UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 8-K

 

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): August 13, 2024

 

TRANSCODE THERAPEUTICS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware		001-40363		81-1065054
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)		(Commission File Number)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

 

TransCode Therapeutics, Inc.

6 Liberty Square, #2382
Boston, Massachusetts 02109

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

 

(857) 837-3099

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

 

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

 

¨	Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

 

¨	Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

 

¨	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

 

¨	Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.

 

Title of each class		Trading symbol(s)		Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share		RNAZ		The Nasdaq Capital Market

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).

 

Emerging growth company  x

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ¨

 

 

 

Item 3.01

Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing.

 

Nasdaq Minimum Bid Price Requirement Deficiency

 

On August 13, 2024, TransCode Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) received a letter (the “Minimum Bid Price Deficiency Letter”) from the Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”) of The Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that, for the 30 consecutive business day period from July 1 through August 12, 2024, the Company’s common stock had not maintained a minimum closing bid price of $1.00 per share (the “Minimum Bid Price Requirement”) required for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). The Nasdaq letter does not result in the immediate delisting of the Company’s common stock from The Nasdaq Capital Market.

 

Normally, a company would be afforded a 180-calendar day period to demonstrate compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement. However, pursuant to Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A)(iv), the Company is not eligible for any compliance period specified in Rule 5810(c)(3)(A) because the Company effected two reverse stock splits over the prior two-year period with a cumulative ratio of more than 250 shares to one.

 

Accordingly, unless the Company timely requests a hearing before a Hearings Panel (the “Panel”), the Company’s securities would be subject to suspension/delisting. The Company intends to timely request a hearing before the Panel. The hearing request will automatically stay any suspension or delisting action pending the hearing and the expiration of any additional extension period if granted by the Panel following the hearing. There can be no assurance that the Panel will grant the Company an additional extension period or that the Company will ultimately regain compliance with all applicable requirements for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market.

 

Nasdaq Stockholder’s Equity Requirement Deficiency

 

Separate from and in addition to the Minimum Bid Price Deficiency Letter, on August 15, 2024, the Company received a letter (the “Stockholders’ Equity Requirement Deficiency Letter”) from the Staff of Nasdaq notifying the Company that it is not in compliance with the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market. Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) requires companies listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market to maintain stockholders’ equity of at least $2,500,000 (the “Stockholders’ Equity Requirement”). The Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2024, reported stockholders’ equity of $1,322,274, which is below the Stockholders’ Equity Requirement for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Stockholders’ Equity Requirement Deficiency”). In that Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the Company reported that with the addition of approximately $2.4 million of net proceeds from a July 2024 equity offering, it had pro forma stockholders’ equity at June 30, 2024, of approximately $3.7 million. There is no assurance that the Staff will assess our stockholders’ equity on a pro forma basis. As of the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K, the Company does not have a market value of listed securities of $35 million, or net income from continued operations of $500,000 in the most recently completed fiscal year or in two of the last three most recently completed fiscal years, the alternative quantitative standards for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market.

 

The Stockholders’ Equity Requirement Deficiency Letter stated that the Company’s Stockholders’ Equity Requirement Deficiency serves as an additional basis for delisting the Company’s securities from The Nasdaq Stock Market and that at a hearing in connection with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement, the Panel will consider the Company’s Stockholders’ Equity Requirement Deficiency as well.

 

The Company has not yet requested a hearing with respect to the Minimum Bid Price Requirement. In the event that the Company regains compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement prior to the Company’s hearing request, the Company may request a hearing with respect to the Stockholder’s Equity Requirement Deficiency no later than August 22, 2024.

 

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

Certain information contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We may in some cases use terms such as “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “likely,” “will,” “should” or other words that convey uncertainty of the future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations of our management team that involve risks, potential changes in circumstances, assumptions, and uncertainties, including statements regarding the Company’s intent to file for a hearing before the Panel, our ability to regain compliance with the Nasdaq continued listing requirements, and our financial condition, growth and strategies. Any or all of the forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong or be affected by assumptions we make that later turn out to be incorrect, or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties including risks related to our ability to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements or otherwise maintain compliance with any other listing requirement of the Nasdaq Capital Market, including the Minimum Bid Price Requirement and the Stockholder’s Equity Requirement, timely file our request for a hearing before the Panel, the potential de-listing of our shares from the Nasdaq Capital Market due to our failure to comply with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement or the Stockholders’ Equity Requirement, and the other risks set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. For all these reasons, actual results and developments could be materially different from those expressed in or implied by our forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are made only as of the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K. We undertake no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances unless required by law.

 

 

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 hereunto duly authorized.

 

		TransCode Therapeutics, Inc.
Date: August 16, 2024	By:	/s/ Thomas A. Fitzgerald
		Thomas A. Fitzgerald
		Interim Chief Executive Officer; Chief Financial Officer