UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
(Mark one)
For the quarterly period ended
OR
For the transition period from _________ to _________
Commission File Number
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| ||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
| (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)
(
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
| Trading Symbol(s) |
| Name of each exchange on which |
|
|
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. ☒ NO ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted 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 such files). ☒ NO ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large Accelerated Filer | ☐ |
| Accelerated Filer | ☐ |
☒ |
| Smaller Reporting Company | ||
Emerging growth company |
|
|
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). YES
Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.
Class of Common Stock |
| Outstanding Shares as of May 7, 2024 |
Class A Common Stock, $0.0001 par value |
| |
Common Stock, $0.0001 par value |
|
CHECKPOINT THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Form 10-Q
For the Quarter Ended March 31, 2024
Table of Contents
SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS
Our business is subject to risks of which you should be aware before making an investment decision. The risks described below are a summary of the principal risks associated with an investment in us and are not the only risks we face. You should carefully consider these risk factors, the risk factors described in Item 1A, and the other reports and documents that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).
Risks Related to our Finances and Capital Requirements
● | We have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will incur continued losses for the foreseeable future. We have not generated any sales revenue from our development stage products, and we do not know when, or if, we will generate any revenue from sales of an approved product. |
● | There is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, which may hinder our ability to obtain future financing. |
● | Our success is contingent upon raising additional capital for our development programs and commercialization efforts, which may fail. Even if successful, our future capital raising activities may dilute our current stockholders, restrict our operations, or require us to relinquish proprietary rights. |
● | Our limited resources may cause us to fail to capitalize on programs or product candidates presenting commercial opportunity or high likelihood of success. |
● | Weakness in the U.S. economy, including within our geographic footprint, has adversely affected us in the past and may adversely affect us in the future. |
Risks Pertaining to our Business Strategy, Structure and Organization
● | Our future growth and success depend on our ability to successfully develop and commercialize our product candidates, which we have yet to do. |
● | Our future growth depends on our acquiring or in-licensing products or product candidates and integrating such products into our business. |
Risks Inherent in Drug Development and Commercialization
● | Because results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of future results, any product candidate we advance may not have favorable results in later clinical trials. Moreover, interim, “top-line,” and preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish may change, or the perceived product profile may be impacted, as more patient data or additional endpoints are analyzed. |
● | We may not receive the required regulatory approvals for any of our product candidates on our projected timelines, if at all, which may result in increased costs and delay our ability to generate revenue. |
● | If a product candidate demonstrates lack of efficacy or adverse side effects, we may need to abandon or limit the development of such product candidate. |
● | We may not obtain the desired labeling claims or intended uses for product promotion, or favorable scheduling classifications, to successfully promote our products. |
● | Even if a product candidate is approved, it may be subject to various post-marketing requirements, including studies or clinical trials, and increased regulatory scrutiny. |
● | Our competitors have developed or may develop treatments for our products’ target indications, which could limit our product candidates’ commercial opportunity and profitability. |
● | If our products are not broadly accepted by the healthcare community, the revenues from any such product will likely be limited. |
● | Any successful products liability claim related to any of our current or future product candidates may cause us to incur substantial liability and limit the commercialization of such products. |
Risks Related to Reliance on Third Parties
● | We rely, and will rely in the future, on third-party contract research organizations and contract manufacturers for the conduct of our preclinical and clinical studies and trials, for the completion of commercial and pre-commercial manufacturing and, eventually, for commercialization. If such third parties fail to perform contractual obligations, pass regulatory inspections or re-inspections, meet deadlines, comply with applicable regulations, or if our relationships with such third parties are disrupted, our product candidates may be delayed, and our revenue potential may be limited. |
● | We rely on clinical data and results obtained by third parties, which may prove inaccurate or unreliable. |
Risks Relating to Legislation and Regulation Affecting the Biopharmaceutical and Other Industries
● | We operate in a heavily regulated industry, and we cannot predict the impact that any future legislation or administrative or executive action may have on our operations. |
● | We may be subject to anti-kickback, fraud and abuse, false claims, transparency, health information privacy and security and other healthcare laws and regulations, which could expose us to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, contractual damages, reputational harm, administrative burdens and diminished profits and future earnings. |
Risks Pertaining to Intellectual Property and Potential Disputes with Licensors Thereof
● | If we are unable to maintain sufficient patent protection for our technology and products, our competitors could develop and commercialize products similar or identical to ours, impairing our ability to successfully commercialize potential products. |
● | We or our licensors may be subject to costly and time-consuming litigation for infringement of third-party intellectual property rights or to enforce our or our licensors’ patents. |
● | Any dispute with our licensors may affect our ability to develop or commercialize our product candidates. |
Risks Relating to Our Platform and Data
● | Our business and operations would suffer in the event of computer system failures, cyber-attacks, or deficiencies in our or third parties’ cybersecurity. |
Risks Relating to Our Control by Fortress Biotech, Inc. (“Fortress”)
● | Fortress controls a voting majority of our common stock and has the right to receive significant share grants annually, which will result in dilution of our other stockholders and could reduce the value of our common stock. |
● | We have entered into certain agreements with Fortress and may have received better terms from unaffiliated third parties. |
Risks Related to Conflicts of Interest
● | We share certain directors with Fortress, which could create conflicts of interest between us and Fortress. |
Item 1. Financial Statements.
Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc.
Condensed Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
| March 31, 2024 |
| December 31, 2023 | |||
ASSETS |
|
|
|
| ||
Current Assets: |
|
|
|
| ||
Cash and cash equivalents | $ | | $ | | ||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
| |
| | ||
Total current assets |
| |
| | ||
Total Assets | $ | | $ | | ||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY |
|
|
| |||
Current Liabilities: |
|
|
| |||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | | $ | | ||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses - related party |
| |
| | ||
Common stock warrant liabilities | | | ||||
Total current liabilities |
| |
| | ||
Total Liabilities |
| |
| | ||
Commitments and Contingencies (note 5) |
|
|
| |||
Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
|
|
| |||
Common Stock ($ |
|
|
| |||
Class A common shares, |
| — |
| — | ||
Common shares, |
| |
| | ||
Common stock issuable, |
| |
| | ||
Additional paid-in capital |
| |
| | ||
Accumulated deficit |
| ( |
| ( | ||
Total Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) |
| ( |
| ( | ||
Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) | $ | | $ | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial statements.
3
Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc.
Condensed Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)
(Unaudited)
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||
|
| 2024 |
| 2023 | ||
Revenue - related party | $ | — | $ | | ||
|
| |||||
Operating expenses: |
|
| ||||
Research and development |
| |
| | ||
General and administrative |
| |
| | ||
Total operating expenses |
| | | |||
Loss from operations |
| ( | ( | |||
|
|
|
| |||
Other income: |
|
|
|
| ||
Interest income |
| | | |||
Gain on common stock warrant liabilities | — | | ||||
Foreign currency exchange loss | ( | — | ||||
Total other income |
| | | |||
Net Loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||
| ||||||
Loss per Share: |
|
|
| |||
Basic and diluted net loss per common share outstanding | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||
Basic and diluted weighted average number of common shares outstanding |
| | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial statements.
4
Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc.
Condensed Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit)
(in thousands, except share amounts)
(Unaudited)
For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2024
Common | Additional | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class A Common Shares | Common Shares | Stock | Paid-in | Accumulated | Stockholders’ | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares |
| Amount |
| Shares |
| Amount |
| Issuable |
| Capital |
| Deficit |
| Equity (Deficit) | |||||||
Balances at December 31, 2023 | | $ | — | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||||||
Issuance of common shares, net of offering costs - Registered direct offering | — |
| — | |
| |
| — | |
| — | | ||||||||||
Issuance of common shares - Founders Agreement | — | — | | — | — | | — | | ||||||||||||||
Stock-based compensation expense | — |
| — | |
| — |
| — | |
| — | | ||||||||||
Exercise of pre-funded and common stock warrants, including inducement | — | — | | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Net loss | — |
| — | — |
| — |
| — | — |
| ( | ( | ||||||||||
Balances at March 31, 2024 | |
| $ | — | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | ( |
For the Three Months Ended March 31, 2023
Common | Additional | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||
Class A Common Shares | Common Shares | Stock | Paid-in | Accumulated | Stockholders’ | |||||||||||||||||
| Shares |
| Amount |
| Shares |
| Amount |
| Issuable |
| Capital |
| Deficit |
| Equity (Deficit) | |||||||
Balances at December 31, 2022 | |
| $ | — | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | ( | |||||||
Issuance of common shares, net of offering costs - Registered direct offering | — |
| — | |
| — |
| — | |
| — | | ||||||||||
Issuance of common shares - Founders Agreement | — | — | | — | ( | | — | | ||||||||||||||
Stock-based compensation expense | — |
| — | |
| — |
| — | |
| — | | ||||||||||
Exercise of pre-funded and common stock warrants | — | — | | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
Net loss | — |
| — | — |
| — |
| — | — |
| ( | ( | ||||||||||
Balances at March 31, 2023 | |
| $ | — | | $ | | $ | — | $ | | $ | ( | $ | ( |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial statements.
5
Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc.
Condensed Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)
(Unaudited)
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||
|
| 2024 |
| 2023 | ||
Cash Flows from Operating Activities: |
| |||||
Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
|
| ||||
Stock-based compensation expense |
| | | |||
Issuance of common shares - Founders Agreement |
| | | |||
Gain on common stock warrant liabilities | — | ( | ||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
|
| ||||
Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
| ( |
| | ||
Other receivables - related party |
| — |
| | ||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses |
| |
| | ||
Accounts payable and accrued expenses - related party | | | ||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
| ( | ( | |||
Cash Flows from Financing Activities: |
|
|
| |||
Proceeds from issuance of common shares - Registered direct offerings | | | ||||
Payment of offering costs for the issuance of common shares - Registered direct offerings | ( | ( | ||||
Net cash provided by financing activities |
| | | |||
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents |
| | ( | |||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period |
| | | |||
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period | $ | | $ | | ||
Supplemental disclosure of noncash investing and financing activities: |
|
| ||||
Issuance of common shares - Founders Agreement | $ | — | $ | | ||
Issuance of common shares - Registered direct offering (offering costs incurred but not paid) | $ | | $ | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed financial statements.
6
Note 1 - Organization and Description of Business Operations
Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company” or “Checkpoint”) was incorporated in Delaware on November 10, 2014. Checkpoint is a clinical-stage immunotherapy and targeted oncology company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of novel treatments for patients with solid tumor cancers. The Company may acquire rights to these technologies by licensing the rights or otherwise acquiring an ownership interest in the technologies, funding their research and development and eventually either out-licensing or bringing the technologies to market.
The Company is a majority-controlled subsidiary of Fortress Biotech, Inc. (“Fortress”).
