NexImmune (NEXI) Risk Analysis

We expect to issue additional capital stock in the future that will result in dilution to all other stockholders. We expect to grant equity awards to employees, directors and consultants under our stock incentive plans. We may also raise capital through equity financings in the future. As part of our business strategy, we may acquire or make investments in complementary companies, products or technologies and issue equity securities to pay for any such acquisition or investment. Any such issuances of additional capital stock may cause stockholders to experience significant dilution of their ownership interests and the per share value of our common stock to decline.

At present, we cannot predict with certainty the amount of distributions to our stockholders if the Plan of Dissolution is implemented. The amount of cash ultimately distributed to our stockholders in any distribution pursuant to the Plan of Dissolution depends on, among other things, the amount of our liabilities, obligations and expenses and claims against us, and the amount of the reserves that we establish during the liquidation process. Estimates of these amounts may be inaccurate. Factors that could impact these estimates include the following: (i) if any of the estimates regarding the Plan of Dissolution, including the expenses to satisfy outstanding obligations, liabilities and claims during the liquidation process, are inaccurate, (ii) if litigation is brought against us or our directors and officers, if unforeseen claims are asserted against us, we will have to defend or resolve such claims or establish a reasonable reserve before making distributions to our stockholders, (iii) if the estimates regarding the expenses to be incurred in the liquidation process, including expenses of personnel required and other operating expenses (including legal, accounting and other professional fees) necessary to dissolve and liquidate the Company, are inaccurate and (iv) if we continue to incur significant expenses related to ongoing reporting obligations.

If our board of directors determines to proceed with the dissolution, we intend to close our stock transfer books and discontinue recording transfers of our common stock at the effective time of the dissolution. After we close our stock transfer books, we will not record any further transfers of our common stock on our books except by will, intestate succession or operation of law. Therefore, shares of our common stock will not be freely transferable after the effective time of the dissolution. As a result of the closing of the stock transfer books, all liquidating distributions in the dissolution, if any, will likely be made pro rata to the same stockholders of record as the stockholders of record as of the final record date.

If we call a new Special Meeting and the dissolution is approved by our stockholders, our board of directors may determine in its sole discretion not to proceed with the dissolution. If our board of directors elects to pursue any alternative to the Plan of Dissolution, our stockholders may not receive any of the funds that might otherwise be available for distribution to our stockholders. After the Certificate of Dissolution has been filed, revocation of the dissolution would require stockholder approval under Delaware law.

If we call a new Special Meeting and our stockholders do not approve the Plan of Dissolution, our board of directors will continue to explore what, if any, alternatives are available for the future of our Company in light of its business activities; however, those alternatives are likely limited to seeking voluntary dissolution at a later time with potentially diminished assets or seeking bankruptcy protection (should our net assets decline to levels that would require such action). It is unlikely that these alternatives would result in greater stockholder value than the proposed Plan of Dissolution.

Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for any state law claims for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of fiduciary duty owed by any of our directors, officers and employees to us or our stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws (in each case, as they may be amended from time to time) or (iv) any action asserting a claim that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine, in each case subject to the Court of Chancery having personal jurisdiction over the indispensable parties named as defendants therein; provided, however, that this exclusive forum provision will not apply to any causes of action arising under Exchange Act. Our bylaws further provide that, unless we consent in writing to an alternative forum, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland will be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act. We have chosen the United States District Court for the District of Maryland as the exclusive forum for such Securities Act causes of action because our principal executive offices are located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. In addition, our amended and restated bylaws will provide that any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our common stock is deemed to have notice of and consented to the foregoing provisions. We recognize that the forum selection clause in our bylaws may impose additional litigation costs on stockholders in pursuing any such claims, particularly if the stockholders do not reside in or near the State of Delaware or the State of Maryland, as applicable. Additionally, the forum selection clause in our bylaws may limit our stockholders' ability to bring a claim in a forum that they find favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers and employees even though an action, if successful, might benefit our stockholders. The Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or the United States District Court for the District of Maryland may also reach different judgments or results than would other courts, including courts where a stockholder considering an action may be located or would otherwise choose to bring the action, and such judgments may be more or less favorable to us than our stockholders. Because the applicability of the exclusive forum provision is limited to the extent permitted by applicable law, we do not intend that the exclusive forum provision would apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. We also acknowledge that Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder and that there is uncertainty as to whether a court would enforce an exclusive forum provision for actions arising under the Securities Act.

