Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)

Registration No. 333-233564

The information in this preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is not complete and may be changed. A registration statement relating to the securities has been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus are not offers to sell these securities, and we are not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state where such offer or sale is not permitted.

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED APRIL 29, 2020

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

(to Prospectus dated September 10, 2019)

                   Shares

 

Common Stock

 

We are offering                        shares of our common stock pursuant to this prospectus supplement.

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “SNDX.” On April 29, 2020, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $18.70 per share.

 

Our business and an investment in our securities involve significant risks. These risks are described under the caption “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-9 of this prospectus supplement and in the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

 

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

 

 

 

PER SHARE

 

 

TOTAL

 

Public offering price

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

Underwriting discounts and commissions (1)

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

Proceeds to us, before expenses

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

                          

(1)See “Underwriters” for a description of compensation payable to the underwriters.

The underwriters may also purchase up to             additional shares of our common stock from us at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions, within 30 days from the date of this prospectus supplement.

Delivery of the shares of common stock in this offering is expected to be made on or about                   , 2020.

 

Joint Book-running managers

 

Citigroup

 

 

 

Cowen

Barclays

 

 

 

 

 

BTIG

 

 

 

Baird

 

The date of this prospectus supplement is                 , 2020.

 

 

 


 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Prospectus Supplement

 

 

 

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY

S-1

THE OFFERING

S-7

RISK FACTORS

S-9

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

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USE OF PROCEEDS

S-48

DILUTION

S-49

UNDERWRITERS

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LEGAL MATTERS

S-56

EXPERTS

S-56

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

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INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

S-57

 

 

Prospectus

 

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

i

SUMMARY

1

RISK FACTORS

7

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

8

USE OF PROCEEDS

10

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

11

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

17

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

24

LEGAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

26

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

29

LEGAL MATTERS

31

EXPERTS

31

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

31

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

32


 


 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is a part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process. The prospectus supplement describes the specific terms of this offering and also adds to and updates the information contained in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The accompanying prospectus gives more general information, some of which may not apply to this offering. If there is a difference between the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the information contained in the accompanying prospectus or any document incorporated by reference, you should rely on the information in this prospectus supplement. Generally, when we refer to the prospectus, we are referring to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus combined.

We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different than or inconsistent with the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We are not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, is accurate only as of the date of those respective documents, regardless of the time of delivery of those respective documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates. You should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, in their entirety before making an investment decision. You should also read and consider the information in the documents to which we have referred you in the sections of this prospectus supplement entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference.”

We are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, our securities only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus and the offering of our securities in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of our securities and the distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus outside the United States. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus do not constitute, and may not be used in connection with, an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus by any person in any jurisdiction in which it is unlawful for such person to make such an offer or solicitation.

Unless the context indicates otherwise, references in this prospectus to “Syndax,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar references refer to Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries.

 

 

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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY

The following summary highlights certain information about us, this offering and selected information contained elsewhere in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement. 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, you should read and consider carefully the more detailed information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including the factors described under the heading “Risk Factors,” as well as the information included in any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering.

Company Overview

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing an innovative pipeline of cancer therapies. We are developing our lead product candidate, entinostat, a once-weekly, oral, small molecule, Class I HDAC inhibitor, in combination with exemestane and several approved PD-1/PD-L1 antagonists. Our pipeline also includes SNDX-6352, or axatilimab, a monoclonal antibody that blocks the colony stimulating factor 1, or CSF-1 receptor, as well as our product candidate SNDX-5613, targeting the binding interaction of menin with the mixed lineage leukemia 1 protein for the treatment of MLL-rearranged, or MLLr, acute leukemias and acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, with a mutated nucleophosmin 1, or NPM1. We plan to continue to leverage the technical and business expertise of our management team and scientific collaborators to license, acquire and develop additional cancer therapies to expand our pipeline.

Entinostat

Our lead product candidate, entinostat, is a once-weekly, oral, small molecule, Class I HDAC inhibitor currently being evaluated in the Phase 3 E2112 registration trial in combination with exemestane for advanced hormone receptor positive, or HR+, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative, or HER2-, breast cancer, an indication for which it has been granted breakthrough therapy designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. The E2112 trial design was informed by the Phase 2b ENCORE 301 trial, the results of which led to entinostat’s Breakthrough Therapy designation in HR+ breast cancer, in which patients receiving the entinostat/exemestane combination demonstrated a clinically meaningful OS benefit over treatment with exemestane alone.

Entinostat has direct effects on both cancer cells and immune regulatory cells, potentially enhancing the body’s immune response to tumors. The favorable safety profile of entinostat has been demonstrated in clinical trials in more than 1,200 cancer patients. The long half-life of entinostat allows for once weekly dosing while also providing continuous exposure to therapy potentially resulting in positive efficacy benefits. Based on entinostat’s ability to reverse hormone resistance, alter cancer stem cells, and modulate immunosensitivity, we believe entinostat may have broad applications in tumor types which have become resistant to hormone and/or immunotherapy.

Entinostat has also been shown to enhance the immune system’s ability to identify and target tumor cells. It is now widely accepted that many tumors have the ability to evade the immune system either through direct cellular interactions and recruitment of immuno-suppressive cells to the area surrounding the tumor, or through parallel evasion-mechanisms focused on the interaction between the T cell with other immune cells found within the surrounding tumor microenvironment. Entinostat has been observed to decrease the population of immuno-suppressive cells known as myeloid-derived suppressor cells, or MDSCs, and regulatory T cells, or Tregs, which localize in the area surrounding the tumor and block T cells from killing cancer cells, while sparing the cytotoxic T cells. Through blocking the immuno-suppressive effects of MDSCs and Tregs, we believe entinostat has the potential to be used synergistically with therapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, resulting in the increased ability of the T cells to attack the tumor.

SNDX-5613

Our second clinical-stage product candidate, SNDX-5613, is a potent, orally active inhibitor of the high affinity interaction site on menin with the protein MLL1. This specific interaction is a key driver for two genetically defined acute leukemias: (i) MLLr and (ii) NPM1c AML.  Both diseases have a poor prognosis with an unmet need. In preclinical testing, SNDX-5613 has demonstrated complete tumor regression and profound, dose-dependent and long-lasting survival benefit in leukemic models of disease.

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We are developing SNDX-5613 as a targeted therapy to potentially treat two genetically defined acute leukemias: (i) mixed lineage leukemia-rearranged, or MLLr, a genetically-defined subset of acute leukemias with chromosomal rearrangements in the MLL gene; and (ii) acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, with a mutated nucleophosmin 1, or NPM1, characterized by a somatic mutation in the NPM1 gene, or NPM1c. Our near-term focus is to rapidly establish proof of concept that SNDX-5613 is a targeted therapy that can potentially provide meaningful clinical benefit to adult and pediatric leukemia patients having relapsed or refractory MLLr or NPM1c AML. Our IND application for SNDX-5613 was approved by the FDA in second quarter of 2019 and we commenced AUGMENT-101, a clinical trial consisting initially of a Phase 1 dose escalation portion to determine the maximum tolerated dose, or MTD, and recommended Phase 2 dose of SNDX-5613 in patients with acute leukemia. Upon completion of the Phase 1 portion of the trial and identification of the recommended Phase 2 dose, we will initiate the Phase 2 portion of the trial with patients to be enrolled in three indication-specific expansion cohorts to determine the efficacy, short- and long-term safety, and tolerability of SNDX-5613 in MLLr ALL, MLLr AML and NPM1c AML. We are conducting the trial at multiple centers in the United States and anticipate completing enrollment of the Phase 1 portion in the second half of 2020, with an expected total enrollment of up to 132 patients for the Phase 1/2 clinical trial.

Axatilimb

We are also developing axatilimab a monoclonal antibody targeting the colony stimulating factor-1 receptor, or CSF-1R, a cell surface protein thought to control the survival and function of monocytes and macrophages. In many cancers, inhibition of CSF-1R will reduce the number of immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages, or TAMs, and enable an immune response against tumors. Axatilimab binds with high affinity to CSF-1R and blocks the binding of the two known CSF-1R ligands CSF-1 and IL-34. CSF-1R is expressed on the surface of specific immune cells known as macrophages and their precursor cells known as monocytes. CSF-1R signaling on these cells has been demonstrated in preclinical studies conducted in animal models of skin and lung chronic graft versus host disease, or cGVHD, to be the key regulatory pathway involved in the expansion and infiltration of the macrophages that mediate the cGVHD disease process. Blocking CSF-1R activity with an experimental CSF-1R antibody in these studies was shown to prevent and treat the symptoms of cGVHD. We are developing axatilimab to bind to CSF-1R and block the ability of CSF-1 and IL-34 to activate CSF-1R signaling. We believe that by inhibiting CSF-1R activation on monocytes and macrophages, that axatilimab has the potential to be used to treat cGVHD.

CSF-1R is also expressed on immuno-suppressive cells (e.g., TAMs) known to play a role in the growth, survival, and metastasis of cancer. Inhibition of CSF-1R is thought to disrupt the activity of TAMs, resulting in a decrease in the immunosuppressive environment immediately surrounding the tumor, or tumor micro-environment. This mode of action is thought to make CSF-1R inhibitors such as axatilimab well suited for use in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, particularly in cancers where there may be limited activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors as monotherapy. We believe that axatilimab has the potential to be used to treat a variety of cancers in combination with entinostat and with other oncology agents, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, radiation, and chemotherapy.

Our near-term focus is to rapidly establish proof of concept that axatilimab can provide meaningful clinical benefit to patients in one or more tumor types when combined with standard of care therapies for a given indication as well as to patients with cGVHD when used as a single agent. We intend to conduct clinical trials in patients with tumor types having clear unmet needs (e.g., NSCLC, TNBC, prostate, melanoma, pancreatic, ovarian, bladder) and in patients with advanced cGVHD where prior therapies are no longer effective.

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Our pipeline

Recent Clinical Developments

Entinostat

We anticipate that the E2112 trial will reach 410 death events this quarter, triggering the final overall survival, or OS, analysis. A positive OS assessment would allow the Company to file for full regulatory approval in the U.S.

The E2112 trial design was informed by the Phase 2b ENCORE 301 trial, the results of which led to entinostat’s Breakthrough Therapy designation in HR+ breast cancer, in which patients receiving the entinostat/exemestane combination demonstrated a clinically meaningful OS benefit over treatment with exemestane alone. In preparation for the potential launch of entinostat in the United States in 2021, we are actively engaged in the expansion of its commercial and medical affairs functions.

SNDX-5613

We recently announced initial clinical data from the Phase 1 portion of our ongoing open-label Phase 1/2 AUGMENT-101 trial of SNDX-5613. Data presented serve as the first clinical evidence that inhibition of the menin-MLL1 interaction has the potential to induce response in patients with MLL-r acute leukemias. The presentation, which was featured at the 2020 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting I, also highlighted preclinical findings, including data recently published in Cancer Cell and Science magazine, supporting the potential of single-agent menin-MLL inhibition to serve as an effective intervention for both NPM1 mutant AML and MLL-r acute leukemias.

The AUGMENT-101 trial is a Phase 1/2 open-label trial designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and efficacy of orally administered SNDX-5613. The Phase 1 dose escalation portion of AUGMENT-101 was recently separated into two cohorts based on concomitant treatment with a strong CYP3A4 inhibitor. Arm A will enroll patients not receiving a strong CYP3A4 inhibitor, while Arm B will enroll patients receiving a strong CYP3A4 inhibitor. The Phase 1 dose escalation portion of AUGMENT-101 is currently enrolling adults with relapsed/refractory acute leukemias including MLL-r and NPM1 mutant acute leukemias and is expected to establish a recommended Phase 2 dose for both cohorts by the fourth quarter of 2020. The Phase 2 portion will evaluate efficacy, as defined by CR rate (per International Working Group response criteria), across three expansion cohorts: MLL-r acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), MLL-r AML

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and NPM1 mutant AML. The Company expects to present additional results from AUGMENT-101 at a medical conference in the fourth quarter of 2020.

On April 27, 2020, we presented preliminary Phase 1 results from the AUGMENT-101 clinical trial at the 2020 American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting I.  As of the April 17th data cutoff date, a total of six patients have been treated in the Phase 1 portion of the ongoing open-label AUGMENT-101 trial at increasing dose levels of SNDX-5613. Responses were observed in two of three patients harboring an MLL rearrangement. This included one patient, whose drug exposure was consistent with that needed for activity in preclinical models, who had a complete response with incomplete blood count recovery (CRi) after 28 days of therapy and subsequently improved to a complete response (CR). The second patient achieved a partial response with incomplete blood count recovery (PRi) after 28 days of therapy. Both patients continue to receive SNDX-5613. A third patient harboring an MLL rearrangement did not achieve drug exposure levels consistent with that needed for activity in preclinical models and was removed from the trial due to progressive disease. Treatment with SNDX-5613 has been tolerated well, with no dose limiting toxicities reported. One patient experienced a Grade 2 QTc prolongation but remains on treatment.  

SNDX-5613 was granted Orphan Drug Designation for the treatment of adult and pediatric AML by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Axatilimab

The Phase 2 trial of axatilimab, for the treatment of cGVHD continues to enroll. The Company expects to present additional results from the Phase 1/2 trial in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Data from the Phase 1 trials axatilimab, both as a monotherapy and in combination with IMFINZI® (durvalumab) in patients with locally-advanced or metastatic solid tumors, were summarized in two oral presentations at the AACR Virtual Annual Meeting. The data indicate that axatilimab is tolerated well in solid tumor patients, generated a recommended Phase 2 dose for axatilimab for the treatment of patients with solid tumors, and provided evidence of its ability to deplete circulating pro-inflammatory monocytes.

Estimated Financial and Balance Sheet Data as of March 31, 2020

We preliminarily estimate that our cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of March 31, 2020 was approximately $99 million. We also estimate that operating expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2020 were approximately $15.5 million, including research and development expenses of approximately $9.6 million. The preliminary financial data included in this prospectus supplement is based on information available to management as of the date of this prospectus supplement and is subject to completion by management of our financial statements as of and for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Complete quarterly results will be included in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020.

COVID-19 Business Update

With the global spread of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the first and second quarters of 2020, we have implemented business continuity plans designed to address and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our employees and our business.  While we are not currently experiencing financial impacts, given the global economic slowdown, the overall disruption of global healthcare systems and the other risks and uncertainties associated with the pandemic, our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects could be materially adversely affected.  In March 2020, our workforce transitioned to working remotely.  We are currently considering plans to reopen our offices to allow employees to return to the office, which will be based on a approach that is principles-based and local in design, with a focus on patient continuity, employee safety and optimal work environment.

Supply Chain

We are working closely our third-party manufacturers, distributors and other partners to manage our supply chain activities and mitigate potential disruptions to our product supplies as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  We currently expect to have adequate supplies of entinostat, axatilimab and SNDX-5613 in 2020, as well as adequate commercial product availability for entinostat to support a planned U.S. launch if the E2112 trial is

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positive and the FDA approves entinostat in 2021.  If the COVID-19 pandemic persists for an extended period of time and begins to impact essential distribution systems such as FedEx and postal delivery or if it results in facility closures for cleaning and/or insufficient staff, we could experience disruptions to our supply chain and operations, and associated delays in the manufacturing and supply of our products, which would adversely impact our ability to generate sales of and revenues from entinostat, if approved, and to continue our clinical trial operations.

Clinical Development

With respect to clinical development, we have taken measures to implement remote and virtual approaches, including remote patient monitoring where possible, to maintain patient safety and trial continuity and to preserve study integrity.  We have not yet, but may experience a disruption or delay in our ability to initiate trial sites and enroll and assess patients.  As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, we anticipate a potential impact on our ability to maintain patient enrollment in the AUGMENT-101 and cGVHD trials.  We could also see an impact on the ability to supply study drug, report trial results, or interact with regulators, ethics committees or other important agencies due to limitations in regulatory authority employee resources or otherwise.  In addition, we rely on contract research organizations or other third parties to assist us with clinical trials, and we cannot guarantee that they will continue to perform their contractual duties in a timely and satisfactory manner as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.  If the COVID-19 pandemic continues and persists for an extended period of time, we could experience significant disruptions to our clinical development timelines, which would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

Corporate Development

With our strong cash balance, including the proceeds of our January 2020 registered direct offering and draw of the first tranche under our loan agreement, we anticipate having sufficient liquidity to make planned investments in our business this year in support of our long-term growth strategy.  We believe that our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of March 31, 2020 will fund our current operating plans through at least the next 12 months. However, our operating plan may change as a result of many factors currently unknown to us, and we may seek additional funds sooner than planned, through public or private equity or debt financings, third-party funding, marketing and distribution arrangements, as well as other collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements, or any combination of these approaches.  However, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rapidly evolve and has already resulted in a significant disruption of global financial markets.  If the disruption persists and deepens, we could experience an inability to access additional capital, which could in the future negatively affect our operations.

Other Financial and Corporate Impacts

While we continue to evaluate whether the COVID-19 pandemic will adversely affect our business operations and financial results, our clinical development and regulatory efforts, our corporate development objectives and the value of and market for our common stock, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence at this time, such as the ultimate duration of the pandemic, travel restrictions, quarantines, social distancing and business closure requirements in the United States, Europe and other countries, and the effectiveness of actions taken globally to contain and treat the disease.  For example, if remote work policies for certain portions of our business, or that of our business partners, are extended longer than we currently expect, we may need to reassess our priorities and our corporate objectives for the year.

Corporate Information

We were incorporated in Delaware in 2005. In 2011, we established a wholly owned subsidiary in the United Kingdom and in 2014 we established a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary. Our principal executive offices are located at 35 Gatehouse Drive, Building D, Floor 3, Waltham, Massachusetts 02451 and our telephone number is (781) 419-1400. Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “SNDX.” Our corporate website address is www.syndax.com. Information contained on or accessible through our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider any information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website as part of this prospectus or in deciding whether to purchase our securities.

“Syndax” is a registered trademark and the “Syndax” and “Syndax Pharmaceuticals” logos are unregistered trademarks of the company. This prospectus also contains registered marks, trademarks and trade names of other

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companies. All other trademarks, registered marks and trade names appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective holders.

Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and Smaller Reporting Company

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other burdens that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include:

being permitted to provide only two years of audited financial statements, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements, with correspondingly reduced “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” disclosure;

not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting;

not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements;

reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements; and

not being required to hold a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

We may take advantage of these exemptions until we no longer an emerging growth company. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (i) December 31, 2021; (ii) the last day of the fiscal year if we have more than $1.07 billion in annual revenues; (iii) the date we qualify as “large accelerated filer,” with at least $700 million in market value of our capital stock held by non-affiliates; or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. We may choose to take advantage of some or all of these available exemptions. We have taken advantage of some reduced reporting requirements in our public filings. Accordingly, the information that we provide stockholders may be different than you might obtain from other public companies.

In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This provision allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of some accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of delayed adoption of new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, we will be subject to the same requirements to adopt new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

We are also a smaller reporting company as defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company even after we are no longer an emerging growth company. We may take advantage of certain of the scaled disclosures available to smaller reporting companies and will be able to take advantage of these scaled disclosures for so long as (i) our voting and non-voting common stock held by nonaffiliates is less than $250.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter or (ii) our annual revenue is less than $100.0 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter.


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THE OFFERING

Common stock to be offered by us:

 

                        shares  

Option to purchase additional shares from us:

 

We have granted the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days to purchase up to             additional shares of our common stock from us at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions.

Common stock to be outstanding immediately following this offering:

 

                         shares (or              shares if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares from us is exercised in full).

Use of proceeds:

 

We intend to use the net proceeds from the offering to: (i) fund our pipeline of development programs, in particular: clinical trials of SNDX-5613, including a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in a defined subset of acute leukemias patients; entinostat for HR+, HER2-breast cancer, which has fully enrolled a Phase 3 clinical trial with sponsorship and funding support from the NCI and for which we continue to provide certain financial and operational support; clinical trials of axatilimab, which is currently enrolling a Phase 1/2 dose escalation trial in patients with cGVHD as well as a Phase 1/1b ascending dose trial evaluating the safety of axatilimab alone or in combination with Imfinzi; (ii) fund pre-commercialization efforts in advance of the anticipated readout of the Phase 3 E2112 trial, which we expect will occur in the second quarter of 2020; (iii) opportunistically acquire or invest in businesses, products or technologies that are complementary to our own, although we have no current plans, commitments or agreements with respect to any acquisitions as of the date of this prospectus supplement; and (iv) for working capital and general corporate purposes. See “Use of Proceeds.”

 

Risk factors:

 

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. See “Risk Factors” on page S-9 of this prospectus supplement and under similar headings in other documents incorporated by reference herein.

 

Nasdaq Global Select Market

Symbol:

 

SNDX

The above discussion is based on 30,177,203 shares of our common stock outstanding, which represents 27,140,484 shares of our common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2019, plus 3,036,719 shares of common stock issued on January 30, 2020 in connection with a registered direct offering, or the January 2020 Offering, but excludes:

5,838,287 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of pre-funded warrants, which represents 4,500,000 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of pre-funded warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2019, plus 1,338,287 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of pre-funded warrants issued in the January 2020 Offering, collectively the Outstanding Pre-Funded Warrants, at an exercise price of $0.0001 per share;

2,297,517 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of Series 1 warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2019, at an exercise price of $10.00 per share;

2,297,522 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of Series 2 warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2019, at an exercise price of $13.00 per share, collectively with the Series 1 warrants, the Series Warrants;

6,897,802 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding, which represents 6,057,011 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding as of December 31, 2019, plus 1,121,825 options to purchase shares of our common stock issued between January 1, 2020 and March 31, 2020, collectively the Outstanding Stock Options, under our 2015 Omnibus Incentive Plan,

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or 2015 Plan, and our 2007 Stock Plan, as amended, collectively, our Stock Plans, at a weighted average exercise price of $8.72 per share;

1,843,511 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2015 Plan as of January 1, 2020, plus any additional shares of our common stock that may become available under our 2015 Plan; and

1,128,398 shares of our common stock reserved for issuance under our 2015 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or ESPP, as of January 1, 2020, as well as any future increases in the number of shares of our common stock reserved for issuance under the ESPP.

