Exhibit 19.1
Ars Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Insider Trading Policy
Persons Covered
This Insider Trading Policy (this “Policy”) of ARS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) applies to all directors, officers, other employees and consultants of the Company and any subsidiaries. It also applies to their family members who reside with them, anyone else who lives in their households and any family members who do not live in their households but whose transactions in the Company’s securities are directed by, or subject to, the influence or control of a director, officer, other employee or consultant of the Company, and any other individuals or entities whose transactions in securities they influence, direct or control. To the extent the Company engages in market repurchase transactions of its securities, the Company intends to comply with applicable laws and regulations relating to insider trading.
Purpose and Policy
The purpose of this Policy is to clarify the circumstances under which trading in the securities of the Company or another publicly traded company with which the Company has business dealings or which shares a close market connection with the Company (such as a competitor) (each, a “Third Party”) by the Company’s directors, officers, other employees and consultants will result in civil liability and criminal penalties, as well as disciplinary action by the Company.
During the course of your employment or service with the Company, you may receive important information that is not yet publicly available, i.e., not disclosed to the public in a press release or filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Inside Information”), about the Company or a Third Party. Because of your access to this information, you may be in a position to profit financially by buying or selling or in some other way dealing in the Company’s or a Third Party’s stock, or to disclose such information to a third party who does so (known as a “Tippee”).
It is illegal for anyone to use Inside Information to gain personal benefit, or to pass on, or “tip,” the information to someone who does so. There is no de minimis exception to this rule. Use of Inside Information to gain personal benefit and tipping are as illegal with respect to a few shares of stock as they are with respect to a large number of shares. You can be held liable both for your own transactions and for transactions effected by a Tippee, or even a Tippee of a Tippee. Furthermore, it is important that the appearance as well as the act of insider trading in stock be avoided.
Exceptions
Please note that, generally, transactions directly with the Company, i.e., option exercises or purchases under the Company’s employee stock purchase plan, will not create problems. However, the subsequent sale or other disposition of such stock is fully subject to these restrictions. This Policy also does not apply to the acquisition or disposition of the Company’s securities pursuant to a domestic relations order, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or Title I of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, or the rules thereunder. For the avoidance of doubt, this exception applies only to a transfer of the Company’s securities to a former spouse pursuant to such a “domestic relations order” and does not apply to any sale of the Company’s securities in order to provide cash proceeds that may be used to satisfy cash payment obligations under a “domestic relations order” or otherwise. In addition, purchases, or sales pursuant to a written plan that meets the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, may be made without restriction provided that the plan was adopted in accordance with Company policies.
Inside Information
As a practical matter, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether you possess Inside Information. The key to determining whether nonpublic information you possess about a public company is Inside Information is whether dissemination of the information would be likely to affect the market price of the company’s stock or would be likely to be considered important by investors who are considering trading in that company’s stock. Certainly, if the information makes you want to trade, it would probably have the same effect on others. Both positive and negative information can be material. If you possess Inside Information about a company, you must refrain from trading in that company’s securities, advising anyone else to do so or communicating the information to anyone else until you know that the information has been disseminated to the public. This means that in some circumstances, you may have to forego a proposed transaction in a company’s securities even if you planned to execute the transaction prior to learning of the inside information and even though you believe you will suffer an economic loss or sacrifice an anticipated profit by waiting. “Trading” includes engaging in short sales, transactions in put or call options, hedging transactions and other inherently speculative transactions. It may also include gifts, in certain circumstances.