EDGAR 10-K Filing

Company CIK: 1107421
Filing Year: 2021
Filename: 1107421_10-K_2021_0001193125-21-063387.json

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ITEM 1. BUSINESS
Item 1. Business
BUSINESS OVERVIEW
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing next generation immuno-oncology platforms that leverage cell- and gene-based therapies to treat patients with cancer. We are developing platform technologies that utilize the immune system by employing innovative cell engineering and novel, controlled gene expression technologies designed to deliver safe and effective, cell and gene therapies for the treatment of multiple cancer types. Our major platform and priority is referred to as Sleeping Beauty
and is based on the non-viral genetic engineering of immune cells using a transposon/transposase system that is intended to stably engineer T cells outside of the body for subsequent infusion. Our second platform is referred to as Controlled IL-12 and
is designed to stimulate expression of interleukin 12, or IL-12, a master
regulator of the immune system, in a controlled manner to focus the patient’s immune system to more effectively attack cancer cells.
Using our Sleeping Beauty
platform, we are developing T cell receptor, or TCR, T cell therapies to target neoantigens in solid tumors using two approaches, which we refer to as our “Library TCR-T Approach” and “our Personalized TCR-T Approach.” The Library TCR-T Approach uses third-party (allogeneic) TCRs that have been prepared before the recipient has been identified to genetically modify patient-derived T cells to redirect specificity to public, or shared neoantigens. The Personalized TCR-T Approach uses patient-derived (autologous) TCRs that are prepared from the recipient to genetically modify patient-derived T cells to redirect specificity to private neoantigens. It is anticipated that more than one TCR-T product with more than one specificity will be administered in the Personalized TCR-T Approach. In February 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, cleared our company-sponsored investigational new drug, or IND, application submitted for a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating TCRs from our library for the investigational treatment of lung, cholangiocarcinoma, pancreatic, colorectal and gynecological cancers. Initially, six curated TCRs reactive to mutated KRAS and TP53 will be included in the clinical trial: however, we expect to expand the number of TCRs to be evaluated in our clinical trial. This clinical trial is being conducted in collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, or MD Anderson, which will be the first site for the clinical trial.
Under our Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, the National Cancer Institute, or NCI, is conducting a Phase 2 Personalized TCR-T clinical trial to evaluate autologous peripheral blood lymphocytes genetically modified with the Sleeping Beauty
system to express private neoantigen-specific TCRs. The trial is designed to enroll patients with a broad range of solid tumors. The FDA has cleared the IND application submitted by the NCI for this clinical trial. However, enrollment in this clinical trial has been temporarily suspended due to issues internal to NCI and unrelated to our technology. The progress and timeline for this trial, including the timeline for dosing patients, are under the control of the NCI.
We are developing chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, T cell, or CAR+
T, therapies targeting CD19 on malignant B cells using our Sleeping Beauty
platform. We are advancing our so-called rapid personalized manufacture, or RPM, technology, in Greater China with Eden BioCell, Ltd., or Eden BioCell, our joint venture with TriArm Therapeutics, Ltd. RPM enables small numbers of T cells to be infused as soon as the day after gene transfer which is made possible by the genetic modification of resting T cells to express CAR and membrane bound IL-15, or
mbIL15. Eden BioCell is leading the clinical development and commercialization of Sleeping Beauty
-generated CD19-specific RPM CAR+
T therapies using patient-derived (autologous) T cells in order to treat patients with relapsed or refractory CD19+
leukemias and lymphomas. In the fourth quarter of 2020, an IND was cleared by the Taiwan FDA for a Phase 1 clinical trial designed to evaluate safety and efficacy in this patient group. In our Phase 1 clinical trial being conducted in the United States, we plan to infuse donor-derived T cells after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, or BMT, for recipients who have relapsed with CD19+
leukemias and lymphomas with our CD19-specific CAR+
T therapies manufactured using our technology.
Our Controlled IL-12 platform is
based on an engineered replication-incompetent adenovirus, referred to as Ad-RTS-hIL-12, plus veledimex
as a gene delivery system to conditionally produce IL-12, a potent,
naturally occurring anti-cancer protein, to treat patients with solid tumors. Our Controlled IL-12 platform allows
us to deliver IL-12 in a
tunable dose as the cytokine is under transcriptional control of the RheoSwitch Therapeutic System®
(RTS®
). We have completed enrollment to all our Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, or rGBM. These trials examine the effect of Controlled IL-12
as a monotherapy and in combination with blockade of the immune checkpoint protein PD-1.
Dosing is ongoing in a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex
in combination with PD-1 antibody Libtayo
®
(cemiplimab-rwlc) for the treatment of recurrent or progressive glioblastoma multiforme in adults. Data from our monotherapy and combination studies have been presented at major scientific conferences.
OUR STRATEGY
Our goal is to be an innovative immuno-oncology company that delivers safe and effective therapies that provide clinically transformative benefit for patients and long-term value for shareholders. Key elements of our strategy include:
•
Building an
end-to-end
TCR solution targeting solid tumors.
We intend to build and strengthen our position in the field of T cell targeting solid tumors by investing significantly to optimize and expand our process development and manufacturing capabilities, creating an end-to-end, scalable
solution. We intend to build this end-to-end solution
to develop treatments using (i) TCR+
T cells expressing third party (allogeneic) TCRs from a library, which we refer to as our Library TCR-T Approach and (ii) TCR+
T cells expressing recipient-derived (autologous) TCRs, which we refer to as our Personalized TCR-T Approach. We plan to expand our library of allogeneic TCRs from internal research and third parties that target mutated KRAS, TP53 and EGFR pan-cancer
neoantigens as a key part of our commitment to advance clinical development for the treatment of patients whose solid tumors have driver mutations.
•
Advancing our third generation CD19 CAR
+
T program.
We believe our CD19 CAR+
T therapies may help address the manufacturing and economic challenges of other CAR+
T programs. Our CAR+
T program targeting CD19 on malignant B cells was initially developed in collaboration with MD Anderson in the United States and will be increasingly led by Eden BioCell in Greater China.
•
Executing on the clinical trials of our Controlled IL-12 platform as both a monotherapy and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors.
In our clinical trials, we have observed that Controlled IL-12 increases T cell activity in the tumor microenvironment in patients with rGBM and we will continue exploring partnership opportunities to continue developing Controlled IL-12 in GBM and other tumor types.
•
Delivering shareholder value through strategic business development and disciplined prioritization of our capital resources.
As our programs advance to trials with potentially higher investment required, we will prioritize across our programs to ensure our capital resources are deployed in the optimal manner. In addition, where appropriate, we will seek and execute value-delivering partnerships with other companies. Partnerships are also a potentially important source of technology and innovation. We will seek scientifically focused collaborations that can further enhance our in-house
capabilities and technologies.
SLEEPING BEAUTY PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY
We are pursuing non-viral genetic engineering
technologies to develop two distinct therapies: addressing solid tumors via novel neoantigen-specific TCR+
T therapies and addressing hematological cancers via CD19-specific CAR+
T therapies. The platform we have licensed from MD Anderson uses the Sleeping Beauty
non-viral
genetic modification system to generate and characterize both TCR and CAR designs in T cells.
Limitations of Existing Approaches to Manufacturing T Cell Therapies
In recent years, companies have begun developing and commercializing therapies that include T cells engineered specifically for each patient, utilizing a viral vector. Manufacturing such products is typically undertaken at a centralized facility. The production time varies and typically takes many weeks with additional time needed for quality control. Manufacturing based on viral technology to express TCR or CAR has many challenges:
•
Scalability
. The requirement to be able to timely express a multitude of TCRs, whether to neoantigens unique to patients or neoantigens shared between patients, will be a challenge when the choice of gene transfer for TCR is based on virus.
•
Time to manufacture
. The need to propagate (numerically expand) T cells requires the product be in culture in compliance with current good manufacturing practice (cGMP) during which the intended recipient may be unable to receive the genetically modified T cells.
•
Expense of production
. The need to generate virus and the production time with the associated logistical complications increase the cost of manufacturing the genetically modified T cells.
•
Required lymphodepletion
. The infusion of T cells that have been propagated ex vivo
, or outside the body, tends to make them dependent on cytokines to survive and thrive after infusion. This requirement has resulted in the use of chemotherapy and other approaches of immunosuppression to “free up” pro-survival
cytokines, such as naturally occurring (endogenous) IL-15, in
the recipient prior to the administration of T cells. Lymphodepletion facilitates the sustained persistence of genetically modified T cells in the patient, but it exposes the patient to medical complications, raises expense, and limits the ability of the technology to be scaled as the administration of chemotherapy requires specialized centers.
•
Toxicity
. Infusing large numbers of T cells recognizing a single antigen, such as CD19, commonly places the recipient at risk from the synchronous activation of these T cells resulting in cytokine release syndrome and other associated toxicities, which can be severe and life threatening.
We believe these disadvantages will slow the development of clinically-effective and commercially-viable TCR therapies and continue to limit the long-term commercial potential of currently available CAR-T therapies.
Sleeping Beauty Solution
The Sleeping Beauty
system is a gene transfer method that utilizes a transposase enzyme to “cut and paste” donor transposon DNA from introduced plasmid into chromosomes using a process called transposition. The system can be used to stably deliver genes to a variety of cell types including human T cells. Sleeping Beauty
transposons appear to integrate in a random distribution at thymine-adenine, or TA, dinucleotide sites, making them less likely to cause off-target effects when
compared to other transposons and viral gene delivery methods.
We use the Sleeping Beauty
system to express TCRs that target patients’ neoantigens as well as CARs that enable a T cell to recognize specific proteins or antigens that are present on the surface of other cells. Our RPM technology is used in our third generation CAR+
T therapy, which uses the Sleeping Beauty
system to co-express our
proprietary mbIL15 and a kill switch along with the CAR, and we may elect to incorporate our mbIL15 technology in our TCR therapies in the future. Interleukin 15 (IL-15) may
have a variety of beneficial effects as it is considered a pro-survival cytokine
that promotes survival of T cells. Our pre-clinical data
suggest that incorporating mbIL15 into TCR and CAR+
T therapies enhances in vivo
persistence of the TCR and CAR+
T cells.
We believe our Sleeping Beauty
platform has several advantages compared with the viral gene transfer technologies used by other TCR and CAR-T companies:
•
Reduced costs.
By using DNA plasmid and avoiding the time-consuming and laborious manufacture of virus, our Sleeping Beauty
technology may reduce the manufacturing expense and challenges associated with viral gene transfer systems in creating T cells engineered to express TCR and CAR.
•
Shortened manufacturing.
We expect the T cell manufacturing process with Sleeping Beauty
to significantly reduce virus-based manufacturing times. In the clinical setting, the time to administration of Sleeping Beauty
-modified CAR+
T cells expressing mbIL15 and a kill switch has been shortened to two days or less from gene transfer, including time to release the product for infusion. This reduction in time is primarily achieved through the elimination of in vitro
T cell activation and propagation which avoids the need to culture T cells, which can take between approximately two and four weeks.
•
Customizable therapies.
Our Sleeping Beauty
platform may allow us to manufacture more customizable therapies. This enables a library of TCRs to be assembled and used that recognize diverse mutations within shared neoantigens and address a multitude of human leukocyte antigen, or HLA types. This enables personalized TCR-T therapies against unique, and potentially multiple, private neoantigens.
•
Potential improved safety profile.
We expect that including mbIL15 will enable the T cells in our TCR+
T or CAR+
T therapies to engraft from low starting (infusion) numbers. We believe this reduced T cell dose may reduce the side effects caused by cytokine release syndrome, which is often experienced by patients receiving larger infusions of TCR+
T or CAR+
T cells.
•
Potential to avoid lymphodepletion.
The addition of our proprietary mbIL15 may enable the administration of TCR- or CAR-expressing “younger”
T cells with an ability to be long-lived after infusion. The ability of TCR or CAR+
T cells to signal via mbIL15 increases TCR or CAR persistence and has the potential to eliminate lymphodepletion as the T cells rely on their own source of this pro-survival cytokine
rather than scavenging endogenous soluble IL-15 from
the recipient.
SLEEPING BEAUTY TCR PROGRAM
Background
Each T cell has a unique alpha/beta TCR and an ability to rapidly increase in numbers when the TCR interrogates a target and detects a threat. A TCR can recognize cancer cells as a threat as the receptor docks with a specialized set of molecules on the cancer cell surface called the HLA system, which is also referred to as the major histocompatibility complex, or MHC. The HLA system reveals the health of a cell based on the loading of peptides (processed protein), which then await examination by unique TCRs on populations of T cells. Two types of HLA molecules, Class I and Class II, are interrogated by TCRs on T cells. Class I molecules activate CD8+
T cells which have evolved an ability to be efficient killers. Class II molecules activate CD4+
T cells which help coordinate an efficient immune response. In each person, there are both many different TCR structures and many different HLA structures. TCRs within each person are adapted to work with their own HLA structures or alleles. For a T cell to recognize and destroy a tumor cell, the TCR must recognize the foreign antigen in the context of HLA and then be activated to deepen the engagement to kill the cell. This is different from CARs, which directly recognize antigens, such as CD19, such as on the surface of malignant B cells, without the need for presentation by HLA.
Genes in cancer cells can lead to the production of proteins, which are then processed by the cell into protein fragments known as peptides. When these peptides are presented to T cells by HLA, by either tumor cells or antigen presenting cells, and they result in T cell activation, they are known as antigens. When these immunogenic peptides are derived from proteins which are in turn expressed from genes that are mutated only in tumor cells (for example, within the cancer genome and not encoded in the germline), they are known as neoantigens. Tumor cells presenting neoantigens via HLA are targets for T cells. T cells can recognize and kill neoantigen-presenting cancer cells and effect a positive feedback loop to heighten the immune response.
In general, the immune system avoids targeting the body’s own healthy cells principally through processes known as immune tolerance by which T cells do not respond to HLA containing peptides from normal proteins and therefore avoid targeting healthy cells for destruction. The recognition by the TCR of peptide presented by the HLA system is a vital immune mechanism that allows the body both to respond against foreign threats, including cancer, as well as to avoid targeting the body’s own healthy cells.
Tumors utilize a variety of strategies to evade and suppress the host immune system. This renders T cells residing within the tumor, referred to as tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, or TIL, ineffective and, despite expressing tumor-specific TCRs, unable to recycle their effector functions to eliminate tumor. To overcome immune suppression, “young” T cells are likely needed, such as those found in the peripheral blood. However, these circulating T cells do not typically express tumor-specific TCRs in adequate numbers. We seek to address this problem by genetically modifying peripheral blood-derived T cells to express TCRs with specificity to tumor-derived antigens, especially neoantigens, and propagating them to sufficient numbers prior to administration.
Neoantigens are encoded by tumor-specific mutated genes that are often unique to each patient. Targeting these neoantigens requires TCRs that are generated on a patient-by-patient basis.
During cancer initiation and progression, tumor cells acquire mutations in naturally occurring genes that are responsible for transformation, known as driver mutations. Some of these driver mutations occur in “hotspots” and are a class of mutations shared between tumor types and between individuals. Since driver mutations can be anticipated, it is possible to prepare TCRs in a library in advance of a patient’s need.
Our Approach to Targeting Neoantigens
Using our Sleeping Beauty
non-viral platform, we are developing TCR+
T therapies to target solid tumors. Our TCR program designs and manufactures T cells that are intended to target tumor-specific neoantigens, thereby delivering personalized therapy that can attack an individual patient’s cancer.
To be successful, genetically modified T cells targeting one or more neoantigens will likely need to address the fact that (1) among a population of patients, not all tumors express the targeted neoantigen, referred to as inter-tumor heterogeneity, and (2) within a single patient, not all tumor cells express the targeted antigen, referred to as intra-tumor heterogeneity. Inter-tumor heterogeneity limits the number of recipients that are eligible to receive a treatment and intra-tumor heterogeneity creates the risk of antigen-escape variants, increasing the likelihood of cancer relapse. As a result, we believe companies developing T cell therapies targeting neoantigens must address both inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity. The Sleeping Beauty
system uses DNA plasmids to reprogram T cells to express introduced TCRs on a patient-by-patient basis,
which helps address inter-tumor heterogeneity, and to express more than one TCR for each patient and/or to target driver mutations, which helps address intra-tumor heterogeneity.
The genetic modification using the Sleeping Beauty
system of recipient-derived products enables us to target neoantigens in two ways, which we refer to as our Library TCR-T Approach and as our Personalized TCR-T Approach. We believe we are the only company that is using non-viral
gene transfer to develop both personalized TCR+
T therapies and TCR+
T therapies from a library of TCRs derived from internal research and third parties. We believe using the Sleeping Beauty
system to scale TCR-T to
infuse multiple products per patient and develop a library of TCRs to facilitate the recruitment of patients is a competitive advantage.
Library TCR-T Approach
Our Library TCR-T Approach is based on the finding that subsets of neoantigens are shared between patients and between classes of tumors. These neoantigens can be considered as “drivers” for tumor formation. These neoantigens are referred to as “hotspots” and their presence allows us to potentially administer TCR+ T cells expressing TCRs from a library derived from internal research and third parties. The advantage of the Library TCR-T Approach is that subsets of patients with solid tumors may be rapidly treated based on screening them for targeted neoantigens (e.g., KRAS, TP53), identifying patient HLA, and matching these two data sets to the TCRs in the library. Once a match has been identified, the TCR is introduced into peripheral blood-derived T cells using the Sleeping Beauty system, propagated to clinically sufficient numbers and then infused into the patient. We have in-licensed from the NCI multiple allogeneic TCRs derived from third parties that are reactive to mutated KRAS, TP53 and EGFR in hotspots and we plan to expand our TCR library as part of our commitment to advance clinical development for the treatment of patients whose solid tumors have driver mutations.
Personalized TCR-T Approach
Most neoantigens are unique to each patient’s tumor. We plan to address this uniqueness in our Personalized TCR-T Approach by infusing TCR+
T cells expressing recipient-derived TCRs. There are three essential steps in creating a T cell therapy targeting personalized neoantigens:
1. Detecting and prioritizing neoantigens
. Detecting a patient’s unique set of neoantigens usually requires one or more samples of the patient’s malignant tissue(s) and sampling of normal cells, followed by sequencing to reveal a catalog of candidate neoantigens that are found in the tumor cells, but not in normal cells. Bioinformatics can be used to identify and prioritize the candidate neoantigens that are attractive targets.
2. Detecting and prioritizing TCRs
. Only a subset of candidate sequence changes are neoantigens as defined by their ability to stimulate a T cell response and thus are characterized as antigens. Validating targets requires the presentation of candidate neoantigens via HLA with T cells to be co-cultured with
antigen presenting cells to efficiently identify the reactive T cells. One or more of the TCRs from individual reactive T cells are then sequenced. The TCRs are typically sequenced from TIL responding to the targeted neoantigens.
3. Manufacturing TCR
+
T cells
. The sequences of one or more TCRs recognizing one or more neoantigens are placed into DNA plasmids as Sleeping Beauty
transposons. These DNA plasmids are inserted into T cells derived from peripheral blood using a process called electroporation. T cells stably expressing the introduced TCR(s) are then propagated to produce the TCR+
T cells in clinically-sufficient numbers before they are released for administration into a patient.
The process for the production and infusion of Sleeping Beauty
TCR-modified T cells
for our Library TCR-T Approach and Personalized TCR-T Approach is based on the electro-transfer of DNA plasmids coding for TCR(s) recognizing one or more neoantigens into T cells derived from a patient’s peripheral blood. Following electroporation, the genetically modified T cells are propagated prior to infusion. We believe the use of T cells from peripheral blood as the source of effector cells, rather than TIL, will improve the T cell’s ability to kill tumor cells because these circulating lymphocytes are generally “young” and can proliferate and survive in vivo
to sustain anti-tumor effects.
Infrastructure and Capabilities
During 2020, we made significant progress building critical manufacturing infrastructure, hiring personnel and adding R&D capabilities to support our clinical activities. We completed a buildout of our laboratory and office space on MD Anderson’s campus which will support our internal research and development activities. We have begun construction of both a sequencing core laboratory as well as a pilot clinical production unit, or pilot CPU, for GMP cell therapy manufacturing. We expect the pilot CPU will be operational by the end of 2021 and will be used to manufacture a portion of the TCR-T
therapies for our clinical trials.
We have also established processes in-house
for neoantigen identification, TCR hunting, and TCR-T
manufacturing process development. These processes will continue to be optimized to increase efficiencies, utilize new powerful technologies, and reduce time to treatment for the patient.
Clinical Development of TCR-T Program
We believe that a non-viral platform represents
the most commercially feasible way of manufacturing neoantigen therapies due to the obstacles presented by inter-tumor heterogeneity and intra-tumor heterogeneity.
We are conducting a Phase 1/2 clinical trial to evaluate our Library TCR-T Approach. The FDA cleared our company-sponsored IND in February 2021 and we have selected MD Anderson as the initial clinical site for this trial. Our library of TCRs will be tested for the treatment of lung, cholangiocarcinoma, pancreatic, colorectal and
gynecological cancers. We expect to begin dosing patients in this trial in the second half of 2021. The primary objective of the Phase 1 portion of the clinical trial is to evaluate the safety and tolerance of the cell therapy product.
We anticipate adding new TCRs to the library and clinical program as they are qualified by our laboratory.
In 2017, we entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or CRADA, with the NCI for the development of adoptive cell transfer-based immunotherapies to treat solid tumors under the direction of Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Surgery Branch at the NCI. Under our CRADA, the NCI will perform clinical evaluations of Sleeping Beauty
-engineered T cells to express TCRs that are typically reactive against unique neoantigens to mediate cancer regression in patients with refractory solid tumors for several tumor types, including gastrointestinal and genitourinary, breast, ovarian, non-small cell lung
cancer and glioblastoma. We anticipate that patients will receive populations of T cells genetically modified to express more than one TCR so that more than one neoantigen can be targeted in the patient. We expect infusing multiple TCRs per patient will reduce the probability of leaving some cancer cells unaddressed, lowering the risk of cancer relapse. The primary objective of the clinical trial is to evaluate tumor response rate with the secondary objective to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the therapy. The FDA has cleared the IND application submitted by the NCI for this Personalized TCR-T clinical trial and the trial was initiated in 2019. However, enrollment in this clinical trial has been temporarily suspended due to issues internal to the NCI and unrelated to our technology. The progress and timeline for this trial, including the timeline for dosing patients, are under the control of the NCI.
Solid Tumor Malignancy Prevalence
Cancer is the second most common cause of death in the United States, accounting for nearly one of every four deaths. Approximately 1,806,590 new cancer cases were expected to be diagnosed, and 606,520 cancer deaths expected to occur, in the United States in 2020 according to the American Cancer Society. Of these, the majority were caused by solid tumors. Invasive cancer, such as malignancies of epithelial tissue represent 80% to 90% of cancer cases according to the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program of the NCI. These diseases include colorectal, lung, ovarian, skin, bladder, head and neck cancers, among others.
SLEEPING BEAUTY CAR+
T PROGRAM
Background
We are developing CAR+
T cell therapies targeting CD19 for hematologic malignancies using our Sleeping Beauty
platform. Our CAR+
T program is focused on (1) shortening the time the patient must wait for treatment with engineered T cells, (2) increasing the access of medical centers to deliver, and patients to receive, this therapy, and (3) providing safe and efficacious T cell therapies to patients.
CARs are engineered molecules that, when present on the surface of a T cell, enable the T cell to directly recognize specific proteins or antigens that are present on the surface of other cells. CAR+
T cell therapies are manufactured individually for the recipient’s use by modifying T cells outside the body, causing the T cells to stably express CARs. Our CAR+
T program is focused on CD19, which is a protein expressed on the cell surface of B cells and a validated target for B cell driven hematological malignancies.
Autologous anti-CD19 CAR+
T cell therapies have been approved by the FDA for the treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) B-cell lymphomas (Kymriah®
,Yescarta®
, and Breyanzi®
). These approaches have been successful in helping patients fight CD19-positive cancers, resulting in significant remission rates.
We believe our Sleeping Beauty
CAR+
T therapy could offer distinct advantages to the approach used by currently commercially available CAR+
T cell companies. In particular, the ability of the DNA plasmids from the Sleeping Beauty
system under our RPM approach to integrate into resting T cells from peripheral blood,
coupled with expression of mbIL15 and CAR, will enable infused T cells to propagate within the patient to target leukemias and lymphoma, thereby avoiding the need to numerically expand T cells for weeks in bioreactors before administration. The reduced cost associated with using DNA plasmids, instead of virus and avoiding lengthy ex vivo
manufacturing provides a solution to the cost and complexity of the current approach to manufacturing CAR+
T cells.
Clinical Development of CAR+
T
In the preclinical setting, the time to manufacture and administer Sleeping Beauty-modified CAR+
T cells expressing mbIL15 has been reduced to two days or less from gene transfer. This includes time to release the product. This very rapid manufacturing process may deliver genetically modified T cells with superior therapeutic potential in vivo. Preclinical studies of our third generation Sleeping Beauty CAR+
T cells, presented at the 2017 Annual Meeting of ASH, demonstrated that a single dose of T cells co-expressing a CD19-specific CAR, mbIL15, and kill switch resulted in sustained in vivo persistence that produced potent anti-tumor effects and superior leukemia-free survival in mice.
In conjunction with TriArm Therapeutics, Ltd., or TriArm, we launched Eden BioCell to lead clinical development and commercialization of Sleeping Beauty-generated CAR-T therapies in the People’s Republic of China (including Macau and Hong Kong), Taiwan and Korea. Eden BioCell is focused on advancing our RPM technology using patient-derived (autologous) T cells in order to treat patients with relapsed or refractory CD19+ leukemias and lymphomas.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, the Taiwan FDA cleared the IND for a Phase 1 trial to evaluate the CAR-T CD19 RPM therapy in patients with relapsed CD19+ leukemias and lymphomas. This trial will be conducted at the National Taiwan University Hospital and will enroll up to 24 patients, with the goal of infusing 16 patients. The primary endpoint of the trial will be to evaluate the safety and tolerability of autologous CD19-specific T cells manufactured using the RPM technology. We expect patients will be enrolled in this trial in the first half of 2021.
We have advanced our CAR+ T technology in the United States in collaboration with MD Anderson in a Phase 1 clinical trial infusing CD19-specific CAR+ T therapies manufactured using our RPM technology. In this trial, we plan to infuse donor-derived T cells after allogeneic BMT for recipients who have relapsed with CD19+ leukemias and lymphomas. We announced the FDA cleared the IND application submitted by MD Anderson for this clinical trial in 2019 and MD Anderson initiated the trial in the first half of 2020. Patients have entered the study and corresponding donor cells have been collected. These patients are expected to be dosed upon progression of their cancer.
Hematologic Tumor Malignancy Prevalence
According to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, an estimated 178,520 people are expected to be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma in 2020. New diagnoses for such hematologic malignancies in the United States represented approximately 10% of the new cancer cases in the United States in 2020.
CONTROLLED IL-12 PLATFORM TECHNOLOGY
Background
Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex
is our gene delivery system to regulate production of IL-12, a potent,
naturally occurring anti-cancer protein which functions as a master regulator of the immune system. We control the generation of recombinant IL-12 using a
replication-incompetent adenoviral, or Ad, vector administered via a single injection of virus into the brain tumor and engineered to conditionally express human IL-12, or hIL-12.
The conditional expression of hIL-12 is modulated
with the RheoSwitch Therapeutic System®
(RTS®
) by the small molecule veledimex, an activator ligand orally administered that has been shown to cross the blood-brain barrier.
In this way, Ad-RTS-hIL-12 is administered
within the tumor under the control of the RTS “switch”. Activation of the switch, and therefore conditional gene expression and subsequent IL-12 protein production,
is tightly controlled by the activator ligand, veledimex, delivered to the patient as a daily oral capsule, typically over 14 days. When veledimex is administered to a patient, the switch is turned “on” and IL-12 is produced;
when veledimex is withdrawn, the switch is turned “off” and production of recombinant IL-12 ceases.
The amount of IL-12
produced is proportional to the dosing of veledimex which further enhances control of this cytokine. We believe the ability regulate production of IL-12 after
administration of the virus is critical for the development of this potent cytokine.
Recombinant IL-12 has been
shown to be biologically active as, for example, it can stimulate production of the body’s own interferon-gamma, or IFN-g
. IL-12 is a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine capable
of reversing immune escape mechanisms and improving the function of tumor fighting natural killer, or NK, cells and T cells.
