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Note 3 - Research and Collaboration Agreements, Sublicense Agreements, and Investments in Privately Held Companies
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2022
Notes to Financial Statements  
Collaborative Arrangement Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 3:    Research and Collaboration Agreements, Sublicense Agreements, and Investments in Privately Held Companies

 

Phibro/Abic

 

On February 10, 2022, the Company entered into an exclusive sub-license agreement with Abic Biolgical Latories Ltd. (“Abic”), an affiliate of Phibro Animal Health Corporation (“Phibro”) to provide services for a targeted disease (the “Phibro/Abic Agreement”). The Phibro/Abic Agreement was an addendum to the initially non-exclusive sub-license agreement the Company signed with Phibro on July 1, 2020. According to the Phibro/Abic Agreement, the Company received an exclusivity payment of $100,000 in April 2022.

 

Phibro/Abic may terminate the Phibro/Abic Agreement in its entirety, or any sublicense granted, in each case with or without cause at any time upon 90 days’ prior written notice to Dyadic. 

 

Accounting Treatment

 

The Company considered the guidance in ASC 808, Collaborative Arrangements (ASC 808) and determined the Phibro Agreement is not applicable to such guidance. The Company concluded that Phibro/Abic represented a customer and applied relevant guidance from ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606) to evaluate the appropriate accounting for the Phibro/Abic Agreement. 

 

The Company identified the following obligations under the Phibro/Abic Agreement: (1) an exclusive right to utilize the C1-cell protein production platform for certain disease; (2) our obligation to provide agreed-upon research and development services; (3) research report to be provided to Phibro/Abic based on the requirements of the agreement.

 

Based on management’s assessment, the Company concluded two performance obligations should be accounted for separately: (1) the agreed-upon research and development services, and (2) the right to exclusively access and use C1-cell protein production platform for certain disease.

 

Accordingly, the Company records the R&D services as research and development revenue using the cost-based input method in accordance with the Company’s policy (see Note 1). 

 

Under the Phibro/Abic Agreement, the Company is eligible to receive an exclusivity payment of $100,000, certain milestone payment upon regulatory approval, and future sales-based royalty payments. The milestone payment is considered constrained variable consideration and excluded from the transaction price at inception. The Company will re-evaluate the transaction price in each reporting period and as uncertain events are resolved or other changes in circumstances occur. The Company will not recognize revenue related to sales-based royalty until the associated event occurs.

 

For three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company recorded $100,000 of the exclusivity payment as license revenue.

 

Janssen

 

On December 16, 2021, the Company entered into a Research, License, and Collaboration Agreement (the “Janssen Agreement”) for the manufacture of therapeutic protein candidates using its C1-cell protein production platform with Janssen Biotech, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (“Janssen”). Pursuant to the terms of the Janssen Agreement: (i) Janssen will pay Dyadic an upfront payment of $500,000 for a non-exclusive license to utilize the C1-cell protein production platform to develop C1 production cell lines for the manufacturing of Janssen’s therapeutic protein candidates against several biologic targets, (ii) Janssen will provide R&D funding up to €1.6 million to develop and assess C1 production cell lines for its product candidates, (iii) Janssen will have an option to pay a mid-seven figure payment for an exclusive license from Dyadic to use the C1-cell protein production platform for the manufacturing of therapeutic proteins directed to one specific target, and upon exercise, Janssen would have the right to add additional non-exclusive targets to the collaboration and Dyadic would complete the technology transfer of the C1-cell protein production platform, fully enabling Janssen to internally develop C1 cell lines against licensed targets, and upon successful completion of the technology transfer, Dyadic is eligible to receive a milestone payment in the low seven figures, (iv) for each product candidate, Dyadic could receive development and regulatory milestones in the mid-seven figures, and (v) Dyadic could receive aggregate commercial milestone payments in the low nine figures per product, subject to a limit on the number of such products, with the amount depending on the cumulative amount of active pharmaceutical ingredient produced by Janssen for each product manufactured with Dyadic’s C1-cell protein production platform. 

