As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 31, 2023
Registration No. 333-            

 
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Under
The Securities Act of 1933

FORTE BIOSCIENCES, INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 
			
Delaware	 	26-1243872	
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)	 	(I.R.S. Employer
Identification Number)	
3060 Pegasus Park Drive, Building 6
Dallas, Texas 75247
(Address of Principal Executive Offices, including zip code)
2017 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
(Full title of the plan)
Paul A. Wagner, Ph.D.
Chief Executive Officer
Forte Biosciences, Inc.
3060 Pegasus Park Drive, Building 6
Dallas, Texas 75247
(310) 618-6994
(Name, address and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:
Dan Koeppen
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.
12235 El Camino Real
San Diego, California 92130
(858) 350-2300

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer	 	☐	  	Accelerated filer	 	☐	
				
Non-accelerated filer	 	☒	  	Smaller reporting company	 	☒	
				
	 		  	Emerging growth company	 	☐	
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act.  ☐

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE
This Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) is filed by Forte Biosciences, Inc. (the “Registrant”) for the purpose of registering 210,000 shares of Common Stock issuable to eligible employees of Registrant under the Registrant’s 2017 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2017 ESPP”) as a result of the annual evergreen increase under the 2017 ESPP.
These additional shares of common stock are securities of the same class as other securities for which previous Registration Statements on Form S-8 were filed by the Registrant with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on June 24, 2022  (File No. 333-265823), April 8, 2021  (File No. 333-255125), January  8, 2020 (File No. 333-235852), February  28, 2019 (File No. 333-229963), March  9, 2018 (File No. 333-223558), and April  13, 2017 (File No. 333-217300) (the “Previous Registration Statements”). In accordance with General Instruction E of Form S-8, the contents of the Previous Registration Statements, including periodic reports filed after the Previous Registration Statements to maintain current information about the Registrant, are incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement.
PART II
INFORMATION REQUIRED IN REGISTRATION STATEMENT
Item 3. Incorporation of Documents by Reference.
The Registrant hereby incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement the following documents previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”):
 
 	(1)	The Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 filed with the SEC on March 31, 2023.	
 
 	(2)	All other reports filed with the Commission pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), since the end of the fiscal year covered by the Registrant’s Annual Report referred to in (1) and (2) above.	
 
 	(3)	The description of the Registrant’s common stock contained in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Commission on February 27, 2020, pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.	
All documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act on or after the date of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement that indicates that all securities offered have been sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the date of filing of such documents; provided, however, that documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with the rules of the SEC shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement. Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed document which also is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein modifies or supersedes such statement. Any such statement so modified or superseded shall not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Registration Statement.
Under no circumstances will any information furnished under current items 2.02 or 7.01 of Form 8-K be deemed incorporated herein by reference unless such Form 8-K expressly provides to the contrary.
Item 8. Exhibits.
The Registrant has filed the exhibits listed on the accompanying Exhibit Index of this Registration Statement.

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit	
Number	  	Exhibit Description	  	Incorporated by Reference	 	
  				Form	 	  	File No.	 	  	Exhibit	 	  	Filing Date	 		
							
  4.1	  	Specimen common stock certificate of the Registrant	  	 	S-1/A	 	  	 	333-216574	 	  	 	4.1	 	  	 	April 3, 2017	 		
							
  5.1*	  	Opinion of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C.	  				  				  				  					
							
10.2	  	2017 Employee Stock Purchase Plan	  	 	S-1/A	 	  	 	333-216574	 	  	 	10.4	 	  	 	April 3, 2017	 		
							
23.1*	  	Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.	  				  				  				  					
							
23.2*	  	Consent of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C. (included in Exhibit 5.1 hereto).	  				  				  				  					
							
24.1*	  	Power of Attorney (included on the signature page hereto).	  				  				  				  					
							
107*	  	Filing Fee Table	  				  				  				  					
 
*	Filed herewith.	

SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form S-8 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Dallas, State of Texas, on March 31, 2023.

FORTE BIOSCIENCES, INC.	
		
