424B3 1 tv505546_424b3.htm 424B3

Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3)

Registration No. 333-227845

Moleculin Biotech, Inc.

6,730,526 Shares of Common Stock

This prospectus relates to the offer and sale of up to 6,730,526 shares of our common stock by Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC, or Lincoln Park or the selling stockholder.

The shares of common stock being offered by the selling stockholder have been or may be issued pursuant to the Purchase Agreement dated October 4, 2018 that we entered into with Lincoln Park. See “The Lincoln Park Transaction” for a description of that agreement and “Selling Stockholder” for additional information regarding Lincoln Park. The prices at which Lincoln Park may sell the shares will be determined by the prevailing market price for the shares or in negotiated transactions.

We are not selling any securities under this prospectus and will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholder.

The selling stockholder may sell the shares of common stock described in this prospectus in a number of different ways and at varying prices. See “Plan of Distribution” for more information about how the selling stockholder may sell the shares of common stock being registered pursuant to this prospectus. The selling stockholder is an “underwriter” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

We will pay the expenses incurred in registering the shares, including legal and accounting fees. See “Plan of Distribution”.

Our common stock is currently listed on The NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “MBRX”. On October 26, 2018, the last reported sale price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Capital Market was $1.20.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and we have elected to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See the section entitled “Risk Factors” appearing on page 5 of this prospectus for a discussion of information that should be considered in connection with an investment in our securities.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is October 26, 2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY	2
RISK FACTORS	5
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE	6
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	7
USE OF PROCEEDS	7
DIVIDEND POLICY	7
SELLING SHAREHOLDER	8
LINCOLN PARK TRANSACTION	9
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION	13
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK	14
LEGAL MATTERS	16
EXPERTS	16
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION	16

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary does not contain all of the information that you should consider before deciding to invest in our securities. You should read this entire prospectus carefully, including the “Risk Factors” section in this prospectus and under similar captions in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus. The terms “MBI”, the “Company”, “our”, or “we” refer to Moleculin Biotech, Inc. and, unless the context otherwise requires, its predecessors.

Overview

We are a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company organized as a Delaware corporation in July 2015 to focus on the development of anti-cancer drug candidates, all of which are based on license agreements with The University of Texas System on behalf of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, which we refer to as MD Anderson. We have three core drug technologies: a uniquely designed anthracycline (Annamycin), a portfolio of STAT3 inhibitors (WP1066 Portfolio) and a collection of inhibitors of glycolysis (WP1122 Portfolio). Our clinical stage drugs are Annamycin, an anthracycline designed to avoid multidrug resistance mechanisms with little to no cardiotoxicity being studied for the treatment of relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia, more commonly referred to as AML, and WP1066, an immuno-stimulating STAT3 inhibitor targeting brain tumors, pancreatic cancer and AML. We are also engaged in preclinical development of additional drug candidates, including additional STAT3 inhibitors and compounds targeting the metabolism of tumors.

We currently have six drug candidates representing three substantially different approaches to treating cancer. Liposomal Annamycin, which we refer to as Annamycin, is a chemotherapy designed to inhibit the replication of DNA of rapidly dividing cells. WP1122 is an inhibitor of glycolysis intended to cut of the fuel supply of tumor cells, which are often overly dependent on glycolysis as compared to healthy cells. And, finally, WP1066 and WP1220, have shown capability, in in vivo testing, of altering the cell signaling associated with tumors.

We submitted in October 2017 a request for Clinical Trial Authorization ("CTA") in Poland which, will enable a Phase I/II clinical trial to study Annamycin for the treatment of relapsed or refractory AML in Poland. This will be in addition to the previously announced allowance of our IND in the United States. In December 2017, the Ethics Committee in Poland approved our Phase I/II clinical trial of Annamycin. On June 20, 2018, we announced approval from the Polish National Office to permit the start of clinical trials in Poland.

Recent Business Developments

Below are recent business developments.

New Data to be Presented at Neuro-Oncology Annual Scientific Meeting

On October 10, 2018, we announced that new data relating to our molecule WP1122 will be presented at the upcoming Society for Neuro-Oncology Annual Scientific Meeting. We believe that we have discovered new data during our IND-enabling research with animals that appears to confirm a beneficial metabolism of WP1122 and significant organ accumulation of the inhibitor of glycolysis in the brain and also in the pancreas. We believe this is significant because both brain and pancreatic tumors are highly dependent upon glucose for survival and WP1122 appears to have the ability to inhibit glycolysis, the primary process by which these tumors convert glucose into energy. We are planning to prepare WP1122 for Investigational New Drug (IND) status.

Brain Cancer Drug Candidate Begins Patient Dosing at Clinical Trial Being Conducted at MD Anderson

On September 13, 2018, we announced that our small molecule lead drug candidate, WP1066, which is designed to block a critical target for tumors and cross the blood brain barrier, began its first brain cancer patient dosing in a physician sponsored Phase 1 clinical trial at MD Anderson Cancer Center. The compound has been shown in animal models to both inhibit the activated form of an important cell signaling protein, STAT3, that is linked to cell survival, proliferation and other processes critical to tumor development, while also stimulating a beneficial immune response. The first glioblastoma patient has received the initial doses of WP1066, which were, apparently, well tolerated, in this physician-sponsored IND (investigational new drug) study at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Other Updates on Clinical Trials for Annamycin

We continue to recruit sites in the US and Poland. In the US, enrollment is open and patients have been treated with Annamycin. In Poland, while the clinical trial and the first site was approved in June 2018, we continue to work towards final approval by two different authorities in Europe and in Poland necessary to ship Annamycin drug product to Poland. Such approval is not necessary for use of Annamycin drug product in the US and we have Annamycin drug product ready and available in the US to treat potential patients. We expect to obtain the necessary approvals, ship Annamycin drug product and treat patients in Poland by the end of the first quarter of 2019. Due to this issue, we currently estimate that our recommended phase 2 dose will not be obtained until 2019. We can provide no assurance that we will obtain the necessary approvals to ship drug product or that additional sites, recruitment or treatments will occur in the near term or on a timely basis, if at all.

