LICENSE AGREEMENTS AND COMMITMENTS |
NOTE 9—LICENSE AGREEMENTS AND COMMITMENTS The Company has entered into three license agreements and certain other agreements with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (“MSK”). The license agreements include the MSK License Agreement, dated August 20, 2015, between the Company and MSK (the “MSK License”), and the CD33 License Agreement, dated November 13, 2017, between the Company and MSK (the “CD33 License”). Through the Settlement and Assumption and Assignment of the MSK License and Y-mAbs Sublicense Agreement, dated December 2, 2019, among MabVax Therapeutics Holdings, Inc. and MabVax Therapeutics, Inc., (together “MabVax”), the Company and MSK (the “SAAA”), the Company has established a direct license with MSK relating to the GD2-GD3 Vaccine, which was originally sublicensed by the Company in 2018 from MabVax. In addition, the Company entered into a license agreement, dated April 15, 2020, with MSK and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“MIT”) (the “SADA License Agreement”). These license agreements with MSK and MIT grant the Company certain patent rights and intellectual property rights, and in consideration thereof, the Company agreed to make certain payments and issue shares of the Company’s common stock to MSK and MIT. Certain payments are contingent milestone and royalty payments, as disclosed in the table below. Amounts disclosed in NOTE 8—ACCRUED LIABILITIES for accrued licensing, milestone and royalty payments are inclusive of obligations under the MSK License Agreement, CD33 License Agreement, MabVax License Agreement and SADA License Agreement, collectively. The Company’s material license agreements are described in NOTE 9— LICENSE AGREEMENTS AND COMMITMENTS to the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. MSK License Agreement The MSK License Agreement relates to intellectual property for DANYELZA and requires the Company to pay to MSK mid to high single-digit royalties based on annual net sales of licensed products or the performance of licensed services by the Company and the Company’s affiliates and sublicensees. The Company is required to pay annual minimum royalties of $80,000 over the royalty term, which amounts are non-refundable but are creditable against royalty payments otherwise due thereunder. The Company is also obligated to pay to MSK certain clinical, regulatory and sales-based milestone payments under the MSK License, which payments become due at the earlier of completion of the related milestone activity or the date indicated in the MSK License. SADA License Agreement Pursuant to the SADA License Agreement, the Company was granted an exclusive worldwide, sublicensable license to MSK’s and MIT’s rights to certain patent and intellectual property to develop, make, and commercialize licensed products and to perform services for all therapeutic and diagnostic uses in the field of cancer diagnostics and cancer treatments using the SADA PRIT Technology. The SADA License Agreement requires the Company to pay MSK and MIT mid to high single-digit royalties based on annual net sales of licensed products or the performance of licensed services by the Company and its affiliates and sublicensees. The Company is obligated to pay non-refundable annual minimum royalties of $40,000, increasing to $60,000 once a patent has been issued, over the royalty term, commencing on the tenth anniversary of the license agreement, which are creditable against royalty payments otherwise due under the SADA License Agreement. Pursuant to the SADA License Agreement, the Company is also obligated to pay MSK and MIT certain clinical, regulatory and sales-based milestone payments, which become due at the earlier of completion of the related milestone activity or the date indicated in the SADA License Agreement. The Company may terminate the SADA License Agreement with prior written notice. For the MSK License Agreement and the SADA License Agreement, in addition to any milestone payments, to the extent the Company enters into sublicense arrangements, it is obligated to pay to MSK, as indicated in MSK License Agreement, and MSK and MIT, as indicated in SADA License Agreement, a percentage of certain payments received from sublicensees of the rights licensed to it by MSK, or MSK and MIT, which percentage will be based upon the achievement of certain clinical milestones. See NOTE 3—SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES for sublicense agreements related to MSK License Agreements by the Company. Failure by the Company to meet certain conditions under each arrangement could cause the related licenses to such licensed products to be canceled and could result in termination of the respective arrangement with MSK, or MSK and MIT. Summary of Significant License Agreements and Related Commitments The below table represents the maximum clinical, regulatory or sales-based milestones as reflected within the significant license agreements, certain of which have been paid in prior periods or are accrued as presented in the table below (in thousands): | | | | | | | | | | | | Maximum | | Maximum | | Maximum | | | Clinical | | Regulatory | | Sales-based | Agreements | | Milestones | | Milestones | | Milestones | MSK | | | $ 2,450 | | | $ 9,000 | | | $ 20,000 | CD33 | | | 550 | | | 500 | | | 7,500 | MabVax | | | 200 | | | 1,200 | | | — | SADA | | | 4,730 | | | 18,125 | | | 23,750 |
