Document:

Exhibit
10.54

 

ADVANCED CELL
TECHNOLOGY, INC.

 

CONFIDENTIALITY
AND NONDISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

 

THIS AGREEMENT is made
effective as of 2-3-99 (the “Effective Date”), by and between ADVANCED CELL
TECHNOLOGY, INC. (“ACT”), a Delaware corporation, and ROBERT LANZA, M.D.,
a                        corporation
located
at                                                        (the
“Receiving Party”), to assure the protection and preservation of the
confidential and/or proprietary information to be disclosed or made available
by ACT to the Receiving Party in connection with the negotiations or
discussions further described in Exhibit A attached hereto (the “Purpose”).

 

In reliance upon
and in consideration of the following undertakings, the parties agree as follows:

 

1.                                       Subject
to the exceptions set forth in Paragraph 2, all information disclosed by ACT to
the Receiving Party, whether disclosed orally or in written, graphic or
electronic form, shall be “Confidential Information” of ACT. In particular, Confidential
Information shall include, but not be limited to, ACT' business or technical
information such as business plans and strategies, business operations and
systems, marketing techniques and material pricing policies, information concerning
employees, customers, licensees and/or vendors and any patent application,
trade secret, invention, idea, procedure, formulation, process, formula, or
data.

 

2.                                       The
term “Confidential Information” shall not be deemed to include information which
the Receiving Party can demonstrate by competent written proof: (a) is now, or
hereafter becomes, through no act or failure to act on the part of the
Receiving Party, in the public domain; (b) is known by the Receiving Party at
the time of receiving such information, as evidenced by its records; or (c) is
hereafter furnished to the Receiving Party by a third party, as a matter of
right and without restriction on disclosure.

 

3.                                       The
Receiving Party shall maintain all Confidential Information in trust and confidence
and shall not publish, disseminate or otherwise disclose any Confidential
Information to any third party without the written consent of ACT, except as
provided below.  The Receiving Party may
only disclose and disseminate Confidential Information to those officers,
employees, or agents of the Receiving Party with a need to know, and only after
such officers, employees, or agents have been advised of the confidential
nature of such information and are bound by an obligation of confidentiality to
the Receiving Party under terms substantially similar to the terms of this
Agreement.  The Receiving Party further
agrees that it shall not disclose the Confidential Information to any of its
affiliates unless each such affiliate agrees in writing to be bound by the terms
of this Agreement and names ACT as a third party beneficiary of such written
agreement.

 

4.                                       Notwithstanding
any other provision of this Agreement, disclosure of Confidential Information
shall not be prohibited if such disclosure: (a) is in response to a valid order
of a court or other governmental body of the United States or any political
subdivision thereof; provided, however, that the Receiving Party shall first
have given notice to ACT and shall have made a reasonable effort to obtain a
protective order requiring that the Confidential Information so disclosed be
used only for the purposes for which the order was issued; or (b) is otherwise required
by law.

 

5.                                       The
Receiving Party may use Confidential Information only to the extent required to
accomplish the Purpose.  In particular,
the Receiving Party shall not file any patent application containing any claim
the subject matter of which contains, is based upon, or is derived from the

 

1

 

Confidential Information.
The Receiving Party shall not use Confidential Information for any purpose or
in any manner which would constitute a violation of any laws or regulations of the
United States.  No rights or licenses to
trademarks, copyrights, patents or any other proprietary rights of ACT are
implied or granted under this Agreement.

 

6.                                       All
Confidential Information (including all copies thereof) shall at all times
remain the property of ACT and shall be returned to ACT upon request of ACT,
and in any event, upon completion or termination of this Agreement.

 

7.                                       Unless
earlier terminated as provided below, this Agreement shall continue in full force
and effect for five (5) years from the Effective Date.  This Agreement may be terminated by either
party at any time upon thirty (30) days written notice to the other party.  The provisions of Paragraphs 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 and
9 shall survive any such early termination of this Agreement for a period of
five (5) years from the date of such termination.

