Pharvaris (PHVS) Risk Analysis

Our share price has been highly volatile. In addition, because of our relatively small public float our ordinary shares may be less liquid than the ordinary shares of companies with broader public ownership and trading of a relatively small volume of our ordinary shares may have a greater impact on the market price for our ordinary shares than would be the case if our public float were larger. The market price of our ordinary shares may fluctuate significantly in response to numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, including, but not limited to: - results and timing of clinical trials of our and our competitors' product candidates;- failure of any of our product candidates, if approved, to achieve commercial success;- competition from existing products or new products that may emerge;- issues in manufacturing our product candidates or future approved products;- public concern relating to the commercial value or safety of any of our product candidates;- disputes or other developments related to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters, and our ability to obtain intellectual property protection for our technologies;- failure to adequately protect our trade secrets;- additions and departures of key personnel;- our inability to raise additional capital or the terms on which we raise it;- period-to-period fluctuations in our financial condition and results of operations, including the timing of receipt of any milestone or other payments under commercialization or licensing agreements;- public health crises, illnesses, epidemics or pandemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic;- changes in market conditions for biopharmaceutical stocks;- changes in general market and economic conditions; and - other risk factors discussed in this section. In addition, the stock market in general has experienced substantial price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of particular companies affected. These broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our ordinary shares, regardless of our operating performance. As we operate in a single industry, we are especially vulnerable to these factors to the extent that they affect our industry or our product candidates, or to a lesser extent our markets. In the past, securities class action litigation has often been initiated against companies and their management 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.

The trading market for our ordinary shares depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If no or few securities or industry analysts cover us, the trading price for our ordinary shares would likely be negatively impacted. If one or more of the analysts who covers us downgrades our ordinary shares or publishes incorrect or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our ordinary shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts ceases coverage of us or fails to publish reports on us regularly, or downgrades our ordinary shares, demand for our ordinary shares could decrease, which could cause the price of our ordinary shares or trading volume to decline.

In the event of an issuance of our ordinary shares or a grant of rights to subscribe for ordinary shares, subject to certain exceptions, each shareholder will have a pro rata preemptive right in proportion to the aggregate nominal value of the ordinary shares held by such holder. These preemptive rights may be restricted or excluded by a resolution of the general meeting or by another corporate body designated by the general meeting. Our Board is authorized for a period of five years after our conversion into a Dutch public company with limited liability (naamloze vennootschap) to issue shares or grant rights to subscribe for shares up to our authorized share capital from time to time and to limit or exclude preemptive rights in connection therewith. This could cause existing shareholders to experience substantial dilution of their interest in us.

Our Board can invoke a cooling-off period of up to 250 days when shareholders, using their right to have items added to the agenda for a general meeting or their right to request a general meeting, propose an agenda item for our general meeting to dismiss, suspend or appoint one or more directors (or to amend any provision in the Articles of Association dealing with those matters) or when a public offer for our company is made or announced without our support, provided, in each case, that our board of directors believes that such proposal or offer materially conflicts with the interests of our company and its business. During a cooling-off period, our general meeting cannot dismiss, suspend or appoint directors (or amend the provisions in the Articles of Association dealing with those matters) except at the proposal of our Board. During a cooling-off period, our Board must gather all relevant information necessary for a careful decision-making process and at least consult with shareholders representing 3% or more of our issued share capital at the time the cooling-off period was invoked, as well as with our Dutch works council (if we or, under certain circumstances, any of our subsidiaries would have one). Formal statements expressed by these stakeholders during such consultations must be published on our website to the extent these stakeholders have approved that publication. Ultimately one week following the last day of the cooling-off period, our Board must publish a report in respect of its policy and conduct of affairs during the cooling-off period on our website. This report must remain available at our office for inspection by shareholders and others with meeting rights under Dutch law and must be tabled for discussion at the next general meeting. Shareholders representing at least 3% of our issued share capital may request the Enterprise Chamber for early termination of the cooling-off period. The Enterprise Chamber must rule in favor of the request if the shareholders can demonstrate that: - our Board, in light of the circumstances at hand when the cooling-off period was invoked, could not reasonably have concluded that the relevant proposal or hostile offer constituted a material conflict with the interests of our company and its business;- our Board cannot reasonably believe that a continuation of the cooling-off period would contribute to careful policy-making; or - other defensive measures, having the same purpose, nature and scope as the cooling-off period, have been activated during the cooling-off period and have not since been terminated or suspended within a reasonable period at the relevant shareholders' request (i.e., no ‘stacking' of defensive measures).

