| Item 1.01. | Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement. |
On September 1, 2022, eFFECTOR Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into a Controlled Equity OfferingSM Sales Agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (the “Agent”), under which the Company may, from time to time, sell shares of the Company’s common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $15.0 million in “at the market” offerings through the Agent. Sales of the shares of common stock, if any, will be made at prevailing market prices at the time of sale, or as otherwise agreed with the Agent. The Agent will receive a commission from the Company of 3.0% of the gross proceeds of any shares of common stock sold under the Sales Agreement.
The Company is not obligated to sell, and the Agent is not obligated to buy or sell, any shares of common stock under the Sales Agreement. No assurance can be given that the Company will sell any shares of common stock under the Sales Agreement, or, if it does, as to the price or amount of shares of common stock that it sells or the dates when such sales will take place.
In the Sales Agreement, the Company agreed to indemnify the Agent against certain liabilities, including under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or to contribute to payments that the Agent may be required to make because of such liabilities. The Company and the Agent may each terminate the Sales Agreement at any time upon specified prior written notice.
The shares will be issued pursuant to the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form S-3, including the prospectus supplement contained therein, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on September 1, 2022 (the “Registration Statement”), once the Registration Statement is declared effective by the SEC. A copy of the Sales Agreement is attached as Exhibit 1.1 hereto and is incorporated herein by reference. The foregoing description of the Sales Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Sales Agreement.
A copy of the opinion of Latham & Watkins LLP relating to the validity of the shares of common stock that may be sold pursuant to the Sales Agreement is filed herewith as Exhibit 5.1.
| Item 3.01. | Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing. |
On August 29, 2022, the Company received a letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market staff indicating that, for the last thirty consecutive business days, the bid price for the Company’s common stock had closed below the minimum $1.00 per share requirement for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2).
In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the Company has been provided an initial period of 180 calendar days, or until February 27, 2023, to regain compliance. The letter states that the Nasdaq staff will provide written notification that the Company has achieved compliance with Rule 5550(a)(2) if at any time before February 27, 2023, the bid price of the Company’s common stock closes at $1.00 per share or more for a minimum of ten consecutive business days. The Nasdaq letter has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of the Company’s common stock and the common stock will continue to trade on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “EFTR.”
The Company intends to monitor the bid price of its common stock and consider available options if its common stock does not trade at a level likely to result in the Company regaining compliance with Nasdaq’s minimum bid price rule by February 27, 2023.
If the Company does not regain compliance with Rule 5550(a)(2) by February 27, 2023, the Company may be eligible for an additional 180 calendar day compliance period. To qualify, the Company would be required to meet the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards for the Nasdaq Capital Market, with the exception of the bid price requirement, and would need to provide written notice of its intention to cure the deficiency during the second compliance period, by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary. However, if it appears to the Nasdaq staff that the Company will not be able to cure the deficiency, or if the Company is otherwise not eligible, the Nasdaq staff would notify the Company that its securities would be subject to delisting. In the event of such a notification, the Company may appeal the Nasdaq staff’s determination to delist its securities, but there can be no assurance the Nasdaq staff would grant the Company’s request for continued listing.
