Company: HCWB
Filing Date: 2025-03-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0000950170-25-046724
Chunk: 241

Company: HCW Biologics Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-03-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1B
Chunk 241
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 parties entered into settlement negotiations. 

As reported in the Company’s Form 8-K filed on July 18, 2024 and further described in Part I, Item 3. – “Legal Proceedings” below, as of July 13, 2024, the Company and Dr. Hing C. Wong, the Company’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, entered into a confidential Settlement Agreement and Release (the “Settlement Agreement”) with Altor BioScience, LLC (“Altor”), NantCell, Inc. (“NantCell”), and ImmunityBio, Inc. (the parent of Altor and NantCell, together with Altor and NantCell, “ImmunityBio”), to resolve the previously disclosed Arbitration before JAMS brought by Altor and NantCell (the “Arbitration”) as well as a complaint Altor filed against the Company in the Chancery Court of the State of Delaware for the contribution of legal fees and expenses advanced to Dr. Wong (“Complaint”). The Settlement Agreement includes mutual general releases by and among the parties thereto. No party is required to make any monetary payments to any other party or person under the Settlement Agreement and each party will bear its own expenses incurred in connection with the matter.  In accordance with the provisions of the Settlement Agreement, upon 

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completion of remedial procedures, the parties stipulated that the Arbitration and Complaint should be dismissed.  The Arbitration and related Complaint were dismissed with prejudice on or about December 24, 2024.

Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, the Company transferred and assigned to ImmunityBio ownership of certain intellectual property (including issued patents, pending patent applications, and know-how) for TOBITM-based molecules.  The Company retains the worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, fully paid-up, royalty-free, exclusive right and license to exploit HCW9218 for all age-related diseases other than cancer. The Company also retains the right to develop treatments for all indications with respect to HCW9302 and HCW9206, which, along with HCW9218, are the lead product candidates in the Company’s clinical development pipeline. ImmunityBio has the exclusive right to pursue oncology indications with all of the TOBITM-based molecules designed with a TGF-β domain, including HCW9218.  Under the Settlement Agreement ImmunityBio also receives an exclusive license to exploit fusion proteins, molecules and/or antibodies created utilizing the TOBITM Platform directed to the receptors