Viridian Therapeutics (VRDN) S-8 Registration of securities for employees

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 11, 2022

Registration No. 333-                

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

VIRIDIAN THERAPEUTICS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	47-1187261
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation or Organization)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc.

221 Crescent Street, Suite 401

Waltham, MA 02453

(Address of Principal Executive Offices, Zip Code)

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. 2016 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. 2021 Stock Option Inducement Awards

(Full title of the plans)

Jonathan Violin, Ph.D.

President and Chief Executive Officer

221 Crescent Street, Suite 401

Waltham, MA 02453

(617) 272-4600

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

Copies to:

Sean Feller

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

2029 Century Park East

Los Angeles, CA 90067-3026

(310) 551-8746

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 the Securities Act.  ☐

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Registrant”), is filing this Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) to register 239,240 additional shares of the Registrant’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Common Stock”) under the Registrant’s 2016 Employee Stock Purchase Plan pursuant to the provisions of such plan providing for an automatic increase in the number of shares reserved for issuance under such plan.

The Registrant is also filing this Registration Statement with the Commission to register 720,000 additional shares of Common Stock subject to stock options granted to certain employees (the “Inducement Grants”). The Inducement Grants have been granted outside of the Company’s Amended and Restated 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2016 Plan”) but remain subject to the terms and conditions of such 2016 Plan. The Inducement Grants were granted as an inducement material to these individuals entering into employment with the Registrant in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). Such Inducement Grants are unvested and unexercisable as of the date of this Registration Statement.

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

Item 1. Plan Information*

Not required to be filed with this registration statement.

Item 2. Registrant Information and Employee Plan Annual Information*

Not required to be filed with this registration statement.

* Documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 have been and/or will be sent or given to employees as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) of the Securities Act. In accordance with the instructions of Part I of Form S-8, such documents will not be filed with the Commission either as part of this Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of this Registration Statement, taken together, constitute the prospectus as required by Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

The following documents filed by the Registrant with the Commission are incorporated by reference herein and shall be deemed to be a part hereof:

• the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed on March 11, 2022;

• The description of the Registrant’s Common Stock contained in the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-36483) filed with the Commission on June  6, 2014, pursuant to Rule 12g-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act, as updated by Exhibit 4.5 to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed on March 26, 2021, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

In addition, all documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities being offered have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated herein by reference and to be a part hereof from the dates of filing of such documents. Any statement contained in a document incorporated, or deemed to be incorporated, by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document that also is, or is deemed to be, incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Item 4. Description of Securities.

Not applicable.

Item 5. Interests of Named Experts and Counsel.

Not applicable.

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

The Registrant is a Delaware corporation. Section 145(a) of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, provides that a Delaware corporation may indemnify 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, other than an action by or in the right of the corporation, by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

Section 145(b) of the DGCL provides that a Delaware corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that such person acted in any of the capacities set forth above, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of 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 the court in which such action or suit was brought shall determine, upon application, that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the court shall deem proper.

Further subsections of DGCL Section 145 provide that:

(1) to the extent a present or former director or officer of a corporation has been successful on the merits or otherwise in the defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (i) and (ii) of Section 145 or in the defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection therewith;

(2) the indemnification and advancement of expenses provided for pursuant to Section 145 shall not be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise; and

(3) the corporation shall have the power to purchase and maintain insurance of behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under Section 145.

As used in this Item 6, the term “proceeding” means any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether or not by or in the right of the company, and whether civil, criminal, administrative, investigative or otherwise.

Section 145 of the DGCL makes provision for the indemnification of officers and directors in terms sufficiently broad to indemnify officers and directors of the Registrant under certain circumstances from liabilities (including reimbursement for expenses incurred) arising under the Securities Act. Provisions in the company’s certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws limit or eliminate the personal liability of the directors to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as it now exists or may in the future be amended. Consequently, a director will not be personally liable to the Registrant or the Registrant’s stockholders for monetary damages or breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability for:

• any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Registrant or the Registrant’s stockholders;

• any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

• any unlawful payments related to dividends or unlawful stock purchases, redemptions or other distributions; or

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

These limitations of liability do not alter director liability under the federal securities laws and do not affect the availability of equitable remedies, such as an injunction or rescission.

