XML 45 R13.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.19.3
Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2019
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
7. Commitments and Contingencies
License Agreements
Exclusive License Agreement with Precigen, Inc.
On October 5, 2018, the Company entered into the License Agreement, with Precigen. As between the Company and Precigen, the terms of the License Agreement replace and supersede the terms of: (a) that certain Exclusive Channel Partner Agreement by and between the Company and Intrexon, dated January 6, 2011, as amended by the First Amendment to Exclusive Channel Partner Agreement effective September 13, 2011, the Second Amendment to the Exclusive Channel Partner Agreement effective March 27, 2015, and the Third Amendment to Exclusive Channel Partner Agreement effective June 29, 2016, which was subsequently assigned by Intrexon to Precigen; (b) certain rights and obligations pursuant to that certain License and Collaboration Agreement effective March 27, 2015 between the Company, Intrexon and Areas Trading S.A., or Ares Trading, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, or Merck, as assigned by Intrexon to Precigen, or the Ares Trading Agreement; (c) that certain License Agreement between the Company, Intrexon, and MD Anderson, with an effective date of January 13, 2015, or the MD Anderson License, which was subsequently assigned by Intrexon and assumed by Precigen effective as of January 1, 2018; and (d) th
e
 2015 Agreement and any amendments or statements of work thereto.
Pursuant to the terms of the License Agreement, Precigen has granted the Company an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing,
sub-licensable
license to research, develop and commercialize (i) products utilizing Precigen’s RheoSwitch
®
gene switch, or RTS, for the treatment of cancer, referred to as
IL-12
Products, (ii) CAR products directed to (A) CD19 for the treatment of cancer, referred to as CD19 Products, and (B) a second target, subject to the rights of Merck to pursue such target under the Ares Trading Agreement, and (iii) TCR products designed for neoantigens for the treatment of cancer. Precigen has also granted the Company an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing,
sub-licensable
license for certain patents relating to the
Sleeping Beauty
technology to research, develop and commercialize TCR products for both neoantigens and shared antigens for the treatment of cancer, referred to as TCR Products.
The Company will be solely responsible for all aspects of the research, development and commercialization of the exclusively licensed products for the treatment of cancer. The Company is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize
IL-12
products and CD19 products and after a
two-year
period, the TCR Products.
Precigen has also granted the Company an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing,
sub-licensable
license to research, develop and commercialize products utilizing an additional construct that expresses RTS
IL-12
for the treatment of cancer, referred to as Gorilla
IL-12
Products.
In consideration of the licenses and other rights granted by Precigen, the Company will pay Precigen an annual license fee of $0.1 million and has agreed to reimburse Precigen for certain historical costs of the licensed programs up to $1.0 million, payable quarterly.
The Company will make milestone payments totaling up to an additional $52.5 million for each exclusively licensed program upon the initiation of later stage clinical trials and upon the approval of exclusively licensed products in various jurisdictions. In addition, the Company will pay Precigen tiered royalties ranging from
low-single
digit to high-single digit on the net sales derived from the sales of any approved
IL-12
products and CAR products. The Company will also pay Precigen royalties ranging from
low-single
digit to
mid-single
digit on the net sales derived from the sales of any approved TCR Products, up to a maximum royalty amount of $100.0 million in the aggregate. The Company will also pay Precigen 20% of any sublicensing income received by the Company relating to the licensed products.
The Company is responsible for all development costs associated with each of the licensed products, other than Gorilla
IL-12
products. The Company and Precigen will share the development costs and operating profits for Gorilla
IL-12
products, with the Company responsible for 80% of the development costs and receiving 80% of the operating profits, and Precigen responsible for the remaining 20% of the development costs and receiving 20% of the operating profits.
Precigen will pay the Company royalties ranging from
low-single
digits to
mid-single
digits on the net sales derived from the sale of Precigen’s CAR products, up to $50.0 million.
 
There have been no royalties from net sales under the License Agreement for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019.