Controlled IL-12 has been
shown to biologically turn “cold tumors hot.” In our clinical trials, we have seen deep and sustained infiltration of activated T cells (i.e., “hot” tumors) where previously there had been very little T cell infiltration (i.e., “cold” tumors). Data from repeat biopsies obtained four to six months following administration of Ad-RTS-hIL-12
plus veledimex has shown an increased and sustained infiltration of activated T cells producing IFN-g
within the brain-tumor lesion as reported in Science Translation Medicine
. Data from our Phase 1 monotherapy clinical trial provided compelling evidence from biopsies, taken more than four months after administration of Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex,
demonstrating that Controlled IL-12
causes a sustained influx of activated killer (CD8+
) T cells into brain tumors. These data also show upregulated expression of PD-1/PDL-1
biomarkers, suggesting that the combination of Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex
with an immune checkpoint inhibitor, such as targeting PD-1, may improve
patient outcomes.
Clinical Development of Controlled IL-12
Glioblastoma Prevalence
We are currently developing Controlled IL-12 to treat
patients with rGBM. Glioblastoma is an aggressive primary brain tumor affecting approximately 74,000 people worldwide each year; it is a fast-growing, aggressive type of central nervous system tumor, with an estimated 12,760 new adult cases predicted in the United States for 2018 according to the American Brain Tumor Association. Recurrence rates for this type of cancer are near 90 percent, and prognosis for adult patients is poor with treatment often combining multiple approaches including surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.
Recurrent glioblastoma is an aggressive cancer with one of the lowest 3-year survival rates,
at 3%, among all cancers. For patients who have experienced multiple recurrences, the prognosis is particularly poor, with an overall survival of six to seven months, while overall survival in patients who have failed temozolomide and bevacizumab, or equivalent salvage chemotherapy, is approximately three to five months.
Clinical Development Ad-RTS-IL-12 plus Veledimex
for Adult rGBM (Monotherapy and in Combination)
We previously conducted a Phase 1 clinical trial of patients with rGBM, referred to as the Main Study, in patients with rGBM. The primary objective of the trial is to determine the safety and tolerability of a single intra-tumoral Ad-RTS-hIL-12 injection activated
upon dosing with oral veledimex. Secondary objectives are to determine the maximum tolerated dose, the immune responses elicited, and assessment of biologic response.
A subset of patients in the Main Study (n=6) with unifocal disease who received single administration of Ad-RTS-hIL-12
with 20 mg daily dosing (15 total planned doses) of veledimex along with low-dose
steroids, achieved 17.8 months median overall survival, or mOS. Based on this result, we enrolled 36 subjects in a substudy, referred to as the Expansion Substudy, designed to encourage use of low-dose
steroids and 20 mg veledimex to further understand the potential of Controlled IL-12
as a monotherapy.
We are conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate Ad-RTS-hIL-12
plus veledimex in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb Company’s OPDIVO®
(nivolumab), an immune checkpoint inhibitor, or PD-1
inhibitor, in adult patients with rGBM. This trial was initiated in 2018 and is exploring the potentially synergistic effect of this combination in 21 patients, which have been enrolled. This multi-center, open-label, single-arm
trial is being conducted at four sites. Patients with rGBM scheduled for resection who had not been treated previously with inhibitors of immune-checkpoint pathways received Ad-RTS-hIL-12
intratumorally at the time of surgical resection plus a dose of veledimex (10 or 20mg), daily for 14 days. Patients receive nivolumab intravenously (1 or 3 mg/kg) every two weeks until documented progression or withdrawal from the clinical trial and an expansion cohort at the full dose of 20 mg veledimex and 3mg/kg of nivolumab was included.
In November 2018, we announced our entry into a clinical supply agreement with Regeneron to evaluate Ad-RTS-hIL-12
plus veledimex in combination with Regeneron’s PD-1 antibody Libtayo
®
(cemiplimab-rwlc) to treat patients with rGBM. Libtayo has been approved in the United States for the treatment of patients with metastatic cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, or CSCC, or locally advanced CSCC who are not candidates for curative surgery or curative radiation. This multi-center, open-label, single-arm trial
includes 36 patients and is fully enrolled, with the primary endpoints being safety and efficacy. Patients with rGBM scheduled for resection who have not been treated previously with inhibitors of immune-checkpoint pathways received Ad-RTS-hIL-12 intratumorally
at the time of surgical resection plus a dose of veledimex (20mg), daily for 14 days. Patients will receive cemiplimab intravenously (350 mg) every three weeks until documented progression or withdrawal from the clinical trial.
We provided interim updates for these trials at the 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual (Virtual) and 2020 Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) Annual Meeting, where we announced that:
•
Subjects receiving Ad (Day 0, craniotomy) and 20 mg (Days 0 to 14) veledimex with unifocal disease (“Main” and “Expansion” n=20) administered low-dose
corticosteroids showed mOS of 16.2 months (mean follow-up
of 14.1 months);
•
Subjects receiving Ad (Day 0, craniotomy) and 10 mg (Days 0 to 14) veledimex with 1 mg/kg or 3 mg/kg of nivolumab (n=6; 83% unifocal, 67% low dose steroids) showed mOS 16.9 months with mOS among all subjects (across both 10 mg and 20 mg veledimex dosing, n=21) of 9.8 months;
•
Subjects receiving Ad (Day 0, craniotomy) and 20 mg (Days 0 to 14) veledimex with 350 mg/kg of cemiplimab have a mean a follow-up
time of 6.5 months with mOS that has not been reached as of the data cut-off date;
•
Most patients received low dose steroids, defined as <= 20 mg cumulative dosing of dexamethasone during veledimex administration;
•
Serial MRIs show partial responses in each study (6 partial responses reported as of the data cut-off date); and
•
Adverse reactions (in monotherapy and in combination) remained consistent with previously reported results, being predictable and promptly reversible upon discontinuation of veledimex, and there were no drug-related deaths reported as of the data cut-off date.
Monotherapy: Clinical Development Ad-RTS-IL-12 plus Veledimex
for Pediatric Brain Tumors
In July 2020, we announced the first patient had been dosed in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating Ad-RTS-hIL-12
plus veledimex for the treatment of DIPG. We provided an interim update for this trial at the 2020 SNO Annual Meeting where we announced that:
•
Controlled IL-12
monotherapy was well-tolerated at the initial dose level (10 mg/day veledimex, BSA adjusted);
•
Adverse Events (AEs) were similar to adult and older pediatric supratentorial brain tumor subjects in being mild to moderate and predominantly reversible upon withholding of veledimex doses; and
•
Survival of the first subject dosed was within the historical reference range.
Future Development of Controlled IL-12
Program
As each of our programs progresses to clinical development, we strategically prioritize our portfolio to ensure our resources and capital are deployed in the optimal manner. With the clearance of the IND for our Ziopharm-sponsored TCR-T clinical trial and the IND for the Eden BioCell-sponsored CAR-T clinical trial, we have elected to allocate an increasing amount of our resources and capital to our Sleeping Beauty TCR program. As a result, we expect to reduce the amount of resources and capital allocated to our Controlled IL-12
program in 2021 and continue to explore partnership opportunities for this program to support its further development. In connection with this reduction in spend, we are evaluating potential changes to data collection of long term follow up and reducing other activities.
License Agreements, Intellectual Property and Other Agreements
Our goal is to obtain, maintain, and enforce patent protection for our products, formulations, processes, methods, and other proprietary technologies to preserve our trade secrets and other confidential information and to operate without infringing the proprietary rights of other parties. Our policy is to actively seek the strongest possible intellectual property protection for our product candidates through a combination of contractual arrangements and patents, both in the United States and abroad.
Exclusive License Agreement with PGEN Therapeutics
On October 5, 2018, we entered into an exclusive license agreement, or the License Agreement, with PGEN Therapeutics, or PGEN, a wholly owned subsidiary of Precigen Inc., or Precigen, which was formerly known as Intrexon Corporation. As between us and PGEN, the terms of the License Agreement replace and supersede the terms of: (a) that certain Exclusive Channel Partner Agreement by and between us and Precigen, dated January 6, 2011, as amended by the First Amendment to Exclusive Channel Partner Agreement effective September 13, 2011, the Second Amendment to the Exclusive Channel Partner Agreement effective March 27, 2015, and the Third Amendment to Exclusive Channel Partner Agreement effective June 29, 2016, which was subsequently assigned by Precigen to PGEN; (b) certain rights and obligations pursuant to that certain License and Collaboration Agreement effective March 27, 2015 between us, Precigen and ARES TRADING S.A., or Ares Trading, a subsidiary of Merck KGaA, or Merck, as assigned by Precigen to PGEN, or the Ares Trading Agreement; (c) that certain License Agreement between us, Precigen, and MD Anderson, with an effective date of January 13, 2015, or the MD Anderson License, which was subsequently assigned by Precigen and assumed by PGEN effective as of January 1, 2018; and (d) that certain Research and Development Agreement between us, Precigen and MD Anderson with an effective date of August 17, 2015, or the Research and Development Agreement, and any amendments or statements of work thereto.
Pursuant to the terms of the License Agreement, we have exclusive, worldwide rights to research, develop and commercialize (i) products utilizing Precigen’s RheoSwitch®
gene switch, or RTS, for the treatment of cancer, referred to as IL-12
Products, (ii) CAR products directed to (A) CD19 for the treatment of cancer, referred to as CD19 Products, and (B) a second target for the treatment of cancer, subject to certain obligations to pursue such target under the Ares Trading Agreement, and (iii) TCR products designed for neoantigens for the treatment of cancer. Under the License Agreement, we also have exclusive, worldwide rights for certain patents relating to the Sleeping Beauty
technology to research, develop and commercialize TCR products for both neoantigens and shared antigens for the treatment of cancer, referred to as TCR Products.
We will be solely responsible for all aspects of the research, development and commercialization of the exclusively licensed products for the treatment of cancer. We are required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize IL-12
products, CD19 products and TCR Products.
In consideration of the licenses and other rights granted by PGEN, we will pay PGEN an annual license fee of $100 thousand and we have agreed to reimburse PGEN for certain historical costs of the licensed programs up to $1.0 million, which was fully paid during the year ending December 31, 2019.
We will make milestone payments totaling up to an additional $52.5 million for each exclusively licensed program upon the initiation of later stage clinical trials and upon the approval of exclusively licensed products in various jurisdictions. In addition, we will pay PGEN tiered royalties ranging from low-single
digit to high-single digit on the net sales derived from the sales of any approved IL-12
products and CAR products. We will also pay PGEN royalties ranging from low-single
digit to mid-single
digit on the net sales derived from the sales of any approved TCR products, up to a maximum royalty amount of $100.0 million in the aggregate. We will also pay PGEN 20% of any sublicensing income received by us relating to the licensed products. We are responsible for all development costs associated with each of the licensed products.
PGEN will pay us royalties ranging from low-single
digits to mid-single
digits on the net sales derived from the sale of PGEN’s CAR products, up to a maximum royalty amount of $50.0 million.
In consideration of our entry into the License Agreement, Precigen has forfeited and returned to us all shares of our Series 1 preferred stock held by or payable to Precigen as of the date of the License Agreement.
In October 2020, we entered into an amendment to the License Agreement relating to the transfer of certain materials and PGEN’s obligations to provide transition assistance relating to the IL-12
products.
We determined that this transaction represented a capital transaction between related parties. We fair valued the preferred stock and the derivative liability on the date of the transaction, noting a total fair value of $163.3 million. The relinquishment of our obligation under the Ares Trading Agreement was also considered part of the overall capital transaction. We recognized an additional credit to accumulated deficit of $49.5 million as a result of the relief of the obligation under the Ares Trading Agreement. The total amount of the settlement was $212.8 million.
We incurred approximately $7.4 million of transaction advisory costs with third-party vendors, of which $5.4 million was considered a direct cost associated with the Series 1 preferred stock extinguishment and is also included as part of the consideration transferred. The remaining $2.0 million of transaction costs were recognized as an expense during the year ended December 31, 2018.
We recognized a net credit to accumulated deficit of $207.3 million, calculated as the difference in the carrying value of the Series 1 preferred stock, derivative liability, and contract liability, and the consideration transferred of $5.4 million, in connection with the transaction. This amount is included in net income available to common shareholders in the calculation of earnings per share.
License Agreement and 2015 Research and Development Agreement-The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
On January 13, 2015, we, together with Precigen, entered into the MD Anderson License with MD Anderson (which Precigen subsequently assigned to PGEN). Pursuant to the MD Anderson License, we, together with PGEN, hold an exclusive, worldwide license to certain technologies owned and licensed by MD Anderson including technologies relating to novel CAR T-cell
therapies, non-viral
gene transfer systems, genetic modification and/or propagation of immune cells and other cellular therapy approaches, Natural Killer, or NK Cells, and TCRs, arising from the laboratory of Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., who served as our Chief Executive Officer from May 2015 to February 2021 and was formerly a tenured professor of pediatrics at MD Anderson.
On August 17, 2015, we, Precigen and MD Anderson entered into the Research and Development Agreement, or the 2015 R&D Agreement, to formalize the scope and process for the transfer by MD Anderson, pursuant to the
terms of the MD Anderson License, of certain existing research programs and related technology rights, as well as the terms and conditions for future collaborative research and development of new and ongoing research programs. The rights and obligations of Precigen under the 2015 R&D Agreement were assigned to us pursuant to the Fourth Amendment to Research and Development Agreement which was entered into on September 18, 2019 (the “Fourth Amendment”) with an effective date of October 5, 2018. The activities under the 2015 R&D Agreement are directed by a joint steering committee comprised of two members from our company and one member from MD Anderson.
As provided under the MD Anderson License, we provided funding for research and development activities in support of the research programs under the 2015 R&D Agreement for a period of three years and in an amount of no less than $15.0 million and no greater than $20.0 million per year. On November 14, 2017, we entered into an amendment to the 2015 R&D Agreement extending its term until April 15, 2021. During the year ended December 31, 2019, we made no payments to MD Anderson compared to $2.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2018. The decrease in cash paid to MD Anderson during the year ended December 31, 2019 as compared to the same period in the prior year is a result of the final quarterly payment being made to MD Anderson in January 2018 and the result of approved expenditures incurred by us being deducted from the January 2018 quarterly payment. The net balance of cash resources on hand at MD Anderson available to offset expenses and future costs is $8.1 million, which is included in other current assets on our balance sheet at December 31, 2020.
The term of the MD Anderson License expires on the last to occur of (a) the expiration of all patents licensed thereunder, or (b) the twentieth anniversary of the date of the MD Anderson License; provided, however, that following the expiration of the term of the MD Anderson License, we, together with Precigen, shall then have a fully-paid up, royalty free, perpetual, irrevocable and sublicensable license to use the licensed intellectual property thereunder. After ten years from the date of the MD Anderson License and subject to a 90-day
cure period, MD Anderson will have the right to convert the MD Anderson License into a non-exclusive
license if we and Precigen are not using commercially reasonable efforts to commercialize the licensed intellectual property on a case-by-case
basis. After five years from the date of the MD Anderson License and subject to a 180-day
cure period, MD Anderson will have the right to terminate the MD Anderson License with respect to specific technology(ies) funded by the government or subject to a third-party contract if we and Precigen are not meeting the diligence requirements in such funding agreement or contract, as applicable. MD Anderson may also terminate the agreement with written notice upon material breach by us and Precigen, if such breach has not been cured within 60 days of receiving such notice. In addition, the MD Anderson License will terminate upon the occurrence of certain insolvency events for both us and Precigen and may be terminated by the mutual written agreement of us, Precigen, and MD Anderson.
In connection with the execution of the 2019 R&D Agreement described below, on October 22, 2019, we amended the 2015 R&D Agreement to extend the term of the 2015 R&D Agreement until December 31, 2026 and to allow cash resources on hand at MD Anderson under the 2015 R&D Agreement to be used for development costs under the 2019 R&D Agreement.
2019 Research and Development Agreement-The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
On October 22, 2019, we entered into the 2019 Research and Development Agreement, or the 2019 R&D Agreement, with MD Anderson pursuant to which the parties agreed to collaborate with respect to the TCR program. Under the 2019 R&D Agreement, the parties will, among other things, collaborate on programs to expand our TCR library and conduct clinical trials. The activities under the 2019 R&D Agreement are directed by a joint steering committee comprised of two members from our company and one member from MD Anderson.
We will own all intellectual property developed under the 2019 R&D Agreement and we will retain all rights to intellectual property for oncology products manufactured using non-viral gene
transfer technologies under the
2019 R&D Agreement, including our Sleeping Beauty
technology. We have granted MD Anderson an exclusive license for such intellectual property outside the field of oncology and to develop and commercialize autologous TCR products manufactured using viral gene transfer technologies, and a non-exclusive license
for allogeneic TCR products manufactured using viral-based technologies.
Under the 2019 R&D Agreement, we agreed, beginning on January 1, 2021, to reimburse MD Anderson up to a total of $20 million for development costs under the 2019 R&D Agreement, after the funds from the 2015 R&D Agreement are exhausted. In addition, we will pay MD Anderson royalties on net sales of its TCR products at rates in the low single digits. We are required to make performance-based payments upon the successful completion of clinical and regulatory benchmarks relating to its TCR products. The aggregate potential benchmark payments are $36.5 million, of which only $3.0 million will be due prior to the first marketing approval of our TCR products. The royalty rates and benchmark payments owed to MD Anderson may be reduced upon the occurrence of certain events. We also agreed to sell our TCR products to MD Anderson at preferential prices and will sell our TCR products in Texas exclusively to MD Anderson for a limited period of time following the first commercial sale of our TCR products.
The 2019 R&D Agreement will terminate on December 31, 2026 and either party may terminate the 2019 R&D Agreement following written notice of a material breach. The 2019 R&D Agreement also contains customary provisions related to indemnification obligations, confidentiality and other matters.
In connection with the execution of the 2019 R&D Agreement, on October 22, 2019, we issued MD Anderson a warrant to purchase 3,333,333 shares of our common stock, which is referred to as the MD Anderson Warrant. The MD Anderson Warrant has an initial exercise price of $0.001 per share, expires on December 31, 2026 and vests upon the occurrence of certain clinical milestones. As of December 31, 2020, none of the milestones have been met.
The MD Anderson Warrant and the shares of our common stock to be issued upon exercise of the MD Anderson Warrant have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.
License Agreement with the National Cancer Institute
On May 28, 2019, we entered into a patent license agreement, or the Patent License, with the National Cancer Institute, or the NCI. Pursuant to the Patent License, we hold an exclusive, worldwide license to certain intellectual property to develop and commercialize patient-derived (autologous), peripheral blood T-cell
therapy products engineered by transposon-mediated gene transfer to express TCRs reactive to mutated KRAS, p53 and EGFR neoantigens. In addition, pursuant to the Patent License, we hold an exclusive, worldwide license to certain intellectual property for manufacturing technologies to develop and commercialize autologous, peripheral blood T-cell
therapy products engineered by non-viral
gene transfer to express TCRs, as well as a non-exclusive,
worldwide license to certain additional manufacturing technologies. On January 8, 2020 and September 28, 2020, we amended the Patent License to expand the TCR library licensed from the NCI to include additional TCRs reactive to mutated KRAS and TP53 neoantigens.
Pursuant to the terms of the Patent License, we are required to pay the NCI a cash payment in the aggregate amount of $1.5 million payable in $0.5 million installments within sixty days, six-months,
and the twelve-month anniversary of the effective date of the agreement for the Patent License. We also reimbursed the NCI for past patent expenses in the aggregate amount of approximately $46 thousand. Under the amendment to the patent license signed in January 2020, we agreed to pay the NCI a cash payment of $600,000 within sixty days of the amendment and under the amendment to the patent license signed in September 2020, we agreed to pay the NCI a cash payment of $411,000 within sixty days of the amendment.
The terms of the Patent License also require us to pay the NCI minimum annual royalties in the amount of $0.3 million, which amount will be reduced to $0.1 million once the aggregate minimum annual royalties paid by us equals $1.5 million.
We are also required to make performance-based payments upon successful completion of clinical and regulatory benchmarks relating to the licensed products. The aggregate potential benchmark payments are $4.3 million, of which aggregate payments of $3.0 million are due only after marketing approval in the United States or in Europe, Japan, Australia, China or India. The first benchmark payment of $0.1 million will be due upon the initiation of our first sponsored Phase 1 clinical trial of a licensed product or licensed process in the field of use licensed under the Patent License.
In addition, we are required to pay the NCI one-time
benchmark payments following aggregate net sales of licensed products at certain net sales up to $1.0 billion. The aggregate potential amount of these benchmark payments is $12.0 million. We must also pay the NCI royalties on net sales of products covered by the Patent License at rates in the low to mid-single
digits depending upon the technology included in a licensed product. To the extent we enter into a sublicensing agreement relating to a licensed product, we are required to pay the NCI a percentage of all consideration received from a sublicensee, which percentage will decrease based on the stage of development of the licensed product at the time of the sublicense.
The Patent License will expire upon expiration of the last patent contained in the licensed patent rights, unless terminated earlier. The NCI may terminate or modify the Patent License in the event of a material breach, including if we do not meet certain milestones by certain dates, or upon certain insolvency events that remain uncured following the date that is 90 days following written notice of such breach or insolvency event. We may terminate the Patent License, or any portion thereof, in our sole discretion at any time upon 60 days’ written notice to the NCI. In addition, the NCI has the right to: (i) require us to sublicense the rights to the product candidates covered by the Patent License upon certain conditions, including if we are not reasonably satisfying required health and safety needs and (ii) terminate or modify the Patent License, including if we are not satisfying requirements for public use as specified by federal regulations.
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute
On January 10, 2017, we announced the signing of the CRADA with the NCI for the development of adoptive cell transfer, or ACT,-based immunotherapies genetically modified using the Sleeping Beauty
transposon/transposase system to express TCRs for the treatment of solid tumors. The principal goal of the CRADA is to develop and evaluate ACT for patients with advanced cancers using autologous peripheral blood lymphocytes, or PBL, genetically modified using the non-viral
Sleeping Beauty
system to express TCRs that recognize neoantigens expressed within a patient’s cancer. Research conducted under the CRADA will be at the direction of Steven A. Rosenberg, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of the Surgery Branch at the NCI, in collaboration with our researchers and PGEN researchers. During the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company made payments of $2.5 million, each year. In February of 2019, the Company extended the CRADA with the NCI for two years, committing an additional $5.0 million to this program.
Patents and Other Intellectual Property Rights and Protection
Patents extend for varying periods according to the date of patent filing or grant and the legal term of patents in the various countries where patent protection is obtained. The actual protection offering by a patent, which can vary from country to country, depends of the type of patent, the scope of its coverage and the availability of legal remedies in the country.
Pursuant to the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, referred to as the Hatch-Waxman Amendments, some of our patents, under certain conditions, may be eligible for limited patent term extension for a period of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during drug development and the FDA regulatory review process. However, this extension period cannot be extended beyond 14 years from the drug’s approval date. The patent term restoration period is generally one-half
the period of time elapsed between the effective date of an IND application or the issue date of the patent, whichever is later, and the submission date of an NDA, plus the period of time between the submission date of the NDA or the issue date of the patent,
whichever is later, and FDA approval. The United States Patent and Trademark Office, in consultation with the FDA, reviews and approves applications for any patent term extension or restoration. We intend to seek the benefits of this statute, but there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain any such benefits.
We also depend upon the skills, knowledge, and experience of our scientific and technical personnel, as well as those of our advisors, consultants, and other contractors, none of which may be patentable. To help protect unpatentable proprietary know-how,
and for inventions for which patents may be difficult to enforce, we currently rely, and in the future, will continue to rely, on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect our interests. To this end, we generally require employees, consultants, advisors and other contractors to enter into confidentiality agreements that prohibit the disclosure of confidential information and, where applicable, require disclosure and assignment to us of the ideas, developments, discoveries and inventions important to our business.
Our patent position and proprietary rights are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. Please read the “
Risk Related to Our Intellectual Property”
section for further information about certain risks and uncertainties that may affect our patent position and proprietary rights.
Additional information as of December 31, 2019 about material patents and other proprietary rights covering our product candidates is set forth below.
TCR+
T and CAR+
T
In January 2015, we in-licensed from MD Anderson a technology portfolio that includes intellectual property directed to certain non-viral Sleeping Beauty
technology as well as TCR+
T and CAR+
T cell therapy and bioprocessing technology. Under the terms of the agreement, we have an exclusive license to certain of the intellectual property technology, a co-exclusive license to certain of the intellectual property technology and a non-exclusive license to certain of the intellectual property technology. Our rights to the MD Anderson intellectual property flow to us via our agreement with PGEN.
In May 2019, we in-licensed from NCI a technology portfolio that includes intellectual property directed to certain TCR+
T cell therapy and manufacturing technology. Under the terms of the agreement, we hold an exclusive, worldwide license to certain intellectual property to develop, manufacture and commercialize patient-derived (autologous), peripheral blood T-cell therapy products engineered by transposon-mediated gene transfer to express TCRs reactive to mutated KRAS, TP53 and EGFR neoantigens. In addition, we hold an exclusive, worldwide license to certain intellectual property for manufacturing technologies to develop and commercialize autologous, peripheral blood T-cell therapy products engineered by non-viral gene transfer to express TCRs, as well as a non-exclusive, worldwide license to certain additional manufacturing technologies.
Ad-RTS-IL-12
plus veledimex
The patent estate licensed to us by PGEN covering Ad-RTS-IL-12
plus activator ligands, such as veledimex ligand compositions, methods of use, methods of manufacture, and formulations includes over one hundred patents and applications. This portfolio includes issued patents and pending applications in Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia and other countries. The term of one or more of the issued patents may be extended due to the regulatory approval process.
Governmental Regulation and Product Approval
As a biopharmaceutical company, we are subject to extensive regulation. Our programmed T-cell
product candidates are regulated as biologics. With this classification, commercial production of our products will need to occur in registered and licensed facilities in compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMPs, for biologics.
Human immunotherapy products are a new category of therapeutics. The FDA categorizes human cell- or tissue-based products as either minimally manipulated or more than minimally manipulated and has determined that more than minimally manipulated products require clinical trials to demonstrate product safety and efficacy and the submission of a Biologics License Application, or BLA, for marketing authorization.
Government authorities in the United States (at the federal, state and local level) and in other countries and jurisdictions, extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, preclinical and clinical testing, manufacturing, quality control, labeling, packaging, storage, record-keeping, promotion, advertising, sale, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, marketing and export and import of biopharmaceutical products such as those we are developing. Our product candidates must be approved by the FDA before they may be legally marketed in the United States and by the appropriate foreign regulatory agency before they may be legally marketed in foreign countries. Generally, our activities in other countries will be subject to regulation that is similar in nature and scope as that imposed in the United States, although there can be important differences. The process for obtaining regulatory marketing approvals and the subsequent compliance with applicable federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources.
U.S. Product Development Process
In the United States, the FDA regulates biological products under the Public Health Service Act, or PHSA, and the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, or FDCA, and implementing regulations. Products are also subject to other federal, state and local statutes and regulations. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or after approval, may subject an applicant to administrative or judicial sanctions. FDA sanctions could include, among other actions, refusal to approve pending applications, withdrawal of an approval, a clinical hold, warning letters and similar public notice of alleged non-compliance
with laws, product recalls or withdrawals from the market, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement of profits, or civil or criminal penalties. Any agency or judicial enforcement action could have a material adverse effect on us. The process required by the FDA before a biological product may be approved for marketing in the United States generally involves the following:
•
completion of preclinical laboratory tests and animal studies according to Good Laboratory Practices, or GLPs, and applicable requirements for the humane use of laboratory animals or other applicable regulations;
•
submission to the FDA of an Investigational New Drug Application, or IND, which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin;
•
performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials according to the FDA’s regulations commonly referred to as Good Clinical Practices, or GCPs, and any additional requirements for the protection of human research subjects and their health information, to establish the safety and efficacy of the proposed biological product for its intended use;
•
preparation and submission to the FDA of a Biologics License Application, or BLA, for marketing approval that includes substantive evidence of safety, purity, and potency from results of nonclinical testing and clinical trials;
•
satisfactory completion of one or more FDA inspections of the manufacturing facility or facilities where the biological product is produced to assess compliance with cGMP to assure that the facilities, methods and controls used in product manufacture are adequate to preserve the biological product’s identity, strength, quality and purity and, if applicable, the FDA’s current Good Tissue Practices, or GTPs, for the use of human cellular and tissue products;
•
potential FDA audit of the nonclinical study and clinical trial sites that generated the data in support of the BLA;
•
payment of user fees for FDA review of the BLA; and
•
FDA acceptance, review and approval, or licensure, of the BLA, which might include review by an advisory committee, a panel typically consisting of independent clinicians and other experts who provide recommendations as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions.
Before testing any biological product candidate, including our product candidates, in humans, the product candidate must undergo rigorous preclinical testing. Preclinical tests, also referred to as nonclinical studies, include laboratory evaluations as well as in vitro
and animal studies to assess the potential safety and efficacy of the product candidate. The clinical trial sponsor must submit an IND to the FDA before clinical testing can begin in the United States. An IND must contain the results of the preclinical tests, manufacturing information, analytical data, any available clinical data or literature, a proposed clinical protocol, an investigator’s brochure, a sample informed consent form, and other materials. Clinical trial protocols detail, among other things, the objectives of the clinical trial, dosing procedures, subject selection and exclusion criteria, and the parameters to be used to monitor subject safety, including stopping rules that assure a clinical trial will be stopped if certain adverse events should occur. Each protocol and any amendments to the protocol must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. Some preclinical testing, such as toxicity studies, may continue even after the IND is submitted.
The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA raises concerns or questions regarding the proposed clinical trials or places the trial on a clinical hold within that 30-day
time period. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical trial can begin. The FDA may also impose clinical holds on a biological product candidate at any time before or during clinical trials due to safety concerns or non-compliance.
If the FDA imposes a clinical hold, trials may not recommence without FDA authorization and then only under terms authorized by the FDA.
Further, each clinical trial must be reviewed and approved by an independent institutional review board, or IRB, at or servicing each institution at which the clinical trial will be conducted. An IRB is charged with protecting the welfare and rights of trial participants and considers such items as whether the risks to individuals participating in the clinical trials are minimized and are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits. The IRB also approves the form and content of the informed consent that must be signed by each clinical trial subject or his or her legal representative and must monitor the clinical trial until completed. Clinical trials involving recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules also must be reviewed by an institutional biosafety committee, or IBC, a local institutional committee that reviews and oversees basic and clinical research conducted at that institution. The IBC assesses the safety of the research and identifies any potential risk to public health or the environment.
Clinical trials involve the administration of the biological product candidate to healthy volunteers or patients under the supervision of qualified investigators, generally physicians not employed by or under the trial sponsor’s control. Clinical trials must be conducted and monitored in accordance with the FDA’s regulations comprising the GCP requirements.
Human clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap or be combined:
•
Phase 1
. The biological product is initially introduced into healthy human subjects and tested for safety. In the case of some products for severe or life-threatening diseases, especially when the product may be too inherently toxic to ethically administer to healthy volunteers, the initial human testing is often conducted in patients with the target disease or condition.
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Phase 2
. The biological product is evaluated in a limited patient population to identify possible adverse effects and safety risks, to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy of the product for specific targeted diseases and to determine dosage tolerance, optimal dosage and dosing schedule.
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Phase 3
. Clinical trials are undertaken to further evaluate dosage, clinical efficacy, potency, and safety in an expanded patient population, generally at geographically dispersed clinical trial sites. These clinical trials are intended to generate enough data to statistically evaluate the efficacy and safety of the product for approval, to establish the overall risk to benefit profile of the product and to provide an adequate basis for product labeling.
Phase 1, Phase 2, and Phase 3 clinical trials may not be completed successfully within any specified period, if at all.
Post-approval clinical trials, sometimes referred to as Phase 4 clinical trials, may be conducted after initial marketing approval. These clinical trials are used to gain additional experience from the treatment of patients in the intended therapeutic indication, particularly for long-term safety follow-up.
During all phases of clinical development, regulatory agencies require extensive monitoring and auditing of all clinical activities, clinical data, and clinical trial investigators. Annual progress reports detailing the results of the clinical trials must be submitted to the FDA. Written IND safety reports must be promptly submitted to the FDA, the NIH and the investigators for serious and unexpected adverse events, any findings from other studies, tests in laboratory animals or in vitro
testing that suggest a significant risk for human patients, or any clinically important increase in the rate of a serious suspected adverse reaction over that listed in the protocol or investigator brochure. The sponsor must submit an IND safety report within 15 calendar days after the sponsor determines that the information qualifies for reporting. The sponsor also must notify the FDA of any unexpected fatal or life-threatening suspected adverse reaction within seven calendar days after the sponsor’s initial receipt of the information. The FDA or the sponsor or its data safety monitoring board, an independent group of experts that evaluates study data for safety and makes recommendations concerning continuation, modification, or termination of clinical trials, may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk, including risks inferred from other unrelated immunotherapy trials. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the biological product has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients.
Concurrently with clinical trials, companies usually complete additional nonclinical studies and must also develop additional information about the physical characteristics of the biological product as well as finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. To help reduce the risk of the introduction of adventitious agents with use of biological products, the PHSA emphasizes the importance of manufacturing control for products whose attributes cannot be precisely defined. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the product candidate and, among other things, the sponsor must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality, potency and purity of the final biological product. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested, and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the biological product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.
The FDA has a fast track designation program that is intended to expedite or facilitate the process for reviewing new drug or biologic products that meet certain criteria. Specifically, new drugs or biologics are eligible for Fast Track designation if they are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the disease or condition. Unique to a fast track product, the FDA may consider for review sections of the BLA on a rolling basis before the complete application is submitted, if the sponsor provides a schedule for the submission of the sections of the BLA, the FDA agrees to accept sections of the BLA and determines that the schedule is acceptable, and the sponsor pays any required user fees upon submission of the first section of the BLA.
After the completion of clinical trials of a biological product, FDA approval of a BLA must be obtained before commercial marketing of the biological product. The BLA must include results of product development,
laboratory and animal studies, human trials, information on the manufacture and composition of the product, proposed labeling and other relevant information.
Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, as amended, each BLA must be accompanied by a significant user fee. The FDA adjusts the PDUFA user fees on an annual basis. PDUFA also imposes an annual program fee for approved biological products. Fee waivers or reductions are available in certain circumstances, including a waiver of the application fee for the first application filed by a small business. Additionally, no user fees are assessed on BLAs for products designated as orphan drugs, unless the product also includes a non-orphan
indication.
Within 60 days following submission of the application, the FDA reviews a BLA submitted to determine if it is substantially complete before the agency accepts it for filing. The FDA may refuse to file any BLA that it deems incomplete or not properly reviewable at the time of submission and may request additional information. In this event, the BLA must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application also is subject to review before the FDA accepts it for filing. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth
substantive review of the BLA. The FDA reviews the BLA to determine, among other things, whether the proposed product is safe, potent, and/or effective for its intended use, and has an acceptable purity profile, and whether the product is being manufactured in accordance with cGMP to assure and preserve the product’s identity, safety, strength, quality, potency and purity. The FDA may refer applications for novel biological products or biological products that present difficult questions of safety or efficacy to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts, for review, evaluation and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions. During the biological product approval process, the FDA also will determine whether a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, is necessary to ensure that the benefits of the product outweigh its risks and to assure the safe use of the biological product, which could include medication guides, physician communication plans, or elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools. FDA determines the requirement for a REMS, as well as the specific REMS provisions, on a case-by-case
basis. If the FDA concludes a REMS is needed, the sponsor of the BLA must submit a proposed REMS. The FDA will not approve a BLA without a REMS, if required.
Before approving a BLA, the FDA will inspect the facilities at which the product is manufactured. The FDA will not approve the product unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. For immunotherapy products, the FDA also will not approve the product if the manufacturer is not in compliance with the GTPs, to the extent applicable. These are FDA regulations and guidance documents that govern the methods used in, and the facilities and controls used for, the manufacture of human cells, tissues, and cellular and tissue-based products, or HCT/Ps, which are human cells or tissue intended for implantation, transplant, infusion, or transfer into a human recipient. The primary intent of the GTP requirements is to ensure that cell and tissue-based products are manufactured in a manner designed to prevent the introduction, transmission and spread of communicable disease. FDA GTP regulations also require tissue establishments to register and list their HCT/Ps with the FDA and, when applicable, to evaluate donors through screening and testing. Additionally, before approving a BLA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure that the clinical trials were conducted in compliance with IND trial requirements and GCP requirements.
Notwithstanding the submission of relevant data and information, the FDA may ultimately decide that the BLA does not satisfy its regulatory criteria for approval. If the agency decides not to approve the BLA in its present form, the FDA will issue a Complete Response Letter, which generally outlines the specific deficiencies in the BLA identified by the FDA and may require additional clinical or other data or impose other conditions that must be met in order to secure final approval of the application. The deficiencies identified may be minor, for example, requiring labeling changes, or major, for example, requiring additional clinical trials. Even with the submission of additional information, the FDA may ultimately decide that the application does not satisfy the
regulatory criteria for approval. If a Complete Response Letter is issued, the applicant may either resubmit the BLA, addressing all of the deficiencies identified in the letter, or withdraw the application.
The FDA may require that certain contraindications, warnings or precautions be included in the product labeling, or otherwise limit the scope of any approval. In addition, the FDA may require post marketing clinical trials, sometimes referred to as Phase 4 clinical trials, designed to further assess a biological product’s safety and effectiveness, and testing and surveillance programs to monitor the safety of approved products that have been commercialized. After approval, many types of changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications, manufacturing changes and additional labeling claims, are subject to further testing requirements and FDA review and approval.
In addition, under the Pediatric Research Equity Act, or PREA, a BLA or supplement to a BLA must contain data to assess the safety and effectiveness of the product for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations and to support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the product is safe and effective. The FDA may grant deferrals for submission of data or full or partial waivers.
Post-Approval Requirements
Any products for which we receive FDA approvals are subject to continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, record-keeping requirements, reporting of adverse experiences with the product, providing the FDA with updated safety and efficacy information, product sampling and distribution requirements, and complying with FDA promotion and advertising requirements.
In addition, quality control and manufacturing procedures must continue to conform to applicable manufacturing requirements after approval to ensure the long-term stability of the product. We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties for the production of clinical and commercial quantities of our products in accordance with cGMP regulations. cGMP regulations require among other things, quality control and quality assurance as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation and the obligation to investigate and correct any deviations from cGMP. Manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved products are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and certain state agencies for compliance with cGMP and other laws. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain cGMP compliance. Discovery of problems with a product after approval may result in restrictions on a product, manufacturer, or holder of an approved BLA, including, among other things, recall or withdrawal of the product from the market.
The FDA also may require post-marketing testing, known as Phase 4 testing, and surveillance to monitor the effects of an approved product. Discovery of previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, with manufacturing processes, or the failure to comply with applicable FDA requirements can have negative consequences, including adverse publicity, judicial or administrative enforcement, complete withdrawal from the market, product recalls, warning letters from the FDA, mandated corrective advertising or communications with doctors, product seizure or detention, injunctions, and civil or criminal penalties, among others. Newly discovered or developed safety or effectiveness data may require changes to a product’s approved labeling, including the addition of new warnings and contraindications, and also may require the implementation of other risk management measures. Also, new government requirements, including those resulting from new legislation, may be established, or the FDA’s policies may change, which could delay or prevent regulatory approval of our products under development.
Moreover, the FDA strictly regulates marketing, labeling, advertising and promotion of products. Drugs may be promoted only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved label, although physicians, in the practice of medicine, may prescribe approved drugs for unapproved indications. However, companies may share truthful and not misleading information that is otherwise consistent with the labeling. The
FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label
uses, and a company that is found to have improperly promoted off-label
uses may be subject to significant liability.
U.S. Marketing Exclusivity
The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act, or BPCIA, amended the PHSA to authorize the FDA to approve similar versions of innovative biologics, commonly known as biosimilars. Biosimilars are approved pursuant to an abbreviated pathway whereby applicants need not submit the full slate of preclinical and clinical data, and approval is based in part on the FDA’s findings of safety, purity, and potency for the original biologic (i.e., the reference product). Reference products are eligible to receive 12 years of exclusivity from the time of first licensure of the product, which prevents the FDA from approving any biosimilars to the reference product through the abbreviated pathway, but does not prevent approval of BLAs that are accompanied by a full data package and that do not rely on the reference product. A biosimilar may be approved if the product is highly similar to the reference product notwithstanding minor differences in clinically inactive components and there are no clinically meaningful differences with the reference product in terms of the safety, purity, and potency.
Pediatric exclusivity is another type of regulatory market exclusivity in the United States. Pediatric exclusivity, if granted, adds six months to existing exclusivity periods and patent terms. This six-month
exclusivity, which runs from the end of other exclusivity protection or patent term, may be granted based on the voluntary completion of a pediatric trial in accordance with an FDA-issued
“Written Request” for such a trial.
Orphan Drug Designation
Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan designation to a drug or biologic intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States or, if it affects more than 200,000 individuals in the United States, there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making a drug or biologic product available in the United States for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales of the product. Orphan designation must be requested before submitting a marketing application. After the FDA grants orphan designation, the identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. Orphan designation does not convey any advantage in or shorten the duration of the regulatory review and approval process.
If a product that has orphan designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease or condition for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity, which means that the FDA may not approve any other applications to market the same drug or biological product for the same indication for seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan exclusivity or inability to manufacture the product in sufficient quantities. The designation of such drug also entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages and user fee waivers. Competitors, however, may receive approval of different products for the indication for which the orphan product has exclusivity or obtain approval for the same product but for a different indication for which the orphan product has exclusivity. Orphan exclusivity also could block the approval of one of our products for seven years if a competitor obtains approval of the same product as defined by the FDA or if our product candidate is determined to be contained within the competitor’s product for the same indication or disease. If an orphan designated product receives marketing approval for an indication broader than what is designated, it may not be entitled to orphan exclusivity. Orphan drug status in the European Union has similar but not identical benefits in that jurisdiction.
Coverage, Pricing and Reimbursement
Significant uncertainty exists as to the coverage and reimbursement status of any product candidates for which we obtain regulatory approval. In the United States and markets in other countries, sales of any products for which we receive regulatory approval for commercial sale will depend, in significant part, on the extent to which
third-party payors provide coverage, and establish adequate reimbursement levels for such products. In the United States, third-party payors include federal and state healthcare programs, private managed care providers, health insurers and other organizations. The process for determining whether a third-party payor will provide coverage for a product may be separate from the process for setting the price of a product or for establishing the reimbursement rate that such a payor will pay for the product. Third-party payors may limit coverage to specific products on an approved list, also known as a formulary, which might not include all of the FDA-approved
products for a particular indication. In addition, in the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for drug products exists among third-party payors. Therefore, coverage and reimbursement for drug products can differ significantly from payor to payor. Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the price, examining the medical necessity of and reviewing the cost-effectiveness of medical products, therapies and services, in addition to questioning their safety and efficacy.
Reimbursement may impact the demand for, and/or the price of, any product candidate which obtains marketing approval. Even if coverage and reimbursement is obtained for a given product candidate by a third-party payor, the resulting reimbursement payment rates may not be adequate or may require co-payments
that patients find unacceptably high. Patients who are prescribed medications for the treatment of their conditions, and their prescribing physicians, generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with those medications. Patients are unlikely to use a product, and physicians may be less likely to prescribe a product, unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate to cover all or a significant portion of the cost of the product. Therefore, coverage and adequate reimbursement is critical to new drug product acceptance.
The downward pressure on health care costs in general, particularly prescription drugs and biologics, has become very intense. Governments have shown significant interest in implementing cost-containment programs, including price controls, restrictions on reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products. The marketability of any product candidates for which we receive regulatory approval for commercial sale may suffer if the government and third-party payors fail to provide favorable coverage and adequate reimbursement. In addition, emphasis on managed care in the United States has increased and we expect will continue to increase the pressure on healthcare pricing. Coverage policies and third-party reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained for one or more products for which we receive regulatory approval, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.
Health Care Laws Governing Interactions with Healthcare Providers
Healthcare providers, and third-party payors in the United States play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of drug products. Arrangements with healthcare providers, third-party payors and customers can expose pharmaceutical manufactures to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws, including false claims, privacy and security, price reporting, and physician sunshine laws or regulations. Some of our pre-commercial
activities are subject to some of these laws. . The applicable federal, state and foreign healthcare laws and regulations laws that may affect a pharmaceutical manufacture’s ability to operate include, but are not limited to:
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The federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which regulates our business activities, including our marketing practices, educational programs, pricing policies, and relationships with healthcare providers or other entities, by prohibiting, among other things, soliciting, receiving, offering or paying remuneration, directly or indirectly, to induce, or in return for, either the referral of an individual or the purchase or recommendation of an item or service reimbursable under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs;
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Federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including the False Claims Act which permits a private individual acting as a “whistleblower” to bring actions on behalf of the federal government alleging violations of the False Claims Act, and civil monetary penalty laws, which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment from Medicare, Medicaid, or other third-party payors that are false or fraudulent;
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The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which created new federal civil and criminal statutes that prohibit, among other things, executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or making false statements relating to healthcare matters;
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HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, or HITECH, and their implementing regulations, which imposes certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information on entities and individuals subject to the law including certain healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses, known as covered entities, as well as individuals and entities that perform services for them which involve the use, or disclosure of, individually identifiable health information, known as business associates as well as their covered subcontractors;
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Requirements to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS certain financial arrangements with physicians and teaching hospitals, as defined in the ACA and its implementing regulations, including reporting any “transfer of value” made or distributed to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals, and reporting any ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members and applicable group purchasing organizations during the preceding calendar year. Beginning in 2022, applicable manufacturers also will be required to report such information regarding its payments and other transfers of value to physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, anesthesiologist assistants, certified registered nurse anesthetists and certified nurse midwives during the previous year; and
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State and foreign law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, such as anti-kickback and false claims laws which may apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including commercial insurers; state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the applicable compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government that otherwise restricts certain payments that may be made to healthcare providers and entities; state laws that require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfer of value to physicians and other healthcare providers and entities; state laws that require the reporting of information related to drug pricing; state and local laws that require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives; and state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
Efforts to ensure that business arrangements comply with applicable healthcare laws involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental and enforcement authorities will conclude that a pharmaceutical manufacturer’s business practices do not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law interpreting applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If any such actions are instituted against a pharmaceutical manufacturer, and it is not successful in defending itself or asserting its rights, it may be subject to the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, disgorgement, monetary fines, imprisonment, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and curtailment of operations, as well as additional reporting obligations and oversight if subject to a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance
with these laws. In addition, the approval and commercialization of drug products outside the United States may also subject a pharmaceutical manufacturer to foreign equivalents of the healthcare laws mentioned above, among other foreign laws.
Healthcare Reform Efforts
A primary trend in the United States healthcare industry and elsewhere is cost containment. Over the last several years, there have been federal and state proposals and legislation enacted regarding the pricing of pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical products, limiting coverage and reimbursement for drugs and other medical products, and making changes to healthcare financing and the delivery of care in the United States.
In March 2010, the ACA was enacted, which includes measures that have significantly changed healthcare financing by both governmental and private insurers. The provisions of the ACA of importance to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry are, among others, the following:
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created an annual, nondeductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports certain branded prescription drug agents or biologic agents, which is apportioned among these entities according to their market share in certain government healthcare programs;
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increased the rebates a manufacturer must pay under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program to 23.1% and 13% of the average manufacturer price for branded and generic drugs, respectively;
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created a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must now agree to offer 70% point-of-sale
discounts to negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer’s outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D;
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extended manufacturers’ Medicaid rebate liability to covered drugs dispensed to individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations, unless the drug is subject to discounts under the 340B drug discount program;
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created a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected;
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expanded eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs by, among other things, allowing states to offer Medicaid coverage to additional individuals and by adding new mandatory eligibility categories for certain individuals with income at or below 133% of the federal poverty level, thereby potentially increasing manufacturers’ Medicaid rebate liability;
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expanded the entities eligible for discounts under the Public Health Service pharmaceutical pricing program;
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created a new requirement to annually report drug samples that certain manufacturers and authorized distributors provide to physicians;
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expanded healthcare fraud and abuse laws, including the False Claims Act and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, new government investigative powers, and enhanced penalties for noncompliance;
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created new requirements under the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act for drug manufacturers to annually report information related to payments and other transfers of value made to physicians and teaching hospitals as well as ownership or investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members;
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created a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research;
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established a Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation at CMS to test innovative payment and service delivery models to lower Medicare and Medicaid spending, potentially including prescription drug spending; and
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created a licensure framework for follow on biologic products.
There have been executive, legal and political challenges to certain aspects of the ACA. For Example, President Trump signed several executive orders and other directives designed to delay, circumvent or loosen certain requirements mandated by the ACA. Concurrently, Congress considered legislation to repeal or repeal and replace all or part of the ACA. While Congress has not passed repeal legislation, several bills affecting the implementation of certain taxes under the ACA have been signed into law. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or Tax Act, included a provision which repealed, effective January 1, 2019, the tax-based
shared responsibility payment imposed by the ACA on certain individuals who fail to maintain qualifying health coverage for all or
part of a year that is commonly referred to as the “individual mandate”. Further, the 2020 federal spending package permanently eliminated, effective January 1, 2020, the PPACA-mandated “Cadillac” tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage and medical device tax and, effective January 1, 2021, also eliminated the health insurer tax. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, or the BBA, among other things, amended the ACA, effective January 1, 2019, to increase from 50 percent to 70 percent the point-of-sale
discount that is owed by pharmaceutical manufacturers who participate in Medicare Part D and to close the coverage gap in most Medicare drug plans, commonly referred to as the “donut hole”. On December 14, 2018, a Texas U.S. District Court Judge ruled that ACA is unconstitutional in its entirety because the “individual mandate” was repealed by Congress as part of the Tax Act. Additionally, on December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the District Court ruling that the individual mandate was unconstitutional and remanded the case back to the District Court to determine whether the remaining provisions of the ACA are invalid as well. The U.S. Supreme Court is currently reviewing this case, but it is unknown when a decision will be reached. Although the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the constitutionality of the ACA, on January 28, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order to initiate a special enrollment period from February 15, 2021 through May 15, 2021 for purposes of obtaining health insurance coverage through the ACA marketplace. The executive order also instructs certain governmental agencies to review and reconsider their existing policies and rules that limit access to healthcare, including among others, reexamining Medicaid demonstration projects and waiver programs that include work requirements, and policies that create unnecessary barriers to obtaining access to health insurance coverage through Medicaid or the ACA. It is unclear how the Supreme Court ruling, other such litigation, and the healthcare reform measures of the Biden administration will impact the ACA and our business.
In addition, other federal health reform measures have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the ACA was enacted. For example, as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011, providers are subject to Medicare payment reductions of 2% per fiscal year, which went into effect on April 1, 2013 and, due to subsequent legislative amendments to the statute, including the BBA, will remain in effect through 2030 unless additional Congressional action is taken. However, COVID-19 relief support legislation suspended the 2% Medicare sequester from May 1, 2020 through March 31, 2021. Further, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 reduced Medicare payments to several providers and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments from providers from three to five years. The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015 also introduced a quality payment program under which certain individual Medicare providers will be subject to certain incentives or penalties based on new program quality standards. In November 2019, CMS issued a final rule finalizing the changes to the Medicare Quality Payment Program.
Further, there has been heightened governmental scrutiny in the United States of pharmaceutical pricing practices in light of the rising cost of prescription drugs and biologics. Such scrutiny has resulted in several recent Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to product pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for products. At the federal level, the Trump administration used several means to propose or implement drug pricing reform, including through federal budget proposals, executive orders and policy initiatives. For example, on July 24, 2020 and September 13, 2020, the Trump administration announced several executive orders related to prescription drug pricing that attempt to implement several of the administration’s proposals. The FDA also released a final rule, effective November 30, 2020, implementing a portion of the importation executive order providing guidance for states to build and submit importation plans for drugs from Canada. Further, on November 20, 2020, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, finalized a regulation removing safe harbor protection for price reductions from pharmaceutical manufacturers to plan sponsors under Part D, either directly or through pharmacy benefit managers, unless the price reduction is required by law. The implementation of the rule has been delayed by the Biden administration from January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023 in response to ongoing litigation. The rule also creates a new safe harbor for price reductions reflected at the point-of-sale, as well as a new safe harbor for certain fixed fee arrangements between pharmacy benefit managers and manufacturers, the implementation of which have also been delayed pending review by the Biden administration until March 22, 2021. On November 20, 2020, CMS issued an interim final rule implementing President Trump’s Most Favored Nation executive order, which
would tie Medicare Part B payments for certain physician-administered drugs to the lowest price paid in other economically advanced countries, effective January 1, 2021. On December 28, 2020, the United States District Court in Northern California issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against implementation of the interim final rule. However, it is unclear whether the Biden administration will work to reverse these measures or pursue similar policy initiatives.
At the state level, legislatures have increasingly enacted legislation and implemented regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. In addition, regional healthcare authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other healthcare programs.
U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, U.K. Bribery Act and Other Laws
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or the FCPA, prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering, or authorizing payment or offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party or candidate for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of the foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with accounting provisions requiring the company to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries, and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations. Activities that violate the FCPA, even if they occur wholly outside the United States, can result in criminal and civil fines, imprisonment, disgorgement, oversight, and debarment from government contracts.
Our operations are also subject to non-U.S.
anti-corruption laws such as the U.K. Bribery Act 2010, or the Bribery Act. As with the FCPA, these laws generally prohibit us and our employees and intermediaries from authorizing, promising, offering, or providing, directly or indirectly, improper or prohibited payments, or anything else of value, to government officials or other persons to obtain or retain business or gain some other business advantage. Under the Bribery Act, we may also be liable for failing to prevent a person associated with us from committing a bribery offense.
We are also subject to other laws and regulations governing our international operations, including regulations administered by the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States and authorities in the European Union, including applicable export control regulations, economic sanctions and embargoes on certain countries and persons, anti-money laundering laws, import and customs requirements and currency exchange regulations, collectively referred to as trade control laws.
Failure to comply with the Bribery Act, the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws and trade control laws could subject us to criminal and civil penalties, disgorgement and other sanctions and remedial measures, and legal expenses.
Competition
The development and commercialization for new products to treat cancer, including the indications we are pursuing, is highly competitive and considerable competition exists from major pharmaceutical, biotechnology and specialty cancer companies. Many of these companies have more experience in preclinical and clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory, and global commercialization. We are also competing with academic institutions, governmental agencies, and private organizations that are conducting research in the field of cancer.
Our genetically engineering T-cell
programs face significant competition in the CAR and TCR technology space from multiple companies and their collaborators. Three such companies, Novartis International AG (Kymriah®
),
Kite Pharma Inc./Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Yescarta®
) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (Breyanzi®
), have now commercialized autologous CAR+ T cells against CD19. Additional companies developing autologous CAR+ T targets include Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Precigen, Inc., bluebird bio, Inc., Nanjing Legend Biotech and Janssen Biotech, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, Gracell Biotechnologies Inc., CARsgen Therapeutics Co. Ltd., Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Autolus Therapeutics plc, Mustang Bio, Inc., Crispr Therapeutics AG, Precision Biosciences Inc., Protheragen Inc.and Marker Therapeutics, Inc. Several companies are pursuing the development of allogeneic CAR+ T therapies, including Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (in collaboration with Pfizer Inc.), Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. and Cellectis SA (in collaboration with Servier) which may compete with our product candidates.
Our TCR program faces competition from several companies, including from Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline plc, ArsenalBio, Lyell, bluebird bio, Kite Pharma Inc./Gilead Sciences, Inc., Achilles Therapeutics Limited, Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc., Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH, Tmunity Therapeutics Inc, Medigene AG, Tactiva Therapeutics, LLC, Takara Bio, Inc., TCR2 Therapeutics Inc., Zelluna Immunotherapy AS, PACT Pharma, Inc. and others. Several companies, including Advaxis Inc./Amgen Inc., BioNTech AG and Gritstone Oncology, Inc., are pursuing vaccine platforms to target neoantigens for solid tumors. Other companies are developing non-viral
gene therapies, including Poseida Therapeutics, Inc. and several companies developing CRISPR technology. We also face competition from companies developing therapies using cells other than T cells such as Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, NantKwest, Inc., IN8bio, Inc., Fate Therapeutics Inc. and TC BioPharm Limited. We also face competition from companies developing T cells with cytokines such as Torque Therapeutics and Obsidian Therapeutics, Inc. We also face competition from non-cellbased
treatments offered by other companies such as Amgen Inc., AstraZeneca plc, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Incyte Corporation, Merck & Co., Inc., and Roche Holding AG.
