424B5 1 g082239_424b5.htm 424B5

 Filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(5)

Registration No. 333-256904

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT 

(To prospectus dated June 14, 2021)

 

10,000,000 Shares

Common Stock

 

 



 

Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

 

We are offering 10,000,000 shares of our common stock, no par value per share, at a price of $5.00 per share, pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

 

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “EYES.” On June 21, 2021, the last reported sale price of our common stock as reported on the Nasdaq Capital Market was $6.44 per share.

 

Investing in our securities involves a very high degree of risk. Please review carefully the information contained in or incorporated by reference under the heading “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-5 of this prospectus supplement, and under similar headings in other documents filed after the date hereof and incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

 

Neither the U.S. 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.

    Per Share     Total  
Public offering price   $ 5.00     $ 50,000,000  
Underwriting discounts and commissions (1)   $ 0.35     $ 3,500,000  
Net proceeds to us, before expenses   $ 4.65     $ 46,500,000  

   
(1) See “Underwriting” beginning on page S-10 for additional information regarding underwriters’ compensation.

 

The underwriters may also exercise their option to purchase up to an additional 1.5 million shares from us at the public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions, for 45 days after the date of this prospectus supplement.


The underwriters expect to deliver the shares against payment therefor on or about June 25, 2021.

 

ThinkEquity

a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc.

 

The date of this prospectus supplement is June 22, 2021.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Prospectus Supplement 

   
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT ii
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY S-1
RISK FACTORS S-5
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS S-8
USE OF PROCEEDS S-9
DILUTION S-9
DIVIDEND POLICY S-10
UNDERWRITING S-10
LEGAL MATTERS S-18
EXPERTS S-18
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION S-18
INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE S-19

 

Prospectus

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

  Page
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS 5
SECOND SIGHT MEDICAL PRODUCTS, INC. 5
RISK FACTORS 6
THE SECURITIES WE MAY OFFER 7
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES 8
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS 9
USE OF PROCEEDS 10
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK 10
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS 12
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES 14
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS 21
LEGAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES 22
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION 25
LEGAL MATTERS 26
EXPERTS 27
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION 27

 

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

 

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are part of a “shelf” registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-256904) that we initially filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, on June 8, 2021, and that was declared effective by the SEC on June 14, 2021. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relate to the offering of our common stock. Before you invest you should read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize 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 section of this prospectus supplement entitled “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Information Incorporated by Reference.” These documents contain important information that you carefully should consider when making your investment decision.

 

This document is in two parts.  The first part is the prospectus supplement, which describes the specific terms of the offering of the common stock and also adds to and updates information contained in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The second part, the accompanying prospectus, provides more general information about the securities we may offer from time to time, some of which may not apply to the securities offered by this prospectus supplement. Generally, when we refer to this prospectus, we are referring to both parts of this document combined consisting of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This prospectus supplement may add, update or change information contained in the accompanying prospectus. To the extent that any statement that we make in this prospectus supplement is inconsistent with statements made in the accompanying prospectus or any documents incorporated by reference therein, the statements made in this prospectus supplement will be deemed to modify or supersede those made in the accompanying prospectus and such documents incorporated by reference therein. Similarly, to the extent that any statement that we make in a document that is dated after this prospectus supplement and is incorporated by reference herein is inconsistent with statements made in this prospectus supplement, the statements made in such document will be deemed to modify or supersede those made in this prospectus supplement.

 

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

 

You should rely only on the information contained or incorporated herein by reference in this prospectus supplement and contained or incorporated therein by reference in the accompanying prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different or additional information. If anyone provides you with different, additional or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it.

 

We are offering to sell the shares only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The distribution of this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and the offering of the shares in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus supplement and/or the accompanying prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the securities and the distribution of this prospectus supplement and/or 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 shares 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.

 

You should assume that the information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is accurate only as of the date of the applicable document and that any information we have incorporated by reference

is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, or any sale of a security. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

  

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to “Second Sight,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. Second Sight®, the Second Sight logo, FLORA®, Argus®, and Orion® are registered trademarks of Second Sight Medical Products. Inc., a California corporation. All other product and company names are trademarks of their respective owners. 

 

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PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT SUMMARY

 

This summary of our business highlights some of the information contained elsewhere in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement. Because this is only a summary, however, it does not contain all of the information that may be important to you. You should carefully read this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus, including the documents incorporated herein by reference, which are described under “Incorporation of Certain Information by Reference” and “Where You Can Find More Information” in this prospectus supplement. You should also carefully consider the matters discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus supplement, in the accompanying base prospectus and in other periodic reports incorporated by reference herein and the section titled “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation” and the financial statements and the notes to those financial statements incorporated by reference in this prospectus before investing in our common stock.

 

Our Business

 

Second Sight develops, manufactures, and markets implantable visual prosthetics that are intended to deliver useful artificial vision to blind individuals. We are a recognized global leader in neuromodulation devices for blindness and are committed to developing new technologies to treat the broadest population of sight-impaired individuals.

 

Leveraging our 20 years of experience in neuromodulation for vision, we are developing the Orion® Visual Cortical Prosthesis System (“Orion”), an implanted cortical stimulation device intended to provide useful artificial vision to individuals who are blind due to a wide range of causes, including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, optic nerve injury or disease and eye injury. Orion is intended to convert images captured by a miniature video camera mounted on glasses into a series of small electrical pulses. The device is designed to bypass diseased or injured eye anatomy and to transmit these electrical pulses wirelessly to an array of electrodes implanted on the surface of the brain’s visual cortex, where it is intended to provide the perception of patterns of light. We are conducting a six-subject Early Feasibility Study of the Orion device at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles (“UCLA”) and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (“Baylor”). Regularly scheduled visits at both sites were placed on hold in mid-March due to the coronavirus outbreak, however visits at UCLA resumed mid-September 2020 and Baylor resumed in December 2020. No peer-reviewed data is available yet for the Orion system. We are currently negotiating the clinical and regulatory pathway to commercialization with the FDA as part of the Breakthrough Devices Program.

 

Our first commercially approved product, the Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System (“Argus II”), treats outer retinal degenerations, such as retinitis pigmentosa, also referred to as RP. The Argus II was the only retinal prosthesis approved in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), and was the first approved retinal prosthesis in the world. RP is a hereditary disease, affecting an estimated 1.5 million people worldwide including about 100,000 people in the United States, that causes a progressive degeneration of the light-sensitive cells of the retina, leading to significant visual impairment and ultimately blindness. A subset of these patients would be eligible for the Argus II since the approved baseline vision for the Argus II is worse than legally blind (20/200). We commissioned 3rd party market research to estimate the size of the RP market that resulted in an estimate of approximately 1,500 patients in the US with advanced RP that could be treated with the Argus II given the eligibility criteria of our label.

 

We began selling the Argus II System in Europe at the end of 2011, Saudi Arabia in 2012, the United States and Canada in 2014, Turkey in 2015, Iran, Taiwan, South Korea and Russia in 2017, and Singapore in 2018. Given the limited addressable market of Argus II, we no longer market the Argus II and have focused all of our resources on the development of Orion.

 

We are also researching multiple technologies that we believe to be complimentary to artificial vision and could potentially provide significant enhancements to the Orion user experience. In most cases, we collaborate with 3rd party firms to advance and integrate these innovative technologies with our artificial vision systems. Examples of technologies that we believe will be complementary to our products include: eye tracking, object recognition and localization, thermal imaging and depth-based decluttering.

 

Our Strategy

 

Our strategy can be summarized as follows:

  Leverage proven Argus II technology to develop the Orion visual cortical prosthesis and significantly expand our addressable market to include a portion of the almost six million patients who are blind from eye trauma, optic nerve disease and injury, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, age related macular degeneration, glaucoma and other untreatable causes.

  Invest in research and development of technologies intended to enhance the Orion user experience, including eye tracking, distance filtering/decluttering, object and facial recognition and thermal imaging.

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  Continue to provide limited product support for Argus II patients while expanding our overall investment in Orion.

 

Recent Developments

 

Coronavirus (COVID-19)

 

In March 2020, we were severely adversely impacted by the unprecedented economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its related effects on our ability to secure financing for our planned activities. As a result, we significantly reduced our staff and expenses and conserved liquidity as we continued operations and explored strategic options. At that time, a six-subject Early Feasibility Study of the Orion device was underway at UCLA and Baylor. Regularly scheduled visits at both sites were paused in mid-March due to COVID-19, however visits at UCLA resumed mid-September 2020 and at Baylor resumed in December 2020.

 

Pixium Transaction

 

On January 5, 2021, we entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with Pixium Vision, a publicly held French company (“Pixium”). Pursuant to the terms of the MOU, which sets forth the framework of the principal actions to be taken, (i) we were to raise additional working capital of at least $25,000,000 in connection with the combination of Pixium with our company in a private placement to accredited investors of equity securities of Second Sight (the “Working Capital Raise”); (ii) Pixium was to contribute to us certain assets in exchange for newly issued common stock of Second Sight (the “Contribution”); and (iii) we were to transfer our Orion assets to a newly formed subsidiary (“SpinCo”), the share capital of which would be partially spun-off to our shareholders (the “Spin-Off” and, together with the Working Capital Raise the Contribution, the “Business Combination”).

 

On March 26, 2021 we closed the private sale of 4,650,000 shares of our common stock, at $6.00 per share, for gross proceeds of $27,900,000. See “March 2021 Private Placement” below.  Pixium opposed this placement and declared it to be prohibited under the MOU. Following further communications between Pixium and Second Sight, on April 1, 2021, after the board of directors of Second Sight determined that the Business Combination was not in the best interests of our shareholders, Second Sight gave notice to Pixium of termination of the MOU while also expressing a desire for an amicable resolution of termination amounts that may be due. Second Sight offered Pixium a $1,000,000 termination fee provided within the MOU or a patent license to certain Second Sight patents to settle matters between the parties.  On April 5, 2021 Second Sight remitted the termination fee to Pixium.

