Form 424(b)(5)
Table of Contents

Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)
Registration No. 333-266841

 

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

(To Prospectus dated September 7, 2022)

24,228,719 Shares of Common Stock

 

LOGO

 

 

 

We are offering 24,228,719 shares of our common stock, $0.001 par value per share.

The underwriter has agreed to purchase each share of common stock at a price of $0.6191 per share, which will result in approximately $15.0 million of proceeds to us, before expenses, assuming no exercise by the underwriter of the option described below. The underwriter may offer the shares of common stock from time to time for sale in one or more transactions on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, in the over-the-counter market, through negotiated transactions or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices, subject to receipt and acceptance by it and subject to its right to reject any order in whole or in part. See “Underwriting.”

We refer to the shares of common stock to be issued in this offering as the “shares.”

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “TCRT.” On November 28, 2022, the last reported sale price of our common stock on Nasdaq was $0.87 per share.

INVESTING IN OUR SECURITIES INVOLVES SIGNIFICANT RISKS. SEE “RISK FACTORS” ON PAGE S-6 OF THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT AND IN THE DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE IN THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT CONCERNING FACTORS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER BEFORE INVESTING IN OUR COMMON STOCK.

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

We have granted the underwriter an option for a period of 30 days from the date of this prospectus supplement to purchase up to an additional 3,634,307 shares of our common stock at the same price per share to the underwriter. If the underwriter exercises its option in full, the total underwriting discounts and commissions payable by us will be $860,967 and the total proceeds to us, before expenses, will be approximately $17.2 million.

Delivery of the shares is expected to be made on or about December 1, 2022.

 

 

Sole Bookrunning Manager

Cantor

The date of this prospectus supplement is November 29, 2022.

 


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

     S-1  

MARKET, INDUSTRY AND OTHER DATA

     S-2  

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY

     S-3  

THE OFFERING

     S-5  

RISK FACTORS

     S-6  

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     S-7  

USE OF PROCEEDS

     S-9  

DIVIDEND POLICY

     S-10  

DILUTION

     S-11  

MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

     S-12  

UNDERWRITING

     S-16  

LEGAL MATTERS

     S-27  

EXPERTS

     S-27  

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

     S-27  

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

     S-27  

PROSPECTUS

 

     Page  

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

     1  

MARKET, INDUSTRY AND OTHER DATA

     2  

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

     3  

RISK FACTORS

     4  

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     5  

USE OF PROCEEDS

     7  

DILUTION

     8  

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

     9  

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

     12  

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

     19  

CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF DELAWARE LAW, THE CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS

     21  

LEGAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

     23  

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

     27  

LEGAL MATTERS

     29  

EXPERTS

     29  

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

     29  

INCORPORATION OF INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

     29  

 

 

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

This prospectus supplement relates to the registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process, and relates to the offering of our securities. Before buying any of the shares that we are offering, we urge you to carefully read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the information incorporated by reference as described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference” herein and therein. These documents contain important information that you should consider when making your investment decision.

This prospectus supplement describes the terms of this offering of shares and also adds to and updates information contained in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Generally, when we refer to this “prospectus,” we are referring to both the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus together. To the extent there is a conflict between the information contained in this prospectus supplement, on the one hand, and the accompanying prospectus and information contained in any document incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus that was filed with the SEC, before the date of this prospectus supplement, on the other hand, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement. If any statement in one of these documents is inconsistent with a statement in another document having a later date (for example, a document incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus) the statement in the document having the later date modifies or supersedes the earlier statement. The information contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or any free writing prospectus, or document incorporated by reference into any of them, is accurate only as of the respective dates thereof, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus supplement or any sale of the shares offered hereby. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is filed as an exhibit to any document that is incorporated by reference herein were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreements, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.

Neither we nor the underwriter has authorized anyone to provide any information other than that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus or in any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus supplement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to purchase, the shares offered by this prospectus supplement in any jurisdiction to or from any person to whom or from whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation of an offer in such jurisdiction. You should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, in their entirety before making an investment decision.

Unless the context indicates otherwise, references in this prospectus supplement to “Alaunos,” or the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar terms refer to Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc. When we refer to “you,” we mean the potential holders of the shares offered hereby.

We own or have rights to trademarks, service marks and trade names that we use in connection with the operation of our business, including our corporate name, logos and website names. We own the trademarks Alaunos, Ziopharm® and hunTR as well as the graphic trademark found on our website. Other trademarks, service marks and trade names appearing in this prospectus supplement are the property of their respective owners. Solely for convenience, some of the trademarks, service marks and trade names referred to in this prospectus supplement are listed without the ® and symbols, but we will assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights to our trademarks, service marks and trade names.

 

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MARKET, INDUSTRY AND OTHER DATA

This prospectus supplement and the information incorporated by reference herein contains estimates, projections and other information concerning our industry, our business and the markets for certain drugs, including data regarding the estimated size of those markets. Information that is based on estimates, forecasts, projections or similar methodologies is inherently subject to uncertainties and actual events or circumstances may differ materially from events and circumstances reflected in this information. Unless otherwise expressly stated, we obtained this industry, business, market and other data from reports, research surveys, studies and similar data prepared by third parties, industry, medical and general publications, government data and similar sources. Although we believe these sources are reliable, we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information and we have not independently verified this information. In some cases, we do not expressly refer to the sources from which this data is derived. In that regard, when we refer to one or more sources of this type of data in any paragraph, you should assume that other data of this type appearing in the same paragraph is derived from the same sources, unless otherwise expressly stated or the context otherwise requires.

 

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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY

This summary highlights certain information about us, this offering and selected information contained elsewhere in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This summary is not complete and does not contain all of the information that you should consider before deciding whether to invest in our securities. For a more complete understanding of our company and this offering, we encourage you to read and consider carefully the more detailed information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including the information incorporated by reference herein and therein and the information included in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, including the information under the heading “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-6 of this prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement.

Company Overview

We are a clinical-stage oncology-focused cell therapy company developing adoptive TCR engineered T-cell therapies, or TCR-T, designed to treat multiple solid tumor types in large cancer patient populations with unmet clinical needs. We are leveraging our novel cancer mutation hotspot TCR library and our proprietary, non-viral Sleeping Beauty genetic engineering technology to design and manufacture patient-specific cell therapies that target neoantigens arising from common tumor-related mutations in key oncogenic genes, including KRAS, TP53 and EGFR. In collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, or MD Anderson, we are currently enrolling patients for a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating ten TCRs reactive to mutated KRAS, TP53 and EGFR from our TCR library for the investigational treatment of non-small cell lung, colorectal, endometrial, pancreatic, ovarian and bile duct cancers, which we refer to as our TCR-T Library Phase 1/2 Trial. We announced the dosing of the first patient in this trial in May 2022, and reported data in the third quarter of 2022. We also reported the results of our second patient treated in the third quarter of 2022.

In the United States, solid tumors represent approximately 90% of new cancer diagnoses. Approximately 1.9 million people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in the United States in 2022 and approximately 609,000 people are expected to die from cancer in the United States in 2022. Some of the cancers we are targeting in our TCR-T Library Phase 1/2 Trial are expected to be among the most prevalent cancers diagnosed in the United States in 2022. In 2022, it is estimated that 236,740 people will be diagnosed with lung and bronchus cancer, 151,030 will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer, 65,950 people will be diagnosed with endometrial cancer, 62,210 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, 19,880 people will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer and approximately 8,000 people will be diagnosed with bile duct cancer. Mutations of the KRAS, TP53 and EGFR genes are commonly expressed across a wide variety of cancers.

The table below sets forth our multiple solid tumor pipeline programs.

 

LOGO

 

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Our TCR-T program targeting solid tumors consists of:

 

   

TCR Library: We have built a TCR library that targets shared hotspot mutations known to likely be one of the key causes of cancer. These are non-inherited mutations. We have in-licensed from the National Cancer Institute, or the NCI, multiple TCRs derived from third parties that are reactive to mutated KRAS, TP53 and EGFR. Our TCR library currently consists of ten TCRs targeting six solid tumor indications.

 

   

Sleeping Beauty Genetic Engineering Technology: Our proprietary non-viral genetic engineering technology utilizes a particular enzyme referred to as a transposase to cut and paste donor DNA referred to as a transposon into chromosomes of a T cell using a process called transposition.

 

   

hunTR (human neoantigen T cell Receptor) Discovery Engine: Our robust and innovative TCR discovery engine enables us to rapidly identify new TCRs to add to our ever-expanding TCR library. Using our hunTR discovery engine, we are able to analyze thousands of single T cells simultaneously using state-of-the-art bioinformatics and next generation sequencing. We aim to maximize the breadth of our TCR library by evaluating both helper and killer T cells. The ability to continue discovering new TCRs has the potential to expand the applicable patient population for our ongoing and future clinical trials.

We believe our TCR-T program has several potential advantages over other cell therapy approaches for solid tumors, including CAR-T and tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, or TIL. As compared to CAR-T, these potential advantages include that our TCR-T program targets intracellular and extracellular neoantigens whereas CAR-T only targets extracellular antigens. As compared to TIL, these potential advantages include that our TCR-T program has defined target specificity from the genetic engineering employed in manufacturing whereas in TIL there is no further genetic engineering employed.

Corporate Information

We originally incorporated in Colorado in September 1998 (under the name Net Escapes, Inc.) and later changed our name to “EasyWeb, Inc.” in February 1999. We re-incorporated in Delaware on May 16, 2005 under the same name. On September 13, 2005, we completed a “reverse” acquisition of privately held Ziopharm, Inc., a Delaware corporation. To effect this transaction, we caused ZIO Acquisition Corp., our wholly owned subsidiary, to merge with and into Ziopharm, Inc., with Ziopharm, Inc. surviving as our wholly owned subsidiary. Following the merger, we caused Ziopharm, Inc. to merge with and into us and we changed our name to “ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.” As a result, Ziopharm, Inc. became the registrant with the SEC and the historical financial statements of Ziopharm, Inc. became our historical financial statements. On January 25, 2022, we filed a Certificate of Amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, or (as amended) our certificate of incorporation, with the Delaware Secretary of State to change our name to Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc.

Office Location

Our principal executive offices are located at 8030 El Rio Street, Houston, Texas 77054, and our telephone number is (346) 355-4099. Our internet site is www.alaunos.com. Information found on, or accessible through, our website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this prospectus, and you should not consider it part of this prospectus.

 

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THE OFFERING

 

Common stock offered by us    24,228,719 shares
Option to purchase additional shares of common stock    We have granted the underwriter an option for a period of up to 30 days from the date of this prospectus supplement to purchase up to an additional 3,634,307 shares of common stock from us.
Shares of common stock to be outstanding after this offering    240,410,761 shares (244,045,068 shares if the underwriter exercises its option to purchase additional shares in full).
Use of proceeds   

We estimate that the net proceeds from this offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, assuming the underwriter does not exercise its option to purchase additional shares, will be approximately $14.6 million.

 

We currently intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the shares offered hereby to fund the continued development of the product candidates in our pipeline, and for working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. See “Use of Proceeds” on page S-9 of this prospectus supplement.

Risk factors    See “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-6 of this prospectus supplement and the other information included in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus supplement for a discussion of certain factors you should carefully consider before deciding to invest in our securities.
Symbol on the Nasdaq Global Select Market    Our common stock currently is listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “TCRT.”

The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding immediately after this offering is based on 216,182,042 shares of our common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2022. The number of shares outstanding as of September 30, 2022 excludes:

 

   

10,623,215 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options having a weighted-average exercise price of approximately $1.85 per share;

 

   

22,922,342 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants with a weighted-average exercise price of $5.62 per share; and

 

   

15,245,494 shares of common stock reserved for issuance pursuant to future awards under our 2020 Equity Incentive Plan.

Unless otherwise indicated, this prospectus supplement reflects and assumes no exercise of the outstanding options and warrants described above subsequent to September 30, 2022.

 

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully review the risks and uncertainties described below and under the section titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2022, as updated by our annual, quarterly and other reports and documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, before deciding whether to purchase any of the securities being registered pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus supplement is a part. Each of the risk factors could adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition, as well as adversely affect the value of an investment in our securities, and the occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also significantly impair our business operations. Please also read carefully the section below titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Additional Risks Related to this Offering

If you purchase shares sold in this offering, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book value of your shares of common stock.

The indicative offering price per share in this offering is higher than the net tangible book value per share of our common stock outstanding prior to this offering. Accordingly, if you purchase shares in this offering, you will experience immediate dilution of $0.46 per share, representing the difference between our as adjusted net tangible book value per share as of September 30, 2022 after giving effect to this offering and the indicative offering price of $0.65 per share. The exercise of outstanding stock options or warrants would result in further dilution of your investment. See the section entitled “Dilution” below for a more detailed illustration of the dilution you would incur if you participate in this offering.

You may experience future dilution as a result of future equity offerings.

In order to raise additional capital, we may in the future offer additional shares of our common stock or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock. We cannot assure you that we will be able to sell shares or other securities in any other offering at a price per share that is equal to or greater than the price per share paid by investors in this offering, and investors purchasing shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing stockholders. The price per share at which we sell additional shares of our common stock or other securities convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock in future transactions may be higher or lower than the price per share paid by you in this offering.