In addition, the Registrant’s bylaws provide that:

• the Registrant will indemnify its directors, officers and, in the discretion of the Registrant’s board of directors, certain employees to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, as it now exists or may in the future be amended; and

• the Registrant will advance reasonable expenses, including attorneys’ fees, to directors and, in the discretion of the board of directors, to officers and certain employees, in connection with legal proceedings relating to their service for or on behalf of the Registrant, subject to limited exceptions.

The Registrant has entered into indemnification agreements with each of the directors and executive officers. These agreements provide that the Registrant will indemnify each of the Registrant’s directors, executive officers and, at times, their affiliates to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. The Registrant will advance expenses, including attorneys’ fees (but excluding judgments, fines and settlement amounts), to each indemnified director, executive officer or affiliate in connection with any proceeding in which indemnification is available and the Registrant will indemnify the directors and officers for any action or proceeding arising out of that person’s services as a director or officer brought on behalf of the Registrant or in furtherance of its rights. Additionally, certain of the directors or officers may have certain rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses or insurance provided by their affiliates or other third parties, which indemnification relates to and might apply to the same proceedings arising out of such director’s or officer’s services as a director referenced herein. Nonetheless, the Registrant has agreed in the indemnification agreements that the Registrant’s obligations to those same directors or officers are primary and any obligation of such affiliates or other third parties to advance expenses or to provide indemnification for the expenses or liabilities incurred by those directors are secondary.

The Registrant also maintains general liability insurance which covers certain liabilities of the directors and officers arising out of claims based on acts or omissions in their capacities as directors or officers, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

Item 7. Exemption from Registration Claimed.

Not applicable.

Item 8. Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Exhibit Description
4.1	Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant, effective as of March  11, 2022 (Incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 11, 2022 (File No. 001-36483)).
4.2	Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant, effective as of January  20, 2021 (Incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 3.3 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on January 20, 2021 (File No.  001-36843)).
5.1*	Opinion of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
23.1*	Consent of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).
23.2*	Consent of KPMG LLP, independent registered public accounting firm.
24.1*	Power of Attorney (included on signature page hereto).
99.1	Registrant’s 2016 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (Incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.39 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed on December 2, 2016 (File No. 333-214893)).
99.2	Registrant’s Amended and Restated 2016 Equity Incentive Plan (Incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 10.18 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 26, 2021 (File No. 001-36483)).
99.3*	Form of Inducement Stock Option Agreement.
107.1*	Filing Fee Table

* Filed herewith.

Item 9. 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;

(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 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) and (a)(1)(ii) 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;

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, 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; and

(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.

(b) The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) 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 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the 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.

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-8 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Waltham, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, on March 11, 2022.

VIRIDIAN THERAPEUTICS, INC.
By:	/s/ Kristian Humer
Name:	Kristian Humer
Title:	Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each individual whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Jonathan Violin and Kristian Humer, and each of them severally, as his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents with full power of substitution and resubstitution for him or her and in his or her name, place, and stead in any and all capacities to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments and amendments filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933) to this registration statement, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, 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 of his 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 date indicated.

Signature	Title	Date
/s/ Jonathan Violin Jonathan Violin	President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director (Principal Executive Officer)	March 11, 2022
/s/ Kristian Humer Kristian Humer	Chief Financial Officer and Chief Business Officer (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)	March 11, 2022
/s/ Tomas Kiselak Tomas Kiselak	Chairman of the Board	March 11, 2022
/s/ Peter Harwin Peter Harwin	Director	March 11, 2022
/s/ Arlene Morris Arlene Morris	Director	March 11, 2022
/s/ Jennifer Moses Jennifer Moses	Director	March 11, 2022