 

8.                                       This
Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts as
applied to agreements executed and performed entirely within the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts by Massachusetts residents.  Any claim or controversy arising out of or
related to this Agreement or any breach hereof shall be submitted to a court of
applicable jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and each party
hereby consents to the jurisdiction and venue of such court.  If either party engages attorneys to enforce
any rights arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the prevailing party
shall be entitled to recover its fees expended in engaging such attorneys.

 

9.                                       The
parties’ rights and obligations will bind and inure to the benefit of their respective
successors, heirs, executors and administrators and permitted assigns.  The Receiving Party shall not assign or
delegate its obligations under this Agreement either in whole or in part without
the prior written consent of ACT.

 

10.                                 If
any provision of this Agreement is found by a proper authority to be unenforceable,
that provision shall be severed and the remainder of this Agreement will
continue in full force and effect.

 

11.                                 This
Agreement, together with Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated herein,
contains the final, complete and exclusive agreement of the parties relative to
the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous
understandings and agreements relating to its subject matter. This Agreement
may not be changed, modified, amended or supplemented except by a written instrument
signed by both parties.

 

12.                                 This
Agreement has been prepared in the English language and the English language
shall control its interpretation.

 

13.                                 Any
notices required or permitted hereunder shall be given to the appropriate party
at the address specified below or at such other address as the party shall
specify in writing.  Such notice shall be
deemed given upon the personal delivery, or three (3) days after the date of
mailing when sent by certified or registered mail, postage prepaid, or upon the
date such notice is transmitted by facsimile, provided that such transmission
is subsequently confirmed by telephone.

 

2

 

	
  AGREED TO:

  	
  AGREED
  TO:

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  ADVANCED CELL
  TECHNOLOGY, INC.

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  By:

  	
  /s/ Michael D. West

  	
   

  	
  By:

  	
  /s/ Robert Lanza

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Michael D. West, Ph.D.

  	
   

  
	
  (Print Name)

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  President & CEO

  	
  (Print Name)

  
	
  (Title)

  	
  (Title)

  
						

 

3Exhibit
10.55

 

	
   

  	
  

  	
   

  
	
  ADVANCED C E L L TECHNOLOGY

  

 

September 29, 1997

 

 

Dr. James Robl, Ph.D.

University of
Massachusetts

Department of Veterinary
and Animal Science

Amherst, MA 01003

 

Re:                               Consulting
Agreement

 

Dear Jim:

 

This letter confirms the
Agreement between you and Advanced Cell Technology (“ACT”) under which you will
serve on the ACT scientific advisory committee and perform consulting services
to ACT on the following terms and conditions:

 

1.                                       Services.  The consulting services you will provide are described
in the attached Exhibit A.

 

2.                                       Term.  This Agreement shall be for a period of one
year commensing from October 1, 1997 and shall automatically renew for
subsequent periods of one year each unless either party notifies the other in
writing of an intention not to renew at least 60 days prior to the end of the
then current period.

 

3.                                       Compensation.
 The Company will pay you an amount of $48,000.00
per annum. Your compensation will accrue from day to day and be payable in once
monthly installments.  In addition,
Advanced Cell Technology agrees to provide you with a one-time signing bonus of
$36,000 (thirty-six thousand dollars). It is further understood that the
aforementioned signing bonus is a one time only bonus and that subsequent
renewal of this or any similar consulting agreement between the parties will
not include payment of such signing bonus.

 

3.2         You
will be granted immediately upon the initiation of the 1997 Incentive Stock
Option Agreement, a fully vested option to purchase twenty thousand (20,000)
shares of the Company’s common stock.

 

 

ACT 00528

 

The exercise price
shall be $0.25 per share for the aforementioned 20,000 shares.  You will also be eligible to earn, additional
options to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock.  The exercise price for these additional
options will be in accordance with the following schedule:

 

up to 10,000
options at $3.75 per share on the first anniversary date of this signing.

