UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): May 16, 2023

TRANSCODE THERAPEUTICS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

TransCode Therapeutics, Inc.

6 Liberty Square, #2382
Boston, Massachusetts 02109

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

(857) 837-3099

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former Name or Former Address, if Changed Since Last Report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act.

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company  x

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 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ¨

On May 16, 2023, TransCode Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) received a deficiency letter from the Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”) of the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that it is not in compliance with the minimum stockholders’ equity requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) requires companies listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market to maintain stockholders’ equity of at least $2,500,000 (the “Stockholders’ Equity Requirement”). The Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2023, reported stockholders’ equity of $(236,792), which is below the Stockholders’ Equity Requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. As of the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K, the Company does not have a market value of listed securities of $35 million, or net income from continued operations of $500,000 in the most recently completed fiscal year or in two of the last three most recently completed fiscal years, the alternative quantitative standards for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

As with the Minimum Bid Price Deficiency Letter (as defined below), the notification received has no immediate effect on the Company’s continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, subject to the Company’s compliance with the other continued listing requirements. In accordance with Nasdaq rules, the Company has been provided 45 calendar days, or until June 30, 2023, to submit a plan to regain compliance (the “Compliance Plan”). If the Compliance Plan is acceptable to the Staff, they may grant an extension of 180 calendar days from the date of the Staff notification to regain compliance with the Stockholders’ Equity Requirement.

If the Staff does not accept the Compliance Plan, the Staff will provide written notification to the Company that the Compliance Plan has been rejected. At that time, the Company may appeal the Staff’s determination to a Nasdaq Hearings Panel.

The Company intends to submit the Compliance Plan on or before June 30, 2023, monitor its stockholders’ equity and, if appropriate, consider further available options to regain compliance with the Stockholders’ Equity Requirement.

The notification is separate from, and in addition to, the previously disclosed deficiency letter that the Company received from the Staff on December 9, 2022, (the “Minimum Bid Price Deficiency Letter”) with respect to the Company’s failure to maintain a minimum closing bid price of $1.00 per share on any business day over a thirty consecutive business day period, as required for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (the “Minimum Bid Price Requirement”). As previously disclosed, the Company has been provided an initial period of 180 calendar days, or until June 7, 2023, to regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement. If the Company does not regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement by June 7, 2023, the Company would be eligible to request, but may not qualify for, an additional 180 calendar day compliance period. In order to qualify for the additional 180 calendar day compliance period, the Company would be required to meet the continued listing requirement for the market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards for the Nasdaq Capital Market, including the stockholders’ equity initial listing requirement of $5.0 million, with respect to which it is currently deficient. Accordingly, if the Company is not able to regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement by June 7, 2023, its common stock may be subject to delisting from the Nasdaq Capital Market at that time.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. We may in some cases use terms such as “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “continue,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “likely,” “will,” “should” or other words that convey uncertainty of the future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Our forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and expectations of our management team that involve risks, potential changes in circumstances, assumptions, and uncertainties, including statements regarding the timing and content of our Compliance Plan, our ability to file the Compliance Plan in accordance with Nasdaq rules, whether the Staff accepts the Compliance Plan, our ability to regain compliance with the Nasdaq continued listing requirements, and our financial condition, growth and strategies. Any or all of the forward-looking statements may turn out to be wrong or be affected by assumptions we make that later turn out to be incorrect, or by known or unknown risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties including risks related to our ability to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing requirements or otherwise maintain compliance with any other listing requirement of the Nasdaq Capital Market, including the Minimum Bid Price Requirement, timely file our Compliance Plan in accordance with Nasdaq rules, our ability to submit a Compliance Plan that is acceptable to the Staff, the potential de-listing of our shares from the Nasdaq Capital Market due to our failure to comply with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement or the Stockholders’ Equity Requirement, and the other risks set forth in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. For all these reasons, actual results and developments could be materially different from those expressed in or implied by our forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which are made only as of the date of this Current Report on Form 8-K. We undertake no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances unless required by law.

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.