License agreements, research collaborations and development agreements	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2024
License Agreements Research Collaborations And Development Agreements
License agreements, research collaborations and development agreements	Note 10 – License agreements, research collaborations and development agreements Sandoz In December 2018, Ares Genetics entered into a service frame agreement with Sandoz International GmbH (“Sandoz”) to leverage Ares Genetics’ database on the genetics of antibiotic resistance, ARESdb, and the ARES Technology Platform for Sandoz’s anti-infective portfolio. Under the terms of the framework agreement, which had an initial term of 36 months and was subsequently extended through January 2025, Ares Genetics and Sandoz intended to develop a digital anti-infectives platform, combining established microbiology laboratory methods with advanced bioinformatics and artificial intelligence methods to support drug development and life-cycle management. The collaboration, in the short- to mid-term, aimed to both rapidly and cost-effectively re-purpose existing antibiotics and design value-added medicines with the objective of expanding indication areas and to overcome antibiotic resistance, in particular with regards to infections with bacteria that have already developed resistance against multiple treatment options. In the longer-term, the platform was expected to enable surveillance for antimicrobial resistant pathogens to inform antimicrobial stewardship and the development of novel anti-infectives that are less prone to encounter resistance and thereby preserve antibiotics as an effective treatment option. Following Ares Genetics’ insolvency filing in 2023, the Company will no longer benefit from this framework agreement. Qiagen In February 2019, Ares Genetics and Qiagen GmbH, or Qiagen, entered into a strategic licensing agreement for ARESdb and AREStools in the area of AMR research. The agreement had a term of 20 years and could have been terminated by Qiagen for convenience with 180 days written notice. Under the terms of the original agreement, Qiagen, in exchange for a moderate six figure up-front licensing payment, received an exclusive RUO license to develop and commercialize general bioinformatics offerings and services for AMR research use only, based on Ares Genetics’ database on the genetics of antimicrobial resistance, ARESdb, as well as on the ARES bioinformatics AMR toolbox, AREStools. Under the agreement, the parties had agreed to a mid-single digit percentage royalty rate on Qiagen net sales, which is subject to a minimum royalty rate that steps up upon certain achieved milestones, which is payable to Ares Genetics. The parties also agreed to further modest six figure milestone payments upon certain product launches. The contract was subsequently amended in May 2021 to a non-exclusive license and a flat annual license fee as well as a royalty percentage on potential future panel-based products that are developed by Qiagen. Following the insolvency filings of Curetis and Ares Genetics in 2023, the Company will no longer benefit from this strategic licensing agreement. Siemens In 2016, Ares Genetics acquired the GEAR assets from Siemens Technology Accelerator GmbH (“STA”), providing the original foundation to ARESdb. Under the agreement with STA, Ares Genetics incurred royalties on revenues from licensed product sales or sublicensing proceeds. Royalty rates under the Siemens agreement ranged from 1.3% to 40% depending on the specifics of the licenses and rights provided by Ares Genetics to third parties and whether such third parties may have been originally introduced by Siemens to Ares Genetics. The total net royalty expense related to this agreement was $0 and $3,102 for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The total net royalty expense related to this agreement was $0 and $7,309 for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Following Ares Genetics’ insolvency filing in 2023, the Company will no longer generate licensed product sales or sublicense revenues nor incur royalty expenses related to the Siemens GEAR assets. Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) In September 2022, Curetis GmbH and FIND entered into a research and development collaboration agreement for €0.7 million to develop a simple to use molecular diagnostic test for identification of pathogens and antibiotic resistances in positive blood cultures for deployment in low- and middle-income countries (“LMICs”). In April 2023, the Company entered into an amendment to its research and development collaboration agreement with FIND to expand the deliverables in exchange for an additional €0.13 million in milestone payments (“Amendment 1”). The additional deliverables were completed in June 2023. Following successful completion of the feasibility phase of the collaboration, including the additional deliverables, FIND and Curetis, in August 2023, extended the research and development collaboration agreement through May 2024, to include AMR assay and cartridge development, analytical testing, and software development for an additional €0.5 million (“Amendment 2”). The Company did not recognize any revenues related to the FIND collaboration during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024. The agreement-to-date revenue recognized by the Company related to the FIND collaboration was $0.9 million. Following Curetis’ insolvency filing in 2023, the Company will no longer benefit from this collaboration agreement.