 

By letter dated April 5, 2021, Pixium indicated that it considered this termination wrongful, rejected Second Sight’s offers, and demanded six million Euros in damages (approximately US $7.14 million). On June 1, 2021, the Company received a summons from Pixium relating to a suit filed in the Commercial Court of Paris. The summons claims that the Company violated the MOU between the parties dated January 5, 2021, and requires an appearance before the court in Paris on October 21, 2021. Pixium claims damages aggregating €5,217,660 or approximately USD $6,365,545, plus court and other costs.

 

Argus 2s

 

On March 5, 2021, we announced that the FDA had approved the Argus 2s Retinal Prosthesis System, a redesigned set of external hardware (glasses and video processing unit) initially for use in combination with previously implanted Argus II systems for the treatment of retinitis pigmentosa (RP). The Company developed Argus 2s alongside the external system for the next generation Orion Visual Cortical Prosthesis System currently under development. The two are closely related. Second Sight has not yet determined when or if it will produce and market the Argus 2s system.

 

S-2 

 

 

March 2021 Private Placement

 

On March 23, 2021, we entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) for a private placement with several investors, wherein a total of 4,650,000 shares of our common stock were issued at a purchase price of $6.00 per share (the “March Placement”).  Gross proceeds from the March Placement were $27,900,000 before placement agent fees, legal fees, and other offering expenses.


We engaged ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc. (“ThinkEquity”), as placement agent for theMarch Placement pursuant to a placement agency agreement (the “Placement Agreement”). Under the Placement Agreement, we paid ThinkEquity a cash placement fee equal to 6.5% of the aggregate purchase price of the shares sold in the March Placement, less $50,000. In November 2020 Second Sight and Pixium retained Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. as placement agent for a proposed private placement of securities in connection with the Business Combination. On April 1, 2021, Second Sight received an invoice from Oppenheimer for more than $1.86 million.  This amount includes a requested commission of 6.5% on $27.9 million raised in the March Placement. Second Sight believes that claims for payment presented by this invoice are without merit.

 

Resignation of Acting CEO

 

Effective as of the close of business on March 26, 2021, the board of directors appointed Scott Dunbar, Second Sight’s Senior Patent Counsel and Compliance Officer, as acting Chief Executive Officer to replace Matthew Pfeffer, who had been in this interim position since May 27, 2020.  Mr. Dunbar accepted the appointment as of March 30, 2021. Under Nasdaq rules, an independent director may be employed as an executive officer on an interim basis without disqualifying that director from being considered independent following such employment if that interim employment did not last longer than one year.  Following his resignation as the acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Pfeffer has continued to serve as an independent member of our board of directors. 

 

The Offering

 

Common Stock outstanding prior to offering

 

Common stock offered pursuant to this
prospectus supplement

 

27,909,149 shares

 

10,000,000 shares

     
Common stock to be outstanding
immediately after the offering
 

37,909,149 shares

 

     
Use of proceeds   We expect to use the net proceeds from the sale of securities pursuant to this offering for development of the Orion technology and product, and for general corporate purposes. Please see “Use of Proceeds” below.
     
Risk factors   Investing in our common stock involves a very high degree of risk. You should carefully read and consider the information beginning on page S-5 of this prospectus supplement, of the accompanying prospectus and our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, set forth under the headings “Risk Factors” and all other information set forth in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, and the documents incorporated herein and therein by reference before deciding to invest in our common stock.
     
Nasdaq Capital Market trading symbol   EYES

S-3 

 

 

The number of shares of common stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on 27,909,149 shares of common stock outstanding as of May 31, 2021 and excludes, as of that date:

     
  7,691,090 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants with an exercise price of $11.75;

     
  1,077,675 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance to our employees under the Company’s 2011 Equity Incentive Plan;

 

  182,152 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding at May 31, 2021 with a weighted average exercise price of $15.68 per share; and
     
  77,031 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance to our employees under the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as well as any automatic increases in the number of shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under this plan.

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all information in this prospectus supplement assumes no exercise of the outstanding options or warrants, described above.  Further, this prospectus supplement reflects and assumes no exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option unless otherwise indicated.

 

Our website address is www.secondsight.com. The information contained on, or accessible through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider any information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our website as part of this prospectus supplement or in deciding whether to purchase our common stock.

 

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RISK FACTORS

 

We are subject to various risks that may materially harm our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations.  An investment in our shares is speculative and involves a high degree of risk including the risk of a loss of your entire investment. You should carefully consider the following risk factors, as well as the risks described under “Risk Factors” in the accompanying base prospectus and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as amended on April 14, 2021 and April 27, 2021, and any subsequent updates described in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, and as updated by any other document that we subsequently file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and that is incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying base prospectus, before investing in our securities. These risks and uncertainties are not the only ones facing us and there may be additional matters that we are unaware of or that we currently consider immaterial. All of these could adversely affect our business, business prospects, cash flow, results of operations and financial condition. In such case, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or part of your investment in our common stock. 

 

Risks Related to this Offering

 

Our management will have broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from this offering, you may not agree with how we use the proceeds, and the proceeds may not be invested successfully.

 

Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering, and our stockholders will not have the opportunity as part of their investment decision to assess whether the net proceeds are being used appropriately. Because of the number and variability of factors that will determine our use of the net proceeds from this offering, their ultimate use may vary substantially from their currently intended use. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could harm our business. See “Use of Proceeds” on page S-9 of this prospectus supplement for a description of our proposed use of proceeds from this offering.

 

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If you purchase shares of our common stock sold in this offering, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution in the net tangible book value of your shares. In addition, we may issue additional equity or convertible debt securities in the future, which may result in additional dilution to investors.

 

The offering price per share of common stock in this offering is considerably more than the net tangible book value (deficit) per share of our outstanding common stock. As a result, investors purchasing shares of common stock in this offering will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds the value of our tangible assets after subtracting liabilities. Investors will incur immediate dilution of $3.22 per share, based on the public offering price of $5.00 per share and the net tangible book value as of March 31, 2021. See “Dilution” on page S-9 of this prospectus supplement for a more detailed discussion of the dilution you will incur if you purchase shares in this offering. To the extent outstanding stock options or warrants are exercised or if we issue equity-based awards under our Amended and Restated Equity Incentive Plan, there could be further dilution to new investors. In addition, to the extent we need to raise additional capital in the future and we issue additional equity or convertible debt securities, our then existing stockholders may experience dilution and the new securities may have rights senior to those of our common stock offered in this offering.

 

 The market price of our common stock is volatile and may decline before or after this offering.

 

The market price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include, among other things, actual or anticipated variations in our costs of doing business, operating results and cash flow, the nature and content of our earnings releases and our competitors' earnings releases, customers, competitors or markets, changes in financial estimates by securities analysts, business conditions in our markets and the general state of the securities markets and the market for similar stocks, changes in capital markets that affect the perceived availability of capital to companies in our industries, governmental legislation or regulation, as well as general economic and market conditions, such as continued downturns in our economy and recessions.

 

We cannot assure you that the market price of our common stock will not decline after this offering. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that you will be able to sell your common stock at a price equal to or greater than the purchase price.

 

Our common stock price may become more volatile as a result of this offering.

 

The trading price of our common stock may experience wide fluctuations. The price of the common stock that will prevail in the market following this offering may be higher or lower than that of this offering depending on numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be directly related to our operating performance. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

  price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time, including increased volatility resulting from uncertain domestic and global market conditions;
     
  significant volatility in the market price and trading volume of our securities, including increased volatility arising from investor pessimism and bearish sentiment which may accompany uncertain domestic and global market conditions;
     
  actual or anticipated changes or fluctuations in our operating results;
     
  material announcements by us regarding business performance, financings, mergers and acquisitions or other transactions;
     
  general economic conditions and trends;
     
  competitive factors;
     
  loss of key supplier or distribution relationships;

 

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  departures of key personnel;
     
  adverse regulatory conditions; or
     
 

adverse or inconclusive pilot programs for any of our products.

 

In addition, the stock markets in general, and the markets for pre-clinical and clinical stage medical device company stocks in particular, have experienced extreme volatility that may have been unrelated to the operating performance of the issuer. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price or liquidity of our common stock. In the past, when the market price of a stock has been volatile, holders of that stock have sometimes instituted securities class action litigation against the issuer. If any of our stockholders were to bring such a lawsuit against us, we could incur substantial costs defending the lawsuit and the attention of our management would be diverted from the operation of our business.

 

We have not been profitable to date and expect our operating losses to continue for the foreseeable future; we may never be profitable.

 

We have incurred operating losses and generated negative cash flows since our inception and have financed our operations principally through equity investments and borrowings. Our ability to generate sufficient revenues to fund operations is uncertain. For the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, we had net revenue of $0 and $3.4 million, respectively and we incurred a net loss of $14.7 and $33.6 million, respectively. Our total accumulated deficit through December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 was $319.7 million and $304.8 million, respectively. As of the three months ended March 31, 2021, we had net revenue of $0, and we incurred a net loss of $2.8 million. Our total accumulated deficit through March 31, 2021 is $322.5 million.

 

As a result of our limited commercial implant volume and operating history, revenue is difficult to predict with certainty. Current and projected expense levels are based largely on estimates of future activities. We recently reduced our expenses significantly and, subject to additional financings, expect expenses to increase in the future should we expand our activities in connection with the further development of Orion and/or complete planned enhancements of Argus II. In particular, our head of regulatory left the Company in 2020 and we have been using a consultant for regulatory matters since that time – any return to full developmental activities would require several significant changes to our current operations, including identifying and retaining a qualified individual as head of regulatory to complete our DDP and endpoint negotiations with the FDA, which may exceed our initial budgeted estimates. Similarly, we must locate and enter into an agreement with an implant contract manufacturer that has the expertise and personnel necessary to produce our medical device candidates for both testing and commercialization purposes. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that we will be profitable in the future and the extent of our future losses and the time required to achieve profitability, if ever, is uncertain. Failure to achieve profitability could materially and adversely affect the value of our Company and our ability to effect additional financings. The success of the business depends on our ability to increase revenues to offset expenses. If our revenues fall short of projections, our business, financial condition and operating results will be materially adversely affected.