The below table represents all obligations pertaining to the significant license agreements that have been paid, expensed, or accrued for during the three and six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, and as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 (in thousands) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cash paid | | Cash paid | | Expense | | Expense | | Expense | | Expense | | Accrued | | Accrued | | Accrued | | Accrued | | | | six | | six | | three | | six | | three | | six | | liabilities | | liabilities | | liabilities | | liabilities | | | | months | | months | | months | | months | | months | | months | | current | | non-current | | current | | non-current | | | | ended | | ended | | ended | | ended | | ended | | ended | | as of | | as of | | as of | | as of | | | | June 30, | | June 30, | | June 30, | | June 30, | | June 30, | | June 30, | | June 30, | | June 30, | | December 31, | | December 31, | | Agreements | | 2024 | | 2023 | | 2024 | | 2024 | | 2023 | | 2023 | | 2024 | | 2024 | | 2023 | | 2023 | | MSK | | $ | 2,377 | | $ | 3,245 | | $ | 1,503 | | $ | 2,887 | | $ | 1,479 | | $ | 2,702 | | $ | 2,962 | | $ | 1,950 | | $ | 2,452 | | $ | 1,950 | | CD33 | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 300 | | | — | | | 300 | | MabVax | | | — | | | — | | | 10 | | | 10 | | | — | | | — | | | 10 | | | — | | | — | | | — | | SADA | | | 875 | | | 605 | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | | | 1,550 | | | 1,700 | | | 1,000 | | | 3,125 | |
Minimum royalties and certain clinical, regulatory and sales milestones that become due based upon the passage of time under the MSK License Agreement, CD33 License Agreement, the MabVax Agreement, and the SADA License Agreement are excluded from the above table as the Company does not consider such obligations to be probable as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023. Research and development is inherently uncertain and should such research and development fail, the MSK License Agreement, the CD33 License Agreement, the SADA License Agreement and the MabVax License Agreement as well as the MabVax/Y-mAbs Sublicense are cancelable at the Company’s option. The Company will also consider the development risk and each party’s termination rights under the respective agreement when considering whether any clinical or regulatory-based milestone payments, certain of which also contain time-based payment requirements, are probable. The Company records milestones in the period in which the contingent liability is probable and the amount is reasonably estimable. Lease Agreements In February 2019, the Company entered into a lease agreement in connection with the Company’s 4,548 square feet laboratory in New Jersey. In December 2019, the Company expanded the space with an additional 235 square feet. The original term of the lease was three years from the date the Company occupied the premises and the lease has been amended twice extending the term to February 2027. Fixed rent payable under the lease is approximately $177,000 per annum and is payable in equal monthly installments of approximately $15,000 per month until February 2025. The fixed rent payable will increase to $182,000 per annum from February 2025 to February 2026, and will further increase to approximately $188,000 per annum payable in equal monthly installments of approximately $16,000 per month, from February 2026 to the end of the lease term. In January 2018, the Company entered into a lease agreement in connection with the Company’s corporate headquarters in New York. The term of the lease was six years from the date the Company began to occupy the premises and the lease was to expire in April 2024. In August 2023, the Company entered into a lease amendment to extend the term to April 2025. Fixed rent payable under the lease is approximately $408,000 per annum and is payable in equal monthly installments of approximately $34,000. In February 2018, the Company entered into a lease agreement for certain office space in Denmark, which has been amended several times. The lease was renewed on November 1, 2021 with a four-year term that expires in November 2025. The lease is payable in monthly installments of approximately $41,000. In January 2023, the Company notified the landlord of its intention to reduce the leased premise as a result of the Company’s strategic restructuring. The lease modification resulted in an immaterial charge in the six months ended June 30, 2023. Total operating lease costs were $246,000 and $220,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Total operating lease costs were $492,000 and $560,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. During the three months ended June 30, 2024, the operating lease expenses were recorded as $170,000 in research and development expense and $76,000 in selling, general and administrative expense. During the three months ended June 30, 2023, the expenses were recorded as $163,000 in research and development expense and $57,000 in selling, general and administrative expense. During the six months ended June 30, 2024, the expenses were recorded as $338,000 in research and development expense and $154,000 in selling, general and administrative expense. During the six months ended June 30, 2023, the expenses were recorded as $446,000 in research and development expense and $114,000 in selling, general and administrative expense. Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024, was $245,000 and $496,000, respectively, and cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, was $266,000 and $525,000, respectively. These payments were included in net cash used in operating activities in the Company’s Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. Maturities of operating lease liabilities as of June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023 were as follows (in thousands): | | | | | | | | | | | | | June 30, 2024 | | December 31, 2023 | Remainder of 2024 | | $ | 491 | | $ | — | Years ending December 31, | | | | | | | 2024 | | | — | | | 996 | 2025 | | | 681 | | | 526 | 2026 | | | 187 | | | — | 2027 | | | 16 | | | — | Total lease payments | | | 1,375 | | | 1,522 | Less: Imputed interest | | | (101) | | | (103) | Total operating lease liabilities as of period end | | $ | 1,274 | | $ | 1,419 |
Operating lease liabilities are based on the net present value of the remaining lease payments over the remaining lease term. In determining the present value of lease payments, the Company estimates the incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the lease commencement date. As of June 30, 2024, the weighted average remaining lease term is 1.69 years and the weighted average discount rate used to determine the operating lease liability was 8.5%. As of December 31, 2023, the weighted average remaining lease term was 1.61 years and the weighted average discount rate used to determine the operating lease liability was 8.3%. Legal Matters Donoghue vs. Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc., and Gad The Company was named a nominal defendant in a lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, on August 25, 2021, by one of the Company’s stockholders, Deborah Donoghue (Case No. 1:21-cv-07182). The suit named the Company’s Chief Business Officer, and Vice Chairman of the Company’s board of directors, Mr. Thomas Gad as an additional defendant, and it sought to compel Mr. Gad to disgorge alleged short swing profits stemming from a certain transaction involving the Company’s common stock undertaken by Mr. Gad on March 10, 2021 together with appropriate interest and costs of the lawsuit. On December 17, 2021, Mr. Gad filed a Motion to Dismiss the lawsuit. On August 8, 2022, the Court denied Mr. Gad’s Motion to Dismiss the lawsuit based on the record at the time. The parties have since completed documentary discovery and depositions. On February 1, 2024, both the Plaintiff and Mr. Gad filed their respective motions for summary judgment. On August 5, 2024 the Court granted the defendants motion to dismiss the case and issued a judgment order releasing all claims and terminating the case. As a result of this decision, the Company considers this case closed. In re Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc. Securities Litigation On January 18, 2023, a putative class-action lawsuit was filed against the Company and certain of the Company’s current and former officers for alleged violations of the U.S. federal securities laws in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York (Case No.: 1:23-cv-00431). The amended complaint filed on May 23, 2023, asserts claims under Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, on behalf of a proposed class consisting of those who acquired the Company’s common stock between October 6, 2020 and October 28, 2022. The amended complaint alleges that there were material misrepresentations and/or omissions regarding the FDA’s consideration of the Company’s BLA for omburtamab for the treatment of pediatric patients with CNS/leptomeningeal metastasis from neuroblastoma firstly submitted in 2020 and resubmitted in 2022. The amended complaint seeks unspecified damages, and costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees. On February 5, 2024, the Court granted in part and denied in part the defendants’ motion to dismiss the amended complaint. The Court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims relating to three of four categories