As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 4, 2020

Registration No. 333-

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

ARCTURUS THERAPEUTICS HOLDINGS INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

10628 Science Center Drive, Suite 250

San Diego, California 92121

(Address, including zip code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

2020 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

(Full title of the plan)

Joseph E. Payne

Chief Executive Officer

Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc.

10628 Science Center Drive, Suite 250

San Diego, California 92121

(858) 900-2660

(Name and address, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

Dentons US LLP

1221 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10020

 Jeffrey A. Baumel, Esq.

Ilan Katz, Esq.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS

The documents containing the information specified by Part I, Items 1 and 2, of Form S-8 have been or will be delivered to participants in the plans covered by this Registration Statement, as specified in Rule 428(b)(1) promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and the instructions to Form S-8. In accordance with the rules and regulations of the Commission and the instructions to Form S-8, such documents are not being filed with the Commission either as part of the Registration Statement or as prospectuses or prospectus supplements pursuant to Rule 424 under the Securities Act. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of this Registration Statement, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

PART II

The Registrant hereby incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement the following documents previously filed with the Commission:

1. The Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, as filed with the SEC on March 16, 2020;

2. The Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on May 8, 2020;

3. The Registrant’s Current Reports on Form 8-K, as filed with the SEC on March 4, 2020, March 27, 2020, April 17, 2020, April 21, 2020, May 21, 2020, June 9, 2020, July 24, 2020 and July 29, 2020 (in each case, except for information contained therein which is furnished rather than filed); and

4. The description of the Registrant’s common stock set forth in the registration statement on Form 8-A registering the Registrant’s common stock under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, as filed with the SEC on May 17, 2013, including any amendments or reports filed for purposes of updating such description, including the Form 8-K12B filed on June 14, 2019.

Furthermore, all reports and other documents subsequently filed by us with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement which indicates that all securities offered have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be a part of this Registration Statement from the date of filing of such reports and documents; provided, however, that documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with the rules of the Commission should not be deemed incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement. Any statement contained in any document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained in this Registration Statement or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement modifies or supersedes such statement. Any statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.

Not applicable.

Not applicable

The Registrant’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws contain provisions that eliminate, to the fullest extent under applicable law, the personal liability of the Registrant’s directors and executive officers for monetary damages. The Registrant’s bylaws provide that the Registrant must indemnify its directors, officers, employees and agents to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Sections 145 and 102(b)(7) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware provide that a corporation may indemnify any person made a party to an action by reason of the fact that he or she was a director, executive officer, employee or agent of the corporation or is or was serving at the request of a corporation against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by him or her in connection with such action if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful, except that, in the case of an action by or in right of the corporation, no indemnification may generally be made in respect of any claim as to which such person is adjudged to be liable to the corporation.

The Registrant entered into indemnification agreements with its directors and executive officers, in addition to the indemnification provided for in its certificate of incorporation and bylaws, and intends to enter into indemnification agreements with any new directors and executive officers in the future.

The Registrant maintains insurance on behalf of each person who is or was a director or officer of the Registrant against any loss arising from any claim asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, subject to certain exclusions.

See also the undertakings set out in response to Item 9 herein.

Not Applicable.

See the Exhibit Index below for a list of exhibits filed as part of this Registration Statement, which Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference.

A. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

1. To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i) To include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective Registration Statement.

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;

Provided, however, that paragraphs (A)(1)(i) and (A)(1)(ii) do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement.

2. That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

3. To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

B. The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

C. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement on Form S-8 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of San Diego, State of California, on August 4, 2020 .

POWER OF ATTORNEY AND SIGNATURES

We, the undersigned officers and directors of Arcturus Therapeutics Holdings Inc., hereby severally constitute and appoint Joseph E. Payne and Dr. Padmanabh Chivukula, and each of them individually, our true and lawful attorney to sign for us and in our names in the capacities indicated below any and all amendments or supplements, including any post-effective amendments, to this Registration Statement on Form S-8 and to file the same, with exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the SEC, granting unto said attorney full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite or necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming our signatures to said amendments to this Registration Statement signed by our said attorney and all else that said attorney may lawfully do and cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration Statement on Form S-8 has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.