Our principal executive offices are located at 5300 Memorial, Suite 950, Houston, Texas 77007. Our telephone number is (713) 300-5160. Our website address is www.moleculin.com. The information on or accessible through our website is not part of this prospectus.

Equity Offering

On October 4, 2018, we entered into a purchase agreement with Lincoln Park, which we refer to in this prospectus as the Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which Lincoln Park has agreed to purchase from us up to an aggregate of $20,000,000 of our common stock (subject to certain limitations) from time to time over the term of the Purchase Agreement. Also on October 4, 2018, we entered into a registration rights agreement with Lincoln Park, which we refer to in this prospectus as the Registration Rights Agreement, pursuant to which we have filed with the SEC the registration statement that includes this prospectus to register for resale under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, the shares of common stock that have been or may be issued to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement.

We do not have the right to commence any sales of our common stock to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement until certain conditions set forth in the Purchase Agreement, all of which are outside of Lincoln Park’s control, have been satisfied, including that the SEC has declared effective the registration statement that includes this prospectus, which we refer to in this prospectus as the Commencement. Thereafter, we may, from time to time and at our sole discretion, on any single business day, direct Lincoln Park to purchase shares of our common stock in amounts up to 100,000 shares, which amounts may be increased to up to 250,000 shares depending on the market price of our common stock at the time of sale and subject to a maximum commitment by Lincoln Park of $1,000,000 per single purchase, which we refer to in this prospectus as “regular purchases”. In addition, at our discretion, Lincoln Park has committed to purchase up to $1,000,000 on the first Business Day following the date of the Commencement, which is referred in this prospectus as the “tranche purchase”, plus other “accelerated amounts” and/or “additional accelerated amounts” under certain circumstances. We will control the timing and amount of any sales of our common stock to Lincoln Park. The purchase price of the shares that may be sold to Lincoln Park in the tranche purchase and regular purchases under the Purchase Agreement will be based on the market price of our common stock preceding the time of sale as computed under the Purchase Agreement. The purchase price per share will be equitably adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, or other similar transaction occurring during the business days used to compute such price. We may at any time in our sole discretion terminate the Purchase Agreement without fee, penalty or cost upon one business day notice. There are no restrictions on future financings, rights of first refusal, participation rights, penalties or liquidated damages in the Purchase Agreement or Registration Rights Agreement, other than a prohibition on our entering into certain types of transactions that are defined in the Purchase Agreement as “Variable Rate Transactions”. Lincoln Park may not assign or transfer its rights and obligations under the Purchase Agreement.

In consideration for entering into the Purchase Agreement, we previously issued to Lincoln Park 243,013 shares of common stock as a commitment fee and shall issue up to an additional 121,507 commitment shares, pro rata for no additional consideration, when and if Lincoln Park purchases (at our discretion) the $20,000,000 aggregate commitment. For example, if we elect, at our sole discretion, to require Lincoln Park to purchase $50,000 of our stock then we would issue 304 additional commitment shares, which is the product of $50,000 (the amount we have elected to sell) divided by $20,000,000 (total amount we can sell Lincoln Park pursuant to the Purchase Agreement) multiplied by 121,507 (the total number of additional commitment shares). The additional commitment shares will only be issued pursuant to this formula as and when we elect at our discretion to sell stock to Lincoln Park.

As of October 4, 2018, there were 27,104,510 shares of our common stock outstanding, of which 20,191,578 shares were held by non-affiliates. Although the Purchase Agreement provides that we may sell up to $20,000,000 of our common stock to Lincoln Park, only 6,730,526 shares of our common stock are being offered under this prospectus, which represents shares which may be issued to Lincoln Park in the future under the Purchase Agreement, if and when we sell shares to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement. Depending on the market prices of our common stock at the time we elect to issue and sell shares to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement, we may need to register for resale under the Securities Act additional shares of our common stock in order to receive aggregate gross proceeds equal to the $20,000,000 total commitment available to us under the Purchase Agreement. If all of the 6,730,526 shares offered by Lincoln Park under this prospectus were issued and outstanding as of the date hereof, such shares would represent approximately 20% of the total number of shares of our common stock outstanding and approximately 25% of the total number of outstanding shares held by non-affiliates, in each case as of the date hereof. If we elect to issue and sell more than the 6,730,526 shares offered under this prospectus to Lincoln Park, which we have the right, but not the obligation, to do, we must first register for resale under the Securities Act any such additional shares, which could cause additional substantial dilution to our stockholders. The number of shares ultimately offered for resale by Lincoln Park is dependent upon the number of shares we sell to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement.

Under applicable rules of The NASDAQ Capital Market, in no event may we issue or sell to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement more than 19.99% of the shares of our common stock outstanding immediately prior to the execution of the Purchase Agreement (which is 5,369,613 shares based on 26,861,497 shares outstanding immediately prior to the execution of the Purchase Agreement), which limitation we refer to as the Exchange Cap, unless (i) we obtain stockholder approval to issue shares of common stock in excess of the Exchange Cap or (ii) the average price of all applicable sales of our common stock to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement equals or exceeds $1.6235, such that issuances and sales of our common stock to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement would be exempt from the Exchange Cap limitation under applicable NASDAQ rules. In any event, the Purchase Agreement specifically provides that we may not issue or sell any shares of our common stock under the Purchase Agreement if such issuance or sale would breach any applicable NASDAQ rules.

The Purchase Agreement also prohibits us from directing Lincoln Park to purchase any shares of common stock if those shares, when aggregated with all other shares of our common stock then beneficially owned by Lincoln Park and its affiliates, would result in Lincoln Park and its affiliates having beneficial ownership, at any single point in time, of more than 9.99% of the then total outstanding shares of our common stock, as calculated pursuant to Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and Rule 13d-3 thereunder, which limitation we refer to as the Beneficial Ownership Cap.

Issuances of our common stock in this offering will not affect the rights or privileges of our existing stockholders, except that the economic and voting interests of each of our existing stockholders will be diluted as a result of any such issuance. Although the number of shares of common stock that our existing stockholders own will not decrease, the shares owned by our existing stockholders will represent a smaller percentage of our total outstanding shares after any such issuance to Lincoln Park.

The Offering

Shares of common stock offered by the selling shareholders		6,730,526 shares consisting: · 243,013 commitment shares issued to Lincoln Park upon execution of the Purchase Agreement; · 6,366,006 shares we may sell to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement from time to time after the date of this prospectus; · 121,507 additional commitment shares issued pro rata to Lincoln Park, when and if, the Company sells shares under the Purchase Agreement

Shares of common stock outstanding before this offering		27,104,510 shares of common stock

Shares of common stock to be outstanding after giving effect to the issuance of 6,730,526 shares under the Purchase Agreement registered hereunder		33,835,036 shares of common stock

Use of proceeds		We will receive no proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock by Lincoln Park in this offering. We may receive up to $20,000,000 aggregate gross proceeds under the Purchase Agreement from any sales we make to Lincoln Park pursuant to the Purchase Agreement after the date of this prospectus. Any proceeds that we receive from sales to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. See “Use of Proceeds.”

Terms of this offering		The selling shareholders, including their transferees, donees, pledgees, assignees and successors-in-interest, may sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any or all of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus from time to time on The NASDAQ Capital Market or any other stock exchange, market or trading facility on which the shares are traded or in private transactions. The shares of common stock may be sold at fixed prices, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market price or at negotiated prices.

NASDAQ symbol		Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “MBRX”. There is no established public trading market for the warrants, and a market will likely never develop. The warrants are not and will not be listed for trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market, any other national securities exchange or other nationally recognized trading system.

Risk Factors		Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk and purchasers of our securities may lose their entire investment. See “Risk Factors” and other information incorporated by reference into this prospectus for a discussion of factors you should carefully consider before deciding whether to invest in our common stock.

RISK FACTORS

Investing in shares of our common stock involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider and evaluate the risks described in the “Risk Factors” section in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as any updates to those risk factors in our subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, together with all of the other information appearing in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, before deciding whether to purchase any of the common stock being offered. The risks described in these documents are not the only ones we face, but those that we consider to be material. There may be other unknown or unpredictable economic, business, competitive, regulatory or other factors that could have material adverse effects on our future results. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be materially adversely affected by any of these risks. The trading price of shares of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks, and you may lose all or part of your investment. Please also read carefully the section entitled “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

The sale or issuance of our common stock to Lincoln Park may cause dilution and the sale of the shares of common stock acquired by Lincoln Park, or the perception that such sales may occur, could cause the price of our common stock to fall.

On October 4, 2018, we entered into the Purchase Agreement with Lincoln Park, pursuant to which Lincoln Park has committed to purchase up to $20,000,000 of our common stock. Upon the execution of the Purchase Agreement, we issued 243,013 Commitment Shares to Lincoln Park as a fee for its commitment to purchase shares of our common stock under the Purchase Agreement. The remaining shares of our common stock that may be issued under the Purchase Agreement may be sold by us to Lincoln Park at our discretion from time to time over a 36-month period commencing after the satisfaction of certain conditions set forth in the Purchase Agreement, including that the SEC has declared effective the registration statement that includes this prospectus. The purchase price for the shares that we may sell to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement will fluctuate based on the price of our common stock. Depending on market liquidity at the time, sales of such shares may cause the trading price of our common stock to fall.

We generally have the right to control the timing and amount of any future sales of our shares to Lincoln Park. Additional sales of our common stock, if any, to Lincoln Park will depend upon market conditions and other factors to be determined by us. We may ultimately decide to sell to Lincoln Park all, some or none of the additional shares of our common stock that may be available for us to sell pursuant to the Purchase Agreement. If and when we do sell shares to Lincoln Park, after Lincoln Park has acquired the shares, Lincoln Park may resell all, some or none of those shares at any time or from time to time in its discretion. Therefore, sales to Lincoln Park by us could result in substantial dilution to the interests of other holders of our common stock. Additionally, the sale of a substantial number of shares of our common stock to Lincoln Park, or the anticipation of such sales, could make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and at a price that we might otherwise wish to effect sales.

We may require additional financing to sustain our operations and without it we may not be able to continue operations.

We may direct Lincoln Park to purchase up to $20,000,000 worth of shares of our common stock under our agreement over a 36-month period generally in amounts up to 100,000 shares of our common stock, which may be increased to up to 250,000 shares of our common stock depending on the market price of our common stock at the time of sale and subject to a maximum limit of $1,000,000 per purchase, on any such business day. Assuming a purchase price of $1.56 per share (the closing sale price of the common stock on October 4, 2018) and the purchase by Lincoln Park of the 6,730,526 purchase shares, proceeds to us would only be $10.5 million.

The extent we rely on Lincoln Park as a source of funding will depend on a number of factors including, the prevailing market price of our common stock and the extent to which we are able to secure working capital from other sources. If obtaining sufficient funding from Lincoln Park were to prove unavailable or prohibitively dilutive, we will need to secure another source of funding in order to satisfy our working capital needs. Even if we sell all $20,000,000 under the Purchase Agreement to Lincoln Park, we may still need additional capital to fully implement our business, operating and development plans. Should the financing we require to sustain our working capital needs be unavailable or prohibitively expensive when we require it, the consequences could be a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” into this prospectus the information in other documents that we file with it. This means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus, and information in documents that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede information contained in documents filed earlier with the SEC or contained in this prospectus. We incorporate by reference in this prospectus the documents listed below and any future filings that we may make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the termination of the offering under this prospectus; provided, however, that we are not incorporating, in each case, any documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with SEC rules:

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 (filed on March 28, 2018);

Our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2018 and June 30, 2018;

Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed on February 7, 2018, February 13, 2018, February 15, 2018; and February 16, 2018; April 16, 2018; June 8, 2018; June 20, 2018; June 21, 2018; August 13, 2018; September 19, 2018; and October 5, 2018;

Our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A filed on April 27, 2018; and

the description of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A, dated and filed with the SEC on April 28, 2016, and any amendment or report filed with the SEC for the purpose of updating the description.

