10-K 1 f10k_032919p.htm FORM 10-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

____________________________________________________

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

 

x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
  For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018

OR

 

  TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
  For the transition period from ____ to ____

 

Commission File Number: 001-34885

____________________________________________________

AMYRIS, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware   55-0856151
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)   (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

 

5885 Hollis Street, Suite 100, Emeryville, California 94608

(Address of principal executive offices and Zip Code)

 

(510) 450-0761

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class Trading symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share AMRS Nasdaq Global Select Market

  

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.   Yes    No 

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.  Yes    No 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes   No 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes    No 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer”, “smaller reporting company”, and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer Accelerated filer Non-accelerated filer Smaller reporting company Emerging growth company

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes    No 

 

 

 

 

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 28, 2019, the last business day of the registrant's most recently completed second fiscal quarter, was $226.5 million based upon the closing price of the registrant’s common stock reported for such date on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

 

Number of shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding as of September 26, 2019: 103,400,207

 

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

None.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

 

This Annual Report on Form 10-K as of and for the year ended December 31, 2018 includes consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2018 and quarterly financial data for fiscal years 2017 and 2018. The consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 and the interim periods ended March 31, 2017, June 30, 2017, September 30, 2017, December 31, 2017, March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018 have been restated in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

As previously announced on April 5, 2019 and May 14, 2019, the Audit Committee (the Audit Committee) of the Board of Directors of the Company (the Board) and the Board, respectively, determined that the Company will restate its interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarterly and year-to-date periods ended March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018 (collectively, the 2018 Non-Reliance Periods) and its audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 (the Restated 2017 Financial Statements). The Company also disclosed that investors should no longer rely upon (i) the Company’s previously released condensed consolidated financial statements for the 2018 Non-Reliance Periods, (ii) the consolidated financial statements for the Restated 2017 Financial Statements, including management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2017, (iii) earnings releases for these periods and (iv) other communications relating to the 2018 Non-Reliance Periods and Restated 2017 Financial Statements.

 

During the course of the re-audit of the Restated 2017 Financial Statements, in addition to incorrectly accounting for certain payment obligations under the Ginkgo Partnership Agreement as previously disclosed, the Company identified other accounting and financial reporting errors related to (i) the recognition of certain deemed dividends to preferred stock holders, (ii) incorrect accounting treatment for the derecognition of certain debt and derivative liability instruments, (iii) errors in computing tax expense, (iv) incorrect revenue recognition for certain non-cash consideration received under a collaboration agreement, (v) the timing of certain revenue recognition between quarters within 2017, (vi) computation of earnings (loss) per share, (vii) correction of errors in cash flow statements for non-cash adjustments, and (viii) computation of loss on extinguishment of certain debt instruments.

 

Also, during the preparation and audit of the Company’s consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2018 and as previously disclosed, the Company identified material errors impacting the first, second and third quarters of 2018 related to revenue recognition for a sell-through royalty-based contract, the timing of recognition for certain expenses between quarters and unrecorded foreign currency transactions gains. The Company subsequently identified other accounting and financial reporting errors related to (i) the accounting treatment for the derecognition of certain derivative liability instruments, (ii) the timing of expense recognition for an element in the series of transactions with Koninklijke DSM N.V. that closed in November 2018, (iii) computational errors in calculating the gain/loss on the change in the fair value of certain derivative liabilities, (iv) the accounting treatment of deal costs related to certain equity financing transactions and (v) the timing and classification of certain expense reimbursement arrangements.

 

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (Form 10-K) for the year ended December 31, 2018 reflects changes to the Consolidated Balance Sheet at December 31, 2017 and the Consolidated Statements of Operations, Comprehensive Loss, Stockholders’ Deficit, and Cash Flows for the year ended December 31, 2017, and the related notes thereto, and provides restated quarterly data for the quarters ended June 30, 2017, September 30, 2017, December 31, 2017, March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018.

 

 

 

 

AMYRIS, INC.

 

FORM 10-K

FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2018

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

PART I  
Item 1. Business 1
Item 1A. Risk Factors 12
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 41
Item 2. Properties 42
Item 3. Legal Proceedings 42
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 42
     
PART II  
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 43
Item 6. Selected Financial Data 45
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 45
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 55
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 56
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 169
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 169
Item 9B. Other Information 173
     
PART III  
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 174
Item 11. Executive Compensation 181
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 215
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 220
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 224
     
PART IV  
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedule 226

 

 

 

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K other than statements of historical fact, including any projections of financing needs, revenue, expenses, earnings or losses from operations, or other financial items; any statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning product research, development and commercialization plans and timelines; any statements regarding expected production capacities, volumes and costs; any statements regarding anticipated benefits of our products and expectations for commercial relationships; any other statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing, are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives, and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in Part I, Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K may not occur, and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements contained herein.

 

We undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.

 

Unless expressly indicated or the context requires otherwise, the terms "Amyris," the "Company," "we," "us," and "our" in this Annual Report on Form 10-K refer to Amyris, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and, where appropriate, its consolidated entities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PART I

 

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

 

Overview

 

We are a leading industrial biotechnology company that applies its technology platform to engineer, manufacture and sell high performance, natural, sustainably-sourced products into the Health & Wellness, Clean Beauty, and Flavor & Fragrance markets. Our proven technology platform enables us to rapidly engineer microbes and use them as catalysts to metabolize renewable, plant-sourced sugars into large volume, high-value ingredients. Our biotechnology platform and industrial fermentation process replace existing complex and expensive manufacturing processes. We have successfully used our technology to develop and produce eight distinct molecules at commercial volumes, leading to more than 15 commercial ingredients used by thousands of leading global brands.

 

We believe that industrial biotechnology represents a third industrial revolution, bringing together biology and engineering to generate new, more sustainable materials to meet the growing global demand for bio-based replacements for petroleum-based and traditional animal- or plant-derived ingredients. We continue to build demand for our current portfolio of products through an extensive sales network provided by our collaboration partners that represent the leading companies in the world for our target market sectors. We also have a small group of direct sales and distributors who support our Clean Beauty market. Via our partnership model, our partners invest in the development of each molecule to bring it from the lab to commercial scale and use their extensive sales forces to sell our ingredients and formulations to their customers as part of their core business. We capture long-term revenue both through the production and sale of the molecule to our partners and through royalty revenues from our partners' product sales to their customers.

 

We were founded in 2003 in the San Francisco Bay area by a group of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley. Our first major milestone came in 2005 when, through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we developed technology capable of creating microbial strains that produce artemisinic acid, which is a precursor of artemisinin, an effective anti-malarial drug. In 2008, we granted royalty-free licenses to allow Sanofi S.A. to produce artemisinic acid using our technology. Building on our success with artemisinic acid, in 2007 we began applying our technology platform to develop, manufacture and sell sustainable alternatives to a broad range of markets.

 

We focused our initial development efforts primarily on the production of Biofene®, our brand of renewable farnesene, a long-chain, branched hydrocarbon molecule that we manufacture through fermentation using engineered microbes. Our farnesene derivatives are sold in thousands of products as nutraceuticals, skincare products, fragrances, solvents, polymers, and lubricant ingredients. The commercialization of farnesene pushed us to create a more cost efficient, faster and accurate development process in the lab and drive manufacturing costs down. This investment has enabled our technology platform to rapidly develop microbial strains and commercialize target molecules. In 2014, we began manufacturing additional molecules for the Flavor & Fragrance industry. In 2015, we began investing to expand our capabilities to other small molecule chemical classes beyond terpenes, which comprised our initial research efforts, via our collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). In 2016 we expanded into the production of proteins.

 

We have invested over $600 million in infrastructure and technology to create microbes that produce molecules from sugar or other feedstocks at commercial scale. This platform has been used to design, build, optimize and upscale strains producing eight distinct molecules at commercial volumes, leading to more than 15 commercial ingredients used by thousands of leading global brands. Our time to market for molecules has decreased from seven years to potentially less than a year, mainly due to our ability to leverage the technology platform we have built.

 

Our technology platform has been in active use since 2007 and has been integrated with our commercial production since 2011, creating an organism development process that we believe makes us an industry leader in the successful scale-up and commercialization of biotech-produced ingredients. The key performance characteristics of our platform that we believe differentiate us include our proprietary computational tools, strain construction tools, screening and analytics tools, and advanced lab automation and data integration. Full integration of the platform with our large-scale manufacturing capability enables us to engineer precisely with the end specification and commercial production requirements guiding our developments. Our state-of-the-art infrastructure includes industry-leading strain engineering and lab automation located in Emeryville, California, pilot scale production facilities in Emeryville, California and Campinas, Brazil, a demonstration-scale facility in Campinas, Brazil and a commercial-scale production facility in Leland, North Carolina, which is owned and operated by our Aprinnova joint venture to convert our Biofene into squalane and other final products.

 

 1 

 

 

We are able to use a wide variety of feedstocks for production, but have focused on accessing Brazilian sugarcane for our large-scale production because of its renewability, low cost and relative price stability.

 

Several years ago, we made the strategic decision to transition our business model from developing and commercializing molecules in low margin commodity markets to higher margin specialty markets. We began the transition by commercializing and supplying farnesene-derived squalane as a cosmetic ingredient sold to formulators and distributors. We then entered into collaboration and supply agreements for the development and commercialization of molecules within the Flavor & Fragrance and Clean Beauty markets where we utilize our strain generation technology to develop molecules that meet the customer’s rigorous specifications.

 

During this transition, we solidified the business model of partnering with our customers to create sustainable, high performing, low-cost molecules that replace an ingredient in their supply chain, commercially scale and manufacture those molecules, and share in the profits earned by our customers once our customers sell their products into these specialty markets. These three steps constitute our collaboration revenues, renewable product revenues, and royalty revenues.

 

In 2017, we decided to monetize the use of one of our lower margin molecules, farnesene, in certain fields of use while retaining any associated royalties. We began discussions with our partners and ultimately made the decision to license farnesene to Koninklijke DSM N.V. (DSM) for use in these fields. We also sold to DSM our subsidiary Amyris Brasil Ltda. (Amyris Brasil), which owned and operated the purpose-built, large-scale manufacturing facility in Brotas, Brazil that manufactures farnesene, a key, biobased intermediate ingredient in certain of our products, in 2017.

 

The Brotas facility was built to batch manufacture one commodity product at a time (originally for high-volume production of biofuels, a business we have exited), which is an inefficient manufacturing process that is not suited for the high margin specialty markets in which we operate today. The inefficiencies we experienced at the Brotas facility included idling the facility for two weeks at a time to prepare for the next product batch manufacture. These inefficiencies caused a significant increase in our cost of goods sold. We are in the process of constructing a new purpose-built, large-scale production facility in Brazil (see the Manufacturing section below), which we anticipate will allow for the manufacture of five products concurrently and over 10 different products annually. As part of the December 2017 sale of the Brotas facility, we contracted with DSM for the use of the Brotas facility to manufacture products for us to fulfill our product supply commitments to our customers until our new production facility becomes operational. In September 2019, we obtained the necessary permits and broke ground on our Specialty Ingredients Plant (SIP).  We expect the facility to be fully operational in Q1 of 2021.  This facility will allow us to manufacture five products at once and to produce both our specialty ingredients portfolio and our new sweetener product.

 

As discussed above, on December 28, 2017, we completed the sale of Amyris Brasil, which operated our Brotas production facility, to DSM and concurrently entered into a series of commercial agreements and a credit agreement with DSM. At closing, we received $33.0 million in contractual cash consideration for the capital stock of Amyris Brasil, which was subject to certain post-closing working capital adjustments and reimbursements from DSM contingent on DSM’s utilization of certain Brazilian tax benefits it acquired with its purchase of Amyris Brasil. We used $12.6 million of the cash proceeds received to repay certain indebtedness of Amyris Brasil. The total fair value of the contractual consideration received in connection with the sales agreement for Amyris Brasil was $56.9 million and resulted in a pretax gain of $5.7 million from continuing operations, recognized in fiscal 2017.

 

 2 

 

 

Concurrent with the sale of Amyris Brasil, we entered into a series of commercial agreements with DSM including (i) a license agreement to DSM of our farnesene product for DSM to use in the Vitamin E and Lubricants specialty markets; (ii) a royalty agreement, pursuant to which DSM agreed to pay us specified royalties representing a portion of the profit on the sale of Vitamin E produced from farnesene sold under the supply agreement with Nenter & Co., Inc. (“Nenter”) assigned to DSM; (iii) a performance agreement to perform research and development to optimize farnesene for production and sale of farnesene products; and (iv) a transition services agreement in which we provided finance, legal, logistics, and human resource services to support the Brotas facility under DSM ownership for a six-month period with a DSM option to extend for six additional months. At closing, DSM paid to us a nonrefundable license fee of $27.5 million and a nonrefundable minimum royalty revenue payment of $15.0 million. DSM also agreed to pay the Company nonrefundable minimum royalty amounts in 2018 and 2019. The future nonrefundable minimum annual royalty payments were determined to be fixed and determinable with a fair value of $17.8 million and were included as part of the total arrangement consideration subject to allocation of this overall multiple-element divestiture transaction. In November 2018 and April 2019, we amended the supply agreement with DSM and entered into various other agreements with DSM. See Note 10, “Revenue Recognition”, Note 11, "Related Party Transactions" and Note 16, “Subsequent Events” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a full listing and details of agreements with DSM.

 

In the second quarter of 2018, we successfully demonstrated our industrial process at full scale to produce a high-purity, zero calorie sweetener derived from sugarcane. We believe that the molecule we are producing from sugarcane, Reb M, is one of the leading natural sweeteners. When derived from the Stevia plant, Reb M is found in very limited quantities along with many impurities that leave an unacceptable taste in the mouth of the consumer. The Reb M that we produce from sugarcane is more sustainable and lower cost than other natural sweeteners, and has a specific technical profile that we believe is advantaged in taste and total process economics for blends and formulations. In December 2018, we received notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (the FDA) that we received its "Generally Regarded As Safe" designation concurrence, and began producing commercial quantities of Reb M at DSM’s Brotas facility during the fourth quarter of 2018.

 

In June and December 2018, we and our contract manufacturer, Antibióticos de León (ADL), executed amendments to our January 2018 production agreement, thereby providing us additional tank capacity at ADL’s production facility in León, Spain. These amendments provide additional, cost-effective manufacturing capability to meet higher than expected product demand from our partners. The amended agreement includes a commitment to running a certain number of batches at ADL’s production facility from the period September 1, 2018 through December 31, 2019 for up to four of our products.

 

On June 29, 2018, we closed a $36 million term loan with Great American Capital Partners, LLC (GACP), a subsidiary of B. Riley Capital Management, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor and wholly-owned subsidiary of B. Riley Financial, Inc. The term loan matures on July 1, 2021, subject to certain early maturity conditions. The net proceeds from the term loan were used to pay off the Company’s senior secured loan facility with Stegodon Corporation and the related party convertible promissory note issued to Total Raffinage Chimie (as assignee of Total Energies Nouvelles Activités USA) (Total) in March 2016. The term loan also includes an additional $35 million accordion credit facility that provides us with another option for financing construction of our planned production facility in Brazil, if necessary. See Note 5, "Debt" and Note 16, “Subsequent Events” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.

 

In the second quarter of 2018, we executed an agreement for a significant project consortium in Europe with the Universidade Católica Portuguesa (UCP) Porto Campus and AICEP Portugal Global (AICEP). UCP is a university system, including the leading biotech school in Portugal, and operates 15 research centers. AICEP is an independent public entity of the Government of Portugal, focused in encouraging foreign companies to invest in Portugal. In conjunction with this agreement, we opened a subsidiary in Porto, Portugal. The primary purpose of this subsidiary is to conduct a research and development project together with Escola Superior de Biotecnologia o Universidade Católica Portuguese. This subsidiary will be the second R&D center of Amyris and will be responsible for certain areas of research, namely valorization of fermentation residues and wastes and the advancement of the Company's Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Informatics platform. The overall multi-year project is valued up to approximately $50 million including investment funding and incentives allotted across the parties involved. We have sole responsibility for commercialization and majority ownership of all intellectual property (IP) generated. We believe this is the largest biotechnology grant ever awarded in Portugal and one of the largest ever approved by the AICEP for commercial applications.

 

 3 

 

 

In the third quarter of 2018, we entered into a supply and distribution agreement for our new, sugarcane-derived, zero calorie sweetener with ASR Group, the world’s largest cane sugar refiner. Also in the third quarter of 2018, we entered into a license and collaboration agreement with a subsidiary of Yifan Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which is one of the leading Chinese pharmaceutical companies. Such license and collaboration agreement was expanded in November 2018.

 

On December 10, 2018, we closed the offering and sale of an aggregate of $60 million of convertible notes to two investors in a private placement. The notes mature on December 10, 2021. See Note 5, "Debt" and Note 16, “Subsequent Events” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information.

 

On May 2, 2019, we consummated a $300 million research, collaboration and license agreement (the Cannabinoid Agreement) with LAVVAN, Inc., a newly formed investment-backed company (Lavvan), for the development, manufacture and commercialization of cannabinoids. Under the agreement, the Company will perform research and development activities and Lavvan will be responsible for the commercialization of the cannabinoids developed under the agreement. The Cannabinoid Agreement is being principally funded on a milestone basis, with the Company also entitled to receive certain supplementary research and development funding from Lavvan. The Company could receive aggregate funding of up to $300 million over the term of the Cannabinoid Agreement if all of the milestones are achieved. Additionally, the agreement provides for royalties to the Company on Lavvan's gross profit margin once products are commercialized; these payments will be due for the next 20 years. Consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Cannabinoid Agreement included the formation of a special purpose entity to hold certain intellectual property created during the collaboration (the Cannabinoid Collaboration IP), the licensing of certain Company intellectual property to Lavvan, the licensing of the Cannabinoid Collaboration IP to the Company and Lavvan, and the granting by the Company to Lavvan of a lien on our background intellectual property being licensed to Lavvan under the Cannabinoid Agreement, which would be subordinated to the lien on such intellectual property under the GACP Term Loan Facility (see Note 5, “Debt”).

 

On May 10, 2019, the Company and Raizen Energia S.A. (Raizen) entered into an agreement relating to the formation and operation of a joint venture relating to the production, sale and commercialization of alternative sweetener products. In connection with the formation of the joint venture, among other things, (i) the joint venture will construct a manufacturing facility on land owned by Raizen and leased to the joint venture (the Sweetener Plant), (ii) the Company will grant to the joint venture an exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, license to certain technology owned by the Company relevant to the joint venture’s business, and (iii) the Company and Raizen will enter into a shareholders agreement setting forth the rights and obligations of the parties with respect to, and the management of, the joint venture. The formation of the joint venture is subject to certain conditions, including certain regulatory approvals and the achievement of certain technological and economic milestones relating to the Company’s existing production of its alternative sweetener product. If such conditions are not satisfied by December 31, 2019, the joint venture will automatically terminate. In addition, notwithstanding the satisfaction of the closing conditions, Raizen may elect not to consummate the formation and operation of the joint venture, in which event, the Company will retain the right to construct and operate the Sweetener Plant.

 

Technology

 

We have developed innovative microbial engineering and screening technologies that allow us to transform the way microbes metabolize sugars. Specifically, we engineer microbes, such as yeast, and use them as catalysts to convert sugar, through fermentation, into high-value molecules. In 2015, we were awarded an investment by DARPA to expand the capabilities of our technology platform beyond terpenoids. The investment has resulted in us developing an integrated platform with artificial intelligence that will speed up the development and commercialization of small molecules across 15 different chemical classes. We have also developed our technology to be able to produce large molecules, such as proteins.

 

We devote substantial resources to our research and development efforts. As of December 31, 2018, our research and development organization included 199 employees, 109 of whom held Ph.D.s. We have invested more than $600 million to date in our research and development capabilities that has resulted in an almost 6x improvement in speed to market and 24x improvement in cost of manufacturing. These achievements are due to the leading strain engineering and upscaling and commercialization capabilities we have developed from our investment.

 

Strain Engineering

 

Companies and researchers around the world are continuously learning how the complex biological processes in organisms work. Because there is so much that is still unknown, the best method for development of commercially viable strains is to test as many hypotheses as accurately and quickly as possible to accelerate the learning curve.

 

We have developed a high-throughput strain engineering system that is currently capable of producing and screening more than 100,000 yeast strains per month, which enables us to achieve an approximately 90% lower cost per strain than we achieved in 2009. We generated more than 360,000 unique strains in 2018, surpassing 6.3 million unique strains created since our inception, with each strain testing for improved production of the target molecules. In addition, through our lab-scale and pilot-plant fermentation operations, and our proprietary analytical tools, we are now able to predict, with high reliability, the performance of candidate strains at industrial scale.

 

Upscaling and Commercialization

 

The riskiest part of commercializing biotechnology is often the scale up and manufacturing due to the perceived unpredictability of biotechnology at different scales. We have built scale-up and manufacturing capabilities as our advantage by heavily investing in prediction models and analytics to quickly ascertain how a strain’s behavior at one scale will translate in another scale. We’ve successfully scaled up and manufacture eight distinct molecules at commercial volumes to date, leading to more than 15 commercial ingredients used by thousands of leading global brands. The results of our advantage are accelerated speed to market, lower overall development costs, and a significantly lower risk profile for any project we undertake.

 

 4 

 

 

A strain must be improved to increase the level of efficiency of production, and tested for performance in larger-volume facilities, before it is implemented at commercial-scale manufacturing facilities. Our unique infrastructure to support this scale-up process includes lab-scale fermenters (0.5 to 2 liter), operating pilot plants in our facilities in Emeryville, California and Campinas, Brazil (300 liters), two 5,000-liter fermenters in our Campinas demonstration facility and five years’ experience owning and operating the 1,200,000-liter production facility in Brotas, Brazil that we sold in late 2017. Each of these stages mimic the conditions found in larger scale fermentation so that our findings may translate predictably from lab scale to pilot and ultimately to commercial scale. Our infrastructure is so accurate that we can go straight from lab scale to commercial scale for our fermentations. Typically, the only reason we ever invest in the pilot scale step is to produce enough product to accurately test our downstream processing since our fermentation process is already robust.

 

The complexities that can arise at industrial scale manufacturing are significant and it takes an experienced team to not only address issues as they arise, but to also have the foresight to prevent issues from arising. With five years of experience operating the production facility in Brotas, Brazil that we designed (prior to selling the facility in late 2017), we have been able to develop a world-class manufacturing team. This team has successfully brought on line a production facility and scaled up and manufactured eight molecules at commercial scale that are currently used in thousands of consumer goods products around the world. Our effort also expands into continued strain and process improvements to ensure our manufacturing is robust and the most cost advantaged.

 

Product Markets and Partnerships

 

There are three market areas that are our primary focus and key to our growth: Health & Wellness, Clean Beauty and Flavor & Fragrance. Each of these markets embodies our core competencies of sustainably providing clean ingredients in markets where we can be the most impactful, not only from a growth and revenue standpoint, but also for healthier living.

 

We believe that our leadership in biotechnology is demonstrated by collaboration partners, who come to us to access our platform and industrial fermentation expertise. Together we seek to reduce environmental impact, enhance performance, reduce supply and price volatility, and improve profit margins. Our partners include Flavor & Fragrance companies such as Firmenich S.A. (Firmenich) and Givaudan International, SA (Givaudan), and nutraceutical companies such as DSM. A portion of our work has also been funded by the U.S. government, including the Department of Energy (DOE) and DARPA, to develop technologies and processes capable of improving the ability to utilize biotechnology for the production of a broader range of molecules.

 

Health & Wellness

 

Our Health & Wellness focus includes alternative sweeteners, nutraceuticals, such as vitamins, and food ingredients. As consumers continue to demand higher nutritional performance, cleaner labels and convenience from their food, the demand for specific ingredients that are often difficult and expensive to procure will continue to grow. Animal farming is also being impacted by the growing demand for protein and the need to change farming practices, such as reducing antibiotic use. Our technology can be employed to provide affordable access to these desired ingredients for both human and animal health. To date, product revenue in this area has been from a derivative made from our Biofene® product by our partner. In late 2018, we began to produce at commercial scale an alternative, non-nutritive sweetener.

 

During 2015, we announced the signings of our first ingredient supply agreement and collaboration agreement for the global nutraceuticals market. Under the supply agreement, we sourced Biofene to our partner, which was then further processed into a nutraceutical product. In 2016, we made the first large-scale shipments of Biofene to our partner, who successfully produced and sold a nutraceutical product to its customers. In 2017 and 2018, we expanded our collaborations in nutraceuticals to four vitamins and a human nutrition ingredient.

 

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Flavor & Fragrance Markets

 

Our technology enables us to cost-effectively produce natural oils and aroma chemicals that are commonly used in the Flavor & Fragrance market. Many of the natural ingredients used in the Flavor & Fragrance market are expensive because there is limited supply and the synthetic alternatives require complex chemical conversions. We offer Flavor & Fragrance companies a natural route to procure these high-value ingredients without sacrificing cost or quality. To date, we have successfully brought four Flavor & Fragrance ingredients to market with our collaboration partners. We also have several other ingredients under development.

 

In late 2013, we commenced commercial production of our first Flavor & Fragrance ingredient for a range of applications, from perfumes to laundry detergent, which is marketed by a collaboration partner which is a global Flavor & Fragrance leader. In 2014, we completed our first production campaign of this ingredient and shipped it to this collaboration partner. In late 2015, we commenced production and initial sales of our second Flavor & Fragrance ingredient to the same collaboration partner. During 2018, we shipped five compounds destined for the Flavor & Fragrance market (including compounds converted by our partners to Flavor & Fragrance ingredients) to our partners.

 

We are currently working to develop and commercialize a variety of Flavor & Fragrance ingredients that are either direct fermentation products or derivatives of fermentation products.

 

Clean Beauty

 

Our Clean Beauty focus includes skincare and cosmetic ingredients we develop and commercialize with our partners and our branded Biossance and Neossance product lines. We have several cosmetic ingredients currently under development. Our Biossance and Neossance products are discussed further in the Amyris-branded Product Markets section below.

 

Amyris-branded Product Markets

 

Through basic chemical finishing steps, we are able to convert our farnesene into squalane, which is used today as a premium emollient in Clean Skincare products. We believe that our squalane offers performance attributes equal or superior to those of squalane derived from conventional sources. The ingredient traditionally has been manufactured from olive oil or extracted from deep-sea shark liver oil, which requires that the shark be killed in order to harvest its liver oil. The relatively high price and unstable supply of squalane in the past meant that its use was generally limited to luxury products or small quantities in mass-market product formulations. With our ability to produce a reliable supply of low-cost squalane that eliminates the need to harvest shark liver oil, we offer this ingredient at a price that we believe will drive increasing adoption by formulators. In addition to squalane, we offer a second, lower-cost emollient, hemisqualane, for the cosmetics market. In December 2016, we and Nikko Chemicals Co., Ltd. (Nikko) formed a joint venture, in which we hold a 50% interest, for our business-to-business sales of Neossance squalane and hemisqualane. See below under “Joint Venture” for more information regarding our Aprinnova joint venture. The joint venture currently has supply agreements with several regional distributors, including those with locations in Japan, South Korea, Europe, Brazil and North America, and, in some cases, directly with cosmetics formulators, which we transferred to the joint venture during the formation process.

 

Our consumer skincare products, sold under our Biossance brand, feature our Biofene-derived squalane. Under our Biossance brand, we market and sell our products directly to retailers and consumers. Biossance was initially sold solely through our ecommerce branded website and in 2016, we expanded the product line to include an expansive line of high-performance skincare products and opened up sales through Home Shopping Network (HSN). In October 2016, we announced our Biossance product line would begin to be carried at Sephora in 2017. In February 2017, we launched a full squalane-based consumer cosmetic line at participating Sephora stores and Sephora online. All of the products are based on our commitment to No Compromise®. Since the launch of Biossance, sales have grown, and with Sephora’s partnership, we are looking to expand to more stores.

 

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Manufacturing

 

Until December 2017, we owned and operated a purpose-built, large-scale production facility located in Brotas, Brazil. In December 2017, we sold the facility to a unit of DSM and entered into a supply agreement with DSM for us to purchase output from the facility. See Note 13, “Divestiture” and Note 11, "Related Party Transactions" in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information regarding our December 2017 transaction with DSM.

 

In September 2019, we obtained the necessary permits and broke ground on our Specialty Ingredients Plant (SIP).  We expect the facility to be fully operational in Q1 of 2021. This facility will allow us to manufacture five products at once and to produce both our specialty ingredients portfolio and our new sweetener product. During construction, we are manufacturing our products at four contract manufacturing sites in Brazil, the U.S. and Spain. In addition, in May 2019 we entered into an agreement with Raizen Energia S.A. (Raizen) for the formation and operation of a joint venture relating to the production, sale and commercialization of alternative sweetener products whereby the parties would construct a manufacturing facility exclusively for sweetener molecules on land owned by Raizen and leased to the joint venture; see Note 16, “Subsequent Events” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more details.

 

For many of our products, we perform additional distillation or chemical finishing steps to convert initial target molecules into other finished products, such as renewable squalane. We have agreements with several facilities in the U.S. and Brazil to perform these downstream steps for such products. We may enter into additional agreements with other facilities for finishing services and to access flexible production capacity and an array of other services as we develop additional products. In December 2016, we purchased a manufacturing facility in Leland, North Carolina, which had been previously operated by Glycotech Inc. (Glycotech) to convert our Biofene into squalane and other final products. We subsequently contributed that facility to our Aprinnova joint venture. See below under "Joint Venture" for more information regarding our Aprinnova joint venture.

