EX-3.1 2 apgn-ex3_1.htm EX-3.1 EX-3.1

EXHIBIT 3.1

THIRD AMENDED AND RESTATED CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION

OF

APEXIGEN, INC.

August 23, 2023

FIRST: The name of the corporation is Apexigen, Inc. (the “Corporation”).

SECOND: The Corporation shall have the authority to issue one class of shares to be designated Common Stock. The total number of shares of Common Stock the Corporation has authority to issue is 1,000 with par value of $0.001 per share.

THIRD: The registered office of the Corporation shall be at 1209 Orange Street, City of Wilmington, County of New Castle, 19801. The registered agent of the Corporation at such address shall be The Corporation Trust Company.

FOURTH: The purpose of the Corporation is to engage in any lawful act or activity for which corporations may be organized under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

FIFTH: In furtherance and not in limitation of the powers conferred by statute, the Board of Directors is expressly authorized to make, alter, amend or repeal the Bylaws of the Corporation, but the stockholders may make additional bylaws and may alter, amend or repeal any Bylaws of the Corporation whether adopted by them or otherwise.

SIXTH: The number of directors of the Corporation shall be fixed from time to time by, or in the manner provided in, the Bylaws of the Corporation. Elections of directors need not be by written ballot unless the Bylaws of the Corporation so provide.

SEVENTH: A director of the Corporation shall not be personally liable to the Corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) under Section 174 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. If the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware is amended to authorize corporate action further eliminating or limiting the personal liability of directors, then the liability of a director of the Corporation shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, as so amended. Any repeal or modification of the foregoing provisions of this Article Seventh by the stockholders of the Corporation shall not adversely affect the elimination or limitation of liability or alleged liability pursuant hereto of any director of the Corporation for or with respect to any alleged act or omission of the director occurring prior to such repeal or modification.

EIGHTH: The Corporation shall indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law as it presently exists or may hereafter be amended, any director or officer of the Corporation who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending

 


or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “Proceeding”), by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director or officer of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to employee benefits plans, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, losses, fines and amounts paid in settlement (collectively, “Losses”) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such Proceeding if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the Corporation shall be required to indemnify a person in connection with a Proceeding commenced by such person only if the commencement of such Proceeding was authorized in the specific case by the Board of Directors.

The Corporation shall have the power to indemnify, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law as it presently exists or may hereafter be amended, any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any Proceeding by reason of the fact that such person is or was an employee or agent of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to employee benefits plans, against Losses actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such Proceeding if such person acted in good faith and in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe such person’s conduct was unlawful.

Given that certain jointly indemnifiable claims (as defined below) may arise due to indemnification provided by certain indemnitee-related entities (as defined below) to the indemnified parties pursuant to this Article Eighth (the “Indemnified Parties”), the Corporation shall be fully and primarily responsible for the payment to the Indemnified Parties in respect of indemnification or advancement of expenses in connection with any such jointly indemnifiable claims, pursuant to and in accordance with the terms of this Article Eighth, irrespective of any right of recovery the Indemnified Parties may have from the indemnitee-related entities. Under no circumstance shall the Corporation be entitled to any right of subrogation or contribution by the indemnitee-related entities, and no right of advancement or recovery the Indemnified Parties may have from the indemnitee-related entities shall reduce or otherwise alter the rights of the Indemnified Parties or the obligations of the Corporation hereunder. In the event that any of the indemnitee-related entities shall make any payment to any of the Indemnified Parties in respect of indemnification or advancement of expenses with respect to any jointly indemnifiable claim, the indemnitee-related entity making such payment shall be subrogated to the extent of such payment to all of the rights of recovery of such Indemnified Parties against the Corporation, and the Indemnified Parties shall execute all documents reasonably required and shall do all things that may be reasonably necessary to secure such rights, including the execution of such documents as may be necessary to enable the indemnitee-related entities effectively to bring suit to enforce such rights. Each of the indemnitee-related entities shall be third-party beneficiaries with respect to this Article Eighth, entitled to enforce this Article Eighth.

A right to indemnification arising under this Certificate of Incorporation shall not be eliminated or impaired by an amendment to this Certificate of Incorporation after the occurrence of the act or omission that is the subject of the Proceeding for which indemnification is sought.

 


For purposes of this Article Eighth, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

(i)
the term “indemnitee-related entities” means any corporation, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise (other than the Corporation) from whom an Indemnified Party may be entitled to indemnification or advancement of expenses on account of Proceedings or Losses with respect to which, in whole or in part, the Corporation may also have an indemnification or advancement obligation.

 

(ii)
the term “jointly indemnifiable claims” shall be broadly construed and shall include, without limitation, Proceeding for which any of the Indemnified Parties shall be entitled to indemnification or advancement of expenses from both (i) the Corporation, on the one hand, and (ii) any indemnitee-related entity pursuant to any other agreement between any indemnitee-related entity and the Indemnified Party pursuant to which such Indemnified Party is indemnified, the laws of the jurisdiction of incorporation or organization of any indemnitee-related entity and/or the certificate of incorporation, certificate of organization, bylaws, partnership agreement, operating agreement, certificate of formation, certificate of limited partnership or other organizational or governing documents of any indemnitee-related entity, on the other hand.

 

NINTH: Except as provided in Article Seventh and Article Eighth above, the Corporation reserves the right to amend, alter, change or repeal any provision contained in this Third Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, in the manner now or hereafter prescribed by statute, and all rights conferred upon stockholders herein are granted subject to this reservation.

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