 

 We will need additional capital beyond this offering to support our operations and growth. Additional capital, may be difficult to obtain, which may result in restricting our operations and causing additional dilution to our stockholders.

 

Our business requires additional capital for implementation of our long-term business plan. Upon completion of this offering, we believe our cash on hand and cash equivalents, may be sufficient to fund our operations over approximately the next 30 to 36 months. The actual amount of funds that we will need for our business development will be determined by many factors, some of which are beyond our control, and we may need funds sooner than currently anticipated. These factors include:

     
  the amount of our future operating losses,
  the amount of our research and development, including research and development for the Orion visual prosthesis, costs of Orion clinical trials, marketing and general and administrative expenses, and

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  regulatory changes and technological developments in our markets.

 

As we require additional funds, we may seek to fund our operations through the sale of additional equity securities, debt financing and strategic collaboration agreements. We cannot be sure that additional financing from any of these sources will be available when needed or that, if available, the additional financing will be obtained on terms favorable to us or our stockholders. If we raise additional funds by selling shares of our capital stock, the ownership interest of our current stockholders will be diluted. If we are unable to obtain additional funds on a timely basis or on terms favorable to us, we may be required to cease or reduce further commercialization of the Orion System, to cease or reduce certain research and development projects, to sell some or all of our technology or assets or business units or to merge all or a portion of our business with another entity. Our inability to obtain the requisite amount of financing needed to fund our planned operations, including the pursuit of a strategic transaction, it would have a material adverse effect on our business and ability to continue as a going concern.  Our independent registered public accounting firm in its report on our 2020 consolidated financial statements has raised substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.  

 

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein contain certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act.  All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our product development, financial condition, results of operations, strategy, short- and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment, and 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. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this prospectus may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

  our anticipated operating and financial performance, business plans, and prospects;

 

  expectations for our products, including anticipated regulatory submissions, study completion, approvals, clinical trial results and other developing data that become available, potential market size, and potential reimbursement pathways;

 

  the impact of the ongoing coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic on our business and operations, results of operations and financial performance including: delays, interruptions or other adverse effects to clinical trials and patient enrollment; delays in regulatory review; manufacturing and supply chain interruptions; and the adverse effects on healthcare systems and disruption of the global economy overall; and

 

  the initiation, timing, design, progress and results of our clinical trials, and our research and development program.

 

Forward-looking statements reflect our management’s expectations or predictions of future conditions, events or results based on various assumptions and management’s estimates of trends and economic factors in the markets in which we are active, as well as our business plans. They are not guarantees of future performance. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Our actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. There are a number of factors that could cause actual conditions, events or results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus.  

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See an additional discussion under “Risk Factors” in any applicable prospectus supplement and in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.  These forward-looking statements are representative only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

 

USE OF PROCEEDS

 

We estimate that the net proceeds from the sale of the shares of common stock that we are offering hereby will be approximately $46,375,000 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other expenses payable by us. We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering primarily for development of our Orion device and general corporate purposes. Pending use of the net proceeds, we may invest them in various capital preservation instruments, short-term, investment grade, interest-bearing securities. 

  

DILUTION

 

If you purchase shares of our common stock in this offering, your ownership interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the public offering price per share and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering. We calculate net tangible book value per share by dividing the net tangible book value, which is tangible assets less total liabilities, by the number of outstanding shares of our common stock. Dilution in net tangible book value per share represents the difference between the portion of the amount per share paid by purchasers of shares in this offering and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share of our common stock immediately after giving effect to this offering.

 

After giving effect to the sale of 10 million shares of our common stock pursuant to this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus at an offering price of $5.00 per share, and after deducting commissions and estimated aggregate offering expenses payable by us, our net tangible book value as of March 31, 2021 would have been $67.4 million, or approximately $1.78 per share of common stock. This represents an immediate increase in the net tangible book value of $1.03 per share to our existing stockholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $3.22 per share to new investors. The following table illustrates this per share dilution:

 

 

   Offering price per share           $ 5.00  
   Net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2021   $ 0.75          
   Increase in net tangible value per share attributable to new investors   $ 1.03          
   As adjusted net tangible book value per share as of March 31, 2021, after giving effect to this offering           $ 1.78  

 

    Dilution per share to new investors purchasing shares in this offering

          $ 3.22  

 

Dilution per share to investors purchasing our common stock in this offering represents the difference between the price per share to be paid for the shares sold by us in this offering and the as adjusted net tangible book value per share after giving effect to this offering.

 

The number of shares of common stock to be outstanding after this offering is based on 27,909,149 shares of common stock outstanding as of May 31, 2021 and excludes, as of that date:

     
  7,691,090 shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of outstanding warrants with an exercise price of $11.75;

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  1,077,675 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance to our employees under the Company’s 2011 Equity Incentive Plan;

 

  182,152 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding at May 31, 2021 with a weighted average exercise price of $15.68 per share; and
     
  77,031 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance to our employees under the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as well as any automatic increases in the number of shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under this plan.

 

To the extent that any options or warrants are exercised, new options or other equity awards are issued under our equity incentive plan, or we otherwise issue additional shares of common stock or convertible debt securities in the future, there will be further dilution to new investors. 

 

DIVIDEND POLICY

 

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock and we do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We expect as of the date hereof to retain any future earnings to fund the operation and expansion of our business. Accordingly, investors must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investments.

 

Underwriting 

 

ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc., is acting as the representative of the underwriters of the offering. We have entered into an underwriting agreement dated June 22, 2021 with the representative. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement, we have agreed to sell to each underwriter named below, and each underwriter named below has severally agreed to purchase, at the public offering price less the underwriting discounts set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement, the number of shares of common stock at the initial public offering price, less the underwriting discounts and commissions, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement, the number of shares of common stock listed next to its name in the following table:

 

Underwriter   Number
of Shares
 
ThinkEquity, a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc.     10,000,000  
         
Total     10,000,000  

 

The underwriters are committed to purchase all the shares of common stock offered by the Company, other than those covered by the over-allotment option to purchase additional shares of common stock described below. The obligations of the underwriters may be terminated upon the occurrence of certain events specified in the underwriting agreement. Furthermore, the underwriting agreement provides that the obligations of the underwriters to pay for and accept delivery of the shares offered by us in this prospectus supplement are subject to various representations and warranties and other customary conditions specified in the underwriting agreement, such as receipt by the underwriters of officers’ certificates and legal opinions.

 

We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against specified liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect thereof.

 

The underwriters are offering the shares of common stock subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel and other conditions specified in the underwriting agreement. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.

 

We have granted the underwriters an over-allotment option. This option, which is exercisable for up to 45 days after the date of this prospectus, permits the underwriters to purchase up to an aggregate of 1,500,000 additional shares of common stock (equal to 15% of the total number of shares of common stock sold in this offering) at the public offering price per share, less underwriting discounts and commissions, solely to cover over-allotments, if any. If the underwriters exercise this option in whole or in part, then the underwriters will be severally committed, subject to the conditions described in the underwriting agreement, to purchase the additional shares of common stock in proportion to their respective commitments set forth in the prior table.

 

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Discounts, Commissions and Reimbursement

 

The representative has advised us that the underwriters propose to offer the shares of common stock to the public at the initial public offering price per share set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. The underwriters may offer shares to securities dealers at that price less a concession of not more than $0.175 per share. After the initial offering to the public, the public offering price and other selling terms may be changed by the representative.

 

The following table summarizes the underwriting discounts and commissions and proceeds, before expenses, to us assuming both no exercise and full exercise by the underwriters of their over-allotment option:

 

    Per
Share
    Without
Option
    With
Option
 
Public offering price   $ 5.00     $ 50,000,000     $ 57,500,000  
                         
Underwriting discounts and commissions (7%)   $ 0.35     $ 3,500,000     $ 4,025,000  
                         
Proceeds, before expenses, to us   $ 4.65     $ 46,500,000     $ 53,475,000  

 

We have agreed to pay (a) all filing fees and communication expenses relating to the registration of the shares to be sold in the offering (including the over-allotment shares) with the SEC; (b) all filing fees and expenses associated with the review of the offering by FINRA; (c) all fees and expenses relating to the listing of such shares on The Nasdaq Capital Market, The Nasdaq Global Market, The Nasdaq Global Select Market, the NYSE or the NYSE American and on such other stock exchanges as the Company and ThinkEquity together determine, including any fees charged by The Depository Trust Company (DTC) for new securities; (d) all fees, expenses and disbursements relating to background checks of the Company’s officers, directors and entities in an amount not to exceed $5,000 in the aggregate; (e) all fees, expenses and disbursements relating to the registration or qualification of such shares under the “blue sky” securities laws of such states, if applicable, and other jurisdictions as ThinkEquity may reasonably designate; (f) all fees, expenses and disbursements relating to the registration, qualification or exemption of such shares under the securities laws of such foreign jurisdictions as ThinkEquity may reasonably designate; (g) the costs of all mailing and printing of the underwriting documents (including, without limitation, the underwriting agreement, any Blue Sky Surveys and, if appropriate, any agreement among underwriters, selected dealers’ agreement, underwriters’ questionnaire and power of attorney), registration statements, prospectuses and all amendments, supplements and exhibits thereto and as many preliminary and final prospectuses as ThinkEquity may reasonably deem necessary; (h) the costs of preparing, printing and delivering certificates representing the shares; (i) fees and expenses of the transfer agent for the common stock; (j) stock transfer and/or stamp taxes, if any, payable upon the transfer of securities from the Company to ThinkEquity; (k) the costs associated with post-closing advertising the offering in the national editions of the Wall Street Journal and New York Times; (l) the costs associated with bound volumes of the public offering materials as well as commemorative mementos and lucite tombstones, each of which the Company or its designee will provide within a reasonable time after the Closing in such quantities as ThinkEquity may reasonably request; (n) the fees and expenses of the Company’s accountants; and (o) the fees and expenses of the Company’s legal counsel and other agents and representatives.