In consideration of entering into the License Agreement, Intrexon has forfeited and returned to the Company all shares of Series 1 preferred stock held by or payable to Intrexon as of the date of the License Agreement (Note
9
).
License Agreement—The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
On January 13, 2015, the Company, together with Intrexon, entered into the MD Anderson License with MD Anderson (which Intrexon subsequently assigned to Precigen). Pursuant to the MD Anderson License, the Company, together with Precigen, holds an exclusive, worldwide license to certain technologies owned and licensed by MD Anderson including technologies relating to novel CAR
T-cell
therapies,
non-viral
gene transfer systems, genetic modification and/or propagation of immune cells and other cellular therapy approaches, Natural Killer, or NK Cells, and TCRs, arising from the laboratory of Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., who became the Company’s Chief Executive Officer in May 2015 and was formerly a tenured professor of pediatrics at MD Anderson and is now currently a visiting scientist under that institution’s policies.
On August 17, 2015, the Company, Precigen and MD Anderson entered into the
2015
Agreement to formalize the scope and process for the transfer by MD Anderson, pursuant to the terms of the MD Anderson License, of certain existing research programs and related technology rights, as well as the terms and conditions for future collaborative research and development of new and ongoing research programs.
 
Pursuant to the
2015
Agreement, the Company, Precigen and MD Anderson formed a joint steering committee to oversee and manage the new and ongoing research programs. Under the License Agreement with Precigen, the Company and Precigen agreed that Precigen would no longer participate on the joint steering committee after the date of the License Agreement. As provided under the MD Anderson License, the Company provided funding for research and development activities in support of the research programs under the
2015
Agreement for a period of three years and in an amount of no less than $15.0 million and no greater than $20.0 million
 
per year. On October 22, 2019, the Company entered into the Fifth Amendment, which extended the term of the 2015 Agreement until December 31, 2026 and amended the terms of the 2015 Agreement to allow cash resources on hand at MD Anderson under the 2015 Agreement to now be used for development costs under the 2019 Agreement. During the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, the Company expensed approximately
 
$4.7 million and $4.0 million, respectively, for its research programs being conducted in Houston. The net balance of cash resources on hand at MD Anderson available to offset expenses and future costs is $21.5 million which is classified under prepaid
 expenses
 and other current assets on the balance sheet at September 30, 2019. At December 31, 2018, the net balance of cash resources on hand at MD Anderson available to offset expenses and future costs was $27.8 million, of which $18.4 million was included in prepaid
 expenses
 and other current assets and the remaining $9.4 million was included in
non-current
assets.
The term of the MD Anderson License expires on the last to occur of (a) the expiration of all patents licensed thereunder, or (b) the twentieth anniversary of the date of the MD Anderson License; provided, however, that following the expiration of the term of the MD Anderson License, the Company, together with Precigen, shall then have a fully-paid up, royalty free, perpetual, irrevocable and sublicensable license to use the licensed intellectual property thereunder. After ten years from the date of the MD Anderson License and subject to a
90-day
cure period, MD Anderson will have the right to convert the MD Anderson License into a
non-exclusive
license if the Company and Precigen are not using commercially reasonable efforts to commercialize the licensed intellectual property on a
case-by-case
basis. After five years from the date of the MD Anderson License and subject to a
180-day
cure period, MD Anderson will have the right to terminate the MD Anderson License with respect to specific technology(ies) funded by the government or subject to a third-party contract if the Company and Precigen are not meeting the diligence requirements in such funding agreement or contract, as applicable. MD Anderson may also terminate the agreement with written notice upon material breach by the Company and Precigen, if such breach has not been cured within 60 days of receiving such notice. In addition, the MD Anderson License will terminate upon the occurrence of certain insolvency events for both the Company and Precigen and may be terminated by the mutual written agreement of the Company, Precigen, and MD Anderson.
License Agreement with the National Cancer Institute
On May 28, 2019, the Company entered into a patent license agreement, or the Patent License, with the National Cancer Institute, or the NCI. Pursuant to the Patent License, the Company holds an exclusive, worldwide license to certain intellectual property to develop and commercialize patient-derived (autologous), peripheral blood
T-cell
therapy products engineered by transposon-mediated gene transfer to express TCRs reactive to mutated KRAS, p53 and EGFR. In addition, pursuant to the Patent License, the Company holds an exclusive, worldwide license to certain intellectual property for manufacturing technologies to develop and commercialize autologous, peripheral blood
T-cell
therapy products engineered by
non-viral
gene transfer to express TCRs, as well as a
non-exclusive,
worldwide license to certain additional manufacturing technologies.
Pursuant to the terms of the Patent License, the Company is required to pay the NCI a cash payment in the aggregate amount of $1.5 
million 
payable in $0.5 million installments within sixty days, six-months, and
the 
twelve-month anniversary of the effective date of the agreement
 for the Patent License
. The Company also agreed to reimburse the NCI for past patent expenses in the aggregate amount of
approximately $46 thousand. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, the Company made payments under the Patent License for $0.5 million. At September 30, 2019, the Company included the remaining $1.0 million for the Patent License as current liabilities on the Company’s balance sheet.
The terms of the Patent License also require the Company to pay the NCI minimum annual royalties in the amount of $0.3 million, which amount will be reduced to $0.1 million once the aggregate minimum annual royalties paid by the Company equals $1.5 million. The first minimum annual royalty payment is payable on the date that is eighteen months following the date of the Patent License.
The Company is also required to make performance-based payments upon successful completion of clinical and regulatory benchmarks relating to the licensed products. The aggregate potential benchmark payments are $4.3 million, of which aggregate payments of $3.0 million are due only after marketing approval in the United States or in Europe, Japan, Australia, China or India. The first benchmark payment of $0.1 million will be due upon the initiation of the Company’s first sponsored phase 1 clinical trial of a licensed product or licensed process in the field of use licensed under the Patent License.
In addition, the Company is required to pay the NCI
one-time
benchmark payments following aggregate net sales of licensed products at certain net sales up to $1.0
 
billion. The aggregate potential amount of these benchmark payments is $12.0
 
million. The Company must also pay the NCI royalties on net sales of products covered by the Patent License at rates in the low to
mid-single
digits depending upon the technology included in a licensed product. To the extent the Company enters into a sublicensing agreement relating to a licensed product, the Company is required to pay the NCI a percentage of all consideration received from a sublicensee, which percentage will decrease based on the stage of development of the licensed product at the time of the sublicense.
The Patent License will expire upon expiration of the last patent contained in the licensed patent rights, unless terminated earlier. The NCI may terminate or modify the Patent License in the event of a material breach, including if the Company does not meet certain milestones by certain dates, or upon certain insolvency events that remain uncured following the date that is 90 days following written notice of such breach or insolvency event. The Company may terminate the Patent License, or any portion thereof, in the Company’s sole discretion at any time upon 60 days’ written notice to the NCI. In addition, the NCI has the right to: (i) require the Company to sublicense the rights to the product candidates covered by the Patent License upon certain conditions, including if the Company is not reasonably satisfying required health and safety needs and (ii) terminate or modify the Patent License, including if the Company is not satisfying requirements for public use as specified by federal regulations.
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute
On January 10, 2017, the Company announced the signing of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or CRADA, with the NCI for the development of adoptive cell transfer, or ACT,-based immunotherapies genetically modified using the
Sleeping Beauty
transposon/transposase system to express TCRs for the treatment of solid tumors. The principal goal of the CRADA is to develop and evaluate ACT for patients with advanced cancers using autologous peripheral blood lymphocytes, or PBL, genetically modified using the
non-viral
Sleeping Beauty
system to express TCRs that recognize neoantigens expressed within a patient’s cancer. Research conducted under the CRADA will be at the direction of Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Surgery Branch at the NCI, in collaboration with the Company’s researchers.
In February 2019, the Company extended the CRADA with the NCI for two years, committing an additional $5.0 million to this program through January 2022. The remaining obligation, as of September 30, 2019, to the NCI under the CRADA is $5.6 million over the next two years, payable in $0.6 million payments on a quarterly basis. The Company made payments of $0.6 million and $1.9 million, during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, respectively.
Exclusive Channel Partner Agreement with Precigen for the Cancer Programs
From 2011 to 2018, the Company was party to various arrangements with Intrexon (now Precigen) in which the Company used Precigen’s technology to research and develop cancer treatments in return for various future profit sharing and royalty arrangements. These agreements were modified or terminated by the License Agreement described in Note 9.
Ares Trading License and Collaboration Agreement
On March 27, 2015, the Company, together with Intrexon (now Precigen), signed the Ares Trading Agreement, with Ares Trading, through which the parties established a collaboration for the research and development and commercialization of certain products for the prophylactic, therapeutic, palliative or diagnostic use for cancer in humans.
Precigen was entitled to receive $
5.0
 million, from Ares Trading, payable in equal quarterly installments over two years for each identified product candidate, which will be used to fund discovery work. The Company was responsible for costs exceeding the quarterly installments and all other costs of the preclinical research and development. For the three and nine months ended September 30,
2018
, the Company expensed $36 thousand under the Ares Trading Agreement. The Company did not incur any costs under the agreement for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 as there are no continuing obligations to reimburse Precigen for expenses under the Ares Trading Agreement under the terms of the License Agreement with Precigen.
Ares Trading paid a
non-refundable
upfront fee of $115.0 million to Intrexon as consideration for entry into the Ares Trading Agreement. Pursuant to the Third Amendment to Exclusive Channel Partner Agreement, or the 2016 ECP Amendment, the Company was entitled to receive 50% of the upfront fee, or $57.5 million, which was received from Intrexon in July 2015.
Under the License Agreement, Precigen agreed to perform all future obligations of the Company under the Ares Trading Agreement other than certain payment obligations. Accordingly, the Company recognized the remaining deferred revenue as part of the settlement of a related party relationship as described in Note
9
.
Patent and Technology License Agreement—The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the Texas A&M University System
On August 24, 2004, the Company entered into a patent and technology license agreement with MD Anderson and the Texas A&M University System, which the Company refers to, collectively, as the Licensors. Under this agreement, the Company was granted an exclusive, worldwide license to rights (including rights to U.S. and foreign patent and patent applications and related improvements and
know-how)
for the manufacture and commercialization of two classes of organic arsenicals (water- and lipid-based) for human and animal use. The class of water-based organic arsenicals includes darinaparsin.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Company may be required to make additional payments to the Licensors upon achievement of certain other milestones in varying amounts which, on a cumulative basis could total up to an additional $4.5 million. In addition, the Licensors are entitled to receive single digit percentage royalty payments on sales from a licensed product and will also be entitled to receive a portion of any fees that the Company may receive from a possible sublicense under certain circumstances.
Collaboration Agreement with Solasia Pharma K.K.
On March 7, 2011, the Company entered into a License and Collaboration Agreement with Solasia which was amended on July 31, 2014 to include an exclusive worldwide license. Pursuant to the License and Collaboration Agreement, the Company granted Solasia an exclusive license to develop and commercialize darinaparsin in both intravenous and oral forms and related organic arsenic molecules, in all indications for human use
As consideration for the license, the Company is eligible to receive from Solasia development- and sales-based milestones, a royalty on net sales of darinaparsin, once commercialized, and a percentage of any sublicense revenues generated by Solasia.
Solasia will be responsible for all costs related to the development, manufacturing and commercialization of darinaparsin. The Company’s Licensors, as defined in the agreement, will receive a portion of all milestone and royalty payments made by Solasia to the Company in accordance with the terms of the license agreement with the Licensors.