In addition, up to approximately $50 million of common stock remains available to be issued pursuant to our ATM program with Cowen and Company, LLC as of the date of the prospectus supplement.

Except as otherwise indicated, the information in this prospectus supplement assumes:

no exercise of the outstanding stock options, Outstanding Pre-Funded Warrants and the Series Warrants; and

no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares of our common stock from us.


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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risk factors and the risk factors discussed under the section entitled “Risk Factors” contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, as updated by our subsequent filings, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus in their entirety, together with all of the other information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The risks and uncertainties described in these documents are not the only ones we face. Other risks and uncertainties, including those that we do not currently consider material, may impair our business. If any of the risks discussed below or incorporated by reference actually occur, our business, financial condition, operating results or cash flows could be materially adversely affected. This could cause the value of our securities to decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

 

Risks Related to this Offering

 

If you purchase our securities in this offering, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution in investment. You will experience further dilution if we issue additional equity securities in future financing transactions.

 

Since the offering price per share of our common stock is higher than the net tangible book value per share of our common stock, you will suffer immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book value of the common stock you purchase in this offering.  As a result, investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering will incur immediate dilution of approximately $             per share, based upon the offering price of $             per share of common stock, and our net tangible book value as of December 31, 2019, after giving effect to this offering (and including 3,036,719 shares of common stock issued in the January 2020 Offering and excluding shares of common stock issued and any proceeds received upon exercise of the Outstanding Pre-Funded Warrants or any resulting accounting associated with the Outstanding Pre-Funded Warrants). See the section titled “Dilution” below for a more detailed discussion of the dilution you will incur if you purchase common stock in this offering.

 

In addition, we have a significant number of stock options, pre-funded warrants and series warrants outstanding. To the extent that these have been or may be exercised, investors purchasing in this offering may experience further dilution. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that additional capital is raised through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our stockholders or result in downward pressure on the price of our common stock.

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 our current clinical development efforts, acquire or invest in businesses, products or technologies that are complementary to our own, although we have no current plans, commitments or agreements with respect to any acquisitions as of the date of this prospectus, and for working capital and general corporate purposes. Pending the use of net proceeds, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term, investment-grade, interest bearing obligations, certificates of deposit or direct or guaranteed obligations of the United States. 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.

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Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

COVID-19 could adversely impact our business, including our clinical trials.

In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, causing COVID-19, was initially reported and has since been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in travel and other restrictions in order to reduce the spread of the disease, including state and local orders across the United States and other countries worldwide, which, among other things, direct individuals to shelter at their places of residence, direct businesses and governmental agencies to cease non-essential operations at physical locations, prohibit certain non-essential gatherings, and order cessation of non-essential travel. In response to these public health directives and orders, we have implemented work-from-home policies for our employees. The effects of the executive orders, the shelter-in-place (“SIP”) orders and our work-from-home policies may negatively impact productivity, disrupt our business and delay our clinical programs and timelines, the magnitude of which will depend, in part, on the length and severity of the restrictions and other limitations on our ability to conduct our business in the ordinary course. These and similar, and perhaps more severe, disruptions in our operations could negatively impact our business, operating results and financial condition.

Quarantines, SIP and similar government orders related to COVID-19 may adversely impact our business operations and the business operations of our contract research organizations conducting our clinical trials and our third-party manufacturing facilities in the United States and other countries. In particular, if the COVID-19 pandemic persists for an extended period of time and begins to impact essential distribution systems such as FedEx and postal delivery or if it results in facility closures facility closures for cleaning and/or insufficient staff, we could experience disruptions to our supply chain and operations, and associated delays in the manufacturing and supply of our products, which would adversely impact our ability to generate sales of and revenues from entinostat, if approved, and to continue our clinical trial operations.

In addition, our clinical trials may be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, clinical site initiation and patient enrollment may be delayed or suspended due to prioritization of hospital resources toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients may not be able to comply with clinical trial protocols if quarantines impede patient movement or interrupt healthcare services. Similarly, our ability to recruit and retain patients and principal investigators and site staff who, as healthcare providers, may have heightened exposure to COVID-19, could be limited, which in turn could adversely impact our clinical trial operations. As a result, we may face delays in meeting our anticipated timelines for our ongoing and planned clinical trials.

The spread of COVID-19, which has caused a broad impact globally, may materially affect us economically. While the long-term economic impact from the COVID-19 pandemic may be difficult to assess or predict, it has already caused significant disruption of global financial markets, which could in the future reduce our ability to access capital negatively affect our liquidity. In addition, a recession or the existing market correction resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially affect our business and the value of our common stock.

The global pandemic of COVID-19 continues to rapidly evolve. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic impacts our business, our clinical development and regulatory efforts will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, such as the duration of the outbreak, travel restrictions, quarantines, SIP orders, social distancing requirements, business closures in the United States and other countries, and the effectiveness of actions taken in the United States and other countries to contain and treat the disease.  Accordingly, we do not yet know the full extent of potential delays or impacts on our business, our clinical and regulatory activities, healthcare systems or the global economy as a whole.  However, these impacts could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

In addition, to the extent the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic adversely affects our business and results of operations, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks and uncertainties described in this “Risk Factors” section.

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If the Phase 3 clinical trial of entinostat in combination with exemestane in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer patients fails to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of regulatory authorities or does not otherwise produce positive results, we may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of entinostat.

Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of entinostat, we or our collaborators must conduct extensive trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of entinostat in humans. We have entered into an arrangement with ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group, or ECOG-ACRIN, to conduct the Phase 3 clinical trial of entinostat in combination with exemestane in advanced hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative, or (HR+, HER2-, breast cancer patients. The National Cancer Institute, or NCI, designed the trial to measure two primary endpoints, progression-free survival, or PFS, and overall survival, or OS. We received the final PFS analysis from ECOG-ACRIN in October 2018 and we expect to receive the final OS analysis no later than the second quarter of 2020. In October 2018, ECOG-ACRIN informed us that the trial did not achieve the first primary endpoint of improving PFS, which would have provided the earliest regulatory filing opportunity. In accordance with the trial protocol, ECOG-ACRIN is confidentially holding the findings from the PFS analysis until reporting final OS results.  We will not be able to submit an NDA unless and until we receive data demonstrating that the trial has achieved the primary endpoint for OS. In addition, based on scientific advice that we received from the European Medicines Agency, the current Phase 3 clinical trial may not be sufficient to receive regulatory approval in Europe for entinostat to treat advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer, and it is unclear whether we would be able to complete an alternate clinical trial that would be sufficient.

Despite the results reported in our Phase 2b clinical trial for entinostat in advanced estrogen receptor positive, or ER+, breast cancer, we do not know whether the Phase 3 clinical trial in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer will demonstrate adequate efficacy and safety to result in regulatory approval to market entinostat in any particular cancer indications or jurisdiction. Additionally, while we do not expect that there will be overlapping toxicities between entinostat and exemestane, we cannot be certain that we will not observe these toxicities or unexpected adverse drug reactions in the Phase 3 clinical trial.

Clinical testing is expensive and difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and is inherently uncertain as to the outcome. A failure of one or more trials can occur at any stage of testing. The outcome of preclinical studies and early clinical trials may not accurately predict the success of later trials, and interim results of a trial do not necessarily predict final results. For example, with the emergence of the new therapies such as Verzenio, Kisqali, Ibrance and Piqray patients enrolled in the Phase 3 clinical trial may be different than those enrolled in our previous Phase 2b clinical trial in that they may have received a CDK 4/6 inhibitor prior to our trial and therefore may respond differently to treatment with entinostat. A number of companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries have suffered significant setbacks in advanced trials due to lack of efficacy or unacceptable safety profiles, notwithstanding promising results in earlier trials.

The failure of ECOG-ACRIN or the NCI to adequately perform its obligations and responsibilities in the conduct of the Phase 3 clinical trial or to meet expected deadlines could substantially harm our business because we may not obtain regulatory approval for entinostat in a timely manner, or at all.

We have entered into an arrangement with ECOG-ACRIN, pursuant to which it, with sponsorship and funding support by the NCI, is conducting the Phase 3 clinical trial of entinostat in combination with exemestane in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer patients. While we provide operational and logistical support for the trial, we have limited control of their activities. We cannot control whether ECOG-ACRIN will devote sufficient time and resources to the trial, including as a result of any reduction or delay in government funding or sponsorship of the activities of ECOG-ACRIN or the NCI. If ECOG-ACRIN or the NCI does not successfully carry out its obligations and responsibilities or meet expected deadlines or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data that ECOG-ACRIN obtains is compromised due to the failure to adhere to Good Clinical Practices, or GCPs, clinical protocols, regulatory requirements or for other reasons, the Phase 3 clinical trial may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize, entinostat. As a result, our results of operations and the commercial prospects for entinostat would be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenues could be delayed.

Although the Phase 3 clinical trial is being conducted by ECOG-ACRIN, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our trials is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol and legal, regulatory and scientific standards, and our reliance on ECOG-ACRIN does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We are required

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to comply with GCP, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, the Competent Authorities of the Member States of the European Economic Area and foreign regulatory authorities for any product in clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce GCP through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and clinical trial sites. If we fail to comply with applicable GCP, the clinical data generated in our trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional trials before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority will determine that any of our trials comply with GCP requirements. In addition, we must conduct our trials with products produced under current Good Manufacturing Practices regulations, or cGMP requirements. Failure to comply with any of these regulations may require us to repeat preclinical and clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory development process.

If there are delays in completing the Phase 3 clinical trial for entinostat in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer, we will be delayed in commercializing entinostat, our development costs may increase and our business may be harmed.

The Phase 3 clinical trial of entinostat in combination with exemestane in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer commenced in the second quarter of 2014, and we expect to receive the final OS analysis no later than the second quarter of 2020. Our product development costs could increase if we experience delays in the overall number of survival events. Significant trial delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize entinostat or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do, which would impair our ability to successfully capitalize on entinostat and may harm our business, results of operations and prospects. Events that may result in a delay or unsuccessful completion of clinical development of entinostat include, among other things:

unexpectedly high rate of patients withdrawing consent or being lost to follow-up, including patients that withdraw or are lost to follow-up following our announcement in October 2018 that the trial did not achieve the first primary endpoint of improving PFS;

feedback from the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities, institutional review boards, or IRBs, or the data safety monitoring board, or results from clinical trials that might require modification to a clinical trial protocol;

imposition of a clinical hold by the FDA or other regulatory authorities, a decision by the FDA, other regulatory authorities, Institutional Review Boards, or IRBs, or the company, or a recommendation by a data safety monitoring board to suspend or terminate trials at any time for safety issues or for any other reason;

deviations from the trial protocol by clinical trial sites and investigators or failure to conduct the trial in accordance with regulatory requirements;

failure of third parties, such as ECOG-ACRIN or contract research organizations, or CROs, to satisfy their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines;

withdrawal of sponsorship of the NCI because of a failure of ECOG-ACRIN to meet certain performance metrics in the clinical trial;

delays in the testing, validation, manufacturing and delivery of entinostat to the clinical trial sites;

delays caused by patients dropping out of a trial due to side effects or disease progression;

unacceptable risk-benefit profile or unforeseen safety issues or adverse drug reactions;

failure to demonstrate the efficacy of entinostat in this clinical trial;

changes in government regulations or administrative actions or lack of adequate funding to continue the trials; or

business interruptions resulting from geo-political actions, including war and terrorism, or natural disasters and public health epidemics, including, but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic.

An inability by us to timely complete clinical development could result in additional costs to us or impair our ability to generate product revenues or development, regulatory, commercialization and sales milestone payments and royalties on product sales.

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Although the NCI has entered into a Special Protocol Assessment, or SPA, agreement with the FDA relating to the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of entinostat for advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer, this agreement does not guarantee any particular outcome with respect to regulatory review of the trial or any associated NDA for entinostat.

The protocol for the pivotal Phase 3 trial of entinostat in combination with exemestane in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer was reviewed and agreed upon by the FDA under a SPA agreement with the NCI. The SPA agreement allows for FDA evaluation of whether a clinical trial protocol could form the primary basis of an efficacy claim in support of an NDA. The SPA is an agreement that a Phase 3 clinical trial’s design, clinical endpoints, patient population and statistical analyses are sufficient to support the efficacy claim. Agreement on the SPA is not a guarantee of approval; and there is no assurance that the design of, or data collected from, the trial will be adequate to obtain the requisite regulatory approval. In October 2018, ECOG-ACRIN informed us that the trial did not achieve the statistical hurdle for the first primary endpoint of improving PFS, which would have provided the earliest regulatory filing opportunity. Further, obtaining clinical trial data meeting the OS endpoint in satisfaction of the SPA does not guarantee approval. The SPA is not binding on the FDA if public health concerns unrecognized at the time the SPA was entered into become evident or other new scientific concerns regarding product safety or efficacy arise. In addition, upon written agreement of both the FDA and the NCI, the SPA may be changed, and the FDA retains significant latitude and discretion in interpreting the terms of the SPA and any resulting trial data. As a result, we do not know how the FDA will interpret the parties’ respective commitments under the SPA, how it will interpret the data and OS results from the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial, whether the FDA will require that we conduct or complete one or more additional clinical trials to support potential approval or whether entinostat will receive any regulatory approvals. ECOG-ACRIN, with sponsorship and funding support from the NCI, is conducting the pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial, which began enrollment in the second quarter of 2014.

A breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA for entinostat may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process, and it does not increase the likelihood that entinostat will receive marketing approval.

We received breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA for entinostat when used in combination with exemestane based on the OS results from our completed Phase 2b clinical trial in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer. A breakthrough therapy is defined as a drug that is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints. The Phase 2b trial showed statistically significant improvements in PFS, the primary endpoint, and OS, an exploratory endpoint. Receipt of a breakthrough therapy designation for a drug candidate may not result in a faster development process or review compared to drugs considered for approval under conventional FDA procedures and does not assure ultimate approval by the FDA. In addition, the FDA may later decide that entinostat no longer meets the conditions for qualification or decide that the time period for FDA review will not be shortened. For instance, our Phase 3 trial in HR+, HER2- breast cancer patients failed to achieve one of its primary endpoints of improving PFS. We expect to receive final analysis on the second primary endpoint, OS, no later than the second quarter of 2020. If the results do not confirm the improvement in OS observed in our Phase 2b clinical trial, the FDA may rescind our breakthrough therapy designation.

We do not currently have any sales, marketing or distribution experience or infrastructure.

In order to market any approved product candidate in the future, we must build our sales, marketing, managerial and other non-technical capabilities or make arrangements with third parties to perform these services, as we do not presently have all of these capabilities. To develop our internal sales, distribution and marketing capabilities, we would have to invest significant amounts of financial and management resources in the future. For drugs where we decide to perform sales, marketing and distribution functions ourselves, we could face a number of challenges, including that:

we may not be able to attract and build a significant marketing or sales force;

the cost of establishing, training and providing regulatory oversight for a marketing or sales force may not be justifiable in light of the revenues generated by any particular product;

our direct or indirect sales and marketing efforts may not be successful; and

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there are significant legal and regulatory risks in drug marketing and sales that we have never faced, and any failure to comply with all legal and regulatory requirements for sales, marketing and distribution could result in enforcement action by the FDA or other authorities that could jeopardize our ability to market the product or could subject us to substantial liability.

Alternatively, we may rely on third parties to launch and market our product candidates, if approved. We may have limited or no control over the sales, marketing and distribution activities of these third parties and our future revenue may depend on the success of these third parties. Additionally, if these third parties fail to comply with all applicable legal or regulatory requirements, the FDA or another governmental agency could take enforcement action that could jeopardize their ability and our ability to market our product candidates.

We are currently developing several product candidates. If we are unable to successfully complete clinical development of, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize our product candidates, our business prospects will be significantly harmed.

Entinostat, SNDX-5613 and axatilimab are currently our only product candidates. Our financial success will depend substantially on our ability to effectively and profitably commercialize our product candidates. In order to commercialize our product candidates, we will be required to obtain regulatory approvals by establishing that each of them is sufficiently safe and effective. The clinical and commercial success of our product candidates will depend on a number of factors, including the following:

direct and indirect effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on various aspects and stages of the clinical development process, including the potential impact to expected site initiation, enrollment and participation in our clinical trials;

significant reprioritization and diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, including the diversion of hospitals serving as our clinical trial sites and hospital staff supporting the conduct of our clinical trials;

completion of the Phase 3 clinical trial in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer, which will depend substantially upon the satisfactory performance of ECOG-ACRIN and the NCI and other third-party contractors for entinostat;

timely completion of the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of SNDX-5613 in patients with relapsed/refractory acute leukemia;

timely completion of the Phase 1a/1b clinical trials of axatilimab as a monotherapy and in combination with durvalumab and of the Phase 2 clinical trial of axatilimab in patients with cGVHD;

interruption of key clinical trial activities, such as clinical trial site monitoring, due to limitations on travel, quarantines or social distancing protocols imposed or recommended by federal or state governments, employers and others in connection with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic;

whether we are required by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities to conduct additional clinical trials;

the prevalence and severity of adverse drug reactions in any of our clinical trials;

the ability to demonstrate safety and efficacy of our product candidates for their proposed indications and the timely receipt of necessary marketing approvals from the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities;

achieving and maintaining compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements;

the availability, perceived advantages, relative cost, relative safety and relative efficacy of alternative and competing treatments;

the effectiveness of our own or our potential strategic collaborators’ marketing, sales and distribution strategy and operations in the United States and abroad;

the ability of our third-party contract manufacturers to produce trial supplies and to develop, validate and maintain a commercially viable manufacturing process that is compliant with cGMP;

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the availability of commercial supplies of therapeutics, including exemestane and clinical supplies of investigational drugs, to support the development and marketing of the entinostat therapy as a component of a combination drug regimen for entinostat;

the availability of commercial supplies of therapeutics, including Imfinzi, and clinical supplies of investigational drugs, to support the development and marketing of the axatilimab therapy as a component of a combination drug regimen for axatilimab;

our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates in the United States and abroad, whether alone or in collaboration with others; and

our ability to enforce our intellectual property rights in and to our product candidates.

If we fail to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, we will not be able to generate product sales, which will have a material adverse effect on our business and our prospects.

Our strategy of combining entinostat with immune checkpoint inhibitors has undergone limited clinical testing and we may fail to show that the combination is well tolerated and demonstrates additional clinical benefit from the combination.

Preclinical studies conducted by us and others suggest a strong rationale for combining entinostat with immune checkpoint inhibitors, including PD-1 pathway antagonists, to enhance the immune system’s ability to detect and eliminate tumor cells. Our approach was to conduct Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials in patients with tumors that are known to be responsive to PD-1 pathway antagonists and assess both the safety and efficacy of the combination of entinostat plus a PD-1 pathway antagonist. Our initial clinical data is supportive of our hypothesis as we have seen clinical benefit from the combination of entinostat plus pembrolizumab in patients with metastatic melanoma and non-small cell lung cancer. However, we have not yet sufficiently demonstrated a favorable risk-benefit of this combination in patients, and we may be unable to establish efficacy to warrant regulatory submission or approval. In the first quarter of 2019, we completed a full portfolio prioritization assessment and have determined to place the initiation of potential registration trials in non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma on hold until we receive final OS results from E2112.

Our strategy for developing axatilimab has undergone limited clinical testing and we may fail to show that this drug is well tolerated and provides a clinical benefit for patients.

Preclinical studies suggest that CSF-1/CSF-1R signaling may be the key regulatory pathway involved in the expansion and infiltration of donor derived macrophages that mediate the disease processes involved in Graft Versus Host Disease, or cGVHD. Nonclinical studies and analysis of patient samples indicates that the cGVHD inflammatory disease process is a result of a complex interaction between host and donor immune cells including B cells, and regulatory T cells with M2 differentiated macrophages in target tissue appearing to represent the common distal mediator of fibrosis. Therefore, we hypothesize that a CSF-1R signal inhibitor such as axatilimab may play a meaningful role as a monotherapy agent in the treatment of cGVHD.  Our approach is to conduct Phase 1 clinical trial with axatilimab in subjects with active cGVHD who have failed at least two prior lines of therapy. If our initial clinical data lend support for our hypothesis, we plan to continue developing axatilimab in this indication. At this time however, we have not yet sufficiently demonstrated a favorable risk-benefit of axatilimab in patients and we may be unable to establish sufficient efficacy to warrant continued development in this indication.

Our strategy for developing SNDX-5613 has undergone limited clinical testing and we may fail to show that the drug is well tolerated and provides sufficient clinical benefit for patients.

Research suggests that certain acute leukemias, such as mixed lineage leukemia-rearranged, or MLLr, leukemias and nucleophosmin 1, or  NPM1, mutant acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, are driven by the interaction of menin, a nuclear protein involved in transcription, with the N-terminus of MLL1 protein, a histone methyl transferase. In NMP1 mutant AML the interaction with Menin occurs via the wild type MLL1 protein, and in MLLr acute leukemias, the interaction occurs via a mutant form of MLL1, a fusion protein know as MLLr. MLLr results from a rare, spontaneous fusion between the N-terminus of the mixed lineage leukemia protein-1, or MLL1, and a host of signaling molecules and nuclear transcription factors. This fusion produces an aberrant transcription program

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that drives leukemic transformation. In pre-clinical animal models, small molecule inhibitors of the menin-MLL-r interactionmolecules, such as SNDX-5613, which bind to, and block the interaction of menin with either MLLr or MLL1, have demonstrated deep and durable single agent treatment effects in multiple leukemic xenograft models harboring MLL fusions or NPM1 mutations. Our strategy for developing SNDX-5613 is to conduct a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with MLL-r leukemia and assess bothrelapsed/refractory acute leukemias. The Phase 1 portion of the trial is assessing the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of SNDX-5613, and seeks to establish a recommended Phase 2 dose. The Phase 1 portion of the trial is open label, and we have released and may in the future release results from time to time that reflect very small numbers of patients which may not accurately predictive of safety or efficacy results later in the trial or in subsequent trials. The Phase 2 portion will evaluate efficacy of SNDX-5613, as defined by Complete Remission rate, across three expansion cohorts enrolling adult patients with MLL-r acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, MLL-r acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, and NPM1 mutant AML. If our initial clinical data lend support for our hypothesis, we plan to continue developing SNDX-5613 in one or more of these indications. At this time however, we have not yet sufficiently demonstrated a favorable risk-benefit of SNDX-5613 in patients, and we may be unable to establish sufficient efficacy to warrant continued development in one or more of these indications.