 

The aggregate of such reimbursement of the underwriters’ expenses shall not exceed $30,000.

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We estimate the expenses of this offering payable by us, not including underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately $125,000.

 

Right of First Refusal

 

Until December 22, 2021 (six (6)  months from the date of the underwriting agreement) the representative shall have an irrevocable right of first refusal to act as sole investment banker, sole book-runner, and/or sole placement agent, at the representative’s sole discretion, for each and every future public and private equity and debt offering, including all equity linked financings (each, a “Subject Transaction”), during such six (6) month period, of the Company, or any successor to or subsidiary of the Company, on terms and conditions customary to the representative for such Subject Transactions. The representative shall have the sole right to determine whether or not any other broker dealer shall have the right to participate in any such offering and the economic terms of any such participation. The representative shall not be entitled to fees on non-capital raising transactions, such as M&A, unless a separate agreement is entered into with us. For the avoidance of any doubt, the Company shall not retain, engage or solicit any additional investment banker, book-runner, financial advisor, underwriter and/or placement agent in a Subject Transaction without the express written consent of the representative. The representative will not have more than one opportunity to waive or terminate the right of first refusal in consideration of any payment or fee.

 

Lock-Up Agreements

 

The Company and each of its directors and officers have agreed for a period of 30 days after the date of this prospectus supplement, without the prior written consent of the representative, not to directly or indirectly:

     
  issue (in the case of us), offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase, lend or otherwise transfer or dispose of any shares of common stock or other capital stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our common stock or other capital stock; or

     
  in the case of us, file or cause the filing of any registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any shares of common stock or other capital stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our common stock or other capital stock; or

     
  complete any offering of debt securities of the Company, other than entering into a line of credit, term loan arrangement or other debt instrument with a traditional bank; or

     
  enter into any swap or other agreement, arrangement, hedge or transaction that transfers to another, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, any of the economic consequences of ownership of our common stock or other capital stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our common stock or other capital stock, whether any transaction described in any of the foregoing bullet points is to be settled by delivery of our common stock or other capital stock, other securities, in cash or otherwise, or publicly announce an intention to do any of the foregoing.

 

Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Securities

 

A prospectus in electronic format may be made available on the websites maintained by one or more of the underwriters or selling group members. The representative may agree to allocate a number of securities to underwriters and selling group members for sale to its online brokerage account holders. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriters and selling group members that will make internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations. Other than the prospectus in electronic format, the information on these websites is not part of, nor incorporated by reference into, this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, has not been approved or endorsed by us, and should not be relied upon by investors.

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Stabilization

 

In connection with this offering, the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions, over-allotment transactions, syndicate-covering transactions, penalty bids and purchases to cover positions created by short sales.

 

Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase shares so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum, and are engaged in for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the shares while the offering is in progress.

 

Over-allotment transactions involve sales by the underwriters of shares in excess of the number of shares the underwriters are obligated to purchase. This creates a syndicate short position, which may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of shares over-allotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number of shares that they may purchase in the over-allotment option. In a naked short position, the number of shares involved is greater than the number of shares in the over-allotment option. The underwriters may close out any short position by exercising their over-allotment option and/or purchasing shares in the open market.

 

Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of shares in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of shares to close out the short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared with the price at which they may purchase shares through exercise of the over-allotment option. If the underwriters sell more shares than could be covered by exercise of the over-allotment option and, therefore, have a naked short position, the position can be closed out only by buying shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that after pricing there could be downward pressure on the price of the shares in the open market that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering.

 

Penalty bids permit the representative to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the shares originally sold by that syndicate member are purchased in stabilizing or syndicate covering transactions to cover syndicate short positions.

 

These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our shares of common stock or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our shares of common stock. As a result, the price of our common stock in the open market may be higher than it would otherwise be in the absence of these transactions. Neither we nor the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our common stock. These transactions may be effected in the over-the-counter market or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.

 

Other Relationships

 

Certain of the underwriters and their affiliates may in the future provide various investment banking, commercial banking and other financial services for us and our affiliates for which they may in the future receive customary fees.

 

Offer restrictions outside the United States

 

Other than in the United States, no action has been taken by us or the underwriters that would permit a public offering of the securities offered by this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. The securities offered by this prospectus may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, nor may this prospectus or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the offer and sale of any such securities be distributed or published in any jurisdiction, except under circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of that jurisdiction. Persons into whose possession this prospectus comes are advised to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to the offering and the distribution of this prospectus. This prospectus does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities offered by this prospectus in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or a solicitation is unlawful.

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Australia

 

This prospectus is not a disclosure document under Chapter 6D of the Australian Corporations Act, has not been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and does not purport to include the information required of a disclosure document under Chapter 6D of the Australian Corporations Act. Accordingly, (i) the offer of the securities under this prospectus is only made to persons to whom it is lawful to offer the securities without disclosure under Chapter 6D of the Australian Corporations Act under one or more exemptions set out in section 708 of the Australian Corporations Act, (ii) this prospectus is made available in Australia only to those persons as set forth in clause (i) above, and (iii) the offeree must be sent a notice stating in substance that by accepting this offer, the offeree represents that the offeree is such a person as set forth in clause (i) above, and, unless permitted under the Australian Corporations Act, agrees not to sell or offer for sale within Australia any of the securities sold to the offeree within 12 months after its transfer to the offeree under this prospectus.

 

China

 

The information in this document does not constitute a public offer of the securities, whether by way of sale or subscription, in the People’s Republic of China (excluding, for purposes of this paragraph, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Macau Special Administrative Region and Taiwan). The securities may not be offered or sold directly or indirectly in the PRC to legal or natural persons other than directly to “qualified domestic institutional investors.”

 

European Economic Area—Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Netherlands

 

The information in this document has been prepared on the basis that all offers of securities will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Directive 2003/71/EC (“Prospectus Directive”), as implemented in Member States of the European Economic Area (each, a “Relevant Member State”), from the requirement to produce a prospectus for offers of securities.

 

An offer to the public of securities has not been made, and may not be made, in a Relevant Member State except pursuant to one of the following exemptions under the Prospectus Directive as implemented in that Relevant Member State:

     
  to legal entities that are authorized or regulated to operate in the financial markets or, if not so authorized or regulated, whose corporate purpose is solely to invest in securities;

     
  to any legal entity that has two or more of (i) an average of at least 250 employees during its last fiscal year; (ii) a total balance sheet of more than €43,000,000 (as shown on its last annual unconsolidated or consolidated financial statements) and (iii) an annual net turnover of more than €50,000,000 (as shown on its last annual unconsolidated or consolidated financial statements);

     
  to fewer than 100 natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors within the meaning of Article 2(1)(e) of the Prospectus Directive) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the Company or any underwriter for any such offer; or

     
  in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, provided that no such offer of securities shall result in a requirement for the publication by the Company of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive.

 

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France

 

This document is not being distributed in the context of a public offering of financial securities (offre au public de titres financiers) in France within the meaning of Article L.411-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code (Code Monétaire et Financier) and Articles 211-1 et seq. of the General Regulation of the French Autorité des marchés financiers (“AMF”). The securities have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in France.

 

This document and any other offering material relating to the securities have not been, and will not be, submitted to the AMF for approval in France and, accordingly, may not be distributed or caused to distributed, directly or indirectly, to the public in France.

 

Such offers, sales and distributions have been and shall only be made in France to (i) qualified investors (investisseurs qualifiés) acting for their own account, as defined in and in accordance with Articles L.411-2-II-2° and D.411-1 to D.411-3, D.744-1, D.754-1 ;and D.764-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code and any implementing regulation and/or (ii) a restricted number of non-qualified investors (cercle restreint d’investisseurs) acting for their own account, as defined in and in accordance with Articles L.411-2-II-2° and D.411-4, D.744-1, D.754-1; and D.764-1 of the French Monetary and Financial Code and any implementing regulation.

 

Pursuant to Article 211-3 of the General Regulation of the AMF, investors in France are informed that the securities cannot be distributed (directly or indirectly) to the public by the investors otherwise than in accordance with Articles L.411-1, L.411-2, L.412-1 and L.621-8 to L.621-8-3 of the French Monetary and Financial Code.

 

Ireland

 

The information in this document does not constitute a prospectus under any Irish laws or regulations and this document has not been filed with or approved by any Irish regulatory authority as the information has not been prepared in the context of a public offering of securities in Ireland within the meaning of the Irish Prospectus (Directive 2003/71/EC) Regulations 2005 (the “Prospectus Regulations”). The securities have not been offered or sold, and will not be offered, sold or delivered directly or indirectly in Ireland by way of a public offering, except to (i) qualified investors as defined in Regulation 2(l) of the Prospectus Regulations and (ii) fewer than 100 natural or legal persons who are not qualified investors.

 

Israel

 

The securities offered by this prospectus have not been approved or disapproved by the Israeli Securities Authority (the ISA), or ISA, nor have such securities been registered for sale in Israel. The shares may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in Israel, absent the publication of a prospectus. The ISA has not issued permits, approvals or licenses in connection with the offering or publishing the prospectus; nor has it authenticated the details included herein, confirmed their reliability or completeness, or rendered an opinion as to the quality of the securities being offered. Any resale in Israel, directly or indirectly, to the public of the securities offered by this prospectus is subject to restrictions on transferability and must be effected only in compliance with the Israeli securities laws and regulations.