 

Joint Venture

 

Aprinnova, LLC

 

In December 2016, we entered into joint venture agreements with Nikko related to the formation of a joint venture to focus on the worldwide commercialization of our Neossance cosmetic ingredients business. In December 2016, we formed the joint venture under the name Neossance, LLC, and later changed the name to Aprinnova, LLC (the Aprinnova JV), which is jointly owned by us and Nikko. Pursuant to the joint venture agreements, we contributed certain assets to the Aprinnova JV, including certain intellectual property and other commercial assets relating to our Neossance cosmetic ingredients business, as well as the production facility in Leland, North Carolina and related assets purchased by us from Glycotech in December 2016. We also agreed to provide the Aprinnova JV with licenses to certain intellectual property necessary to make and sell products associated with the Neossance business. At the closing of the formation of the joint venture, Nikko purchased a 50% interest in the Aprinnova JV in exchange for an initial payment to Amyris of $10.0 million and payment to Amyris of any profits distributed in cash to Nikko from the Aprinnova JV during the three year period following December 12, 2016, up to a maximum of $10.0 million. In addition, as part of the formation of the Aprinnova JV, we and Nikko agreed to make certain working capital loans to the Aprinnova JV and we further agreed to execute a supply agreement to supply farnesene to the Aprinnova JV, to purchase all of our requirements for the Aprinnova JV products from the Aprinnova JV, to transfer all of our customers for the Aprinnova JV products to the Aprinnova JV, to guarantee a maximum production cost for certain Aprinnova JV products, and to bear any cost of production above such guaranteed costs.

 

Product Distribution and Sales

 

We distribute and sell our products directly to distributors or collaboration partners, or through joint ventures, depending on the market. For most of our products, we sell directly to our collaboration partners, except for our consumer care products, which we sell to distributors and formulators (other than our Biossance brand, which we sell directly to retailers and consumers). Generally, our collaboration agreements include commercial terms, and sales are contingent upon achievement of technical and commercial milestones.

 

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For the year ended December 31, 2018, revenue from 10%-or-more customers and from all other customers was as follows:

 

(In thousands)  Renewable Products  Licenses and Royalties  Grants and Collaborations  Total Revenue  % of Total Revenue
Firmenich  $3,727   $1,700   $5,717   $11,144    17.5%
DSM   18    5,958    4,735    10,711    16.8%
DARPA           8,436    8,436    13.3%
Givaudan   4,078        4,358    8,436    13.3%
All other customers   25,775        (898)   24,877    39.1%
Total revenue  $33,598   $7,658   $22,348   $63,604    100.0%

 

Intellectual Property

 

Our success depends in large part upon our ability to obtain and maintain proprietary protection for our products and technologies, and to operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of others. We seek to avoid the latter by monitoring patents and publications in our product areas and technologies to be aware of developments that may affect our business, and to the extent we identify such developments, evaluate and take appropriate courses of action. With respect to the former, our policy is to protect our proprietary position by, among other methods, filing for patent applications on inventions that are important to the development and conduct of our business with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (the USPTO), and its foreign counterparts.

 

As of December 31, 2018, we had 512 issued U.S. and foreign patents and 313 pending U.S. and foreign patent applications that are owned or co-owned by or licensed to us. We also use other forms of protection (such as trademark, copyright, and trade secret) to protect our intellectual property, particularly where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. We aim to take advantage of all of the intellectual property rights that are available to us and believe that this comprehensive approach provides us with a strong proprietary position.

 

Patents extend for varying periods according to the date of patent filing or grant and the legal term of patents in various countries where patent protection is obtained. The actual protection afforded by patents, which can vary from country to country, depends on the type of patent, the scope of its coverage and the availability of legal remedies in the country. See “Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Business - Our proprietary rights may not adequately protect our technologies and product candidates.”

 

We also protect our proprietary information by requiring our employees, consultants, contractors and other advisers to execute nondisclosure and assignment of invention agreements upon commencement of their respective employment or engagement. Agreements with our employees also prevent them from bringing the proprietary rights of third parties to us. In addition, we also require confidentiality or material transfer agreements from third parties that receive our confidential data or materials.

 

Trademarks

 

Amyris, the Amyris logo, Biofene, Biossance and No Compromise are trademarks or registered trademarks of Amyris, Inc. This report also contains trademarks and trade names of other businesses that are the property of their respective holders.

 

Competition

 

We expect that our renewable products will compete with products produced from traditional sources as well as from alternative production methods that established enterprises and new companies are seeking to develop and commercialize.

 

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Health & Wellness

 

Many active ingredients in the nutraceutical market are made via chemical synthesis by suppliers that have a deep chemistry knowhow and production facilities, including ingredient suppliers. We may compete directly with these companies with respect to specific ingredients or attempt to provide customers with more cost effective or higher performing alternatives. For food ingredients, we compete with companies that produce products from plant- and animal-derived sources as well as with companies that are also developing biotechnology production solutions to produce specific molecules.

 

Flavor & Fragrance

 

The main competition in the Flavor & Fragrance and cosmetic actives markets is from products derived from plant and animal sources as well as chemical synthesis. The products derived from plant and animal sources are typically produced at a higher cost, lower purity and create a greater impact on the environment compared to our products. Products derived from chemical synthesis are often produced at a low cost but have ramifications on sustainability as well as non-natural sourcing. There are also companies that are working to develop products using similar technology to us.

 

Clean Beauty

 

We develop and sell active cosmetic ingredients and consumer products in the Clean Beauty market, creating a competitive landscape that includes ingredient suppliers as well as consumer goods companies, such as Procter & Gamble and Estee Lauder. Most skincare ingredients are derived from plant and animal sources or created using chemical synthesis. Plant- and animal-sourced ingredients are typically higher in cost, lower in purity and have a greater impact on the environment versus our products. Products derived from chemical synthesis are often produced at a low cost but have ramifications on sustainability as well as non-natural sourcing. There are also companies that are working to develop products using similar technology to us.

 

Competitive Factors

 

We believe the primary competitive factors in our target markets are:

 

        product price;

        product performance and other measures of quality;

        infrastructure compatibility of products;

        sustainability; and

        dependability of supply.

 

We believe that, for our products to succeed in the market, we must demonstrate that our products are comparable or better alternatives to existing products and to any alternative products that are being developed for the same markets based on some combination of product cost, availability, performance, and consumer preference characteristics.

 

Regulatory Matters

 

Environmental Regulations

 

Our development and production processes involve the use, generation, handling, storage, transportation and disposal of hazardous chemicals and radioactive and biological materials. We are subject to a variety of federal, state, local and international laws, regulations and permit requirements governing the use, generation, manufacture, transportation, storage, handling and disposal of these materials in the United States, Brazil and other countries where we operate or may operate or sell our products in the future. These laws, regulations and permits can require expensive fees, pollution control equipment or operational changes to limit actual or potential impact of our technology on the environment and violation of these laws could result in significant fines, civil sanctions, permit revocation or costs from environmental remediation. We believe we are currently in substantial compliance with applicable environmental regulations and permitting. However, future developments including the commencement of or changes in the processes relating to commercial manufacturing of one or more of our products, more stringent environmental regulation, policies and enforcement, the implementation of new laws and regulations or the discovery of unknown environmental conditions may require expenditures that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition. See “Risk Factors - Risks Relating to Our Business - We may incur significant costs to comply with environmental laws and regulations, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations could expose us to significant liabilities.”

 

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GMM Regulations

 

The use of genetically-modified microorganisms (GMMs), such as our yeast strains, is subject to laws and regulations in many countries. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the commercial use of GMMs as well as potential products produced from the GMMs. Various states within the United States could choose to regulate products made with GMMs as well. While the strain of genetically modified yeast that we use, S. cerevisiae, is eligible for exemption from EPA review because it is generally recognized as safe, we must satisfy certain criteria to achieve this exemption, including but not limited to, use of compliant containment structures and safety procedures. In Brazil, GMMs are regulated by the National Biosafety Technical Commission (CTNBio) under its Biosafety Law No. 11.105-2005. We have obtained commercial approvals from CTNBio to use our GMMs in a contained environment in our Brazil facilities for research and development purposes, in manufacturing and at contract manufacturing facilities in Brazil.

 

We expect to encounter GMM regulations in most if not all of the countries in which we may seek to make our products; however, the scope and nature of these regulations will likely vary from country to country. If we cannot meet the applicable requirements in countries in which we intend to produce our products using our yeast strains, then our business will be adversely affected. See “Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Business - Our use of genetically-modified feedstocks and yeast strains to produce our products subjects us to risks of regulatory limitations and rejection of our products.”

 

Chemical Regulations

 

Our renewable products may be subject to government regulations in our target markets. In the United States, the EPA administers the requirements of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which regulates the commercial registration, distribution and use of many chemicals. Before an entity can manufacture or distribute significant volumes of a chemical, it needs to determine whether that chemical is listed in the TSCA inventory. If the substance is listed, then manufacture or distribution can commence immediately. If not, then in most cases a “Chemical Abstracts Service” number registration and pre-manufacture notice must be filed with the EPA, which has 90 days to review the filing. A similar requirement exists in Europe under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Substances (REACH) regulation. See “Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Business - We may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for the sale of our renewable products.” In 2013, the EPA registered farnesane as a new chemical substance under the TSCA, which enables us to manufacture and sell farnesane without restriction in the United States.

 

Other Regulations

 

Certain of our current or proposed products in the Health & Wellness, Clean Beauty, and Flavor & Fragrance markets, including alternative sweeteners, nutraceuticals, Flavor & Fragrance ingredients, skincare ingredients, cosmetic actives, and our proposed cannabinoid products, may be subject to regulation by the FDA, as well as similar agencies of states and foreign jurisdictions where these products are manufactured, sold or proposed to be sold. Pursuant to the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the FDCA), the FDA regulates the processing, formulation, safety, manufacture, packaging, labeling and distribution of food ingredients, vitamins, and cosmetics. Generally, in order to be marketed and sold in the United States, a relevant product must be generally recognized as safe, approved and not adulterated or misbranded under the FDCA and relevant regulations issued thereunder. The FDA has broad authority to enforce the provisions of the FDCA applicable to food ingredients, vitamins and cosmetics, including powers to issue a public warning letter to a company, to publicize information about illegal products, to request a recall of illegal products from the market, and to request the United States Department of Justice to initiate a seizure action, an injunction action, or a criminal prosecution in the U. S. courts. Failure to obtain requisite approval from, or comply with the laws and regulations of, the FDA or similar agencies of states and applicable foreign jurisdictions could prevent us from fully commercializing certain of our products. See “Risk Factors - Risks Related to Our Business - We may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for the sale of our renewable products.” Our proposed cannabinoid products may also be subject to regulation under various federal, state and foreign-controlled substance laws and regulations. See “Risk Factors - Our cannabinoid initiative is uncertain and may not yield commercial results and is subject to significant regulatory risks.”

 

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In addition, our end-user products such as our Biossance brand skincare products are subject to the regulations of the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and similar agencies of states and foreign jurisdictions where these products are sold or proposed to be sold regarding the advertising of such products. In recent years, the FTC has instituted numerous enforcement actions against companies for failure to have adequate substantiation for claims made in advertising or for the use of false or misleading advertising claims. The FTC has broad authority to enforce its laws and regulations applicable to cosmetics, including the ability to institute enforcement actions which often result in consent decrees, injunctions, and the payment of civil penalties by the companies involved. Failure to comply with the laws and regulations of the FTC or similar agencies of states and applicable foreign jurisdictions could impair our ability to market our end-user products.

 

Employees

 

As of December 31, 2018, we had 503 full-time employees, of whom 410 were in the United States and 93 were in Brazil. Except for labor union representation for Brazil-based employees based on labor code requirements in Brazil, none of our employees is represented by a labor union or is covered by a collective bargaining agreement. We have never experienced any employment-related work stoppages, and we consider relations with our employees to be good.

 

Corporate Information

 

We were originally incorporated in California in 2003 under the name Amyris Biotechnologies, Inc. and then reincorporated in Delaware in 2010 and changed our name to Amyris, Inc. Our principal executive offices are located at 5885 Hollis Street, Suite 100, Emeryville, California 94608, and our telephone number is (510) 450-0761. Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "AMRS".

 

Available Information

 

Our website address is www.amyris.com. Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and other reports filed pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the Exchange Act), as well as amendments thereto, are filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) and are available free of charge on our website at investors.amyris.com promptly after such reports are available on the SEC's website. We may use our investors.amyris.com website as a means of disclosing material non-public information and complying with our disclosure obligations under Regulation FD.

 

The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC at www.sec.gov.

 

The information contained in or accessible through our website or contained on other websites is not incorporated into this filing. Further, any references to URLs contained in this report are intended to be inactive textual references only.

 

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

 

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below, together with all of the other information set forth in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including the consolidated financial statements and related notes, which could materially affect our business, financial condition or future results. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects could be materially and adversely harmed. The trading price of our common stock could decline due to any of these risks, and, as a result, you may lose all or part of your investment.

 

Risks Related to Our Business

 

The restatement of our previously issued financial statements has been time-consuming and expensive and could expose us to additional risks that could materially adversely affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

 

On April 5, 2019, our Audit Committee, after consultation with management and KPMG LLP (KPMG), our former independent registered public accounting firm, determined that we would restate our interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarterly and year-to-date periods ended March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018, included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarters ended March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018, respectively. In addition, on May 14, 2019, our Board of Directors, upon the recommendation of the Audit Committee after consultation with senior management and KPMG, determined that we would restate our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017. During the preparation and audit of our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we concluded that material errors were made as described in Note 2, “Restatement of Consolidated Financial Statements” to the Consolidated Financial Statements herein. The consolidated financial statements and related information included in our previously filed Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018 and all earnings press releases and similar communications issued by us for such periods should not be relied upon and are superseded in their entirety by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Accordingly, this Annual Report on Form 10-K as of and for the year ended December 31, 2018 includes: (1) changes to our consolidated financial statements to reflect the restatement of our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 and our unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarterly and year-to-date periods ended March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018; (2) changes as to reflect the restatement of our unaudited quarterly and year-to-date periods ended March 31, 2017, June 30, 2017 and September 30, 2017 for additional errors identified during the re-audit of our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017; (3) expanded risk factor disclosures within this Part I, Item 1A; and (4) additional disclosures and conclusions regarding our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting in Part II, Item 9A.

 

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As a result of the restatement and associated non-reliance on previously issued financial information, we have become subject to a number of additional expenses and risks, including unanticipated expenses for accounting and legal fees in connection with or related to the restatement. Likewise, the attention of our management team has been diverted by these efforts. In addition, we could also be subject to additional shareholder, governmental, regulatory or other actions or demands in connection with the restatement or other matters. Any such proceedings will, regardless of the outcome, consume a significant amount of management’s time and attention and may result in additional legal, accounting, insurance and other expenses. If we do not prevail in any such proceeding, we could be required to pay damages or settlement costs. In addition, the restatement and related matters could impair our reputation or could cause our customers, shareholders, or other counterparties to lose confidence in us. Any of these occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and stock price.

 

We have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting which, if not corrected, could affect the reliability of our consolidated financial statements and have other adverse consequences.

 

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Section 404) and related SEC rules require management to assess the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Based on the assessment as of December 31, 2018, our management believes that our internal control over financial reporting was not effective at that date due to material weaknesses we identified. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of control deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

 

Based on management's assessment, we have identified the following material weaknesses:

Our control environment is not effective because we lack a sufficient number of trained resources with assigned responsibility and accountability over the application of generally accepted accounting principles and financial reporting and related internal controls over complex, significant non-routine transactions and routine transactions;

 

We did not have an effective risk assessment process to identify and analyze necessary changes in business operations resulting from complex significant non-routine transactions and completeness and adequacy of required disclosures;

 

We did not have an effective internal and external information and communication process to ensure that relevant and reliable information was communicated timely across the organization, to enable financial personnel to effectively carry out their financial reporting and internal control roles and responsibilities; and

 

The Company did not design, implement and operate effective monitoring activities over complex, significant non-routine transactions and the accounting for income taxes to ascertain whether the processes and internal controls were present and functioning.

 

As a consequence of the ineffective control environment, risk assessment, information and communication and monitoring activities components, we did not design, implement, and maintain effective control activities at the transaction level over all significant accounts to mitigate the risk of material misstatement in financial reporting, specifically:

 

We did not retain the required documentation to demonstrate the consistent and timely operation of the controls at a sufficient level of precision to prevent and detect potential misstatements; and

 

We did not design and operate effective controls over account reconciliations, review and approval of manual journal entries, complex, significant non-routine transactions related to licenses and royalty revenue recognition, derivative liabilities, currency translation adjustments and the completeness and accuracy and timely preparation of financial statement presentation and disclosures, including earnings per share.

 

The control deficiencies contributed to the restatement of our audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 and resulted in material errors to our interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarterly and year-to-date periods ended March 31, 2017, June 30, 2017, September 30, 2017, March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018, as described above, and material and immaterial misstatements to the preliminary consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2018. Material misstatements were corrected prior to the issuance of the consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2018. However, the control deficiencies resulted in the restatement discussed above and create a reasonable possibility that a further material misstatement of our annual or interim consolidated financial statements would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Furthermore, the control deficiencies contributed to a delay in the timely filing of our periodic reports. Therefore, we concluded that these control deficiencies are material weaknesses and our internal control over financial reporting is not effective as of December 31, 2018.

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See Part II, Item 9A “Controls and Procedures” of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information. If not remediated, the material weaknesses could result in further material misstatements to our annual or interim consolidated financial statements that would not be prevented or detected on a timely basis, or in delayed filing of required periodic reports. Our management has developed, and begun to implement, a plan to remediate the material weaknesses. We cannot, however, assure you that we will be able to implement the plan, or to remediate the material weaknesses in a timely manner. Furthermore, during the course of re-design of existing processes and controls, implementation of additional processes and controls and testing of the operating effectiveness of such re-designed and additional processes and controls, we may identify additional control deficiencies that could give rise to other material weaknesses, in addition to the currently identified material weaknesses. We expect the remediation plan to extend over multiple financial reporting periods in 2019 and 2020. If our remedial measures are insufficient to address the material weakness, or if additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal controls are discovered or occur in the future, we may be unable to report our financial results accurately or on a timely basis, which could cause our reported financial results to be materially misstated and result in the loss of investor confidence and adversely affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to access the capital markets, and we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the Nasdaq Stock Market (Nasdaq), the SEC or other regulatory authorities.

 

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal controls, we may not be able to report our financial results accurately or in a timely manner or prevent fraud; in that case, our stockholders could lose confidence in our financial reporting, which would harm our business and could negatively impact the price of our stock.

 

Effective internal controls are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and help us to prevent fraud. In addition, Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Section 404) requires us and our independent registered public accounting firm to evaluate and report on our internal control over financial reporting. The process of implementing our internal controls and complying with Section 404 is expensive and time consuming, and requires significant continuous attention of management. We cannot be certain that these measures will ensure that we maintain adequate controls over our financial processes and reporting in the future. In addition, to the extent we create joint ventures or have any variable interest entities and the financial statements of such entities are not prepared by us, we will not have direct control over their financial statement preparation. As a result, we will, for our financial reporting, depend on what these entities report to us, which could result in us adding monitoring and audit processes to those operations and increase the difficulty of implementing and maintaining adequate internal control over our financial processes and reporting in the future, which could lead to delays in our external reporting. In particular, this may occur in instances in which where we are establishing such entities with commercial partners that do not have sophisticated financial accounting processes in place, or where we are entering into new relationships at a rapid pace, straining our integration capacity. Additionally, if we do not receive the information from the joint venture or variable interest entity on a timely basis, it could cause delays in our external reporting. Even if we conclude in the future, and our independent registered public accounting firm concurs, that our internal control over financial reporting provides reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect fraud or misstatements. Failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation, could harm our results of operations or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations, which could reduce the market’s confidence in our financial statements and harm our stock price. In addition, failure to comply with Section 404 could subject us to a variety of administrative sanctions, including SEC action, the suspension or delisting of our common stock from the stock exchange on which it is listed, and the inability of registered broker-dealers to make a market in the Company’s common stock, which could further reduce our stock price and could harm our business.

 

We have incurred losses to date, anticipate continuing to incur losses in the future, and may never achieve or sustain profitability.

 

We have incurred significant operating losses since our inception, and we expect to continue to incur losses and negative cash flows from operations for at least the next 12 months following the issuance of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. As of December 31, 2018, we had negative working capital of $119.5 million and an accumulated deficit of $1.5 billion.

 

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As of December 31, 2018, our debt (including related party debt), net of deferred discount and issuance costs of $17.1 million and a fair value adjustment of $2.1 million, totaled $209.7 million, of which $147.7 million is classified as current. Our debt agreements contain various covenants, including certain restrictions on our business that could cause us to be at risk of contractual defaults, such as restrictions on additional indebtedness, material adverse effect and cross default clauses. A failure to comply with the covenants and other provisions of our debt instruments, including any failure to make a payment when required, would generally result in events of default under such instruments, which could permit acceleration of a substantial portion of such indebtedness. If such indebtedness is accelerated, it would generally also constitute an event of default under our other outstanding indebtedness, permitting acceleration of a substantial portion of such other outstanding indebtedness. We have in the past, including in July 2019, had certain of our debt instruments accelerated for failure to make a payment when due. While we have been able to cure these defaults to date to avoid additional cross-acceleration, we may not be able to cure such a default promptly in the future. See Note 16, “Subsequent Events” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

 

Our cash and cash equivalents of $45.4 million as of December 31, 2018 will not be sufficient to fund expected future negative cash flows from operations and cash debt service obligations through September 30, 2020. These factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these financial statements are issued. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. Our ability to continue as a going concern will depend, in large part, on our ability to achieve positive cash flows from operations during the 12 months from the date of this filing, and refinance or extend other existing debt maturities occurring later in 2019, all of which is uncertain and outside our control. Further, our operating plan for 2019 contemplates a significant reduction in our net operating cash outflows as compared to the year ended December 31, 2018, resulting from (i) revenue growth from sales of existing and new products with positive gross margins, (ii) reduced production costs as a result of manufacturing and technical developments, and (iii) cash inflows from collaborations and grants. If we are unable to complete these actions, we expect to be unable to meet our operating cash flow needs and our obligations under our existing debt facilities. This could result in an acceleration of our obligation to repay all amounts outstanding under those facilities, and the Company may be forced to obtain additional equity or debt financing, which may not occur timely or on reasonable terms, if at all, and/or liquidate our assets. In such a scenario, the value received for assets in liquidation or dissolution could be significantly lower than the value reflected in these financial statements.

 

Our consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and cause investors to suffer the loss of all or a substantial portion of their investment.

 

We will require significant cash inflows from the sales of renewable products, licenses and royalties, and grants and collaborations and, if needed, financings to fund our anticipated operations and to service our debt obligations and may not be able to obtain such funding on favorable terms, if at all.

 

Our planned working capital needs and operating and capital expenditures for 2019, and our ability to service our outstanding debt obligations, are dependent on significant inflows of cash from grants and collaborations, licenses and royalties, and product sales and, if needed, additional financing arrangements. We will continue to need to fund our research and development and related activities and to provide working capital to fund production, procurement, storage, distribution and other aspects of our business. Some of our anticipated funding sources, such as research and development collaborations, are subject to the risks that we may not be able to meet milestones, or that collaborations may end prematurely for reasons that may be outside of our control (including technical infeasibility of the project or a collaborator’s right to terminate without cause). The inability to generate sufficient cash flow, as described above, could have an adverse effect on our ability to continue with our business plans and our status as a going concern.

 

If we are unable to raise additional funding, or if other expected sources of funding are delayed or not received, our ability to continue as a going concern would be jeopardized and we would take the following actions:

Shift focus to existing products and customers with significantly reduced investment in new product and commercial development efforts;
Reduce expenditures for third party contractors, including consultants, professional advisors and other vendors;

 

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Reduce or delay uncommitted capital expenditures, including expenditures related the construction and commissioning of the new production facility in Brazil, nonessential facilities and lab equipment, and information technology projects; and
Closely monitor our working capital position with customers and suppliers, as well as suspend operations at pilot plants and demonstration facilities.

 

Implementing this plan could have a negative impact on our ability to continue our business as currently contemplated, including, without limitation, delays or failures in our ability to:

Achieve planned production levels;
Develop and commercialize products within planned timelines or at planned scales; and
Continue other core activities.

 

Furthermore, any inability to scale-back operations as necessary, and any unexpected liquidity needs, could create pressure to implement more severe measures. Such measures could have an adverse effect on our ability to meet contractual requirements and increase the severity of the consequences described above.

 

Our existing financing arrangements provide our secured lenders with liens on substantially all of our assets, including our intellectual property, and contain financial covenants and other restrictions on our actions, which may cause significant risks to our stockholders and may impact our ability to pursue certain transactions and operate our business.

 

As of December 31, 2018, our debt totaled $209.7 million, net of discount and issuance costs of $17.1 million and a fair value adjustment of $2.1 million, of which $147.7 million is classified as current. Our cash balance is substantially less than the principal amount of our outstanding debt, and we will be required to generate cash from operations or raise additional working capital through future financings or sales of assets to enable us to repay this indebtedness as it becomes due. There can be no assurance that we will be able to do so.

 

In addition, we have granted liens on substantially all of our assets, including our intellectual property, as collateral in connection with certain financing arrangements with a current aggregate principal amount outstanding of $81.5 million, and have agreed to significant covenants in connection with such transactions (see Note 5, “Debt” and Note 16, “Subsequent Events” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K), including covenants that materially limit our ability to take certain actions, including our ability to pay dividends, make certain investments and other payments, incur additional indebtedness, undertake certain mergers and consolidations, and encumber and dispose of assets, and customary events of default, including failure to pay amounts due, breaches of covenants and warranties, material adverse effect events, certain cross defaults and judgements, and insolvency. For example, the loan and security agreements relating to our secured term loan credit facilities that closed in June 2018 and August 2019 prevent us from incurring additional indebtedness, making investments, encumbering our assets, engaging in certain corporate transactions, such as mergers and consolidations, and transferring or otherwise disposing of assets, subject in each case to certain exceptions, and also require us to maintain certain liquidity and asset coverage levels and meet certain revenue requirements. A failure to comply with the covenants and other provisions of our debt instruments, including any failure to make a payment when required, would generally result in events of default under such instruments, which could permit acceleration of such indebtedness and could result in a material adverse effect on us. If such indebtedness is accelerated, it would generally also constitute an event of default under our other outstanding indebtedness, permitting acceleration of a substantial portion of our indebtedness. Any required repayment of our indebtedness as a result of acceleration or otherwise would lower our current cash on hand such that we would not have those funds available for use in our business or for payment of other outstanding indebtedness.

 

If we are at any time unable to generate sufficient cash flow from operations to service our indebtedness when payment is due, we may be required to attempt to renegotiate the terms of the instruments relating to the indebtedness, seek to refinance all or a portion of the indebtedness or obtain additional financing. There can be no assurance that we would be able to successfully renegotiate such terms, that any such refinancing would be possible or that any additional financing could be obtained on terms that are favorable or acceptable to us, if at all. Any debt financing that is available could cause us to incur substantial costs and subject us to covenants that significantly restrict our ability to conduct our business. If we seek to complete additional equity financings, the interests of existing equity holders may be diluted. If we are unable to make payment on our secured debt instruments when due, the lenders under such instruments may foreclose on and sell the assets securing such indebtedness to satisfy our payment obligations, which could prevent us from accessing those assets for our business and conducting our business as planned, which could materially harm our financial condition and results of operations.

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In addition, certain of our outstanding securities contain anti-dilution adjustment provisions that may be triggered by future issuances of equity or equity-linked instruments in financing transactions. If such adjustment provisions are triggered, the conversion or exercise price of such securities will decrease and/or the number of shares issuable upon conversion or exercise of such securities will increase. In such event, existing stockholders will be further diluted and the effective issuance price of such equity or equity-linked instruments will be reduced, which may harm our ability to engage in future financing transactions to fund our business.

 

Our substantial leverage may place us at a competitive disadvantage in our industry.

 

We continue to have substantial debt outstanding and we may incur additional indebtedness from time to time to finance working capital, product development efforts, strategic acquisitions, investments and partnerships, or capital expenditures, or for other general corporate purposes, subject to the restrictions contained in our debt agreements. Our significant indebtedness and debt service requirements could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and may limit our ability to take advantage of potential business opportunities. For example, our high level of indebtedness presents the following risks:

we will be required to use a substantial portion of our cash flow from operations to pay principal and interest on our indebtedness, thereby reducing the availability of our cash flow to fund working capital, capital expenditures, product development efforts, acquisitions, investments and strategic alliances and for other general corporate requirements;
our substantial leverage increases our vulnerability to economic downturns and adverse competitive and industry conditions and could place us at a competitive disadvantage compared to those of our competitors that are less leveraged;
our debt service obligations could limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and our industry and could limit our ability to pursue other business opportunities, borrow more money for operations or capital in the future and implement our business strategies;
our level of indebtedness and the covenants in our debt instruments may restrict us from raising additional financing on satisfactory terms to fund working capital, capital expenditures, product development efforts, strategic acquisitions, investments and alliances, and for other general corporate requirements;
our secured loan agreements restrict our ability to grant additional liens on our assets, which may make it more difficult to secure additional financing in the future; and
our substantial leverage may make it difficult for us to attract additional financing when needed.