Our management might apply the net proceeds from this offering in ways with which you do not agree and in ways that may impair the value of your investment.

We currently intend to use the net proceeds from this offering primarily to fund the continued development of the product candidates in our pipeline, and for working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. Pending these uses, we expect to invest the net proceeds in short-term U.S. treasury money market mutual funds. Our management has broad discretion as to the use of these proceeds and you will be relying on the judgment of our management regarding the application of these proceeds. We might apply these proceeds in ways with which you do not agree, or in ways that do not yield a favorable return. If our management applies these proceeds in a manner that does not yield a significant return, if any, on our investment of these net proceeds, it could compromise our ability to pursue our growth strategy and adversely affect the market price of our common stock. See “Use of Proceeds” for more information on our intended use of proceeds from this offering.

 

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus supplement and the documents incorporated by reference herein contain forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are all statements contained in, or incorporate by reference, herein that are not historical fact, and in some cases can be identified by terms such as: “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “target,” “will” and other words and terms of similar meaning.

These statements are based on management’s current beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our projections of the future, about which we cannot be certain. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

   

our ability to raise substantial additional capital to fund our planned operations and repay our existing indebtedness;

 

   

estimates regarding our expenses, use of cash, timing of future cash needs and anticipated capital requirements;

 

   

the development of our product candidates, including statements regarding the initiation, timing, progress and results of our preclinical studies, clinical trials and research and development programs;

 

   

our ability to advance our product candidates through various stages of development, especially through pivotal safety and efficacy trials;

 

   

the risk that final trial data may not support interim analysis of the viability of our product candidates;

 

   

our expectation regarding the safety and efficacy of our product candidates;

 

   

the timing, scope or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies for our product candidates and for which indications;

 

   

our ability to license additional intellectual property relating to our product candidates from third parties and to comply with our existing license agreements;

 

   

our ability to enter into partnerships or strategic collaboration agreements and our ability to achieve the results and potential benefits contemplated from relationships with collaborators;

 

   

our ability to maintain and establish collaborations and licenses;

 

   

our expectation of developments and projections relating to competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies or our industry;

 

   

our estimates regarding the potential market opportunity for our product candidates;

 

   

the anticipated rate and degree of commercial scope and potential, as well as market acceptance of our product candidates for any indication, if approved;

 

   

the anticipated amount, timing and accounting of contract liability, milestones and other payments under licensing, collaboration or acquisition agreements, research and development costs and other expenses;

 

   

our intellectual property position, including the strength and enforceability of our intellectual property rights;

 

   

our ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel; and

 

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our expectations regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the expected duration of disruption to key clinical trial activities, limitations on travel, quarantine and social distancing protocols, diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of or clinical trials, and other immediate and long-term impact and effect on our business and operations.

Any forward-looking statements in this prospectus supplement reflect our current views with respect to future events or to our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things, those described the section titled “Risk Factors.” Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

You should refer to the “Risk Factors” section contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement, for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this prospectus supplement will prove to be accurate, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all.

Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or developments occurring after the date of this prospectus supplement, even if new information becomes available in the future.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We estimate that the net proceeds from this offering, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, will be approximately $14.6 million, or approximately $16.9 million if the underwriter exercises its option to purchase additional shares in full.

We currently intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the shares offered hereby to fund the continued development of the product candidates in our pipeline, and for working capital, capital expenditures and general corporate purposes. Pending these uses, we expect to invest the net proceeds in short-term U.S. treasury money market mutual funds.

The amounts and timing of our actual expenditures will depend on numerous factors, including the progress of our clinical trials and other development efforts and other factors described under “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, as well as the amount of cash used in our operations. We may find it necessary or advisable to use the net proceeds for other purposes, and we will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds.

 

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DIVIDEND POLICY

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock. We intend to retain future earnings, if any, to finance the operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination related to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors after considering our financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements, business prospects and other factors the board of directors deems relevant, and subject to the restrictions contained in any future financing instruments. In addition, our ability to pay cash dividends is currently prohibited by the terms of our credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank.

 

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DILUTION

If you invest in our common stock, your interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the price per share you pay in this offering and the net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering.

Our net tangible book value as of September 30, 2022 was approximately $32.1 million, or approximately $0.15 per share of common stock, based upon 216,182,042 shares outstanding as of September 30, 2022. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our total tangible assets (including our restricted cash and right-of-use lease assets), less total liabilities, by the number of shares of our common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2022.

After giving effect to the sale by us of 24,228,719 shares of common stock at the indicative offering price of $0.65 per share, and after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of September 30, 2022 would have been approximately $46.8 million, or approximately $0.19 per share. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $0.04 per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of approximately $0.46 per share to investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering at the assumed purchase price.

The following table illustrates this calculation on a per share basis:

 

Indicative offering price per share

      $ 0.65  

Net tangible book value per share as of September 30, 2022

   $ 0.15     

Increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to the offering

     0.04     
  

 

 

    

As adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to the offering

        0.19  
     

 

 

 

Dilution per share to investors participating in this offering

      $ 0.46  
     

 

 

 

The foregoing table also does not give effect to the exercise of any options or warrants outstanding as of September 30, 2022. To the extent outstanding options and warrants are exercised there may be further dilution to investors in this offering.

If the underwriter exercises in full its option to purchase 3,634,307 additional shares of common stock, less the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our as adjusted net tangible book value at September 30, 2022, after giving effect to this offering, would be approximately $49.0 million, or approximately $0.20 per share, representing an increase in net tangible book value of $0.05 per share to existing stockholders and immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $0.45 per share to investors in this offering at the indicative offering price.

The above discussion and table are based on 216,182,042 shares of common stock outstanding as of September 30, 2022 and exclude in each case as of September 30, 2022:

 

   

10,623,215 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding stock options having a weighted-average exercise price of approximately $1.85 per share;

 

   

22,922,342 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants with a weighted-average exercise price of $5.62 per share; and

 

   

15,245,494 shares of common stock reserved for issuance pursuant to future awards under our 2020 Equity Incentive Plan.

 

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MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The following discussion is a summary of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock acquired in this offering by non-U.S. holders (as defined below) that hold such shares as a capital asset within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code (generally, property held for investment).

This section is based on current provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, or the Code, U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, administrative rulings and judicial decisions, all as in effect as of the date of this prospectus supplement and all of which are subject to change or to differing interpretation, possibly with retroactive effect. Any such change or differing interpretation could alter the tax consequences to holders described in this prospectus supplement. There can be no assurance that the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, will not challenge one or more of the tax consequences described herein.

This discussion does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to a particular holder in light of that holder’s individual circumstances nor does it address U.S. state or local taxes or non-U.S. taxes, U.S. federal estate or gift tax laws, the alternative minimum tax, the Medicare tax on net investment income or any other aspect of any U.S. federal tax other than the income tax. This discussion also does not consider any specific facts or circumstances that may apply to a holder and does not address the special tax rules applicable to certain holders, such as:

 

   

insurance companies;

 

   

regulated investment companies and real estate investment trusts;

 

   

tax-exempt or governmental organizations;

 

   

financial institutions;

 

   

brokers or dealers in securities;

 

   

traders that have elected to mark securities to market;

 

   

regulated investment companies;

 

   

pension plans;

 

   

corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax;

 

   

“qualified foreign pension funds” as defined in Section 897(l)(2) of the Code and entities all of the interests of which are held by qualified foreign pension funds;

 

   

persons deemed to sell our common stock under the constructive sale provisions of the Code;

 

   

persons that hold our common stock as part of a straddle, hedge, conversion transaction, synthetic security or other integrated investment;

 

   

persons who hold or receive our common stock pursuant to the exercise of any employee stock option or otherwise as compensation;

 

   

U.S. holders whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar; and

 

   

certain U.S. expatriates.

This discussion does not address the tax treatment of partnerships (including any entity or arrangements treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) or persons that hold their common stock through such a partnerships. If an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds our common stock, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will depend on the status of the partner, the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner level. A partner in a partnership or other pass-through entity (including an entity or arrangement that is treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes) that will hold our common stock should consult his, her or its tax advisor regarding the tax consequences

 

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of acquiring, holding and disposing of our common stock through a partnership or other pass-through entity, as applicable.

This discussion is for general information only and is not intended to be, and may not be construed as, tax advice. Accordingly, all prospective holders of our common stock should consult their tax advisors with respect to the U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our common stock.

Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences for Non-U.S. Holders

The following discusses the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of acquiring, owning and disposing of shares of our common stock to a non-U.S. holder. For purposes of this discussion, a non-U.S. holder is any beneficial owner of our common stock that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is:

 

   

a non-resident alien individual;

 

   

a foreign corporation or any other foreign association taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes; or

 

   

a foreign estate the income of which is not subject to United States federal income taxation regardless of its source; or

 

   

a trust that does not have in effect a valid election under the Treasury regulations to be treated as a United States person and either (1) no court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the trust’s administration or (2) no United States person has the authority to control all substantial decisions of that trust.

Distributions on Our Common Stock

As described in the section titled “Dividend Policy,” we do not anticipate paying any future distributions on our shares. However, if we do make distributions on our shares, such distributions will constitute dividends to the extent paid from our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles. If a distribution exceeds our current and accumulated earnings and profits, the excess will be treated as a tax-free return of the non-U.S. holder’s investment, up to such holder’s adjusted tax basis in the shares. Any remaining excess will be treated as capital gain from the sale or exchange of such shares, subject to the tax treatment described below in “—Gain on Sale or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Common Stock.” Any such distributions will also be subject to the discussions below in the sections titled “—Backup Withholding and Information Reporting” and “FATCA.”

Subject to the discussion in the remainder of this section, dividends paid to a non-U.S. holder generally will be subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and such holder’s country of residence. Dividends that are treated as effectively connected with a trade or business conducted by a non-U.S. holder within the United States and, if an applicable income tax treaty so provides, that are attributable to a permanent establishment or a fixed base maintained by the non-U.S. holder within the United States, are generally exempt from the 30% withholding tax if the non-U.S. holder satisfies applicable certification and disclosure requirements. However, such U.S. effectively connected income, net of specified deductions and credits, is generally taxed in the same manner and at the same regular U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to United States persons (as defined in the Code). Any U.S. effectively connected income received by a non-U.S. holder that is a corporation may also, under certain circumstances, be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and such holder’s country of residence.

A non-U.S. holder of our common stock who claims the benefit of an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and such holder’s country of residence generally will be required to provide a properly executed

 

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IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or successor form) to the applicable withholding agent and satisfy applicable certification and other requirements. Non-U.S. holders are urged to consult their tax advisors regarding their entitlement to benefits under a relevant income tax treaty. A non-U.S. holder that is eligible for a reduced rate of U.S. withholding tax under an income tax treaty may obtain a refund or credit of any excess amounts withheld by timely filing a U.S. tax return with the IRS.

Gains on Sale or Other Taxable Disposition of Our Common Stock

Subject to the discussions below under “—Backup Withholding and Information Reporting” and “—FATCA,” a non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to any U.S. federal income or withholding tax on any gain realized upon such holder’s sale or other taxable disposition of shares of our common stock unless:

 

   

the gain is effectively connected with the non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a U.S. trade or business and, if an applicable income tax treaty so provides, is attributable to a permanent establishment or a fixed base maintained by such non-U.S. holder in the United States, in which case the non-U.S. holder generally will be taxed on a net income basis at the regular U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to United States persons (as defined in the Code) and, if the non-U.S. holder is a foreign corporation, the branch profits tax described above in “—Distributions on Our Common Stock” also may apply;

 

   

the non-U.S. holder is a nonresident alien individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more in the taxable year of the disposition and certain other conditions are met, in which case the non-U.S. holder will be subject to a 30% tax (or such lower rate as may be specified by an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and such holder’s country of residence) on the net gain derived from the sale or other taxable disposition of the shares of common stock, which may be offset by certain U.S. source capital losses of the non-U.S. holder, if any (even though the individual is not considered a resident of the United States), provided that the non-U.S. holder has timely filed U.S. federal income tax returns with respect to such losses; or

 

   

we are, or have been, a United States real property holding corporation at any time during the five-year period preceding such sale or other taxable disposition (or the non-U.S. holder’s holding period, if shorter) of such shares of common stock, unless our common stock is (i) regularly traded on an established securities market and (ii) the non-U.S. holder holds no more than 5% (by value) of our outstanding common stock, directly or indirectly, actually or constructively, during the shorter of the 5-year period ending on the date of the disposition or the period that the non-U.S. holder held our common stock. If we are or were a U.S. real property holding corporation during the relevant period and the foregoing exception does not apply, the non-U.S. holder generally will be taxed on its net gain derived from the disposition at the regular U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to United States persons (as defined in the Code). Generally, a corporation is a U.S. real property holding corporation only if the fair market value of its U.S. real property interests equals or exceeds 50% of the sum of the fair market value of its worldwide real property interests plus its other assets used or held for use in a trade or business. Although there can be no assurance, we do not believe that we are, or have been, a U.S. real property holding corporation, or that we are likely to become one in the future. No assurance can be provided that our common stock will be regularly traded on an established securities market for purposes of the rules described above.

Backup Withholding and Information Reporting

We must report annually to the IRS and to each non-U.S. holder the gross amount of the distributions on our securities paid to such holder and the tax withheld, if any, with respect to such distributions. Non-U.S. holders may have to comply with specific certification procedures (the provision of a valid Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN or Form W-8BEN-E on which the non-U.S. holder certifies, under penalties of perjury, that it is a non-United States person or other documentation upon which the broker or payor may rely on to treat the payments as made to a non-United States person in accordance with Treasury regulations) to establish that the holder is not a United States person (as defined in the Code) in order to avoid backup withholding at the

 

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applicable rate with respect to dividends on our securities. Dividends paid to non-U.S. holders subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax, as described above in “—Distributions on Our Common Stock and ,” generally will be exempt from U.S. backup withholding.

Information reporting and backup withholding will generally apply to the proceeds of a disposition of our securities by a non-U.S. holder effected by or through the U.S. office of any broker, U.S. or foreign, unless the holder certifies its status as a non-U.S. holder and satisfies certain other requirements, or otherwise establishes an exemption. Generally, information reporting and backup withholding will not apply to a payment of disposition proceeds to a non-U.S. holder where the transaction is effected outside the United States through a non-U.S. office of a broker. However, for information reporting purposes, dispositions effected through a non-U.S. office of a broker that is a (i) U.S. person; (ii) a “controlled foreign corporation” for U.S. federal income tax purposes; (iii) a foreign person 50% or more of whose gross income is effectively connected with the conduct of a United States trade or business for a specified three-year period; or (iv) a foreign partnership, if at any time during its tax year (a) one or more of its partners are “U.S. persons”, as defined in U.S. Treasury regulations, who in the aggregate hold more than 50% of the income or capital interest in the partnership, or (b) such foreign partnership is engaged in the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, generally will be treated in a manner similar to dispositions effected through a U.S. office of a broker, unless the broker does not have actual knowledge or reason to know that that the holder is a United States person and the documentation requirements described above or an exemption is otherwise established. Backup withholding will apply if the sale is subject to information reporting and the broker has actual knowledge that the holder is a United States person.

Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the application of the information reporting and backup withholding rules to them. Copies of information returns may be made available to the tax authorities of the country in which the non-U.S. holder resides or is incorporated under the provisions of a specific treaty or agreement. Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Any excess amounts withheld under the backup withholding rules from a payment to a non-U.S. holder can be refunded or credited against the non-U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, if any, provided that an appropriate claim is filed with the IRS in a timely manner.

FATCA

Sections 1471 through 1474 of the Code and the Treasury regulations issued thereunder, commonly referred to as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, generally impose a U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30% on payments of dividends on our common stock paid to a foreign entity unless (i) if the foreign entity is a “foreign financial institution,” (as defined under FATCA) such foreign entity undertakes certain due diligence, reporting, withholding, and certification obligations, (ii) if the foreign entity is not a “foreign financial institution,” such foreign entity either certifies it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or furnishes identifying information regarding each substantial U.S. owner and such entity meets certain other specified requirements, or (iii) the foreign entity is otherwise exempt under FATCA. Such withholding may also apply to gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our common stock, although under proposed U.S. Treasury Regulations, no withholding would apply to such gross proceeds. The preamble to the proposed regulations specifies that taxpayers (including withholding agents) are permitted to rely on the proposed regulations pending finalization. Under certain circumstances, a non-U.S. holder may be eligible for refunds or credits of this withholding tax. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country may modify the requirements described in this paragraph. Non-U.S. holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the possible implications of this legislation on their investment in our common stock and the entities through which they hold our common stock, including, without limitation, the process and deadlines for meeting the applicable requirements to prevent the imposition of the 30% withholding tax under FATCA.

The preceding discussion of U.S. federal income tax considerations is for general information only. It is not tax advice. Each prospective investor should consult its tax advisor regarding the particular U.S. federal, state and local and non-U.S. tax consequences of purchasing, holding and disposing of our common stock, including the consequences of any proposed change in applicable laws.

 

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UNDERWRITING

Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement, dated November 29, between us and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., 499 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, as the underwriter for this offering, we have agreed to sell to Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. has agreed to purchase 24,228,719 shares from us.

The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. are subject to certain conditions precedent such as the receipt by Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. of officers’ certificates and legal opinions and approval of certain legal matters by their counsel. The underwriting agreement provides that Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. will purchase all of the shares of common stock if any of them are purchased. We have agreed to indemnify Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and certain of its controlling persons against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. is offering the shares of common stock subject to its acceptance of the shares of common stock from us and subject to prior sale. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. reserves the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.

Option to Purchase Additional Shares

We have granted to Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. an option, exercisable 30 days from the date of this prospectus supplement, to purchase, from time to time, in whole or in part, up to an aggregate of 3,634,307 shares from us at the price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement.

Commission and Expenses

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. is purchasing shares of our common stock from us at $0.6191 per share (representing approximately $15.0 million of proceeds to us, before deducting offering expenses). Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. may offer the shares or common stock from time to time to purchasers directly or through agents, or through brokers in brokerage transactions on Nasdaq, or to dealers in negotiated transactions or in a combination of such methods of sale, or otherwise, at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, or at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. The difference between the price at which Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. purchases shares of common stock from us and the price at which Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. resells such shares of common stock may be deemed underwriting compensation. If Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. effects such transactions by selling shares of our common stock to or through dealers, such dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and/or purchasers of our common stock for whom they may act as agents or to whom they may sell as principal.

We estimate expenses payable by us in connection with this offering, other than the underwriting discounts and commissions referred to above, will be approximately $350,000. We have agreed to reimburse the expenses of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., including its legal fees, in an amount of up to $50,000 in connection with this offering. This reimbursable amount has been included in our estimated offering expenses. In accordance with FINRA Rule 5110, these reimbursed fees and expenses are deemed underwriting compensation for this offering.

Listing

Our common stock is listed on Nasdaq under the trading symbol “TCRT.”

 

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No Sales of Similar Securities

We have agreed, subject to certain specified exceptions, not to directly or indirectly, for a period of 90 days after the date of this prospectus supplement, without the prior written consent of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.:

 

   

sell, offer to sell, contract to sell or lend, effect any short sale, establish or increase any “put equivalent position” within the meaning of Rule 16a-l(h) under the Exchange Act or liquidate or decrease any “call equivalent position” within the meaning of Rule 16a-l(b) under the Exchange Act, pledge, hypothecate or grant any security interest in, or otherwise transfer or dispose of, any shares of our common stock, options or warrants to acquire shares of our common stock, or securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into shares of our common stock currently or hereafter owned either of record or beneficially;

 

   

enter into any swap, hedge or similar agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, the economic risk of ownership of our common stock, or securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into shares of our common stock;

 

   

file any registration statement under the Securities Act in respect of any shares of our common stock, options or warrants to acquire shares of our common stock, or securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into shares of our common stock (other than as contemplated by the underwriting agreement as described herein); or

 

   

publicly announce an intention to do any of the foregoing.

The foregoing restrictions do not apply in certain circumstances, including:

 

   

the issuance of shares of our common stock or securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into shares of our common stock pursuant to any securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into shares of our common stock or any stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or arrangement described in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus or shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of such securities;

 

   

the filing of a registration statement on Form S-8 or any successor thereto;

 

   

the issuance of shares or securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into shares of our common stock, or the entry into an agreement to issue such securities, in connection with any merger, joint venture, strategic alliance, commercial or other collaborative transaction or the acquisition or license of the business, property, technology or other assets of another individual or entity, or the assumption of an employee benefit plan in connection with a merger or acquisition, provided that, the aggregate number of shares of common stock securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into shares of our common stock we may issue or agree to issue pursuant to this exception may not exceed 10% of our total outstanding share capital immediately following any such issuances and the recipients of such securities are required to enter into a lock-up agreement on the terms described below; and

 

   

the issuance of shares pursuant to the Equity Distribution Agreement, dated August 12, 2022, between us and Piper Sandler &Co., following a period of 60 days after the date of this prospectus supplement.

Our executive officers and certain of our directors have agreed, subject to certain specified exceptions, not to directly or indirectly, for a period of 90 days after the date of this prospectus supplement, without the prior written consent of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.:

 

   

sell, offer to sell, contract to sell or lend, effect any short sale, pledge, transfer, establish or increase an open “put equivalent position” within the meaning of Rule 16a-l(h) under the Exchange Act or liquidate or decrease any “call equivalent position” within the meaning of Rule 16a-l(b) under the Exchange Act, pledge, hypothecate or grant any security interest in, or in any other way transfer or dispose of, any shares of our common stock, options or warrants to acquire shares of our common

 

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stock, or securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into shares of our common stock with respect to which such person has or acquires the power of disposition;

 

   

enter into any swap, hedge or other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, the economic consequence of ownership of our common stock, or securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into shares of our common stock; or

 

   

publicly announce an intention to do any of the foregoing.

In addition, each such person has agreed that, without the prior written consent of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., such person will not, during the restricted period, make any demand for, or exercise any right with respect to, the registration of any shares of our common stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of our common stock.

In the case of our officers and certain directors, the restrictions do not apply in certain circumstances, including (in each case, subject to certain limitations):

 

   

transfers by gift, for estate planning purposes, to immediate family members or their trusts or by testamentary document or intestate succession to a beneficiary or immediate family member;

 

   

transfers to a charitable organization or educational institution in a transaction not involving a disposition for value;

 

   

the exercise, vesting or conversion of awards, stock options, stock appreciation rights, warrants, rights or convertible securities outstanding on the date of this prospectus supplement or issued pursuant to plans existing as of the date of this prospectus supplement or the surrender or forfeiture securities to satisfy tax withholding obligations upon exercise or vesting of such instruments or transfers to us pursuant to any contractual arrangement in effect as of the date hereof that provides for the repurchase of shares of our common stock or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for shares of our common stock;

 

   

transfers by operation of law, any order or decree of any court or governmental agency or body, including pursuant to orders of a court or regulatory agency, a domestic order or negotiated divorce settlement;

 

   

sales pursuant to a written plan meeting the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act in effect prior to the execution of the lock-up agreement (as well as entry into new such plans, so long as no sales are made during the restricted period); and

 

   

transfers pursuant to a bona fide third-party tender offer, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction made to all holders of our securities involving a change of control of our company.

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. may, in its sole discretion and at any time or from time to time before the termination of the 90-day restricted period, release all or any portion of the securities subject to lock-up agreements.

Market Making, Stabilization and Other Transactions

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. may make a market in the common stock as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. However, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. is not obligated to do so, and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. may discontinue any market-making activities at any time without notice in its sole discretion. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of the trading market for the common stock, that you will be able to sell any of the common stock held by you at a particular time or that the prices that you receive when you sell will be favorable.

The underwriter has advised us that it, pursuant to Regulation M under the Exchange Act, may engage in short sale transactions, stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions or the imposition of penalty bids in

 

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connection with this offering. These activities may have the effect of stabilizing or maintaining the market price of the common stock at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. Establishing short sales positions may involve either “covered” short sales or “naked” short sales.

“Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriter’s option to purchase additional shares of our common stock in this offering. The underwriter may close out any covered short position by either exercising its option to purchase additional shares of our common stock or purchasing shares of our common stock in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out the covered short position, the underwriter will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which it may purchase shares through the option to purchase additional shares.

“Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the option to purchase additional shares of our common stock. The underwriter must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriter is concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the shares of our common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering.

A stabilizing bid is a bid for the purchase of shares of common stock on behalf of the underwriter for the purpose of fixing or maintaining the price of the common stock. A syndicate covering transaction is the bid for or the purchase of shares of common stock on behalf of the underwriter to reduce a short position incurred by the underwriter in connection with the offering. Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriter’s purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our common stock or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our common stock. As a result, the price of our common stock may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. A penalty bid is an arrangement permitting the underwriter to reclaim the selling concession otherwise accruing to a syndicate member in connection with the offering if the common stock originally sold by such syndicate member are purchased in a syndicate covering transaction and therefore have not been effectively placed by such syndicate member.

Neither we nor the underwriter make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our common stock. The underwriter is not obligated to engage in these activities and, if commenced, may end any of these activities at any time. These transactions may be effected on Nasdaq in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.

Passive Market Making

The underwriter may also engage in passive market making transactions in our common stock on the Nasdaq in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M during a period before the commencement of offers or sales of shares of our common stock in this offering and extending through the completion of distribution. A passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid of that security. However, if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, that bid must then be lowered when specified purchase limits are exceeded. Passive market making may cause the price of our common stock to be higher than the price that otherwise would exist in the open market in the absence of those transactions. The underwriter is not required to engage in passive market making and, if commenced, may end passive market making activities at any time.

Electronic Distribution

A prospectus in electronic format may be made available by e-mail or on the web sites or through online services maintained by one or more underwriters, selling group members (if any) or their affiliates. The underwriter may agree with us to allocate a specific number of shares of common stock for sale to online brokerage account holders. Any such allocation for online distributions will be made by the underwriter on the same basis as other

 

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allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on the underwriter’s web site and any information contained in any other web site maintained by the underwriter is not part of this prospectus supplement, has not been approved and/or endorsed by us or the underwriter and should not be relied upon by investors.

Other Activities and Relationships

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and certain of its affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in a wide range of activities for their own accounts and the accounts of customers, which may include, among other things, corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, merchant banking, equity and fixed income sales, trading and research, derivatives, foreign exchange, futures, asset management, custody, clearance and securities lending. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and certain of its affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various investment banking and financial advisory services for us and our affiliates, for which it received or will receive customary fees and expenses.

In addition, in the ordinary course of its business, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and its affiliates may, directly or indirectly, hold long or short positions, trade and otherwise conduct such activities in or with respect to debt or equity securities and/or bank debt of, and/or derivative products. Such investment and securities activities may involve our securities and instruments. Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. and its affiliates may also make investment recommendations or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long or short positions in such securities and instruments.

Stamp Taxes

If you purchase shares of common stock offered in this prospectus supplement, you may be required to pay stamp taxes and other charges under the laws and practices of the country of purchase, in addition to the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus supplement.

Notice to Investors

Canada

This prospectus supplement constitutes an “exempt offering document” as defined in and for the purposes of applicable Canadian securities laws. No prospectus has been filed with any securities commission or similar regulatory authority in Canada in connection with the offer and sale of the securities. No securities commission or similar regulatory authority in Canada has reviewed or in any way passed upon this prospectus supplement or on the merits of the securities and any representation to the contrary is an offence.

Canadian investors are advised that this prospectus supplement has been prepared in reliance on section 3A.3 of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts, or NI 33-105. Pursuant to section 3A.3 of NI 33-105, this prospectus supplement is exempt from the requirement that the issuer and the underwriter(s) provide investors with certain conflicts of interest disclosure pertaining to “connected issuer” and/or “related issuer” relationships that may exist between the issuer and the underwriter(s) as would otherwise be required pursuant to subsection 2.1(1) of NI 33-105.

Resale Restrictions

The offer and sale of the securities in Canada is being made on a private placement basis only and is exempt from the requirement that the issuer prepares and files a prospectus under applicable Canadian securities laws. Any resale of the securities acquired by a Canadian investor in this offering must be made in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws, which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may

 

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require resales to be made in accordance with Canadian prospectus requirements, pursuant to a statutory exemption from the prospectus requirements, in a transaction exempt from the prospectus requirements or otherwise under a discretionary exemption from the prospectus requirements granted by the applicable local Canadian securities regulatory authority. These resale restrictions may under certain circumstances apply to resales of the securities outside of Canada.

Representations of Purchasers

Each Canadian investor who purchases the securities will be deemed to have represented to the issuer and the underwriter(s) that the investor (i) is purchasing the securities as principal, or is deemed to be purchasing as principal in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws, for investment only and not with a view to resale or redistribution; (ii) is an “accredited investor” as such term is defined in section 1.1 of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions, or NI 45-106, or, in Ontario, as such term is defined in section 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario); and (iii) is a “permitted client” as such term is defined in section 1.1 of National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations.

Taxation and Eligibility for Investment

Any discussion of taxation and related matters contained in this prospectus supplement does not purport to be a comprehensive description of all of the tax considerations that may be relevant to a Canadian investor when deciding to purchase the securities and, in particular, does not address any Canadian tax considerations. No representation or warranty is hereby made as to the tax consequences to a resident, or deemed resident, of Canada of an investment in the securities or with respect to the eligibility of the securities for investment by such investor under relevant Canadian federal and provincial legislation and regulations.

Rights of Action for Damages or Rescission

Securities legislation in certain of the Canadian jurisdictions provides certain purchasers of securities pursuant to an offering memorandum (such as this prospectus supplement), including where the distribution involves an “eligible foreign security” as such term is defined in Ontario Securities Commission Rule 45-501 Ontario Prospectus and Registration Exemptions and in Multilateral Instrument 45-107 Listing Representation and Statutory Rights of Action Disclosure Exemptions, as applicable, with a remedy for damages or rescission, or both, in addition to any other rights they may have at law, where the offering memorandum, or other offering document that constitutes an offering memorandum, and any amendment thereto, contains a “misrepresentation” as defined under applicable Canadian securities laws. These remedies, or notice with respect to these remedies, must be exercised or delivered, as the case may be, by the purchaser within the time limits prescribed under, and are subject to limitations and defences under, applicable Canadian securities legislation. In addition, these remedies are in addition to and without derogation from any other right or remedy available at law to the investor.

Language of Documents

Upon receipt of this document, each Canadian investor hereby confirms that it has expressly requested that all documents evidencing or relating in any way to the sale of the securities described herein (including for greater certainty any purchase confirmation or any notice) be drawn up in the English language only. Par la réception de ce document, chaque investisseur Canadien confirme par les présentes qu’il a expressément exigé que tous les documents faisant foi ou se rapportant de quelque manière que ce soit à la vente des valeurs mobilières décrites aux présentes (incluant, pour plus de certitude, toute confirmation d’achat ou tout avis) soient rédigés en anglais seulement.

Australia

This document does not constitute a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Australia’s Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), or the Corporations Act, of Australia. This document has not been

 

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lodged with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and is only directed to the categories of exempt persons set out below. Accordingly, if you receive this document in Australia:

You confirm and warrant that you are either:

 

   

a “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act;

 

   

a “sophisticated investor” under section 708(8)(c) or (d) of the Corporations Act and that you have provided an accountant’s certificate to the company which complies with the requirements of section 708(8)(c)(i) or (ii) of the Corporations Act and related regulations before the offer has been made; or

 

   

a “professional investor” within the meaning of section 708(11)(a) or (b) of the Corporations Act.

To the extent that you are unable to confirm or warrant that you are an exempt sophisticated investor or professional investor under the Corporations Act any offer made to you under this document is void and incapable of acceptance.

You warrant and agree that you will not offer any of the shares issued to you pursuant to this document for resale in Australia within 12 months of those securities being issued unless any such resale offer is exempt from the requirement to issue a disclosure document under section 708 of the Corporations Act.

European Economic Area

In relation to each member state of the European Economic Area (each a Member State), no securities have been offered or will be offered pursuant to the offer described herein in that Member State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the securities which has been approved by the competent authority in that Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Regulation, except that the securities may be offered to the public in that Member State at any time:

(i) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation;

(ii) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under Article 2 of the Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriter for any such offer; or

(iii) in any other circumstances falling within Article 1(4) of the Prospectus Regulation,

provided that no such offer of securities shall require the issuer or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Regulation or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the Prospectus Regulation.

Each person in a Member State who acquires any securities in the offer or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed to and with the issuer and the underwriter that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation.

In the case of any securities being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 5(1) of the Prospectus Regulation, each such financial intermediary will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed to and with the issuer and the underwriter that the securities acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer to the public other than their offer or resale in a Member State to qualified investors, in circumstances in which the prior consent of the underwriter has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale. Neither the issuer nor the underwriter has authorised, nor do they authorise, the making of any offer of securities through any financial intermediary, other than offers made by the underwriter which constitute the final placement of securities contemplated in this document.

 

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The issuer and the underwriter and their affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, acknowledgements and agreements.

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to any securities in any Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase, or subscribe for, any securities and the expression “Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129.

In Member States, this document is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, persons who are “qualified investors” within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the Prospectus Regulation, or Qualified Investors. This document must not be acted on or relied on in any Member State by persons who are not Qualified Investors. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available in any Member State only to Qualified Investors and will be engaged in only with such persons.

Hong Kong

No securities have been, may be or will be offered or sold in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than to persons whose ordinary business is to buy or sell shares or debentures, whether as principal or agent; or to “professional investors” as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong, or the SFO, and any rules made thereunder; or in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a “prospectus” as defined in the Companies (Winding UP and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong, or the C(WUMP)O, or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of the C(WUMP)O. No document, invitation or advertisement relating to the securities has been issued or may be issued or will be issued or may be in the possession of any person for the purpose of issue (in each case whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere), which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted under the securities laws of Hong Kong) other than with respect to securities which are or are intended to be disposed of only to persons outside Hong Kong or only to “professional investors” as defined in the SFO and any rules made thereunder.

This document has not been and will not be registered with the Registrar of Companies in Hong Kong. Accordingly, this document may not be issued, circulated or distributed in Hong Kong, and the securities may not be offered for subscription to members of the public in Hong Kong. Each person acquiring the securities will be required, and is deemed by the acquisition of the securities, to confirm that he is aware of the restriction on offers of the securities described in this document and the relevant offering documents and that he is not acquiring, and has not been offered any securities in circumstances that contravene any such restrictions.

Japan

The offering has not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act of Japan (Act No. 25 of 1948 of Japan, as amended), or the “FIEA, and the Initial Purchaser will not offer or sell any securities, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan (which term as used herein means, unless otherwise provided herein, any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan), or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to a resident of Japan, except pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements of, and otherwise in compliance with, the FIEA and any other applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines of Japan.

Singapore

This document has not been and will not be lodged or registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this document and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or the invitation for subscription or purchase of the securities may not be issued, circulated or distributed, nor may the securities be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly

 

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or indirectly, to any person in Singapore other than (i) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore, or the SFA, (ii) to a relevant person as defined under Section 275(2) of the SFA, or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A) of the SFA, and in accordance with the conditions, specified in Section 275 of the SFA and where (where applicable) Regulation 3 of the Securities and Futures (Classes of Investors) Regulations 2018, or (iii) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of any other applicable provision of the SFA. In the event that you are not an investor falling within any of the categories set out above, please return this document immediately. You may not forward or circulate this document to any other person in Singapore.

No offer is made to you with a view to the securities being subsequently offered for sale to any other party. There are on-sale restrictions that may be applicable to investors who acquire securities. As such, investors are advised to acquaint themselves with the provisions of the SFA relating to resale restrictions and comply accordingly.

Where the securities are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is:

 

   

a corporation (which is not an accredited investor as defined under Section 4A of the SFA) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or

 

   

a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary is an accredited investor,

securities or securities-based derivatives contracts (each term as defined in Section 2(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries’ rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferable within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the securities under Section 275 of the SFA except:

 

   

to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the SFA or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person pursuant to an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA;

 

   

where no consideration is given for the transfer;

 

   

where the transfer is by operation of law;

 

   

as specified in Section 276(7) of the SFA; or

 

   

as specified in Regulation 37A of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Securities and Securities-based Derivatives Contracts) Regulations 2018 of Singapore.

Switzerland

The securities may not be publicly offered in Switzerland and will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, or SIX, or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This document has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for issuance prospectuses under art. 652a or art. 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations or the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the securities or the offering may be publicly distributed or otherwise made publicly available in Switzerland.

Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to the offering, the issuer or the securities have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of securities will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA, or FINMA, and the offer of securities has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes, or CISA. The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of securities.

 

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Israel

This document does not constitute a prospectus under the Israeli Securities Law, 5728-1968, or the Securities Law, and has not been filed with or approved by the Israel Securities Authority. In the State of Israel, this document is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, and any offer of the shares is directed only at, investors listed in the first addendum, or the Addendum, to the Israeli Securities Law, consisting primarily of joint investment in trust funds, provident funds, insurance companies, banks, portfolio managers, investment advisors, members of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, underwriters, venture capital funds, entities with equity in excess of NIS 50 million and “qualified individuals”, each as defined in the Addendum (as it may be amended from time to time), collectively referred to as qualified investors (in each case purchasing for their own account or, where permitted under the Addendum, for the accounts of their clients who are investors listed in the Addendum). Qualified investors will be required to submit written confirmation that they fall within the scope of the Addendum, are aware of the meaning of same and agree to it.

United Kingdom

In relation to the United Kingdom, no securities have been offered or will be offered pursuant to the offer described herein to the public in the United Kingdom prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to the securities which has been approved by the UK Financial Conduct Authority, except that the securities may be offered to the public in the United Kingdom at any time:

(i) to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined under Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation;

(ii) to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined under Article 2 of the UK Prospectus Regulation), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the underwriter for any such offer; or

(iii) in any other circumstances falling within Section 86 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (as amended), or the FSMA,

provided that no such offer of the securities shall require the issuer or any underwriter to publish a prospectus pursuant to Section 85 of the FSMA or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 23 of the UK Prospectus Regulation.

Each person in the United Kingdom who acquires any securities in the offer or to whom any offer is made will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed to and with the issuer and the underwriter that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of the UK Prospectus Regulation.

In the case of any securities being offered to a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 5(1) of the UK Prospectus Regulation, each such financial intermediary will be deemed to have represented, acknowledged and agreed to and with the issuer and the underwriter that the securities acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on a non-discretionary basis on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in circumstances which may give rise to an offer to the public other than their offer or resale in the United Kingdom to qualified investors, in circumstances in which the prior consent of the underwriter has been obtained to each such proposed offer or resale. Neither the issuer nor the underwriter has authorised, nor do they authorise, the making of any offer of securities through any financial intermediary, other than offers made by the underwriter which constitute the final placement of securities contemplated in this document.

The issuer and the underwriter and their affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, acknowledgements and agreements.

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer to the public” in relation to the securities in the United Kingdom means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and any securities to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe for any securities and the expression “UK Prospectus Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of United Kingdom law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

 

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In the United Kingdom, this document is being distributed only to, and is directed only at, persons who are “qualified investors” within the meaning of Article 2(e) of the UK Prospectus Regulation who are also: (i) persons who fall within the definition of “investment professionals” in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended, or the Order; (ii) persons falling within Article 49(2) of the Order; or (iii) persons to whom it may otherwise lawfully be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). This document must not be acted on or relied on in the United Kingdom by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available in the United Kingdom only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with such persons.

Any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the FSMA) may only be communicated or caused to be communicated in connection with the issue or sale of the securities in circumstances in which Section 21(1) of the FSMA does not apply. All applicable provisions of the FSMA and the Order must be complied with in respect of anything done by any person in relation to the securities in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

The validity of the shares offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Covington & Burling LLP, New York, New York. The underwriter is being represented in connection with this offering by Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., New York, New York.

EXPERTS

The financial statements of Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc. as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 and the years then ended incorporated in this prospectus supplement by reference from the Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 have been audited by RSM US LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report thereon, incorporated herein by reference, and have been incorporated in this prospectus supplement and the registration statement in reliance upon such report and upon the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

This prospectus is part of a registration statement we filed with the SEC. This prospectus does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and the exhibits to the registration statement. For further information with respect to us and the shares we are offering under this prospectus, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed as a part of the registration statement. You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference herein. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with different information. We are not making an offer of these shares in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of the shares offered by this prospectus.

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. Our SEC filings are available to the public over the Internet at the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

Copies of certain information filed by us with the SEC are also available on our website at www.alaunos.com. Information contained in or accessible through our website does not constitute a part of this prospectus and is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The SEC file number for the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus is No. 001-33038. The documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus contain important information that you should read about us.

The following documents are incorporated by reference into this document:

 

   

our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on March 30, 2022;

 

   

our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March  31, 2022, June  30, 2022 and September 30, 2022, filed with the SEC on May 16, 2022, August 15, 2022 and November 14, 2022, respectively;

 

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our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January  4, 2022, January 26, 2022, March  17, 2022, March 18, 2022, May  2, 2022 (first filed only), June  17, 2022, June 27, 2022, July  13, 2022, September  6, 2022 and September 30, 2022 to the extent the information in such reports is filed and not furnished; and

 

   

the description of our common stock set forth in Exhibit 4.7 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, which was filed with the SEC on March 30, 2022, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description.

All reports and other documents we subsequently file pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act prior to the termination of this offering, but excluding any information furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC, will also be incorporated by reference into this prospectus and deemed to be part of this prospectus from the date of the filing of such reports and documents. Any statements in any such future filings will automatically be deemed to modify and supersede any information in any document we previously filed with the SEC that is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated herein by reference to the extent that statements in the later filed document modify or replace such earlier statements.

We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, without charge upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus but not delivered with the prospectus, including exhibits that are specifically incorporated by reference into such documents. You may request a copy of such documents at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address or telephone number:

Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc.

8030 El Rio St.

Houston, TX 77054

Attention: Senior Vice President, Legal

(346) 355-4099

Any statement contained in this prospectus or contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or any subsequently filed to this prospectus, or document deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus, modifies or supersedes such statement.

 

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PROSPECTUS

 

LOGO

$200,000,000

Common Stock

Preferred Stock

Debt Securities

Warrants

From time to time, we may offer and sell up to $200,000,000 in the aggregate of the securities identified above, either individually or in combination, at prices and on terms described in one or more supplements to this prospectus. We may also offer securities as may be issuable upon conversion, redemption, repurchase, exchange or exercise of any securities registered hereunder, including any applicable anti-dilution provisions.

This prospectus describes the general terms of these securities and the general manner in which these securities will be offered. Each time we offer and sell securities, we will provide the specific terms of these offerings and securities in one or more supplements to this prospectus. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you in connection with these offerings. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, as well as any documents incorporated by reference, before buying any of the securities being offered.

This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of any securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “TCRT.” On August 29, 2022, the closing price of our common stock, as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, was $2.47. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to other listings, if any, on the Nasdaq Global Select Market or other securities exchange of the securities covered by the prospectus supplement.

Securities may be sold to or through underwriters or dealers, directly to purchasers or through agents designated from time to time. For additional information on the methods of sale, you should refer to the section titled “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus and in the applicable prospectus supplement. If any underwriters are involved in the sale of any securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of such underwriters and any applicable discounts or commissions and options to purchase additional securities will be set forth in a prospectus supplement. The price to the public of such securities and the net proceeds we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should review carefully the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” on page 4 of this prospectus and any similar section contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and in any free writing prospectuses we have authorized for use in connection with a specific offering, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. A representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is September 7, 2022.


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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

     1  

MARKET, INDUSTRY AND OTHER DATA

     2  

PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

     3  

RISK FACTORS

     4  

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

     5  

USE OF PROCEEDS

     7  

DILUTION

     8  

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

     9  

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

     12  

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

     19  

CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF DELAWARE LAW, THE CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS

     21  

LEGAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

     23  

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

     27  

LEGAL MATTERS

     29  

EXPERTS

     29  

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

     29  

INCORPORATION OF INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

     29  


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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, using a “shelf” registration process under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. Under this shelf registration statement, we may sell common stock, preferred stock, various series of debt securities, or warrants to purchase any of such securities, either individually or in combination with other securities described in this prospectus, in one or more offerings from time to time up to an aggregate dollar amount of $200,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer.

Each time we sell any type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will include more specific information about the terms of that offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you may also add, update or change any of the information contained in this prospectus or in the documents we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. This prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplement, any related free writing prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, will include all material information relating to the applicable offering. Before buying any of the securities being offered, we urge you to carefully read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectuses we have authorized for use in connection with a specific offering, together with the additional information incorporated herein by reference as described under the heading “Incorporation of Information by Reference.”

This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

You should rely only on the information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, along with the information contained in any free writing prospectuses we have authorized for use in connection with a specific offering. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different or additional information. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby, and only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so.

The information appearing in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front of the document and any information we have incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus, the prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus, or the time of any sale of a security. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

This prospectus includes summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

Unless the context indicates otherwise, references in this prospectus to “Alaunos,” or the “Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar terms refer to Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc.

 

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MARKET, INDUSTRY AND OTHER DATA

This prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement, and the information incorporated by reference herein and therein, contains estimates, projections and other information concerning our industry, our business and the markets for certain drugs, including data regarding the estimated size of those markets. Information that is based on estimates, forecasts, projections or similar methodologies is inherently subject to uncertainties and actual events or circumstances may differ materially from events and circumstances reflected in this information. Unless otherwise expressly stated, we obtained this industry, business, market and other data from reports, research surveys, studies and similar data prepared by third parties, industry, medical and general publications, government data and similar sources. Although we believe these sources are reliable, we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information and we have not independently verified this information. In some cases, we do not expressly refer to the sources from which this data is derived. In that regard, when we refer to one or more sources of this type of data in any paragraph, you should assume that other data of this type appearing in the same paragraph is derived from the same sources, unless otherwise expressly stated or the context otherwise requires.

 

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PROSPECTUS SUMMARY

This summary highlights selected information contained elsewhere in this prospectus or incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and does not contain all of the information that you need to consider in making your investment decision. You should carefully read the entire prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, including the risks of investing in our securities discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You should also carefully read the information incorporated by reference into this prospectus, including our financial statements, and the exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc.

Company Overview

We are a clinical-stage oncology-focused cell therapy company developing adoptive TCR engineered T-cell therapies, or TCR-T, designed to treat multiple solid tumor types in large cancer patient populations with unmet clinical needs. We are leveraging our novel cancer mutation hotspot TCR library and our proprietary, non-viral Sleeping Beauty genetic engineering technology to design and manufacture patient-specific cell therapies that target neoantigens arising from common tumor-related mutations in key oncogenic genes, including KRAS, TP53 and EGFR.

Corporate Information

We originally incorporated in Colorado in September 1998 (under the name Net Escapes, Inc.) and later changed our name to “EasyWeb, Inc.” in February 1999. We re-incorporated in Delaware on May 16, 2005 under the same name. On September 13, 2005, we completed a “reverse” acquisition of privately held Ziopharm, Inc., a Delaware corporation. To effect this transaction, we caused ZIO Acquisition Corp., our wholly-owned subsidiary, to merge with and into Ziopharm, Inc., with Ziopharm, Inc. surviving as our wholly owned subsidiary. Following the merger, we caused Ziopharm, Inc. to merge with and into us and we changed our name to “ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.” As a result, Ziopharm, Inc. became the registrant with the SEC and the historical financial statements of Ziopharm, Inc. became our historical financial statements. On January 25, 2022, we filed a Certificate of Amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, or (as amended) our certificate of incorporation, with the Delaware Secretary of State to change our name to Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc.

Office Location

Our principal executive offices are located at 8030 El Rio Street, Houston, Texas 77054, and our telephone number is (346) 355-4099. Our internet site is www.alaunos.com. Information found on, or accessible through, our website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this prospectus, and you should not consider it part of this prospectus.

 

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully review the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2022 and June 30, 2022, as updated by our subsequent filings with the SEC, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, before deciding whether to purchase any of the securities being registered pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. Each of the risk factors could adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows, as well as adversely affect the value of an investment in our securities, and the occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also significantly impair our business operations.

 

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein contain forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Forward-looking statements are all statements contained in, or incorporate by reference, herein that are not historical fact, and in some cases can be identified by terms such as: “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “target,” “will” and other words and terms of similar meaning.

These statements are based on management’s current beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our projections of the future, about which we cannot be certain. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

   

our ability to raise substantial additional capital to fund our planned operations and repay our existing indebtedness;

 

   

estimates regarding our expenses, use of cash, timing of future cash needs and anticipated capital requirements;

 

   

the development of our product candidates, including statements regarding the initiation, timing, progress and results of our preclinical studies, clinical trials and research and development programs;

 

   

our ability to advance our product candidates through various stages of development, especially through pivotal safety and efficacy trials;

 

   

the risk that final trial data may not support interim analysis of the viability of our product candidates;

 

   

our expectation regarding the safety and efficacy of our product candidates;

 

   

the timing, scope or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, or equivalent foreign regulatory agencies for our product candidates and for which indications;

 

   

our ability to license additional intellectual property relating to our product candidates from third parties and to comply with our existing license agreements;

 

   

our ability to enter into partnerships or strategic collaboration agreements and our ability to achieve the results and potential benefits contemplated from relationships with collaborators;

 

   

our ability to maintain and establish collaborations and licenses;

 

   

our expectation of developments and projections relating to competition from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies or our industry;

 

   

our estimates regarding the potential market opportunity for our product candidates;

 

   

the anticipated rate and degree of commercial scope and potential, as well as market acceptance of our product candidates for any indication, if approved;

 

   

the anticipated amount, timing and accounting of contract liability, milestones and other payments under licensing, collaboration or acquisition agreements, research and development costs and other expenses;

 

   

our intellectual property position, including the strength and enforceability of our intellectual property rights;

 

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our ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel;

 

   

our expectations regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the expected duration of disruption to key clinical trial activities, limitations on travel, quarantine and social distancing protocols, diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of or clinical trials, and other immediate and long-term impact and effect on our business and operations.

Any forward-looking statements in this prospectus reflect our current views with respect to future events or to our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

You should refer to the “Risk Factors” section contained in this prospectus and any related prospectus supplement and free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. Given these risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are beyond our control, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this prospectus will prove to be accurate, and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all.

Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or developments occurring after the date of this prospectus, even if new information becomes available in the future.

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

We will retain broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from the sale of our securities offered by this prospectus. Unless we indicate otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement or in any related free writing prospectus we have authorized for use in connection with a specific offering, we anticipate that any net proceeds will be used for working capital and general corporate purposes. We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus our intended use for the net proceeds received from the sale of any securities sold pursuant to the prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus. Pending these uses, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term U.S. treasury money market mutual funds.

 

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DILUTION

We will set forth in a prospectus supplement the following information regarding any material dilution of the equity interests of investors purchasing securities in an offering under this prospectus:

 

   

the net tangible book value per share of our equity securities before and after the offering;

 

   

the amount of the increase in such net tangible book value per share attributable to the cash payments made by purchasers in the offering; and

 

   

the amount of the immediate dilution from the public offering price which will be absorbed by such purchasers.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

The following description of our capital stock and provisions of our certificate of incorporation, and amended and restated bylaws, or bylaws, are summaries. You should also refer to our certificate of incorporation and the bylaws, which are filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is part.

General

As of the date of this prospectus, our authorized capital stock consists of 450,000,000 shares, comprised of 420,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 30,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share. As of August 29, 2022, there were 216,200,792 shares of common stock and no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “TCRT”.

Common Stock

Voting Rights. The holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each outstanding share of common stock owned by such stockholder on every matter properly submitted to the stockholders for their vote. Stockholders are not entitled to vote cumulatively for the election of directors. Because of this, the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock entitled to vote in any election of directors can elect all of the directors standing for election, if they should so choose. At any meeting of the stockholders, a quorum as to any matter shall consist of the holders of a majority of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, except where a larger quorum is required by law, by our certificate of incorporation or by our bylaws.

Dividend Rights. Holders of our common stock are entitled to receive ratably dividends and other distributions of cash or any other right or property as may be declared by our board of directors out of our assets or funds legally available for such dividends or distributions. The dividend rights of holders of common stock are subject to the dividend rights of the holders of any series of preferred stock that may be issued and outstanding from time to time.

Liquidation Rights. In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs, holders of our common stock would be entitled to share ratably in our assets that are legally available for distribution to stockholders after payment of liabilities. If we have any preferred stock outstanding at such time, the holders of such preferred stock may be entitled to distribution and/or liquidation preferences that require us to pay the applicable distribution to the holders of preferred stock before paying distributions to the holders of common stock.

Rights and Preferences. Holders of our common stock have no preemptive, conversion or subscription rights, and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of shares of any series of our preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is American Stock Transfer & Trust Company.

See “Certain Provisions of Delaware Law, the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws” for a description of provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws which may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing changes in control.

Preferred Stock

Pursuant to our certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without stockholder approval, subject to limitations prescribed by law, to provide for the issuance of up to 30,000,000 shares of

 

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preferred stock in one or more series, and by filing a certificate pursuant to the applicable law of the State of Delaware, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such series, and to fix the designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each series and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, and to increase or decrease the number of shares of any such series, but not below the number of shares of such series then outstanding. We have designated 250,000 shares of our preferred stock as our Series 1 Preferred Stock, none of which are outstanding.

We will fix the designations, voting powers, preferences and rights of the preferred stock of each series, as well as the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, in the certificate of designation relating to that series. We will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from reports that we file with the SEC, the form of any certificate of designation that describes the terms of the series of preferred stock we are offering before the issuance of that series of preferred stock. This description will include:

 

   

the title and stated value;

 

   

the number of shares offered;

 

   

the liquidation preference per share;

 

   

the purchase price per share;

 

   

the dividend rate(s), period(s) and/or payment date(s) or method(s) of calculation for dividends;

 

   

whether dividends are cumulative or non-cumulative and, if cumulative, the date from which dividends will accumulate;

 

   

our right, if any, to defer payment of dividends and the maximum length of any such deferral period;

 

   

the procedures for any auction and remarketing, if any;

 

   

the provisions for a sinking fund, if any;

 

   

the provision for redemption or repurchase, if applicable, and any restrictions on our ability to exercise those redemption and repurchase rights;

 

   

any listing of the preferred stock on any securities exchange or market;

 

   

the terms and conditions, if applicable, upon which the preferred stock will be convertible into common stock, including the conversion price (or manner of calculation) and conversion period;

 

   

whether the preferred stock will be exchangeable into debt securities, and, if applicable, the exchange price, or how it will be calculated, and the exchange period;

 

   

voting rights, if any, of the preferred stock;

 

   

preemptive rights, if any;

 

   

restrictions on transfer, sale or other assignment, if any;

 

   

whether interests in the preferred stock will be represented by depositary shares;

 

   

a discussion of any material and/or special U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the preferred stock;

 

   

the relative ranking and preferences of the preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs;

 

   

any limitations on issuance of any class or series of preferred stock ranking senior to or on a parity with the class or series of preferred stock as to dividend rights and rights upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs; and

 

   

any other specific terms, preferences, rights, limitations or restrictions of the preferred stock.

 

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Our board of directors could authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock with terms and conditions that could have the effect of discouraging a takeover or other transaction that might involve a premium price for holders of the shares or which holders might believe to be in their best interests. The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power, conversion or other rights of holders of common stock and reduce the likelihood that common stockholders will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation.

The laws of the state of Delaware, the state of our incorporation, provide that the holders of preferred stock will have the right to vote separately as a class on any proposal involving fundamental changes in the rights of holders of such preferred stock. This right is in addition to any voting rights that may be provided for in the applicable certificate of designation.

The transfer agent and registrar for any series of preferred stock will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

We may issue debt securities from time to time, in one or more series, as either senior or subordinated debt or as senior or subordinated convertible debt. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any debt securities that we may offer in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any debt securities offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. Unless the context requires otherwise, whenever we refer to the indenture, we also are referring to any supplemental indentures that specify the terms of a particular series of debt securities.

We will issue the debt securities under the indenture that we will enter into with the trustee named in the indenture. The indenture will be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, or the Trust Indenture Act. We have filed the form of indenture as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and supplemental indentures and forms of debt securities containing the terms of the debt securities being offered will be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or will be incorporated by reference from reports that we file with the SEC.

The following summary of material provisions of the debt securities and the indenture is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, all of the provisions of the indenture applicable to a particular series of debt securities. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplements and any related free writing prospectuses related to the debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus, as well as the complete indenture that contains the terms of the debt securities.

General

The indenture does not limit the amount of debt securities that we may issue. It provides that we may issue debt securities up to the principal amount that we may authorize and may be in any currency or currency unit that we may designate. Except for the limitations on consolidation, merger and sale of all or substantially all of our assets contained in the indenture, the terms of the indenture do not contain any negative covenants or other provisions designed to give holders of any debt securities protection against changes in our operations, financial condition or transactions involving us.

We may issue the debt securities issued under the indenture as “discount securities,” which means they may be sold at a discount below their stated principal amount. These debt securities, as well as other debt securities that are not issued at a discount, may be issued with “original issue discount,” or OID, for U.S. federal income tax purposes because of interest payment and other characteristics or terms of the debt securities. Material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to debt securities issued with OID will be described in more detail in any applicable prospectus supplement.

We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of the series of debt securities being offered, including:

 

   

the title of the series of debt securities;

 

   

any limit upon the aggregate principal amount that may be issued;

 

   

the maturity date or dates;

 

   

the form of the debt securities of the series;

 

   

the applicability of any guarantees;

 

   

whether or not the debt securities will be secured or unsecured, and the terms of any secured debt;

 

   

whether the debt securities rank as senior debt, senior subordinated debt, subordinated debt or any combination thereof, and the terms of any subordination;

 

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if the price (expressed as a percentage of the aggregate principal amount thereof) at which such debt securities will be issued is a price other than the principal amount thereof, the portion of the principal amount thereof payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof, or if applicable, the portion of the principal amount of such debt securities that is convertible into another security or the method by which any such portion shall be determined;

 

   

the interest rate or rates, which may be fixed or variable, or the method for determining the rate and the date interest will begin to accrue, the dates interest will be payable and the regular record dates for interest payment dates or the method for determining such dates;

 

   

our right, if any, to defer payment of interest and the maximum length of any such deferral period;

 

   

if applicable, the date or dates after which, or the period or periods during which, and the price or prices at which, we may, at our option, redeem the series of debt securities pursuant to any optional or provisional redemption provisions and the terms of those redemption provisions;

 

   

the date or dates, if any, on which, and the price or prices at which we are obligated, pursuant to any mandatory sinking fund or analogous fund provisions or otherwise, to redeem, or at the holder’s option to purchase, the series of debt securities and the currency or currency unit in which the debt securities are payable;

 

   

the denominations in which we will issue the series of debt securities, if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof;

 

   

any and all terms, if applicable, relating to any auction or remarketing of the debt securities of that series and any security for our obligations with respect to such debt securities and any other terms which may be advisable in connection with the marketing of debt securities of that series;

 

   

whether the debt securities of the series shall be issued in whole or in part in the form of a global security or securities; the terms and conditions, if any, upon which such global security or securities may be exchanged in whole or in part for other individual securities; and the depositary for such global security or securities;

 

   

if applicable, the provisions relating to conversion or exchange of any debt securities of the series and the terms and conditions upon which such debt securities will be so convertible or exchangeable, including the conversion or exchange price, as applicable, or how it will be calculated and may be adjusted, any mandatory or optional (at our option or the holders’ option) conversion or exchange features, the applicable conversion or exchange period and the manner of settlement for any conversion or exchange;

 

   

if other than the full principal amount thereof, the portion of the principal amount of debt securities of the series which shall be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof;

 

   

additions to or changes in the covenants applicable to the particular debt securities being issued, including, among others, the consolidation, merger or sale covenant;

 

   

additions to or changes in the events of default with respect to the securities and any change in the right of the trustee or the holders to declare the principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, with respect to such securities to be due and payable;

 

   

additions to or changes in or deletions of the provisions relating to covenant defeasance and legal defeasance;

 

   

additions to or changes in the provisions relating to satisfaction and discharge of the indenture;

 

   

additions to or changes in the provisions relating to the modification of the indenture both with and without the consent of holders of debt securities issued under the indenture;

 

   

the currency of payment of debt securities if other than U.S. dollars and the manner of determining the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars;

 

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whether interest will be payable in cash or additional debt securities at our or the holders’ option and the terms and conditions upon which the election may be made;

 

   

the terms and conditions, if any, upon which we will pay amounts in addition to the stated interest, premium, if any and principal amounts of the debt securities of the series to any holder that is not a “United States person” for federal tax purposes;

 

   

any restrictions on transfer, sale or assignment of the debt securities of the series; and

 

   

any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of, or restrictions on, the debt securities, any other additions or changes in the provisions of the indenture, and any terms that may be required by us or advisable under applicable laws or regulations.

Conversion or Exchange Rights

We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms on which a series of debt securities may be convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock or our other securities. We will include provisions as to settlement upon conversion or exchange and whether conversion or exchange is mandatory, at the option of the holder or at our option. We may include provisions pursuant to which the number of shares of our common stock or our other securities that the holders of the series of debt securities receive would be subject to adjustment.

Consolidation, Merger or Sale

Unless we provide otherwise in the prospectus supplement applicable to a particular series of debt securities, the indenture will not contain any covenant that restricts our ability to merge or consolidate, or sell, convey, transfer or otherwise dispose of our assets as an entirety or substantially as an entirety. However, upon any such consolidation or merger (in each case, if Alaunos is not the survivor of such transaction) or any such sale, conveyance, transfer or other disposition (other than a subsidiary of ours) the successor or acquiror must assume all of our obligations under the indenture or the debt securities, as appropriate.

Events of Default under the Indenture

Unless we provide otherwise in the prospectus supplement applicable to a particular series of debt securities, the following are events of default under the indenture with respect to any series of debt securities that we may issue:

 

   

if we fail to pay any installment of interest on any series of debt securities, as and when the same shall become due and payable, and such default continues for a period of 90 days; provided, however, that a valid extension of an interest payment period by us in accordance with the terms of any indenture supplemental thereto shall not constitute a default in the payment of interest for this purpose;

 

   

if we fail to pay the principal of, or premium, if any, on any series of debt securities as and when the same shall become due and payable whether at maturity, upon redemption, by declaration or otherwise, or in any payment required by any sinking or analogous fund established with respect to such series; provided, however, that a valid extension of the maturity of such debt securities in accordance with the terms of any indenture supplemental thereto shall not constitute a default in the payment of principal or premium, if any;

 

   

if we fail to observe or perform any other covenant or agreement contained in the debt securities or the indenture, other than a covenant specifically relating to another series of debt securities, and our failure continues for 90 days after we receive written notice of such failure, requiring the same to be remedied and stating that such is a notice of default thereunder, from the trustee or holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series; and

 

   

if specified events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occur.

 

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If an event of default with respect to debt securities of any series occurs and is continuing, other than an event of default specified in the last bullet point above, the trustee or the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series, by notice to us in writing, and to the trustee if notice is given by such holders, may declare the unpaid principal of, premium, if any, and accrued interest, if any, due and payable immediately. If an event of default specified in the last bullet point above occurs with respect to us, the principal amount of and accrued interest, if any, of each issue of debt securities then outstanding shall be due and payable without any notice or other action on the part of the trustee or any holder.

The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of an affected series may waive any default or event of default with respect to the series and its consequences if we have paid or deposited with the trustee a sum sufficient to pay all matured installments of principal and interest upon all the debt securities of that series that shall have become due otherwise than by acceleration, except defaults or events of default regarding payment of principal, premium, if any, or interest, unless we have cured the default or event of default in accordance with the indenture. Any waiver shall cure the default or event of default.

Subject to the terms of the indenture, if an event of default under an indenture shall occur and be continuing, the trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under such indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders of the applicable series of debt securities, unless such holders have offered the trustee reasonable indemnity. The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee, with respect to the debt securities of that series, provided that:

 

   

the direction so given by the holder is not in conflict with any law or the applicable indenture; and

 

   

subject to its duties under the Trust Indenture Act, the trustee need not take any action that might involve it in personal liability or might be unduly prejudicial to the holders not involved in the proceeding.

A holder of the debt securities of any series will have the right to institute a proceeding under the indenture or to appoint a receiver or trustee, or to seek other remedies only if:

 

   

the holder has given written notice to the trustee of a continuing event of default with respect to that series;

 

   

the holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made written request,

 

   

such holders have offered to the trustee indemnity satisfactory to it against the costs, expenses and liabilities to be incurred by the trustee in compliance with the request; and

 

   

the trustee does not institute the proceeding, and does not receive from the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series other conflicting directions within 90 days after the notice, request and offer.

These limitations do not apply to a suit instituted by a holder of debt securities if we default in the payment of the principal, premium, if any, or interest on, the debt securities.

We will periodically file statements with the trustee regarding our compliance with specified covenants in the indenture.

Modification of Indenture; Waiver

We and the trustee may change an indenture without the consent of any holders with respect to specific matters:

 

   

to cure any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency in the indenture or in the debt securities of any series;

 

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to comply with the provisions described above under “Description of Debt Securities — Consolidation, Merger or Sale;”

 

   

to provide for uncertificated debt securities in addition to or in place of certificated debt securities;

 

   

to add to our covenants, restrictions, conditions or provisions such new covenants, restrictions, conditions or provisions for the benefit of the holders of all or any series of debt securities, to make the occurrence, or the occurrence and the continuance, of a default in any such additional covenants, restrictions, conditions or provisions an event of default or to surrender any right or power conferred upon us in the indenture;

 

   

to add to, delete from or revise the conditions, limitations, and restrictions on the authorized amount, terms, or purposes of issue, authentication and delivery of debt securities, as set forth in the indenture;

 

   

to make any change that does not adversely affect the interests of any holder of debt securities of any series in any material respect;

 

   

to provide for the issuance of and establish the form and terms and conditions of the debt securities of any series as provided above under “Description of Debt Securities — General” to establish the form of any certifications required to be furnished pursuant to the terms of the indenture or any series of debt securities, or to add to the rights of the holders of any series of debt securities;

 

   

to evidence and provide for the acceptance of appointment under any indenture by a successor trustee; or

 

   

to comply with any requirements of the SEC in connection with the qualification of any indenture under the Trust Indenture Act.