By:	 	/s/ Paul A. Wagner, Ph.D.	
	 	Paul A. Wagner, Ph.D.	
	 	Chief Executive Officer	
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Paul A. Wagner Ph.D. and Antony Riley, and each of them, as such individual’s true and lawful attorney in fact and agent with full power of substitution, for such individual in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Registration Statement on Form S-8 (including post-effective amendments), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney in fact, proxy and agent full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection therewith, as fully for all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney in fact, proxy and agent, or the individual’s substitute, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated:

Signature	  	Title	 	Date	
			
/s/ Paul A. Wagner, Ph.D.
Paul A. Wagner, Ph.D.	  	Director and Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer)	 	March 31, 2023	
			
/s/ Antony Riley
Antony Riley	  	Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)	 	March 31, 2023	
			
/s/ Stephen Doberstein, Ph.D.
Stephen Doberstein, Ph.D.	  	Director	 	March 31, 2023	
			
/s/ Lawrence Eichenfield, M.D.
Lawrence Eichenfield, M.D.	  	Director	 	March 31, 2023	
			
/s/ Barbara Finck, M.D.
Barbara Finck, M.D.	  	Director	 	March 31, 2023	
			
/s/ Steven Kornfeld
Steven Kornfeld	  	Director	 	March 31, 2023	
			
/s/ Scott Brun, M.D.
Scott Brun, M.D.	  	Director	 	March 31, 2023	
			
/s/ Donald A. Williams
Donald A. Williams	  	Director	 	March 31, 2023	
			
/s/ David Gryska, M.B.A.
David Gryska, M.B.A.	  	Director	 	March 31, 2023	

Exhibit 5.1

	 		 	Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Professional Corporation
 
650 Page Mill Road
Palo Alto, California 94304-1050
 
O: 650.493.9300
F: 650.493.6811	
March 31, 2023
Forte Biosciences, Inc.
3060 Pegasus Park Dr.
Building 6
Dallas, Texas 75247
Re: Registration Statement on Form S-8
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have examined the Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) to be filed by Forte Biosciences, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or about the date hereof, in connection with the registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, of 210,000 shares of Common Stock reserved for issuance pursuant to the Company’s 2017 Employee Stock Purchase Plan. As your legal counsel, we have reviewed the actions proposed to be taken by you in connection with the issuance and sale of the Shares to be issued under such plan (such plan is referred to herein as the “Plan” and such shares of Common Stock are referred to herein as the “Shares”).
It is our opinion that the Shares, when issued and sold in the manner referred to in the Plan will be legally and validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable.
We consent to the use of this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement, and further consent to the use of our name wherever appearing in the Registration Statement and any amendments thereto.

Very truly yours,	
	
/s/ Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati	
	
WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI	
Professional Corporation	

AUSTIN    BEIJING    BOSTON    BRUSSELS    HONG KONG    LONDON    LOS ANGELES    NEW YORK    PALO ALTO
    SAN DIEGO    SAN FRANCISCO    SEATTLE    SHANGHAI    WASHINGTON, DC    WILMINGTON, DE

Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement on Form S-8 of our report dated March 31, 2023, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of Forte Biosciences, Inc. as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, and for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2022, included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.
/s/ Mayer Hoffman McCann P.C.
San Diego, California
March 31, 2023

Exhibit 107
Calculation of Filing Fee Tables
Form S-8
(Form Type)
Forte Biosciences, Inc.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Table 1 – Newly Registered Securities

 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Security Type	 	Security
Class
Title	 	Fee
Calculation
Rule	 	Amount
Registered(1)	 	Proposed
Maximum
Offering
Price Per
Unit	 	Maximum
Aggregate
Offering
Price	 	Fee
Rate	 	Amount of
Registration
Fee	
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Equity	 	Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share, reserved for issuance under the Registrant’s 2017 Employee Stock Purchase Plan	 	Rule 457(c) and Rule 457(h)	 	210,000(2) 	 	$0.84(3) 	 	$176,400.00 	 	$110.20 per $1,000,000 	 	$19.44	
 	 	 	 	 	
Total Offering Amounts	 		 	$176,400.00 	 		 	$19.44	
 	 	 	 	 	
Total Fee Offsets(4)	 		 		 		 	–	
 	 	 	 	 	
Net Fee Due	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	$19.44	
 
(1)	Pursuant to Rule 416(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), this Registration Statement shall also cover any additional shares of the Registrant’s common stock that become issuable under the 2017 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2017 ESPP”), by reason of any stock dividend, stock split, recapitalization or other similar transaction effected without receipt of consideration that increases the number of the Registrant’s outstanding shares of common stock.	
(2)	Represents 210,000 shares of common stock reserved for issuance pursuant to future awards as a result of the annual evergreen increase under the 2017 ESPP.	
(3)	Estimated pursuant to Rule 457(c) and 457(h) under the Securities Act, solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee, on the basis of 85% of $0.98, which represents the average of the high and low prices of the Registrant’s common stock as reported on The Nasdaq Capital Market on March 28, 2023 (such date being within five business days of the filing date of this Registration Statement). Pursuant to the 2017 ESPP, the purchase price of the shares of common stock reserved for issuance thereunder will be 85% of the lower of the fair market value of the common stock on (i) the enrollment date or (ii) the exercise date.	
(4)	The Registrant does not have any fee offsets.