UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
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| Item 3.01. | Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing. |
On October 26, 2023, First Wave BioPharma, Inc. (the “Company”, “we” or “us”) received written notice (the “Notification Letter”) from the Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”) of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that it was not in compliance with the shareholder approval requirement set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(d), which requires prior shareholder approval for transactions, other than public offerings, involving the issuance of 20% or more of an issuer’s pre-transaction shares outstanding at less than the applicable Minimum Price (as defined in Listing Rule 5635(d)(1)(A)).
The Staff’s determination relates to the offering and issuance by the Company (the “Offering”) of an aggregate of: (i) 610,000 shares (the “Shares”) of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Company, (ii) pre-funded warrants (the “Pre-Funded Warrants”) to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,675,000 shares of Common Stock (the “Pre-Funded Warrant Shares”) and (iii) common warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase up to an aggregate of 6,570,000 shares of Common Stock (the “Common Warrant Shares” and, together with the Pre-Funded Warrant Shares, the “Warrant Shares”). The public offering price for each share of Common Stock and accompanying Warrants, each to purchase one share of Common Stock, was $0.64, and the public offering price for each Pre-Funded Warrant and accompanying Warrants, each to purchase one share of Common Stock, was $0.6399. The Offering was previously disclosed in the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 21, 2023.
The Staff determined that the Offering was not a “public offering” under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(d) due to the type of offering, a best efforts offering pursuant to a placement agency agreement, and the fact that one investor purchased a predominant portion of the Offering. As a result, because the Offering represented greater than 20% of the Common Stock outstanding and was priced below the Minimum Price, the Staff determined that the Company was required to obtain shareholder approval prior to the issuance of Common Stock in the Offering under Listing Rule 5635(d).
The Notification Letter does not impact the listing of the Company’s common stock on Nasdaq at this time. The Notification Letter states that the Company has 45 days to submit a plan to regain compliance. If the plan is accepted, Nasdaq may grant the Company an extension of 180 calendar days from the date of the Notification Letter to evidence compliance.
The Company intends to submit, within the requisite period, a plan to regain compliance under the Nasdaq Listing Rules. There can be no assurance that Nasdaq will accept the Company’s plan or that the Company will be able to regain compliance with the applicable listing requirements.
The Company, by filing this Form 8-K, discloses its receipt of the notification from Nasdaq in accordance with Listing Rule 5810(b).
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.
| First Wave BioPharma, Inc. | ||
| October 31, 2023 | By: | /s/ James Sapirstein |
| Name: | James Sapirstein | |
| Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |