20-F 1 d320832d20f.htm FORM 20-F Form 20-F
Table of Contents

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 20-F

(Mark One)

 

     ¨   REGISTRATION STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR

 

     x   ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011

OR

 

     ¨   TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

OR

 

     ¨   SHELL COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER: 001-34949

 

TEKMIRA PHARMACEUTICALS CORPORATION

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

British Columbia

(Jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

 

100—8900 Glenlyon Parkway

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, V5J 5J8

(Address of principal executive offices)

 

Mark J. Murray

100—8900 Glenlyon Parkway

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, V5J 5J8

Telephone: +1 604 419 3200

Facsimile: +1 604 419 3202

(Name, Telephone, Email and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact Person)

Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each Class        Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Shares, without par value      NASDAQ Capital Market

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

 

N/A

(Title of Class)

Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act:

 

N/A

(Title of Class)

The number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or common stock as of December 31, 2011 was 12,148,636 common shares.

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

If this report is an annual or a transition report, indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.  Yes  ¨  No  x

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   x  No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files). Yes  x  No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

Large accelerated filer  ¨                Accelerated filer  ¨                 Non-accelerated filer  x

Indicate by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the financial statements included in this filing:

 

U.S. GAAP  x

    

International Financial Reporting Standards as issued

by the International Accounting Standards Board  ¨

   Other  ¨

If “Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to follow.  Item 17  ¨  Item 18  ¨

If this is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes  ¨  No  x

 

 

 


Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND USE OF CERTAIN TERMS

     4   

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

     4   

PART I

     6   
  ITEM 1   IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORS      6   
  ITEM 2   OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE      6   
  ITEM 3   KEY INFORMATION      6   
   

3A.

  Selected Financial Data      6   
   

3B.

  Capitalization and Indebtedness      7   
   

3C.

  Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds      7   
   

3D.

  Risk Factors      7   
  ITEM 4   INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY      19   
   

4A.

  History and Development of the Company      19   
   

4B.

  Business Overview      20   
   

4C.

  Organizational structure      28   
   

4D.

  Property, plant and equipment      28   
  ITEM 4A   UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS      28   
  ITEM 5   OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS      28   
   

5B.

  Liquidity and Capital Resources      36   
   

5C.

  Research and Development, Patents and Licences      36   
   

5D.

  Trend Information      36   
   

5E.

  Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements      38   
   

5F.

  Tabular Disclosure of Contractual Obligations      38   
  ITEM 6   DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES      39   
   

6A.

  Directors and Management      39   
   

6B.

  Compensation      42   
   

6C.

  Board Practices      49   
   

6D.

  Employees      51   
   

6E.

  Share Ownership      51   
  ITEM 7   MAJOR SHAREHOLDER AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS      58   
   

7A.

  Major Shareholders      58   
   

7B.

  Related Party Transactions      59   
   

7C.

  Interests of Experts and Counsel      59   
  ITEM 8   FINANCIAL INFORMATION      59   
   

8A.

  Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information      59   
   

8B.

  Significant Changes      60   
  ITEM 9   THE OFFER AND LISTING      60   
   

9A.

  Offer and Listing Details      61   
   

9B.

  Plan of Distribution      61   
   

9C.

  Markets      61   
   

9D.

  Selling Shareholders      61   
   

9E.

  Dilution      61   
   

9F.

  Expenses of the Issue      61   
  ITEM 10   ADDITIONAL INFORMATION      61   
   

10A.

  Share Capital      61   
   

10B.

  Notice of Articles and Articles      61   
   

10C.

  Material Contracts      65   
   

10D.

  Exchange Controls      65   
   

10E.

  Taxation      65   
   

10F.

  Dividends and Paying Agents      70   
   

10G.

  Statement by Experts      70   
   

10H.

  Documents on Display      70   
   

10I.

  Subsidiary Information      71   
  ITEM 11   QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK      71   
  ITEM 12   DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES OTHER THAN EQUITY SECURITIES      71   
   

12A.

  Debt Securities      71   
   

12B.

  Warrants and Rights      71   
   

12C.

  Other Securities      71   
   

12D.

  American Depository Shares      71   

 

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PART II    72
  ITEM 13  

DEFAULTS, DIVIDEND ARREARAGES AND DELINQUENCIES

   72
  ITEM 14  

MATERIAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE RIGHTS OF SECURITY HOLDERS/ USE OF PROCEEDS

   72
  ITEM 15  

CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

   72
  ITEM 16A  

AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERTS

   73
  ITEM 16B  

CODE OF ETHICS

   73
  ITEM 16C  

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES

   73
  ITEM 16D  

EXEMPTIONS FROM THE LISTING STANDARDS FOR AUDIT COMMITTEES

   74
  ITEM 16E  

PURCHASE OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY THE ISSUER AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS

   74
  ITEM 16F  

CHANGE IN REGISTRANT’S CERTIFYING ACCOUNTANT

   74
  ITEM 16G  

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

   74
  ITEM 16H  

MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE

   75
PART III    76
  ITEM 17  

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

   76
  ITEM 18  

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

   76
  ITEM 19  

EXHIBITS

   76

 

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GENERAL INTRODUCTION AND USE OF CERTAIN TERMS

In this Annual Report, references to:

 

   

“Company” means Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation, a British Columbia company;

 

   

“Protiva” means Protiva Biotherapeutics Inc., a British Columbia company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tekmira; and

 

   

“We”, “us”, “our”, and “Tekmira” means Tekmira together with Protiva.

We use the Canadian dollar as our reporting currency. All references in this document to “dollars” or “$” are to Canadian dollars unless otherwise indicated.

Except as noted, the information set forth in this Annual Report is as of December 31, 2011 and, except as noted, all information included in this document should only be considered correct as of such date.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report contains “forward-looking statements” or “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by use of the words “believes,” “may,” “plans,” “will,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “budgets,” “could,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “projects” and similar expressions, and the negative of such expressions. Forward-looking statements in this Annual Report include statements about Tekmira’s strategy, future operations, clinical trials, prospects and the plans of management; RNAi (ribonucleic acid interference) product development programs; estimates of the number of clinical development programs to be undertaken by Tekmira and its product development partners; selection of additional product candidates; timing of release of clinical data; the quantum and timing of potential funding; use of lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology by Tekmira’s licensees; the effects of Tekmira’s products on the treatment of elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, cancer and infectious disease and alcohol dependence; the ALN-VSP, ALN-TTR, and ALN-PCS product development programs of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; Tekmira’s expectations with respect to existing and future agreements with third parties; statements about the initiation and details of the TKM-Ebola Phase 1 human clinical trial; statements about the nature, prospects and anticipated timing to resolve the Tekmira’s litigation with Alnylam and AlCana Technologies, Inc., including the patent infringement lawsuit; the nature, scope and quantum of damages sought by Tekmira from Alnylam and AlCana; statements about the injunction granted by the Supreme Court of British Columbia against certain individuals from AlCana; measures taken to ensure that Tekmira can pursue the litigation with Alnylam and AlCana without interruption to Tekmira’s core business activities; statements about the USPTO patent interference proceedings between Alnylam and Tekmira; estimates and scope of Tekmira’s financial guidance and expected cash runway; and estimates of the length of time Tekmira’s business will be funded by its anticipated financial resources.

With respect to the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report, Tekmira has made numerous assumptions regarding, among other things: LNP’s status as a leading RNAi delivery technology; the effectiveness of Tekmira’s products as a treatment for high LDL cholesterol, cancer, infectious disease, and alcohol dependence; the developmental milestones and approvals required to trigger funding for TKM-Ebola from the Transformational Medical Technologies program; results in non-human primates are indicative of the potential effect in humans; Tekmira’s research and development capabilities and resources; U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval with respect to commencing clinical trials; the timing and obtaining of regulatory approvals for Tekmira’s products; the timing and results of clinical data releases and use of LNP technology by Tekmira’s development partners and licensees; the time required to complete research and product development activities; the timing and quantum of payments to be received under contracts with Tekmira’s collaborative partners including the U.S. Government and the manufacturing agreement with Alnylam; the nature and prospects of the litigation with Alnylam and AlCana, including the patent infringement lawsuit filed by Alnylam; based on the conduct of Alnylam and AlCana, the nature, scope and quantum of damages that Tekmira is entitled to; costs and timing of the litigation with Alnylam and AlCana and the effects of such on Tekmira’s financial position and execution of Tekmira’s business strategy; the effect of Alnylam’s and AlCana’s answers and counterclaims on Tekmira’s litigation position; the sufficiency of budgeted capital expenditures in carrying out planned activities; Tekmira’s ability to protect its intellectual property rights and not to infringe on the intellectual property rights of others; the ability to succeed at establishing a successful commercialization program for any of Tekmira’s products; and the availability and cost of labor and services. While Tekmira considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, market and social uncertainties and contingencies.

Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause Tekmira’s actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. Known risk factors include, but are not limited to, the risks and uncertainties discussed below in Item 3D – Risk Factors. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial may also materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and/or operating results.

Additional discussion of the risks and uncertainties facing Tekmira appear in Tekmira’s public filings available at www.sedar.com or at www.sec.gov/edgar. All forward-looking statements herein are qualified in their entirety by this

 

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cautionary statement, and Tekmira disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statements or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law.

 

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PART I

 

ITEM 1 IDENTITY OF DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORS

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 2 OFFER STATISTICS AND EXPECTED TIMETABLE

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 3 KEY INFORMATION

 

3A. Selected Financial Data

The following table presents selected financial data derived from Tekmira’s audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, and 2007. You should read this information in conjunction with our financial statements for the periods presented, as well as Item 4 “Information on the Company” and Item 5 “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Summary Financial Information

Under U.S. GAAP (1) (in thousands of Canadian dollars, except per share amounts)

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2011     2010     2009     2008     2007  
     $     $     $     $     $  

Operating Data

          

Revenue

     16,647        21,355        14,428        11,732        15,769   

Expenses

     27,187        33,870        22,905        40,716        13,155   

Income (Loss) from operations

     (10,540     (12,515     (8,477     (28,984     2,613   

Net and comprehensive income (loss)

     (9,937     (12,415     (8,749     (29,920     (2,558

Weighted average number of common shares—basic(2)

     11,319        10,333        10,325        8,116        4,770   

Weighted average number of common shares—diluted(2)

     11,319        10,333        10,325        8,116        4,770   

Income (Loss) per common share—basic

     (0.88     (1.20     (0.85     (3.69     (0.54

Income (Loss) per common share—diluted

     (0.88     (1.20     (0.85     (3.69     (0.54

Balance Sheet Data

          

Total current assets

     11,794        17,909        25,958        33,261        23,068   

Total assets

     13,991        21,022        29,279        35,871        24,593   

Total liabilities

     8,676        10,290        6,816        4,933        6,401   

Share capital

     233,501        229,492        229,427        229,412        195,317   

Total Stockholders’ equity

     5,315        10,733        22,463        30,938        18,192   

Number of shares outstanding(2)

     12,149        10,339        10,329        10,325        4,913   

Notes:

 

(1) The operating data for the years ending December 31, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008 is derived from financial statements prepared under U.S. GAAP. The operating data for the year ending December 31, 2007 is derived from financial statements prepared under Canadian GAAP and then reconciled to U.S. GAAP. The balance sheet data at December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 is derived from financial statements prepared under U.S. GAAP. The balance sheet data at December 31, 2008 and 2007 is derived from financial statements prepared under Canadian GAAP and then reconciled to U.S. GAAP. You should read this information in conjunction with our financial statements for the periods presented, as well as Item 4 “Information on the Company” and Item 5 “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” included elsewhere in this Annual Report. The financial information presented in this 20-F has been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles of the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP. Historically we prepared our consolidated financial statements in conformity with Canadian generally accepted accounting principles. The Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Instrument 52-107, Acceptable Accounting Principles, Auditing Standards and Reporting Currency, permits Canadian public companies who are also U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) registrants the option of preparing their financial statements under U.S. GAAP. Based on a number of our peers and collaborators reporting under U.S. GAAP, we concluded that U.S. GAAP is more relevant to the users of our financial statements. Therefore, effective December 31, 2010, we adopted U.S. GAAP as the reporting standard for our consolidated financial statements. All comparative financial information contained in our December 31, 2011 consolidated financial statements and in this Annual Report has been presented as if we had historically reported in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
(2) On April 30, 2007, Inex’s (Tekmira’s predecessor company) common shares were consolidated on a basis of two current common shares for one new common share. On November 4, 2010, Tekmira completed a consolidation of its common shares whereby five old common shares of Tekmira were exchanged for one new common share of Tekmira. Except as otherwise indicated, all references to common shares, common shares outstanding, average number of common shares outstanding, per share amounts and options in this document have been restated to reflect the common shares consolidation on a retroactive basis.

 

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We have never declared or paid any cash dividends.

Exchange Rate

The closing exchange rate between the Canadian dollar and the U.S. dollar was CDN$0.9987 per US$1.00 (or US$1.0013 per CDN$1.00) using the Bank of Canada exchange rate on March 23, 2012.

The average exchange rates for the financial periods of Tekmira listed above (based on the average exchange rate for each period using the average of the closing exchange rates on the last day of each month during the period in accordance with the exchange rates provided by the Bank of Canada) are as follows:

 

     Year Ended December 31,  
     2011      2010      2009      2008      2007  

Period end

   $ 1.0170       $ 0.9946       $ 1.0466       $ 1.2246       $ 0.9881   

Average

   $ 0.9891       $ 1.0304       $ 1.1374       $ 1.0716       $ 1.0659   

High

   $ 1.0549       $ 1.0745       $ 1.3000       $ 1.2970       $ 1.1853   

Low

   $ 0.9428       $ 0.9360       $ 1.0292       $ 0.9719       $ 0.9170   

The high and low exchange rates between the Canadian dollar and the U.S. dollar for the past six months (provided by the Bank of Canada) are as follows:

 

      Exchange rate
CDN$ per US$1.00
 

Month

   High      Low  

March 1, 2012 through March 23, 2012

   $ 1.0161       $ 0.9965   

February 2012

   $ 1.0016       $ 0.9866   

January 2012

   $ 1.0272       $ 0.9986   

December 2011

   $ 1.0406       $ 1.0105   

November 2011

   $ 1.0487       $ 1.0126   

October 2011

   $ 1.0604       $ 0.9935   

September 2011

   $ 1.0389       $ 0.9752   

 

3B. Capitalization and Indebtedness

Not applicable.

 

3C. Reasons for the Offer and Use of Proceeds

Not applicable.

 

3D. Risk Factors

An investment in our common shares is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. We may face a variety of risks that may affect our operations or financial results, and many of those risks are driven by factors that we cannot control or predict. Before investing in our common shares, investors should carefully consider the following risks. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In that case, investors may lose all or a part of their investment. You should not consider an investment in our common shares unless you are capable of sustaining an economic loss of the entire investment.

Risks Related to Our Business

We are in the early stages of our development and because we have a short development history with ribonucleic acid interference (RNAi), there is a limited amount of information about us upon which you can evaluate our RNAi business and prospects.

We have not begun to market or generate revenues from the commercialization of any products. We have only a limited history upon which one can evaluate our RNAi business and prospects as our RNAi therapeutic products are still at an early stage of development and thus we have limited experience and have not yet demonstrated an ability to successfully overcome many of the risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by companies in new and rapidly evolving fields, particularly in the biopharmaceutical area. For example, to execute our business plan, we will need to successfully:

 

   

execute product development activities using an unproven technology;

 

   

build, maintain and protect a strong intellectual property portfolio;

 

   

gain acceptance for the development and commercialization of any product we develop;

 

   

develop and maintain successful strategic relationships; and

 

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manage our spending and cash requirements as our expenses are expected to increase due to clinical trials, regulatory approvals, commercialization and our lawsuit with Alnylam and AlCana.

If we are unsuccessful in accomplishing these objectives, we may not be able to develop products, raise capital, expand our business or continue our operations.

The approach we are taking to discover and develop novel drug products is unproven and may never lead to marketable drug products.

We intend to concentrate our internal research and development efforts in the future on RNAi technology, and our future success depends in part on the successful development of RNAi technology and products based on RNAi technology. While RNAi technology is based on a naturally occurring process that takes place inside cells, which can suppress the production of specific proteins, and has the potential to generate therapeutic drugs that take advantage of that process, neither we nor any other company has received regulatory approval to market a therapeutic product based on RNAi technology. The scientific discoveries that form the basis for our efforts to discover and develop new products are relatively new. While there are a number of RNAi therapeutics in development, very few product candidates based on these discoveries have ever been tested in humans and there can be no assurance that any RNAi therapeutic product will be approved for commercial use.

Further, our focus solely on RNAi technology for developing products, as opposed to multiple, more proven technologies for product development, increases our risks. If we are not successful in developing a product candidate using RNAi technology, we may be required to change the scope and direction of our product development activities. In that case, we may not be able to identify and implement successfully an alternative product development strategy.

Risks Related to Our Financial Results and Need for Financing

We will require substantial additional capital to fund our operations. If additional capital is not available, we may need to delay, limit or eliminate our research, development and commercialization processes and may need to undertake a restructuring.

At December 31, 2011 we had $7.2 million in working capital excluding deferred revenue and expense balances. We believe that our current funds on hand, including funds from a recently completed equity private placement and access to a term loan, plus expected income including funds from our collaborative partners and the U.S. Government will be sufficient to extend our cash runway into the second half of 2013. Substantial additional funds will be required to continue with the active development of our pipeline products and technologies. In particular, our funding needs may vary depending on a number of factors including:

 

   

legal costs associated with ongoing litigation with Alnylam and AlCana as well as potential costs associated with the outcome of the litigation, including damages, costs and attorney fees;

 

   

revenues earned from our collaborative partnerships, including Alnylam;

 

   

revenues earned from our U.S. Government contract to develop TKM-Ebola;

 

   

the extent to which we continue the development of our product candidates or form collaborative relationships to advance our products;

 

   

our decisions to in-license or acquire additional products or technology for development, in particular for our RNAi therapeutics programs;

 

   

our ability to attract and retain corporate partners, and their effectiveness in carrying out the development and ultimate commercialization of our product candidates;

 

   

whether batches of drugs that we manufacture fail to meet specifications resulting in delays and investigational and remanufacturing costs;

 

   

the decisions, and the timing of decisions, made by health regulatory agencies regarding our technology and products;

 

   

competing technological and market developments; and

 

   

prosecuting and enforcing our patent claims and other intellectual property rights.

We will seek to obtain funding to maintain and advance our business from a variety of sources including public or private equity or debt financing, collaborative arrangements with pharmaceutical companies and government grants and contracts. There can be no assurance that funding will be available at all or on acceptable terms to permit further development of our products especially in light of the current difficult climate for investment in early stage biotechnology companies and our ongoing litigation with Alnylam.

If adequate funding is not available, we may be required to delay, reduce or eliminate one or more of our research or development programs or reduce expenses associated with non-core activities. We may need to obtain funds through arrangements with collaborators or others that may require us to relinquish most or all of our rights to product candidates at an earlier stage of development or on less favorable terms than we would otherwise seek if we were better funded. Insufficient financing may also mean failing to prosecute our patents or relinquishing rights to some of our technologies that we would otherwise develop or commercialize.

 

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We have incurred losses in nearly every year since our inception and we anticipate that we will not achieve sustained profits for the foreseeable future. To date, we have had no product revenues.

With the exception of the year ended December 31, 2006, we have incurred losses since inception and have not received any revenues other than from research and development collaborations, license fees and milestone payments. From inception to December 31, 2011, we have an accumulated net deficit of $258.8 million. As we continue our research and development and clinical trials and seek regulatory approval for the sale of our product candidates, we do not expect to attain sustained profitability for the foreseeable future. We do not expect to achieve sustained profits until such time as strategic alliance payments, product sales and royalty payments, if any, generate sufficient revenues to fund our continuing operations. We cannot predict if we will ever achieve profitability and, if we do, we may not be able to remain consistently profitable or increase our profitability.

A determination that we have defaulted under the terms of our term loan debt would have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.

In December 2011, we secured a US$3.0 million term loan from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The loan may limit our access to additional capital and the loan is subject to specific non-financial covenants, which include ongoing reporting obligations and restrictions on Tekmira’s ability to incur further indebtedness, dispose of its assets, encumber its property, and enter into a merger or amalgamation. The loan is secured by the assets and intellectual property of Tekmira. At December 31, 2011 we had not drawn down on the loan facility. If we fail to meet our ongoing obligations and covenants under the loan facility prior to drawing down on the loan, we may not be able to draw down on the loan as the need arises. Additionally, should we draw down on the loan and fail to meet our obligations and covenants under the loan, we could default on the loan, which may prevent us from drawing down further on the loan and place at risk the assets and intellectual property of Tekmira that are granted as collateral for the loan.

Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties

We expect to depend on our existing and new collaborators for a significant portion of our revenues and to develop, conduct clinical trials with, obtain regulatory approvals for, and manufacture, market and sell some of our product candidates. If these collaborations are unsuccessful, our business could be adversely affected.

We expect that we will depend in part on our Alnylam and U.S. Government collaborations to provide revenue to fund our operations, especially in the near term. These collaborations represented 25% and 69%, respectively, of our operating revenue for the fiscal year 2011. Furthermore, our strategy is to enter into various additional arrangements with corporate and academic collaborators, licensors, licensees and others for the research, development, clinical testing, manufacturing, marketing and commercialization of our products. We may be unable to continue to establish such collaborations, and any collaborative arrangements we do establish may be unsuccessful.

Should any collaborative partner fail to develop or ultimately successfully commercialize any of the products to which it has obtained rights, our business may be adversely affected. In addition, once initiated, there can be no assurance that any of these collaborations will be continued or result in successfully commercialized products. In particular, there is now a risk that our collaboration with Alnylam could be adversely affected, following our initiation of a lawsuit with Alnylam. Failure of a collaborative partner to continue funding any particular program could delay or halt the development or commercialization of any products arising out of such program. In addition, there can be no assurance that the collaborative partners will not pursue alternative technologies or develop alternative products either on their own or in collaboration with others, including our competitors, as a means for developing treatments for the diseases targeted by our programs.

We expect the U.S. Government to fund our TKM-Ebola program through to completion of a Phase 1 human safety clinical trial and possibly beyond that to FDA drug approval. The quantum and timing of funding may not be what we have projected and the U.S. Government could cancel this funding at any time.

The contract we signed with the U.S. Government on July 14, 2010 is for funding of up to US$34.7 million for our TKM-Ebola program through to the completion of a Phase 1 human safety clinical trial and certain manufacturing objectives. The U.S. Government may later extend the contract to cover the entire TKM-Ebola program through to FDA drug approval.

This is our first U.S. Government contract of any notable size. Our lack of experience in dealing with the U.S. Government brings uncertainty into our cash flow projections and uncertainty into our ability to execute the contract within U.S. Government requirements. Furthermore, there is inherent risk in projecting cash flows years ahead for such a complex program.

The quantum and timing of funding for the TKM-Ebola program may not be what we have projected and under the terms of the contract the U.S. Government could cancel this funding, which is paid through monthly reimbursements, at any time.

We rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials, and if they fail to fulfill their obligations, our development plans may be adversely affected.

We rely on independent clinical investigators, contract research organizations and other third-party service providers to assist us in managing, monitoring and otherwise carrying out our clinical trials. We have contracted with, and we plan to

 

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continue to contract with, certain third parties to provide certain services, including site selection, enrolment, monitoring and data management services. Although we depend heavily on these parties, we do not control them and therefore, we cannot be assured that these third parties will adequately perform all of their contractual obligations to us. If our third-party service providers cannot adequately fulfill their obligations to us on a timely and satisfactory basis or if the quality or accuracy of our clinical trial data is compromised due to failure to adhere to our protocols or regulatory requirements, or if such third parties otherwise fail to meet deadlines, our development plans may be delayed or terminated. One of the contract research organizations we are currently working with is undergoing a financial restructuring. The outcome of the restructuring is not currently determinable and may impact timelines in the development of TKM-Ebola.

We have no sales, marketing or distribution experience and would have to invest significant financial and management resources to establish these capabilities.

We have no sales, marketing or distribution experience. We currently expect to rely heavily on third parties to launch and market certain of our products, if approved. However, if we elect to develop internal sales, distribution and marketing capabilities, we will need to invest significant financial and management resources. For products where we decide to perform sales, marketing and distribution functions ourselves, we could face a number of additional risks, including:

 

   

we may not be able to attract and build a significant marketing or sales force;

 

   

the cost of establishing a marketing or sales force may not be justifiable in light of the revenues generated by any particular product; and

 

   

our direct sales and marketing efforts may not be successful.

If we are unable to develop our own sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, we will not be able to successfully commercialize our products, if approved, without reliance on third parties.

We will rely on third-party manufacturers to manufacture our products (if approved) in commercial quantities, which could delay, prevent or increase the costs associated with the future commercialization of our products.

Our product candidates have not yet been manufactured for commercial use. If any of our product candidates becomes approved for commercial sale, in order to supply our or our collaborators’ commercial requirements for such an approved product, we will need to establish third-party manufacturing capacity. Any third-party manufacturing partner may be required to fund capital improvements to support the scale-up of manufacturing and related activities. The third-party manufacturer may not be able to establish scaled manufacturing capacity for an approved product in a timely or economic manner, if at all. If a manufacturer is unable to provide commercial quantities of such an approved product, we will have to successfully transfer manufacturing technology to a new manufacturer. Engaging a new manufacturer for such an approved product could require us to conduct comparative studies or utilize other means to determine bioequivalence of the new and prior manufacturers’ products, which could delay or prevent our ability to commercialize such an approved product. If any of these manufacturers is unable or unwilling to increase its manufacturing capacity or if we are unable to establish alternative arrangements on a timely basis or on acceptable terms, the development and commercialization of such an approved product may be delayed or there may be a shortage in supply. Any inability to manufacture our products in sufficient quantities when needed would seriously harm our business.

Manufacturers of our approved products, if any, must comply with cGMP requirements enforced by the FDA and Health Canada through facilities inspection programs. These requirements include quality control, quality assurance, and the maintenance of records and documentation. Manufacturers of our approved products, if any, may be unable to comply with these cGMP requirements and with other FDA, Health Canada, state, and foreign regulatory requirements. We have little control over our manufacturers’ compliance with these regulations and standards. A failure to comply with these requirements may result in fines and civil penalties, suspension of production, suspension or delay in product approval, product seizure or recall, or withdrawal of product approval. If the safety of any quantities supplied is compromised due to our manufacturer’s failure to adhere to applicable laws or for other reasons, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or successfully commercialize our products, which would seriously harm our business.

Risks Related to Managing Our Operations

We are dependent on certain members of our management and scientific staff. The loss of services of one or more of these staff members could adversely affect us.

We depend on our senior executive officers as well as key scientific, management and other personnel. The competition for qualified personnel in the biotechnology field is intense. We rely heavily on our ability to attract and retain qualified managerial, scientific and technical personnel. While we currently have employment contracts with our key personnel and are not aware that any are planning to leave or retire, we may not be able to successfully attract and retain skilled and experienced personnel in the future. In particular, we rely on our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark J. Murray, Ph.D., and our Executive Vice President and Chief Science Officer, Ian MacLachlan, Ph.D. Dr. Murray has over 20 years of experience in both the R&D and business development and management facets of the biotechnology industry and Dr. MacLachlan has been active in molecular therapeutics for more than a decade. If we were to lose either of their services, our ability to develop our technology, add to our pipeline, advance our product candidates and manage our operations and relationships with third parties would be adversely affected.

 

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We may have difficulty managing our growth and expanding our operations successfully as we seek to evolve from a company primarily involved in discovery and preclinical testing into one that develops products through clinical development and commercialization.

As product candidates we develop enter and advance through clinical trials, we will need to expand our development, regulatory, manufacturing, clinical and medical capabilities or contract with other organizations to provide these capabilities for us. As our operations expand, we expect that we will need to manage additional relationships with various collaborators, suppliers and other organizations. Our ability to manage our operations and growth will require us to continue to improve our operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures. We may not be able to implement improvements to our management information and control systems in an efficient or timely manner and may discover deficiencies in existing systems or controls.

We could face liability from our controlled use of hazardous and radioactive materials in our research and development processes.

We use certain radioactive materials, biological materials and chemicals, including organic solvents, acids and gases stored under pressure, in our research and development activities. Our use of radioactive materials is regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for the possession, transfer, import, export, use, storage, handling and disposal of radioactive materials. Our use of biological materials and chemicals, including the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of such materials and certain waste products is regulated by a number of federal, provincial and local laws and regulations. Although we believe that our safety procedures for handling such materials comply with the standards prescribed by such laws and regulations, the risk of accidental contamination or injury from these materials cannot be completely eliminated. In the event of such an accident, we could be held liable for any damages that result and any such liability could exceed our resources. We are not specifically insured with respect to this liability.

Our business and operations could suffer in the event of information technology system failures.

Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of our contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war, and telecommunication and electrical failures. Such events could cause interruption of our operations. For example, the loss of pre-clinical trial data or data from completed or ongoing clinical trials for our product candidates could result in delays in our regulatory filings and development efforts and significantly increase our costs. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of or damage to our data, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and the development of our product candidates could be delayed.

Our independent auditors have not assessed our internal control over financial reporting. If our internal control over financial reporting is not effective, it could have a material adverse effect on our stock price and our ability to raise capital.

As disclosed in Item 15 of this annual report, our management has evaluated, and provided a report with respect to, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011. However, because we are a “non-accelerated filer” within the meaning of Rule 12b-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, our independent auditors are not required to assess our internal control over financial reporting or to provide a report thereon. Although our management has determined that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of the evaluation date, there can be no assurance that our independent auditors would agree with our management’s conclusion. Furthermore, if our market capitalization, excluding affiliated stockholders, at June 30 of any fiscal year is greater than US$75 million, then we will be required to obtain independent auditor certification on the adequacy of our internal control over financial reporting for that fiscal year. If our internal control over financial reporting is determined in the future to not be effective, whether by our management or by our independent auditors, there could be an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements, which could materially adversely affect our stock price and our ability to raise capital necessary to operate our business. In addition, we may be required to incur costs in improving our internal control system and hiring additional personnel.

Risks Related to Our Industry

Risks Related to Development, Clinical Testing and Regulatory Approval of Our Product Candidates

The manufacture and sale of human therapeutic products are governed by a variety of statutes and regulations. There can be no assurance that our product candidates will obtain regulatory approval.

To obtain marketing approval, U.S. and Canadian laws require:

 

   

controlled research and human clinical testing;

 

   

establishment of the safety and efficacy of the product for each use sought;

 

   

government review and approval of a submission containing manufacturing, pre-clinical and clinical data;

 

   

adherence to Good Manufacturing Practice Regulations during production and storage; and

 

   

control of marketing activities, including advertising and labelling.

 

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The product candidates we currently have under development will require significant development, pre-clinical and clinical testing and investment of significant funds before their commercialization. Some of our product candidates, if approved, will require the completion of post-market studies. There can be no assurance that such products will be developed. The process of completing clinical testing and obtaining required approvals is likely to take a number of years and require the use of substantial resources. If we fail to obtain regulatory approvals, our operations will be adversely affected. Further, there can be no assurance that future product candidates will be shown to be safe and effective in clinical trials or receive applicable regulatory approvals.

Other markets have regulations and restrictions similar to those in the U.S. and Canada. Investors should be aware of the risks, problems, delays, expenses and difficulties which we may encounter in view of the extensive regulatory environment which affects our business in any jurisdiction where we develop product candidates.

If testing of a particular product candidate does not yield successful results, then we will be unable to commercialize that product candidate.

We must demonstrate our product candidates’ safety and efficacy in humans through extensive clinical testing. Our research and development programs are at an early stage of development. We may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, the testing process that could delay or prevent commercialization of any products, including the following:

 

   

the results of pre-clinical studies may be inconclusive, or they may not be indicative of results that will be obtained in human clinical trials;

 

   

safety and efficacy results attained in early human clinical trials may not be indicative of results that are obtained in later clinical trials;

 

   

after reviewing test results, we or our collaborators may abandon projects that we might previously have believed to be promising;

 

   

we, our collaborators or regulators, may suspend or terminate clinical trials because the participating subjects or patients are being exposed to unacceptable health risks; and

 

   

our product candidates may not have the desired effects or may include undesirable side effects or other characteristics that preclude regulatory approval or limit their commercial use if approved.

Clinical testing is very expensive, can take many years, and the outcome is uncertain. The data collected from our clinical trials may not be sufficient to support approval of our product candidates by the regulatory authorities. The clinical trials of our product candidates may not be completed on schedule, and the regulatory authorities may not ultimately approve any of our product candidates for commercial sale. If we fail to adequately demonstrate the safety and efficacy of a product candidate, this would delay or prevent regulatory approval of the product candidate, which could prevent us from achieving profitability.

It may take us longer than we are currently projecting to complete our clinical trials, and we may not be able to complete them at all.

Although for planning purposes we project the commencement, continuation and completion of our clinical trials, a number of factors, including scheduling conflicts with participating clinicians and clinical institutions, and difficulties in identifying or enrolling patients who meet trial eligibility criteria, may cause significant delays. We may not commence or complete clinical trials involving any of our product candidates as projected or may not conduct them successfully.

We rely on academic institutions, hospitals, medical clinics and/or clinical research organizations to conduct, supervise or monitor some or all aspects of clinical trials involving our product candidates. We will have less control over the timing and other aspects of these clinical trials than if we conducted them entirely on our own. If we fail to commence or complete, or if we experience delays in, any of our planned clinical trials, our ability to conduct business as currently planned could be harmed.

Even if we achieve regulatory approval, future regulatory reviews or inspections may result in the suspension or withdrawal of one or more of our products, closure of a facility or enforcement of substantial fines.

If regulatory approval to sell any of our product candidates is received, regulatory agencies may, nevertheless, limit the categories of patients who can use them. In addition, regulatory agencies subject a marketed product, its manufacture and the manufacturers’ facilities to continual review and periodic inspection. If previously unknown problems with a product or manufacturing and laboratory facility are discovered or we fail to comply with applicable regulatory approval requirements, a regulatory agency may impose restrictions on that product or on us. The agency may require the withdrawal of the product from the market, closure of the facility or enforcement of substantial fines.

Our ability to successfully commercialize human therapeutic products may depend in part on reimbursement for the cost of such products and related treatments from government health administration authorities, private health coverage insurers and other organizations.

Third-party payers are increasingly challenging the price of medical products and services. Significant uncertainty exists as to the reimbursement status of newly approved healthcare products, and adequate third-party coverage may not be

 

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available to establish price levels sufficient for us to realize an appropriate return on our investment in product development. When we partner our product candidates we will typically be relying on that partner to obtain cost reimbursement from third parties for the product candidate.

Product candidates we develop, if approved for marketing, may be slow to achieve market acceptance or gain market acceptance at all.

The product candidates that we are trying to develop will compete with a number of drugs and therapies currently on the market, as well as products currently under development. The rate and degree of market acceptance of our products will depend on a number of factors, including the establishment and demonstration in the medical community of the clinical efficacy and safety of our products and their potential advantage over alternative treatments. There is no assurance that physicians, patients or the medical community in general will accept and utilize any products that we may develop.

We face potential product liability exposure, and if successful claims are brought against us, we may incur substantial liability for a product candidate and may have to limit its commercialization.

The use of our product candidates in clinical trials and the sale of any products for which we obtain marketing approval expose us to the risk of product liability claims. Product liability claims might be brought against us by consumers, health-care providers, pharmaceutical companies, or others selling our products. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against these claims, we will incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:

 

   

decreased demand for our product candidates;

 

   

impairment of our business reputation;

 

   

withdrawal of clinical trial participants;

 

   

costs of related litigation;

 

   

substantial monetary awards to patients or other claimants;

 

   

loss of revenues; and

 

   

the inability to commercialize our product candidates.

Although we currently have product liability insurance coverage for our clinical trials for expenses or losses, our insurance coverage is limited to US$10 million per occurrence, and US$10 million in the aggregate, and may not reimburse us or may not be sufficient to reimburse us for any or all expenses or losses we may suffer. Moreover, insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive and, in the future, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to liability. We intend to expand our insurance coverage to include the sale of commercial products if we obtain marketing approval for our product candidates in development, but we may be unable to obtain commercially reasonable product liability insurance for any products approved for marketing. On occasion, large judgments have been awarded in class action lawsuits based on products that had unanticipated side effects. A successful product liability claim or series of claims brought against us could cause our stock price to fall and, if judgments exceed our insurance coverage, could decrease our cash and adversely affect our business.

The Animal Rule is a new and seldom-used approach to seeking approval of a new drug, and our TKM-Ebola program may not meet the requirements for this path to regulatory approval.

We plan to develop the TKM-Ebola therapeutic product candidate to treat Ebola virus using the “Animal Rule” regulatory mechanism. Pursuant to the Animal Rule, we must demonstrate efficacy in animal models and safety in humans. There is no guarantee that the FDA will agree to this approach to the development of TKM-Ebola, considering that no validated animal model has been established as predicting human outcomes in the prevention or treatment of the Ebola virus. The FDA may decide that our data are insufficient for approval and require additional pre-clinical, clinical, or other studies, or refuse to approve our products, or place restrictions on our ability to commercialize those products. Animal models represent, at best, a rough approximation of efficacy in humans, and, as such, countermeasures developed using animal models will be untested until their use in humans during an emergency.

Risks Related to Patents, Licenses and Trade Secrets

Other companies or organizations may assert patent rights that prevent us from developing or commercializing our products.

RNA interference is a relatively new scientific field that has generated many different patent applications from organizations and individuals seeking to obtain patents in the field. These applications claim many different methods, compositions and processes relating to the discovery, development and commercialization of RNAi therapeutic products. Because the field is so new, very few of these patent applications have been fully processed by government patent offices around the world, and there is a great deal of uncertainty about which patents will be issued, when, to whom, and with what claims. It is likely that there will be litigation and other proceedings, such as interference and opposition proceedings in various patent offices, relating to patent rights in the RNAi field.

In addition, there are many issued and pending patents that claim aspects of small interfering RNA (siRNA) chemistry technology that we may need to apply to our product candidates. There are also many issued patents that claim genes or

 

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portions of genes that may be relevant for siRNA drug products we wish to develop. Thus, it is possible that one or more organizations will hold patent rights to which we will need a license. If those organizations refuse to grant us a license to such patent rights on reasonable terms, we will not be able to market products or perform research and development or other activities covered by these patents.

Our patents and patent applications may be challenged and may be found to be invalid, which could adversely affect our business.

Certain Canadian, U.S. and international patents and patent applications we own involve complex legal and factual questions for which important legal principles are largely unresolved. For example, no consistent policy has emerged for the breadth of biotechnology patent claims that are granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or enforced by the U.S. federal courts. In addition, the coverage claimed in a patent application can be significantly reduced before a patent is issued. Also, we face the following intellectual property risks:

 

   

some or all patent applications may not result in the issuance of a patent;

 

   

patents issued may not provide the holder with any competitive advantages;

 

   

patents could be challenged by third parties;

 

   

the patents of others, including Alnylam, could impede our ability to do business;

 

   

competitors may find ways to design around our patents; and

 

   

competitors could independently develop products which duplicate our products.

A number of industry competitors, including Alnylam, and institutions have developed technologies, filed patent applications or received patents on various technologies that may be related to or affect our business. Some of these technologies, applications or patents may conflict with our technologies or patent applications. Such conflict could limit the scope of the patents, if any, that we may be able to obtain or result in the denial of our patent applications. In addition, if patents that cover our activities are issued to other companies, there can be no assurance that we would be able to obtain licenses to these patents at a reasonable cost or be able to develop or obtain alternative technology. If we do not obtain such licenses, we could encounter delays in the introduction of products, or could find that the development, manufacture or sale of products requiring such licenses is prohibited. In addition, we could incur substantial costs in defending patent infringement suits brought against us or in filing suits against others to have such patents declared invalid.

As publication of discoveries in the scientific or patent literature often lags behind actual discoveries, we cannot be certain we or any licensor was the first creator of inventions covered by pending patent applications or that we or such licensor was the first to file patent applications for such inventions. For example, we are currently involved in a patent interference proceeding declared by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to determine priority of invention to subject matter of Alnylam’s U.S. Patent No. 7,718,629 in light of Tekmira’s U.S. Patent Application 11/807,872. This proceeding, and any future proceedings, could result in substantial costs, even if the eventual outcomes are favorable. There can be no assurance that our patents, if issued, will be held valid or enforceable by a court or that a competitor’s technology or product would be found to infringe such patents.

Our business depends on our ability to use RNAi technology that we have licensed or will in the future license from third parties, including Alnylam, and, if these licenses were terminated or if we were unable to license additional technology we may need in the future, our business will be adversely affected.

We currently hold licenses for certain technologies that are or may be applicable to our current and subsequent product candidates. These include licenses to core siRNA patents held or applied for by Alnylam. The Alnylam licenses are subject to termination in the event of a breach by us of the licenses or of certain of our other agreements with Alnylam, if we fail to cure the breach following notice and the passage of a cure period. The UBC license, which is sublicensed to Alnylam, is subject to termination with respect to one or more particular patents if we and Alnylam were to cease patent prosecution or maintenance activities with respect to such patent(s), or in the event of a breach by us of the license, if we fail to cure the breach following notice and the passage of a cure period. There can be no assurance that these licenses will not be terminated, especially in light of our ongoing lawsuit with Alnylam. Alnylam has also provided us notice that certain intellectual property to which they have an exclusive license, under the UBC sublicense agreement, has not been granted to us for all of our product candidates. We may need to acquire additional licenses in the future to technologies developed by others, including Alnylam. For example, Alnylam has granted us a worldwide license for the discovery, development and commercialization of RNAi products directed to eight gene targets (three exclusive and five non-exclusive licenses). Licenses for the five non-exclusive targets and one exclusive target have already been granted. We have rights to select the gene targets for up to two more exclusive licenses from Alnylam, which would only be made available to us only if they have not been previously selected by Alnylam or one of its other partners. This will limit the targets available for selection by us, and we may never be able to select gene targets or may be required to make our selection from gene targets that have minimal commercial potential. Furthermore, future license agreements may require us to make substantial milestone payments. We will also be obligated to make royalty payments on the sales, if any, of products resulting from licensed RNAi technology. For some of our licensed RNAi technology, we are responsible for the costs of filing and prosecuting patent applications. The termination of a license or the inability to license future technologies on acceptable terms may adversely affect our ability to develop or sell our products.

 

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We may incur substantial costs as a result of litigation or other proceedings relating to patent and other intellectual property rights which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and could cause the market value of our common shares to decline.

There has been significant litigation in the biotechnology industry over patents and other proprietary rights, and we are or may become involved in various types of litigation that arise from time to time. Involvement in litigation could consume a substantial portion of our resources, regardless of the outcome of the litigation. Counterparties in litigation may be better able to sustain the costs of litigation because they have substantially greater resources. If claims against us are successful, in addition to any potential liability for damages, we could be required to obtain a license, grant cross-licenses, and pay substantial royalties in order to continue to manufacture or market the affected products. Involvement and continuation of involvement in litigation may result in significant and unsustainable expense, and divert management’s attention from ongoing business concerns and interfere with our normal operations. Litigation is also inherently uncertain with respect to the time and expenses associated therewith, and involves risks and uncertainties in the litigation process itself, such as discovery of new evidence or acceptance of unanticipated or novel legal theories, changes in interpretation of the law due to decisions in other cases, the inherent difficulty in predicting the decisions of judges and juries and the possibility of appeals. Ultimately we could be prevented from commercializing a product or be forced to cease some aspect of our business operations as a result of claims of patent infringement or violation of other intellectual property rights and the costs associated with litigation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and operating results and could cause the market value of our common shares to decline.

We have ongoing litigation with Alnylam and AlCana where we have alleged misappropriation of our proprietary lipid nanoparticle delivery technology, resulting in damage to our intellectual property and business interests. Alnylam and AlCana have responded to our complaint and have also filed counterclaims. In addition, Alnylam has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against us arising from our research activities with a pharmaceutical collaborator. Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is named as a co-plaintiff in the patent infringement suit. Litigation is subject to inherent uncertainty and if we are unsuccessful in defending ourselves we could be required to pay significant damages, costs and attorney fees. We also continue to incur significant costs in the litigation and the litigation has diverted the attention of management and other resources that could otherwise be engaged in other activities. See “Item 8A Legal Proceedings” section of this Annual Report for more information.

Confidentiality agreements with employees and others, including collaborators, may not adequately prevent disclosure of trade secrets and other proprietary information.

Much of our know-how and RNAi technology may constitute trade secrets. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be able to meaningfully protect our trade secrets. In order to protect our proprietary RNAi technology and processes, we rely in part on confidentiality agreements with our collaborators, employees, vendors, consultants, outside scientific collaborators and sponsored researchers, and other advisors. These agreements may not effectively prevent disclosure of confidential information and may not provide an adequate remedy in the event of unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, others may independently discover trade secrets and proprietary information, and in such cases we could not assert any trade secret rights against such party. Costly and time-consuming litigation, including our ongoing litigation with Alnylam and AlCana, could continue to be necessary to enforce and determine the scope of our proprietary rights, and failure to obtain or maintain trade secret protection could adversely affect our competitive business position. In addition, we have sued certain individuals from AlCana for theft of confidential documents containing our confidential information and trade secrets. See “Item 8A Legal Proceedings” section of this Annual Report for more information.

Risks Related to Competition

The pharmaceutical market is intensely competitive. If we are unable to compete effectively with existing drugs, new treatment methods and new technologies, we may be unable to successfully commercialize any product candidates that we develop.

The pharmaceutical market is intensely competitive and rapidly changing. Many large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, governmental agencies and other public and private research organizations are pursuing the development of novel drugs for the same diseases that we are targeting or expect to target. Many of our competitors have:

 

   

much greater financial, technical and human resources than we have at every stage of the discovery, development, manufacture and commercialization process;

 

   

more extensive experience in pre-clinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals, and in manufacturing, marketing and selling pharmaceutical products;

 

   

product candidates that are based on previously tested or accepted technologies;

 

   

products that have been approved or are in late stages of development; and

 

   

collaborative arrangements in our target markets with leading companies and research institutions.

 

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We will face intense competition from products that have already been approved and accepted by the medical community for the treatment of the conditions for which we are currently developing products. We also expect to face competition from new products that enter the market. We believe a significant number of products are currently under development, and may become commercially available in the future, for the treatment of conditions for which we may try to develop products. These products, or other of our competitors’ products, may be more effective, safer, less expensive or marketed and sold more effectively, than any products we develop.

There are a large number of companies that are developing new agents for use in cancer therapy including RNAi therapeutics, and there are other companies developing small molecule drugs designed to inhibit the PLK1 target, including Boehringer Ingelheim. These agents may be competitive with our product candidate TKM-PLK1.

We are also aware of other companies developing drugs to treat high cholesterol, some with compounds at a later stage of development than our product candidate TKM-ApoB. There are several drugs currently approved for treatment of high cholesterol including the statins, such as Lipitor and Crestor, fibrates and bile acid sequestrant drugs. Many new agents are in development for the treatment of high cholesterol including an antisense drug targeting ApoB (Kynamro) which is being developed by Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Genzyme Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sanofi-aventis. Kynamro has shown promising clinical activity in recently completed Phase 3 studies and Genzyme is seeking drug approval. There are also a number of drugs in development that target the gene proprotein convertase subtilisn/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) to treat hypercholesterolemia including Alnylam’s ALN-PCS, as well as antibodies being developed by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., Amgen Inc., and Pfizer.

In addition, there are organizations working on treatments for hemorrhagic fever viruses. AVI BioPharma Inc. has a drug candidate (AVI-6002) in active clinical development which is competitive with our TKM-Ebola product candidate. AVI BioPharma commenced initial human safety studies of its therapeutic candidate against the Ebola virus in May 2011. Since AVI BioPharma’s development efforts are presently ahead of TKM-Ebola, AVI BioPharma may gain marketing approval before our product candidate. Furthermore, if U.S. Government funding is constrained, funding could be limited or discontinued for two competing products treating the same disease.

If we successfully develop product candidates, and obtain approval for them, we will face competition based on many different factors, including:

 

   

the safety and effectiveness of our products;

 

   

the ease with which our products can be administered and the extent to which patients accept new routes of administration;

 

   

the timing and scope of regulatory approvals for these products;

 

   

the availability and cost of manufacturing, marketing and sales capabilities;

 

   

price;

 

   

reimbursement coverage; and

 

   

patent position.

Our competitors may develop or commercialize products with significant advantages over any products we develop based on any of the factors listed above or on other factors. Our competitors may therefore be more successful in commercializing their products than we are, which could adversely affect our competitive position and business. Competitive products may make any products we develop obsolete or noncompetitive before we can recover the expenses of developing and commercializing our product candidates. Such competitors could also recruit our employees, which could negatively impact our level of expertise and the ability to execute on our business plan. Furthermore, we also face competition from existing and new treatment methods that reduce or eliminate the need for drugs, such as the use of advanced medical devices. The development of new medical devices or other treatment methods for the diseases we are targeting and may target could make our product candidates noncompetitive, obsolete or uneconomical.

We face competition from other companies that are working to develop novel products using technology similar to ours. If these companies develop products more rapidly than we do or their technologies, including delivery technologies, are more effective than ours, then our ability to successfully commercialize products will be adversely affected.

In addition to the competition we face from competing products in general, we also face competition from other companies working to develop novel products using technology that competes more directly with our own. There are multiple companies that are working in the field of RNAi, including major pharmaceutical companies such as Novartis International AG, Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, and Merck, and biotechnology companies such as Alnylam, Quark Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Silence Therapeutics plc, Arrowhead Research Corporation and its subsidiary, Calando, Marina Biotech, Inc., RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Dicerna Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Sylentis S.A., Santaris Pharma A/S, Benitec Ltd and Opko Health, Inc., among others. Any of these companies may develop its RNAi technology more rapidly and more effectively than we do or may develop products against the same target or disease indication that we are pursuing.

We also compete with companies working to develop antisense-based drugs, such as Isis and AVI BioPharma. Like RNAi therapeutic products, antisense drugs target messenger RNAs, or mRNAs, in order to suppress the activity of specific

 

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genes. Isis is the developer of a currently approved antisense drug and has several antisense product candidates in clinical trials. Isis has also licensed its antisense technology to a number of other companies that are developing antisense-based drugs. The development of antisense drugs is more advanced than that of RNAi therapeutic products, and antisense technology may become the preferred technology for products that target mRNAs to silence specific genes.

In addition to competition with respect to RNAi and with respect to specific products, we face substantial competition to discover and develop safe and effective means to deliver siRNAs to the relevant cell and tissue types. Our competitors may develop safer and more effective means to deliver siRNAs to the relevant cell and tissue types than our existing lipid nanoparticle delivery technology, and our ability to successfully commercialize our products would be adversely affected. In addition, substantial resources are being expended by third parties in the effort to discover and develop alternative means of delivering siRNAs into the relevant cell and tissue types, both in academic laboratories and in the corporate sector. Some of our competitors have substantially greater resources than we do, and if our competitors are able to negotiate exclusive access to those delivery solutions developed by third parties, we may be unable to successfully commercialize our product candidates.

Risks Related to the Ownership of our Stock

If our stock price fluctuates, our investors could incur substantial losses.

The market price of our common shares may fluctuate significantly in response to factors that are beyond our control. The stock market in general has recently experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. The market prices of securities of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have been extremely volatile, and have experienced fluctuations that often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. These broad market fluctuations could result in extreme fluctuations in the price of our common shares, which could cause our investors to incur substantial losses.

There is no assurance that an active trading market in our common shares will be sustained.

Our common shares are listed for trading on the NASDAQ and the TSX exchanges. However, there can be no assurances that an active trading market in our common shares on these stock exchanges will be sustained.

We are incorporated in Canada and all of our assets, the majority of our officers and a significant number of our directors reside outside the United States, with the result that it may be difficult for investors to enforce any judgments obtained against us or some of our directors or officers.

We and our wholly-owned subsidiary, Protiva, are each incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia and all of our assets are located outside the United States. In addition, the majority of our officers and a significant number of our directors are nationals or residents of countries other than the United States, and all or a substantial portion of such persons’ assets are located outside the United States. While we have appointed National Registered Agents, Inc. as our agent for service of process to effect service of process within the United States upon us, it may not be possible for you to enforce against us or those persons in the United States, judgments obtained in U.S. courts based upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws or other laws of the United States. In addition, there is doubt as to whether original action could be brought in Canada against us or our directors or officers based solely upon U.S. federal or state securities laws and as to the enforceability in Canadian courts of judgments of U.S. courts obtained in actions based upon the civil liability provisions of U.S. federal or state securities laws.

As a foreign private issuer, we are subject to different United States securities laws and rules than a domestic United States issuer, which may limit the information publicly available to our shareholders.

We are a “foreign private issuer” as defined under U.S. securities laws. As a result, even though we are subject to the informational requirements of the Exchange Act, as a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from certain informational requirements of the Exchange Act which domestic U.S. issuers are subject to, including, the annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly report on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K upon the occurrence of certain material events and the proxy rules under Section 14 of the Exchange Act. In addition, as a foreign private issuer we are exempt from the proxy solicitation rules under the Exchange Act. Furthermore, the insider reporting and short-profit provisions under Section 16 of the Exchange Act are not be applicable to us, therefore, our shareholders may not know on as timely a basis when our officers, directors and principal shareholders purchase or sell our common shares, as the reporting periods under the corresponding Canadian insider reporting requirements are longer. We intend to fulfill all informational requirements that do apply to us as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act by filing the more limited version of the annual report for foreign private issuers on Form 20-F and current reports on Form 6-K with the SEC, which contains information disclosed in response to the informational requirements of the securities commissions in all provinces of Canada.

We may lose our foreign private issuer status in the future, which could result in significant additional costs and expenses to us.

In order to maintain our current status as a foreign private issuer, a majority of our common shares must be either directly or indirectly owned by non-residents of the United States, unless we satisfy all of the additional requirements necessary to preserve this status. We may in the future lose our foreign private issuer status if a majority of our common shares are held in the United States and we fail to meet the additional requirements necessary to avoid loss of foreign private

 

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issuer status. If we are not a foreign private issuer, we would not be eligible to use certain foreign issuer forms and would be required to file periodic and current reports and registration statements on United States domestic issuer forms with the SEC, which are more detailed and extensive than the forms available to a foreign private issuer. In addition, we may lose the ability to rely upon exemptions from NASDAQ corporate governance requirements that are available to foreign private issuers. Further, if we engage in capital raising activities after losing our foreign private issuer status, there is a higher likelihood that investors may require us to file resale registration statements with the SEC as a condition to any such financing.

We believe we were classified as a passive foreign investment company for United States tax purposes for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 and for certain prior years. This may have adverse tax consequences for U.S. holders of our shares.

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 and certain prior years we believe we were classified for United States income tax purposes as a passive foreign investment company (PFIC). We do not believe we are classified as a PFIC for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2009, 2010, and 2011, although we have not requested or received an opinion from a U.S. tax advisor. We could be classified as a PFIC in certain fiscal years. If you are a U.S. holder of our shares and you purchased your shares in 2008 or certain prior years then any dividends we pay you may be taxed as ordinary income and not at preferential qualifying dividend tax rates, and upon any sale of our common shares, any capital gain may be taxed as ordinary income and not at preferential capital gains rates. The U.S. federal income tax consequences to a U.S. holder on the acquisition, ownership and disposition of common shares will also depend on whether such U.S. holder makes an election to treat us as a qualified electing fund, or QEF, under Section 1295 of the U.S. internal revenue code or a mark-to-market election under Section 1296 of the U.S. internal revenue code.

Our articles and certain Canadian laws could delay or deter a change of control.

Our preferred shares are available for issuance from time to time at the discretion of our board of directors, without shareholder approval. Our articles allow our board, without shareholder approval, to determine the special rights to be attached to our preferred shares, and such rights may be superior to those of our common shares.

In addition, limitations on the ability to acquire and hold our common shares may be imposed by the Competition Act in Canada. This legislation permits the Commissioner of Competition of Canada to review any acquisition of a significant interest in us. This legislation grants the Commissioner jurisdiction to challenge such an acquisition before the Canadian Competition Tribunal if the Commissioner believes that it would, or would be likely to, result in a substantial lessening or prevention of competition in any market in Canada. The Investment Canada Act subjects an acquisition of control of a company by a non-Canadian to government review if the value of our assets, as calculated pursuant to the legislation, exceeds a threshold amount. A reviewable acquisition may not proceed unless the relevant minister is satisfied that the investment is likely to result in a net benefit to Canada. Any of the foregoing could prevent or delay a change of control and may deprive or limit strategic opportunities for our shareholders to sell their shares.

The exercise of all or any number of outstanding stock options, the award of any additional options, bonus shares or other stock-based awards or any issuance of shares to raise funds or acquire a business may dilute your common shares.

We have in the past and may in the future grant to some or all of our directors, officers and employees options to purchase our common shares and other stock-based awards as non-cash incentives to those persons. The issuance of any equity securities could, and the issuance of any additional shares will, cause our existing shareholders to experience dilution of their ownership interests.

Any additional issuance of shares or a decision to acquire other businesses through the sale of equity securities, may dilute our investors’ interests, and investors may suffer dilution in their net book value per share depending on the price at which such securities are sold. Such issuance may cause a reduction in the proportionate ownership and voting power of all other shareholders. The dilution may result in a decline in the price of our common shares or a change in control.

We do not expect to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.

We have not paid any dividends to date and we do not intend to declare dividends for the foreseeable future, as we anticipate that we will reinvest future earnings, if any, in the development and growth of our business. Therefore, investors will not receive any funds unless they sell their common shares, and shareholders may be unable to sell their shares on favourable terms or at all. We cannot assure you of a positive return on investment or that you will not lose the entire amount of your investment in our common shares. Prospective investors seeking or needing dividend income or liquidity should not purchase our common shares.

The value of our securities, including our common shares, might be affected by matters not related to our operating performance and could subject us to securities litigation.

The value of our common shares may be reduced for a number of reasons, many of which are outside our control, including:

 

   

developments in our lawsuit with Alnylam and AlCana and potential outcome of the litigation, which may involve the award of significant damages, costs and attorney fees;

 

   

general economic and political conditions in Canada, the United States and globally;

 

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governmental regulation of the health care and pharmaceutical industries;

 

   

failure to achieve desired drug discovery outcomes by us or our collaborators;

 

   

failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, when required;

 

   

stock market volatility and market valuations;

 

   

competition for, among other things, capital, drug targets and skilled personnel;

 

   

the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities;

 

   

revenue and operating results failing to meet expectations in any particular period;

 

   

investor perception of the health care and pharmaceutical industries;

 

   

limited trading volume of our common shares;

 

   

announcements relating to our business or the businesses of our competitors; and

 

   

our ability or inability to raise additional funds.

In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in their value have been the subject of securities class action litigation. There can be no assurance that we will not become involved in securities class action litigation in the future. Such litigation often results in substantial costs and diversion of management’s attention and resources.

 

ITEM 4 INFORMATION ON THE COMPANY

We are a biopharmaceutical business focused on developing novel RNA interference (RNAi) therapeutics and providing our lipid nanoparticle delivery technology to pharmaceutical partners. We presently do not have any products approved for sale.

 

4A. History and Development of the Company

Name

Our legal and commercial name is Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation.

Principal and Registered Offices

Our head office and principal place of business is located at 100—8900 Glenlyon Parkway, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, V5J 5J8 (telephone: (604) 419-3200). Our registered and records office is located at 700 West Georgia St, 25th Floor, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V7Y 1B3.

Corporate History

Tekmira was incorporated pursuant to the British Columbia Business Corporations Act, or BCBCA, on October 6, 2005 and commenced active business on April 30, 2007 when Tekmira and its parent company, Inex Pharmaceuticals Corporation, or Inex, were reorganized under a statutory plan of arrangement (the Reorganization) completed under the provisions of the BCBCA. The Reorganization saw Inex’s entire business transferred to and continued by Tekmira. In this discussion of corporate history the terms “we”, “us” and “our” refer to the business of Inex for the time prior to the Reorganization and the business of Tekmira for the time after the Reorganization.

Since our formation in 1992, we have focused on developing lipid delivery technologies for different classes of therapeutic agents, including chemotherapy drugs and nucleic acid drugs. Our technology was applied to the development of Marqibo, a liposomal formulation of the chemotherapy drug vincristine. Marqibo, along with two other liposomal chemotherapy products, Alocrest (liposomal formulation of the chemotherapy drug vinorelbine) and Brakiva (liposomal formulation of the chemotherapy drug topotecan), were licensed to Talon Therapeutics, Inc. (Talon, formerly Hana Biosciences, Inc.) in 2006. Talon is now responsible for all future development of these products and we are entitled to receive milestone and royalty payments based on the successful development and commercialization of these three product candidates.

Since 2005, we have focused on developing lipid-based delivery technology for a class of nucleic acid drugs called small interfering RNA, or siRNA, molecules that mediate RNA interference, or RNAi. In 2006, we initiated a research collaboration with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. to combine their expertise in RNAi technology with our RNAi delivery technology. In January 2007, we entered into a License and Collaboration Agreement with Alnylam where we obtained, among other things, a worldwide license to certain Alnylam intellectual property for the research, development, manufacturing and commercialization of RNAi products for the treatment of human diseases, and Alnylam obtained exclusive access to Tekmira’s delivery technology for siRNA and microRNA.

On May 30, 2008, we combined our business with that of Protiva Biotherapeutics, Inc., or Protiva. At the time of acquisition, Protiva was a private, venture-backed company incorporated under the laws of Canada and since 2003 had focused its business on developing lipid nanoparticle, or LNP, delivery technology for siRNA, a business similar to ours. Since commencing work on the delivery of siRNA, Protiva has filed several patent applications covering different LNP formulations, manufacturing processes and siRNA design to remove any immune stimulatory properties. At the time of acquisition, Protiva had licensed its LNP technology on a non-exclusive basis to Alnylam and Merck and had access to Alnylam’s intellectual property for the research, development and commercialization of RNAi products.

 

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The business combination was completed through our acquisition, under a share purchase agreement, of all the then outstanding shares of Protiva in consideration for common shares of Tekmira. Protiva is now our wholly-owned subsidiary. Concurrent with the completion of the business combination with Protiva, we entered into initial research agreements with F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd and Hoffman La-Roche Inc., which we refer to together as Roche, and completed private placement investments of US$5.0 million (CDN$5.0 million) with Alnylam and CDN$5.0 million with an affiliate of Roche.

Since the completion of the business combination, we have focused on advancing our own collective RNAi therapeutic products and providing our lipid nanoparticle delivery technology to pharmaceutical partners and collaborators. See Item 4.B. “Business Overview” below.

Reporting Issuer Status under Canadian Securities Laws

We are a reporting issuer in Canada under the securities laws of each of the Provinces of Canada. Our common shares trade on Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “TKM” and, since November 15, 2010, on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “TKMR.”

Capital Expenditures and Divestitures

In 2009, 2010 and 2011 we invested $1.7 million, $0.8 million and $0.1 in property and equipment. Our 2009 and 2010 capital investment relates largely to facility improvements and manufacturing equipment. In 2010 we completed upgrades to our in-house clean room facility. The ability to manufacture in-house gives us more flexibility and more control over our manufacturing process and timelines. Any equipment we acquire under our TKM-Ebola contract is owned by the U.S. Government so is not recorded as a Company investment. We did not make any capital divestures in the last three fiscal years.

We are not currently planning any corporate investments, mergers, acquisitions or divestures.

Our current and planned investment in property, plant and equipment is described below.

Takeover Offers

We are not aware of any indication of any public takeover offers by third parties in respect of our common shares during our last and current financial years.

 

4B. Business Overview

Business Strategy

Tekmira’s business strategy is to develop our proprietary RNAi therapeutic product candidates and to support our pharmaceutical partners as they advance their own RNAi product candidates using our lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology.

Technology, product development and licensing agreements

Our therapeutic product pipeline consists of products being developed internally with our research and development resources. We also support the development of our collaboration partners’ products and are developing an Ebola antiviral product, called TKM-Ebola, under a Transformational Medical Technologies (TMT) contract with the U.S. Government. Our focus is on advancing products that utilize our proprietary LNP technology for the delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) and multivalent RNA (MV-RNA). These products are intended to treat diseases through a process known as RNA interference, which prevents the production of disease associated proteins. We have rights under Alnylam’s RNAi intellectual property to develop eight RNAi therapeutic products. We have exclusive access to MV-RNA technology for the development of RNAi therapeutic products.

In the field of RNAi therapeutics, we have licensed our LNP delivery technology to Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. Alnylam has granted non-exclusive access to some of our intellectual property to certain of its partners. In addition, we have ongoing research relationships with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, the United States National Cancer Institute, the U.S. Government, through their TMT program, and other undisclosed pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Outside the field of RNAi, we have legacy licensing agreements with Talon Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly Hana Biosciences, Inc.) and Aradigm Corporation.

RNA Interference Therapeutics

RNAi is considered to be one of the most important discoveries in the field of biology in the last decade. The scientists who discovered the mechanism were awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Medicine. Intense research activity has subsequently uncovered the complex molecular mechanisms responsible for RNAi that are transforming the way that drug targets are discovered and validated. RNAi is a naturally occurring process that takes place inside cells, and includes processes whereby siRNA molecules profoundly suppress the production of specific proteins. Synthetic siRNA molecules are being developed as drugs that specifically suppress the production of disease-related proteins through RNAi.

 

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In the cell, DNA carries the genetic information required to make each specific protein. Genes are first copied or transcribed into messenger RNA (mRNA), which, in turn, is translated into protein. Nearly all diseases are caused by either the absence of or over-production of a specific protein. If too much of a particular protein is the cause of disease then the therapeutic approach is to try to reduce its activity or amount. For example, a tumor can be caused by the over-production of a protein that stimulates cell growth.

Sequencing of the human genome has unlocked the information needed to design siRNA molecules directed against a wide range of disease-causing proteins. Using the mRNA sequence coding for the target protein, effective siRNA molecules can be designed much more rapidly than the time needed to synthesize and screen conventional drugs. siRNA-based drugs are short segments of synthetic double stranded RNA made up of a sense strand and an antisense strand. The sequence of the siRNA is designed so that the antisense strand will bind specifically to a complementary sequence on the mRNA coding for the target protein. When siRNA are introduced into the cell they are rapidly incorporated into an RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC). As illustrated in the diagram below, during this process the sense strand is unwound and discarded while the antisense strand remains in the RISC serving to guide the RISC complex to interact specifically with mRNA coding for the target protein. mRNA are cleaved in a sequence specific manner and then destroyed, preventing production of the target protein. Importantly, this process is catalytic and RISC associated siRNA can remain stable inside the cell for weeks, destroying many more copies of the target mRNA and maintaining target protein suppression for long periods of time.

Lipid Nanoparticle (LNP)-Enabled Delivery of siRNA and Mechanism of RNA Interference in Cells

 

LOGO

RNAi has the potential to generate a broad new class of therapeutics that take advantage of the body’s own natural processes to silence genes—or more specifically to eliminate specific gene-products, from the cell. While there are no RNAi therapeutics currently approved for commercial use, there are a number of RNAi products in development and several in human clinical trials. RNAi products are broadly applicable as they can silence, or eliminate the production of disease causing proteins from cells, thus creating opportunities for therapeutic intervention that have not been achievable with conventional drugs. Development of RNAi therapeutic products is currently limited by the instability of the siRNA molecules in the bloodstream and the inability of these molecules to access target cells or tissues following intravenous, or systemic, administration, and their inability to gain entry to the inside of target cells, where they carry out their action. Delivery technology is necessary to protect these drugs in the blood stream following administration, allow efficient delivery to the target cells and facilitate cellular uptake and release into the cytoplasm of the cell. Tekmira’s LNP technology has been shown in pre-clinical studies to enable RNAi therapeutic products by overcoming these limitations, allowing efficient and selective ‘silencing’ or reduction of certain target proteins. We believe that Tekmira is strongly positioned to take advantage of the need for delivery technology that can efficiently encapsulate siRNA molecules and deliver them to sites of disease. We and our partners are advancing RNAi therapeutic product candidates using our LNP technology as the delivery vehicle to access target tissues and cells.

Tekmira’s LNP Technology

Our LNP delivery technology allows siRNA to be encapsulated in a particle made of lipids (fats or oils) that can be administered intravenously and travel through the blood stream to target tissues or sites of disease. The nanoparticles are designed to stay in the circulation for periods of time that allow the particle to efficiently accumulate at sites of disease such as the liver or cancerous tumors. As illustrated in the diagram above, once the nanoparticles have accumulated at the target site, the cells take up the particle by a process called endocytosis in which the cell’s membrane surrounds the particle. This

 

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envelope or endosome pinches off from the cell’s membrane and migrates to the inside of the cell. The lipid nanoparticles undergo an interaction with the endosomal membrane and in the process the siRNA are released inside the cell. The released siRNA molecules engage the RISC complex, mediating RNAi.

Internal Product Development

Our most advanced RNAi product candidates are TKM-PLK1, TKM-Ebola and TKM-ApoB. Alnylam has granted us a worldwide license to their core technology and intellectual property for the discovery, development and commercialization of RNAi products directed to eight RNAi gene targets—three exclusive and five non-exclusive licenses. Five of the targets, ApoB, PLK1, Ebola, WEE1 and CSN5, have already been selected on a non-exclusive basis, and ALDH2 was recently selected as an exclusive target. We may select up to two additional exclusive targets in the future under the selection procedures described more fully below.

TKM-PLK1

Our lead oncology product candidate, TKM-PLK1, has been shown in pre-clinical animal studies to selectively kill cancer cells, while sparing normal cells in adjacent healthy tissue. TKM-PLK1 targets PLK1 (polo-like kinase 1), a protein involved in tumor cell proliferation and a validated oncology target. Inhibition of PLK1 expression prevents the tumor cell from completing cell division, resulting in cell cycle arrest and death of the cancer cell.

Our pre-clinical studies have demonstrated that a single, systemic intravenous administration of TKM-PLK1 blocked PLK1 expression in liver tumors causing extensive tumor cell death. After repeat dosing, this result translated into significant inhibition of tumor growth and prolonged survival without evidence of the toxicities often associated with oncology drugs. The TKM-PLK1 anti-tumor efficacy results were confirmed to be the result of silencing PLK1 via RNA interference. Furthermore, certain LNP formulations provided potent anti-tumor efficacy in pre-clinical models of tumors outside the liver.

On December 22, 2010, we announced the initiation of patient treatment in a Phase 1 human clinical trial of TKM-PLK1. The Phase 1 clinical trial, conducted at three medical centers in the United States, is an open label, multi-dose, dose escalation study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of TKM-PLK1 as well as determining the maximum tolerated dose. The trial is enrolling up to 52 patients with advanced solid tumors. Secondary objectives of the trial are to measure tumor response and the pharmacodynamic effects of TKM-PLK1 in patients providing biopsies.

On March 27, 2012, we provided an update on the ongoing TKM-PLK1 Phase 1 clinical trial announcing that a total of 20 patients have been enrolled and a total of 82 doses have been administered to patients. The trial continues to enroll patients and we expect to have established the maximum tolerated dose and release interim results over the coming months.

A second Phase 1 human clinical trial of TKM-PLK1 was initiated in collaboration with the United States National Cancer Institute (NCI). This trial’s objectives included an assessment of drug activity in patients providing biopsies as a means of establishing human proof-of-concept for both RNAi and Tekmira’s LNP technology. In late 2011 and early 2012 Alnylam disclosed interim clinical data from their ALN-TTR and ALN-PCS programs, both of which utilize Tekmira’s LNP technology. As these data provide robust proof-of-concept for LNP mediated RNAi in human subjects, we have elected to discontinue the NCI trial, apply the resources that had previously been set aside to support the trial to other programs and have focused our collaboration with the NCI on research to identify novel oncology targets.

TKM-Ebola

For many years, the Zaire species of Ebola virus (ZEBOV) has been associated with periodic outbreaks of hemorrhagic fever in human populations with mortality rates reaching 90%. There are no approved treatments for Ebola or other hemorrhagic fever viruses.

On May 28, 2010 we announced the publication of a series of studies demonstrating the ability of an RNAi therapeutic utilizing our LNP technology to protect non-human primates from Ebola virus, a highly contagious and lethal human infectious disease. We conducted the studies in collaboration with infectious disease researchers from Boston University and the United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) and were funded in part by the U.S. Government’s Transformational Medical Technologies (TMT) program. These pre-clinical studies were published in the medical journal The Lancet and demonstrated that when siRNA targeting the Ebola virus and delivered by Tekmira’s LNP technology were used to treat previously infected non-human primates, the result was 100 percent protection from an otherwise lethal dose of Zaire Ebola virus (Geisbert et al., The Lancet, Vol 375, May 29, 2010).

On July 14, 2010, we signed a contract with the United States Government to advance an RNAi therapeutic utilizing our LNP technology to treat Ebola virus infection. In the initial phase of the contract, which is expected to last approximately three years and is funded under the TMT program, we are eligible to receive up to US$34.7 million. This initial funding is for the development of TKM-Ebola, including completion of pre-clinical development, filing an IND application with the FDA and completing a Phase 1 human safety clinical trial.

The United States Government has the option of extending the contract beyond the initial funding period to support the advancement of TKM-Ebola through to the completion of clinical development and FDA approval. Based on the budget for

 

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the extended contract this would provide the Company with a total of up to US$140.0 million in funding for the entire program. Under the contract we invoice the United States Government for direct labor, third party costs and an apportionment of overheads plus a profit margin. The funding is paid through monthly reimbursements, and the U.S. Government has the ability to cancel at any time.

On November 28, 2011 we announced that an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for TKM-Ebola was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). On February 8, 2012, we announced that Phase 1 clinical trial for TKM-Ebola had been initiated. The Phase 1 TKM-Ebola clinical trial is a placebo-controlled, single-blind, single-ascending dose study with additional multiple-ascending dose cohorts in healthy human volunteers. The objective of the Phase 1 trial is to assess the safety and tolerability of TKM-Ebola and evaluate the pharmacokinetics and systemic exposure following both a single-ascending dose and multiple-ascending doses of TKM-Ebola. TKM-Ebola will be developed under specific FDA regulatory guidelines called the “Animal Rule.” The Animal Rule provides that under certain circumstances, where it is unethical or not feasible to conduct human efficacy studies, the FDA may grant marketing approval based on adequate and well-controlled animal studies when the results of those studies establish that the drug is reasonably likely to produce clinical benefit in humans. Demonstration of the product’s safety in humans is still required.

Additional Product Candidates

On January 7, 2010 we announced the completion of a Phase 1 clinical trial for our product candidate TKM-ApoB. TKM-ApoB is being developed as a treatment for patients with high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, or “bad” cholesterol, who are not well served by current therapy. TKM-ApoB is designed to reduce the production of apolipoprotein B 100 (ApoB), a protein produced in the liver that plays a central role in cholesterol metabolism. We enrolled a total of 23 subjects in the TKM-ApoB Phase 1 clinical trial. Of the 23 subjects enrolled, 17 subjects received a single dose of TKM-ApoB at one of seven different dosing levels and six subjects received a placebo. The primary endpoints of the TKM-ApoB Phase 1 clinical trial were measures of safety and tolerability. TKM-ApoB was well tolerated overall in this study with no evidence of liver toxicity, which was the anticipated dose-limiting toxicity observed in pre-clinical studies. Of the two subjects treated at the highest dose level, one subject experienced an adverse event comprised of flu-like symptoms, cytokine release and transient hypotension consistent with stimulation of the immune system caused by the ApoB siRNA payload. The other subject treated at the highest dose level experienced no side effects. Based on the potential for the immune stimulation to interfere with further dose escalation, we decided to conclude the trial. Subsequent to the completion of the trial, we have made adjustments to the ApoB siRNA to minimize any immune stimulatory properties. We also continue to make significant advancements in LNP formulation development and there are several alternative LNP formulations with improved characteristics that are currently being evaluated for TKM-ApoB development.

On June 2, 2011 we announced that we have secured non-exclusive licenses from Alnylam targeting two validated oncology targets: WEE1 and CSN5. Our collaborators at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) identified the novel cancer genes WEE1 and CSN5 from human tumor samples, and together we have generated encouraging pre-clinical data by leveraging our expertise in siRNA design and delivery. Gene expression data from human tumor samples indicate that both CSN5 and WEE1 are up-regulated in a number of human cancers and have been identified as potential molecular targets in breast, liver, lung, ovarian and skin cancer, amongst other tumor types. We are conducting pre-clinical work to further evaluate these targets before initiating formal toxicology studies.

On March 1, 2012, we announced that we have secured an exclusive license from Alnylam to develop TKM-ALDH2, a systemically delivered RNAi therapeutic that utilizes Tekmira’s LNP for the treatment of Alcohol Dependence (AD). Currently, many approved treatments for AD have low response rates and poor patient compliance rates. ALDH2 is a well validated target with both genetic and pharmacological data supporting its role as a key player in alcohol avoidance. It is expected that TKM-ALDH2 could be administered as a “once-a-month” treatment of AD.

Tekmira is also evaluating a number of other pre-clinical candidates for advancement within its product pipeline.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Alnylam collaborations and licenses

On January 8, 2007, we entered into a licensing and collaboration agreement with Alnylam giving them an exclusive license to certain historical lipid nanoparticle intellectual property owned by Tekmira for the discovery, development, and commercialization of RNAi therapeutics. This agreement only covered intellectual property owned before Tekmira’s business combination with Protiva Biotherapeutics, Inc. on May 30, 2008.

Protiva, which is now a wholly owned subsidiary of ours, and Alnylam entered into a cross-license Agreement in August 2007, which was amended and restated in May 2008, granting Alnylam non-exclusive access to Protiva’s intellectual property in the RNAi field and required Alnylam to fund a certain level of collaborative research for two years. The research collaboration element of the Alnylam Cross-License expired in August 2009. We are, however, continuing to make LNP research batches for Alnylam under a manufacturing agreement which is discussed below.

 

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In August 2007, pursuant to the terms of the cross-license, Alnylam made a payment of US$3.0 million that gives Alnylam the right to “opt-in” to the Tekmira TKM-PLK1 project and share equally in any future product revenues, provided that Alnylam contributes 50% of TKM-PLK1 product development costs. Alnylam has until the start of a TKM-PLK1 Phase 2 clinical trial of the TKM-PLK1 project to exercise their opt-in right. In the event that Alnylam chooses to exercise that right, the US$3.0 million already paid will be credited towards Alnylam’s 50% share of project costs to date.

In addition, we are eligible to receive up to US$16.0 million in milestones from Alnylam for each RNAi therapeutic advanced by Alnylam or its partners that utilizes our intellectual property, and low- to mid-single digit royalties on product sales.

The agreements with Alnylam grant us intellectual property rights to develop our own proprietary RNAi therapeutics. Alnylam has granted us a worldwide license for the discovery, development and commercialization of RNAi products directed to eight gene targets – three exclusive and five non-exclusive licenses – provided that they have not been committed by Alnylam to a third party of are not otherwise unavailable as a result of the exercise of a right of first refusal held by a third party or are part of an ongoing or planned development program of Alnylam. Licenses for five targets, ApoB, PLK1, Ebola, WEE1, and CSN5, have already been granted on a non-exclusive basis, along with an additional license for ALDH2, which has been granted on an exclusive basis. We may select two additional exclusive gene targets to develop RNAi therapeutic products, provided that the targets are not part of an ongoing or planned development program of Alnylam. In consideration for this license, we have agreed to pay single-digit royalties to Alnylam on product sales and have milestone obligations of up to US$8.5 million on the non-exclusive licenses (with the exception of TKM-Ebola, which has no milestone obligations, and TKM-PLK1 if Alnylam opts–in to the development program). We will have no milestone obligations on the three exclusive licenses.

In April 2009, Alnylam announced that they had initiated a Phase 1 human clinical trial for a product candidate that utilizes our LNP technology. The Alnylam product candidate, ALN-VSP, is being developed as a treatment for advanced solid tumors with liver involvement. ALN-VSP comprises siRNA molecules delivered systemically using our LNP technology. We are responsible for manufacturing the ALN-VSP drug product. The initiation of the ALN-VSP Phase 1 clinical trial triggered a milestone payment of $0.6 million (US$0.5 million) which we received in May 2009. Interim ALN-VSP data was presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in May 2010 and at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium in November 2010. In June 2011, Alnylam presented Phase 1 human clinical trial data at American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting and disclosed that ALN-VSP was generally well tolerated, demonstrated evidence for anti-tumor activity, and was found to mediate RNAi activity in both hepatic and extra-hepatic tumors. Alnylam has announced that it expects to partner its ALN-VSP program prior to initiating a Phase 2 clinical study.

Alnylam is advancing two ALN-TTR formulations, ALN-TTR01 and ALN-TTR02. Both formulations are RNAi therapeutics targeting transthyretin (TTR) for the treatment of TTR-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR), a systemic disease caused by mutations in the TTR gene. ALN-TTR01 and ALN-TTR02 utilize our LNP technology and are being manufactured by us. In July 2010, Alnylam announced the initiation of a Phase 1 human clinical trial for ALN-TTR01, which triggered a US$0.5 million milestone payment to us. On November 21, 2011, we announced that Alnylam had presented preliminary Phase 1 clinical results for ALN-TTR01. Alnylam reported that that ALN-TTR01 was safe and well tolerated and that ALN-TTR01 demonstrated rapid, dose-dependent, and durable lowering of serum TTR protein levels after a single dose in ATTR patients. Following clearance of the CTA filed for ALN-TTR02 in January 2012, Alnylam announced the initiation of the ALN-TTR02 Phase 1 study in March 2012 with data expected to be reported in the third quarter of 2012.

Alnylam is also developing ALN-PCS, an RNAi therapeutic, to treat hypercholesterolemia, or high levels of cholesterol in the blood. ALN-PCS is manufactured by us and is enabled by our LNP delivery technology. On September 26, 2011, Alnylam announced the initiation of a Phase 1 human clinical trial for ALN-PCS which triggered a US$0.5 million milestone payment to us. On January 4, 2012, we announced that Alnylam had presented positive preliminary results from its ongoing clinical trial of ALN-PCS. Alnylam reported that ALN-PCS was safe and well tolerated and that ALN-PCS demonstrated statistically significant RNAi silencing of PCSK9 of up to 66% and reductions of up to over 50% in levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), or “bad” cholesterol, a clinically validated endpoint. Alnylam expects to partner its ALN-PCS program prior to initiating a Phase 2 clinical study.

Under a manufacturing agreement entered into in January 2009 we continue to be the exclusive manufacturer of any products that utilize our technology as required by Alnylam through to the end of Phase 2 clinical trials. Alnylam will pay for the provision of staff and for external costs incurred. Pursuant to the terms of the Alnylam Manufacturing Agreement, there is a contractual minimum of CDN$11.2 million payable by Alnylam for the three year period from 2009 to 2011. From January 1, 2012, at the start of each calendar quarter, Alnylam will prepay for the provision of our staff based on their estimate of work to be performed in that quarter. Any under or over estimate will be reconciled at the end of each quarter. Alnylam will continue to pay for external costs incurred by us on their behalf on a monthly invoice basis.

We have ongoing litigation with Alnylam and AlCana Technologies, Inc. where we have alleged misappropriation of our proprietary lipid nanoparticle delivery technology, resulting in damage to our intellectual property and business interests. Alnylam and AlCana have responded to our complaint and have also filed counterclaims. In addition, Alnylam has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against us arising from our research activities with a pharmaceutical collaborator. Isis

 

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Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is named as a co-plaintiff in the patent infringement suit. Litigation is subject to inherent uncertainty and if we are unsuccessful in defending ourselves we could be required to pay significant damages, costs, and attorney fees. We also continue to incur significant costs in the litigation and the litigation has diverted the attention of management and other resources that could otherwise be engaged in other activities. See “Item 8A Legal Proceedings” section of this Annual Report for more information.

