As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 8, 2023

Registration No. 333-        

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

Sana Biotechnology, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

2021 Incentive Award Plan

2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

(Full Title of the Plan)

Bernard J. Cassidy

Executive Vice President, General Counsel, & Corporate Secretary

Sana Biotechnology, Inc.

188 East Blaine Street, Suite 400

Seattle, Washington 98102

(206) 701-7914

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

Copies to:

B. Shayne Kennedy

Latham & Watkins LLP

140 Scott Drive

Menlo Park, California 94025

Telephone: (650) 328-4600

Facsimile: (650) 463-2600

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.  ☐

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Sana Biotechnology, Inc. (the “Registrant”) is filing this Registration Statement on Form S-8 (this “Registration Statement”) for the purpose of registering an additional 9,551,666 shares of common stock under the Registrant’s 2021 Incentive Award Plan, as amended (the “2021 Plan”), and an additional 1,910,333 shares of common stock under the Registrant’s 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended (the “ESPP”), for which registration statements of the Registrant on Form S-8 (File Nos. 333-252862 and 333-264846) are effective (the “Prior Registration Statements”), pursuant to the provisions of the 2021 Plan and the ESPP that provide for automatic annual increases in the number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance thereunder. This Registration Statement relates to securities of the same class as those to which the Prior Registration Statements relate and is submitted in accordance with Section E of the General Instructions to Form S-8 regarding Registration of Additional Securities. Pursuant to Section E of the General Instructions to Form S-8, the contents of the Prior Registration Statements are incorporated herein by reference and made part of this Registration Statement, except as amended hereby.

PART I

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE SECTION 10(a) PROSPECTUS

The information called for in Part I of Form S-8 is not being filed with or included in this Registration Statement (by incorporation by reference or otherwise) in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The documents containing the information specified in Part I of Form S-8 will be delivered to the participants in the equity benefit plans covered by this Registration Statement as specified by Rule 428(b)(1) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

PART II

INFORMATION REQUIRED IN THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT

The Registrant hereby incorporates by reference into this Registration Statement the following documents filed by it with the SEC:

All documents filed by the Registrant pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (other than Current Reports furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K and exhibits furnished on such Form 8-K that relate to such items) subsequent to the filing of this Registration Statement and prior to the filing of a post-effective amendment to this Registration Statement that indicates that all securities offered have been sold or that deregisters all securities then remaining unsold shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement and to be part hereof from the date of filing of such documents; provided, however, that documents or information deemed to have been furnished and not filed in accordance with the rules of the SEC shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement. Any statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Registration Statement to the extent that a statement contained herein or in any subsequently filed document which also 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.

The exhibits to this Registration Statement are listed below and are incorporated herein by reference.

EXHIBIT INDEX

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, 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 Seattle, State of Washington, on this 8th day of May, 2023.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Steven D. Harr, M.D., Nathan Hardy, and Bernard J. Cassidy, and each of them, his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place, and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement and any and all additional registration statements pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto, and all other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto each said attorney-in-fact and agents full power and authority to do and perform each and every act in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents or either of them or their or his or her substitute or substitutes 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 date indicated.

Exhibit 5.1

		140 Scott Drive
		Menlo Park, California 94025
		Tel: +1.650.328.4600 Fax: +1.650.463.2600
		www.lw.com
		FIRM / AFFILIATE OFFICES
		Austin		Milan
		Beijing		Munich
		Boston		New York
		Brussels		Orange County
		Century City		Paris
May 8, 2023		Chicago		Riyadh
		Dubai		San Diego
		Düsseldorf		San Francisco
		Frankfurt		Seoul
		Hamburg		Shanghai
		Hong Kong		Silicon Valley
		Houston		Singapore
Sana Biotechnology, Inc.		London		Tel Aviv
188 East Blaine Street, Suite 400		Los Angeles		Tokyo
Seattle, Washington 98102		Madrid		Washington, D.C.

To the addressee set forth above:

We have acted as special counsel to Sana Biotechnology, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the registration by the Company of an aggregate of 11,461,999 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Shares”), issuable under the Company’s 2021 Incentive Award Plan, as amended (the “2021 Plan”) and 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended (together with the 2021 Plan, the “Plans”).

The Shares are included in a registration statement on Form S-8 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) on May 8, 2023 (the “Registration Statement”). This opinion is being furnished in connection with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Act, and no opinion is expressed herein as to any matter pertaining to the contents of the Registration Statement or related prospectuses, other than as expressly stated herein with respect to the issuance of the Shares.

As such counsel, we have examined such matters of fact and questions of law as we have considered appropriate for purposes of this letter. With your consent, we have relied upon certificates and other assurances of officers of the Company and others as to factual matters without having independently verified such factual matters. We are opining herein as to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), and we express no opinion with respect to any other laws.

Subject to the foregoing and the other matters set forth herein, it is our opinion that, as of the date hereof, when the Shares shall have been duly registered on the books of the transfer agent and registrar therefor in the name or on behalf of the purchasers, or certificates representing the Shares have been manually signed by an authorized officer of the transfer agent and registrar therefor, and have been issued by the Company against payment therefor (not less than par value) in the circumstances contemplated by the Plans, assuming in each case that the individual

May 8, 2023

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issuances, grants or awards under the Plans are duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and duly issued, granted or awarded and exercised in accordance with the requirements of law and the Plans (and the agreements and awards duly adopted thereunder and in accordance therewith), the issuance and sale of the Shares will have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action of the Company, and the Shares will be validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. In rendering the foregoing opinion, we have assumed that the Company will comply with all applicable notice requirements regarding uncertificated shares provided in the DGCL.

This opinion is for your benefit in connection with the Registration Statement and may be relied upon by you and by persons entitled to rely upon it pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Act. We consent to your filing this opinion as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

Exhibit 23.2

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

We consent to the incorporation by reference in the Registration Statement (Form S-8) pertaining to the Sana Biotechnology, Inc. 2021 Incentive Award Plan and 2021 Employee Stock Purchase Plan of our report dated March 16, 2023, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of Sana Biotechnology, Inc. included in its Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

Seattle, Washington

May 8, 2023

Exhibit 107.1

Calculation of Filing Fee Tables

Form S-8

(Form Type)

Sana Biotechnology, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)

Table 1: Newly Registered Securities