 

a further 10,000
options at $3.75 per share on the second anniversary date of this signing.

 

and; a final
10,000 options at $3.75 per share on the third anniversary date of this
signing.

 

Any additional
options will be granted under the 1997 Incentive Stock Option Agreement and
will be at the current exercise price as determined by that Agreement.

 

All options to
purchase common stock of the Company as described in this item shall be subject
to the rules and conditions of the Company’s 1997 Incentive Stock Option Agreement
except where herein indicated by this item 3.3 (i.e., exercise price and vesting
schedule).

 

4.                                       Independent
Contractor.  You will provide your
consulting services as an independent contractor, not as an employee. Nothing
herein creates any joint venture, partnership, agency, employment or other
relationship between us. You acknowledge your responsibility for and agree to
comply with all federal and state tax laws with respect to any payments you
receive under this Agreement.  You
further agree not to hold yourself out as or characterize yourself as our
employee for any purpose.

 

5.                                       Ownership
of Work  You acknowledge that your
consulting duties may include the making of inventions.  If at any time during your consulting (whether
alone or with any other persons) you evolve or discover any procedures,
processes, formulae, methods of production, invention, design, computer
program, copyright work or other intellectual property (“Intellectual Property”)
regarding ACT funded research in ACT facility and not connected with University
or ACT sponsored University research (for more detailed description, see
Appendix, Category C) you must disclose to the Company full details including
drawings and models.  This includes any Intellectual
Property which results from any disclosure to you by a client or potential
client of the Company.  Subject to the
following provisions of this section 5 all such ACT (see appendix,
Category C) Intellectual Property will hold in trust of the Company and at the
request and expense of the Company you will do all things necessary and
desirable to enable the Company or its nominee to obtain the benefit of the
Intellectual Property and to secure patent or appropriate forms of protection
for ACT throughout the world in the name of the Company or its nominee.  You will treat such Intellectual Property as
the confidential information of the Company unless otherwise instructed by the
President of ACT.  Since the Company
recognizes that you are an employee of the University and that the

 

 

agreements are
signed by the Company and the University (Research Collaboration Agreement
dated April 15, 1996 and Exclusive License Agreement dated April 16, 1996)
the following categories of Research Projects and resultant ownership of IP
will govern (see Appendix for a summary of research in each category). The
categories are:

 

Category A-
Research conducted by and/or supervised by you (James Robl) at the University
under contract funded by ACT.  All the
research results and Intellectual Property resulted from this research will
belong to the University and will come under the Research Collaboration
Agreement dated April 15, 1996 and the subsequent Exclusive License
Agreement dated April 16, 1996 between the Company (ACT) and the
University.

 

Category B-
Research conducted and/or supervised by you (James Robl) at the University and
funded by sources other than the company (ACT).  Such research and IP developed under Category
B comes under the specific agreements between that funding agency and does not
belong to the Company (ACT) nor is it part of this Agreement.

 

Category C-
Research conducted by and/or supervised by you (James Robl) at an ACT (off
University campus) facility on projects funded by ACT will belong totally to
the Company as Company’s Research Results and IP.

 

5.2                                 The
Company will act reasonably and will not claim rights to any Intellectual
Property that has already occurred to you as an employee of the University of
Massachusetts if and only if it is described in writing and explained to the
Chief Scientific Officer or Vice President of Research and Development of the
Company before you sign this Agreement and if you have obtained from him a
written disclaimer to that effect and also provided that the invention or idea
is not based on the technology derived from Intellectual Property owned by the Company.

 

5.3                                 The
Company recognizes that through your University work it is possible that you
may make inventions in areas unrelated to the work of the Company.  You should discuss these unrelated inventions
fully with the Chief Scientific Officer to ensure there is no conflict.

 

5.4                                 The
Company will act reasonably and will disclaim in writing rights to any Intellectual
Property in which it has no interest.  Only
then will you be free to develop any such idea or discovery in your own right
provided you do not use the Company’s time, premises, or equipment without the
express written consent of the Vice President, Research and Development.