License and collaboration agreement with Halo-Bio RNAi Therapeutics, Inc. (Halo-Bio)

On August 24, 2011, we entered into a license and collaboration agreement with Halo-Bio. Under the Agreement, Halo-Bio granted to us an exclusive worldwide license to its multivalent ribonucleic acid (MV-RNA) technology. The Agreement allows us to work together with Halo-Bio to design and develop MV-RNA molecules directed at gene targets of interest to us and to combine MV-RNA molecules with our LNP technology to develop therapeutic products. MV-RNA technology comprises single macromolecules capable of mediating RNAi at multiple unique target sites. MV-RNA can target three sites on a single gene or up to three separate genes simultaneously. We have already successfully demonstrated multi-gene knockdown using MV-RNA enabled by our proprietary LNP formulations.

We paid Halo-Bio an initial license fee of $97,940 (US$100,000).

Under the Agreement, the maximum future license fees and other contingent payments are US$1,960,000 and the Company will pay up to US$12,700,000 in milestones on each product developed plus royalties.

Roche product development and research agreements

On May 30, 2008, we signed an initial research agreement with Roche. This initial research agreement expired at the end of 2008 and was replaced by a research agreement (Roche Research Agreement) dated February 11, 2009. Work under the Roche Research Agreement was completed in the first half of 2009.

On May 11, 2009 we announced a product development agreement with Roche (Roche Product Development Agreement) that provides for product development up to the filing of an IND by Roche. The product development activities under this agreement expand the activities that were formerly covered by the Roche Research Agreement. Under the Roche Product Development Agreement Roche paid for the provision of our staff and for external costs incurred up to US$8.8 million, for us to support the advancement of a Roche RNAi product candidate using our LNP technology through to the filing of an IND application.

On November 17, 2010, Roche announced that, as part of a corporate restructuring, they intend to discontinue research and development in the field of RNAi. Following the announcement, Roche confirmed that, except for completing some product stability studies, they would be discontinuing product development with Tekmira. The stability studies were completed in 2011 so we now have no further obligation to Roche. In October 2011, Arrowhead Research Corporation announced that it had acquired all RNA therapeutics assets and intellectual property from Roche.

Merck license agreement

Protiva, our wholly owned subsidiary, is party to a non-exclusive royalty-bearing world-wide license agreement with Merck. Under the license, Merck will pay up to US$17.0 million in milestones for each product they develop covered by Protiva’s intellectual property, except for the first product, for which Merck will pay up to US$15.0 million in milestones, and will pay single-digit royalties on product sales. Merck has also granted a license to us for some of its patents. The license agreement with Merck was entered into as part of the settlement of litigation between Protiva and a Merck subsidiary.

Bristol-Myers Squibb research agreement

On May 10, 2010 we announced the expansion of our research collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb. Under the new agreement, Bristol-Myers Squibb will use siRNA molecules formulated by us in lipid nanoparticles to silence target genes of interest. Bristol-Myers Squibb will conduct the pre-clinical work to validate the function of certain genes and share the data with us. We can use the pre-clinical data to develop RNAi therapeutic products against the therapeutic targets of interest. Bristol-Myers Squibb paid us US$3.0 million concurrent with the signing of the agreement. We are required to provide a pre-determined number of lipid nanoparticle batches over the four-year agreement. Bristol-Myers Squibb will have a first right to negotiate a licensing agreement on certain RNAi products developed by us that evolve from Bristol-Myers Squibb validated gene targets. On May 17, 2011 we announced a further expansion of the collaboration to include broader applications of our LNP technology and additional target validation work.

USAMRIID research agreement

In 2005 we signed a five-year research agreement with the United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) to collaborate on the development of siRNA-based therapy against filovirus infections, including Ebola, using LNPs. In 2010 we received the final payment under this grant. Further development of our TKM-Ebola product is being funded by the U.S. Government under the Transformational Medical Technologies (TMT) program as discussed in “TKM-Ebola” section above.

 

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Legacy Agreements

Talon Therapeutics, Inc. (Talon, formerly Hana Biosciences, Inc.) license agreement

Talon is developing targeted chemotherapy products under a legacy license agreement entered into in May 2006. Marqibo (Optisomal Vincristine), Alocrest (formerly INX-0125, Optisomal Vinorelbine) and Brakiva (formerly INX-0076, Optisomal Topotecan), products originally developed by us, have been exclusively licensed to Talon. Talon has agreed to pay us milestones and single-digit royalties and is responsible for all future development and future expenses. In May 2009, the license agreement with Talon was amended to decrease the size of near-term milestone payments and increase the size of long-term milestone payments. On September 20, 2010, the license agreement with Talon was amended a second time such that Talon paid $5.9 million (US$5.75 million) in consideration for reducing certain future payments associated with the product candidates. The payment of $5.9 million (US$5.75 million) from Talon has been paid to our contingent creditors in full settlement of a contingent obligation. We are now eligible to receive milestone payments from Talon of up to US$19.0 million upon achievement of further development and regulatory milestones and we are also eligible to receive single-digit royalties on product sales. The milestone payments can be made in common shares of Talon. If Talon sublicenses any of the product candidates, Tekmira is eligible to receive a percentage of any upfront fees or milestone payments received by Talon. Depending on the royalty rates Talon receives from its sublicensees, our royalty rate may be lower on product sales by the sublicensees. The royalty rate will be reduced to low single digits if there is generic competition.

Marqibo is a proprietary sphingosomal formulation of the widely used, off-patent cancer chemotherapeutic vincristine. The FDA has granted Talon orphan drug and fast track designations for the use of Marqibo in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In August 2007, Talon initiated a Phase 2 Marqibo registration-enabling clinical trial in relapsed ALL and in November 2007 initiated a Phase 2 clinical trial investigating Marqibo as a treatment for uveal melanoma. In December 2009, Talon announced the results of its Phase 2 relapsed ALL clinical trial. On July 18, 2011, Talon announced that its New Drug Application (NDA) for Marqibo had been submitted to the FDA seeking approval for the treatment of adult Philadelphia chromosome-negative ALL in second or greater relapse or that has progressed following two or more lines of anti-leukemia therapy. On September 27, 2011, Talon announced its NDA for Marqibo had been accepted for filing by the FDA. On March 21, 2012, the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 7 yes, 4 no, and 2 abstain that evidence from clinical studies supports a favorable benefit/risk assessment for use of Marqibo in the indicated population. The FDA is expected to review Talon’s NDA by May 13, 2012.

Alocrest is an extended delivery formulation of the commercially available anticancer drug vinorelbine. Vinorelbine is an approved chemotherapeutic drug that is off-patent in the United States. Talon initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial for Alocrest in August 2006 and released preliminary data in October 2007. Talon is currently seeking a partner to continue the advancement of Alocrest through clinical trials.

Brakiva is a lipid encapsulated formulation of the approved anti-cancer and off-patent drug topotecan. Talon initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial for Brakiva in November 2008 in patients with advanced solid tumors.

Aradigm Corporation license agreement

In December 2004, we entered into a licensing agreement with Aradigm under which Aradigm exclusively licensed certain of our liposomal intellectual property for the pulmonary delivery of Ciprofloxacin. As amended, this agreement calls for milestone payments totalling US$4.5 and US$4.75 million, respectively, for the first two disease indications pursued by Aradigm using our technology, and for low- to mid-single-digit royalties on sales revenue from products using our technology. Aradigm has asserted that it is not using our technology in its current products.

University of British Columbia

Certain early work on lipid nanoparticle delivery systems and related inventions was undertaken at the University of British Columbia (UBC). These inventions are licensed to us by UBC under a license agreement, initially entered in 1998 and thereafter restated and amended. This agreement calls for revenue sharing on payments received from sublicenses that range from 10% for intellectual property related to certain technology used for the delivery of oligonucleotides and up to approximately 20% for intellectual property covering certain legacy product candidates being advanced by Talon and Aradigm. The agreement calls for single-digit royalties on product sales made by us under the licensed patents. The patents licensed to us by UBC under this license agreement have been expanded over the years to include patents, if any, on additional inventions discovered by UBC and us in our prior collaborations with UBC or otherwise in the course of our prior collaboration with Alnylam. These collaborations with UBC and with Alnylam ended at the end of 2008. We have granted sublicenses under the UBC license to Alnylam as well as to Talon and Aradigm. While Alnylam’s sublicense is exclusive in the RNAi field, Alnylam has in turn sublicensed us under the licensed UBC patents for discovery, development and commercialization of RNAi products. Alnylam has provided us notice that this sublicense back to Tekmira only covers products developed under the Tekmira-Alnylam agreement and not products covered under the Protiva-Alnylam agreement.

In mid-2009, we and our subsidiary Protiva entered into a supplemental agreement with UBC, Alnylam and AlCana Technologies, Inc., in relation to a separate research collaboration to be conducted among UBC, Alnylam and AlCana. We are licensed under the supplemental agreement to inventions discovered in this on-going collaboration. This license is on

 

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terms essentially similar to those of our license from UBC described above, and has similarly been sublicensed by us to Alnylam, and similarly sublicensed to us and Protiva by Alnylam for the same gene targets, except that we are to pay milestones of up to US$1,325,000 and single-digit royalties directly to UBC if we use any AlCana intellectual property generated under this supplemental agreement.

Patents and Proprietary Rights

In addition to the expertise we have developed and maintain in confidence, we own a portfolio of patents and patent applications directed to LNP inventions, the formulation and manufacture of LNP-based pharmaceuticals, chemical modification of RNAi molecules, and RNAi drugs and processes directed at particular disease indications.

We have filed many patent applications with the European Patent Office that have been granted. In Europe, upon grant, a period of nine months is allowed for notification of opposition to such granted patents. If our patents are subjected to interference or opposition proceedings, we would incur significant costs to defend them. Further, our failure to prevail in any such proceedings could limit the patent protection available to our RNAi platform, including our product candidates.

Patent applications that we have filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office have not, to date, been the subject of interferences, with the exception of one recent interference with an Alnylam patent. The Alnylam patent interference proceeding was declared by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to determine priority of invention to subject matter of Alnylam’s U.S. Patent No. 7,718,629 in light of Tekmira’s U.S. Patent Application 11/807,872. Tekmira believes certain claims in Alnylam’s ‘629 patent are invalid and that Tekmira filed on the claimed sequence prior to Alnylam. On March 13, 2012, the USPTO released its decision in the motions phase of a patent interference proceeding. The USPTO granted two of our three motions, including our motion that Alnylam’s broad claims are unpatentable due to lack of adequate written description support. Alnylam’s corresponding motion that Protiva’s claims are unpatentable for lack of written description support was denied, as was their motion that Protiva is not entitled to priority benefit based on our provisional applications 60/817,556 and 60/808,859. The next phase of the interference proceedings will determine priority for the remaining claims.

We also have ongoing litigation with Alnylam and AlCana where we have alleged misappropriation of our proprietary lipid nanoparticle delivery technology, resulting in damage to our intellectual property and business interests. Alnylam and AlCana have responded to our complaint and have also filed counterclaims. In addition, Alnylam has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against us arising from our research activities with a pharmaceutical collaborator. Isis is named as a co-plaintiff in the patent infringement suit. See “Item 8A Legal Proceedings” section of this Annual Report for more information.

Our portfolio includes approximately 120 active cases, with approximately 55 issued patents and allowed patent applications, including the following patents and applications in the United States and Europe(1):

 

Invention
Category

  

Title

  

Priority
Filing Date*

  

Status**

  

Expiration
Date***

LNP    Lipid Encapsulated Interfering RNA    07/16/2003    U.S. Pat. No.7,982,027; application pending in Europe    07/16/2024
LNP    Lipid Encapsulated Interfering RNA    06/07/2004    U.S. Pat. No. 7,799,565; European Pat. No.1766035    06/07/2025
LNP    Novel Lipid Formulations for Nucleic Acid Delivery    04/15/2008    U.S. Pat. No. 8,058,069; application pending in Europe    04/15/2029
LNP    Novel Lipid Formulations for Delivery of Therapeutic Agents to Solid Tumors    07/01/2009    Applications pending in U.S. and Europe    06/30/2030
LNP Manufacturing    Liposomal Apparatus and Manufacturing Methods    06/28/2002    U.S. Pat. No. 7,901,708; European Pat. No. 1519714    06/28/2023
LNP Manufacturing    Systems and Methods for Manufacturing Liposomes    07/27/2005    Application pending in U.S. and Europe    07/27/2026
Novel Lipids    Cationic Lipids and Methods of Use    06/07/2004    U.S. Pat. No. 7,745,651; application allowed in Europe    06/07/2025
Novel Lipids    Polyethyleneglycol-Modified Lipid Compounds and Uses Thereof    09/15/2003    U.S. Pat. No. 7,803,397; application pending in Europe    09/15/2024
Novel Lipids    Improved Cationic Lipids and Methods for the Delivery of Therapeutic Agents    07/01/2009    Application pending in the U.S.    06/30/2030

 

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Invention
Category

  

Title

  

Priority
Filing Date*

  

Status**

  

Expiration
Date***

Chemical Modifications    Modified siRNA Molecules and Uses Thereof    11/02/2005    Allowed in U.S.; application pending in Europe    11/02/2026
Chemical Modifications    Modified siRNA Molecules and Uses Thereof    06/09/2006    U.S. Pat. No. 7,915,399    06/08/2027
Therapeutic Target    siRNA Silencing of Apolipoprotein B    11/17/2004    Applications pending in U.S. and Europe    11/17/2025
Therapeutic Target    Compositions and Methods for Silencing Apolipoprotein B    07/01/2009    Applications pending in U.S. and Europe    06/30/2030
Therapeutic Target    siRNA Silencing of Filovirus Gene Expression    10/20/2005    U.S. Pat. No. 7,838,658    10/20/2026
Therapeutic Target    Compositions and Methods for Silencing Ebola Virus Gene Expression    07/20/2009    Application pending in U.S.    07/20/2030
Therapeutic Target    Silencing of Polo-Like Kinase Expression using Interfering RNA    12/27/2007    Applications pending in U.S. and Europe    12/27/2028

 

(1) Patent information current as of December 31, 2011.
* Priority filing dates are based on the filing dates of provisional patent applications. Provisional applications expire unless they are converted to non-provisional applications within one year.
** An “allowed” patent application is an active case that has been found by the patent office to contain patentable subject matter, subject to the payment of issue/grant fees by the applicant.
*** Once issued, the term of a US patent first filed after mid-1995 generally extends until the 20th anniversary of the filing date of the first non-provisional application to which such patent claims priority. It is important to note, however, that the United States Patent & Trademark Office, or USPTO, sometimes requires the filing of a Terminal Disclaimer during prosecution, which may shorten the term of the patent. On the other hand, certain patent term adjustments may be available based on USPTO delays during prosecution. Similarly, in the pharmaceutical area, certain patent term extensions may be available based on the history of the drug in clinical trials. We cannot predict whether or not any such adjustments or extensions will be available or the length of any such adjustments or extensions.

 

4C. Organizational structure

We have two wholly owned subsidiaries, Protiva Biotherapeutics Inc., which is incorporated under the laws of British Columbia and is directly held by us, and Protiva Biotherapeutics (USA) Inc., which is incorporated in the State of Delaware and is a direct subsidiary of Protiva Biotherapeutics Inc.

 

4D. Property, plant and equipment

Facilities

Our head office and primary research and development facility is located in Burnaby, British Columbia. The lease for this approximately 51,000 square foot facility expires in July 2014, but can be further extended to 2017 and then to 2022 and then to 2027.

 

ITEM 4A UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 5 OPERATING AND FINANCIAL REVIEW AND PROSPECTS

The following should be read in conjunction with our financial statements, forming a part of this Annual Report and Item 4 “Information on the Company” of this Annual Report. The financial statements for 2011 and 2010 have been prepared in accordance with in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America except as otherwise stated. The information presented below is in Canadian dollars unless otherwise stated.

Overview

Tekmira is a biopharmaceutical company focused on advancing novel RNA interference therapeutics and providing its leading lipid nanoparticle delivery technology to pharmaceutical partners.

 

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Reorganization and Acquisition

Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corporation was incorporated on October 6, 2005 as an inactive wholly owned subsidiary of Inex Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Pursuant to a reorganization effective April 30, 2007 the business and substantially all of the assets and liabilities of Inex were transferred to the Company. The consolidated financial statements for all periods presented herein include the consolidated operations of Inex until April 30, 2007 and the operations of the Company thereafter.

On May 30, 2008, we completed the acquisition of all of the outstanding shares of Protiva. At the time of the acquisition, Protiva was a privately owned Canadian company developing lipid nanoparticle delivery technology for small interfering RNA, or siRNA, a business similar to that of Tekmira. The acquisition of Protiva permitted us to combined our assets and focus them on the develop RNAi therapeutic products using our lipid nanoparticle delivery technology which we refer to as LNP or lipid nanoparticles. The business combination was completed through the acquisition by Tekmira, under a share purchase agreement, of all the outstanding shares of Protiva in consideration for common shares of Tekmira. Tekmira also agreed to issue common shares on the exercise of any Protiva share purchase options that remained outstanding at the closing.

Concurrent with the completion of the business combination with Protiva, we entered into initial research agreements with F. Hoffman-La Roche Ltd and Hoffman La-Roche Inc., which we refer to together as Roche, and completed private placement investments of 416,667 common shares for US$5.0 million (CDN$5.0 million, CDN$12.00 per share) with Alnylam and 416,667 common shares for CDN$5.0 million (CDN$12.00 per share) with a Roche affiliate.

The Protiva acquisition was accounted for using the purchase method of accounting.

Inflation

Inflation has not had a material impact on our operations.

Foreign Currency Fluctuations

We purchase goods and services in both Canadian and U.S. dollars and earn a significant portion of our revenues in U.S. dollars. We manage our U.S. dollar currency risk by using cash received from U.S. dollar revenues to pay U.S. dollar expenses. We have not entered into any agreements or purchased any instruments to hedge possible currency risks at this time. Our policy is to hold only working capital levels of U.S. dollars. However, as a large portion of our revenues and expenses are in U.S. dollars, exchange rate fluctuations will continue to create gains or losses as we continue holding U.S. denominated cash, accounts receivable and accounts payable.

Foreign exchange losses were $0.01 million in 2011 and 2010 as compared to $0.44 million in 2009. Our foreign exchange gains and losses relate almost entirely to changes in the US dollar to Canadian dollar exchange rate. We have some US dollar denominated cash and receivables which provide a natural exchange rate hedge against our US dollar denominated payables and we keep our US dollar cash balances to a working capital level to minimize exchange rate risk.

Government Regulation

We operate within a highly regulated environment. Regional and country specific laws and regulations define the data required to show safety and efficacy of product candidates such as ours, as well as govern testing, approval, manufacturing, labeling and marketing of these products. These regulatory requirements are a major factor in determining whether a product may be successfully developed and the amount of time and expense associated with this development. For a biopharmaceutical company to launch a new product, it must demonstrate to the national regulatory authorities in the countries in which it intends to market the new product, such as the Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, in the United States and the Therapeutic Products Directorate of Health Canada, or TPD, in Canada that the product is both effective and safe. The system of new drug approvals in North America is one of the most rigorous in the world.

A potential new product must first be tested in the laboratory, referred to as in vitro studies, and in several animal species, referred to as pre-clinical, before being evaluated in humans, referred to as clinical studies. Pre-clinical studies primarily involve in vitro evaluations of the therapeutic activity of the product and pre-clinical evaluations of the pharmacokinetic, metabolic and toxic effects of the product in selected animal species. Ultimately, based on data generated during pre-clinical studies, extrapolations will be made to evaluate the potential risks versus the potential benefits of use of the product in humans under specific conditions of use. Upon successful completion of the pre-clinical studies, the product typically undergoes a series of evaluations in humans, including healthy volunteers and patients with the targeted disease.

Before undertaking clinical studies, the pharmaceutical company sponsoring the new product must submit to the FDA, TPD, or other applicable regulatory body, an Investigational New Drug (IND) submission. The IND application must contain specified information including the results of the pre-clinical or clinical tests completed at the time of the application. Since the method of manufacture may affect the efficacy and safety of a product, information on manufacturing methods and standards and the stability of the product substance and dosage form must also be presented.

The activities which are typically completed prior to obtaining approval for marketing in North America may be summarized as follows:

 

   

pre-clinical studies, which includes pharmacological and efficacy testing in animals, toxicology testing and formulation work based on in vitro results, performed to assess the safety and potential efficacy of the product, and subject to good laboratory practice requirements;

 

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Phase 1 clinical trials, the initial introduction of the product into human subjects, under which the compound is generally tested for safety, dosage, tolerance, metabolic interaction, distribution, excretion and pharmacokinetics;

 

   

Phase 2 clinical trials involving studies in a limited patient population to: determine the efficacy of the product for specific, targeted indications, determine optimal dosage, and identify possible adverse effects and safety risks; and

 

   

Phase 3 clinical trials which are undertaken to further evaluate clinical efficacy of the product and to further test for its safety within an expanded patient population at geographically dispersed clinical study sites in order to support marketing authorization.

Following Phase 3, the product sponsor submits a New Drug Application to the FDA or a New Drug Submission to the TPD for marketing approval. Once the data is reviewed and approved by the appropriate regulatory authorities such as TPD and FDA, the product may be sold on a commercial basis.

The approval process for new drugs in Europe is comparable to the approval process of the FDA.

Critical accounting policies and estimates

The significant accounting policies that we believe to be most critical in fully understanding and evaluating our financial results are revenue recognition, stock-based compensation and share purchase warrant valuation. These accounting policies require us to make certain estimates and assumptions. We believe that the estimates and assumptions upon which we rely are reasonable, based upon information available to us at the time that these estimates and assumptions are made. Actual results may differ from our estimates. Our critical accounting estimates affect our net loss calculation.

Revenue Recognition / Our primary sources of revenue have been derived from research and development collaborations and contracts, and licensing fees comprised of initial fees and milestone payments. Payments received under research and development agreements and contracts, which are non-refundable, are recorded as revenue as services are performed and as the related expenditures are incurred pursuant to the agreement, provided collectability is reasonably assured. Revenue earned under research and development manufacturing collaborations where we bear some or all of the risk of a product manufacture failure is recognized when the purchaser accepts the product and there are no remaining rights of return. Revenue earned under research and development collaborations and contracts where we do not bear any risk of product manufacture failure is recognized in the period the work is performed. Initial fees and milestone payments which require our ongoing involvement are deferred and amortized into income over the estimated period of our involvement as we fulfill our obligations under our agreements. Revenue earned under contractual arrangements upon the occurrence of specified milestones is recognized as the milestones are achieved and collection is reasonably assured.

The revenue that we recognize is a critical accounting estimate because of the volume and nature of the revenues we receive. Some of the research, development and licensing agreements that we have entered into contain multiple revenue elements that are to be recognized for accounting in accordance with our revenue recognition policy. We need to make estimates as to what period the services will be delivered with respect to up-front licensing fees and milestone payments received because these payments are deferred and amortized into income over the estimated period of our ongoing involvement. The actual period of our ongoing involvement may differ from the estimated period determined at the time the payment is initially received and recorded as deferred revenue. This may result in a different amount of revenue that should have been recorded in the period and a longer or shorter period of revenue amortization. When an estimated period changes we amortize the remaining deferred revenue over the estimated remaining time to completion. The rate at which we recognize revenue from payments received for services to be provided under research and development agreements depends on our estimate of work completed to date and total work to be provided. The actual total services provided to earn such payments may differ from our estimates.

Our U.S. Government contract for TKM-Ebola is based on cost reimbursement plus an incentive fee. At the beginning of our fiscal year we estimate our labour and overhead rates for the year ahead. At the end of the year we calculate our actual labour and overhead rates and adjust our revenue accordingly. Our actual labour and overhead rates will differ from our estimate based on actual costs incurred and the proportion of our efforts on contracts and internal products versus indirect activities. Within minimum and maximum collars, the amount of incentive fee we can earn under the U.S. Government contract varies based on our costs incurred versus budgeted costs. We need to make an estimate of our final contract costs in order to calculate the final incentive fee we will receive. Until we are able to make a reliable estimate of the final contract costs, we recognize only the minimum incentive fee achievable and earned.

Our revenue for 2011 was $16.6 million (2010 - $21.4 million) and deferred revenue at December 31, 2011 was $4.5 million (December 31, 2010 - $4.1 million).

 

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Stock-based compensation / The stock based compensation that we record is a critical accounting estimate due to the value of compensation recorded, the volume of our stock option activity, and the many assumptions that are required to be made to calculate the compensation expense.

Compensation expense is recorded for stock options issued to employees and directors using the fair value method. We must calculate the fair value of stock options issued and amortize the fair value to stock compensation expense over the vesting period, and adjust the expense for stock option forfeitures and cancellations. We use the Black-Scholes model to calculate the fair value of stock options issued which requires that certain assumptions, including the expected life of the option and expected volatility of the stock, be estimated at the time that the options are issued. This accounting estimate is reasonably likely to change from period to period as further stock options are issued and adjustments are made for stock option forfeitures and cancellations. We make an estimate for stock option forfeitures at the time of grant and revise this estimate in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ. The term “forfeitures” is distinct from “cancellations” or “expirations” and represents only the unvested portion of the surrendered stock option. We amortize the fair value of stock options using the straight-line method over the vesting period of the options, generally a period of three years for employees and immediate vesting for directors.

We recorded stock compensation expense in 2011 of $0.6 million (2010 - $0.7 million).

Share purchase warrant valuation / The valuation of share purchase warrants is a critical accounting estimate due to the value of liabilities recorded and the many assumptions that are required to be made to calculate the liability.

We classify warrants in our consolidated balance sheet as liabilities and revalue them at each balance sheet date. Any change in valuation is recorded in our statement of operations. We use the Black-Scholes pricing model to value the warrants. Determining the appropriate fair-value model and calculating the fair value of registered warrants requires considerable judgment. A small change in the estimates used may cause a relatively large change in the estimated valuation. The estimated volatility of our common stock at the date of issuance, and at each subsequent reporting period, is based on historical volatility that matches the expected remaining life of the warrants. The risk-free interest rate is based on the zero-coupon rate for bonds with a maturity similar to the expected remaining life of the warrants at the valuation date. The expected life of the warrants is assumed to be equivalent to their remaining contractual term.

We recorded a credit for the change in fair value of warrant liability in 2011 of $0.6 million (2010 - $nil).

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) or other standard setting bodies that we adopt as of the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, we believe that the impact of recently issued standards that are not yet effective will not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations upon adoption.

In October 2009, the FASB issued EITF 08-01, Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables (currently within the scope of FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) Subtopic 605-25). This statement provides principles for allocation of consideration among its multiple-elements, allowing more flexibility in identifying and accounting for separate deliverables under an arrangement. The EITF introduces an estimated selling price method for valuing the elements of a bundled arrangement if vendor-specific objective evidence or third-party evidence of selling price is not available, and significantly expands related disclosure requirements. This standard is effective on a prospective basis for revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010. Alternatively, adoption may be on a retrospective basis, and early application is permitted. We adopted this pronouncement on January 1, 2011. Adoption of the pronouncement did not have a material impact on our financial statements.

In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-11, Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities. This newly issued accounting standard requires an entity to disclose both gross and net information about instruments and transactions eligible for offset in the statement of financial position as well as instruments and transactions executed under a master netting or similar arrangement and was issued to enable users of financial statements to understand the effects or potential effects of those arrangements on its financial position. This ASU is required to be applied retrospectively and is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning on or after January 1, 2013. As this accounting standard only requires enhanced disclosure, the adoption of this standard is not expected to have an impact on our financial position or results of operations.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income. This newly issued accounting standard (1) eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in stockholders’ equity; (2) requires the consecutive presentation of the statement of net income and other comprehensive income; and (3) requires an entity to present reclassification adjustments on the face of the financial statements from other comprehensive income to net income. The amendments in this ASU do not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income or when an item of other comprehensive income must be reclassified to net income nor do the amendments affect how earnings per share is calculated or presented. In December 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-12, Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income in Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05,

 

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which defers the requirement within ASU 2011-05 to present on the face of the financial statements the effects of reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income on the components of net income and other comprehensive income for all periods presented. During the deferral, entities should continue to report reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income consistent with the presentation requirements in effect prior to the issuance of ASU 2011-05. These ASUs are required to be applied retrospectively and are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2011, which for Tekmira means January 1, 2012. As these accounting standards do not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income or when an item of other comprehensive income must be reclassified to net income, the adoption of these standards is not expected to have an impact on our financial position or results of operations.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-04, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs. This newly issued accounting standard clarifies the application of certain existing fair value measurement guidance and expands the disclosures for fair value measurements that are estimated using significant unobservable (Level 3) inputs. This ASU is effective on a prospective basis for annual and interim reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2011, which for Tekmira means January 1, 2012. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

 

  5A. Operating Results

Year ended December 31, 2011 compared to the year ended December 31, 2010

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2011, our net loss was $9.9 million ($0.88 per common share) as compared to a net loss of $12.4 million ($1.20 per common share) for 2010.

