Acurx Pharmaceuticals (ACXP) 10-K 2022 FY Annual report

Exhibit 4.6

DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT’S SECURITIES

REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Acurx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has one class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended: our common stock, par value $0.001 per share.

Description of Common Stock

The following description of our common stock is a summary and does not purport to be complete. It is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws, each of which are incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the Annual Report on Form 10-K of which this Exhibit 4.2 is a part. We encourage you to read our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws for a description of the rights, restrictions and obligations relating to our capital stock.

Authorized Capital Shares

Our authorized capital shares consist of 200,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share.

Voting Rights

The holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters on which the holders are entitled to vote (or consent to).

Dividend Rights

The holders of our common stock are entitled to receive, ratably, dividends only if, when and as declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available therefor and after provision is made for each class of capital stock having preference over the common stock.

Liquidation Rights

In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, the holders of our common stock may be entitled to share, ratably, in all assets remaining available for distribution after payment or provision for payment of all debts and other liabilities and subject to the rights of each class or series of capital stock having preference over, or right to participate with, the common stock.

Preemptive and Similar Rights.

The holders of our common stock have no preemptive or similar rights.

Listing

The common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC under the trading symbol “ACXP.”

Description of Preferred Stock

Under our certificate of incorporation, our board of directors is authorized to direct us to issue shares of preferred stock in one or more series without stockholder approval. Our board of directors has the discretion to determine the powers, privileges, preferences and relative participating, optional and other special rights, including voting rights, dividend rights, conversion rights, redemption privileges and liquidation preferences, of each series of preferred stock.

The purpose of authorizing our board of directors to issue preferred stock and determine its rights and preferences is to eliminate delays associated with a stockholder vote on specific issuances. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions, future financings and other corporate purposes, could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third-party to acquire, or could discourage a third-party from seeking to acquire, a majority of our outstanding voting stock.

Description of Warrants

As of December 31, 2022, there were 4,217,809 warrants to purchase an aggregate of 4,217,809 shares outstanding. Our series A warrants are exercisable for an aggregate of 1,289,980 shares of common stock (consisting of series A warrants to purchase up to 1,230,769 shares of common stock for the investor (the “Investor Series A Warrants”) and series A warrants to purchase up to 59,211 shares of common stock for the affiliate investors (the “Affiliate Series A Warrants”)) at an exercise price of $3.25 per share for the Investor Series A Warrants and $3.55 per share for the Affiliate Series A Warrants. Each series A warrant was exercisable commencing on January 27, 2023 and will expire on January 27, 2028.

Our series B warrants are exercisable for an aggregate of 1,289,980 shares of common stock (consisting of series B warrants to purchase up to 1,230,769 shares of common stock for the investor (the “Investor Series B Warrants”) and Series B Warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 59,211 shares of common stock for the affiliate investors (the “Affiliate Series B Warrants”)) at an exercise price of $3.25 per share for the Investor Series B Warrants and $3.55 per share for the Affiliate Series B Warrants. Each series B warrant was exercisable commencing on January 27, 2023 and will expire on January 27, 2024.

Our underwriter warrants issued in connection with our initial public offering are exercisable for an aggregate amount of 150,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $7.50 per share. Each underwriter warrant was exercisable commencing on December 21, 2021 and will expire on June 24, 2026.

Our placement agent warrants issued in connection with our registered direct offering are exercisable for an aggregate amount of 63,018 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $3.60 per share. Each placement agent warrant was exercisable commencing on January 27, 2023 and will expire on July 27, 2027.

Our purchase warrants are exercisable for an aggregate of 1,424,831 shares of common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $2.88 per share. Each purchase warrant was issued in connection with private placement financings prior to our initial public offering and will expire on the tenth anniversary of each respective issuance.

The exercise price and the number of warrant shares purchasable upon the exercise of the warrants are subject to adjustment upon the occurrence of certain events, including stock dividends, stock splits, combinations and reclassifications of our capital stock. The warrants also contain a “cashless exercise” provision. The warrants do not confer upon the holders thereof any voting, dividend or other rights as our stockholders.

Subject to limited exceptions, certain holders of warrants will not have the right to exercise any portion of its warrants if the holder (together with such holder’s affiliates, and any persons acting as a group together with such holder or any of such holder’s affiliates) would beneficially own a number of shares of common stock in excess of 4.99% (or, at the election of the purchaser, 9.99%) of the shares of our common stock then outstanding after giving effect to such exercise.

Forum Selection

Our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws; or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the exclusive forum provision does not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Exchange Act, the Securities Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, be the sole and exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act. The choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and other employees. 

Anti-Takeover Provisions

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that may delay, defer or discourage another party from acquiring control of us. We expect that these provisions, which are summarized below, will discourage coercive takeover practices or inadequate takeover bids. These provisions are also designed to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to first negotiate with our board of directors, which we believe may result in an improvement of the terms of any such acquisition in favor of our stockholders. However, they also give our board of directors the power to discourage acquisitions that some stockholders may favor.

