EXHIBIT 19.1
INSIDER TRADING POLICY
THIS POLICY WAS APPROVED BY THE BOARD ON AUGUST 15, 2023
PURPOSE
Achieve Life Sciences, Inc. (the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”) is committed to promoting high standards of honest and ethical business conduct and compliance with laws, rules and regulations. Because stock is an important part of the Company’s compensation program, our Board of Directors (“Board”) has adopted this Insider Trading Policy (“Policy”) governing the purchase, sale and other dispositions of the Company’s securities by the individuals and entities covered by this policy to promote compliance with insider trading laws, rules and regulations, as well as applicable stock exchange listing standards.
Insider trading happens when someone who is in possession of material nonpublic information (“MNPI”) trades securities on the basis of that information or discloses MNPI to someone else who trades on the basis of that information.
If you are considering trading our stock or other securities, please keep these three key points in mind:
You are responsible for understanding and following this Policy and for the consequences of any actions you may take. Our insider trading compliance officer, as designated by the Board, a committee thereof or an executive officer of the Company (the “Compliance Officer”), will assist with implementing, interpreting and enforcing this Policy, pre-clearing trading activities of certain people, and pre-approving any 10b5-1 Plans (as discussed more fully later in this Policy).
Persons Covered By This Policy
This Policy applies to our employees, contractors, consultants and Board members, as well as to their immediate family members, people sharing their households and anyone subject to their influence or control. It applies as well to entities such as venture capital funds, partnerships, trusts and corporations which are associated or affiliated with our employees, contractors, consultants and Board members. An “immediate family member” under this Policy means any child, stepchild, parent, stepparent, spouse, domestic partner, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law of a person security holder, and includes any person (other than a tenant or employee) sharing the household of that person. We will refer
to all of these individuals and entities to whom this Policy applies individually as “you” and “Insider” and collectively as “Insiders.”
Additional trading restrictions in this Policy apply to our officers (as defined in Rule 16a-1(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) and directors (together with the officers, the “Section 16 Insiders”) and to the individuals listed on Exhibit A (“Designated Insiders”) who are not Section 16 Insiders but who have regular access to MNPI in the normal course of their job. The list of Designated Insiders may be modified by our Compliance Officer.
If you are aware of MNPI when your employment or service relationship with the Company ends, you still may not trade our securities until that MNPI has become public or is no longer material.
What This Policy Covers
The primary purpose of this Policy is to prevent people who are in possession of MNPI from trading in our stock or other securities on the basis of that MNPI or disclosing MNPI to someone else who trades on the basis of that information.
“Material information” is information about the Company, positive or negative, that a reasonable stockholder would consider important in making a decision to purchase or sell the Company’s securities. Material information can be positive or negative and can relate to virtually any aspect of the Company’s business or its securities.
Examples of material information may include:
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This list is illustrative only and is not intended to provide a comprehensive list of circumstances that could result in material information. Determination of what may constitute material information will depend upon the facts and circumstances in each particular situation.
“Nonpublic” means that the confidential information has not yet been shared broadly outside the Company. Please remember as well that we may possess confidential information relating to or belonging to our collaborators, partners or other third parties and that it is equally important that we treat this information with the same care with which we treat our own information. If you are not sure whether information is considered public, you should either consult with our Compliance Officer or assume that the information is nonpublic and treat it as confidential.
This Policy applies to all transactions involving our securities, including common stock, restricted stock units (“RSUs”), options and warrants to purchase common stock and any other debt or equity securities the Company may issue from time to time, such as bonds, preferred stock, convertible notes, as well as to derivative securities relating to the Company’s securities, whether or not issued by the Company, such as exchange-traded options.
PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES AND OTHER RESTRICTIONS
Insider Restrictions
The following is a list of prohibited activities for all Insiders:
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Additional Restrictions Applicable to Section 16 Insiders and Designated Insiders
In addition to the restrictions noted above and elsewhere in this Policy, if you are a Section 16 Insider or a Designated Insider, prior to trading our securities other than pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan or a non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangement, you must obtain pre-approval from our Compliance Officer (or in the case of the Compliance Officer, by a different Section 16 Insider) by: (a) providing written notification of the amount and nature of the proposed trade, (b) certifying no earlier than two business days prior to the proposed trade that you have no MNPI and, to your knowledge, you will have no MNPI as of the proposed trade date, and (c) receiving email confirmation from our Compliance Officer approving the trade, which approval can be granted or denied at his or her discretion. You may satisfy (a) and (b) by emailing the required information and certification to our Compliance Officer and must notify the Compliance Officer promptly via email of any changes to the certification in (b) prior to the proposed trade.
We recommend Section 16 Insiders trade in our securities pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan entered into in accordance with this Policy.
Exceptions to Prohibited Activities
The trading restrictions of this Policy do not apply to the following:
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Other Legal Restrictions
The trading prohibitions of this Policy are not the only stock-trading rules and regulations you need to follow. You should be aware of additional prohibitions and restrictions set by contract or by federal and state securities laws and regulations (e.g., contractual restrictions on the resale of securities, rules on short swing trading by Section 16 Insiders, compliance with Rule 144 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and others). Any Insider who is uncertain whether other prohibitions or restrictions apply should ask our Compliance Officer.
We will not transact in our securities unless in compliance with U.S. securities laws.
WHEN TRADING IS ALLOWED
To promote compliance with insider trading laws, we have designated periods where Insiders can trade in our securities, which are described below:
Trading Windows and Blackout Periods
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Permitted Trades Under 10b5‑1 Plans
We allow Insiders to trade in our securities while in possession of MNPI, outside of a Trading Window or during a Blackout Period, pursuant to a “10b5-1 Plan.”
