

Cowen will offer our common stock subject to the terms and conditions of the sales agreement on a daily basis or as otherwise agreed upon by us and Cowen. We will designate the maximum amount of shares to be sold through Cowen on a daily basis or otherwise determine such maximum amount together with Cowen. Subject to the terms and conditions of the sales agreement, Cowen will use its commercially reasonable efforts to sell on our behalf all of the shares of our common stock requested to be sold by us. We may instruct Cowen not to sell our common stock if the sales cannot be effected at or above the price designated by us in any such instruction. We or Cowen may suspend the offering of shares of our common stock being made through Cowen under the sales agreement upon proper notice to the other party. Cowen and we each have the right, by giving written notice as specified in the sales agreement, to terminate the sales agreement in each party’s sole discretion at any time.

The aggregate compensation payable to Cowen as sales agent is 3.0% of the gross sales price of our shares sold through it pursuant to the sales agreement. We have also agreed to reimburse Cowen up to $75,000 of Cowen’s actual outside legal expenses incurred by Cowen in connection with this offering. We estimate that the total expenses of the offering payable by us, excluding commissions payable to Cowen under the sales agreement, will be approximately $150,000.

The remaining sales proceeds, after deducting any expenses payable by us and any transaction fees imposed by any governmental, regulatory, or self-regulatory organization in connection with the sales, will equal our net proceeds for the sale of such common stock.

Cowen will provide written confirmation to us following the close of trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on each day in which shares of our common stock are sold through it as sales agent under the sales agreement. Each confirmation will include the number of shares of our common stock sold through it as sales agent on that day, the volume-weighted average price of the shares sold, the compensation payable by us to Cowen, and the net proceeds to us.

We will report at least quarterly the number of shares of our common stock sold through Cowen under the sales agreement, the net proceeds to us and the compensation paid by us to Cowen in connection with the sales of shares of our common stock.

Settlement for sales of common stock will occur, unless the parties agree otherwise, on the second business day that is also a trading day following the date on which any sales were made in return for payment of the net proceeds to us. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in an escrow, trust or similar arrangement.

In connection with the sales of our common stock on our behalf, Cowen will be deemed to be an “underwriter” within the meaning of the Securities Act, and the compensation paid to Cowen will be deemed to be underwriting commissions or discounts. We have agreed in the sales agreement to provide indemnification and contribution to Cowen against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act. As sales agent, Cowen will not engage in any transactions that stabilize shares of our common stock.

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market and trades under the symbol “ALBO.” The transfer agent of our common stock is Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company.

Cowen and/or its affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, various investment banking and other financial services for us for which services they have received and, may in the future receive, customary fees.

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LEGAL MATTERS

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., Boston, Massachusetts, will pass upon the validity of the issuance of the securities to be offered by this prospectus. Cowen and Company, LLC is being represented by Goodwin Procter LLP, New York, New York in connection with this offering.

EXPERTS

Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, has audited our consolidated financial statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, as set forth in their report, which is incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement. Our financial statements are incorporated by reference in reliance on Ernst & Young LLP’s report, given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. SEC filings are available at the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov.

This prospectus is only part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we have filed with the SEC under the Securities Act, and therefore omits certain information contained in the registration statement. We have also filed exhibits and schedules with the registration statement that are excluded from this prospectus, and you should refer to the applicable exhibit or schedule for a complete description of any statement referring to any contract or other document.

We also maintain a website at www.albireopharma.com, through which you can access our SEC filings. The information set forth on our website is not part of this prospectus.

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INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information that we file with them. Incorporation by reference allows us to disclose important information to you by referring you to those other documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. We filed a registration statement on Form S-3 under the Securities Act with the SEC with respect to the securities we may offer pursuant to this prospectus. This prospectus omits certain information contained in the registration statement, as permitted by the SEC. You should refer to the registration statement, including the exhibits, for further information about us and the securities we may offer pursuant to this prospectus. Statements in this prospectus regarding the provisions of certain documents filed with, or incorporated by reference in, the registration statement are not necessarily complete and each statement is qualified in all respects by that reference. Copies of all or any part of the registration statement, including the documents incorporated by reference or the exhibits, are available at the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov. The documents we are incorporating by reference are:

•

our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 that we filed with the SEC on March 1, 2022;

•

our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2022 and June 30, 2022 that we filed with the SEC on May 16, 2022 and August 15, 2022, respectively;

•

the portions of our definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A that we filed with the SEC on April 21, 2022 that are deemed “filed” with the SEC under the Exchange Act;

•

our Current Reports on Form 8-K that we filed with the SEC on January 5, 2022 (as amended by the Form 8-K/A that we filed with the SEC on January 5, 2022), June 17, 2022, July 29, 2022 and August 10, 2022 (in each case, except for the information furnished under Items 2.02 or 7.01 and the exhibits furnished thereto);

•

the description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on May 8, 2007, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description; and

•

all reports and other documents subsequently filed by us pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus and prior to the termination or completion of the offering of securities under this prospectus shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus and to be a part hereof from the date of filing such reports and other documents.