Interim top-line and preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more patient data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data.

From time to time, we may publish interim top-line or preliminary data from our clinical trials. For example, in April 2020, we announced interim data from our Phase 1/2 clinical trial of SNDX-5613. Interim data from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. Preliminary or top-line data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. Preliminary or top-line data may include, for example, data regarding a small percentage of the patients enrolled in a clinical trial, and such preliminary data should not be viewed as an indication, belief or guarantee that other patients enrolled in such clinical trial will achieve similar results or that the preliminary results from such patients will be maintained. As a result, interim and preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects and may cause the trading price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly.

We may be unable to transfer, qualify and validate an assay for determining peripheral monocyte levels to be used in conjunction with a future registration enabling non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, trial.

In October 2018, we announced that we are proceeding with a registration trial in NSCLC patients whose disease has progressed after both platinum-based combination chemotherapy and a PD-1 antagonist therapy. We designed the trial to both validate a classical monocyte biomarker and demonstrate that the combination therapy of entinostat plus Keytruda is superior to standard of care chemotherapy in a high monocyte population. This trial will require testing patients for levels of circulating classical monocytes prior to treatment before assigning them to the appropriate arm of the trial. The assay that our academic collaborators have used to determine circulating levels of classical monocytes has not been developed or validated to the qualifications that the FDA may require for patient selection. We are working to measure circulating levels of cells, including monocytes, but we may not be able to successfully transfer, qualify and validate an assay for determining peripheral monocyte levels that will be acceptable to the FDA. In the first quarter of 2019, we completed a full portfolio prioritization assessment and have determined to place the initiation of this trial on hold until we receive final OS results from E2112.

If we are or our collaborators are unable to enroll patients in clinical trials, these clinical trials may not be completed on a timely basis or at all.

The timely completion of clinical trials largely depends on patient enrollment. Many factors affect patient enrollment, including:

direct and indirect effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic;

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perception about the relative efficacy of our product candidates versus other compounds in clinical development or commercially available;

evolving standard of care in treating cancer patients;

the size and nature of the patient population, especially in the case of an orphan indication such as MLL-r acute leukemia;

the number and location of clinical trial sites enrolled;

competition with other organizations or our own clinical trials for clinical trial sites or patients;

the eligibility and exclusion criteria for the trial;

the design of the trial;

ability to obtain and maintain patient consents; and

risk that enrolled subjects will drop out before completion.

As a result of the above factors, there is a risk that our or our collaborators’ clinical trials may not be completed on a timely basis or at all.

The actions of Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd., or KKC, Eddingpharm Investment Company Limited, or Eddingpharm, and any other current or future sublicensees could adversely affect our business.

We currently sublicense entinostat to third parties for development and commercialization in certain foreign jurisdictions. Specifically, we have a sublicense agreement with KKC under which we granted KKC an exclusive sublicense to develop and commercialize entinostat in Japan and Korea as well as a sublicense agreement with Eddingpharm under which we granted Eddingpharm an exclusive sublicense to develop and commercialize entinostat in China and select Asian countries. It is possible that any clinical trials conducted by KKC, Eddingpharm and other current or future sublicensees in their respective jurisdictions could have negative results, which in turn could have a material adverse effect on the development of entinostat for development and commercialization in the United States and the rest of the world.

We are dependent on UCB Biopharma Sprl, or UCB, to comply with the terms of our license agreement for axatilimab.

Our commercial success also depends upon our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell axatilimab. In July 2016, we entered into the UCB license agreement pursuant to which we obtained a worldwide, sublicenseable, exclusive license to axatilimab, an IND-ready anti-CSF-1R monoclonal antibody. Under the UCB license agreement, we are dependent on UCB’s performance of its responsibilities and its cooperation with us. UCB may not perform its obligations under the UCB license agreement or otherwise cooperate with us. We cannot control whether UCB will devote the necessary resources to its obligations under the UCB license agreement, nor can we control the timing of its performance. Additionally, certain of the rights licensed to us under the UCB license agreement are in-licensed by UCB from third parties. We are dependent on UCB maintaining the applicable third-party license agreements in full force and effect, which may include activities and performance obligations that are not within our control. If any of these third-party license agreements terminate, certain of our rights to develop, manufacture, commercialize or sell axatilimab may be terminated as well. The occurrence of any of these events could adversely affect the development and commercialization of axatilimab, and materially harm our business.

We may be required to relinquish important rights to and control over the development and commercialization of our product candidates to our current or future collaborators.

Our collaborations, including any future strategic collaborations we enter into, could subject us to a number of risks, including:

we may be required to undertake the expenditure of substantial operational, financial and management resources;

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we may be required to issue equity securities that would dilute our existing stockholders’ percentage of ownership;

we may be required to assume substantial actual or contingent liabilities;

we may not be able to control the amount and timing of resources that our strategic collaborators devote to the development or commercialization of our product candidates;

strategic collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding, terminate a clinical trial or abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new version of a product candidate for clinical testing;

strategic collaborators may not pursue further development and commercialization of products resulting from the strategic collaboration arrangement or may elect to discontinue research and development programs;

strategic collaborators may not commit adequate resources to the marketing and distribution of our product candidates, limiting our potential revenues from these products;

disputes may arise between us and our strategic collaborators that result in the delay or termination of the research, development or commercialization of our product candidates or that result in costly litigation or arbitration that diverts management’s attention and consumes resources;

strategic collaborators may experience financial difficulties;

strategic collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our proprietary information in a manner that could jeopardize or invalidate our proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation;

business combinations or significant changes in a strategic collaborator’s business strategy may also adversely affect a strategic collaborator’s willingness or ability to complete its obligations under any arrangement;

strategic collaborators could decide to move forward with a competing product candidate developed either independently or in collaboration with others, including our competitors; and

strategic collaborators could terminate the arrangement or allow it to expire, which would delay the development and may increase the cost of developing, our product candidates.

We may explore strategic collaborations that may never materialize or may fail.

We may periodically explore a variety of possible strategic collaborations in an effort to gain access to additional product candidates or resources. At the current time, we cannot predict what form such a strategic collaboration might take. We are likely to face significant competition in seeking appropriate strategic collaborators, and strategic collaborations can be complicated and time consuming to negotiate and document. We may enter into strategic collaborations that we subsequently no longer wish to pursue, and we may not be able to negotiate strategic collaborations on acceptable terms, or at all. We are unable to predict when, if ever, we will enter into any additional strategic collaborations because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with establishing them.

The regulatory approval processes of the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities are lengthy, time-consuming and inherently unpredictable. Our inability to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates could harm our business.

The time required to obtain approval by the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities is unpredictable, but typically takes many years following the commencement of preclinical studies and clinical trials and depends upon numerous factors, including the substantial discretion of the regulatory authorities. In addition, approval policies, regulations, or the type and amount of clinical data necessary to gain approval may change during the course of a product candidate’s clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions. We have not obtained regulatory approval for any of our product candidates, and it is possible that we will never obtain regulatory approval for our existing product candidates or any future product candidates.

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Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is possible that we could experience delays in the timing of our interactions with regulatory authorities due to absenteeism by governmental employees, inability to conduct planned physical inspections related to regulatory approval, or the diversion of regulatory authority efforts and attention to approval of other therapeutics or other activities related to COVID-19, which could delay anticipated approval decisions and otherwise delay or limit our ability to make planned regulatory submissions or obtain new product approvals. In addition, our product candidates could fail to receive regulatory approval from the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities for other reasons, including but not limited to:

failure to demonstrate that our product candidates are safe and effective;

failure of clinical trials to meet the primary endpoints or level of statistical significance required for approval;

failure to demonstrate that the clinical and other benefits of a product candidate outweigh any of its safety risks;

disagreement with our interpretation of data from preclinical studies or clinical trials;

disagreement with the design or implementation of our or our collaborators’ trials;

the insufficiency of data collected from trials of our product candidates to support the submission and filing of an NDA or other submission or to obtain regulatory approval;

failure to obtain approval of the manufacturing and testing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with whom we contract for clinical and commercial supplies;

receipt of a negative opinion from an advisory committee due to a change in the standard of care regardless of the outcome of the clinical trials; or

changes in the approval policies or regulations that render our preclinical and clinical data insufficient for approval.

The FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may require more information, including additional preclinical or clinical data, to support approval, which may delay or prevent approval and our commercialization plans, or may cause us to decide to abandon our development program. Even if we were to obtain approval, regulatory authorities may approve one or more of our product candidates for a more limited patient population than we request, may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing trials, may impose a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, or foreign regulatory authorities may require the establishment or modification of a similar strategy that may, for instance, restrict distribution of entinostat and impose burdensome implementation requirements on us, or may approve it with a label that does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of entinostat, all of which could limit our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates.

We are not developing entinostat as a monotherapy. A shortage in the supply of exemestane or other drugs used in combination with entinostat or cessation of development efforts for investigational agents being studied with entinostat could increase our development costs and adversely affect our ability to commercialize entinostat, and any unexpected adverse events with any of the drugs used in combination with entinostat could halt or delay development of entinostat.

Cancer drugs have from time to time been in short supply and, because many or all of these cancer drugs are also widely used in cancer treatment currently, we will compete with a broad range of healthcare providers and other companies for availability of those drugs. Any shortage of exemestane or other drugs that we are testing in combination with entinostat could adversely affect our ability to timely conduct the Phase 3 clinical trial in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer, our future potential Phase 3 clinical trial in NSCLC, any future clinical trials in melanoma, and if entinostat receives regulatory approval, to commercialize entinostat for treatment of advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer, NSCLC, or melanoma. A shortage of supply may also result in an increase, which could be significant, in our costs of procuring exemestane.

Additionally, because entinostat is being developed for use in combination with other cancer treatments, the development of entinostat may be delayed or halted if unexpected adverse events occurring in patients are attributed to entinostat. Likewise, new adverse events emerging from commercialized or development stage drugs being administered with entinostat may limit or halt the potential of such combinations.

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Our product candidates may not achieve adequate market acceptance among physicians, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community to be commercially successful.

Even if our product candidates receive regulatory approval, they may not gain sufficient market acceptance among physicians, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community. Our commercial success also depends on coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors, including government payors, which may be difficult or time-consuming to obtain, may be limited in scope and may not be obtained in all jurisdictions in which we may seek to market our product candidates. The degree of market acceptance will depend on a number of factors, including:

the efficacy and safety profile as demonstrated in trials;

the timing of market introduction as well as competitive products;

the clinical indications for which the product candidate is approved;

acceptance of the product candidate as a safe and effective treatment by physicians, clinics and patients;

the potential and perceived advantages of our product candidates over alternative treatments;

the cost of treatment in relation to alternative treatments;

pricing and the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors, including government authorities;

relative convenience and ease of administration;

the frequency and severity of adverse events;

the effectiveness of sales and marketing efforts; and

unfavorable publicity relating to our product candidates.

If our product candidates are approved but do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, hospitals, healthcare payors and patients, we may not generate sufficient revenue to become or remain profitable.

We rely on third-party suppliers to manufacture and distribute our clinical drug supplies for our product candidates, we intend to rely on third parties for commercial manufacturing and distribution of our product candidates and we expect to rely on third parties for manufacturing and distribution of preclinical, clinical and commercial supplies of any future product candidates.

We do not currently have, nor do we plan to acquire, the infrastructure or capability to manufacture or distribute preclinical, clinical or commercial quantities of drug substance or drug product, including our existing product candidates. While we expect to continue to depend on third-party manufacturers for the foreseeable future, we do not have direct control over the ability of these manufacturers to maintain adequate manufacturing capacity and capabilities to serve our needs, including quality control, quality assurance and qualified personnel. In additional, public health epidemics, such as the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, may impact the ability of our existing or future manufacturers to perform their obligations to us.

We are dependent on our third-party manufacturers for compliance with cGMPs and for manufacture of both active drug substances and finished drug products. Facilities used by our third-party manufacturers to manufacture drug substance and drug product for commercial sale must be approved by the FDA or other relevant foreign regulatory agencies pursuant to inspections that will be conducted after we submit our NDA or relevant foreign regulatory submission to the applicable regulatory agency. If our third-party manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture materials that conform to our specifications and/or the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA or foreign regulatory agencies, they will not be able to secure and/or maintain regulatory approval for their manufacturing facilities. Furthermore, these third-party manufacturers are engaged with other companies to supply and/or manufacture materials or products for such companies, which also exposes our third-party manufacturers to regulatory risks for the production of such materials and products. As a result, failure to meet the regulatory requirements for the production of those materials and products may also affect the regulatory clearance of a third-party manufacturers’ facility. If the FDA or a foreign regulatory agency does not approve these facilities for the

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manufacture of our product candidates, or if it withdraws its approval in the future, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which would impede or delay our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for or market our product candidates, if approved.

Even if our product candidates receive regulatory approval, they may still face future development and regulatory difficulties.

Even if we obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, they would be subject to ongoing requirements by the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities governing the manufacture, quality control, further development, labeling, packaging, storage, distribution, safety surveillance, import, export, advertising, promotion, recordkeeping and reporting of safety and other post-market information. The FDA and foreign regulatory authorities will continue to monitor closely the safety profile of any product even after approval. If the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities become aware of new safety information after approval of a product candidate, they may require labeling changes or establishment of a REMS or similar strategy, impose significant restrictions on its indicated uses or marketing, or impose ongoing requirements for potentially costly post-approval studies or post-market surveillance.

In addition, manufacturers of drug products and their facilities are subject to continual review and periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities for compliance with cGMP regulations and standards. If we or a regulatory agency discover previously unknown problems with a product, such as adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, or problems with the facility where the product is manufactured, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions on that product, the manufacturing facility or us, including withdrawal of the product from the market or suspension of manufacturing, or we may recall the product from distribution. If we, or our third-party manufacturers, fail to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, a regulatory agency may:

issue warning letters or untitled letters;

mandate modifications to promotional materials or require us to provide corrective information to healthcare practitioners;

require us to enter into a consent decree, which can include imposition of various fines, reimbursements for inspection costs, required due dates for specific actions and penalties for noncompliance;

seek an injunction or impose civil or criminal penalties or monetary fines;

suspend or withdraw regulatory approval;

suspend any ongoing clinical trials;

refuse to approve pending applications or supplements to applications filed by us;

suspend or impose restrictions on operations, including costly new manufacturing requirements; or

seize or detain products, or refuse to permit the import or export of products.

The occurrence of any event or penalty described above may inhibit our ability to commercialize and generate revenue from the sale of our product candidates.

Advertising and promotion of any product candidate that obtains approval in the United States will be heavily scrutinized by the FDA, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General, state attorneys general, members of Congress, other government agencies and the public. Violations, including promotion of our products for unapproved (or off-label) uses, may be subject to enforcement letters, inquiries and investigations, and civil and criminal sanctions by the government. Additionally, foreign regulatory authorities will heavily scrutinize advertising and promotion of any product candidate that obtains approval in their respective jurisdictions.

In the United States, engaging in the impermissible promotion of our products for off-label uses can also subject us to false claims litigation under federal and state statutes, which can lead to administrative, civil and criminal penalties, damages, monetary fines, disgorgement, individual imprisonment, exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, curtailment or restructuring of our operations and agreements that materially restrict the manner in which a company promotes or distributes drug products. These

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false claims statutes include, but are not limited to, the federal civil False Claims Act, which allows any individual to bring a lawsuit against an individual or entity, including a pharmaceutical or biopharmaceutical company on behalf of the federal government alleging the knowing submission of false or fraudulent claims, or causing to present such false or fraudulent claims, for payment or approval by a federal program such as Medicare or Medicaid. These False Claims Act lawsuits against pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies have increased significantly in number and breadth, leading to several substantial civil and criminal settlements regarding certain sales practices, including promoting off-label drug uses involving fines in excess of $1.0 billion. This growth in litigation has increased the risk that a pharmaceutical company will have to defend a false claim action, pay settlement fines or restitution, agree to comply with burdensome reporting and compliance obligations, and be excluded from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal and state healthcare programs. If we, or any partner that we may engage, do not lawfully promote our approved products, we may become subject to such litigation, which have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial scope of their approved use, or result in significant negative consequences following any marketing approval.

Undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause the interruption, delay or halting of the trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities. In our Phase 2b clinical trial of entinostat in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer, the most significant adverse events were fatigue, gastrointestinal disturbances and hematologic toxicities, all of which occurred in higher numbers than in the placebo group. Results of the clinical trials may reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects or other unexpected characteristics. In such event, the trials could be suspended or terminated, or the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities could deny approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled subjects to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects.

Additionally, if our product candidates receive marketing approval, and we or others later identify undesirable side effects, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:

we may suspend marketing of, or withdraw or recall, the product;

regulatory authorities may withdraw approvals;

regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the product labels;

the FDA or other regulatory authorities may issue safety alerts, Dear Healthcare Provider letters, press releases or other communications containing warnings about the product;

the FDA may require the establishment or modification of a REMS or foreign regulatory authorities may require the establishment or modification of a similar strategy that may, for instance, restrict distribution of the product and impose burdensome implementation requirements on us;

regulatory authorities may require that we conduct post-marketing studies;

we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to subjects or patients; and

our reputation may suffer.

Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of our product candidates for use in targeted indications or otherwise materially harm its commercial prospects, if approved, and could harm our business, results of operations and prospects.

Our failure to obtain regulatory approval in international jurisdictions would prevent us from marketing our product candidates outside the United States.

In order to market and sell our product candidates in other jurisdictions, we must obtain separate marketing approvals for those jurisdictions and comply with their numerous and varying regulatory requirements. We may not obtain foreign regulatory approvals on a timely basis, or at all. The approval procedure varies among countries and

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can involve additional testing. The time required to obtain approval may differ substantially from that required to obtain FDA approval. The regulatory approval process outside the United States generally includes all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA approval. In addition, in many countries outside the United States, product reimbursement approvals must be secured before regulatory authorities will approve the product for sale in that country. Obtaining foreign regulatory approvals and compliance with foreign regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could delay or prevent the introduction of our product candidates in certain countries. Further, clinical trials conducted in one country may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other countries and regulatory approval in one country does not ensure approval in any other country, while a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country may have a negative effect on the regulatory approval process in others. For example, based on scientific advice that we received from the European Medicines Agency in March 2014, the current Phase 3 clinical trial is likely to be insufficient to receive regulatory approval in Europe for entinostat to treat advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer. Our failure to obtain approval of our product candidates by foreign regulatory authorities may negatively impact the commercial prospects of such product candidates and our business prospects could decline. Also, if regulatory approval for our product candidates is granted, it may be later withdrawn. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in international jurisdictions and receive applicable marketing approvals, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential for our product candidates will be harmed and our business may be adversely affected.

We face significant competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively.

Even if entinostat in combination with exemestane were approved for treatment of advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer, it would face competition from other therapies recently approved for use in combination with hormone therapy in this population, including Ibrance, Kisqali, Afinitor, Verzenio, Piqray and other therapies under FDA review or currently in Phase 3 clinical development.

The pharmacologic treatment of NSCLC and melanoma patients has included chemotherapies and therapies targeting specific gene mutations. Over the past few years, immune checkpoint inhibitors have been approved for NSCLC and melanoma. Currently there are few approved combination immuno-oncology therapies although numerous drugs are undergoing active clinical investigation. We believe that if entinostat in combination with Keytruda were approved for the treatment of NSCLC or melanoma it would face competition from standard-of-care approaches and other investigational drugs being tested in combination with any of these approaches.

Chronic graft versus host disease has historically been managed by off-label treatments. However, in 2017 ibrutinib (Imbruvica®) became the first drug approved for use patients with cGVHD after failure of one or more lines of systemic therapy. KD-025 and Ruxolitinib (Jakafi®), are currently in registration-directed studies to treat steroid refractory cGVHD patients and, if approved, may also compete with axatilimab.

SNDX-5613 is being developed for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with MLL-r ALL, AML and NPM1 mutant AML. At this time, there are no drugs approved for these defined populations and patients are managed using the standard of care treatment regimens developed for general AML and ALL populations. While there are other agents in early development for similar populations, SNDX-5613 has the potential to be the first defined therapy for patients with MLLr ALL, MLLr AML and/or NPM1 mutant AML.

Many of our existing or potential competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and human resources than we do and significantly greater experience in the discovery and development of product candidates, obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals of products and the commercialization of those products. Our competitors may be more successful than us in obtaining FDA approval for drugs and achieving widespread market acceptance. Our competitors’ drugs may be more effective or more effectively marketed and sold than any drug we may commercialize and may render our product candidates obsolete or non-competitive before we can recover the expenses of developing and commercializing any of our product candidates. Our competitors may also obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours. We anticipate that we will face intense and increasing competition as new drugs enter the market and advanced technologies become available.

We believe that our ability to successfully compete will depend on, among other things:

the efficacy and safety profile of our product candidates relative to marketed products and product candidates in development by third parties;

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the time it takes for our product candidates to complete clinical development and receive marketing approval;

our ability to commercialize our product candidates if they receive regulatory approval;

the price of our product candidates, including in comparison to branded or generic competitors;

whether coverage and adequate levels of reimbursement are available under private and governmental health insurance plans, including Medicare;

our ability to manufacture commercial quantities of our product candidates if they receive regulatory approval; and

acceptance of entinostat in combination with exemestane, Keytruda, and other drugs by physicians and other healthcare providers.

Even if we obtain regulatory approval of our product candidates, the availability and price of our competitors’ products could limit the demand and the price we are able to charge. We may not be able to implement our business plan if the acceptance of our product candidates is inhibited by price competition or the reluctance of physicians to switch from existing methods of treatment, or if physicians switch to other new drug or biologic products or choose to reserve our drugs for use in limited circumstances.

