March 3, 2025
Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
9 Cedarbrook Drive
Cranbury, NJ 08512
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special counsel to Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration
Statement”) filed on the date hereof with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder for the
registration of 11,034,376 shares (the “Shares”) of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Common Stock”), of the Company, issuable pursuant to the Second Amended and Restated Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 2014 Stock Option and
Incentive Plan (the “Plan”). This opinion is being furnished in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act.
For purposes of rendering this opinion, we have reviewed (i) the Registration Statement; (ii) the Seventh Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Corporation as filed with the
Secretary of State of the State of Delaware (the “Secretary of State”) on February 23, 2015, as amended by the Certificate of Amendment of Seventh Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company as filed with the Secretary of
State on January 4, 2018, the Certificate of Amendment of Seventh Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company as also filed with the Secretary of State on January 4, 2018, the Certificate of Amendment of Seventh Amended and
Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company as filed with the Secretary of State on June 25, 2018, the Change of Registered Agent and/or Registered Office of the Company as filed with the Secretary of State on August 25, 2022 and the
Certificate of Amendment of Seventh Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company as filed with the Secretary of State on June 20, 2024 (as so amended, the “Certificate of Incorporation”); (iii) the Amended and Restated
Bylaws of the Company adopted November 18, 2014 and effective as of March 19, 2018; (iv) resolutions adopted by the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board of Directors”) on March 19, 2018 relating to the Plan; (v) the minutes of the
annual meeting of stockholders of the Company held on June 25, 2018 at which the stockholders of the Company approved the Plan; (vi) the Plan; and (vii) a certificate of an officer of the Company with respect to the documents described in the
foregoing clauses (i) through (v) and certain other factual matters.
For purposes of rendering our opinion below, we have not reviewed any document other than the documents listed above and assume there exists no provision in any document
relating to the matters covered by our opinion below that we have not reviewed that is inconsistent with the documents listed above or our opinion below. We have conducted no independent factual investigation of our own but rather have relied on
the documents listed above, the statements and information set forth therein and the additional matters recited or assumed herein, all of which we assume to be true, complete and accurate in all respects.
For purposes of this opinion letter, we have made assumptions that are customary in opinion letters of this kind, including the assumptions that: (a) each document reviewed by us is accurate and
complete; (b) each document reviewed by us that is an original is authentic; (c) each document reviewed by us that is a copy conforms to an authentic original; (d) all signatures on each document reviewed by us are genuine; and (e) there are no
documents other than those referenced in this opinion letter that could affect the opinion expressed in this opinion letter and no amendments, modifications or waivers of the documents reviewed by us. We have further assumed (i) the legal capacity
of natural persons, (ii) that each party to the documents we have reviewed (collectively, the “Reviewed Documents”) (A) is duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its organization, (B) has the legal capacity,
power and authority to execute, deliver and perform its obligations under the Reviewed Documents to which it is a party, (C) has taken all action necessary to duly authorize the execution and delivery of, and the performance of such party’s
obligations under, the Reviewed Documents, and (D) has duly executed and delivered the Reviewed Documents, (iii) the Reviewed Documents constitute the legal, valid and binding obligation of each party thereto, enforceable against each such party in
accordance with their terms, (iv) the issuance of the Shares will not increase the proportionate share of Common Stock held by an “interested stockholder” (within the meaning of Section 203(c) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware
(the “DGCL”)), and (v) the Company is and shall remain at all times a corporation duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware. We have not verified any of the foregoing assumptions.
In rendering our opinion below, we also have assumed that (a) the Company will have sufficient authorized, unissued and unreserved shares of Common Stock at the time of each issuance of a Share or
rights or options to acquire a Share, in each case, under the Plan; (b) either (i) upon the issuance of a Share, such Share will be evidenced by a certificate that has been duly executed and delivered or (ii) the Board of Directors has adopted a
resolution providing that all shares of Common Stock shall be uncertificated in accordance with Section 158 of the DGCL prior to the issuance of such Share and, within a reasonable time after the issuance of such uncertificated Share, the
registered owner of such Share will be given notice in writing or by electronic transmission in compliance with Section 151(f) of the DGCL; (c) the issuance of each Share will be duly recorded in the Company’s stock ledger upon its issuance; (d)
the Plan and each Award Certificate (as defined in the Plan and hereinafter referred to as an “Award Agreement”) constitutes or will constitute, as applicable, the valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company
in accordance with its terms; (e) the Company will receive consideration for each Share as set forth in the Authorizing Resolutions (as defined below), which consideration shall be at least equal to the par value of such share of Common Stock
(unless such Share is held in treasury, in which case, the consideration shall be the amount as set forth in the Authorizing Resolutions), and, in the amount required by the Plan and the Award Agreement; (f) with respect to any Shares issuable upon
the exercise of any right or option to acquire Shares under the Plan, the Company shall have received the minimum consideration (if any) for which such rights or options may be issued pursuant to the Authorizing Resolutions ; and (g) prior to the
issuance of any Shares or any right or option to acquire any Shares, in each case, under the Plan, the Board of Directors will duly authorize by resolution each award granted under the Plan with respect to which Shares are issuable pursuant to an
Award Agreement and in accordance with the DGCL and the Plan (the “Authorizing Resolutions”). We have not verified any of the foregoing assumptions.
Our opinion set forth below is limited to the DGCL and reported judicial decisions interpreting the DGCL. We express no opinion as to the laws, rules or regulations of any other jurisdiction,
including, without limitation, the federal laws of the United States of America or any state securities or blue sky laws. Our opinion is provided as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to advise you of any change in any matter set
forth herein.
Based upon and subject to the foregoing and assuming that the Registration Statement will be effective at the time of issuance of the Shares, it is our opinion that when and if issued pursuant to the
terms of the Plan in accordance with the Authorizing Resolutions and the applicable Award Agreement, the Shares will be validly issued, fully paid, and non-assessable.
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter with the SEC as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are experts with respect to
any part of the Registration Statement within the meaning of the term “expert” as used in Section 11 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the SEC, nor do we admit that we are within the category of persons
whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the SEC promulgated thereunder.
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Very truly yours,
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/s/ K&L Gates LLP
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K&L Gates LLP
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