License agreements, research collaborations and development agreements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2024

License Agreements Research Collaborations And Development Agreements

License agreements, research collaborations and development agreements

Note 10 – License agreements, research collaborations and development agreements

Sandoz

In December 2018, Ares Genetics entered into a service frame agreement with Sandoz International GmbH (“Sandoz”) to leverage Ares Genetics’ database on the genetics of antibiotic resistance, ARESdb, and the ARES Technology Platform for Sandoz’s anti-infective portfolio.

Under the terms of the framework agreement, which had an initial term of 36 months and was subsequently extended through January 2025, Ares Genetics and Sandoz intended to develop a digital anti-infectives platform, combining established microbiology laboratory methods with advanced bioinformatics and artificial intelligence methods to support drug development and life-cycle management. The collaboration, in the short- to mid-term, aimed to both rapidly and cost-effectively re-purpose existing antibiotics and design value-added medicines with the objective of expanding indication areas and to overcome antibiotic resistance, in particular with regards to infections with bacteria that have already developed resistance against multiple treatment options. In the longer-term, the platform was expected to enable surveillance for antimicrobial resistant pathogens to inform antimicrobial stewardship and the development of novel anti-infectives that are less prone to encounter resistance and thereby preserve antibiotics as an effective treatment option. Following Ares Genetics’ insolvency filing in 2023, the Company will no longer benefit from this framework agreement.

Qiagen

In February 2019, Ares Genetics and Qiagen GmbH, or Qiagen, entered into a strategic licensing agreement for ARESdb and AREStools in the area of AMR research. The agreement had a term of 20 years and could have been terminated by Qiagen for convenience with 180 days written notice.

Under the terms of the original agreement, Qiagen, in exchange for a moderate six figure up-front licensing payment, received an exclusive RUO license to develop and commercialize general bioinformatics offerings and services for AMR research use only, based on Ares Genetics’ database on the genetics of antimicrobial resistance, ARESdb, as well as on the ARES bioinformatics AMR toolbox, AREStools. Under the agreement, the parties had agreed to a mid-single digit percentage royalty rate on Qiagen net sales, which is subject to a minimum royalty rate that steps up upon certain achieved milestones, which is payable to Ares Genetics. The parties also agreed to further modest six figure milestone payments upon certain product launches. The contract was subsequently amended in May 2021 to a non-exclusive license and a flat annual license fee as well as a royalty percentage on potential future panel-based products that are developed by Qiagen. Following the insolvency filings of Curetis and Ares Genetics in 2023, the Company will no longer benefit from this strategic licensing agreement.

Siemens

In 2016, Ares Genetics acquired the GEAR assets from Siemens Technology Accelerator GmbH (“STA”), providing the original foundation to ARESdb. Under the agreement with STA, Ares Genetics incurred royalties on revenues from licensed product sales or sublicensing proceeds. Royalty rates under the Siemens agreement ranged from 1.3% to 40% depending on the specifics of the licenses and rights provided by Ares Genetics to third parties and whether such third parties may have been originally introduced by Siemens to Ares Genetics. The total net royalty expense related to this agreement was $0 and $3,102 for the three months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The total net royalty expense related to this agreement was $0 and $7,309 for the nine months ended September 30, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Following Ares Genetics’ insolvency filing in 2023, the Company will no longer generate licensed product sales or sublicense revenues nor incur royalty expenses related to the Siemens GEAR assets.

Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND)

In September 2022, Curetis GmbH and FIND entered into a research and development collaboration agreement for €0.7 million to develop a simple to use molecular diagnostic test for identification of pathogens and antibiotic resistances in positive blood cultures for deployment in low- and middle-income countries (“LMICs”). In April 2023, the Company entered into an amendment to its research and development collaboration agreement with FIND to expand the deliverables in exchange for an additional €0.13 million in milestone payments (“Amendment 1”). The additional deliverables were completed in June 2023. Following successful completion of the feasibility phase of the collaboration, including the additional deliverables, FIND and Curetis, in August 2023, extended the research and development collaboration agreement through May 2024, to include AMR assay and cartridge development, analytical testing, and software development for an additional €0.5 million (“Amendment 2”). The Company did not recognize any revenues related to the FIND collaboration during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2024. The agreement-to-date revenue recognized by the Company related to the FIND collaboration was $0.9 million. Following Curetis’ insolvency filing in 2023, the Company will no longer benefit from this collaboration agreement.