The Company’s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market and trades under the symbol “CKPT.”
Liquidity, Capital Resources and Going Concern
The Company has incurred substantial operating losses since its inception and expects to continue to incur significant operating losses for the foreseeable future and may never become profitable. As of March 31, 2024, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $
In February 2023, the Company closed on a registered direct offering (the “February 2023 Registered Direct Offering”) for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of
In April 2023, the Company closed on a registered direct offering (the “April 2023 Registered Direct Offering”) for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of
In May 2023, the Company closed on a registered direct offering (the “May 2023 Registered Direct Offering”) for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of
In July 2023, the Company closed on a registered direct offering (the “July 2023 Registered Direct Offering”) for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of
7
date and the Series B warrants will expire
In October 2023, the Company entered into an inducement offer letter agreement (the “October 2023 Inducement”) with a certain holder of its existing warrants to exercise for cash an aggregate of
In January 2024, the Company closed on a registered direct offering (the “January 2024 Registered Direct Offering”) for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of
The Company expects to continue to use the proceeds from previous financing transactions primarily for general corporate purposes, which may include financing the Company’s growth, developing new or existing product candidates, and funding capital expenditures, acquisitions, and investments.
In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 205-40, Going Concern, the Company evaluated whether there are conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these financial statements are issued. This evaluation initially does not take into consideration the potential mitigating effect of management’s plans that have not been fully implemented as of the date the financial statements are issued. When substantial doubt exists under this methodology, management evaluates whether the mitigating effect of its plans sufficiently alleviates substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The mitigating effect of management’s plans, however, is only considered if both (1) it is probable that the plans will be effectively implemented within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued, and (2) it is probable that the plans, when implemented, will mitigate the relevant conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these consolidated financial statements are issued. In performing its analysis, management excluded certain elements of its operating plan that cannot be considered probable. Under ASC 205-40, the future receipt of potential funding from future equity or debt issuances and other potential sources such as partnerships cannot be considered probable at this time because these plans are not entirely within the Company’s control nor have these plans been approved by the Board of Directors as of the date of these financial statements.
The Company believes that its cash and cash equivalents are only sufficient to fund its operating expenses into the third quarter of 2024, assuming no exercises of outstanding cash warrants. The Company has suffered recurring losses from operations and has a net capital deficiency that raises substantial doubt regarding the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of one year after the date that these financial statements are issued. Management’s plans to alleviate the conditions that raise substantial doubt include reduced 2024 spending, including projected savings through delaying the development timelines of certain programs and the pursuit of additional cash resources through public or private equity or debt financings and potential partnerships. Management has concluded that the likelihood that its plan to successfully obtain sufficient funding from one or more of these sources, or adequately reduce expenditures, while reasonably possible, is less than probable. Accordingly, the Company has concluded that substantial doubt exists about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date of issuance of these financial statements. The Company’s estimate as to how long it expects its existing cash to be able to continue to fund its operations is based on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and it could use its available capital resources sooner than it currently expects. Further,
8
changing circumstances, some of which may be beyond its control, could cause the Company to consume capital faster than it currently anticipates, and it may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned. The Company cannot be certain that additional funding will be available to it on acceptable terms, or at all.
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the ordinary course of business. The financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might result from the outcome of the uncertainties described above.
Note 2 - Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited interim condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X of the Exchange Act. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim condensed financial statements reflect all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the balances and results for the periods presented. They may not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. Therefore, these condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2023, which were included in the Company’s Form 10-K, and filed with the SEC on March 22, 2024. The results of operations for any interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the entire fiscal year or any other interim period.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Significant Accounting Policies
There have been no material changes in the Company’s significant accounting policies to those previously disclosed in the 2023 Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.
Research and Development Costs
Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Advance payments for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities are expensed when the activity has been performed or when the goods have been received rather than when the payment is made. Upfront and milestone payments due to third parties that perform research and development services on the Company’s behalf will be expensed as services are rendered or when the milestone is achieved.
Research and development costs primarily consist of personnel related expenses, including salaries, benefits, travel, and other related expenses, stock-based compensation, payments made to third parties for license and milestone costs related to in-licensed products and technology, payments made to third party contract research organizations for preclinical and clinical studies, investigative sites for clinical trials, consultants, the cost of acquiring and manufacturing clinical trial materials, costs associated with regulatory filings, laboratory costs and other supplies.
9
In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 730-10-25-1, Research and Development, costs incurred in obtaining technology licenses are charged to research and development expense if the technology licensed has not reached commercial feasibility and has no alternative future use. Such licenses purchased by the Company require substantial completion of research and development, regulatory and marketing approval efforts in order to reach commercial feasibility and have no alternative future use.
Annual Equity Fee
Under the Founders Agreement with Checkpoint dated March 17, 2015, and amended and restated in July 2016 and October 2017 (the “Founders Agreement”), Fortress is entitled to an annual equity fee on January 1 of each year equal to
The Company records the Annual Equity Fee in connection with the Founders Agreement with Fortress as contingent consideration. Contingent consideration is recorded when probable and reasonably estimable. Due to the nature of the Company’s assets and stage of development, future share prices and shares outstanding cannot be estimated prior to the issuance of the Annual Equity Fee. Due to these uncertainties, the Company has concluded that it is unable to reasonably estimate the contingent consideration until shares are actually issued on January 1 of each year.
Pursuant to the Founders Agreement, the Company was to issue
Stock-Based Compensation Expenses
The Company expenses stock-based compensation over the requisite service period based on the estimated grant-date fair value of the awards and forfeiture rates. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur.
The Company estimates the fair value of stock option grants using the Black-Scholes Model. The assumptions used in calculating the fair value of stock-based awards represent management’s best estimates and involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management’s judgment. All stock-based compensation costs are recorded in general and administrative or research and development costs in the Condensed Statements of Operations based upon the underlying individual’s role at the Company.
In addition, because some of the restricted stock, restricted stock units and options issued to employees, directors and consultants vest upon achievement of certain milestones, the total expense is uncertain. Compensation expense for such awards that vest upon the achievement of milestones is recognized when the achievement of such milestones is probable.
Common Stock Warrant Liability
The Company has issued freestanding warrants to purchase shares of its common stock in connection with its financing activities and accounts for them in accordance with applicable accounting guidance as either liabilities or as equity instruments depending on the specific terms of the warrant agreements. Warrants classified as liabilities are remeasured each period they are outstanding. Any resulting gain or loss related to the change in the fair value of the warrant liability is recognized in gain (loss) on common stock warrant liabilities, a component of other income (loss), in the Condensed Statements of Operations.
10
The Company estimates the fair value of common stock warrant liabilities using the Black-Scholes Model. The assumptions used in calculating the fair value represent management’s best estimates and involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management’s judgment.
Fair Value Measurement
The Company follows the accounting guidance in ASC 820 for its fair value measurements of financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis. Under this accounting guidance, fair value is defined as an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or a liability.
The accounting guidance requires fair value measurements be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:
Level 1: | Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. |
Level 2: | Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, for similar assets or liabilities that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace. |
Level 3: | Unobservable inputs which are supported by little or no market activity and that are financial instruments whose values are determined using pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies, or similar techniques, as well as instruments for which the determination of fair value requires significant judgment or estimation. |
The fair value hierarchy also requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
Certain of the Company’s financial instruments are not measured at fair value on a recurring basis but are recorded at amounts that approximate their fair value due to their liquid or short-term nature, such as accounts payable and accrued expenses.
Revenue from Contracts with Customers
The Company recognizes revenue under ASC 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”. The core principle of the standard is that a company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The following five steps are applied to achieve that core principle:
● | Step 1: Identify the contract with the customer. |
● | Step 2: Identify the performance obligations in the contract. |
● | Step 3: Determine the transaction price. |
● | Step 4: Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract. |
● | Step 5: Recognize revenue when the company satisfies a performance obligation. |
In order to identify the performance obligations in a contract with a customer, a company must assess the promised goods or services in the contract and identify each promised good or service that is distinct. A performance obligation meets ASC 606’s definition of a “distinct” good or service (or bundle of goods or services) if both of the following criteria are met:
● | the customer can benefit from the good or service either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer (i.e., the good or service is capable of being distinct); and |
● | the entity’s promise to transfer the good or service to the customer is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract (i.e., the promise to transfer the good or service is distinct within the context of the contract). |
11
If a good or service is not distinct, the good or service is combined with other promised goods or services until a bundle of goods or services is identified that is distinct.
The transaction price is the amount of consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled in exchange for transferring promised goods or services to a customer, excluding amounts collected on behalf of third parties (for example, some sales taxes). The consideration promised in a contract with a customer may include fixed amounts, variable amounts, or both. When determining the transaction price, an entity must consider the effects of all of the following:
● | variable consideration; |
● | constraining estimates of variable consideration; |
● | the existence of a significant financing component in the contract; |
● | noncash consideration; and |
● | consideration payable to a customer. |
Variable consideration is included in the transaction price only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved.
The transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation on a relative standalone selling price basis. The transaction price allocated to each performance obligation is recognized when that performance obligation is satisfied, at a point in time or over time as appropriate.
Revenue for a sales-based or usage-based royalty promised in exchange for a license of intellectual property is recognized only when (or as) the later of the following events occurs:
a. | the subsequent sale or usage occurs; and |
b. | the performance obligation to which some or all of the sales-based or usage-based royalty has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied). |
Incremental contract costs are expensed when incurred when the amortization period of the asset that would have been recognized is one year or less; otherwise, incremental contract costs are recognized as an asset and amortized over time as services are provided to a customer.
Income Taxes
The Company records income taxes using the asset and liability method. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax effects attributable to temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective income tax bases, and operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. The Company establishes a valuation allowance if management believes it is more likely than not that the deferred tax assets will not be recovered based on an evaluation of objective verifiable evidence. For tax positions that are more likely than not to be sustained upon audit, the Company recognizes the largest amount with a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized. The Company does not recognize any portion of the benefit for tax positions that are not more likely than not to be sustained upon audit. As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the Company determined, based upon available evidence, that it is more likely than not that the net deferred tax asset will not be realized and, accordingly, has provided a full valuation allowance against its net deferred tax asset.
12
Net Loss per Share
Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net loss per share does not reflect the effect of shares of common stock to be issued upon the exercise of stock options and warrants, as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive. The following table summarizes potentially dilutive securities outstanding at March 31, 2024 and 2023 that were excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share, as they would be anti-dilutive:
March 31, | ||||
|
| 2024 |
| 2023 |
Warrants (Note 6) |
| | | |
Stock options (Note 6) |
| | | |
Unvested restricted stock awards (Note 6) | | | ||
Unvested restricted stock units (Note 6) |
| | | |
Total |
| | |
Comprehensive Loss
The Company has no components of comprehensive loss other than net loss. Thus, comprehensive loss is the same as net loss for the periods presented.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
During the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, there were no new accounting pronouncements or updates to recently issued accounting pronouncements as disclosed in the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 that affect the Company’s present or future results of operations, overall financial condition, liquidity or disclosures.
