As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 25, 2021

Registration No. 333-            

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

NEXIMMUNE, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

2017 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended

2018 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended

2021 Equity Incentive Plan

(Full title of the plans)

Scott Carmer

Chief Executive Officer

NexImmune, Inc.

9119 Gaither Road

Gaithersburg, MD 20877

(301) 825-9810

(Name, address and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)

Copies to:

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

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.  ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In accordance with the instructional Note to Part I of Form S-8 as promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”), the information specified by Part I of Form S-8 has been omitted from this Registration Statement on Form S-8 for offers of Common Stock pursuant to the Plan. The documents containing the information specified in Part I will be delivered to the participants in the Plan covered by this Registration Statement as required by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act.

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PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

The following documents filed by the Registrant with the Commission are incorporated herein by reference:

(a)     the Registrant’s Prospectus dated February 11, 2021 filed with the Commission on February 16, 2021 pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act in connection with the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 originally filed on January 19, 2021 (No. 333-252220) which contains the Registrant’s audited financial statements for the latest fiscal year for which such statements have been filed, and the registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-253021) filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act filed on February 11, 2021;

(b)     the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on February 18, 2021 (in each case, except for information contained therein which is furnished rather than filed); and

(c)    the description of the Registrant’s Common Stock which is contained in the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form 8-A (File No. 001-40045) filed with the Commission on February 9, 2021, including any amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

All reports and other documents filed by the Registrant after the date hereof pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (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 herein and to be part hereof from the date of filing of such reports and documents (the “Incorporated Documents”).

Any statement contained herein or in any Incorporated Document shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for the purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained in any subsequently filed Incorporated Document 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.

Not applicable.

Not applicable.

Section 145(a) of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides, in general, that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation), because he or she is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding, if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

Section 145(b) of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides, in general, that a corporation may indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the corporation to procure a judgment in its favor because the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification shall be made with respect to any claim, issue or matter as to which he or she shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless and only to the extent that the Court of Chancery or other adjudicating court determines that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all of the circumstances of the case, he or she is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses that the Court of Chancery or other adjudicating court shall deem proper.

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Section 145(g) of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides, in general, that a corporation may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of his or her status as such, whether or not the corporation would have the power to indemnify the person against such liability under Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law.

Our Sixth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, or the Charter, provides that no director of our company shall be personally liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for any breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability (1) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to us or our stockholders, (2) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (3) in respect of unlawful dividend payments or stock redemptions or repurchases, or (4) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. In addition, our Charter provides that if the Delaware General Corporation Law is amended to authorize the further elimination or limitation of the liability of directors, then the liability of a director of our company shall be eliminated or limited to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law, as so amended.

The Charter further provides that any repeal or modification of such article by our stockholders or amendment to the Delaware General Corporation Law will not adversely affect any right or protection existing at the time of such repeal or modification with respect to any acts or omissions occurring before such repeal or modification of a director serving at the time of such repeal or modification.

Our Amended and Restated Bylaws, or the Bylaws, provide that we will indemnify each of our directors and officers and, in the discretion of our board of directors, certain employees, to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law as the same may be amended (except that in the case of amendment, only to the extent that the amendment permits us to provide broader indemnification rights than the Delaware General Corporation Law permitted us to provide prior to such the amendment) against any and all expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts reasonably paid in settlement that are incurred by the director, officer or such employee or on the director’s, officer’s or employee’s behalf in connection with any threatened, pending or completed proceeding or any claim, issue or matter therein, to which he or she is or is threatened to be made a party because he or she is or was serving as a director, officer or employee of our company, or at our request as a director, partner, trustee, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise, if he or she acted in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of our company and, with respect to any criminal proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful. Article VII, Section 2 of the Bylaws further provides for the advancement of expenses to each of our directors and, in the discretion of the board of directors, to certain officers and employees.

In addition, the Bylaws provide that the right of each of our directors and officers to indemnification and advancement of expenses shall be a contract right and shall not be exclusive of any other right now possessed or hereafter acquired under any statute, provision of the Charter or Bylaws, agreement, vote of stockholders or otherwise. Furthermore, Article VII, Section 5 of the Bylaws authorizes us to provide insurance for our directors, officers and employees, against any liability, whether or not we would have the power to indemnify such person against such liability under the Delaware General Corporation Law.

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In connection with the sale of common stock being registered hereby, we have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and our executive officers. These agreements provide that we will indemnify each of our directors and such officers to the fullest extent permitted by law and the Charter and Bylaws.

We also maintain a general liability insurance policy, which covers certain liabilities of directors and officers of our company arising out of claims based on acts or omissions in their capacities as directors or officers.

Not applicable.

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(1)    To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement:

(i)      To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

(ii)     To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the Registration Statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represents a fundamental change in the information set forth in the Registration Statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective Registration Statement; and

(iii)    To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the Registration Statement;

Provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) do not apply if the Registration Statement is on Form S-8 and the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the Registrant pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement.

(2)    That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3)    To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, 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 Gaithersburg, Maryland on the 25th day of February, 2021.

SIGNATURES AND POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL BY THESE PRESENTS, that each of the directors and officers of NexImmune, Inc. whose signature appears below hereby severally constitutes and appoints Scott Carmer and John Trainer, and each of them singly, his true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution in each of them singly, for him and in his name, place and stead, and in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement on Form S-8 of NexImmune, Inc., and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting to said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite or necessary to be done in or about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or any of them or their substitute may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

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Exhibit 5.1

				One Financial Center Boston, MA 02111 617 542 6000 mintz.com

February 25, 2021

NexImmune, Inc.

9119 Gaither Road

Gaithersburg, MD 20877

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as legal counsel to NexImmune, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the preparation and filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) of a Registration Statement on Form S-8 (the “Registration Statement”), pursuant to which the Company is registering the issuance under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), of (i) 509,605 shares of the Company’s common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (the “Common Stock”), pursuant to the Company’s 2017 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (the “2017 Plan”); (ii) 1,543,089 shares of common stock issuable pursuant to the Company’s 2018 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (the “2018 Plan”); and (iii) 2,757,241 shares of common stock issuable pursuant to the Company’s 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2021 Plan”). This opinion is being rendered in connection with the filing of the Registration Statement with the Commission. All capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the respective meanings given to them in the Registration Statement.

In connection with this opinion, we have examined the Company’s Sixth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, each as currently in effect; such other records of the corporate proceedings of the Company and certificates of the Company’s officers as we have deemed relevant; and the Registration Statement and the exhibits thereto.

In our examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies, the authenticity of the originals of such copies, and the truth and correctness of any representations and warranties contained therein. In addition, we have assumed that the Company will receive any required consideration in accordance with the terms of the Plan.

Our opinion expressed herein is limited to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and we express no opinion with respect to the laws of any other jurisdiction. No opinion is expressed herein with respect to the qualification of the Shares under the securities or blue sky laws of any state or any foreign jurisdiction.

Please note that we are opining only as to the matters expressly set forth herein, and no opinion should be inferred as to any other matters. This opinion is based upon currently existing statutes, rules, regulations and judicial decisions, and we disclaim any obligation to advise you of any change in any of these sources of law or subsequent legal or factual developments which might affect any matters or opinions set forth herein.

Based upon the foregoing, we are of the opinion that the Shares, when issued and delivered in accordance with the terms of the Plan, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

BOSTON     LONDON     LOS ANGELES     NEW YORK     SAN DIEGO     SAN FRANCISCO     WASHINGTON

MINTZ, LEVIN, COHN, FERRIS, GLOVSKY AND POPEO, P.C.

MINTZ
February 25, 2021
Page 2

We understand that you wish to file this opinion with the Commission as an exhibit to the Registration Statement in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K promulgated under the Securities Act, and we hereby consent thereto. In giving this 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.

Exhibit 23.1

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement (Form S-8), dated February 25, 2021, pertaining to the 2017 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, the 2018 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended, and the 2021 Equity Incentive Plan of NexImmune, Inc. of our report dated July 13, 2020 (except Note 16(e) as to which the date is February 8, 2021), with respect to the financial statements of NexImmune, Inc. included in Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement (Form S-1 No. 333-252220) and related Prospectus of NexImmune, Inc. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Tysons, Virginia

February 25, 2021

Exhibit 23.2

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement of NexImmune, Inc. on Form S-8 to be filed on or about February 24, 2021 of our report dated November 5, 2019, except with respect to the 3rd, 33rd, 34th and 35th paragraphs of Note 3, and the 2nd paragraph of Note 13, as to which the date is July 13, 2020, and except with respect to the 5th paragraph of Note 16, as to which the date is February 8, 2021, on our audit of the financial statements as of December 31, 2018 and for the year then ended, which report was included in the Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1 filed on February 11, 2021. Our report includes an explanatory paragraph about the existence of substantial doubt concerning the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. We also consent to the reference to our firm under the caption “Experts” in the Amendment No. 2 to the Registration Statement on Form S-1.

/s/ EisnerAmper LLP

EISNERAMPER LLP

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

February 24, 2021