We are initially developing our Controlled IL-12
platform for the treatment of rGBM. Companies that sell marketed drugs for rGBM are Genentech Inc. and Roche Holding AG with Avastin (bevacizumab), a vascular endothelial growth factor directed antibody indicated for the treatment of adults with rGBM. Arbor Pharmaceuticals Inc. markets GLIADEL Wafer, which is indicated in patients with newly diagnosed high-grade malignant glioma as an adjunct to surgery and radiation and is also indicated in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme as an adjunct to surgery. Additionally, Novocure has developed Optune (tumor treating fields) for newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma. Several companies have product candidates in Phase 3 development for the treatment of glioblastoma, including, but not limited to, Cordgenics, LLC, Bayer AG, Kazia Therapeutics Limited, and Kintara Therapeutics, Inc. Several companies and institutions have product candidates currently in Phase 2 clinical trials, including, but not limited to, Abbvie Inc., DNAtrix Therapeutics, Istari Oncology, Karyopharm and MedImmune LLC/AstraZeneca plc, and other companies are actively developing additional products to treat brain cancer including Mustang Bio Inc. and Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc.
Other competitors with product candidates currently in Phase 2 clinical trials include AbbVie Inc.’s Depatus-M
(ABT-414)
and DNA-2401,
a conditionally replicative adenovirus being evaluated in combination with pembrolizumab (KEYTRUDA®
) for rGBM by DNATrix Inc. and Merck & Co., Inc. Duke University is enrolling a randomized Phase 2 clinical trial of oncolytic polio/rhinovirus recombinant (PVSRIPO) alone or in
combination with lomustine in recurrent WHO Grade IV malignant glioma patients. Also, MedImmune, LLC/ AstraZeneca plc’s durvalumab was evaluated in a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with rGBM.
Employees and Human Capital Resources
As of February 16, 2021, we had 103 full-time employees and 3 part-time employees, 80 of whom were engaged in research and development activities and 26 of whom were engaged in business development, finance, information systems, facilities, human resources or administrative support. None of our employees are subject to a collective bargaining agreement and we believe our relations with our employees is good.
Our human capital resources objectives include, as applicable, identifying, recruiting, retaining, incentivizing and integrating our existing and additional employees. The principal purposes of our equity incentive plans are to
attract, retain and motivate selected employees, consultants and directors through the granting of stock-based compensation awards and cash-based performance bonus awards.
Corporate Information
We originally incorporated in Colorado in September 1998 (under the name Net Escapes, Inc.) and later changed our name to “EasyWeb, Inc.” in February 1999. We re-incorporated
in Delaware on May 16, 2005 under the same name. On September 13, 2005, we completed a “reverse” acquisition of privately held Ziopharm, Inc., a Delaware corporation. To effect this transaction, we caused ZIO Acquisition Corp., our wholly-owned subsidiary, to merge with and into Ziopharm, Inc., with Ziopharm, Inc. surviving as our wholly owned subsidiary. In accordance with the terms of the merger, the outstanding common stock of Ziopharm, Inc. automatically converted into the right to receive an aggregate of approximately 97.3% of our outstanding common stock (after giving effect to the transaction). Following the merger, we caused Ziopharm, Inc. to merge with and into us and we changed our name to “Ziopharm Oncology, Inc.” Although EasyWeb, Inc. was the legal acquirer in the transaction, we accounted for the transaction as a reverse acquisition under generally accepted accounting principles. As a result, Ziopharm, Inc. became the registrant with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and the historical financial statements of Ziopharm, Inc. became our historical financial statements.
Our principal executive offices are located at One First Avenue, Parris Building 34, Navy Yard Plaza, Boston, Massachusetts 02129, and our telephone number is (617) 259-1970.
Available Information
Our website address is www.ziopharm.com. Our website and information included in or linked to our website are not part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
We file reports with the SEC, which we make available on our website free of charge. These reports include annual reports on Form 10-K,
quarterly reports on Form 10-Q,
current reports on Form 8-K
and amendments to such reports, each of which is provided on our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such materials with or furnish them to the SEC. In addition, the SEC maintains a website (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC, including us.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Item 1A. Risk Factors
An investment in our common stock is very risky. In addition to the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K,
you should carefully consider the following risk factors in evaluating us and our business. If any of the events described in the following risk factors were to occur, our business, financial condition, results of operation and future growth prospects would likely be materially and adversely affected. In that event, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose all or a part of your investment in our common stock. Therefore, we urge you to carefully review this entire report and consider the risk factors discussed below. Moreover, the risks described below are not the only ones that we face. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our business, financial condition, operating results or prospects.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS
Our business, operations and clinical development plans and timelines could be adversely affected by the effects of health epidemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic,
on the manufacturing, clinical trial and other business activities performed by us or by third parties with whom we conduct business, including our contract manufacturers, clinical research organizations, or CROs, shippers and others.
Our business could be adversely affected by health epidemics wherever we have clinical trial sites or other business operations. In addition, health epidemics could cause significant disruption in the operations of third-party manufacturers, CROs and other third parties upon whom we rely.
We have implemented work-from-home policies for many of our employees. The effects of our work-from-home policies and travel restrictions may negatively impact productivity, disrupt our business and delay our clinical programs and timelines, the magnitude of which will depend, in part, on the length and severity of the restrictions and other limitations on our ability to conduct our business in the ordinary course. These and similar, and perhaps more severe, disruptions in our operations could negatively impact our business, operating results and financial condition.
We depend on a worldwide supply chain to manufacture products used in our preclinical studies and clinical trials. Quarantines, shelter-in-place and
similar government orders, or the expectation that such orders, shutdowns or other restrictions could occur, whether related to COVID-19 or
other infectious diseases, could impact personnel at our own manufacturing facilities or third-party manufacturing facilities in the United States and other countries, or the availability or cost of materials, which could disrupt our supply chain.
If our relationships with our suppliers or other vendors are terminated or scaled back as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
or other health epidemics, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative suppliers or vendors or do so on commercially reasonable terms or in a timely manner. Switching or adding additional suppliers or vendors involves substantial cost and requires management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new supplier or vendor commences work. As a result, delays may occur, which could adversely impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development and any future commercialization timelines. Although we carefully manage our relationships with our suppliers and vendors, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not harm our business.
In addition, our preclinical studies and clinical trials have been and may continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clinical site initiation, patient enrollment and activities that require visits to clinical sites, including data monitoring, have been and may continue to be delayed due to prioritization of hospital resources toward the COVID-19 pandemic
or concerns among patients about participating in clinical trials during a pandemic. Some patients may have difficulty following certain aspects of clinical trial protocols if quarantines impede patient movement or interrupt healthcare services. Similarly, if we are unable to successfully recruit and retain patients and principal investigators and site staff who, as healthcare providers, may have heightened
exposure to COVID-19 or
experience additional restrictions by their institutions, city, or state our clinical trial operations could be adversely impacted.
The spread of COVID-19, which
has caused a broad impact globally, may materially affect us economically. While the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, COVID-19 may
be difficult to assess or predict, a widespread pandemic could result in significant disruption of global financial markets, reducing our ability to access capital, which could in the future negatively affect our liquidity. In addition, a recession or market correction resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could
materially affect our business and the value of our common stock.
The global COVID-19
pandemic continues to evolve rapidly. The ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic
or a similar epidemic is highly uncertain and subject to change. We may experience a material impact on our operations, and we continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation
closely.
We will require substantial additional financial resources to continue ongoing development of our product candidates and pursue our business objectives; if we are unable to obtain these additional resources when needed, we may be forced to delay or discontinue our planned operations, including clinical testing of our product candidates.
We have not generated significant revenue and have incurred significant net losses in each year since our inception. For the year ended December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $80.0 million, and, as of December 31, 2020, we have incurred approximately $764.1 million of accumulated deficit since our inception in 2003. We expect to continue to incur significant operating expenditures and net losses. Further development of our product candidates will require substantial increases in our expenses as we:
•
continue to undertake clinical trials for product candidates;
•
scale-up
the formulation and manufacturing of our product candidates;
•
seek regulatory approvals for product candidates;
•
work with regulatory authorities to identify and address program-related inquiries;
•
implement additional internal systems and infrastructure; and
•
hire additional personnel.
As of December 31, 2020, we have approximately $115.1 million of cash and cash equivalents. Given our current development plans, we anticipate our cash resources will be sufficient to fund our operations into the second quarter of 2022 and we have no committed sources of additional capital at this time. The forecast of cash resources is forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties, and the actual amount of our expenses could vary materially and adversely as a result of a number of factors. We have based our estimates on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and our expenses could prove to be significantly higher than we currently anticipate. Management does not know whether additional financing will be on terms favorable or acceptable to us when needed, if at all.
Our actual cash requirements may vary materially from our current expectations for a number of other factors that may include, but are not limited to, changes in the focus and direction of our development programs, slower than expected progress of our research and development efforts, changes in governmental regulation, competitive and technical advances, costs associated with the development of our product candidates, our ability to secure partnering arrangements, and costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing our intellectual property rights. The COVID-19
pandemic continues to rapidly evolve and has already resulted in a significant disruption of global financial markets. If the disruption persists and deepens, we could experience an inability to access additional capital, which could in the future negatively affect our operations. If we exhaust our capital reserves more quickly than anticipated, regardless of the reason, and we are unable to obtain additional financing on terms acceptable to us or at all, we will be unable to proceed with development of some or all of our product candidates on expected timelines and will be forced to prioritize among them.
Further, we may elect to prioritize one or more of our programs and reduce or eliminate our activities on our other programs to preserve our capital resources. Any decision to reduce or eliminate activities for a program may negatively impact the potential for the program, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. For instance, we expect to reduce the amount of resources and capital allocated to our Controlled IL-12
program in 2021 and to actively explore partnership opportunities for the Controlled IL-12 program to support its continued development. In connection with this reduction in spend, we are evaluating potential changes to data collection of long term follow up and reducing other activities. Some of these changes to our planned Controlled IL-12
program may impact the prospects and future development of this program, including our ability to pursue later stage development.
We need to raise additional capital to fund our operations. The manner in which we raise any additional funds may affect the value of your investment in our common stock.
Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial revenue, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings and license and collaboration agreements. We do not have any committed external source of funds. The unpredictability of the capital markets may severely hinder our ability to raise capital within the time periods needed or on terms we consider acceptable, if at all. In addition, the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic continues to disrupt the global financial markets, negatively impacted U.S. market conditions and may reduce opportunities for us to seek out additional funding in the future. In particular, a decline in the market price of our common stock could make it more difficult for us to sell equity or equity-related securities in the future at a time and price that we deem appropriate. Moreover, if we fail to advance one or more of our current product candidates into early or later-stage clinical trials, successfully commercialize one or more of our product candidates, or acquire new product candidates for development, we may have difficulty attracting investors that might otherwise be a source of additional financing.
In June 2019, we entered into an Open Market Sale Agreement with Jefferies LLC, as agent, or Jefferies, pursuant to which we may offer and sell, from time to time through Jefferies, shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $100.0 million. Shares will be sold pursuant to our effective registration statement on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-232283), as previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we issued and sold an aggregate of 2,814,673 shares of our common stock under the sales agreement for aggregate net proceeds of $13.0 million after deducting commissions and offering expenses of $0.4 million and may sell and issue approximately $80.9 million in additional shares under the sales agreement.
To the extent that we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities such as under our at-the-market program, our existing stockholders’ ownership will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our common stockholders. Debt financing and preferred equity financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. Any debt financing that we enter into may involve covenants that restrict our operations. These restrictive covenants may include limitations on additional borrowing and specific restrictions on the use of our assets as well as prohibitions on our ability to create liens, pay dividends, redeem our stock or make investments. Furthermore, the ongoing impact of COVID-19
on global financial markets could make the terms of any available financing less attractive to use and more dilutive to our existing shareholders. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves. If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.
We have issued or reserved for future issuance shares nearing the maximum number of shares of common stock authorized by our certificate of incorporation. If we are unable to increase the total number of authorized shares, we may be unable to effectively utilize our common stock to establish strategic relationships with other companies, expand our business through acquisitions, raise capital, or offer equity incentives to employees.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue 250,000,000 shares of common stock. As of February 24, 2020, there were 214,667,023 shares of common stock outstanding and an additional 31,115,329 shares of common stock reserved for issuance pursuant to outstanding stock options and warrants. Though we have no immediate plans to issue additional shares of common stock, other than in connection with our 2020 Equity Incentive Plan, we may need additional shares for business and financial purposes in the future. For example, we will need additional shares of authorized common stock to raise capital to, among other things, fund our operations, conduct and/or complete clinical trials, continue our research and development activities, seek regulatory approval for our product candidates and commercialize our product candidates. In addition, we may wish to issue additional shares in connection with entering into future strategic relationships, or acquiring other businesses, therapeutics or product candidates. Furthermore, our success depends, in part, on our continued ability to attract, retain and motivate highly qualified management and clinical and scientific personnel, and the lack of available unissued shares may also have an adverse impact on our to provide appropriate equity incentives to employees, officers, directors, consultants and/or advisors. If we are unable to increase the total number of authorized shares available to us, our business development and financing opportunities may be limited, and stockholder value may be harmed.
Our plans to develop and commercialize non-viral
and viral adoptive cellular therapies based on engineered cytokines and CAR T-cell
as well as TCR therapies can be considered as new approaches to cancer treatment, the successful development of which is subject to significant challenges.
