UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
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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:
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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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 3.01 Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing.
On January 18, 2023, SQZ Biotechnologies Company (the “Company”) received notice (the “NYSE Notification”) from the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) indicating that the Company is not in compliance with Section 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual (“Section 802.01C”) because the average closing price of the Company’s common stock was less than $1.00 over a consecutive 30 trading-day period. The NYSE Notification does not result in the immediate delisting of the Company’s common stock from the NYSE.
The Company plans to notify the NYSE of its intent to cure the stock price deficiency and return to compliance with the NYSE continued listing standards. Under NYSE rules, the Company has a period of six months from receipt of the NYSE Notification to cure the stock price deficiency and regain compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standards. The Company can regain compliance at any time within such cure period if, on the last trading day of any calendar month during the cure period, the Company has a closing share price of at least $1.00 and an average closing share price of at least $1.00 over the 30 trading-day period ending on the last trading day of that month. The Company intends to consider available alternatives, including, but not limited to, a reverse stock split, subject to stockholder approval at the Company’s next annual meeting of stockholders, if necessary to cure the stock price deficiency.
The Company’s common stock will continue to be listed and trade on the NYSE during this cure period, subject to the Company’s compliance with other NYSE continued listing standards.
Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.
As required by Section 802.01C, on January 18, 2023, the Company issued a press release announcing that it had received the NYSE Notification. A copy of the press release is furnished as Exhibit 99.1 attached hereto and is incorporated herein by reference.
The information furnished pursuant to this Item 7.01, including Exhibit 99.1, shall not be deemed to be “filed” for the purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements relating to the NYSE’s continued listing standards, the Company’s ability to return to and maintain compliance with these standards and the Company’s plans to cure the stock price deficiency. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to several risk factors. Such factors include, among others, risks and uncertainties related to the Company’s ability to regain compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standards within the applicable cure period; the Company’s ability to continue to comply with the applicable NYSE continued listing standards; the Company’s limited operating history; the Company’s significant losses incurred since inception and expectation to incur significant additional losses for the foreseeable future; the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern; the Company’s ability to successfully execute or achieve the benefits of its strategic prioritization and other cost saving measures; the development of the Company’s initial product candidates, upon which its business is highly dependent; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s operations and clinical activities; the Company’s need for additional funding and its cash runway; the lengthy, expensive, and uncertain process of clinical drug development, including uncertain outcomes of clinical trials and potential delays in regulatory approval; the Company’s ability to maintain its relationships with its third party vendors; and protection of the Company’s proprietary technology, intellectual property portfolio and the confidentiality of its trade secrets. These and other important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Annual Reports on Form 10-K, and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K and the Company undertakes no duty to update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, the occurrence of current events, or otherwise, unless required by law.
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
(d) Exhibits
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Exhibit No. |
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Description |
99.1 |
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Press release issued by SQZ Biotechnologies Company on January 18, 2023. |
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Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded with the Inline XBRL document). |
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.
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SQZ BIOTECHNOLOGIES COMPANY |
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Date: |
January 18, 2023 |
By: |
/s/ Lawrence Knopf |
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General Counsel |
Empower Cells to Change Lives®
EXHIBIT 99.1
SQZ Biotechnologies Receives Notice Regarding Continued Listing Standards
From the New York Stock Exchange
WATERTOWN, Mass., January 18, 2023 – SQZ Biotechnologies (NYSE: SQZ) today announced that on January 18, 2023, it received notice from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) indicating that the Company is not in compliance with Section 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual because the average closing price of the Company’s common stock was less than $1.00 over a consecutive 30 trading-day period. The notice does not result in the immediate delisting of the Company’s common stock from the NYSE.
The Company plans to notify the NYSE of its intent to cure the stock price deficiency and return to compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standards. Under NYSE rules, the Company has a period of six months from receipt of the NYSE notice to cure the stock price deficiency and regain compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standards. The Company can regain compliance at any time within such cure period if, on the last trading day of any calendar month during the cure period, the Company has a closing share price of at least $1.00 and an average closing share price of at least $1.00 over the 30 trading-day period ending on the last trading day of that month. The Company intends to consider available alternatives, including, but not limited to, a reverse stock split, subject to stockholder approval at the Company’s next annual meeting of stockholders, if necessary to cure the stock price deficiency. The Company’s common stock will continue to be listed and trade on the NYSE during this cure period, subject to SQZ Biotechnologies’ compliance with other NYSE continued listing standards.
About SQZ Biotechnologies
SQZ Biotechnologies is a clinical-stage biotechnology Company focused on unlocking the full potential of cell therapies. The Company’s proprietary Cell Squeeze® technology offers the unique ability to deliver multiple biological materials into many patient cell types to engineer what we believe can be a broad range of potential therapeutics. Our goal is to create well-tolerated cell therapies that can provide therapeutic benefit for patients and improve the patient experience over existing cell therapy approaches. With accelerated production timelines under 24 hours and the opportunity to eliminate preconditioning and lengthy hospital stays, our approach could change the way people think about cell therapies. For more information, please visit www.sqzbiotech.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including without limitation statements relating to the NYSE’s continued listing standards, the Company’s ability to return to and maintain compliance with these standards and the Company’s plans to cure the stock price deficiency. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking statements due to several risk factors. Such factors include, among others, risks and uncertainties related to our ability to regain compliance with the NYSE’s continued listing standards within the applicable cure period; our ability to continue to comply with the applicable NYSE continued listing standards; our limited operating history; our significant losses incurred since inception and expectation to incur significant additional losses for the foreseeable future; our ability to continue as a going concern; our ability to successfully execute or achieve
Empower Cells to Change Lives®
the benefits of our strategic prioritization and other cost saving measures; the development of our initial product candidates, upon which our business is highly dependent; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our operations and clinical activities; our need for additional funding and our cash runway; the lengthy, expensive, and uncertain process of clinical drug development, including uncertain outcomes of clinical trials and potential delays in regulatory approval; our ability to maintain our relationships with our third party vendors; and protection of our proprietary technology, intellectual property portfolio and the confidentiality of our trade secrets. These and other important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, and other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release and SQZ undertakes no duty to update these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, the occurrence of current events, or otherwise, unless required by law.
Empower Cells to Change Lives®
Investor Relations and Media Contact
Mike Kaiser
857-760-0398
michael.kaiser@sqzbiotech.com
Document And Entity Information |
Jan. 18, 2023 |
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Cover [Abstract] | |
Document Type | 8-K |
Amendment Flag | false |
Document Period End Date | Jan. 18, 2023 |
Entity Registrant Name | SQZ BIOTECHNOLOGIES COMPANY |
Entity Central Index Key | 0001604477 |
Entity Emerging Growth Company | true |
Securities Act File Number | 001-39662 |
Entity Incorporation, State or Country Code | DE |
Entity Tax Identification Number | 46-2431115 |
Entity Address, Address Line One | 200 Arsenal Yards Blvd |
Entity Address, Address Line Two | Suite 210 |
Entity Address, City or Town | Watertown |
Entity Address, State or Province | MA |
Entity Address, Postal Zip Code | 02472 |
City Area Code | 617 |
Local Phone Number | 758-8672 |
Entity Information, Former Legal or Registered Name | N/A |
Written Communications | false |
Soliciting Material | false |
Pre-commencement Tender Offer | false |
Pre-commencement Issuer Tender Offer | false |
Entity Ex Transition Period | false |
Title of 12(b) Security | Common Stock, $0.001 par value per share |
Trading Symbol | SQZ |
Security Exchange Name | NYSE |
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