The SEC file number for each of the documents listed above is 001-33451.

In addition, all reports and other documents filed by us pursuant to the Exchange Act after the date of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and prior to effectiveness of the registration statement shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

Any statement contained in this prospectus or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or any other subsequently filed document that is deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus modifies or supersedes the statement. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this prospectus.

You may request, orally or in writing, a copy of any or all of the documents incorporated herein by reference. These documents will be provided to you at no cost, by contacting:

Albireo Pharma, Inc.
53 State Street, 19th Floor
Boston, Massachusetts 02109
(857) 254-5555

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You may also access these documents on our website, http://www.albireopharma.com. The information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.

You should rely only on information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus and any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We are not making offers to sell the securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.

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Albireo Pharma, Inc.

$100,000,000

Common Stock

PROSPECTUS

Cowen

                 , 2022

PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 14.   Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution

The following table sets forth an itemization of the various expenses, all of which we will pay, in connection with the issuance and distribution of the securities being registered. All of the amounts shown are estimated except the SEC Registration Fee.

SEC Registration Fee	$	33,372.00
Printing Expenses	​	*
Legal Fees and Expenses	​	*
Accounting Fees and Expenses	​	*
Transfer Agent and Registrar Fees	​	*
Miscellaneous	​	*
Total	​	*

*

Fees depend on number of issuances and amount of securities sold and accordingly cannot be estimated at this time.

Item 15.   Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Delaware Law

Section 102 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (“DGCL”) permits a corporation to eliminate the personal liability of directors of a corporation to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for a breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached his duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase in violation of Delaware corporate law or obtained an improper personal benefit.

Section 145 of the DGCL provides that a corporation has the power to indemnify a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation, or a person serving at the request of the corporation for another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise in related capacities against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with an action, suit or proceeding to which such person was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, ending or completed action, suit or proceeding by reason of such position, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, in any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful, except that, in the case of actions brought by or in the right of the corporation, no indemnification shall be made with respect to any claim, issue or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or other adjudicating court determines that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all of the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.

Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Restated Bylaws

Our restated certificate of incorporation and our restated bylaws provide that we shall indemnify our directors and executive officers to the fullest extent not prohibited by the DGCL or any other applicable law, except that we are not required to indemnify any director or executive officer in connection with any proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such person unless (i) such indemnification is expressly required to be made by law, (ii) the proceeding was authorized by our board of directors, (iii) we provide such

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indemnification, in our sole discretion, pursuant to the powers vested in us under the DGCL or any other applicable law, or (iv) such indemnification is required to be made under the enforcement provisions of our restated bylaws.

Our restated bylaws also provide that we shall advance to any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that he or she is or was a director or executive officer of the Company, or is or was serving at our request as a director or executive officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, prior to the final disposition of the proceeding, promptly following request therefor, all expenses incurred by any director or executive officer in connection with such proceeding. However, if the DGCL requires, an advancement of expenses incurred by a director or executive officer in his or her capacity as a director or executive officer (and not in any other capacity in which service was or is rendered by such indemnitee, including service to an employee benefit plan) shall be made only upon delivery to us of an undertaking by or on behalf of such indemnitee, to repay all amounts so advanced if it shall ultimately be determined by final judicial decision from which there is no further right to appeal that such indemnitee is not entitled to be indemnified for such expenses under our restated bylaws or otherwise. Unless otherwise determined under our restated bylaws, no advance shall be made by the Company to an executive officer of the Company (except by reasons of the fact that such executive officer is or was a director of the Company) in any action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative of investigative, if a determination is reasonably and promptly made by (i) our board of directors by a majority vote of directors who were not parties to the proceeding, even if not a quorum, or (ii) by a committee of such directors designated by a majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (iii) if there are no such directors, or such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion, that the facts known to the decision-making party at the time such determination is made demonstrate clearly and convincingly that such person acted in bad faith or in a manner that such person did not believe to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company.

Our restated certificate of incorporation eliminates the liability of a director to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for such a breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liabilities arising:

•

from any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;

•

from acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

•

under Section 174 of the DGCL; and

•

from any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

Indemnification Agreements

We have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and officers, in addition to the indemnification provided in our restated certificate of incorporation and our restated bylaws, and intend to enter into indemnification agreements with any new directors and executive officers in the future. Pursuant to our indemnification agreements, we have agreed to indemnify and hold harmless these directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL. The agreements generally cover expenses that a director or officer incurs or amounts that a director or officer becomes obligated to pay in connection with any proceeding in any way connected with, resulting from or relating to his or her service as a current or former director, officer, employee or agent of the Company or any direct or indirect subsidiary of the Company. The agreements also provide for the advancement of expenses to the directors and officers subject to specified conditions. There are certain exceptions to the Company’s obligation to indemnify the directors and officers, including with respect to “short-swing” profit claims under Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act; with respect to conduct by him or her that is established to be knowingly fraudulent or deliberately dishonest or constituted willful misconduct; and, with certain exceptions, with respect to proceedings that he or she initiates.