Adverse events in the field of immuno-oncology could damage public perception of our product candidates and negatively affect our business.

The commercial success of our product candidates will depend in part on public acceptance of the use of cancer immunotherapies. Adverse events in clinical trials of our product candidates or in clinical trials of others developing similar products and the resulting publicity, as well as any other adverse events in the field of immuno-oncology that may occur in the future, could result in a decrease in demand for any products that we may develop. If public perception is influenced by claims that the use of cancer immunotherapies is unsafe, our product candidates may not be accepted by the general public or the medical community.

Future adverse events in immuno-oncology or the biopharmaceutical industry could also result in greater governmental regulation, stricter labeling requirements and potential regulatory delays in the testing or approvals of our products. Any increased scrutiny could delay or increase the costs of obtaining regulatory approval for our product candidates.

Our employees, consultants and collaborators may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including insider trading and non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements.

We are exposed to the risk that our employees, consultants, distributors, and collaborators may engage in fraudulent or illegal activity. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless or negligent conduct or disclosure of unauthorized activities to us that violates the regulations of the FDA and non-U.S. regulators, including those laws requiring the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to such regulators, manufacturing standards, healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations in the United States and abroad or laws that require the true, complete and accurate reporting of financial information or data. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry, including the sale of pharmaceuticals, are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. It is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by our employees and other third parties, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to comply with these laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could result in the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions, including the imposition of civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, monetary fines, disgorgement, individual imprisonment, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, additional reporting obligations and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings and curtailment of operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability

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to operate our business and our results of operations. Whether or not we are successful in defending against such actions or investigations, we could incur substantial costs, including legal fees, and divert the attention of management in defending ourselves against any of these claims or investigations.

We must attract and retain additional highly skilled employees in order to succeed.

To succeed, we must recruit, retain, manage and motivate qualified clinical, scientific, technical and management personnel and we face significant competition for experienced personnel. If we do not succeed in attracting and retaining qualified personnel, particularly at the management level, it could adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan and harm our operating results. In particular, the loss of one or more of our executive officers could be detrimental to us if we cannot recruit suitable replacements in a timely manner. The competition for qualified personnel in the pharmaceutical industry is intense and as a result, we may be unable to continue to attract and retain qualified personnel necessary for the development of our business or to recruit suitable replacement personnel.

Many of the other pharmaceutical companies that we compete against for qualified personnel have greater financial and other resources, different risk profiles and a longer history in the industry than we do. They also may provide more diverse opportunities and better chances for career advancement. Some of these characteristics may be more appealing to high-quality candidates than what we have to offer. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain high-quality personnel, the rate and success at which we can discover and develop product candidates and our business will be limited.

Even if we commercialize our product candidates, they or any other product candidates that we develop, may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations or third-party coverage or reimbursement practices, which could harm our business.

Our ability to successfully commercialize our existing product candidates, or any other product candidates that we develop, will depend in part on the extent to which coverage and adequate reimbursement for these products and related treatments will be available from third-party payors, including government healthcare programs, private health insurers, managed care plans and other organizations. Third-party payors determine which medications they will cover and establish reimbursement levels. Third-party payors have attempted to control costs by limiting coverage and the amount of reimbursement for particular medications. Increasingly, third-party payors are requiring that drug companies provide them with predetermined discounts from list prices and are challenging the prices charged for medical products.

We cannot be sure that coverage and reimbursement will be available for any product that we commercialize and, if reimbursement is available, what the level of reimbursement will be. Limitation on coverage and reimbursement may impact the demand for, or the price of, and our ability to successfully commercialize entinostat or any other product candidates that we develop.

There may be significant delays in obtaining coverage and reimbursement for newly approved drugs, and coverage may be more limited than the indications for which the drug is approved by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities. Moreover, eligibility for coverage and reimbursement does not imply that a drug will be paid for in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, manufacture, sale and distribution expenses. Interim reimbursement levels for new drugs, if applicable, may also not be sufficient to cover our costs and may only be temporary. Reimbursement rates may vary according to the use of the drug and the clinical setting in which it is used, may be based on reimbursement levels already set for lower cost drugs and may be incorporated into existing payments for other services. Net prices for drugs may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by government healthcare programs or private payors and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of drugs from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States.

Private payors often follow decisions by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, regarding coverage and reimbursement to a substantial degree. However, one payor’s determination to provide coverage for a drug product does not assure that other payors will also provide coverage for the drug product. As a result, the coverage determination process is often a time-consuming and costly process that will require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be applied consistently or obtained in the first instance. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement rates from both government-funded and private payors for any

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approved products that we develop could have an adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our overall financial condition.

The regulations that govern marketing approvals, coverage and reimbursement for new drug products vary widely from country to country. Current and future legislation may significantly change the approval requirements in ways that could involve additional costs and cause delays in obtaining approvals. Some countries require approval of the sale price of a drug before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted. In some foreign markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. As a result, we may obtain marketing approval for our product candidates in a particular country, but be subject to price regulations that delay our commercial launch of the product, possibly for lengthy time periods, which could negatively impact the revenues we generate from the sale of the product in that particular country. Adverse pricing limitations may hinder our ability to recoup our investment even if our product candidates obtain marketing approval.

There can be no assurance that our product candidates, if they are approved for sale in the United States or in other countries, will be considered medically reasonable and necessary for a specific indication, that it will be considered cost effective by third-party payors, that coverage and an adequate level of reimbursement will be available, or that third-party payors’ reimbursement policies will not adversely affect our ability to sell our product candidates profitably.

Current and future legislation may increase the difficulty and cost for us to commercialize our product candidates and affect the prices we may obtain.

The United States and many foreign jurisdictions have enacted or proposed legislative and regulatory changes affecting the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability to profitably sell any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval. For example, then President Obama signed into law the Affordable Care Act. Among other cost containment measures, the Affordable Care Act established an annual, nondeductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports branded prescription drugs and biologic agents, a Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, and a formula that increased the rebates a manufacturer must pay under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. There remain judicial and Congressional challenges, as well as recent efforts by the Trump administration to repeal or replace certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act. Since January 2017, President Trump has signed two Executive Orders designed to delay the implementation of certain provisions of the Affordable Care Act or otherwise circumvent some of the requirements for health insurance mandated by the Affordable Care Act. Concurrently, Congress has considered legislation that would repeal or repeal and replace all or part of the Affordable Care Act. While Congress has not passed comprehensive repeal legislation, several bills affecting the implementation of certain taxes under the Affordable Care Act have been signed into law. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 includes a provision repealing, effective January 1, 2019, the tax-based shared responsibility payment imposed by the Affordable Care Act on certain individuals who fail to maintain qualifying health coverage for all or part of a year that is commonly referred to as the “individual mandate.” Additionally, the 2020 federal spending package permanently eliminated, effective January 1, 2020, the Affordable Care Act’s mandated “Cadillac” tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage and medical device tax and, effective January 1, 2021, also eliminates the health insurer tax. Further, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, or the BBA, among other things, amended the Affordable Care Act, effective January 1, 2019, to increase from 50% to 70% the point-of-sale discount that is owed by pharmaceutical manufacturers who participate in Medicare Part D and to close the coverage gap in most Medicare drug plans, commonly referred to as the “donut hole.” In December 2018, CMS published a final rule permitting further collections and payments to and from certain Affordable Care Act qualified health plans and health insurance issuers under its risk adjustment program in response to the outcome of federal district court litigation regarding the method CMS uses to determine this risk adjustment. On December 14, 2018, a Texas U.S. District Court Judge ruled that the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional in its entirety because the “individual mandate” was repealed by the U.S. Congress as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 Act. Additionally, on December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the District Court ruling that the individual mandate was unconstitutional and remanded the case back to the District Court to determine whether the remaining provisions of the Affordable Care Act are invalid as well. On March 2, 2020, the United States Supreme Court granted the petitions for writs of certiorari to review this case and has allotted one hour for oral arguments. It is unclear when such oral arguments are to be held and when a decision is expected to be made. It is also unclear how

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such litigation, and other efforts to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, will impact the Affordable Care and our business. In addition, Congress may consider other legislation to repeal and replace elements of the Affordable Care Act.

Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the Affordable Care Act was enacted. For example, in August 2011, then President Obama signed into law the Budget Control Act of 2011, which, among other things, created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to recommend to Congress proposals in spending reductions. The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction did not agree upon a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for fiscal years 2012 through 2021, triggering the Affordable Care Act’s automatic reduction to several government programs. This included aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year, effective as of 2013. Further legislation, including the BBA, has extended the 2% reduction to 2029. In January 2013, then President Obama signed into law the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which, among other things, reduced Medicare payments to several types of providers and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years.

Further, there has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to specialty drug pricing practices. Specifically, there have been several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, reduce the cost of drugs under Medicare, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. At the federal level, the Trump administration’s budget proposal for fiscal years 2021 includes a $135 billion allowance to support legislative proposals seeking to reduce drug prices, increase competition, lower out-of-pocket drug costs for patients, and increase patient access to lower-cost generic and biosimilar drugs. The Trump administration also released a “Blueprint” to lower drug prices and reduce out of pocket costs of drugs that contains additional proposals to increase manufacturer competition, increase the negotiating power of certain federal healthcare programs, incentivize manufacturers to lower the list price of their products and reduce the out of pocket costs of drug products paid by consumers. For example, May 2019, CMS issued a final rule to allow Medicare Advantage plans the option to use step therapy for part B drugs beginning January 1, 2020. This final rule codified CMS’s policy change that was effective January 1, 2019. While some of these and other measures may require additional authorization through additional legislation to become effective, Congress and the Trump administration have each indicated that it will continue to seek new legislative administrative and executive measures, including the President’s issuance of future executive orders, to control drug costs. At the state level, legislatures are increasingly passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.

We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulations that may arise from future legislation, administrative or executive action. We expect that the Affordable Care Act, as well as other current or future healthcare reform measures may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and in additional downward pressure on the price that we receive for any approved product. This could seriously harm our future revenues. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability or commercialize our products.

Product liability lawsuits against us could cause us to incur substantial liabilities and to limit commercialization of our product candidates.

We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to the testing of our product candidates in human trials and will face an even greater risk if we commercially sell any products that we may develop. Product liability claims may be brought against us by subjects enrolled in our trials, patients, healthcare providers or others using, administering or selling our products. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against claims that our

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product candidates or other products that we may develop caused injuries, we could incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

decreased demand for our product candidates;

termination of clinical trial sites or entire trial programs;

injury to our reputation and significant negative media attention;

withdrawal of trial participants;

significant costs to defend the related litigation;

substantial monetary awards to trial subjects or patients;

diversion of management and scientific resources from our business operations; and

the inability to commercialize any products that we may develop.

While we currently hold trial liability insurance coverage consistent with industry standards, this may not adequately cover all liabilities that we may incur. We also may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in an amount adequate to satisfy any liability that may arise in the future. We intend to expand our insurance coverage for products to include the sale of commercial products if we obtain marketing approval for our product candidates, but we may be unable to obtain commercially reasonable product liability insurance. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us, particularly if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could decrease our cash and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

Our relationships with customers and third-party payors will be subject to applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse, transparency and other healthcare laws and regulations as well as privacy and data security laws and regulations, which could expose us to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, contractual damages, reputational harm, fines, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs, curtailments or restrictions of our operations, administrative burdens and diminished profits and future earnings.

Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payors play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Our current and future arrangements with physicians, third-party payors and customers may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations that may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we conduct clinical research and market, sell and distribute our products for which we obtain marketing approval. Restrictions under applicable federal and state healthcare laws and regulations, include, but are not limited to, the following:

the federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits persons from, among other things, knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward, or in return for, the referral of an individual for the furnishing or arranging for the furnishing, or the purchase, lease or order, or arranging for or recommending purchase, lease or order, or any good or service for which payment may be made under a federal healthcare program such as Medicare and Medicaid;

the federal false claims, including the federal civil False Claims Act, impose criminal and civil penalties, including through civil whistleblower or qui tam actions, and civil monetary penalties laws, which prohibit knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the federal government, claims for payment that are false or fraudulent or making a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government;

HIPAA also imposes obligations on certain covered entity health care providers, health plans and health care clearinghouses as well as their business associates that perform certain services involving the use or disclosure of individually identifiable health information with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information;

the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program to report annually to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services information related to

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“payments or other transfers of value” made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals and applicable manufacturers and applicable group purchasing organizations to report annually to CMS ownership and investment interests held by physicians (as defined above) and their immediate family members. Beginning in 2022, applicable manufacturers also will be required to report such information regarding payments and transfers of value provided, as well as ownership and investment interests held, during the previous year to physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse anesthetists and certified nurse-midwives; and

analogous state and foreign laws and regulations, such as state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers; state and foreign laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government or otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers; state and foreign laws that require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures; state laws that require manufactures to report pricing information regarding certain drugs; state and local laws that require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives; state and foreign laws that govern the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts; and federal, state, and foreign laws that govern the privacy and security of other personal information, including federal and state consumer protection laws, state data security laws, and data breach notification laws (a data breach affecting sensitive personal information, including health information, could result in significant legal and financial exposure and reputational damages).

Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties and our business generally, will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law interpreting applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, contractual damages, reputational harm, additional reporting requirements and oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. Defending against any such actions can be costly, time-consuming and may require significant financial and personnel resources. Therefore, even if we are successful in defending against any such actions that may be brought against us, our business may be impaired. Further, if any physician or other healthcare provider or entity with whom we expect to do business is found not to be in compliance with applicable laws, that person or entity may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government-funded healthcare programs.

Significant disruptions of our information technology systems or data security incidents could result in significant financial, legal, regulatory, business and reputational harm to us.

We are increasingly dependent on information technology systems and infrastructure, including mobile technologies, to operate our business. In the ordinary course of our business, we collect, store, process and transmit large amounts of sensitive information, including intellectual property, proprietary business information, personal information and other confidential information. It is critical that we do so in a secure manner to maintain the confidentiality, integrity and availability of such sensitive information. We have also outsourced elements of our operations (including elements of our information technology infrastructure) to third parties, and as a result, we manage a number of third-party vendors who may or could have access to our computer networks, our confidential information or the confidential information of third parties that is in our possession. In addition, those third party vendors may in turn subcontract or outsource some of their responsibilities to other parties. While all information technology operations are inherently vulnerable to inadvertent or intentional security breaches, incidents, attacks and exposures, the accessibility and distributed nature of our information technology systems, and the sensitive information stored on those systems, make such systems potentially vulnerable to unintentional or malicious, internal and external attacks on our technology environment. In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have enabled substantially all of our employees to work remotely, which may make us more vulnerable to cyberattacks.

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Potential vulnerabilities can be exploited from inadvertent or intentional actions of our employees, third-party vendors, business partners, or by malicious third parties. Attacks of this nature are increasing in their frequency, levels of persistence, sophistication and intensity, and are being conducted by sophisticated and organized groups and individuals with a wide range of motives (including, but not limited to, industrial espionage) and expertise, including organized criminal groups, “hacktivists,” nation states and others. In addition to the extraction of sensitive information, such attacks could include the deployment of harmful malware, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. The prevalent use of mobile devices further increases the risk of data security incidents.

Significant disruptions of our, our third-party vendors’ and/or business partners’ information technology systems or other similar data security incidents could adversely affect our business operations and/or result in the loss, misappropriation and/or unauthorized access, use or disclosure of, or the prevention of access to, sensitive information, which could result in financial, legal, regulatory, business and reputational harm to us. In addition, information technology system disruptions, whether from attacks on our technology environment or from computer viruses, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures, could result in a material disruption of our development programs and our business operations. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed or future clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data.

There is no way of knowing with certainty whether we have experienced any data security incidents that have not been discovered. While we have no reason to believe this to be the case, attackers have become very sophisticated in the ways that they conceal access to systems. Many companies that have been attacked are not aware that they have been attacked. Any event that leads to unauthorized access, use or disclosure of personal information, including but not limited to personal information regarding employees or clinical trial patients, could disrupt our business, harm our reputation, compel us to comply with applicable federal and/or state breach notification laws and foreign law equivalents, subject us to time consuming, distracting and expensive litigation, regulatory investigation and oversight, mandatory corrective action, require us to verify the correctness of database contents, or otherwise subject us to liability under laws, regulations and contractual obligations, including those that protect the privacy and security of personal information. This could result in increased costs to us, and result in significant legal and financial exposure and/or reputational harm. Any failure or perceived failure by us or our vendors or business partners to comply with our privacy, confidentiality or data security-related legal or other obligations to third parties, or any further security incidents or other inappropriate access events resulting in the unauthorized access, release or transfer of sensitive information, which could include personally identifiable information, may result in governmental investigations, enforcement actions, regulatory fines, litigation, or public statements against us by advocacy groups or others, and could cause third parties, including clinical sites, regulators or current and potential partners, to lose trust in us or we could be subject to claims by third parties that we have breached our privacy- or confidentiality-related obligations, which could materially and adversely affect our business and prospects. Moreover, data security incidents and other inappropriate access can be difficult to detect. Any delay in identifying them may lead to increased harm of the type described above. While we have implemented security measures to protect our information technology systems and infrastructure, there can be no assurance that such measures will successfully prevent service interruptions or security incidents.  Further, because of the work-from-home policies we implemented due to COVID-19, information that is normally protected, including company confidential information, may be less secure.

Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Capital Needs

We have incurred net losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future.

Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that any potential product candidate will fail to demonstrate adequate efficacy or an acceptable safety profile, gain regulatory approval or be commercially viable. We are a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with limited operating history. We have no products approved for commercial sale and have not generated any product revenues to date, and we continue to incur significant research and development and other expenses related to our ongoing operations and clinical development of entinostat. As a

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result, we are not and have never been profitable and have incurred losses in each period since our inception in 2005.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, we reported a net loss of $56.0 million; and as of December 31, 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of $495.5 million, which included non-cash charges for stock-based compensation, preferred stock accretion and extinguishment charges. We expect to continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect these losses to increase as we continue our pre-commercialization activities for, and our research and development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, our product candidates. We may also encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our business. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenues, if any. Our prior losses and expected future losses have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital.

We currently have no source of product revenue and may never achieve or maintain profitability.

Our ability to generate product revenue and become profitable depends upon our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates. We do not anticipate generating revenue from the sale of our product candidates for the foreseeable future. Our ability to generate future product revenue also depends on a number of additional factors, including, but not limited to, our ability to:

successfully complete the research and clinical development of, and receive regulatory approval for, our product candidates;

launch, commercialize and achieve market acceptance of our product candidates, and if launched independently, successfully establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure;

continue to build a portfolio of product candidates through the acquisition or in-license of products, product candidates or technologies;

initiate preclinical and clinical trials for any additional product candidates that we may pursue in the future;

establish and maintain supplier and manufacturing relationships with third parties, and ensure adequate and legally compliant manufacturing of bulk drug substances and drug products to maintain that supply;

obtain coverage and adequate product reimbursement from third-party payors, including government payors;

establish, maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property rights; and

attract, hire and retain additional qualified personnel.

In addition, because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with drug development, we are unable to predict the timing or amount of increased expenses, and if or when we will achieve or maintain profitability. In addition, our expenses could increase beyond expectations if we decide to or are required by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities to perform studies or trials in addition to those that we currently anticipate. Even if we complete the development and regulatory processes described above, we anticipate incurring significant costs associated with launching and commercializing our current product candidates and any other product candidates we may develop.

Even if we generate revenues from the sale of our product candidates, we may not become profitable and may need to obtain additional funding to continue operations or acquire additional products that will require additional funding to develop them. If we fail to become profitable or do not sustain profitability on a continuing basis, then we may be unable to continue our operations at planned levels and be forced to reduce our operations or even shut down.

We will require additional capital to finance our planned operations, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. As a result, we may not complete the development and commercialization of, or obtain regulatory approval for our existing product candidates or develop new product candidates.

Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since our inception, primarily due to our research and development efforts. We expect our research and development expenses to increase substantially in

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connection with our ongoing and planned activities. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will fund our projected operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months. Unexpected circumstances may cause us to consume capital more rapidly than we currently anticipate, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, we may discover that we need to conduct additional activities that exceed our current budget to achieve appropriate rates of patient enrollment, which would increase our development costs.

In any event, we will require additional capital to continue the development of, obtain regulatory approval for, and to commercialize our existing product candidates and any future product candidates. Any efforts to secure additional financing may divert our management from our day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates. The COVID-19 pandemic has already resulted in a significant disruption of global financial markets.  If the disruption persists and deepens, we could experience an inability to access additional capital.  We cannot guarantee that future financing will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. If we do not raise additional capital when required or on acceptable terms, we may need to:

delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of our product candidates or cease operations altogether;

seek strategic alliances for our existing product candidates on terms less favorable than might otherwise be available; or

relinquish, or license on unfavorable terms, our rights to technologies or any future product candidates that we otherwise would seek to develop or commercialize ourselves.

If we need to conduct additional fundraising activities and we do not raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may be unable to pursue development and commercialization efforts, which will harm our business, operating results and prospects.

Our future funding requirements, both short- and long-term, will depend on many factors, including:

the initiation, progress, timing, costs and results of clinical trials of our product candidates;

the outcome, timing and cost of seeking and obtaining regulatory approvals from the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, including the potential for such authorities to require that we perform more trials than we currently expect;

the cost to establish, maintain, expand and defend the scope of our intellectual property portfolio, including the amount and timing of any payments we may be required to make, or that we may receive, in connection with licensing, preparing, filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patents or other intellectual property rights;

market acceptance of our product candidates;

the cost and timing of selecting, auditing and developing manufacturing capabilities, and potentially validating manufacturing sites for commercial-scale manufacturing;

the cost and timing for obtaining pricing, and coverage and reimbursement by third-party payors, which may require additional trials to address pharmacoeconomic benefit;

the cost of establishing sales, marketing and distribution capabilities for our product candidates if any candidate receives regulatory approval and we determine to commercialize it ourselves;

the costs of acquiring, licensing or investing in additional businesses, products, product candidates and technologies;

the effect of competing technological and market developments;

our need to implement additional internal systems and infrastructure, including financial and reporting systems, as we grow our company; and

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business interruptions resulting from pandemics and public health emergencies, including those related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical actions, including war and terrorism or natural disasters including earthquakes, typhoons, floods and fires.