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on our company. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of our Company, the trading price for our stock would likely be negatively impacted. In the event securities or industry analysts initiate coverage, if one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our stock or publishes inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price may decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of our company or fails to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which might cause our stock price and trading volume to decline.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, or certificate of incorporation, and amended and restated bylaws, or bylaws, contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our board of directors that our stockholders might consider favorable. Some of these provisions include: - a board of directors divided into three classes serving staggered three-year terms, such that not all members of the board will be elected at one time;- a prohibition on stockholder action through written consent, which requires that all stockholder actions be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;- a requirement that special meetings of stockholders be called only by the board of directors acting pursuant to a resolution approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the directors then in office;- advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and nominations for election to our board of directors;- a requirement that no member of our board of directors may be removed from office by our stockholders except for cause and, in addition to any other vote required by law, upon the approval of not less than two-thirds of all outstanding shares of our voting stock then entitled to vote in the election of directors;- a requirement of approval of not less than two-thirds of all outstanding shares of our voting stock to amend any bylaws by stockholder action or to amend specific provisions of our certificate of incorporation; and - the authority of the board of directors to issue convertible preferred stock on terms determined by the board of directors without stockholder approval and which convertible preferred stock may include rights superior to the rights of the holders of common stock. In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, which may prohibit certain business combinations with stockholders owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. These anti-takeover provisions and other provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could make it more difficult for stockholders or potential acquirers to obtain control of our board of directors or initiate actions that are opposed by the then-current board of directors and could also delay or impede a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving our company. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing or cause us to take other corporate actions you desire. Any delay or prevention of a change of control transaction or changes in our board of directors could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.

Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market or the perception that these sales might occur, could depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We are unable to predict the effect that sales may have on the prevailing market price of our common stock. As of December 31, 2023, there are 1,066,320 shares of common stock outstanding. Sales of stock by these stockholders could have a material adverse effect on the trading price of our common stock. We have registered on Form S-8 all shares of common stock that are issuable under our 2021 Equity Incentive Plan. As a consequence, these shares can be freely sold in the public market upon issuance, subject to volume limitations applicable to affiliates.

We are an emerging growth company, or EGC, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, or the JOBS Act, enacted in April 2012. For as long as we continue to be an EGC, we may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not EGCs, including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding nonbinding advisory votes on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We could be an EGC for up to five years following the year in which we complete the IPO, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier. We will remain an EGC until the earlier of (a) the last day of the fiscal year (i) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of the IPO, (ii) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $2.35 billion or (iii) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which requires the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates to exceed $700.0 million as of the prior June 30th, and (b) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period. We are also a "smaller reporting company," meaning that the market value of our stock held by non-affiliates plus the proposed aggregate amount of gross proceeds from the IPO was less than $700.0 million and our annual revenue is less than $100.0 million during the most recently completed fiscal year. If we are a smaller reporting company at the time we cease to be an emerging growth company, we may continue to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are available to smaller reporting companies. Specifically, as a smaller reporting company we may choose to present only the two most recent fiscal years of audited financial statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and, similar to emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies have reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation. We may choose to take advantage of some, but not all, of the available exemptions. We have taken advantage of reduced reporting burdens in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In particular, we have not included all of the executive compensation information that would be required if we were not an EGC. We cannot predict whether investors will find our common stock less attractive if we rely on certain or all of these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile. Under the JOBS Act, EGCs can also delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies, which may make our financial statements less comparable to companies that comply with new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

Our executive officers and directors, combined with our stockholders who own more than 5% of our outstanding common stock, in the aggregate, beneficially own shares representing a majority of our outstanding capital stock. As a result, if these stockholders were to choose to act together, they would be able to influence our management and affairs and the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election of directors and any sale, merger, consolidation, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentration of ownership control may adversely affect the market price of our common stock by: - delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control;- entrenching our management and the board of directors;- impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination involving us that other stockholders may desire; and/or - discouraging a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.

