UNITED STATES
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CURRENT REPORT
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Item 3.01 Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing
On January 27, 2023, Ensysce Biosciences Inc. (the “Company”) received a notice in the form of a letter (the “Deficiency Letter”) from the listing qualifications department staff of The Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) stating that the Company was not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) because the bid price for the Company’s common stock had closed below $1.00 per share for the previous 30 consecutive business days.
In accordance with Nasdaq listing rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the Company has 180 calendar days, or until July 26, 2023, to regain compliance. The Deficiency Letter states that to regain compliance, the bid price for the Company’s common stock must close at $1.00 per share or more (the “Minimum Bid Price”) for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days during the compliance period ending July 26, 2023. The Deficiency Letter does not explicitly address that the Nasdaq staff may require a longer period of time for compliance with the Minimum Bid Price in some circumstances, but generally not more than 20 consecutive business days.
The Deficiency Letter has no immediate effect on the listing of the Company’s common stock, and the Company’s common stock continues to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ENSC.”
If the Company does not regain compliance by July 26, 2023, Nasdaq staff will provide written notice to the Company that its securities are subject to delisting. At that time, the Company may appeal any such delisting determination to a Nasdaq hearings panel.
The Company intends to actively monitor the closing bid price for the Company’s common stock between now and July 26, 2023 and may, if appropriate, evaluate available options to resolve the deficiency and regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price requirement. While the Company is exercising diligent efforts to maintain the listing of its common stock on Nasdaq, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to regain or maintain compliance with Nasdaq listing standards.
On June 17, 2022, we received a similar written notice from the Nasdaq Staff. We had until December 14, 2022 to regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price requirement. In October 2022, we implemented a 1-20 reverse stock split. On November 11, 2022, we received written notice from Nasdaq that we had regained compliance with the Minimum Bid Price requirement.
However, on December 14, 2022, we received a notice of a determination (the “Notice”) from Nasdaq, which referenced the Nasdaq letter sent to the Company, dated June 16, 2022 (the “June 16th Notice”), that the Company’s Minimum Value of Listed Securities (“MVLS”) was below the minimum of $35 million required for continued listing. Because we did not regain compliance by the deadline set forth in the June 16th Notice we requested a hearing before a Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”). That hearing was held on January 26, 2023 and we await the decision of the Panel. In connection with the hearing, any suspension or delisting action has been stayed pending the determination of the Panel following the hearing. In that regard, the Panel has the authority to grant an additional extension period not to exceed past June 12, 2023. There can be no assurance that the Company will be granted more time to attempt to comply with the MVLS requirement or be able to regain or maintain compliance with Nasdaq listing standards, including the Minimum Bid Price requirement.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Dated: January 30, 2023
| Ensysce Biosciences, Inc. | ||
| By: | /s/ Lynn Kirkpatrick | |
| Name: | Dr. Lynn Kirkpatrick | |
| Title: | President and Chief Executive Officer | |
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