If we cannot expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities because we cannot secure sufficient capital, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

The terms of our loan and security agreements place restrictions on our operating and financial flexibility. If we raise additional capital through debt financing, the terms of any new debt could further restrict our ability to operate our business.

Our loan and security agreement, or the Loan Agreement, with Hercules Capital, Inc., or Hercules, for aggregate maximum borrowings of up to $30.0 million, or the Credit Facility, is collateralized by substantially all of our and our subsidiaries personal property and other assets, other than our intellectual property. As of March 1, 2020, the outstanding principal balance under the Credit Facility was $20.0 million, resulting from the closing of the first tranche of funding which occurred on February 7, 2020. The Credit Facility contains customary representations, warranties, affirmative and negative covenants and events of default applicable to us and our subsidiaries.

If we default under the Credit Facility, Hercules may accelerate all of our repayment obligations and exercise all of their rights and remedies under the Credit Facility and applicable law, potentially requiring us to renegotiate our agreement on terms less favorable to us. Further, if we are liquidated, the lenders’ right to repayment would be senior to the rights of the holders of our common stock to receive any proceeds from the liquidation. Hercules could declare a default upon the occurrence of any event, among others, that they interpret as a material adverse effect or a change of control as delineated under the Credit Facility, payment defaults, or breaches of covenants thereby requiring us to repay the loan immediately or to attempt to reverse the declaration of default through negotiation or litigation. Any declaration by the lender of an event of default could significantly harm our business and prospects and could cause the price of our common stock to decline. If we raise any additional debt financing, the terms of such additional debt could further restrict our operating and financial flexibility.

Changes in tax laws or regulations could materially adversely affect our company.

New tax laws or regulations could be enacted at any time, and existing tax laws or regulations could be interpreted, modified or applied in a manner that is adverse to us, which could adversely affect our business and financial condition. For example, legislation enacted in 2017, informally titled the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the Tax Act, enacted many significant changes to the U.S. tax laws, including changes in corporate tax rates, the utilization of our NOLs and other deferred tax assets, the deductibility of expenses, and the taxation of foreign earnings. Future guidance from the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities with respect to the Tax Act may affect us, and certain aspects of the Tax Act could be repealed or modified in future legislation. For example, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or the CARES Act, modified certain provisions of the Tax Act.  In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the Tax Act, the CARES Act, or any newly enacted federal tax legislation. The impact of changes under the Tax Act, the CARES Act, or future reform legislation could increase our future U.S. tax expense and could have a material adverse impact on our business and financial condition.

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.

We have incurred substantial losses during our history. We do not expect to become profitable in the near future, and we may never achieve profitability. Unused losses generally are available to be carried forward to offset future taxable income, if any. Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Code if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” generally defined as a greater than 50% change (by value) in its equity ownership over a three-year period, the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, and other pre-change tax attributes (such as research tax credits) to offset its post-change taxable income or taxes may be limited. We completed an analysis through March 31, 2019 and determined that on March 30, 2007 and August 21, 2015 ownership changes had occurred. We may have experienced an ownership change since March 31, 2019, and we may also experience ownership changes in the future as a result of shifts in our stock ownership, some of which may

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be outside of our control. As a result, our ability to use our pre-change NOLs to offset U.S. federal taxable income may be subject to limitations, which could potentially result in increased future tax liability to us. In addition, at the state level, there may be periods during which the use of NOLs is suspended or otherwise limited, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed.

Risks Related to Intellectual Property

If we are unable to obtain or protect intellectual property rights, we may not be able to compete effectively in our market.

Our success depends in significant part on our and our licensors’ and licensees’ ability to establish, maintain and protect patents and other intellectual property rights and operate without infringing the intellectual property rights of others. We have filed patent applications both in the United States and in foreign jurisdictions to obtain patent rights to inventions we have discovered. We have also licensed from third parties rights to patent portfolios. Some of these licenses give us the right to prepare, file and prosecute patent applications and maintain and enforce patents we have licensed, and other licenses may not give us such rights.

The patent prosecution process is expensive and time-consuming, and we and our current or future licensors and licensees may not be able to prepare, file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. It is also possible that we or our licensors or licensees will fail to identify patentable aspects of inventions made in the course of development and commercialization activities before it is too late to obtain patent protection on them. Moreover, in some circumstances, we may not have the right to control the preparation, filing and prosecution of patent applications, or to maintain the patents, covering technology that we license from or license to third parties and are reliant on our licensors or licensees. Therefore, these patents and applications may not be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. If our current or future licensors or licensees fail to establish, maintain or protect such patents and other intellectual property rights, such rights may be reduced or eliminated. If our licensors or licensees are not fully cooperative or disagree with us as to the prosecution, maintenance or enforcement of any patent rights, such patent rights could be compromised.

The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions and has in recent years been the subject of much litigation. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our and our current or future licensors’ or licensees’ patent rights are highly uncertain. Our and our licensors’ or licensees’ pending and future patent applications may not result in patents being issued which protect our technology or products, in whole or in part, or which effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive technologies and products. The patent examination process may require us or our licensors or licensees to narrow the scope of the claims of our or our licensors’ or licensees’ pending and future patent applications, which may limit the scope of patent protection that may be obtained. It is possible that third parties with products that are very similar to ours will circumvent our or our licensors’ or licensees’ patents by means of alternate designs or processes. We cannot be certain that we are the first to invent the inventions covered by pending patent applications and, if we are not, we may be subject to priority disputes. We may be required to disclaim part or all of the term of certain patents or all of the term of certain patent applications. There may be prior art of which we are not aware that may affect the validity or enforceability of a patent claim. There also may be prior art of which we are aware, but which we do not believe affects the validity or enforceability of a claim, which may, nonetheless, ultimately be found to affect the validity or enforceability of a claim. No assurance can be given that if challenged, our patents would be declared by a court to be valid or enforceable or that even if found valid and enforceable, a competitor’s technology or product would be found by a court to infringe our patents. We may analyze patents or patent applications of our competitors that we believe are relevant to our activities, and consider that we are free to operate in relation to our product candidate, but our competitors may achieve issued claims, including in patents we consider to be unrelated, which block our efforts or may potentially result in our product candidate or our activities infringing such claims. The possibility exists that others will develop products which have the same effect as our products on an independent basis which do not infringe our patents or other intellectual property rights, or will design around the claims of patents that we have had issued that cover our products. Our and our licensors’ or licensees’ patent applications cannot be enforced against third parties practicing the technology claimed in such applications unless and until a patent issues from such applications, and then only to the extent the issued claims cover the technology.

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Furthermore, given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our owned and licensed patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours. Entinostat composition of matter U.S. Patent RE39,754, which we licensed from Bayer, covers the chemical entity of entinostat and any crystalline or non-crystalline form of entinostat and expired in September 2017.

The portfolio we licensed from Bayer also includes U.S. Patent 7,973,166, or the ‘166 patent, which covers a crystalline polymorph of entinostat which is referred to as crystalline polymorph B, the crystalline polymorph used in the clinical development of entinostat. Many compounds can exist in different crystalline forms. A compound which in the solid state may exhibit multiple different crystalline forms is called polymorphic, and each crystalline form of the same chemical compound is termed a polymorph. A new crystalline form of a compound may arise, for example, due to a change in the chemical process or the introduction of an impurity. Such new crystalline forms may be patented. The ‘166 patent expires in 2029. On March 7, 2014, our licensor Bayer applied for reissue of the ‘166 patent. The reissue application seeks to add three inventors not originally listed on the ‘166 patent. The reissue application does not seek to amend the claims issued in the ‘166 patent. On April 28, 2015, the USPTO re-issued the ‘166 patent as U.S. patent RE45,499. RE45,499 reissued with the same claims originally issued in the ‘166 patent and the list of inventors on RE45,499 now lists the additional three inventors that were not included on the ‘166 patent. The ‘166 patent has now been surrendered in favor of RE45,499. RE45,499 has the same term as the initial term of the ‘166 patent, which expires in August 2029. After expiry of RE39,754, which occurred in September 2017, a competitor may develop a competing polymorphic form other than based on polymorph B, which could compete with polymorph B.

In spite of our efforts and efforts of our licensor, we may not be successful in defending the validity of the claims of the RE45,499 reissue patent or any of its foreign counterparts. If the claims of the ‘166 patent or any of its counterparts are found to be invalid by a competent court, we may not be able to effectively block entry of generic versions of our entinostat crystalline polymorph B candidate products into markets where the crystalline polymorph B patent claims are found to be invalid. Additionally, even if we submit an NDA before the expiration of U.S. Patent RE45,499 and are successful in obtaining an extension of the term of U.S. Patent RE45,499 based on FDA regulatory delays, such extension will only extend the term of RE45,499 for a few additional years (up to a maximum of five additional years for patent claims covering a new chemical entity).

The portfolio that we licensed from UCB includes patent applications with pending claims directed to the composition of matter of axatilimab (a humanized, full-length IgG4 (kappa light chain) antibody with high affinity for the CSF-1R) as well as claims directed to methods of use of axatilimab. There is no guarantee that any patents will be granted based on the pending applications we licensed from UCB or even if one or more patents are granted that the claims issued in those patents would cover axatilimab or methods of using axatilimab. Based on the priority date and filing date of the applications in the portfolio we licensed from UCB, we expect that a patent, if any, granted based on the currently pending applications would expire in 2034. The actual term of any patents granted based on the pending applications we licensed from UCB can only be determined after such patents are actually granted.

The portfolio that we licensed from Vitae Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Allergan, includes patent applications with pending claims directed to inhibitors of the interaction of menin with MLL and MLL fusion proteins, pharmaceutical compositions containing the same, and their use in the treatment of cancer and other diseases mediated by the menin-MLL interaction. There is no guarantee that any patents will be granted based on the pending applications that we licensed from Allergan or even if one or more patents are granted that the claims issued in those patents would cover the desired lead compounds, compositions, and methods of use thereof. Based on the priority date and filing date of the applications in the portfolio that we licensed from Allergan, we expect that a patent, if any, granted based on the currently pending applications would expire in 2037. The actual term of any patents granted based on the pending applications that we licensed from Allergan can only be determined after such patents are actually granted.

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We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

Filing, prosecuting, enforcing and defending patents on product candidates in all countries throughout the world is prohibitively expensive, and our or our licensors’ intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States can be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States. Consequently, we and our licensors may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our and our licensors’ inventions in countries outside the United States, or from selling or importing products made using our and our licensors’ inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our and our licensors’ technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we and our licensors have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our product candidates and our and our licensors’ patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.

Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biopharmaceuticals, which could make it difficult for us and our licensors to stop the infringement of our and our licensors’ patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our and our licensors’ proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our and our licensors’ patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our attention from other aspects of our business, could put our and our licensors’ patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our and our licensors’ patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us or our licensors. We or our licensors may not prevail in any lawsuits that we or our licensors initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful.

The requirements for patentability may differ in certain countries, particularly developing countries. For example, unlike other countries, China has a heightened requirement for patentability, and specifically requires a detailed description of medical uses of a claimed drug. In India, unlike the United States, there is no link between regulatory approval of a drug and its patent status. Furthermore, generic drug manufacturers or other competitors may challenge the scope, validity or enforceability of our or our licensors’ patents, requiring us or our licensors to engage in complex, lengthy and costly litigation or other proceedings. Generic drug manufacturers may develop, seek approval for, and launch generic versions of our products. In addition to India, certain countries in Europe and developing countries, including China, have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In those countries, we and our licensors may have limited remedies if patents are infringed or if we or our licensors are compelled to grant a license to a third party, which could materially diminish the value of those patents. This could limit our potential revenue opportunities. Accordingly, our and our licensors’ efforts to enforce intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we own or license.

If we breach our license agreement with Bayer related to entinostat or if the license agreement is otherwise terminated, we could lose the ability to continue the development and commercialization of entinostat.

Our commercial success depends upon our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell entinostat. In March 2007, we entered into a license, development and commercialization agreement, or the Bayer license agreement, with Bayer pursuant to which we obtained a worldwide, exclusive license to develop and commercialize entinostat and any other products containing the same active ingredient. The Bayer license agreement, as amended, permits us to use entinostat or other licensed products under the Bayer license agreement for the treatment of any human disease, and we are obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop, manufacture and commercialize licensed products for all commercially reasonable indications.

We are obligated to pay Bayer up to approximately $50 million in the aggregate upon obtaining certain milestones in the development and marketing approval of entinostat, assuming that we pursue at least two different indications for entinostat or any other licensed product under the Bayer license agreement. We are also obligated to pay Bayer up to $100 million in aggregate sales milestones, and a tiered, single-digit royalty on net sales by us, our affiliates and sublicensees of entinostat and any other licensed products under the Bayer license agreement. We are obligated to pay Bayer these royalties on a country-by-country basis for the life of the relevant licensed patents

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covering such product or 15 years after the first commercial sale of such product in such country, whichever is longer. We cannot determine the date on which our royalty payment obligations to Bayer would expire because no commercial sales of entinostat have occurred and the last-to-expire relevant patent covering entinostat in a given country may change in the future.

The Bayer license agreement will remain in effect until the expiration of our royalty obligations under the agreement in all countries. Either party may terminate the Bayer license agreement in its entirety or with respect to certain countries in the event of an uncured material breach by the other party. Either party may terminate the Bayer license agreement if voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy proceedings are instituted against the other party, if the other party makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or upon the occurrence of other specific events relating to the insolvency or dissolution of the other party. Bayer may terminate the Bayer license agreement if we seek to revoke or challenge the validity of any patent licensed to us by Bayer under the Bayer license agreement or if we procure or assist a third party to take any such action.

If the Bayer license agreement is terminated, we would not be able to develop, manufacture, market or sell entinostat and would need to negotiate a new or reinstated agreement, which may not be available to us on equally favorable terms, or at all.

If we breach the UCB license agreement related to axatilimab or if the UCB license agreement is otherwise terminated, we could lose the ability to continue the development and commercialization of axatilimab.

Our commercial success depends upon our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell axatilimab. Subject to the achievement of certain milestone events, we may be required to pay UCB up to $119.5 million in one-time development and regulatory milestone payments over the term of the UCB license agreement. If we or any of our affiliates or sublicensees commercializes axatilimab, we will also be obligated to pay UCB low double-digit royalties on sales, subject to reduction in certain circumstances, as well as up to an aggregate of $250 million in potential one-time sales-based milestone payments based on achievement of certain annual sales thresholds. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to share a percentage of non-royalty income from sublicensees, subject to certain deductions, with UCB.

Either party may terminate the UCB license agreement in its entirety or with respect to certain countries in the event of an uncured material breach by the other party. Either party may terminate the UCB license agreement if voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy proceedings are instituted against the other party, if the other party makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or upon the occurrence of other specific events relating to the insolvency or dissolution of the other party. UCB may terminate the UCB license agreement if we seek to revoke or challenge the validity of any patent licensed to us by UCB under the UCB license agreement or if we procure or assist a third party to take any such action.

Unless terminated earlier in accordance with its terms, the UCB license agreement will continue on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis until the later of: (i) the expiration of all of the licensed patent rights in such country; (ii) the expiration of all regulatory exclusivity applicable to the product in such country; and (iii) 10 years from the date of the first commercial sale of the product in such country. We cannot determine the date on which our royalty payment obligations to UCB would expire because no commercial sales of axatilimab have occurred and the last-to-expire relevant patent covering axatilimab in a given country may change in the future.

If the UCB license agreement is terminated, we would not be able to develop, manufacture, market or sell axatilimab and would need to negotiate a new or reinstated agreement, which may not be available to us on equally favorable terms, or at all.

If we breach the license agreement related to SNDX-5613 or if the license agreement is otherwise terminated, we could lose the ability to continue the development and commercialization of SNDX-5613.

Our commercial success depends upon our ability to develop, manufacture, market and sell SNDX-5613. Subject to the achievement of certain milestone events, we may be required to pay Vitae, a subsidiary of Allergan, up to $99 million in one-time development and regulatory milestone payments over the term of the Allergan license agreement. In the event that we or any of our affiliates or sublicensees commercializes SNDX-5613, we will also be obligated to pay Allergan low single to low double-digit royalties on sales, subject to reduction in certain circumstances, as well as up to an aggregate of $70 million in potential one-time sales-based milestone payments

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based on achievement of certain annual sales thresholds. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to share a percentage of non-royalty income from sublicensees, subject to certain deductions, with Allergan.

Either party may terminate the license agreement in its entirety or with respect to certain countries in the event of an uncured material breach by the other party. Either party may terminate the license agreement if voluntary or involuntary bankruptcy proceedings are instituted against the other party, if the other party makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors, or upon the occurrence of other specific events relating to the insolvency or dissolution of the other party. Allergan may terminate the license agreement if we seek to revoke or challenge the validity of any patent licensed to us by Allergan under the license agreement or if we procure or assist a third party to take any such action.

Unless terminated earlier in accordance with its terms, the license agreement will continue on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis until the later of: (i) the expiration of all of the licensed patent rights in such country; (ii) the expiration of all regulatory exclusivity applicable to the product in such country; and (iii) 10 years from the date of the first commercial sale of the product in such country. We cannot determine the date on which our royalty payment obligations to Allergan would expire because no commercial sales of SNDX-5613 have occurred and the last-to-expire relevant patent covering SNDX-5613 in a given country may change in the future.

If the license agreement is terminated, we would not be able to develop, manufacture, market or sell SNDX-5613 and would need to negotiate a new or reinstated agreement, which may not be available to us on equally favorable terms, or at all.

Changes in patent law could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our product candidates.

As is the case with other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical industry involve technological and legal complexity, and obtaining and enforcing biopharmaceutical patents is costly, time-consuming, and inherently uncertain. The Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our and our licensors’ ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on decisions by Congress, the federal courts, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that may weaken our and our licensors’ ability to obtain new patents or to enforce existing patents and patents we and our licensors or collaborators may obtain in the future. In view of recent developments in U.S. patent laws, in spite of our efforts and the efforts of our licensors, we may face difficulties in obtaining allowance of our biomarker based patient selection patent claims or if we are successful in obtaining allowance of our biomarker based patient selection claims, we or our licensor may be unsuccessful in defending the validity of such claims if challenged before a competent court.

Recent patent reform legislation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our and our licensors’ patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our or our licensors’ issued patents. On September 16, 2011, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the America Invents Act, was signed into law. The America Invents Act includes a number of significant changes to U.S. patent law. These include provisions that affect the way patent applications are prosecuted and may also affect patent litigation. The USPTO recently developed new regulations and procedures to govern administration of the American Invents Act, and many of the substantive changes to patent law associated with the America Invents Act and in particular, the first to file provisions, only became effective on March 16, 2013. Accordingly, it is not clear what, if any, impact the America Invents Act will have on the operation of our business. However, the America Invents Act and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our or our licensors’ patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our or our licensors’ issued patents, all of which could harm our business and financial condition.

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Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

Periodic maintenance and annuity fees on any issued patent are due to be paid to the USPTO and foreign patent agencies in several stages over the lifetime of the patent. The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. While an inadvertent lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Non-compliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. If we or our licensors fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering our product candidates, our competitors might be able to enter the market, which would harm our business.

We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our intellectual property, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful and have an adverse effect on the success of our business and on our stock price.

Third parties may infringe our or our licensors’ patents or misappropriate or otherwise violate our or our licensors’ intellectual property rights. In the future, we or our licensors may initiate legal proceedings to enforce or defend our or our licensors’ intellectual property rights, to protect our or our licensors’ trade secrets or to determine the validity or scope of intellectual property rights we own or control. Also, third parties may initiate legal proceedings against us or our licensors to challenge the validity or scope of intellectual property rights we own or control. The proceedings can be expensive and time-consuming and many of our or our licensors’ adversaries in these proceedings may have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to prosecuting these legal actions than we or our licensors can. Accordingly, despite our or our licensors’ efforts, we or our licensors may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon or misappropriating intellectual property rights we own or control, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect our rights as fully as in the United States. Litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of management resources, which could harm our business and financial results. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent owned by or licensed to us is invalid or unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our or our licensors’ patents do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation proceeding could put one or more of our or our licensors’ patents at risk of being invalidated, held unenforceable or interpreted narrowly.

Third-party preissuance submission of prior art to the USPTO, or opposition, derivation, reexamination, inter partes review or interference proceedings, or other preissuance or post-grant proceedings in the United States or other jurisdictions provoked by third parties or brought by us or our licensors or collaborators may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our or our licensors’ patents or patent applications. An unfavorable outcome could require us or our licensors to cease using the related technology and commercializing our product candidates, or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us or our licensors a license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we or our licensors obtain a license, it may be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us or our licensors. In addition, if the breadth or strength of protection provided by our or our licensors’ patents and patent applications is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to license, develop or commercialize current or future product candidates. Even if we successfully defend such litigation or proceeding, we may incur substantial costs and it may distract our management and other employees. We could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent.

Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this process. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a downward effect on the price of shares of our common stock.

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Third parties may initiate legal proceedings against us alleging that we infringe their intellectual property rights or we may initiate legal proceedings against third parties to challenge the validity or scope of intellectual property rights controlled by third parties, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have an adverse effect on the success of our business.

Third parties may initiate legal proceedings against us or our licensors or collaborators alleging that we or our licensors or collaborators infringe their intellectual property rights or we or our licensors or collaborators may initiate legal proceedings against third parties to challenge the validity or scope of intellectual property rights controlled by third parties, including in oppositions, interferences, reexaminations, inter partes reviews or derivation proceedings before the United States or other jurisdictions. These proceedings can be expensive and time-consuming and many of our or our licensors’ adversaries in these proceedings may have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to prosecuting these legal actions than we or our licensors or collaborators can.