 

Italy

 

The offering of the securities in the Republic of Italy has not been authorized by the Italian Securities and Exchange Commission (Commissione Nazionale per le Societ—$$—Aga e la Borsa, “CONSOB” pursuant to the Italian securities legislation and, accordingly, no offering material relating to the securities may be distributed in Italy and such securities may not be offered or sold in Italy in a public offer within the meaning of Article 1.1(t) of Legislative Decree No. 58 of 24 February 1998 (“Decree No. 58”), other than:

     
  to Italian qualified investors, as defined in Article 100 of Decree no.58 by reference to Article 34-ter of CONSOB Regulation no. 11971 of 14 May 1999 (“Regulation no. 1197l”) as amended (“Qualified Investors”); and

 

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  in other circumstances that are exempt from the rules on public offer pursuant to Article 100 of Decree No. 58 and Article 34-ter of Regulation No. 11971 as amended.

 

Any offer, sale or delivery of the securities or distribution of any offer document relating to the securities in Italy (excluding placements where a Qualified Investor solicits an offer from the issuer) under the paragraphs above must be:

     
  made by investment firms, banks or financial intermediaries permitted to conduct such activities in Italy in accordance with Legislative Decree No. 385 of 1 September 1993 (as amended), Decree No. 58, CONSOB Regulation No. 16190 of 29 October 2007 and any other applicable laws; and

     
  in compliance with all relevant Italian securities, tax and exchange controls and any other applicable laws.

  

Any subsequent distribution of the securities in Italy must be made in compliance with the public offer and prospectus requirement rules provided under Decree No. 58 and the Regulation No. 11971 as amended, unless an exception from those rules applies. Failure to comply with such rules may result in the sale of such securities being declared null and void and in the liability of the entity transferring the securities for any damages suffered by the investors.

 

Japan

 

The securities have not been and will not be registered under Article 4, paragraph 1 of the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948), as amended (the “FIEL”) pursuant to an exemption from the registration requirements applicable to a private placement of securities to Qualified Institutional Investors (as defined in and in accordance with Article 2, paragraph 3 of the FIEL and the regulations promulgated thereunder). Accordingly, the securities may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to, or for the benefit of, any resident of Japan other than Qualified Institutional Investors. Any Qualified Institutional Investor who acquires securities may not resell them to any person in Japan that is not a Qualified Institutional Investor, and acquisition by any such person of securities is conditional upon the execution of an agreement to that effect.

 

Portugal

 

This document is not being distributed in the context of a public offer of financial securities (oferta pública de valores mobiliários) in Portugal, within the meaning of Article 109 of the Portuguese Securities Code (Código dos Valores Mobiliários). The securities have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, to the public in Portugal. This document and any other offering material relating to the securities have not been, and will not be, submitted to the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (Comissăo do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários) for approval in Portugal and, accordingly, may not be distributed or caused to distributed, directly or indirectly, to the public in Portugal, other than under circumstances that are deemed not to qualify as a public offer under the Portuguese Securities Code. Such offers, sales and distributions of securities in Portugal are limited to persons who are “qualified investors” (as defined in the Portuguese Securities Code). Only such investors may receive this document and they may not distribute it or the information contained in it to any other person.

 

Sweden

 

This document has not been, and will not be, registered with or approved by Finansinspektionen (the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority). Accordingly, this document may not be made available, nor may the securities be offered for sale in Sweden, other than under circumstances that are deemed not to require a prospectus under the Swedish Financial Instruments Trading Act (1991:980) (Sw. lag (1991:980) om handel med finansiella instrument). Any offering of securities in Sweden is limited to persons who are “qualified investors” (as defined in the Financial Instruments Trading Act). Only such investors may receive this document and they may not distribute it or the information contained in it to any other person.

 

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Switzerland

 

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

 

Neither this document nor any other offering material relating to the securities have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of securities will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).

 

This document is personal to the recipient only and not for general circulation in Switzerland.

 

United Arab Emirates

 

Neither this document nor the securities have been approved, disapproved or passed on in any way by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates or any other governmental authority in the United Arab Emirates, nor has the Company received authorization or licensing from the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates or any other governmental authority in the United Arab Emirates to market or sell the securities within the United Arab Emirates.

 

This document does not constitute and may not be used for the purpose of an offer or invitation. No services relating to the securities, including the receipt of applications and/or the allotment or redemption of such shares, may be rendered within the United Arab Emirates by the Company.

 

No offer or invitation to subscribe for securities is valid or permitted in the Dubai International Financial Centre.

  

United Kingdom

 

Neither the information in this document nor any other document relating to the offer has been delivered for approval to the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom and no prospectus (within the meaning of section 85 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended (“FSMA”) has been published or is intended to be published in respect of the securities. This document is issued on a confidential basis to “qualified investors” (within the meaning of section 86(7) of FSMA) in the United Kingdom, and the securities may not be offered or sold in the United Kingdom by means of this document, any accompanying letter or any other document, except in circumstances which do not require the publication of a prospectus pursuant to section 86(1) FSMA. This document should not be distributed, published or reproduced, in whole or in part, nor may its contents be disclosed by recipients to any other person in the United Kingdom.

 

Any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of FSMA) received in connection with the issue or sale of the securities has only been communicated or caused to be communicated and will only be communicated or caused to be communicated in the United Kingdom in circumstances in which section 21(1) of FSMA does not apply to the Company.

 

In the United Kingdom, this document is being distributed only to, and is directed at, persons (i) who have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) (investment professionals) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotions) Order 2005 (“FPO”), (ii) who fall within the categories of persons referred to in Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) of the FPO or (iii) to whom it may otherwise be lawfully communicated (together “relevant persons”). The investments to which this document relates are available only to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to purchase 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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Canada

 

The securities may be sold in Canada 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 securities 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 (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 NI33-105 regarding underwriter conflicts of interest in connection with this offering.

  

LEGAL MATTERS

 

The validity of the shares offered by this prospectus supplement will be passed upon for us by Law Offices of Aaron A. Grunfeld & Associates, Los Angeles, California. Loeb & Loeb LLP, New York, New York, is acting as counsel to the underwriters in connection with this offering.

 

EXPERTS

 

The consolidated financial statements incorporated in this prospectus supplement by reference to the Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, for the year ended December 31, 2020 have been so incorporated in reliance upon such report (which contains an explanatory paragraph relating to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern as more fully described in Note 1 to such consolidated financial statements) of Gumbiner Savett Inc., an independent registered public accounting firm, given upon the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.


WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

 

We are a public company and file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains an internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, at www.sec.gov. Our SEC filings are also available to the public on our website at www.secondsight.com. The information contained on, or accessible through, our website is not part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus and you should not consider our website as part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. In addition, our common stock is listed for trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “EYES.”

 

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are only part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we have filed with the SEC under the Securities Act, and therefore omit certain information contained or incorporated by reference in the registration statement. We have also filed exhibits and schedules with the registration statement that are excluded from this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, and you should refer to the applicable exhibit or schedule for a complete description of any statement referring to any contract or other document. You may:

     
  obtain a copy from the SEC upon payment of the fees prescribed by the SEC, or

 

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  obtain a copy from the SEC’s website or our website.

 

We have not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement the information on our website, and you should not consider it to be a part of this prospectus supplement.

 

INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. We also filed a registration statement on Form S-3, including exhibits, under the Securities Act with respect to the securities offered by this prospectus. This prospectus is a part of the registration statement, but does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement or the exhibits.  The SEC maintains a website, www.sec.gov,that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. You may review the registration statement and any other document we file on the SEC’s website.  Our SEC filings are also available to the public on our website, www.secondsight.com. The information on or accessible through our website, however, is not, and should not be deemed to be, a part of this prospectus.

We are “incorporating by reference” specified documents that we file with the SEC, which means:

 

  incorporated documents are considered part of this prospectus;

 

  we are disclosing important information to you by referring you to those documents; and

 

  information we file with the SEC will automatically update and supersede information contained in this prospectus.

 

We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date we filed the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and before the effective date of the registration statement and any future filings we will make with the SEC under those sections, except to the extent that any information in such filing is deemed “furnished” in accordance with rules of the SEC:

 

  Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 16, 2021, as amended on April 14, 2021 and April 27, 2021;

 

  Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on May 13, 2021;

 

  Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 6, 2021, January 27, 2021, March 5, 2021, March 24, 2021, March 26, 2021 (excluding Item 7.01 and the exhibits related thereto), April 1, 2021, April 5, 2021, April 6, 2021, April 8. 2021, June 1, 2021, June 3, 2021, June 4, 2021 and June 23, 2021;  

 

  the description of our common stock and warrant contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A 12B/A filed with the SEC on November 17, 2014 and Form 8-A 12B filed with the SEC on March 24, 2017, and any amendment or report updating that description and the description of our securities as further contained in Exhibit 4.5 to our Form 10-K/A filed on April 14, 2021..

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, documents or portions thereof containing information furnished under Items 2.02 and 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K, including the related exhibits under Item 9.01, are not incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

You may request a copy of any of these filings, at no cost, by request directed to us at the following address or telephone number:

 

Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

13170 Telfair Ave

Sylmar, California 91342

(818) 833-5000

Attention: Scott Dunbar, Acting Chief Executive Officer

 

You should not assume that the information in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, as well as the information we file or previously filed with the SEC that we incorporate by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, is accurate as of any date other than the respective date of such documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.  

 

S-19 

 

  

 

 

SECOND SIGHT MEDICAL PRODUCTS, INC.

PROSPECTUS

 

$250,000,000

 
Common Stock 

Preferred Stock
Debt Securities
Units
Warrants 

 

We may issue securities from time to time in one or more offerings, in amounts, at prices and on terms determined at the time of offering.  This prospectus describes the general terms of these securities and the general manner in which these securities will be offered.  We will provide the specific terms of these securities in supplements to this prospectus, which will also describe the specific manner in which these securities will be offered and may also supplement, update or amend information contained in this prospectus.    You should read this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement before you invest.    The aggregate offering price of the securities we sell pursuant to this prospectus will not exceed $250,000,000.

