SCHEDULE 13D
Explanatory Note: This Amendment No. 14 to Schedule 13D (this “Amendment No. 143”) amends the Schedule 13D filed on November 14, 2011 (the “Original 13D”), as amended by Amendment No. 1 to Schedule 13D filed on November 16, 2012 (“Amendment No. 1”), Amendment No. 2 to Schedule 13D filed on June 5, 2013 (“Amendment No. 2”), Amendment No. 3 to Schedule 13D filed on October 9, 2013 (“Amendment No. 3”), Amendment No. 4 to Schedule 13D filed on October 17, 2016 (“Amendment No. 4”), Amendment No. 5 to Schedule 13D filed on July 25, 2019 (“Amendment No. 5”), Amendment No. 6 to Schedule 13D filed on May 7, 2020 (“Amendment No. 6”), Amendment No. 7 to Schedule 13D filed on August 17, 2020 (“Amendment No. 7”), Amendment No. 8 to Schedule 13D filed on December 30, 2020 (“Amendment No. 8”), Amendment No. 9 to Schedule 13D filed on April 1, 2021 (“Amendment No. 9”), Amendment No. 10 to Schedule 13D filed on June 7, 2021 (“Amendment No. 10”), Amendment No. 11 to Schedule 13D filed on June 24, 2022 (“Amendment No. 11”), and Amendment No. 12 to Schedule 13D filed on July 1, 2022 (“Amendment No. 12”), and Amendment No. 13 to Schedule 13D filed on October 5, 2022 (together with the Original 13D, Amendment No. 1, Amendment No. 2, Amendment No. 3, Amendment No. 4, Amendment No. 5, Amendment No. 6, Amendment No. 7, Amendment No. 8, Amendment No. 9, Amendment No. 10, Amendment No. 11, and Amendment No. 12, the “Schedule 13D”) and relates to the Common Stock. The principal executive offices of the Issuer are located at 505 Eagleview Blvd., Suite 212, Exton, PA 19341.
Except as specifically amended by this Amendment No. 14, the disclosure in the Schedule 13D remains in full force and effect. Capitalized terms used in this Amendment No. 14 but not otherwise defined shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Schedule 13D.
ITEM 3. Source and Amount of Funds or Other Consideration.
The information set forth in Item 4 hereof is hereby incorporated by reference into this Item 3, as applicable.
ITEM 4. Purpose of Transaction.
Item 4 to this Schedule 13D is hereby amended to add the following:
As previously reported by the Company on Forms 8-K filed with the SEC on September 28, 2022 and September 30, 2022, the Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated September 28, 2022 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company, Bell Merger Sub I, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, Bell Merger Sub II, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, and Aceragen, Inc. (“Private Aceragen”), pursuant to which the Company acquired Private Aceragen.
As previously reported by the Company on Forms 8-K filed with the SEC on January 13, 2023 and January 17, 2023, the Company held a special meeting of stockholders on January 12, 2023 at which the Company’s stockholders approved, among other matters: (i) the conversion of the Company’s Series Z Preferred Stock into shares of Common Stock; (ii) the approval of an amendment to the Company’s certificate of incorporation to authorize sufficient shares of Common Stock for the conversion of the Series Z Preferred Stock issued pursuant to the Merger Agreement; and (iii) the approval to effect a reverse stock split of all of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares of Common Stock.
On January 17, 2023, the Company announced a one-for-seventeen (1:17) reverse split of its Common Stock (the “Reverse Stock Split”), effective January 17, 2023, and that it changed its name from Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: IDRA) to Aceragen, Inc. (Nasdaq: ACGN).
As adjusted for the Reverse Stock Split, the Reporting Persons, in aggregate, beneficially own 1,011,042 shares of Common Stock, including the Common Stock underlying warrants and options beneficially owned prior to the Reverse Stock Split. Such shares of Common Stock remain subject to a Lock-Up Agreement, dated as of September 28, 2022, by and among the Company and the Reporting Persons.
Other than as described above, the Reporting Persons do not have any plans or proposals which would result in any of the following:
(a) The acquisition by any person of additional securities of the Issuer, or the disposition of securities of the Issuer;
(b) An extraordinary corporate transaction, such as a merger, reorganization or liquidation, involving the Issuer or any of its subsidiaries;
(c) A sale or transfer of a material amount of assets of the Issuer or any of its subsidiaries;
(d) Any change in the present Board or management of the Issuer, including any plans or proposals to change the number or term of directors or to fill any existing vacancies on the Board;