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Commitments and Contingencies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
7. Commitments and Contingencies
License Agreements
Exclusive License Agreement with PGEN Therapeutics
On October 5, 2018, the Company entered into an exclusive license agreement, or the License Agreement, with PGEN. As between the Company and PGEN, 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 Precigen, 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 Precigen to PGEN; (b) certain rights and obligations pursuant to that certain License and Collaboration Agreement effective March 27, 2015 between ZIOPHARM, Precigen and ARES TRADING S.A., or Ares Trading, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, or Merck, as assigned by Precigen to PGEN, or the Ares Trading Agreement; (c) that certain License Agreement between the Company, Precigen, and MD Anderson, with an effective date of January 13, 2015, or the MD Anderson License, which was subsequently assigned by Precigen and assumed by PGEN effective as of January 1, 2018; and (d) that certain Research and Development Agreement between the Company, Precigen and MD Anderson with an effective date of August 17, 2015, or the Research and Development Agreement, and any amendments or statements of work thereto.
 
Pursuant to the terms of the License Agreement, PGEN has granted the Company exclusive, worldwide rights to research, develop and commercialize (i) products utilizing PGEN’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 for the treatment of cancer, subject to the rights of Ares Trading to pursue such target under the Ares Trading Agreement, and
(iii) T-cell
receptor, or TCR, products designed for neoantigens for the treatment of cancer. PGEN 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 is 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, CD19 Products and TCR Products.
In consideration of the licenses and other rights granted by PGEN, the Company pays PGEN an annual license fee of $0.1 million. The Company did not have any annual license expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.
The Company will also 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 PGEN 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 PGEN 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 PGEN 20% of any sublicensing income received by the Company relating to the licensed products.
PGEN will pay the Company royalties ranging from
low-single
digits to
mid-single
digits on the net sales derived from the sale of PGEN’s CAR products, up to $50.0 million
.
During the three months ended March 31, 2021 there were $0.1 million of expenses for services performed by PGEN and no expenses incurred during the three months ended March 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company had
$0.1 
million, respectively, in accrued expenses related to services for amounts due to PGEN.
 
License Agreement—The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
On January 13, 2015, the Company, together with Precigen, entered into the MD Anderson License with MD Anderson (which Precigen subsequently assigned to PGEN). 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 was the Company’s Chief Executive Officer from May 2015
to February 2021 and was formerly a tenured professor of pediatrics at MD Anderson and is now currently a visiting scientist under that institution’s policies.
The term of the MD Anderson License expires on the later 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 PGEN, shall 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 ZIOPHARM and PGEN 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 had 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 PGEN did not meet 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 us and PGEN, 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 PGEN and may be terminated by the mutual written agreement of the Company, PGEN, and MD Anderson.
On August 17, 2015, the Company, Precigen and MD Anderson entered into the Research and Development, or 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 PGEN, the Company and PGEN agreed that PGEN 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 Research and Development 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 an amendment to the Research and Development Agreement extending its term until December 31, 2026.
During the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company made no payments to MD Anderson. The net balance of cash resources on hand at MD Anderson available to offset expenses and future costs is $5.1 million, which is included in prepaid expenses and other current assets on the Company’s balance sheet at March 31, 2021.
On October 22, 2019, the Company entered into the 2019 Research and Development Agreement, or the 2019 Agreement, with MD Anderson, pursuant to which the parties agreed to collaborate with respect to the Company’s
Sleeping Beauty
immunotherapy program, which uses
non-viral
gene transfer to stably express and clinically evaluate neoantigen-specific TCRs in T cells. Under the 2019 Agreement, the parties will, among other things, collaborate on programs to expand the Company’s TCR library and conduct clinical trials.
 
The Company will own all intellectual property developed under the 2019 Agreement and will retain all rights to intellectual property for oncology products manufactured using
non-viral
gene transfer technologies under the Agreement, including the Company’s
Sleeping Beauty
technology. The Company has granted MD Anderson an exclusive license for such intellectual property outside the field of oncology and to develop and commercialize autologous TCR products manufactured using viral gene transfer technologies, and a
non-exclusive
license for allogeneic TCR products manufactured using viral-based technologies.
The Company has agreed, beginning on January 1, 2021, to reimburse MD Anderson up to a total of $20.0 million for development costs incurred starting after January 1, 2021 under the 2019 Agreement. In addition, the Company will pay MD Anderson royalties on net sales of its TCR products at rates in the low single digits. The Company is required to make performance-based payments upon the successful completion of clinical and regulatory benchmarks relating to its TCR products. The aggregate potential benchmark payments are $36.5 million, of which only $3.0 million will be due prior to the first marketing approval of the Company’s TCR products. The royalty rates and benchmark payments owed to MD Anderson may be reduced upon the occurrence of certain events. The Company also agreed that it will sell the Company’s TCR products to MD Anderson at preferential prices and will sell its TCR products in Texas exclusively to MD Anderson for a limited period of time following the first commercial sale of the Company’s
TCR products. No costs have been incurred under this agreement as of March 31, 2021.
In connection with the execution of the 2019 Agreement, the Company issued MD Anderson a warrant to purchase 3,333,333 shares of common stock. Refer to Note
10
Warrants
for further details
.
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, TP53 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 of the Patent License. The $1.5 million was paid as of December 31, 2020.
On January 8, 2020, the Company entered into an amendment to the Patent License which expanded the TCR library to include additional TCRs reactive to mutated KRAS and TP53.
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. During the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Company recognized $0.3 
million related to royalty payments under this agreement.
 
On September 28, 2020, the Company entered into a second amendment to the patent license agreement which expanded the TCR library to include additional TCRs.
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, which has not been met at March 31, 2021.
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.
 
During the three-month periods ended March 31, 2021, and 2020, the Company expensed 
$0.1
million related to the patent services under this agreement. Additionally, the Company recorded
$0.3 million in accrued expenses as of March 31, 2021 related to patent services incurred in both the prior and current year.
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute
On January 10, 2017, the Company announced the signing of a 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. In February 2019, the Company extended the CRADA with the NCI for two years, committing an additional $5.0 million to this program. The Company recorded $0.6
 
million of expense for both three-month periods ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.
 
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. No amounts were accrued or paid during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.
Collaboration Agreement with Solasia Pharma K.K.
On March 7, 2011, the Company entered into a License and Collaboration Agreement with Solasia Pharma K.K., or 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. No amounts were accrued or received during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.