The securities may be sold directly to you, through agents or through underwriters and dealers.  If agents, underwriters or dealers are used to sell the securities, we will name them and describe their compensation in a prospectus supplement.  The price to the public of those securities and the net proceeds we expect to receive from that sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement.   The supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus with respect to that offering. You should carefully read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement before you invest in any of our securities.

 

 

 

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before you invest in our securities you should review carefully the risks and uncertainties referenced under the heading “Risk Factors” on page 7 of this prospectus and “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of our most recent report on Form 10-K or 10-Q that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus, as well as those 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. 

 

 

 

Our common stock and warrants are traded on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “EYES” and “EYESW” respectively. On June 7, 2021 the last reported price of our common stock and warrants on the Nasdaq Capital Market was $7.00 and $1.45, respectively.

 
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 June 14, 2021.

 

   

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS   5
     
SECOND SIGHT MEDICAL PRODUCTS, INC.   5
     
RISK FACTORS   6
     
THE SECURITIES WE MAY OFFER   7
     
RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES   8
     
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS   9
     
USE OF PROCEEDS   10
     
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK   10
     
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS   12
     
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES   14
     
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS   21
     
LEGAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES   22
     
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION   25
     
LEGAL MATTERS   26
     
EXPERTS   27
     
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION   27


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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

 

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may sell common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, and warrants in one or more offerings up to a total dollar amount of $250,000,000. 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 contain more specific information about the terms of those securities. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings. We may also add, update or change in the prospectus supplement (and in any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you) any of the information contained in this prospectus or in the documents that we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. If there is any inconsistency between the information in this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, you should rely on the prospectus supplement. We urge you to carefully 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 headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation by Reference” before buying any of the securities being offered.

 

We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you. No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurances as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. You should assume that the information in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front of the document and that any information we have incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus, or any sale of our securities. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date. This prospectus incorporates by reference, and any prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus may contain and incorporate by reference, market data and industry statistics and forecasts that are based on independent industry publications and other publicly available information. Although we believe these sources are reliable, we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information and we have not independently verified this information. Although we are not aware of any misstatements regarding the market and industry data presented in this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference, these estimates involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on this information. You should read this prospectus, any accompanying prospectus supplement, the documents incorporated by reference in the accompanying prospectus(es), and any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering, in their entirety before making an investment decision.

 

Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this prospectus to “Second Sight,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. Second Sight®, the Second Sight logo, FLORA®, and Argus® are registered trademarks, and Orion is a trademark of Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks of their respective owners.

 

SECOND SIGHT MEDICAL PRODUCTS, INC.

 

Second Sight develops, manufactures, and markets implantable visual prosthetics that are intended to deliver useful artificial vision to blind individuals. We are a recognized global leader in neuromodulation devices for blindness and are committed to developing new technologies to treat the broadest population of sight-impaired individuals.

 

Leveraging our 20 years of experience in neuromodulation for vision, we are developing the Orion® Visual Cortical Prosthesis System (“Orion”), an implanted cortical stimulation device intended to provide useful artificial vision to individuals who are blind due to a wide range of causes, including glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, optic nerve injury or disease and eye injury. Orion is intended to convert images captured by a miniature video camera mounted on glasses into a series of small electrical pulses. The device is designed to bypass diseased or injured eye anatomy and to transmit these electrical pulses wirelessly to an array of electrodes implanted on the surface of the brain’s visual cortex, where it is intended to provide the perception of patterns of light. We are conducting a six-subject Early Feasibility Study of the Orion device at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles (“UCLA”) and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (“Baylor”). Regularly scheduled visits at both sites were placed on hold in mid-March 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak, however visits at UCLA resumed mid-September 2020 and those at Baylor resumed in December 2020. No peer-reviewed data is available yet for the Orion system. We are currently negotiating the clinical and regulatory pathway to commercialization with the FDA as part of the Breakthrough Devices Program.

 

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Our first commercially approved product, the Argus® II Retinal Prosthesis System (“Argus II”), treats outer retinal degenerations, such as retinitis pigmentosa, also referred to as RP. The Argus II was the only retinal prosthesis approved in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), and was the first approved retinal prosthesis in the world. RP is a hereditary disease, affecting an estimated 1.5 million people worldwide including about 100,000 people in the United States, that causes a progressive degeneration of the light-sensitive cells of the retina, leading to significant visual impairment and ultimately blindness. A subset of these patients would be eligible for the Argus II since the approved baseline vision for the Argus II is worse than legally blind (20/200). We commissioned 3rd party market research to estimate the size of the RP market that resulted in an estimate of approximately 1,500 patients in the US with advanced RP that could be treated with the Argus II given the eligibility criteria of our label.

 

We began selling the Argus II System in Europe at the end of 2011, Saudi Arabia in 2012, the United States and Canada in 2014, Turkey in 2015, Iran, Taiwan, South Korea and Russia in 2017, and Singapore in 2018. Given the limited addressable market of Argus II, we no longer market the Argus II and have focused all of our resources on the development of Orion.

We have also performed proof-of-concept investigations of multiple technologies that we believe to be complimentary to artificial vision and could potentially provide significant enhancements to the Orion user experience. In most cases, we collaborated with 3rd party firms to advance and integrate these innovative technologies with our artificial vision systems. Examples of technologies that we believe will be complementary to our products include: eye tracking, object recognition and localization, thermal imaging and depth-based decluttering.

 

We commissioned third party market research to estimate the size of the market for blindness due to currently untreatable causes, that are likely treatable with Orion. That resulted in an estimate of approximately 50,000 to 100,000 patients in the US with bare or no light perception, and 150,000 to 300,000 worldwide who would likely have adequate insurance or other healthcare coverage for Orion.

 

Our strategy can be summarized as follows:

 

  Leverage proven Argus II technology to develop the Orion visual cortical prosthesis and significantly expand our addressable market to include a portion of the estimated almost six million patients worldwide who are legally blind from eye trauma, optic nerve disease and injury, diabetic retinopathy, retinitis pigmentosa, age related macular degeneration, glaucoma and other untreatable causes.
  Continue to explore future improvements to Orion products such as technologies intended to enhance the Orion user experience, including eye tracking, distance filtering/decluttering, object and facial recognition and thermal imaging.

 

  Conduct a patient preference information study to better understand our customers and the necessary vision to create widespread Orion adoption.

 

RISK FACTORS

 

An investment in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Prior to making a decision about investing in our securities, you should carefully consider the specific risk factors discussed in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” contained in any applicable prospectus supplement and our filings with the SEC, which are incorporated by reference in this prospectus, together with all of the other information contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. These risks and uncertainties are not the only risks and uncertainties we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or that we currently view as immaterial, may also impair our business. If any of the risks or uncertainties described in our SEC filings or any prospectus supplement or any additional risks and uncertainties actually occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of our securities could decline and you might lose all or part of your investment.

6 

 

 

THE SECURITIES WE MAY OFFER

 

We may issue from time to time, in one or more offerings the following securities:

 

  shares of common stock;

 

  shares of preferred stock;

 

  notes, debentures or other debt securities;

 

  warrants to purchase shares of preferred stock or common stock; or

 

  any combination of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities or warrants.

 

When we use the term “securities” in this prospectus, we mean any of the securities we may offer with this prospectus, unless we say otherwise. This prospectus, including the following summary, describes the general terms that may apply to the securities; the specific terms of any particular securities that we may offer will be described in a separate supplement to this prospectus, information incorporated by reference or related free writing prospectus, which may be in addition to or different from the general terms summarized in this prospectus. 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.

 

The summaries contained in this prospectus and in any prospectus supplements, information incorporated by reference or related free writing prospectus may not contain all of the information that you would find useful. Accordingly, you should read the actual documents relating to any securities sold pursuant to this prospectus. See “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” for information about how to obtain copies of those documents. 

 

The terms of any particular offering, the initial offering price and the net proceeds to us will be contained in the prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference or free writing prospectus, relating to each offering. Where applicable, a prospectus supplement, information incorporated by reference or related free writing prospectus will also describe any material United States federal income tax consequences relating to the securities offered and indicate whether the securities offered are or will be listed on any securities exchange.

 

This prospectus may not be used to offer or sell securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

 

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

 

  the name of those agents or underwriters;

 

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

 

  details regarding over-allotment options, if any; and

 

7 

 

 

  the net proceeds to us.

 

Common StockWe may issue shares of our common stock from time to time. Holders of our common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of shareholders. Subject to any preferences of any of our preferred stock that may be outstanding, holders of our common stock are entitled to dividends when and if declared by our board of directors.

 

Preferred StockWe may issue shares of our preferred stock from time to time, in one or more series. Our board of directors will determine the designations, voting powers, preferences and rights of the preferred stock, as well as the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, including dividend rights, conversion rights, preemptive rights, terms of redemption or repurchase, liquidation preferences, sinking fund terms and the number of shares constituting any series or the designation of any series. Convertible preferred stock will be convertible into our common stock or exchangeable for other securities. Conversion may be mandatory or at your option and would be at prescribed conversion rates.

 

Warrants. We may issue warrants for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities in one or more series, from time to time. We may issue warrants independently or together with common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from these securities. In this prospectus, we have summarized certain general features of the 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. Forms of the warrant agreements and forms of warrant certificates containing the terms of the warrants being offered have been filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and supplemental warrant agreements and forms of warrant certificates 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.

We may evidence each series of warrants by warrant certificates that we will issue. 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.

 

Debt SecuritiesWe 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 your option and would be at prescribed conversion rates.

 

The debt securities 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. 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 that contain the terms of the debt securities. Forms of indentures have been filed as exhibits 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.