 

We are currently ineligible to use a registration statement on Form S-3 to register the offer and sale of securities, which could adversely affect our ability to raise future capital.

 

As a result of the delayed filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2019 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2019 with the SEC, we will not be eligible to register the offer and sale of our securities using a registration statement on Form S-3 until one year from the date we regain and maintain status as a current filer. Should we wish to register the offer and sale of our securities to the public prior to the time we are eligible to use Form S-3, both our transaction costs and the amount of time required to complete the transaction could increase, potentially harming our financial condition.

 

Future revenues are difficult to predict, and our failure to predict revenue accurately may cause our results to be below our expectations or those of analysts or investors and could result in our stock price declining.

 

Our revenues are comprised of product revenues, licenses and royalties revenues, and grants and collaborations revenues. We generate the substantial majority of our product revenues from sales to collaboration partners and distributors, and only a small portion from direct sales. Our collaboration, supply and distribution agreements do not usually include any specific purchase obligations. The sales volume of our products in any given period has been difficult to predict. A significant portion of our product sales is dependent upon the interest and ability of third-party distributors to create demand for, and generate sales of, such products to end-users. For example, if such distributors are unsuccessful in creating pull-through demand for our products with their customers, such distributors may purchase less of our products from us than we expect. Also, under revenue recognition rules, we are required to estimate royalties. These estimates could be subject to material adjustment in subsequent periods.

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In addition, many of our new and novel products are intended to be a component of other companies’ products; therefore, sales of our products may be contingent on our collaboration partners and/or customers’ timely and successful development and commercialization of end-use products that incorporate our products, and price volatility in the markets for such end-use products, which may include commodities, could adversely affect the demand for our products and the margin we receive for our product sales, which could harm our financial results. While we maintain certain clawback rights to our technology in the event our collaboration partners are unable or unwilling to commercialize the products we create for them, we may be restricted from or unable to market or sell such products or technologies to other potential collaboration partners, which could hinder the growth of our business. In addition, certain of our collaboration partners have the right to terminate their agreements with us if we undergo a change of control or a sale of our business, which could discourage a potential acquirer from making an offer to acquire us.

 

Further, we have in the past entered into, and expect in the future to enter into, research and development collaboration arrangements pursuant to which we receive payments from our collaboration partners. Some of such collaboration arrangements include advance payments in consideration for grants of exclusivity or research and development activities to be performed by us. It has in the past been difficult for us to know with certainty when we will sign a new collaboration arrangement and receive payments thereunder. In addition, a portion of the advance payments we receive under our collaboration agreements is typically classified as deferred revenue and recognized over multiple quarters or years. As a result, achievement of our quarterly and annual financial goals has been difficult to forecast with certainty. Once a collaboration agreement has been signed, receipt of cash payments and/or recognition of related revenues may depend on our achievement of research, development, production or cost milestones, which may be difficult to predict. Our collaboration arrangements may also include future royalty payments upon commercialization of the products subject to the collaboration arrangements, which is uncertain and depends in part on the success of the counterparty in commercializing the relevant product. As a result, our receipt of royalty revenues and the timing thereof is difficult to predict with certainty.

 

Furthermore, we have begun to market and sell some of our products directly to end-consumers, initially in the cosmetics market. Because we have limited experience in marketing and selling directly to consumers, it is difficult to predict how successful our efforts will be and we may not achieve the product sales we expect to achieve on the timeline we anticipate, if at all. These factors have made it difficult to predict future revenues and have resulted in our revenues being below our previously announced guidance or analysts’ estimates. We continue to face these risks in the future, which may cause our stock price to decline.

 

Our financial results could vary significantly from quarter to quarter and are difficult to predict.

 

Our revenues and results of operations could vary significantly from quarter to quarter because of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control. As a result, comparing our results of operations on a period-to-period basis may not be meaningful. Factors that could cause our quarterly results of operations to fluctuate include:

achievement, or failure, with respect to technology, product development or manufacturing milestones needed to allow us to enter identified markets on a cost-effective basis or obtain milestone-related payments from collaboration partners;
delays or greater than anticipated expenses associated with the completion, commissioning, acquisition or retrofitting of new production facilities, or the time to ramp up and stabilize production at a new production facility or the transition (including ramp up) to producing new molecules at existing facilities or with a new contract manufacturer;
impairment of assets based on shifting business priorities and working capital limitations;
disruptions in the production process at any manufacturing facility, including disruptions due to seasonal or unexpected downtime as a result of feedstock availability, contamination, safety or other technical difficulties, or scheduled downtime as a result of transitioning equipment to the production of different molecules;
losses of, or the inability to secure new, major customers, collaboration partners, suppliers or distributors;
losses associated with producing our products as we ramp to commercial production levels;
failure to recover value added tax (VAT) that we currently reflect as recoverable in our financial statements (e.g., due to failure to meet conditions for reimbursement of VAT under local law);
the timing, size and mix of product sales to customers;

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increases in price or decreases in availability of feedstock;
the unavailability of contract manufacturing capacity altogether or at reasonable cost;
exit costs associated with terminating contract manufacturing relationships;
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates;
change in the fair value of derivative instruments;
fluctuations in the price of and demand for sugar, ethanol, petroleum-based and other products for which our products are alternatives;
seasonal variability in production and sales of our products;
competitive pricing pressures, including decreases in average selling prices of our products;
unanticipated expenses or delays associated with changes in governmental regulations and environmental, health, labor and safety requirements;
departure of executives or other key management employees resulting in transition and severance costs;
our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income;
business interruptions such as earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters;
our ability to integrate businesses that we may acquire;
our ability to successfully collaborate with joint venture partners;
risks associated with the international aspects of our business; and
changes in general economic, industry and market conditions, both domestically and in our foreign markets.

 

Due to the factors described above, among others, the results of any quarterly or annual period may not meet our expectations or the expectations of our investors and may not be meaningful indications of our future performance.

 

A limited number of customers, collaboration partners and distributors account for a significant portion of our revenues, and the loss of major customers, collaboration partners or distributors could harm our operating results.

 

Our revenues have varied significantly from quarter to quarter and are dependent on sales to, and collaborations with, a limited number of customers, collaboration partners and/or distributors. We cannot be certain that customers, collaboration partners and/or distributors that have accounted for significant revenues in past periods, individually or as a group, will continue to generate similar revenues in any future period. If we fail to renew with, or if we lose, a major customer, collaborator or distributor, or group of customers, collaboration partners or distributors, our revenues could decline if we are unable to replace the lost revenues with revenues from other sources. Further, since our business depends in part on such collaboration agreement, it may be difficult for us to replace any such lost revenues through additional collaborations in any period, as revenue from such new collaborations will often be recognized over multiple quarters or years.

 

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If we do not meet technical, development and commercial milestones in our collaboration agreements, our future revenues and financial results will be adversely impacted.

 

We have entered into a number of agreements regarding the development of certain of our products and, in some cases, for ultimate sale of certain products to the customer under the agreement. Most of these agreements do not affirmatively obligate the other party to purchase specific quantities of any products, and most contain important conditions that must be satisfied before additional research and development funding or product purchases would occur. These conditions include research and development milestones and technical specifications that must be achieved to the satisfaction of our collaboration partners, which we cannot be certain we will achieve. If we do not achieve these contractual milestones or specifications, our revenues and financial results will be adversely affected.

 

We face challenges producing our products at commercial scale or at reduced cost and may not be able to commercialize our products to the extent necessary to make a profit or sustain and grow our current business.

 

To commercialize our products, we must be successful in using our yeast strains to produce target molecules at commercial scale and at a commercially viable cost. If we cannot achieve commercially-viable production economics for enough products to support our business plan, including through establishing and maintaining sufficient production scale and volume, we will be unable to achieve a sustainable products business.

 

In order to be competitive in the markets we are targeting, our products must have superior qualities or be competitively priced relative to alternatives available in the market. Our production costs depend on many factors that could have a negative effect on our ability to offer our planned products at competitive prices, including, in particular, our ability to establish and maintain sufficient production scale and volume, and feedstock and contract manufacturing costs.

 

We face financial risk associated with scaling up production to reduce our production costs. To reduce per-unit production costs, we must increase production to achieve economies of scale and to be able to sell our products with positive margins. However, if we do not sell production output in a timely manner or in sufficient volumes, our investment in production will harm our cash position and generate losses. Additionally, we may incur added costs in storage and we may face issues related to the decrease in quality of our stored products, which could adversely affect the value of such products. Since achieving competitive product prices generally requires increased production volumes and our manufacturing operations and cash flows from sales are in their early stages, we have had to produce and sell products at a loss in the past, and may continue to do so as we build our business. If we are unable to achieve adequate revenues from a combination of product sales and other sources, we may not be able to invest in production and we may not be able to pursue our business plans. In addition, in order to attract potential collaboration or joint venture partners, or to meet payment milestones under existing or future collaboration agreements, we have in the past and may in the future be required to guarantee or meet certain levels of production costs. If we are unable to reduce our production costs to meet such guarantees or milestones, our net cash flow will be further reduced.

 

If we are not able to successfully commence, scale up or sustain operations at existing and planned manufacturing facilities, our customer relationships, business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

A substantial component of our planned production capacity in the near and long term depends on successful operations at our existing and potential large-scale production plants. We commenced operations at our first purpose-built, large-scale production facility located in Brotas, Brazil in 2012. In December 2016, we acquired a production facility in Leland, North Carolina, which facility had been previously operated by our partner Glycotech Inc. to perform chemical conversion and production of certain of our end-products, and which facility was subsequently transferred to our newly-formed joint venture with Nikko, as further described in Note 11, “Related Party Transactions” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In December 2017, we sold the Brotas facility to DSM and concurrently entered into a supply agreement with DSM for us to purchase output from the facility, which represents a significant portion of our expected supply needs (see Note 13, “Divestiture”, Note 10, "Revenue Recognition" and Note 11, "Related Party Transactions" in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information). We are building a new purpose-built, large-scale specialty ingredients plant in Brazil, which we anticipate will allow for the manufacture of five products concurrently and over 10 different products annually. We currently anticipate completing construction of the facility by the end of 2020; however, there can be no assurances that we will be able to complete such facility on our expected timeline, if at all. In addition, in May 2019 we entered into a joint venture agreement with Raizen for the production, sale and commercialization of alternative sweetener products, pursuant to which the parties would construct a manufacturing facility exclusively for alternative sweetener products on land owned by Raizen and leased to the joint venture; see Note 16, “Subsequent Events” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more details. The consummation of the transactions contemplated by the joint venture agreement, including the construction of a manufacturing facility for the production of alternative sweetener products, is subject to conditions, including certain regulatory approvals and the achievement of certain technological and economic milestones relating to the production of our alternative sweetener product, and there can be no assurances that the construction of such facility will occur on our expected timeline, if at all. Delays or problems in the construction, start-up or operation of such facilities could cause delays in our ramp-up of production and hamper our ability to reduce our production costs. Delays in construction can occur due to a variety of factors, including regulatory requirements and our ability to fund construction and commissioning costs.

 

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Once our large-scale production facilities are built, acquired or retrofitted, we must successfully commission them, if necessary, and they must perform as we expect. If we encounter significant delays, cost overruns, engineering issues, contamination problems, equipment or raw material supply constraints, unexpected equipment maintenance requirements, safety issues, work stoppages or other serious challenges in bringing these facilities online and operating them at commercial scale, we may be unable to produce our renewable products in the time frame and at the cost we have planned. It is difficult to predict the effects of scaling up production of industrial fermentation to commercial scale, as it involves various risks to the quality and consistency of our molecules. In addition, in order to produce molecules at existing and potential future plants, we have been and may in the future be required to perform thorough transition activities, and modify the design of the plant. Any modifications to the production plant could cause complications in the operations of the plant, which could result in delays or failures in production. If any of these risks occur, or if we are unable to create or obtain additional manufacturing capacity necessary to meet existing and potential customer demand, we may need to continue to use, or increase our use of, contract manufacturing sources, which may not be available on terms acceptable to us, if at all, and generally entail greater cost to us to produce our products and would therefore reduce our anticipated gross margins and may also prevent us from accessing certain markets for our products. Further, if our efforts to increase (or commence, as the case may be) production at these facilities are not successful, our partners may decide not to work with us to develop additional production facilities, demand more favorable terms or delay their commitment to invest capital in our production. If we are unable to create and sustain manufacturing capacity and operations sufficient to satisfy the existing and potential demand of our customers and partners, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

In addition, the production of our products at our planned purpose-built, large-scale production facilities will require large volumes of feedstock. For our planned large-scale production facilities in Brazil, we plan to rely primarily on Brazilian sugarcane. While in certain cases we have entered into feedstock agreements with suppliers, including Raizen, which we expect to supply the sugarcane feedstock necessary to produce our products at our planned large-scale production facilities in Brazil, that specify the pricing, quantity and product specifications for our feedstocks, we cannot predict the future availability or price of these various feedstocks, nor can we be sure that our mill partners, including Raizen, will be able to supply it in sufficient quantities or in a timely manner. Furthermore, to the extent we are required to rely on sugar feedstock other than Brazilian sugarcane, the cost of such feedstock may be higher than we expect, increasing our anticipated production costs. Feedstock crop yields and sugar content depend on weather conditions, such as rainfall and temperature. Weather conditions have historically caused volatility in the ethanol and sugar industries by causing crop failures or reduced harvests. Excessive rainfall can adversely affect the supply of sugarcane and other sugar feedstock available for the production of our products by reducing the sucrose content and limiting growers' ability to harvest. Crop disease and pestilence can also occur from time to time and can adversely affect feedstock growth, potentially rendering useless or unusable all or a substantial portion of affected harvests. With respect to sugarcane, our initial primary feedstock, seasonal availability and price, the limited amount of time during which it keeps its sugar content after harvest, and the fact that sugarcane is not itself a traded commodity, increases these risks and limits our ability to substitute supply in the event of such an occurrence. If production of sugarcane or any other feedstock we may use to produce our products is adversely affected by these or other conditions, our production will be impaired, and our business will be adversely affected.

 

Our use of contract manufacturers exposes us to risks relating to costs, contractual terms and logistics.

 

In addition to our existing and planned production facilities discussed above, we must commercially produce, process and manufacture our products through the use of contract manufacturers, including DSM, and we anticipate that we will continue to use contract manufacturers for the foreseeable future. Establishing and operating contract manufacturing facilities requires us to make significant capital expenditures, which reduces our cash and places such capital at risk. Also, contract manufacturing agreements may contain terms that commit us to pay for capital expenditures and other costs and amounts incurred or expected to be earned by the plant operators and owners, which can result in contractual liability and losses for us even if we terminate a particular contract manufacturing arrangement or decide to reduce or stop production under such an arrangement. Further, we cannot be sure that contract manufacturers will be available when we need their services, that they will be willing to dedicate a portion of their capacity to our projects, or that we will be able to reach acceptable price, delivery and other terms with them for the provision of their production services.

 

The locations of contract manufacturers can pose additional cost, logistics and feedstock challenges. If production capacity is available at a plant that is remote from usable chemical finishing or distribution facilities, or from customers, we will be required to incur additional expenses in shipping products to other locations. Such costs could include shipping costs, compliance with export and import controls, tariffs and additional taxes, among others. In addition, we may be required to use feedstock from a particular region for a given production facility. The feedstock available in such region may not be the least expensive or most effective feedstock for production, which could significantly raise our overall production cost or reduce our product’s quality until we are able to optimize the supply chain.

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Loss or termination of contract manufacturing relationships could harm our ability to meet our production goals.

 

As discussed above, we rely on contract manufacturers, including DSM, to produce and/or provide downstream processing of our products, and we anticipate that we will need to use contract manufacturers for the foreseeable future. If we are unable to secure the services of contract manufacturers when and as needed, we may lose customer opportunities and the growth of our business may be impaired. If we shift priorities and adjust anticipated production levels (or cease production altogether) at contract manufacturing facilities, such adjustments or cessations could also result in disputes or otherwise harm our business relationships with contract manufacturers. In addition, reliance on external sources for our other target molecules could create a risk for us if a single source or a limited number of sources of manufacturing runs into operational issues, creating risk of loss of sales and profitability. Reducing or stopping production at one facility while increasing or starting up production at another facility generally results in significant losses of production efficiency, which can persist for significant periods of time. Also, in order for production to commence under our contract manufacturing arrangements, we generally must provide equipment for such operations, and we cannot be assured that such equipment can be ordered or installed on a timely basis, at acceptable costs, or at all. Further, in order to establish operations at new contract manufacturing facilities, we need to transfer our yeast strains and production processes from our labs to commercial plants controlled by third parties, which may pose technical or operational challenges that delay production or increase our costs.

 

Our ability to establish substantial commercial sales of our products is subject to many risks, any of which could prevent or delay revenue growth and adversely impact our customer relationships, business and results of operations.

 

There can be no assurance that our products will be approved or accepted by customers, including customers of our branded products, or that we will be able to sell our products profitably at prices and with features sufficient to establish demand. The potential customers for our products generally have well developed manufacturing processes and arrangements with suppliers of the chemical components of their products and may have a resistance to changing these processes and components. These potential customers frequently impose lengthy and complex product qualification procedures on their suppliers, influenced by consumer preference, manufacturing considerations such as process changes and capital and other costs associated with transitioning to alternative components, supplier operating history, established business relationships and agreements, regulatory issues, product liability and other factors, many of which are unknown to, or not well understood by, us. Satisfying these processes may take many months. Similarly, customers of our branded products may have a resistance to accept our alternative compositions for such products. Additionally, we may be subject to product safety testing and may be required to meet certain regulatory and/or product safety standards. Meeting these standards can be a time consuming and expensive process, and we may invest substantial time and resources into such qualification efforts without ultimately securing approval. If we are unable to convince these potential customers, the consumers who purchase end-products containing our products and the customers of our direct to consumer products that our products are comparable to the chemicals that they currently use or that the use of our products is otherwise to their benefit, we will not be successful in entering these markets and our business will be adversely affected. Moreover, in order to successfully market our direct to consumer products, we must continue to build our sales, marketing, managerial, compliance, and related capabilities or make arrangements with third parties to perform these services. If we are unable to establish adequate sales, marketing, and distribution capabilities, whether independently or with third parties, we may not be able to appropriately commercialize such products.

 

The price and availability of sugarcane and other feedstocks can be volatile as a result of changes in industry policy and may increase the cost of production of our products.

 

In Brazil, Conselho dos Produtores de Cana-de-Açúcar, Açúcar e Etanol do Estado de São Paulo (Council of Sugarcane, Sugar and Ethanol Producers in the State of São Paulo, or “Consecana”), an industry association of producers of sugarcane, sugar and ethanol, sets market terms and prices for general supply, lease and partnership agreements for sugarcane. If Consecana makes changes to such terms and prices, it could result in higher sugarcane prices and/or a significant decrease in the volume of sugarcane available for the production of our products. In addition, if the availability of sugarcane juice or syrup or other feedstocks is restricted or limited due to weather conditions, land conditions or any other reason, we may not be able to manufacture our products in a timely or cost-effective manner, or at all, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

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We expect to face competition for our products from existing suppliers, including from price declines in petroleum and petroleum-based products, and if we cannot compete effectively against these companies, products or prices, we may not be successful in bringing our products to market, demand for some of our renewable products may decline, or we may be unable to further grow our business.

 

We expect that our renewable products will compete with both the traditional products that are currently being used in our target markets and with the alternatives to these existing products that established enterprises and new companies are seeking to produce. In the markets that we have entered, and in other markets that we may seek to enter in the future, we will compete primarily with the established providers of ingredients currently used in products in these markets. Producers of these incumbent products include global health and nutrition companies, large international chemical companies and companies specializing in specific products, such as flavor or fragrance ingredients, squalane or essential oils. We may also compete in one or more of these markets with products that are offered as alternatives to the traditional products being offered in these markets.

 

With the emergence of many new companies seeking to produce products from renewable sources, we may face increasing competition from such companies. As they emerge, some of these companies may be able to establish production capacity and commercial partnerships to compete with us. If we are unable to establish production and sales channels that allow us to offer comparable products at attractive prices, we may not be able to compete effectively with these companies.

 

We believe the primary competitive factors in our target markets are:

        product price;

        product performance and other measures of quality;

        sustainability; and

        dependability of supply.

 

The global health and nutrition companies, large international chemical companies and companies specializing in specific products with whom we compete are much larger than us, have, in many cases, well developed distribution systems and networks for their products, have valuable historical relationships with the potential customers we are seeking to serve and have much more extensive sales and marketing programs in place to promote their products. In order to be successful, we must convince customers that our products are at least as effective as the traditional products they are seeking to replace and we must provide our products on a cost basis that does not greatly exceed these traditional products and other available alternatives. Some of our competitors may use their influence to impede the development and acceptance of renewable products of the type that we are seeking to produce.

 

While most of our products do not compete with, and do not serve as alternatives to, petroleum-based products, we anticipate that some of our renewable products will be marketed as alternatives to corresponding petroleum-based products. We believe that for our renewable products to succeed in the market, we must demonstrate that our products are comparable or better alternatives to existing products and to any alternative products that are being developed for the same markets based on some combination of product cost, availability, performance, and consumer preference characteristics.

 

We are subject to risks related to our reliance on collaboration arrangements to fund development and commercialization of our products, and our financial results may be adversely impacted if we fail to meet technical, development or commercial milestones in such agreements.

 

For most product markets we are seeking to enter, we have collaboration partners to fund the research and development, commercialization and production efforts required for the target products. Typically, we provide limited exclusive rights and revenue sharing with respect to the production and sale of particular products in specific markets in exchange for such up-front funding. These exclusivity, revenue-sharing and other similar terms limit our ability to commercialize our products and technology, and may impact the size of our business or our profitability in ways that we do not currently envision. In addition, most of these agreements do not affirmatively obligate the other party to purchase specific quantities of any products, and most contain important conditions that must be satisfied before additional research and development funding or product purchases would occur. These conditions include research and development programs and milestones, and technical specifications that must be achieved to the satisfaction of our collaboration partners. We may focus our efforts and resources on potential discovery efforts, product targets or candidates that require substantial technical, financial and human resources which we cannot be certain we will achieve.

 

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In addition, we may encounter numerous uncertainties and difficulties in developing, manufacturing and commercializing any new products subject to these collaboration arrangements that may delay or prevent us from realizing their expected benefits or enhancing our business, including uncertainties on the feasibility of taking new molecules to commercial scale. Any failure to successfully develop, produce and commercialize products under our existing and future collaboration arrangements could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial conditions, earnings and prospects.

 

Revenues from these types of relationships are a key part of our cash plan for 2019 and beyond. If we fail to collect expected collaboration revenues, or to identify and add sufficient additional collaborations to fund our planned operations, we may be unable to fund our operations or pursue development and commercialization of our planned products. To achieve our collaboration revenue targets from year to year, we may be obliged to enter into agreements that contain less favorable terms. Historically, the process of negotiating and finalizing collaboration arrangements with our partners has at times been lengthy and unpredictable. Furthermore, as part of our current and future collaboration arrangements, we may be required to make significant capital investments at our existing or planned production facilities in order to develop, produce and commercialize molecules or other products. Any failure or difficulties in maintaining existing collaboration arrangements or establishing new collaboration arrangements, or building up or retooling our operations to meet the demands of our collaboration partners could have a significant negative impact on our business, including our ability to achieve commercial viability for our products, lead to the inability to meet our contractual obligations and could cause us to allocate or divert capital, personnel and other resources from our organization which could adversely affect our business and reputation.

 

Our collaboration arrangements may restrict or prevent our future business activity in certain markets or industries, which could harm our ability to grow our business.

 

As part of our collaboration arrangements in the ordinary course of business, we may grant to our partners exclusive rights with respect to the development, production and/or commercialization of particular products or types of products in specific markets in exchange for up-front funding and/or downstream royalty arrangements. These rights may inhibit potential collaboration or strategic partners or potential customers from entering into negotiations with us about further business opportunities, and we may be restricted or prevented from engaging with other partners or customers in those markets, which may limit our ability to grow our business or influence our strategic focus, and may lead to an inefficient allocation of capital resources.

 

In the past, we have had to grant concessions to existing partners in exchange for such partners waiving or modifying their exclusive rights with respect to a particular product, type of product or market so that we could engage with a third party with respect to such product, product type or market. There can be no assurance that existing partners will be willing to grant waivers of or modify their exclusive rights in the future on favorable terms, if at all. If we are unable to engage other potential partners with respect to particular products, product types or markets for which we have previously granted exclusive rights, our ability to grow our business would be harmed and our results of operations may be adversely affected.

 

Third parties may misappropriate our yeast strains.

 

Third parties, including collaboration partners, contract manufacturers, other contractors and shipping agents, often have custody or control of our yeast strains. If our yeast strains were stolen, misappropriated or reverse engineered, they could be used by other parties who may be able to reproduce the yeast strains for their own commercial gain. If this were to occur, it would be difficult for us to challenge and prevent this type of use, especially in countries where we have limited intellectual property protection or that do not have robust intellectual property law regimes.

 

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Certain rights we have granted to Total S.A., DSM and other existing stockholders, including in relation to our future securities offerings, could substantially impact our company.

 

In connection with certain investments of Total S.A. (Total) in our company, our Certificate of Incorporation includes a provision that excludes Total from prohibitions on business combinations between us and an “interested stockholder.” This provision could have the effect of discouraging potential acquirers from making offers to acquire us, and give Total more access to Amyris than other stockholders if Total decides to pursue an acquisition.

 

In addition, each of Total, DSM, Vivo Capital LLC and Naxyris S.A. has the right to designate one or more directors to serve on our Board of Directors pursuant to agreements between us and such investors.

 

In May 2017, we entered into an agreement with DSM, which was amended and restated in August 2017, pursuant to which we agreed (i) that for as long as there is a DSM-designated director serving on our Board of Directors, we will not engage in certain commercial or financial transactions or arrangements without the consent of such director, and (ii) to provide DSM with certain exclusive negotiating rights in connection with certain future commercial projects and arrangements. These provisions could discourage other potential partners from approaching us with business opportunities, and could restrict, delay or prevent us from pursuing or engaging in such opportunities, which could adversely affect our business.

 

Additionally, in connection with their investments in Amyris, we granted certain investors, including DSM, a right of first investment if we propose to sell securities in certain financing transactions. With these rights, such investors may subscribe for a portion of any such new financing and require us to comply with certain notice periods, which could discourage other investors from participating in, or cause delays in our ability to close, such a financing.

 

Our relationship with DSM exposes us to financial and commercial risks.

 

In May 2017, DSM made an investment in our company and, in connection therewith, we entered into a stockholder agreement with DSM (subsequently amended) which provides DSM with certain rights, including the right to designate two members of our board of directors as well as exclusive negotiating rights in connection with certain future commercial projects and arrangements. Subsequently, in July and September 2017, we entered into collaboration agreements (and related license agreements) with DSM to jointly develop three new molecules in the Health and Nutrition field using the Company’s technology, which the Company would produce and DSM would commercialize. In December 2017, we completed the sale of our Brotas, Brazil production facility to DSM and, in connection therewith, entered into several commercial agreements with DSM, including a supply agreement to procure a substantial portion of our product supply requirements, and borrowed $25 million from DSM. For more information regarding these and other transactions and arrangements with DSM, please see Note 5, “Debt,” Note 7, “Stockholders’ Deficit,” Note 10, “Revenue Recognition”, Note 11, “Related Party Transactions,” Note 13, “Divestiture” and Note 16, “Subsequent Events” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

There can be no assurance that our partnership with DSM will be successful, and the partnership may prevent us from pursuing other business opportunities in the future. If the partnership is unsuccessful, our ability to continue with our business plans could be adversely affected. In addition, negative developments in one aspect of our relationship with DSM could negatively affect other aspects of our relationship with DSM. In such event, our financial condition and business operations could be adversely affected.

 

In addition, DSM, due to the presence of its representatives on our board of directors, equity ownership in our company, and commercial relationships with us, may be able to control or significantly influence our management, operations and affairs, as well as matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and the approval of significant corporate transactions, such as mergers, consolidations or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets. Due to its various relationships with the Company, DSM may have interests different than, and may not act in the best interests of, our other stockholders. Consequently, our relationship with DSM may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control, or a change in our management or board of directors, or discouraging a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company, even if such actions would benefit our other stockholders.

 

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A significant portion of our operations are centered in Brazil, and our business will be adversely affected if we do not operate effectively in that country.

 

For the foreseeable future, we will be subject to risks associated with the concentration of essential product sourcing and operations in Brazil. The Brazilian government has changed in the past, and may change in the future, monetary, taxation, credit, tariff, labor and other policies to influence the course of Brazil's economy. For example, the government's actions to control inflation have involved interest rate adjustments. We have no control over, and cannot predict what policies or actions the Brazilian government may take in the future. Our business, financial performance and prospects may be adversely affected by, among others, the following factors:

delays or failures in securing licenses, permits or other governmental approvals necessary to build and operate facilities and use our yeast strains to produce products;
rapid consolidation in the sugar and ethanol industries in Brazil, which could result in a decrease in competition;
political, economic, diplomatic or social instability in or affecting Brazil;
changing interest rates;
tax burden and policies;
effects of changes in currency exchange rates;
any changes in currency exchange policy that lead to the imposition of exchange controls or restrictions on remittances abroad;
inflation;
land reform or nationalization movements;
changes in labor related policies;
export or import restrictions that limit our ability to move our products out of Brazil or interfere with the import of essential materials into Brazil;
changes in, or interpretations of foreign regulations that may adversely affect our ability to sell our products or repatriate profits to the United States;
tariffs, trade protection measures and other regulatory requirements;

compliance with United States and foreign laws that regulate the conduct of business abroad;
compliance with privacy, anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws, including certain anti-corruption and privacy laws recently enacted in Brazil;
an inability, or reduced ability, to protect our intellectual property in Brazil including any effect of compulsory licensing imposed by government action; and
difficulties and costs of staffing and managing foreign operations.