Additionally, all documents filed by us with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after (i) the date of the initial registration statement and prior to effectiveness of the registration statement, and (ii) the date of this prospectus and before the termination or completion of any offering hereunder, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus from the respective dates of filing of such documents, except that we do not incorporate any document or portion of a document that is “furnished” to the SEC, but not deemed “filed.”

We will provide, without charge, to each person to whom a copy of this prospectus is delivered, including any beneficial owner, upon the written or oral request of such person, a copy of any or all of the documents incorporated by reference herein, including exhibits. Requests should be directed to: Attention: Corporate Secretary, 5300 Memorial Drive, Suite 950, Houston, Texas 77007, telephone (713) 300-5160. The documents incorporated by reference may be accessed at our website at www.moleculin.com.

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Some of the information in this prospectus, and the documents we incorporate by reference, contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. You should not rely on forward-looking statements in this prospectus, and the documents we incorporate by reference. Forward-looking statements typically are identified by use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “plan,” “expect,” “future,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. This prospectus, and the documents we incorporate by reference, may also contain forward-looking statements attributed to third parties relating to their estimates regarding the markets we may enter in the future. All forward-looking statements address matters that involve risk and uncertainties, and there are many important risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus, and the documents we incorporate by reference.

You should also consider carefully the statements under “Risk Factors” and other sections of this prospectus, and the documents we incorporate by reference, which address additional facts that could cause our actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. We caution investors not to place significant reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus, and the documents we incorporate by reference. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.

USE OF PROCEEDS

This prospectus relates to shares of our common stock that may be offered and sold from time to time by Lincoln Park. We will receive no proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock by Lincoln Park in this offering. We may receive up to $20,000,000 aggregate gross proceeds under the Purchase Agreement from any sales we make to Lincoln Park pursuant to the Purchase Agreement after the date of this prospectus. However, we may not be registering for sale or offering for resale under the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part all of the shares issuable pursuant to the Purchase Agreement. As we are unable to predict the timing or amount of potential issuances of all of the shares offered hereby (other than the commitment shares), we have not allocated any proceeds of such issuances to any particular purpose. Accordingly, all such proceeds are expected to be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. It is possible that no additional shares will be issued under the Purchase Agreement.

DIVIDEND POLICY

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not currently intend to pay any cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. We expect to retain future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. Any future determination to pay dividends on our common stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon, among other factors, our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements and any contractual restrictions.

SELLING SHAREHOLDER

This prospectus relates to the possible resale by the selling stockholder, Lincoln Park, of shares of common stock that have been or may be issued to Lincoln Park pursuant to the Purchase Agreement. We are filing the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part pursuant to the provisions of the Registration Rights Agreement, which we entered into with Lincoln Park on October 4, 2018 concurrently with our execution of the Purchase Agreement, in which we agreed to provide certain registration rights with respect to sales by Lincoln Park of the shares of our common stock that have been or may be issued to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement.

Lincoln Park, as the selling stockholder, may, from time to time, offer and sell pursuant to this prospectus any or all of the shares that we have issued or may sell to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement. The selling stockholder may sell some, all or none of its shares. We do not know how long the selling stockholder will hold the shares before selling them, and we currently have no agreements, arrangements or understandings with the selling stockholder regarding the sale of any of the shares.

The following table presents information regarding the selling stockholder and the shares that it may offer and sell from time to time under this prospectus. The table is prepared based on information supplied to us by the selling stockholder, and reflects its holdings as of October 4, 2018. Neither Lincoln Park nor any of its affiliates has held a position or office, or had any other material relationship, with us or any of our predecessors or affiliates. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with Section 13(d) of the Exchange Act and Rule 13d-3 thereunder.

Selling Stockholder

Shares Beneficially

Owned Before this

Offering

Percentage of

Outstanding Shares

Beneficially Owned

Before this Offering

Shares to be Sold in this

Offering Assuming The

Company issues the

Maximum Number of

Shares Under the Purchase

Agreement

Percentage of

Outstanding Shares

Beneficially Owned

After this Offering

Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC (1)

1,073,216

(2)

4.0

% (3)

6,730,526

(4)

2.5

(1) Josh Scheinfeld and Jonathan Cope, the Managing Members of Lincoln Park Capital, LLC, are deemed to be beneficial owners of all of the shares of common stock owned by Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC. Messrs. Cope and Scheinfeld have shared voting and investment power over the shares being offered under the prospectus filed with the SEC in connection with the transactions contemplated under the Purchase Agreement. Lincoln Park Capital, LLC is not a licensed broker dealer or an affiliate of a licensed broker dealer.

(2) Represents (i) the 243,013 shares issued to Lincoln Park as Commitment Shares under the Purchase Agreement and being registered under the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and (ii) an aggregate of 830,203 shares beneficially owned by Lincoln Park that were previously acquired by Lincoln Park in one or more transactions not related to the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement, which shares are not being registered under the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. In accordance with Rule 13d-3(d) under the Exchange Act, we have excluded from the number of shares beneficially owned prior to the offering all of the shares of common stock that Lincoln Park may be required to purchase pursuant to the Purchase Agreement because the issuance of such shares is solely at our discretion and is subject to certain conditions, the satisfaction of all of which are outside of Lincoln Park’s control, including the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part becoming and remaining effective. Furthermore, under the terms of the Purchase Agreement, issuances and sales of shares of our common stock to Lincoln Park are subject to certain limitations on the amounts we may sell to Lincoln Park at any time, including the Exchange Cap and the Beneficial Ownership Cap. See the description under the heading “The Lincoln Park Transaction” for more information about the Purchase Agreement.

(3) Based on 27,104,510 outstanding shares of our common stock as of October 8, 2018.

(4) Although the Purchase Agreement provides that we may sell up to $20,000,000 of our common stock to Lincoln Park in addition to the 243,013 shares that have already been issued to Lincoln Park, only 6,730,526 shares of our common stock are being offered under this prospectus that may be sold by us to Lincoln Park at our discretion from time to time over a 36-month period commencing after the date of the Commencement. Depending on the price per share at which we sell our common stock to Lincoln Park pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, we may need to sell to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement more shares of our common stock than are offered under this prospectus in order to receive aggregate gross proceeds equal to the $20,000,000 total commitment available to us under the Purchase Agreement. If we choose to do so, we must first register for resale under the Securities Act such additional shares. The number of shares ultimately offered for resale by Lincoln Park is dependent upon the number of shares we sell to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement.

