Arcellx (ACLX) S-8Registration of securities for employees

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

ARCELLX, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

25 West Watkins Mill Road, Suite A

Gaithersburg, MD 20878

(240) 327-0603

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

2022 Equity Incentive Plan

2022 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

(Full title of the plan)

Rami Elghandour

President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors

Arcellx, Inc.

25 West Watkins Mill Road, Suite A

Gaithersburg, MD 20878

(240) 327-0603

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

Copies to:

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

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

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Arcellx, Inc. (the “Registrant”) is filing this Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) to register (i) 2,613,888 additional shares of common stock under the Registrant’s 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2022 Plan”), pursuant to the provision of the 2022 Plan providing for such automatic increase in the number of shares reserved for issuance, and (ii) 312,500 additional shares of common stock under the Registrant’s 2022 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2022 ESPP”), pursuant to the provision of the 2022 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 February 7, 2022 (File No. 333-333-262571) (the “Previous Form S-8”) and (ii) the previous Registration Statement on Form S-8 filed by the Registrant with the Commission on January 3, 2023 (File No. 333-269105) (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 THE 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:

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:

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 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.

Item 8. Exhibits.

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 Gaithersburg, Maryland, on January 2, 2024.

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