Note 3 – License Agreements
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
In March 2015, the Company entered into an exclusive license agreement with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (“Dana Farber”) to develop a portfolio of fully human immuno-oncology targeted antibodies targeting PD-L1, Glucocorticoid-induced TNFR-related protein (“GITR”) and Carbonic anhydrase IX (“CAIX”). Dana-Farber is eligible to receive payments of up to an aggregate of approximately $
In connection with the license agreement with Dana-Farber, the Company entered into a collaboration agreement with TG Therapeutics, Inc. (“TGTX”) to develop and commercialize the anti-PD-L1 and anti-GITR antibody research programs in the field of hematological malignancies, while the Company retained the right to develop and commercialize these antibodies in solid tumors. Michael Weiss, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Checkpoint and Fortress’ Executive Vice Chairman, Strategic Development, is also the Executive Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer and a stockholder of TGTX. Effective September 30, 2023, the Company and TGTX agreed to mutually terminate the collaboration agreement. For the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company recognized approximately $
Adimab, LLC
In October 2015, Fortress entered into a collaboration agreement with Adimab, LLC (“Adimab”) to discover and optimize antibodies using their proprietary core technology platform. Under this agreement, Adimab optimized cosibelimab, the Company’s anti-PD-L1 antibody which it originally licensed from Dana-Farber. In January 2019, Fortress transferred the rights to the optimized antibody to the
13
Company, and Checkpoint entered into a collaboration agreement directly with Adimab on the same day. Under the terms of the agreement, Adimab is eligible to receive additional payments from the Company of up to an aggregate of approximately $
In February 2023 the Company expensed a non-refundable milestone payment of $
NeuPharma, Inc.
In March 2015, Fortress entered into an exclusive license agreement with NeuPharma, Inc. (“NeuPharma”) to develop and commercialize novel irreversible, 3rd generation EGFR inhibitors, including olafertinib, on a worldwide basis other than certain Asian countries. On the same date, Fortress assigned all of its right and interest in the EGFR inhibitors to the Company. NeuPharma is eligible to receive additional payments of up to an aggregate of approximately $
Jubilant Biosys Limited
In May 2016, the Company entered into a license agreement with Jubilant Biosys Limited (“Jubilant”), whereby the Company obtained an exclusive, worldwide license to Jubilant’s family of patents covering compounds that inhibit BET proteins such as BRD4, including CK-103. Jubilant is eligible to receive payments up to an aggregate of approximately $
In connection with the license agreement with Jubilant, the Company entered into a sublicense agreement with TGTX, a related party, to develop and commercialize the compounds licensed in the field of hematological malignancies, while the Company retained the right to develop and commercialize these compounds in the field of solid tumors. Effective September 30, 2023, the Company and TGTX agreed to mutually terminate the sublicense agreement. For the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company recognized approximately $
The collaborations with TGTX each contained single material performance obligations under Topic 606, which was the granting of a license that is functional intellectual property. The Company’s performance obligations were satisfied at the point in time when TGTX had the ability to use and benefit from the right to use the intellectual property. The performance obligations of the original agreements were satisfied prior to the adoption of Topic 606. The performance obligation of the amendment to the collaboration agreement was satisfied in June 2019.
Note 4 – Related Party Agreements
Founders Agreement and Management Services Agreement with Fortress
Effective March 17, 2015, the Company entered into a Founders Agreement with Fortress, which was amended in July 2016 and October 2017. The Founders Agreement provides, that in exchange for the time and capital expended in the formation of Checkpoint and the identification of specific assets the acquisition of which resulted in the formation of a viable emerging growth life science company, the Company shall: (i) issue annually to Fortress, on January 1 of each year, shares of common stock equal to two and one-half percent (
14
control in Checkpoint’s voting equity, equal to two and one-half percent (
Effective March 17, 2015, the Company entered into a Management Services Agreement (the “MSA”) with Fortress. Pursuant to the terms of the MSA, for a period of five (
Caribe BioAdvisors, LLC
In December 2016, the Company entered into an advisory agreement effective January 1, 2017 with Caribe BioAdvisors, LLC (“Caribe”), owned by Michael Weiss, to provide the advisory services of Mr. Weiss as Chairman of the Board. Pursuant to the agreement, Caribe will be paid an annual cash fee of $
Note 5 – Commitments and Contingencies
Leases
The Company is not a party to any leases for office space or equipment.
License Agreements
The Company has undertaken to make contingent milestone payments to the licensors of its portfolio of product candidates. In addition, the Company would pay royalties to such licensors based on a percentage of net sales of each product candidate following regulatory marketing approval (See Note 3).
Litigation
The Company recognizes a liability for a contingency when it is probable that liability has been incurred and when the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. When a range of probable loss can be estimated, the Company accrues the most likely amount of such loss, and if such amount is not determinable, then the Company accrues the minimum of the range of probable loss. The Company expenses legal costs as they are incurred.
15
The Company and certain of its executive officers have been named as defendants in a consolidated putative stockholder class action lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The action is styled Moore v. Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc., et al., No. 1:24-cv-02613-PAE (the “Securities Class Action”). The Complaint in the Securities Class Action (the “Complaint”), which was filed on April 5, 2024, alleges that defendants violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and SEC Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by making false and misleading statements and omissions, and the Complaint alleges that the executive officers named as defendants are control persons under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act. The Complaint was filed on behalf of stockholders who purchased shares of the Company’s common stock between March 10, 2021 and December 15, 2023, and the Complaint seeks, among other things, monetary damages on behalf of the purported class.
The Company has been named as a nominal defendant and certain of its current and former directors and executive officers have been named as defendants in a derivative lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The action is styled Geary v. Oliviero, et al., No. 1:24-cv-03471 (the “Derivative Action”). The Complaint in the Derivative Action, which was filed on May 6, 2024, asserts claims against all defendants under Delaware law for, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty, claims against all defendants under Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act, and claims for contribution under the federal securities laws against certain of the defendants.
The Company is reviewing the Complaint and Derivative Action and has not yet formally responded to them but believes that both allegations are without merit and intends to defend itself and its directors and executive officers vigorously. There is no assurance, however, that the Company or the other defendants will be successful in their defense of either of these allegations or that the Company’s insurance policy coverage will be available or adequate to fund any settlement or judgment or the litigation costs of these actions. Moreover, the Company is unable to predict the outcome or reasonably estimate a range of possible losses at this time.
Note 6 – Stockholders’ Equity
Common Stock
At the Company’s 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on June 12, 2023, its stockholders approved an amendment to its certificate of incorporation to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock available to issue by
As of March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, there were
Registered Direct Offerings
In November 2020, the Company filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (the “November 2020 Form S-3”), which was declared effective in December 2020 (File No. 333-251005). Under the November 2020 Form S-3, the Company may sell up to a total of $
In February 2023, the Company closed on the February 2023 Registered Direct Offering for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of
16
price of $
In April 2023, the Company closed on the April 2023 Registered Direct Offering for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of
The November 2020 Form S-3 expired in December 2023.
In March 2023, the Company filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (the “March 2023 Form S-3”), which was declared effective May 5, 2023 (File No. 333-270843). Under the March 2023 Form S-3, the Company may sell up to a total of $
In May 2023, the Company closed on the May 2023 Registered Direct Offering for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of
In July 2023, the Company closed on the July 2023 Registered Direct Offering for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of
17
Series B warrants will expire
In January 2024, the Company closed on the January 2024 Registered Direct Offering for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of
As of March 31, 2024, approximately $
The Company may offer the securities under the Form S-3’s from time to time in response to market conditions or other circumstances if it believes such a plan of financing is in the best interests of its stockholders.
Warrant Inducement
In October 2023, the Company entered into the October 2023 Inducement with a certain holder of its existing warrants to exercise for cash an aggregate of
Upon the close of the transaction, the Company issued the holder
18
Shares Issued Under the Founders Agreement
Pursuant to the Founders Agreement, the Company issued
Pursuant to the Founders Agreement, the Company issued to Fortress
Pursuant to the Founders Agreement, the Company was to issue
Pursuant to the Founders Agreement, the Company issued to Fortress
Equity Incentive Plan
The Company has in effect the Amended and Restated 2015 Incentive Plan (“2015 Incentive Plan”). The 2015 Incentive Plan was adopted in March 2015 by our stockholders. Under the 2015 Incentive Plan, the compensation committee of the Company’s board of directors is authorized to grant stock-based awards to directors, officers, employees and consultants. An amendment to the 2015 Incentive Plan was approved by stockholders in June 2023 to increase the shares available for issuance to
As of March 31, 2024,
Restricted Stock Awards
Certain employees, directors and consultants have been awarded restricted stock. The restricted stock vesting consists of milestone and time-based vesting. The following table summarizes restricted stock award activity for the three months ended March 31, 2024:
Weighted Average | |||||
Number of | Grant Date Fair | ||||
| Shares |
| Value | ||
Non-vested at December 31, 2023 | | $ | | ||
Granted | | | |||
Forfeited | ( | | |||
Vested | ( | | |||
Non-vested at March 31, 2024 | | $ | |
As of March 31, 2024, there was $
19
Restricted Stock Units
The following table summarizes restricted stock units activity for the three months ended March 31, 2024:
|
| Weighted Average | |||
Number of | Grant Date Fair | ||||
Shares | Value | ||||
Non-vested at December 31, 2023 |
| | $ | | |
Forfeited | ( | | |||
Non-vested at March 31, 2024 |
| | $ | |
As of March 31, 2024, all restricted stock units outstanding are performance-based and vest upon achievement of certain corporate milestones. The expense for milestone awards will be measured and recorded if and when it is probable that the milestone will be achieved.
Stock Options
The following table summarizes stock option award activity for the three months ended March 31, 2024:
Weighted Average | |||||||
Remaining | |||||||
Weighted Average | Contractual Life | ||||||
| Stock Options |
| Exercise Price |
| (in years) | ||
Outstanding as of December 31, 2023 | | $ | | ||||
Outstanding as of March 31, 2024 | | $ | | ||||
Vested and exercisable as of March 31, 2024 | | $ | |
Upon the exercise of stock options, the Company will issue new shares of its common stock.The Company used the Black-Scholes Model for determining the estimated fair value of stock-based compensation related to stock options.
Warrants
A summary of warrant activities for the three months ended March 31, 2024 is presented below:
Weighted Average | |||||||
Remaining | |||||||
Weighted Average | Contractual Life | ||||||
| Warrants |
| Exercise Price |
| (in years) | ||
Outstanding as of December 31, 2023 | | $ | | ||||
Granted | | | |||||
Exercised | ( | | |||||
Outstanding as of March 31, 2024 | | $ | |
Upon the exercise of warrants, the Company will issue new shares of its common stock.
20
Stock-Based Compensation
The following table summarizes stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023 ($ in thousands):
For the three months ended March 31, | ||||||
|
| 2024 |
| 2023 | ||
Research and development | $ | | $ | | ||
General and administrative |
| | | |||
Total stock-based compensation expense | $ | | $ | |
Note 7 – Common Stock Warrant Liabilities
On December 16, 2022, the Company closed on an offering for the sale of shares of its common stock and pre-funded warrants as part of a registered direct offering. The common stock and the pre-funded warrants were sold together with Series A and Series B common stock warrants. The Company also issued the placement agent warrants to purchase shares of common stock as part of the offering. After the October 2023 Inducement, only the placement agent warrants remained outstanding from this offering.
The Company accounts for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity and ASC 815-40, Derivatives and Hedging - Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity. For warrants that meet all of the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded as a component of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance. For warrants that do not meet all the criteria for equity classification, the warrants are required to be recorded at their initial fair value on the date of issuance, and each balance sheet date thereafter.
The Company deemed the placement agent warrants issued in December 2022 to be classified as liabilities on the balance sheet as they contain terms for redemption of the underlying security that are outside its control. The warrants were recorded at the time of closing at a fair value, determined by using the Black-Scholes Model, and will be revalued at each reporting period thereafter for as long as they remain outstanding. The Company revalued the warrants at March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, resulting in a fair value of approximately $
Common Stock | |||
Warrant | |||
| Liabilities | ||
Common Stock Warrant liabilities at December 31, 2023 |
| $ | |
Change in fair value of Common Stock Warrant liabilities | — | ||
Common Stock Warrant liabilities at March 31, 2024 | $ | |
The Company used the Black-Scholes Model for determining the estimated fair value of the common stock warrant liabilities. A summary of the weighted average (in aggregate) significant unobservable inputs used in measuring the warrant liability is determined using Level 3 inputs as follows:
| March 31, |
| December 31, |
| |||
2024 | 2023 |
| |||||
Exercise price | $ | | $ | | |||
Volatility |
| | % |
| | % | |
Expected life |
| |
| | |||
Risk-free rate |
| | % |
| | % | |
Dividend yield |
| — |
| — |
21
Note 8 - Accounts Payable and Accrued Expenses
At March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, accounts payable and accrued expenses consisted of the following ($ in thousands):
March 31, | December 31, | |||||
|
| 2024 |
| 2023 | ||
Accounts payable | $ | | $ | | ||
Accrued compensation | |
| | |||
Accrued Research and development |
| |
| | ||
Other |
| |
| | ||
Total accounts payable and accrued expenses | $ | | $ | |
22
Item 2. Financial Information.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in the following discussion and throughout this report that are not historical in nature are “forward-looking statements.” You can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “intend,” “believe,” and similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Although we believe the expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements are inherently subject to significant risks and uncertainties and we can give no assurances that our expectations will prove to be correct. Actual results could differ materially from those described in this report because of numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control. These factors include, without limitation, those described under Item 1A “Risk Factors.” We undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this report or to reflect actual outcomes.
Overview
We are a clinical-stage immunotherapy and targeted oncology company focused on the acquisition, development and commercialization of novel treatments for patients with solid tumor cancers. We are evaluating our lead antibody product candidate, cosibelimab, an anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (“PD-L1”) antibody licensed from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, in an ongoing global, open-label, multicohort Phase 1 clinical trial in checkpoint therapy-naïve patients with selected recurrent or metastatic cancers, including ongoing cohorts in locally advanced and metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (“CSCC”) intended to support one or more applications for marketing approval. Based on top-line and interim results in metastatic and locally advanced CSCC, respectively, we submitted a Biologics License Application (“BLA”) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) for these indications in January 2023. On December 15, 2023, the FDA issued a complete response letter (“CRL”) for the cosibelimab BLA for the treatment of patients with metastatic or locally advanced CSCC who are not candidates or curative surgery or radiation. The CRL only cites findings that arose during a multi-sponsor inspection of our third-party contract manufacturing organization as approvability issues to address in a resubmission. Checkpoint intends to seek to address the issues raised in the CRL in a potential BLA resubmission. In addition, we are evaluating our lead small-molecule, targeted anti-cancer agent, olafertinib, a third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (“EGFR”) inhibitor, as a potential new treatment for patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (“NSCLC”).
In January 2022, we announced top-line results from a registration-enabling cohort of our multi-regional, Phase 1 clinical trial of cosibelimab in patients with metastatic CSCC. The cohort met its primary endpoint, with cosibelimab demonstrating a confirmed objective response rate (“ORR”) of 47.4% (95% CI: 36.0, 59.1) based on independent central review of 78 patients enrolled in the metastatic CSCC cohort using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors version 1.1 (“RECIST 1.1”).
In June 2022, we announced interim results from a registration-enabling cohort of our multi-regional, Phase 1 clinical trial of cosibelimab in patients with locally advanced CSCC that are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation. Cosibelimab demonstrated a confirmed ORR of 54.8% (95% CI: 36.0, 72.7) based on independent central review of 31 patients enrolled in the cohort.
In July 2023, we announced longer-term results for cosibelimab from its pivotal studies in locally advanced and metastatic CSCC. These results demonstrated a deepening of response over time, resulting in complete response rates of 26% and 13% in locally advanced and metastatic CSCC, respectively. Additionally, the confirmed ORR in metastatic CSCC increased to 50.0% based on independent central review using RECIST 1.1. Furthermore, responses continue to remain durable over time with the median duration of response not yet reached in either group. Updated safety data across 247 patients enrolled and treated with cosibelimab in all cohorts of the ongoing study remain consistent with those previously reported.
To date, we have not received approval for the sale of any product candidate in any market and, therefore, have not generated any product sales from any product candidates. In addition, we have incurred substantial operating losses since our inception, and expect to continue to incur significant operating losses for the foreseeable future and may never become profitable. As of March 31, 2024, we have an accumulated deficit of $325.3 million.
We are a majority-controlled subsidiary of Fortress.
23
Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc. was incorporated in Delaware on November 10, 2014 and commenced principal operations in March 2015. Our executive offices are located at 95 Sawyer Road, Suite 110, Waltham, MA 02453. Our telephone number is (781) 652-4500 and our email address is ir@checkpointtx.com.
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our financial statements. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis, including, but not limited to, those related to research and development expenses, accrued research and development expenses and stock-based compensation. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
For a discussion of our critical accounting estimates, see the MD&A in the 2023 Form 10-K. There were no material changes in our critical accounting estimates or accounting policies from December 31, 2023.
Accounting Pronouncements
During the three-month period ended March 31, 2024, there were no new accounting pronouncements or updates to recently issued accounting pronouncements disclosed in the 2023 Form 10-K that are expected to materially affect the Company’s present or future financial statements.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 and 2023
Revenue
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, we recognized no revenue due to the September 30, 2023 termination of our collaborations with TG Therapeutics, Inc. (“TGTX”). For the three months ended March 31, 2023, revenue was approximately $35,000. The prior period revenue consisted of patent fees related to our collaborations with TGTX.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses primarily consist of personnel related expenses, including salaries, benefits, travel, and other related expenses, stock-based compensation, payments made to third parties for license and milestone costs related to in-licensed products and technology, payments made to third party CROs for preclinical and clinical studies, investigative sites for clinical trials, consultants, the cost of acquiring and manufacturing clinical trial materials, costs associated with regulatory filings and patents, laboratory costs and other supplies.
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, research and development expenses were approximately $8.5 million, compared to $15.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, a decrease of $7.3 million. The current period research and development expenses primarily consisted of $4.4 million related to commercial manufacturing costs and inventory build, which is expensed prior to approval, to support a potential launch of cosibelimab, $1.3 million related to clinical costs for the CK-301-101 study, $1.5 million related to salary expenses, and $0.5 million related to stock compensation expense. The prior period research and development expenses primarily consisted of $5.7 million related to manufacturing costs for cosibelimab for commercial manufacturing preparation and inventory build, $3.4 million related to regulatory expenses, including $3.2 million for the PDUFA fee to the FDA for the BLA filing for cosibelimab, $2.3 million in license fees due upon the FDA filing acceptance of the BLA for cosibelimab, $2.1 million related to clinical costs for cosibelimab, $1.3 million related to salary expenses, and $0.4 million related to stock compensation expense.
We anticipate our research and development expenses will decrease for the remainder of 2024 due to decreased manufacture of cosibelimab drug substance and decreased clinical costs for our product candidates.
24
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and related expenses, including stock-based compensation, for executives and other administrative personnel, recruitment expenses, professional fees and other corporate expenses, including investor relations, legal activities, marketing and facilities-related expenses.
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, general and administrative expenses were approximately $2.5 million, compared to $2.3 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023, an increase of $0.2 million. The current period general and administrative expenses primarily consisted of stock compensation expense of $0.2 million, $0.4 million related to salary expenses, $0.6 million related to legal and accounting fees, $0.1 million related to investor relation fees, $0.1 million related to marketing costs, and $0.4 million related to our issuance of shares to Fortress pursuant to the Founders Agreement in connection with the sale of shares of our common stock. The prior period general and administrative expenses primarily consisted of stock compensation expense of $0.6 million, $0.4 million related to salary expenses, $0.5 million related to legal and accounting fees, $0.1 million related to investor relation fees, and $0.2 million related to our issuance of shares to Fortress pursuant to the Founders Agreement in connection with the sale of shares of our common stock.
We anticipate our general and administrative expenses will remain relatively consistent for the remainder of 2024.
Other Income
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, interest income was approximately $4,000 compared to approximately $43,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2023, a decrease of approximately $39,000. The decrease was primarily due to our cash balances between the periods.
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, there was no change in the value of common stock warrant liabilities compared to December 31, 2023. For the three months ended March 31, 2023, the gain on common stock warrant liabilities was approximately $7.6 million. The gain on common stock warrant liabilities is comprised of the fair value remeasurement of the common stock warrant liabilities on March 31, 2023 associated with the registered direct offering we completed in December 2022. We account for warrants as either equity-classified or liability-classified instruments based on an assessment of the warrant’s specific terms and applicable authoritative guidance in ASC 480 and ASC 815. The assessment considers whether the warrants are freestanding financial instruments pursuant to ASC 480, meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480, and whether the warrants meet all of the requirements for equity classification under ASC 815, including whether the warrants are indexed to the Company’s own common stock, among other conditions for equity classification. This assessment, which requires the use of professional judgment, is conducted at the time of warrant issuance and as of each subsequent quarterly period end date while the warrants are outstanding.