Under Dutch law, various protective measures are possible and permissible within the boundaries set by Dutch law and Dutch case law. In this respect, certain provisions of our Articles of Association may make it more difficult for a third-party to acquire control of us or effect a change in the composition of our Board. These include: - a provision that our directors being appointed on the basis of a binding nomination prepared by our Board, which can only be overruled by the general meeting by a resolution adopted by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast, representing more than half of our issued share capital (in which case the Board shall make a new nomination);- a provision that our directors may only be dismissed by the general meeting by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast representing more than half of our issued share capital, unless the dismissal is proposed by our Board in which latter case a simple majority of the votes cast would be sufficient;- a provision which allows the most recent (former) chairman of our Board or our most recent (former) chief executive officer to be charged with our management if all of our directors are absent or incapacitated; and - requirements that certain matters, including an amendment of our Articles of Association, may only be resolved upon by our general meeting if proposed by our Board. In addition, Dutch law allows for staggered multi-year terms of our directors, as a result of which only part of our directors may be subject to appointment or re-appointment in any one year. Furthermore, in accordance with the DCGC, shareholders who have the right to put an item on the agenda for our general meeting or to request the convening of a general meeting shall not exercise such rights until after they have consulted our Board. If exercising such rights may result in a change in our strategy (for example, through the dismissal of one or more of our directors), our Board must be given the opportunity to invoke a reasonable period of up to 180 days to respond to the shareholders' intentions. If invoked, our Board must use such response period for further deliberation and constructive consultation, in any event with the shareholder(s) concerned and exploring alternatives. At the end of the response time, our Board shall report on this consultation and the exploration of alternatives to our general meeting. The response period may be invoked only once for any given general meeting and shall not apply (i) in respect of a matter for which either a response period or a statutory cooling-off period (as discussed below) has been previously invoked or (ii) in situations where a shareholder holds at least 75% of our issued capital as a consequence of a successful public bid.

Our corporate affairs are governed by our Articles of Association, our internal rules and policies and by Dutch law. There can be no assurance that Dutch law will not change in the future or that it will serve to protect shareholders in a similar fashion afforded under corporate law principles in the United States, which could adversely affect the rights of our shareholders. The rights of shareholders and the responsibilities of members of our Board are in many ways different from the rights and obligations of shareholders and a board of directors in companies governed by the laws of United States jurisdictions. In particular, pursuant to Dutch law members of the Board are required to act in the interest of the Company and the sustainable success of its business, with an aim to creating long-term value, taking into account the interests of its employees, clients, shareholders and other stakeholders of the Company, in all cases with due observation of the principles of reasonableness and fairness. It is possible that some of these parties will have interests that are different from, or in addition to, your interests as a shareholder.

We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including an exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act; and to the extent that we no longer qualify as a foreign private issuer, (a) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and (b) exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation, including golden parachute compensation. We cannot predict whether investors will find our ordinary shares less attractive if we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our ordinary shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our ordinary shares and our share price may be reduced or more volatile. We may take advantage of these provisions until such time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company on December 31, 2026 (the last day of our fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the completion of our initial public offering in February 2021) or earlier if we have more than $1.235 billion in annual revenues, are deemed to be a "large accelerated filer" under the rules of the SEC, or issue more than $1.0 billion of nonconvertible debt over a three-year period. We may also choose to take advantage of some but not all of these reduced burdens. For example, Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can use the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, for complying with new or revised accounting standards. Given that we currently report and expect to continue to report under IFRS, as issued by the IASB. Given that we currently report and expect to continue to report under IFRS as issued by the IASB, we will not be able to avail ourselves of this extended transition period and, as a result, we will adopt new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required by the IASB. We have taken advantage of reduced reporting requirements in this Annual Report. Accordingly, the information contained herein may be different than the information you receive from other public companies in which you hold equity securities.