 

RATIO OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES

 

The following table sets forth our ratio of earnings to fixed charges for the periods indicated (in millions):

 

   

Three months ended

March 31,

 

Fiscal Year Ended

December 31,

 
    2021     2020   2020   2019  
Ratio of earnings to fixed charges   $ N/A     $ N/A   $ N/A   $ N/A  
                             

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For the purpose of this table, “earnings” consists of pre-tax income (loss) from continuing operations, plus fixed charges and amortizations of capitalized interest, less interest capitalized.

 

“Fixed charges” consist of interest expensed and capitalized related to indebtedness. For the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020, and 2019 for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, we had no earnings, and consequently earnings for these periods were insufficient to cover fixed charges. Currently we have no shares of preferred stock outstanding and we have not paid any dividends on preferred stock in the periods presented. Therefore, the ratios of earnings to combined fixed charges and preferred stock dividends are not different from the ratios of earnings to fixed charges.

 

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

This prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein contain certain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act.  All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our product development, financial condition, results of operations, strategy, short- and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment, and 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. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this prospectus may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:

 

  our anticipated operating and financial performance, business plans, and prospects;

 

  expectations for our products, including anticipated regulatory submissions, study completion, approvals, clinical trial results and other developing data that become available, potential market size, and potential reimbursement pathways;

 

  the impact of the ongoing coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic on our business and operations, results of operations and financial performance including: delays, interruptions or other adverse
     
    effects to clinical trials and patient enrollment; delays in regulatory review; manufacturing and supply chain interruptions; and the adverse effects on healthcare systems and disruption of the global economy overall; and

 

  the initiation, timing, design, progress and results of our clinical trials, and our research and development program.

 

Forward-looking statements reflect our management’s expectations or predictions of future conditions, events or results based on various assumptions and management’s estimates of trends and economic factors in the markets in which we are active, as well as our business plans. They are not guarantees of future performance. By their nature, forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. Our actual results and financial condition may differ, possibly materially, from the anticipated results and financial condition indicated in these forward-looking statements. There are a number of factors that could cause actual conditions, events or results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus.  

 

9 

 

 

See an additional discussion under “Risk Factors” in any applicable prospectus supplement and in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K as amended and any subsequently filed quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.  These forward-looking statements are representative only as of the date they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

 

USE OF PROCEEDS

 

We will retain broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds to us from the sale of our securities under this prospectus.  Unless otherwise provided in the applicable prospectus supplement, we currently expect to use the net proceeds that we receive from this offering for working capital and other general corporate purposes. which may include manufacturing expenses, clinical trial expenses, research and development expenses, sales and marketing expenses, general and administrative expenses, and other expenses associated with the commercialization of Orion, and any other product candidate we develop. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds to license, invest in or acquire businesses or technologies that we believe 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, we cannot specify with certainty all of the particular uses of the proceeds from the sale of securities under this prospectus. Pending the use of the net proceeds from the sale of securities under this prospectus as described above, we intend to invest the net proceeds in investment-grade, interest-bearing instruments. 

 

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

 

General

 

Our authorized capital stock consists of 300,000,000 shares of common stock, without par value, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, without par value. As of May 31, 2021, we had a total of 27,909,149 shares of common stock outstanding and no shares of preferred stock outstanding.

 

The following summary description of our capital stock is based on the provisions of our restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and the applicable provisions of the California Corporations Code. This information is qualified entirely by reference to the applicable provisions of our restated articles of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and the California Corporations Code. For information on how to obtain copies of our restated articles of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, which are exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, see “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation by Reference.”

 

Common Stock

 

The holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share on all matters submitted to a vote of our shareholders and cumulative voting rights in the election of our directors. Under California law, in any election of directors, each shareholder is entitled to cumulative voting at such election. This means that each shareholder may cast, in person or by proxy, as many votes in the aggregate as that shareholder is entitled to vote, multiplied by the number of directors to be elected. A shareholder is entitled and can elect to cast all of his or her votes for any director or for any two or more as the shareholder would choose. Our bylaws provide that the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock, if present in person or by proxy, represent a quorum for the transaction of business at shareholders’ meetings. In most instances, if holders of a majority of the common stock present in person or by proxy at any meeting vote “for” a matter, the matter passes. Subject to preferences that may apply to shares of preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of outstanding shares of our common stock are entitled to receive ratably any dividends declared by our board of directors out of assets legally available. Upon 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 outstanding liquidation preferences of any then outstanding shares of preferred stock. Holders of common stock have no preemptive or conversion rights or other subscription rights. There are no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. All outstanding shares of common stock are fully paid and nonassessable, and the shares of common stock offered, when issued, will be fully paid and nonassessable.

 

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Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “EYES”. We have not applied to list our common stock on any other exchange or quotation system.

 

Preferred Stock

 

We have 10,000,000 shares of authorized preferred stock, no par value, none of which was issued or outstanding on May 31, 2021. Shares of preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series, each of which will have such distinctive designation or title as shall be determined by our board of directors prior to the issuance of any shares thereof. Preferred stock will have such voting powers, full or limited, or no voting powers, and such preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights and such qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, as shall be stated in such resolution or resolutions providing for the issue of such class or series of preferred stock as may be adopted from time to time by the board of directors prior to the issuance of any shares thereof. The number of authorized shares of preferred stock may be increased or decreased (but not below the number of shares thereof then outstanding) by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of all the then outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote generally in the election of the directors, voting together as a single class, without a separate vote of the holders of the preferred stock, or any series thereof, unless a vote of any such holders is required pursuant to any preferred stock designation.

 

While we do not currently have any plans for the issuance of any preferred stock, the issuance of such preferred stock could adversely affect the rights of the holders of common stock and, therefore, reduce the value of the common stock. It is not possible to state the actual effect of the issuance of any shares of preferred stock on the rights of holders of the common stock until the board of directors determines the specific rights of the holders of the preferred stock; however, these effects may include:

 

  Restricting dividends on the common stock;

 

  Diluting the voting power of the common stock;

 

  Impairing the liquidation rights of the common stock; or

 

  Delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company without further action by the shareholders

 

Other than in connection with shares of preferred stock (as explained above), which preferred stock is not currently designated nor contemplated by us, we do not believe that any provision of our restated articles of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws would delay, defer or prevent a change in control.

 

Stock Options, Warrants and Restricted Stock Units

 

As of May 31, 2021, we have reserved the following shares of common stock in the aggregate for issuance pursuant to stock option and warrant agreements and restricted stock unit awards (“RSUs”):

 

  182,152 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of stock options outstanding at May 31, 2021 with a weighted average exercise price of $15.68 per share;

 

  1,077,675 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance to our employees under the Company’s 2011 Equity Incentive Plan;

 

  no shares of common stock issuable upon the settlement of restricted stock units outstanding at May 31, 2021;

 

  7,691,090 shares of common stock issuable upon the exercise of warrants outstanding at May 31, 2021, with a weighted average exercise price of $11.75 per share;

 

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  77,031 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance to our employees under the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as well as any automatic increases in the number of shares of our common stock reserved for future issuance under this plan.

 

Transfer Agent

 

Our transfer agent and warrant agent for the warrants is VStock Transfer, LLC, 18 Lafayette Place, Woodmere, NY 11598; telephone (212) 828-8436.

 

Dividend Policy

 

We have never paid any cash dividends on our capital stock and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain future earnings to fund ongoing operations and future capital requirements. Any future determination to pay cash dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will be dependent upon financial condition, results of operations, capital requirements and such other factors as the board of directors deems relevant.

 

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

 

We may issue warrants from time to time under this prospectus for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities in one or more series. We may issue warrants independently or together with common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from these securities. While the terms summarized below will apply generally to any warrants that we may offer, we will describe the particular terms of any series of warrants in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any warrants offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below.

 

Warrants issued under this prospectus may be issued under warrant agreements which we will enter into with a warrant agent to be selected by us. We use the term “warrant agreement” to refer to any of these warrant agreements. We use the term “warrant agent” to refer to the warrant agent under any of these warrant agreements. Any warrant agent will act solely as an agent of ours in connection with the warrants and will not act as an agent for the holders or beneficial owners of the warrants.

 

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, including a form of warrant certificate, that describes the terms of the particular series of warrants we are offering before the issuance of the related series of warrants. The following summaries of material provisions of the warrants and the warrant agreements are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the warrant agreement and warrant certificate applicable to the particular series of warrants that we may offer under this prospectus. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplements and any free writing prospectus related to the particular series of warrants that we offer under this prospectus, as well as the complete warrant agreements and warrant certificates that contain the terms of the warrants.

 

General

 

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

 

  the offering price and aggregate number of warrants offered;

 

  the currency 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;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

  a discussion of material United States federal income tax consequences of holding or exercising the warrants;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Exercise of Warrants

 

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

 

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, if applicable, 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.

 

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Upon receipt of the required payment and the warrant certificate properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the warrant agent or any other office indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will issue and deliver the securities purchasable upon 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. After the close of business on the expiration date, unexercised warrants will become void.

 

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 California.

 

Enforceability of Rights by Holders of Warrants

 

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

 

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

 

We may issue debt securities from time to time under this prospectus, 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 may issue debt securities either separately, or together with, or upon the conversion or exercise of or in exchange for, other securities described in this prospectus. Debt securities may be our senior, senior subordinated or subordinated obligations and, unless otherwise specified in a supplement to this prospectus, the debt securities will be our direct, unsecured obligations and may be issued in one or more series.

 

We will issue the debt securities under an indenture that we will enter into with the trustee named in the indenture. We have summarized select portions of the indenture below. The summary is not complete. 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.

 

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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;

 

  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;

 

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  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;

 

  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.

 

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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 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.

 

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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;

 

  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;

 

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  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 will provide 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 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 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. 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.

 

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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.

