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Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
Commitments and Contingencies
10. Commitments and Contingencies
Under various agreements, the Company may be required to pay royalties and make milestone payments. These agreements include the following:
Under the Company's divestiture agreement with OSI (Eyetech), Inc., which agreement is now held by OSI Pharmaceuticals, LLC., or OSI Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Astellas US, LLC, for rights to particular anti-PDGF aptamers, including Fovista, the Company is obligated to pay to OSI Pharmaceuticals future one-time payments of $12.0 million in the aggregate upon marketing approval in the United States and the European Union of a covered anti-PDGF product. The Company is also obligated to pay to OSI Pharmaceuticals a royalty at a low single-digit percentage of net sales of any covered anti-PDGF product the Company successfully commercializes.

Under a license agreement with Archemix Corp., or Archemix, with respect to pharmaceutical products comprised of or derived from any anti-PDGF aptamer, the Company is obligated to make future payments to Archemix of up to an aggregate of $14.0 million if the Company achieves specified clinical and regulatory milestones with respect to Fovista, up to an aggregate of $3.0 million if the Company achieves specified commercial milestones with respect to Fovista and, for each other anti-PDGF aptamer product that it may develop under the agreement, up to an aggregate of approximately $18.8 million if the Company achieves specified clinical and regulatory milestones and up to an aggregate of $3.0 million if the Company achieves specified commercial milestones. No royalties are payable to Archemix under this license agreement.

Under a license agreement with Archemix with respect to pharmaceutical products comprised of or derived from anti-C5 aptamers, for each anti-C5 aptamer product that the Company may develop under the agreement, including Zimura, the Company is obligated to make future payments to Archemix of up to an aggregate of $57.5 million if the Company achieves specified development, clinical and regulatory milestones, and up to an aggregate of $22.5 million if the Company achieves specified commercial milestones. The Company is also obligated to pay Archemix a double-digit percentage of specified non-royalty payments the Company may receive from any sublicensee of the Company's rights under this license agreement. No royalties are payable to Archemix under this license agreement.

Under a license, manufacturing and supply agreement with Nektar Therapeutics, or Nektar, for specified pegylation reagents used to manufacture Fovista, the Company is obligated to make future payments to Nektar of up to an aggregate of $6.5 million if the Company achieves specified clinical and regulatory milestones, and an additional payment of $3.0 million if the Company achieves a specified commercial milestone with respect to Fovista. The Company is obligated to pay Nektar tiered royalties at low to mid-single-digit percentages of net sales of any licensed product the Company successfully commercializes, with the royalty percentage determined by the Company's level of licensed product sales, the extent of patent coverage for the licensed product and whether the Company has granted a third-party commercialization rights to the licensed product. In June 2014, the Company paid Nektar $19.8 million in connection with its entry into the Novartis Agreement.

Under the Novo Agreement, with respect to Fovista, the Company will be obligated to pay Novo A/S a mid-single-digit percentage royalty based on worldwide sales of Fovista. See "Note 6—Financing Agreement with Novo A/S" above for further information about Novo Agreement.

Under an option agreement with AVEO Pharmaceuticals relating to tivozanib, the Company was obligated to make milestone payments of $2.0 million upon the submission of an Investigational New Drug Application to the FDA and $6.0 million upon the earlier of demonstration of proof of concept in humans and a specified date in January 2017, subject to any exercise by the Company of its right to terminate the option agreement. In January 2017, the Company provided notice of termination of the Agreement, effective April 3, 2017.

The Company also has letter agreements with certain employees that require the funding of a specific level of payments, if certain events, such as a termination of employment in connection with a change in control or termination of employment by the employee for good reason or by the Company without cause, occur. For a description of these obligations, see the Company’s definitive proxy statement on Schedule 14A for the Company’s 2016 annual meeting of stockholders, as filed with the SEC on April 29, 2016.

In addition, in the course of normal business operations, the Company has agreements with contract service providers to assist in the performance of the Company’s research and development and manufacturing activities. Expenditures to CROs and CMOs represent significant costs in clinical development. Subject to required notice periods and the Company’s obligations under binding purchase orders, the Company can elect to discontinue the work under these agreements at any time. 
Legal Proceedings
A purported class action lawsuit has been filed against the Company and certain of its current and former executive officers in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, captioned Frank Micholle et al. v. Ophthotech Corporation, et al., No. 1:17-cv-00210, filed on January 11, 2017. The complaint purports to be brought on behalf of shareholders who purchased the Company's common stock between May 11, 2015 and December 12, 2016. The complaint generally alleges that the Company and certain of its officers violated Sections 10(b) and/or 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by making allegedly false and/or misleading statements concerning the prospects of the Company's Phase 3 trials for Fovista in combination with anti-VEGF drugs for the treatment of wet AMD. The complaint seeks equitable and/or injunctive relief, unspecified damages, attorneys’ fees, and other costs. The Company denies any allegations of wrongdoing and intend to vigorously defend against this lawsuit. The Company is unable, however, to predict the outcome of this matter at this time. Moreover, any conclusion of these matters in a manner adverse to the Company and for which it incurs substantial costs or damages not covered by the Company's directors’ and officers’ liability insurance would have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and business. In addition, the litigation could adversely impact the Company's reputation and divert management’s attention and resources from other priorities, including the execution of business plans and strategies that are important to the Company's ability to grow its business, any of which could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business.