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): June 23, 2016

CYCLACEL PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

200 Connell Drive, Suite 1500
Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922
(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (908) 517-7330

(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 (see General Instruction A.2. below):

On June 23, 2016, Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into an At Market Issuance Sales Agreement (the “Sales Agreement”), with FBR Capital Markets & Co. (“FBR”) pursuant to which the Company may issue and sell shares of its common stock, par value $0.001 per share (the “common stock”) having an aggregate offering price of up to $4,000,000 through FBR. Any sales of shares of the common stock pursuant to the Sales Agreement will be made under the Company’s effective “shelf” registration statement (the “Registration Statement”) on Form S-3 (File No. 333-211046) which became effective on June 8, 2016 and the related prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, June 23, 2016, as will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

 FBR may sell the shares of common stock by any method that is deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), including sales made directly on or through the NASDAQ Capital Market, the existing trading market for our common stock, sales made to or through a market maker other than on an exchange or otherwise, in negotiated transactions at market prices, and/or any other method permitted by law. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Sales Agreement, FBR will use its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable laws, rules and regulations to sell the shares of the Company’s common stock from time to time, based upon the Company’s instructions (including any price, time or size limits or other parameters or conditions the Company may impose). The Company will pay FBR a commission of 3.0% of the gross proceeds of the sale of any shares of common stock sold through FBR under the Sales Agreement and up to $35,000 in expense reimbursement, including reasonable legal fees incurred by FBR. The Company has also provided FBR with customary indemnification rights.

 The Company is not obligated to make any sales of common stock under the Sales Agreement and no assurance can be given that the Company will sell any shares under the Sales Agreement, or, if it does, as to the price or amount of shares that it will sell, or the dates on which any such sales will take place. The Sales Agreement will terminate upon the earlier of the sale of all common stock subject to the Sales Agreement or termination of the Sales Agreement by the Company or FBR as permitted therein.

 The foregoing description of the Sales Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Sales Agreement, a copy of which is filed as Exhibit 1.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference. The Sales Agreement is also incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement. A copy of the opinion of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., relating to the legality of the shares of common stock issuable under the Sales Agreement, is filed as Exhibit 5.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is also incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement.

The above disclosure shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities discussed herein, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation, or sale of the securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

Effective as of June 17, 2016, and prior to entering into the transactions described above under Item 1.01 of this Current Report on Form 8-K, the Company and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., or Cantor, agreed to terminate the Controlled Equity Offering^SM sales agreement, dated July 10, 2015, by and among the Company and Cantor. As previously reported, pursuant to the terms of the Cantor’s sales agreement, the Company could offer and sell shares of its common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $8.35 million from time to time through Cantor. The Company sold an aggregate of 1,368,933 shares pursuant to the Cantor’s sales agreement.

* * *

The Company cautions you that statements included in this report that are not a description of historical facts are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding the ability to sell shares and raise additional funds pursuant to the Sales Agreement. The inclusion of forward-looking statements should not be regarded as a representation by the Company that any of these results will be achieved. Actual results may differ from those set forth in this report due to the risks and uncertainties associated with market conditions and

the satisfaction of pre-sale conditions under the Sales Agreement, as well as risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company’s business, including those described in the Company’s periodic filings with the SEC. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof, and the Company undertakes no obligation to revise or update this report to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. This caution is made under the safe harbor provisions of Section 21E of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

(d) Exhibits.

The representations, warranties and covenants contained in the Sales Agreement were made solely for the benefit of the parties to the Sales Agreement. In addition, such representations, warranties and covenants (i) are intended as a way of allocating the risk between the parties to the Sales Agreement and not as statements of fact, and (ii) may apply standards of materiality in a way that is different from what may be viewed as material by stockholders of, or other investors in, the Company. Accordingly, the Sales Agreement is included with this filing only to provide investors with information regarding the terms of transaction, and not to provide investors with any other factual information regarding the Company. Stockholders should not rely on the representations, warranties and covenants or any descriptions thereof as characterizations of the actual state of facts or condition of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. Moreover, information concerning the subject matter of the representations and warranties may change after the date of the Sales Agreement, which subsequent information may or may not be fully reflected in public disclosures.

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.

Date: June 23, 2016