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Royalty Obligation and Deferred License Fees
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Royalty Obligation and Deferred License Fees [Abstract]  
Royalty Obligation and Deferred License Fees
7. Royalty Obligation and Deferred License Fees

BioTime amortizes deferred license fees over the estimated useful lives of the licensed technologies or licensed research products. BioTime is applying a 10 year estimated useful life to the technologies and products that it is currently licensing.  The estimation of the useful life any technology or product involves a significant degree of inherent uncertainty, since the outcome of research and development or the commercial life a new product cannot be known with certainty at the time that the right to use the technology or product is acquired.  BioTime will review its amortization schedules for impairments that might occur earlier than the original expected useful lives.
 
BioTime did not amortize deferred license fees during the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2009 on the basis that sales of products under the licenses had not yet begun.  Because BioTime has modified its procedure for amortizing deferred license fees for the year ended December 31, 2010, certain differences resulted in BioTime's research and development expenses, total expenses, and net loss for the year ended December 31, 2010 as compared to the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2009.  BioTime treated those differences as a correction of an error totaling $35,800 for 2008, and $85,400 for 2009.  BioTime does not believe that those differences were material to its results of operations for those prior years.  Because BioTime did not record the effect of that error in its financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2009 due to the immaterial impact on those financial statements, it has recorded in research and development expenses for 2010 an additional $121,200, representing the amortization amounts not previously recorded in 2008 and 2009.

On January 3, 2008, BioTime entered into a Commercial License and Option Agreement with Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (“WARF”).  The WARF license permits BioTime to use certain patented and patent pending technology belonging to WARF, as well as certain stem cell materials, for research and development purposes, and for the production and marketing of products used as research tools, including in drug discovery and development.  BioTime or ReCyte Therapeutics will pay WARF royalties on the sale of products and services using the technology or stem cells licensed from WARF.  The royalty will range from 2% to 4%, depending on the kind of products sold.  The royalty rate is subject to certain reductions if BioTime also becomes obligated to pay royalties to a third party in order to sell a product.  In March 2009, BioTime amended its license agreement with WARF.  The amendment increased the license fee from the original $225,000 to $295,000, of which $225,000 was paid in cash and $70,000 was paid by delivering BioTime common shares having a market value of $70,000 as of March 2, 2009.  The amendment extended until March 2, 2010 the dates for payment of the $215,000 balance of the cash license fee and $20,000 in remaining reimbursement of costs associated with preparing, filing, and maintaining the licensed patents.  The commencement date for payment of an annual $25,000 license maintenance fee was also extended to March 2, 2010.  The licensing fees less the amortized portion were included in deferred license fees in BioTime's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2011 and 2010.
 
On June 24, 2008, BioTime, along with its subsidiary, ReCyte Therapeutics, entered into a Product Production and Distribution Agreement with Lifeline Cell Technology, LLC for the production and marketing of human embryonic progenitor cells (“hEPC”) or hEPC lines, and products derived from those hEPCs.  The products developed under the agreement with Lifeline will be produced and sold for research purposes such as drug discovery and drug development uses.  ReCyte Therapeutics paid Lifeline $250,000, included in the advanced license fee and other fees, to facilitate their product production and marketing efforts.  BioTime will be entitled to recover that amount from the share of product sale proceeds that otherwise would have been allocated to Lifeline.

On July 10, 2008, ReCyte Therapeutics entered into a License Agreement with Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (“ACT”), under which ReCyte Therapeutics acquired exclusive worldwide rights to use ACT's ACTCellerate technology for methods to accelerate the isolation of novel cell strains from pluripotent stem cells.  ReCyte Therapeutics paid ACT a $250,000 license fee and will pay an 8% royalty on sales of products, services, and processes that utilize the licensed technology.  Once a total of $1,000,000 of royalties has been paid, no further royalties will be due.  The license will expire in twenty years or upon the expiration of the last to expire of the licensed patents, whichever is later.  The $250,000 license fee less the amortized portion is included in deferred license fees in BioTime's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2011 and 2010.
 
On August 15, 2008, ReCyte Therapeutics entered into a License Agreement and a Sublicense Agreement with ACT under which ReCyte Therapeutics acquired world-wide rights to use an array of ACT technology (the “ACT License”) and technology licensed by ACT from affiliates of Kirin Pharma Company, Limited (the “Kirin Sublicense”).  The ACT License and Kirin Sublicense permit the commercialization of products in human therapeutic and diagnostic product markets.