 

We cannot predict whether the current or future Brazilian government will implement changes to existing policies on taxation, exchange controls, monetary strategy, labor relations, social security and the like, nor can we estimate the impact of any such changes on the Brazilian economy or our operations.

 

Brazil’s economy has recently experienced quarters of slow or negative gross domestic product growth and has, through 2018, experienced high inflation and a growing fiscal deficit of its federal government accounts. Although recent data has shown signs of an economic recovery in Brazil, there is no assurance that such recovery will continue. In addition, major corruption scandals involving members of the executive, state-controlled enterprises and large private sector companies have been disclosed and are the subject of ongoing investigation by federal authorities. The final outcome of these investigations and their impact on the Brazilian economy is not yet known and cannot be predicted with certainty.

 

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We are subject to the risks of doing business globally.

 

We maintain operations in foreign jurisdictions other than Brazil, and may in the future expand, or seek to expand, our operations to additional foreign jurisdictions. For example, in 2018 we announced plans to increase our commercial activities in China. Operating in China exposes us to political, legal and economic risks. In particular, the political, legal and economic climate in China, both nationally and regionally, is fluid and unpredictable. Our ability to operate in China may be adversely affected by changes in U.S. and Chinese laws and regulations such as those related to taxation, import and export tariffs, environmental regulations, land use rights, intellectual property, currency controls, network security and other matters. In addition, we may not obtain or retain the requisite permits to operate in China, and costs or operational limitations may be imposed in connection with obtaining and complying with such permits. In addition, Chinese trade regulations are in a state of flux, and we may become subject to other forms of taxation, tariffs and duties in China. Furthermore, our counterparties in China may use or disclose our confidential information or intellectual property to competitors or third parties, which could result in the illegal distribution and sale of counterfeit versions of our products. If any of these events occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

 

In addition, a significant percentage of the production, downstream processing and sales of our products occurs outside the United States or with vendors, suppliers or customers located outside the United States. If tariffs or other restrictions are placed by the United States on foreign imports from Brazil or other countries where we operate or seek to operate, or any related counter-measures are taken, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be harmed. In 2018, President Trump imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and additional tariffs on goods imported from certain specified countries, including China, and has indicated potential future tariffs on a range of goods from certain countries. In response, certain countries, including China, have imposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods imported into such countries. If further tariffs are imposed on a broader range of imports, or if further retaliatory trade measures are taken by other countries in response to additional tariffs, our operating performance could be harmed. Tariffs may increase our cost of goods, which could result in lower gross margin on certain of our products. If we raise prices to account for any such increase in costs of goods, the competitiveness of the affected products could potentially be reduced. In either case, increased tariffs on imports from Brazil or other countries where we operate or seek to operate could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Furthermore, in retaliation for any tariffs imposed by the United States, other countries may implement tariffs on a wide range of American products, which could increase the cost of our products for non-U.S. customers located in such countries. Any increase in the cost of our products for non-U.S. customers, which represent a substantial portion of our sales, could result in a decrease in demand for our products by such customers. Trade restrictions implemented by the United States or other countries could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Many, if not all of the above-mentioned risks also apply to our operations in other foreign jurisdictions where we operate or seek to operate. If any of these risks were to occur, our operations and business would be adversely affected.

 

We are subject to new U.S. foreign investment regulations which may impose additional burdens on or may limit certain investors' ability to purchase our common stock, potentially making our common stock less attractive to investors.

 

In October 2018, the U.S. Department of Treasury announced a pilot program to implement part of the Foreign Investment Risk Review Modernization Act (FIRRMA), effective November 10, 2018. The pilot program expands the jurisdiction of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), to include certain direct or indirect foreign investments in a defined category of U.S. companies, including companies involved in critical infrastructure and critical technologies. Among other things, FIRRMA empowers CFIUS to require certain mandatory filings in connection with certain foreign investments in U.S. companies and permits CFIUS to charge filing fees related to such filings. Such filings are subject to review by CFIUS, which will have the authority to recommend that the President block or impose conditions on certain foreign investments in companies subject to CFIUS’s oversight. Any such restrictions on the ability of foreign investors to invest in our company could limit our ability to engage in strategic transactions that may benefit our stockholders, including a change of control, and may prevent our stockholders from receiving a premium for their shares of our common stock in connection with a change of control, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

 

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Ethical, legal and social concerns about products using genetically modified microorganisms could limit or prevent the use of our products and technologies and could harm our business.

 

Our technologies and products involve the use of genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs). Public perception about the safety of, and ethical, legal or social concerns over, genetically engineered products, including GMMs, could affect public acceptance of our products. If we are not able to overcome any such concerns relating to our products, our technologies may not be accepted by our customers or end-users. In addition, the use of GMMs has in the past received negative publicity, which could lead to greater regulation or restrictions on imports of our products. If our technologies and products are not accepted by our customers or their end-users due to negative publicity or lack of public acceptance, our business could be significantly harmed.

 

Our use of genetically-modified feedstocks and yeast strains to produce our products subjects us to risks of regulatory limitations and rejection of our products.

 

The use of GMMs, such as our yeast strains, is subject to laws and regulations in many countries, some of which are new and some of which are still evolving. In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), regulates the commercial use of GMMs as well as potential products produced from GMMs. Various states or local governments within the United States could choose to regulate products made with GMMs as well. While the strain of genetically modified yeast that we currently use for the development and commercial production of our target molecules, S. cerevisiae, is eligible for exemption from EPA review because it is generally recognized as safe, we must satisfy certain criteria to achieve this exemption, including but not limited to use of compliant containment structures and safety procedures, and we cannot be sure that we will meet such criteria in a timely manner, or at all. If exemption of S. cerevisiae is not obtained, our business may be substantially harmed. In addition to S. cerevisiae, we may seek to use different GMMs in the future that will require EPA approval. If approval of different GMMs is not secured, our ability to grow our business could be adversely affected.

 

In Brazil, GMMs are regulated by the National Biosafety Technical Commission (CTNBio). We have obtained approvals from CTNBio to use GMMs in a contained environment in our Brazil facilities for research and development purposes as well as at contract manufacturing facilities in Brazil for industrial scale production of target products. In addition, we have obtained initial commercial approvals from CTNBio for five of our yeast strains, with two of these strains being approved for feed purposes. As we continue to develop new yeast strains and deploy our technology at new production facilities in Brazil, we will be required to obtain further approvals from CTNBio in order to use these strains in industrial scale commercial production in Brazil. We may not be able to obtain such approvals on a timely basis, or at all, and if we do not, our ability to produce our products in Brazil could be impaired, which would adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

 

In addition to our production operations in the United States and Brazil, we have been party to contract manufacturing agreements with parties in other production locations around the world, including Europe. The use of GMM technology is regulated in the European Union, which has established various directives for member states regarding regulation of the use of such technology, including notification processes for contained use of such technology. We expect to encounter GMM regulations in most, if not all, of the countries in which we may seek to establish production capabilities and/or conduct sales to customers or end-use consumers, and the scope and nature of these regulations will likely be different from country to country. If we cannot meet the applicable regulatory requirements in the countries in which we produce or sell, or intend to produce or sell, products using our yeast strains, or if it takes longer than anticipated to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals, our business could be adversely affected. Furthermore, there are various governmental, non-governmental and quasi-governmental organizations that review and certify products with respect to the determination of whether products can be classified as “natural” or other similar classifications. While the certification from such governmental organizations, and verification from non-governmental and quasi-governmental organizations are generally not mandatory, some of our current or prospective customers, collaboration partners or distributors may require that we meet the standards set by such organizations as a condition precedent to purchasing or distributing our products. We cannot be certain that we will be able to satisfy the standards of such organizations, and any delay or failure to do so could harm our ability to sell or distribute some or all of our products to certain customers and prospective customers, which could have a negative impact on our business.

 

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We may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for the sale of our renewable products.

 

Our renewable chemical products may be subject to government regulation in our target markets. In the United States, the EPA administers the Toxic Substances Control Act (the TSCA), which regulates the commercial registration, distribution, and use of many chemicals. Before an entity can manufacture or distribute a new chemical subject to the TSCA, it must file a Pre-Manufacture Notice, or PMN, to add the chemical to a product. The EPA has 180 days to review the filing but may request additional data, which could significantly extend the timeline for approval. As a result, we may not receive EPA approval to list future molecules on the TSCA registry as expeditiously as we would like, resulting in delays or significant increases in testing requirements. A similar program exists in the European Union, called REACH. Under this program, chemicals imported or manufactured in the European Union in certain quantities must be registered with the European Chemicals Agency, and this process could cause delays or entail significant costs. To the extent that other countries in which we are producing or selling (or seeking to produce or sell) our products, such as Brazil and various countries in Asia, rely on TSCA or REACH (or similar laws and programs) for chemical registration or regulation in their jurisdictions, delays with the United States or European authorities, or any relevant authorities in such other countries, may delay entry into these markets as well. In addition, some of our Biofene-derived products are sold for the cosmetics market, and some countries may impose additional regulatory requirements or permits for such uses, which could impair, delay or prevent sales of our products in those markets. Also, certain of our current or proposed products in the Flavor & Fragrance, Clean Beauty and Health & Wellness markets, including alternative sweeteners, nutraceuticals, Flavor & Fragrance ingredients, skincare ingredients and cosmetic actives, may be subject to the approval of and regulation by the FDA, the European Food Safety Authority, as well as similar agencies of states and foreign jurisdictions where these products are sold or proposed to be sold.

 

We expect to encounter regulations in most, if not all, of the countries in which we may seek to produce, import or sell our products (and our customers may encounter similar regulations in selling end-use products to consumers), and we cannot assure you that we (or our customers) will be able to obtain necessary approvals in a timely manner or at all. If our products do not meet applicable regulatory requirements in a particular country, then we (or our customers) may not be able to commercialize our products in such country and our business will be adversely affected. In addition, any enforcement action taken by regulators against us or our products could cause us to suffer adverse publicity, which could harm our reputation and our relationship with our customers and vendors.

 

In addition, many of our products are intended to be a component of our collaboration partners and/or customers’ (or their customers’) end-use products. Such end-use products may be subject to various regulations, including regulations promulgated by the EPA, the FDA, or the European Food Safety Authority. If our company or our collaboration partners and customers (or their customers) are not successful in obtaining any required regulatory approval for their end-use products that incorporate our products, or fail to comply with any applicable regulations for such end-use products, whether due to our products or otherwise, demand for our products may decline and our revenues will be adversely affected.

 

Changes in government regulations, including subsidies and economic incentives, could have a material adverse effect on our business.

 

The markets where we sell our products are heavily influenced by foreign, federal, state and local government regulations and policies. Changes to existing or adoption of new domestic or foreign federal, state and local legislative initiatives that impact the production, distribution or sale of products may harm our business. The uncertainty regarding future standards and policies may also affect our ability to develop our products or to license our technologies to third parties and to sell products to our end customers. Any inability to address these requirements and any regulatory or policy changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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Furthermore, the production of our products will depend on the availability of feedstock, especially sugarcane. Agricultural production and trade flows are subject to government policies and regulations. Governmental policies affecting the agricultural industry, such as taxes, tariffs, duties, subsidies, incentives and import and export restrictions on agricultural commodities and commodity products can influence the planting of certain crops, the location and size of crop production, whether unprocessed or processed commodity products are traded, the volume and types of imports and exports, and the availability and competitiveness of feedstocks as raw materials. Future government policies may adversely affect the supply of feedstocks, restrict our ability to use sugarcane or other feedstocks to produce our products, or encourage the use of feedstocks more advantageous to our competitors, which would put us at a commercial disadvantage and could negatively impact our future revenues and results of operations.

 

Our cannabinoid initiative is uncertain and may not yield commercial results and is subject to significant regulatory risks.

 

In 2019, we announced a new collaboration arrangement aimed at developing, producing and commercializing fermentation-derived cannabinoids. While we believe there are substantial business opportunities for us in this field, there can be no assurance that our activities will be successful, or that any research and development and product testing efforts will result in commercially saleable products, or that the market will accept or respond positively to our products.

 

In addition, the market for cannabinoids is heavily regulated. Cannabinoids may be viewed as qualifying as controlled substances under the federal Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (CSA), and may be subject to a high degree of regulation including, among other things, certain registration, licensing, manufacturing, security, record keeping, reporting, import, export, insurance and other requirements administered by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and/or the FDA.

 

Individual states and countries have also established controlled substance laws and regulations, which may differ from U.S. federal law. We or our partner may be required to obtain separate state or country registrations, permits or licenses in order to be able to develop produce, sell, store and transport cannabinoids.

 

Complying with laws and regulations relating to cannabinoids is evolving, complex and expensive, and may divert management’s attention and resources from other aspects of our business. Failure to maintain compliance with such laws and regulations may result in regulatory action that could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The DEA, FDA or state agencies may seek civil penalties, refuse to renew necessary registrations, or initiate proceedings to revoke those registrations. In certain circumstances, violations could lead to criminal proceedings.

 

We may incur significant costs to comply with environmental laws and regulations, and failure to comply with these laws and regulations could expose us to significant liabilities.

 

We use intermediate substances, hazardous chemicals and radioactive and biological materials in our business, and such materials are subject to a variety of federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, generation, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of these materials in the United States, European Union and Brazil. Although we have implemented safety procedures for handling and disposing of these materials and related waste products in an effort to comply with these laws and regulations, we cannot be sure that our safety measures and those of our contractors will prevent accidental injury or contamination from the use, storage, handling or disposal of hazardous materials. In the event of contamination or injury, we could be held liable for any resulting damages, and any liability could exceed our insurance coverage. There can be no assurance that violations of environmental, health and safety laws will not occur in the future as a result of human error, accident, equipment failure or other causes. Compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations may be expensive, and the failure to comply with past, present, or future laws could result in the imposition of fines, third party property damage, product liability and personal injury claims, investigation and remediation costs, the suspension of production, or a cessation of operations, and our liability may exceed our total assets. Liability under environmental laws can be joint and several, without regard to comparative fault, and may be punitive in nature. Furthermore, environmental laws could become more stringent over time, imposing greater compliance costs and increasing risks and penalties associated with violations, which could impair our research, development or production efforts and otherwise harm our business.

 

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Our proprietary rights may not adequately protect our technologies and product candidates.

 

Our commercial success will depend substantially on our ability to obtain patents and maintain adequate legal protection for our technologies and product candidates in the United States and other countries. As of September 23, 2019, we had 621 issued United States and foreign patents and 243 pending United States and foreign patent applications that were owned or co-owned by or licensed to us. We will be able to protect our proprietary rights from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that our proprietary technologies and future products are covered by valid and enforceable patents or are effectively maintained as trade secrets.

 

We apply for patents covering both our technologies and product candidates, as we deem appropriate. However, filing, prosecuting, maintaining and defending patents on product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States are less extensive than those in the United States. We may also fail to apply for patents on important technologies or product candidates in a timely fashion, or at all. Our existing and future patents may not be sufficiently broad to prevent others from practicing our technologies or from designing products around our patents or otherwise developing competing products or technologies. In addition, the patent positions of companies like ours are highly uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions for which important legal principles remain unresolved. No consistent policy regarding the breadth of patent claims has emerged to date in the United States and the landscape is expected to become even more uncertain in view of recent rule changes by the United States Patent Office, or USPTO. Additional uncertainty may result from legal decisions by the United States Federal Circuit and Supreme Court as they determine legal issues concerning the scope and construction of patent claims and inconsistent interpretation of patent laws or from legislation enacted by the U.S. Congress. The patent situation outside of the United States is even less predictable. As a result, the validity and enforceability of patents cannot be predicted with certainty. Moreover, we cannot be certain whether:

we (or our licensors) were the first to make the inventions covered by each of our issued patents and pending patent applications;
we (or our licensors) were the first to file patent applications for these inventions;
others will independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies;
any of our or our licensors' patents will be valid or enforceable;
any patents issued to us (or our licensors) will provide us with any competitive advantages, or will be challenged by third parties;

we will be able to identify when others are infringing our (or our licensed) valid patent claims;

we will develop additional proprietary products or technologies that are patentable; or
the patents of others will have an adverse effect on our business.

 

We do not know whether any of our pending patent applications or those pending patent applications that we license will result in the issuance of any patents. Even if patents are issued, they may not be sufficient to protect our technology or product candidates. The patents we own or license and those that may be issued in the future may be challenged, invalidated, rendered unenforceable, or circumvented, and the rights granted under any issued patents may not provide us with proprietary protection or competitive advantages. Moreover, third parties could practice our inventions in territories where we do not have patent protection or in territories where they could obtain a compulsory license to our technology where patented. Such third parties may then try to import products made using our inventions into the United States or other territories. Accordingly, we cannot ensure that any of our pending patent applications will result in issued patents, or even if issued, predict the breadth, validity and enforceability of the claims upheld in our and other companies' patents.

 

Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries do not favor the enforcement of patents or other intellectual property rights, which could hinder us from preventing the infringement of our patents or other intellectual property rights. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in the United States or foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert patent infringement or other claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license from third parties.

 

Moreover, we have granted certain of our lenders liens on substantially all of our assets, including our intellectual property, as collateral. If we default on our payment obligations under these secured loans, such lenders have the right to foreclose upon and control the disposition of our assets, including our intellectual property assets, to satisfy our payment obligations under such instruments. If such default occurs, and our intellectual property assets are sold or licensed, our business could be materially adversely affected.

 

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Unauthorized parties may attempt to copy or otherwise obtain and use our products or technology. Monitoring unauthorized use of our intellectual property is difficult, and we cannot be certain that the steps we have taken will prevent unauthorized use of our technology, particularly in certain foreign countries where the local laws may not protect our proprietary rights as fully as in the United States or may provide, today or in the future, for compulsory licenses. Moreover, in some cases our ability to determine if our intellectual property is being unlawfully used by a competitor may be limited. If competitors are able to use our technology, our ability to compete effectively could be harmed. Moreover, others may independently develop and obtain patents for technologies that are similar to, or superior to, our technologies. If that happens, we may need to license these technologies, and we may not be able to obtain licenses on reasonable terms, if at all, which could cause harm to our business.

 

We rely in part on trade secrets to protect our technology, and our failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position.

 

We rely on trade secrets to protect some of our technology, particularly where we do not believe patent protection is appropriate or obtainable. However, trade secrets are difficult to maintain and protect. Our strategy for contract manufacturing and scale-up of commercial production requires us to share confidential information with our international business partners and other parties. Our product development collaborations with third parties, including with Givaudan, Firmenich, DSM and Yifan, require us to share certain confidential information. While we use reasonable efforts to protect our trade secrets, our or our business partners' employees, consultants, contractors or scientific and other advisors may unintentionally or willfully disclose our proprietary information to competitors. Enforcement of claims that a third party has illegally obtained and is using trade secrets is expensive, time consuming and uncertain. In addition, foreign courts are sometimes less willing than United States courts to protect trade secrets. If our competitors lawfully obtain or independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods and know-how, we would not be able to assert our trade secrets against them.

 

We require new employees and consultants to execute proprietary information and inventions agreements upon the commencement of an employment or consulting arrangement with us. We additionally require contractors, advisors, corporate collaboration partners, outside scientific collaboration partners and other third parties that may receive trade secret information to execute such agreements. These agreements generally require that all confidential information developed by the individual or made known to the individual by us during the course of the individual's relationship with us be kept confidential and not be disclosed to third parties. These agreements also generally provide that inventions conceived by the individual in the course of rendering services to us shall be our exclusive property. Nevertheless, our proprietary information may be disclosed, or these agreements may be unenforceable or difficult to enforce. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent such third party, or those to whom they communicate such technology or information, from using that technology or information to compete with us. Additionally, trade secret law in Brazil differs from that in the United States, which requires us to take a different approach to protecting our trade secrets in Brazil. Some of these approaches to trade secret protection may be novel and untested under Brazilian law and we cannot guarantee that we would prevail if our trade secrets are contested in Brazil. If any of the above risks materializes, our failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position.

 

If we or one of our collaboration partners is sued for infringing intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights of third parties, litigation could be costly and time consuming and could prevent us from developing or commercializing our future products.

 

Our commercial success depends on our and our collaboration partners ability to operate without infringing the patents and proprietary rights of other parties and without breaching any agreements we have entered into with regard to our technologies and product candidates. We cannot determine with certainty whether patents or patent applications of other parties may materially affect our ability to conduct our business. Our industry spans several sectors, including biotechnology, renewable fuels, renewable specialty chemicals and other renewable compounds, and is characterized by the existence of a significant number of patents and disputes regarding patent and other intellectual property rights. Because patent applications remain unpublished and confidential for eighteen months and can take several years to issue, there may currently be pending applications, unknown to us, that may result in issued patents that cover our technologies or product candidates. There may be a significant number of patents and patent applications relating to aspects of our technologies filed by, and issued to, third parties. The existence of third-party patent applications and patents could significantly reduce the coverage of patents owned by or licensed to us and our collaboration partners and limit our ability to obtain meaningful patent protection. If we wish to make, use, sell, offer to sell, or import the technology or compound claimed in issued and unexpired patents owned by others, we may need to obtain a license from the owner, develop or obtain alternative technologies, enter into litigation to challenge the validity of the patents or incur the risk of litigation in the event that the owner asserts that we infringe its patents. If patents containing competitive or conflicting claims are issued to third parties and these claims are ultimately determined to be valid, we and our collaboration partners may be enjoined from pursing research, development, or commercialization of products, or be required to obtain licenses to these patents, or to develop or obtain alternative technologies.

 

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If a third party asserts that we infringe upon its patents or other proprietary rights, we could face a number of issues that could seriously harm our competitive position, including:

infringement and other intellectual property claims, which could be costly and time consuming to litigate, whether or not the claims have merit, and which could prevent or delay getting our products to market and divert management attention from our business;
substantial damages for past infringement, which we may have to pay if a court determines that our product candidates or technologies infringe a third party's patent or other proprietary rights;
a court prohibiting us from selling or licensing our technologies or future products unless the holder licenses the patent or other proprietary rights to us, which it is not required to do;
the International Trade Commission (ITC) prohibiting us from importing our products into the United States; and

if a license is available from a third party, such third party may require us to pay substantial royalties or grant cross licenses to our patents or proprietary rights.

 

The industries in which we operate, and the biotechnology industry in particular, are characterized by frequent and extensive litigation and patent agency procedures regarding patents and other intellectual property rights. Many biotechnology companies have employed intellectual property litigation as a way to gain a competitive advantage. If any of our competitors have filed patent applications or obtained patents that claim inventions also claimed by us, we may have to participate in interference proceedings declared by the relevant patent regulatory agency to determine priority of invention and, thus, the right to the patents for these inventions in the United States. In addition, third parties may be able to challenge the validity of one or more of our patents using available post-grant procedures including oppositions and inter partes reviews (IPR). These proceedings could result in substantial cost to us even if the outcome is favorable. Even if successful, an interference or post-grant proceeding may result in loss of certain claims. Our involvement in litigation, interferences, opposition proceedings or other intellectual property proceedings inside and outside of the United States, to defend our intellectual property rights, or as a result of alleged infringement of the rights of others, may divert management time from focusing on business operations and could cause us to spend significant resources, all of which could harm our business and results of operations.

 

Many of our employees were previously employed at universities, biotechnology, specialty chemical or oil companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. We may be subject to claims that these employees or we have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed trade secrets or other proprietary information of their former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel and be enjoined from certain activities. A loss of key research personnel or their work product could hamper or prevent our ability to commercialize our product candidates, which could severely harm our business. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and demand on management resources.

 

We may need to commence litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, which would divert resources and management's time and attention and the results of which would be uncertain.

 

Enforcement of claims that a third party is using our proprietary rights without permission is expensive, time consuming and uncertain. Significant litigation would result in substantial costs, even if the eventual outcome is favorable to us and would divert management's attention from our business objectives. In addition, an adverse outcome in litigation could result in a substantial loss of our proprietary rights and we may lose our ability to exclude others from practicing our technology or producing our product candidates.

 

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The laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in certain foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biotechnology and/or bioindustrial technologies. This could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or misappropriation of our other intellectual property rights. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business. Moreover, our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights in such countries may be inadequate.

 

We do not have exclusive rights to intellectual property we develop under U.S. federally funded research grants and contracts, including with DARPA and DOE, and we could ultimately share or lose the rights we do have under certain circumstances.

 

Some of our intellectual property rights have been or may be developed in the course of research funded by the U.S. government, including under our agreements with DARPA and DOE. As a result, the U.S. government may have certain rights to intellectual property embodied in our current or future products pursuant to the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980. Government rights in certain inventions developed under a government-funded program include a non-exclusive, non-transferable, irrevocable worldwide license to use inventions for any governmental purpose. In addition, the U.S. government has the right to require us, or an assignee or exclusive licensee to such inventions, to grant licenses to any of these inventions to a third party if they determine that: (i) adequate steps have not been taken to commercialize the invention; (ii) government action is necessary to meet public health or safety needs; (iii) government action is necessary to meet requirements for public use under federal regulations; or (iv) the right to use or sell such inventions is exclusively licensed to an entity within the U.S. and substantially manufactured outside the U.S. without the U.S. government’s prior approval. Additionally, we may be restricted from granting exclusive licenses for the right to use or sell our inventions created pursuant to such agreements unless the licensee agrees to additional restrictions (e.g., manufacturing substantially all of the invention in the U.S.). The U.S. government also has the right to take title to these inventions if we fail to disclose the invention to the government and fail to file an application to register the intellectual property within specified time limits. In addition, the U.S. government may acquire title in any country in which a patent application is not filed within specified time limits. Additionally, certain inventions are subject to transfer restrictions during the term of these agreements and for a period thereafter, including sales of products or components, transfers to foreign subsidiaries for the purpose of the relevant agreements, and transfers to certain foreign third parties. If any of our intellectual property becomes subject to any of the rights or remedies available to the U.S. government or third parties pursuant to the Bayh-Dole Act of 1980, this could impair the value of our intellectual property and could adversely affect our business.

 

Loss of, or inability to secure government contract revenues could impair our business.

 

We have contracts or subcontracts with certain governmental agencies or their contractors, including DARPA. Generally, these agreements, as they may be amended or modified from time to time, have fixed terms and may be terminated, modified or be subject to recovery of payments by the government agency under certain conditions (such as failure to comply with detailed reporting and governance processes or failure to achieve milestones). Under these agreements, we are also subject to audits, which can result in corrective action plans and penalties up to and including termination. If these governmental agencies terminate these agreements with us, it could reduce our revenues which could harm our business. Additionally, we anticipate securing additional government contracts as part of our business plan for 2019 and beyond. If we are unable to secure such government contracts, it could harm our business.

 

Our products subject us to product-safety risks, and we may be sued for product liability.

 

The design, development, production and sale of our products involve an inherent risk of product liability claims and the associated adverse publicity. Our products could be used by a wide variety of consumers with varying levels of sophistication. Although safety is a priority for us, we are not always in control of the final uses and formulations of the products we supply or their use as ingredients. Our products could have detrimental impacts or adverse impacts we cannot anticipate. Despite our efforts, negative publicity about Amyris, including product safety or similar concerns, whether real or perceived, could occur, and our products could face withdrawal, recall or other quality issues. In addition, we may be named directly in product liability suits relating to our products, even for defects resulting from errors of our commercial partners, contract manufacturers, chemical finishers, customers or end users of our products. These claims could be brought by various parties, including customers who are purchasing products directly from us or other users who purchase products from our customers. We could also be named as co-parties in product liability suits that are brought against the contract manufacturers with whom we partner to produce our products. Insurance coverage is expensive, may be difficult to obtain and may not be available in the future on acceptable terms. We cannot be certain that our contract manufacturers or the sugar and ethanol producers who partner with us to produce our products will have adequate insurance coverage to cover against potential claims. Any insurance we do maintain may not provide adequate coverage against potential losses, and if claims or losses exceed our liability insurance coverage, our business would be adversely impacted. In addition, insurance coverage may become more expensive, which would harm our results of operations.

 

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We may become subject to lawsuits or indemnity claims in the ordinary course of business, which could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.

 

From time to time, we may in the ordinary course of business be named as a defendant in lawsuits, indemnity claims and other legal proceedings. These actions may seek, among other things, compensation for alleged personal injury, employment discrimination, breach of contract, property damage and other losses or injunctive or declaratory relief. In the event that such actions, claims or proceedings are ultimately resolved unfavorably to us at amounts exceeding our accrued liability, or at material amounts, the outcome could materially and adversely affect our reputation, business and results of operations. In addition, payments of significant amounts, even if reserved, could adversely affect our liquidity position. For more information regarding our current legal proceedings, please refer to the section entitled “Legal Proceedings” in Part I, Item 3 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

We may not be able to fully enforce covenants not to compete with and not to solicit our employees, and therefore we may be unable to prevent our competitors from benefiting from the expertise of such employees.