 

Janssen may terminate the Janssen Agreement in its entirety, or on a country-by-country or other jurisdiction-by-other jurisdiction basis, for any or no reason, upon 90 days’ prior written notice to Dyadic.

 

Accounting Treatment

 

The Company considered ASC 808, Collaborative Arrangements (ASC 808) and determined the Janssen Agreement is not applicable to such guidance. The Company concluded that Janssen represented a customer and applied relevant guidance from ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606) to evaluate the appropriate accounting for the Janssen Agreement. 

 

The Company identified the following promises under the Janssen Agreement: (1) a right to access the C1-cell protein production platform; (2) our obligation to provide agreed upon research and development services under the R&D Funding; (3) participation in the joint steering committee; (4) the reservation of targets; (5) the grant of option to obtain a research license of intellectual property and know-how rights of its C1-cell protein production platform to produce target proteins; (6) our obligation to complete tech transfer activities upon the exercise of a research license; and (7) the options to obtain a commercial license and an exclusive license on specific targets. 

 

The Company concluded that the research and development services under the R&D Funding represents a separate unit of account, because it is a prerequisite to the license agreement and a third-party contract research organization will be used to conduct the research. The Company also concluded that, while participation on the joint steering committee was capable of being distinct, participation is part of the research and development services and does not constitute the transfer of a good or service to Janssen within the context of the contract. 

 

Other promises including the reservation of targets and tech transfer are not capable of being distinct from the licenses within the context of the contract and should therefore not be treated as a separate performance obligation. Additionally, at contract inception, the Company evaluated Janssen’s options for a research license, commercial license and to exercise exclusive rights on certain targets in order to determine whether these options to purchase additional license rights at their standalone selling prices provide a material right (i.e., an optional good or service offered for free or at a discount) to the customer. The Company concluded that these options in the Janssen Agreement are not material rights and do not give rise to a separate performance obligation. Instead, these options are deemed as marketing offers, and additional option fee payments are recognized or being recognized as revenue when Janssen exercises the option. The exercise of an option that does not represent a material right is treated as a separate contract for accounting purposes. 

 

Based on management’s assessment, the Company concluded two performance obligations should be accounted for separately: (1) the agreed-upon research and development services, and (2) the right to access C1-cell protein production platform under the research plan. Accordingly, the Company records the €1.6 million of R&D Funding as research and development revenue using the cost-based input method in accordance with the Company’s policy (see Note 1). 

 

As noted above, the Company received a non-refundable upfront payment of $0.5 million to reserve the initial protein targets until Janssen decides to exercise an option to license in the future, which represents a right to access the C1-cell protein production platform prior to using it. The Company recognizes the upfront payment of $0.5 million over the target reservation period, during which Janssen can obtain a research and/or commercial license and/or an exclusive license on specific targets or recognize in full when the contract is terminated. 

 

The Company also excluded option exercise fees and future milestone payments that the Company was eligible to receive under the Janssen Agreement, from the initial transaction price. The Company will not recognize revenue related to option exercise payments and future milestone payments until the associated event occurs, or relevant thresholds are met. The Company will re-evaluate the transaction price in each reporting period and as uncertain events are resolved or other changes in circumstances occur.

 

At March 31, 2022, the upfront payment was recorded in deferred license revenue, current and non-current portion in amount of $112,146 and $308,823, respectively. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, the Company recognized $14,706 of the upfront payment as license revenue.

 

IDBiologics, Inc. 

 

On July 8, 2020, the Company entered into a Common Stock Purchase Agreement (the “IDBiologics Agreement”) with IDBiologics, Inc (“IDBiologics”). IDBiologics is a private biotechnology company focused on the development of human monoclonal antibodies for the treatment and prevention of serious infectious diseases. The Company was founded in 2017 and seeded by Vanderbilt University Medical Center in response to the repeated threats of epidemics around the world including Ebola in West Africa and Zika in the Americas. IDBiologics is developing a portfolio of monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, influenza and Zika viruses. 

 

Pursuant to the term of the IDBiologics Agreement, on July 8, 2021, Dyadic received 129,661 shares of IDBiologics’ common stock, which represent 0.37% of IDBiologics’ outstanding equity, in exchange of a feasibility study performed by Dyadic. Dyadic provided services including the use of Dyadic’s C1-cell technology to express a SARS-CoV-2 monoclonal antibody which IDBiologics licensed from the Vanderbilt Vaccine Center. The Company determined not to record the basis for its equity interest in IDBiologics because the fair value amount of the service provided is considered immaterial. 

 

The Company evaluated the nature of its equity interest in IDBiologics and determined that IDBiologics is a VIE due to the capital structure of the entity. However, the Company is not the primary beneficiary of IDBiologics as Dyadic does not have the power to control or direct the activities of IDBiologics that most significantly impact the VIE. As a result, the Company does not consolidate its investment in IDBiologics.

 

On April 25, 2021, the Company entered into a project agreement (the “Project Agreement”) to provide additional research services to IDBiologics. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, approximately $109,000 of research and development revenue and approximately $156,000 of accounts receivable were related to the Project Agreement.

 

Alphazyme

 

On May 5, 2019, the Company entered into a sub-license agreement (the “Alphazyme Sub-License Agreement”) with Alphazyme, LLC (“Alphazyme”). Under the terms of the Alphazyme Sub-License Agreement, the Company has granted to Alphazyme, subject to the terms of the license agreement entered into between the Company and Danisco US, Inc. on December 31, 2015, a sub-license to certain patent rights and know-how related to Dyadic’s proprietary C1-cell protein production platform for the purpose of commercializing certain pharmaceutical products that are used as reagents to catalyze a chemical reaction to detect, measure, or be used as a process intermediate to produce a nucleic acid as a therapeutic or diagnostic agent. 

 

On June 24, 2020, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Non-Exclusive Sub-License Agreement (the “Amended Sub-License Agreement”) with Alphazyme to amend and restate the Alphazyme Sub-License Agreement. Pursuant to the Amended Sub-License Agreement and in consideration of Dyadic’s transfer of its C1-cell protein production platform, Alphazyme issued 2.50% of the Class A shares of Alphazyme to Dyadic, and Dyadic became a party to the Alphazyme Limited Liability Company Agreement pursuant to which the Company will agree to certain customary rights, covenants and obligations. In addition, and subject to achieving certain milestones, Alphazyme is obligated to pay a potential milestone payment and royalties on net sales, if any, which incorporate Dyadic’s proprietary C1-cell protein production platform. 

 

On December 1, 2020, an Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement with Alphazyme (the “Amended Alphazyme LLC Agreement”) was entered into. Under the Amended Alphazyme LLC Agreement, Alphazyme obtained additional capital contribution from a third-party and Dyadic’s ownership was diluted to 1.99%. As a result, the Company recorded a gain of $284,709 as its basis of investment in Alphazyme.

 

The Company evaluated the nature of its equity interest investment in Alphazyme and determined that Alphazyme is a VIE due to the capital structure of the entity. However, the Company is not the primary beneficiary of Alphazyme as Dyadic does not have the power to control or direct the activities of Alphazyme that most significantly impact the VIE. As a result, the Company does not consolidate its investment in Alphazyme. The Company reports its investment in Alphazyme under the cost method of accounting, given that it does not have the ability to exercise significant influence or control over Alphazyme. 

 

 As of March 31, 2022, the Company does not consider its investment in Alphazyme to be impaired, as there was no event or transaction that would change the value of this investment.

 

BDI 

 

On June 30, 2017, the Company entered into a strategic Research Services Agreement (the “RSA”) with Biotechnology Developments for Industry in Pharmaceuticals, S.L.U. (“BDI Pharma”), and with VLP The Vaccines Company, S.L.U. (“VLPbio”), both of which are subsidiaries of Biotechnology Developments for Industry, S.L., a Spanish biotechnology company (“BDI Holdings” and together with BDI Pharma and VLPbio, “BDI”).