An unfavorable outcome could require us or our licensors or collaborators to cease using the related technology or developing or commercializing our product candidates, or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us or our licensors or collaborators a license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we or our licensors or collaborators obtain a license, it may be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us or our licensors or collaborators. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially harm our business.

We may be subject to claims by third parties asserting that we or our employees have misappropriated their intellectual property, or claiming ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.

Many of our employees, including our senior management, were previously employed at universities or at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Some of these employees executed proprietary rights, non-disclosure and non-competition agreements in connection with such previous employment. Although we try to ensure that our employees do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these employees have used or disclosed confidential information or intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such employee’s former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims.

In addition, for some of our in-licensed patents and patent applications, we do not have access to every patent assignments or employee agreements demonstrating that all inventors have assigned their rights to the inventions or related patents. As a result, we may be subject to claims of ownership by such inventors.

If we fail in prosecuting or defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel or sustain damages. Such intellectual property rights could be awarded to a third party, and we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to commercialize our technology or products. Such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we successfully prosecute or defend against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and distract management.

Our inability to protect our confidential information and trade secrets would harm our business and competitive position.

In addition to seeking patents for some of our technology and products, we also rely on trade secrets, including unpatented know-how, technology and other proprietary information, to maintain our competitive position. We seek to protect these trade secrets, in part, by entering into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to them, such as our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, third-party manufacturers, consultants, advisors and other third parties. We also enter into confidentiality and invention or patent assignment agreements with our employees and consultants. Despite these efforts, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, some courts both within and outside the United States may be less willing or unwilling to

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protect trade secrets. If a competitor lawfully obtained or independently developed any of our trade secrets, we would have no right to prevent such competitor from using that technology or information to compete with us, which could harm our competitive position.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

The market price of our stock may be volatile and you could lose all or part of your investment.

The trading price of our common stock is highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which we cannot control. In addition to the factors discussed in this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this report, these factors include:

the success of competitive products or technologies;

regulatory actions with respect to our products or our competitors’ products;

actual or anticipated changes in our growth rate relative to our competitors;

announcements by us or our competitors of significant acquisitions, strategic collaborations, joint ventures, collaborations or capital commitments;

results of trials of our product candidates or those of our competitors;

regulatory or legal developments in the United States and other countries;

developments or disputes concerning patent applications, issued patents or other proprietary rights;

the recruitment or departure of key personnel;

the level of expenses related to our product candidates or clinical development programs;

actual or anticipated changes in estimates as to financial results, development timelines or recommendations by securities analysts;

variations in our financial results or those of companies that are perceived to be similar to us;

fluctuations in the valuation of companies perceived by investors to be comparable to us;

share price and volume fluctuations attributable to inconsistent trading volume levels of our shares;

announcement or expectation of additional financing efforts;

sales of our common stock by us, our insiders or our other stockholders;

changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;

market conditions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors; and

general economic, industry, political and market conditions, including, but not limited to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition, the stock market in general, and the Nasdaq Global Select Market and biopharmaceutical companies in particular, frequently experiences extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of such companies, including in connection with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has resulted in decreased stock prices for many companies notwithstanding the lack of a fundamental change in their underlying business models or prospects. Broad market and industry factors, including potentially worsening economic conditions and other adverse effects or developments relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. The realization of any of the above risks or any of a broad range of other risks, including those described in this “Risk Factors” section, could have a dramatic and negative impact on the market price of our common stock.

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We may sell additional equity or debt securities or enter into other arrangements to fund our operations, which may result in dilution to our stockholders and impose restrictions or limitations on our business.

Until we can generate a sufficient amount of revenue from our products, if ever, we expect to finance future cash needs through public or private equity or debt offerings. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of additional equity or debt securities, it may result in dilution to our existing stockholders and/or increased fixed payment obligations. In August 2019, we filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (Registration No. 333-233564) that allows us to sell up to an aggregate of $300 million of our common stock, which includes up to $50.0 million designated for an at-the-market offering program. As of March 31, 2020, $50.0 million of common stock remained available for sale under the at-the-market offering program. We have sold no shares of common stock pursuant to the ATM program from March 31, 2020 through the date of this filing. Further, in January 2020, we sold 3,036,719 shares of our common stock at a price per share of $8.00 and pre-funded warrants to purchase 1,338,287 shares of our common stock for gross proceeds of approximately $35.0 million. Upon the completion of the January 2020 offering, we had 5,838,287 pre-funded warrant shares outstanding. The pre-funded warrants are exercisable into shares of common stock for $0.0001 per share. The shares of common stock into which the warrants may be exercised are considered outstanding for the purposes of computing earnings per share. We also have two outstanding series of warrants, Series 1 warrants and Series 2 warrants.  As of March 31, 2020, there were 2,297,517 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of Series 1 warrants outstanding, at an exercise price of $10.00 per share, and there were 2,297,522 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of Series 2 warrants outstanding, at an exercise price of $13.00 per share.  To the extent that these warrants have been or may be exercised, our stockholders may experience further dilution.

We may also seek additional funding through government or other third-party funding and other collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements. These financing activities may have an adverse impact on our stockholders’ rights as well as on our operations, and such additional funding may not be available on reasonable terms, if at all. Furthermore, these securities may have rights senior to those of our common stock and could contain covenants that would restrict our operations and potentially impair our competitiveness, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire, sell or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. For example, on February 7, 2020, we entered into the Credit Facility with Hercules, which provided for aggregate maximum borrowings of up to $30.0 million, consisting of (i) a term loan of up to $20.0 million, which was funded on February 7, 2020, and (ii) subject to Hercules’ investment committee approval, an additional term loan of up to $10.0 million, available for borrowing from February 7, 2020 to December 15, 2020. Borrowings under the loan agreement are collateralized by substantially all of our and our subsidiaries personal property and other assets, other than our intellectual property. In addition, the loan agreement includes customary affirmative and restrictive covenants and representations and warranties, including a covenant against the occurrence of a “change in control,” financial reporting obligations, and certain limitations on indebtedness, liens (including a negative pledge on intellectual property and other assets), investments, distributions (including dividends), collateral, investments, distributions, transfers, mergers or acquisitions, taxes, corporate changes, and deposit accounts.

Additionally, if we seek funds through arrangements with collaborative partners, these arrangements may require us to relinquish rights to some of our technologies or product candidates or otherwise agree to terms unfavorable to us. Any of these events could significantly harm our business, financial condition and prospects.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or reports about our business, or if they issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding our stock, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock is influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If no or few securities or industry analysts continue coverage of us, the trading price for our stock could be negatively impacted. If any of the analysts who cover us issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding us, our business model, our intellectual property or our stock performance, or if our trials or operating results fail to meet the expectations of analysts, our stock price could decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

Our principal stockholders and management own a significant percentage of our stock and will be able to exert significant control over matters subject to stockholder approval.

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As of April 1, 2020, our executive officers, directors, holders of 5% or more of our capital stock and their respective affiliates beneficially own approximately 54.4% of our outstanding voting stock and options. These stockholders may be able to determine all matters requiring stockholder approval. For example, these stockholders may be able to control elections of directors, amendments of our organizational documents, or approval of any merger, sale of assets or other major corporate transaction. This may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our common stock that you may feel are in your best interest as one of our stockholders. The interests of this group of stockholders may not always coincide with your interests or the interests of other stockholders and they may act in a manner that advances their best interests and not necessarily those of other stockholders, including seeking a premium value for their common stock, and might affect the prevailing market price for our common stock.

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act and a “smaller reporting company” and may avail ourselves of reduced disclosure requirements applicable to such companies, which could make our common stock less attractive to investors and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

For so long as we remain an “emerging growth company” as defined in the JOBS Act, we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various requirements applicable to public companies that are not “emerging growth companies” including:

the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, requiring that our independent registered public accounting firm provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting;

the “say on pay” provisions (requiring a non-binding stockholder vote to approve compensation of certain executive officers) and the “say on golden parachute” provisions (requiring a non-binding stockholder vote to approve golden parachute arrangements for certain executive officers in connection with mergers and certain other business combinations) of the Dodd-Frank Act and some of the disclosure requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act relating to compensation of our chief executive officer;

the requirement to provide detailed compensation discussion and analysis in proxy statements and reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and instead provide a reduced level of disclosure concerning executive compensation; and

any rules that the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board may adopt requiring mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report on the financial statements.

We may take advantage of these exemptions until we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” We would cease to be an “emerging growth company” upon the earliest of: (i) December 31, 2021; (ii) the first fiscal year after our annual gross revenues are $1.07 billion or more; (iii) the date on which we have, during the previous three-year period, issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities; or (iv) as of the end of any fiscal year in which the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700 million as of the end of the second quarter of that fiscal year.

We currently take advantage of some, but not all, of the reduced regulatory and reporting requirements that are available to us so long as we qualify as an “emerging growth company.” For example, we have irrevocably elected not to take advantage of the extension of time to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards available under Section 102(b) of the JOBS Act. Our independent registered public accounting firm is not be required to provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting so long as we qualify as an “emerging growth company,” which may increase the risk that material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting go undetected. Likewise, so long as we qualify as an “emerging growth company,” we may elect not to provide you with certain information, including certain financial information and certain information regarding compensation of our executive officers, that we would otherwise have been required to provide in filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, which may make it more difficult for investors and securities analysts to evaluate our company. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some

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investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock, and our stock price may be more volatile and may decline.

We are also a smaller reporting company as defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company even after we are no longer an emerging growth company. We may take advantage of certain of the scaled disclosures available to smaller reporting companies and will be able to take advantage of these scaled disclosures for so long as (i) our voting and non-voting common stock held by nonaffiliates is less than $250.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter or (ii) our annual revenue is less than $100.0 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter.

We will continue to incur significant costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will devote substantial time to compliance initiatives.

As a public company, we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company, and these expenses may increase even more after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Protection Act, as well as rules adopted, and to be adopted, by the SEC and the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, could reduce the market price of our common stock. In August 2019, we entered into a sales agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC, or Cowen, under which we may issue and sell shares of our common stock having aggregate sales proceeds of up to $50.0 million from time to time through Cowen, acting as agent, in a series of one or more ATM equity offerings, or the 2019 ATM Program. Cowen is not required to sell any specific amount but acts as our sales agent using commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices. To date no shares of common stock were sold under the 2019 ATM program.

We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile, and in the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting in the future, we may not be able to accurately report our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows, which may adversely affect investor confidence in us and, as a result, the value of our common stock.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective internal controls for financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures. Commencing after the filing of our initial annual report on Form 10-K, we will be required, under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This assessment will need to include disclosure of any material weaknesses identified by our management in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting that results in more than a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act also generally requires an attestation from our independent registered public accounting firm on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. However, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company as defined in the JOBS Act, we intend to take advantage of the exemption permitting us not to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement. Our compliance with

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Section 404 will require that we incur substantial expense and expend significant management efforts. We currently do not have an internal audit group, and we will need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge, and compile the system and process documentation necessary to perform the evaluation needed to comply with Section 404. We may not be able to complete our evaluation, testing and any required remediation in a timely fashion. During the evaluation and testing process, if we identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we will be unable to assert that our internal control over financial reporting is effective. We cannot assure you that there will not be material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting in the future. Any failure to maintain internal control over financial reporting could severely inhibit our ability to accurately report our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. If we are unable to conclude that our internal control over financial reporting is effective, or if our independent registered public accounting firm determines we have a material weakness or significant deficiency in our internal control over financial reporting once that firm begin its Section 404 reviews, we could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, the market price of our common stock could decline, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the SEC or other regulatory authorities. Failure to remedy any material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, or to implement or maintain other effective control systems required of public companies, could also restrict our future access to the capital markets.

Some provisions of our charter documents and Delaware law may have anti-takeover effects that could discourage an acquisition of us by others, even if an acquisition would benefit our stockholders and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us or increase the cost of acquiring us, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders, or remove our current management. These provisions include a classified board of directors, a prohibition on actions by written consent of our stockholders and the ability of our board of directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval. These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, who are responsible for appointing the members of our management. Because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or the DGCL, which may discourage, delay or prevent someone from acquiring us or merging with us whether or not it is desired by or beneficial to our stockholders. Under the DGCL, a corporation may not, in general, engage in a business combination with any holder of 15% or more of its capital stock unless the holder has held the stock for three years or, among other things, the board of directors has approved the transaction. Any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change of control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.


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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, which are subject to the “safe harbor” created by those sections. We may, in some cases, use words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative of those terms, and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Any statements contained herein that are not statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements about:

statements regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on our operations, research and development and clinical trials and potential disruption in the operations and business of third-party manufacturers, contract research organizations, or CROs, other service providers, and collaborators with whom we conduct business;

our estimates regarding our expenses, future revenues, anticipated capital requirements and our needs for additional financing;

the timing of the progress and receipt of data from the Phase 3 clinical trial of entinostat in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer;

the timing of the progress and receipt of data from the Phase 1 clinical trial of SNDX-6352 and the potential use of SNDX-6352 to treat various cancer indications;

the timing of the progress and receipt of data from the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of SNDX-6352 in in chronic Graft Versus Host Disease (cGVHD);

the timing of the progress and receipt of data from the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of SNDX-5613 in patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute leukemia and the potential use of SNDX-5613 to treat acute leukemias;

the timing of the progress and receipt of data from the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of entinostat with Tecentriq® (atezolizumab) from Genentech, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, in advanced hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative (HR+, HER2-) breast cancer;

the scope, timing of the commencement, progress and receipt of data from any other clinical trials that we and our collaborators may conduct;

our ability to replicate results in future clinical trials;

our expectations regarding the potential safety, efficacy or clinical utility of our product candidates;

our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for our product candidates and the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals for such candidates;

our ability to maintain our licenses with Bayer Pharma AG, Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., UCB Biopharma Sprl and Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Allergan plc;

the potential milestone and royalty payments under certain of our license agreements;

the implementation of our strategic plans for our business and development of our product candidates;

the scope of protection we establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering our product candidates and our technology;

the market adoption of our product candidates by physicians and patients;

developments relating to our competitors and our industry; and

political, social and economic instability, natural disasters or public health crisis, including but not limited to the COVID-19 pandemic, in countries where we or our collaborators do business.

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These forward-looking statements reflect our management’s beliefs and views with respect to future events and are based on estimates and assumptions as of the date of this prospectus supplement and are subject to risks and uncertainties. We discuss many of these risks in greater detail under “Risk Factors.” Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

You should read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement, together with the documents that we have filed with the SEC that are incorporated by reference and any free writing prospectus we have authorized for use in connection with a specific offering completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of the forward-looking statements in this prospectus by these cautionary statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.


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USE OF PROCEEDS

 

We expect to receive approximately $ million in net proceeds from the sale of shares of common stock offered by us in this offering (or approximately $ million if the underwriters exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full), after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.

 

We intend to use the net proceeds from the offering to: (i) fund our pipeline of development programs, in particular: clinical trials of SNDX-5613, including a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in a defined subset of acute leukemias patients; entinostat for HR+, HER2-breast cancer, which has fully enrolled a Phase 3 clinical trial with sponsorship and funding support from the NCI and for which we continue to provide certain financial and operational support; clinical trials of axatilimab, which is currently enrolling a Phase 1/2 dose escalation trial in patients with cGVHD as well as a Phase 1/1b ascending dose trial evaluating the safety of axatilimab alone or in combination with Imfinzi; (ii) fund pre-commercialization efforts in advance of the anticipated readout of the Phase 3 E2112 trial, which we expect will occur in the second quarter of 2020; (iii) opportunistically acquire or invest in businesses, products or technologies that are complementary to our own, although we have no current plans, commitments or agreements with respect to any acquisitions as of the date of this prospectus supplement; and (iv) for working capital and general corporate purposes. We will retain broad discretion in determining how we will allocate the net proceeds from this offering. Pending the use of net proceeds, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing obligations, certificates of deposit or direct or guaranteed obligations of the United States.


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DILUTION

Our net tangible book value as of December 31, 2020 was approximately $55.8 million, or $1.85 per share. Net tangible book value per share is determined by dividing our total tangible assets, less total liabilities, by the number of shares of our common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2019 (including 3,036,719 shares of common stock issued in the January 2020 Offering and excluding the shares of common stock underlying the Outstanding Pre-Funded Warrants). Dilution with respect to net tangible book value per share represents the difference between the amount per share paid by purchasers of shares of common stock in this offering and the net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after this offering.

After giving effect to the sale of shares of our common stock in this offering at a public offering price of $            per share, and after deducting estimated offering commissions and offering expenses payable by us, our as adjusted net tangible book value as of December 31, 2019 would have been approximately $                 million, or $                 per share. This represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $                per share to existing stockholders and immediate dilution of $                 per share to investors purchasing our common stock in this offering at the public offering price. The following table illustrates this dilution on a per share basis:

  

Public offering price per share

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

Net tangible book value per share of as December 31, 2019

 

 

$      1.85

 

 

 

 

Increase in net tangible book value per share attributable to new investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering

 

 

$

 

 

 

 

As adjusted net tangible book value per share as of December 31, 2019, after giving effect to this offering

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

Dilution per share to investors purchasing our common stock in this offering

 

 

 

 

$

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above discussion is based on 30,177,203 shares of our common stock outstanding, which represents 27,140,484 shares of our common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2019, plus 3,036,719 shares of common stock issued in the January 2020 Offering, but excludes:

5,838,287 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Outstanding Pre-Funded Warrants at an exercise price of $0.0001 per share;

2,297,517 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of Series 1 warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2019, at an exercise price of $10.00 per share;

2,297,522 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of Series 2 warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2019, at an exercise price of $13.00 per share;

6,897,802 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Outstanding Stock Options under our Stock Plans, at a weighted average exercise price of $8.72 per share;

1,843,511 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under our 2015 Plan, plus any additional shares of our common stock that may become available under our 2015 Plan; and

1,128,398 shares of our common stock reserved for issuance under our ESPP as of January 1, 2020, as well as any future increases in the number of shares of our common stock reserved for issuance under the ESPP.

If the underwriters exercise in full their option to purchase up to additional shares of common stock at the public offering price of $             per share, the as adjusted net tangible book value after this offering would be $              per share, representing an increase in net tangible book value of $               per share to existing stockholders and immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $               per share to investors purchasing our common stock in this offering.

Assuming the Outstanding Pre-Funded Warrants were immediately cash exercised, this would result in an as adjusted net tangible book value per share of $             , after giving effect to the proceeds from such cash exercise, which represents a dilution per share to new investors of $              , and an increase in net tangible book value per share to existing shareholders of $              .

To the extent that options outstanding as of December 31, 2019 have been or may be exercised or other shares issued, investors purchasing our common stock in this offering may experience further dilution. In addition, we may

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choose to raise additional capital due to market conditions or strategic considerations even if we believe we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that additional capital is raised through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our stockholders.


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UNDERWRITERS

Under the terms and subject to the conditions in an underwriting agreement dated the date of this prospectus supplement, the underwriters named below, for whom Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Cowen and Company, LLC are acting as representatives, have severally agreed to purchase, and we have agreed to sell to them, severally, the number of shares indicated below:

 

 

 

 

 

Name

 

Number of
Shares

 

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

 

 

 

 

Cowen and Company, LLC

 

 

 

 

Barclays Capital Inc

 

 

 

 

BTIG, LLC

 

 

 

 

Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The underwriters and the representatives are collectively referred to as the “underwriters” and the “representatives,” respectively. The underwriters are offering the shares of common stock subject to their acceptance of the shares from us and subject to prior sale. The underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the several underwriters to pay for and accept delivery of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus supplement are subject to the approval of certain legal matters by their counsel and to certain other conditions. The underwriters are obligated to take and pay for all of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus supplement if any such shares are taken. However, the underwriters are not required to take or pay for the shares covered by the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares described below.

The underwriters initially propose to offer the shares of common stock directly to the public at the offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus supplement. After the initial offering of the shares of common stock, the offering price and other selling terms may from time to time be varied by the representatives.

We have granted to the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days from the date of this prospectus supplement, to purchase up to               additional shares of common stock at the public offering price listed on the cover page of this prospectus supplement, less underwriting discounts and commissions. To the extent the option is exercised, each underwriter will become obligated, subject to certain conditions, to purchase about the same percentage of the additional shares of common stock as the number listed next to the underwriter’s name in the preceding table bears to the total number of shares of common stock listed next to the names of all underwriters in the preceding table.

The following table shows the per share and total public offering price, underwriting discounts and commissions, and proceeds before expenses to us. These amounts are shown assuming both no exercise and full exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase up to an additional               shares of common stock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total

 

 

 

Per
Share

 

 

No Exercise

 

 

Full Exercise

 

Public offering price

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

Underwriting discounts and commissions to be paid by us:

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

Proceeds, before expenses, to us

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

$

 

 

 

The estimated offering expenses payable by us, exclusive of the underwriting discounts and commissions, are approximately $             .

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the trading symbol “SNDX.”

We and all directors and officers and certain affiliates have agreed that, without the prior written consent of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Cowen and Company, LLC, on behalf of the underwriters, we and they will not, during the period until and including the 60th day after the date of this prospectus supplement (the “restricted

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period”), directly or indirectly, offer, sell, pledge, contract to sell (including any short sale), grant any option to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of any shares of our common stock (including, without limitation, shares of common stock which may be deemed to be beneficially owned currently or hereafter in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC, shares of common stock which may be issued upon exercise of a stock option or warrant and any other security convertible into or exchangeable for common stock), enter into any short sale or any purchase, sale or grant of any right (including, without limitation, any put or call option) with respect to any security (other than a broad-based market basket or index) that includes, relates to or derives any significant part of its value from our common stock, or publicly announce any intention to do so.

