License and Collaboration Agreements

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

License and Collaboration Agreements

License and Collaboration Agreements

AbbVie

In June 2020, we entered into an option and license agreement with AbbVie (the “AbbVie Agreement”) for the development of ALPN-101. The AbbVie Agreement grants AbbVie the exclusive option to purchase an exclusive worldwide license to ALPN-101 (the “License Option”). The License Option is exercisable by AbbVie at any time and will expire 90 days from the achievement of certain development milestones. If AbbVie exercises the License Option, AbbVie will take over the future development and commercialization. Prior to the exercise of the License Option, we will perform research and development services, including conducting a Phase 2 study in systemic lupus erythematosus, based on an agreed-upon development plan (the “Development Plan”). We will be fully responsible for all costs incurred to conduct the activities under the Development Plan, provided that, AbbVie may be responsible for increased costs under the Development Plan in connection with certain material amendments proposed by AbbVie. We will also be solely responsible, at our sole cost and expense, for manufacturing and regulatory filings for ALPN-101 necessary to complete activities under the Development Plan.

In June 2020, in connection with the execution of the AbbVie Agreement, AbbVie paid us a nonrefundable upfront payment of $60.0 million. Prior to the exercise of the License Option, AbbVie has agreed to make cash payments upon our achievement of certain predefined pre-option development milestones (the “Alpine Development Milestones”) up to an aggregate amount of $75.0 million. If AbbVie exercises the License Option, they will pay a one-time cash payment of $75.0 million. Following the exercise of the License Option, AbbVie has also agreed to make aggregate cash payments of up to $205.0 million upon AbbVie’s achievement of certain development and commercial milestones and additional aggregate cash payments of up to $450.0 million upon AbbVie’s achievement of certain sales-based cash milestones, collectively referred to as

(the “AbbVie Milestones”). Subsequent to commercialization, we are also eligible to receive high single-digit to low double-digit percentage royalties on worldwide net sales of licensed products.

For revenue recognition purposes, we determined that our contractual promises in the AbbVie Agreement are not distinct and are interdependent with our performance obligation to provide research and development services under the Development Plan. Thus, all contractual promises related to the upfront payment and Alpine’s Development Milestones were combined into a single performance obligation. We determined the Alpine Development Milestone payments are probable of significant revenue reversal as the achievement is highly dependent on factors outside our control. Therefore, these milestone payments are fully constrained and were not included in the transaction price. We will re-evaluate the transaction price each reporting period and update as uncertain events are resolved or other changes in circumstances occur.

The License Option and the AbbVie Milestones were not determined to be performance obligations at the inception of the contract as they did not represent material rights. If exercised, the License Option and AbbVie Milestones will be accounted for as a separate contract and will be recognized as revenue if and when triggered. Any consideration related to sales-based royalties and profit-sharing payments will be recognized when the related sales occur.

We use a cost-based input method to measure progress toward completion of the performance obligation and to calculate the corresponding revenue to recognize each period. In applying the cost-based input, we use actual costs incurred relative to budgeted costs for the combined performance obligation. These costs consist primarily of internal personnel efforts and third-party contract costs relative to the level of patient enrollment in the study. Revenue will be recognized based on the level of costs incurred relative to the total budgeted costs for the performance obligation. A cost-based input method of revenue recognition requires management to make estimates of costs to complete our performance obligation. In making such estimates, significant judgment is required to evaluate assumptions related to cost estimates. The cumulative effect of revisions to estimated costs to complete our performance obligation will be recorded in the period in which changes are identified and amounts can be reasonably estimated. A significant change in these assumptions and estimates could have a material impact on the timing and amount of revenue recognized in future periods.

We recognized revenue from the AbbVie Agreement of $86,000 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020. As of June 30, 2020 the remaining balance of the transaction price is $59.9 million and is recorded as current and noncurrent deferred revenue on our accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. We expect to recognize the remaining deferred revenue over the remainder of our Development Plan, which began in June 2020 and ends upon the later of the exercise or expiration of the option.

Adaptimmune

In May 2019, we entered into a collaboration and licensing agreement with Adaptimmune (the “Adaptimmune Collaboration”) to develop next-generation SPEAR T-cell products. Under the Adaptimmune Collaboration, we are to perform certain research services and grant Adaptimmune an exclusive license to programs from our secreted immunomodulatory protein (“SIP”) and transmembrane immunomodulatory protein (“TIP”) technologies. In June 2019, under the terms of the Adaptimmune Collaboration, we received an upfront license payment of $2.0 million, and through June 30, 2020 we have received an additional $1.3 million in research support payments to fund ongoing programs. These payments are recorded as deferred revenue upon receipt and are recognized to revenue based on employee hours contributed to each performance obligation. Under the Adaptimmune Collaboration we have recognized revenue of $602,000 and $142,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2020, and 2019, respectively and $1.7 million and $142,000 for the for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. In addition, we are eligible for additional research support payments, one-time payments and downstream development and commercialization milestones of up to $288.0 million, if all pre-specified milestones for each program are achieved. We are also eligible to receive low-single digit percentage royalties on worldwide net sales of the applicable products. As of June 30, 2020, we have $242,000 remaining in current deferred revenue on our Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets.