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Related Party Transactions
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Related Party Transactions  
Related Party Transactions

Note 13. Related Party Transactions

 

Settlement Agreements and Related Director and Officer Insurance Receivable

 

On August 7, 2018, the Company entered into a confidential settlement agreement and mutual release (the “Settlement Agreement”) with its former CEO, former CFO and a former and then current director.  For more details see Note 14. The Company accrued approximately $1.5 million related to this Settlement Agreement and as of December 31, 2018, the Company has paid $1.1 million. The Company is also entitled to a partial reimbursement for this accrual from the Company’s insurance company of approximately $0.5 million which was collected in October 2018. This resulted in a net settlement expense of approximately $1.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2018.

 

Product License Agreements

 

The Company is a party to an in-license agreement for exclusive worldwide rights to certain patents and information related to our Triferic® product. On October 7, 2018, the Company entered into a Master Services and IP Agreement (the “Charak MSA”) with Charak, LLC and Dr. Ajay Gupta (collectively “Charak”), who serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Company. Pursuant to the MSA, the parties entered into three additional agreements described below related to the license of certain soluble ferric pyrophosphate (“SFP”) intellectual property owned by Charak, as well as the Employment Agreement (defined below). The Charak MSA provides for a payment of $1.0 million to Dr. Gupta, payable in four quarterly installments of $250,000 each on October 15, 2018, January 15, 2019, April 15, 2019 and July 15, 2019, and reimbursement for certain legal fees incurred in connection with the Charak MSA. As of December 31, 2018, the Company paid the first quarterly installment of $250,000 and accrued $100,000 for the reimbursement of certain legal expenses. The Company recorded $1.1 million as a component of research and development expense for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 and had $850,000 accrued as of December 31, 2018, which was recorded as a component of settlement payable.

 

Pursuant to the Charak MSA, the aforementioned parties entered into an Amendment, dated as of October 7, 2018 (the “Charak Amendment”), to the Licensing Agreement between the Company and Charak, dated January 7, 2002, as amended (the “2002 Agreement”), under which Charak granted the Company an exclusive, worldwide, non-transferable license to commercialize SFP for the treatment of patients with renal failure. The Charak Amendment amends the royalty payments due to Charak under the 2002 Agreement such that the Company is liable to pay Charak royalties on net sales by the Company of products developed under the license, which includes the Company’s Triferic® product, at a specified rate until December 31, 2021 and thereafter at a reduced rate from January 1, 2022 until February 1, 2034. Additionally, the Company shall pay Charak a percentage of any sublicense income during the term of the agreement, which amount shall not be less than a minimum specified percentage of net sales of the licensed products by the sublicensee in jurisdictions where there exists a valid claim, on a country-by-country basis, and be no less than a lower rate of the net sales of the licensed products by the sublicensee in jurisdictions where there exists no valid claim, on a country-by-country basis.

 

Also pursuant to the Charak MSA, the Company and Charak entered into a Commercialization and Technology License Agreement IV Triferic®, dated as of October 7, 2018 (the “IV Agreement”), under which Charak granted the Company an exclusive, sublicensable, royalty-bearing license to SFP for the purpose of commercializing certain intravenous-delivered products incorporating SFP for the treatment of iron disorders worldwide for a term that expires on the later of February 1, 2034 or upon the expiration or termination of a valid claim of a licensed patent. The Company is liable to pay Charak royalties on net sales by the Company of products developed under the license at a specified rate until December 31, 2021. From January 1, 2022 until February 1, 2034, the Company is liable to pay Charak a base royalty at a reduced rate on net sales and an additional royalty on net sales while there exists a valid claim of a licensed patent, on a country-by-country basis. The Company shall also pay to Charak a percentage of any sublicense income received during the term of the IV Agreement, which amount shall not be less than a minimum specified percentage of net sales of the licensed products by the sublicensee in jurisdictions where there exists a valid claim, on a country-by-country basis, and not be less than a lower rate of the net sales of the licensed products by the sublicensee in jurisdictions where there exists no valid claim, on a country-by-country basis.

 

Also pursuant to the Charak MSA, the Company and Charak entered into a Technology License Agreement TPN Triferic®, dated as of October 7, 2018 (the “TPN Agreement”), pursuant to which Charak granted the Company an exclusive, sublicensable, royalty-bearing license to SFP for the purpose of commercializing worldwide certain parenteral nutritional (TPN”) products incorporating SFP. The license grant under the TPN Agreement continues for a term that expires on the later of February 1, 2034 or upon the expiration or termination of a valid claim of a licensed patent. During the term of the TPN Agreement, the Company is liable to pay Charak a base royalty on net sales and an additional royalty on net sales while there exists a valid claim of a licensed patent, on a country-by-country basis. The Company shall also pay to Charak a percentage of any sublicense income received during the term of the TPN Agreement, which amount shall not be less than a minimum royalty on net sales of the licensed products by the sublicensee in jurisdictions where there exists a valid claim, on a country-by-country basis, and not be less than a lower rate of the net sales of the licensed products by the sublicensee in jurisdictions where there exists no valid claim, on a country-by-country basis.

 

The transaction was accounted for as an asset acquisition pursuant to ASU 2017-01, Business Combinations (Topic 805), Clarifying the Definition of a Business, as the majority of the fair value of the assets acquired was concentrated in a group of similar assets, and the acquired assets did not have outputs or employees. The assets acquired under the MSA include a license of SFP. Because SFP has not yet received regulatory approval, the $1.1 million purchase price paid and accrued to date for these assets has been expensed in the Company’s statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2018. In addition, the potential milestone payments are not yet considered probable, and no milestone payments have been accrued at December 31, 2018.

2018 Director Compensation

In 2018, the Company compensated non-employee directors with a cash retainer and a stock option grant, which was approved at the 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in conjunction with the approval of the Company’s 2018 Long Term Incentive Plan. Following the removal of the Company’s then Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer in May 2018, independent directors Lisa Colleran, John Cooper and Benjamin Wolin were appointed to a special committee of the Board, which committee was delegated the responsibility to provide Board-level oversight of management on a more frequent basis until the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer in the third and fourth quarters of 2018, as well as to provide Board-level oversight over the Company’s legal matters during this time. Subsequent to the appointment of this committee, the Compensation Committee of the Board recommended, and the Board approved, additional aggregate cash compensation of $330,000 payable to the directors who served on this committee in light of the substantial investment of additional time required in this role during the Company’s transition in 2018.