XML 39 R9.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.20.1
Collaboration arrangements and concentration of credit risk
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2020
Collaboration arrangements and concentration of credit risk  
Collaboration arrangements and concentration of credit risk

3

Collaboration arrangements and concentration of credit risk

BMS collaboration

In May 2015, the Company entered into a collaboration and license agreement (the “BMS CLA”) and various related agreements with BMS that provide BMS with exclusive access to the Company’s gene therapy technology platform for the research, development and commercialization of therapeutics aimed at multiple targets in cardiovascular and other diseases (“Collaboration Targets”). The initial four-year research term under the collaboration terminated on May 21, 2019. During the initial research term of the BMS CLA, the Company supported BMS in discovery, non-clinical, analytical and process development efforts in respect of the Collaboration Targets. For any Collaboration Targets that may be advanced, the Company will be responsible for manufacturing of clinical and commercial supplies using the Company’s vector technologies and industrial, proprietary insect-cell based manufacturing platform. BMS reimburses the Company for all its research and development costs in support of the collaboration during the initial research term, and will lead development, regulatory and commercial activities for any Collaboration Targets that may be advanced. The BMS CLA provides that the companies may collaborate on up to ten Collaboration Targets in total. As of March 31, 2020, BMS has designated a total of four Collaboration Targets. In February 2019, BMS requested a one-year extension of the research term. In April 2019, following an assessment of the progress of this collaboration and the Company’s expanding proprietary programs, the Company notified BMS that the Company did not intend to agree to an extension of the research term but rather preferred to restructure or amend the collaboration to reduce or eliminate certain of the Company’s obligations under it.

The Company has agreed to certain restrictions on its ability to work independently of the collaboration, either directly or indirectly through any affiliate or third party, on certain programs that would be competitive with the collaboration programs. Accordingly, the Company is currently in discussions with BMS potentially to restructure or amend the BMS CLA and other related agreements following the expiration of the research term. It is currently uncertain whether a change to the BMS CLA will be agreed and, if agreed, what the specific terms of any such change may be. As a consequence, the Company has not taken into account the impact of such change, if any, on the timing of recognition of the prepaid License Revenue if and when the BMS CLA and other related agreements have been restructured or amended. The final resolution of these discussions may or may not result in material changes to the Company’s collaboration with BMS. The Company agreed, subject to certain conditions, to continue providing limited support of the pre-clinical Collaboration Targets, and any related costs will be reimbursed by BMS during these discussions.

The Company evaluated the BMS CLA and determined that its performance obligations are as follows:

(i)Providing access to its technology and know-how in the field of gene therapy as well as actively contributing to the target selection, the collaboration as a whole, the development during the target selection, the pre-clinical and the clinical phase through participating in joint steering committee and other governing bodies (“License Revenue”);
(ii)Providing pre-clinical Collaboration Target specific, non-clinical, analytical and process development services during the initial research term, which ended on May 21, 2019 (“Collaboration Revenue”); and
(iii)Providing clinical and commercial manufacturing services for Collaboration Targets (“Manufacturing Revenue”). To date the Company has not generated any Manufacturing Revenue.

Amounts owed by BMS in relation the collaboration services are as follows:

March 31, 

December 31, 

    

2020

    

2019

(in thousands)

Bristol Myers Squibb

$

258

$

947

Total

$

258

$

947

License Revenue

The Company recognized $0.0 million of License Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2020, compared to $0.6 million during the same period in 2019 in relation to a $60.1 million upfront payment recorded on May 21, 2015, as well as $15.0 million received in relation to the designation of the second, third and fourth Collaboration Targets in August 2015 (together “Consideration”).

The Company would be entitled to an aggregate $16.5 million in target designation payments upon the selection of the fifth through tenth Collaboration Targets. The Company would also be eligible to receive research, development and regulatory milestone payments of up to $254.0 million for a lead Collaboration Target and up to $217.0 million for each of the other selected Collaboration Targets, if defined milestones are achieved. The Company would include the variable consideration related to the selection of the fifth to tenth Collaboration Target, or any of the milestones, in the transaction price once it is considered probable that including these payments in the transaction price would not result in the reversal of cumulative revenue recognized. The Company would recognize significant amounts of License Revenue for services performed in prior periods if and when the Company considers this probable. Due to the significant uncertainty surrounding the development of gene-therapy product candidates and the dependence on BMS’s performance and decisions, the Company does not currently consider this probable.

Additionally, the Company is eligible to receive net sales-based milestone payments and tiered mid-single to low double-digit royalties on product sales. The royalty term is determined on a licensed-product-by-licensed-product and country-by-country basis and begins on the first commercial sale of a licensed product in a country and ends on the expiration of the last to expire of specified patents or regulatory exclusivity covering such licensed product in such country or, with a customary royalty reduction, ten years after the first commercial sale if there is no such exclusivity. These revenues will be recognized when performance obligations are satisfied.

The Company recognizes License Revenue over the expected performance period based on its measure of progress towards the completion of certain activities related to its services. The Company determines such progress by comparing activities performed at the end of each reporting period with total activities expected to be performed. The Company estimates total expected activities using a number of unobservable inputs, such as the probability of BMS designating additional targets, the probability of successfully completing each phase and estimated time required to provide services during the various development stages. If available, the Company uses product candidate-specific research and development plans. Alternatively, the Company assumes that completion of the pre-clinical phase requires an average of four years and that clinical development and commercial launch on average require 8.5 years.