 

Our proprietary information and inventions agreements with our employees contain non-compete and non-solicitation provisions. These provisions prohibit our employees from competing directly with our business or proposed business or working for our competitors during their term of employment, and from directly or indirectly soliciting our employees or consultants to leave our company for any purpose. Under applicable U.S. and Brazilian law, we may be unable to enforce these provisions. If we cannot enforce these provisions with our employees, we may be unable to prevent our competitors from benefiting from the expertise of such employees. Even if these provisions are enforceable, they may not adequately protect our interests. The defection of one or more of our employees to a competitor could materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and ability to capitalize on our proprietary information.

 

Loss of key personnel, including key management personnel, and/or failure to attract and retain additional personnel could delay our product development programs and harm our research and development efforts and our ability to meet our business objectives.

 

Our business involves complex, global operations across a variety of markets and requires a management team and employee workforce that is knowledgeable in the many areas in which we operate. As we continue to build our business, we will need to hire and retain qualified research and development, management and other personnel to succeed. The process of hiring, training and successfully integrating qualified personnel into our operations in the United States, Brazil and other countries in which we may seek to operate, can be a lengthy and expensive one. The market for qualified personnel is very competitive because of the limited number of people available who have the necessary technical skills and understanding of our technology and products. Our failure to hire and retain qualified personnel could impair our ability to meet our research and development and business objectives and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

 

The loss of any key member of our management or key technical and operational employees, or the failure to attract or retain such employees, could prevent us from developing and commercializing our products for our target markets and executing our business strategy. In addition, we may not be able to attract or retain qualified employees in the future due to the intense competition for qualified personnel among biotechnology and other technology-based businesses. Furthermore, any reductions to our workforce as part of potential cost-saving measures, such as those discussed above with respect to our 2019 operating plan, may make it more difficult for us to attract and retain key employees. If we do not maintain the necessary personnel to accomplish our business objectives, we may experience staffing constraints that will adversely affect our ability to meet the demands of our collaboration partners and customers in a timely fashion or to support our internal research and development programs and operations. In particular, our product and process development programs depend on our ability to attract and retain highly skilled technical and operational personnel. Competition for such personnel from numerous companies and academic and other research institutions may limit our ability to do so on acceptable terms. All of our U.S. employees are “at-will” employees, which means that either the employee or we may terminate their employment at any time.

 

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Our operations rely on sophisticated information technology and equipment systems, a disruption of which could harm our operations.

 

We rely on various information technology and equipment systems, some of which are dependent on services provided by third parties, to manage our technology platform and operations. These systems provide critical data and services for internal and external users, including research and development activities, procurement and inventory management, transaction processing, financial, commercial and operational data, partner and joint venture activities, human resources management, legal and tax compliance and other processes necessary to operate and manage our business. These systems are complex and are frequently updated as technology improves, and include software and hardware that is licensed, leased or purchased from third parties. If our information technology and equipment systems experience breaches or other failures or disruptions, our systems and the information contained therein could be compromised. While we have implemented security measures and disaster recovery plans designed to mitigate the effects of any failures or disruption of these systems, such measures may not adequately prevent adverse events such as breaches or failures from occurring or mitigate their severity if they do occur. If our information technology or equipment systems are breached, damaged or fail to function properly due to internal errors or defects, implementation or integration issues, catastrophic events or power outages, we may experience a material disruption in our ability to manage our business operations. Failure or disruption of these systems could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.

 

Increased information systems security threats and more sophisticated and targeted computer invasions could pose a risk to our technology platform and operations.

 

Increased information systems security threats, cyber- or phishing-attacks and more sophisticated, targeted computer invasions pose a risk to the security of our systems and networks, and the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of our data, operations, and communications. Cyber-attacks against our technology platform and infrastructure could result in exposure of confidential information, the modification of critical data, and/or the failure of critical operations. Likewise, improper or inadvertent employee behavior, including data privacy breaches by employees and others with permitted access to our systems may pose a risk that sensitive data may be exposed to unauthorized persons or to the public. While we attempt to mitigate these risks by employing a number of measures, including security measures, employee training, incident response procedures, comprehensive monitoring of our networks and systems, and maintenance of backup and protective systems, if these measures prove inadequate, we could be adversely affected by, among other things, loss or damage of intellectual property, proprietary and confidential information, data integrity, and communications or customer data, having our business operations interrupted and increased costs to prevent, respond to, or mitigate these cyber security threats.

 

Growth may place significant demands on our management and our infrastructure.

 

We have experienced, and expect to continue to experience, expansion of our business as we continue to make efforts to develop and bring our products to market. We have grown from 18 employees at the end of 2005 to 503 full-time employees at December 31, 2018. Our growth and diversified operations have placed, and may continue to place, significant demands on our management and our operational and financial infrastructure. In particular, continued growth could strain our ability to:

manage multiple research and development programs;
operate multiple manufacturing facilities around the world;
develop and improve our operational, financial and management controls;
enhance our reporting systems and procedures;
recruit, train and retain highly skilled personnel;
develop and maintain our relationships with existing and potential business partners;
maintain our quality standards; and
maintain customer satisfaction.

 

Managing our growth will require significant expenditures and allocation of valuable management resources. If we fail to achieve the necessary level of efficiency in our organization as it grows, our business, results of operations and financial condition would be adversely impacted.

 

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Our international operations expose us to the risk of fluctuation in currency exchange rates and rates of foreign inflation, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

 

We currently incur significant costs and expenses in Brazilian real and may in the future incur additional expenses in foreign currencies and derive a portion of our revenues in the local currencies of customers throughout the world. As a result, our revenues and results of operations are subject to foreign exchange fluctuations, which we may not be able to manage successfully. During the past few decades, the Brazilian currency in particular has faced frequent and substantial exchange rate fluctuations in relation to foreign currencies mostly because of political and economic conditions. There can be no assurance that the Brazilian real will not significantly appreciate or depreciate against the United States dollar in the future. We also bear the risk that the rate of inflation in the foreign countries where we incur costs and expenses or the decline in value of the United States dollar compared to those foreign currencies will increase our costs as expressed in United States dollars. For example, future measures by the Central Bank of Brazil to control inflation, including interest rate adjustments, intervention in the foreign exchange market and actions to fix the value of the real, may weaken the United States dollar in Brazil. Whether in Brazil or elsewhere, we may not be able to adjust the prices of our products to offset the effects of inflation or foreign currency appreciation on our cost structure, which could increase our costs and reduce our net operating margins. If we do not successfully manage these risks through hedging or other mechanisms, our revenues and results of operations could be adversely affected.

 

Our U.S. GAAP operating results could fluctuate substantially due to the accounting for embedded derivatives in our convertible debt and equity instruments, and debt that we measure at fair value.

 

Features in several of our outstanding convertible debt and equity instruments are accounted for under Accounting Standards Codification 815, Derivatives and Hedging (ASC 815), as embedded derivatives. ASC 815 requires companies to bifurcate conversion options from their host instruments and account for them as free standing derivative financial instruments according to certain criteria. The current fair value of the derivative is remeasured to fair value at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value of the derivative being charged to earnings (loss) in the statement of operations. We have determined that we must bifurcate and account for certain features of our convertible debt and equity instruments as embedded derivatives in accordance with ASC 815. We have recorded these embedded derivative liabilities as non-current liabilities on our consolidated balance sheet with a corresponding discount at the date of issuance that is netted against the principal amount of the applicable instrument. The derivative liabilities are remeasured to fair value at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in the fair value of the derivative liabilities being recorded in other income or expenses. There is no current observable market for this type of derivative and, as such, we determine the fair value of the embedded derivatives using the binomial lattice model. The valuation model uses the stock price, conversion price, maturity date, risk-free interest rate, estimated stock volatility and estimated credit spread. Changes in the inputs for these valuation models may have a significant impact on the estimated fair value of the embedded derivative liabilities. For example, an increase in our stock price would result in an increase in the estimated fair value of the embedded derivative liabilities, if in this example, each of the other elements of the valuation model remained substantially unchanged from the last measurement date. The embedded derivative liabilities may have, on a U.S. GAAP basis, a substantial effect on our balance sheet from quarter to quarter and it is difficult to predict the effect on our future U.S. GAAP financial results, since valuation of these embedded derivative liabilities are based on factors largely outside of our control and may have a negative impact on our statement of operations and balance sheet. The effects of these embedded derivatives may cause our U.S. GAAP operating results to be below expectations, which may cause our stock price to decline. See Note 4, “Fair Value Measurement” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information regarding the valuation of embedded derivatives in certain of our outstanding debt and equity instruments.

 

In addition, we account for one of our outstanding debt instruments at fair value. That instrument is remeasured to fair value at each balance sheet date, with a resulting non-cash gain or loss related to the change in fair value recorded in other income or expense.

 

Our ability to use our net operating loss carryforwards to offset future taxable income may be subject to certain limitations.

 

In general, under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code (the Code), a corporation that undergoes an “ownership change”, as defined in the Code, is subject to limitations on its ability to utilize its pre-ownership change net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs) to offset future taxable income. During the three years ended December 31, 2017, changes in our share ownership resulted in a significant reduction in our NOLs pursuant to Section 382 of the Code. Future changes in our stock ownership, some of which are outside of our control, could result in an ownership change under Section 382 of the Code; if that occurs, our ability to utilize NOLs could be further limited. Furthermore, our ability to utilize NOLs of companies that we may acquire in the future may be subject to limitations under Section 382 of the Code. For these reasons, we may not be able to utilize a material portion of our reported NOLs as of December 31, 2018, even if we attain profitability, which could adversely affect our results of operations.

 

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Our headquarters and other facilities are located in active earthquake and tsunami or in active hurricane zones, and an earthquake, hurricane or other type of natural disaster affecting us or our suppliers could cause resource shortages, disrupt our business and harm our results of operations.

 

We conduct our primary research and development operations in the San Francisco Bay Area in an active earthquake and tsunami zone, and certain of our suppliers conduct their operations in the same region or in other locations that are susceptible to natural disasters. In addition, California and some of the locations where certain of our suppliers are located have experienced shortages of water, electric power and natural gas from time to time. The occurrence of a hurricane or associated flooding in the Wilmington, North Carolina area could cause damage to our facility located in Leland or result in localized extended outages of utilities or transportation systems. The occurrence of a natural disaster, such as an earthquake, hurricane, drought or flood, or localized extended outages of critical utilities or transportation systems, or any critical resource shortages, affecting us or our suppliers could cause a significant interruption in our business, damage or destroy our facilities, production equipment or inventory or those of our suppliers and cause us to incur significant costs or result in limitations on the availability of our raw materials, any of which could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. The insurance we maintain against fires, earthquakes and other natural disasters may not be adequate to cover our losses in any particular case. Our facilities undergo annual loss control audits and both our Emeryville and Leland facilities have emergency actions plans outlining emergency response practices for these and other emergency scenarios. Training on emergency response is provided to all employees at hire and annually thereafter as a refresh.

 

Our stock price may be volatile.

 

The market price of our common stock has been, and we expect it to continue to be, subject to significant volatility, and it has declined significantly from our initial public offering price. As of December 31, 2018, the reported closing price of our common stock on Nasdaq was $3.34 per share. Market prices for securities of early stage companies have historically been particularly volatile. Such fluctuations could be in response to, among other things, the factors described in this “Risk Factors” section, or other factors, some of which are beyond our control, such as:

fluctuations in our financial results or outlook or those of companies perceived to be similar to us;
changes in estimates of our financial results or recommendations by securities analysts;
changes in market valuations of similar companies;
changes in the prices of commodities associated with our business such as sugar and petroleum or changes in the prices of commodities that some of our products may replace, such as oil and other petroleum sourced products;
changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of securities or the incurrence of debt;
announcements by us or our competitors of significant contracts, acquisitions or strategic partnerships;
regulatory developments in the United States, Brazil, and/or other foreign countries;
litigation involving us, our general industry or both;
additions or departures of key personnel;
investors’ general perception of us; and
changes in general economic, industry and market conditions.

 

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Furthermore, stock markets have experienced price and volume fluctuations that have affected, and continue to affect, the market prices of equity securities of many companies. These fluctuations often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. These broad market fluctuations, as well as general economic, political and market conditions, such as recessions, interest rate changes and international currency fluctuations, may negatively affect the market price of our common stock.

 

In the past, many companies that have experienced volatility and sustained declines in the market price of their stock have become subject to securities class action and derivative action litigation. We were involved in two such lawsuits which were dismissed in 2014, were involved in five such lawsuits that were dismissed in September 2017, July 2018 and September 2018, respectively, are currently involved in two such lawsuits, as described in more detail below under “Legal Proceedings,” and we may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.

 

If our common stock is delisted from Nasdaq, our business, financial condition, results of operations and stock price could be adversely affected, and the liquidity of our stock and our ability to obtain financing could be impaired.

 

On April 3, 2019, we received a letter from Nasdaq notifying us that we were not in compliance with the requirement of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) for continued listing on Nasdaq as a result of our failure to timely file this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In accordance with the notice, we were required to submit to Nasdaq a plan to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s requirements for continued listing within 60 calendar days of the date of the notice, or by June 3, 2019. On May 14 and August 16, 2019, we received further letters from Nasdaq notifying us that we were not in compliance with the requirement of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) for continued listing on Nasdaq as a result of our failure to timely file our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2019 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2019, respectively, as well as our continued delinquency in filing this Annual Report on Form 10-K. On June 3, 2019, we submitted to Nasdaq a plan to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s requirements for continued listing. On June 12, 2019, Nasdaq granted us an exception until August 15, 2019 to regain compliance with Nasdaq’s requirements for continued listing and on July 25, 2019, Nasdaq extended the exception to September 30, 2019. There can be no assurance, however, that we will regain compliance with Nasdaq’s rules for continued listing by such deadline, or at all, or that, if we regain compliance, we will maintain compliance with Nasdaq’s rules for continued listing, including the requirements that we timely file our periodic reports with the SEC and maintain a stock price of at least $1.00 per share, or that our common stock will remain listed on Nasdaq.

 

Any delisting of our common stock from Nasdaq could adversely affect our ability to attract new investors, decrease the liquidity of our outstanding shares of common stock, reduce our flexibility to raise additional capital, reduce the price at which our common stock trades, and increase the transaction costs inherent in trading such shares with overall negative effects for our stockholders. In addition, the delisting of our common stock could deter broker-dealers from making a market in or otherwise seeking or generating interest in our common stock, and might deter certain institutions and persons from investing in our securities at all. Furthermore, the delisting of our common stock from Nasdaq would constitute a breach under certain of our financing agreements, including agreements governing our outstanding convertible indebtedness, which could result in an acceleration of such indebtedness. If such indebtedness is accelerated, it would generally also constitute an event of default under our other outstanding indebtedness, permitting acceleration of such other outstanding indebtedness as well. For these reasons and others, the delisting of our common stock from Nasdaq could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

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The concentration of our capital stock ownership with insiders will limit the ability of other stockholders to influence corporate matters and presents risks related to the operations of our significant stockholders.

 

As of August 30, 2019, significant stockholders held an aggregate total of 45.5% of the Company's total common shares outstanding, as follows: Foris Ventures, LLC (Foris) (17.0%), DSM (12.6%), Total (9.6%), and Vivo Capital LLC (Vivo) (6.3%). Furthermore, each of these parties holds convertible preferred stock, convertible promissory notes and/or warrants, pursuant to which they may acquire additional shares of our common stock and thereby increase their ownership interest in our company. Additionally, each of DSM, Total and Vivo have the right to designate one or more directors to serve on our Board of Directors pursuant to agreements between us and such stockholders, and Foris is indirectly owned by John Doerr, one of our current directors. This significant concentration of share ownership may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock because investors often perceive disadvantages in owning stock in companies with stockholders with significant interests. Also, these stockholders, acting together, may be able to control or significantly influence our management and affairs and matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and the approval of significant corporate transactions, such as mergers, consolidations or the sale of all or substantially all of our assets, and may not act in the best interests of our other stockholders. Consequently, this concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control, or a change in our management or Board of Directors, or discouraging a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of our company, even if such actions would benefit our other stockholders.

 

In addition, certain of our significant stockholders are also our commercial partners and have various rights in connection with their security ownership in us. These stockholders may have interests that are different from those of our other stockholders, including with respect to our company’s commercial transactions. While we have a related-party transactions policy that requires certain approvals of any transaction between our company and a significant stockholder or its affiliates, there can be no assurance that our significant stockholders will act in the best interests of our other stockholders, which could harm our results of operations and cause our stock price to decline.

 

The market price of our common stock could be negatively affected by future sales of our common stock.

 

If our existing stockholders, particularly our largest stockholders, our directors, their affiliates, or our executive officers, sell a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, the market price of our common stock could decrease significantly. The perception in the public market that these stockholders might sell our common stock could also depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our future ability to obtain capital, especially through an offering of equity securities.

 

We have in place, or have agreed to file, registration statements for the resale of certain shares of our common stock held by, or issuable to, certain of our largest stockholders. All of our common stock sold pursuant to an offering covered by such registration statements will be freely transferable. In addition, shares of our common stock issued or issuable under our equity incentive plans have been registered on Form S-8 registration statements and may be freely sold in the public market upon issuance, except for shares held by affiliates who have certain restrictions on their ability to sell.

 

If securities or industry analysts do not publish or cease publishing research or reports about us, our business or our market, or if they change their recommendations regarding our stock adversely, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

 

The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts may publish about us, our business, our market or our competitors. If any of the analysts who cover us change their recommendation regarding our stock adversely, or provide more favorable relative recommendations about our competitors, our stock price would likely decline. If any analyst who may cover us were to cease coverage of our company or fail to regularly publish reports on us, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.

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We do not expect to declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.

 

We do not anticipate declaring any cash dividends to holders of our common stock in the foreseeable future. In addition, certain of our equipment leases and credit facilities currently restrict our ability to pay dividends. Consequently, investors may need to rely on sales of their shares of our common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investment. Investors seeking cash dividends should not purchase our common stock.

 

Anti-takeover provisions contained in our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.

 

Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change in control of our company. These provisions could also make it more difficult for stockholders to nominate directors and take other corporate actions. These provisions include:

a staggered Board of Directors;
authorizing the Board of Directors to issue, without stockholder approval, preferred stock with rights senior to those of our common stock;
authorizing the Board of Directors to amend our Bylaws, to increase the number of directors and to fill board vacancies until the end of the term of the applicable class of directors;
prohibiting stockholder action by written consent;
limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, our directors and officers;
eliminating the ability of our stockholders to call special meetings; and
requiring advance notification of stockholder nominations and proposals.

 

Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law prohibits, subject to some exceptions, “business combinations” between a Delaware corporation and an “interested stockholder,” which is generally defined as a stockholder who becomes a beneficial owner of 15% or more of a Delaware corporation’s voting stock, for a three-year period following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder. We have agreed to opt out of Section 203 through our Certificate of Incorporation, but our Certificate of Incorporation contains substantially similar protections to our company and stockholders as those afforded under Section 203, except that we have agreed with Total that it and its affiliates will not be deemed to be “interested stockholders” under such protections.

 

These and other provisions in our Certificate of Incorporation and our Bylaws could discourage potential takeover attempts, reduce the price that investors are willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock and result in the market price of our common stock being lower than it would be without these provisions.

 

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

 

Not applicable.

 

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

 

The following is a summary of our principal facilities as of December 31, 2018. We lease our principal office and research and development facilities located in Emeryville, California. We hold a 50% ownership interest in a manufacturing facility and related land located in Leland, North Carolina and lease a pilot plant and demonstration facility and related office and laboratory space located in Campinas, Brazil. Our lease agreements expire at various dates through the year 2031.

 

Location Approximate
Square Feet
Operations
U.S.    
Emeryville, California 136,000 Executive offices; research and development, administrative and pilot plant
Leland, North Carolina 19,400 Manufacturing (joint venture with Nikko)
BRAZIL    
Campinas, Brazil 44,000 Pilot plant, research and development and administrative

 

We  have a dormant lease of approximately 500,000 square feet of land in Pradópolis, Brazil, on which we previously began construction of a manufacturing facility with our joint venture partner São Martinho, which was approximately 50% complete when we halted construction in 2013. We have no future plans for this site. See Note 3, "Balance Sheet Details" for additional information.

 

We believe that our current facilities are suitable and adequate to meet our needs and that suitable additional space will be available to accommodate the foreseeable expansion of our operations. Based on our anticipated volume requirements for 2019 and beyond, we will likely need to identify and secure access to additional production capacity in 2019 and beyond, which we plan to obtain by constructing new facilities and by increasing our use of contract manufacturers, including our collaboration partner, DSM. We are currently making plans to secure such additional capacity.

 

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

 

On April 3, 2019, a securities class action complaint was filed against Amyris and our CEO, John G. Melo, and former CFO (and current Chief Business Officer), Kathleen Valiasek, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint seeks unspecified damages on behalf of a purported class that would comprise all persons and entities that purchased or otherwise acquired our securities between March 15, 2018 and March 19, 2019. The complaint alleges securities law violations based on statements and omissions made by the Company during such period. Subsequent to the filing of the securities class action complaint described above, on June 21, 2019, a purported shareholder derivative complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (Bonner v. Doerr, et al., Case No. 4:19-cv-03621) based on similar allegations to those made in the securities class action complaint described above. The derivative complaint names Amyris, Inc. as a nominal defendant and names a number of the Company’s current and former officers and directors as additional defendants. The lawsuit seeks to recover, on the Company's behalf, unspecified damages purportedly sustained by the Company in connection with allegedly misleading statements and/or omissions made in connection with the Company’s securities filings. The derivative complaint also seeks a series of changes to the Company’s corporate governance policies, restitution to the Company from the individual defendants, and an award of attorneys’ fees. These cases are in the initial pleadings stage. We believe the complaints lack merit, and intend to defend ourselves vigorously. Given the early stage of these proceedings, it is not yet possible to reliably determine any potential liability that could result from these matters.

 

We may be involved, from time to time, in legal proceedings and claims arising in the ordinary course of our business. Such matters are subject to many uncertainties and there can be no assurance that legal proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business or otherwise will not have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial position or cash flows. For additional information, see "Other Matters" in Note 9, "Commitments and Contingencies" in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

 

Not applicable.

 

 

 

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PART II

 

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

 

Market Information for Common Stock

 

Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol AMRS.

 

At September 26, 2019, there were 70 holders of record (not including beneficial holders of stock held in street names) of our common stock.

 

Dividend Policy

 

We have never declared or paid any cash dividend on our common stock. We intend to retain any future earnings and do not expect to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

 

Recent Sales of Unregistered Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

 

For information regarding unregistered sales of our equity securities for prior periods within the two years ended December 31, 2018, see the financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K previously filed with the SEC.

 

On November 20, 2018, we issued 1,643,991 shares of common stock (the DSM Shares) to DSM pursuant to a securities purchase agreement, dated November 19, 2018, between us and DSM, in consideration of certain agreements of DSM set forth in the Supply Agreement Amendment (see Note 7, “Stockholders’ Deficit” and Note 10, “Revenue Recognition” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information regarding the issuance of the DSM Shares and the Supply Agreement Amendment).

 

On December 10, 2018, we issued $60 million in aggregate principal amount of senior convertible notes (the December 2018 Notes), with an initial conversion price of $6.32 per share, pursuant to a securities purchase agreement, dated December 6, 2018, among us and the investors named therein. See Note 5, “Debt” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information regarding the December 2018 Notes, including the conversion terms thereof.

 

No underwriters or agents were involved in the issuance of the DSM Shares. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acted as placement agent and B. Riley FBR, Inc. acted as our advisor in connection with the issuance of the December 2018 Notes, and we paid an aggregate of $3.8 million in fees to such agent and advisor in connection with the offering and sale of the December 2018 Notes. The DSM Shares and December 2018 Notes were issued in separate private placements pursuant to the exemption from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), and Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act (Regulation D), without general solicitation, made only to and with “accredited investors” as defined in Regulation D. DSM is an existing stockholder and is affiliated with members of our Board of Directors. The holders acquired the DSM Shares and December 2018 Notes for investment purposes only and without intent to resell, were able to fend for themselves in these transactions, and are accredited investors as defined in Rule 501 of Regulation D promulgated under Section 3(b) of the Securities Act, and appropriate restrictions were set forth in the securities purchase agreements and securities relating to the transactions. These holders had adequate access, through their relationships with us, to information about us.

 

See Note 16, “Subsequent Events” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding unregistered sales of our equity securities subsequent to December 31, 2018.

 

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Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans

 

The following table shows certain information concerning our common stock reserved for issuance in connection with our 2005 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan, our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan and our 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, all as of December 31, 2018:

 

Plan category    Number of
securities to be
issued upon
exercise of
outstanding
options, warrants
and rights
  Weighted-average
exercise price of
outstanding
options, warrants
and rights
    Number of
securities to be
issued upon vesting
of outstanding
restricted stock
units
    Number of
securities remaining
available for future
issuance under
equity
compensation
plans(1)(2)
Equity compensation plans approved by security holders   5,390,270  $11.55   5,294,803     2,559,213  
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders               
Total   5,390,270  $11.55   5,294,803     2,559,213  

 

(1)Includes 2,359,750 shares reserved for future issuance under our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan and 382,824 shares reserved for future issuance under our 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan. No shares are reserved for future issuance under our 2005 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan other than shares issuable upon exercise of equity awards outstanding under such plan.

 

(2)Effective January 1, 2019, the number of shares available for future issuance under our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan increased by 3,828,241 shares pursuant to the automatic increase provision contained in the 2010 Equity Incentive Plan and the number of shares available for future issuance under our 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan increased by 382,824 shares, in each case pursuant to automatic increase provisions contained in the respective plans, as discussed in more detail below.

 

Our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan includes all shares of our common stock reserved for issuance under our 2005 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan immediately prior to our initial public offering that were not subject to outstanding grants as of the completion of such offering. In addition, any shares of our common stock (i) issuable upon exercise of stock options granted under our 2005 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan that cease to be subject to such options and (ii) issued under our 2005 Stock Option/Stock Issuance Plan that are forfeited or repurchased by us at the original issue price, will become part of our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan reserve.

 

The number of shares available for grant and issuance under our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan is increased on January 1 of each year during the term of the plan by an amount equal to the lesser of(1) five percent (5%) of our shares outstanding on the immediately preceding December 31 and (2) a number of shares as may be determined by our Board of Directors or the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee in their discretion. In addition, shares will again be available for grant and issuance under our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan that are:

 

subject to issuance upon exercise of an option or stock appreciation right granted under our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan and that cease to be subject to such award for any reason other than the award’s exercise;

 

subject to an award granted under our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan and that are subsequently forfeited or repurchased by us at the original issue price;

 

surrendered pursuant to an exchange program; or

 

subject to an award granted under our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan that otherwise terminates without shares being issued.

 

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The number of shares reserved for issuance under our 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan is increased on January 1 of each year during the term of the plan by an amount equal to the lesser of (1) one percent (1%) of our shares outstanding on the immediately preceding December 31 and (2) a number of shares as may be determined by our Board of Directors or the Leadership Development and Compensation Committee of the Board in their discretion, provided that the aggregate number of shares issued over the term of our 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan shall not exceed 1,666,666 shares.

 

For more information regarding our 2010 Equity Incentive Plan and 2010 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, see Note 12, “Stock-based Compensation” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Stock Performance Graph

 

Not required – Smaller Reporting Company scaled disclosure accommodation.

 

 

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

 

Not required – Smaller Reporting Company scaled disclosure accommodation.

 

 

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Restatement of 2017 Financial Information

 

The accompanying Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations gives effect to the restatement adjustments made to the previously reported Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2017. For additional information and a detailed discussion of the restatement, see the Explanatory Note to this Annual Report on Form 10-K and Note 2, "Restatement of Consolidated Financial Statements" to our consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Overview

 

As a leading industrial biotechnology company, we apply our technology platform to engineer, manufacture and sell high performance, natural, sustainably-sourced products into the Health & Wellness, Clean Beauty, and Flavor & Fragrance markets. Our proven technology platform enables us to rapidly engineer microbes and use them as catalysts to metabolize renewable, plant-sourced sugars into large volume, high-value ingredients. Our biotechnology platform and industrial fermentation process replace existing complex and expensive manufacturing processes. We have successfully used our technology to develop and produce eight distinct molecules at commercial volumes, leading to more than 15 commercial ingredients used by thousands of leading global brands.

 

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We believe that industrial synthetic biology represents a third industrial revolution, bringing together biology and engineering to generate new, more sustainable materials to meet the growing global demand for bio-based replacements for petroleum-based and traditional animal- or plant-derived ingredients. We continue to build demand for our current portfolio of products through an extensive sales network provided by our collaboration partners that represent leading companies for our target market sectors. We also have a small group of direct sales and distributors who support our Clean Beauty market. Via our partnership model, our partners invest in the development of each molecule to bring it from the lab to commercial scale and use their extensive sales force to sell our ingredients and formulations to their customers as part of their core business. We capture long-term revenue both through the production and sale of the molecule to our partners and through royalty revenues from our partners' product sales to their customers.

 

We were founded in 2003 in the San Francisco Bay area by a group of scientists from the University of California, Berkeley. Our first major milestone came in 2005 when, through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we developed technology capable of creating microbial strains that produce artemisinic acid, which is a precursor of artemisinin, an effective anti-malarial drug. In 2008, we granted royalty-free licenses to allow Sanofi-Aventis to produce artemisinic acid using our technology. Building on our success with artemisinic acid, in 2007 we began applying our technology platform to develop, manufacture and sell sustainable alternatives to a broad range of markets.

 

 We focused our initial development efforts primarily on the production of Biofene®, our brand of renewable farnesene, a long-chain, branched hydrocarbon molecule that we manufacture through fermentation using engineered microbes. Our farnesene derivatives are sold in hundreds of products as nutraceuticals, skincare products, fragrances, solvents, polymers, and lubricant ingredients. The commercialization of farnesene pushed us to create a more cost efficient, faster and accurate development process in the lab and drive manufacturing costs down. This investment has enabled our technology platform to rapidly develop microbial strains and commercialize target molecules. In 2014, we began manufacturing additional molecules for the Flavor & Fragrance industry; in 2015 we began investing to expand our capabilities to other small molecule chemical classes beyond terpenes via our collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA); and in 2016 we expanded into proteins.

 

We have invested over $600 million in infrastructure and technology to create microbes that produce molecules from sugar or other feedstocks at commercial scale. This platform has been used to design, build, optimize and upscale strains producing eight distinct molecules at commercial volumes, leading to more than 15 commercial ingredients used by thousands of leading global brands. Our time to market for molecules has decreased from seven years to less than a year for our most recent molecule, mainly due to our ability to leverage the technology platform we have built.

 

Our technology platform has been in active use since 2007 and has been integrated with our commercial production since 2011, creating an organism development process that we believe makes us an industry leader in the successful scale-up and commercialization of biotech-produced ingredients. The key performance characteristics of our platform that we believe differentiate us include our proprietary computational tools, strain construction tools, screening and analytics tools, and advanced lab automation and data integration. Having this fully integrated with our large scale manufacturing process and capability enables us to always engineer with the end specification and requirements guiding our technology. Our state-of-the-art infrastructure includes industry-leading strain engineering and lab automation located in Emeryville, California, pilot scale production facilities in Emeryville, California and Campinas, Brazil, a demonstration-scale facility in Campinas, Brazil and a commercial-scale production facility in Leland, North Carolina, which is owned and operated by our Aprinnova joint venture to convert our Biofene into squalane and other final products.

 

We are able to use a wide variety of feedstocks for production, but have focused on accessing Brazilian sugarcane for our large-scale production because of its renewability, low cost and relative price stability. We have also successfully used other feedstocks such as sugar beets, corn dextrose, sweet sorghum and cellulosic sugars at various manufacturing facilities.

 

Several years ago, we made the strategic decision to transition our business model from collaborating and commercializing molecules in low margin commodity markets to higher margin specialty markets. We began the transition by first commercializing and supplying farnesene-derived squalane as a cosmetic ingredient sold to formulators and distributors. We also entered into collaboration and supply agreements for the development and commercialization of molecules within the Flavor & Fragrance and Clean Beauty markets where we utilize our strain generation technology to develop molecules that meet the customer’s rigorous specifications.

 

During this transition, we solidified the business model of partnering with our customers to create sustainable, high performing, low-cost molecules that replace an ingredient in their supply chain, commercially scale and manufacture those molecules, and share in the profits earned by our customers once our customer sells its product into these specialty markets. These three steps constitute our collaboration revenues, renewable product revenues, and royalty revenues.

 

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During 2017, we completed several development agreements with DSM and others for new products such as Vitamin A, a human nutrition molecule and others, and in late 2018 we began commercial production and shipment of a new sweetener product developed from the Reb M molecule, which is a superior sweetener and sugar replacement. Our goal is to bring two to three new molecules per year to commercial production in the future.

 

In 2017, we decided to monetize the use of one of our lower margin molecules, farnesene, in the Vitamin E and Lubricants specialty markets while retaining any associated royalties, and licensed farnesene to Koninklijke DSM N.V. (DSM) for use in these fields. Also in 2017, we sold to DSM our subsidiary Amyris Brasil Ltda. (Amyris Brasil), which operated our purpose-built, large-scale manufacturing facility located in Brotas, Brazil.

 

The Brotas facility was built to batch manufacture one commodity product at a time (originally for high-volume production of biofuels, a business Amyris has exited), which is an inefficient manufacturing process that is not suited for the high margin specialty markets in which we operate today. We currently manufacture nine specialty products and expect to increase the number of specialty products we manufacture by two to three products a year. The inefficiencies we experienced included having to idle the facility for two weeks at a time to prepare for the next product batch manufacture. These inefficiencies caused our cost of goods sold to be significantly higher. We are building a new purpose-built, large-scale specialty ingredients plant in Brazil, which we anticipate will allow for the manufacture of five products concurrently and over 10 different products annually. As part of the December 2017 sale of Brotas, we contracted with DSM for the use of Brotas to manufacture products for us to fulfill our product supply commitments to our customers until our new production facility becomes operational, which we expect to occur in 2021. We have expanded the new facility's design to produce both our specialty ingredients portfolio and our new sweetener product.

 

As discussed above, on December 28, 2017, we completed the sale of Amyris Brasil, which operated our Brotas production facility, to DSM and concurrently entered into a series of commercial agreements and a credit agreement with DSM. At closing, we received $33.0 million in contractual cash consideration for the capital stock of Amyris Brasil, which was subject to certain post-closing working capital adjustments and reimbursements from DSM contingent on DSM’s utilization of certain Brazilian tax benefits it acquired with its purchase of Amyris Brasil. We used $12.6 million of the cash proceeds received to repay certain indebtedness of Amyris Brasil. The total fair value of the contractual consideration received in connection with the sales agreement for Amyris Brasil was $56.9 million and resulted in a pretax gain of $5.7 million from continuing operations, which was revised downward by $1.8 million in 2018 as a result of finalizing the working capital adjustment, and as a result, we recognized a $1.8 million loss as an adjustment to previously recorded 2017 pretax gain.

 

Concurrent with the sale of Amyris Brasil, we entered into a series of commercial agreements with DSM including (i) a license agreement to DSM of our farnesene product for DSM to use in the Vitamin E and lubricant specialty markets; (ii) a royalty agreement, pursuant to which DSM agreed to pay us specified royalties representing a portion of the profit on the sale of Vitamin E produced from farnesene sold under the supply agreement with Nenter & Co., Inc. (“Nenter”) assigned to DSM; (iii) a performance agreement to perform research and development to optimize farnesene for production and sale of farnesene products; and (iv) a transition services agreement where we provide finance, legal, logistics, and human resource services to support the Brotas facility under DSM ownership for a six-month period with a DSM option to extend for six additional months. At closing, DSM paid to us a nonrefundable license fee of $27.5 million and a nonrefundable minimum royalty revenue payment of $15.0 million. In June 2018, DSM paid us a nonrefundable minimum royalty revenue payment of $9.3 million and will also pay us a nonrefundable minimum royalty amount in 2019. The future nonrefundable minimum annual royalty payments were determined to be fixed and determinable at December 31, 2017 with a fair value of $17.8 million and were included as part of the total arrangement consideration subject to allocation of this overall multiple-element divestiture transaction. In November 2018 and April 2019, we amended the supply agreement with DSM to secure capacity at the Brotas facility for Reb M production through 2022. Under the amended supply agreement, we paid DSM $1.7 million in cash and $7.3 million in common stock as of December 31, 2018 and will pay an additional $21.0 million in cash installments over the next 12 months for a total of $30.0 million to secure the manufacturing capacity. We also entered into other agreements with DSM in November 2018 that resulted in our (i) evaluating the series of fourth quarter transactions including the amended supply agreement and other transactions with DSM in 2018 as a combined arrangement, and then (ii) determining and allocating the fair value to each element transferred. See Note 10, “Revenue Recognition”, Note 11, "Related Party Transactions" and Note 16, “Subsequent Events” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for information regarding the accounting treatment of this combined arrangement and for a full listing of our agreements with DSM.

 

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Sales and Revenue

 

We recognize revenue from product sales, license fees and royalties, and grants and collaborations.

 

We have research and development collaboration arrangements for which we receive payments from our collaboration partners, which include DARPA, DSM, Firmenich SA (Firmenich), Givaudan International SA (Givaudan), and others. Some of our collaboration arrangements provide for advance payments to us in consideration for grants of exclusivity or research efforts that we will perform. In 2017 we signed collaboration agreements for an infant nutrition ingredient, and in 2018 we signed a collaboration agreement for two vitamins that we expect will contribute to our collaboration revenue and ultimately product sales. Our collaboration agreements, which may require us to achieve milestones prior to receiving payments, are expected to contribute revenues from product sales and royalties if and when they are commercialized. See Note 10, “Revenue Recognition” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

 

All of our non-government partnerships include commercial terms for the supply of molecules we successfully upscale and produce at commercial volumes. The first molecule to generate revenue for us outside of farnesene was a fragrance molecule launched in 2015. Since the launch, the product has continued to grow in sales year over year. In 2016, we launched our second fragrance molecule and in 2017, we launched our third fragrance molecule as well as our first cosmetic active ingredient. Our partners for these molecules are indicating continued strong growth due to their cost advantaged position, high purity and sustainable production method. We are continuing to identify new opportunities to apply our technology and deliver sustainable access to key molecules. As a result, we have a pipeline that we believe can deliver two to three new molecules each year over the coming years with a flavor ingredient, a cosmetic active ingredient and a fragrance molecule. In 2019, we are commercially producing and shipping our Reb M product that is a sweetener and sugar replacement for food and beverages.

 

As part of the DSM acquisition in 2017 of our farnesene for Vitamin E business, we would receive a royalty payment on certain sales by Nenter & Co., Inc. of Vitamin E utilizing farnesene produced and sold by DSM from our technology. In addition, DSM would be obligated to pay us minimum royalties totaling $18.1 million for 2019 and 2020, of which we received $9.3 million as a discounted accelerated payment (from an original payment amount of $10.0 million) during 2018. In April 2019, we assigned the right to receive such royalty payments to DSM; see Note 16, “Subsequent Events” in Part II, Item 8 of this 2018 Form 10-K for additional information.

 

We have several other collaboration molecules in our development pipeline with partners including DSM, Givaudan and Firmenich that we expect will contribute revenues from product sales and royalties if and when they are commercialized.

 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

Management's discussion and analysis of results of operations and financial condition are based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. (U.S. GAAP). We believe that the critical accounting policies described in this section are those that significantly impact our financial condition and results of operations and require the most difficult, subjective or complex judgements, often as a result of the need to make estimates about the effects of matters that are inherently uncertain. Because of this uncertainty, actual results may vary from these estimates.

 

Our most critical accounting estimates include:

Recognition of revenue including arrangements with multiple performance obligations;
Valuation and allocation of fair value to various elements of complex related party transactions;
The valuation of freestanding and embedded derivatives, which impacts gains or losses on such derivatives, the carrying value of debt, preferred stock, interest expense and deemed dividends; and
The valuation of debt for which we have elected fair value accounting.

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For a more detailed discussion of our critical accounting estimates and policies, see Note 1, "Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies" in Part II, Item 8 of this 2018 Form 10-K.

 

Results of Operations

 

Revenue

 

Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands)
    2018      2017      2018 vs 2017
% Change
 
         (As Restated)      
Revenue:               
Renewable products  $33,598   $42,370    (21)%
Licenses and royalties   7,658    48,703    (84)%
Grants and collaborations   22,348    36,598    (39)%
Total revenue  $63,604   $127,671    (50)%

  

2018 Compared to 2017: Total revenue decreased by 50% to $63.6 million in 2018. Renewable products revenue decreased by 21% to $33.6 million in 2018, primarily due to (i) no product revenue from Nenter in 2018 as compared to $12.1 million in 2017, as the result of our late-2017 assignment of a farnesene supply agreement to DSM, and (ii) a $5.9 million decrease in product revenue from Firmenich, partly offset by increases of $5.1 million and $5.0 million in Clean Beauty and Health & Wellness products, respectively. Licenses and royalties revenue decreased by 84% to $7.7 million in 2018, primarily due to $58.0 million of one-time license revenue in 2017 upon the license of farnesene for use in certain fields to DSM that did not recur in 2018, and a $13.1 million revenue offset in 2017 in connection with a Ginkgo partnership agreement, partly offset by an additional $7.4 million of new Vitamin E-related royalty revenue in 2018 from DSM. Grants and collaborations revenue decreased by 39% to $22.3 million in 2018, primarily due to no collaboration revenue from Manufacture Francaise de Pnematiques Michelin (Michelin) and Braskem S.A. (Braskem) in 2018 as compared to $6.2 million in 2017, and a $3.9 million decrease in collaboration revenue from DARPA as the project approaches completion. Our revenues are dependent on the timing and nature of arrangements entered into with our customers, which may include multiple performance obligations for which revenue accounting requires significant judgement and estimates. Based on the nature of our customer arrangements, our revenues may vary significantly from one period to the next.

 

 49 

 

 

Cost and Operating Expenses

 

Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands)
  2018  2017    2018 vs 2017
% Change
 
      (As Restated)   
Cost of products sold  $36,698   $62,307    (41)%
Research and development   68,722    57,562    19%
Sales, general and administrative   90,902    63,853    42%
Impairment of other assets   3,865        nm 
Total cost and operating expenses  $200,187   $183,722    9%

______________

nm = not meaningful

 

Cost of Products Sold

 

Cost of products sold includes the costs of raw materials, labor and overhead, amounts paid to contract manufacturers, inventory write-downs resulting from applying lower of cost or net realizable value inventory adjustments, and costs related to production scale-up. Because of our product mix, our cost of products sold does not change proportionately with changes in renewable product revenue.

 

2018 Compared to 2017: Cost of products sold decreased by 41% to $36.7 million in 2018, primarily due to a 21% proportional decrease in renewable products revenue and the late-2017 sale of our production facility in Brotas, Brazil to DSM, which improved our manufacturing cost efficiency.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

2018 Compared to 2017: Research and development expenses increased by 19% to $68.7 million in 2018, primarily due to an 18% headcount increase in research and development to accelerate development of new products, and a $3.8 million increase in spending on laboratory equipment rentals to automate testing and expand laboratory capacity.

 

Sales, General and Administrative Expenses

 

2018 Compared to 2017: Sales, general and administrative expenses increased by 42% to $90.9 million in 2018, primarily due to increases in outside services, wages and benefits and non-cash stock-based compensation. The increase in outside services was due to audit fees, costs to implement new accounting standards and related internal controls, and sales and marketing expenses to support Biossance growth. The increase in wages and benefits was due to headcount growth, primarily in Biossance. The $2.9 million increase in stock-based compensation was due to new grants to existing employees and a 28% headcount increase.

 

 50 

 

 

Impairment of Other Assets

 

2018 Compared to 2017: In 2018, we impaired $3.9 million of contingent consideration that had been recorded in 2017 in connection with the December 2017 sale of Amyris Brasil. In 2017, there were no impairments.

 

Other Income (Expense), Net

 

Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands)
  2018  2017  2018 vs 2017
% Change
      (As Restated)   
(Loss) gain on divestiture  $(1,778)  $5,732    (131)%
Interest expense   (42,703)   (37,081)   15%
Loss from change in fair value of derivative instruments   (30,880)   (48,852)   (37)%
Gain from change in fair value of debt   2,082        nm 
Loss upon extinguishment of debt   (17,424)   (11,897)   

46

%
Other income (expense), net   (2,949)   (956)   208%
Total other expense, net  $(93,652)  $(93,054)   

1

%

______________

nm = not meaningful

 

2018 Compared to 2017: Total other expense, net was $93.7 million in 2018, compared to $93.1 million in 2017. The $0.6 million increase was primarily comprised of a $5.5 million increase in loss upon extinguishment of debt, an $18.0 million decrease in loss from change in fair value of derivative instruments, a $5.6 million increase in interest expense, and a $1.8 million loss in 2018 related to working capital sales price adjustments in connection with the 2017 divestiture of our Brotas, Brazil manufacturing facility, as compared to a $5.7 million gain in 2017. See Note 13, "Divestiture" in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information. Also, see Note 1, “Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies–Fair Value Measures” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion regarding how our closing stock price at the end of the period or immediately prior to the extinguishment of an embedded derivative or debt or warrant instrument can impact the gain/loss measurement or change in fair value of our derivative liabilities in any given period.

 

Income Taxes

 

For 2018, we recorded $0 income tax expense as a result of recording a full valuation allowance against our net deferred tax assets due to our history of losses and the unlikelihood of timely recovery of these tax assets. For 2017, we recorded $6.9 million of income tax expense primarily related to an unrecognized tax benefit. In addition, there were some current foreign taxes. However, a full valuation allowance has been recorded against all other net deferred tax assets.

 

See Note 14, "Income Taxes" in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

 

 51 

 

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands)
  2018  2017
      (As Restated)
Net cash (used in) provided by:      
Operating activities  $(109,366)  $(101,179)
Investing activities  $(12,472)  $51,708 
Financing activities  $107,957   $77,864 

  

Liquidity. We have incurred significant operating losses since our inception, and we expect to continue to incur losses and negative cash flows from operations through at least the next 12 months following the issuance of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. As of December 31, 2018, we had negative working capital of $119.5 million, an accumulated deficit of $1.5 billion, and cash and cash equivalents of $45.4 million.

 

As of December 31, 2018, our debt (including amounts owed to related parties), net of $17.1 million of discount and a fair value adjustment of $2.1 million, totaled $209.7 million, of which $147.7 million is classified as current. Our debt agreements contain various covenants, including certain restrictions on our business that could cause us to be at risk of defaults, such as restrictions on additional indebtedness, material adverse effect and cross default clauses. A failure to comply with the covenants and other provisions of our debt instruments, including any failure to make a payment when required, would generally result in events of default under such instruments, which could permit acceleration of a substantial portion of such indebtedness. If such indebtedness is accelerated, it would generally also constitute an event of default under our other outstanding indebtedness, which could permit acceleration of a substantial portion of such other outstanding indebtedness. At December 31, 2018, we failed to meet certain covenants in connection with the GACP Term Loan Facility (see Note 5, “Debt” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K), including those associated with minimum revenue and minimum liquidity requirements. In April 2019, (i) GACP provided a waiver to us for breaches of all covenant violations under the GACP loan and security agreement (LSA) occurring prior to, as of and after December 31, 2018 through April 8, 2019, and (ii) GACP sold and assigned the loans under the LSA and all documents and assets related thereto to Foris Ventures, LLC (Foris). Subsequently, Foris provided a waiver to us for breaches of certain covenants under the LSA through June 30, 2020 and amended the financial covenants to provide more favorable compliance terms and conditions.

 

See Note 5, "Debt" and Note 16, "Subsequent Events" in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for additional information.

 

During the year ended December 31, 2018, we executed the following transactions in order to improve our liquidity:

In April 2018, warrant holders exercised warrants to purchase an aggregate of 3.6 million shares of common stock at an exercise price of $4.40 per share, resulting in net proceeds of $14.4 million;
In June and July 2018, we issued new debt for net proceeds of $34.4 million, and repaid $31.0 million of debt that was coming due;
In August 2018, warrant-holders exercised warrants to purchase an aggregate of 12.6 million shares of common stock at an exercise price of $4.40 per share, resulting in net proceeds of $43.0 million; and
In December 2018, we issued new debt for net proceeds of $56.2 million.

 

 52 

 

 

See Note 5, “Debt” and Note 7, “Stockholders’ Deficit” in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for more information regarding these transactions.

 

On September 16, 2019, the Company failed to pay an aggregate of $63.6 million of outstanding principal and accrued interest on the Second Exchange Note when due. The failure resulted in an event of default under the Second Exchange Note and also triggered cross-defaults under other debt instruments of the Company which permitted the holders of such indebtedness to accelerate the amounts owing under such instruments. The Company subsequently received waivers from substantially all holders of such other debt instruments to waive the right to accelerate. As a result, the indebtedness with respect to which the Company has obtained such waivers continues to be classified as long-term on the Company’s balance sheet.  The indebtedness reflected by the Second Exchange Note continues to be classified as a current liability on the Company’s balance sheet. In addition, as a result of the payment default, the conversion price of the Second Exchange Note is subject to adjustment in accordance with the terms of the Second Exchange Note.

 

The Company does not currently have sufficient funds to repay the amounts outstanding under the Second Exchange Note. To date, negotiations with the holder of the Second Exchange Note have not been successful, and there can be no assurance that a favorable outcome for the Company will be reached. The Company has executed a term sheet with an existing investor for a term loan, the proceeds of which would be used to repay a portion of the Second Exchange Note. However, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to obtain such financing on its expected timeline, or on acceptable terms, if at all. Even if the Company does obtain such financing, it will not have sufficient funds to repay the Second Exchange Note in full without obtaining additional financing, which the Company is attempting to source. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

Our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2018 have been prepared on the basis that we will continue as a going concern, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. Due to the factors described above, there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are issued. Our ability to continue as a going concern will depend, in large part, on our ability to achieve positive cash flows from operations during the 12 months from the date of this filing, and refinance or extend other existing debt maturities occurring later in 2019, which is uncertain. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. In addition, if we are unable to continue as a going concern, we may be unable to meet our obligations under our existing debt facilities, which could result in an acceleration of our obligation to repay all amounts outstanding under those facilities, and we may be forced to liquidate our assets. In such a scenario, the values we receive for our assets in liquidation or dissolution could be significantly lower than the values reflected in our financial statements.

 

Our operating plan for 2019 contemplates a significant reduction in our net cash outflows, resulting from (i) revenue growth from sales of existing and new products with positive gross margins, (ii) reduced production costs as a result of manufacturing and technical developments, and (iii) cash inflows from collaborations and grants. These factors are expected to improve our liquidity.

 

If we are unable to generate sufficient cash contributions from product sales, payments from existing and new collaboration partners, and draw sufficient funds from certain financing commitments due to contractual restrictions and covenants, we will need to obtain additional funding from equity or other debt financings, which may not occur timely or on reasonable terms, if at all, and agree to burdensome covenants, grant further security interests in our assets, enter into collaboration and licensing arrangements that require us to relinquish commercial rights, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable.

 

If we do not achieve our planned operating results, our ability to continue as a going concern would be jeopardized and we may need to take the following actions to support our liquidity needs in 2019:

Shift focus to existing products and customers with significantly reduced investment in new product and commercial development efforts;
Reduce expenditures for third party contractors, including consultants, professional advisors and other vendors;
Reduce or delay uncommitted capital expenditures, including expenditures related the construction and commissioning of the new production facility in Brazil, nonessential facilities and lab equipment, and information technology projects; and
Closely monitor our working capital position with customers and suppliers, as well as suspend operations at pilot plants and demonstration facilities.

 

Implementing this plan could have a negative impact on our ability to continue our business as currently contemplated, including, without limitation, delays or failures in our ability to:

Achieve planned production levels;
Develop and commercialize products within planned timelines or at planned scales; and
Continue other core activities.

 

We expect to fund operations for the foreseeable future with cash currently on hand, cash inflows from collaborations, grants, product sales, licenses and royalties and equity and debt financings, to the extent necessary. Some of our research and development collaborations are subject to risk that we may not meet milestones. Future equity and debt financings, if needed, are subject to the risk that we may not be able to secure financing in a timely manner or on reasonable terms, if at all. Our planned working capital and capital expenditure needs for 2019 are dependent on significant inflows of cash from renewable product sales, new collaborations, and licenses and royalties from existing collaboration partners.

 

 53 

 

 

For details, see the following Notes in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K:

Note 5, "Debt"
Note 6, "Mezzanine Equity"
Note 7, "Stockholders' Deficit"

 

Cash Flows during the Years Ended December 31, 2018 and 2017

 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

 

Our primary uses of cash from operating activities are for personnel costs and costs related to the production and sales of our products, offset by cash received from sales to customers.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2018, net cash used in operating activities was $109.4 million, which was primarily comprised of our $230.2 million net loss, partly offset by $96.3 million of non-cash charges and a $24.6 million decrease in working capital. Non-cash charges consisted primarily of a $30.9 million loss from change in fair value of derivative liabilities, $16.6 million of debt discount amortization, a $17.4 million loss upon extinguishment of debt, and $9.2 million of stock-based compensation. The decrease in working capital was primarily comprised of a $20.1 million increase in accounts payable and other accrued liabilities, partly offset by a $6.4 million increase in prepaid expenses and other assets and a $4.4 million increase in inventories.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2017, net cash used in operating activities was $101.2 million, which was comprised of our $156.0 million net loss and a $24.1 million increase in working capital, partly offset by $72.6 million of non-cash charges. Non-cash charges consisted primarily of a $48.9 million loss from change in fair value of derivative liabilities, $15.2 million of debt discount amortization, $11.4 million of depreciation and amortization and $6.3 million of stock-based compensation, partly offset by $8.0 million of noncash consideration received in connection with license revenue, and a $5.7 million gain in connection with our divestiture of Amyris Brasil. The decrease in working capital was primarily comprised of a $19.6 million increase in accounts receivable, a $18.7 million increase in prepaid expenses and other assets, a $7.9 million increase in contract assets and a $7.2 million decrease in contract liabilities, partly offset by a $19.3 million increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities.

 

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

 

For the year ended December 31, 2018, net cash used in investing activities was $12.5 million and was comprised of property, plant and equipment purchases.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2017, net cash provided by investing activities was $51.7 million, primarily due to $54.8 million of net proceeds from the sale of Amyris Brasil to DSM and other elements of the December 2017 transactions with DSM that were accounting for as a combined arrangement, partly offset by $4.4 million of property, plant and equipment purchases.

 

 54 

 

 

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

 

For the year ended December 31, 2018, net cash provided by financing activities was $108.0 million, primarily comprised of $94.4 million of net proceeds from debt issued and $60.0 million from the exercises of warrants and sales of common stock, partly offset by $41.7 million of debt principal payments.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2017, net cash provided by financing activities was $77.9 million, primarily comprised of $98.2 million of proceeds from the sales of preferred stock and $18.9 million from debt issued, partly offset by $37.5 million of debt principal payments.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

None.

 

Contractual Obligations

 

The following is a summary of our contractual obligations as of December 31, 2018:

 

Payable by Year Ended December 31,

(In thousands)

  Total  2019  2020  2021  2022  2023  Thereafter
Principal payments on debt  $229,615   $ 155,534   $3,828   $55,839   $12,252   $265   $1,897 
Interest payments on debt (1)   33,706    17,061    8,653    6,422    1,165    102    303 
Operating leases   36,007    10,416    7,932    7,226    7,399    3,034     
Manufacturing capacity reservation fee   21,036    21,036                     
Partnership payment obligation   12,700    3,969    3,175    3,175    2,381         
Other   5,297    3,258    2,038    1             
Total  $338,361   $211,274   $25,626   $72,663   $23,197   $3,401   $2,200 

 

____________________

(1)Does not include any obligations related to make-whole interest or down-round provisions. Fixed and variable interest rates are described in Note 5, "Debt" in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Future interest payments shown above for variable-rate debt instruments are measured on the basis of interest rates for such instruments as of December 31, 2018.

 

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

 

Not required – Smaller Reporting Company scaled disclosure accommodation.

 

 55 

 

 

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

 

AMYRIS, INC.

 

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

 

  Page
Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms 57
Consolidated Balance Sheets 59
Consolidated Statements of Operations 60
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss 61
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Deficit and Mezzanine Equity 62
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 63
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 65

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 56 

 

 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

 

 

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Amyris, Inc.

 

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Amyris, Inc. and subsidiaries (the Company) as of December 31, 2018, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, stockholders’ deficit and mezzanine equity, and cash flows for the year then ended, and the related notes (collectively, the consolidated financial statements). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2018, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for the year then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

 

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2018, based on criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”) and our report dated September 30, 2019 expressed an adverse opinion thereon.

 

Going Concern

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has suffered recurring losses from operations and has current debt service requirements that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

Changes in Accounting Principles

As discussed in Notes 1 and 10 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has changed its accounting method for recognizing revenue from contracts with customers in fiscal year 2018 due to the adoption of Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, and all related amendments.

 

Basis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

 

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.

 

Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

/s/ Macias Gini & O'Connell LLP

 

We have served as the Company's auditor since 2019.

 

San Francisco, California

October 1, 2019

 

 57 

 

  

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

 

 

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders

Amyris, Inc.

Emeryville, CA

 

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

 

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Amyris, Inc. as of December 31, 2017, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, stockholders’ deficit and mezzanine equity, and cash flows for the year then ended and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2017 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2017, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

 

Restatement to Correct 2017 Misstatements

 

As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the 2017 financial statements have been restated to correct several misstatements.

 

Going Concern Uncertainty

 

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has suffered recurring losses from operations and has a net capital deficiency and these factors, among others, raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 1. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

Basis for Opinion

 

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

 

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.

 

Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

/s/ BDO USA, LLP

We have served as the Company's auditor since 2019.