 

6.                                       Confidentiality All information relating to ACT’s
research, projects and business is highly confidential, and you agree to maintain
it in strictest confidence and use it only in connection with your work for us
and not for any other purpose.  You
specifically agree not to reveal any such information to any other persons.  The restrictions in this paragraph shall not
apply to information which: (a) you rightfully had before you learned it from
or about ACT; (b) subsequently becomes known or available to you from a third

 

 

Stock Options

 

Stice Stock Option
Grant.  In 1994, Steven
L. Stice, Ph.D. was granted a non-qualified option to purchase shares of common
stock of the Company.  Upon the
effectiveness of a contemplated
reverse stock split, the number of shares of common stock subject to the option
will be 50,000 shares.  The optioned
shares are fully vested and are exercisable one-half (25,000 shares) at $0.25
per share and one-half (25,000) shares at $3.75 per share.  The option is non-transferable except that
upon Dr. Stice’s death, his estate may exercise the option for a period of
three years following the date of his death, or until December 31, 2004,
the expiration date of the option, whichever comes first.

 

Proposed Robl
Stock Option Grant.  Dr. James Robl has an option for 20,000 shares
of Common Stock. Dr. Robl may receive options for up to an additional 30,000
shares based on meeting certain research milestones and/or becoming a full-time
employee of the Company.  It is
anticipated that the first 20,000 shares will be granted at an exercise price
of $0.25 per share and the next 30,000 shares will be granted at an exercise price
of $3.75 per share.

 

 

ACT 00534

 

party acting lawfully;
(c) becomes generally known by publication, commercial use or otherwise,
without violation of this Agreement; or (d) you develop independently and
without reference to or reliance upon any information from or about ACT.

 

7.                                       Conflict
of Interest.  During the period of
your work for us under this Agreement and for 18 months thereafter, you will
not directly or indirectly consult with or work for anyone else engaged in or
proposing to engage in commercial exploitation of xenotransplantation,
pharmaceutical protein production in transgenic animals or related technology.  Nor during the same period will you engage in
such activity for your own account or hire any of our employees or anyone who
was an employee of ours anytime during the period you worked for us under this
Agreement.  You acknowledge and agree
that the restrictions in this paragraph are necessary to protect ACT’s trade
secrets, which are essential to ACT’s business.

 

8.                                       Remedies.
 You acknowledge that any violation of
the restrictions set forth in Paragraphs 6 and 7 of this Agreement may
irreparably damage ACT and that such damage may not be compensable in money.  Consequently, you consent and agree that ACT
shall have, in addition to all other rights and remedies as may be available,
the right to obtain the issuance of an injunction from any court of competent
jurisdiction enjoining any breach of such restrictions.

 

9.                                       Miscellaneous.
 This letter sets forth our entire
Agreement.  It supersedes any prior agreements
relating to the same matters, whether written or oral.  It may be amended only in writing signed by
both parties.  Either party’s failure to
enforce any term or condition of this Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of
such term or condition.  The rights and
obligations of both parties under Paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 8 shall survive any
termination or expiration of this Agreement.  This Agreement is governed by the laws of
Massachusetts without regard to principles of conflicts of laws.  If any provision of this Agreement is
unenforceable, it shall be deemed amended to the extent necessary to render it
enforceable and the rest of the Agreement shall remain in effect as before.

 

If the foregoing is in
accordance with your understanding and is agreeable, please indicate so by
signing and returning both enclosed copies of this letter.  We will return one fully-executed original to
you for your files.

 

	
  ACCEPTED AND AGREED

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  James Robl

  	
  Advanced Cell

  Technology, Inc.

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  By:

  	
  /s/ James Robl

  	
   

  	
  By:

  	
  /s/ [ILLEGIBLE]

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
  Date:

  	
  10-3-97

  	
   

  	
  Title:

  	
  Chairman

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
   

  
	
   

  	
  Date:

  	
    10/15/97

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