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): August 2, 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.  ¨

As previously disclosed, on May 16, 2023, TransCode Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department (the “Staff”) of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that it is not in compliance with the 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”).  In accordance with Nasdaq rules, the Company was provided 45 calendar days, or until June 30, 2023, to submit a plan to regain compliance with the Stockholders’ Equity Requirement (the “Compliance Plan”). If the Compliance Plan was determined to be acceptable to the Staff, the Staff would have the discretion to grant the Company an extension of 180 calendar days from the date of the Staff notification to regain compliance with the Stockholders’ Equity Requirement. The Compliance Plan was submitted to Nasdaq by the Company on June 30, 2023, and supplemented with additional materials on July 24, 2023.

On July 26, 2023, the Company received a Delisting Determination Letter from the Staff advising the Company that the Staff had determined not to accept the Company’s Compliance Plan, that the Company’s request for an extension had been denied, and that the Company’s common stock was subject to delisting from the Nasdaq Capital Market (the “Delisting Determination”). In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5815(a)(2), the Company was provided with seven calendar days, or until August 2, 2023, to request a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel (the “Panel”) to appeal the Delisting Determination. The Company subsequently submitted a request for a hearing to Nasdaq, and on August 2, 2023, was notified by Nasdaq that an oral hearing (the “Hearing”) by the Panel to discuss the Delisting Determination has been scheduled for October 2023. Accordingly, any delisting action by the Staff will be stayed at least until the Hearing has been held and a final written decision by the Panel has been issued, and until any extension granted by the Panel following the Hearing expires.

At the Hearing, the Company intends to present its plan to regain compliance with the Stockholders’ Equity Requirement. Following the Hearing, the Panel will issue a final written decision to the Company concerning the Delisting Determination. The timing of the Panel’s final written decision is unknown and cannot be predicted with any certainty.

There can be no assurance that the Company’s plan will be accepted by the Panel or that, if it is, the Company will be able to regain compliance with the Stockholders’ Equity Requirement.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Current Report on Form 8-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words such as “projects,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “intends,” “plans,” “potential,” “promise” or similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K include, without limitation, statements regarding the Company’s intent or ability to regain compliance with the Stockholders’ Equity Requirement, the Company’s intention to present a plan to regain compliance with the Stockholder’s Equity Requirement at the Hearing, the timing and nature of the Hearing, the outcome of the Panel’s review of any Company appeal of the Delisting Determination, and any courses of action to regain compliance with the Nasdaq Capital Market’s continued listing requirements. Any forward-looking statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K are based on management’s current expectations of future events and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. For a discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties, and other important factors, any of which could cause the Company’s actual results to differ from those contained in or implied by the forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as well as discussions of potential risks, uncertainties and other important factors in any subsequent Company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information in this Current Report on Form 8-K is as of the date of the filing; the Company undertakes no duty to update this information 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.