The market price of shares of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to many risk factors listed in this section and many others beyond our control. In addition to the factors discussed in this "Risk Factors" section and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, these factors include: - any delay in identifying and advancing a clinical candidate for our other programs;- any delay in our regulatory filings for our product candidates and any adverse development or perceived adverse development with respect to the applicable regulatory authority's review of such filings, including without limitation the FDA's issuance of a "refusal to file" letter or a request for additional information;- adverse results or delays, suspensions or terminations in future preclinical studies or clinical trials;- our decision to initiate a clinical trial, not to initiate a clinical trial or to terminate an existing clinical trial;- changes in laws or regulations applicable to any of our product candidate, including but not limited to clinical trial requirements for approvals;- adverse developments concerning our manufacturers;- our inability to obtain adequate product supply for any approved product or inability to do so at acceptable prices;- our inability to establish collaborations, if needed;- our failure to commercialize our product candidates, if approved;- additions or departures of key scientific or management personnel;- unanticipated serious safety concerns related to the use of any of our product candidates;- introduction of new products or services offered by us or our competitors;- announcements of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by us or our competitors;- our ability to effectively manage our growth;- actual or anticipated variations in quarterly operating results;- our cash position;- our failure to meet the estimates and projections of the investment community or that we may otherwise provide to the public;- publication of research reports about us or our industry, or product candidates in particular, or positive or negative recommendations or withdrawal of research coverage by securities analysts;- changes in the market valuations of similar companies;- changes in the structure of the healthcare payment systems;- overall performance of the equity markets;- sales of our common stock by us or our stockholders in the future;- trading volume of our common stock;- changes in accounting practices;- ineffectiveness of our internal controls;- disputes or other developments relating to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain patent protection for our technologies;- significant lawsuits, including patent or stockholder litigation;- general political and economic conditions;- the financial markets and the global economy may also be adversely affected by the current or anticipated impact of military conflict, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Gaza, terrorism or other geopolitical events. - sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries in response to such conflicts, including the one in Ukraine, may also adversely impact the financial markets and the global economy, and any economic countermeasures by affected countries and others could exacerbate market and economic instability; and - other events or factors, many of which are beyond our control. In addition, the stock market has experienced significant volatility, particularly with respect to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other life sciences company stocks. The volatility of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and other life sciences company stocks often does not relate to the operating performance of the companies represented by the stock. In the past, securities class action litigation has often been initiated against companies following periods of volatility in their stock price. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and divert our management's attention and resources, and could also require us to make substantial payments to satisfy judgments or to settle litigation.

On November 30, 2023, we received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department, or the Staff, of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, or Nasdaq, notifying us that, based on Nasdaq's review of our Company and pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5101, or the Listing Rule, Nasdaq believes that we are a "public shell," and that the continued listing of our securities is no longer warranted. In response, we timely requested a hearing before a Nasdaq Hearings Panel, or the Panel, which request stayed any further action by the Staff. Subsequent to the hearing, we received notice that the Panel had granted our request for an exception through May 28, 2024 to evidence compliance with the Listing Rule. This compliance date represents the full extent of the Panel's discretion to grant continued listing while we are non-compliant with the Listing Rule. The Panel reserves the right to reconsider the terms of this exception based on any event, condition or circumstance that exists or develops that would, in the opinion of the Panel, make our continued listing inadvisable or unwarranted. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that we will be able to regain compliance with the Nasdaq listing rules or maintain our listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. If our common stock is delisted, it could be more difficult to buy or sell our common stock or to obtain accurate quotations, and the price of our common stock could suffer a material decline. Delisting could also impair our ability to raise capital.