LINCOLN PARK TRANSACTION

General

On October 4, 2018, we entered into a Purchase Agreement and Registration Rights Agreement with Lincoln Park. Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement, Lincoln Park has agreed to purchase from us up to $20,000,000 of our common stock (subject to certain limitations) from time to time during the term of the Purchase Agreement. Pursuant to the terms of the Registration Rights Agreement, we have filed with the SEC the registration statement that includes this prospectus to register for resale under the Securities Act the shares that have been or may be issued to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement.

We do not have the right to commence any sales to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement until the Commencement has occurred. Thereafter, we may, from time to time and at our sole discretion, on any single business day, direct Lincoln Park to purchase shares of our common stock in amounts up to 100,000 shares, which amounts may be increased to up to 250,000 shares depending on the market price of our common stock at the time of sale and subject to a maximum commitment by Lincoln Park of $1,000,000 per single purchase, which we refer to in this prospectus as “regular purchases”. In addition, at our discretion, Lincoln Park has committed to purchase in the tranche purchase up to $1,000,000 on the first Business Day following the date the date of the Commencement, plus other “accelerated amounts” and/or “additional accelerated amounts” under certain circumstances. The purchase price per share sold in the tranche purchase and regular purchases will be based on the market price of our common stock immediately preceding the time of sale as computed under the Purchase Agreement. Lincoln Park may not assign or transfer its rights and obligations under the Purchase Agreement.

Under applicable rules of The NASDAQ Capital Market, in no event may we issue or sell to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement share of our common stock in excess of the Exchange Cap (which is 5,369,613 shares, or 19.99% of the shares of our common stock outstanding immediately prior to the execution of the Purchase Agreement), unless (i) we obtain stockholder approval to issue shares of common stock in excess of the Exchange Cap or (ii) the average price of all applicable sales of our common stock to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement equals or exceeds $1.6235, such that issuances and sales of our common stock to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement would be exempt from the Exchange Cap limitation under applicable NASDAQ rules. In any event, the Purchase Agreement specifically provides that we may not issue or sell any shares of our common stock under the Purchase Agreement if such issuance or sale would breach any applicable rules NASDAQ rules.

Purchase of Shares Under the Purchase Agreement

Under the Purchase Agreement, upon the first business day following the date of the Commencement, which we refer to as the Tranche Purchase Date, in our sole discretion, we may direct Lincoln Park to purchase in a one-time tranche purchase up to $1,000,000 worth of shares of our common stock at a purchase price per share equal to the lesser of (i) the lowest sale price of our common stock on the Tranche Purchase Date or (ii) the arithmetic average of the three lowest closing prices of our common stock during the 10 consecutive business days ending on the business day immediately preceding the Tranche Purchase Date.

Thereafter, we may direct Lincoln Park to purchase up to 100,000 shares of our common stock in a regular purchase on any business day, provided, however, that (i) the regular purchase may be increased to up to 200,000 shares, provided that the closing sale price of our common stock is not below $2.25 on the purchase date (subject to adjustment for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction as provided in the Purchase Agreement) and (ii) the regular purchase may be increased to up to 250,000 shares, provided that the closing sale price of our common stock is not below $2.75 on the purchase date (subject to adjustment for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction as provided in the Purchase Agreement). In each case, Lincoln Park’s maximum commitment in any single regular purchase may not exceed $1,000,000. The regular purchase share limit is subject to proportionate adjustment in the event of a reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split or other similar transaction; provided, that if after giving effect to such full proportionate adjustment, the adjusted regular purchase share limit would preclude us from requiring Lincoln Park to purchase common stock at an aggregate purchase price equal to or greater than $150,000 in any single regular purchase, then the regular purchase share limit will not be fully adjusted, but rather the regular purchase share limit for such regular purchase shall be adjusted as specified in the Purchase Agreement, such that, after giving effect to such adjustment, the regular purchase share limit will be equal to (or as close as can be derived from such adjustment without exceeding) $150,000.

The purchase price per share for each such regular purchase will be equal to the lower of:

the lowest sale price for our common stock on the purchase date of such shares; or

the arithmetic average of the three lowest closing sale prices for our common stock during the 10 consecutive business days ending on the business day immediately preceding the purchase date of such shares.

In addition to regular purchases described above, we may also direct Lincoln Park, on any business day on which we have properly submitted a regular purchase notice directing Lincoln Park to purchase the maximum number of shares of our common stock that we are then permitted to include in a single regular purchase notice and the closing sale price of our common stock on such business day is not below $1.00 per share (subject to adjustment for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction as provided in the Purchase Agreement), to purchase an additional amount of our common stock, which we refer to as an accelerated purchase, not to exceed the lesser of:

30% of the aggregate shares of our common stock traded during all or, if certain trading volume or market price thresholds specified in the Purchase Agreement are crossed on the applicable accelerated purchase date, which is defined as the next business day following the purchase date for the corresponding regular purchase, the portion of the normal trading hours on the applicable accelerated purchase date prior to such time that any one of such thresholds is crossed, which period of time on the applicable accelerated purchase date we refer to as the Accelerated Purchase Measurement Period; and

3 times the number of purchase shares purchased pursuant to the corresponding regular purchase.

The purchase price per share for each such accelerated purchase will be equal to the lower of:

97% of the volume weighted average price of our common stock during the applicable Accelerated Purchase Measurement Period on the applicable accelerated purchase date; and

the closing sale price of our common stock on the applicable accelerated purchase date.