 

The Company paid EUR €1.0 million (the “RSA Initial Payment”) in cash to engage BDI to develop designated C1 based product candidates and further improve the C1 manufacturing process, in consideration of which Dyadic also received a 16.1% equity interest in BDI Holdings and a 3.3% equity interest in VLPbio. Under the RSA, BDI is obligated to spend a minimum amount of EUR €936,000 over two years for the research and development project. 

 

The Company concluded that BDI is not a Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”), because BDI has sufficient equity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support and its at-risk equity holders have the characteristics of a controlling financial interest. Additionally, Dyadic is not the primary beneficiary of BDI as Dyadic does not have the power to control or direct the activities of BDI or its operations. As a result, the Company does not consolidate its investments in BDI, and the financial results of BDI are not included in the Company’s consolidated financial results. 

 

The Company performed a valuation analysis of the components of the transaction and concluded that the fair value of BDI equity interest was considered immaterial, the RSA Initial Payment of approximately USD $1.1 million (EUR €1.0 million) was accounted for as a prepaid research and development collaboration payment on our consolidated balance sheet, and the collaboration payment under the RSA paid by Dyadic were expensed as the related research services were performed by BDI.

 

On July 26, 2021, the Company entered (i) a Sale and Purchase of Shares Agreement under which the Company agreed to sell its 16.1% equity interest in BDI Holdings, and (ii) a Sale and Purchase of Shares Agreement under which the Company agreed to sell its 3.3% equity interest in VLPBio (together the “BDI Sale”). In connection with the closing of the BDI Sale, the Company received approximately $1.6 million, net of transaction and legal expenses in August 2021. The gain generated from the BDI Sale was recorded in other income.

 

In connection with the BDI Sale, the Company also entered into an amendment to the Service Framework Agreement (the “Amended SFA”) with BDI Pharma. Under the Amended SFA, the Company maintains the right to engage in research and development projects at BDI Pharma until June 30, 2025, with the non-compete term extending to June 30, 2030, without any other material terms and conditions changed.

 

For the three months ended March 31, 2022, there was no research and development expense incurred related to BDI.

 

Novovet and Luina Bio 

 

On  April 26, 2019, the Company entered into a sub-license agreement (the “Luina Bio Sub-License Agreement”) with Luina Bio Pty Ltd. (“Luina Bio”) and Novovet Pty Ltd (“Novovet”). Under the terms of the Luina Bio Sub-License Agreement, the Company granted to Novovet, subject to the terms of the license agreement entered into between the Company and Danisco US, Inc. on  December 31, 2015, a worldwide sub-license to certain patent rights and know-how related to Dyadic’s proprietary C1-cell protein production platform for the exclusive and sole purpose of commercializing certain targeted antigen and biological products for the prevention and treatment of various ailments for companion animals

 

In consideration of the license granted pursuant to the Luina Bio Sub-License Agreement, Dyadic received a 20% equity interest in Novovet (“Novovet Up-Front Consideration”) in accordance with the terms of Novovet’s Shareholder Agreement (“Shareholders Agreement”) and will receive a percentage of royalties on future net sales and non-sales revenue, if any, which incorporates Dyadic’s proprietary C1-cell protein production platform.

 

The Company evaluated the nature of its equity interest investment in Novovet and determined that Novovet is a VIE, because Novovet does not have sufficient equity to finance its activities without additional financial support from third party investors or lenders. However, the Company is not the primary beneficiary of Novovet as Dyadic does not have the power to control or direct the activities of Novovet that most significantly impact the VIE. As a result, the Company will not consolidate its investment in Novovet, but account for under the equity method investment, given that it has the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, over Novovet. 

 

To date Novovet has not raised the capital required to move this opportunity forward, and therefore, the Company has not transferred its C1-cell protein production platform to Novovet. Therefore, the Novovet Up-Front Consideration received under the Luina Bio Sub-License Agreement, in the form of a 20% equity interest in Novovet, does not yet meet the revenue recognition criteria under ASC 606.

 

On  February 15, 2022, the Company sent a letter to Luina Bio Pty Ltd and Novovet Pty Ltd, indicating its intention to terminate the Luina Bio Sub-License Agreement.