We have purchased and intend to maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director or officer against any loss arising from any claim asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, subject to certain exclusions.

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The foregoing discussion of our restated certificate of incorporation, restated bylaws, indemnification agreements and Delaware law is not intended to be exhaustive and is qualified in its entirety by such restated certificate of incorporation, restated bylaws, indemnification agreements or law.

Item 16.   Exhibits

Exhibit Number	Exhibit Description	Filed Herewith	Incorporated by Reference herein from Form or Schedule	Filing Date	SEC File/Reg Number
1.1*	Form of Underwriting Agreement	​	​	​	​
1.2	Sales Agreement, dated as of August 15, 2022, by and between the Registrant and Cowen and Company, LLC	X	​	​	​
2.1	Amended and Restated Share Exchange Agreement, dated as of July 13, 2016, by and among the Registrant (formerly Biodel Inc.), Albireo Limited and the Sellers listed on Schedule I thereto.	​	8-K (Exhibit 2.1)	7/13/2016	001-33451
4.1	Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant, as amended.	​	10-K (Exhibit 3.1)	3/1/2022	001-33451
4.2	Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant.	​	S-8 (Exhibit 4.2)	7/6/2007	333-144407
4.3	Form of common stock certificate.	​	10-K (Exhibit 4.1)	12/22/2016	001-33451
4.4*	Form of Certificate of Amendment or Designation with respect to Preferred Stock.	​	​	​	​
4.5*	Form of Senior Debt Security.	​	​	​	​
4.6*	Form of Subordinated Debt Security.	​	​	​	​
4.7	Form of Senior Indenture.	X	​	​	​
4.8	Form of Subordinated Indenture.	X	​	​	​
4.9*	Form of Warrant Agreement and Warrant Certificate.	​	​	​	​
4.10*	Form of Rights Agreement and Right Certificate.	​	​	​	​
4.11*	Form of Unit Agreement and Unit.	​	​	​	​
4.12	Form of Warrant issued by the Registrant to Hercules Capital, Inc.	​	8-K (Exhibit 10.2)	6/9/2020	001-33451
5.1	Opinion of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. with respect to the legality of the securities being registered	X	​	​	​
23.1	Consent of Ernst & Young LLP.	X	​	​	​
23.2	Consent of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. (included in Exhibit 5.1).	​	​	​	​
24.1	Powers of Attorney (included on signature page to the initial registration statement).	​	​	​	​
25.1*	The Statement of Eligibility on Form T-1 under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, of the Trustee under the Senior	​	​	​	​

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Exhibit Number	Exhibit Description	Filed Herewith	Incorporated by Reference herein from Form or Schedule	Filing Date	SEC File/Reg Number
​	Indenture will be incorporated herein by reference from a subsequent filing in accordance with Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.	​	​	​	​
25.2*	The Statement of Eligibility on Form T-1 under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, of the Trustee under the Subordinated Indenture will be incorporated herein by reference from a subsequent filing in accordance with Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.	​	​	​	​
107	Filing Fee Table	X	​	​	​

*

To be subsequently filed, if applicable, as exhibits to an amendment to this registration statement or a Current Report on Form 8-K.

Item 17.   Undertakings

(a)

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(1)

To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

(i)

To include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

(ii)

To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

(iii)

To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.

(2)

That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

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(3)

To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(4)

That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

(i)

Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

(ii)

Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

(5)

That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

(i)

Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

(ii)

Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

(iii)

The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

(iv)

Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

(b)

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(c)

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted

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to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

(d)

The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to file an application for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of Section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act (“Act”) in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Commission under section 305(b)(2) of the Act.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Boston, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on August 15, 2022.

ALBIREO PHARMA, INC.

By:

/s/ Ronald H.W. Cooper

Ronald H.W. Cooper
President and Chief Executive Officer

SIGNATURES AND POWER OF ATTORNEY

We, the undersigned officers and directors of Albireo Pharma, Inc., hereby severally constitute and appoint Ronald H.W. Cooper, Simon N.R. Harford and Jason G. Duncan, Esq., and each of them singly (with full power to each of them to act alone), our true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution in each of them for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, and in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement (or any other registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite or necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them or their or his or her substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

Signature	Title	Date
/s/ Ronald H.W. Cooper Ronald H.W. Cooper	President, Chief Executive Officer and Director (principal executive officer)	August 15, 2022
/s/ Simon N.R. Harford Simon N.R. Harford	Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer and principal accounting officer)	August 15, 2022
/s/ David Chiswell, Ph.D. David Chiswell, Ph.D.	Chairman of the Board of Directors	August 15, 2022
/s/ Michael Gutch, Ph.D. Michael Gutch, Ph.D.	Director	August 15, 2022
/s/ Stephanie S. Okey, M.S. Stephanie S. Okey, M.S.	Director	August 15, 2022
/s/ Davey S. Scoon Davey S. Scoon	Director	August 15, 2022

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