of challenged statements and dismissed in part plaintiff’s claims relating to the fourth category of challenged statements. The Court also dismissed one of the individual defendants from the case. On June 26, 2024, without admitting any liability, the remaining defendants entered into a Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement (“Stipulation”) that, if approved, is expected to resolve the lawsuit. Under the terms of the Stipulation, in exchange for the release and dismissal with prejudice of all claims against all defendants in the action, the Company has agreed to a settlement amount of $19,650,000, which must be paid into an escrow account by the Company and the Company’s insurance carriers by August 13, 2024. Based upon the retention limits of the Company’s Directors & Officers Insurance Policy, the Company is limited to a maximum liability relating to this matter of $5,000,000, inclusive of legal defense fees, of which the Company has paid approximately $1,375,000. The Company has recorded the settlement amount of $19,650,000 within accrued legal settlement and a corresponding insurance recovery receivable of $16,025,000 within insurance recovery receivable related to legal settlement on the consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2024. The Company has recorded the settlement amount of $19,650,000 and the corresponding insurance recovery receivable of $16,025,000, with net impact of $3,625,000, within selling, general and administrative expense on the consolidated statements of net loss and comprehensive loss. The determination that the recorded insurance recovery receivable is probable of collection is based on the terms of the applicable insurance policies and communications with the insurers. The proposed settlement under the Stipulation does not constitute an admission of fault or wrongdoing by the Company or any of the individual defendants. On July 1, 2024, the Court entered an order that, among other things, granted preliminary approval of the proposed settlement, approved plaintiffs’ proposed form of notice of the proposed settlement, and scheduled a settlement fairness hearing to be held on October 28, 2024. The proposed settlement remains subject to final approval by the Court and certain other conditions. Hazelton vs. Y-mAbs Therapeutics Inc., and Gad, et al. The Company has been named a nominal defendant in a lawsuit filed in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware, on February 8, 2023, by a purported stockholder, Jeffrey Hazelton (Case No. 2023-0147-LWW). The amended complaint filed on May 12, 2023, purports to bring claims on behalf of the Company against current and former members of the Company’s board of directors for allegedly awarding themselves excessive compensation for fiscal years 2020 and 2021. The amended complaint seeks, among other things, recovery of alleged excessive compensation, an order directing the Company to undertake certain corporate governance reforms, and an award of costs and expenses, including attorneys’ fees. Defendants’ motion to dismiss the amended complaint was fully briefed as of September 8, 2023. On April 3, 2024, the parties informed the Court that they had agreed to resolve the matter on mootness grounds and hoped to reach agreement on formal documentation. On July 22, 2024, the parties executed a settlement agreement. As part of the resolution reached on mootness grounds, the Company agreed to: (i) cancel 5,000 shares of stock options issued to each of the Company’s non-employee directors as compensation for the years 2020 and 2021; (ii) amend the Company’s Compensation Committee Charter to provide that the Compensation Committee shall meet at least quarterly, or more frequently as necessary, to undertake its duties; and (iii) disclose in the annual proxy statements the constituents of the Company’s peer group and relevant financial and business metrics considered in establishing the peer group, including market capitalization, and a reasonably detailed description of the process for determining and approving such peer group. As part of the settlement executed on July 22, 2024, the Company agreed to pay $225,000 in attorney’s fees and expenses in full satisfaction of any and all claims by the plaintiff and his counsel for fees and expenses in the action. On July 24, 2024, the parties submitted a stipulation and proposed order, which, if entered by the court, would result in the dismissal of the action following a court-approved form of notice of the resolution reached on mootness grounds. The Company has recorded the fee and expenses to be paid to the plaintiffs’ counsel of $225,000 within accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet as of June 30, 2024, and within selling, general and administrative expense on the consolidated statements of net loss and comprehensive loss for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024.
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