 

San Jose, California

September 30, 2019

 

 58 

 

 

AMYRIS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

December 31,
(In thousands, except shares and per share amounts)
  2018  2017
      (As Restated, Note 2)
Assets          
Current assets:          
Cash and cash equivalents  $45,353   $57,059 
Restricted cash   741    2,994 
Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $642 and $619, respectively   16,003    18,953 
Accounts receivable - related party, net of allowance of $0 and $23, respectively   1,349    4,767  
Contract assetsAccounts receivable, unbilled - related party   8,021    9,901 
Inventories   9,693    5,408 
Deferred cost of products sold, current - related party   489     
Prepaid expenses and other current assets   10,566    4,919 
Total current assets   92,215    104,001 
Property, plant and equipment, net   19,756    13,892 
Accounts receivable, unbilled, noncurrent - related party   1,203    

7,940

 
Deferred cost of products sold, noncurrent - related party   2,828     
Restricted cash, noncurrent   960    959 
Recoverable taxes from Brazilian government entities   3,005    1,445 
Other assets   7,958    12,559 
Total assets  $127,925   $140,796 
Liabilities, Mezzanine Equity and Stockholders' Deficit          
Current liabilities:          
Accounts payable  $26,844   $15,515 
Accrued and other current liabilities   28,979    29,202 
Contract liabilities(1)   8,236    4,308 
Debt, current portion (includes instrument measured at fair value of $57,918 and $0, respectively)   124,010    36,924 
Related party debt, current portion   23,667    20,019 
Total current liabilities   211,736    105,968 
Long-term debt, net of current portion   43,331    60,220 
Related party debt, net of current portion   18,689    46,541 
Derivative liabilities   42,796    116,497 
Other noncurrent liabilities   23,192    23,658 
Total liabilities   339,744    352,884 
Commitments and contingencies (Note 9)          
Mezzanine equity:          
Contingently redeemable common stock (Note 6)   5,000    5,000 
Stockholders’ deficit:          
Preferred stock - $0.0001 par value, 5,000,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, and 14,656 and 22,171 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively        
Common stock - $0.0001 par value, 250,000,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively; 76,564,829 and 45,637,433 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively   8    5 
Additional paid-in capital   1,346,996    1,114,546 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (43,343)   (42,156)
Accumulated deficit   (1,521,417)   (1,290,420)
Total Amyris, Inc. stockholders’ deficit   (217,756)   (218,025)
Noncontrolling interest   937    937 
Total stockholders' deficit   (216,819)   (217,088)
Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and stockholders' deficit  $127,925   $140,796 

 

______________

(1)The balance in contract liabilities at December 31, 2017 represents deferred revenue, current prior to the Company's adoption of ASC 606, "Revenue".

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

 59 

 

 

AMYRIS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands, except shares and per share amounts)
  2018  2017
      (As Restated,
Note 2)
Revenue          
Renewable products (includes related party revenue of $360 and $1,291, respectively)  $33,598   $42,370 
Licenses and royalties, net (includes related party revenue of $5,958 and $57,972, respectively)   7,658    48,703 
Grants and collaborations (includes related party revenue of $4,735 and $1,679, respectively)   22,348    36,598 
Total revenue (includes related party revenue of $11,053 and $60,942, respectively)   63,604    127,671 
Cost and operating expenses          
Cost of products sold   36,698    62,307 
Research and development   68,722    57,562 
Sales, general and administrative   90,902    63,853 
Impairment of other assets   3,865     
Total cost and operating expenses   200,187    183,722 
Loss from operations   (136,583)   (56,051)
Other income (expense)          
(Loss) gain on divestiture   (1,778)   5,732 
Interest expense   (42,703)   (37,081)
Loss from change in fair value of derivative instruments   (30,880)   (48,852)
Gain from change in fair value of debt   2,082     
Loss upon extinguishment of debt   (17,424)   (11,897)
Other income (expense), net   (2,949)   (956)
Total other expense, net   (93,652)   (93,054)
Loss before income taxes   (230,235)   (149,105)
Provision for income taxes       (6,877)
Net loss attributable to Amyris, Inc.   (230,235)   (155,982)
Less deemed dividend related to beneficial conversion feature on Series A preferred stock       (562)
Less deemed dividend related to beneficial conversion feature on Series B preferred stock       (634)
Less deemed dividend related to beneficial conversion feature on Series D preferred stock       (5,757)
Less deemed dividend upon settlement of make-whole provision on Series A preferred stock       (10,505)
Less deemed dividend upon settlement of make-whole provision on Series B preferred stock       (22,632)
Less deemed dividend related to the recognition of discounts on Series A preferred       (21,578)
Less deemed dividend related to the recognition of discounts on Series B preferred       (24,366)
Less deemed dividend related to proceeds discount upon conversion of Series D preferred stock   (6,852)    
Add: losses allocated to participating securities   13,991    

40,159

 
Net loss attributable to Amyris, Inc. common stockholders, basic  $(223,096)  $(201,857)
           
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding used in computing net loss per share of common stock, basic   60,405,910    32,253,570 
Basic and diluted loss per share  $(3.69)  $

(6.26

)

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

 60 

 

 

AMYRIS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS

 

 

Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands)
  2018  2017
      (As Restated,
Note 2)
Comprehensive loss:          
Net loss  $(230,235)  $(155,982)
Foreign currency translation adjustment   (1,187)   (1,252)
Comprehensive loss attributable to Amyris, Inc.  $(231,422)  $(157,234)

 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

 

 61 

 

 

AMYRIS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT AND MEZZANINE EQUITY

 

   Preferred Stock  Common Stock                  
(In thousands, except number of shares)  Shares  Amount  Shares  Amount  Additional Paid-in Capital  Accumulated Other Comprehensive Loss  Accumulated Deficit  Noncontrolling Interest  Total Stockholders' Deficit  Mezzanine Equity - Common Stock
December 31, 2016           18,273,921   $2   $990,895   $(40,904)  $(1,134,438)  $937   $(183,508)  $5,000 
Issuance of Series A preferred stock for cash   22,140                562                562     
Issuance of Series B preferred stock upon conversion of debt, net of issuance costs of $0   40,204                11,530                11,530     
Issuance of Series B preferred stock for cash, net of issuance costs of $860   55,700                16,675                16,675     
Issuance of Series D preferred stock for cash, net of issuance costs of $176   12,958                6,197                6,197     
Issuance of common stock due to rounding from reverse stock split           6,473                             
Issuance of common stock for cash           2,826,711        5,527                5,527     
Issuance of common stock upon conversion of preferred stock   (108,831)       17,274,017    3                    3     
Issuance of common stock upon conversion of debt           2,257,786        

12,687

                

12,687

     
Issuance of common stock for settlement of debt principal payments           1,246,165        10,707                10,707     
Issuance of common stock for settlement of debt interest payments           400,967        3,436                3,436     
Issuance of common stock upon exercise of warrants           3,148,097        50,449                50,449     
Issuance of common stock upon restricted stock settlement           156,104        (385)               (385)    
Issuance of common stock upon ESPP purchase           47,058                             
Issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options           134        

1

                

1

     
Beneficial conversion feature of Series A preferred stock                   562                562     
Deemed dividend on beneficial conversion feature of Series A preferred stock                   (562)               (562)    
Beneficial conversion feature to related party of Series B preferred stock                   634                634     
Deemed dividend to related party on beneficial conversion feature of Series B preferred stock                   (634)               (634)    
Beneficial conversion feature of Series D preferred stock                   5,757                5,757     
Deemed dividend on beneficial conversion feature of Series D preferred stock                   (5,757)               (5,757)    
Deemed dividend on preferred stock discounts upon conversion of Series A preferred stock                   21,578                21,578     
Deemed dividend on preferred stock discounts upon conversion of Series A preferred stock                   (21,578)               (21,578)    
Deemed dividend on preferred stock discounts upon conversion of Series B preferred stock                   24,366                24,366     
Deemed dividend on preferred stock discounts upon conversion of Series B preferred stock                   (24,366)               (24,366)    
Settlement of make-whole provision on Series A preferred stock                   

10,505

                10,505     
Deemed dividend upon settlement of make-whole provision on Series A preferred stock                   (10,505)               (10,505)    
Settlement of make-whole provision on Series B preferred stock                   22,632                22,632     
Deemed dividend upon settlement of make-whole provision on Series B preferred stock                   (22,632)               (22,632)    
Stock-based compensation                   6,265                6,265     
Foreign currency translation adjustment                       (1,252)           (1,252)    
Net loss (As Restated, Note 2)                           (155,982)       (155,982)    
                                                   
December 31, 2017 (As restated, Note 2)   22,171        45,637,433   $5   $1,114,546   $(42,156)  $(1,290,420)  $937   $(217,088)  $5,000 
Cumulative effect of change in accounting principle for ASC 606 (see "Significant Accounting Policies" in Note 1)                           (762)       (762)    
Issuance of common stock upon exercise of warrants           20,891,038    2    62,152                62,154     
Settlement of derivatives liability upon exercise of warrants                   108,670                108,670      
Issuance of common stock in private placement, net of issuance costs of $0           205,168        1,415                1,415     
Issuance of common stock in private placement - related party, net of issuance costs of $0           1,643,991        6,050                6,050     
Issuance of common stock upon conversion of preferred stock   (7,515)       1,548,480                             
Deemed dividend on preferred stock discounts upon conversion of Series D preferred stock                   

6,852

                

6,852

     
Deemed dividend on preferred stock discounts upon conversion of Series D preferred stock                   (6,852)               (6,852)    
Issuance of common stock upon conversion of convertible notes           5,674,926    1    42,368                42,369     
Issuance of common stock for settlement of debt interest payments           238,898        1,800                1,800     
Issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options           70,807        288                288     
Issuance of common stock upon ESPP purchase           246,230        777                777     
Issuance of common stock and payment of minimum employee taxes withheld upon net share settlement of restricted stock           407,858        (260)               (260)    
Stock-based compensation                   9,190                9,190     
Foreign currency translation adjustment                       (1,187)           (1,187)    
Net loss                           (230,235)       (230,235)    
December 31, 2018   14,656        76,564,829   $8   $1,346,996   $(43,343)  $(1,521,417)  $937   $(216,819)  $5,000 

 

 

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

 62 

 

 

AMYRIS, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

 

Years Ended December 31,  2018  2017
(In thousands)     (As Restated, Note 2)
Operating activities          
Net loss  $(230,235)  $(155,982)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:          
Loss from change in fair value of derivative liabilities   30,880    48,852 
Loss upon conversion or extinguishment of debt   17,424    

11,897

 
Amortization of debt discount   16,602    

15,239

 
Stock-based compensation   9,190    6,265 
Modification of warrants recorded as legal expense   6,764     
Depreciation and amortization   4,921    11,358 
Issuance costs on warrant exercises for cash   4,389     
Loss on impairment of other assets   3,865     
Debt issuance costs expensed due to fair value option   3,810     
Loss (gain) on divestiture   1,778    (5,732)
Loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment   941    142 
Gain on foreign currency exchange rates   (2,223)   (1,230)
Gain from change in fair value of debt   (2,082)    
Noncash revenue reduction related to issuance of debt obligations under Ginkgo Partnership Agreement       

13,413

 
Receipt of noncash consideration in connection with license revenue       (8,046)
Changes in assets and liabilities:          
Accounts receivable   7,448    (19,647)
Contract assets   8,056    (7,940)
Inventories   (4,416)   (3,126)
Deferred cost of products sold   (3,317)    
Prepaid expenses and other assets   (6,383)   (18,730)
Accounts payable   11,603    5,452 
Accrued and other liabilities   

8,461

    

13,877

 
Contract liabilities   3,158   (7,241)
Net cash used in operating activities   (109,366)   (101,179)
Investing activities          
Purchases of property, plant and equipment   (12,472)   (4,412)
Proceeds from divestiture, net of cash transferred       54,827 
Maturities of short-term investments       12,403 
Sale of short-term investments       676 
Purchase of short-term investments       (11,786)
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities   (12,472)   51,708 
Financing activities          
Proceeds from issuance of debt, net of issuance costs   94,371    18,925 
Proceeds from exercise of warrants, net of issuance costs   57,767     
Proceeds from issuance of common stock in private placements, net of issuance costs   1,415     
Proceeds from ESPP purchases   777     
Proceeds from exercises of common stock options   288     
Principal payments on debt   (41,668)   (37,500)
Debt issuance costs incurred in connection with debt instrument accounted at fair value   (3,752)    
Principal payments on capital leases   (981)    
Payment of minimum employee taxes withheld upon net share settlement of restricted stock units   (260)   (385)
Proceeds from issuance of convertible preferred stock       

98,246

 
Proceeds from issuance of common stock in August 2017 offering       

5,759

 
Issuance costs incurred       (2,159)
Payment of swap termination       (3,113)
Payment on early redemption of debt       (1,909)
Net cash provided by financing activities   107,957    77,864 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash   (77)   186 
Net (decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash   (13,958)   28,579 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at beginning of year   61,012    32,433 
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of year  $47,054   $61,012 
           
Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash to the consolidated balance sheets          
Cash and cash equivalents  $45,353   $57,059 
Restricted cash, current   741    2,994 
Restricted cash, noncurrent   960    959 
Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash  $47,054   $61,012 

 

 

 63 

 

 

 

Amyris, Inc.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS, Continued

 

Years Ended December 31,
(In thousands)
  2018  2017
      (As Restated, Note 2)
Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information:          
Cash paid for interest  $18,524   $11,539 
Supplemental disclosures of non-cash investing and financing activities:          
Derecognition of derivative liabilities upon exercise of warrants  $108,670   $ 
Issuance of common stock upon conversion of convertible notes  $24,970   $28,702 
Issuance of common stock - related party  $6,050   $ 
Accrued interest added to debt principal  $3,664   $2,816 
Issuance of common stock for settlement of debt principal and interest payments  $1,800   $3,436 
Cumulative effect adjustment of ASC 606  $762   $ 
Financing of insurance premium under note payable  $495   $467 
Financing of equipment under financing leases  $271   $ 
Proceeds fromIssuance of preferred stock attributed to derivative liabilities   $   $

72,725

 
Issuance of convertible preferred stock upon conversion of debt  $   $40,204 
Settlement of debt principal by a related party  $   $25,000 
Issuance of note payable in exchange for debt extinguishment with third party  $   $16,954 
Issuance of common stock for settlement of debt  $   $10,708 

  

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

 

 64 

 

 

Amyris, Inc.

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

 

1. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

Business Description

 

Amyris, Inc. (Amyris or the Company) is a leading industrial biotechnology company that applies its technology platform to engineer, manufacture and sell high performance, natural, sustainably-sourced products into the Health & Wellness, Clean Beauty, and Flavor & Fragrance markets. The Company's proven technology platform enables the Company to rapidly engineer microbes and use them as catalysts to metabolize renewable, plant-sourced sugars into large volume, high-value ingredients. The Company's biotechnology platform and industrial fermentation process replace existing complex and expensive manufacturing processes. The Company has successfully used its technology to develop and produce several distinct molecules at commercial volumes.

 

Going Concern

 

The Company has incurred significant operating losses since its inception and expects to continue to incur losses and negative cash flows from operations for at least the next 12 months following the issuance of the financial statements. As of December 31, 2018, the Company had negative working capital of $119.5 million and an accumulated deficit of $1.5 billion.

 

As of December 31, 2018, the Company's debt (including related party debt), net of deferred discount and issuance costs of $17.1 million and a change in fair value of $2.1 million, totaled $209.7 million, of which $147.7 million is classified as current. The Company's debt agreements contain various covenants, including certain restrictions on the Company's business that could cause the Company to be at risk of defaults, such as restrictions on additional indebtedness, material adverse effect and cross default clauses. A failure to comply with the covenants and other provisions of the Company’s debt instruments, including any failure to make a payment when required, would generally result in events of default under such instruments, which could permit acceleration a substantial portion of such indebtedness. If such indebtedness is accelerated, it would generally also constitute an event of default under the Company’s other outstanding indebtedness, permitting acceleration of a substantial portion of such other outstanding indebtedness. At December 31, 2018, the Company failed to meet certain covenants in connection with the GACP Term Loan Facility (see Note 5, “Debt”), including those associated with minimum revenue and minimum liquidity requirements. In April 2019, (i) GACP provided a waiver to the Company for breaches of all covenant violations under the GACP loan and security agreement (LSA) occurring prior to, as of and after December 31, 2018 through April 8, 2019, and (ii) GACP sold and assigned the loans under the LSA and all documents and assets related thereto to Foris Ventures, LLC (Foris). Subsequently, Foris provided a waiver to the Company for breaches of certain covenants under the LSA through June 30, 2020 and amended the financial covenants under the LSA to provide more favorable compliance terms and conditions. See Note 16, "Subsequent Events" for additional information.

 

Cash and cash equivalents of $45.4 million as of December 31, 2018 are not sufficient to fund expected future negative cash flows from operations and cash debt service obligations through September 30, 2020. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these financial statements are issued. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty. The Company's ability to continue as a going concern will depend, in large part, on its ability to achieve positive cash flows from operations during the 12 months from the date of this filing, and refinance or extend other existing debt maturities occurring later in 2019, all of which are uncertain and outside the control of the Company. Further, the Company's operating plan for 2019 contemplates a significant reduction in its net operating cash outflows as compared to the year ended December 31, 2018, resulting from (i) revenue growth from sales of existing and new products with positive gross margins, (ii) reduced production costs as a result of manufacturing and technical developments, and (iii) an increase in cash inflows from collaborations and grants. If the Company is unable to complete these actions, it expects to be unable to meet its operating cash flow needs and its obligations under its existing debt facilities. This could result in an acceleration of its obligation to repay all amounts outstanding under those facilities, and the Company may be forced to obtain additional equity or debt financing, which may not occur timely or on reasonable terms, if at all, and/or liquidate its assets. In such a scenario, the value received for assets in liquidation or dissolution could be significantly lower than the value reflected in these financial statements. The Company has in the past, including in July 2019, had certain of its debt instruments accelerated for failure to make a payment when due. While we have been able to cure these defaults to date to avoid additional cross-acceleration, we may not be able to cure such a default promptly in the future.

 

 65 

 

 

On September 16, 2019, the Company failed to pay an aggregate of $63.6 million of outstanding principal and accrued interest on the Second Exchange Note when due. The failure resulted in an event of default under the Second Exchange Note and also triggered cross-defaults under other debt instruments of the Company which permitted the holders of such indebtedness to accelerate the amounts owing under such instruments. The Company subsequently received waivers from substantially all holders of such other debt instruments to waive the right to accelerate. As a result, the indebtedness with respect to which the Company has obtained such waivers continues to be classified as long-term on the Company’s balance sheet.  The indebtedness reflected by the Second Exchange Note continues to be classified as a current liability on the Company’s balance sheet. In addition, as a result of the payment default, the conversion price of the Second Exchange Note is subject to adjustment in accordance with the terms of the Second Exchange Note.

 

The Company does not currently have sufficient funds to repay the amounts outstanding under the Second Exchange Note. To date, negotiations with the holder of the Second Exchange Note have not been successful, and there can be no assurance that a favorable outcome for the Company will be reached. The Company has executed a term sheet with an existing investor for a term loan, the proceeds of which would be used to repay a portion of the Second Exchange Note. However, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to obtain such financing on its expected timeline, or on acceptable terms, if at all. Even if the Company does obtain such financing, it will not have sufficient funds to repay the Second Exchange Note in full without obtaining additional financing, which the Company is attempting to source. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

 

Basis of Consolidation

 

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U.S. GAAP). The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Amyris, Inc. and its wholly-owned and partially-owned subsidiaries in which the Company has a controlling interest after elimination of all significant intercompany accounts and transactions.

 

Investments and joint venture arrangements are assessed to determine whether the terms provide economic or other control over the entity requiring consolidation of the entity. Entities controlled by means other than a majority voting interest are referred to as variable-interest entities (VIEs) and are consolidated when Amyris has both the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact its economic performance and the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits that could potentially be significant to the entity. For any investment or joint venture in which (i) the Company does not have a majority ownership interest, (ii) the Company possesses the ability to exert significant influence and (iii) the entity is not a VIE for which the Company is considered the primary beneficiary, the Company accounts for the investment or joint venture using the equity method. Following the adoption of ASU 2016-01 on January 1, 2018 described in more detail below (which was applicable to the Company on a prospective basis), equity investments in which the Company does not exert significant influence and that do not have readily determinable fair values are measured at cost, adjusted for changes from observable market transactions, less impairment (“adjusted cost basis”). The Company evaluates its investments for impairment by considering a variety of factors, including the earnings capacity of the related investments. Fair value measurements for the Company’s equity investments are classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy based on the nature of the fair value inputs. Realized and unrealized gains or losses are recognized in other income or expense.

 

Sale of Subsidiary and Entry into Commercial Agreements

 

On December 28, 2017, the Company completed the sale of all of the capital stock of its subsidiary Amyris Brasil, a wholly-owned subsidiary, to DSM Produtos Nutricionais Brasil S.A (DSM), a related party. Amyris Brasil owned and operated the Company’s production facility in Brotas, Brazil. The transaction resulted in a pretax gain of $5.7 million from continuing operations in 2017, which was further adjusted by a $1.8 million loss in 2018 related to the final working capital adjustments between the Company and DSM. The transaction did not result in presenting Amyris Brasil as a discontinued operation in the consolidated financial statements, as the sale did not represent a strategic shift that will have a major effect on the Company’s operations and financial results due to the Company’s continuing commercial presence and reinvestment in a new production facility under construction in Brazil and its continuing Brazilian operation through Amyris Biotecnologia do Brasil Ltda. (formerly SMA Indústria Química Ltda.). The Company and DSM also entered into a series of commercial agreements and a credit agreement concurrently with the sale of Amyris Brasil. See Note 10, “Revenue Recognition”, Note 11, “Related Party Transactions”, Note 13, “Divestiture” and Note 16, “Subsequent Events” for further information.

 

Use of Estimates and Judgements

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates, judgements and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates, and such differences may be material to the consolidated financial statements.

 

 66 

 

 

Significant Accounting Policies

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents

 

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original or remaining maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents are maintained with various financial institutions.

 

Inventories

 

Inventories, which consist of farnesene-derived products, flavors and fragrances ingredients and clean beauty products, are stated at the lower of actual cost or net realizable value and are categorized as finished goods, work in process or raw material inventories. The Company evaluates the recoverability of its inventories based on assumptions about expected demand and net realizable value. If the Company determines that the cost of inventories exceeds their estimated net realizable value, the Company records a write-down equal to the difference between the cost of inventories and the estimated net realizable value. If actual net realizable values are less favorable than those projected by management, additional inventory write-downs may be required that could negatively impact the Company's operating results. If actual net realizable values are more favorable, the Company may have favorable operating results when products that have been previously written down are sold in the normal course of business. The Company also evaluates the terms of its agreements with its suppliers and establishes accruals for estimated losses on adverse purchase commitments as necessary, applying the same lower of cost or net realizable value approach that is used to value inventory. Cost is computed on a weighted-average basis.

 

Property, Plant and Equipment, Net

 

Property, plant and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation and amortization are computed straight-line based on the estimated useful lives of the related assets, ranging from 3 to 15 years for machinery, equipment and fixtures, and 15 years for buildings. Leasehold improvements are amortized over their estimated useful lives or the period of the related lease, whichever is shorter.

 

The Company expenses costs for maintenance and repairs and capitalizes major replacements, renewals and betterments. For assets retired or otherwise disposed, both cost and accumulated depreciation are eliminated from the asset and accumulated depreciation accounts, and gains or losses related to the disposal are recorded in the statement of operations for the period.

 

Impairment

 

Long-lived assets that are held and used by the Company are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Determination of recoverability of long-lived assets is based on an estimate of the undiscounted future cash flows resulting from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition. Measurement of an impairment loss for long-lived assets that management expects to hold and use is based on the difference between the fair value of the asset and its carrying value. Long-lived assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell.

 

 67 

 

Recoverable Taxes from Brazilian Government Entities

 

Recoverable taxes from Brazilian government entities represent value-added taxes paid on purchases in Brazil, which are reclaimable from the Brazilian tax authorities, net of reserves for amounts estimated not to be recoverable.

 

Fair Value Measurements

 

The carrying amounts of certain financial instruments, such as cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, approximate fair value due to their relatively short maturities.

 

The Company measures the following financial assets and liabilities at fair value:

Freestanding and bifurcated derivatives in connection with certain debt and equity financings; and
6% Convertible Notes Due 2021 (see Note 4, "Fair Value Measurement", Note 5, "Debt" and Note 16, “Subsequent Events”), for which the Company has elected fair value accounting

 

Fair value is based on the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. Where available, fair value is based on or derived from observable market prices or other observable inputs. Where observable prices or inputs are not available, valuation techniques are applied. These valuation techniques involve some level of management estimation and judgement, the degree of which is dependent on the price transparency for the instruments or market and the instruments’ complexity.

 

Changes to the inputs used in these valuation models have a significant impact on the estimated fair value of the 6% Convertible Notes Due 2021 and the Company's embedded and freestanding derivatives. For example, a decrease (increase) in the estimated credit spread for the Company results in an increase (decrease) in estimated fair value. Conversely, a decrease (increase) in the stock price results in a decrease (increase) in estimated fair value.

 

The changes during 2018 and 2017 in the fair values of the bifurcated compound embedded derivatives are primarily related to the change in price of the Company's common stock and are reflected in the consolidated statements of operations as “Gain (loss) from change in fair value of derivative instruments”.

 

For debt instruments for which the Company has not elected fair value accounting, fair value is based on the present value of expected future cash flows and assumptions about the then-current market interest rates as of the reporting period and the creditworthiness of the Company. Most of the Company's debt is carried on the consolidated balance sheet on a historical cost basis net of unamortized discounts and premiums, because the Company has not elected the fair value option of accounting. However, for the 6% Notes Due 2021, the Company elected fair value accounting, so that balances reported for that debt instrument represent fair value as of each balance sheet date; see Note 4, "Fair Value Measurement", for additional information. Changes in fair value of the 6% Convertible Notes Due 2021 are reflected in the consolidated statements of operations as “Gain (loss) from change in fair value of debt”.

 

For all debt instruments, including any for which the Company has elected fair value accounting, the Company classifies interest that has been accrued during each period as Interest expense on the consolidated statements of operations.

 

Derivatives

 

Embedded derivatives that are required to be bifurcated from the underlying debt instrument (i.e., host) are accounted for and valued as separate financial instruments. The Company has evaluated the terms and features of its convertible notes payable and convertible preferred stock and identified compound embedded derivatives requiring bifurcation and accounting at fair value, using the valuation techniques mentioned in the Fair Value Measurements section of this Note, because the economic and contractual characteristics of the embedded derivatives met the criteria for bifurcation and separate accounting due to the instruments containing conversion options, certain “make-whole interest” provisions, down-round conversion price adjustment provisions and/or conversion rate adjustments.

 

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Cash warrants and anti-dilution warrants issued in conjunction with the convertible debt and equity financings are freestanding financial instruments which are also classified as derivative liabilities.

 

Noncontrolling Interest

 

Noncontrolling interests represent the portion of net income (loss), net assets and comprehensive income (loss) that is not allocable to the Company, in situations where the Company consolidates its equity investment in a joint venture for which there are other owners. The amount of noncontrolling interest is comprised of the amount of such interests at the date of the Company's original acquisition of an equity interest in a joint venture, plus the other shareholders' share of changes in equity since the date the Company made an investment in the joint venture.

 

Concentration of Credit Risk

 

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to a concentration of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments and accounts receivable. The Company places its cash equivalents and investments (primarily certificates of deposits) with high credit quality financial institutions and, by policy, limits the amount of credit exposure with any one financial institution. Deposits held with banks may exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits. The Company has not experienced any losses on its deposits of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments.

 

The Company performs ongoing credit evaluation of its customers, does not require collateral, and maintains allowances for potential credit losses on customer accounts when deemed necessary.

 

Customers representing 10% or greater of accounts receivable were as follows:

 

As of December 31,  2018  2017
Customer B   24%   10%
Customer C   19%   15%
Customer G    11%   **
Customer A (related party)   **    38%

______________

** Less than 10%

 

Customers representing 10% or greater of revenue were as follows:

 

Years Ended December 31,  2018  2017
      (As Restated, Note 2)
Customer A (related party)   17%   46%
Customer B   18%   13%
Customer C   13%   ** 
Customer D   13%   ** 
Customer E   **    11%
Customer F   **    ** 

 

______________

** Less than 10%

 

Revenue Recognition

 

Year ended December 31, 2017

 

For the year ended December 31, 2017, the Company recognized revenue from the sale of renewable products, licenses of and royalties from intellectual property, and grants and collaborative research and development services. Revenue was recognized when all of the following criteria were met: persuasive evidence of an arrangement existed, delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, the fee was fixed or determinable, and collectability was reasonably assured. If sales arrangements contained multiple elements, the Company evaluated whether the components of each arrangement represent separate units of accounting.

 

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Renewable Product Sales

 

The Company’s renewable product sales do not include rights of return, except for sales of Biossance products. Returns are only accepted if the product does not meet product specifications and such nonconformity is communicated to the Company within a set number of days of delivery. The Company offers a two-year standard warranty provision for squalane products, if the products do not meet Company-established criteria as set forth in the Company’s trade terms. The Company bases its return reserve on a historical rate of return for the Company’s squalane products. Revenues are recognized, net of discounts and allowances, once passage of title and risk of loss has occurred and contractually specified acceptance criteria have been met, provided all other revenue recognition criteria have also been met.

 

Licenses and Royalties

 

License fees for intellectual property transferred to other parties, representing non-refundable payments received at the time of signature of license agreements, are recognized as revenue upon signature of the license agreements when the Company has no significant future performance obligations and collectability of the fees is assured. Upfront payments received at the beginning of licensing agreements with future service obligations are deferred and recognized as revenue on a systematic basis over the period during which the related services are rendered and all obligations are performed.