 

Subordination of Subordinated Debt Securities

 

The subordinated debt securities will be unsecured and will be subordinate and junior in priority of payment to certain of our other indebtedness to the extent described in a prospectus supplement. The subordinated indenture does not limit the amount of subordinated debt securities that we may issue, nor does it limit us from issuing any other secured or unsecured debt.

 

DESCRIPTION OF UNITS

 

We may issue units consisting of any combination of the other types of securities offered under this prospectus in one or more series. We may evidence each series of units by unit certificates that we will issue under a separate agreement. We may enter into unit agreements with a unit agent. Each unit agent will be a bank or trust company that we select. We will indicate the name and address of the unit agent in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of units.

 

The following description, together with the additional information included in any applicable prospectus supplement, summarizes the general features of the units that we may offer under this prospectus. You should read any prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you related to the series of units being offered, as well as the complete unit agreements that contain the terms of the units. Specific unit agreements will contain additional important terms and provisions and we will file as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or will incorporate by reference from another report that we file with the SEC, the form of each unit agreement relating to units offered under this prospectus.

 

If we offer any units, certain terms of that series of units will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, the following, as applicable:

 

  the title of the series of units;

 

  identification and description of the separate constituent securities comprising the units;

 

  the price or prices at which the units will be issued;

 

  the date, if any, on and after which the constituent securities comprising the units will be separately transferable;

 

  a discussion of certain United States federal income tax considerations applicable to the units; and

 

  any other terms of the units and their constituent securities.

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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, depository or warrant agent maintain for this purpose as the “holders” of those securities. These persons are the legal holders of the securities. We refer to those persons who, indirectly through others, own beneficial interests in securities that are not registered in their own names, as “indirect holders” of those securities.

 

As we discuss below, indirect holders are not legal holders, and investors in securities issued in book-entry form or in street name will be indirect holders.

 

Book-Entry Holders

 

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

 

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

 

As a result, investors in a book-entry 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 holders, of the securities.

 

Street Name Holders

 

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

 

For securities held in street name, we 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 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 and of any third parties 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.

 

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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 depositary participants or customers or by law, to pass it along to the indirect holders but does not do so. Similarly, we may want to obtain the approval of the 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 the 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 holders contact the indirect holders is up to the holders.

 

Special Considerations for Indirect Holders

 

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

 

  how it handles securities payments and notices;

 

  whether it imposes fees or charges;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Global Securities

 

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

 

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

 

A global security may not be transferred to or registered in the name of anyone other than the depositary, its nominee or a successor depositary, unless special termination situations arise. We describe those situations below under “Special Situations When a Global Security Will Be Terminated.” As a result of these arrangements, the depositary, or its nominee, will be the sole registered owner and 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 holder of the security, but only an indirect holder of a beneficial interest in the global security.

 

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

 

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 in the form of a global security, an investor should be aware of the following:

 

  An investor cannot cause the securities to be registered in his or her name and cannot obtain 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 a global security in circumstances where certificates representing the securities must be delivered to the lender or other beneficiary of the pledge in order for the pledge to be effective.

 

  The depositary’s policies, which may change from time to time, will govern payments, transfers, exchanges and other matters relating to an investor’s interest in a global security. We and any applicable trustee have no responsibility for any aspect of the depositary’s actions or for its records of ownership interests in a global security. We and the trustee also do not supervise the depositary in any way.

 

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

 

  Financial institutions that participate in the depositary’s book-entry system, and through which an investor holds its interest in a global security, may also have their own policies affecting payments, notices and other matters relating to the securities. There may be more than one financial intermediary in the chain of ownership for an investor. We do not monitor and are not responsible for the actions of any of those intermediaries.

 

Special Situations When a Global Security Will be Terminated

 

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

 

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 not we or 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 or through underwriters or dealers, through agents and/or directly to one or more purchasers. The securities may be distributed 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. Each time we offer and sell securities covered by this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement or supplements that will describe the method of distribution and set forth the terms of the offering, including:

 

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

 

  the amounts of securities underwritten or purchased by each of them;

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

  the public offering price of the securities;

 

  any discounts, commissions or concessions allowed or re-allowed or paid to dealers; and

 

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

 

Offers to purchase the securities being offered by this prospectus may be solicited directly. Agents may also be designated to solicit offers to purchase the securities from time to time. Any agent involved in the offer or sale of our securities will be identified in a prospectus supplement.

 

If a dealer is utilized in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, the securities will be sold to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale.

 

If an underwriter is utilized in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, an underwriting agreement will be executed with the underwriter at the time of sale and the name of any underwriter will be provided in the prospectus supplement that the underwriter will use to make resales of the securities to the public. In connection with the sale of the securities, we or the purchasers of securities for whom the underwriter may act as agent, may compensate the underwriter in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions. The underwriter may sell the securities to or through dealers, and those dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for which they may act as agent. Unless otherwise indicated in a prospectus supplement, an agent will be acting on a best efforts basis and a dealer will purchase securities as a principal, and may then resell the securities at varying prices to be determined by the dealer.

 

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Any compensation paid to underwriters, dealers or agents in connection with the offering of the securities, and any discounts, concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers will be provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. Underwriters, dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and any discounts and commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions. We may enter into agreements to indemnify underwriters, dealers and agents against civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments they may be required to make in respect thereof and to reimburse those persons for certain expenses.

 

Any common stock will be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, but any other securities may or may not be listed on a national securities exchange. To facilitate the offering of securities, certain persons participating in the offering may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the securities. This may include over-allotments or short sales of the securities, which involve the sale by persons participating in the offering of more securities than were sold to them. In these circumstances, these persons would cover such overallotments or short positions by making purchases in the open market or by exercising their over-allotment option, if any. In addition, these persons may stabilize or maintain the price of the securities by bidding for or purchasing securities in the open market or by imposing penalty bids, whereby selling concessions allowed to dealers participating in the offering may be reclaimed if securities sold by them are repurchased in connection with stabilization transactions. The effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. These transactions may be discontinued at any time.

 

We may engage in at the market offerings into an existing trading market in accordance with Rule 415(a)(4) under the Securities Act. In addition, we may enter into derivative transactions with third parties, or sell securities not covered by this prospectus to third parties in privately negotiated transactions. If the applicable prospectus supplement so indicates, in connection with those derivatives, the third parties may sell securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, including in short sale transactions. If so, the third party may use securities pledged by us or borrowed from us or others to settle those sales or to close out any related open borrowings of stock, and may use securities received from us in settlement of those derivatives to close out any related open borrowings of stock. The third party in such sale transactions will be an underwriter and, if not identified in this prospectus, will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement (or a post-effective amendment). In addition, we may otherwise loan or pledge securities to a financial institution or other third party that in turn may sell the securities short using this prospectus and an applicable prospectus supplement. Such financial institution or other third party may transfer its economic short position to investors in our securities or in connection with a concurrent offering of other securities.

 

The specific terms of any lock-up provisions in respect of any given offering will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

In compliance with the guidelines of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA, the maximum consideration or discount to be received by any FINRA member or independent broker dealer may not exceed 8% of the aggregate proceeds of the offering.

 

The underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in transactions with us, or perform services for us, in the ordinary course of business for which they receive compensation.

 

LEGAL MATTERS

 

The validity of the securities offered by this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Law Offices of Aaron A. Grunfeld, Beverly Hills, California.  

 

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EXPERTS

 

The consolidated financial statements of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 and for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 appearing in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, have been audited by Gumbiner Savett Inc., an independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

 

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. We also filed a registration statement on Form S-3, including exhibits, under the Securities Act with respect to the securities offered by this prospectus. This prospectus is a part of the registration statement, but does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement or the exhibits.  The SEC maintains a website, www.sec.gov,that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC. You may review the registration statement and any other document we file on the SEC’s website.  Our SEC filings are also available to the public on our website, www.secondsight.com. The information on or accessible through our website, however, is not, and should not be deemed to be, a part of this prospectus.

We are “incorporating by reference” specified documents that we file with the SEC, which means:

 

  incorporated documents are considered part of this prospectus;

 

  we are disclosing important information to you by referring you to those documents; and

 

  information we file with the SEC will automatically update and supersede information contained in this prospectus.

 

We incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act after the date we filed the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and before the effective date of the registration statement and any future filings we will make with the SEC under those sections, except to the extent that any information in such filing is deemed “furnished” in accordance with rules of the SEC:

  Our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 16, 2021, as amended on April 14, 2021 and on April 27, 2021;

 

  Our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on May 13, 2021;

 

  Our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 6, 2021, January 27, 2021, March 5, 2021, March 24, 2021, March 26, 2021 (excluding Item 7.01 and the exhibits related thereto), April 1, 2021, April 5, 2021, April 6, 2021, April 8. 2021, June 1, 2021, June 3, 2021, and June 4, 2021.  

 

  the description of our common stock and warrants contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A 12B/A filed with the SEC on November 17, 2014 and Form 8-A 12B filed with the SEC on March 24, 2017, and any amendment or report updating that description and the description of our securities as further contained in Exhibit 4.5 to our Form 10K/A filed on April 14, 2021.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, documents or portions thereof containing information furnished under Items 2.02 and 7.01 of any Current Report on Form 8-K, including the related exhibits under Item 9.01, are not incorporated by reference in this prospectus.

 

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You may request a copy of any of these filings, at no cost, by request directed to us at the following address or telephone number:

 

Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

13170 Telfair Ave

Sylmar, California 91342

(818) 833-5000

Attention: Scott Dunbar, Acting Chief Executive Officer

 

You should not assume that the information in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, as well as the information we file or previously filed with the SEC that we incorporate by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, is accurate as of any date other than the respective date of such documents. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.

 

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10,000,000 Shares of Common Stock

 

 

 

Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.

 

 
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
 

 

 

ThinkEquity

a division of Fordham Financial Management, Inc.

 

 

 

          

June 22, 2021