For the three months ended March 31, 2024, foreign currency exchange loss was approximately $1,000, which is comprised of the currency fluctuation when purchasing goods and services in another currency relative to the United States dollar.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
We have incurred substantial operating losses since our inception and expect to continue to incur significant operating losses for the foreseeable future and may never become profitable. As of March 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $325.3 million.
In February 2023, we closed on a registered direct offering (the “February 2023 Registered Direct Offering”) for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of 1,428,572 shares of our common stock at a purchase price of $5.25 per share. In addition, the offering included 248,572 shares of common stock in the form of pre-funded warrants at a price of $5.2499. In a concurrent private placement, we issued and sold Series A warrants to purchase up to 1,428,572 shares of common stock and Series B warrants to purchase up to 1,428,572 shares of common stock. The Series A and B warrants are exercisable immediately upon issuance with an exercise price of $5.00 per share. The Series A warrants will expire five years following the issuance date and the Series B warrants will expire eighteen months following the issuance date. The total gross proceeds from the offering were approximately $7.5 million with net proceeds of approximately $6.7 million after deducting approximately $0.8 million in commissions and other transaction costs. In February 2023, the pre-funded warrants from the February 2023 Registered Direct Offering were fully exercised. In October 2023, the Series A and Series B warrants from the February 2023 Registered Direct Offering were fully exercised at a reduced exercise price of $1.76 per share as part of the October 2023 inducement offer letter agreement (see below).
25
In April 2023, we closed on a registered direct offering (the “April 2023 Registered Direct Offering”) for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of 1,700,000 shares of our common stock at a purchase price of $3.60 per share. In a concurrent private placement, we issued and sold Series A warrants to purchase up to 1,700,000 shares of common stock and Series B warrants to purchase up to 1,700,000 shares of common stock. The Series A and B warrants are exercisable immediately upon issuance with an exercise price of $3.35 per share. The Series A warrants will expire five years following the issuance date and the Series B warrants will expire eighteen months following the issuance date. The total gross proceeds from the offering were approximately $6.1 million with net proceeds of approximately $5.5 million after deducting approximately $0.6 million in commissions and other transaction costs.
In May 2023, we closed on a registered direct offering (the “May 2023 Registered Direct Offering”) for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of 1,650,000 shares of our common stock at a purchase price of $3.071 per share. In addition, the offering included 1,606,269 shares of common stock in the form of pre-funded warrants at a price of $3.0709. The common stock and the pre-funded warrants were sold together with Series A warrants to purchase up to 3,256,269 shares of common stock and Series B warrants to purchase up to 3,256,269 shares of common stock. The Series A and B warrants are exercisable immediately upon issuance with an exercise price of $2.821 per share. The Series A warrants will expire five years following the issuance date and the Series B warrants will expire eighteen months following the issuance date. The total gross proceeds from the offering were approximately $10.0 million with net proceeds of approximately $9.1 million after deducting approximately $0.9 million in commissions and other transaction costs. In August 2023, the pre-funded warrants from the May 2023 Registered Direct Offering were fully exercised.
In July 2023, we closed on a registered direct offering (the “July 2023 Registered Direct Offering”) for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of 2,427,186 shares of our common stock at a purchase price of $3.09 per share. In addition, the offering included 809,062 shares of common stock in the form of pre-funded warrants at a price of $3.0899. The common stock and the pre-funded warrants were sold together with Series A warrants to purchase up to 3,236,248 shares of common stock and Series B warrants to purchase up to 3,236,248 shares of common stock. The Series A and B warrants are exercisable immediately upon issuance with an exercise price of $2.84 per share. The Series A warrants will expire five years following the issuance date and the Series B warrants will expire eighteen months following the issuance date. The total gross proceeds from the offering were approximately $10.0 million with net proceeds of approximately $9.1 million after deducting approximately $0.9 million in commissions and other transaction costs. In September 2023, the pre-funded warrants from the July 2023 Registered Direct Offering were fully exercised.
In October 2023, we entered into an inducement offer letter agreement (the “October 2023 Inducement”) with a certain holder of our existing warrants to exercise for cash an aggregate of 6,325,354 shares of our common stock at a reduced exercise price of $1.76 per share. The warrants were issued to the holder on December 16, 2022 with an exercise price of $4.075 per share and on February 22, 2023 with an exercise price of $5.00 per share as part of registered direct offerings. As part of the inducement, we agreed to issue new unregistered Series A warrants to purchase up to 6,325,354 shares of Common Stock and new unregistered Series B warrants to purchase up to 6,325,354 shares of Common Stock (collectively, the “October 2023 Common Stock Warrants”). The Series A and B warrants are exercisable immediately upon issuance with an exercise price of $1.51 per share. The Series A warrants will expire five years following the issuance date and the Series B warrants will expire twenty-four months following the issuance date. The total gross proceeds from the exercise were approximately $11.1 million with net proceeds of approximately $10.0 million after deducting approximately $1.1 million in commissions and other transaction costs. Upon the close of the transaction, we issued the holder 110,000 of the 6,325,354 shares of common stock that were issuable upon exercise of the existing warrants. Due to the beneficial ownership limitation provisions in the inducement offer letter agreement, the remaining 6,215,354 shares were initially unissued, and held in abeyance for the benefit of the holder until notice from the holder that the shares may be issued in compliance with the agreement. In January 2024, the final shares held in abeyance were issued to the holder.
In January 2024, we closed on a registered direct offering (the “January 2024 Registered Direct Offering”) for the issuance and sale of an aggregate of 1,275,000 shares of our common stock at a purchase price of $1.805 per share of common stock. In addition, the offering included 6,481,233 shares of common stock in the form of pre-funded warrants at a price of $1.8049. The common stock and the pre-funded warrants were sold together with common warrants (the “January 2024 Common Stock Warrants”) to purchase up to 7,756,233 shares of common stock. The January 2024 Common Stock Warrants are exercisable immediately upon issuance with an exercise price of $1.68 per share and will expire five years following the issuance date. The total gross proceeds from the January 2024 Registered Direct Offering were approximately $14.0 million with net proceeds of approximately $12.8 million after deducting approximately $1.2 million in commissions and other transaction costs. As of May 7, 2024, 2,656,000 pre-funded warrants from the January 2024 Registered Direct Offering were fully exercised.
26
Our major sources of cash have been proceeds from the sale of equity securities. We expect to use these proceeds primarily for general corporate purposes, which may include financing our growth, developing new or existing product candidates, and funding capital expenditures, acquisitions and investments.
We believe that our cash and cash equivalents are only sufficient to fund our operating expenses into the third quarter of 2024, assuming no exercises of outstanding cash warrants. We will need to secure additional funds through equity or debt offerings, or other potential sources such as partnerships to fully develop and commercialize, if approved, our product candidates. Our estimate as to how long we expect our existing cash to be able to continue to fund our operations is based on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Further, changing circumstances, some of which may be beyond our control, could cause us to consume capital faster than we currently anticipate, and we may need to seek additional funds sooner than planned. We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. These factors individually and collectively raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern.
Cash Flows for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2024 and 2023
Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities was approximately $6.5 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to approximately $14.0 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. The decrease in net cash used in operating activities was primarily related to a reduction in manufacturing, regulatory and licensing fees for cosibelimab in the current period.
Investing Activities
There were no investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was $12.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2024, compared to $6.8 million for the three months ended March 31, 2023. Cash provided by financing activities in the current period was related to the net proceeds from the issuance of common shares as part of our January 2024 Registered Direct Offering. The prior period amount was related to the net proceeds from the issuance of common shares as part of our February 2023 Registered Direct Offering.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information otherwise required under this item.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain “disclosure controls and procedures,” as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in Securities and Exchange Commission rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
The design of any disclosure controls and procedures also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
With respect to the quarter ended March 31, 2024, under the supervision and with the participation of our management, we conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operations of our disclosure controls and procedures. Based upon this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective. Management does not expect that our internal control over financial reporting will prevent or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the
27
control systems are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, no evaluation of internal control over financial reporting can provide absolute assurance that misstatements due to error or fraud will not occur or that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, have been or will be detected.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting:
There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2024 which have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Part II. Other Information
Item 1. Legal Proceedings.
We and certain of our executive officers have been named as defendants in a consolidated putative stockholder class action lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The action is styled Moore v. Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc., et al., No. 1:24-cv-02613-PAE (the “Securities Class Action”). The Complaint in the Securities Class Action (the “Complaint”), which was filed on April 5, 2024, alleges that defendants violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and SEC Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by making false and misleading statements and omissions, and the Complaint alleges that the executive officers named as defendants are control persons under Section 20(a) of the Exchange Act. The Complaint was filed on behalf of stockholders who purchased shares of the Company’s common stock between March 10, 2021 and December 15, 2023, and the Complaint seeks, among other things, monetary damages on behalf of the purported class.
We have been named as a nominal defendant and certain of our current and former directors and executive officers have been named as defendants in a derivative lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. The action is styled Geary v. Oliviero, et al., No. 1:24-cv-03471 (the “Derivative Action”). The Complaint in the Derivative Action, which was filed on May 6, 2024, asserts claims against all defendants under Delaware law for, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty, claims against all defendants under Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act, and claims for contribution under the federal securities laws against certain of the defendants.
We intend to defend ourselves and our directors and executive officers vigorously.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
The following information sets forth risk factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements we have made in this report and those we may make from time to time. You should carefully consider the risks described below, in addition to the other information contained in this report and our other public filings, before making an investment decision. Our business, financial condition or results of operations could be harmed by any of these risks. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or other factors not perceived by us to present significant risks to our business at this time also may impair our business operations.
Risks Related to Our Finances and Capital Requirements
We have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will incur continued losses for the foreseeable future. We may never achieve or maintain profitability.
