Note 10 - License, Research and Collaboration Agreements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Collaborative Arrangement Disclosure [Text Block]

10. License, Research and Collaboration Agreements

Collaboration Agreements

ABL Bio Corporation ("ABL Bio") Agreements

Our wholly-owned subsidiary, TRIGR, and ABL Bio, a South Korean biotechnology company, entered into an exclusive global (excluding South Korea) license agreement (the “TRIGR License Agreement”) which granted TRIGR a license to ABL001, ABL Bio’s bispecific antibody targeting DLL4 and VEGF-A (renamed CTX-009). Under the terms of the agreement, ABL Bio and TRIGR would jointly develop CTX-009, with ABL Bio responsible for development of CTX-009 throughout the end of Phase 1 clinical trials and TRIGR responsible for the development of CTX-009 from Phase 2 and onward. ABL Bio received a $5 million upfront payment and $6 million development milestone payment. In addition, ABL Bio is eligible to receive up to $96 million of development and regulatory milestone payments, and up to $303 million of commercial milestone payments and tiered single-digit royalties on net sales of CTX-009 in Oncology..  ABL Bio is also eligible to receive up to $75 million in development and regulatory milestones and up to $110 million in commercial milestone payments and tiered, single-digit royalties on net sales of CTX-009 in Ophthalmology. The financial terms of the agreement were amended in May 2021 but remain substantially similar to the terms in the TRIGR License Agreement. As a result of the TRIGR acquisition in 2021, the TRIGR License Agreement was assigned to the Company and the Company has assumed all the rights and liabilities of the agreement. See Note 16 for further information on the TRIGR transaction.

In May 2021, TRIGR and ABL Bio terminated license agreements to several preclinical assets. As a result of the return of these assets to ABL Bio and termination of the license agreements, the Company is eligible to receive royalty payments if ABL Bio develops or licenses two bispecific antibodies that were previously licensed to TRIGR.

Adimab Agreement

The Company entered into a collaboration agreement with Adimab, LLC ("Adimab") on October 16, 2014. The agreement was amended on February 11, 2015. The agreement also includes provisions for payment of royalties at rates ranging in the single digits as a percentage of future net sales within a specified term from the first commercial sale. There were no milestone payments made during the year ended December 31, 2022. The Company made milestone payments of $1.5 million in research and development during the year ended December 31, 2019, upon filing an IND for its product candidates associated with this license and first dosing of patient. As of December 31, 2022, future potential milestone payments in connection with this agreement amounted to $2.0 million.