MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES
The following is a general discussion of the material United States, or U.S., federal income tax considerations of the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock issued pursuant to this offering, or the Shares, the purchase, exercise, disposition and lapse of warrants to purchase shares of our common stock pursuant to this offering, or the purchase warrants, the purchase, ownership and disposition of pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of our common stock issued pursuant to this offering, or the pre-funded warrants, and the ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock issuable upon exercise of the purchase warrants or the pre-funded warrants, or the warrant shares. The Shares, the purchase warrants, the warrant shares and the pre-funded warrants are collectively referred to herein as our “securities.” All prospective holders of our securities should consult their tax advisors with respect to the U.S. federal, state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our securities.
This discussion is not a complete analysis of all potential U.S. federal income tax consequences relating to the purchase, ownership and disposition of our securities. This discussion is based on current provisions of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which we refer to as the Code, existing U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder, published administrative pronouncements and rulings of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which we refer to as the IRS, and judicial decisions, all as in effect as of the date of this prospectus supplement. These authorities are subject to change and to differing interpretation, possibly with retroactive effect. Any change or differing interpretation could alter the tax consequences to holders described in this discussion. There can be no assurance that a court or the IRS will not challenge one or more of the tax consequences described herein, and we have not obtained, nor do we intend to obtain, a ruling with respect to the U.S. federal income tax consequences to a holder of the purchase, ownership or disposition of our securities.
We assume in this discussion that a holder holds our securities as a “capital asset” within the meaning of Section 1221 of the Code (generally, property held for investment). This discussion does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to a particular holder in light of that holder’s individual circumstances, nor does it address any alternative minimum, Medicare contribution, estate or gift tax consequences, or any aspects of U.S. state, local or non-U.S. taxes or any other U.S. federal tax laws. This discussion also does not address consequences relevant to holders subject to special tax rules, such as holders that own or have owned, or are deemed to own or have owned, more than 5% of our capital stock (except to the extent specifically set forth below), corporations that accumulate earnings to avoid U.S. federal income tax, tax-exempt organizations, governmental organizations, banks, financial institutions, investment funds, insurance companies, brokers, dealers or traders in securities, commodities or currencies, regulated investment companies or real estate investment trusts, persons that have a “functional currency” other than the U.S. dollar, tax-qualified retirement plans, “qualified foreign pension funds” as defined in Section 897(l)(2) of the Code and entities all of the interests of which are held by qualified foreign pension funds, holders who hold or receive our securities pursuant to the exercise of employee stock options or otherwise as compensation, holders holding our securities as part of a hedge, wash, straddle or other risk reduction strategy, conversion transaction or other integrated investment, holders deemed to sell our securities under the constructive sale provisions of the Code, holders subject to special tax accounting rules under Section 451(b) of the Code, controlled foreign corporations, passive foreign investment companies and certain former U.S. citizens or long-term residents.
In addition, this discussion does not address the tax treatment of partnerships (or entities or arrangements that are treated as partnerships or disregarded entities for U.S. federal income tax purposes) or persons that hold our securities through such partnerships. If a partnership, including any entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, holds our securities, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in such partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. Such partners and partnerships should consult their tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of our securities.
Treatment of Pre-Funded Warrants
Although it is not entirely free from doubt, we believe a pre-funded warrant should be treated as a Share for U.S. federal income tax purposes and a holder of pre-funded warrants should generally be taxed in the same manner as a holder of Shares, as described below. Accordingly, no gain or loss should be recognized upon the exercise of a pre-funded warrant and, upon exercise, the holding period of a pre-funded warrant should carry over to the Share received. Similarly, the tax basis of the pre-funded warrant should carry over to the Share received upon exercise, increased by the exercise price of $0.001 per share. However, our characterization is not binding on the IRS, and the