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6-K 1 dp197941_6k.htm FORM 6-K

 

 

 

  

UNITED STATES 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION 

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 6-K

 

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER

THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the month of August 2023. 

 

 

Commission File Number: 001-40627

 

SOPHiA GENETICS SA

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

La Pièce 12 

1180 Rolle 

Switzerland 

(Address of principal executive office)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F:

 

Form 20-F

  Form 40-F

 

 

   

 


INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT ON FORM 6-K

 

On August 8, 2023, SOPHiA GENETICS SA (the “Company”) entered into a Sales Agreement (the “Sales Agreement”) with Cowen and Company, LLC (the “Sales Agent”), under which the Company may sell its ordinary shares from time to time, with the Sales Agent acting as agent and/or principal for the sales, using any method permitted that is deemed an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). The Company has no obligation to sell any ordinary shares and may suspend sales at any time. The Sales Agreement includes the terms and conditions for the offering and sale of the ordinary shares, indemnification and contribution obligations, and other terms and conditions customary in agreements of this type. The foregoing description of the Sales Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Sales Agreement, which is attached to this Report on Form 6-K as Exhibit 1.1.

 

Ordinary shares having an aggregate offering price of up to $50,000,000 have been registered under the Securities Act pursuant to a registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-266704) (the “Registration Statement”). The Company has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a prospectus supplement dated August 8, 2023, together with an accompanying prospectus dated August 15, 2022, relating to the offer and sale of such ordinary shares. Opinion of counsel regarding the validity of such ordinary shares is attached to this Report on Form 6-K as Exhibit 5.1 and the consent of such counsel relating to the incorporation of such opinion into the Registration Statement is attached to this Report on Form 6-K as Exhibit 23.1.

 

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

 

This Report on Form 6-K, including Exhibits 1.1, 5.1 and 23.1, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into the registration statement on Form F-3 (Registration No. 333-266704) of SOPHiA GENETICS SA and to be a part thereof from the date on which this report is filed, to the extent not superseded by documents or reports subsequently filed or furnished.

 

SIGNATURE

 

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, thereunto duly authorized.

 

  SOPHiA GENETICS SA
Date: August 8, 2023  
   
  By: /s/ Daan van Well
  Name: Daan van Well
  Title: Chief Legal Officer

 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit No. Description
1.1 Sales Agreement, dated August 8, 2023, between SOPHiA GENETICS SA and Cowen and Company, LLC
5.1 Opinion of Homburger AG
23.1 Consent of Homburger AG (included in Exhibit 5.1)

 

EX-1.1 2 dp197941_ex0101.htm EXHIBIT 1.1

 

Exhibit 1.1

 

SOPHIA GENETICS SA

 

SALES AGREEMENT

 

AUGUST 8, 2023

 

Cowen and Company, LLC
599 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10022

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

SOPHiA GENETICS SA, a corporation (société anonyme) incorporated under the laws of Switzerland (the “Company”), confirms its agreement (this “Agreement”) with Cowen and Company, LLC (“Cowen”), as follows:

 

Section 1.        Offering and Sale of Shares. The Company agrees that, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein, it may offer and sell through Cowen, acting as agent and/or principal, shares (the “Placement Shares”) of the Company’s ordinary shares, par value CHF 0.05 per share (the “Ordinary Shares”), having an aggregate offering price of up to $50,000,000 (the “Maximum Amount”). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the parties hereto agree that compliance with the limitation set forth in this ‎Section 1 on the number of Ordinary Shares offered and sold under this Agreement shall be the sole responsibility of the Company, and Cowen shall have no obligation in connection with such compliance. The offering and sale of Placement Shares through Cowen will be effected pursuant to the Registration Statement (as defined below) filed by the Company and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), although nothing in this Agreement shall be construed as requiring the Company to use the Registration Statement (as defined below) to offer the Placement Shares.

 

The Company has filed, in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Securities Act”), with the Commission a registration statement on Form F-3 (File No. 333-266704), including a base prospectus, relating to certain securities, including the Ordinary Shares, to be offered and sold from time to time by the Company, and which incorporates by reference documents that the Company has filed or will file in accordance with the provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Exchange Act”). The Company has prepared a prospectus supplement specifically relating to the Placement Shares (the “Prospectus Supplement”) to the base prospectus included as part of such registration statement. The Company has furnished to Cowen, for use by Cowen, copies of the prospectus included as part of such registration statement, as supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, relating to the Placement Shares. Except where the context otherwise requires, such registration statement, and any post-effective amendment thereto, as amended when it became effective, including all documents filed as part thereof or incorporated by reference therein, and including any information contained in a Prospectus (as defined below) subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act or deemed to be a part of such registration statement pursuant to Rule 430B or 462(b) of the Securities Act, or any subsequent registration statement on Form F-3 filed pursuant to Rule 415(a)(6) under the Securities Act by the Company with respect to the Placement Shares, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The base prospectus, including all documents incorporated therein by reference, included in the Registration Statement, as it may be supplemented by the Prospectus Supplement, in the form in which such prospectus and/or Prospectus Supplement have most recently been filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act, together with any “issuer free writing prospectus,” as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act (“Rule 433”), relating to the Placement Shares that (i) is consented to by Cowen, hereinafter referred to as a “Permitted Free Writing Prospectus,” (ii) is required to be filed with the Commission by the Company or (iii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i), in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the Commission or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company’s records pursuant to Rule 433(g), is herein called the “Prospectus.” Any reference herein to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to refer to and include the documents incorporated by reference therein, and any reference herein to the terms “amend,” “amendment” or “supplement” with respect to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus shall be deemed to refer to and include the filing after the execution hereof of any document with the Commission deemed to be incorporated by reference therein. For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Prospectus or to any amendment or supplement thereto shall be deemed to include any copy filed with the Commission pursuant to the Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval System (“EDGAR”).

 

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Section 2.        Placements. Each time that the Company wishes to offer and sell the Placement Shares hereunder (each, a “Placement”), it will notify Cowen by email notice (or other method mutually agreed to in writing by the parties) (a “Placement Notice”) containing the parameters in accordance with which it desires the Placement Shares to be sold, which shall at a minimum include the number or dollar amount of Placement Shares to be sold, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, any limitation on the number or dollar amount of Placement Shares that may be sold in any one Trading Day (as defined in ‎Section 3) and any minimum price below which sales may not be made, a form of which containing such minimum sales parameters necessary is attached hereto as Schedule 1. The Placement Notice shall originate from any of the individuals from the Company set forth on Schedule 2 (with a copy to each of the other individuals from the Company listed on such schedule), and shall be addressed to each of the individuals from Cowen set forth on Schedule 2, as such Schedule 2 may be amended from time to time. The Placement Notice shall be effective upon receipt by Cowen unless and until (i) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in ‎Section 4, Cowen declines to accept the terms contained therein for any reason, in its sole discretion, (ii) the entire amount of the Placement Shares have been sold, (iii) in accordance with the notice requirements set forth in ‎Section 4, the Company suspends or terminates the Placement Notice for any reason, in its sole discretion, (iv) the Company issues a subsequent Placement Notice with parameters superseding or amending those on the earlier dated Placement Notice, or (v) this Agreement has been terminated under the provisions of ‎Section 11. The amount of any discount, commission or other compensation to be paid by the Company to Cowen in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares shall be calculated in accordance with the terms set forth in Schedule 3. It is expressly acknowledged and agreed that neither the Company nor Cowen will have any obligation whatsoever with respect to a Placement or any Placement Shares unless and until the Company delivers a Placement Notice to Cowen and Cowen does not decline such Placement Notice pursuant to the terms set forth above, and then only upon the terms specified therein and herein. In the event of a conflict between the terms of this Agreement and the terms of a Placement Notice, the terms of the Placement Notice will control.

 

Section 3.        Sale of Placement Shares by Cowen. Subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, upon the Company’s delivery of a Placement Notice, and unless the sale of the Placement Shares described therein has been declined, suspended, or otherwise terminated in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, Cowen, for the period specified in the Placement Notice, will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. (“Nasdaq”) to sell such Placement Shares up to the amount specified, and otherwise in accordance with the terms of such Placement Notice. Cowen will provide written confirmation to the Company (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the Company set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) no later than the opening of the Trading Day (as defined below) immediately following the Trading Day on which it has made sales of Placement Shares hereunder setting forth the number of Placement Shares sold on such day, the volume-weighted average price of the Placement Shares sold, and the Net Proceeds (as defined below) payable to the Company. In the event the Company engages Cowen for a sale of Placement Shares that would constitute a “block” within the meaning of Rule 10b-18(a)(5) under the Exchange Act (a “Block Sale”), the Company will provide Cowen, at Cowen’s request and upon reasonable advance notice to the Company, on or prior to the Settlement Date (as defined below), the opinions of counsel, accountant’s letter and officers’ certificates set forth in ‎Section 8 hereof, each dated the Settlement Date, and such other documents and information as Cowen shall reasonably request. Subject to the terms of a Placement Notice, Cowen may sell Placement Shares by any method permitted by law deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act, including without limitation sales made through Nasdaq or on any other existing trading market for the Ordinary Shares. Cowen shall not purchase Placement Shares for its own account as principal unless expressly authorized to do so by the Company in a Placement Notice. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (i) there can be no assurance that Cowen will be successful in selling Placement Shares, and (ii) Cowen will incur no liability or obligation to the Company or any other person or entity if it does not sell Placement Shares for any reason other than a failure by Cowen to use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices to sell such Placement Shares as required under this ‎Section 3. For the purposes hereof, “Trading Day” means any day on which the Company’s Ordinary Shares are purchased and sold on the principal market on which the Ordinary Shares are listed or quoted.

 

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Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Company shall not offer, sell or deliver, or request the offer or sale, of any Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and, by notice to Cowen given by telephone (confirmed promptly by email), shall cancel any instructions for the offer or sale of any Placement Shares, and Cowen shall not be obligated to offer or sell any Placement Shares, (i) during any period in which the Company is, or would reasonably be deemed to be, in possession of material non-public information, or (ii) at any time from and including the date on which the Company shall issue a press release containing, or shall otherwise publicly announce, its earnings, revenues or other results of operations (an “Earnings Announcement”) through and including the time that the Company files a Report on Form 6-K or an Annual Report on Form 20-F that includes consolidated financial statements as of and for the same period or periods, as the case may be, covered by such Earnings Announcement.

 

Section 4.        Suspension of Sales.

 

(a)       The Company or Cowen may, upon notice to the other party in writing (including by email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2, if receipt of such correspondence is actually acknowledged by any of the individuals to whom the notice is sent, other than via auto-reply) or by telephone (confirmed immediately by verifiable facsimile transmission or email correspondence to each of the individuals of the other party set forth on Schedule 2), suspend any sale of Placement Shares; provided, however, that such suspension shall not affect or impair either party’s obligations with respect to any Placement Shares sold hereunder prior to the receipt of such notice. While a suspension is in effect, any obligation under ‎Section 7(m), ‎7(n), and ‎7(o) with respect to delivery of certificates, opinions or comfort letters to Cowen shall be waived; provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Shares following a Bring-Down Date (as defined below) when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide Cowen with such certificates, opinions, or comfort letters, then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or Cowen sells any Placement Shares, the Company shall provide Cowen with such certificates, opinions, or comfort letters. Each of the parties agrees that no such notice under this ‎Section 4 shall be effective against the other unless it is made to one of the individuals named on Schedule 2 hereto, as such schedule may be amended from time to time.

 

(b)       If either Cowen or the Company has reason to believe that the exemptive provisions set forth in Rule 101(c)(1) of Regulation M under the Exchange Act are not satisfied with respect to the Ordinary Shares, it shall promptly notify the other party, and Cowen may, at its sole discretion, suspend sales of the Placement Shares under this Agreement.

 

(c)       The Registration Statement was declared effective on August 15, 2022. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, during any period in which the Registration Statement is no longer effective under the Securities Act, the Company shall promptly notify Cowen, the Company shall not request the sale of any Placement Shares, and Cowen shall not be obligated to sell or offer to sell any Placement Shares.

 

Section 5.        Settlement.

 

(a)      Settlement of Placement Shares. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable Placement Notice, settlement for sales of Placement Shares will occur on the second (2nd) Trading Day (or such earlier day as is industry practice for regular-way trading) following the date on which such sales are made (each, a “Settlement Date” and the first such settlement date, the “First Delivery Date”). The amount of proceeds to be delivered to the Company on a Settlement Date against receipt of the Placement Shares sold (the “Net Proceeds”) will be equal to the aggregate sales price received by Cowen at which such Placement Shares were sold, after deduction for (i) Cowen’s commission, discount or other compensation for such sales payable by the Company pursuant to ‎Section 2 hereof, (ii) any other amounts due and payable by the Company to Cowen hereunder pursuant to ‎Section 7(g) (Expenses) hereof, and (iii) any transaction fees imposed by any governmental or self-regulatory organization in respect of such sales. Prior to the sale of any Placement Shares pursuant to a Placement Notice, the Company shall have created a sufficient number of treasury shares in order to timely deliver any Placement Shares subject to such Placement Notice to Cowen on each applicable Settlement Date.