We may also direct Lincoln Park, not later than 1:00 p.m., Eastern time, on a business day on which an accelerated purchase has been completed and all of the shares to be purchased thereunder (and under the corresponding regular purchase) have been properly delivered to Lincoln Park in accordance with the Purchase Agreement prior to such time on such business day, and provided that the closing price of our common stock on the business day immediately preceding such business day is not less than $1.00 per share (subject to adjustment for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction as provided in the Purchase Agreement), to purchase an additional amount of our common stock, which we refer to as an additional accelerated purchase, of up to the lesser of:

30% of the aggregate shares of our common stock traded during a certain portion of the normal trading hours on such accelerated purchase date as determined in accordance with the Purchase Agreement, which period of time we refer to as the Additional Accelerated Purchase Measurement Period; and

3 times the number of purchase shares purchased pursuant to the regular purchase corresponding to the accelerated purchase that was completed on such accelerated purchase date on which an additional accelerated purchase notice was properly received.

We may, in our sole discretion, submit multiple additional accelerated purchase notices to Lincoln Park prior to 1:00 p.m., Eastern time, on a single accelerated purchase date, provided that all prior accelerated purchases and additional accelerated purchases (including those that have occurred earlier on the same day) have been completed and all of the shares to be purchased thereunder (and under the corresponding regular purchase) have been properly delivered to Lincoln Park in accordance with the Purchase Agreement.

The purchase price per share for each such additional accelerated purchase will be equal to the lower of:

97% of the volume weighted average price of our common stock during the applicable Additional Accelerated Purchase Measurement Period on the applicable additional accelerated purchase date; and

the closing sale price of our common stock on the applicable additional accelerated purchase date.

In the case of the tranche purchase, regular purchases, accelerated purchases and additional accelerated purchases, the purchase price per share will be equitably adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, reverse stock split or other similar transaction occurring during the business days used to compute the purchase price.

Other than as described above, 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 Lincoln Park.

Events of Default

Events of default under the Purchase Agreement include the following:

the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part lapses for any reason (including, without limitation, the issuance of a stop order), or any required prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus are unavailable for the resale by Lincoln Park of our common stock offered hereby, and such lapse or unavailability continues for a period of 10 consecutive business days or for more than an aggregate of 30 business days in any 365-day period;

suspension by our principal market of our common stock from trading for a period of one business day;

the de-listing of our common stock from The NASDAQ Capital Market, our principal market, provided our common stock is not immediately thereafter trading on the New York Stock Exchange, the NASDAQ Global Market, the NASDAQ Global Select Market, the NYSE Market, the OTC Bulletin Board or OTC Markets (or nationally recognized successor thereto);

the failure of our transfer agent to issue to Lincoln Park shares of our common stock within two business days after the applicable date on which Lincoln Park is entitled to receive such shares;

any breach of the representations or warranties or covenants contained in the Purchase Agreement or Registration Rights Agreement that has or could have a material adverse effect on us and, in the case of a breach of a covenant that is reasonably curable, that is not cured within five business days;

if at any time the Exchange Cap is reached, to the extent applicable;

any voluntary or involuntary participation or threatened participation in insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings by or against us; or

if at any time we are not eligible to transfer our common stock electronically.

Lincoln Park does not have the right to terminate the Purchase Agreement upon any of the events of default set forth above. During an event of default, all of which are outside of Lincoln Park’s control, we may not direct Lincoln Park to purchase any shares of our common stock under the Purchase Agreement.

Our Termination Rights

We have the unconditional right, at any time, for any reason and without any payment or liability to us, to give notice to Lincoln Park to terminate the Purchase Agreement. In the event of bankruptcy proceedings by or against us, the Purchase Agreement will automatically terminate without action of any party.

No Short-Selling or Hedging by Lincoln Park

Lincoln Park has agreed that neither it nor any of its affiliates shall engage in any direct or indirect short-selling or hedging of our common stock during any time prior to the termination of the Purchase Agreement.

Prohibitions on Variable Rate Transactions

There are no restrictions on future financings, rights of first refusal, participation rights, penalties or liquidated damages in the Purchase Agreement or Registration Rights Agreement other than a prohibition on entering into a “Variable Rate Transaction,” as defined in the Purchase Agreement.

Effect of Performance of the Purchase Agreement on Our Stockholders

All 6,730,526 shares registered in this offering which have been or may be issued or sold by us to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement are expected to be freely tradable. It is anticipated that shares registered in this offering will be sold over a period of up to 36-months commencing on the date that the registration statement including this prospectus becomes effective. The sale by Lincoln Park of a significant amount of shares registered in this offering at any given time could cause the market price of our common stock to decline and to be highly volatile. Sales of our common stock to Lincoln Park, if any, will depend upon market conditions and other factors to be determined by us. We may ultimately decide to sell to Lincoln Park all, some or none of the additional shares of our common stock that may be available for us to sell pursuant to the Purchase Agreement. If and when we do sell shares to Lincoln Park, after Lincoln Park has acquired the shares, Lincoln Park may resell all, some or none of those shares at any time or from time to time in its discretion. Therefore, sales to Lincoln Park by us under the Purchase Agreement may result in substantial dilution to the interests of other holders of our common stock. In addition, if we sell a substantial number of shares to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement, or if investors expect that we will do so, the actual sales of shares or the mere existence of our arrangement with Lincoln Park may make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and at a price that we might otherwise wish to effect such sales. However, we have the right to control the timing and amount of any additional sales of our shares to Lincoln Park and the Purchase Agreement may be terminated by us at any time at our discretion without any cost to us.

Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement, we have the right, but not the obligation, to direct Lincoln Park to purchase up to $20,000,000 of our common stock. Depending on the price per share at which we sell our common stock to Lincoln Park pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, we may need to sell to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement more shares of our common stock than are offered under this prospectus in order to receive aggregate gross proceeds equal to the $20,000,000 total commitment available to us under the Purchase Agreement. If we choose to do so, we must first register for resale under the Securities Act such additional shares of our common stock, which could cause additional substantial dilution to our stockholders. The number of shares ultimately offered for resale by Lincoln Park under this prospectus is dependent upon the number of shares we direct Lincoln Park to purchase under the Purchase Agreement.

