Form S-8 - Securities to be offered to employees in employee benefit plans

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 14, 2024

Registration No. 333-

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

DURECT CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)



Delaware		94-3297098
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

10240 Bubb Road

Cupertino, CA 95014

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

DURECT Corporation 2000 Stock Plan, as amended

(Full title of the plan)

James E. Brown

Chief Executive Officer

DURECT Corporation

10240 Bubb Road

Cupertino, CA 95014

(Name and address of agent for service)

(408) 777-1417

(Telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copy to:

Stephen B. Thau

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
51 West 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019

(212) 506-5000

(Calculation of Registration Fee on following page)

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 definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):



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. ☐

REGISTRATION OF ADDITIONAL SECURITIES

PURSUANT TO GENERAL INSTRUCTION E

DURECT Corporation (the “Registrant”) is filing this Registration Statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) to register an additional 2,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Common Stock”), issuable to eligible persons under its 2000 Stock Plan, as amended (the “Plan”). An amendment of the Plan, including an increase of 2,000,000 shares of Common Stock available for issuance thereunder, was approved at the Registrant’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on September 25, 2024 as previously reported on the Registrant’s Form 8-K filed with the Commission on September 26, 2024.

Pursuant to General Instruction E of Form S-8, the Registrant incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement, except to the extent supplemented, amended or superseded by the information set forth herein, the contents of the Registration Statements on Form S-8, including all attachments and exhibits thereto, relating to the Plan as previously filed with the Commission by the Registrant on October 5, 2000, May 18, 2001, April 12, 2002, August 29, 2003, November 12, 2004, May 6, 2005, May 17, 2006, August 8, 2007, August 12, 2008, August 4, 2009, May 10, 2010, August 5, 2011, August 8, 2014, August 2, 2016, August 2, 2018, and August 5, 2022 (Registration Nos. 333-47400, 333-61224, 333-86110, 333-108390, 333-120405, 333-124701, 333-134200, 333-145244, 333-152968, 333-161025, 333-166700, 333-176113, 333-197980, 333-212842, 333-226524 and 333-266590, respectively) (collectively, the “Prior Registration Statements”). This Registration Statement relates to securities of the same class as those to which the Prior Registration Statements relate. In accordance with the instructional note to Part I of Form S-8 as promulgated by the Commission, the information specified by Part I of the Form S-8 has been omitted from this Registration Statement.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

ITEM 3. INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

The following documents, which have been filed with the Commission, are incorporated by reference herein and made a part hereof:

a. The Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023 (the “Annual Report”), which includes audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the Commission, pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), on March 28, 2024.

b. All other reports filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, since the end of the fiscal year covered by the audited financial statements described in (a) above.

c. The description of the Common Stock contained in Exhibit 4.1 of the Annual Report, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

All documents subsequently filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Exchange Act, prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment which indicates that all securities offered hereby have been sold or which deregisters all securities then remaining unsold, shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the date of the filing of such documents, except as to specific sections of such statements as set forth therein.

Unless expressly incorporated into this Registration Statement, a report (or portion thereof) furnished on Form 8-K prior or subsequent to the date hereof shall not be incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement, except as to specific sections of such statements as set forth therein. Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for the purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any other subsequently filed document which also is or 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.

To the extent that any proxy statement or Form 8-K is incorporated herein by reference, such incorporation shall not include any information contained in such proxy statement or Form 8-K which is not, pursuant to the Commission’s rules, deemed to be “filed” with the Commission or subject to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Exchange Act.


ITEM 8.		EXHIBITS

Exhibit Number		Exhibit Title


5.1*		Opinion of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP.

23.1*		Consent of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1).

23.2*		Consent of Ernst & Young LLP, Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm.

24.1*		Powers of Attorney (included in the signature page to this Registration Statement).

99.1		DURECT Corporation 2000 Stock Plan, as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K (File No. 000-31615) filed on September 26, 2024).

107*		Filing Fee Exhibit.

* Filed herewith.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, 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 Cupertino, State of California, on November 14, 2024.


DURECT CORPORATION

By:		/s/ james e. brown
		James E. Brown
		President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that the undersigned directors and officers of the Registrant do hereby constitute and appoint James E. Brown and Timothy M. Papp, and each of them severally, our true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, acting alone with full power of substitution and resubstitution, to do any and all such acts and things in our name and on our behalf in our capacities as directors and officers and to execute any and all instruments for us and in our names in the capacities indicated below, which said attorneys and agents, or either of them, may deem necessary or advisable to enable said corporation to comply with the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”), and any rules, regulations and requirements of the Commission, in connection with this Registration Statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act, including specifically, but without limitation, power and authority to sign for us or in any of our names and in the capacities indicated below any and all amendments (including post effective amendments) to this Registration Statement, or any related Registration Statement that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act; and we do hereby ratify and confirm all that the said attorneys and agents, or either of them, shall do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.