The restrictions described in the immediately preceding paragraph to do not apply to us (i) to the extent that any such actions give effect to the transactions contemplated by the underwriting agreement for this offering, (ii) if we issue shares pursuant to the exercise of warrants outstanding as of the date of this prospectus supplement and described in the registration statement and prospectus supplement, but only if the holders of such shares or warrants agree in writing with the underwriters not to sell, offer, dispose of or otherwise transfer any such shares or warrants during the restricted period, (iii) if we issue shares or options to purchase shares, or issue shares upon exercise of options, pursuant to any stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or arrangement described in the registration statement or prospectus supplement, but only if the holders of such shares or options agree in writing with the underwriters not to sell, offer, dispose of or otherwise transfer any such shares or options during the restricted period and (iv) issue shares or any options or warrants or other rights to acquire shares or any securities exchangeable or exercisable for or convertible into shares (“Related Securities”), or to acquire other securities or rights ultimately exchangeable or exercisable for, or convertible into, shares in connection with a licensing arrangement, joint venture, acquisition or business combination or other collaboration or strategic transaction; provided that, in the case of clause (iv), recipients of such shares or Related Securities agree to be bound by the terms of the lock-up agreement and the sum of the aggregate number of shares or Related Securities so issued does not exceed 5% of the total outstanding shares of our common stock.

The restrictions described in the second preceding paragraph do not apply, in the case of our directors, officers and shareholders, to:

 

 

(a)

the transfer of any or all of the shares of common stock or other securities if the transfer does not trigger any filing or reporting requirement or obligation or result in any other voluntary or mandatory public disclosure under Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act, and the transfer is: (i) by gift, will or intestacy; (ii) to a trust whose beneficiaries consist exclusively such security holder or the family members of such security holder; (iii) a distribution to partners, members or shareholders of such security holder, or to any corporation, partnership or limited liability company that is an affiliate (within the meaning set forth in Rule 405 as promulgated by the SEC under the Securities Act) of such security holder; (iv) to us upon the exercise of options to cover tax withholding obligations in connection with such exercise or for the primary purpose of paying the exercise price of options to acquire shares of common stock in each case pursuant to a stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or arrangement existing as of the date of this prospectus supplement and any shares acquired shall remain subject to the lock-up agreement; provided, that the transferee executes an agreement stating that the transferee is receiving and holding the securities subject to the provisions of the lock-up agreement; or (v) pursuant to any trading plan established pursuant to Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act in effect as of the date of the underwriting agreement;

 

 

(b)

entering into any plan designed to satisfy the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act (other than the entry into such a plan in such a manner as to allow the sale of shares of common stock or other securities, in each case, within the restricted period); provided however, no public announcement or filing under the Exchange Act regarding the establishment of such 10b5-1 Plan shall be required or made during the restricted period; or

 

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(c)

(i) exercising any options, warrants or other rights to purchase shares of common stock pursuant to any stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or any other arrangement existing as of the date of this prospectus supplement (which exercises may be effected on a cashless basis to the extent the instruments representing such options, warrants or other rights permit exercises on a cashless basis) or (ii) the grant by us of stock options or other stock-based awards pursuant to any stock option, stock bonus or other stock plan or arrangement existing as of the date of this prospectus supplement; provided, however, that in any such case, any shares of common stock or other securities acquired remain subject to the lock-up agreement, and provided further, that (A) any filing under Section 16 of the Exchange Act made during the restricted period shall clearly indicate in the footnotes thereto that (1) the filing relates to the circumstances described above and (2) the shares Common Stock continue to be subject to the restrictions on transfer set forth in this Letter Agreement and (B) the undersigned does not otherwise voluntarily effect any other public filings or reports regarding such exercise during the restricted period.

Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Cowen and Company, LLC, in their sole discretion, may release the common stock and other securities subject to the lock-up agreements described above in whole or in part at any time.

In order to facilitate the offering of the common stock, the underwriters may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the common stock. Specifically, the underwriters may sell more shares than they are obligated to purchase under the underwriting agreement, creating a short position. A short sale is covered if the short position is no greater than the number of shares available for purchase by the underwriters under the option. The underwriters can close out a covered short sale by exercising the option or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out a covered short sale, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the open market price of shares compared to the price available under the option. The underwriters may also sell shares in excess of the option, creating a naked short position. The underwriters 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 underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in this offering. As an additional means of facilitating this offering, the underwriters may bid for, and purchase, shares of common stock in the open market to stabilize the price of the common stock. These activities may raise or maintain the market price of the common stock above independent market levels or prevent or retard a decline in the market price of the common stock. The underwriters are not required to engage in these activities and may end any of these activities at any time.

We and the underwriters have agreed to indemnify each other against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act.

A prospectus supplement in electronic format may be made available on websites maintained by one or more underwriters participating in this offering. The representatives may agree to allocate a number of shares of common stock to underwriters for sale to their online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the representatives to underwriters that may make Internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.

The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses, for example we and Cowen have entered into an at-the-market equity offering program.

In addition, in the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers and may at any time hold long and short positions in such securities and instruments. Such investment and securities activities may involve our securities and instruments. The underwriters and their respective 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.

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Selling Restrictions

Canada

The common stock may be sold only to purchasers purchasing, or deemed to be purchasing, as principal that are accredited investors, as defined in National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or subsection 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and are permitted clients, as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations. Any resale of the common stock must be made in accordance with an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the prospectus requirements of applicable securities laws.

 Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the information incorporated by reference (including any amendment thereto) contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchaser’s province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.

 Pursuant to section 3A.3 of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts (NI 33-105), the underwriters are not required to comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.

European Economic Area

In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area, no offer of shares of common stock which are the subject of this offering have been, or will be made to the public in that Member State, other than under the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive:

 

to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive;

 

to fewer than 150 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive), subject to obtaining the prior consent of the representatives for any such offer; or

 

in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive,

 

provided that no such offer of shares of common stock referred to in (a) to (c) above shall result in a requirement for us or any representatives to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive, or supplement a prospectus pursuant to Article 16 of the Prospectus Directive.

 

Each person located in a Member State to whom any offer of shares of common stock is made or who receives any communication in respect of any offer of shares, or who initially acquires any shares of common stock will be deemed to have represented, warranted, acknowledged and agreed to and with each representative and us that (1) it is a “qualified investor” within the meaning of the law in that Member State implementing Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive; and (2) in the case of any shares of common stock acquired by it as a financial intermediary as that term is used in Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, the shares acquired by it in the offer have not been acquired on behalf of, nor have they been acquired with a view to their offer or resale to, persons in any Member State other than qualified investors, as that term is defined in the Prospectus Directive, or in circumstances in which the prior consent of the representatives have been given to the offer or resale; or where shares have been acquired by it on behalf of persons in any Member State other than qualified investors, the offer of those shares to it is not treated under the Prospectus Directive as having been made to such persons.

 

We, the representatives and their respective affiliates will rely upon the truth and accuracy of the foregoing representations, acknowledgments and agreements.

 

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This prospectus supplement has been prepared on the basis that any offer of shares of common stock in any Member State will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Directive from the requirement to publish a prospectus for offers of shares of common stock. Accordingly any person making or intending to make an offer in that Member State of shares of common stock which are the subject of the offering contemplated in this prospectus supplement may only do so in circumstances in which no obligation arises for us or any of the representatives to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive in relation to such offer. Neither we nor the representatives have authorized, nor do they authorize, the making of any offer of shares orf common stock in circumstances in which an obligation arises for us or the representatives to publish a prospectus for such offer.

 

For the purposes of this provision, the expression an “offer of shares of common stock to the public” in relation to any shares of common stock in any Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and the shares of common stock to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe the shares of common stock, as the same may be varied in that Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State, the expression “Prospectus Directive” means Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended) and includes any relevant implementing measure in each Member State.

United Kingdom

This document is only being distributed to and is only directed at persons who are qualified investors (i) who are investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (ii) who are high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling with Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). The securities are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this document or any of its contents.


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LEGAL MATTERS

Cooley LLP, San Francisco, California, will pass upon the validity of the issuance of the shares being sold in this offering. Certain legal matters related to this offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by Goodwin Procter, LLP, New York, New York.

 

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements, incorporated in this prospectus supplement by reference from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which is incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements have been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.             


S-56

 


 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are part of the registration statement on Form S-3 we filed with the SEC under the Securities Act and do not contain all of the information set forth or incorporated by reference 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 supplement, we refer you to the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules filed as a part of the registration statement. We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including Syndax. The address of the SEC website is www.sec.gov.

 

We maintain a website at www.syndax.com. Information contained in or accessible through our website does not constitute a part of 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 information incorporated by reference is considered to be part of this prospectus supplement. Information in this prospectus supplement supersedes information incorporated by reference that we filed with the SEC prior to the date of this prospectus supplement. We incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement the information or documents listed below that we have filed with the SEC (File No. 001-37708):

our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, filed with the SEC on March 5, 2020;

our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on April 29, 2020 (other than the portions thereof which are furnished and not filed);

our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 4, 2020, February 10, 2020, and February 20, 2020, to the extent the information in such reports is filed and not furnished; and

the description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC on March 2, 2016, including any amendments or reports filed for the purposes of updating this description.

Notwithstanding the statements in the preceding paragraphs, no document, report or exhibit (or portion of any of the foregoing) or any other information that we have “furnished” to the SEC pursuant to the Exchange Act shall be incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement.

We also incorporate by reference into this prospectus all documents (other than current reports furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K and exhibits filed on such form that are related to such items) that are filed by us with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date of this prospectus supplement but prior to the termination of the offering. These documents include periodic reports, such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, as well as proxy 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 should direct any requests for documents to Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Attn: Luke J. Albrecht, General Counsel, 35 Gatehouse Drive, Building D, Floor 3, Waltham, Massachusetts 02451; telephone: (781) 419-1400.

 

S-57

 


 

PROSPECTUS

 

 

$300,000,000

Common Stock

Preferred Stock

Debt Securities

Warrants

From time to time, we may offer up to $300,000,000 of any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings. We may also offer securities as may be issuable upon conversion, redemption, repurchase, exchange or exercise of any securities registered hereunder, including any applicable antidilution provisions.

This prospectus provides a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer securities, we will provide specific terms of the securities offered in a supplement 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 you invest in 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, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “SNDX.” On August 27, 2019, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $8.77 per share. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to any other listing on Nasdaq or any securities market or other exchange of the securities, if any, covered by the prospectus supplement.

We will sell these securities directly to investors, through agents designated from time to time or to or through underwriters or dealers, on a continuous or delayed basis. For additional information on the methods of sale, you should refer to the section titled “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus. If any agents or underwriters are involved in the sale of any securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of such agents or underwriters and any applicable fees, commissions, discounts or over-allotment options 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” 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 as described on page 8 of this prospectus.

 

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

 

The date of this prospectus is September 10, 2019.


 

 


 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

  

 

i

 

SUMMARY

  

 

1

 

RISK FACTORS

  

 

7

 

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

  

 

8

 

USE OF PROCEEDS

  

 

10

 

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

  

 

11

 

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

  

 

17

 

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

  

 

24

 

LEGAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

  

 

26

 

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

  

 

29

 

LEGAL MATTERS

  

 

31

 

EXPERTS

  

 

31

 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

  

 

31

 

INCORPORATION OF CERTAIN INFORMATION BY REFERENCE

  

 

32

 

 


 

 

 


 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is a part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may sell any combination of the securities described in this prospectus in one or more offerings up to a total aggregate offering price of $300,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer.

Each time we sell securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain 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 information contained in this prospectus or in any documents that we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. You should read this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, together with the information incorporated herein by reference as described under the heading “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference,” before investing in any of the securities offered.

THIS PROSPECTUS MAY NOT BE USED TO CONSUMMATE A SALE OF SECURITIES UNLESS IT IS ACCOMPANIED BY A PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT.

Neither we, nor any agent, underwriter or dealer has authorized any person to give any information or to make any representation other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. This prospectus, any applicable supplement to this prospectus or any related free writing prospectus do not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities other than the registered securities to which they relate, nor do this prospectus, any applicable supplement to this prospectus or any related free writing prospectus constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction.

You should not assume that the information contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is accurate on any date subsequent to the date set forth on the front of the document or that any information we have incorporated by reference is correct on any date subsequent to the date of the document incorporated by reference, even though this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is delivered, or securities are sold, on a later date.

This prospectus and the information incorporated herein by reference contains 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 below under the heading “Where You Can Find More Information.”

i

 


 

SUMMARY

The following summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary is not complete 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 consolidated financial statements, and the exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

Unless the context indicates otherwise, references in this prospectus to “Syndax,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” “our” and similar references refer to Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries.

Company Overview

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing an innovative pipeline of cancer therapies. Our lead product candidate, entinostat is a once-weekly, oral, small molecule, Class I HDAC inhibitor currently being evaluated in a Phase 3 clinical trial in combination with exemestane for advanced hormone receptor positive, or HR+, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative, or HER2-, breast cancer, an indication for which it has been granted breakthrough therapy designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. In addition, entinostat has been shown to block the function of immune suppressive cells in the tumor microenvironment, and is being evaluated in combination with Keytruda® (pembrolizumab) from Merck & Co., Inc. for non-small cell lung cancer and melanoma.

We are also developing SNDX-5613, an orally-available, small molecule inhibitor of the interaction of menin with the mixed lineage leukemia, or MLL, protein as a targeted therapy to potentially treat two genetically defined acute leukemias: (i) mixed lineage leukemia-rearranged, or MLLr, a genetically-defined subset of acute leukemias with chromosomal rearrangements in the MLL gene; and (ii) acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, with a mutated nucleophosmin 1, or NPM1, characterized by a somatic mutation in the NPM1 gene, or NPM1c. In July 2019, we announced that the FDA cleared our investigational new drug application to begin a Phase 1/2 trial for SNDX-5613 in patients with relapsed/refractory acute leukemias. Our clinical-stage product candidate, SNDX-6352, is a monoclonal antibody that targets the colony stimulating factor-1 receptor, or CSF-1R, a cell surface protein thought to control the survival and function of monocytes and macrophages. Researchers believe that in many cancers, inhibition of CSF-1R will reduce the number of immunosuppressive tumor-associated macrophages, or TAMs, and enable an immune response against tumors. We are conducting a Phase 1 trial of SNDX-6352 in patients with chronic graft versus host disease, or cGVHD, as well as a Phase 1/1b trial of SNDX-6352, alone or in combination with Imfinzi® (durvalumab), from AstraZeneca plc.

We plan to continue to leverage the technical and business expertise of our management team and scientific collaborators to opportunistically license, acquire and develop additional cancer therapies to expand our pipeline.


1


 

Our Pipeline

 

 

Entinostat

Entinostat is our oral, small molecule product candidate that has direct effects on both cancer cells and immune regulatory cells, potentially enhancing the body’s immune response to tumors. The favorable safety profile of entinostat has been demonstrated in clinical trials in more than 1,200 cancer patients. The long half-life of entinostat allows for continuous exposure to therapy potentially resulting in positive efficacy benefits without corresponding cytotoxic effects. Another benefit of entinostat’s long half-life is the potential to minimize the frequency of dosing and reduce the severity and frequency of adverse events. Based on entinostat’s ability to reverse hormone resistance, alter cancer stem cells, and modulate immunosensitivity, we believe entinostat may have broad applications in tumor types which have become resistant to hormone and/or immunotherapy.

Entinostat has also been shown to enhance the immune system’s ability to identify and target tumor cells. It is now widely accepted that many tumors have the ability to evade the immune system either through direct cellular interactions and recruitment of immuno-suppressive cells to the area surrounding the tumor, or through parallel evasion-mechanisms focused on the interaction between the T cell with other immune cells found within the surrounding tumor microenvironment. Entinostat has been observed to decrease the population of immuno-suppressive cells known as myeloid-derived suppressor cells, or MDSCs, and regulatory T cells, or Tregs, which localize in the area surrounding the tumor and block T cells from killing cancer cells, while sparing the cytotoxic T cells. Through blocking the immuno-suppressive effects of MDSCs and Tregs, we believe entinostat has the potential to be used synergistically with therapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors, resulting in the increased ability of the T cells to attack the tumor.

SNDX-5613

SNDX-5613 is a potent, orally active inhibitor of the high affinity interaction site on menin with the protein MLL1. This specific interaction is a key driver for two genetically defined acute leukemias: (i) MLLr and (ii) NPM1c AML. Both diseases have a poor prognosis with an unmet need. In July 2019, we announced that the FDA cleared our IND application to begin a Phase 1/2 trial for SNDX-5613. We will refer to the clinical development of SNDX-5613 as the AUGMENT Program. The Phase 1/2 open-label trial will assess orally administered SNDX-5613 in adults with relapsed/refractory acute leukemias. The Phase 1 dose escalation portion of the study will evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of SNDX-5613, and will seek to establish a recommended Phase 2 dose. The

2


 

Phase 2 portion will evaluate efficacy, as defined by Complete Response rate (per International Working Group response criteria), across three expansion cohorts: MLL-rearranged, or MLL-r, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL; MLL-r AML; and NPM1 mutant AML. We expect to report initial clinical data from the trial in 2020.

SNDX-6352

SNDX-6352 is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds with high affinity to CSF-1R. CSF-1R is expressed on the surface of specific immuno-suppressive cells (e.g., TAMs) known to play a role in the growth, survival, and metastases of cancer. Inhibition of CSF-1R is thought to disrupt the activity of TAMs, resulting in a decrease in the immunosuppressive environment immediately surrounding the tumor, or tumor micro-environment. This mode of action is thought to make CSF-1R inhibitors well suited for use in combination with checkpoint inhibitors, particularly in cancers where there may be limited activity of immune checkpoint inhibitors as monotherapy. We believe that SNDX-6352 has the potential to be used to treat a variety of cancers in combination with entinostat and with other oncology agents, including immune checkpoint inhibitors, radiation, and chemotherapy.

We are developing SNDX-6352 to bind to CSF-1R and block the ability of CSF-1 and IL-34 to bind to and activate CSF-1R signaling. Our near-term focus is to rapidly establish proof of concept that SNDX-6352 can provide meaningful clinical benefit to patients in one or more tumor types when combined with standard of care therapies for a given indication. We intend to conduct clinical trials in patients with tumor types having clear unmet needs (e.g., NSCLC, TNBC, prostate, melanoma, pancreatic, ovarian, bladder) and where we believe that the inhibition of TAMs via CSF-1R inhibition will produce meaningful benefits for patients, such as chronic graft versus host disease.

Corporate Information

We were incorporated in Delaware in 2005. In 2011, we established a wholly owned subsidiary in the United Kingdom and in 2014 we established a wholly owned U.S. subsidiary. Our principal executive offices are located at 35 Gatehouse Drive, Building D, Floor 3, Waltham, Massachusetts 02451 and our telephone number is (781) 419-1400. Our corporate website address is www.syndax.com. Information contained on or accessible through our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider such information as part of this prospectus or in deciding whether to purchase our securities.

“Syndax” is a registered trademark and the “Syndax” and “Syndax Pharmaceuticals” logos are unregistered trademarks of the company. This prospectus also contains registered marks, trademarks and trade names of other companies. All other trademarks, registered marks and trade names appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective holders.

Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Smaller Reporting Company

We are an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we are permitted and intend to take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other burdens that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies, including:

 

 

 

being permitted to provide only two years of audited financial statements, in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements, with correspondingly reduced “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” disclosure;

 

 

 

not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting;

 

 

 

not being required to comply with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements;

 

 

 

reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports, proxy statements and registration statements; and

 

3


 

 

 

not being required to hold a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

We may take advantage of these reporting exemptions until we are no longer an emerging growth company. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of: (i) December 31, 2021; (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion; (iii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of June 30 of such fiscal year; or (iv) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. We may choose to take advantage of some or all of these available exemptions. We have taken advantage of some reduced reporting requirements in our public filings. Accordingly, the information that we provide stockholders may be different than the information you receive from other public companies in which you hold stock.

In addition, the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This provision allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of some accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of delayed adoption of new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, we will be subject to the same requirements to adopt new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies.

We are also a smaller reporting company as defined in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act. We may continue to be a smaller reporting company even after we are no longer an emerging growth company. We may take advantage of certain of the scaled disclosures available to smaller reporting companies and will be able to take advantage of these scaled disclosures for so long as (i) our voting and non-voting common stock held by nonaffiliates is less than $250.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter or (ii) our annual revenue is less than $100.0 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is less than $700.0 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter.

The Securities We May Offer

We may offer shares of our common stock and preferred stock, various series of debt securities and warrants to purchase any of such securities, up to a total aggregate offering price of $300,000,000 from time to time in one or more offerings under this prospectus, together with any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, at prices and on terms to be determined by market conditions at the time of the relevant offering. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer a type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will describe the specific amounts, prices and other important terms of the securities, including, to the extent applicable:

 

 

 

designation or classification;

 

 

 

aggregate principal amount or aggregate offering price;

 

 

 

maturity;

 

 

 

original issue discount;

 

 

 

rates and times of payment of interest or dividends;

 

 

 

redemption, conversion, exchange or sinking fund terms;

 

 

 

ranking;

 

 

 

restrictive covenants;

 

 

 

voting or other rights;

 

 

 

conversion or exchange prices or rates and any provisions for changes to or adjustments in the conversion or exchange prices or rates and in the securities or other property receivable upon conversion or exchange; and

4


 

 

 

 

important U.S. federal income tax considerations.

The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus or in documents we have incorporated by reference. However, no prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus will offer a security that is not registered and described in this prospectus at the time of the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

We may sell the securities directly to investors or through underwriters, dealers or agents. We, and our underwriters or agents, reserve the right to accept or reject all or part of any proposed purchase of securities. If we do offer securities through underwriters or agents, we will include in the applicable prospectus supplement:

 

 

 

the names of those underwriters or agents;

 

 

 

applicable fees, discounts and commissions to be paid to them;

 

 

 

details regarding over-allotment options, if any; and

 

 

 

the estimated net proceeds to us.

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

Common Stock. We may issue shares of our common stock from time to time. Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders and does not have cumulative voting rights. Subject to preferences that may apply to any outstanding preferred stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends that our board of directors may declare out of funds legally available for that purpose. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our common stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities and the liquidation preference of any outstanding preferred stock. Holders of our common stock have no preemptive, conversion, subscription or other rights, and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of our 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 in the future. In this prospectus, we have summarized certain general features of our common stock under the heading “Description of Capital Stock—Common Stock.” We urge you, however, to read the applicable prospectus supplement (and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you) related to any common stock being offered.