Revenue / Revenue is detailed in the following table:

 

(in millions Cdn$)

   2011      2010  

Collaborations and contracts

     

Alnylam

   $ 4.1       $ 6.3   

U.S. Government

     11.5         3.6   

Roche

     —           4.5   

BMS

     0.4         0.2   

Other RNAi collaborators

     0.1         0.4   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total collaborations and contracts

     16.1         14.9   

Alnylam milestone payments

     0.5         0.5   

Talon license amendment payment

     —           5.9   
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total revenue

   $ 16.6       $ 21.4   

Alnylam revenue / Under the Alnylam Manufacturing Agreement we are the exclusive manufacturer of any products required by Alnylam that utilize our technology through to the end of Phase 2 clinical trials. Under the Alnylam Manufacturing Agreement there was a contractual minimum payment for the provision of staff in each of the three years from 2009 to 2011 and Alnylam is reimbursing us for any external costs incurred. Revenue from external costs related to the Alnylam Manufacturing Agreement is being recorded in the period that Alnylam is invoiced for those costs except where we bear the risk of batch failure in which case revenue is recognized only once Alnylam accepts the batch. The total payment for the provision of staff from 2009 to 2011 was the contractual minimum amount of $11.2 million. From January 1, 2012, at the start of each calendar quarter, Alnylam will prepay for the provision of our staff based on their estimate of work to be performed in that quarter. Any under or over estimate will be reconciled at the end of each quarter. Alnylam will continue to pay for external costs incurred by us on their behalf on a monthly invoice basis.

In Q3 2010 and in Q3 2011 we recorded US$0.5 million milestone payments from Alnylam following their initiation of Phase 1 human clinical trials for two separate products enabled by our LNP delivery technology.

U.S. Government revenue / On July 14, 2010, we signed a contract with the United States Government to advance an RNAi therapeutic utilizing our LNP technology to treat Ebola virus infection. The initial phase of the contract, which is funded under a Transformational Medical Technologies program, is budgeted at US$34.7 million and is expected to last approximately three years. This initial funding is for the development of TKM-Ebola including completion of pre-clinical development, filing an IND application with the FDA and completing a Phase 1 human safety clinical trial.

Under the contract we are being reimbursed for costs incurred, including an allocation of overheads, and we are being paid an incentive fee.

Roche revenue / Under the Roche Product Development Agreement dated May 2009 Roche was paying us for the provision of staff and for certain external costs incurred. In November 2010, Roche announced that, as part of a corporate restructuring, they intend to discontinue research and development in the field of RNAi. Following the announcement, Roche

 

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confirmed that, except for completing some product stability studies, they would be discontinuing product development with Tekmira. As at December 31, 2010, we retained a deferred revenue balance of $0.04 million to cover a small amount of stability study work to be completed for Roche and the rest of Roche deferred revenue was brought into income in 2010. The stability studies were completed in Q4 2011 so we now have no further obligation to Roche under this agreement.

BMS revenue / / In May 2010 we signed a formulation agreement with BMS under which BMS paid us $3.2 million (US$3.0 million) to make a certain number of LNP formulations over the following four year period. The agreement was subsequently expanded to include a previous commitment worth $0.1 million and for the manufacture of formulations for extra-hepatic studies being conducted by BMS.

Other RNAi collaborators revenue / We have active research agreements with a number of other RNAi collaborators.

License amendment payment / On September 20, 2010, the license agreement with Talon was amended such that Talon paid $5.9 million (US$5.75 million) in consideration for reducing certain future payments associated with the product candidates. The payment of $5.9 million from Talon has been paid on to contingent creditors in full settlement of a contingent obligation (see Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements). We are now eligible to receive milestone payments from Talon of up to US$19.0 million upon achievement of further development and regulatory milestones and we are also eligible to receive single-digit royalties on product sales. If Talon sublicenses any of the product candidates, Tekmira is eligible to receive a percentage of any upfront fees or milestone payments received by Talon.

Revenue guidance for 2012 / Total collaborations and contracts revenues are expected to be at a similar level in 2012 as in 2011. Now that the minimum FTE requirement under the Alnylam Manufacturing Agreement has ended we expect lower Alnylam revenue. However, we expect U.S. Government contract revenue to increase over 2011 levels. BMS’s demand for research formulations has recently increased so we expect more BMS revenue in 2012 as compared to 2011.

Expenses / Research, development, collaborations and contracts / Research, development, collaborations and contracts expenses were $19.9 million in 2011 as compared to $22.1 million in 2010.

In Q3 2010 we signed a contract with the U.S. Government to develop TKM-Ebola and have since been incurring significant program costs such as materials and pre-clinical studies that have been included in research, development, collaborations and contracts expenses. These costs are being reimbursed by the U.S. Government who is also paying for TKM-Ebola related labour costs and overheads and an incentive fee.

The initiation of the TKM-Ebola contract added significant collaborations and contracts expenses. However, third party expenses on the Alnylam and Roche contracts were lower in 2011 as compared to 2010.

For our internal programs, spending was lower in 2011 than in 2010. Spending on TKM-PLK1 has increased in 2011 as we moved into a phase 1 clinical trial but TKM-ApoB spending has been minimal since mid-2010 when we decided to evaluate new formulations for potential TKM-ApoB development.

Compensation included in research, development, collaborations and contracts expenses was slightly higher in 2011 as compared to 2010. In June 2011 there was a reduction in workforce of 15 employees.

Research, development, collaborations and contracts expenses guidance for 2012 / Total research, development, collaborations and contracts expenses are expected to decrease modestly in 2012 as compared to 2011 levels. Our compensation expenses will be lower in 2012 than in 2011 following a reduction in workforce in January 2012 of 16 employees.

General and administrative / General and administrative expenses were $6.3 million in 2011 as compared to $4.8 million in 2010. The increase in 2011 largely relates to legal fees incurred in respect of our lawsuit with Alnylam and AlCana. See “Item 8A Legal Proceedings” section of this Annual Report for more information.

General and administrative expenses guidance for 2012 / Total general and administrative expenses are expected to decrease in 2012 as compared to 2011 levels. In 2011 we incurred significant expenses for our lawsuit against Alnylam and AlCana. From March 2012 onwards, under a fixed monthly fee agreement with Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe LLP (Orrick), our lead legal counsel for our lawsuit against Alnylam and AlCana, we will be required to reimburse Orrick for expenses incurred but no further payments will be required for professional fees. If we are successful in this lawsuit, we will pay a success fee to Orrick.

Depreciation of property and equipment / Depreciation of property and equipment was $1.0 million in 2011 and $1.0 million in 2010.

Other income (losses) / Change in fair value of warrant liability / On June 16, 2011 we completed a public offering of 1,789,900 units at a price of $2.85 each for total proceeds, before expenses, of $5.1 million. Each unit consists of one common share and one half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to acquire one common share at a price of $3.35. The warrants have a five-year term.

We are accounting for the warrants under the authoritative guidance on accounting for derivative financial instruments indexed to, and potentially settled in, a company’s own stock, on the understanding that in compliance with applicable

 

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securities laws, the registered warrants require the issuance of registered securities upon exercise and do not sufficiently preclude an implied right to net cash settlement. Each balance sheet date the warrants are revalued and the change in value is recorded in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.

We recorded a Black-Scholes value, upon issuance, of $0.74 million. At December 31, 2011 we calculated a Black-Scholes value for the warrants of $0.17 million and therefore recorded income of $0.57 million in 2011.

In addition, in part payment for establishing a loan facility, we have provided Silicon Valley Bank with 54,545 warrants with an exercise price of $1.65 and an expiration date of December 21, 2018. On the date of issuance, the Black-Scholes aggregate value of the 54,545 warrants was $0.04 million and is based on an assumed risk-free interest rate of 1.48%, volatility of 40%, a zero dividend yield and an expected life of 7 years. At December 31, 2011, the Black-Scholes value of the warrants was unchanged.

The legal and professional costs of establishing the loan of $0.07 million and the initial fair value of the warrants of $0.04 million have been included in General and Administrative expenses.

Year ended December 31, 2010 compared to the year ended December 31, 2009

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010, our net loss was $12.4 million ($1.20 per common share) as compared to a net loss of $8.7 million ($0.85 per common share) for 2009.

The primary reason for the increase in net losses is increased research, development, collaborations and contracts spending across our internal and partnered programs. Also, in 2010, we incurred professional and listing fees for our NASDAQ listing.

Revenue / Revenue was $21.4 million in 2010 as compared to $14.4 million in 2009. In Q3 2010 we received a $5.9 million license fee amendment payment from Talon which was subsequently paid on to contingent creditors and is further explained in Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements below. Revenue streams from our ongoing collaborations and contracts changed significantly in 2010 as discussed below.

Revenue is detailed in the following table:

 

(in millions Cdn$)

   2010      2009  

Collaborations and contracts

     

Alnylam

   $ 6.3       $ 8.8   

U.S. Government

     3.6         —     

Roche

     4.5         4.8   

BMS

     0.2         0.2   

Other RNAi collaborators

     0.4         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total collaborations and contracts

     14.9         13.8   

Alnylam milestone payments

     0.5         0.6   

Talon license amendment payment

     5.9         —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total revenue

   $ 21.4       $ 14.4   

Alnylam revenue / Under an agreement with Alnylam they were required to make collaborative research payments at a minimum rate of US$2.0 million per annum for the provision of our research staff. This agreement expired on August 13, 2009 and we no longer receive research funding from Alnylam. We are, however, continuing to make LNP research and clinical trial batches for Alnylam under the Alnylam Manufacturing Agreement.

Under the Alnylam Manufacturing Agreement we are the exclusive manufacturer of any products required by Alnylam that utilize our technology through to the end of Phase 2 clinical trials. Under the Alnylam Manufacturing Agreement there was a contractual minimum payment for the provision of staff in each of the three years from 2009 to 2011 and Alnylam is reimbursing us for any external costs incurred. Revenue from external costs related to the Alnylam Manufacturing Agreement is being recorded in the period that Alnylam is invoiced for those costs except where we bear the risk of batch failure in which case revenue is recognized only once Alnylam accepts the batch. The total payment for the provision of staff from 2009 to 2011 was a minimum of $11.2 million.

In Q2 2009 and in Q3 2010 we received US$0.5 million milestone payments from Alnylam following their initiation of Phase 1 human clinical trials for two separate products enabled by our LNP delivery technology.

U.S. Government revenue / On July 14, 2010, we signed a contract with the United States Government to advance an RNAi therapeutic utilizing our LNP technology to treat Ebola virus infection. The initial phase of the contract, which is funded under a Transformational Medical Technologies program, is budgeted at US$34.7 million and is expected to last approximately three years. This initial funding is for the development of TKM-Ebola including completion of pre-clinical development, filing an IND application with the FDA and completing a Phase 1 human safety clinical trial.

 

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Under the contract we are being reimbursed for costs incurred, including an allocation of overheads, and we are being paid an incentive fee. The cost of equipment purchased for the contract, and revenue from the reimbursement of that cost, is initially recorded as deferred costs and revenue and is then amortized to the income statement over the expected contract period.

Roche revenue / Under the Roche Product Development Agreement dated May 2009 Roche are paying us for the provision of staff and for certain external costs incurred. We are recognizing revenue from the Roche Product Development Agreement in proportion to the services provided up to the reporting date by comparing actual hours spent to estimated total project hours. Revenue from external costs incurred under the Roche Product Development Agreement is recorded in the period that Roche is invoiced for those costs. The difference between service revenue recognized and cash received is being recorded in the balance sheet as accrued or deferred revenue, as appropriate. In November 2010, Roche announced that, as part of a corporate restructuring, they intend to discontinue research and development in the field of RNAi. Following the announcement, Roche confirmed that, except for completing some product stability studies, they would be discontinuing product development with Tekmira. At December 31, 2010, we retained a deferred revenue balance of $0.04 million to cover a small amount of stability study work to be completed for Roche. The rest of Roche deferred revenue was brought into income in 2010.

We earned $0.8 million in collaborations revenue during the first half of 2009 for work under a separate Roche Research Agreement that ended in June 2009.

BMS revenue / BMS revenue in 2009 and 2010 relates to a research collaboration agreement. In May 2010 we signed a formulation agreement with BMS under which BMS paid us $3.2 million (US$3.0 million) to make a certain number of LNP formulations over the next four years. Revenue from this agreement will be recognized as batches are produced. No batches had yet been produced under the new BMS agreement so deferred revenue as at December 31, 2010 included $3.2 million in this respect.

Other RNAi collaborators revenue / We have active research agreements with a number of other RNAi collaborators.

Talon license amendment payment / On September 20, 2010, the license agreement with Talon was amended such that Talon paid $5.9 million (US$5.75 million) in consideration for reducing certain future payments associated with the product candidates. The payment of $5.9 million from Talon has been paid on to contingent creditors in full settlement of a contingent obligation. We are now eligible to receive milestone payments from Talon of up to US$19.0 million upon achievement of further development and regulatory milestones and we are also eligible to receive single-digit royalties on product sales. If Talon sublicenses any of the product candidates, Tekmira is eligible to receive a percentage of any upfront fees or milestone payments received by Talon.

Expenses / Research, development, collaborations and contracts / Research, development, collaborations and contracts expenses increased to $22.1 million in 2010 as compared to $17.8 million in 2009.

In Q3 2010 we signed a contract with the U.S. Government to develop TKM-Ebola and incurred significant program costs such as materials and pre-clinical studies that have been included in research, development, collaborations and contracts expenses. These costs are being reimbursed by the U.S. Government who is also paying for TKM-Ebola related labor costs and overheads and an incentive fee.

In 2010 we also incurred more reimbursable costs on our Alnylam collaboration as compared to 2009. Overall costs incurred on our TKM-PLK1, TKM-ApoB and other research and formulation development are at similar levels in 2009 and 2010.

Research, development, collaborations and contracts compensation expenses increased in 2010 as compared to 2009. This was due to increasing staff numbers and an increase in stock option expense in 2010. Our research and development staff numbers have increased to 82 at December 31, 2010 (total staff 92) as compared to 64 (total staff 78) at December 31, 2009. Ordinarily, we issue an annual grant of stock options to all staff and directors at the end of our fiscal year but due to a stock trading black-out our annual grant was delayed until Q1 2010. Our 2010 annual grant of stock options occurred as planned in December 2010. Typically, a portion of our stock options vest immediately so there is a peak in stock option expense in the period when options are granted.

General and administrative / General and administrative expenses increased to $4.8 million in 2010 from $4.2 million in 2009. The increase in 2010 generally relates to professional and listing fees for our NASDAQ share listing.

Depreciation of property and equipment / Depreciation of property and equipment was steady at $1.0 million in 2010 and $1.0 million in 2009.

Loss on purchase and settlement of exchangeable and development notes / The $5.9 million license amendment payment and related $5.9 million loss on the purchase and settlement of exchangeable and development notes. See “Item 5E. Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements” section of this Annual Report for more information.

 

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5B. Liquidity and Capital Resources

Since our incorporation, we have financed our operations through the sales of shares, units, debt, revenues from research and development collaborations and licenses with corporate partners, interest income on funds available for investment, and government contracts, grants and tax credits.

At December 31, 2011, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $9.2 million as compared to $12.3 million at December 31, 2010.

Operating activities used cash of $7.7 million in 2011 as compared to $11.2 million in 2010. Excluding changes in non-cash operating items, cash used in operating activities in 2011 fell to $8.8 million as compared to $10.7 million in 2010 due, largely, to reduced losses as discussed earlier.

Investing activities used $0.01 million in 2011 as compared to $0.8 million in 2010. Investing in 2010 relates to facility improvements and manufacturing equipment. Any equipment we acquire under our TKM-Ebola contract is owned by the U.S. Government so is not recorded as a Company investment.

On June 16, 2011 we completed a public offering of 1,789,900 units at a price of $2.85 each for total proceeds, before expenses, of $5.1 million. Each unit consists of one common share and one half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to acquire one common share at a price of $3.35. The warrants have a five-year term. After paying underwriter’s commission and other unit issue costs the offering generated net cash of $4.5 million.

In December 2011, we secured a US$3.0 million term loan from Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). The US$3.0 million loan from SVB may be drawn down at the discretion of the Company at any time prior to September 30, 2012. The loan matures on June 30, 2015 and carries a fixed interest rate of 8% annually. If we choose to draw down on the loan, principal and interest payments will be made monthly starting on October 1, 2012. We provided SVB with 54,545 warrants at a price of $1.65 and will provide additional warrants equal to 2% of any draw down on the loan. We have not yet drawn down on the loan. The loan will be secured by the assets of the Company and does not include any financial covenants.

On February 29, 2012, we completed a private placement of 1,848,601 units for gross proceeds of $4.1 million. Each unit, priced at $2.20, consists of one common share and one half of one common share purchase warrant. Each whole warrant entitles the holder to acquire one common share at a price of $2.60 for a period of five years from closing. We plan to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes. The common shares issued pursuant to the private placement are subject to a four-month hold period that expires on June 30, 2012.

We believe our current funds on hand, following the February 29, 2012 private placement, plus expected income, including funds from our collaborative partners and the U.S. Government and access to the loan facility from SVB, will be sufficient to extend our cash runway until the second half of 2013.

Financial Instruments

We are exposed to market risk related to changes in interest and foreign currency exchange rates, each of which could adversely affect the value of our assets and liabilities. We invest our cash reserves in a high interest savings account and in bankers’ acceptances with varying terms to maturity (not exceeding two years) issued by major Canadian banks, selected with regard to the expected timing of expenditures for continuing operations and prevailing interest rates. Investments with a maturity greater than three months are classified in our Balance Sheet as held-for-trading short-term investments and are recorded at cost plus accrued interest. The fair value of our cash investments as at December 31, 2011 is at least equal to the face value of those investments and the value reported in our Balance Sheet. Due to the relatively short-term nature of the investments that we hold, we do not believe that the results of operations or cash flows would be affected to any significant degree by a sudden change in market interest rates relative to our investment portfolio. We purchase goods and services in both Canadian and U.S. dollars and earn a significant portion of our revenues in U.S. dollars. We manage our U.S. dollar currency risk by using cash received from U.S. dollar revenues to pay U.S. dollar expenses and by limiting holdings of U.S. dollar cash and cash equivalent balances to working capital levels. We have not entered into any agreements or purchased any instruments to hedge possible currency risks at this time.

Material Commitments for Capital Expenditures

As at the date of this Annual Report our only material commitments to capital expenditure are for lab and manufacturing equipment related to our TKM-Ebola program, and we expect these purchases to be reimbursed by the U.S. Government as the contractor for this program.

 

5C. Research and Development, Patents and Licences

Cost associated with our research, development, patents and licences are discussed in Item 5.A. “Operating results” and Item 4.B. “Business Overview.

 

5D. Trend Information

The following table presents our unaudited quarterly results of operations for each of our last eight quarters. These data have been derived from our unaudited consolidated financial statements, which were prepared on the same basis as our annual audited financial statements and, in our opinion, include all adjustments necessary, consisting solely of normal recurring adjustments, for the fair presentation of such information.

 

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(in millions Cdn$ except per share data) – unaudited                                                 
     Q1     Q2     Q3     Q4     Q1     Q2     Q3     Q4  
     2010     2010     2010     2010     2011     2011     2011     2011  

Revenue

                

Collaborations and contracts:

                

Alnylam

   $ 0.9      $ 1.4      $ 1.8      $ 2.1      $ 0.9      $ 1.0      $ 1.5      $ 0.7   

U.S. Government

     —          —          1.2        2.4        3.4        3.3        2.0        2.8   

Roche

     1.3        0.9        0.6        1.7        —          —          —          —     

Other

     0.3        —          0.3        —          —          0.1        0.2        0.2   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
     2.5        2.3        3.9        6.2        4.3        4.4        3.7        3.7   

Alnylam licensing fees and milestone payments

     —          —          0.5        —          —          —          0.5        —     

Talon license amendment payment

     —          —          6.0        —          —          —          —          —     
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total revenue

     2.5        2.3        10.4        6.2        4.3        4.4        4.2        3.7   

Expenses and other income (losses)

     6.7        6.3        12.8        8.1        7.4        7.9        5.7        5.5   
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss

     (4.2     (4.0     (2.4     (1.9     (3.1     (3.5     (1.5     (1.8

Basic and diluted net loss per share

   $ (0.40   $ (0.38   $ (0.24   $ (0.18   $ (0.30   $ (0.33   $ (0.12   $ (0.15

Quarterly Trends / Our revenue is derived from research and development collaborations and contracts, licensing fees and milestone payments. Over the past two years, our principal sources of ongoing revenue have been our Alnylam partnership entered into in March 2006, our Roche partnership which was expanded in May 2009 and our contract with the U.S. Government to advance TKM-Ebola which began in July 2010.

In January 2009 we signed a Manufacturing Agreement with Alnylam. Revenue from the Alnylam Manufacturing Agreement was higher than usual in Q3 2010, Q4 2010 and Q3 2011 when deferred revenue related to minimum FTE payments was recognized based on our estimate of percentage of completion of the annual commitment. Quarterly revenue levels are also affected by the timing of manufacturing third party costs such as manufacturing suite charges. The timing of batch manufacturing is sporadic and manufacturing suite booking fees can precede the date of batch manufacture by many months.

In Q3 2010 we signed a contract with the U.S. Government to develop TKM-Ebola and incurred significant program costs such as materials and pre-clinical studies that have been included in research, development, collaborations and contracts expenses. These third-party costs are being reimbursed by the U.S. Government so are also recorded as revenue. U.S. Government revenue from the TKM-Ebola program also includes labour, overheads and incentive fee charges. Third-party costs were lower in Q3 2011 as we focused on preparing to file the IND for TKM-Ebola.

In November 2010, Roche announced that, as part of a corporate restructuring, they intend to discontinue research and development in the field of RNAi. Following the announcement, Roche confirmed that, except for completing some product stability studies, they would be discontinuing product development with Tekmira. The balance of Roche deferred revenue, except for a provision for the stability study work, was recognized as revenue in Q4 2010. The stability studies were completed in 2011 so we now have no further obligation to Roche.

In Q3 2010 and in Q3 2011 we earned US$0.5 million milestones from Alnylam following their initiation of a Phase 1 human clinical trial enabled by our LNP delivery technology.

In Q3 2010 we received a $5.9 million license amendment payment from Talon. The $5.9 million was then paid to certain of our contingent creditors in full settlement of a contingent obligation so is also included as an expense in our Q3 2010 income statement.

We expect revenue to continue to fluctuate particularly due to the variability in demand for our manufacturing services, the development stage of the TKM-Ebola contract and the timing of licensing payments and milestone receipts.

Net losses from Q1 2010 and Q2 2010 were higher due to increased spending on our TKM-ApoB and TKM-PLK1 programs. In those quarters we were manufacturing materials for pre-clinical and clinical trials and conducting toxicology studies in preparation for clinical development of both programs. Losses from Q3 2010 onward have generally been lower than the first half of 2010 as a result of higher revenues. Our Q3 2011 lower expenses and net loss are a result of an unusually

 

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high proportion of revenue being generated from the reimbursement of staff time and overheads through the TKM-Ebola contract. Staff time and overhead revenue has a greater impact on reducing our losses than research and development costs reimbursement.

Fourth quarter of 2011 / Our Q4 2011 net loss was $1.8 million ($0.15 per common share) as compared to a net loss of $1.9 million ($0.18 per common share) for Q4 2010.

Revenue decreased to $3.7 million in Q4 2011 as compared to $6.2 million in Q4 2010. This decrease was largely the result of the winding down of the Roche collaboration in Q4 2010 and a low level of activity under the Alnylam Manufacturing Agreement in Q4 2011.

Research, development, collaborations and contracts expenses decreased to $3.7 million in Q4 2011 as compared to $6.6 million in Q4 2010. In Q4 2010, as compared to Q4 2011, we incurred a far greater level of third party costs for our U.S. Government and Alnylam contract work.

General and administrative expenses increased to $2.0 million in Q4 2011 from $1.2 million in Q4 2010. The increase primarily relates to legal fees incurred in respect of our lawsuit with Alnylam and AlCana.

 

5E. Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

Debt retirement / We had a contingent obligation that arose through a Purchase and Settlement Agreement dated June 20, 2006 whereby we retired exchangeable and development notes in exchange for contingent consideration including certain future milestone and royalty payments from Talon. Concurrent with signing the second amendment of the license agreement with Talon we signed a Waiver and Release with contingent creditors, the “Former Noteholders”. The balance of the contingent obligation related to the Talon milestones and royalties immediately prior to signing the Waiver and Release was US$22.8 million. As per the terms of the Waiver and Release we paid the Former Noteholders $5.9 million (US$5.75 million) in full settlement of the contingent obligation and we included this in our 2010 other income (losses) as loss on purchase and settlement of exchangeable and development notes. We now have no further obligation to the Former Noteholders and we will retain any future milestones or royalties received from Talon.

Protiva promissory notes / On March 25, 2008, our subsidiary, Protiva, declared dividends totaling US$12.0 million. The dividend was paid by issuing promissory notes on May 23, 2008. Recourse for payment of the promissory notes will be limited to our receipt, if any, of up to US$12.0 million in payments from a third party. We will pay these funds, if and when we receive them, to the former Protiva shareholders in satisfaction of the promissory notes. As contingent obligations that would not need to be funded by the Company, the US$12.0 million receivable and the related promissory notes payable are not included in our consolidated balance sheet.

 

5F. Tabular Disclosure of Contractual Obligations

The following table sets forth Tekmira’s contractual obligations as at December 31, 2011:

 

     Payments due by period
(in millions of dollars)
 
     Total      Less than
1  year
     2-3
years
     4-5
years
     More than
5 years
 

Contractual Obligations

     —           —           —           —           —     

Long-Term Debt Obligations

     —           —           —           —           —     

Capital (Finance) Lease Obligations

     —           —           —           —           —     

Operating Lease Obligations(1)

     3.3         1.3         2.0         —           —     

Purchase Obligations

     —           —           —           —           —     

Other Long-Term Liabilities

     —           —           —           —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     3.3         1.3         2.0         —           —     
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

(1) The operating lease for our laboratory and office premises expires in July 2014 but we have the option to extend the lease to 2017 and then to 2022 and then to 2027. The amounts shown in the table are Tekmira’s gross obligations. We expect to receive sub-lease income of $0.2 million in 2012.

In June 2011, we signed a fixed monthly fee agreement with Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe LLP (Orrick), our lead legal counsel for our lawsuit with Alnylam and AlCana. Under this agreement, from March 2012 onwards, we will be required to reimburse Orrick for expenses incurred but no further payments will be required for professional fees. If we are successful in this lawsuit we will also pay a success fee to Orrick. We have not recorded this contingent obligation due to uncertainties related to the outcome of the lawsuit. At December 31, 2011, the contingent obligation was $4.5 million (US$4.4 million).

 

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ITEM 6 DIRECTORS, SENIOR MANAGEMENT AND EMPLOYEES

 

6A. Directors and Management

The following table sets forth information relating to our directors and executives as at the date of this Annual Report:

 

Name (1)

 

Residence

  

Position

Michael J. Abrams(3) (4)

  Custer, Washington, U.S.A.    Director

Arthur M. Bruskin(4)

  Huntington Station, New York, U.S.A.    Director

Kenneth Galbraith(2) (4)

  Surrey, British Columbia, Canada    Director

Donald G. Jewell(2)

  West Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada    Director

Frank Karbe(2)

  Mill Valley, California, U.S.A.    Director

Daniel Kisner(3) (4)

  Rancho Santa Fe, California, U.S.A.    Director (Chairman)

R. Ian Lennox(3)

  Jupiter, Florida, U.S.A    Director

Mark J. Murray

  Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.    President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Ian C. Mortimer

  North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada    Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer

Ian MacLachlan

  Mission, British Columbia, Canada    Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer

Peter Lutwyche

  Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada    Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development

Paul Brennan

  White Rock, British Columbia, Canada    Senior Vice President, Business Development

R, Hector MacKay-Dunn, Q.C.

  Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada    Corporate Secretary

Notes:

 

(1) Neither age nor date of birth of directors or senior managers is required to be reported in our home country (Canada) nor otherwise publicly disclosed.
(2) Member of Audit Committee.
(3) Member of Executive Compensation and Human Resources Committee.
(4) Member of Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.

To the knowledge of management, no director is, at the date hereof, or has been, within ten years before the date hereof, a director, chief executive officer or chief financial officer of any company that: (i) was subject to a cease trade order or similar order, or an order that denied the relevant company access to any exemption under securities legislation, that was in effect for a period of more than 30 consecutive days, that was issued while the director was acting in the capacity as director, chief executive officer or chief financial officer; or (ii) was subject to a cease trade or similar order, or an order that denied the relevant company access to any exemption under securities legislation, that was in effect for a period of more than 30 consecutive days, that was issued after the director ceased to be a director, chief executive officer or chief financial officer and which resulted from an event that occurred while that person was acting in the capacity as director, chief executive officer or chief financial officer.

Other than as disclosed below, to the knowledge of management, no director or a holding company of such director: (i) is, as at the date hereof, or has been within ten years before the date hereof, a director or executive officer of any company that, while that person was acting in that capacity, or within a year of that person ceasing to act in that capacity, became bankrupt, made a proposal under any legislation relating to bankruptcy or insolvency or was subject to or instituted any proceedings, arrangement or compromise with creditors or had a receiver, receiver manager or trustee appointed to hold its assets; or (ii) has, within the ten years before the date hereof, become bankrupt, made a proposal under any legislation relating to bankruptcy or insolvency, or become subject to or instituted any proceedings, arrangement or compromise with creditors, or had a receiver, receiver manager or trustee appointed to hold assets of the director. Certain of the investee companies that Dr. Daniel Kisner served on the board of directors in Dr. Kisner’s capacity as representative of Aberdare Ventures became bankrupt, made a proposal under legislation relating to bankruptcy or insolvency or were subject to or instituted proceedings, arrangements or compromises with creditors or had a receiver, receiver manager or trustee appointed to hold its assets.

Other than as disclosed below, to the knowledge of management, no director or a holding company of such director has been subject to: (i) any penalties or sanctions imposed by a court relating to securities legislation or by a securities regulatory authority or has entered into a settlement agreement with a securities regulatory authority; or (ii) any other penalties or sanctions imposed by a court or regulatory body that would likely be considered important to a reasonable security holder in deciding whether to vote for a director. Mr. Ian Lennox entered into a settlement agreement with the Ontario Securities Commission, or OSC, in March 2006 with regard to his purchase in the market of 25,000 shares of Labopharm Inc. while he

 

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was a director of Labopharm. The purchase was made outside a Labopharm imposed blackout period and Mr. Lennox properly filed all insider trading reports. Subsequent to the share purchase, Labopharm entered into a licensing agreement. The possibility of entering into such agreement had been discussed with the Labopharm board before Mr. Lennox made his share purchases. Mr. Lennox initiated contact with the OSC on the matter and cooperated fully with OSC staff.

Mark J. Murray, Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and Director. Dr. Murray has served as our President, Chief Executive Officer and Director since May 2008, when Dr. Murray joined Tekmira in connection with the closing of the business combination between Tekmira and Protiva. He previously was the President and CEO and founder of Protiva since its inception in the summer of 2000. Dr. Murray has over 20 years of experience in both the R&D and business development and management facets of the biotechnology industry. Dr. Murray has held senior management positions at ZymoGenetics and Xcyte Therapies prior to joining Protiva. Since entering the biotechnology industry Dr. Murray has successfully completed numerous and varied partnering deals, directed successful product development programs, been responsible for strategic planning programs, raised over $30 million in venture capital and executed extensive business development initiatives in the U.S., Europe and Asia. During his R&D career, Dr. Murray worked extensively on three programs that resulted in FDA approved drugs, including the first growth factor protein approved for human use, a program he led for several years following his discovery. Dr. Murray obtained his Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Oregon Health Sciences University and was a Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell post-doctoral research fellow for three years at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Daniel Kisner, M.D., Chairman and Director. Dr. Kisner has served as the Chairman of our Board since January 2010. Dr. Kisner is currently an independent consultant. From 2003 until December 2010, Dr. Kisner was a Partner at Aberdare Ventures. Prior to Aberdare, Dr. Kisner served as President and CEO of Caliper Technologies, a leader in microfluidic lab-on-a-chip technology. He led Caliper from a technology-focused start up to a publicly traded, commercially oriented organization. Prior to Caliper, he was President and COO of Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Previously, Dr. Kisner was Division VP of Pharmaceutical Development for Abbott Laboratories and VP of Clinical Research and Development at SmithKline Beckman Pharmaceuticals. In addition, he held a tenured position in the Division of Oncology at the University of Texas, San Antonio School of Medicine and is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology. Dr. Kisner holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and an M.D. from Georgetown University.

Michael J. Abrams, Ph.D., Director. Dr. Abrams has served as our Director since May 2008. Dr. Abrams has been active in the research, discovery and development of pharmaceuticals for over 20 years. In 1984, Dr. Abrams joined Johnson Matthey plc and in 1991, was promoted to Manager, Biomedical Research, worldwide for Johnson Matthey. In June 1996 Dr. Abrams initiated the Canadian venture-backed financing of AnorMED Inc. He is an inventor on the patents that led to the development of the Lantheus technetium-99m heart imaging agent, Cardiolite® and is a co-inventor on several products currently in clinical trials. He is also a named inventor on an additional 15 patents and has authored over 60 scientific articles. Dr. Abrams served as CEO and a director of AnorMED Inc. until May 2006 and as a director of Migenix Inc. until August 2008 and is currently a director for the Centre for Drug and Research Development and viDA Therapeutics Inc. and Chairman for Indel Therapeutics Inc. In 2009, Dr. Abrams joined Inimex Pharmaceuticals as President and CEO. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the University of British Columbia.

Arthur M. Bruskin, Ph.D., Director. Dr. Bruskin has served as our Director since May 2008. Dr. Bruskin is currently an independent consultant in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry. He earned his BA and MA (Microbiology) at the University of Connecticut and his Ph.D. (Biology) at Indiana University. Following his postdoctoral training at the University of California, San Francisco, Dr. Bruskin took a position at Applied Biotechnology (ABT), a Cambridge, MA biotechnology company where he was responsible for their cancer therapeutic program from 1987 to 1991. Following the merger of ABT with Oncogene Science in 1991 (now OSI Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:OSIP)), Dr. Bruskin held a variety of positions at OSI including Executive Vice President, Global Research. Dr. Bruskin was responsible for all of OSI’s pre-clinical research in the areas of Oncology and Diabetes and was involved in the discovery and development of Tarceva. After leaving OSI in 2002, Dr. Bruskin has been the Chief Scientific Officer of Interpath Pharmaceuticals Inc. (2005-2006) and the Chief Operating Officer of Eutropics Pharmaceuticals Inc. (2006-2008) and part-time Chief Scientific Officer at America Stem Cell, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company (2009-2010).

Kenneth Galbraith, C.A., Director. Mr. Galbraith has served as our Director since January 2010. Mr. Galbraith is currently a General Partner at Ventures West. He joined Ventures West in 2007 and leads the firm’s biotechnology practice. Prior to joining Ventures West, Mr. Galbraith was Chairman and Interim CEO of AnorMED, a biopharmaceutical company focused on new therapeutic products in hematology, HIV and oncology, until its sale to Genzyme Corp. in a cash transaction worth almost US$600 million. Previously, Mr. Galbraith spent 13 years in senior management with QLT Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company specializing in developing treatments for eye diseases, retiring in 2000 from his position as Executive VP and CFO. Mr. Galbraith was a founding Director of the BC Biotechnology Alliance and served as Chairman of the Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network, one of Canada’s federally-funded Networks for Centers of Excellence (NCE). He was also a Director of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research and the Fraser Health Authority. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of a number of private biotechnology companies as well as the Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, one of the world’s leading aquariums and Genome BC and has previously served on the Board of Directors of a number of NASDAQ-listed biotechnology companies, including Cardiome Pharma and Angiotech Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Galbraith earned a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of British Columbia and is a Chartered Accountant.

 

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Donald G. Jewell, C.A., Director. Mr. Jewell has served as our Director since May 2008. Mr. Jewell is a Chartered Accountant with over 30 years of business experience. Mr. Jewell spent 20 years with KPMG and at the time of his departure, he was the managing partner in charge of KPMG’s management consulting practice in British Columbia. Until March 2010 Mr. Jewell was Chairman of Cal Investments Limited, a London based hedge fund. Mr. Jewell is currently the managing director of a private Canadian holding company; Trustee of a two substantial Canadian private trusts; and on the Board of the trusts’ major operating companies. He is also on the Board of Directors of Lantic Inc.

Frank Karbe, Director. Mr. Karbe has served as our Director since January 2010. Mr. Karbe is currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Exelixis, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed biotechnology company. Prior to joining Exelixis in 2004, Mr. Karbe worked as an investment banker for Goldman Sachs & Co., where he served most recently as Vice President in the healthcare group focusing on corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology industry. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs in 1997, Mr. Karbe held various positions in the finance department of The Royal Dutch/Shell Group in Europe. Mr. Karbe holds a Diplom-Kaufmann from the WHU—Otto Beisheim Graduate School of Management, Koblenz, Germany (equivalent to a U.S. Masters of Business Administration).

R. Ian Lennox, M.B.A., Director. Mr. Lennox has served as our Director since May 2008. Mr. Lennox is currently Chairman and CEO of Ricerca Biosciences, LLC, a contract research organization for the pharmaceutical industry and he is also director of several life sciences companies in North America. From 2000 to 2004, Mr. Lennox held leadership positions at MDS Inc., first as president and chief executive officer, drug discovery and development, and later as president and chief executive officer, pharmaceutical and biotechnology markets. Prior to joining MDS, Mr. Lennox was president and chief executive officer of Phoenix International Life Sciences, a NASDAQ Stock Exchange company, and chairman and chief executive officer of Drug Royalty Corporation, a Toronto Stock Exchange listed company. From 1978 to 1997, Mr. Lennox held progressively senior managerial positions at Monsanto Company in the U.S., Europe and Latin America, including six years as president and chief executive officer of Monsanto (Canada), based in Toronto. Mr. Lennox has also served as director of a number of life sciences companies and charitable foundations in North America. Mr. Lennox holds an Honours B.S. degree in physiology and pharmacology and an M.B.A. from the University of Western Ontario. He has also completed the executive management program in finance at the Columbia School of Business.

Ian C. Mortimer, M.B.A., Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Mortimer has served as our Executive Vice President, Finance, and Chief Financial Officer since May 2008 and Senior Vice President, Finance, and Chief Financial Officer since April 2007. Mr. Mortimer became the Chief Financial Officer of Tekmira after its spin-out from Inex Pharmaceuticals Corporation in 2007 and has responsibilities for Finance and Investor Relations. From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Mortimer was Chief Financial Officer of Inex. From 1997 to 2004, Mr. Mortimer held positions of increasing responsibility at Inex including leading Inex’s investor relations efforts and evaluation of product in-licensing opportunities. He has a B.Sc. in Microbiology from the University of British Columbia, an M.B.A. from Queen’s University and is a Certified Management Accountant.

Ian MacLachlan, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. MacLachlan has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer since May 2008, when Dr. MacLachlan joined Tekmira in connection with the closing of the business combination between Tekmira and Protiva. Dr. MacLachlan was a founder of Protiva in 2000 and led Protiva’s R&D program since the company’s inception. A graduate of the University of Alberta, where he received both his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Dr. MacLachlan spent two years at the Vienna Bio-Center where some of the first experiments in systemic gene delivery were performed. Following this, Dr. MacLachlan conducted postdoctoral research at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Michigan in the laboratory of Dr. Gary Nabel, a pioneer in the development of DNA-based therapeutics. Active in molecular therapeutics for more than a decade, he joined Protiva after five years leading the development of the gene transfer technology at Inex Pharmaceuticals. Dr. MacLachlan has been an invited speaker on nucleic acid delivery at the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, numerous academic institutions and most major scientific meetings dealing with molecular therapy. He is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, the Oligonucleotide Therapeutics Society and the American Society of Gene Therapy and serves on the Editorial Board of the journals Molecular Therapy and Oligonucleotides.

Peter Lutwyche, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development. Dr. Lutwyche has served as our Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development since May 2008, when Dr. Lutwyche joined Tekmira in connection with the completion of the business combination between Tekmira and Protiva. Dr. Lutwyche joined Protiva in February 2008. His responsibilities at Tekmira include manufacturing, process development and quality control for all Tekmira product candidates as well as supporting Tekmira’s collaborative partners as they advance products that utilize Tekmira’s technology. Dr. Lutwyche joined Protiva from QLT Inc., where he was employed for ten years, most recently as Director, Pharmaceutical Development. During his tenure at QLT, Dr. Lutwyche contributed to the development and commercialization of Visudyne as well as leading manufacturing and chemistry efforts for numerous pre-clinical and clinical stage products. Prior to QLT, he was a research scientist at Inex Pharmaceuticals Corporation working with lipid-based formulations of nucleic acids and antibiotics. Dr. Lutwyche holds a Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of British Columbia.

 

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Paul Brennan, M.Sc., Senior Vice President, Business Development. Mr. Brennan has served as our Senior Vice President, Business Development since September 2010. Mr. Brennan has over 20 years of experience working for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in general management, business development, marketing and regulatory affairs. Prior to joining Tekmira, Mr. Brennan was a principal at Pacific BioPartners, a consulting company focused on supporting biotechnology companies with general management and business development expertise. Prior to that he served as CEO of Altair Therapeutics, an emerging biopharmaceutical company based in San Diego, which focused on developing inhaled oligonucleotides for respiratory diseases. Prior to Altair, Mr. Brennan was Senior Vice President, Business Development at Aspreva Pharmaceuticals and was involved in the sale of Aspreva to Vifor Pharma for $915 million. Prior to Aspreva, Mr. Brennan was at AnorMED where he held a number of roles including Acting President during which time he was involved in the sale of AnorMED to Genzyme for $580 million. Mr. Brennan has also held senior positions in business development and regulatory affairs at AstraZeneca, where he worked in Sweden, the United Kingdom and Canada. Mr. Brennan has an MSc and BSc from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario.

R. Hector MacKay-Dunn, Q.C., Corporate Secretary. Mr. MacKay-Dunn has served as our Corporate Secretary since May 2010. Mr. MacKay-Dunn is a Senior Partner at Farris, Vaughan, Wills & Murphy LLP. Mr. MacKay-Dunn advises and has served as a director and corporate secretary of private and public growth companies in a broad range of industries on domestic and cross-border private and public securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, tender offers, and international partnering transactions. Mr. MacKay-Dunn was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 2003. Mr. MacKay-Dunn is the immediate past Chair of the British Columbia Innovation Council, the Province’s lead agency with the mandate to advance ideas into investment-ready companies in the areas of science and technology, a director of British Columbia Leading Edge Endowment Fund, British Columbia’s CDN $60 million program to attract top researchers to B.C.’s universities and LifeSciences BC and a former director of Genome British Columbia. Mr. Mackay-Dunn holds a B.A. and J.D. from the University of British Columbia.

 

6B. Compensation

The following disclosure sets out the compensation for our Named Executive Officers and directors for the financial year ended December 31, 2011. For the purposes herein, our Named Executive Officers includes our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Scientific Officer, Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development and Senior Vice President of Business Development, as indicated in the “Summary Compensation Table” below.

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

Principles, Components and Policies

The Executive Compensation and Human Resources Committee, or the Compensation Committee, is responsible for recommending the compensation of our executive officers to the Board of Directors. In establishing compensation levels for executive officers, the Compensation Committee seeks to accomplish the following goals:

 

   

to recruit and subsequently retain highly qualified executive officers by offering overall compensation which is competitive with that offered for comparable positions in other biotechnology companies;

 

   

to motivate executives to achieve important corporate performance objectives and reward them when such objectives are met; and

 

   

to align the interests of executive officers with the long-term interests of shareholders through participation in our Option Plan.

Currently, our executive compensation package consists of the following components: base salary, discretionary annual incentive cash bonuses, long-term incentives in the form of share options and health and retirement benefits generally available to all of our employees. We have not granted any share appreciation rights to our directors and officers. We have established the above components for our executive compensation package because we believe a competitive base salary and opportunity for annual cash bonuses are required to retain key executives and participation in our Option Plan enables our executive officers to participate in our long term success and aligns their interests with those of the shareholders. We do not believe our compensation policies create significant risk for the Company since the discretionary portion of compensation, that is, share options and bonuses are not formulaic, are based on qualitative measures and are at the full discretion of the Board. Additional details on the compensation package for Named Executive Officers are described in the following sections.

Summary Compensation Table

The following table sets out the compensation paid, payable or otherwise provided to the Company’s Named Executive Officers during the Company’s three most recently completed financial years ending on December 31. All amounts are expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted.

 

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Name and principal position

   Year      Salary
($)
     Option-based
awards  (1)

($)
     Annual
incentive cash
bonuses (2)

($)
     All other
compensation (3)
($)
     Total
compensation
($)
 

Dr. Mark J. Murray(4)
President and Chief Executive Officer

     2011         344,708         134,953         —           41,868         522,969   
     2010         345,000         88,453         86,250         55,584         575,287   
     2009         345,000         —           103,500         90,237         538,737   

Ian C. Mortimer
Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer

     2011         285,000         96,395         —           —           381,395   
     2010         285,000         56,610         71,250         —           412,860   
     2009         285,000         —           85,500         133,550         504,050   

Dr. Ian MacLachlan
Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer

     2011         295,000         96,395         —           1,439         392,834   
     2010         295,000         56,610         73,750         2,965         428,325   
     2009         285,000         —           85,500         8,550         379,050   

Dr. Peter Lutwyche
Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development

     2011         225,000         77,116         —           —           302,116   
     2010         221,327         56,610         39,375         —           317,312   
     2009         205,000         —           43,050         6,150         254,200   

Paul A. Brennan(5)
Senior Vice President of Business Development

     2011         230,000         77,116         —           —           307,116   
     2010         73,128         151,517         —           —           224,645   
     2009         —           —           —           —           —     

Notes:

 

(1) The fair value of each option is estimated as at the date of grant using the most widely accepted option pricing model, Black-Scholes. The weighted average option pricing assumptions and the resultant fair values for options awarded to Named Executive Officers in 2010 are as follows: expected average option term of eight years; a zero dividend yield; a weighted average expected volatility of 120.3%; and, a weighted average risk-free interest rate of 2.67%. The weighted average option pricing assumptions and the resultant fair values for options awarded to Named Executive Officers in 2011 are as follows: expected average option term of ten years; a zero dividend yield; a weighted average expected volatility of 115.5%; and, a weighted average risk-free interest rate of 2.51%.
(2) The Executive Compensation and Human Resources Committee approved the payment of 60% of the available executive bonus pool during 2009. The Executive Compensation and Human Resources Committee approved the payment of 50% of the available executive bonus pool during 2010. No bonuses were awarded to the Named Executive Officers in 2011.
(3) All other compensation in 2009 includes Registered Retirement Savings Plan, or RRSP, or equivalent matching payments of the lower of 3% of salary and 50% of the maximum annual contribution allowed by the Canada Revenue Agency. In 2009 all of our full-time employees and executives were eligible for RRSP or equivalent matching payments. In 2010 and 2011 RRSP match payments were suspended to conserve cash. In 2009 Dr. Murray also received a tax gross-up payment of $46,425 in respect of his earnings prior to the business combination with Protiva. Under Dr. Murray’s previous employment agreement, which was replaced effective May 30, 2008 following the business combination with Protiva, he was eligible for a tax gross-up payment which ensures that he is no worse off as a result of paying taxes on his earnings from us in Canada as compared to if he had worked and paid taxes only in the United States. The payment was calculated and paid in 2009 once Dr. Murray had filed his 2008 U.S. and Canadian tax returns. Dr. Murray’s employment agreement with Tekmira, effective May 30, 2008, does not include a tax gross-up clause. Dr. Murray’s other compensation also includes reimbursement of personal tax filing service fees up to a maximum of $10,000 per year as per his contract. Dr. Murray’s and Dr. MacLachlan’s other compensation also includes amounts claimed under their contractual entitlement to reimbursement of any health expenses incurred, including their families’ health expenses, that are not covered by insurance. On May 31, 2009, a year and a day after the business combination with Protiva, Mr. Mortimer received a one time retention bonus of $125,000.
(4) Effective January 1, 2011 Dr. Murray’s salary was denominated in US dollars and was increased to US$350,000. The amount shown the in table for 2011 is the Canadian equivalent of US$350,000. In 2009 and 2010 Dr. Murray’s salary was $345,000 and was denominated in Canadian dollars.
(5) Mr. Brennan commenced employment with in September 2010 with an annual salary of $230,000.

Base Salary. The Named Executive Officers are paid a salary in order to ensure that the compensation package offered by us is in line with that offered by other comparable companies in the biotechnology industry, and as an immediate means of rewarding the Named Executive Officer for efforts expended on our behalf. In the fourth quarter of 2010, LaneCaputo Compensation Inc. was paid $32,480 to review Executive and Director Compensation. LaneCaputo used the following companies to benchmark compensation: AEterna Zentaris Inc., AVI Biopharma, Inc., Celldex Therapeutics, Inc., Cleveland BioLabs Inc., Curis, Inc., Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Inhibitex, Inc., Inovio Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Neuralstem, Inc., NovaBay Pharmaceuticals, Inc., OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Sangamo BioSciences, Inc., Transition Therapeutics Inc. and YM BioSciences Inc. Base salaries for Named Executive Officers are evaluated against the responsibilities inherent in the position held and the individual’s experience and past performance.

 

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Effective January 1, 2009 the base salary of Dr. Murray was increased by 6% to $345,000 and Dr. Lutwyche’s salary was increased 11% to $205,000. Mr. Mortimer’s and Dr. MacLachlan’s base salaries remained unchanged at $285,000.

Effective January 1, 2010 the base salary of Dr. MacLachlan was increased 3.5% to $295,000. Dr. Lutwyche’s salary was increased 5% to $215,000 on January 1, 2010 and by a further 5% to $225,000 in May 2010 when he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Pharmaceutical Development. Dr. Murray’s and Mr. Mortimer’s salaries remained unchanged in 2010. Mr. Brennan commenced employment with Tekmira as Senior Vice President of Business Development in September 2010 with a base salary of $230,000 per year. Based on the review of the LaneCaputo report, no changes were made to the base salaries of the Named Executive Officers except for Dr. Murray whose salary became US$350,000 effective January 1, 2011.

Annual Incentive Cash Bonuses. Our policy is to pay bonuses if and when we achieve major corporate objectives as determined by the Compensation Committee and Board of Directors. Cash bonus payments are at the full discretion of the Board of Directors. Our objectives for 2009, as established by the Board of Directors included: filing an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for TKM-ApoB; advancing TKM-PLK1 toward clinical development; selecting a third product candidate; supporting our pharmaceutical partners by providing research, development and manufacturing services; and, maintaining a strong cash position. For 2009, Dr. Murray, Mr. Mortimer and Dr. MacLachlan were eligible to earn cash bonuses of up to a maximum of 50% of their respective base salaries based on the Board of Directors determination of achievement of corporate goals. For 2009, Dr. Lutwyche was eligible to earn a cash bonus up to a maximum of 35% of his base salary based on the Board of Directors determination of achievement of corporate goals. The Compensation Committee recommended, and the Board of Directors approved, the payment of 60% of the maximum cash bonus for 2009 in May 2009 following the completion of two major corporate objectives: filing an IND application for TKM-ApoB and signing a product development agreement with Roche. The recommendation of our Compensation Committee, and the determination of our Board of Directors, to pay 60% of the maximum cash bonus was based on the significance of the combined achievement of these corporate objectives relative to the remaining corporate objectives described above and a recognition of the collective efforts of our Named Executive Officers in achieving them, but was not derived based on any quantitative weighting of the corporate performance goals or other formulaic process. There were no further bonuses paid or payable in 2009.

Maximum percentage bonus potential for Drs. Murray, MacLachlan and Lutwyche and Mr. Mortimer for 2010 was the same as for 2009. Mr. Brennan, who joined Tekmira in September 2010, was eligible to earn a cash bonus up to a maximum of 35% of his base salary in 2010. Our objectives for 2010, as established by the Board of Directors included: initiating a Phase 1-2 clinical trial for TKM-ApoB; advancing TKM-PLK1 into a Phase 1 human clinical trial; selecting a third product candidate; supporting our pharmaceutical partners by providing research, development and manufacturing services; and, maintaining a strong cash position. The Compensation Committee recommended, and the Board of Directors approved, the payment of 50% of the maximum cash bonus for 2010 in August 2010 following the award of a contract with the U.S. Government to further develop TKM-Ebola. The bonus payment was based on the significance of this new contract combined with progress on some of our other corporate objectives relative to the remaining corporate objectives described above. The bonus is not based on any quantitative weighting of the corporate performance goals or other formulaic process. There were no further bonuses paid or payable to the Named Executive Officers in 2010.

Maximum percentage bonus potential for Drs. Murray, MacLachlan and Lutwyche and Mr. Mortimer and Mr. Brennan for 2011 was the same as for 2010. Our objectives for 2011, as established by the Board of Directors included: continued enrollment of patients in the Phase 1 clinical trial for TKM-PLK1; completion of pre-clinical toxicology studies for TKM-Ebola and filing of TKM-Ebola Investigational New Drug application; continued execution of TMT contract including manufacturing scale-up and lyophilization of LNP technology; generate pre-clinical proof of concept for next product candidate; and, maintain a strong cash position. Although good progress was made on the achievement of the 2011 objectives, in light of the ongoing litigation and in order to preserve cash, no cash bonuses were paid.

Long-Term Incentives—Share Options. Share options are granted to reward individuals for current performance, expected future performance and to align the long term interest of Named Executive Officers with shareholders. Share options are generally granted in December of each year as part of the annual compensation review. The number of share options granted to Named Executive Officers is based on performance during the current year and expectations of our future needs.

We were in a share trading blackout at the end of 2009 so we were not able to grant share options at that time. In January 2010, once the share trading blackout had been lifted, we granted 25,000 options to Dr. Murray and 16,000 options to each of Mr. Mortimer, Dr. MacLachlan and Dr. Lutwyche. These share option grants were recommended by the Compensation Committee and approved by independent Directors based on corporate and individual performance and our needs for fiscal 2010.

Mr. Brennan was granted 20,000 new hire options in September 2010. Tekmira staff were granted options in December 2010, as is our usual practice. The Named Executive Officers and Board members were not, however, granted any options at that time as the Company wishes to maintain a balance of ungranted options for use in future periods.

 

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At our June 2011 Annual General Meeting our shareholders approved an increase to our available share option pool of 273,889. In August 2011 we granted 35,000 options to Dr. Murray, 25,000 options to each of Mr. Mortimer and Dr. MacLachlan and 20,000 options to each of Dr. Lutwyche and Mr. Brennan. These share option grants were recommended by the Compensation Committee and approved by independent Directors based on corporate and individual performance and vest upon the final resolution of the litigation against Alnylam.

In December 2011, as part of our annual compensation review, we granted 35,000 options to Dr. Murray, 25,000 options to each of Mr. Mortimer and Dr. MacLachlan and 20,000 options to each of Dr. Lutwyche and Mr. Brennan. These share option grants were recommended by the Compensation Committee and approved by independent Directors based on corporate and individual performance and our needs for fiscal 2012. These options vest one quarter immediately and one quarter on the next three anniversaries of their grant date.

Share option grants are not based on pre-determined performance goals, either personal or corporate. Awards reflect the qualitative judgment of the Board of Directors as to whether a grant should be awarded for retention or incentive purposes and if so what the size and timing of such awards should be as well as taking into consideration the third party compensation survey completed for us in the third quarter of 2010.

Option Based Awards

Share options are generally awarded to executive officers at commencement of employment and periodically thereafter after taking into consideration the recommendations of the LaneCaputo compensation report completed in Q4 2010. Options are generally granted to corporate executives in December of each year as part of the annual compensation review. Any special compensation other than cash bonuses is typically granted in the form of options. Options are granted at other times of the year to individuals commencing employment with the Company or in special circumstances. The exercise price for the options is the closing price of the Common Shares on the last trading day before the grant of the option. See “Equity Compensation Plans” for a description of the terms of the Corporation’s current share option plan, the 2011 Plan.

Named Executive Officer Incentive Plan Awards - Outstanding Option-based Awards

The following table sets out all option-based awards and share-based awards outstanding as at December 31, 2011, for each Named Executive Officer:

 

     Option-based Awards  

Name

   Number of securities
underlying
unexercised options

(#)
     Option
exercise price
($)
     Option expiration date      Value
of unexercised
in-the-money
options (1)

($)
 

Dr. Mark Murray (2)

     8,193         0.44         July 29, 2012         9,012   
     219,428         0.44         September 12, 2015         241,371   
     27,007         0.44         March 1, 2018         29,708   
     30,000         4.65         August 30, 2018         0   
     25,000         1.80         December 8, 2018         0   
     25,000         3.85         January 27, 2020         0   
     35,000         2.40         August 9, 2021         0   
     35,000         1.70         December 22, 2021         0   

Ian C. Mortimer

     3,000         7.00         December 14, 2014         0   
     15,000         3.10         July 25, 2015         0   
     10,000         5.40         March 28, 2016         0   
     15,000         3.00         August 2, 2016         0   
     10,000         6.50         August 6, 2017         0   
     84,000         5.60         March 31, 2018         0   
     11,000         1.80         December 8, 2018         0   
     16,000         3.85         January 27, 2020         0   
     25,000         2.40         August 9, 2021         0   
     25,000         1.70         December 22, 2021         0   

Dr. Ian MacLachlan

     30,000         4.65         August 30, 2018         0   
     16,000         1.80         December 8, 2018         0   
     16,000         3.85         January 27, 2020         0   
     25,000         2.40         August 9, 2021         0   
     25,000         1.70         December 22, 2021         0   

Dr. Peter Lutwyche

     18,000         1.80         December 8, 2018         0   
     16,000         3.85         January 27, 2020         0   
     20,000         2.40         August 9, 2021         0   
     20,000         1.70         December 22, 2021         0   

Paul A. Brennan

     20,000         8.20         September 6, 2020         0   
     20,000         2.40         August 9, 2021         0   
     20,000         1.70         December 22, 2021         0   

 

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Notes:

 

(1) This amount is based on the difference between Tekmira’s year end TSX share price of $1.54 and the exercise price of the option.
(2) Dr. Murray holds options to purchase 377,135 common shares of Protiva, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tekmira, with an exercise price of $0.30. As part of the business combination between Tekmira and Protiva, Tekmira agreed to issue 254,628 common shares of Tekmira on the exercise of these stock options giving an effective cost per Tekmira stock option of $0.44. The shares reserved for issue on the exercise of the Protiva options are equal to the number of Tekmira common shares that would have been issued if the options had been exercised before the completion of the business combination and the shares issued on exercise of the options had then been exchanged for Tekmira common shares. See “Additional Shares Subject to Issue Under an Equity Compensation Plan”.

Named Executive Officer Incentive Plan Awards – Value Vested During the Year

The aggregate value of executive options vesting during the year ended December 31, 2011 measured at their date of vesting by comparing option exercise price to closing market price on that day was:

 

Name

   Option-based awards –
Value vested during

the year ($)
 

Dr. Mark J. Murray

     13,813   

Ian C. Mortimer

     8,840   

Dr. Ian MacLachlan

     8,840   

Dr. Peter Lutwyche

     8,840   

Paul A. Brennan

     0   

Termination and Change of Control Benefits

The following table provides information concerning the value of payments and benefits following the termination of employment of the Named Executive Officers under various circumstances. Payments vary based on the reason for termination and the timing of a departure. The below amounts are calculated as if the Named Executive Officer’s employment had been terminated on December 31, 2011. Receipt of payments on termination is contingent on the Named Executive Officer delivering a release to Tekmira.

 

Payment Type

   Dr. Mark J.
Murray
     Dr. Ian
MacLachlan
     Ian C.
Mortimer
     Dr. Peter
Lutwyche
     Paul A.
Brennan
 

Involuntary Termination by Tekmira for cause or upon death

              

Cash payment

   $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

Option values (1)

   $ 280,091       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

Benefits (2)

   $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

Involuntary Termination by Tekmira without cause

              

Cash payment

   $ 1,034,124       $ 885,000       $ 855,000       $ 168,750       $ 134,167   

Option values (3)

   $ 280,091       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

Benefits (2)

   $ 171,813       $ 18,696       $ 15,782       $ 5,837       $ 4,545   

Involuntary Termination by Tekmira without cause or by Executive with good reason after a change in control of the Company

              

Cash payment

   $ 1,034,124       $ 885,000       $ 855,000       $ 252,475       $ 230,000   

Option values (3)

   $ 280,091       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0       $ 0   

Benefits (2)

   $ 171,813       $ 18,696       $ 15,782       $ 7,783       $ 7,792   

Notes:

 

(1) This amount is based on the difference between Tekmira’s year end share price of $1.54 and the exercise price of the options that were vested as at December 31, 2011.
(2) Ongoing benefit coverage has been estimated assuming that benefits will be payable for the full length of the severance period which would be the case if new employment was not taken up during the severance period. Benefits include extended health and dental coverage that is afforded to all of the Company’s full time employees. Dr. Murray’s benefits also include a $2,000,000 life insurance policy, the reimbursement of up to $10,000 per annum in professional fees related to the filing of his tax returns. Dr. Murray and Dr. MacLachlan’s benefits also include an estimate of the costs of reimbursement of health expenses incurred, including their families’ health expenses that are not covered by insurance.
(3) This amount is based on the difference between Tekmira’s year end share price of $1.54 and the exercise price of the options that were vested as at December 31, 2011 and options that would vest during the severance period.

 

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Long-Term Incentive Plan Awards for our Directors

We do not have any long-term incentives for our Directors other than stock options.

Pension Plans or Similar Benefits for Named Executive Officers

The Company has no pension or deferred compensation plans for its Named Executive Officers.

Director Compensation

The Board of Directors, or the Board, has adopted formal policies for compensation of non-executive directors. In order to align the interests of directors with the long-term interests of shareholders, the directors have determined that the most appropriate form of payment for their services as directors is through participation in the Tekmira’s equity compensation plans, as well as an annual cash retainer and fees for meeting attendance. Directors who also serve as a member of our management team receive no additional consideration for acting as a director.

The Board has adopted a policy that non-executive directors are granted options upon appointment as a director and are eligible for annual grants thereafter. Following the business combination with Protiva, the Board reviewed its fee schedule and adjusted it to increase the annual retainer and lower the meeting fees to align with companies comparable to Tekmira. This lowered the overall cash compensation on an annual basis. The new fee schedule came into effect on September 1, 2008, and is as follows: an annual cash retainer of US$18,000 per annum (US$25,500 for the Chairman of the Board; an additional US$5,000 for the Chairman of the Audit Committee; an additional US$2,500 for members of the Audit Committee; and an additional US$2,500 for the Chairman of any other Board constituted committees) and meeting fees of US$500 to US$1,750.

Non-executive directors earned cash compensation of $260,539 in 2011 as annual retainer and meeting attendance fees. The Company also, reimburses directors for expenses they incur on behalf of the Company, including attending meetings of the Board.

The compensation provided to the directors, excluding Dr. Murray who is included in the Named Executive Officer disclosure above, for the Company’s most recently completed financial year of December 31, 2011 is:

 

Name

   Fees
earned

($)
     Option-based
awards  (1)

($)
     Total
($)
 

Daniel Kisner (Board Chair)

     42,847         19,279         62,126   

Don Jewell

     35,780         19,279         55,059   

Frank Karbe (Audit Committee Chair)

     39,921         19,279         59,200   

Kenneth Galbraith

     39,886         19,279         59,165   

R. Ian Lennox

     34,769         19,279         54,048   

Michael J. Abrams

     35,015         19,279         54,294   

Arthur M. Bruskin

     32,321         19,279         51,600   

Notes:

 

(1) The fair value of each option is estimated as at the date of grant using the most widely accepted option pricing model, Black-Scholes. The weighted average option pricing assumptions and the resultant fair values for options awarded in 2011 are as follows: expected average option term of eight years; a zero dividend yield; a weighted average expected volatility of 115.5%; and, a weighted average risk-free interest rate of 2.51%.

Director Incentive Plan Awards

Outstanding Option-based Awards and Share-based Awards

The following table sets out all option-based awards and share-based awards outstanding as at December 31, 2011, for each director serving for at least a portion of 2011:

 

      Option-Based Awards  

Name

   Number of securities
underlying
unexercised options

(#)
     Option
exercise price
($)
     Option expiration date      Value
of unexercised
in-the-money
options (1)

($)
 

Daniel Kisner

     10,000         3.85         January 27, 2020         0   
     5,000         2.40         August 9, 2021         0   
     5,000         1.70         December 22, 2021         0   

 

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      Option-Based Awards  

Name

   Number of securities
underlying
unexercised options
(#)
     Option
exercise  price

($)
     Option expiration date      Value
of unexercised
in-the-money
options (1)

($)
 

Don Jewell

     5,000         1.80         December 8, 2018         0   
     5,000         3.85         January 27, 2020         0   
     5,000         2.40         August 9, 2021         0   
     5,000         1.70         December 22, 2021         0   

Frank Karbe

     5,000         3.85         January 27, 2020         0   
     5,000         2.40         August 9, 2021         0   
     5,000         1.70         December 22, 2021         0   

Kenneth Galbraith

     5,000         3.85         January 27, 2020         0   
     5,000         2.40         August 9, 2021         0   
     5,000         1.70         December 22, 2021         0   

R. Ian Lennox

     5,000         1.80         December 8, 2018         0   
     5,000         3.85         January 27, 2020         0   
     5,000         2.40         August 9, 2021         0   
     5,000         1.70         December 22, 2021         0   

Michael J. Abrams (2)

     675         0.44         January 22, 2012         743   
     675         0.44         January 21, 2013         743   
     675         0.44         January 21, 2014         743   
     675         0.44         January 22, 2015         743   
     17,044         0.44         September 12, 2015         18,748   
     5,445         0.44         December 31, 2015         5,990   
     675         0.44         April 3, 2017         743   
     13,503         0.44         May 27, 2017         14,853   
     5,000         1.80         December 8, 2018         0   
     5,000         3.85         January 27, 2020         0   
     5,000         2.40         August 9, 2021         0   
     5,000         1.70         December 22, 2021         0   

Arthur M. Bruskin

     4,000         5.60         March 31, 2018         0   
     5,000         1.80         December 8, 2018         0   
     5,000         3.85         January 27, 2020         0   
     5,000         2.40         August 9, 2021         0   
     5,000         1.70         December 22, 2021         0   

Notes:

 

(1) This amount is based on the difference between Tekmira’s year end share price of $1.54 and the exercise price of the option.
(2) All of Dr. Abrams’s options with an exercise price of $0.44 were granted to Dr. Abrams as a Director of Protiva. The shares reserved for these options are equal to the number of Tekmira common shares that would have been received if the options had been exercised prior to the business combination and subsequently exchanged for Tekmira common shares such that Dr. Abrams will receive Tekmira common share upon exercise of these options.

Director options are priced at the closing market price of the previous trading day and vest immediately upon granting. The Company typically grants options to directors at the time of their first appointment to the Board and then on an annual basis at the end of the fiscal year. The Company was in a share trading blackout at the end of 2009 so was not able to grant share options at the end of the fiscal year. In January 2010, once the share trading blackout had been lifted, the Company granted 5,000 share options to each of the directors except for the newly appointed Chairman, Dr. Daniel Kisner, who was granted 10,000 share options. The Named Executive Officers and Board members were not granted any options at the end of 2010 as the Company wishes to maintain a balance of ungranted options for use in future periods. At our June 2011 Annual General Meeting our shareholders approved an increase to our available share option pool of 273,889. In August 2011 we granted 5,000 options to each of our non-executive Board members. In December 2011 we granted 5,000 options to each of our non-executive Board members.

Benefits on Termination of Directors

We do not have any contractual obligations arising a director’s service terminates. However, historical practice has been to waive the stock options plan’s post termination 30 to 90 day cancellation period and extend stock options through to their original expiration date.

 

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Long-Term Incentive Plan Awards for our Directors

We do not have any long-term incentives for our Directors other than stock options.

Pension, Retirement or Similar Benefit for our Directors

We do not have any amounts set aside or accrued to provide for pension, retirement or similar benefits for our Directors.

Directors’ and Officers’ Liability Insurance

We purchase annual insurance coverage for our directors’ and officers’ (executives’) liability.

 

6C. Board Practices

Our Directors have served in their respective capacities since their election or appointment and will serve until our next annual general meeting or until a successor is duly elected and qualified, unless their office is earlier vacated in accordance with the Law of Canada and our articles of incorporation. Our executives serve at the discretion of the board. The following table sets information on our directors as of June 22, 2011, the date of our last Annual General Meeting:

 

Name

  Director Since  

Michael J. Abrams

    May 30, 2008 (1) 

Arthur M. Bruskin, Ph.D.

    May 1, 2008   

Kenneth Galbraith

    January 28, 2010   

Donald G. Jewell

    May 30, 2008 (1) 

Frank Karbe

    January 28, 2010   

Daniel Kisner

    January 28, 2010   

R. Ian Lennox

    May 30, 2008 (1) 

Mark J. Murray Ph.D.

    May 30, 2008 (1) 

Notes:

 

(1) Messrs. Abrams, Jewell, Lennox and Murray were directors of Protiva before it was acquired by Tekmira on May 30, 2008.

Benefits on Termination of Employment of Directors

We do not have any contractual obligations arising if it terminates a director. However, historical practice has been to waive the stock options plan’s post termination 30 day cancellation and extend stock options through to their original expiration date.

Audit Committee

The members of our Audit Committee are Mr. Karbe, Mr. Jewell and Mr. Galbraith, each of whom is a non-employee member of our Board of Directors. Mr. Karbe chairs the Audit Committee. Our Board of Directors has determined that each of the members of the Audit Committee is financially literate and has financial expertise (as is currently defined under the applicable SEC rules). Our Board of Directors has determined that each member of our Audit Committee is an independent member of our Board of Directors under the current requirements of the NASDAQ and the rules and regulations of the SEC and Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities.

Our Audit Committee is responsible for overseeing our financial reporting processes on behalf of our Board of Directors. Our auditor and independent registered public accounting firm reports directly to our Audit Committee. Specific responsibilities of our Audit Committee include:

 

   

overseeing the work of the auditors engaged for the purpose of preparing or issuing an auditor’s report or performing other audit, review or attest services for the Company;

 

   

evaluating the performance, and assessing the qualifications, of our auditor and recommending to our Board of Directors the appointment of, and compensation for, our auditor for the purpose of preparing or issuing an auditor report or performing other audit, review or attest services;

 

   

subject to the appointment of our auditor in accordance with applicable corporate formalities, determining and approving the engagement of, and compensation to be paid to, our auditor;

 

   

determining and approving the engagement, prior to the commencement of such engagement, of, and compensation for, our auditor and to perform any proposed permissible non-audit services;

 

   

reviewing our financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations and recommending to our Board of Directors whether or not such financial statements and management’s discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations should be approved by our Board of Directors;

 

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conferring with our auditor and with our management regarding the scope, adequacy and effectiveness of internal financial reporting controls in effect;

 

   

establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters and the confidential and anonymous submission by our employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters; and

 

   

reviewing and discussing with our management and auditor, as appropriate, our guidelines and policies with respect to risk assessment and risk management, including our major financial risk exposures and investment and hedging policies and the steps taken by our management to monitor and control these exposures.

A copy of our Audit Committee’s charter is available on our website at www.tekmirapharm.com.

Executive Compensation and Human Resources Committee

The members of our Executive Compensation and Human Resources Committee (Compensation Committee) are Mr. Lennox, Dr. Abrams and Dr. Kisner. Mr. Lennox currently chairs the Compensation Committee. Our Board of Directors has determined that each of the members of the Compensation Committee has the appropriate experience for their Committee responsibilities based on their past or current senior roles in our industry. Our Board of Directors has determined that each member of our Compensation Committee is an independent member of our Board of Directors under the current requirements of the NASDAQ and as defined in the rules and regulations of the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities.

Specific responsibilities of our Compensation Committee include:

 

   

reviewing and making recommendations to our Board of Directors for our chief executive officer and other executive officers: annual base salary; annual incentive bonus, including the specific goals and amount; equity compensation; employment agreements, severance arrangements and change in control agreements/provisions; and any other benefits, compensations, compensation policies or arrangements;

 

   

reviewing and making recommendations to our Board of Directors regarding the Company’s overall compensation plans and structure, including incentive compensation and equity based plans;

 

   

reviewing and making recommendations to our Board of Directors regarding the compensation to be paid to our non-employee directors, including any retainer, committee and committee chair fees and/or equity compensation;

 

   

reviewing any report to be included in our periodic filings or proxy statement; and

 

   

acting as administrator of our equity compensation plans.

We engaged a third party firm, LaneCaputo Compensation Inc., to evaluate our Named Executive Officer compensation, including base salaries, in the fourth quarter of 2010. LaneCaputo was paid a fee of $32,480 for this evaluation.

A copy of our Compensation Committee’s charter is available on our website at www.tekmirapharm.com.

Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee

The members of our Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee are Mr. Galbraith, Dr. Bruskin and Dr. Kisner. Mr. Galbraith chairs the committee. Our Board of Directors has determined that each member of our Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee is an independent member of our Board of Directors under the current requirements of the NASDAQ and as defined in the rules and regulations of the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities.

Specific responsibilities of our Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee include:

 

   

establishing criteria for Board membership and identifying, evaluating, reviewing and recommending qualified candidates to serve on the Board;

 

   

evaluating, reviewing and considering the recommendation for nomination of incumbent directors for re-election to the Board;

 

   

periodically reviewing and assessing the performance of our Board, including Board committees; and,

 

   

developing and reviewing a set of corporate governance principles for Tekmira.

A copy of our Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee’s charter is available on our website at www.tekmirapharm.com.

Our Board of Directors is responsible for approving nominees for election as directors. However, as is described above, our Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee is responsible for reviewing, soliciting and recommending nominees to our Board of Directors.

 

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In evaluating prospective nominees, our Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee looks for the following minimum qualifications: strong business acumen, extensive previous experience as an executive or director with successful companies, the highest standards of integrity and ethics, and a willingness and ability to make the necessary time commitment to diligently perform the duties of a director. Nominees are selected with a view to our best interests as a whole, rather than as representative of any particular stakeholder or category of stakeholders. Our Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee will also consider the skill sets of the incumbent directors when recruiting replacements to fill vacancies in our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors prefers a mix of experience among its members to maintain a diversity of viewpoints and ensure that our Board of Directors can achieve its objectives. When a vacancy on our Board of Directors occurs, in searching for a new director, the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee will identify particular areas of specialization which it considers beneficial, in addition to the general qualifications, having regard to the skill sets of the other members of our Board of Directors. Potential nominees and their respective references are interviewed extensively in person by the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee before any nomination is endorsed by that committee. All nominations proposed by the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee must receive the approval of our Board of Directors.

Science Committee

The members of our Science Committee are Dr. Bruskin, Dr. Abrams and Dr. Kisner. Dr. Bruskin chairs the Science Committee. Our Board of Directors has determined that each member of our Science Committee is an independent member of our Board of Directors under the current requirements of the NASDAQ and as defined in the rules and regulations of the Canadian provincial securities regulatory authorities.

Specific responsibilities of our Science Committee include:

 

   

review with management and report to the Board of Directors on the research programs of Tekmira and on relevant developments in the field of RNAi research; and

 

   

attend meetings of any external scientific advisory groups.

 

6D. Employees

The number of employees as at December 31 of each of the last three fiscal years is as follows:

 

     2011      2010      2009  

Research and development

     64         81         74   

General and administrative

     10         13         11   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     74         94         85   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

None of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

 

6E. Share Ownership

The shareholdings and share options of our directors, secretary and executives as of March 1, 2012 are as follows:

 

Name and Position

   Number of
Common
Shares
     Percentage  of
Outstanding
Common
Shares
Owned(1)
    Number of
Common
Share
Options
     Number  of
Common
Share
Warrants(2)
     Percentage  of
Outstanding
Common
Shares
Owned on a
fully diluted
basis(3)
 

Daniel Kisner, Director (Chairman)

     12,500         0.09     20,000         6,250         0.22

Michael J. Abrams, Director

     8,850         0.06     58,692         2,500         0.39

Arthur M. Bruskin, Ph.D., Director

     3,400         0.02     24,000         1,500         0.16

Kenneth Galbraith, Director

     15,240         0.11     15,000         —           0.17

Donald G. Jewell, Director

     471,455         3.37     20,000         90,000         3.28

Frank Karbe, Director

     5,000         0.04     15,000         2,500         0.13

R. Ian Lennox, Director

     —           —       20,000         —           0.11

Mark J. Murray Ph.D., President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

     51,768         0.37     404,628         10,000         2.63

Ian MacLachlan, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer

     171,534         1.23     112,000         5,000         1.63

Ian C. Mortimer, Executive Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer

     32,000         0.23     214,000         10,000         1.44

Peter Lutwyche, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development

     38,758         0.28     74,000         2,500         0.65

Paul Brennan, M.Sc., Senior Vice President, Business Development

     19,000         0.14     60,000         7,000         0.48

 

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Name and Position

   Number of
Common
Shares
     Percentage  of
Outstanding
Common
Shares
Owned(1)
    Number of
Common
Share
Options
     Number  of
Common
Share
Warrants(2)
     Percentage  of
Outstanding
Common
Shares
Owned on a
fully diluted
basis(3)
 

R. Hector MacKay-Dunn, Q.C., Corporate Secretary

     —          —       —          —          —  
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     829,505         5.93     1,037,320         137,250         11.29
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Notes:

 

(1) Based on 13,999,461 common shares issued and outstanding as of March 1, 2012.
(2) These warrants were acquired through participation in Tekmira’s June 2011 public share offering and/or Tekmira’s February 2012 private placement.
(3) Based on 17,754,198 common shares on a fully diluted basis as of March 1, 2012.

Named Executive Officer Outstanding Option-based Awards

The following table sets out all option-based awards and share-based awards outstanding as of February 29, 2012, for each Named Executive Officer:

 

      Option-based Awards  

Name

   Number of securities
underlying
unexercised options
(#)
     Option
exercise price
($)
     Option expiration date  

Dr. Mark Murray (1)

     8,193         0.44         July 29, 2012   
     219,428         0.44         September 12, 2015   
     27,007         0.44         March 1, 2018   
     30,000         4.65         August 30, 2018   
     25,000         1.80         December 8, 2018   
     25,000         3.85         January 27, 2020   
     35,000         2.40         August 9, 2021   
     35,000         1.70         December 22, 2021   

Ian C. Mortimer

     3,000         7.00         December 14, 2014   
     15,000         3.10         July 25, 2015   
     10,000         5.40         March 28, 2016   
     15,000         3.00         August 2, 2016   
     10,000         6.50         August 6, 2017   
     84,000         5.60         March 31, 2018   
     11,000         1.80         December 8, 2018   
     16,000         3.85         January 27, 2020   
     25,000         2.40         August 9, 2021   
     25,000         1.70         December 22, 2021   

Dr. Ian MacLachlan

     30,000         4.65         August 30, 2018   
     16,000         1.80         December 8, 2018   
     16,000         3.85         January 27, 2020   
     25,000         2.40         August 9, 2021   
     25,000         1.70         December 22, 2021   

Dr. Peter Lutwyche

     18,000         1.80         December 8, 2018   
     16,000         3.85         January 27, 2020   
     20,000         2.40         August 9, 2021   
     20,000         1.70         December 22, 2021   

Paul A. Brennan

     20,000         8.20         September 6, 2020   
     20,000         2.40         August 9, 2021   
     20,000         1.70         December 22, 2021   

Notes:

 

(1)

Dr. Murray holds options to purchase 377,135 common shares of Protiva, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tekmira, with an exercise price of $0.30. As part of the business combination between Tekmira and Protiva, Tekmira agreed to issue 254,628 common shares of

 

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  Tekmira on the exercise of these stock options giving an effective cost per Tekmira stock option of $0.44. The shares reserved for issue on the exercise of the Protiva options are equal to the number of Tekmira common shares that would have been issued if the options had been exercised before the completion of the business combination and the shares issued on exercise of the options had then been exchanged for Tekmira common shares. See “Additional Shares Subject to Issue Under an Equity Compensation Plan”.

Director Outstanding Option-based Awards

The following table sets out all option-based awards and share-based awards outstanding as of February 29, 2012, for each director:

 

      Option-Based Awards

Name

   Number of securities
underlying
unexercised options
(#)
     Option
exercise price
($)
    

Option expiration date

Daniel Kisner

     10,000         3.85       January 27, 2020
     5,000         2.40       August 9, 2021
     5,000         1.70       December 22, 2021

Don Jewell

     5,000         1.80       December 8, 2018
     5,000         3.85       January 27, 2020
     5,000         2.40       August 9, 2021
     5,000         1.70       December 22, 2021

Frank Karbe

     5,000         3.85       January 27, 2020
     5,000         2.40       August 9, 2021
     5,000         1.70       December 22, 2021

Kenneth Galbraith

     5,000         3.85       January 27, 2020
     5,000         2.40       August 9, 2021
     5,000         1.70       December 22, 2021

R. Ian Lennox

     5,000         1.80       December 8, 2018
     5,000         3.85       January 27, 2020
     5,000         2.40       August 9, 2021
     5,000         1.70       December 22, 2021

Michael J. Abrams (1)

     675         0.44       January 21, 2013
     675         0.44       January 21, 2014
     675         0.44       January 22, 2015
     17,044         0.44       September 12, 2015
     5,445         0.44       December 31, 2015
     675         0.44       April 3, 2017
     13,503         0.44       May 27, 2017
     5,000         1.80       December 8, 2018
     5,000         3.85       January 27, 2020
     5,000         2.40       August 9, 2021
     5,000         1.70       December 22, 2021

Arthur M. Bruskin

     4,000         5.60       March 31, 2018
     5,000         1.80       December 8, 2018
     5,000         3.85       January 27, 2020
     5,000         2.40       August 9, 2021
     5,000         1.70       December 22, 2021

Notes:

 

(1) All of Dr. Abrams’s options with an exercise price of $0.44 were granted to Dr. Abrams as a Director of Protiva. The shares reserved for these options are equal to the number of Tekmira common shares that would have been received if the options had been exercised prior to the business combination and subsequently exchanged for Tekmira common shares such that Dr. Abrams will receive Tekmira common share upon exercise of these options.

Equity Compensation Plans

At Tekmira’s last AGM on June 22, 2011, shareholders approved an omnibus stock-based compensation plan the 2011 Plan and a 273,889 increase in the number of stock-based compensation awards that Tekmira is permitted to issue. Tekmira’s pre-existing 2007 Plan was limited to the granting of stock options as equity incentive awards whereas the 2011 Plan also allows for the issuance of tandem stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units and deferred stock units. The 2011 Plan replaces the 2007 Plan. The 2007 Plan will continue to govern the options granted there under. No further options will be granted under Tekmira’s 2007 Plan.

 

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Shareholders have approved the issuance of a maximum of 1,643,144 common shares of Tekmira under the Tekmira Plans which represents approximately 11.7% of the Company’s 13,999,461 issued and outstanding common shares at March 1, 2012.

