As submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission confidentially on June 3, 2021.

This draft registration statement has not been publicly filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and all information herein remains strictly confidential.

Registration No. 333-                

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-1

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	2836	13-6410829
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)	(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

427 Park St.

Charlottesville, VA 22902

(434) 297-1000

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Daniel O’Connell

Chief Executive Officer

Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

427 Park St.

Charlottesville, VA 22902

(434) 297-1000

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

Copies to:

Darren DeStefano Katherine Denby Cooley LLP 11951 Freedom Dr. #1500 Reston, Virginia 20190 (703) 456-8039 Patrick O’Brien Thomas J. Danielski Ropes & Gray LLP
Prudential Tower
800 Boylston Street Boston, MA 02199 (617) 951-7000

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement is declared effective.

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box.  ☐

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, 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.  ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

Title of Each Class of Securities To Be Registered	Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price(1)	Amount of Registration Fee(2)
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share	$	$

(1) Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Includes the offering price of additional shares that the underwriters have the option to purchase.

(2) Calculated pursuant to Rule 457(o) based on an estimate of the proposed maximum aggregate offering price.

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This confidential draft of the draft registration statement on Form S-1 of Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is being submitted solely to submit Exhibit 10.1 and to amend the exhibit index. This confidential draft does not modify any provision of the prospectus that forms a part of the Form S-1, and accordingly Part I has been omitted from this submission.

PART II

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

Item 13. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

The following table indicates the expenses to be incurred in connection with the offering described in this registration statement, other than underwriting discounts and commissions, all of which will be paid by us. All amounts are estimated except the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, registration fee, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, filing fee and the Nasdaq Global Market initial listing fee.

	Amount
SEC registration fee	$	*
FINRA filing fee		*
Nasdaq Global Market initial listing fee		*
Accountants’ fees and expenses		*
Legal fees and expenses		*
Blue sky fees and expenses		*
Transfer agent’s fees and expenses		*
Printing and engraving expenses		*
Miscellaneous		*
Total expenses	$	*

* To be provided by amendment

Item 14. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

We are incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware. Section 102 of the Delaware General Corporation Law permits a corporation to eliminate the personal liability of directors of a corporation to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for a breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except where the director breached his duty of loyalty, failed to act in good faith, engaged in intentional misconduct or knowingly violated a law, authorized the payment of a dividend or approved a stock repurchase in violation of Delaware corporate law or obtained an improper personal benefit.

Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that a corporation has the power to indemnify a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation and certain other persons serving at the request of the corporation in related capacities against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlements actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with an action, suit or proceeding to which he is or is threatened to be made a party by reason of such position, if such person acted in good faith and in a manner he reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, and, in any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his conduct was unlawful, except that, in the case of actions brought by or in the right of the corporation, no indemnification shall be made with respect to 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 other adjudicating court determines that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all of the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court shall deem proper.

As permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws to be in effect upon the closing of this offering will provide that: (i) we are required to indemnify our directors to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law; (ii) we may, in our discretion, indemnify our officers, employees and agents as set forth in the Delaware General Corporation Law;

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(iii) we are required, upon satisfaction of certain conditions, to advance all expenses incurred by our directors in connection with certain legal proceedings; (iv) the rights conferred in the bylaws are not exclusive; and (v) we are authorized to enter into indemnification agreements with our directors, officers, employees and agents.

In connection with this offering, we expect to enter into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers that require us to indemnify them against expenses, judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts that any such person becomes legally obligated to pay (including with respect to a derivative action) in connection with any proceeding, whether actual or threatened, to which such person may be made a party by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of us or any of our affiliates, provided such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, our best interests. The indemnification agreements will also set forth certain procedures that will apply in the event of a claim for indemnification thereunder. We intend to enter into similar indemnification agreements with our executive officers prior to the completion of this offering. At present, no litigation or proceeding is pending that involves any of our directors or officers regarding which indemnification is sought, nor are we aware of any threatened litigation that may result in claims for indemnification.

We maintain a directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy. The policy insures directors and officers against unindemnified losses arising from certain wrongful acts in their capacities as directors and officers and reimburses us for those losses for which we have lawfully indemnified the directors and officers. The policy contains various exclusions.

In addition, the underwriting agreement filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Registration Statement provides for indemnification by the underwriters of us and our officers and directors for certain liabilities arising under the Securities Act, or otherwise. Our amended and restated investor rights agreement with certain investors also provides for cross-indemnification in connection with the registration of our common stock on behalf of such investors.

Item 15. Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities.

The following list sets forth information regarding all unregistered securities sold by us since January 2018 through the date of the prospectus that forms a part of this registration statement. None of the following transactions involved any underwriters, underwriting discounts or commissions, or any public offering. Unless otherwise specified above, we believe these transactions were exempt from registration under the Securities Act in reliance on Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act (and Regulation D promulgated thereunder) or Rule 701 promulgated under Section 3(b) of the Securities Act as transactions by an issuer not involving any public offering or under benefit plans and contracts relating to compensation as provided under Rule 701. The recipients of the securities in each of these transactions represented their intentions to acquire the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof, and appropriate legends were placed on the share certificates issued in these transactions. All recipients had adequate access, through their relationships with us, to information about us. The sales of these securities were made without any general solicitation or advertising.

Issuances of Common Stock

We have not issued any common stock since January 2018.

Issuances of Convertible Notes

In May 2018, we issued and sold convertible promissory notes to two individual and institutional accredited investors, pursuant to which we issued and sold $250,000 aggregate principal amount of convertible promissory notes in exchange for $250,000 in gross proceeds.

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Issuances of Preferred Stock

In October 2018 with subsequent closings through November 2019, we issued 2,159,332 shares of our Series A convertible preferred stock and 11,231,512 shares of our Series A-1 convertible preferred stock to 46 individual and institutional accredited investors. Of these shares, we sold an aggregate of 9,600,066 shares of our Series A-1 convertible preferred stock for $1.50 per share, for aggregate consideration of $14.4 million. The remaining shares were issued as conversions of notes and shares of common stock into shares of Series A convertible preferred stock and conversions of Series A convertible preferred stock into shares of Series A-1 convertible preferred stock.

In November 2020, we issued 17,674,469 shares of our Series B convertible preferred stock to 31 individual and institutional accredited investors for $2.55 per share, for aggregate consideration of $45.1 million.

Issuances of Warrants

In October 2018, we issued a warrant to purchase 666,666 shares of our Series A-1 preferred stock, with a per-share exercise price of $1.875 per share to an accredited institutional investor.

Issuances Pursuant to our Equity Plans

From January 1, 2018 through the date of this registration statement, we granted options under our Amended and Restated Stock Performance Plan to purchase an aggregate of              shares of common stock, at

a weighted average exercise price of $         per share, to our employees and consultants. Of these,              shares have been issued upon the exercise of options, and              options have been cancelled. We have also granted no restricted stock awards under our Amended and Restated Stock Performance Plan during the same time period. The recipients of these securities were employees, directors or bona fide consultants of the Registrant and received the securities under the Prior Plan.

Item 16. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules.

(a) Exhibits.

The exhibits listed below are filed as part of this registration.

Exhibit Number	Description of Exhibit
1.1*	Form of Underwriting Agreement
3.1#	Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant (as amended and currently in effect)
3.2#	Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant (currently in effect)
3.3*	Form of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Registrant (to be effective upon the closing of this offering)
3.4*	Form of Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant (to be effective upon the closing of this offering)
4.1#	Amended and Restated Investors’ Rights Agreement, by and among the Registrant and certain of its stockholders, dated November 20, 2020
5.1*	Opinion of Cooley LLP
10.1†	Collaboration Agreement, by and between the Registrant and Merck & Co., Inc., dated December 22, 2003, as amended and restated as of October 18, 2006

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Exhibit Number	Description of Exhibit
10.2*	2021 Equity Incentive Plan and Forms of Option Grant Notice and Agreement, Exercise Notice, Early Exercise Notice and Restricted Stock Award Notice
10.3*	2021 Stock Incentive Plan and Forms of Stock Option Grant Notice, Stock Option Agreement, Restricted Stock Unit Grant Notice and Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement
10.4*	2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
10.5*	2013 Amended and Restated Stock Performance Plan
10.6*	Form of Indemnification Agreement with Executive Officers and Directors
10.7#	Executive Employment Agreement, by and between the Registrant and Daniel O’Connell
10.8#	Employment Agreement by and between the Registrant and Eric Siemers, M.D.
10.9#	Employment Agreement by and between the Registrant and Russell Barton
23.1*	Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, independent registered public accounting firm
23.2*	Consent of Cooley LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1)
24.1*	Power of Attorney (included on signature page)

† Pursuant to Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K, certain confidential portions of this exhibit have been omitted by means of marking such portions with asterisks [***] as the identified confidential portions (i) are not material and (ii) the Registrant customarily and actually treats that information as private or confidential.

* To be filed by amendment.

# Previously Submitted.

(b) Financial Statement Schedules.

Schedules not listed above have been omitted because the information required to be set forth therein is not applicable or is shown in the financial statements or notes thereto.

Item 17. Undertakings.

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreement, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.

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 SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities 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 Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that:

(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this Registration Statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the Registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this Registration Statement as of the time it was declared effective.

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(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus 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.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized in the City of Charlottesville, Commonwealth of Virginia, on this     day of                 , 2021.

Acumen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
By:
	Daniel O’Connell
	Chief Executive Officer

KNOW ALL BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Daniel O’Connell and                 , and each of them, as his or her true and lawful agents, proxies and attorneys-in-fact, 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 (i) act on, sign and file with the Securities and Exchange Commission any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement together with all schedules and exhibits thereto and any subsequent registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, together with all schedules and exhibits thereto, (ii) act on, sign and file such certificates, instruments, agreements and other documents as may be necessary or appropriate in connection therewith, (iii) act on and file any supplement to any prospectus included in this registration statement or any such amendment or any subsequent registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and (iv) take any and all actions which may be necessary or appropriate to be done, as fully for all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby approving, ratifying and confirming all that such agent, proxy and attorney-in-fact or any of his substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.

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 dates indicated.

Signature	Title	Date
	Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)	, 2021
Daniel O’Connell
	Director	, 2021
Jeffrey L. Ives, PhD
	Director	, 2021
Sean Stalfort
	Director	, 2021
Laura Stoppel, PhD
	Director	, 2021
Stephen Zachary, PhD
	Director	, 2021
Jeffrey Sevigny, M.D.