In addition, under the indenture, the rights of holders of a series of debt securities may be changed by us and the trustee with the written consent of the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series that is affected. However, unless we provide otherwise in the prospectus supplement applicable to a particular series of debt securities, we and the trustee may make the following changes only with the consent of each holder of any outstanding debt securities affected:

 

   

extending the fixed maturity of any debt securities of any series;

 

   

reducing the principal amount, reducing the rate of or extending the time of payment of interest, or reducing any premium payable upon the redemption of any series of any debt securities; or

 

   

reducing the percentage of debt securities, the holders of which are required to consent to any amendment, supplement, modification or waiver.

Discharge

The indenture provides that we can elect to be discharged from our obligations with respect to one or more series of debt securities, except for specified obligations, including obligations to:

 

   

provide for payment;

 

   

register the transfer or exchange of debt securities of the series;

 

   

replace stolen, lost or mutilated debt securities of the series;

 

   

pay principal of and premium and interest on any debt securities of the series;

 

   

maintain paying agent agreements;

 

   

recover excess money held by the trustee;

 

   

compensate and indemnify the trustee; and

 

   

appoint any successor trustee.

 

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In order to exercise our rights to be discharged, we must deposit with the trustee money or government obligations sufficient to pay all the principal of, any premium, if any, and interest on, the debt securities of the series on the dates payments are due.

Form, Exchange and Transfer

We will issue the debt securities of each series only in fully registered form without coupons and, unless we provide otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, in denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof. The indenture provides that we may issue debt securities of a series in temporary or permanent global form and as book-entry securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company, or DTC, or another depositary named by us and identified in the applicable prospectus supplement with respect to that series. To the extent the debt securities of a series are issued in global form and as book-entry, a description of terms relating to any book-entry securities will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

At the option of the holder, subject to the terms of the indenture and the limitations applicable to global securities described in the applicable prospectus supplement, the holder of the debt securities of any series can exchange the debt securities for other debt securities of the same series, in any authorized denomination and of like tenor and aggregate principal amount.

Subject to the terms of the indenture and the limitations applicable to global securities set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the debt securities may present the debt securities for exchange or for registration of transfer, duly endorsed or with the form of transfer endorsed thereon duly executed if so required by us or the security registrar, at the office of the security registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us for this purpose. Unless otherwise provided in the debt securities that the holder presents for transfer or exchange, we will impose no service charge for any registration of transfer or exchange, but we may require payment of any taxes or other governmental charges.

We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement the security registrar, and any transfer agent in addition to the security registrar, that we initially designate for any debt securities. We may at any time designate additional transfer agents or rescind the designation of any transfer agent or approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts, except that we will be required to maintain a transfer agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of each series.

If we elect to redeem the debt securities of any series, we will not be required to:

 

   

issue, register the transfer of, or exchange any debt securities of that series during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption of less than all outstanding debt securities of the same series that may be selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of the mailing; or

 

   

register the transfer of or exchange any debt securities so selected for redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of any debt securities we are redeeming in part.

Information Concerning the Trustee

The trustee, other than during the occurrence and continuance of an event of default under an indenture, undertakes to perform only those duties as are specifically set forth in the applicable indenture. Upon an event of default under an indenture, the trustee must use the same degree of care as a prudent person would exercise or use in the conduct of his or her own affairs. Subject to this provision, the trustee is under no obligation to exercise any of the powers given it by the indenture at the request of any holder of debt securities unless it is offered reasonable security and indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities that it might incur.

 

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Payment and Paying Agents

Unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will make payment of the interest on any debt securities on any interest payment date to the person in whose name the debt securities, or one or more predecessor securities, are registered at the close of business on the regular record date for the interest.

We will pay principal of and any premium and interest on the debt securities of a particular series at the office of the paying agents designated by us, except that unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will make interest payments by check that we will mail to the holder or by wire transfer to certain holders. Unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will designate the corporate trust office of the trustee as our sole paying agent for payments with respect to debt securities of each series. We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement any other paying agents that we initially designate for the debt securities of a particular series. We will maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of a particular series.

All money we pay to a paying agent or the trustee for the payment of the principal of or any premium or interest on any debt securities that remains unclaimed at the end of two years after such principal, premium or interest has become due and payable will be repaid to us, and the holder of the debt security thereafter may look only to us for payment thereof.

Governing Law

The indenture and the debt securities will be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New York, except to the extent that the Trust Indenture Act is applicable.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

The following description, together with the additional information we may include in any applicable prospectus supplement and in any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be distributed to you, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer under this prospectus, which may consist of warrants to purchase common stock, preferred stock or debt securities and be issued in one or more series. Warrants may be offered independently or in combination with common stock, preferred stock or debt securities offered by any prospectus supplement. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any warrants that we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any series of warrants in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The following description of warrants will apply to the warrants offered by this prospectus unless we provide otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement. The applicable prospectus supplement for a particular series of warrants may specify different or additional terms.

We have filed forms of the warrant agreements and forms of warrant certificates containing the terms of the warrants that may be offered as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. We will file as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from reports that we file with the SEC, the form of warrant and/or the warrant agreement and warrant certificate, as applicable, that describe the terms of the particular series of warrants we are offering, and any supplemental agreements, before the issuance of such warrants. The following summaries of material terms and provisions of the warrants are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the form of warrant and/or the warrant agreement and warrant certificate, as applicable, and any supplemental agreements applicable to a particular series of warrants that we may offer under this prospectus. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplement related to the particular series of warrants that we may offer under this prospectus, as well as any related free writing prospectuses, and the complete form of warrant and/or the warrant agreement and warrant certificate, as applicable, and any supplemental agreements, that contain the terms of the warrants.

General

We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of the series of warrants being offered, including:

 

   

the offering price and aggregate number of warrants offered;

 

   

the currency for which the warrants may be purchased;

 

   

if applicable, the designation and terms of the securities with which the warrants are issued and the number of warrants issued with each such security or each principal amount of such security;

 

   

in the case of warrants to purchase debt securities, the principal amount of debt securities purchasable upon exercise of one warrant and the price at, and currency in which, this principal amount of debt securities may be purchased upon such exercise;

 

   

in the case of warrants to purchase common stock or preferred stock, the number of shares of common stock or preferred stock, as the case may be, purchasable upon the exercise of one warrant and the price at which these shares may be purchased upon such exercise;

 

   

the effect of any merger, consolidation, sale or other disposition of our business on the warrant agreements and the warrants;

 

   

the terms of any rights to redeem or call the warrants;

 

   

any provisions for changes to or adjustments in the exercise price or number of securities issuable upon exercise of the warrants;

 

   

the dates on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and expire;

 

   

the manner in which the warrant agreements and warrants may be modified;

 

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a discussion of any material or special U.S. federal income tax considerations of holding or exercising the warrants;

 

   

the terms of the securities issuable upon exercise of the warrants; and

 

   

any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of or restrictions on the warrants.

Before exercising their warrants, holders of warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of the securities purchasable upon such exercise, including:

 

   

in the case of warrants to purchase debt securities, the right to receive payments of principal of, or premium, if any, or interest on, the debt securities purchasable upon exercise or to enforce covenants in the applicable indenture; or

 

   

in the case of warrants to purchase common stock or preferred stock, the right to receive dividends, if any, or, payments upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up or to exercise voting rights, if any.

Exercise of Warrants

Each warrant will entitle the holder to purchase the securities that we specify in the applicable prospectus supplement at the exercise price that we describe in the applicable prospectus supplement. The warrants may be exercised as set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to the warrants offered. Unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, warrants may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to the warrants offered thereby. After the close of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will become void.

Upon receipt of payment and the warrant or warrant certificate, as applicable, properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent, if any, or any other office, including ours, indicated in the prospectus supplement, we will, as soon as practicable, issue and deliver the securities purchasable upon such exercise. If less than all of the warrants (or the warrants represented by such warrant certificate) are exercised, a new warrant or a new warrant certificate, as applicable, will be issued for the remaining warrants.

Governing Law

Unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, the warrants and any warrant agreements will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

Enforceability of Rights by Holders of Warrants

Each warrant agent, if any, will act solely as our agent under the applicable warrant agreement and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust with any holder of any warrant. A single bank or trust company may act as warrant agent for more than one issue of warrants. A warrant agent will have no duty or responsibility in case of any default by us under the applicable warrant agreement or warrant, including any duty or responsibility to initiate any proceedings at law or otherwise, or to make any demand upon us. Any holder of a warrant may, without the consent of the related warrant agent or the holder of any other warrant, enforce by appropriate legal action its right to exercise, and receive the securities purchasable upon exercise of, its warrants.

 

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CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF DELAWARE LAW,

THE CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS

Limitations on Directors’ Liability

Our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws contain provisions indemnifying our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by law. In addition, as permitted by Delaware law, our certificate of incorporation provides that no director will be liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of certain fiduciary duties as a director. The effect of this provision is to restrict our rights and the rights of our stockholders in derivative suits to recover monetary damages against a director for breach of certain fiduciary duties as a director, except that a director will be personally liable for:

 

   

the benefits to be derived from relationships with our collaborators;

 

   

any breach of his or her duty of loyalty to the registrant or its stockholders;

 

   

acts or omissions not in good faith which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

 

   

the payment of dividends or the redemption or purchase of stock in violation of Delaware law; or

 

   

any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit.

This provision does not affect a director’s liability under the federal securities laws.

To the extent that our directors, officers and controlling persons are indemnified under the provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation, Delaware law or contractual arrangements against liabilities arising under the Securities Act, we have been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act, and is therefore unenforceable.

Provisions that May Have an Anti-Takeover Effect

Certain provisions set forth in our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and in Delaware law, which are summarized below, are intended to enhance the likelihood of continuity and stability in the composition of our board of directors and in the policies formulated by our board of directors and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened change of control. In that regard, these provisions are designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal. The provisions also are intended to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for shares of our common stock and, as a consequence, they also may inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our common stock that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts. Such provisions also may have the effect of preventing changes in our management.

Blank Check Preferred Stock. Our certificate of incorporation contains provisions that permit our board of directors to issue, without any further vote or action by the stockholders, up to 30,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and, with respect to each such series, to fix the number of shares constituting the series and the designation of the series, the voting powers (if any) of the shares of the series, and the preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights, if any, and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions, of the shares of such series. As a result, our board of directors could authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock with terms and conditions that could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interest.

Special Meetings of Stockholders. Our bylaws provide that special meetings of stockholders may be called only by the board of directors. Stockholders are not permitted to call a special meeting of stockholders or to require that the board of directors call such a special meeting.

 

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Delaware Takeover Statute.

We are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, which regulates acquisitions of some Delaware corporations. In general, Section 203 prohibits, with some exceptions, a Delaware corporation that is a public company from engaging in any “business combination” with any “interested stockholder” for a period of three years following the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:

 

   

prior to such date, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;

 

   

on consummation of the transaction that resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the number of shares outstanding those shares owned (x) by persons who are directors and also officers and (y) by employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or

 

   

on or subsequent to such date, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.

Section 203 of the DGCL defines “business combination” to include:

 

   

any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder;

 

   

any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation involving the interested stockholder;

 

   

subject to certain exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder;

 

   

any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock of any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; or

 

   

the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits provided by or through the corporation.

In general, Section 203 defines an “interested shareholder” as an entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation and any entity or person affiliated with such entity or person.

 

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LEGAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

We can issue securities in registered form or in the form of one or more global securities. We describe global securities in greater detail below. We refer to those persons who have securities registered in their own names on the books that we or any applicable trustee, depositary, warrant agent, unit agent or similar intermediary maintain for this purpose as the “holders” of those securities. These persons are the legal holders of the securities. We refer to those persons who, indirectly through others, own beneficial interests in securities that are not registered in their own names, as “indirect holders” of those securities. As we discuss below, indirect holders are not legal holders, and investors in securities issued in book-entry form or in street name will be indirect holders.

Book-Entry Holders

We may issue securities in book-entry form only, as we will specify in the applicable prospectus supplement. This means securities may be represented by one or more global securities registered in the name of a financial institution that holds them as depositary on behalf of other financial institutions that participate in the depositary’s book-entry system. These participating institutions, which are referred to as participants, in turn, hold beneficial interests in the securities on behalf of themselves or their customers.

Only the person in whose name a security is registered is recognized as the holder of that security. Securities issued in global form will be registered in the name of the depositary or its nominee. Consequently, for securities issued in global form, we will recognize only the depositary as the holder of the securities, and we will make all payments on the securities to the depositary. The depositary passes along the payments it receives to its participants, which in turn pass the payments along to their customers who are the beneficial owners. The depositary and its participants do so under agreements they have made with one another or with their customers; they are not obligated to do so under the terms of the securities.