 

Royalties from intellectual property licenses that allow Amyris's customers to use the Company’s intellectual property to produce and sell their products in which the Company shares in the profits are recognized in the period the royalty report is received.

 

Grants and Collaborative Research and Development Services

 

Revenues from collaborative research and development services are recognized as the services are performed consistent with the performance requirements of the contract. In cases where the planned levels of research and development services fluctuate over the research term, the Company recognizes revenues using the proportional performance method based upon actual efforts to date relative to the amount of expected effort to be incurred by us. When up-front payments are received and the planned levels of research and development services do not fluctuate over the research term, revenues are recorded on a ratable basis over the arrangement term, up to the amount of cash received. When up-front payments are received and the planned levels of research and development services fluctuate over the research term, revenues are recorded using the proportional performance method, up to the amount of cash received. Where arrangements include milestones that are determined to be substantive and at risk at the inception of the arrangement, revenues are recognized upon achievement of the milestone and is limited to those amounts whereby collectability is reasonably assured.

 

Grants are agreements that generally provide cost reimbursement for certain types of expenditures in return for research and development activities over a contractually defined period. Revenues from grants are recognized in the period during which the related costs are incurred, provided that the conditions under which the grants were provided have been met and only perfunctory obligations are outstanding.

 

Year ended December 31, 2018

 

In accordance with a new revenue recognition standard that the Company adopted January 1, 2018, the Company recognizes revenue from the sale of renewable products, licenses of and royalties from intellectual property, and grants and collaborative research and development services. Revenue is measured based on the consideration specified in a contract with a customer, and transaction price is allocated utilizing stand-alone selling price. Revenue is recognized when, or as, the Company satisfies a performance obligation by transferring control over a product or service to a customer. The Company generally does not incur costs to obtain new contracts. The costs to fulfill a contract are expensed as incurred.

 

The Company accounts for a contract when it has approval and commitment to perform from both parties, the rights of the parties are identified, payment terms are established, the contract has commercial substance and collectability of the consideration is probable. Changes to contracts are assessed for whether they represent a modification or should be accounted for as a new contract. The Company considers the following indicators, among others, when determining if it is acting as a principal in the transaction and recording revenue on a gross basis: (i) the Company is primarily responsible for fulfilling the promise to provide the specified goods or service, (ii) the Company has inventory risk before the specified good or service has been transferred to a customer or after transfer of control to the customer and (iii) the Company has discretion in establishing the price for the specified good or service. If a transaction does not meet the Company's indicators of being a principal in the transaction, then the Company is acting as an agent in the transaction and the associated revenues are recognized on a net basis.

 

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The Company’s significant contracts and contractual terms with its customers are presented in Note 10, "Revenue Recognition".

 

The Company recognizes revenue when control has passed to the customer. The following indicators are evaluated in determining when control has passed to the customer: (i) the Company has a right to receive payment for the product or service, (ii) the customer has legal title to the product, (iii) the Company has transferred physical possession of the product to the customer, (iv) the customer has the significant risk and rewards of ownership of the product and (v) the customer has accepted the product. For most of the Company's renewable products customers, supply agreements between the Company and each customer indicate when transfer of title occurs.

 

In some cases, the Company may make a payment to a customer. When that occurs, the Company evaluates whether the payment is for a distinct good or service receivable from the customer. If the fair value of the goods or services receivable is greater than or equal to the amount paid to the customer, then the entire payment is treated as a purchase. If, on the other hand, the fair value of goods or services is less than the amount paid, then the difference is treated as a reduction in transaction price of the Company's sales to the customer.

 

Performance Obligations

 

A performance obligation is a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to the customer. A contract’s transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. The Company's contracts may contain multiple performance obligations if a promise to transfer the individual goods or services is separately identifiable from other promises in the contracts and, therefore, is considered distinct. For contracts with multiple performance obligations, the Company determines the standalone selling price of each performance obligation and allocates the total transaction price using the relative selling price basis.

 

The following is a description of the principal goods and services from which the Company generates revenue.

 

Renewable Product Sales

 

Revenues from renewable product sales are recognized as a distinct performance obligation on a gross basis as the Company is acting as a principal in these transactions, with the selling price to the customer recorded net of discounts and allowances. Revenues are recognized at a point in time when control has passed to the customer, which typically is upon the renewable products leaving the Company’s facilities with the first transportation carrier. The Company, on occasion, may recognize revenue under a bill and hold arrangement, whereby the customer requests and agrees to purchase product but requests delivery at a later date. Under these arrangements, control transfers to the customer when the product is ready for delivery, which occurs when the product is identified separately as belonging to the customer, the product is ready for shipment to the customer in its current form, and the Company does not have the ability to direct the product to a different customer. It is at this point that the Company has the right to receive payment, the customer obtains legal title, and the customer has the significant risks and rewards of ownership. The Company’s renewable product sales do not include rights of return, except for Biossance products, for which the Company estimates sales returns subsequent to sale and reduces revenue accordingly. For renewable products other than Biossance, returns are accepted only if the product does not meet product specifications and such nonconformity is communicated to the Company within a set number of days of delivery. The Company offers a two-year assurance-type warranty to replace squalane products that do not meet Company-established criteria as set forth in the Company’s trade terms. An estimate of the cost to replace the squalane products sold is made based on a historical rate of experience and recognized as a liability and related expense when the renewable product sale is consummated.

 

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Licenses and Royalties

 

Licensing of Intellectual Property: When the Company’s intellectual property licenses are determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in the arrangement, revenue is recognized from non-refundable, up-front fees allocated to the license at a point in time when the license is transferred to the licensee and the licensee is able to use and benefit from the license. For intellectual property licenses that are combined with other promises, the Company utilizes judgment to assess the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time and, if over time, the appropriate method of measuring progress for purposes of recognizing revenue from non-refundable, up-front-fees. The Company evaluates the measure of progress each reporting period and, if necessary, adjusts the measure of performance and related revenue recognized.

 

Royalties from Licensing of Intellectual Property: The Company earns royalties from the licensing of its intellectual property whereby the licensee uses the intellectual property to produce and sell its products to its customers and the Company shares in the profits.

 

When the Company’s intellectual property license is the only performance obligation, or it is the predominant performance obligation in arrangements with multiple performance obligations, the Company applies the sales-based royalty exception which requires the Company to estimate the revenue that is recognized at a point in time when the licensee’s product sales occur. Estimates of sales-based royalty revenues are made using the most likely outcome method, which is the single amount in a range of possible amounts, using the best evidence available at the time, derived from the licensee’s historical sales volumes and sales prices of its products and recent commodity market pricing data and trends. Estimates are adjusted to actual or as new information becomes available.

 

When the Company’s intellectual property license is not the predominant performance obligation in arrangements with multiple performance obligations, the royalty represents variable consideration and is allocated to the transaction price of the predominant performance obligation which generally is the supply of renewable products to the Company's customers. Revenue is estimated and recognized at a point in time when the renewable products are delivered to the customer. Estimates of the amount of variable consideration to include in the transaction price are made using the expected value method, which is the sum of probability-weighted amounts in a range of possible amounts determined based on the cost to produce the renewable product plus a reasonable margin for the profit share. The Company only includes an amount of variable consideration in the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal in the cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved. Also, the transaction price is reduced for estimates of customer incentive payments payable by the Company for certain customer contracts.

 

Grants and Collaborative Research and Development Services

 

Collaborative Research and Development Services: The Company earns revenues from collaboration agreements with customers to perform research and development services to develop new molecules using the Company’s technology and to scale production of the molecules for commercialization and use in the collaborator’s products. The collaboration agreements generally include providing the Company's collaboration partners with research and development services and with licenses to the Company’s intellectual property to use the technology underlying the development of the molecules and to sell its products that incorporate the technology. The terms of the Company's collaboration agreements typically include one or more of the following: advance payments for the research and development services that will be performed, nonrefundable upfront license payments, milestone payments to be received upon the achievement of the milestone events defined in the agreements, and royalty payments upon the commercialization of the molecules in which the Company shares in the customer’s profits.

 

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Collaboration agreements are evaluated at inception to determine whether the intellectual property licenses represent distinct performance obligations separate from the research and development services. If the licenses are determined to be distinct, the non-refundable upfront license fee is recognized as revenue at a point in time when the license is transferred to the licensee and the licensee is able to use and benefit from the license while the research and development service fees are recognized over time as the performance obligations are satisfied. The research and development service fees represent variable consideration. Estimates of the amount of variable consideration to include in the transaction price are made using the expected value method, which is the sum of probability-weighted amounts in a range of possible amounts. The Company only includes an amount of variable consideration in the transaction price to the extent it is probable that a significant reversal in the cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved. Revenue is recognized over time using either an input-based measure of labor hours expended or a time-based measure of progress towards the satisfaction of the performance obligations. The measure of progress is evaluated each reporting period and, if necessary, adjustments are made to the measure of progress and the related revenue recognized.

 

Collaboration agreements that include milestone payments are evaluated at inception to determine whether the milestone events are considered probable of achievement, and estimates are made of the amount of the milestone payments to include in the transaction price using the most likely amount method which is the single amount in a range of possible amounts. If it is probable that a significant revenue reversal will not occur, the estimated milestone payment amount is included in the transaction price. Each reporting period, the Company re-evaluates the probability of achievement of the milestone events and any related constraint and, if necessary, adjusts its estimate of the overall transaction price. Any such adjustments are recorded on a cumulative basis, which would affect collaboration revenues in the period of adjustment. Generally, revenue is recognized using an input-based measure of progress towards the satisfaction of the performance obligations which can be labor hours expended or time-based in proportion to the estimated total project effort or total projected time to complete. The measure of progress is evaluated each reporting period and, if necessary, adjustments are made to the measure of progress and the related revenue recognized. Certain performance obligations are associated with milestones agreed between the Company and its customer. Revenue generated from the performance of services in accordance with these milestones is recognized upon confirmation from the customer that the milestone has been achieved. In these cases, amounts recognized are constrained to the amount of consideration received upon achievement of the milestone. 

 

The Company generally invoices its collaboration partners on a monthly or quarterly basis, or upon the completion of the effort or achievement of a milestone, based on the terms of each agreement. Deferred revenue arises from amounts received in advance of performing the research and development activities and is recognized as revenue in future periods as the performance obligations are satisfied.

 

Grants: The Company earns revenues from grants with government agencies to, among other things, provide research and development services to develop molecules using the Company’s technology, and create research and development tools to improve the timeline and predictability for scaling molecules from proof of concept to market by reducing time and costs. Grants typically consist of research and development milestone payments to be received upon the achievement of the milestone events defined in the agreements.

 

The milestone payments are evaluated at inception to determine whether the milestone events are considered probable of achievement and estimates are made of the amount of the milestone payments to include in the transaction price using the most likely amount method which is the single amount in a range of possible amounts. If it is probable that a significant revenue reversal will not occur, the estimated milestone payment amount is included in the transaction price. Each reporting period, the Company re-evaluates the probability of achievement of the milestone events and any related constraint and, if necessary, adjusts its estimate of the overall transaction price. Any such adjustments are recorded on a cumulative basis, which would affect grant revenues in the period of adjustment. Revenue is recognized over time using a time-based measure of progress towards the satisfaction of the performance obligations. The measure of progress is evaluated each reporting period and, if necessary, adjustments are made to the measure of progress and the related revenue recognized.

 

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Cost of Products Sold

 

Cost of products sold includes the production costs of renewable products, which include the cost of raw materials, in-house manufacturing labor and overhead, amounts paid to contract manufacturers, including amortization of tolling fees, and period costs including inventory write-downs resulting from applying lower of cost or net realizable value inventory adjustments. Cost of products sold also includes certain costs related to the scale-up of production. Shipping and handling costs charged to customers are recorded as revenues. Outbound shipping costs incurred are included in cost of products sold. Such charges were not material for any of the periods presented.

 

The Company recognizes deferred cost of products sold as an asset on the balance sheet when a cost is incurred in connection with a revenue performance obligation that will not be fulfilled until a future period.

 

Research and Development

 

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and include costs associated with research performed pursuant to collaborative agreements and government grants, including internal research. Research and development costs consist of direct and indirect internal costs related to specific projects, as well as fees paid to others that conduct certain research activities on the Company’s behalf.

 

Debt Extinguishment

 

The Company accounts for the income or loss from extinguishment of debt in accordance with ASC 470, Debt, which indicates that for all extinguishment of debt, the difference between the reacquisition consideration and the net carrying amount of the debt being extinguished should be recognized as gain or loss when the debt is extinguished. Losses from debt extinguishment are shown in the consolidated statements of operations under "Other income (expense)" as "Loss upon extinguishment of debt".

 

Stock-based Compensation

 

The Company accounts for stock-based employee compensation plans under the fair value recognition and measurement provisions of U.S. GAAP. Those provisions require all stock-based payments to employees, including grants of stock options and restricted stock units (RSUs), to be measured using the grant-date fair value of each award. The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense net of expected forfeitures over each award's requisite service period, which is generally the vesting term. Expected forfeiture rates are estimated based on the Company's historical experience. Stock-based compensation plans are described more fully in Note 12, "Stock-based Compensation".

 

Income Taxes

 

The Company is subject to income taxes in the United States and foreign jurisdictions and uses estimates to determine its provisions for income taxes. The Company uses the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes, whereby deferred tax asset or liability account balances are calculated at the balance sheet date using current tax laws and rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income.

 

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Recognition of deferred tax assets is appropriate when realization of such assets is more likely than not. The Company recognizes a valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets unless it is more likely than not that such deferred tax assets will be realized. This assessment requires judgement as to the likelihood and amounts of future taxable income by tax jurisdiction.

 

The Company applies the provisions of Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) guidance on accounting for uncertainty in income taxes. The Company assesses all material positions taken in any income tax return, including all significant uncertain positions, in all tax years that are still subject to assessment or challenge by relevant taxing authorities. Assessing an uncertain tax position begins with the initial determination of the position’s sustainability, and the tax benefit to be recognized is measured at the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50 percent likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. As of each balance sheet date, unresolved uncertain tax positions must be reassessed, and the Company will determine whether (i) the factors underlying the sustainability assertion have changed and (ii) the amount of the recognized tax benefit is still appropriate. The recognition and measurement of tax benefits requires significant judgement, and such judgements may change as new information becomes available.

 

Foreign Currency Translation

 

The assets and liabilities of foreign subsidiaries, where the local currency is the functional currency, are translated from their respective functional currencies into U.S. dollars at the rates in effect at each balance sheet date, and revenue and expense amounts are translated at average rates during each period, with resulting foreign currency translation adjustments recorded in other comprehensive loss, net of tax, in the consolidated statements of stockholders’ deficit. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, cumulative translation adjustment, net of tax, were $43.3 million and $42.2 million, respectively.

 

Where the U.S. dollar is the functional currency, remeasurement adjustments are recorded in other income (expense), net in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations. Net losses resulting from foreign exchange transactions were $1.6 million and $0.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively and are recorded in other income (expense), net in the consolidated statements of operations.

 

New Accounting Standards or Updates Recently Adopted

 

During the year ended December 31, 2018 the Company adopted the following Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs):

 

Revenue Recognition The Company adopted ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, with a date of initial application of January 1, 2018. As a result, the Company has changed its accounting policy for revenue recognition as detailed above in “Significant Accounting Policies”. The Company applied ASC 606 using the modified retrospective approach by recognizing the cumulative effect of initially applying ASC 606 to all contracts not completed as of the date of adoption as an adjustment to the opening balance of accumulated deficit at January 1, 2018. Therefore, the comparative information has not been adjusted and continues to be reported under the legacy revenue recognition guidance of ASC 605, "Revenue Recognition".

 

The Company applied ASC 606 using a practical expedient for contracts that were modified before the application date, which allowed the Company to determine an aggregate effect of all modifications that occurred before January 1, 2018, when determining the satisfied and unsatisfied performance obligations, the transaction price, and allocating that transaction price to the performance obligations instead of retrospectively restating the contracts for such contract modifications.

 

The cumulative effect of initially applying ASC 606 resulted in an increase to accumulated deficit at January 1, 2018 of approximately $0.8 million. The most significant change in accounting policy is the Company is now required to estimate royalty revenues from licenses of the Company’s intellectual property and recognize estimated royalty revenues at a point in time when the Company sells its renewable products to its customers (if the sales-based royalty exception does not apply) or when the licensee sells its products to its customer (if the sales-based royalty exception does apply).

 

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The following table presents the amounts by which revenue is affected in the current reporting period by the application of ASC 606 as compared with the legacy guidance that was in effect before the accounting change.

 

   Year Ended December 31, 2018
(In thousands)  As Reported  Adjustments  Amounts Without the Adoption of ASC 606
Renewable products  $33,598   $   $33,598 
Licenses and royalties   7,658    5,094    12,752 
Grants and collaborations   22,348    (5,786)   16,562 
Total revenue from all customers  $63,604   $(692)  $62,912 

 

Financial Instruments In January 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued ASU 2016-01, Financial Instruments-Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, which changes the accounting for equity investments, financial liabilities under the fair value option, and the presentation and disclosure requirements for financial instruments. The Company adopted ASU 2016-01 on January 1, 2018. Adoption of this ASU did not impact the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Classification of Cash Flow Elements In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments, which affects the classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments on the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-15 results in a change in cash flow classification of debt prepayment or extinguishment costs. ASU 2016-15 became effective January 1, 2018 on a retrospective basis. Adoption of this ASU did not impact the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Income Taxes Related to Intra-entity Asset Transfers In October 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-16, Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets Other Than Inventory on simplifying the accounting for income taxes related to intra-entity asset transfers. The new guidance allows an entity to recognize the tax expense from the sale of an asset in the seller’s tax jurisdiction when the transfers occurs, even though the pre-tax effects of that transaction are eliminated in consolidation. ASU 2016-16 became effective January 1, 2018, which the Company adopted on a modified retrospective basis.

 

Restricted Cash in Statement of Cash Flows In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash, which requires that a statement of cash flows explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. Therefore, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The accounting standard update became effective January 1, 2018 using a retrospective transition method for each period presented. Upon adoption, ASU 2016-18 resulted in a change in the presentation of restricted cash in the statement of cash flows for current and prior periods presented.

 

Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets In February 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-05, Other Income—Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Nonfinancial Assets (Subtopic 610-20): Clarifying the Scope of Asset Derecognition Guidance and Accounting for Partial Sales of Nonfinancial Assets, which requires entities to apply certain recognition and measurement principles in ASC 606 when they derecognize nonfinancial assets, and in substance, nonfinancial assets, and the counterparty is not a customer. The guidance applies to: (1) contracts to transfer to a noncustomer a nonfinancial asset or group of nonfinancial assets, or an ownership interest in a consolidated subsidiary that does not meet the definition of a business and is not a not-for-profit activity; and (2) contributions of nonfinancial assets that are not a business to a joint venture or other noncontrolled investee. The accounting standard update became effective January 1, 2018 on a modified retrospective basis. Adoption of this ASU did not impact the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

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Income Taxes In March 2018, FASB issued ASU 2018-05, Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 to address the application of GAAP in situations when a registrant does not have the necessary information available, prepared or analyzed (including computations) in reasonable detail to complete the accounting for certain income tax effects of the Tax Act. As of December 31, 2018, the Company's analysis for the Transition Tax has been filed with its December 31, 2017 tax return and the Company considered its accounting for this area of the Tax Act to be complete as of such date and did not make any measurement-period adjustments related to it. In addition, the Company considered its accounting for changes in the U.S. federal rate and deferred tax impact for the rate change to be complete. The Company also accounted for the tax impact related to other areas of the Tax Act and believe its analysis to be completed consistent with the guidance in ASU 2018-05. The Company recognizes that the IRS is continuing to publish and finalize ongoing guidance with respect to the Act which may modify accounting interpretation for the Tax Act, the Company would look to account for these impacts in the period of such change is enacted.

 

Non-employee Stock-based Compensation In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which more closely aligns the accounting for employee and nonemployee stock-based compensation. Under the new standard, companies are no longer required to value non-employee awards differently from employee awards. The Company adopted this accounting standard update on January 1, 2018 using a modified retrospective approach. Adoption of this ASU did not impact the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Recent Accounting Standards or Updates Not Yet Effective

 

Leases In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), as subsequently updated, with fundamental changes as to how entities account for leases. Lessees will need to recognize a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for virtually all of their leases (other than leases that meet the definition of a short-term lease). The liability will be equal to the present value of lease payments. The asset will be based on the liability, subject to adjustment, such as for initial direct costs. Additional disclosures for leases will also be required.

 

The Company is adopting the new standard effective January 1, 2019 using a modified retrospective method, and will not restate comparative periods. The modified retrospective transition approach requires lessees and lessors to recognize and measure existing leases at the date of initial application. The new standard provides a number of optional practical expedients in transition. The Company expects to elect the “package of practical expedients”, which permits it not to reassess under the new standard prior conclusions about lease identification, lease classification and initial direct costs.

 

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The adoption of this standard on January 1, 2019 is expected to have the effect of increasing assets and liabilities on the consolidated balance sheet by $25.7 million, but is not expected to have a material impact on the consolidated statements of operations or cash flows. The most significant impact relates to (i) the recognition of new Right of Use (ROU) assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for operating leases; and (ii) providing significant new disclosures about leasing activities. Upon adoption, the Company will recognize operating lease liabilities of $33.6 million, based on the present value of the remaining minimum rental payments under current leasing standards for existing operating leases. The Company will also recognize ROU assets of $29.7 million, which represents the operating lease liability adjusted for accrued rent.

 

Financial Instruments with "Down Round" Features In July 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-11, Earnings Per Share (Topic 260); Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (Topic 480); Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Down Round Features. The amendments of this ASU update the classification analysis of certain equity-linked financial instruments, or embedded features, with down round features, as well as clarify existing disclosure requirements for equity-classified instruments. When determining whether certain financial instruments should be classified as liabilities or equity instruments, a down round feature no longer precludes equity classification when assessing whether the instrument is indexed to an entity’s own stock. The accounting standard update will be effective beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2019 using a modified retrospective approach. The Company completed its assessment of the new standard and determined the impact to the consolidated balance sheet would be material. The Company anticipates recording a $41.0 million reduction to derivative liabilities and a corresponding $41.0 million increase to equity on January 1, 2019.

 

Fair Value Measurement In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework—Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement, which amends ASC 820, Fair Value Measurement. ASU 2018-13 modifies the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements by removing, modifying or adding certain disclosures. The accounting standard update will be effective beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020, with removed and modified disclosures to be adopted on a retrospective basis, and new disclosures to be adopted on a prospective basis. The Company is in the initial stages of evaluating the impact of the new standard on its consolidated financial statements.

 

Collaborative Revenue Arrangements In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-18, Clarifying the Interaction between Topic 808 and Topic 606, that clarifies the interaction between the guidance for certain collaborative arrangements and Topic 606, the new revenue recognition standard. A collaborative arrangement is a contractual arrangement under which two or more parties actively participate in a joint operating activity and are exposed to significant risks and rewards that depend on the activity’s commercial success. The ASU provides guidance on how to assess whether certain transactions between collaborative arrangement participants should be accounted for within the revenue recognition standard. The accounting standard update will be effective beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020 retroactively. The Company does not believe that the impact of the new standard on its consolidated financial statements will be material.

 

Credit Losses In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326), Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. ASU 2016-13 requires entities to measure all expected credit losses for most financial assets held at the reporting date based on an expected loss model which includes historical experience, current conditions, and reasonable and supportable forecasts. Entities will now use forward-looking information to better form their credit loss estimates. ASU 2016-13 also requires enhanced disclosures to help financial statement users better understand significant estimates and judgments used in estimating credit losses, as well as the credit quality and underwriting standards of an entity's portfolio. ASU 2016-13 will become effective for the Company beginning in the first quarter of fiscal year 2020. The Company does not believe that the impact of the new standard on its consolidated financial statements will be material.

 

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2. Restatement of Consolidated Financial Statements

 

Restatement Background

 

Subsequent to the issuance of the Company's unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2018 and as previously announced on April 5, 2019 and May 14, 2019, the Audit Committee (the Audit Committee) of the Board of Directors of the Company (the Board) and the Board, respectively, concluded that the Company will restate its interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the quarterly and year-to-date periods ended March 31, 2018, June 30, 2018 and September 30, 2018 (collectively, the Restated 2018 Non-Reliance Periods) and its audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2017 (the Restated 2017 Non-Reliance Consolidated Financial Statements).

 

Restated 2017 Non-Reliance Consolidated Financial Statements

 

During the course of the re-audit of the Restated 2017 Financial Statements, in addition to incorrectly accounting for certain payment obligations under the Ginkgo Partnership Agreement as previously disclosed, the Company identified other accounting and financial reporting errors related to (i) the recognition of certain deemed dividends to preferred stock holders, (ii) incorrect accounting treatment for the derecognition of certain debt and derivative liability instruments, (iii) errors in computing tax expense, (iv) incorrect revenue recognition for certain non-cash consideration received under a collaboration agreement, (v) the timing of certain revenue recognition between quarters within 2017, (vi) computation of earnings (loss) per share, (vii) correction of errors in cash flow statements for non-cash adjustments, and (viii) computation of loss on extinguishment of certain debt instruments.

 

The error corrections for the year to date audited 2017 consolidated financial statements have been reflected throughout these consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Also, the tables below show the impact of each adjustment by the individual financial statement line item caption and provide a brief description of the adjustment.

 

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Consolidated Balance Sheet

 

The following table presents the Company's consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2017 as previously reported, restatement adjustments and as restated (in thousands):

   December 31, 2017 
(In thousands)  As Previously Reported   Corrections   Ref.  As Restated 
Assets               
Current assets:                  
Cash and cash equivalents  $57,059   $—        $57,059 
Restricted cash   2,994    —         2,994 
Accounts receivable, net   24,281    (5,328)  a   18,953 
Accounts receivable - related party, net   9,340    (4,573)  a   4,767 
Accounts receivable, unbilled - related party        9,901        9,901 
Inventories   5,408    —         5,408 
Prepaid expenses and other current assets   5,525    (606)  b   4,919 
Total current assets   104,607    (606)      104,001 
Property, plant and equipment, net   13,892    —         13,892 
Contract assets, noncurrent   7,940    —         7,940 
Restricted cash, noncurrent   959    —         959 
Recoverable taxes from Brazilian government entities   1,445    —         1,445 
Other assets   22,640    (10,081)  c   12,559 
Total assets  $151,483   $(10,687)     $140,796 
Liabilities, Mezzanine Equity and Stockholders' Deficit                  
Current liabilities:                  
Accounts payable  $15,921   $(406)  d  $15,515 
Accrued and other current liabilities   29,402    (200)  e   29,202 
Contract liabilities   4,880    (572)  f   4,308 
Debt, current portion   36,924    —         36,924 
Related party debt, current portion   20,019    —         20,019 
Total current liabilities   107,146    (1,178)      105,968 
Long-term debt, net of current portion   61,893    (1,673)  g   60,220 
Related party debt, net of current portion   46,541    —         46,541 
Derivative liabilities   119,978    (3,481)  h   116,497 
Other noncurrent liabilities   10,632    13,026   i   23,658 
Total liabilities   346,190    6,694       352,884 
Commitments and contingencies                  
Mezzanine equity:                  
Contingently redeemable common stock   5,000    —         5,000 
Stockholders’ deficit:                  
Preferred stock   —      —         —   
Common stock - $0.0001 par value   5    —         5 
Additional paid-in capital   1,048,274    66,272   j   1,114,546 
Accumulated other comprehensive loss   (42,156)   —         (42,156)
Accumulated deficit   (1,206,767)   (83,653)  k   (1,290,420)
Total Amyris, Inc. stockholders’ deficit   (200,644)   (17,381)      (218,025)
Noncontrolling interest   937    —         937 
Total stockholders' deficit   (199,707)   (17,381)      (217,088)
Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and stockholders' deficit  $151,483   $(10,687)     $140,796 

 

Restatement adjustments:

a. Reclassification of related party accounts receivable to a separate line on the balance sheet.

b. Write-off of unrecoverable receivable in connection with facilities subleased to a related party.

c. Correction of error in recording amounts payable under Ginkgo Partnership Agreement as prepaid royalties instead of reduction in revenue.

d. Adjustment to uninvoiced receipts liability.

e. Adjustment to accrued liability.

f. Revision to accounting for equity received in satisfaction of a customer receivable.

g. Adjustment to issuance-date fair value of a debt instrument.

h. Make-whole derivative liabilities adjustment.

i. Accrual of the Ginkgo Partnership Payments obligation, net of reduction to deferred revenue liability.

j. Correction to the accounting for a make-whole equity instrument in connection with May 2017 equity offering.

k. Sum of adjustments to net loss for the year ended December 31, 2017 as result of corrections.

 

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Consolidated Statement of Operations

 

The following table presents the Company's consolidated statements of operations for the year ended December 31, 2017 as previously reported, restatement adjustments and as restated (in thousands, except per share amounts):

 

Three Months Ended  Year Ended
December 31, 2017
(In thousands, except shares and per share amounts)  As Previously Reported  Reclassifications(1)  Corrections  Ref  As Restated
                
                
Renewable products  $45,781   $(3,411)  $      $42,370 
Licenses and royalties   57,703    6,774    (15,774)  ab   48,703 
Grants and collaborations   39,960    (3,363)   1   ac   36,598 
Total revenue   143,444        (15,773)      127,671 
Cost and operating expenses                      
Cost of products sold   62,713        (406)  ad   62,307 
Research and developm