What Is a 10b5-1 Plan? A “10b5-1 Plan” is a written plan for selling or purchasing a predetermined number of shares that is entered into while an Insider is not in possession of MNPI as contemplated in Rule 10b5-1.
How Do I Adopt a 10b5-1 Plan? We will engage a broker to administer our 10b5-1 Plans, and any 10b5-1 Plan that you adopt must be adopted through that broker unless otherwise approved by our Compliance Officer. If you are interested in setting up a 10b5-1 Plan, you should consult with our Compliance Officer and make sure that:
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Approval of a 10b5-1 Plan by our Compliance Officer and/or an acknowledgment of a 10b5-1 Plan by the Company shall not be considered a determination by us, our Compliance Officer, or the Company that the 10b5-1 Plan satisfies the requirements of Rule 10b5-1.
How Do I Modify a 10b5-1 Plan? Once you have an approved 10b5-1 Plan in place, you will need approval from our Compliance Officer to make certain changes to it. Modifying or changing the amount, price, or timing of the purchase or sale of our securities underlying the 10b5-1 Plan (or a modification or change to a written formula or algorithm, or computer program that affects the amount, price, or timing of the purchase or sale of such securities) (any such modification or change, a “Plan Modification”) will be deemed to be the same as terminating your existing 10b5-1 Plan and entering into a new 10b5-1 Plan. As a result, the approval process for a Plan Modification is the same as the approval process for initially adopting a 10b5-1 Plan, including being subject to a new Cooling-Off Period. We discourage you from making multiple Plan Modifications, as that may give the appearance that you are trading on MNPI under the guise of that plan. Plan Modifications can only be made during a Trading Window and not during any Blackout Period and only when you are not in possession of MNPI. For other modifications to a 10b5-1 Plan, you must notify the Compliance Officer of such modification in writing at least two business days prior to the modification and such modification must be approved by the Compliance Officer.
How Do I Terminate a 10b5-1 Plan? Once you have an approved 10b5-1 Plan in place, you will need approval from our Compliance Officer to terminate it.
Other Trading Arrangements
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Insiders are not allowed to enter into “non-Rule 10b5-1 trading arrangements” (as defined in Regulation S-K Item 408(c)) unless otherwise approved in advance by the Compliance Officer.
THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT CONSEQUENCES
FOR VIOLATING INSIDER TRADING LAWS
The consequences of violating the insider trading laws can be severe. People who violate insider trading laws may be required to disgorge profits made or losses avoided by trading, pay the loss suffered by the persons who purchased securities from or sold securities to the insider tippee, pay civil fines of up to three times the profit made or loss avoided, pay a criminal penalty of up to $5 million for individuals and $25 million for entities and serve a prison term of up to 20 years. In addition, individual directors, officers and other supervisory personnel may also be required to pay major civil or criminal penalties for failure to take appropriate steps to prevent insider trading by those under their supervision, influence or control.
CONSEQUENCES OF VIOLATING THIS POLICY
We may impose discipline on anyone violating this Policy, up to and including termination of employment, and we may issue stop transfer orders to our transfer agent to prevent any attempted trades that would violate this Policy.
ADMINISTRATION
The Compliance Officer will administer and interpret this Policy and enforce compliance as needed. The Compliance Officer may consult with the Company’s outside legal counsel as needed. The Compliance Officer may designate other individuals to perform the Compliance Officer’s duties under this Policy.
Neither the Company nor the Compliance Officer will be liable for any act made under this Policy. Neither the Company nor the Compliance Officer is responsible for any failure to approve a trade or for imposing any Blackout Period.
REPORTING VIOLATIONS
Any Insider who violates this Policy or any federal or state laws governing insider trading or tipping, or who knows of any such violation by any other Insider, must report the violation immediately to our Compliance Officer. To anonymously submit a concern or complaint regarding a possible violation of this Policy, you should follow the procedures outlined in our Whistleblower Policy. Anyone who violates this Policy may be subject to disciplinary measures, which may include termination of employment.
CHANGES TO THIS POLICY
Our Board reserves the right in its sole discretion to modify or grant waivers to this Policy. Any amendments or waiver may be publicly disclosed if required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. For the avoidance of doubt, unless explicitly stated by the Board, any waiver, amendment or modification of the Policy by the Board shall not be considered a waiver of the Company’s Code of Conduct & Ethics.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
The effective date of this Policy is August 15, 2023. The amendments to this Policy would not apply to any existing 10b5-1 Plan that was entered into prior to February 27, 2023, except to the extent that a Plan Modification is made to such plan after February 27, 2023.
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Exhibit A
Designated Insiders
All Vice President level employees and above
All members of the Clinical Department
All members of the Regulatory Affairs and Biometrics Departments
All members of the CMC and QA Departments
All members of the Administration, IT, Legal, Finance and Accounting Departments
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Appendix
Exceptions to the Multiple, Overlapping 10b5-1 Plan Restriction
Such exceptions are:
Exceptions to the Single-Trade 10b5-1 Plan Restriction
There is an exception for eligible “sell-to-cover” 10b5-1 Plans where the plan authorizes an agent to sell only such securities as are necessary to satisfy tax withholding obligations arising exclusively from the vesting of a compensatory award, such as restricted stock or stock appreciation rights, and the Insider does not otherwise exercise control over the timing of such sales.