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Research and License Agreements
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Licensing Agreements [Abstract]  
Research and License Agreements

14.  Research and License Agreements

Contract Research Agreement

In December 2013, the Company entered into a contract research agreement with a contract manufacturing organization (“CMO”) under which the CMO provides research and development services to the Company in exchange for cash and convertible preferred shares.

For the year ended December 31, 2016, no shares were issued to the CMO. For the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company issued 70,028 Series B convertible preferred shares and 133,000 Series A convertible preferred shares to the CMO, respectively, with fair values of $1.1 million and $845,000, respectively. The number of convertible preferred shares contractually issuable to the counterparty was determined by dividing a fixed monetary amount by the issuance-date fair value of the issued shares. These services are expensed as research and development costs in accordance with the fair value of the consideration paid and as the services are rendered.

The Company was obligated to issue a variable number of shares of convertible preferred stock upon the completion of certain milestones related to the research and development of the Company’s products. In June 2015, the contract research agreement was amended to convert the remaining unmet milestone awards from share-based payments to cash. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, all related obligations payable in convertible preferred stock under the agreement have been satisfied.

University Research Agreement

In December 2013, the Company entered into a research agreement with the University of Texas at Austin (the “University”). Under the terms of this research agreement, the Company engaged the University to perform certain nonclinical research activities related to the systemic depletion of amino acids for cancer and rare genetic disease therapies.

Under the research agreement, the Company was required to pay the University an annual amount not to exceed $386,000 during the one-year term of the agreement from the effective date. Pursuant to subsequent amendments to the research agreement, the term and maximum expenditure limitation were extended and increased through August 31, 2017 for a combined $1.8 million, including an amendment in August 2016 which increased the maximum expenditure limitation by $750,000 for additional research to be performed by the University. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, the Company paid $832,000, $563,000, and $386,000, respectively, to the University under the research agreement.

License Agreements

In December 2013, two of the Company’s wholly owned subsidiaries, AECase, Inc. (“AECase”) and AEMase, Inc. (“AEMase”), entered into license agreements with the University under which the University granted to AECase and AEMase exclusive, worldwide, sublicenseable licenses. The University granted the AECase license under a patent application relating to the right to use technology related to the Company’s AEB3103 product candidate. The University granted the AEMase license under a patent relating to the right to use technology related to the Company’s AEB2109 product candidate.

For the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company paid $5,000 in annual license fees for each license agreement. For the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, there were no license fees due or paid. In January, 2017, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Patent License Agreement (the “Restated License”) with the University which consolidated the two license agreements, revised certain obligations, and licensed additional patent applications and invention disclosures to the Company.  See Note 17 regarding the terms of the Restated License.