UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
April 2020
Commission File Number: 0001723069
| Tiziana Life Sciences plc |
| (Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter) |
3rd Floor,
11-12 St. James’s Square
London SW1Y 4LB
United Kingdom
(Address of registrant’s principal executive office)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
Form 20-F ☒ Form 40-F ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ☐
INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT ON FORM 6-K
On March 4, 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order under Section 36 (Release No. 34-88318) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (“Exchange Act”), granting exemptions from specified provisions of the Exchange Act and certain rules thereunder. On March 25, 2020, the order was modified and superseded by a new SEC order (Release No. 34-88465), which provides conditional relief to public companies that are unable to timely comply with their filing obligations as a result of the novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak (the “SEC Order”). The SEC Order provides that a registrant subject to the reporting requirements of Exchange Act Section 13(a) or 15(d), and any person required to make any filings with respect to such registrant, is exempt from any requirement to file or furnish materials with the Commission under Exchange Act Sections 13(a), 13(f), 13(g), 14(a), 14(c), 14(f), 15(d) and Regulations 13A, Regulation 13D-G (except for those provisions mandating the filing of Schedule 13D or amendments to Schedule 13D), 14A, 14C and 15D, and Exchange Act Rules 13f-1, and 14f-1, as applicable, if certain conditions are satisfied.
Tiziana Life Sciences plc (the “Company”) will be relying on the SEC Order to delay the filing of its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2019 (the “Report”) due to the circumstances related to COVID-19. In particular, COVID-19 has caused severe disruptions in travel and transportation and limited access to the Company’s facilities resulting in limited support from its staff. This has, in turn, delayed the Company’s ability to complete its quarterly review and prepare the Report. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company expects to file the Report no later than June 14, 2020 (which is 45 days from the Report’s original filing deadline of April 30, 2020).
In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Company will be including the following Risk Factor in its Report:
A pandemic, epidemic or outbreak of an infectious disease, such as COVID-19, may materially and adversely affect our business and operations.
The recent outbreak of COVID-19 originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019 and has since spread to multiple countries, including the United States and several European countries. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak a pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting the United States and global economies and may affect our operations and those of third parties on which we rely, including by causing disruptions in the supply of our product candidates and the conduct of future clinical trials. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic may affect the operations of the FDA and other health authorities, which could result in delays of reviews and approvals, including with respect to our product candidates. Additionally, while the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic is difficult to assess or predict, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global financial markets may reduce our ability to access capital, which could negatively impact our short-term and long-term liquidity. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. We do not yet know the full extent of potential delays or impacts on our business, financing or clinical trial activities or on healthcare systems or the global economy as a whole. However, these effects could have a material impact on our liquidity, capital resources, operations and business and those of the third parties on which we rely.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This Current Report on Form 8-K contains statements that are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements relate to expectations or forecasts for future events, including, without limitation, our future financial or business performance or strategies, results of operations or financial condition. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words “may,” “might,” “should,” “estimate,” “plan,” “project,” “forecast,” “intend,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “seek,” “continue,” “target” or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date they were made and involve a number of risks and uncertainties which may cause them to turn out to be wrong. Accordingly, forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date, and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. As a result of a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 pandemic on our business, employees, consultants, service providers, stockholders, investors and other stakeholders, our actual results or performance may be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Please refer to our Form 20-F to be filed with the SEC as well as any subsequent filings made by us pursuant to the Exchange Act, each of which is available on the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov), for a full discussion of the risks and other factors that may impact any forward-looking statements in this presentation.
SIGNATURE
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 thereunto duly authorized.
| TIZIANA LIFE SCIENCES PLC | |||
| Dated: April 1, 2020 | By: | /s/ Kunwar Shailubhai | |
|
Kunwar Shailubhai Chief Executive Officer |
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