Document:

Unassociated Document

    EXHIBIT 10.18

    Technical
      Cooperation Agreement

    on

    Elimination
      of Idle
      Condition between
      Metering roller and Dampening distributor of Printing Machine

     

    Project
      Name: Elimination of Idle Condition between Metering roller and Dampening
      distributor of Printing Machine

     

    Project
      Proposed by: DuoYuan Digital Printing Technology Industry (China) Co.,
      Ltd.

     

    Co-developer:
      Xi’an Technology University (Party B) 

     

    Place
      Signed: Daxing, Beijing

     

    Date
      Signed: April 22, 2006

     

    Term
      of
      Validity: from April 22, 2006 to April 21, 2008

    

    In
      accordance with the Contract Law of the People’s Republic of China and after
      mutual negotiation, both parties hereto enter into this agreement (the
“Agreement”) on the technical cooperation in the project of elimination of Idle
      Condition between Metering roller and dampening distributor (the
“Project”).

    

    I.
      Content, Form and Requirements of Subject Technology:

     

    
      	 	
              (1)

            	
              Eliminate
                Idle Condition of printing machines and guarantee their stable operation.
                

            

    

     

    
      	 	
              (2)

            	
              Enable
                free selection of realization path of principles or
                structures.

            

    

     

    
      	 	
              (3)

            	
              All
                structures or principles are required to be based on theories and
                experiment and validation plans shall be in place when necessary.
                

            

    

     

    
      	 	
              (4)

            	
              Key
                plan review is required on finalization or specific implementation
                of
                design plans and rigorous design quality review shall be conducted
                to
                ensure effectiveness and usability of research results.
                

            

    

     

    
      
        
        

      

      
        
        

        
          

        

      

      
        
        

      

    

     

    II.
      Research and Development Plan:

     

    
      	 	
              (1)

            	
              Both
                parties’ technology research and development personnel shall spend 1-2
                months in finding and classifying problems in the plant of Party
                A.
                

            

    

     

    
      	 	
              (2)

            	
              Both
                parties shall jointly develop, discuss and finalize an improvement
                plan
                within one month.

            

    

     

    
      	 	
              (3)

            	
              The
                research and development personnel of both parties respectively carry
                out
                technical reform, research and development efforts as per the finalized
                plan, and summarize, discuss and review the results when reaching
                certain
                point of progress. 

            

    

     

    
      	 	
              (4)

            	
              The
                total length of the technical reform shall be two
                years.

            

    

     

    III.
      Pattern of Cooperation:

     

    
      	 	
              (1)

            	
              The
                Project is treated as the subject of theses of Party B’s students for
                master’s degree. 

            

    

     

    
      	 	
              (2)

            	
              Party
                A will provide the model machine and cover all expenses incurred
                in
                Beijing by the personnel of Party
                B.

            

    

     

    
      	 	
              (3)

            	
              Party
                A will cover the cost of all materials used during the development.
                

            

    

     

    
      	 	
              (4)

            	
              The
                ownership and intellectual property rights to the research and development
                results shall vest in Party A.

            

    

     

    
      	 	
              (5)

            	
              Party
                B shall own the copyrights of the results and their ownership in
                the
                academic domain, but shall not own the proprietorship allowing
                transformation of the results into products.

            

    

     

    IV.
      Equipment, instruments and materials purchased for the purpose of the research
      and development shall belong to Party A and Party B shall be the owner of such
      auxiliary tools and devices as computers used for design work.

     

    V.
      Term,
      Place and Way of Performance:

     

    The
      Agreement shall be performed in Beijing and Xi’an during the term from April 22,
      2006 through to April 21, 2008. 

     

    VI.
      Intellectual Property Rights Covenant: Party A will exclusively own the
      intellectual property right of the technology and after completion of the
      Agreement, Party B shall solely be entitled to the use right and copyright
      of
      the technology as well as the ownership thereof in the academic domain, but
      will
      not possess its proprietorship that allows transformation of the technology
      into
      products, and shall strictly comply with the Law on Protection of National
      Secrets without stealing and divulging such secrets or donating, re-selling
      the
      technology to any other third person. 

     

    
      
        
        

      

      
        
        

        
          

        

      

      
        
        

      

    

     

    VII.
      Standards and Process of Inspection and Acceptance:

     

    The
      technical results accomplished in the research and development shall achieve
      elimination or basic elimination of Idle Condition between Metering roller
      and
      dampening distributor. Standards of Inspection and Acceptance: The sample
      machine is required to be free of Idle Condition phenomenon after trial
      operation for more than half a year. 

    VIII.
      Settlement of Disputes:

     

    Both
      parties shall negotiate with each other to settle disputes occurring during
      performance of the Agreement. If both parties are unwilling to seek such
      settlement through mutual negotiation or conciliation, or if the negotiation
      or
      conciliation effort has failed, both parties agree to resolve the dispute(s)
      using the
      1st method
      described here below: 

     

    
      	 	
              (1)

            	
              Submit
                any dispute arising from the Agreement to the arbitration commission
                in
                the place of signing of the Agreement for settlement through
                arbitration.

            

    

     

    
      	 	
              (2)

            	
              Settle
                the dispute(s) through legal proceedings.

            

    

    

    Party
      A:
      /s/ DuoYuan Digital Printing Technology Industry (China) Co., Ltd.

    Address:
      #3 Jinyuan Road, Daxing Industrial Development Zone, Daxing District, Beijing,
      102600

    Tel:
      01060212222

    Signature/Seal
      by Person in Charge:

     

    Party
      B:
      /s/ Xi’an Technology University 

    Address:
      #4 Jinhua Road (North), Xi’an City, Shanxi Province, 710032

    Tel:
      02983208256

    Signature/Seal
      by Person in Charge:FOURTH
      AMENDMENT, WAIVER AND CONSENT

    

    TO

    

    LOAN
      AGREEMENT

    

    THIS
      FOURTH AMENDMENT, WAIVER AND CONSENT TO LOAN AGREEMENT, dated as of June 28,
      2007 (the “Fourth
      Amendment”),
      is
      made and entered into by and between Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a New York
      corporation (“Borrower”),
      and
 Galen
      Partners III, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, as Agent under that certain
      Noteholders Agreement dated as of February 6, 2004 (“Lender”).
      Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the meaning
      provided in the Loan Agreement (as defined below). 

     

    RECITALS

     

    WHEREAS,
      Borrower
      and Lender (as assignee of Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Watson”)) are parties
      to that certain Loan Agreement, dated as of March 29, 2000, as amended by a
      certain Amendment to Loan Agreement dated as of March 31, 2000, as further
      amended by a certain Second Amendment to Loan Agreement dated as of December
      20,
      2002 and as further amended by a certain Third Amendment, Waiver and Consent
      to
      Loan Agreement dated as of February 6, 2004 (the “Third Amendment”) (as so
      amended, the "Loan Agreement"); and 

     

    WHEREAS,
      in
      accordance with the terms of the Loan Agreement, Borrower previously issued
      to
      Watson two Promissory Notes, the first dated December 20, 2002 in the principal
      amount of $17,500,000 (the "Replacement Note"), and the second dated December
      20, 2002 in the principal amount of $3,901,331 (the "$3.9 Million Note", and
      together with the Replacement Note, collectively, the "Old Notes"); and

     

    WHEREAS,
      in order
      to allow the Borrower to complete each of the transactions contemplated pursuant
      to that certain Term Sheet dated December 19, 2003 between the Borrower and
      the
      other signatories thereto (the "Term Sheet Transactions"), at Borrower’s request
      and in accordance with the Third Amendment, Lender consented to the Term Sheet
      Transactions and waived certain restrictions contained in the Loan Agreement;
      and

     

    WHEREAS,
      pursuant
      to a certain Umbrella Agreement dated as of February 6, 2004 (the "Umbrella
      Agreement") by and among Borrower, Watson, Care Capital Investment II, L.P.,
      Essex Woodlands Health Ventures V, LP, Galen Partners III, L.P. and the other
      signatories thereto (collectively, but excluding the Borrower and Watson, the
      "Investor Group"), in consideration of Borrower's payment to Watson of
      $4,000,000, Watson (i) cancelled and discharged in full the $3.9 Million Note,
      (ii) forgave $12,500,000 in principal amount of the Replacement Note and amended
      and restated the Replacement Note as provided in the Third Amendment, and (iii)
      amended the Loan Agreement as provided in the Third Amendment (collectively,
      the
      "2004 Note and Loan Agreement Amendments"); and 

     

    
      
         

      

      
         

        
          

        

      

      
         

      

    

     

    WHEREAS,
      pursuant
      to the terms of the Umbrella Agreement, Watson transferred and conveyed to
      the
      Investor Group all of its right, title and interest in and to the Loan Agreement
      and Replacement Note after giving effect to the 2004 Note and Loan Agreement
      Amendments; 

     

    WHEREAS,
      simultaneous with the completion of the transactions contemplated in the
      Umbrella Agreement, the Replacement Note was amended and restated in the form
      of
      Exhibit A to the Third Amendment to Loan Agreement (the “2004 Replacement
      Note”); and 

     

    WHEREAS,
      the
      Borrower and the Investor Group desire to further amend the Loan Agreement
      pursuant to this Fourth Amendment to amend and restate the 2004 Replacement
      Note
      to provide for the extension of the Maturity Date of the 2004 Replacement Note
      from June 30, 2007 to September 30, 2007.

     

    NOW,
      THEREFORE,
      the
      parties hereto agree as follows: 

     

    AGREEMENT

    

    1.  Article
      One of the Loan Agreement is hereby amended in its entirety to read as
      follows:

     

    "1.
      AMOUNT AND TERMS OF LOANS.

     

    "1.1
      Term
      Loans.
      Subject
      to the terms herein, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Watson”) has previously
      loaned to Borrower the aggregate principal amount of Twenty One Million Four
      Hundred One Thousand Three Hundred Thirty One Dollars ($21,401,331) (the
      "Original Loan"). Effective the date of the Third Amendment to the Loan
      Agreement, (i) Watson forever forgave, discharged, cancelled and rendered null
      and void Borrower's obligation to repay Sixteen Million Four Hundred One
      Thousand Three Hundred Thirty One Dollars ($16,401,331) in principal amount,
      plus accrued and unpaid interest on such principal amount, of the Original
      Loan,
      resulting in a remaining principal balance of the Original Loan of Five Million
      Dollars ($5,000,000) (the "Loan"), and (ii) Watson forever forgave and
      discharged Borrower's obligation to pay interest under the Original Loan, as
      evidenced by the Old Notes, to the extent accrued and unpaid through and
      including the date of the Third Amendment to the Loan Agreement. The Old Notes
      previously issued by Borrower to Watson hereunder were amended or cancelled,
      as
      appropriate, in accordance with Section 1.2 below. Notwithstanding any
      prepayment of the Loan by Borrower, sums repaid may not be
      re-borrowed.

     

    
      
         

      

      
         

        
          

        

      

      
         

      

    

     

    1.2
      Promissory
      Notes.
      Borrower’s obligation to pay the principal of, and interest on, the Loan shall
      be evidenced by a promissory note dated as of December 20, 2002 duly executed
      and delivered by Borrower in the form attached as Exhibit A to the Fourth
      Amendment to the Loan Agreement and representing the $5,000,000 principal
      balance of the Loan (the “Note”), which Note shall be an amendment and
      restatement of the 2004 Replacement Note. Upon execution and delivery of the
      Note, the 2004 Replacement Note shall be null and void and of no further legal
      force or effect. Lender agrees to promptly return to Borrower the 2004
      Replacement Note after receipt of the Fourth Amendment to the Loan Agreement
      and
      the Note."

     

    2.  Section
      12.1 of the Loan Agreement is hereby amended by adding the following definitions
      in alphabetical order: 

     

    “2004
      Note and Loan Agreement Amendments” shall mean the amendments to the Note and
      the Loan Agreement effected pursuant to the Third Amendment to Loan
      Agreement.”

     

    “2004
      Replacement Note” shall mean the Replacement Note in the principal amount of $5
      million issued to Watson (and simultaneously assigned to Lender) pursuant to
      the
      Third Amendment to Loan Agreement.”

     

    
      
         

      

      
         

        
          

        

      

      
         

      

    

     

    3.  Limitation
      of Amendment.
      Except
      as amended above, the terms of the Loan Agreement shall remain in full force
      and
      effect.

     

    4.  Governing
      Law.
      This
      Fourth Amendment and the rights of the parties hereunder shall be governed
      in
      all respects by the laws of the State of New York wherein the terms of this
      Fourth Amendment were negotiated.

     

    5.  Counterparts.
      This
      Fourth Amendment may be executed in any number of counterparts, including by
      facsimile, each of which shall be an original, but all of which together shall
      constitute one instrument.

     

    IN
      WITNESS WHEREOF, Borrower and Lender have caused this Fourth Amendment to be
      duly executed by their duly authorized officers all as of the day and year
      first
      above written.

     

    
      	 	 	 	 
	"BORROWER"	 	 	"LENDER"
	 	 	 	 
	ACURA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.	 	 	GALEN PARTNERS III, L.P., as Agent
              
	 	 	 	 
	 	 	 	 
	By:
/s/
              Peter Clemens	 	 	By:
/s/
              Bruce F. Wesson
	
              
                

              
Name: Peter A. Clemens	 	 	
              
                

              
Name: Bruce F. Wesson
	
              Title:
                Senior Vice President

              
                and
                  Chief Financial Officer

              

            	 	 	Title:
              Managing
              Director

    

     

    
      
         

      

      
         

        
          

        

      

      
         

      

    

    EXHIBIT
      A

    

    Note

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