UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of report (Date of earliest event reported): May 12, 2022

Athersys, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter) 

Delaware	001-33876	20-4864095
(State or Other Jurisdiction of Incorporation)	(Commission File Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

3201 Carnegie Avenue,	Cleveland,	Ohio	44115-2634
(Address of principal executive offices)			(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (216) 431-9900

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

☐ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

☐ Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

☐ Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class	Trading Symbol	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share	ATHX	The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).

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 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Item 1.01. Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On May 12, 2022, Athersys, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) entered into a common stock purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with Aspire Capital Fund, LLC (“Aspire Capital”), which provides that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions and limitations set forth therein, Aspire Capital is committed to purchase up to an aggregate of $100 million of shares of the Company’s common stock over the 24-month term of the Purchase Agreement.

Concurrently with entering into the Purchase Agreement, the Company also entered into a registration rights agreement with Aspire Capital (the “Registration Rights Agreement”), pursuant to which the Company agreed to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission a prospectus supplement to the Company’s effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-238810) registering all of the shares of common stock that may be offered to Aspire Capital from time to time under the Purchase Agreement.

Under the Purchase Agreement, we have the right, in our sole discretion, to present Aspire Capital with a purchase notice (each, a “Purchase Notice”), directing Aspire Capital (as principal) to purchase up to 200,000 shares of our common stock per trading day, provided that the aggregate price of such purchase shall not exceed $500,000 per trading day, up to $100 million of our common stock in the aggregate. We and Aspire Capital also may mutually agree to increase the number of shares that may be sold to as much as an additional 2,000,000 shares per business day. The purchase price per share pursuant to such Purchase Notice (the “Purchase Price”) is the lower of (i) the lowest sale price for the Company’s common stock on the date of sale and (ii) the arithmetic average of the three lowest closing sale prices for the Company’s common stock during the ten consecutive business days ending on the business day immediately preceding the purchase date of those securities. The applicable Purchase Price will be determined prior to delivery of any Purchase Notice.

In addition, on any date on which we submit a Purchase Notice to Aspire Capital in an amount of at least 100,000 shares, we also have the right, in our sole discretion, to present Aspire Capital with a volume-weighted average price purchase notice (each, a “VWAP Purchase Notice”) directing Aspire Capital to purchase an amount of the Company’s common stock equal to a percentage (not to exceed 30%) of the aggregate shares of common stock traded on The Nasdaq Capital Market on the next business day (the “VWAP Purchase Date”), subject to a maximum number of shares determined by the Company (the “VWAP Purchase Share Volume Maximum”). The purchase price per share pursuant to such VWAP Purchase Notice (the “VWAP Purchase Price”) shall be the lower of (i) the closing sale price on the date of sale and (ii) 95% of the volume weighted average price for the Company’s common stock traded on The Nasdaq Capital Market on (a) the VWAP Purchase Date if the aggregate shares to be purchased on that date does not exceeded the VWAP Purchase Share Volume Maximum and the sale price of our common stock has not fallen below the price set by us in the VWAP Purchase Notice (the “VWAP Minimum Price Threshold”) (to be appropriately adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction) or (b) the portion of such business day until such time as the aggregate shares to be purchased will equal the VWAP Purchase Share Volume Maximum. Further, if the sale price of our common stock falls on the VWAP Purchase Date below the greater of (i) 90% of the closing price of our common stock on the business day immediately preceding the VWAP Purchase Date and (ii) the VWAP Minimum Price Threshold, the VWAP Purchase Price will be determined using the percentage in the VWAP Purchase Notice of the total shares traded for such portion of the VWAP Purchase Date prior to the time that the sale price of our common stock fell below the VWAP Minimum Price Threshold and the volume weighted average price of our common stock sold during such portion of the VWAP Purchase Date prior to the time that the sale price of our common stock fell below the VWAP Minimum Price Threshold.

The respective prices and share numbers in the preceding paragraphs shall be appropriately adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, stock dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction.

The Purchase Agreement provides that the Company and Aspire Capital shall not effect any sales under the Purchase Agreement on any purchase date where the closing sale price of the Company’s common stock is less than $0.25 per share. There are no trading volume requirements or restrictions under the Purchase Agreement, and we will control the timing and amount of any sales of our common stock to Aspire Capital. Aspire Capital has no right to require any sales by us, but is obligated to make purchases from us as we direct in accordance with the Purchase Agreement. The Company may deliver multiple Purchase Notices and VWAP Purchase Notices to Aspire Capital from time to time during the term of the Purchase Agreement, so long as the most recent purchase has been completed. There are no limitations on use of proceeds, financial or business covenants, restrictions on future fundings, rights of first refusal, participation rights, penalties or liquidated damages in the Purchase Agreement. The Purchase Agreement may be terminated by us at any time, at our discretion, without any penalty or cost to us. Also, Aspire Capital has agreed that neither it nor any of its agents, representatives and affiliates shall engage in any direct or indirect short-selling or hedging, which establishes a net short position with respect to our common stock during any time prior to the termination of the Purchase Agreement.

The Purchase Agreement provides for events of default, upon the occurrence of which Aspire Capital may terminate the Purchase Agreement. Such events of default include, without limitation:

•the lapse, or unavailability to Aspire Capital for the sale of shares of the Company’s common stock, of any registration statement that is required to be maintained effective pursuant to the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement, subject to specified cure periods;

•the suspension from trading or failure of the Company’s common stock to be listed on a Principal Market (as defined in the Purchase Agreement) for a period of three consecutive business days;

•the delisting of the Company’s common stock from the Principal Market, provided the Company’s common stock is not immediately thereafter trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the NYSE American, The Nasdaq Global Select Market, The Nasdaq Global Market or The Nasdaq Capital Market;

•the failure for any reason by the Company’s transfer agent to issue shares to Aspire Capital within five business days after the applicable purchase date that Aspire Capital is entitled to receive such shares;

•if any of the current Executive Officers (as defined in Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) of the Company ceases to be an Executive Officer or full-time employee of the Company for any reason;

•if any proceeding against the Company is commenced pursuant to or within the meaning of any bankruptcy law; and

•any breach by the Company of the representations, warranties, covenants or other term or condition contained in the Purchase Agreement or any related agreements that would reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect, except, in the case of a breach of a covenant which is reasonably curable, only if such breach continues for a period of at least five business days.

The foregoing is a summary description of certain terms of the Purchase Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement. For a full description of all terms, please refer to copies of the Purchase Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement that are filed herewith as Exhibits 10.1 and 10.2, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated herein by reference. All readers are encouraged to read the entire text of the Purchase Agreement and the Registration Rights Agreement.

The Company is filing the opinion of its counsel, Jones Day, relating to the legality of the shares of common stock offered and sold pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, as Exhibit 5.1 hereto.

Item 9.01.    Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit No.	Description
5.1	Opinion of Jones Day
10.1*	Common Stock Purchase Agreement, dated as of May 12, 2022, by and between Athersys, Inc. and Aspire Capital Fund, LLC
10.2*	Registration Rights Agreement, dated as of May 12, 2022, by and between Athersys, Inc. and Aspire Capital Fund, LLC
23.1	Consent of Jones Day (included in Exhibit 5.1)
104	Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)

*Schedules and exhibits have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K. The Company hereby undertakes to furnish on a supplemental basis a copy of any omitted schedule or exhibit upon request by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date: May 12, 2022

ATHERSYS, INC.
By:	/s/ Ivor Macleod
	Name: Ivor Macleod Title:   Chief Financial Officer