UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 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): January 30, 2026

SmartKem, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Manchester Technology Center, Hexagon Tower

Delaunays Road, Blackley

Manchester, M9 8GQ U.K.

(Address of principal executive offices, including zip code)

011-44-161-721-1514

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

N/A

(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:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b - 2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b - 2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company x

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 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On January 30, 2026, SmartKem, Inc. (the “Company”) entered into a securities purchase agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with an institutional investor, pursuant to which the Company agreed to sell to such investor 677,129 shares (the “Shares”) of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”) at a purchase price of $0.50 per share and 683,871 pre-funded warrants (the “Pre-Funded Warrant”) to purchase 683,871 shares of Common Stock at a purchase price of $0.4999 per Pre-Funded Warrant and an exercise price of $0.0001 per share (the “Offering”). The Shares were offered by the Company pursuant to its shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-281608), which was declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 22, 2024 and a related base prospectus and prospectus supplement thereunder.

The closing of the sales of these securities under the Purchase Agreement took place on January 30, 2026. The gross proceeds from the Offering were $680,500, prior to deducting offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering for working capital and general corporate purposes.

The representations, warranties and covenants contained in the Purchase Agreement were made solely for the benefit of the parties to the Purchase Agreement. In addition, such representations, warranties and covenants (i) are intended as a way of allocating the risk between the parties to the Purchase 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 Purchase Agreement is included with this filing only to provide investors with information regarding the terms of the transaction, and not to provide investors with any other factual information regarding the Company. Moreover, information concerning the subject matter of the representations and warranties may change after the date of the Purchase Agreement, which subsequent information may or may not be fully reflected in public disclosures.

The Pre-Funded Warrants are immediately exercisable and may be exercised at any time until the Pre-Funded Warrants are exercised in full. A holder will not have the right to exercise any portion of a Pre-Funded Warrant if the holder (together with its Attribution Parties (as defined in the Pre-Funded Warrant)) would beneficially own in excess of 9.99% of the number of shares of Common Stock outstanding immediately after giving effect to the exercise, as such percentage ownership is determined in accordance with the terms of the Pre-Funded Warrant. However, any holder may increase or decrease such percentage to any other percentage not in excess of 9.99% upon notice to the Company, provided, that any increase in this limitation will not be effective until 61 days after such notice from the holder to us and such increase or decrease will apply only to the holder providing such notice.

The foregoing descriptions of the Pre-Funded Warrant and Purchase Agreement are not complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the full text of the form of Pre-Funded Warrant and form of Purchase Agreement, copies of which are filed as Exhibits 4.1 and 10.1, respectively, to this Current Report on Form 8-K and are incorporated by reference herein.

The legal opinion and consent of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP relating to the validity of the securities issued in the Offering is filed herewith as Exhibit 5.1.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

Signature

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.