Since January 1996, the equivalent of 93,721 common shares of Tekmira have been issued pursuant to the exercise of options granted under Tekmira’s Plans (which represents approximately 0.7% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common shares), and as of March 1, 2012, there were 1,513,118 common shares of Tekmira subject to options outstanding under Tekmira’s Plans (which represents approximately 10.8% of the Company’s current issued and outstanding common shares). The number of common shares of Tekmira remaining available for future grants of options as at March 1, 2012 was 36,305 (which represents approximately 0.3% of the Company’s current issued and outstanding common shares).

The following table sets out information for Tekmira’s Plans as at the end of the financial year ended December 31, 2011.

Information for Tekmira’s Plans

 

Equity compensation plans approved by securityholders

   Number of securities
to be issued upon
exercise of
outstanding options
(Column A Securities)
     Weighted-average
exercise price of
outstanding options
     Number of securities
remaining available
for future issuance
under equity
compensation plans
(excluding
Column A Securities)
 

2007 and 2011 Plan

     1,413,318       $ 5.32         136,305   

Terms of the 2011 Plan

The following is a summary of important provisions of the 2011 Plan. It is not a comprehensive discussion of all of the terms and conditions of the 2011 Plan. Readers are advised to review the full text of the 2011 Plan to fully understand all terms and conditions of the 2011 Plan. A copy of the 2011 Plan can be obtained by contacting the Corporation’s Corporate Secretary.

Purpose. The purpose of the 2011 Plan is to promote the Corporation’s interests and long-term success by providing directors, officers, employees and consultants with greater incentive to further develop and promote the Corporation’s business and financial success, to further the identity of interest of persons to whom Awards may be granted with those of the shareholders generally through a proprietary ownership interest in the Corporation, and to assist the Corporation in attracting, retaining and motivating its directors, officers, employees and consultants.

Administration. Under the 2011 Plan, the board of directors can, at any time, appoint a committee (Compensation Committee) to, among other things, interpret, administer and implement the 2011 Plan on behalf of the board of directors in accordance with such terms and conditions as the board of directors may prescribe, consistent with the 2011 Plan (provided that if at any such time such a committee has not been appointed by the board of directors, the 2011 Plan will be administered by the board of directors).

Eligible Persons. Under the 2011 Plan, Awards may be granted to any director, officer, employee or consultant (as defined in the 2011 Plan) of the Corporation, or any of its affiliates, or a person otherwise approved by the Compensation Committee (an Eligible Person). A participant (Participant) is an Eligible Person to whom an Award has been granted under the 2011 Plan.

Share Reserve. The number of common shares in respect of which Awards may be granted under the 2011 Plan is determined by the shareholders, and may be increased, decreased or fixed by our Board of Directors, as permitted under the applicable rules and regulations of our regulatory authorities to which we are subject.

Amending Provisions. In accordance with Toronto Stock Exchange policies, the 2011 Plan allows the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors to amend the 2011 Plan or any award agreement under the 2011 Plan at any time provided that shareholder approval has been obtained by ordinary resolution. Notwithstanding the foregoing, shareholder approval would not be required for amendments of a clerical nature, amendments to reflect any regulatory authority requirements, amendments to vesting provisions, amendments to the term of options or tandem stock appreciation rights held by non-insiders, amendments to the option exercise price of options held by non-insiders, and any amendments which provide a cashless exercise feature to an award that provides for the full deduction of the number of underlying common shares from the total number of common shares subject to the 2011 Plan.

Limits on Grants to Insiders. In accordance with Toronto Stock Exchange policies and emerging practice, the 2011 Plan limits the number of common shares:

 

  (i) issuable, at any time, to Participants that are insiders of Tekmira; and

 

  (ii) issued to Participants that are insiders of Tekmira within any one year period,

 

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pursuant to the 2011 Plan, or when combined with all of Tekmira’s other security based share compensation arrangements, to a maximum of 10% of the total number of outstanding common shares (on a non-diluted basis). The common shares issued pursuant to an entitlement granted prior to the grantee becoming an insider will be excluded in determining the number of common shares issuable to insiders. Additionally, under the terms of the 2011 Plan, the number of common shares reserved for issuance to any one person shall not, in the aggregate, exceed 5% of the total number of outstanding common shares (on a non-diluted basis).

Issuance of Awards. The 2007 Plan authorizes only one type of award, stock options, thus limiting flexibility to provide for other types of awards. The 2011 Plan allows for the issuance of tandem stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units and deferred stock units, each is briefly described below:

Tandem Stock Appreciation Rights — Tandem Stock Appreciation Rights, or Tandem SARs, provide option holders with a right to surrender vested options for termination in return for common shares (or the cash equivalent) equal to the net proceeds that the option holder would otherwise have received had the options been exercised and the underlying common shares immediately sold. Settlement may be made, in the sole discretion of the Compensation Committee, in common shares or cash, or any combination thereof.

Restricted Stock Units — Restricted Stock Units, or RSUs, entitle the holder to receive common shares (or the cash equivalent) at a future date. RSUs are granted with vesting conditions (typically based on continued service or achievement of personal or corporate objectives) and settle upon vesting by delivery of common shares (or the cash equivalent). The value of the RSU increases or decreases as the price of the common shares increases or decreases, thereby promoting alignment of the interests of the RSU holders with shareholders. Settlement may be made, in the sole discretion of the Compensation Committee, in common shares or cash, or any combination thereof. Vesting of RSUs is determined by the Compensation Committee in its sole discretion and specified in the award agreement pursuant to which the RSU is granted.

Deferred Stock Units — Deferred Stock Units, or DSUs, represent a future right to receive common shares (or the cash equivalent) at the time of the holder’s retirement, death, or the holder otherwise ceasing to provide services to Tekmira, allowing Tekmira to pay compensation to holders of DSUs on a deferred basis. Each DSU awarded by Tekmira is initially equal to the fair market value of a common share at the time the DSU is awarded. The value of the DSU increases or decreases as the price of the common shares increases or decreases, thereby promoting alignment of the interests of the DSU holders with shareholders. Settlement may be made, in the sole discretion of the Compensation Committee, in common shares or cash, or any combination thereof. Vesting of DSUs is determined by the Compensation Committee in its sole discretion and specified in the award agreement pursuant to which the DSU is granted.

Adjustment of exercise/settlement during blackout periods. Further to our Insider Trading Policy, our officers, directors and employees may be prohibited from trading in our securities for an interval of time, or the Blackout Period. As Blackout Periods are of varying length and may occur at unpredictable times, Awards may expire or settle during a Blackout Period. As a result, the 2011 Plan provides that: (i) where the expiry date of an option or Tandem SAR occurs during or within ten non-blackout trading days following the end of a Blackout Period, the expiry date for such option or Tandem SAR shall be the date which is ten non-blackout trading days following the end of such Blackout Period; and (ii) where the date for the settlement of Restricted Stock Units or the payment of a settlement amount in the case of a DSU occurs during a Blackout Period, Tekmira shall make such settlement or pay such settlement amount to the holder of such an Award within ten non-blackout trading days following the end of such Blackout Period.

Computation of Available Shares. For the purposes of computing the number of Common Shares available for grant under the 2011 Plan, the 2011 Plan provides that Common Shares subject to any Award (or portion thereof) that have expired or are forfeited, surrendered, cancelled or otherwise terminated prior to the issuance or transfer of such Common Shares, or are settled in cash in lieu of settlement in Common Shares, shall again be available for grant under the 2011 Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Common Shares subject to an Award that are withheld or otherwise not issued in order to satisfy the Participant’s withholding obligations, or in payment of any option exercise price, shall reduce the number of Common Shares available for grant.

Exercise Price of Options. The 2011 Plan provides that the exercise price for each option is to be determined by the Compensation Committee, but in no event may be lower than:

(i) where the Common Shares are listed on a stock exchange or other organized market, the closing price of the Common Shares on such stock exchange or other organized market as determined by the Compensation Committee for the trading session ending on the day prior to the time of grant; or

 

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(ii) where the Common Shares are not publicly traded, the value which is determined by the Compensation Committee to be the fair value of the Common Shares at the time of grant, taking into consideration all factors that the Compensation Committee deems appropriate, including, without limitation, recent sale and offer prices of the Common Shares in private transactions negotiated at arm’s length.

Settlement of Awards. Subject to the terms and limitations of the 2011 Plan, we propose that the 2011 Plan be amended to allow payments or transfers to be made upon the exercise or settlement of an Award be made in such form or forms as the Compensation Committee may determine (including, without limitation, cash or Common Shares), and payment or transfers made in whole or in part in Common Shares may, in the discretion of the Compensation Committee, be issued from treasury or purchased in the open market.

Grant, Exercise, Vesting, Settlement Awards. Subject to the terms of the 2011 Plan, the Compensation Committee may grant to any eligible person one or more Awards as it deems appropriate. The Compensation Committee may also impose such limitations or conditions on the exercise, vesting, or settlement of any Awards as it deems appropriate.

Payment of Exercise Price of Options. Participants in the 2011 Plan may pay the exercise price by cash, bank draft or certified cheque, or by such other consideration as the Compensation Committee may permit.

Term of Options. Subject to the Blackout Period provisions described above, an option will expire on the date determined by the Compensation Committee and specified in the option agreement pursuant to which such option is granted, which date shall not be later than the tenth anniversary of the date of grant, or such earlier date as may be required by applicable law, rules or regulations, including those of any exchange or market on which the common shares are listed or traded. If an optionee’s status as a director, officer, employee or consultant terminates for any reason other than death or termination for cause, the option will expire on the date determined by the Compensation Committee or as specified by agreement among Tekmira and the director, officer, employee or consultant, and in the absence of such specification, will be deemed to be the date that is three months following the director, officer, employee or consultant’s termination. If the optionee’s status as a director, officer, employee or consultant is terminated for cause, the option shall terminate immediately. In the event that the optionee dies before otherwise ceasing to be a director, officer, employee or consultant, or before the expiration of the option following such a termination, the option will expire one year after the date of death, or on such other date determined by the Compensation Committee and specified in the option agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, except in the case of death or as expressly permitted by the Compensation Committee, all stock options will cease to vest as at the date upon which the optionee ceases to be eligible to participate in the 2011 Plan.

U.S. Qualified Incentive Stock Options. Options intended to qualify as an “incentive stock option”, as that term is defined in Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code, may be granted under the 2011 Plan. To the extent required by the Internal Revenue Code, these options are subject to additional terms and conditions as set out in the 2011 Plan. In addition, if any Participant who is a citizen or resident of the U.S. to whom an “incentive stock option” for the purposes of section 422 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code (a “U.S. Qualified Incentive Stock Option”) is to be granted under the 2011 Plan, and at the time of the grant the Participant is an owner of shares possessing more than 10% of the total combined voting power of all classes of the Corporation’s common shares, then special provisions will be applicable to the U.S. Qualified Incentive Stock Option granted to such individual. These special provisions applicable only to U.S. Qualified Incentive Stock Options will be: (i) the exercise price (per common share) cannot be less than 110% of the fair market value of one common share at the time of grant; and (ii) the option exercise period cannot exceed five years from the date of grant.

Change in Control. In the event of a merger or acquisition transaction that results in a change of control of Tekmira, the Compensation Committee may, at its option, take any of the following actions: (a) determine the manner in which all unexercised or unsettled Awards granted under the 2011 Plan will be treated, including the accelerated vesting of such options; (b) offer any participant under the 2011 Plan the opportunity to obtain a new or replacement award, if applicable; or (c) commute for or into any other security or any other property or cash, any award that is still capable of being exercised or settled.

Transferability. Awards granted under the 2011 Plan are not transferable or assignable and may be exercised only by the grantee, subject to exceptions in the event of the death or disability of the grantee.

Termination. The 2011 Plan will terminate on June 22, 2021.

Terms of the 2007 Share Option Plan

The Share Option Plan provides that the Board of Directors may, from time to time, grant options to acquire all or part of the shares subject to the Share Option Plan to any person who is an employee or director of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, or any other person or company engaged to provide ongoing management, financial and scientific consulting or like services for the Company or any of its subsidiaries. The exercise price of options granted under the Share Option Plan will be determined by the directors, but will be at least equal to the closing trading price for the common shares of Tekmira on the day before the grant date. The term of option granted may not exceed 10 years from the date of grant of the option.

 

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Tekmira options may not be exercised after an optionee ceases to be an eligible recipient under the Share Option Plan, except as follows:

 

   

in the case of death, all unvested options of the optionee will be deemed to have become fully vested immediately before death, and the personal representatives of the optionee will be entitled to exercise the options at any time by the earlier of (a) the expiry date, and (b) the first anniversary of the date of death;

 

   

in the case of retirement, all unvested options of the optionee will be deemed to have become fully vested immediately before retirement, and the options will be exercisable by the earlier of (a) the expiry date, or (b) the first anniversary of the date of retirement;

 

   

in the case of an optionee becoming unable to work due to illness, injury or disability, all option rights will vest, and the options will be exercisable, on the same terms as if the optionee had continued to be an eligible recipient under the Share Option Plan; and

 

   

in the case of an optionee resigning his office, or terminating his employment or service, or being dismissed without cause, the option rights that have accrued to such optionee up to the time of termination will be exercisable within the 30 days after the date of termination.

In the case of an optionee being dismissed from office, employment or service for cause, all option rights that had accrued to the optionee to the date of termination will immediately terminate.

Any option granted is also subject to certain vesting provisions, typically over three years for employees and immediate vesting for directors. Except in the case of the death of an optionee, an option may be exercisable only by the optionee to whom it is granted and may not be assigned. The Share Option Plan does not provide for any financial assistance to Plan members in exercising their options.

As specifically provided for in the Share Option Plan, the number of common shares of Tekmira that, under all share compensation arrangements:

 

   

may be reserved for issuance to all insiders, may not exceed 10% of the common shares of Tekmira outstanding on a non-diluted basis (Outstanding Issue) at that time;

 

   

may be issued to all insiders within a one-year period may not exceed 10% of the Outstanding Issue at that time;

 

   

to any one insider and his or her associates, within a one-year period, may not exceed 5% of the Outstanding Issue at that time; and

 

   

may be reserved for issuance to non-employee directors, may not exceed 2% of the Outstanding Issue at that time (Non-Employee Director Cap).

The Board reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, to at any time amend, modify or terminate the Share Option Plan. Any amendment to any provision of the Share Option Plan will be subject to any necessary approvals by shareholders and any stock exchange or regulatory body having jurisdiction over the securities of the Company.

Shareholder approval is required for any amendment or modification to the Share Option Plan that does any of the following:

 

   

increases the number of common shares of Tekmira reserved for issuance under the Share Option Plan;

 

   

reduces the exercise price of an option except for the purpose of maintaining option value in connection with a subdivision or consolidation of, or payment of a dividend payable in, common shares of Tekmira or a reorganization, reclassification or other change or event affecting the common shares of Tekmira (for this purpose, cancellation or termination of an option of a Share Option Plan participant prior to its expiry date for the purpose of reissuing options to the same participant with a lower exercise price shall be treated as an amendment to reduce the exercise price of an option);

 

   

extends the term of an option beyond the expiry date or allow for the expiry date to be greater than 10 years (except where an expiry date would have fallen within a blackout period of the Company);

 

   

permits options to be assigned or exercised by persons other than the optionholder except for normal estate planning or estate settlement purposes;

 

   

permits equity compensation, other than Tekmira options, to be made under the Share Option Plan; or

 

   

changes to the Non-Employee Director Cap from a maximum of 2% of the Outstanding Issue at that time.

Except for the above noted matters, the Board retains the power to approve all other changes to the Share Option Plan without shareholder approval. Such amendments may include the following:

 

   

amendments to the terms and conditions of this Plan necessary to ensure that the Share Option Plan complies with the applicable regulatory requirements, including without limitation the rules of the Toronto Stock Exchange or any national securities exchange or system on which the common shares of Tekmira are then listed or reported, or by any regulatory body having jurisdiction with respect thereto;

 

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making adjustments to outstanding options in the event of certain corporate transactions;

 

   

the addition of a cashless exercise feature, payable in cash or securities, whether or not such feature provides for a full deduction of the number of underlying securities from the number of common shares of Tekmira reserved for issuance under the Share Option Plan;

 

   

a change to the termination provisions of a security or the Share Option Plan which does not entail an extension beyond the original expiry date;

 

   

amendments to the provisions of the Share Option Plan respecting administration of the Share Option Plan and eligibility for participation under the Share Option Plan;

 

   

amendments to the provisions of the Share Option Plan respecting the terms and conditions on which options may be granted pursuant to the Share Option Plan, including the provisions relating to the exercise price, option period, and vesting schedule; and

 

   

amendments to the Share Option Plan that are of a “housekeeping nature”.

Additional Shares Subject to Issue Under an Equity Compensation Plan

On May 30, 2008, as a condition of the acquisition of Protiva, the Company reserved 350,457 common shares (which represent approximately 2.5% of the Company’s issued and outstanding common shares as at March 1, 2012) for the exercise of up to 519,073 Protiva share options (Protiva Options). These shares are reserved for the issue to those shareholders who did not exercise their Protiva share options and exchange the shares of Protiva issuable on exercise for common shares of Tekmira on the closing of the business combination with Protiva. The shares reserved for them are equal to the same number of Tekmira common shares they would have received if they had exercised their options and transferred the shares to Tekmira. The Protiva Options are not part of Tekmira’s 2011 Plan or 2007 Plan and the Company is not permitted to grant any further Protiva stock options. The Protiva Options all have a $0.30 exercise price and expire on dates ranging from July 29, 2012 to March 1, 2018. As at March 1, 2012 a total of 31,052 Protiva options had been exercised and 488,020 remained outstanding.

 

ITEM 7 MAJOR SHAREHOLDER AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

 

7A. Major Shareholders

Major Shareholders

We are a publicly-held corporation, with our shares held by residents of the United States, Canada and other countries. As a reporting issuer under the securities laws of the Provinces of Canada, only insiders (generally officers, directors and holders of 10% or more of our shares) are required to file reports disclosing their ownership of securities of Tekmira. Based on a review of publicly available information in Canada, as of March 1, 2012 no person, corporation or other entity beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, or controls more than 5% of our common shares, except as follows:

 

Name and Municipality of Residence

  Number of Common
Shares Owned(1)
    Percentage(2)
 

Growth Works Capital Ltd. & Affiliates., Vancouver, British Columbia

    1,967,420        14.1
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Totals:

    1,967,420        14.1
 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Notes:

 

(1) For these purposes, beneficial ownership means the sole or shared power to vote or direct the voting or to dispose or direct the disposition of any security. Unless otherwise indicated, each shareholder listed has sole voting or dispositive power with respect to such common shares.
(2) Based on 13,999,461 common shares issued and outstanding as of March 1, 2012.

Each of our common shares entitles the holder thereof to one vote.

 

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Geographic Breakdown of Shareholders

As of March 1, 2012, our shareholder register indicates that our common shares are held as follows:

 

Location

   Number of Shares      Percentage of
Total Shares
    Number of  Registered
Shareholders of
Record
 

Canada

     13,838,731         98.98     154   

United States

     159,921         1.01     12   

Other

     809         0.01     4   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total

     13,999,461         100     170   
  

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Our securities are recorded in registered form on the books of our transfer agent, Canadian Stock Transfer Company Inc. (formerly CIBC Mellon Trust Company of Canada), located at 1600-1066 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC V6E 3X1. However, the majority of such shares are registered in the name of intermediaries such as brokerage houses and clearing houses (on behalf of their respective brokerage clients). We are permitted, upon request to our transfer agent, to obtain a list of our beneficial shareholders who do not object to their identities being disclosed to us. We are not permitted to obtain from our transfer agent a list of our shareholders who have objected to their identities being disclosed to us.

Shares registered in intermediaries were assumed to be held by residents of the same country in which the clearing house was located.

Control

To the best of our knowledge, we are not directly or indirectly owned or controlled by any other corporation, by any foreign government or by any other natural or legal person, severally or jointly. To the best of our knowledge, there are no arrangements currently in place which may at a subsequent date result in a change in control of Tekmira.

Insider Reports under the Securities Act (British Columbia)

Under the policies promulgated under the Securities Act (British Columbia), insiders (generally officers, directors and holders of 10% or more of our shares) are required to file insider reports of changes in their ownership within 5 days following a trade in our securities. Insider reports must be filed electronically within the deadline outlined above, and the public is able to access these reports at www.sedi.ca.

 

7B. Related Party Transactions

No director or executive of Tekmira, and no associate or affiliate of the foregoing persons, and no insider has or has had any material interest, direct or indirect, in any transactions, or in any proposed transaction, which in either such case has materially affected or will materially affect us or our predecessors since January 1, 2010.

 

7C. Interests of Experts and Counsel

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 8 FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

8A. Consolidated Statements and Other Financial Information

Financial Statements

The financial statements required as part of this Annual Report are filed under Item 18 of this Annual Report.

Legal Proceedings

On March 16, 2011, we filed a complaint against Alnylam for misappropriation and misuse of trade secrets, know-how and other confidential information, unfair and deceptive trade practices, unjust enrichment, unfair competition and false advertising. The suit, filed in the Business Litigation Session of the Massachusetts Superior Court, alleges Alnylam exploited its confidential relationship with us as a collaborator to engage in inappropriate and harmful conduct concerning our proprietary LNP technology, resulting in damage to our intellectual property and business interests. On April 6, 2011, Alnylam filed an answer and counter-claim to our complaint. On June 3, 2011, we filed an amended complaint against Alnylam and expanded our complaint to include AlCana Technologies, Inc. (AlCana). Our amended complaint against Alnylam is for misappropriation and misuse of trade secrets, know-how and other confidential information, unfair and deceptive trade practices, unjust enrichment, unfair competition and false advertising, breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, tortious interference with contractual relationships, and civil conspiracy. The suit alleges Alnylam exploited its confidential relationship as our collaborator to misappropriate our proprietary lipid nanoparticle delivery technology, resulting in damage to our intellectual property and business interests. The amended complaint also adds AlCana as a defendant and asserts claims alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, tortious interference with contractual relations, unjust enrichment, unfair and deceptive acts and trade practices, and civil conspiracy against AlCana. We are seeking damages based on Alnylam’s conduct as alleged in the amended complaint including termination of Alnylam’s license to our technology.

On June 28, 2011 Alnylam filed an amended answer and counter-claim and on July 15, 2011 AlCana filed its answer and counter-claim to our amended complaint. Alnylam’s answer and amended counter-claim alleges, in summary, breach of contract: contractual dispute resolution and confidentiality provisions, defamation, breach of covenant not to sue, breach of

 

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patent prosecution cooperation and non-use provisions, and breach of an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Alnylam’s defamation counter-claim was dismissed by the BLS Court in September 2011 including an award of our attorney’s fees and costs. AlCana’s answer and amended counter-claim alleges, in summary, breach of contract and breach of an implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. In December 2011, we disclosed that the BLS Court has set a trial date of October 30, 2012.

On November 16, 2011, we disclosed that we had filed a Notice of Civil Claim in the Supreme Court of British Columbia against certain individuals from AlCana alleging that thousands of confidential documents containing our confidential information and trade secrets were downloaded and taken from us. We also filed a Notice of Application seeking an injunction ordering the documents and derivative materials be returned. We are also seeking general and punitive damages. On January 10, 2012, we disclosed that the Supreme Court of British Columbia granted Tekmira’s application for an injunction that orders confidential documents and materials be returned to Tekmira and prohibits the use of Tekmira’s confidential information. The injunction also requires the defendants to identify every person and corporation to whom the information was provided or communicated.

On January 17, 2012, we disclosed that Alnylam filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Tekmira in the U.S. District Court of the District of Massachusetts. Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is named as a co-plaintiff in the suit. The context for this infringement suit has arisen out of our ongoing litigation between with Alnylam and AlCana. On March 6, 2012, we disclosed that we responded to the patent infringement lawsuit filed on January 17, 2012 by Alnylam and Isis in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts by filing a motion to dismiss, seeking to eliminate claims for lack of standing. Tekmira alleges in its motion that Alnylam is seeking to assert rights that it does not have. On March 16, 2012, Alnylam responded with an opposition to Tekmira’s motions alleging that Alnylam does have standing to sue Tekmira and that Tekmira’s motion to dismiss should be denied.

We are also currently involved in a patent interference proceeding declared by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to determine priority of invention to subject matter of Alnylam’s U.S. Patent No. 7,718,629 in light of Tekmira’s U.S. Patent Application 11/807,872. See “Item 4B Business Overview - Patents and Proprietary Rights” section of this Annual Report for more information.

Dividends

We have not paid any dividends on our common shares since incorporation and do not intend to declare or pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Payment of any future dividends will be at our board of directors’ discretion after taking into account many factors including our operating results, financial condition and current and anticipated cash needs.

 

8B. Significant Changes

We have not experienced any significant changes relating to the annual financial statements since December 31, 2011.

 

ITEM 9 THE OFFER AND LISTING

Common Shares

On November 2, 2010 we completed a 5-to-1 consolidation of our Common Shares. Each 5 Common Shares were consolidated to represent 1 Common Share as of such date with fractional shares rounded down to the nearest whole share. Issued and outstanding stock options were consolidated on a 5-to-1 basis and exercise prices were adjusted to give effect to the consolidation. All Common Share, Common Share price, stock option, per share and exercise price data set forth in this prospectus have been adjusted to give retroactive effect to our 5-to-1 share consolidation. For the purpose of giving retroactive effect to the proposed Common Share Consolidation, we have rounded fractional shares to the nearest whole share and rounded fractional dollar information to the nearest whole number with fractions of 0.5 or greater rounded up and fractions less than 0.5 rounded down. Actual amounts may differ.

Our authorized share capital consists of an unlimited number of Common shares without par value, of which 13,999,461 were issued and outstanding as at March 1, 2012, and an unlimited number of Preferred shares without par value of which none were issued and outstanding as at March 1, 2012. In addition, we have outstanding certain incentive options to purchase Common shares as noted in Item 6.B. Compensation of this Annual Report.

 

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9A. Offer and Listing Details

Trading Markets

Our common shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange in the Canada under the symbol “TKM”. On November 15, 2010, our common shares began to trade on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol “TKMR”. The following table shows the progression in the high and low trading prices of our common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ Capital Market for the periods listed:

 

     NASDAQ
High(1)
(US$)
     NASDAQ
Low(1)
(US$)
     TSX
High(1)
(CDN$)
     TSX
Low(1)
(CDN$)
 

Year Ended:

           

December 31, 2011

   $ 7.94       $ 1.29       $ 7.64       $ 1.50   

December 31, 2010

   $ 7.55       $ 4.48       $ 9.75       $ 3.45   

December 31, 2009

     —           —         $ 7.45       $ 2.25   

December 31, 2008

     —           —         $ 7.25       $ 1.40   

December 31, 2007

     —           —         $ 19.90       $ 3.30   

Quarter Ended:

           

January 1-March 23, 2012

   $ 2.91       $ 1.52       $ 2.85       $ 1.41   

December 31, 2011

   $ 2.05       $ 1.29       $ 7.64       $ 1.50   

September 30, 2011

   $ 2.63       $ 1.63       $ 9.75       $ 3.45   

June 30, 2011

   $ 3.52       $ 2.44       $ 7.45       $ 2.25   

March 31, 2011

   $ 7.94       $ 2.94       $ 7.25       $ 1.40   

December 31, 2010

   $ 7.55       $ 4.48       $ 8.75       $ 5.60   

September 30, 2010

     —           —         $ 9.75       $ 5.95   

June 30, 2010

     —           —         $ 9.20       $ 4.30   

March 31, 2010

     —           —         $ 4.80       $ 3.45   

Month Ended

           

March 23, 2012

   $ 2.91       $ 2.10       $ 2.85       $ 2.12   

February 29, 2012

   $ 2.56       $ 1.92       $ 2.58       $ 1.95   

January 31, 2012

   $ 2.66       $ 1.52       $ 2.65       $ 1.41   

December 31, 2011

   $ 1.70       $ 1.40       $ 1.72       $ 1.52   

November 30, 2011

   $ 1.73       $ 1.29       $ 1.75       $ 1.50   

October 31, 2011

   $ 2.05       $ 1.55       $ 1.95       $ 1.62   

September 30, 2011

   $ 2.25       $ 1.63       $ 2.20       $ 1.70   

Notes:

 

(1)