Company: HCWB
Filing Date: 2025-03-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-046724
Chunk: 311

Company: HCW Biologics Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1B
Chunk 311
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 for options with service-based vesting conditions, the Company recognized $65,941 of employee stock-based compensation expense in research and development expenses and $937,808 of employee stock-based compensation in general and administrative expenses in the statement of operations included in the audited financial statements.  For the year ended December 31, 2024, for options with service-based vesting conditions, the Company recognized $61,250 of employee stock-based compensation expense in research and development expenses and $947,762 of employee stock-based compensation in general and administrative expenses in the statement of operations included in the audited financial statements. As of December 31, 2024, the Company had an aggregate of $799,393 of unrecognized employee stock-based compensation cost for options with service-based vesting, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average vesting period of 0.72 years. 

12. Employee Benefit PlanThe Company offers a defined contribution savings plan (the “Benefit Plan”) under Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code for all eligible employees. The Benefit Plan allows for discretionary contributions which are limited to the maximum allowable for federal tax purposes. The total expense related to the discretionary payments made by the Company to the Benefit Plan for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2024 was $184,214 and $160,851, respectively.

13. Collaborative ArrangementsThe Company has certain contract research agreements with contractors that were entered during the two years ended December 31, 2024 for the (i) hybridoma development, (ii) cell line manufacturing productivity improvement, and (iii) research to support pre-clinical studies. Under the hybridoma development and cell line manufacturing productivity improvement agreements, we own all rights to the resulting intellectual property, including the antibodies, sequences, and data. For certain contractors, the Company is obligated to pay one future milestone payment upon filing and acceptance of an IND for each respective human antibody or protein from cell line; however no additional future development or financial obligations are due under these contract research agreements as of December 31, 2023 or 2024. For certain research collaborations agreements, the research intellectual property may be jointly owned or ownership may be based upon inventorship. In those circumstances, the Company has obtained the exclusive option to an exclusive license for the research intellectual property. 

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14. Income TaxesThe Company did not have a provision for income taxes (current or deferred tax expense) for tax years ended December 31, 2023 and