RE: June 15th8 May 2020 02:19
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 or 15d-16
UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of April, 2020
Commission File Number: 001-38452
Mereo BioPharma
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 On March 25, 2020, the order was modified and superseded by a new SEC order (Release No. 34-88465), which provides conditional relief to public companies that are unable to timely comply with their filing obligations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.
Mereo BioPharma Group 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 circumstances related to COVID-19, which include disruptions to operations in terms of travel and limited access to the Company’s facilities resulting in an impact to staff’s ability to carry out some of their usual work. Potential investors and business partners also face increased challenges to complete the processes necessary to move ahead with an investment or partnership decision because of COVID-19’s impact on the business of potential investors or partners and their ability to complete the diligence process in a COVID-19 environment alongside a broader dynamic of highly volatile equity markets which are also adversely affecting this process. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company plans to file the Report no later than June 15, 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:
The COVID-19 pandemic or any other similar pandemic may materially impact our business including our ability to obtain further financial investment and planned clinical developments.
The outbreak of COVID-19 has developed into a global pandemic, spreading to most regions of the world including the United States and the United Kingdom and to locations where we have facilities or ongoing clinica