The Purchase Agreement prohibits us from issuing or selling to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement (i) shares of our common stock in excess of the Exchange Cap, unless we obtain stockholder approval to issue shares in excess of the Exchange Cap or the average price of all applicable sales of our common stock to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement equal or exceed $1.6235, such that the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement are exempt from the Exchange Cap limitation under applicable NASDAQ rules, and (ii) any shares of our common stock if those shares, when aggregated with all other shares of our common stock then beneficially owned by Lincoln Park and its affiliates, would exceed the Beneficial Ownership Cap.

The following table sets forth the amount of gross proceeds we would receive from Lincoln Park from our sale of shares to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement at varying purchase prices:

Assumed Average Purchase Price Per Share	Number of Registered Shares to be Issued if Full Purchase (1)		Percentage of Outstanding Shares After Giving Effect to the Issuance to Lincoln Park (2)			Proceeds from the Sale of Shares to Lincoln Park Under the $20M Purchase Agreement
$1.00		5,369,613		16.7	%	$	5,369,613
$1.56 (3)		5,369,613		16.7	%	$	8,376,596
$2.00		6,366,006		19.2	%	$	12,732,012
$3.00		6,366,006		19.2	%	$	19,098,018
$4.00		5,000,000		15.7	%	$	20,000,000

(1) Although the Purchase Agreement provides that we may sell up to $20,000,000 of our common stock to Lincoln Park, we are only registering 6,730,526 shares under this prospectus, which may or may not cover all the shares we ultimately sell to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement, depending on the purchase price per share. As a result, we have included in this column only those shares that we are registering in this offering. If we seek to issue shares of our common stock, including shares from other transactions that may be aggregated with the transactions contemplated by the Purchase Agreement under the applicable rules of The NASDAQ Capital Market, in excess of 5,369,913 shares, or 19.99% of the total common stock outstanding immediately prior to the execution of the Purchase Agreement, we may be required to seek stockholder approval in order to be in compliance with the rules of The NASDAQ Capital Market.

(2) The denominator is based on 27,104,510 shares outstanding as of October 8, 2018, adjusted to include (i) 243,013 commitment shares issued to Lincoln Park upon the execution of the Purchase Agreement and (ii) the number of shares set forth in the adjacent column which we would have sold to Lincoln Park, assuming the purchase price in the adjacent column. The numerator is based on the number of shares issuable under the Purchase Agreement at the corresponding assumed purchase price set forth in the adjacent column.

(3) The closing sale price of our shares on October 4, 2018.

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

The common stock offered by this prospectus is being offered by the selling stockholder, Lincoln Park. The common stock may be sold or distributed from time to time by the selling stockholder directly to one or more purchasers or through brokers, dealers, or underwriters who may act solely as agents at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to the prevailing market prices, at negotiated prices, or at fixed prices, which may be changed. The sale of the common stock offered by this prospectus could be effected in one or more of the following methods:

ordinary brokers’ transactions;

transactions involving cross or block trades;

through brokers, dealers, or underwriters who may act solely as agents

“at the market” into an existing market for the common stock;

in other ways not involving market makers or established business markets, including direct sales to purchasers or sales effected through agents;

in privately negotiated transactions; or

any combination of the foregoing.

In order to comply with the securities laws of certain states, if applicable, the shares may be sold only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers. In addition, in certain states, the shares may not be sold unless they have been registered or qualified for sale in the state or an exemption from the state’s registration or qualification requirement is available and complied with.

Lincoln Park is an “underwriter” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act.

Lincoln Park has informed us that it intends to use an unaffiliated broker-dealer to effectuate all sales, if any, of the common stock that it may purchase from us pursuant to the Purchase Agreement. Such sales will be made at prices and at terms then prevailing or at prices related to the then current market price. Each such unaffiliated broker-dealer will be an underwriter within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act. Lincoln Park has informed us that each such broker-dealer will receive commissions from Lincoln Park that will not exceed customary brokerage commissions.

Brokers, dealers, underwriters or agents participating in the distribution of the shares as agents may receive compensation in the form of commissions, discounts, or concessions from the selling stockholder and/or purchasers of the common stock for whom the broker-dealers may act as agent. The compensation paid to a particular broker-dealer may be less than or in excess of customary commissions. Neither we nor Lincoln Park can presently estimate the amount of compensation that any agent will receive.

We know of no existing arrangements between Lincoln Park or any other stockholder, broker, dealer, underwriter or agent relating to the sale or distribution of the shares offered by this prospectus. At the time a particular offer of shares is made, a prospectus supplement, if required, will be distributed that will set forth the names of any agents, underwriters or dealers and any compensation from the selling stockholder, and any other required information.

We will pay the expenses incident to the registration, offering, and sale of the shares to Lincoln Park. We have agreed to indemnify Lincoln Park and certain other persons against certain liabilities in connection with the offering of shares of common stock offered hereby, including liabilities arising under the Securities Act or, if such indemnity is unavailable, to contribute amounts required to be paid in respect of such liabilities. Lincoln Park has agreed to indemnify us against liabilities under the Securities Act that may arise from certain written information furnished to us by Lincoln Park specifically for use in this prospectus or, if such indemnity is unavailable, to contribute amounts required to be paid in respect of such liabilities.

Lincoln Park has represented to us that at no time prior to the Purchase Agreement has Lincoln Park or its agents, representatives or affiliates engaged in or effected, in any manner whatsoever, directly or indirectly, any short sale (as such term is defined in Rule 200 of Regulation SHO of the Exchange Act) of our common stock or any hedging transaction, which establishes a net short position with respect to our common stock. Lincoln Park agreed that during the term of the Purchase Agreement, it, its agents, representatives or affiliates will not enter into or effect, directly or indirectly, any of the foregoing transactions.

We have advised Lincoln Park that it is required to comply with Regulation M promulgated under the Exchange Act. With certain exceptions, Regulation M precludes the selling stockholder, any affiliated purchasers, and any broker-dealer or other person who participates in the distribution from bidding for or purchasing, or attempting to induce any person to bid for or purchase any security which is the subject of the distribution until the entire distribution is complete. Regulation M also prohibits any bids or purchases made in order to stabilize the price of a security in connection with the distribution of that security. All of the foregoing may affect the marketability of the securities offered by this prospectus.