We are a "foreign private issuer," as defined in the SEC's rules and regulations. The Nasdaq Listing Rules include certain accommodations in the corporate governance requirements that allow foreign private issuers to follow "home country" corporate governance practices in lieu of the otherwise applicable corporate governance standards of Nasdaq. The application of such exceptions requires that we disclose the Nasdaq Listing Rules that we do not follow and describe the Dutch corporate governance standards, including those as per the DCGC that we do follow in lieu of the relevant Nasdaq corporate governance standard. We intend to continue to follow Dutch corporate governance practices in lieu of the corporate governance requirements of Nasdaq in certain respects. In accordance with Dutch law and generally accepted business practices, our Articles of Association do not provide quorum requirements generally applicable to general meetings of shareholders. To this extent, our practice varies from the requirement of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5620(c), which requires an issuer to provide in its bylaws for a generally applicable quorum, and that such quorum may not be less than one-third of the outstanding voting stock. Although we must provide shareholders with an agenda and other relevant documents for the general meeting of shareholders, Dutch law does not have a regulatory regime for the solicitation of proxies and the solicitation of proxies is not a generally accepted business practice in the Netherlands, thus our practice will vary from the requirement of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5620(b). As permitted by the listing requirements of Nasdaq, we have also opted out of the requirements of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5610, which requires an issuer to disclose within four business days any waiver of the code of conduct that has been granted to directors and officers. In addition, we have opted out of shareholder approval requirements, as included in the Nasdaq Listing Rules, for the issuance of securities in connection with certain events such as the acquisition of shares or assets of another company, the establishment of or amendments to equity-based compensation plans for employees, a change of control of us and certain private placements. To this extent, our practice varies from the requirements of Nasdaq Rule 5635, which generally requires an issuer to obtain shareholder approval for the issuance of securities in connection with such events. Accordingly, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are subject to these Nasdaq requirements.

The market price of our ordinary shares may decline as a result of sales of a large number of our ordinary shares in the market or the perception that these sales may occur. These sales, or the possibility that these sales may occur, also might make it more difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. We had a total of 53,816,707 ordinary shares outstanding as of April 1, 2024. If our existing shareholders sell substantial amounts of ordinary shares in the public market, or the market perceives that such sales may occur, the market price of our ordinary shares and our ability to raise capital through an issue of equity securities in the future could be adversely affected.

As of April 1, 2024, our significant shareholders beneficially owned ordinary shares representing approximately 59.01% of our outstanding ordinary shares. For more information regarding our significant shareholders, please see "ITEM 7. MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS-A. Major Shareholders." These significant shareholders have in the past often taken a similar position and exercised influence over matters requiring approval of our shareholders or our Board. They may act jointly or independently in the future and will continue to be able to exert significant influence over the outcome of matters requiring approval of our shareholders or our Board, including but not limited to the approval of significant transactions. Their interests may differ from the interests of other shareholders. Among other consequences, this concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control and might therefore negatively affect the market price of our ordinary shares.

Although our ordinary shares are listed and being traded on Nasdaq, an active trading market for our shares may not be maintained. If an active market for our ordinary shares is not maintained, it may be difficult for you to sell shares you have purchased without depressing the market price for the shares or at all. An inactive trading market may also impair our ability to raise capital to continue to fund operations by selling shares and may impair our ability to acquire other companies or technologies by using our shares as consideration.

We have and may continue to seek additional funding through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations and/or licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a holder of our ordinary shares. The incurrence of indebtedness and/or the issuance of certain equity securities could result in increased fixed payment obligations and could also result in certain additional restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt and/or issue additional equity, limitations on our ability to acquire or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. In addition, issuance of additional equity securities, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our ordinary shares to decline. In the event that we enter into collaborations and/or licensing arrangements in order to raise capital, we may be required to accept unfavorable terms, including relinquishing or licensing to a third-party on unfavorable terms our rights to technologies or product candidates that we otherwise would seek to develop or commercialize ourselves or potentially reserve for future potential arrangements when we might be able to achieve more favorable terms. Additional funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to obtain funding on a timely basis, we may be required to significantly curtail one or more of programs or cease operations altogether.