As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 2, 2024

Registration No. 333-            

 

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Under

The Securities Act of 1933

 

 

VENTYX BIOSCIENCES, INC.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware		83-2996852
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

12790 El Camino Real, Suite 200

San Diego, CA 92130

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

2021 Equity Incentive Plan

2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

(Full title of the plan)

Raju Mohan, PhD

Chief Executive Officer

Ventyx Biosciences, Inc.

662 Encinitas Blvd, Suite 250

Encinitas, CA 92024

(Name and address of agent for service)

(760) 593-4832

(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

Martin J. Waters

Robert L. Wernli, Jr.

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.

12235 El Camino Real

San Diego, California 92130

(858) 350-2300

 

 

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

 

Large accelerated filer		☒		Accelerated filer		☐
Non-accelerated filer		☐		Smaller reporting company		☐
				Emerging growth company		☐

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

 

 

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Ventyx Biosciences, Inc. (the “Registrant”) is filing this Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) to register (i) 2,962,617 additional shares of common stock of the Registrant, par value $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”) under the Registrant’s 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”), pursuant to the provision of the 2021 Plan providing for such automatic increase in the number of shares reserved for issuance, and (ii) 592,523 additional shares of Common Stock under the Registrant’s 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2021 ESPP”), pursuant to the provision of the 2021 ESPP providing for such automatic increase in the number of shares reserved for issuance.

Accordingly, contents of (i) the previous Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed by the Registrant with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on January 5, 2023 (File No. 333-269130) and (ii) the previous Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed by the Registrant with the Commission on October 21, 2021 (File No. 333-260416) (together, the “Previous Forms S-8”), including the information incorporated by reference therein and the periodic reports filed after the Previous Forms S-8 to maintain current information about the Registrant, are incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement pursuant to General Instruction E of Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”).

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

The information specified in Item 1 and Item 2 of Part I of Form S-8 is omitted from this Registration Statement in accordance with the provisions of Rule 428 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) and the introductory note to Part I of Form S-8. The documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be delivered to the participants in the equity benefit plans covered by this Registration Statement as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act. These documents and the documents incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement pursuant to Item 3 of Part II of Form S-8, taken together, constitute a prospectus that meets the requirements of Section 10(a) of the Securities Act.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN REGISTRATION STATEMENT

Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.

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

(1) The Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the Commission on March 23, 2023 (the “Annual Report”) pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”);

(2) All other reports filed by the Registrant with the Commission pursuant to Sections 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the end of the fiscal year covered by the Registrant’s Annual Report (other than the portions of these documents not deemed to be filed); and

(3) The description of the Registrant’s Common Stock contained in the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-40928) filed with the Commission on October 18, 2021, pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

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

Item 6. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law authorizes a corporation’s board of directors to grant, and authorizes a court to award, indemnity to officers, directors and other corporate agents.

Our certificate of incorporation contains provisions that limit the liability of our directors and certain of our officers for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law. Consequently, our directors will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as directors, except liability for the following:

 

•

any breach of their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;

 

•

any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

 

•

unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases or redemptions as provided in Section 174 of the Delaware General Corporation Law; or

 

•

any transaction from which they derived an improper personal benefit.

Similarly, our officers who at the time of an act or omission as to which liability is asserted consented to or are deemed to have consented to certain service of process rules under Delaware law will not be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duties as officers, except for liability in connection with:

 

•

any breach of their duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders;

 

•

any act or omission not in good faith or that involves intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;

 

•

any transaction from which they derived an improper personal benefit; or

 

•

any action by or in the right of the corporation.

Any amendment, repeal or elimination of these provisions will not eliminate or reduce the effect of these provisions in respect of any act, omission or claim that occurred or arose prior to that amendment, repeal or elimination. If the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended to provide for further limitations on the personal liability of directors or officers of corporations, then the personal liability of our directors and officers will be further limited to the greatest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law.

In addition, our bylaws provide that we will indemnify our directors and officers, and may indemnify our employees, agents and any other persons, to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law. Our bylaws also provide that we must advance expenses incurred by or on behalf of a director or officer in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding, subject to limited exceptions.

Further, we have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers that may be broader than the specific indemnification provisions contained in the Delaware General Corporation Law. These indemnification agreements require us to, among other things, indemnify our directors and executive officers against liabilities that may arise by reason of their status or service. These indemnification agreements also generally require us to advance all expenses reasonably and actually incurred by our directors and executive officers in investigating or defending any such action, suit or proceeding. We believe that these agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified individuals to serve as directors and executive officers.

The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and indemnification agreements may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors and officers for breach of their fiduciary duties. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and other stockholders. Further, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent that we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our directors and officers as required by these indemnification provisions.

We have obtained insurance policies under which, subject to the limitations of the policies, coverage is provided to our directors and officers against loss arising from claims made by reason of breach of fiduciary duty or other wrongful acts as a director or officer, including claims relating to public securities matters, and to us with respect to payments that may be made by us to our directors and officers pursuant to our indemnification obligations or otherwise as a matter of law.

Certain of our non-employee directors may, through their relationships with their employers, be insured or indemnified against certain liabilities incurred in their capacity as members of our board of directors.

Item 8.

Exhibits.

 

Incorporated by Reference

Exhibit Number

Description

Form

File No.

Exhibit

Filing Date

4.2

Specimen common stock certificate of the Registrant

S-1/A

333-259891

4.2

October 15, 2021

5.1*

Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation

23.1*

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

23.2*

Consent of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Professional Corporation (contained in Exhibit 5.1 hereto)

24.1*

Power of Attorney

99.1

2021 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, and forms of agreement thereunder

10-K

001-40928

10.3

March 23, 2023

99.2

2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

S-1/A

333-259891

10.4

October 15, 2021

107.1*

Filing Fee Table

 

*	Filed herewith.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of San Diego, State of California, on January 2, 2024.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement on Form S-8 has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated:

 

Signature		Title		Date
/s/ Raju Mohan Raju Mohan, Ph.D.		Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)		January 2, 2024
/s/ Martin Auster Martin Auster, M.D.		Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer)		January 2, 2024
* Sheila Gujrathi, M.D.		Executive Chairperson		January 2, 2024
* Onaiza Cadoret-Manier		Director		January 2, 2024
* Allison J. Hulme, Ph.D.		Director		January 2, 2024
* Somasundaram Subramaniam, M.B.A.		Director		January 2, 2024
* William White, J.D., M.P.P.		Director		January 2, 2024

 

*By:		/s/ Raju Mohan
		Raju Mohan
		Attorney-in-Fact