 

(b) Delivery of Placement Shares. On or before each Settlement Date, the Company will, or will cause its transfer agent to, electronically transfer the Placement Shares being sold by crediting Cowen’s or its designee’s account (provided that Cowen shall have given the Company written notice of such designee at least one (1) Trading Day prior to the Settlement Date) at The Depository Trust Company through its Deposit and Withdrawal at Custodian System (“DWAC”) or by such other means of delivery as may be mutually agreed upon by the parties hereto which in all cases shall be freely tradeable, transferable, registered shares in good deliverable form.

 

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On each Settlement Date, Cowen will deliver the related Net Proceeds in same day funds to an account designated by the Company on, or prior to, the Settlement Date. Cowen will be responsible for providing DWAC instructions or instructions for delivery by other means with regard to the transfer of the Placement Shares being sold. The Company agrees that if the Company, or its transfer agent (if applicable), defaults in its obligation to deliver duly authorized Placement Shares on a Settlement Date (other than as a result of a failure by Cowen to provide true and correct instructions for delivery), the Company agrees that in addition to and in no way limiting the rights and obligations set forth in ‎Section 9(a) (Indemnification and Contribution) hereto, it will (i) hold Cowen harmless against any loss, claim, damage, or reasonable and documented expense (including reasonable and documented legal fees and expenses), as incurred, arising out of or in connection with such default by the Company and (ii) pay to Cowen (without duplication) any commission, discount, or other compensation to which it would otherwise have been entitled absent such default.

 

Section 6.        Representations and Warranties of the Company. The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, Cowen that as of (i) the date of this Agreement, (ii) each Time of Sale (as defined below), (iii) each Settlement Date, and (iv) each Bring-Down Date (as defined below) (each date included in (i) through (iv), a “Representation Date”):

 

(a)       Compliance with Registration Requirements. The Registration Statement and any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement have been declared effective by the Commission under the Securities Act. The Company has complied to the Commission’s satisfaction with all requests of the Commission for additional or supplemental information related to the Registration Statement or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, contemplated or threatened by the Commission. At the time the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F (the “Annual Report”) was filed with the Commission, or, if later, at the time the Registration Statement was originally filed with the Commission, the Company met the requirements for use of Form F-3 under the Securities Act. The sale of the Placement Shares hereunder meets the requirements of General Instruction I.B.1.

 

(b)        No Misstatement or Omission. The Prospectus when filed complied and, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act. Each of the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any post-effective amendments or supplements thereto, at the time it became effective or its date, as applicable, complied and as of each Representation Date, complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not and, as of each Representation Date, did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. The Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, as of its date, did not and, as of each Representation Date, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties set forth in the two immediately preceding sentences do not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, or any post-effective amendment thereto, or the Prospectus, or any amendments or supplements thereto, made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to Agent’s Information (as defined below). There are no contracts or other documents required to be described in the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which have not been described or filed as required. As used herein, “Time of Sale” means with respect to each offering of Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement, the time of Cowen’s initial entry into contracts with purchasers for the sale of such Placement Shares.

 

(c)       Offering Materials Furnished to Cowen. The Company has delivered to Cowen conformed copies of the Registration Statement (without exhibits) and the Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, in such quantities and at such places as Cowen has reasonably requested. The Registration Statement, the Prospectus and any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus (to the extent any such Permitted Free Writing Prospectus was required to be filed with the Commission) delivered to Cowen for use in connection with the public offering of the Placement Shares contemplated herein have been and will be identical to the versions of such documents transmitted to the Commission for filing via EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.

 

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(d)        Emerging Growth Company. From the time of the filing of the Registration Statement through the date hereof, the Company has been and is an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act (an “Emerging Growth Company”).

 

(e)       Not an Ineligible Issuer. At the time of filing the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or any offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) under the Securities Act) of the Placement Shares and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act.

 

(f)       No Ratings. There are no debt securities, convertible securities or preferred shares issued or guaranteed by the Company or any of its subsidiaries that are rated by a “nationally recognized statistical rating organization,” as such term is defined in Section 3(a)(62) under the Exchange Act.

 

(g)       Stamp Taxes. Except as disclosed in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, no stamp, documentary, issuance, registration, transfer, withholding or other taxes (other than income taxes) or duties are payable by or on behalf of Cowen, the Company or any of its subsidiaries in Switzerland or to any taxing authority thereof or therein in connection with (i) the execution, delivery or consummation of this Agreement, (ii) the allotment and offering of the Placement Shares, (iii) the sale and delivery of the Placement Shares to Cowen or purchases procured by Cowen or (iv) the resale and delivery of the Placement Shares by Cowen in the manner contemplated herein.

 

(h)       No Immunity. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries or their properties or assets has immunity under Swiss law, U.S. federal or New York state law from any legal action, suit or proceeding, from the giving of any relief in any such legal action, suit or proceeding, from set-off or counterclaim, from the jurisdiction of any Swiss court, U.S. federal or New York state court, from service of process, attachment upon or prior to judgment, or attachment in aid of execution of judgment, or from execution of a judgment, or other legal process or proceeding for the giving of any relief or for the enforcement of a judgment, in any such court with respect to their respective obligations, liabilities or any other matter under or arising out of or in connection herewith; and, to the extent that the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of its properties, assets or revenues may have or may hereafter become entitled to any such right of immunity in any such court in which proceedings arising out of, or relating to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, may at any time be commenced, the Company has, pursuant to ‎Section 17 of this Agreement, waived, and it will waive, or will cause its subsidiaries to waive, such right to the extent permitted by law.

 

(i)       Enforcement of Foreign Judgments. Except as disclosed under the caption “Enforcement of Judgments” in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, any final judgment for a fixed or determined sum of money rendered by any U.S. federal or New York state court located in the State of New York having jurisdiction under its own laws in respect of any suit, action or proceeding against the Company based upon this Agreement would be declared enforceable against the Company by the courts of Switzerland, without reconsideration or reexamination of the merits, unless the judgment would be deemed incompatible with Swiss public policy.

 

(j)       Valid Choice of Law. The choice of laws of the State of New York as the governing law of this Agreement is a valid choice of law under the laws of Switzerland and will be honored by the courts of Switzerland to all issues for which the proper or governing law of a contract is applicable under the conflict of laws rules of Switzerland, subject to the restrictions disclosed under the caption “Enforcement of Judgments” in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus. The Company has the power to submit, and pursuant to ‎Section 16 of this Agreement, has legally, validly, effectively and irrevocably submitted, to the personal jurisdiction of each New York state and United States federal court sitting in the City of New York and has validly and irrevocably waived any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or proceeding brought in such court.

 

(k)       Indemnification and Contribution. The indemnification and contribution provisions set forth in ‎Section 9 hereof do not contravene Swiss law or public policy.

 

(l)       Passive Foreign Investment Company. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and subject to the qualifications, limitations, exceptions and assumptions set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company believes that it was not a “passive foreign investment company” (“PFIC”) as defined in Section 1297 of the Code for its most recently completed taxable year.

 

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(m)        Dividends. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, no approvals are currently required in Switzerland in order for the Company to pay dividends or other distributions declared by the Company to the holders of the Placement Shares. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, under current laws and regulations of Switzerland and any political subdivision thereof, (i) any amount payable with respect to the Placement Shares upon liquidation of the Company or upon a repurchase thereof and dividends and other distributions declared and payable on the share capital of the Company may be paid by the Company in U.S. dollars or euros and, except for certain restrictions with respect to national and international sanctions relating to certain countries, freely transferred out of Switzerland, and (ii) no such payments of dividends and other distributions or upon a repurchase of Placement Shares made to the holders thereof or therein who are non-residents of Switzerland will be subject to income, withholding or other taxes under laws and regulations of Switzerland or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein and without the necessity of obtaining any governmental authorization in Switzerland or any political subdivision or taxing authority thereof or therein.

 

(n)       Legality. The legality, validity, enforceability or admissibility into evidence (each if applicable) of any of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, this Agreement or, if and when issued, the Placement Shares in any jurisdiction in which the Company is organized or does business is not dependent upon such document being submitted into, filed or recorded with any court or other authority in any such jurisdiction on or before the date hereof or that any tax, imposition or charge be paid in any such jurisdiction on or in respect of any such document.

 

(o)       Legal Action. A holder of the Placement Shares and Cowen are entitled to sue as plaintiff in the court of the jurisdiction of formation and domicile of the Company for the enforcement of their respective rights under this Agreement and the Placement Shares (as applicable) and such access to such courts will not be subject to any conditions that are not applicable to residents of such jurisdiction or a company incorporated in such jurisdiction except that plaintiffs not residing in Switzerland may be required to guarantee payment of a possible order for payment of costs or damages at the request of the defendant and to designate an agent for service of process in Switzerland.

 

(p)       Foreign Private Issuer. The Company is a “foreign private issuer” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act.

 

(q)       Distribution of Offering Material By the Company. The Company has not distributed and will not distribute, prior to the completion of Cowen’s distribution of the Placement Shares, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares other than the Prospectus or the Registration Statement.

 

(r)       The Sales Agreement. The Company has full right, power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder; and all action required to be taken for the due and proper authorization, execution and delivery by it of this Agreement has been duly and validly taken.

 

(s)       Authorization of the Ordinary Shares. The Placement Shares, when delivered by the Company against payment therefor pursuant to this Agreement, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable, free and clear of any pledge, lien, encumbrance, security interest or other claim, and the offering and sale of the Placement Shares by the Company is not subject or the Company has validly resolved to exclude, as applicable, to preemptive or other similar rights arising by operation of law, under the organizational documents of the Company or under any agreement to which the Company or any Subsidiary is a party or otherwise (including without limitation any security interest under articles 24 and 25 of the Swiss Federal Act on Intermediated Securities).

 

(t)       No Applicable Registration or Other Similar Rights. No person has the right to require the Company or any of its subsidiaries to register any securities for sale under the Securities Act by reason of the filing of the Registration Statement with the Commission or the offering and sale of the Placement Shares, except for such rights as have been duly waived or satisfied.

 

(u) No Material Adverse Change.

 

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Since the date of the most recent financial statements of the Company included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (i) there has not been any change in the share capital (other than the issuance of Ordinary Shares upon exercise of share options and warrants disclosed as outstanding in, and the grant of options and awards under existing equity incentive plans disclosed in, the Registration Statement and the Prospectus), any material change in short-term debt or long-term debt of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, set aside for payment, paid or made by the Company on any class of share capital, or any material adverse change, or any development that would reasonably be expected to result in a prospective material adverse change, in or affecting the business, properties, management, financial position, shareholders’ equity, results of operations or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole (any such change is called a “Material Adverse Change”); (ii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has entered into any transaction or agreement (whether or not in the ordinary course of business) that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or incurred any liability or obligation, direct or contingent, that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole; and (iii) neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has sustained any loss or interference with its business that is material to the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole and that is either from fire, explosion, flood or other calamity, whether or not covered by insurance, or from any labor disturbance or dispute or any action, order or decree of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, except in each case of clause (i), (ii) or (iii) as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

(v)       Independent Accountants. PricewaterhouseCoopers SA, who has certified certain financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries, is (i) an independent registered public accounting firm with respect to the Company and its subsidiaries within the applicable rules and regulations adopted by the Commission and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and as required by the Securities Act, and (ii) an independent statutory auditor with respect to the Company and a state-regulated audit firm under the applicable provisions of the Swiss Code of Obligations, and the Swiss Audit Oversight Act and any ordinances promulgated thereunder, respectively.

 

(w)       Title to Real and Personal Property. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to, or have valid rights to lease or otherwise use, all items of real and personal property that are material to the respective businesses of the Company and its subsidiaries, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances, claims and defects and imperfections of title except those that (i) do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and its subsidiaries or (ii) would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected, to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(x)       Preparation of the Financial Statements. The financial statements (including the related notes thereto) of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus comply in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Securities Act and present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the results of their operations and the changes in their cash flows for the periods specified; such financial statements have been prepared in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods covered thereby, except in the case of unaudited interim financial statements, which are subject to normal year-end adjustments and do not contain certain footnotes as permitted by the applicable rules of the Commission; and the other financial information included in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus has been derived from the accounting records of the Company and its consolidated subsidiaries and presents fairly in all material respects the information shown thereby; any “non-IFRS financial measures” (as such term is defined by the rules and regulations of Commission) in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus have been prepared in compliance with the rules and regulations of the Commission. The interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and has been prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto. No other financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus.

 

(y) Incorporation and Good Standing of the Company and Its Subsidiaries. The Company and each of its subsidiaries have been duly incorporated or organized, as the case may be, and are validly existing and in good standing under the laws of their respective jurisdictions of organization (to the extent such concepts are applicable in such jurisdictions), are duly qualified to do business and are in good standing in each jurisdiction in which their respective ownership or lease of property or the conduct of their respective businesses requires such qualification (to the extent such concepts are applicable in such jurisdictions), and have all power and authority (corporate or other)

 

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necessary to own or hold their respective properties and to conduct the businesses in which they are engaged, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing or have such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a material adverse effect on the business, properties, management, financial position, shareholders’ equity, results of operations or prospects of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole or on the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement (a “Material Adverse Effect”). The Company does not own or control, directly or indirectly, any subsidiary, corporation, association or other entity other than the subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 8.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F. The subsidiaries listed in Exhibit 8.1 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F are the only significant subsidiaries of the Company.

 

(z)       Capital Stock Matters. The Company has a capitalization as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; all the outstanding share capital of the Company has been duly and validly authorized and issued and the outstanding Ordinary Shares are fully paid and non-assessable and have been issued in compliance with Swiss law and the Company’s articles of association and were not issued in violation of any pre-emptive or similar rights to subscribe for or purchase securities of the Company; except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there are no outstanding rights (including, without limitation, pre-emptive rights that have not been duly excluded, waived or satisfied), warrants or options to acquire, or instruments convertible into or exchangeable for, any Ordinary Shares or other equity interest in the Company or any of its subsidiaries granted by the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any contract, commitment, agreement, understanding or arrangement of any kind to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party relating to the issuance of any Ordinary Shares or other equity interest of the Company or any such subsidiary, any such convertible or exchangeable securities or any such rights, warrants or options; the Ordinary Shares conform in all material respects to the description thereof contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; and all the outstanding share capital or other equity interests of each subsidiary owned, directly or indirectly, by the Company have been duly and validly authorized and issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, are owned directly or indirectly by the Company, free and clear of any lien, charge, encumbrance, security interest, restriction on voting or transfer or any other claim of any third party.

 

(aa)       Stock Options. With respect to the stock options (the “Stock Options”) granted pursuant to the share-based compensation plans of the Company and its subsidiaries (the “Company Share Plans”), (i) each Share Option intended to qualify as an “incentive stock option” under Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), so qualifies, (ii) each grant of a Share Option was duly authorized no later than the date on which the grant of such Share Option was by its terms to be effective (the “Grant Date”) by all necessary corporate action, including, as applicable, approval by the board of directors of the Company (or a duly constituted and authorized committee thereof) and any required shareholder approval by the necessary number of votes or written consents, and the award agreement governing such grant (if any) was duly executed and delivered by each party thereto, (iii) each such grant was made in accordance with the terms of the Company Share Plans (unless a deviation was agreed in the grant agreement or otherwise), the applicable requirements of the Exchange Act and all other applicable laws and regulatory rules or requirements, including the rules of Nasdaq, that were applicable to the Company on the Grant Date, and (iv) each such grant was properly accounted for in accordance with IFRS in the financial statements (including the related notes) of the Company.

 

(bb)       Non-Contravention of Existing Instruments. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its articles of association, organizational regulations or similar organizational documents; (ii) in default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any property or asset of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject; or (iii) in violation of any law or statute applicable to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries, except, in the case of clause (ii) or (iii) above, for any such default or violation that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(cc) No Conflicts.

 

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The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the offering and sale of the Placement Shares and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Prospectus will not (i) conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms or provisions of, or constitute a default under, result in the termination, modification or acceleration of, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property, right or asset of the Company or any of its subsidiaries pursuant to, any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is bound or to which any property, right or asset of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is subject, (ii) result in any violation of the provisions of the articles of association, organizational regulations or similar organizational documents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or (iii) result in the violation of any law or statute applicable to the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any judgment, order, rule or regulation of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its subsidiaries, except, in the case of clauses (i) and (iii) above, for any such conflict, breach, violation, default, lien, charge or encumbrance that would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(dd)       No Further Authorizations or Approvals Required. No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority is required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the offering of the Placement Shares and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except for (i) the registration of the Placement Shares under the Securities Act and the registration of the Ordinary Shares under the Exchange Act and such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders and registrations or qualifications, as may be required by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”), the Nasdaq Global Select Market (the “Nasdaq Market”), and under applicable U.S. state securities laws in connection with the purchase and distribution of the Placement Shares by Cowen and (ii) to the extent required, the registration of the Placement Shares in the Commercial Register of the Canton of Vaud, as contemplated by this Agreement and the related registrations with and publication by the competent Swiss federal governmental authorities.

 

(ee)       No Material Actions or Proceedings. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory investigations, actions, demands, claims, suits, arbitrations, inquiries or proceedings (“Actions”) pending to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries is or may reasonably be expected to become a party or to which any property of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is or may reasonably be expected to become the subject that, individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company or any of its subsidiaries, would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; to the Company’s knowledge, no such Actions are threatened or contemplated by any governmental or regulatory authority or threatened by others; and (i) there are no current or pending Actions that are required under the Securities Act to be described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus that are not so described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and (ii) there are no statutes, regulations or contracts or other documents that are required under the Securities Act to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or described in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus that are not so filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement or described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus.

 

(ff)       All Necessary Permits, etc. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries possess all licenses, sub-licenses, certificates, permits and other authorizations issued by, and have made all declarations and filings with, the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign governmental or regulatory authorities that are necessary for the ownership or lease of their respective properties or the conduct of their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, except where the failure to possess or make the same would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and except as disclosed in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has received notice of any revocation or modification of any such license, sub-license, certificate, permit or authorization or has any reason to believe that any such license, sub-license, certificate, permit or authorization will not be renewed in the ordinary course, except where such revocation, modification or non-renewal would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(gg) No Labor Disputes. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, no labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Company or any of its subsidiaries exists or, to the Company’s knowledge, is contemplated or threatened, and the Company is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by, or dispute with, the employees of any of its or its subsidiaries’ principal suppliers, contractors or customers, except as would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

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(hh)       Tax Law Compliance. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, and except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and its subsidiaries have timely paid all federal, state, local and foreign taxes and timely filed all tax returns required to be paid or filed through the date hereof (taking into account any duly requested extensions thereof), except, in each case, insofar as such taxes are being contested in good faith and adequate provisions have been taken for them in accordance with IFRS. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there is no tax deficiency asserted against the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective properties or assets, except where (i) such tax deficiencies would not reasonably be expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, or (ii) such tax deficiency has been settled or is being contested in good faith and adequate provisions have been taken for it in accordance with IFRS. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there are no outstanding agreements or waivers extending the statutory period of limitation applicable to any federal, state, local or foreign tax return for any period.

 

(ii)       Company Not an “Investment Company.” The Company is not and, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Placement Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, will not be required to register as an “investment company” or an entity “controlled” by an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (collectively, the “Investment Company Act”).

 

(jj)       Insurance. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries have insurance covering their respective properties, operations, personnel and businesses, including business interruption insurance, which insurance is in amounts and insures against such losses and risks as the Company reasonably believes are adequate to protect the Company and its subsidiaries and their respective businesses; and except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries has (i) received notice from any insurer or agent of such insurer that capital improvements or other expenditures are required or necessary to be made in order to continue such insurance or (ii) any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage at reasonable cost from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business in all material respects.

 

(kk)       No Price Stabilization or Manipulation. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries or any of its controlled affiliates or, to the Company’s knowledge, any of its non-controlled affiliates, has taken, directly or indirectly, without giving effect to activities by Cowen, any action designed to or that would reasonably be expected to cause or result in any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Ordinary Shares, and no such person has taken any action that would directly or indirectly violate Regulation M under the Exchange Act.

 

(ll)       Margin Rules. Neither the offering, sale and delivery of the Placement Shares nor the application of the proceeds thereof by the Company as described in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus will violate Regulation T, U or X of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System or any other regulation of such Board of Governors.

 

(mm)       Forward-Looking Statements. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act) included in any of the Registration Statement or the Prospectus has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

 

(nn)       Statistical and Market Data. Nothing has come to the attention of the Company that has caused the Company to believe that the statistical and market-related data included in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus is not based on or derived from sources that are reliable and accurate in all material respects.

 

(oo)        Sarbanes-Oxley Act. There is and has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company’s directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply with any provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended and the rules and regulations promulgated in connection therewith (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), including Section 402 related to loans.

 

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(pp)        Related Party Transactions. No relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, shareholders, customers, suppliers or other affiliates of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, on the other hand, that is required by the Securities Act to be described in each of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus and that is not so described in such documents. Except as would not, individually or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, all related party transactions described therein have been duly authorized and executed by the Company or one of its subsidiaries, as the case may be, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

 

(qq)       Exchange Act Compliance. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Prospectus, at the time they were or hereafter are filed with the Commission, complied or will comply, as applicable, in all material respects with the requirements of the Exchange Act, and did not or will not, as applicable, contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

(rr)       No Unlawful Contributions or Other Payments. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries nor any director, officer or employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any agent, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries has (i) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity; (ii) made or taken an act in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization or approval of any unlawful payment or benefit or provision of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign or domestic government official or employee, including of any government-owned or controlled entity or of a public international organization, or any person acting in an official capacity for or on behalf of any of the foregoing, or any political party or party official or candidate for political office; (iii) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, or any applicable law or regulation implementing the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, or committed an offence under the Bribery Act 2010 of the United Kingdom (the “Bribery Act”) or any other applicable anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws; or (iv) made, offered, agreed, requested or taken an act in furtherance of any unlawful bribe or other unlawful benefit, including, without limitation, any rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful or improper payment or benefit. The Company and its subsidiaries have instituted, maintain and enforce, and will continue to maintain and enforce, policies and procedures designed to promote and ensure compliance with all applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws. The Company has designed and maintains policies and procedures relating to compliance with applicable anti-bribery and anti-corruption laws. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries will use, directly or indirectly, the proceeds of the offering in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay, or authorization of the payment or giving of money, or anything else of value, to any person in violation of any applicable anti-corruption laws.

 

(ss)       Compliance with Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and its subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements, including those of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the applicable money laundering statutes of all jurisdictions where the Company or any of its subsidiaries conducts business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency, (collectively, the “Anti-Money Laundering Laws”) and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or any of its subsidiaries with respect to the Anti-Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened.

 

(tt) Compliance with OFAC. None of the Company, any of its subsidiaries, or any directors, officers, or employees of the Company or any subsidiary, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any agent, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries is, or is owned or controlled by one or more individuals or entities that are, currently the subject or the target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. government (including, without limitation, the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”) or the U.S.

 

11 


Department of State and including, without limitation, the designation as a “specially designated national” or “blocked person”), the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union, His Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), Swiss State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (“SECO”), the Swiss Directorate of International Law (“DIL”) or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), nor is the Company or any of its subsidiaries or any directors, officers, or employees of the Company or any subsidiary, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any agent, affiliate or other person associated with or acting on behalf of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject or target of Sanctions, including, without limitation, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, the so-called Luhansk People’s Republic, the Crimea Region of Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria (each, a “Sanctioned Country”); and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the offering of the Placement Shares hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity (i) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business with any person that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject or target of Sanctions, (ii) to fund or facilitate any activities of or business in any Sanctioned Country or (iii) in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions. The Company and its subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, are not now knowingly engaged in and will not knowingly engage in any dealings or transactions with any person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or the target of Sanctions or with any Sanctioned Country.

 

(uu)       No Restrictions on Subsidiaries. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, no subsidiary of the Company is prohibited, directly or indirectly, under any agreement or other instrument to which it is a party or is subject, from paying any dividends to the Company, from making any other distribution on such subsidiary’s share capital or similar ownership interest, from repaying to the Company any loans or advances to such subsidiary from the Company or from transferring any of such subsidiary’s properties or assets to the Company or any other subsidiary of the Company.

 

(vv)        Company’s Accounting System. The Company and its subsidiaries maintain systems of “internal control over financial reporting” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that comply with the requirements of the Exchange Act and have been designed by, or under the supervision of, their respective principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with IFRS. The Company and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, maintain internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; and (v) the interactive data in eXtensible Business Reporting Language included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus fairly presents the information called for in all material respects and is prepared in accordance with the Commission’s rules and guidelines applicable thereto. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, there are no material weaknesses in the Company’s internal controls. The Company’s auditors and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company have been advised of: (i) all significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which have adversely affected or are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and (ii) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting.

 

(ww)       Disclosure Controls. The Company and its subsidiaries maintain an effective system of “disclosure controls and procedures” (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) of the Exchange Act) that complies with the requirements of the Exchange Act and that has been designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the Commission’s rules and forms, including controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

(xx) Compliance with Environmental Laws.

 

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Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (i) the Company and its subsidiaries (x) are in compliance with all, and have not violated any, applicable federal, state, local and foreign laws (including common law), rules, regulations, requirements, decisions, judgments, decrees, orders and other legally enforceable requirements relating to pollution or the protection of human health or safety, the environment, natural resources, hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants (collectively, “Environmental Laws”); (y) have received and are in compliance with all, and have not violated any permits, licenses, certificates or other authorizations or approvals required of them under any Environmental Laws to conduct their respective businesses; and (z) have not received notice of any actual or potential liability or obligation under or relating to, or any actual or potential violation of, any Environmental Laws, including for the investigation or remediation of any disposal or release of hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in any such notice; (ii) there are no costs or liabilities associated with Environmental Laws of or relating to the Company or its subsidiaries, except in the case of each of clauses (i) and (ii) above, for any such matter as would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iii) (x) there is no proceeding that is pending, or that is known to be contemplated, against the Company or any of its subsidiaries under any Environmental Laws in which a governmental entity is also a party, other than such proceeding regarding which the Company reasonably believes that no monetary sanctions of $100,000 or more will be imposed, (y) the Company and its subsidiaries are not aware of any facts or issues regarding compliance with Environmental Laws, or liabilities or other obligations under Environmental Laws or concerning hazardous or toxic substances or wastes, pollutants or contaminants, that would reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the capital expenditures, earnings or competitive position of the Company and its subsidiaries, and (z) none of the Company or its subsidiaries anticipates material capital expenditures relating to any Environmental Laws.

 

(yy)       Compliance with ERISA. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (i) each employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended (“ERISA”), for which the Company or any member of its “Controlled Group” (defined as any entity, whether or not incorporated, that is under common control with the Company within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(14) of ERISA or any entity that would be regarded as a single employer with the Company under Section 414(b),(c),(m) or (o) of the Code) would have any liability (each, a “Plan”) has been maintained in compliance with its terms and the requirements of any applicable statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including but not limited to ERISA and the Code; (ii) no prohibited transaction, within the meaning of Section 406 of ERISA or Section 4975 of the Code, has occurred with respect to any Plan, excluding transactions effected pursuant to a statutory or administrative exemption; (iii) for each Plan that is subject to the funding rules of Section 412 of the Code or Section 302 of ERISA, no Plan has failed (whether or not waived), or is reasonably expected to fail, to satisfy the minimum funding standards (within the meaning of Section 302 of ERISA or Section 412 of the Code) applicable to such Plan; (iv) no Plan is, or is reasonably expected to be, in “at risk status” (within the meaning of Section 303(i) of ERISA) and no Plan that is a “multiemployer plan” within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA is in “endangered status” or “critical status” (within the meaning of Sections 304 and 305 of ERISA); (v) the fair market value of the assets of each Plan exceeds the present value of all benefits accrued under such Plan (determined based on those assumptions used to fund such Plan); (vi) no “reportable event” (within the meaning of Section 4043(c) of ERISA and the regulations promulgated thereunder) has occurred or is reasonably expected to occur; (vii) each Plan that is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code is so qualified, and, to the Company’s knowledge, nothing has occurred, whether by action or by failure to act, which would cause the loss of such qualification; (viii) neither the Company nor any member of the Controlled Group has incurred, nor reasonably expects to incur, any liability under Title IV of ERISA (other than contributions to the Plan or premiums to the Pension Benefit Guarantee Corporation, in the ordinary course and without default) in respect of a Plan (including a “multiemployer plan” within the meaning of Section 4001(a)(3) of ERISA); and (ix) none of the following events has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur: (A) a material increase in the aggregate amount of contributions required to be made to all Plans by the Company or its Controlled Group affiliates in the current fiscal year of the Company and its Controlled Group affiliates compared to the amount of such contributions made in the Company’s and its Controlled Group affiliates’ most recently completed fiscal year; or (B) a material increase in the Company and its subsidiaries’ “accumulated post-retirement benefit obligations” (within the meaning of Accounting Standards Codification Topic 715-60) compared to the amount of such obligations in the Company and its subsidiaries’ most recently completed fiscal year, except in each case with respect to the events or conditions set forth in clauses (i) through (ix) hereof, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

 

(zz) Intellectual Property.

 

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Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or as would not, individually or in the aggregate, be reasonably expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, (i) the Company and its subsidiaries own or have the right to use all patents, patent applications, trademarks, service marks, trade names, trademark registrations, service mark registrations, domain names and other source indicators, copyrights and copyrightable works, know-how, trade secrets, systems, procedures, inventions, technology, proprietary or confidential information and all other worldwide intellectual property, industrial property and proprietary rights (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) used in the conduct of their respective businesses as currently conducted and as proposed to be conducted as described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus; (ii) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Company’s rights in or to any such Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; (iii) there is no pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity or scope of any Intellectual Property owned by or exclusively licensed to the Company or its subsidiaries and the Company is unaware of any facts which would form a reasonable basis for any such claim; (iv) the Intellectual Property owned by or exclusively licensed to the Company or its subsidiaries has not been adjudged by a court of competent jurisdiction invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part; (v) to the knowledge of the Company, the Company’s and its subsidiaries’ conduct of their respective businesses as currently conducted and as proposed to be conducted as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus has not, does not and will not infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate any Intellectual Property of any person; (vi) the Company and its subsidiaries have not received any written notice of any claim alleging that the Company or its subsidiaries is infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the Intellectual Property of any person; (vii) the Company and its subsidiaries have taken reasonable steps in accordance with normal industry practice to maintain the confidentiality of all Intellectual Property of the Company and its subsidiaries, the value of which to the Company or any of its subsidiaries is contingent upon maintaining the confidentiality thereof and, to the knowledge of the Company, no such Intellectual Property has been disclosed other than to employees, representatives and agents of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, all of whom are bound by written confidentiality agreements; (viii) to the knowledge of the Company, the Intellectual Property owned by or exclusively licensed to the Company and its subsidiaries is not being infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated by any person; (ix) to the knowledge of the Company, no employee of the Company is or has been in violation of any term of any employment contract, patent disclosure agreement, invention assignment agreement, non-competition agreement, non-solicitation agreement, non-disclosure agreement or any restrictive covenant to or with a former employer where the basis of such violation relates to such employee’s employment with the Company; (x) to the Company’s knowledge, the Company and its subsidiary have complied with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Intellectual Property has been licensed to the Company and its subsidiary, and all such agreements are in full force and effect; (xi) to the Company’s knowledge, there are no material defects in any of the patents or patent applications within the Intellectual Property; and (xii) the parties prosecuting such applications have complied with their duty of candor and disclosure to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) in connection with such applications, and the Company is not aware of any facts required to be disclosed to the USPTO that were not disclosed to the USPTO and which would preclude the grant of a patent in connection with any such application or could form the basis of a finding of invalidity with respect to any patents that have issued with respect to such applications.

 

(aaa)       Listing. The Company is subject to and in compliance in all material respects with the reporting requirements of Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. The Ordinary Shares are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) or Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act and are listed on the Nasdaq, and the Company has taken no action designed to, or reasonably likely to have the effect of, terminating the registration of the Ordinary Shares under the Exchange Act or delisting the Ordinary Shares from Nasdaq, nor has the Company received any notification that the Commission or Nasdaq is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. All of the Placement Shares sold under this Agreement have been approved for listing on the Nasdaq; the Company has taken all necessary actions to ensure that it will be in compliance with all applicable corporate governance requirements set forth in the Nasdaq’s listing rules that are then in effect.

 

(bbb)       Brokers. Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries is a party to any contract, agreement or understanding with any person (other than this Agreement) that would give rise to a valid claim against any of them for a brokerage commission, finder’s fee or like payment in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares.

 

(ccc)       No Reliance. The Company has not relied upon Cowen or legal counsel for Cowen for any legal, tax or accounting advice in connection with the offering and sale of the Placement Shares.

 

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(ddd)        IT Systems. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, (i) the Company and its subsidiaries’ information technology assets and equipment, computers, systems, networks, hardware, software, websites, applications, and databases (collectively, “IT Systems”) are adequate for, and operate and perform in all material respects as required in connection with the operation of the business of the Company and its subsidiaries as currently conducted, free and clear of all material bugs, errors, defects, Trojan horses, time bombs, malware and other corruptants, and (ii) the Company and its subsidiaries have implemented and maintained commercially reasonable controls, policies, procedures, and safeguards to maintain and protect their material confidential information and the integrity, continuous operation, redundancy and security of all IT Systems and data (including all personal, personally identifiable, sensitive, confidential or regulated data (“Personal Data”)) used in connection with their businesses, and there have been no breaches, violations, outages or unauthorized uses of or accesses to same, except for those that have been remedied without material cost or liability or the duty to notify any other person or supervisory authority, nor any incidents under internal review or investigations relating to the same. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and its subsidiaries are presently in material compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Personal Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Personal Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification. The Company and its subsidiaries comply in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations with respect to Personal Data currently in effect and have taken commercially reasonable actions designed to comply, on the date that such compliance is required, in all material respects with all applicable laws and regulations with respect to Personal Data that have been announced as of the date hereof as becoming effective within 12 months after the date hereof, and for which any non-compliance with same would be reasonably likely to create a material liability, including, without limitation, the Swiss Data Protection Act (and its implementing ordinance), the European Union General Data Protection Regulation, the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor its subsidiaries have been subject to a control or a notification from a supervisory authority, or have received any complaint in relation with their compliance with the Swiss Data Protection Act (and its implementing ordinance) and the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (and all other applicable laws and regulations with respect to Personal Data).

 

(eee)       Other At the Market Sales Agreements. The Company is not a party to any agreement with an agent or underwriter for any other “at the market offering.”

 

(fff)       FDA Compliance. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and each of its subsidiaries: (i) are and at all times has been in material compliance with all statutes, rules or regulations of the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and other comparable governmental entities applicable to the ownership, testing, development, manufacture, packaging, processing, use, distribution, marketing, labeling, promotion, sale, offer for sale, storage, import, export or disposal of any product under development, manufactured or distributed by the Company (“Applicable Laws”); (ii) have not received any FDA Form 483, written notice of adverse finding, warning letter, untitled letter or other correspondence or written notice from the FDA or any governmental entity alleging or asserting material noncompliance with any Applicable Laws or any material licenses, certificates, approvals, clearances, exemptions, authorizations, permits and supplements or amendments thereto required by any such Applicable Laws (“Authorizations”); (iii) possess all material Authorizations and such Authorizations are valid and in full force and effect, and the Company is not in material violation of any term of any such Authorizations; (iv) have not received written notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from the FDA or any governmental entity or third party alleging that any product, operation or activity is in material violation of any Applicable Laws or Authorizations and has no knowledge that the FDA or any governmental entity or third party is considering any such claim, litigation, arbitration, action, suit, investigation or proceeding; (v) have not received notice that the FDA or any governmental entity has taken, is taking or intends to take action to limit, suspend, modify or revoke any material Authorizations and has no knowledge that the FDA or any governmental entity is considering such action; and (vi) have filed, obtained, maintained or submitted all material reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any Applicable Laws or Authorizations and all such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were materially complete and correct on the date filed (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission).

 

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(ggg)        Tests and Trials. The studies, tests and trials conducted by or, to the Company’s knowledge, on behalf of the Company that are described in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, were and, if still ongoing, are being conducted in all material respects in accordance with experimental protocols, procedures and controls pursuant to accepted professional scientific standards, Authorizations and Applicable Laws; the descriptions of the results of such studies, tests and trials contained in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are accurate and complete in all material respects and fairly present in all material respects the data derived from such studies, tests and trials; and, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company has not received any written notices or correspondence from the FDA or any governmental entity requiring the termination or suspension of any studies, tests or trials conducted by or on behalf of the Company, other than ordinary course communications with respect to modifications in connection with the design and implementation of such trials.

 

(hhh)       Compliance with Health Care Laws. The Company and each of its subsidiaries are, and at all times have been, in material compliance with all Health Care Laws. For purposes of this Agreement, “Health Care Laws” means: (i) the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. §§ 201 et seq.), and the regulations promulgated thereunder; (ii) all applicable federal, state, local and foreign healthcare fraud and abuse laws, including, without limitation, the U.S. Anti-Kickback Statute (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7b(b)), the U.S. Civil False Claims Act (31 U.S.C. Section 3729 et seq.), the criminal False Statements Law (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7b(a)), 18 U.S.C. Sections 286, 287, 1035, and 1349, the healthcare fraud criminal provisions under the U.S. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”) (42 U.S.C. Section 1320d et seq.), the civil monetary penalties law (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7a), the exclusions law (42 U.S.C. Section 1320a-7), the Stark Law (42 U.S.C. § 1395nn), laws governing government funded or sponsored healthcare programs; the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988; state clinical laboratory licensing laws; (iii) HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (42 U.S.C. Section 17921 et seq.); (iv) the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010; (v) licensure, quality, safety and accreditation requirements under applicable federal, state, local or foreign laws or regulatory bodies; (vi) all other local, state, federal, national, supranational and foreign laws, relating to the regulation of the Company and (vii) the directives and regulations promulgated pursuant to such statutes and any state or non-U.S. counterpart thereof. Neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any of their respective officers, directors, employees or agents, have engaged in activities that are, as applicable, cause for liability under a Health Care Law. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries have received written notice of any claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action from any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority or third party alleging that any product, operation or activity is in material violation of any Health Care Laws nor, to the Company’s knowledge, is any such claim, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, enforcement, investigation, arbitration or other action threatened. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, the Company and each of its subsidiaries have filed, maintained or submitted all material reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments as required by any Health Care Laws, and all such reports, documents, forms, notices, applications, records, claims, submissions and supplements or amendments were complete and accurate on the date filed in all material respects (or were corrected or supplemented by a subsequent submission). Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries or, to the Company’s knowledge, any of their respective employees, officers, directors, or agents is a party to any corporate integrity agreements, monitoring agreements, consent decrees, settlement orders, or similar agreements with or imposed by any governmental or regulatory authority. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, neither the Company nor any of its subsidiaries or any of their respective officers, directors, employees or, to the Company’s knowledge, agents has been excluded, suspended or debarred from participation in any U.S. federal healthcare program or human clinical research or is subject to a governmental inquiry, investigation, proceeding, or other similar action that could reasonably be expected to result in debarment, suspension, or exclusion.

 

Any certificate signed by an officer of the Company and delivered to Cowen or to counsel for Cowen pursuant to or in connection with this Agreement shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company to Cowen as to the matters set forth therein.

 

The Company acknowledges that Cowen and, for purposes of the opinions to be delivered pursuant to ‎Section 7 hereof, counsel to the Company and counsel to Cowen, will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and hereby consents to such reliance.

 

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Section 7.        Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants and agrees with Cowen that:

 

(a)       Registration Statement Amendments. After the date of this Agreement and during any period in which a Prospectus relating to any Placement Shares is required to be delivered by Cowen under the Securities Act (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), (i) the Company will notify Cowen promptly of the time when any subsequent amendment to the Registration Statement, other than documents incorporated by reference or not related to any Placement, has been filed with the Commission and/or has become effective or any subsequent supplement to the Prospectus has been filed and of any request by the Commission for any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus related to any Placement or for additional information related to any Placement, (ii) the Company will prepare and file with the Commission, promptly upon Cowen’s request, any amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that, in Cowen’s reasonable opinion, may be necessary or advisable in connection with the distribution of the Placement Shares by Cowen (provided, however, that the failure of Cowen to make such request shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect Cowen’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement); (iii) the Company will not file any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or Prospectus, other than documents incorporated by reference, relating to the Placement Shares or a security convertible into the Placement Shares unless a copy thereof has been submitted to Cowen within a reasonable period of time before the filing and Cowen has not reasonably objected thereto (provided, however, that (A) the failure of Cowen to make such objection shall not relieve the Company of any obligation or liability hereunder, or affect Cowen’s right to rely on the representations and warranties made by the Company in this Agreement, (B) the Company has no obligation to provide Cowen any advance copy of such filing or to provide Cowen an opportunity to object to such filing if the filing does not name Cowen or does not relate to the transactions herein provided, and (C) the only remedy Cowen shall have with respect to the failure by the Company to provide Cowen with such copy or the filing of such amendment or supplement despite Cowen’s objection shall be to cease making sales under this Agreement); (iv) the Company will furnish to Cowen at the time of filing thereof a copy of any document that upon filing is deemed to be incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement or Prospectus, except for those documents available via EDGAR; (v) the Company will cause each amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, other than documents incorporated by reference, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act or, in the case of any document to be incorporated therein by reference, to be filed with the Commission as required pursuant to the Exchange Act, within the time period prescribed (the determination to file or not file any amendment or supplement with the Commission under this ‎Section 7(a), based on the Company’s reasonable opinion or reasonable objections, shall be made exclusively by the Company; and (vi) prior to the termination of this Agreement, the Company will notify Cowen if at any time the Registration Statement shall no longer be effective as a result of the passage of time pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act or otherwise. Prior to the initial sale of any Placement Shares, the Company shall file a final Prospectus Supplement pursuant to Rule 424(b) relating to the Placement Shares.

 

(b)       Notice of Commission Stop Orders. The Company will advise Cowen, promptly after it receives notice or obtains knowledge thereof, of the issuance or threatened issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, of the suspension of the qualification of the Placement Shares for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for any such purpose; and it will promptly use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order or to obtain its withdrawal if such a stop order should be issued.

 

(c) Delivery of Prospectus; Subsequent Changes. During any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by Cowen under the Securities Act with respect to a pending sale of the Placement Shares (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act, as from time to time in force, and to file on or before their respective due dates all reports and any definitive proxy or information statements required to be filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, and 15(d) or any other provision of or under the Exchange Act. If during such period any event occurs as a result of which the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances then existing, not misleading, or if during such period it is necessary to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus to comply with the Securities Act, the Company will promptly notify Cowen to suspend the offering of Placement Shares during such period and the Company will promptly amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus (at the expense of the Company) so as to correct such statement or omission or effect such compliance; provided, however, that the Company may delay the filing of any amendment or supplement, if in the judgment of the Company, it is in the best interest of the Company.

 

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(d)       Listing of Placement Shares. During any period in which the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered by Cowen under the Securities Act with respect to a pending sale of the Placement Shares (including in circumstances where such requirement may be satisfied pursuant to Rule 172 under the Securities Act), the Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause the Placement Shares to be listed on Nasdaq and to qualify the Placement Shares for sale under the securities laws of such jurisdictions as Cowen reasonably designates and to continue such qualifications in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Placement Shares; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required in connection therewith to qualify as a foreign corporation or dealer in securities or file a general consent to service of process in any jurisdiction.

 

(e)       Delivery of Registration Statement and Prospectus. The Company will furnish to Cowen and its counsel (at the reasonable expense of the Company) copies of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus (including all documents incorporated by reference therein) and all amendments and supplements to the Registration Statement or Prospectus that are filed with the Commission during any period in which a Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares is required to be delivered under the Securities Act (including all documents filed with the Commission during such period that are deemed to be incorporated by reference therein), in each case as soon as reasonably practicable and in such quantities as Cowen may from time to time reasonably request and, at Cowen’s request, will also furnish copies of the Prospectus to each exchange or market on which sales of the Placement Shares may be made; provided, however, that the Company shall not be required to furnish any document (other than the Prospectus) to Cowen to the extent such document is available on EDGAR.

 

(f)       Earnings Statement. The Company will make generally available to its security holders as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15 months after the end of the Company’s current fiscal quarter, an earnings statement covering a 12-month period that satisfies the provisions of ‎Section 11(a) and Rule 158 of the Securities Act. For the avoidance of doubt, the Company’s compliance with the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of this ‎Section 7(f).

 

(g)      Expenses. The Company, whether or not the transactions contemplated hereunder are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, in accordance with the provisions of ‎Section 11 hereunder, will pay the following expenses all incident to the performance of its obligations hereunder, including, but not limited to, expenses relating to (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement and each amendment and supplement thereto, of each Prospectus and of each amendment and supplement thereto, (ii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the Placement Shares, (iii) the qualification of the Placement Shares under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of ‎Section 7(d) of this Agreement, including filing fees (provided, however, that any fees or disbursements of counsel for Cowen in connection therewith shall be paid by Cowen except as set forth in clause (vii) below), (iv) the printing and delivery to Cowen of copies of the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto, and of this Agreement, (v) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing or qualification of the Placement Shares for trading on Nasdaq, (vi) the filing fees and expenses, if any, of the Commission, and (vii) the reasonable fees and disbursements of Cowen’s counsel in an amount not to exceed $150,000.

 

(h)       Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the Net Proceeds as described in the Prospectus in the section entitled “Use of Proceeds.”

 

(i) Notice of Other Sales. During the pendency of any Placement Notice given hereunder, and for three trading days following the termination of any Placement Notice given hereunder, the Company shall provide Cowen notice as promptly as reasonably possible before it offers to sell, contracts to sell, sells, grants any option to sell or otherwise disposes of any shares of Ordinary Shares (other than Placement Shares offered pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement) or securities convertible into or exchangeable for Ordinary Shares, warrants or any rights to purchase or acquire Ordinary Shares; provided that such notice shall not be required in connection with the (i) issuance, grant or sale of Ordinary Shares, options to purchase shares of Ordinary Shares or Ordinary Shares issuable upon the exercise of options or other equity awards pursuant to any stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or arrangement disclosed in the Prospectus, (ii) the issuance of securities in connection with an acquisition, merger or sale or purchase of assets, (iii) the issuance or sale of Ordinary Shares pursuant to any dividend reinvestment plan that the Company may adopt from time to time provided the implementation of such is disclosed to Cowen in advance, (iv) any shares of Ordinary Shares issuable upon the exchange, conversion or redemption of securities or the exercise of warrants, options or other rights in effect or outstanding, (v) any Ordinary Shares, or securities convertible into or exercisable for Ordinary Shares, offered and sold in a privately negotiated transaction to vendors, customers, investors, strategic partners or potential strategic partners and otherwise conducted in a manner so as not to be integrated with the offering of Placement Shares hereby, or (vi) the creation of treasury shares.

 

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Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, subject to the Company’s compliance with the notice provisions set forth in this ‎Section 7(i), nothing herein shall be construed to restrict the Company from entering into and/or consummating a committed underwritten equity offering or other similar offering of its registered securities, or otherwise prohibit the issuance of its equity securities in a private placement transaction, or require that the Company obtain prior written consent to do any of the foregoing.

 

(j)       Change of Circumstances. The Company will, at any time during a fiscal quarter in which the Company intends to tender a Placement Notice or sell Placement Shares, advise Cowen promptly after it shall have received notice or obtained knowledge thereof, of any information or fact that would alter or affect in any material respect any opinion, certificate, letter or other document provided to Cowen pursuant to this Agreement.

 

(k)       Due Diligence Cooperation. During the term of the Agreement, the Company will cooperate with any reasonable due diligence review conducted by Cowen or its agents in connection with the transactions contemplated hereby, including, without limitation, providing information and making available documents and senior corporate officers, during regular business hours and at the Company’s principal offices, as Cowen may reasonably request.

 

(l)       Required Filings Relating to Placement of Placement Shares. The Company agrees that on or before such dates as the Securities Act shall require, the Company will (i) file a prospectus supplement with the Commission under the applicable paragraph of Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act (each and every filing under Rule 424(b), a “Filing Date”), and (ii) deliver such number of copies of each such prospectus supplement to each exchange or market on which such sales were effected as may be required by the rules or regulations of such exchange or market. The Company shall disclose in its Reports on Form 6-K containing quarterly consolidated financial statements and in its Annual Report on Form 20-F, the number of the Placement Shares sold through Cowen under this Agreement, and the gross proceeds and Net Proceeds to the Company from the sale of the Placement Shares and the compensation paid by the Company with respect to sales of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement during the relevant quarter or, in the case of an Annual Report on Form 20-F, during the fiscal year covered by such Annual Report and the fourth quarter of such fiscal year.

 

(m) Bring-Down Dates; Certificate. On or prior to the First Delivery Date and each time (i) the Company files the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares or amends or supplements the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares (other than a prospectus supplement filed in accordance with ‎Section 7(l) of this Agreement) by means of a post-effective amendment, sticker, or supplement but not by means of incorporation of document(s) by reference to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus relating to the Placement Shares; (ii) the Company files an annual report on Form 20-F under the Exchange Act; (iii) the Company files a Report on Form 6-K containing quarterly consolidated financial statements; (iv) the Company files a report on Form 6-K containing amended financial information (other than an earnings release) under the Exchange Act; or (v) the Company effects a Block Sale and Cowen provides reasonable advance notice to the Company in accordance with Section 3 of this Agreement (each date of event or filing of one or more of the documents referred to in clauses (i) through (iv) shall be a “Bring-Down Date”); the Company shall furnish Cowen with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit ‎7(m) within two (2) Trading Days of any Bring-Down Date if requested by Cowen. The requirement to provide a certificate under this ‎Section 7(m) shall be automatically waived for any Bring-Down Date occurring at a time at which no Placement Notice is pending, which waiver shall continue until the earlier to occur of the date the Company delivers a Placement Notice hereunder (which for such calendar quarter shall be considered a Bring-Down Date) and the next occurring Bring-Down Date; provided, however, that such waiver shall not apply for any Bring-Down Date on which the Company files its Annual Report on Form 20-F. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Company subsequently decides to sell Placement Shares following a Bring-Down Date when the Company relied on such waiver and did not provide Cowen with a certificate under this ‎Section 7(m), then before the Company delivers the Placement Notice or Cowen sells any Placement Shares, the Company shall provide Cowen with a certificate, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit ‎7(m) dated the date of the Placement Notice.

 

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(n)      Legal Opinion. On or prior to the First Delivery Date and within two (2) Trading Days of each Bring-Down Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit ‎7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause to be furnished to Cowen a written opinion and negative assurance letter of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, U.S. counsel for the Company (“U.S. Company Counsel”), and a written opinion of Homburger AG, Swiss counsel for the Company, as to certain matters of Swiss law (“Swiss Company Counsel”), or other counsel satisfactory to Cowen, in form and substance satisfactory to Cowen and its counsel, dated the date that the opinion is required to be delivered modified, as necessary, to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as then amended or supplemented; provided, however, that in lieu of such opinions for subsequent Bring-Down Dates, U.S. Company Counsel and Swiss Company Counsel may furnish Cowen with a letter (a “Reliance Letter”) to the effect that Cowen may rely on a prior opinion delivered under this ‎Section 7(n) to the same extent as if it were dated the date of such letter (except that statements in such prior opinion shall be deemed to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended or supplemented at such Bring-Down Date).

 

(o)       Comfort Letter. On or prior to the First Delivery Date and within two (2) Trading Days of each Bring-Down Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit ‎7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall cause its independent accountants to furnish Cowen letters (the “Comfort Letters”), dated the date the Comfort Letter is delivered, in form and substance satisfactory to Cowen, (i) confirming that they are an independent registered public accounting firm within the meaning of the Securities Act and the PCAOB, (ii) stating, as of such date, the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and other matters ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” to Cowen in connection with registered public offerings (the first such letter, the “Initial Comfort Letter”) and (iii) updating the Initial Comfort Letter with any information that would have been included in the Initial Comfort Letter had it been given on such date and modified as necessary to relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus, as amended and supplemented to the date of such letter.

 

(p)       CFO Certificate. On or prior to the First Delivery Date and within two (2) Trading Days of each Bring-Down Date with respect to which the Company is obligated to deliver a certificate in the form attached hereto as Exhibit 7(m) for which no waiver is applicable, the Company shall have delivered to Cowen a certificate executed by the Chief Financial Officer of the Company (“CFO Certificate”), dated as of such date, in form and substance satisfactory to Cowen and its counsel.

 

(q) Market Activities. The Company will not, directly or indirectly, (i) take any action designed to cause or result in, or that constitutes or might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Placement Shares or (ii) sell, bid for, or purchase the Ordinary Shares to be offered and sold pursuant to this Agreement, or pay anyone any compensation for soliciting purchases of the Placement Shares other than Cowen; provided, however, that the Company may bid for and purchase its Ordinary Shares in accordance with Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act.

 

(r)       Insurance. The Company and its subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as is reasonable and customary for the business for which it is engaged.

 

(s)       Compliance with Laws. The Company and each of its subsidiaries shall maintain, or cause to be maintained, all material environmental permits, licenses and other authorizations required by federal, state and local law in order to conduct their businesses as described in the Prospectus, and the Company and each of its subsidiaries shall conduct their businesses, or cause their businesses to be conducted, in substantial compliance with such permits, licenses and authorizations and with applicable environmental laws, except where the failure to maintain or be in compliance with such permits, licenses and authorizations would not, individually or in the aggregate, reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change.

 

(t) Investment Company Act. The Company will conduct its affairs in such a manner so as to reasonably ensure that neither it nor its subsidiaries will be or become, at any time prior to the termination of this Agreement, an “investment company,” as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act, assuming no change in the Commission’s current interpretation as to entities that are not considered an investment company.

 

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(u)       Securities Act and Exchange Act. The Company will use its best efforts to comply with all requirements imposed upon it by the Securities Act and the Exchange Act as from time to time in force, so far as necessary to permit the continuance of sales of, or dealings in, the Placement Shares as contemplated by the provisions hereof and the Prospectus.

 

(v)       No Offer to Sell. Other than a Permitted Free Writing Prospectus, neither Cowen nor the Company (including its agents and representatives, other than Cowen in its capacity as such) will make, use, prepare, authorize, approve or refer to any written communication (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act), required to be filed with the Commission, that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy Placement Shares hereunder.

 

(w)       Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The Company and its subsidiaries will use their best efforts to comply with all effective applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

 

(x)       Affirmation. Each Placement Notice delivered by the Company to Cowen shall be deemed to be (i) an affirmation that the representations, warranties and agreements of the Company herein contained and contained in any certificate delivered to Cowen pursuant hereto are true and correct at the time of delivery of such Placement Notice, and (ii) an undertaking that such representations, warranties and agreements will be true and correct on any applicable Time of Sale and Settlement Date, as though made at and as of each such time (it being understood that such representations, warranties and agreements shall relate to the Registration Statement and the Prospectus as amended and supplemented to the time of such Placement Notice acceptance).

 

(y)       Renewal. If immediately prior to the third anniversary (the “Renewal Deadline”) of the initial effective date of the Registration Statement, the aggregate gross sales price of Placement Shares sold by the Company is less than the Maximum Amount and this Agreement has not expired or been terminated, the Company will, prior to the Renewal Deadline, file, if it has not already done so and is eligible to do so, a new shelf registration statement relating to the Placement Shares, in a form satisfactory to Cowen, and, if not automatically effective, will use its best efforts to cause such registration statement to be declared effective within 60 days after the Renewal Deadline. The Company will take all other action necessary or appropriate to permit the offering and sale of the Placement Shares to continue as contemplated in the expired registration statement relating to the Placement Shares. References herein to the Registration Statement shall include such new shelf registration statement.

 

Section 8.        Conditions to Cowen’s Obligations. The obligations of Cowen hereunder with respect to a Placement Notice will be subject to the continuing accuracy and completeness of the representations and warranties made by the Company herein, to the due performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and thereunder, to the completion by Cowen of a due diligence review satisfactory to Cowen in its reasonable judgment, and to the continuing satisfaction (or waiver by Cowen in its sole discretion) of the following additional conditions:

 

(a)       Registration Statement Effective. The Registration Statement shall be effective and shall be available for (i) all sales of Placement Shares offered pursuant to all prior Placement Notices and (ii) the sale of all Placement Shares contemplated to be offered pursuant to any Placement Notice.

 

(b) No Material Notices. None of the following events shall have occurred and be continuing: (i) receipt by the Company or any of its subsidiaries of any request for additional information from the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority during the period of effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the response to which would require any post-effective amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus; (ii) the issuance by the Commission or any other federal or state governmental authority of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose; (iii) receipt by the Company of any notification with respect to the suspension of the qualification or exemption from qualification of any of the Placement Shares for sale in any jurisdiction or the initiation or threatening of any proceeding for such purpose; or (iv) the occurrence of any event that makes any material statement made in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any material document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated therein by reference untrue in any material respect or that requires the making of any changes in the Registration Statement, related Prospectus or such documents so that, in the case of the Registration Statement, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading and, that in the case of the Prospectus, it will not contain any materially untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

 

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(c)       No Material Misstatement or Material Omission. Cowen shall not have advised the Company that the Registration Statement or Prospectus, or any amendment or supplement thereto, contains an untrue statement of fact that in Cowen’s reasonable opinion is material, or omits to state a fact that in Cowen’s opinion is material and is required to be stated therein or is necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

 

(d)       Material Changes. Except as contemplated in the Prospectus, or disclosed in the Company’s reports filed with the Commission, there shall not have been any material adverse change, on a consolidated basis, in the authorized capital stock of the Company or any Material Adverse Change or any development that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change, or any downgrading in or withdrawal of the rating assigned to any of the Company’s securities (other than asset-backed securities) by any rating organization or a public announcement by any rating organization that it has under surveillance or review its rating of any of the Company’s securities (other than asset-backed securities), the effect of which, in the case of any such action by a rating organization described above, in the reasonable judgment of Cowen (without relieving the Company of any obligation or liability it may otherwise have), is so material as to make it impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the offering of the Placement Shares on the terms and in the manner contemplated in the Prospectus.

 

(e)       Company Counsel Legal Opinions. Cowen shall have received the opinions of U.S. Company Counsel and Swiss Company Counsel required to be delivered pursuant to ‎Section 7(n) on or before the date on which such delivery of such opinion is required pursuant to ‎Section 7(n).

 

(f)       Cowen Counsel Legal Opinion. Cowen shall have received from Cooley LLP, counsel for Cowen, such opinion or opinions, on or before the date on which the delivery of the U.S. Company Counsel and Swiss Company Counsel legal opinions are required pursuant to ‎Section 7(n), with respect to such matters as Cowen may reasonably require, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they request for enabling them to pass upon such matters.

 

(g)       Comfort Letter. Cowen shall have received the Comfort Letter required to be delivered pursuant to ‎Section 7(o) on or before the date on which such delivery of such Comfort Letter is required pursuant to ‎Section 7(o).

 

(h)       Representation Certificate. Cowen shall have received the certificate required to be delivered pursuant to ‎Section 7(m) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to ‎Section 7(m).

 

(i)       Secretary’s Certificate. On or prior to the First Delivery Date, Cowen shall have received a certificate, signed on behalf of the Company by its corporate secretary, in form and substance satisfactory to Cowen and its counsel.

 

(j)       CFO Certificate. Cowen shall have received the CFO Certificate required to be delivered pursuant to Section 7(p) on or before the date on which delivery of such certificate is required pursuant to Section 7(p).

 

(k) No Suspension. Trading in the Ordinary Shares shall not have been suspended on Nasdaq.

 

(l)       Other Materials. On each date on which the Company is required to deliver a certificate pursuant to ‎Section 7(m), the Company shall have furnished to Cowen such appropriate further information, certificates and documents as Cowen may have reasonably requested. All such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents shall have been in compliance with the provisions hereof. The Company will furnish Cowen with such conformed copies of such opinions, certificates, letters and other documents as Cowen shall have reasonably requested.

 

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(m)        Securities Act Filings Made. All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424 under the Securities Act to have been filed prior to the issuance of any Placement Notice hereunder shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by Rule 424.

 

(n)       Approval for Listing. The Placement Shares subject to a Placement Notice shall either have been (i) approved for listing on Nasdaq, subject only to notice of issuance, or (ii) the Company shall have filed an application for listing of the Placement Shares subject to a Placement Notice on Nasdaq at, or prior to, the issuance of such Placement Notice.

 

(o)       No Termination Event. There shall not have occurred any event that would permit Cowen to terminate this Agreement pursuant to ‎Section 11(a).

 

Section 9.        Indemnification and Contribution.

 

(a)       Company Indemnification. The Company agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Cowen, the directors, officers, partners, employees and agents of Cowen and each person, if any, who (i) controls Cowen within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with Cowen from and against any and all losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including, but not limited to, any and all reasonable and documented investigative, legal and other expenses incurred in connection with, and any and all amounts paid in settlement (in accordance with ‎Section 9(c)) of, any action, suit or proceeding between any of the indemnified parties and any indemnifying parties or between any indemnified party and any third party, or otherwise, or any claim asserted), as and when incurred, to which Cowen, or any such person, may become subject under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act or other federal or state statutory law or regulation, at common law or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, liabilities, expenses or damages arise out of or are based, directly or indirectly, on (x) any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus or in any Permitted Free Writing Prospectus or in any application or other document executed by or on behalf of the Company or based on written information furnished by or on behalf of the Company filed in any jurisdiction in order to qualify the Placement Shares under the securities laws thereof or filed with the Commission, (y) the omission or alleged omission to state in any such document a material fact required to be stated in it or necessary to make the statements in it not misleading or (z) any breach by any of the indemnifying parties of any of their respective representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement; provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to the extent that such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage arises from the sale of the Placement Shares pursuant to this Agreement and is caused directly or indirectly by an untrue statement or omission made in reliance upon and in conformity with solely Agent’s Information. “Agent’s Information” means, solely, the following information in the Prospectus: the last sentence of the tenth paragraph and the eleventh paragraph under the caption “Plan of Distribution” in the Prospectus. This indemnity agreement will be in addition to any liability that the Company might otherwise have.

 

(b)       Cowen Indemnification. Cowen agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its directors and each officer of the Company that signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who (i) controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act or (ii) is controlled by or is under common control with the Company against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in ‎Section 9(a), as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendments thereto) or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Agent’s Information.

 

(c) Procedure. Any party that proposes to assert the right to be indemnified under this ‎Section 9 will, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim is to be made against an indemnifying party in writing or parties under this ‎Section 9, notify each such indemnifying party of the commencement of such action, enclosing a copy of all papers served, but the omission so to notify such indemnifying party will not relieve the indemnifying party from (i) any liability that it might have to any indemnified party otherwise than under this ‎Section 9 and (ii) any liability that it may have to any indemnified party under the foregoing provision of this ‎Section 9 unless, and only to the extent that, such omission results in the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses by the indemnifying party.

 

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If any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the indemnifying party of its commencement, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate in and, to the extent that it elects by delivering written notice to the indemnified party promptly after receiving notice of the commencement of the action from the indemnified party, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense of the action, with counsel reasonably satisfactory to the indemnified party, and after notice from the indemnifying party to the indemnified party of its election to assume the defense, the indemnifying party will not be liable to the indemnified party for any legal or other expenses except as provided below and except for the reasonable and documented costs of investigation subsequently incurred by the indemnified party in connection with the defense. The indemnified party will have the right to employ its own counsel in any such action, but the reasonable and documented fees, expenses and other charges of such counsel will be at the expense of such indemnified party unless (1) the employment of counsel by the indemnified party has been authorized in writing by the indemnifying party, (2) the indemnified party has reasonably concluded (based on advice of counsel) that there may be legal defenses available to it or other indemnified parties that are different from or in addition to those available to the indemnifying party, (3) a conflict or potential conflict exists (based on advice of counsel to the indemnified party) between the indemnified party and the indemnifying party (in which case the indemnifying party will not have the right to direct the defense of such action on behalf of the indemnified party) or (4) the indemnifying party has not in fact employed counsel to assume the defense of such action within a reasonable time after receiving notice of the commencement of the action, in each of which cases the reasonable and documented fees, disbursements and other charges of counsel will be at the expense of the indemnifying party or parties. It is understood that the indemnifying party or parties shall not, in connection with any proceeding or related proceedings in the same jurisdiction, be liable for the reasonable fees, disbursements and other charges of more than one separate firm admitted to practice in such jurisdiction at any one time for all such indemnified party or parties. All such fees, disbursements and other charges will be reimbursed by the indemnifying party promptly as within 30 days of the written receipt of the documented charges by the indemnifying party. An indemnifying party will not, in any event, be liable for any settlement of any action or claim effected without its written consent. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of each indemnified party, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment in any pending or threatened claim, action or proceeding relating to the matters contemplated by this ‎Section 9 (whether or not any indemnified party is a party thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising or that may arise out of such claim, action or proceeding and does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.

 

(d) Contribution. In order to provide for just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnification provided for in the foregoing paragraphs of this ‎Section 9 is applicable in accordance with its terms but for any reason is held to be unavailable from the Company or Cowen, the Company and Cowen will contribute to the total losses, claims, liabilities, expenses and damages (including any investigative, legal and other expenses reasonably incurred in connection with, and any amount paid in settlement of, any action, suit or proceeding or any claim asserted, but after deducting any contribution received by the Company from persons other than Cowen, such as persons who control the Company within the meaning of the Securities Act, officers of the Company who signed the Registration Statement and directors of the Company, who also may be liable for contribution) to which the Company and Cowen may be subject in such proportion as shall be appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and Cowen, on the other. The relative benefits received by the Company, on the one hand, and Cowen, on the other hand, shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total Net Proceeds from the sale of the Placement Shares (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total compensation received by Cowen from the sale of Placement Shares on behalf of the Company. If, but only if, the allocation provided by the foregoing sentence is not permitted by applicable law, the allocation of contribution shall be made in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in the foregoing sentence but also the relative fault of the Company, on the one hand, and Cowen, on the other hand, with respect to the statements or omission that resulted in such loss, claim, liability, expense or damage, or action in respect thereof, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations with respect to such offering. Such relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or Cowen, the intent of the parties and their relative knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission. The Company and Cowen agree that it would not be just and equitable if contributions pursuant to this ‎Section 9(d) were to be determined by pro rata allocation or by any other method of allocation that does not take into account the equitable considerations referred to herein. The amount paid or payable by an indemnified party as a result of the loss, claim, liability, expense, or damage, or action in respect thereof, referred to above in this ‎Section 9(d) shall be deemed to include, for the purpose of this ‎Section 9(d), any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any such action or claim to the extent consistent with ‎Section 9(c) hereof.

 

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Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this ‎Section 9(d), Cowen shall not be required to contribute any amount in excess of the commissions received by it under this Agreement and no person found guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) will be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. For purposes of this ‎Section 9(d) any person who controls a party to this Agreement within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any officers, directors, partners, employees or agents of Cowen, will have the same rights to contribution as that party, and each officer and director of the Company who signed the Registration Statement will have the same rights to contribution as the Company, subject in each case to the provisions hereof. Any party entitled to contribution, promptly after receipt of notice of commencement of any action against such party in respect of which a claim for contribution may be made under this ‎Section 9(d), will notify any such party or parties from whom contribution may be sought, but the omission to so notify will not relieve that party or parties from whom contribution may be sought from any other obligation it or they may have under this ‎Section 9(d) except to the extent that the failure to so notify such other party materially prejudiced the substantive rights or defenses of the party from whom contribution is sought. Except for a settlement entered into pursuant to the last sentence of ‎Section 9(c) hereof, no party will be liable for contribution with respect to any action or claim settled without its written consent if such consent is required pursuant to ‎Section 9(c) hereof.

 

Section 10.      Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery. The indemnity and contribution agreements contained in ‎Section 9 of this Agreement and all representations and warranties of the Company herein or in certificates delivered pursuant hereto shall survive, as of their respective dates, regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of Cowen, any controlling persons, or the Company (or any of their respective officers, directors or controlling persons), (ii) delivery and acceptance of the Placement Shares and payment therefor or (iii) any termination of this Agreement.

 

Section 11.      Termination.

 

(a)       Cowen shall have the right by giving written notice as hereinafter specified at any time to terminate this Agreement if (i) any Material Adverse Change, or any development that would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Change has occurred that, in the reasonable judgment of Cowen, may materially impair the ability of Cowen to sell the Placement Shares hereunder, (ii) the Company shall have failed, refused or been unable to perform any agreement on its part to be performed hereunder, (iii) any other condition of Cowen’s obligations hereunder is not fulfilled, or (iv) any suspension or limitation of trading in the Placement Shares or in securities generally on Nasdaq shall have occurred. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of ‎Section 7(g) (Expenses), ‎Section 9 (Indemnification and Contribution), ‎Section 10 (Representations and Agreements to Survive Delivery), ‎Section 16 (Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction) and ‎Section 17 (Waiver of Jury Trial) hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination. If Cowen elects to terminate this Agreement as provided in this ‎Section 11(a), Cowen shall provide the required notice as specified in ‎Section 12 (Notices).

 

(b)       The Company shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days’ notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of ‎Section 7(g), ‎Section 9, ‎Section 10, ‎Section 16 and ‎Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

 

(c)       Cowen shall have the right, by giving ten (10) days’ notice as hereinafter specified to terminate this Agreement in its sole discretion at any time after the date of this Agreement. Any such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except that the provisions of ‎Section 7(g), ‎Section 9, ‎Section 10, ‎Section 16 and ‎Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

 

(d)       Unless earlier terminated pursuant to this ‎Section 11, this Agreement shall automatically terminate upon the offering and sale of all of the Placement Shares through Cowen on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth herein; provided that the provisions of ‎Section 7(g), ‎Section 9, ‎Section 10, ‎Section 16 and ‎Section 17 hereof shall remain in full force and effect notwithstanding such termination.

 

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(e)        This Agreement shall remain in full force and effect unless terminated pursuant to ‎Section 11(a), ‎(b), ‎(c), or ‎(d) above or otherwise by mutual agreement of the parties; provided, however, that any such termination by mutual agreement shall in all cases be deemed to provide that ‎Section 7(g), ‎Section 9, ‎Section 10, ‎Section 16 and ‎Section 17 shall remain in full force and effect.

 

(f)       Any termination of this Agreement shall be effective on the date specified in such notice of termination; provided, however, that such termination shall not be effective until the close of business on the date of receipt of such notice by Cowen or the Company, as the case may be. If such termination shall occur prior to the Settlement Date for any sale of Placement Shares, such Placement Shares shall settle in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.

 

Section 12.      Notices. All notices or other communications required or permitted to be given by any party to any other party pursuant to the terms of this Agreement shall be in writing, unless otherwise specified in this Agreement, and if sent to Cowen, shall be delivered to Cowen at Cowen and Company, LLC, 599 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022, fax no. 646-562-1130, Attention: General Counsel, email: Bradley.friedman@cowen.com; or if sent to the Company, shall be delivered to SOPHiA GENETICS, Inc., 185 Dartmouth Street, Floor 5, Boston, MA 02116, attention: Chief Legal Officer, email: legal@sophiagenetics.com, with a copy to Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, attention: Deanna L. Kirkpatrick and Yasin Keshvargar, email: deanna.kirkpatrick@davispolk.com and yasin.keshvargar@davispolk.com. Each party to this Agreement may change such address for notices by sending to the parties to this Agreement written notice of a new address for such purpose. Each such notice or other communication shall be deemed given (i) when delivered personally or by verifiable facsimile transmission (with an original to follow) on or before 4:30 p.m., New York City time, on a Business Day (as defined below), or, if such day is not a Business Day, on the next succeeding Business Day, (ii) on the next Business Day after timely delivery to a nationally recognized overnight courier and (iii) on the Business Day actually received if deposited in the U.S. mail (certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, postage prepaid). For purposes of this Agreement, “Business Day” shall mean any day on which the Nasdaq and commercial banks in the City of New York are open for business.

 

Section 13.      Successors and Assigns. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Company and Cowen and their respective successors and the affiliates, controlling persons, officers and directors referred to in ‎Section 9 hereof. References to any of the parties contained in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the successors and permitted assigns of such party. Nothing in this Agreement, express or implied, is intended to confer upon any party other than the parties hereto or their respective successors and permitted assigns any rights, remedies, obligations or liabilities under or by reason of this Agreement, except as expressly provided in this Agreement. Neither party may assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other party; provided, however, that Cowen may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to an affiliate of Cowen without obtaining the Company’s consent.

 

Section 14.      Adjustments for Share Splits. The parties acknowledge and agree that all share-related numbers contained in this Agreement shall be adjusted to take into account any share split, reverse share split, share dividend or similar event effected with respect to the Ordinary Shares.

 

Section 15.      Entire Agreement; Amendment; Severability. This Agreement (including all schedules and exhibits attached hereto and Placement Notices issued pursuant hereto) constitutes the entire agreement and supersedes all other prior and contemporaneous agreements and undertakings, both written and oral, among the parties hereto with regard to the subject matter hereof. Neither this Agreement nor any term hereof may be amended except pursuant to a written instrument executed by the Company and Cowen. In the event that any one or more of the provisions contained herein, or the application thereof in any circumstance, is held invalid, illegal or unenforceable as written by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision shall be given full force and effect to the fullest possible extent that it is valid, legal and enforceable, and the remainder of the terms and provisions herein shall be construed as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable term or provision was not contained herein, but only to the extent that giving effect to such provision and the remainder of the terms and provisions hereof shall be in accordance with the intent of the parties as reflected in this Agreement.

 

Section 16. Applicable Law; Consent to Jurisdiction. This Agreement and any claim, controversy or dispute arising under or related to this Agreement shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with the laws of, the State of New York without regard to its choice of law provisions.

 

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The Company hereby submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the U.S. federal and New York state courts in the Borough of Manhattan in The City of New York, United States of America, in any suit or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby. The Company waives any objection which it may now or hereafter have to the laying of venue of any such suit or proceeding in such courts. The Company agrees that final judgment in any such suit, action or proceeding brought in such court shall be conclusive and binding upon the Company and may be enforced in any court to the jurisdiction of which the Company is subject by a suit upon such judgment. The Company irrevocably appoints SOPHiA GENETICS, Inc., located at 185 Dartmouth Street, Suite 502, Boston, MA 02116, as its authorized agent upon which process may be served in any such suit or proceeding, and agrees that service of process upon such authorized agent, and written notice of such service to the Company by the person serving the same to the address provided in this ‎Section 16, shall be deemed in every respect effective service of process upon the Company in any such suit or proceeding. The Company hereby represents and warrants that such authorized agent has accepted such appointment and has agreed to act as such authorized agent for service of process. The Company further agrees to take any and all action as may be necessary to maintain such designation and appointment of such authorized agent in full force and effect for a period of seven years from the date of this Agreement.

 

Section 17.      Waiver of Jury Trial. The Company and Cowen each hereby irrevocably waives any right it may have to a trial by jury in respect of any claim based upon or arising out of this Agreement or any transaction contemplated hereby.

 

Section 18.      Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:

 

(a)       Cowen has been retained solely to act as an arm’s-length contractual counterparty to the Company in connection with the sale of the Placement Shares contemplated hereby and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and Cowen has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, irrespective of whether Cowen has advised or is advising the Company on other matters;

 

(b)       the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

 

(c)       the Company has been advised that Cowen and its affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that Cowen has no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and

 

(d)       the Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against Cowen, for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty in connection with the sale of Placement Shares under this Agreement and agrees that Cowen shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including stockholders, partners, employees or creditors of the Company.

 

Section 19.      Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Delivery of an executed Agreement by one party to the other may be made by facsimile or other electronic transmission (including pdf or any electronic signature complying with the U.S. federal ESIGN Act of 2000, e.g., www.docusign.com or www.echosign.com) or other transmission method and any counterpart so delivered shall be deemed to have been duly and validly delivered and be valid and effective for all purposes.

 

Section 20. Judgment Currency. The Company agrees to indemnify Cowen, its directors, officers, affiliates and each person, if any, who controls Cowen within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act, against any loss incurred by Cowen as a result of any judgment or order being given or made for any amount due hereunder and such judgment or order being expressed and paid in a currency (the “judgment currency”) other than U.S. dollars and as a result of any variation as between (i) the rate of exchange at which the U.S. dollar amount is converted into the judgment currency for the purpose of such judgment or order, and (ii) the rate of exchange at which such indemnified person is able to purchase U.S. dollars with the amount of the judgment currency actually received by the indemnified person. The foregoing indemnity shall constitute a separate and independent obligation of the Company and shall continue in full force and effect notwithstanding any such judgment or order as aforesaid.

 

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The term “rate of exchange” shall include any premiums and costs of exchange payable in connection with the purchase of, or conversion into, the relevant currency.

 

Section 21.      Waiver of Immunity. To the extent that the Company has or hereafter may acquire any immunity (sovereign or otherwise) from jurisdiction of any court of (i) Switzerland, or any political subdivision thereof, (ii) the United States or the State of New York, or (iii) any jurisdiction in which it owns or leases property or assets or from any legal process (whether through service of notice, attachment prior to judgment, attachment in aid of execution, execution, set-off or otherwise) with respect to themselves or their respective property and assets or this Agreement, the Company hereby irrevocably waives such immunity in respect of its obligations under this Agreement to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.

 

Section 22.      Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes.

 

(a)       In the event that Cowen is a Covered Entity and becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from Cowen of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.

 

(b)      In the event that Cowen is a Covered Entity and Cowen or a BHC Act Affiliate of Cowen becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against Cowen are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.

 

(c)      For purposes of this Section 22; (a) “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k), (b) “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b), (c) “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable, and (d) “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

 

[Remainder of Page Intentionally Blank]

 

28 


If the foregoing correctly sets forth the understanding between the Company and Cowen, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and Cowen.

 

 

  Very truly yours,
   
  COWEN AND COMPANY, LLC
   
   
  By: /s/ Michael J. Murphy
    Name:   Michael J. Murphy
    Title:   Managing Director

 

  ACCEPTED as of the date first-above written:
   
  SOPHiA GENETICS SA
   
   
  By: /s/ Ross Muken
    Name:   Ross Muken
    Title:   Chief Financial Officer

[Signature Page to Sales Agreement]


SCHEDULE 1

 

FORM OF PLACEMENT NOTICE

 

From: [_____]
Cc: [_____]
To: [_____]

 

Subject:        Cowen At the Market Offering—Placement Notice

 

Gentlemen:

 

Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the Sales Agreement between SOPHiA GENETICS SA, a corporation (société anonyme) incorporated under the laws of Switzerland (the “Company”), and Cowen and Company, LLC (“Cowen”) dated August 8, 2023 (the “Agreement”), I hereby request on behalf of the Company that Cowen sell up to [$[_____] of the Company’s ordinary shares][[_____] of the Company’s ordinary shares], nominal value CHF 0.05 per share, at a minimum market price of $[_____] per share. Sales should begin on the date of this Notice and shall continue until [DATE] [all shares are sold].

 

 


SCHEDULE 2

 

Notice Parties

 

Company  
   
Jurgi Camblong Chief Executive Officer
Ross Muken Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
Daan van Well Chief Legal Officer
Tiao Guan Director of Strategic Finance
   
Cowen  
   
Michael J. Murphy Managing Director
William Follis Managing Director
Adriano Pierroz Vice President
Madeleine Stow Associate

 

 


SCHEDULE 3

 

Compensation

 

Cowen shall be paid compensation of up to 3.0% of the gross proceeds from the sales of Ordinary Shares pursuant to the terms of this Agreement.

 

 


EXHIBIT ‎7(M)

 

Officer’s Certificate

 

[_____]

 

The undersigned, the duly qualified and elected [_____], of SOPHiA GENETICS SA, a corporation (société anonyme) incorporated under the laws of Switzerland (“Company”), does hereby certify in such capacity and on behalf of the Company, pursuant to ‎Section 7(m) of the Sales Agreement dated August 8, 2023 (the “Sales Agreement”) between the Company and Cowen and Company, LLC, that to the best of the knowledge of the undersigned:

 

(i)       The representations and warranties of the Company in ‎Section 6 of the Sales Agreement (A) to the extent such representations and warranties are subject to qualifications and exceptions contained therein relating to materiality or Material Adverse Change, are true and correct on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof, except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date, and (B) to the extent such representations and warranties are not subject to any qualifications or exceptions, are true and correct in all material respects as of the date hereof as if made on and as of the date hereof with the same force and effect as if expressly made on and as of the date hereof except for those representations and warranties that speak solely as of a specific date and which were true and correct as of such date; and

 

(ii)       The Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied pursuant to the Sales Agreement at or prior to the date hereof.

 

Cooley LLP, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP and Homburger AG are entitled to rely upon this certificate in connection with the opinions given by such firms pursuant to the Sales Agreement.

 

Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the Sales Agreement.

 

   
  By:  
    Name:       
    Title:       

 

EX-5.1 3 dp197941_ex0501.htm EXHIBIT 5.1

 

Exhibit 5.1

 

 

SOPHiA GENETICS SA

 

Zone artisanale 

La Pièce 12 

1180 Rolle 

Switzerland 

Homburger AG 

Prime Tower 

Hardstrasse 201 

CH-8005 Zurich

 

homburger.ch
T +41 43 222 10 00 

 

 

 

 

 

August 8, 2023

 

 

 

 

SOPHiA GENETICS SA – Registration Statement on Form F-3

 

 

We have acted as special Swiss counsel to SOPHiA GENETICS SA, a stock corporation incorporated under the laws of Switzerland (the Company), in connection with the filing of (i) a registration statement on Form F-3 (the Registration Statement), including a prospectus, filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) on August 9, 2022 and declared effective by the SEC on August 15, 2022 for the purpose of registering under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), ordinary shares of the Company, each with a nominal value of CHF 0.05 (the Ordinary Shares), and (ii) a prospectus supplement (together with the prospectus contained in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus) filed with the SEC on the date hereof relating to the offering and sale by the Company of Ordinary Shares, to be issued out of the capital range of the Company or already issued and held in treasury by the Company, for an aggregate offer price of up to USD 50,000,000 (the Offered Shares). As such counsel, we have been requested to give our opinion as to certain legal matters of Swiss law.

 

Capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall have the meaning assigned to such terms in the Documents (as defined below).

 

I. Basis of Opinion

 

This opinion is confined to and given on the basis of the laws of Switzerland in force at the date hereof. Such laws and the interpretation thereof are subject to change.

 

 


This opinion is also confined to:

 

(i) the matters stated herein and is not to be read as extending, by implication or otherwise, to any other matter, agreement or document referred to in any of the Documents (as defined below); and

 

(ii) the documents listed below (collectively, the Documents).

 

For the purpose of giving this opinion, we have only examined originals or copies of the following Documents:

 

(i) an electronic copy of the Registration Statement, including the Prospectus;

 

(ii) an electronic copy of a certified excerpt from the Commercial Register of the Canton of Vaud dated July 26, 2023, relating to the Company (the Excerpt);

 

(iii) an electronic copy of the articles of association (statuts) of the Company, dated June 26, 2023, notarized by a licensed notary of the Canton of Vaud on June 26, 2023 (the Articles), shown on the Excerpt as being the most recent articles of association filed with the Commercial Register of the Canton of Vaud; and

 

(iv) electronic copies of the circular resolutions of the Company's board of directors (the Board of Directors) dated August 5, 2022 and July 28, 2023, approving, among other things, (i) the filing of the Registration Statement and of the Prospectus with the SEC and (ii) the reservation and issuance (as applicable), offering and sale of the Offered Shares (collectively, the Board Resolutions).

 

No documents other than the Documents have been reviewed by us in connection with this opinion. Accordingly, we shall limit our opinion to the Documents and their legal implications under Swiss law.

 

In this opinion, Swiss legal concepts are expressed in English terms and not in their original language. These concepts may not be identical to the concepts described by the same English terms as they exist under the laws of other jurisdictions. With respect to Documents governed by laws other than the laws of Switzerland, for purposes of this opinion we have relied on the plain meaning of the words and expressions contained therein without regard to any import they may have under the relevant governing law.

 

II. Assumptions

 

In rendering the opinion below, we have assumed the following:

 

(a) all documents produced to us as originals are authentic and complete, and all documents produced to us as copies (including, without limitation, electronic copies) conform to the original;

 

 


(b) all documents produced to us as originals and the originals of all documents produced to us as copies were duly executed and certified, as applicable, by the individuals purported to have executed or certified, as the case may be, such documents;

 

(c) all documents produced to us in draft form will be executed in the form of the draft submitted to us;

 

(d) each party to the Documents (other than the Company) is a corporation or other legal entity duly organized and validly existing and in good standing (if applicable) under the laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation and/or establishment and none of the parties to the Documents (other than the Company) has passed or, until the issuance of all Offered Shares, will have passed a voluntary winding-up resolution; no petition has been, or, until the issuance of all Offered Shares, will be presented or order made by a court for the winding-up, dissolution, bankruptcy or administration of any party (other than the Company); and no receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, administrator or similar officer has been or, until the issuance of all Offered Shares, will have been appointed in relation to any of the parties (other than the Company) or any of their assets or revenues;

 

(e) to the extent relevant for purposes of this opinion, any and all information contained in the Documents is and will be true, complete and accurate at all relevant times;

 

(f) no laws (other than those of Switzerland) affect any of the conclusions stated in this opinion;

 

(g) the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, the Articles and the Excerpt are unchanged and correct, complete and up-to-date and in full force and effect as of the date hereof and no changes have been made which should have been or should be reflected in the Registration Statement, the Prospectus, the Articles of Association or the Excerpt, as the case may be, as of the date hereof;

 

(h) the Board Resolutions have been duly resolved in duly executed circular resolutions, and have not been rescinded or amended and are in full force and effect;

 

(i) prior to the issuance, offering and sale of any Offered Shares, the Board of Directors of the Company (or an authorized committee thereof) has or will have duly authorized the issuance, offering and sale of such Offered Shares and has or will have validly excluded the pre-emptive rights of the existing shareholders for purposes of the issuance, offering and sale of such Offered Shares as contemplated in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as applicable, and such authorization and exclusion has not and will not have been amended and is and will be in full force and effect until the issuance of all such Offered Shares;

 

(j) the Company has not entered and will not enter into any transaction which could be construed as repayment of share capital (restitution des versements) and has not undertaken and will not undertake an acquisition in kind (reprise de biens) without complying with the formal procedure set forth in the Swiss Code of Obligations; and

 

 


(k) all authorizations, approvals, consents, licenses, exemptions, other than as required by mandatory Swiss law applicable to the Company or the Articles, and other requirements for the filing of the Registration Statement and the Prospectus or for any other activities carried on in view of, or in connection with, the performance of the obligations expressed to be undertaken by the Company in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus have been duly obtained or fulfilled in due time and are and will remain in full force and effect, and any related conditions to which the parties thereto are subject have been satisfied.

 

III. Opinion

 

Based on the foregoing assumptions and subject to the qualifications set out below, we are of the opinion that as of the date hereof the Offered Shares, if and when issued and paid for pursuant to the Articles, the underlying contractual arrangements and Swiss law—in particular after the issue price for such Offered Shares has been paid-in in accordance with the Articles, the underlying contractual arrangements and Swiss law and upon registration of the corresponding share capital increase into the Commercial Register of the Canton of Vaud (if applicable)—and if and when such Offered Shares have been entered into the Company's book of uncertificated securities, have been or will be, as applicable, validly issued, fully paid as to their nominal value and non-assessable.

 

IV. Qualifications

 

The above opinion is subject to the following qualifications:

 

(a) The lawyers of our firm are members of the Zurich bar and do not hold themselves out to be experts in any laws other than the laws of Switzerland. Accordingly, we are opining herein as to Swiss law, based on our independent professional judgment, only and we express no opinion with respect to the applicability or the effect of the laws of any other jurisdiction to or on the matters covered herein.

 

(b) The exercise of voting rights and rights related thereto with respect to any Offered Shares is only permissible after registration in the Company's share register as a shareholder with voting rights in accordance with the provisions of, and subject to the limitations provided in, the Articles.

 

(c) We express no opinion as to whether the Registration Statement and the Prospectus are accurate, true, correct, complete or not misleading. In particular, and without limitation to the foregoing, we express no opinion on whether the Registration Statement and the Prospectus provide sufficient information for investors to reach an informed assessment of the Company, any companies within the Company's consolidation perimeter and the Offered Shares.

 

(d) We express no opinion as to regulatory matters or as to any commercial, accounting, calculating, auditing or other non-legal matter.

 

We have issued this opinion as of the date hereof and we assume no obligation to advise you of any changes in fact or in law that are made or brought to our attention hereafter.

 

 


We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement and further consent to the reference to our name under the caption "Legal Matters" in the Prospectus. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act.

 

This opinion is governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of Switzerland.

 

Sincerely yours,

 

/s/ Daniel Häusermann

 

Homburger AG

 

Daniel Häusermann