VITAL THERAPIES, INC. (NASDAQ:VTL) Files An 8-K Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing
Item 3.01. Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing.

On October 25, 2018, Vital Therapies, Inc. (the “Company”) received notice (the “Notice”) from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) stating that the Company was not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) (the “Minimum Bid Price Rule”) because the Company’s common stock failed to maintain a minimum closing bid price of $1.00 for 30 consecutive business days. The Notice has no immediate effect on the Nasdaq listing or trading of the Company’s common stock.

The Company has a compliance period for the Minimum Bid Price Rule of 180 calendar days, or until April 23, 2019, in which to regain compliance, to Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5810(c)(3)(A). If, at any time before that date the bid price of the Company’s common stock closes at $1.00 per share or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days, Nasdaq will notify the Company that it has achieved compliance with the Rule.

If the Company does not regain compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Rule, then Nasdaq will notify it that the Company’s common stock will be delisted from the Nasdaq Global Select Market, unless the Company requests a hearing before a Nasdaq Hearings Panel.

About VITAL THERAPIES, INC. (NASDAQ:VTL)

Vital Therapies, Inc. is a biotherapeutic company. The Company is focused on developing a human hepatic cell-based treatment targeting acute forms of liver failure. Its product candidate, the ELAD System, is an extracorporeal human allogeneic cellular liver therapy designed to allow the patient’s liver to regenerate to a healthy state, or to stabilize the patient until transplant. The ELAD System is a liver support system containing immortal human liver-derived cells, or VTL C3A cells. The Company initiated a Phase III clinical trial in severe acute alcoholic hepatitis (sAAH), referred to as VTL-308. Its VTL-308 is a randomized, open-label, multicenter, controlled, pivotal study, designed to evaluate the ELAD System in subjects with sAAH. It is based on pre-specified and post-hoc analyses of its VTI-208 phase III clinical trial in alcohol-induced liver decompensation (AILD). The Company’s ELAD System consists of approximately four disposable ELAD C3A cell cartridges.