Signature	Title	Date

/s/ james e. brown	President, Chief Executive Officer and Director	November 14, 2024
James E. Brown	(Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ Timothy M. Papp	Chief Financial Officer	November 14, 2024
Timothy M. Papp	(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

/s/ Mohammad Azab	Director	November 14, 2024
Mohammad Azab

/s/ terrence f. blaschke	Director	November 14, 2024
Terrence F. Blaschke

/s/ Gail M. farfel	Director	November 14, 2024
Gail M. Farfel

/s/ Peter S. Garcia	Director	November 14, 2024
Peter S. Garcia

/s/ Gail J. Maderis	Director, Chairperson of the Board	November 14, 2024
Gail J. Maderis

/s/ judith j. Robertson	Director	November 14, 2024
Judith J. Robertson

Exhibit 5.1




November 14, 2024 DURECT Corporation 10240 Bubb Road Cupertino, California 95014		Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP 51 WEST 52ND STREET New York, NY 10019-6142 +1 212 506 5000 orrick.com

Re: Registration Statement on Form S-8

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as counsel for DURECT Corporation, a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the filing by the Company of a Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”) with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), covering the registration of up to 2,000,000 shares of common stock, par value of $0.0001 per share (“Common Stock”), reserved for issuance pursuant to the Company’s 2000 Stock Plan, as amended (the “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 the Plan.

In connection with this opinion, we have examined and relied upon originals or copies, certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of (i) the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as amended and restated through the date hereof, (ii) the Company’s amended and restated bylaws, as amended and restated through the date hereof, (iii) the Registration Statement, (iv) the Plan and (v) such corporate records of the Company, certificates of public officials, officers of the Company and other persons, and such other agreements, documents and instruments as we have deemed relevant and necessary or appropriate as a basis for the opinion set forth below.

In such examination, we have assumed the legal capacity of all natural persons, the genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to the originals of all documents submitted to us as copies, and the authenticity of the originals of such copies. In making our examination of documents executed or to be executed, we have assumed that the parties thereto, other than the Company, had or will have the power, corporate or other, to enter into and perform all obligations thereunder and have also assumed the due authorization by all requisite action, corporate or other, and the execution and delivery by such parties of such documents and the validity and binding effect thereof on such parties. As to any facts material to the opinions expressed herein that we did not independently establish or verify, we have relied upon statements and representations of officers and other representatives of the Company and others and of public officials.

Based upon the foregoing and subject to the limitations, qualifications and assumptions set forth herein, we are of the opinion that the Shares to be issued pursuant to the terms of the Plan have been duly authorized and, when issued, delivered and paid for in accordance with the terms of the Plan, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

The opinion expressed herein is limited to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and the federal laws of the United States of America, and we express no opinion as to the effect on the matters covered by this letter of the laws of any other jurisdictions.

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not 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 Commission promulgated thereunder.

Very truly yours,

/s/ ORRICK, HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE LLP

ORRICK, HERRINGTON & SUTCLIFFE LLP

Exhibit 23.2

CONSENT OF ERNST & YOUNG LLP, INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement (Form S-8) pertaining to the DURECT Corporation 2000 Stock Plan of our report dated March 28, 2024, with respect to the financial statements of DURECT Corporation included in its Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

San Francisco, California

November 14, 2024

Exhibit 107

Calculation of Filing Fee Tables

Form S-8

(Form Type)

DURECT Corporation

(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, $0.0001 par value per share, reserved for future issuance under the DURECT Corporation 2000 Stock Plan, as amended	Other(2)	2,000,000(3)	$1.31(2)	$2,620,000	$ 0.00015310	$402
Total Offering Amounts					$2,620,000		$402
Total Fee Offsets							—
Net Fee Due							$402


(1)	Pursuant to Rule 416(a) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), this Registration Statement on Form S-8 shall also cover any additional shares of DURECT Corporation’s (the “Registrant”) common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Common Stock”), that become issuable in respect of the shares identified in the above table by reason of any stock dividend, stock split, recapitalization or other similar transaction effected without the Registrant’s receipt of consideration which results in an increase in the number of the Registrant’s outstanding shares of Common Stock.
(2)	Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the amount of the registration fee pursuant to Rules 457(c) and (h) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. The proposed maximum offering price per share is equal to $1.31, which was computed by averaging the high and low prices of Common Stock as reported on The Nasdaq Capital Market on November 11, 2024.
(3)	Represents 2,000,000 additional shares of Common Stock that were added to the shares authorized for issuance to eligible persons under the Registrant’s 2000 Stock Plan, as amended.