This offering will terminate on the earlier of (i) termination of the Purchase Agreement or (ii) the date that all shares offered by this prospectus have been sold by Lincoln Park.

Our common stock is quoted on The NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “MBRX”.

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

The following summary is a description of the material terms of our capital stock and is not complete. You should also refer to the Moleculin Biotech, Inc. certificate of incorporation and bylaws, which are included as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, and the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue up to 75,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share.

Common Stock

Shares of our common stock have the following rights, preferences and privileges:

Voting

Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Any action at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be decided by a majority of the voting power present in person or represented by proxy, except in the case of any election of directors, which will be decided by a plurality of votes cast. There is no cumulative voting.

Dividends

Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends when, as and if declared by the our board of directors out of funds legally available for payment, subject to the rights of holders, if any, of any class of stock having preference over the common stock. Any decision to pay dividends on our common stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors. Our board of directors may or may not determine to declare dividends in the future. See “Dividend Policy.” The board’s determination to issue dividends will depend upon our profitability and financial condition any contractual restrictions, restrictions imposed by applicable law and the SEC, and other factors that our board of directors deems relevant.

Liquidation Rights

In the event of a voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the company, the holders of our common stock will be entitled to share ratably on the basis of the number of shares held in any of the assets available for distribution after we have paid in full, or provided for payment of, all of our debts and after the holders of all outstanding series of any class of stock have preference over the common stock, if any, have received their liquidation preferences in full.

Other

Our issued and outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and nonassessable. Holders of shares of our common stock are not entitled to preemptive rights. Shares of our common stock are not convertible into shares of any other class of capital stock, nor are they subject to any redemption or sinking fund provisions.

Preferred Stock

We are authorized to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of preferred stock. Our certificate of incorporation authorizes the board to issue these shares in one or more series, to determine the designations and the powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, including the dividend rights, conversion or exchange rights, voting rights (including the number of votes per share), redemption rights and terms, liquidation preferences, sinking fund provisions and the number of shares constituting the series. Our board of directors could, without stockholder approval, issue preferred stock with voting and other rights that could adversely affect the voting power and other rights of the holders of common stock and which could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or of discouraging a third party from attempting to acquire, a majority of our outstanding voting stock.

Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws limit the liability of our officers and directors and provide that we will indemnify our officers and directors, in each case, to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law.

Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaw Provisions

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws include a number of anti-takeover provisions that may have the effect of encouraging persons considering unsolicited tender offers or other unilateral takeover proposals to negotiate with our board of directors rather than pursue non-negotiated takeover attempts. These provisions include:

Advance Notice Requirements. Our bylaws establish advance notice procedures with regard to stockholder proposals relating to the nomination of candidates for election as directors or new business to be brought before meetings of stockholders. These procedures provide that notice of stockholder proposals must be timely and given in writing to our corporate Secretary. Generally, to be timely, notice must be received at our principal executive offices not fewer than 120 calendar days prior to the first anniversary date on which our notice of meeting and related proxy statement were mailed to stockholders in connection with the previous year’s annual meeting of stockholders. The notice must contain the information required by the bylaws, including information regarding the proposal and the proponent.

Special Meetings of Stockholders. Our bylaws provides that special meetings of stockholders may be called at any time by only the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the President or the board of directors, or in their absence or disability, by any vice president.

No Written Consent of Stockholders. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that any action required or permitted to be taken by stockholders must be effected at a duly called annual or special meeting of stockholders and may not be effected by any consent in writing by such stockholders.

Exclusive Forum Provision. Our certificate of incorporation provides that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors or officers to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”), or our certificate of incorporation or the bylaws, and (iv) any action asserting a claim against us governed by the internal affairs doctrine. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees. Alternatively, a court could find these provisions of our certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in respect of one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, which may require us to incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

Amendment of Bylaws. Our stockholders may amend any provisions of our bylaws by obtaining the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of each class of issued and outstanding shares of our voting securities, at a meeting called for the purpose of amending and/or restating our bylaws.

Preferred Stock. Our certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors to create and issue rights entitling our stockholders to purchase shares of our stock or other securities. The ability of our board to establish the rights and issue substantial amounts of preferred stock without the need for stockholder approval may delay or deter a change in control of us. See “Preferred Stock” above.

Delaware Takeover Statute

We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL which, subject to certain exceptions, prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any “business combination” (as defined below) with any interested stockholder for a period of three years following the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless: (1) prior to such date, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder; (2) on consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding those shares owned (x) by persons who are directors and also officers and (y) by employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to this plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or (3) on or subsequent to such date, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66²⁄₃% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.

Section 203 of the DGCL defines generally “business combination” to include: (1) any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder; (2) any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder; (3) subject to certain exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder; (4) any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock of any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or (5) the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits provided by or through the corporation. In general, Section 203 defines an “interested stockholder” as any entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation and any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or controlled by such entity or person.

Listing

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “MBRX”.

Transfer Agent

The transfer agent for our common stock is VStock Transfer, LLC.

LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the securities offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Schiff Hardin LLP, Washington, DC.

EXPERTS

The audited financial statements incorporated by reference in this prospectus and elsewhere in the registration statement have been incorporated by reference in reliance upon the report of Grant Thornton LLP, independent registered public accountants, upon the authority of said firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

We are subject to the reporting and information requirements of the Exchange Act and, as a result, will file periodic and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. We make our periodic reports and other information filed with or furnished to the SEC, available, free of charge, through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after those reports and other information are filed with or furnished to the SEC. Additionally, these periodic reports, proxy statements and other information will be available for inspection and copying at the public reference room and SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. You may read and copy any document that we file at the SEC’s public reference room located at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the public reference rooms. SEC filings are also available to the public at the SEC’s website referred to above.

Moleculin Biotech, Inc.

Common Stock

PROSPECTUS

October 26, 2018

We have not authorized any dealer, salesperson or other person to give any information or to make any representations not contained in this prospectus. You must not rely on any unauthorized information. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where an offer or sale is not permitted.