As a result, investors in a global security will not own securities directly. Instead, they will own beneficial interests in a global security, through a bank, broker or other financial institution that participates in the depositary’s book-entry system or holds an interest through a participant. As long as the securities are issued in global form, investors will be indirect holders, and not legal holders, of the securities.

Street Name Holders

We may terminate a global security or issue securities in non-global form. In these cases, investors may choose to hold their securities in their own names or in “street name.” Securities held by an investor in street name would be registered in the name of a bank, broker or other financial institution that the investor chooses, and the investor would hold only a beneficial interest in those securities through an account he or she maintains at that institution.

For securities held in street name, we or any applicable trustee, depositary or agent will recognize only the intermediary banks, brokers and other financial institutions in whose names the securities are registered as the holders of those securities, and we or any applicable trustee, depositary or agent will make all payments on those securities to them. These institutions pass along the payments they receive to their customers who are the beneficial owners, but only because they agree to do so in their customer agreements or because they are legally required to do so. Investors who hold securities in street name will be indirect holders, not holders, of those securities.

Legal Holders

Our obligations, as well as the obligations of any applicable trustee, depositary or agent and of any third parties employed by us or any such trustee, depositary or agent run only to the legal holders of the securities. We do not have obligations to investors who hold beneficial interests in global securities, in street name or by any other

 

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indirect means. This will be the case whether an investor chooses to be an indirect holder of a security or has no choice because we are issuing the securities only in global form.

For example, once we make a payment or give a notice to the legal holder, we have no further responsibility for the payment or notice even if that legal holder is required, under agreements with its participants or customers or by law, to pass it along to the indirect holders but does not do so. Similarly, we may want to obtain the approval of the legal holders to amend an indenture or other governing instrument, to relieve us of the consequences of a default or of our obligation to comply with a particular provision of the indenture or for other purposes. In such an event, we would seek approval only from the legal holders, and not the indirect holders, of the securities. Whether and how the legal holders contact the indirect holders is up to the legal holders subject to any contractual or legal obligation they may have.

Special Considerations for Indirect Holders

If you hold securities through a bank, broker or other financial institution, either in book-entry form or in street name, you should check with your own institution to find out:

 

   

how it handles securities payments and notices;

 

   

whether it imposes fees or charges;

 

   

how it would handle a request for the holders’ consent, if ever required;

 

   

whether and how you can instruct it to send you securities registered in your own name so you can be a holder, if that is permitted in the future;

 

   

how it would exercise rights under the securities if there were a default or other event triggering the need for holders to act to protect their interests; and

 

   

if the securities are in book-entry form, how the depositary’s rules and procedures will affect these matters.

Global Securities

A global security is a security that represents one or any other number of individual securities held by a depositary. Generally, all securities represented by the same global securities will have the same terms.

Each security issued in book-entry form will be represented by a global security that we issue to, deposit with and register in the name of a financial institution or its nominee that we select. The financial institution that we select for this purpose is called the depositary. Unless we specify otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, DTC will be the depositary for all securities issued in book-entry form.

A global security may not be transferred to or registered in the name of anyone other than the depositary, its nominee or a successor depositary, unless special termination situations arise. We describe those situations below under “Special Situations When a Global Security Will Be Terminated.” As a result of these arrangements, the depositary, or its nominee, will be the sole registered owner and legal holder of all securities represented by a global security, and investors will be permitted to own only beneficial interests in a global security. Beneficial interests must be held by means of an account with a broker, bank or other financial institution that in turn has an account with the depositary or with another institution that does. Thus, an investor whose security is represented by a global security will not be a legal holder of the security, but only an indirect holder of a beneficial interest in the global security.

If the prospectus supplement for a particular security indicates that the security will be issued in global form only, then the security will be represented by a global security at all times unless and until the global security is terminated. If termination occurs, we may issue the securities through another book-entry clearing system or decide that the securities may no longer be held through any book-entry clearing system.

 

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Special Considerations for Global Securities

The rights of an indirect holder relating to a global security will be governed by the account rules of the investor’s financial institution and of the depositary, as well as general laws relating to securities transfers. We do not recognize an indirect holder as a holder of securities and instead deal only with the depositary that holds the global security.

If securities are issued only in the form of a global security, an investor should be aware of the following:

 

   

an investor cannot cause the securities to be registered in his or her name, and cannot obtain certificates for his or her interest in the securities, except in the special situations we describe below;

 

   

an investor will be an indirect holder and must look to his or her own bank, broker or other financial institution for payments on the securities and protection of his or her legal rights relating to the securities, as we describe above;

 

   

an investor may not be able to sell interests in the securities to some insurance companies and to other institutions that are required by law to own their securities in non-book-entry form;

 

   

an investor may not be able to pledge his or her interest in a global security in circumstances where certificates representing the securities must be delivered to the lender or other beneficiary of the pledge in order for the pledge to be effective;

 

   

the depositary’s policies, which may change from time to time, will govern payments, transfers, exchanges and other matters relating to an investor’s interest in a global security;

 

   

we and any applicable trustee have no responsibility for any aspect of the depositary’s actions or for its records of ownership interests in a global security, nor do we or any applicable trustee supervise the depositary in any way;

 

   

the depositary may, and we understand that DTC will, require that those who purchase and sell interests in a global security within its book-entry system use immediately available funds, and your bank, broker or other financial institution may require you to do so as well; and

 

   

financial institutions that participate in the depositary’s book-entry system, and through which an investor holds its interest in a global security, may also have their own policies affecting payments, notices and other matters relating to the securities.

There may be more than one financial intermediary in the chain of ownership for an investor. We do not monitor and are not responsible for the actions of any of those intermediaries.

Special Situations When a Global Security Will Be Terminated

In a few special situations described below, the global security will terminate and interests in it will be exchanged for physical certificates representing those interests. After that exchange, the choice of whether to hold securities directly or in street name will be up to the investor. Investors must consult their own banks, brokers or other financial institutions to find out how to have their interests in securities transferred to their own name, so that they will be direct holders. We have described the rights of holders and street name investors above.

Unless we provide otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the global security will terminate when the following special situations occur:

 

   

if the depositary notifies us that it is unwilling, unable or no longer qualified to continue as depositary for that global security and we do not appoint another institution to act as depositary within 90 days;

 

   

if we notify any applicable trustee that we wish to terminate that global security; or

 

   

if an event of default has occurred with regard to securities represented by that global security and has not been cured or waived.

 

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The applicable prospectus supplement may also list additional situations for terminating a global security that would apply only to the particular series of securities covered by the applicable prospectus supplement. When a global security terminates, the depositary, and not we or any applicable trustee, is responsible for deciding the names of the institutions that will be the initial legal holders.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

We may sell the securities from time to time pursuant to underwritten public offerings, negotiated transactions, block trades or a combination of these methods. We may sell the securities to or through underwriters or dealers, through agents, or directly to one or more purchasers. We may distribute securities from time to time in one or more transactions:

 

   

at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed;

 

   

at market prices prevailing at the times of sale;

 

   

at prices related to such prevailing market prices; or

 

   

at negotiated prices.

We may also sell equity securities covered by this registration statement in an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 under the Securities Act. Such offering may be made into an existing trading market for such securities in transactions at other than a fixed price, either:

 

   

on or through the facilities of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, or Nasdaq, or any other securities exchange or quotation or trading service on which such securities may be listed, quoted or traded at the time of sale; and/or

 

   

other than on Nasdaq or such other securities exchanges or quotation or trading services.

Such at the market offerings, if any, may be conducted by underwriters acting as principal or agent.

Each time that we sell securities covered by this prospectus we will provide a prospectus supplement or supplements (and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you) that will describe the terms of the offering of the securities, including, to the extent applicable:

 

   

the name or names of any underwriters, dealers or agents;

 

   

the purchase price of the securities and the proceeds we will receive from the sale;

 

   

any options under which underwriters may purchase additional securities from us;

 

   

any agency fees or underwriting discounts and other items constituting agents’ or underwriters’ compensation;

 

   

any public offering price;

 

   

any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers; and

 

   

any securities exchange or market on which the securities may be listed.

Only underwriters named in the prospectus supplement are underwriters of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement.

If underwriters are used in the sale, they will acquire the securities for their own account and may resell the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed public offering price or at varying prices determined at the time of sale. The underwriter may sell the securities to or through dealers, and those dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for which they may act as agent. The obligations of the underwriters to purchase the securities will be subject to the conditions set forth in the applicable underwriting agreement. We may offer the securities to the public through underwriting syndicates represented by managing underwriters or by underwriters without a syndicate. Any public offering price and any discounts or concessions allowed or reallowed or paid to dealers may change from time to time. We may use underwriters with whom we have a material relationship. We will describe in the prospectus supplement, naming the underwriter, the nature of any such relationship.

 

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We may sell securities directly or through agents we designate from time to time. We will name any agent involved in the offering and sale of securities, and we will describe any commissions we will pay the agent in the prospectus supplement. Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, our agent will act on a best-efforts basis for the period of its appointment.

We may directly solicit offers to purchase securities. We may also authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers from certain types of institutional investors to purchase securities from us at the public offering price set forth in the prospectus supplement pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on a specified date in the future. We will describe the conditions to these contracts and the commissions we must pay for solicitation of these contracts in the prospectus supplement.

We may provide agents and underwriters with indemnification against civil liabilities related to offerings, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribution with respect to payments that the agents or underwriters may make with respect to these liabilities. Agents and underwriters may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us in the ordinary course of business.

All securities we offer, other than common stock, will be new issues of securities with no established trading market. Any underwriters may make a market in these securities, but will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. We cannot guarantee the liquidity of the trading markets for any securities.

Any underwriter may engage in overallotment, stabilizing transactions, short covering transactions and penalty bids. Overallotment involves sales in excess of the offering size, which create a short position. Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. Short covering transactions involve purchases of the securities in the open market after the distribution is completed to cover short positions. Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a dealer when the securities originally sold by the dealer are purchased in a stabilizing or covering transaction to cover short positions. Those activities may cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would otherwise be. If commenced, the underwriters may discontinue any of the activities at any time. These transactions may be effected on any exchange or over-the-counter market or otherwise.

Any underwriters who are qualified market makers on Nasdaq may engage in passive market making transactions in the securities on Nasdaq in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M, during the business day prior to the pricing of the offering, before the commencement of offers or sales of the securities. Passive market makers must comply with applicable volume and price limitations and must be identified as passive market makers. In general, a passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid for such security; if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, however, the passive market maker’s bid must then be lowered when certain purchase limits are exceeded. Passive market making may stabilize the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, certain legal matters in connection with the offering and the validity of the securities offered by this prospectus, and any supplement thereto, will be passed upon by Covington & Burling LLP, New York, New York. Any underwriters will also be advised about the validity of the securities and other legal matters by their own counsel, which will be named in the prospectus supplement.

EXPERTS

The financial statements of Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc. as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 and the years then ended incorporated in this prospectus by reference from the Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc. Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 have been audited by RSM US LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report thereon, incorporated herein by reference, and have been incorporated in this prospectus and the registration statement in reliance upon such report and upon the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 we filed with the SEC under the Securities Act. This prospectus does not contain all of the information set forth in the registration statement and the exhibits to the registration statement. For further information with respect to us and the securities we are offering under this prospectus, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed as a part of the registration statement. You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference. We have not authorized anyone else to provide you with different information. We are not making an offer of these securities in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of the securities offered by this prospectus.

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including us. The address of the SEC website is www.sec.gov.

We maintain a website at www.alaunos.com. Information found on, or accessible through, our website is not a part of, and is not incorporated into, this prospectus, and you should not consider it part of this prospectus or part of any prospectus supplement.

INCORPORATION OF INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The SEC file number for the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus is 001-33038. The documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus contain important information that you should read about us.

The following documents are incorporated by reference into this document:

 

   

our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on March 30, 2022;

 

   

our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2022 and June 30, 2022, filed with the SEC on May 16, 2022 and August 15, 2022, respectively;

 

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our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 4, 2022, January 26, 2022, March  17, 2022, March 18, 2022, May 2, 2022 (first filed only), June 17, 2022, June  27, 2022 and July 13, 2022 to the extent the information in such reports is filed and not furnished; and

 

   

the description of our common stock set forth in Exhibit 4.7 to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, which was filed with the SEC on March 30, 2022, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description.

All reports and other documents we subsequently file pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, prior to the termination of this offering, including all such reports and other documents filed with the SEC after the date of the initial filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and prior to the effectiveness of such registration statement, but excluding any information furnished to, rather than filed with, the SEC, will also be incorporated by reference into this prospectus and deemed to be part of this prospectus from the date of the filing of such reports and documents. Any statements in any such future filings will automatically be deemed to modify and supersede any information in any document we previously filed with the SEC that is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated herein by reference to the extent that statements in the later filed document modify or replace such earlier statements.

We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, without charge upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus but not delivered with the prospectus, including exhibits that are specifically incorporated by reference into such documents. You may request a copy of such documents at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address or telephone number:

Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc.

8030 El Rio St.

Houston, TX 77054

Attention: Senior Vice President, Legal

(346) 355-4099

 

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24,228,719 Shares of Common Stock

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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

 

 

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November 29, 2022