Preferred Stock. We may issue shares of our preferred stock from time to time, in one or more series. Under our certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our stockholders (unless such stockholder action is required by applicable law or the rules of any stock exchange or market on which our securities are then traded), to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the number, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions thereof. These rights, preferences and privileges could include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences and sinking fund terms, and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of such series, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of common stock. Any convertible preferred stock we may issue will be convertible into our common stock or exchangeable for our other securities. Conversion may be mandatory or at the holder’s option and would be at prescribed conversion rates.

If we sell any series of preferred stock under this prospectus, we will fix the designations, voting powers, preferences and rights of such series of preferred stock, 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 that we are offering before the issuance of the related series of preferred stock. In this prospectus, we have summarized certain general features of the preferred stock under the heading “Description of Capital Stock—Preferred Stock.” We urge you, however, to read the applicable prospectus supplement (and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to

5


 

you) related to the series of preferred stock being offered, as well as the complete certificate of designation that contains the terms of the applicable series of preferred stock.

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. The senior debt securities will rank equally with any other unsecured and unsubordinated debt. The subordinated debt securities will be subordinate and junior in right of payment, to the extent and in the manner described in the instrument governing the debt, to all of our senior indebtedness. Convertible debt securities will be convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock or other securities. Conversion may be mandatory or at the holder’s option and would be at prescribed conversion rates.

Any debt securities issued under this prospectus will be issued under one or more documents called indentures, which are contracts between us and a national banking association or other eligible party, as trustee. In this prospectus, we have summarized certain general features of the debt securities under the heading “Description of Debt Securities.” We urge you, however, to read the applicable prospectus supplement (and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you) related to the series of debt securities being offered, as well as the complete indentures and any supplemental indentures that contain the terms of the debt securities. We have filed a form of indenture as an exhibit 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, supplemental indentures and forms of debt securities containing the terms of the debt securities being offered.

Warrants. We may issue warrants for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, from time to time, in one or more series. We may issue warrants independently or in combination with common stock, preferred stock or debt securities. In this prospectus, we have summarized certain general features of the warrants under the heading “Description of Warrants.” We urge you, however, to read the applicable prospectus supplement (and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you) related to the particular series of warrants being offered, as well as the complete warrant agreements and warrant certificates that contain the terms of the warrants. We have filed forms of the warrant agreements and forms of warrant certificates containing the terms of the warrants that we may offer 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 or the warrant agreement and warrant certificate, as applicable, that contain the terms of the particular series of warrants we are offering, and any supplemental agreements, before the issuance of such warrants.

Any warrants issued under this prospectus may be evidenced by warrant certificates. Warrants may be issued under an applicable warrant agreement that we enter into with a warrant agent. We will indicate the name and address of the warrant agent, if applicable, in the prospectus supplement relating to the particular series of warrants being offered.


6


 

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, 2018 and in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as updated by our subsequent filings, 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.


7


 

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus contain forward-looking statements. These are based on our management’s current beliefs, expectations and assumptions about future events, conditions and results and on information currently available to us. Discussions containing these forward-looking statements may be found, among other places, in the sections titled “Business,” “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” incorporated by reference from our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, as well as any amendments thereto, filed with the SEC.

In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expects,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative or plural of those terms, and similar expressions intended to identify statements about the future, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.

Any statements in this prospectus, or incorporated herein by reference, about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and are forward-looking statements. Within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act these forward-looking statements include statements regarding:

 

 

 

our estimates regarding our expenses, future revenues, anticipated capital requirements and our needs for additional financing;

 

 

 

the timing of the progress and receipt of data from the Phase 3 clinical trial of entinostat in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer;

 

 

 

the timing of the progress and receipt of data from the Phase 1 clinical trial of SNDX-6352 and the potential use of SNDX-6352 to treat various cancer and cancer-related indications;

 

 

 

the timing of the progress and receipt of data from the Phase 1b clinical trial of SNDX-6352 in cGVHD;

 

 

 

the timing of the progress and receipt of data from the Phase 1/2 clinical trial of SNDX-5613 in patients with relapsed/refractory acute leukemia and the potential use of SNDX-5613 to treat acute leukemias;

 

 

 

the timing of the progress and receipt of data from the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of entinostat with Tecentriq® (atezolizumab) from Genentech, Inc., a member of the Roche Group, in advanced HR+, HER2- breast cancer;

 

 

 

the scope, timing of the commencement, progress and receipt of data from any other clinical trials that we and our collaborators may conduct;

 

 

 

our ability to replicate results in future clinical trials;

 

 

 

our expectations regarding the potential safety, efficacy or clinical utility of our product candidates;

 

 

 

our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval for our product candidates and the timing or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals for such candidates;

 

 

 

the potential use of entinostat to treat additional tumor types;

 

 

 

our ability to maintain our licenses with Bayer Pharma AG, Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd., UCB Biopharma Sprl, and Vitae Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a subsidiary of Allergan plc;

 

 

 

the potential milestone and royalty payments under certain of our license agreements;

 

 

 

the implementation of our strategic plans for our business and development of our product candidates;

 

 

 

the scope of protection we establish and maintain for intellectual property rights covering our product candidates and our technology;

 

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the market adoption of our product candidates by physicians and patients; and

 

 

 

developments relating to our competitors and our industry.

You should refer to the “Risk Factors” section 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, 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 the securities offered hereby. Except as described in any applicable prospectus supplement or in any free writing prospectuses that we may authorize to be provided to you in connection with a specific offering, we currently intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities offered hereby, if any, to fund research and development of our product candidates, acquire or invest in businesses, products or technologies that are complementary to our own, although we have no current plans, commitments or agreements with respect to any acquisitions as of the date of this prospectus, and 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 the use of net proceeds, we intend to invest the net proceeds in short-term, investment-grade, interest-bearing obligations, certificates of deposit or direct or guaranteed obligations of the United States government.


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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

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

General

Under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation we are authorized to issue up to 100,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, all of which shares of preferred stock are undesignated. Our board of directors may establish the rights and preferences of the preferred stock from time to time. As of June 30, 2019, we had outstanding 27,117,946 shares of common stock.

Common Stock

Voting Rights

Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a vote of the stockholders. The affirmative vote of holders of at least 6623% of the voting power of all of the then-outstanding shares of capital stock, voting as a single class, will be required to amend certain provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, including provisions relating to amending our amended and restated bylaws, the classified board, the size of our board, removal of directors, director liability, vacancies on our board, special meetings, stockholder notices, actions by written consent and exclusive jurisdiction.

Dividends

Subject to preferences that may apply to any outstanding preferred stock, holders of our common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends that our board of directors may declare out of funds legally available for that purpose on a non-cumulative basis.

Liquidation

In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of our common stock are entitled to share ratably in all assets remaining after payment of liabilities and the liquidation preference of any outstanding preferred stock.

Rights and Preferences

Holders of our common stock have no preemptive, conversion, subscription or other rights, and there are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to our common stock. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of our 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 in the future.

Preferred Stock

Pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our board of directors has the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series and to fix the number, rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions thereof. These rights, preferences and privileges could include dividend rights, conversion rights, voting rights, terms of redemption, liquidation preferences and sinking fund terms, and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of such series, any or all of which may be greater than the rights of common stock. The issuance of our preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of holders of common stock and the likelihood that such holders will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation. In addition, the issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change of control or other corporate action, or make the removal of management more difficult.

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Additionally, the issuance of preferred stock may have the effect of decreasing the market price of the common stock.

Our board of directors will fix the designations, voting powers, preferences and rights of each series, as well as the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, of the preferred stock of each series that we offer under this prospectus and applicable prospectus supplements 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 we are offering;

 

 

 

the liquidation preference per share;

 

 

 

the purchase price per share;

 

 

 

the dividend rate per share, dividend period and payment dates and method of calculation for dividends;

 

 

 

whether dividends will be 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 provisions 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;

 

 

 

whether the preferred stock will be convertible into our common stock or other securities of ours, including depositary shares and warrants, and, if applicable, the conversion period, the conversion price, or how it will be calculated, and under what circumstances it may be adjusted;

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

voting rights, if any, of the preferred stock;

 

 

 

preemption 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 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 if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs;

 

 

 

any limitations on issuances of any class or series of preferred stock ranking senior to or on a parity with the series of preferred stock being issued as to dividend rights and rights if we liquidate, dissolve or wind up our affairs; and

 

 

 

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

The Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL, which is the law of the state of our incorporation, provides that the holders of preferred stock will have the right to vote separately as a class (or, in some cases, as a series) on an

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amendment to our certificate of incorporation if the amendment would change the par value, the powers, preferences or special rights of the class or series so as to adversely affect the class or series, as the case may be, or, unless the certificate of incorporation provided otherwise, the number of authorized shares of the class. This right is in addition to any voting rights that may be provided for in the applicable certificate of designation.

Warrants

2019 Warrants

In March 2019, we issued pre-funded warrants to purchase 2,500,000 shares of common stock, or the Pre-Funded Warrants, to certain investors. The Pre-Funded Warrants are exercisable immediately upon issuance at an exercise price of $0.0001 per share.

We also issued two series of warrants, Series 1 warrants to purchase 2,297,517 shares of our common stock and Series 2 warrants to purchase 2,297,522 shares of our common stock, or collectively, the Series Warrants. The Series Warrants are immediately exercisable. Each Series 1 Warrant has an initial exercise price of $12.00 per share of common stock and each Series 2 Warrant has an initial exercise price of $18.00 per share of common stock, in each case subject to certain adjustments. If, prior to the expiration date of the Series Warrant, we sell additional capital stock or derivative securities convertible into or exercisable for capital stock (other than Exempted Securities as defined in the Series Warrant) in one or more related transactions primarily for the purpose of raising capital at a Weighted-Average Price (as described below) below $12.00 per share, then the initial exercise price of the Series Warrants will be automatically reset upon exercise to an exercise price, or the Adjusted Exercise Price, that is the midpoint between the initial exercise price and the lowest Weighted-Average Price per share at which we sell capital stock or derivative securities convertible into or exercisable for capital stock in a subsequent offering prior to the exercise date; provided, however, that the Adjusted Exercise Price will not be reduced below $6.00 per share. The Weighted-Average Price shall be calculated as the weighted-average common stock equivalent price of the equity securities sold in such transaction(s) (excluding any derivative securities with an exercise or conversion price that is above the closing sale price as of the time of pricing such offering(s)). In no event will the exercise price for the Series Warrants be adjusted more than once pursuant to this adjustment mechanism.

The Pre-Funded Warrants have a term of 20 years. The Series Warrants expire on the earlier of (i) 90 days following our confirmation to holders of the release of positive data confirming the achievement of the specified primary endpoint of overall survival benefit in the E2112 clinical trial in breast cancer patients, or (ii) December 31, 2020.

The Pre-Funded Warrants and the Series Warrants may not be exercised by the holder to the extent that the holder, together with its affiliates, would beneficially own, after such exercise more than 9.99% of the shares of our common stock then outstanding (subject to the right of the holder to increase or decrease such beneficial ownership limitation upon notice to us, provided that such limitation cannot exceed 19.99%) and provided that any increase in the beneficial ownership limitation shall not be effective until 61 days after such notice is delivered.

2018 Warrants

In June 2018, we signed an exchange agreement with Biotechnology Value Fund and certain affiliated funds, collectively referred to as BVF, under which BVF exchanged 2,000,000 shares of common stock for 2,000,000 warrant shares, or the BVF Warrants. The BVF Warrants are exercisable at an exercise price per share equal to $0.0001 per share. The BVF Warrants may not be exercised by BVF to the extent that it, together with its affiliates, would beneficially own, after such exercise more than 9.99% of the shares of our common stock then outstanding (subject to the right of the holder to increase or decrease such beneficial ownership limitation upon notice to us, provided that such limitation cannot exceed 19.99%) and provided that any increase in the beneficial ownership limitation shall not be effective until 61 days after such notice is delivered. The BVF Warrants have a term of 20 years.

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Anti-Takeover Provisions

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Amended and Restated Bylaws

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws include a number of provisions that may deter or impede hostile takeovers or changes of control or management. These provisions include:

 

 

 

Issuance of Undesignated Preferred Stock. Our board of directors has the authority, without further action by the stockholders, to issue up to 10,000,000 shares of undesignated preferred stock with rights and preferences, including voting rights, designated from time to time by our board of directors. The existence of authorized but unissued shares of preferred stock enables our board of directors to make it more difficult or to discourage an attempt to obtain control of us by means of a merger, tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise.

 

 

 

Classified Board. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides for a classified board of directors consisting of three classes of directors, with staggered three-year terms. Only one class of directors will be elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms. This provision may have the effect of delaying a change in control of our board.

 

 

 

Board of Directors Vacancies. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws authorize only our board of directors to fill vacant directorships. In addition, the number of directors constituting our board of directors may be set only by resolution adopted by a majority vote of our entire board of directors. These provisions prevent a stockholder from increasing the size of our board of directors and gaining control of our board of directors by filling the resulting vacancies with its own nominee.

 

 

 

Stockholder Action; Special Meetings of Stockholders. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that our stockholders may not take action by written consent, but may only take action at annual or special meetings of our stockholders. Stockholders will not be permitted to cumulate their votes for the election of directors. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation further provides that only the chairman of our board of directors or a majority of our board of directors may call special meetings of our stockholders.

 

 

 

Advance Notice Requirements for Stockholder Proposals and Director Nominations. Our amended and restated bylaws provide advance notice procedures for stockholders seeking to bring business before our annual meeting of stockholders, or to nominate candidates for election as directors at our annual meeting of stockholders. Our amended and restated bylaws also specify certain requirements as to the form and content of a stockholder’s notice. These provisions may make it more difficult for our stockholders to bring matters before our annual meeting of stockholders or to nominate directors at annual meetings of stockholders.

 

We designed these provisions to enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of our board of directors and its policies, to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened acquisition of us, and to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal. We also designed these provisions to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, these provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and, as a consequence, they may also reduce fluctuations in the market price of our shares that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts.

Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law

We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, which prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any business combination with any interested stockholder for a period of three years after the date that such stockholder became an interested stockholder, with the following exceptions:

 

 

 

before 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;

 

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upon completion 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 began, excluding for purposes of determining the voting stock outstanding, but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder, those shares owned (i) by persons who are directors and also officers and (ii) 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 after such date, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of the stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 6623% of the outstanding voting stock that is not owned by the interested stockholder.

In general, Section 203 defines a “business combination” to include the following:

 

 

 

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 or 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 by or through the corporation.

In general, Section 203 defines an “interested stockholder” as an entity or person who, together with the entity or person’s affiliates and associates, beneficially owns, or is an affiliate or associate of the corporation and within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation.

A Delaware corporation may “opt out” of these provisions with an express provision in its certificate of incorporation. We have not opted out of these provisions, which may as a result, discourage or prevent mergers or other takeover or change of control attempts of us.

Choice of Forum

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware shall (or, if and only if the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware lacks subject matter jurisdiction, any state court located within the State of Delaware or, if and only if all such state courts lack subject matter jurisdiction, the federal district court for the District of Delaware), the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the exclusive forum for (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) any action or proceeding commenced by any of our stockholders (including any class action) asserting a breach of fiduciary duty owed, or other wrongdoing, by any director, officer, employee or agent to us or our stockholders, (3) any action or proceeding commenced by any of our stockholders (including any class action) asserting a claim against us arising pursuant to the DGCL or our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws, (4) any action or proceeding commenced by any of our stockholders (including any class action) to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws, or (5) any action or proceeding commenced by any of our stockholders (including any class action) asserting a claim against us that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine.

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Transfer Agent and Registrar

The transfer agent and registrar for our common stock is Computershare Trust Company, N.A. The transfer agent’s address is P.O. Box 505000, Louisville, KY 40233-5000. The transfer agent for any series of preferred stock that we may offer under this prospectus will be named and described in the prospectus supplement for that series.

Listing on Nasdaq

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


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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 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, any successor to or acquirer of such assets (other than a subsidiary of ours) 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.

 

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

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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, 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;

 

 

 

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;

 

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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

Each 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 agencies;

 

 

 

hold monies for payment in trust;

 

 

 

recover excess money held by the trustee;

 

 

 

compensate and indemnify the trustee; and

 

 

 

appoint any successor trustee.

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.

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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 the 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 any debt securities 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 of 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.

 

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.

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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 of 1939 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 may 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 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 agreement, if any, including a form of warrant certificate, that contains the terms of the particular series of warrants we are offering, as well as 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 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 prospectus, and the complete form of warrant or the warrant agreement and warrant certificate, as applicable, and any supplemental agreements, that contain the terms of the warrants.

General

In the applicable prospectus supplement, we will describe the terms of the series of warrants being offered, including, to the extent applicable:

 

 

 

the offering price or prices and aggregate number of warrants offered;

 

 

 

the currency or currencies for which the warrants may be purchased;

 

 

 

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;

 

 

 

the date on and after which the warrants and the related securities will be separately transferable;

 

 

 

the minimum or maximum amount of such warrants which may be exercised at any one time;

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

the terms of any rights to force the exercise of the warrants;

 

 

 

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

 

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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;

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

the terms of the securities issuable on 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 on such exercise, including:

 

 

 

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; or

 

 

 

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.

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 described 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 expiration date that we list in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will become void.

Unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may exercise the warrants by delivering the warrant certificate representing the warrants to be exercised together with specified information, and paying the required amount to the warrant agent in immediately available funds, as provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. We will set forth on the reverse side of the warrant certificate and in the applicable prospectus supplement the information that the holder of the warrant will be required to deliver to the warrant agent in connection with the exercise of the warrant.

On receipt of the required payment and the warrant certificate 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 applicable prospectus supplement, we will issue and deliver the securities purchasable on such exercise. If fewer than all of the warrants represented by the warrant certificate are exercised, then we will issue a new warrant certificate for the remaining amount of warrants. If we so indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the warrants may surrender securities as all or part of the exercise price for warrants.

Governing Law

Unless we provide otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the warrants and 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 on 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 on exercise of, its warrants.

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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 or depositary 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. Global securities will be registered in the name of the depositary or its participants. Consequently, for global securities, 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 that are not issued in 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 or depositary 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 such trustee or depositary 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 or third party employed by us or a trustee, 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 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 holder, we have no further responsibility for the payment or notice even if that holder is required, under agreements with its participants or customers or by law, to

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pass it along to the indirect holders but does not do so. Similarly, we may want to obtain the approval of the holders to amend an indenture, to relieve us of the consequences of a default or of our obligation to comply with a particular provision of an indenture, or for other purposes. In such an event, we would seek approval only from the 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.

Special Considerations for Indirect Holders

If you hold securities through a bank, broker or other financial institution, either in book-entry form because the securities are represented by one or more global securities 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, the DTC, New York, New York, 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 as a global security, 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.

Special Considerations for Global Securities

As an indirect holder, an investor’s rights 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.

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If securities are issued only as global securities, 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 non-global 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 or broker 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 the 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 the 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 the global security, nor will we or any applicable trustee supervise the depositary in any way;

 

 

 

the depositary may, and we understand that the DTC will, require that those who purchase and sell interests in the global security within its book-entry system use immediately available funds, and your broker or bank 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 the 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, a 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 or brokers to find out how to have their interests in securities transferred to their own names, 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.

 

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 prospectus supplement. When a global security terminates, the depositary, and neither we nor any applicable trustee, is responsible for deciding the names of the institutions that will be the initial direct 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 time 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 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.

A prospectus supplement or supplements (and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you) 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, if any;

 

 

 

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

 

 

 

any over-allotment 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 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. Subject to certain conditions, the underwriters will be obligated to purchase all of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement. 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.

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.

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We may authorize agents or underwriters to solicit offers by 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 this offering, 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 Cooley LLP. Additional legal matters may be passed upon for us or any underwriters, dealers or agents, by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.

EXPERTS

The consolidated financial statements, incorporated in this prospectus by reference from the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which is incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements have been so incorporated in reliance upon the report of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

This prospectus is part of the 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 on the front page 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 and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including Syndax. The address of the SEC website is www.sec.gov.

We maintain a website at www.syndax.com. Information contained in or accessible through our website does not constitute a part of this prospectus.


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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 information incorporated by reference is considered to be a part of this prospectus, and the information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and, where applicable, supersede the information already incorporated by reference. Any statement contained in this prospectus or a previously filed document incorporated by reference will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement contained in this prospectus or a subsequently filed document incorporated by reference modifies or replaces that statement. The SEC file number for the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus is 001-37708.

The following documents are incorporated by reference into this document:

 

 

 

our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, filed with the SEC on March  7, 2019, as amended by the Form 10-K/A filed with the SEC on March 18, 2019;

 

 

 

our Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, filed with the SEC on April 30, 2019 (excluding those portions that are not incorporated by reference into our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018);

 

 

 

our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2019 and June 30, 2019, filed with the SEC on May  8, 2019 and August 7, 2019, respectively;

 

 

 

our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on February 12, 2019, March 29, 2019, June 11, 2019 and July 8, 2019, to the extent the information in such reports is filed and not furnished; and

 

 

 

the description of our common stock contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A, filed with the SEC on March 2, 2016, including any amendments or reports filed for the purposes of updating this description.

We also incorporate by reference into this prospectus all documents (other than current reports furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K and exhibits filed on such form that are related to such items) that are filed by us with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (i) after the date of the initial filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and prior to effectiveness of the registration statement, or (ii) after the date of this prospectus but prior to the termination of the offering. These documents include periodic reports, such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, as well as proxy statements.

Notwithstanding the statements in the preceding paragraphs, no document, report or exhibit (or portion of any of the foregoing) or any other information that we have “furnished” to the SEC pursuant to the Exchange Act shall be incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

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 should direct any requests for documents to Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Attn: Luke Albrecht, General Counsel, 35 Gatehouse Drive, Building D, Floor 3, Waltham, Massachusetts 02451; telephone: (781) 419-1400.


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Shares

 

 

Common Stock

 

 

PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joint Book-Running Managers

 

Citi

 

Cowen

 

Barclays

 

Lead Manager

 

BTIG

 

Co-Manager

 

Baird

 

 

 

 

, 2020

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