We have a limited operating history, and we have focused primarily on in-licensing and developing our product candidates, with the goal of supporting regulatory approval for these product candidates. We have incurred losses since our inception in November 2014 and have an accumulated deficit of $325.3 million as of March 31, 2024. We expect to continue to incur significant operating losses for the foreseeable future. We also do not anticipate that we will achieve profitability for a period of time after generating material revenues, if ever. If we are unable to generate revenues, we will not become profitable and may be unable to continue operations without continued funding. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing pharmaceutical products, we are unable to predict
28
the timing or amount of increased expenses or when or if, we will be able to achieve profitability. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if:
● | one or more of our product candidates are submitted for marketing approval, as is the case with cosibelimab, or are approved for commercial sale, due to our need to establish the necessary commercial infrastructure to launch this product candidate without substantial delays, including manufacturing to build pre-commercial inventory, hiring sales and marketing personnel and contracting with third parties for warehousing, distribution, cash collection and related commercial activities; |
● | we are required by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities, to perform studies in addition to those currently expected; |
● | we initiate one or more clinical trials to pursue additional indications for our product candidates, or if there are any delays in completing our clinical trials or the development of any of our product candidates; |
● | we execute other collaborative, licensing or similar arrangements and the timing of payments we may make or receive under these arrangements; |
● | there are variations in the level of expenses related to our current and future development programs; |
● | there are any product liability or intellectual property infringement lawsuits in which we may become involved; |
● | there are any regulatory developments affecting product candidates of our competitors; and |
● | one or more of our product candidates receives regulatory approval. |
Our ability to become profitable depends upon our ability to generate revenue. To date, we have not generated any revenue from the sale of our development stage products, and we do not know when, or if, we will generate any revenue. To obtain revenues from sales of our product candidates, we must succeed, either alone or with third parties, in developing, obtaining regulatory approval for, manufacturing and marketing products with commercial potential. Our ability to generate revenue depends on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, our ability to:
● | obtain regulatory approval for one or more of our product candidates, or any future product candidate that we may license or acquire; |
● | manufacture commercial quantities of one or more of our product candidates or any future product candidate, if approved, at acceptable cost levels; and |
● | develop a commercial organization and the supporting infrastructure required to successfully market and sell one or more of our product candidates or any future product candidate, if approved. |
Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to become and remain profitable would depress the value of our company and could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business, maintain our research and development efforts, diversify our product offerings or even continue our operations. A decline in the value of our company could also cause you to lose all or part of your investment.
We will require substantial additional funding which may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we fail to raise the necessary additional capital, we may be unable to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates, or continue our development programs.
Our operations have consumed substantial amounts of cash since inception. We expect to significantly increase our spending to advance the preclinical and clinical development, and resulting regulatory approval request submissions, of our product candidates and launch and commercialize any product candidates for which we may receive regulatory approval, including building a commercial organization to address certain markets. We will require additional capital for the further development and, if approved, commercialization of our product candidates, as well as to fund our other operating expenses and capital expenditures. We believe, assuming no business or corporate development transactions are consummated, and that no outstanding cash warrants are exercised, that our cash and cash equivalents are only sufficient to fund our operating expenses into the third quarter of 2024. Accordingly, we intend to continue our active discussions with third party pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to evaluate potential partnerships or other types of corporate development transactions, including strategic mergers.
We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or, if approved, commercialization of one or more of our product candidates. We may also seek collaborators for one or more of our current
29
or future product candidates at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable or on terms that are less favorable than might otherwise be available. Any of these events could significantly harm our business, financial condition and prospects.
Our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:
● | the timing, design and conduct of, and results from, preclinical studies and clinical trials for our product candidates; |
● | the timing and process of regulatory approval reviews and potential delays in our efforts to seek regulatory approval for our product candidates, and any costs associated with such delays; |
● | the costs of establishing a commercial organization to sell, market and distribute our product candidates; |
● | the rate of progress and costs of our efforts to prepare for the submission or resubmission of an NDA or BLA for any of our product candidates or any product candidates that we may in-license or acquire in the future, and the potential that we may need to conduct additional clinical trials to support applications for regulatory approval; |
● | the costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights associated with our product candidates, including any such costs we may be required to expend if our licensors are unwilling or unable to do so; |
● | the cost and timing of securing sufficient supplies of our product candidates from our third-party manufacturers for clinical trials and in preparation for commercialization; |
● | the effect of competing technological and market developments; |
● | the terms and timing of any collaborative, licensing, co-promotion or other arrangements that we may establish; |
● | the costs associated with litigation, adverse remedy judgments and/or settlements, including with respect to the Securities Class Action, the Derivative Action and any future actions that may be brought against the Company; |
● | if one or more of our product candidates are approved, the potential that we may be required to file a lawsuit to defend our patent rights or regulatory exclusivities from challenges by companies seeking to market generic versions of one or more of our product candidates; and |
● | the success of the commercialization of one or more of our product candidates, if approved. |
Future capital requirements will also depend on the extent to which we acquire or invest in additional complementary businesses, products and technologies, but we currently have no commitments or agreements relating to any of these types of transactions.
In order to carry out our business plan and implement our strategy, we anticipate that we will need to obtain additional financing from time to time and may choose to raise additional funds through strategic collaborations, licensing arrangements, public or private equity or debt financing, bank lines of credit, asset sales, government grants, or other arrangements. We are also engaging in discussions with third party pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to evaluate potential partnerships or other types of corporate development transactions, including a strategic merger. We cannot be sure that any additional funding, if needed, partnership or any other type of corporate development transaction, will be available on terms favorable to us or at all. Furthermore, any additional equity or equity-related financing, or equity that may be issued or sold in a corporate development transaction, may be dilutive to our stockholders, and debt or equity financing, if available, may subject us to restrictive covenants and significant interest costs. If we obtain funding through a strategic collaboration, merger, or licensing arrangement, we may be required to relinquish our rights to certain of our product candidates or marketing territories.
Our inability to raise capital when needed would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations, and could cause our stock price to decline or require that we wind down our operations altogether.
There is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, which may hinder our ability to obtain future financing.
Our unaudited condensed financial statements as of March 31, 2024 have been prepared under the assumption that we will continue as a going concern for the next twelve months. We do not believe that our cash and cash equivalents are sufficient for the next twelve months after the date that our financial statements are issued. As a result of our financial condition and other factors described herein, there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. Our ability to continue as a going concern will depend on our ability to obtain additional funding, as to which no assurances can be given. We continue to analyze various alternatives, including potentially obtaining debt or equity financings or other arrangements. Our future success depends on our ability to raise capital. We cannot be certain that raising additional capital, whether through selling additional debt or equity securities or obtaining a line of credit or other loan, will be available to us or, if available, will be on terms acceptable to us. If we issue additional securities to raise funds,
30
these securities may have rights, preferences, or privileges senior to those of our common stock, and our current shareholders may experience dilution. If we are unable to obtain funds when needed or on acceptable terms, we may be required to curtail our current development programs, cut operating costs, forego future development and other opportunities or even terminate our operations. Additionally, we intend to continue our active discussions with third party pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to evaluate potential partnerships or other types of corporate development transactions, including strategic mergers.
Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our existing stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish proprietary rights.
Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenue, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, grants and license and development agreements in connection with any collaborations. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a stockholder. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends.
If we raise additional funds through collaborations, mergers, strategic alliances or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.
We are a “smaller reporting company,” which means that the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies may make our common stock less attractive to investors.
We will remain a smaller reporting company until the fiscal year following the determination that our voting and non-voting common shares held by non-affiliates is more than $250 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter, or our annual revenues are more than $100 million during the most recently completed fiscal year and our voting and non-voting common shares held by non-affiliates is more than $700 million measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter. Smaller reporting companies are able to provide simplified executive compensation disclosure, are exempt from the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404, and have certain other reduced disclosure obligations, including, among other things, being required to provide only two years of audited financial statements and not being required to provide selected financial data, supplemental financial information or risk factors.
We have elected to take advantage of certain of the reduced reporting obligations. We cannot predict whether investors will find our common stock less attractive if we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be reduced or more volatile.
31
We no longer qualify as an “emerging growth company,” and as a result, we have to comply with increased disclosure and compliance requirements.
We no longer qualify as an emerging growth company (“EGC”) as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”) because in 2023, we reached the five-year anniversary of the first sale of our common stock pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933. As such, we are no longer exempt from certain disclosure and compliance requirements that apply to other public companies but did not previously apply to us due to our status as an EGC. These requirements include, but are not limited to:
● | compliance with any requirement that may be adopted by the PCAOB regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditor’s report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements, including critical audit matters; |
● | the requirement that we provide more detailed disclosures regarding executive compensation, although we are still able to take advantage of exemptions provided to smaller reporting companies; and |
● | the requirement that we obtain stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. |
We anticipate increased expenses, including exchange listing and SEC requirements, director and officer insurance premiums, legal, audit and tax fees, regulatory compliance programs, and investor relations costs associated with being a public company and ceasing to be an emerging growth company.
We may expend our limited resources to pursue certain product candidates or indications and fail to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.
Because we have limited financial and managerial resources, we focus on research programs and product candidates that we identify for specific indications. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or for other indications that later prove to have greater commercial potential. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on current and future research and development programs and product candidates for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable products. If we do not accurately and/or effectively evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product candidate, we may relinquish valuable rights to that product candidate through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to such product candidate.
Weakness in the U.S. economy, including within our geographic footprint, has adversely affected us in the past and may adversely affect us in the future.
We have been, and will continue to be, impacted by general business and economic conditions in the United States. These conditions include short-term and long-term interest rates, inflation, money supply, political issues, war, legislative and regulatory changes, fluctuations in both debt and equity capital markets, broad trends in industry and finance, unemployment and the strength of the U.S. economy and the local economies in which we operate, all of which are beyond our control.
Worldwide financial markets have recently experienced periods of extraordinary disruption and volatility, which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia/Ukraine conflict and the evolving conflict in Israel and Gaza, resulting in heightened credit risk, reduced valuation of investments, decreased economic activity, heightened risk of cyberattacks, and inflation. Moreover, many companies have experienced reduced liquidity and uncertainty as to their ability to raise capital during such periods of market disruption and volatility. In the event that these conditions recur or result in a prolonged economic downturn, our results of operations, financial position and/or liquidity could be materially and adversely affected. In addition, as a result of recent financial and political events, we may face increased regulation.
32
Risks Related to our Business Strategy, Structure, and Organization
We currently have no drug products for sale and are dependent on the future success of our product candidates. We can give no assurances that any of our product candidates will receive regulatory approval or be successfully commercialized.
To date, we have invested a significant portion of our efforts and financial resources in the acquisition and development of our product candidates. As a development-stage company, 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. Our future success is substantially dependent on our ability to successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for, and then successfully commercialize such product candidates. Our product candidates are currently in preclinical development or in clinical trials. Our business depends entirely on the successful development and commercialization of our product candidates, which may never occur. We currently have no drug products for sale, currently generate no revenues from sales of any drug products and may never be able to develop or commercialize a marketable drug.
The successful development, and any commercialization of our technologies and any product candidates that may occur, would require us to successfully perform a variety of functions, including:
● | developing our technology platform; |
● | identifying, developing, formulating, manufacturing and commercializing product candidates; |
● | entering into and maintaining successful licensing and other arrangements with product development partners; |
● | achieving clinical endpoints to support preparation of approval applications; |
● | participating in regulatory approval processes, including ultimately gaining approval to market a drug product, which may not occur; |
● | obtaining sufficient quantities of our product candidates from our third-party manufacturers to meet clinical trial needs and, if approved, to meet commercial demand at launch and thereafter; |
● | establishing and maintaining agreements with wholesalers, distributors and group purchasing organizations on commercially reasonable terms; |
● | conducting sales and marketing activities including hiring, training, deploying and supporting a sales force and creating market demand for our product candidates through our own marketing and sales activities, and any other arrangements to promote our product candidates that we may establish; |
● | maintaining patent protection and regulatory exclusivity for our product candidates; and |
● | obtaining market acceptance for our product candidates. |
Each of these requirements will require substantial time, effort and financial resources.
We intend to use data from our ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of cosibelimab, conducted outside the United States, in checkpoint therapy-naïve patients with selected recurrent or metastatic cancers, including CSCC, to potentially support one or more U.S. BLAs and comparable applications for marketing approval outside the U.S. In January 2020, we announced that we had initial discussions with the FDA to execute this strategy in CSCC. Based on top-line and interim results in metastatic and locally advanced CSCC, respectively, we submitted a BLA to the U.S. FDA for these indications in January 2023. In December 2023, the FDA issued a complete response letter for the cosibelimab BLA due to inspection issues at the third-party contract manufacturing organization. Although no approvability issues regarding use of data from the Phase 1 clinical trial were noted in the complete response letter, upon resubmission of the BLA the FDA reserves the right to review the BLA again in its entirety.Similarly, we intend to use data from our licensor’s ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of olafertinib (formerly CK-101), conducted only in China, in patients with EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC, to potentially support a U.S. NDA and comparable applications for marketing approval outside the U.S. We believe, based on published FDA guidance documents, public statements of companies with comparable product candidates, and past interactions with the FDA, that exclusively foreign clinical data from a single study may be acceptable to support marketing approval(s) under FDA regulations. If we prove to be incorrect, running additional studies in the U.S. will require substantial time, effort and financial resources or may not be possible at all.
Our operations have been limited to organizing our company, acquiring, developing and securing our proprietary technologies and obtaining preclinical data or clinical data for various product candidates. These operations provide a limited basis for you to assess our ability to continue to identify product candidates, develop and commercialize product candidates in our portfolio and any product
33
candidates we are able to identify and enter into successful collaborative arrangements with other companies in the future, as well as for you to assess the advisability of investing in our securities.
Each of our product candidates will require additional preclinical or clinical development, management of preclinical, clinical and manufacturing activities, regulatory approval in the jurisdictions in which we plan to market the product, obtaining manufacturing supply, building of a commercial organization, and significant marketing efforts before we generate any revenues from product sales, which may not occur. We are not permitted to market or promote any of our product candidates in the U.S. or any other jurisdiction before we receive regulatory approval from the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority, respectively, and we may never receive such regulatory approval for any of our product candidates.
Our future growth depends on our ability to identify and acquire or in-license products and successfully integrating such acquired or in-licensed products into our existing operations.
An important part of our business strategy is to continue to develop a pipeline of product candidates by acquiring or in-licensing products, businesses or technologies that we believe are a strategic fit with our focus on novel combinations of immuno-oncology antibodies and small molecule targeted anti-cancer agents. Future in-licenses or acquisitions, however, may entail numerous operational and financial risks, including:
● | exposure to unknown liabilities; |
● | disruption of our business and diversion of our management’s time and attention to develop acquired products or technologies; |
● | difficulty or inability to secure financing to fund development activities for such acquired or in-licensed technologies in the current economic environment; |
● | incurrence of substantial debt or dilutive issuances of securities to pay for acquisitions; |
● | higher than expected acquisition and integration costs; |
● | increased amortization expenses; |
● | difficulty and cost in combining the operations and personnel of any acquired businesses with our operations and personnel; |
● | impairment of relationships with key suppliers or customers of any acquired businesses due to changes in management and ownership; and |
● | inability to retain key employees of any acquired businesses. |
We have limited resources to identify and execute the acquisition or in-licensing of third-party products, businesses and technologies and integrate them into our current infrastructure. In particular, we may compete with larger pharmaceutical companies and other competitors in our efforts to establish new collaborations and in-licensing opportunities. These competitors likely will have access to greater financial resources than us and may have greater expertise in identifying and evaluating new opportunities. Moreover, we may devote resources to potential acquisitions or in-licensing opportunities that are never completed, or we may fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such efforts.
Risks Inherent in Drug Development and Commercialization
Because results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials are not necessarily predictive of future results, any product candidate we advance may not have favorable results in later clinical trials or receive regulatory approval. Moreover, interim, “top-line,” and preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish may change, or the perceived product profile may be negatively impacted, as more patient data or additional endpoints (including efficacy and safety) are analyzed.
Pharmaceutical development has inherent risks. The outcome of preclinical development testing and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the outcome of later clinical trials, and interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results. Moreover, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval of their product candidates. Once a product candidate has displayed sufficient preclinical data to warrant clinical investigation, we will be required to demonstrate through adequate and well-controlled clinical trials that our product candidates are effective with a favorable benefit-risk profile for use in populations for their target indications before we can seek regulatory approvals for their commercial sale. Many drug candidates fail in the early stages of clinical development for safety and tolerability issues or for insufficient clinical activity, despite promising preclinical results. Accordingly, no assurance can be made that a safe and effective dose can be found for these compounds or that they will ever enter into advanced clinical trials alone or in combination with other product candidates. Moreover,
34
success in early clinical trials does not mean that later clinical trials will be successful because product candidates in later-stage clinical trials may fail to demonstrate sufficient safety or efficacy despite having progressed through initial clinical testing. Companies frequently experience significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials, even after earlier clinical trials have shown promising results. There is an extremely high rate of failure of pharmaceutical candidates proceeding through clinical trials.
Individually reported outcomes of patients treated in clinical trials may not be representative of the entire population of treated patients in such studies. In addition, registration trials or larger scale Phase 3 studies, which are often conducted internationally, are inherently subject to increased operational risks compared to earlier stage studies, including the risk that the results could vary on a region to region or country to country basis, which could materially adversely affect the outcome of the study or the opinion of the validity of the study results by applicable regulatory agencies.
From time to time, we may publicly disclose top-line or preliminary data from our clinical trials, which is based on a preliminary analysis of then available data, and the results and related findings and conclusions are subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the data related to the particular study or trial. We also make assumptions, estimations, calculations and conclusions as part of our analyses of such data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data from the particular study or trial, including all endpoints and safety data. As a result, top-line or preliminary results that we report may differ from future results of the same studies, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results, once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Top-line or preliminary data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the top-line, interim, or preliminary data we previously published. When providing top-line results, we may disclose the primary endpoint of a study before all secondary endpoints have been fully analyzed. A positive primary endpoint does not translate to all, or any, secondary endpoints being met. As a result, top-line and preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available, including data from the full safety analysis and the final analysis of all endpoints.
Further, from time to time, we may also disclose interim data from our preclinical studies and clinical trials. Interim data from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data become available. For example, many of the results reported in our early clinical trials rely on local investigator-assessed efficacy outcomes which may be subject to greater variability or subjectivity than results assessed in a blinded, independent, centrally reviewed manner, often required of final or later phase, adequate and well-controlled registration-directed clinical trials. If the results from our registration-directed trials are different from the results found in the earlier studies, we may need to terminate or revise our clinical development plan, which could extend the time for conducting our development program and could have a material adverse effect on our business. Also, time-to-event based endpoints such as duration of response and progression-free survival have the potential to change, sometimes drastically, with longer follow-up. In addition, as patients continue on therapy, there can be no assurance given that the final safety data from studies, once fully analyzed, will be consistent with prior safety data presented, will be differentiated from other similar agents in the same class, will support continued development, or will be favorable enough to support regulatory approvals for the indications studied. Further, others, including regulatory agencies, may not accept or agree with our assumptions, estimates, calculations, conclusions or analyses or may interpret or weigh the importance of data differently, which could impact the value of the particular program, the approvability or commercialization of the particular product candidate or product and our company in general. The information we choose to publicly disclose regarding a particular study or clinical trial is based on what is typically extensive information, and regulators or others may not agree with what we determine is material or otherwise appropriate information to include in our disclosure. If the interim, top-line or preliminary data that we report differ from final results, or if others, including regulatory authorities, disagree with the conclusions reached, our ability to obtain approval for, or successfully commercialize, our product candidates may be harmed, which could harm our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition.
Delays in clinical testing could result in increased costs to us and delay our ability to generate revenue.
Although we are conducting and planning for certain clinical trials relating to our product candidates, there can be no assurance that the FDA, or any comparable foreign regulatory authority, will accept our proposed trial designs. We may experience delays in our clinical trials and we do not know whether current or planned clinical trials will begin on time, need to be redesigned, enroll patients on time or be completed on schedule, if at all. Clinical trials can be delayed for a variety of reasons, including delays related to:
● | obtaining regulatory approval to commence a trial; |
● | reaching agreement on acceptable terms with prospective contract research organizations (“CROs”), and clinical trial sites, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and trial sites; |
● | obtaining institutional review board (“IRB”), or ethics committee, as applicable, approval at each site; |
● | recruiting a sufficient number of suitable patients to participate in a trial; |
35
● | clinical sites deviating from trial protocol or dropping out of a trial; |
● | having patients complete a trial or return for post-treatment follow-up; |
● | developing and validating companion diagnostics on a timely basis, if required; |
● | obtaining resolution for any clinical holds that arise from the FDA or any comparable foreign regulatory authority; |
● | adding new clinical trial sites; or |
● | availability of raw materials or manufacturing sufficient quantities of product candidate for use in clinical trials. |
We could encounter delays if a clinical trial is suspended or terminated by us, by the IRBs or ethics committees of the institutions in which such trials are being conducted, by the Data Safety Monitoring Board monitoring such trial or by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. Such authorities may impose such a suspension or termination due to a number of factors, including failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols, inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the FDA or other regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold, unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects, failure to demonstrate a benefit from using a drug candidate, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions or lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial.
If we experience delays in the completion of, or termination of, any clinical trial of our product candidates, the commercial prospects of our product candidates will be harmed, and our ability to generate product revenues from any of these product candidates will be delayed, or such revenues may not be generated at all. In addition, any delays in completing our clinical trials will increase our costs, slow down our product candidate development and approval process and jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenues. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly. In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of our product candidates.
Difficulties in the enrollment of patients in clinical trials may prevent or delay receipt of necessary regulatory approvals.
Patient enrollment, a significant factor in the timing of clinical trials, is affected by many factors including the size and nature of the patient population, the proximity of patients to clinical sites, the eligibility criteria for the trial, the design of the clinical trial, competing clinical trials and clinicians’ and patients’ perceptions as to the potential advantages of the drug being studied in relation to other available therapies, including any new drugs that may be approved for the indications we are investigating. Furthermore, we intend to rely on CROs and clinical trial sites to ensure the proper and timely conduct of our clinical trials and we intend to have agreements governing their committed activities, however, we will have limited influence over their actual performance.