The technology licensed by ReCyte Therapeutics covers methods to transform cells of the human body, such as skin cells, into an embryonic state in which the cells will be pluripotent.  Under the ACT License, ReCyte Therapeutics paid ACT a $200,000 license fee and will pay a 5% royalty on sales of products, services, and processes that utilize the licensed ACT technology, and 20% of any fees or other payments (other than equity investments, research and development costs, loans and royalties) received by ReCyte Therapeutics from sublicensing the ACT technology to third parties.  Once a total of $600,000 of royalties has been paid, no further royalties will be due.  The license will expire in twenty years or upon the expiration of the last-to-expire of the licensed patents, whichever is later.  The $200,000 license fee payment less the amortized portion is included in deferred license fees in BioTime's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2011 and 2010.

Under the Kirin Sublicense, ReCyte Therapeutics has paid ACT a $50,000 license fee and will pay a 3.5% royalty on sales of products, services, and processes that utilize the licensed ACT technology, and 20% of any fees or other payments (other than equity investments, research and development costs, loans and royalties) received by ReCyte Therapeutics from sublicensing the Kirin Technology to third parties.  ReCyte Therapeutics will also pay to ACT or to an affiliate of Kirin Pharma Company, Limited (“Kirin”), annually, the amount, if any, by which royalties payable by ACT under its license agreement with Kirin are less than the $50,000 annual minimum royalty due.  Those payments by ReCyte Therapeutics will be credited against other royalties payable to ACT under the Kirin Sublicense.  The license will expire upon the expiration of the last to expire of the licensed patents, or May 9, 2016 if no patents are issued.  The $50,000 license fee payment less the amortized portion is included in deferred license fees in BioTime's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2011 and 2010.

On February 29, 2009, ReCyte Therapeutics entered into a Stem Cell Agreement with Reproductive Genetics Institute (“RGI”).  In partial consideration of the rights and licenses granted to ReCyte Therapeutics by RGI, BioTime issued to RGI 32,259 common shares, having a market value of $50,000 on the effective date of the Stem Cell Agreement.  This $50,000 payment less the amortized portion is included in deferred license fees in BioTime's consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2011 and 2010.

Through BioTime's acquisition of the assets of Cell Targeting, Inc. during March 2011, BioTime acquired a royalty-bearing, exclusive, worldwide license from the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (“SBMRI”) to use certain patents pertaining to homing peptides for preclinical research investigations of cell therapy treatments, and to enhance cell therapy products for the treatment and prevention of disease and injury in conjunction with BioTime's own proprietary technology or that of a third party.  BioTime assigned the SBMRI license to OncoCyte during July 2011.  OncoCyte will pay SBMRI a royalty of 4% on the sale of pharmaceutical products, and 10% on the sale of any research-use products that OncoCyte develops using or incorporating the licensed technology; and 20% of any payments OncoCyte receives for sublicensing the patents to third parties.  The royalties payable to SBMRI may be reduced by 50% if royalties or other fees must be paid to third parties in connection with the sale of any products.  An annual license maintenance fee is payable each year during the term of the license, and after commercial sales of royalty bearing products commence, the annual fee will be credited towards OncoCyte's royalty payment obligations for the applicable year.  OncoCyte will reimburse SBMRI for 25% of the costs incurred in filing, prosecuting, and maintaining patent protection, subject to OncoCyte's approval of the costs.  OncoCyte incurred no royalty expenses during the year.  See Note 13.
 
Cell Cure Neurosciences has entered into an Amended and Restated Research and License Agreement with Hadasit Medical Research Services and Development, Ltd. (“Hadasit”) under which Cell Cure Neurosciences received an exclusive license to use certain of Hadasit's patented technologies for the development and commercialization for hES cell-derived cell replacement therapies for retinal degenerative diseases.  Cell Cure Neurosciences paid Hadasit 249,058 New Israeli Shekels as a reimbursement for patent expenses incurred by Hadasit, and pays Hadasit quarterly fees for research and product development services under a related Product Development Agreement.

If Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (“Teva”) exercises its option to license OpRegen™ or OpRegen-Plus™ under the terms of a Research and Exclusive License Option Agreement (the “Teva License Option Agreement”), Cell Cure Neurosciences will pay Hadasit 30% of all payments made by Teva to Cell Cure Neurosciences, other than payments for research, reimbursements of patent expenses, loans or equity investments.

