As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 24, 2020

Registration No. 333-                

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM S-8

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

Coherus BioSciences, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

333 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 600

Redwood City, CA 94065

(650) 649-3530

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

Coherus BioSciences, Inc. 2016 Employment Commencement Incentive Plan

(Full Title of the Plan)

Dennis M. Lanfear

President and Chief Executive Officer

Coherus BioSciences, Inc.

333 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 600

Redwood City, CA 94065

(650) 649-3530

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

Copies to:

Alan C. Mendelson, Esq.

Benjamin A. Potter, Esq.

Latham & Watkins LLP

140 Scott Drive

Menlo Park, California 94025-1008

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.  ☐

CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE

Proposed sales to take place as soon after the effective date of the Registration Statement

as awards under the above-named plan are granted, exercised and/or vest.

REGISTRATION OF ADDITIONAL SECURITIES

Coherus BioSciences, Inc. (the “Company”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-213077) on August 11, 2016 relating to shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), to be offered and sold under the Inducement Plan and the contents of the Registration Statements on Form S-8 filed with the securities and Exchange Commission on August 11, 2016 (File No.  333-213077), June 14, 2018 (File No.  333-225616), November 8, 2018 (File No.  333-228274), February 1, 2019 (File No.  333-229479), May 9, 2019 (File No.  333-231329) and November 8, 2019 (File No. 333-234601) are incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement. The Company is hereby registering an additional 1,000,000 shares of Common Stock issuable under the Inducement Plan, none of which have been issued as of the date of this Registration Statement.

Item 8. Exhibits.

Reference is made under this Item 8 to the exhibit index included in this Registration Statement.

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, 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 Redwood City, California, on January 24, 2020.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below does hereby constitute and appoint Dennis M. Lanfear and Jean-Frédéric Viret, Ph.D., and each of them, with full power of substitution and full power to act without the other, his or her true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent to act for him or her 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 to file this Registration Statement, with all exhibits thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Commission, granting unto 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 and necessary to be done in order to effectuate the same as fully, to all intents and purposes, as they or he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

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

Exhibit 5.1

Coherus BioSciences, Inc.

333 Twin Dolphin Drive, Suite 600

Redwood City, CA 94065

Re:  Registration Statement on Form S-8; 1,000,000 shares of Common Stock, par value $0.0001 per share

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have acted as special counsel to Coherus BioSciences, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), in connection with the registration by the Company of 1,000,000 shares of Common Stock of the Company, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Shares”), issuable under the Company’s 2016 Employment Commencement Incentive Plan (as amended, the “Inducement Plan”). 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 January 24, 2020 (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 the related prospectus, other than as expressly stated herein with respect to the issue 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, and we express no opinion with respect to any other laws.

January 24, 2020

Page 2

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, and have been issued by the Company against payment therefor (not less than par value) in the circumstances contemplated by the Inducement Plan, assuming in each case that the individual issuances, grants or awards under the Inducement Plan 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 Inducement Plan (and the agreements and awards duly adopted thereunder and in accordance therewith), the issue 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 General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware.

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 registration of 1,000,000 shares of common stock for issuance under the 2016 Employment Commencement Incentive Plan of Coherus BioSciences Inc. of our reports dated February 28, 2019, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of Coherus BioSciences, Inc. and the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting of Coherus BioSciences, Inc., included in its Annual Report (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2018, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.