Authorized but unissued shares. The authorized but unissued shares of our common stock and our preferred stock are available for future issuance without stockholder approval, subject to the requirements of any national securities exchange on which our common stock is listed, should we so qualify for listing. These additional shares may be used for a variety of corporate finance transactions, acquisitions and employee benefit plans. The existence of authorized but unissued and unreserved common stock and preferred stock could make more difficult or discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a proxy contest, tender offer, merger or otherwise.

Elimination of Stockholder Action by Written Consent. Our certificate of incorporation will eliminate the right of stockholders to act by written consent without a meeting.

Special meetings of stockholders. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that, except as otherwise required by law or provided by the resolution or resolutions adopted by our board of directors designating the rights, powers and preferences of any series of preferred stock, special meetings of our stockholders may be called only by (a) our board of directors pursuant to a resolution approved by a majority of the total number of our directors that we would have if there were no vacancies or (b) the chair of our board of directors, and any power of our stockholders to call a special meeting is specifically denied.

Advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and director nominations. Our bylaws provide for an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of stockholders, including proposed nominations of candidates for election to our board of directors. In order for any matter to be “properly brought” before a meeting, a stockholder must comply with advance notice and duration of ownership requirements and provide us with certain information. Stockholders at an annual meeting may only consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of our board of directors or by a qualified stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting, who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has delivered timely written notice in proper form to our secretary of the stockholder’s intention to bring such business before the meeting. These provisions could have the effect of delaying stockholder actions that are favored by the holders of a majority of our outstanding voting securities until the next stockholder meeting.

Amendment of Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws. The DGCL 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, unless a corporation’s certificate of incorporation requires a greater percentage. Our certificate of incorporation provides that certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation (namely, those provisions relating to (i) directors; (ii) limitation of director liability, indemnification and advancement of expenses and renunciation of corporate opportunities; (iii) meetings of stockholders; and (iv) certain amendments to our certificate of incorporation and bylaws) may not be altered, amended or repealed in any respect (including by merger, consolidation or otherwise), nor may any provision inconsistent therewith be adopted, unless such alteration, amendment, repeal or adoption is approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of at least sixty-six and two-thirds percent (662∕3%) of the voting power of all of our then-outstanding shares then entitled to vote generally in an election of directors, voting together as a single class. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws also provide that approval of stockholders holding sixty-six and two-thirds percent (662∕3%) of the voting power of all of our then-outstanding shares entitled to vote generally in an election of directors, voting together as a single class, is required for stockholders to make, alter, amend, or repeal any provision of our bylaws. Our board of directors retains the right to alter, amend or repeal our bylaws.

Classified Board of Directors. Our certificate of incorporation provides for a classified board of directors consisting of three classes of approximately equal size, each serving staggered three-year terms. Only the directors in one class will be subject to election by a plurality of the votes cast at each annual meeting of stockholders, with the directors in the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms. Stockholders do not have the ability to cumulate votes for the election of directors. 

Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provides indemnification for our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL. We have entered into Indemnification Agreements with each of our directors that may be, in some cases, broader than the specific indemnification provisions contained under the DGCL. In addition, as permitted by the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation and bylaws includes provisions that eliminate the personal liability of our directors for monetary damages resulting from breaches of certain fiduciary duties as a director. The effect of this provision is to restrict our rights and the rights of our stockholders in derivative suits to recover monetary damages against a director for breach of fiduciary duties as a director. These provisions may be held not to be enforceable for violations of the federal securities laws of the United States.

Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law

We are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL. In general, Section 203 prohibits a publicly-held Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a three-year period following the time that such stockholder becomes an interested stockholder, unless the business combination is approved in a prescribed manner. A “business combination” includes, among other things, a merger, asset or stock sale or other transaction resulting in a financial benefit to the

interested stockholder. An “interested stockholder” is a person who, together with affiliates and associates, owns, or did own within three years prior to the determination of interested stockholder status, 15% or more of the corporation’s voting stock.

Under Section 203, a business combination between a corporation and an interested stockholder is prohibited unless it satisfies one of the following conditions:

• before the stockholder became interested, the board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;

• upon consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding, shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers, and employee stock plans, in some instances; or

• at or after the time the stockholder became interested, the business combination was approved by the board of directors of the corporation and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.

A Delaware corporation may “opt out” of these provisions with an express provision in its original certificate of incorporation or an express provision in its amended and restated certificate of incorporation or by-laws resulting from a stockholders’ amendment approved by at least a majority of the outstanding voting shares. We have not opted out of these provisions. As a result, mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts of us may be discouraged or prevented.

Listing

Our common stock will be listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ACXP.”

Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar of our common stock is VStock Transfer, LLC. They are located at 18 Lafayette Place, Woodmere, New York 11598. Their telephone number is (212) 828-8436.