We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials for one or more of our product candidates if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in these trials as required by the FDA or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States. Some of our competitors have ongoing clinical trials for product candidates that treat the same indications that we are targeting for our product candidates, and patients who would otherwise be eligible for our clinical trials may instead enroll in clinical trials of our competitors’ product candidates. Available therapies for the indications we are pursuing can also affect enrollment in our clinical trials. Patient enrollment is affected by other factors including:
● | the severity of the disease under investigation; |
● | the eligibility criteria for the study in question; |
● | the perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate under study; |
● | the efforts to facilitate timely enrollment in clinical trials; |
● | the patient referral practices of physicians; |
● | the number of clinical trials sponsored by other companies for the same patient population; |
● | the ability to monitor patients adequately during and after treatment; and |
● | the proximity and availability of clinical trial sites for prospective patients. |
Our inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for our clinical trials would result in significant delays and could require us to abandon one or more clinical trials altogether. Enrollment delays in our clinical trials may result in increased development costs for our product candidates or future product candidates, which would cause the value of our company to decline and limit our ability to obtain additional financing.
36
Russian military action in Europe may impact foreign countries in which we enrolled patients in our clinical trials.
In February 2022, Russia commenced a military invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s invasion and the ensuing response by Ukraine may prevent the FDA from auditing our five clinical sites that enrolled a total of 17 patients in these countries during its review of our BLA for cosibelimab. If we are delayed or not able to obtain regulatory approval, our business may be adversely affected.
We may not receive regulatory approval for our product candidates, or their approval may be delayed, which would have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
Our product candidates and the activities associated with their development and commercialization, including their design, testing, manufacture, safety, efficacy, recordkeeping, labeling, storage, approval, advertising, promotion, sale and distribution, are subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA, by other regulatory agencies in the United States, by the European Medicines Agency and by comparable foreign regulatory authorities outside the United States. Failure to obtain marketing approval for one or more of our product candidates or any future product candidate will prevent us from commercializing the product candidate. We have not received approval to market any of our product candidates from regulatory authorities in any jurisdiction. We have only limited experience in filing and supporting the applications necessary to gain marketing approvals and expect to rely on third-party CROs and other third-party vendors to assist us in this process. Securing marketing approval requires the submission of extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the product candidate’s safety and efficacy. Securing marketing approval also requires the submission of information about the product manufacturing process to, and inspection of manufacturing facilities by, regulatory authorities. One or more of our product candidates or any future product candidate may not be effective, may be only moderately effective or may prove to have undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities or other characteristics that may preclude our obtaining marketing approval or prevent or limit commercial use. If any of our product candidates or any future product candidate receives marketing approval, the accompanying label may limit the approved use of our drug by severity of disease, patient group, or include contraindications, interactions, or warnings, which could limit sales of the product.
The process of obtaining marketing approval, both in the United States and abroad, is expensive, may take many years if approval is obtained at all, and can vary substantially based upon a variety of factors, including the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidates involved. Changes in marketing approval policies during the development period, changes in available therapies and standards of care, changes in or the enactment of additional statutes or regulations, or changes in regulatory review for each submitted product application, may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application. Regulatory authorities have substantial discretion in the approval process and may refuse to accept any application or may decide that our study design, including the control arm used in our study, or data are insufficient for approval and require additional preclinical studies or clinical trials. In addition, varying interpretations of the data obtained from preclinical and clinical testing could delay, limit or prevent marketing approval of a product candidate. Any marketing approval we ultimately obtain may be limited or subject to restrictions or post-approval commitments that render the approved product not commercially viable.
Under the FDA’s accelerated approval regulations, which only apply to certain drug products, the FDA may grant marketing approval for a new drug product on the basis of adequate and well-controlled clinical trials establishing that the drug product has an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely, based on epidemiologic, therapeutic, pathophysiologic, or other evidence, to predict clinical benefit or on the basis of an effect on a clinical endpoint other than survival or irreversible morbidity. While we may undertake development programs for one or more of our product candidates that we believe, if successful, could support a submission for marketing approval under the accelerated approval regulations, we may ultimately fail to meet the criteria to do so, which may cause delays in the approval or rejection of an application.
If we experience delays in obtaining approval or if we fail to obtain approval of one or more of our product candidates or any future product candidate, the commercial prospects for our product candidates may be harmed and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.
In addition, even if we were to obtain approval, regulatory authorities may approve any of our product candidates or any future product candidate for fewer or more limited indications than we request, may not approve the price we intend to charge for our products, may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly post-marketing studies, including clinical trials, or may approve a product candidate with a label that does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of that product candidate. The regulatory authority may also require the label to contain warnings, contraindications, or precautions that limit the commercialization of that product. Any of these scenarios could compromise the commercial prospects for one or more of our product candidates or any future product candidate.
37
If serious adverse or unacceptable side effects are identified during the development of one or more of our product candidates or any future product candidate, we may need to abandon or limit our development of some of our product candidates.
If one or more of our product candidates or any future product candidate are associated with undesirable side effects or adverse events in clinical trials or have characteristics that are unexpected, we may need to abandon their development or limit development to more narrow uses or subpopulations in which the adverse events, undesirable side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective. In our industry, many compounds that initially showed promise in early-stage testing have later been found to cause serious adverse events that prevented further development of the compound. In the event that our clinical trials reveal a high or unacceptable severity and prevalence of adverse events, our trials could be suspended or terminated and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development or deny approval of one or more of our product candidates or any future product candidate for any or all targeted indications. The FDA could also issue a letter requesting additional data or information prior to making a final decision regarding whether to approve a product candidate. The number of requests for additional data or information issued by the FDA in recent years has increased and resulted in substantial delays in the approval of several new drugs. Adverse events or undesirable side effects caused by one or more of our product candidates or any future product candidate could also result in the inclusion of unfavorable information in our product labeling, denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other regulatory authorities for any or all targeted indications, and in turn prevent us from commercializing and generating revenues from the sale of that product candidate. Adverse events or drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial and could result in potential product liability claims.
Additionally, if one or more of our product candidates or any future product candidate receives marketing approval and we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by this product, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:
● | regulatory authorities may require the addition of unfavorable labeling statements, including specific warnings, black box warnings, adverse reactions, precautions, and/or contraindications; |
● | regulatory authorities may suspend or withdraw their approval of the product, and/or require it to be removed from the market; |
● | we may be required to change the way the product is administered, conduct additional clinical trials or change the labeling of the product; or |
● | our reputation may suffer. |
Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of any of our product candidates or any future product candidate or could substantially increase our commercialization costs and expenses, which in turn could delay or prevent us from generating significant revenues, or any revenues, from its sale.
Public concern regarding the safety of drug products could delay or limit our ability to obtain regulatory approval, result in the inclusion of unfavorable information in our labeling, or require us to undertake other activities that may entail additional costs.
In light of widely publicized events concerning the safety risk of certain drug products, the FDA, members of Congress, the Government Accountability Office, medical professionals and the general public have raised concerns about potential drug safety issues. These events have resulted in the withdrawal of drug products, revisions to drug labeling that further limit use of the drug products and the establishment of risk management programs. The Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007 (“FDAAA”), grants significant expanded authority to the FDA, much of which is aimed at improving the safety of drug products before and after approval. In particular, the new law authorizes the FDA to, among other things, require post-approval studies and clinical trials, mandate changes to drug labeling to reflect new safety information and require risk evaluation and mitigation strategies for certain drugs, including certain currently approved drugs. It also significantly expands the federal government’s clinical trial registry and results databank, which we expect will result in significantly increased government oversight of clinical trials. Under the FDAAA, companies that violate these and other provisions of the new law are subject to substantial civil monetary penalties, among other regulatory, civil and criminal penalties. The increased attention to drug safety issues may result in a more cautious approach by the FDA in its review of data from our clinical trials. Data from clinical trials may receive greater scrutiny, particularly with respect to safety, which may make the FDA or other regulatory authorities more likely to require additional preclinical studies or clinical trials. If the FDA requires us to conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials prior to approving any of our product candidates, our ability to obtain approval of this product candidate will be delayed. If the FDA requires us to provide additional clinical or preclinical data following the approval of any of our product candidates, the indications for which this product candidate is approved may be limited or there may be specific warnings or limitations on dosing, and our efforts to commercialize our product candidates may be otherwise adversely impacted.
38
Even if one or more of our product candidates receives regulatory approval, it and any other products we may market will remain subject to substantial regulatory scrutiny.
If one or more of our product candidates that we may license or acquire is approved, the approved product candidate will be subject to ongoing requirements and review by the FDA and other regulatory authorities. These requirements include labeling, packaging, storage, advertising, promotion, record-keeping and submission of safety and other post-market information and reports, registration and listing requirements, cGMP requirements relating to manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance and corresponding maintenance of records and documents, requirements regarding the distribution of samples to physicians and recordkeeping of the drug, and requirements regarding company presentations and interactions with health care professionals.
The FDA, or other regulatory authorities, may also impose requirements for costly post-marketing studies or clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the product. The FDA and other applicable regulatory authorities closely regulate the post-approval marketing and promotion of drugs to ensure drugs are marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. The FDA and other applicable regulatory authorities impose stringent restrictions on manufacturers’ communications regarding off-label use and if we do not market our products for only their approved indications, we may be subject to enforcement action for off-label marketing. Violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act relating to the promotion of prescription drugs may lead to investigations, civil claims, and/or criminal charges alleging violations of federal and state health care fraud and abuse laws, as well as state consumer protection laws.
In addition, later discovery of previously unknown adverse events or other problems with our products, manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may yield various results, including:
● | restrictions on such products, operations, manufacturers or manufacturing processes; |
● | restrictions on the labeling or marketing of a product; |
● | restrictions on product distribution or use; |
● | requirements to conduct post-marketing studies or clinical trials; |
● | warning letters, untitled letters, import alerts, and/or inspection observations; |
● | withdrawal of the products from the market; |
● | refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications that we submit; |
● | recall of products; |
● | fines, restitution or disgorgement of profits; |
● | suspension or withdrawal of marketing or regulatory approvals; |
● | suspension of any ongoing clinical trials; |
● | refusal to permit the import or export of our products; |
● | product seizure; or |
● | injunctions, consent decrees, and/or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties. |
The FDA’s policies, or the policies of other applicable regulatory authorities, may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates, or negatively affect those products for which we may have already received regulatory approval, if any. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may be subject to the various actions listed above, including losing any marketing approval that we may have obtained.
Regulatory approval by the FDA, or any similar regulatory authorities outside the United States, is limited to those specific indications and conditions for which clinical safety and efficacy have been demonstrated.
Any regulatory approval is limited to those indications for use for which a product is deemed to be safe and effective by the FDA, or other similar regulatory authorities outside the United States. In add