If Teva does not exercise its option and Cell Cure Neurosciences instead commercializes OpRegen™ or OpRegen-Plus™ itself or sublicenses the Hadasit patents to a third party for the completion of development or commercialization of OpRegen™ or OpRegen-Plus™, Cell Cure Neurosciences will pay Hadasit a 5% royalty on sales of products that utilize the licensed technology.  Cell Cure Neurosciences will also pay sublicensing fees ranging from 10% to 30% of any payments Cell Cure Neurosciences receives from sublicensing the Hadasit patents to companies other than Teva.  Commencing in January 2017, Hadasit will be entitled to receive an annual minimum royalty payment of $100,000 that will be credited toward the payment of royalties and sublicense fees otherwise payable to Hadasit during the calendar year.  If Cell Cure Neurosciences or a sublicensee other than Teva paid royalties during the previous year, Cell Cure Neurosciences may defer making the minimum royalty payment until December and will be obligated to make the minimum annual payment to the extent that royalties and sublicensing fee payments made during that year are less than $100,000.

If Teva does not exercise its option under the Teva License Option Agreement and instead Cell Cure Neurosciences or a sublicensee other than Teva conducts clinical trials of OpRegen™ or OpRegen-Plus™, Hadasit will be entitled to receive certain payments from Cell Cure Neurosciences upon the first attainment of certain clinical trial milestones in the process of seeking regulatory approval to market a product developed by Cell Cure Neurosciences using the licensed patents.  Hadasit will receive $250,000 upon the enrollment of patients in the first Phase I clinical trial, $250,000 upon the submission of Phase II clinical trial data to a regulatory agency as part of the approval process, and $1 million upon the enrollment of the first patient in the first Phase III clinical trial.

Through the merger of Glycosan into OrthoCyte during March 2011, BioTime acquired a license from the University of Utah to use certain patents in the production and sale of certain hydrogel products.  Under the License Agreement, BioTime will pay a 3% royalty on sales of products and services performed that utilize the licensed patents.  Commencing in 2013, BioTime will be obligated to pay minimum royalties to the extent that actual royalties on products sales and services utilizing the patents are less than the minimum royalty amount.  The minimum royalty amounts are $15,000 in 2013, $22,500 in 2014, and $30,000 each year thereafter during the term of the License Agreement. BioTime shall also pay the University of Utah 30% of any sublicense fees or royalties received under any sublicense of the licensed patents.  See Note 14.
 
BioTime will pay the University of Utah $5,000 upon the issuance of each of the first five licensed patents issued in the U.S., subject to reduction to $2,500 for any patent that the University has licensed to two or more other licensees for different uses.  BioTime will also pay a $225,000 milestone fee within six months after the first sale of a “tissue engineered product” that utilizes a licensed patent.  A tissue engineered product is defined as living human tissues or cells on a polymer platform, created at a place other than the point-of-care facility, for transplantation into a human patient.
 
On August 23, 2011, BioTime entered into a License Agreement with Cornell University for the worldwide development and commercialization of technology for the differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into vascular endothelial cells.
 
Cornell will be entitled to receive a nominal initial license fee and nominal annual license maintenance fees.  The obligation to pay annual license maintenance fees will end when the first human therapeutic products developed under the license is sold.  BioTime will pay Cornell a milestone payment upon the achievement of a research product sale milestone amount, and will make milestone payments upon the attainment of certain FDA approval milestones for therapeutic products developed under the license, including (i) the first Phase II clinical trial dosing of a human therapeutic product, (ii) the first Phase III clinical trial dosing of a human therapeutic product; (iii) FDA approval of the first human therapeutic product for age-related vascular disease; and (iv) FDA approval of the first human therapeutic product for cancer.
 
BioTime will pay Cornell royalties on the sale of products and services using the license, and will share with Cornell a portion of any cash payments, other than royalties, that BioTime receives for the grant of sublicenses to non-affiliates.  The potential royalty percentage rates to be paid to Cornell will be in the low to mid-single digit range depending on the product.  BioTime will also reimburse Cornell for costs related to the patent applications and any patents that may issue that are covered by the license.
 
In conjunction with the License Agreement, BioTime also entered into a Sponsored Research Agreement under which scientists at Weill Cornell Medical College will engage in certain research for BioTime over a three year period beginning August 2011.

As of December 31, 2011, amortization of deferred license fees was as follows:

Year Ended
 
Deferred License
 
December 31,
 
Fees
 
2012
 
$
109,500
 
2013
 
 
109,500
 
2014
 
 
109,500
 
2015
 
 
109,500
 
2016
 
 
109,500
 
Thereafter
 
 
210,833
 
Total
 
$
758,333