We intend to employ technologies such as the technology licensed from MD Anderson pursuant to the MD Anderson License described above, and from PGEN, pursuant to the License Agreement, to pursue the development and commercialization of non-viral
and viral adoptive cellular therapies based on cytokines, T-cells,
CARs and TCRs, possibly under control of the RTS®
and other switch technologies targeting both hematologic and solid tumor malignancies. Because this is a new approach to cancer immunotherapy and cancer treatment generally, developing and commercializing product candidates subjects us to a number of challenges, including:
•
obtaining regulatory approval from the FDA and other regulatory authorities that have very limited experience with the commercial development of genetically modified and/or unmodified T-cell
therapies for cancer;
•
identifying and manufacturing appropriate TCRs from patient and from third parties that can be administered to a patient;
•
developing and deploying consistent and reliable processes for engineering a patient’s and/or donor’s T-cells
ex vivo
and infusing the T-cells
back into the patient;
•
possibly conditioning patients with chemotherapy in conjunction with delivering each of the potential products, which may increase the risk of adverse side effects of the potential products;
•
educating medical personnel regarding the potential side effect profile of each of the potential products, such as the potential adverse side effects related to cytokine release;
•
addressing any competing technological and market developments;
•
developing processes for the safe administration of these potential products, including long-term follow-up
for all patients who receive the potential products;
•
sourcing additional clinical and, if approved, commercial supplies for the materials used to manufacture and process the potential products;
•
developing a manufacturing process and distribution network with a cost of goods that allows for an attractive return on investment;
•
establishing sales and marketing capabilities after obtaining any regulatory approval to gain market acceptance;
•
developing therapies for types of cancers beyond those addressed by the current potential products;
•
maintaining and defending the intellectual property rights relating to any products we develop;
•
and not infringing the intellectual property rights, in particular, the patent rights, of third parties, including competitors, such as those developing T-cell
therapies.
We cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully address these challenges, which could prevent us from achieving our research, development and commercialization goals.
Our current product candidates are based on novel technologies and are supported by limited clinical data and we cannot assure you that our current and planned clinical trials will produce data that supports regulatory approval of one or more of these product candidates.
The immuno-oncology effector platform in which we have acquired rights pursuant to our License Agreement with PGEN represents early-stage technology in the field of human oncology biotherapeutics, with Ad-RTS-IL-12
plus veledimex having completed trials, in melanoma, breast cancer and rGBM. Similarly, our genetically modified and/ or non-modified
T-cell
candidates are supported by limited clinical data, all of which has been generated through trials conducted by MD Anderson, the NCI, and Eden BioCell, not by us. We plan to assume control of the overall clinical and regulatory development of our T-cell
product candidates, and any failure to obtain, or delays in obtaining, sponsorship of new INDs, or in filing INDs sponsored by us for these or any other product candidates we determine to advance could negatively affect the timing of our potential future clinical trials. Such an impact on timing could increase research and development costs and could delay or prevent obtaining regulatory approval for our product candidates, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Further, we did not control the design or conduct of the previous trials. It is possible that the FDA will not accept these previous trials as providing adequate support for future clinical trials, whether controlled by us or third parties, for any of one or more reasons, including the safety, purity, and potency of the product candidate, the degree of product characterization, elements of the design or execution of the previous trials or safety concerns, or other trial results. We may also be subject to liabilities arising from any treatment-related injuries or adverse effects in patients enrolled in these previous trials. As a result, we may be subject to unforeseen third-party claims and delays in our potential future clinical trials. We may also be required to repeat in whole or in part clinical trials previously conducted by MD Anderson or other entities, which will be expensive and delay the submission and licensure or other regulatory approvals with respect to any of our product candidates.
In addition, the results of the limited clinical trials conducted to date may not be replicated in future clinical trials. Our Ad-RTS-IL-12
plus veledimex and genetically modified and non-modified
T-cell
product candidates, as well as other product candidates, may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy in clinical development, and we cannot assure you that the results of any future trials will demonstrate the value and efficacy of our product candidates. Moreover, there are a number of regulatory requirements that we must satisfy before we can continue clinical trials of CAR+ T, TCRs or other cellular therapy product candidates in the United States. Satisfaction of these requirements will entail substantial time, effort and financial resources. Any time, effort and financial resources we expend on our Ad-RTS-IL-12
plus veledimex and genetically modified and non-modified
T-cell
product candidates and other early-stage product candidate development programs may adversely affect our ability to continue development and commercialization of our immuno-oncology product candidates.
We report interim data on certain of our clinical trials and we cannot assure you that interim data will be predictive of either future interim results or final study results.
As part of our business, we provide updates related to the development of our product candidates, which may include updates related to interim clinical trial data. To date, our clinical trials have involved small patient populations and because of the small sample size, the interim results of these clinical trials may be subject to substantial variability and may not be indicative of either future interim results or final results.
We face substantial competition from other biopharmaceutical companies, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products before, or more successfully than, we do.
The development and commercialization for new products to treat cancer, including the indications we are pursuing, is highly competitive and considerable competition exists from major pharmaceutical, biotechnology and specialty cancer companies. Many of these companies have more experience in preclinical and clinical development, manufacturing, regulatory, and global commercialization. We are also competing with academic institutions, governmental agencies, and private organizations that are conducting research in the field of cancer.
Our genetically engineering T-cell
programs face significant competition in the CAR and TCR technology space from multiple companies and their collaborators. Three such companies, Novartis International AG (Kymriah®
), Kite Pharma Inc./Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Yescarta®
) and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (Breyanzi®), have now commercialized autologous CAR+ T cells against CD19. Additional companies developing autologous CAR+ T targets include Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Precigen, Inc., bluebird bio, Inc., in collaboration with Celgene Corporation, Nanjing Legend Biotech and Janssen Biotech, Inc., a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, Gracell Biotechnologies Inc., CARsgen Therapeutics Co. Ltd., Bellicum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Autolus Therapeutics plc, Exuma Biotech Corp., Mustang Bio, Inc., Crispr Therapeutics AG, Precision Biosciences Inc., Protheragen Inc. and Marker Therapeutics, Inc. Several companies are pursuing the development of allogeneic CAR+ T therapies, including Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (in collaboration with Pfizer Inc.), Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc. and Cellectis SA (in collaboration with Servier) which may compete with our product candidates.
Our TCR program faces competition from several companies, including from Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline plc, ArsenalBio, Lyell, bluebird bio, Kite Pharma Inc./Gilead Sciences, Inc., Achilles Therapeutics Limited, Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc., Immatics Biotechnologies GmbH, Tmunity Therapeutics Inc, Medigene AG, Tactiva Therapeutics, LLC, Takara Bio, Inc., TCR2 Therapeutics Inc., Zelluna Immunotherapy AS, PACT Pharma, Inc. and others. Several companies, including Advaxis Inc./Amgen Inc., BioNTech AG and Gritstone Oncology, Inc., are pursuing vaccine platforms to target neoantigens for solid tumors. Other companies are developing non-viral
gene therapies, including Poseida Therapeutics, Inc. and several companies developing CRISPR technology. We also face competition from companies developing therapies using cells other than T cells such as Takeda Pharmaceutical Company, NantKwest Inc., IN8bio, Inc., Fate Therapeutics Inc., and TC BioPharm Limited. We also face competition from companies developing T cells with cytokines such as Repertoire Immune Medicines and Obsidian Therapeutics, Inc. We also face competition from non-cell-
based treatments offered by other companies such as Amgen Inc., AstraZeneca plc, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Incyte Corporation, Merck & Co., Inc., and Roche Holding AG.
We are initially developing our Controlled IL-12
platform for the treatment of rGBM. Companies that sell marketed drugs for rGBM are Genentech Inc. and Roche Holding AG with Avastin (bevacizumab), a vascular endothelial growth factor directed antibody indicated for the treatment of adults with rGBM. Arbor Pharmaceuticals Inc. markets GLIADEL Wafer, which is indicated in patients with newly diagnosed high-grade malignant glioma as an adjunct to surgery and radiation and is also indicated in patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme as an adjunct to surgery. Additionally, Novocure has developed Optune (tumor treating fields) for newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma. Several companies have product candidates in Phase 3 development for the treatment of glioblastoma, including, but not limited to, Cordgenics, LLC, Bayer AG, Kazia Therapeutics Limited, and Kintara Therapeutics, Inc. Several companies and institutions have product candidates currently in Phase 2 clinical trials, including, but not limited to, Abbvie Inc., DNAtrix Therapeutics, Istari
Oncology, Karyopharm and MedImmune LLC/AstraZeneca plc, and other companies are actively developing additional products to treat brain cancer including Mustang Bio Inc. and Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc. Other competitors with product candidates currently in Phase 2 clinical trials include AbbVie Inc.’s Depatus-M
(ABT-414)
and DNA-2401,
a conditionally replicative adenovirus being evaluated in combination with pembrolizumab Phase 2 study of oncolytic polio/rhinovirus recombinant (PVSRIPO) alone or in combination with lomustine in recurrent WHO Grade IV malignant glioma patients. Also, MedImmune, LLC/AstraZeneca plc’s durvalumab was evaluated in a Phase 2 trial in patients with rGBM.
Even if we obtain regulatory approval of potential products, we may not be the first to market and that may affect the price or demand for our potential products. Existing or future competing products may provide greater therapeutic convenience or clinical or other benefits for a specific indication than our products or may offer comparable performance at a lower cost. Additionally, the availability and price of our competitors’ products could limit the demand and the price we are able to charge for our potential products. We may not be able to implement our business plan if the acceptance of our potential products is inhibited by price competition or the reluctance of physicians to switch from existing methods of treatment to our potential products, or if physicians switch to other new drug or biologic products or choose to reserve our potential products. Additionally, a competitor could obtain orphan product exclusivity from the FDA with respect to such competitor’s product. If such competitor product is determined to be the same product as one of our potential products, that may prevent us from obtaining approval from the FDA for such potential products for the same indication for seven years, except in limited circumstances. If our products fail to capture and maintain market share, we may not achieve sufficient product revenues and our business will suffer.
We compete against fully integrated pharmaceutical companies and smaller companies that are collaborating with larger pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations. Many of these competitors have products already approved or in development. In addition, many of these competitors, either alone or together with their collaborative partners, operate larger research and development programs or have substantially greater financial resources than we do, as well as significantly greater experience in:
•
developing drugs and biopharmaceuticals;
•
undertaking preclinical testing and human clinical trials;
•
obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals of drugs and biopharmaceuticals;
•
formulating and manufacturing drugs and biopharmaceuticals; and
•
launching, marketing, and selling drugs and biopharmaceuticals.
Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than any products that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. In addition, our ability to compete may be affected in many cases by insurers or other third-party payors seeking to encourage the use of generic products.
Any termination of our licenses with PGEN, MD Anderson or the National Cancer Institute or our research and development agreements with MD Anderson could result in the loss of significant rights and could harm our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates.
We are dependent on patents, know-how,
and proprietary technology that are licensed from others, particularly MD Anderson, Precigen and the National Cancer Institute, or the NCI, as well as the contributions by MD Anderson under our research and development agreements. Any termination of these licenses or research and development agreements could result in the loss of significant rights and could harm our ability to commercialize our product
candidates. Disputes may also arise between us and these licensors regarding intellectual property subject to a license agreement, including those relating to:
•
the scope of rights granted under the applicable license agreement and other interpretation-related issues;
•
whether and the extent to which our technology and processes, and the technology and processes of PGEN, MD Anderson, the NCI and our other licensors, infringe intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the applicable license agreement;
•
our right to sublicense patent and other rights to third parties pursuant to our relationships with our licensors and partners;
•
whether we are complying with our diligence obligations with respect to the use of the licensed technology in relation to our development and commercialization of our potential products under the MD Anderson License, the License Agreement with PGEN and our patent license agreement with the NCI;
•
whether or not our partners are complying with all of their obligations to support our programs under licenses and research and development agreements; and
•
the allocation of ownership of inventions and know-how
resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our licensors and by us.
If disputes over intellectual property that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements, particularly with MD Anderson, PGEN and the NCI, on acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected potential products. We are generally also subject to all of the same risks with respect to protection of intellectual property that we license as we are for intellectual property that we own. If we or our licensors fail to adequately protect this intellectual property, our ability to commercialize potential products under our applicable licenses could suffer. There is a substantial amount of litigation involving patents and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, as well as administrative proceedings for challenging patents, including interference, derivation, and reexamination proceedings before the United States Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, or oppositions and other comparable proceedings in foreign jurisdictions. Recently, due to changes in U.S. law referred to as patent reform, new procedures including inter partes review and post-grant review have been implemented, which adds uncertainty to the possibility of challenge to our or our licensors’ patents in the future.
We may not be able to retain the rights licensed to us and PGEN by MD Anderson to technologies relating to CAR, T-cell
therapies and other related technologies.
Under the MD Anderson License, we, together with PGEN, received an exclusive, worldwide license to certain technologies owned and licensed by MD Anderson including technologies relating to novel CAR+ T cell and
TCR cell therapies arising from the laboratory of Laurence Cooper, M.D., Ph.D., who was then at MD Anderson, as well as either co-exclusive
or non-exclusive
licenses under certain related technologies. When combined with PGEN’s technology suite and Ziopharm’s clinically tested RTS®
interleukin 12 modules, the resulting proprietary methods and technologies may help realize the promise of genetically modified CAR+ T cells and TCR therapies by controlling cell expansion and activation in the body, minimizing off-target
and unwanted on-target
effects and toxicity while maximizing therapeutic efficacy. The term of the MD Anderson License expires on the last to occur of (a) the expiration of all patents licensed thereunder, or (b) the twentieth anniversary of the date of the MD Anderson License; provided, however, that following the expiration of the term, we and PGEN shall then have a fully-paid up, royalty free, perpetual, irrevocable and sublicensable license to use the licensed intellectual property thereunder.
After 10 years from the date of the MD Anderson License and subject to a 90-day
cure period, MD Anderson will have the right to convert the MD Anderson License into a non-exclusive
license if we and PGEN are not using commercially reasonable efforts to commercialize the licensed intellectual property on a case-by-case
basis. After five years from the date of the MD Anderson License and subject to a 180-day
cure period, MD Anderson will have the right to terminate the MD Anderson License with respect to specific technology(ies) funded by the government
or subject to a third-party contract if we and PGEN are not meeting the diligence requirements in such funding agreement or contract, as applicable. MD Anderson may also terminate the agreement with written notice upon material breach by us or PGEN, if such breach has not been cured within 60 days of receiving such notice. In addition, the MD Anderson License will terminate upon the occurrence of certain insolvency events for both us or PGEN and may be terminated by the mutual written agreement of us, PGEN and MD Anderson.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully perform under the MD Anderson License and if the MD Anderson License is terminated it may prevent us from achieving our business objectives.
We are partly reliant on the National Cancer Institute for research and development and early clinical testing of certain of our product candidates.
A portion of our research and development is being conducted by the NCI under the CRADA entered into in January 2017 and amended in February 2019. Under the CRADA, the NCI, with Dr. Steven A. Rosenberg as the principal investigator, is responsible for conducting a clinical trial using the Sleeping Beauty
system to express TCRs for the treatment of solid tumors. We have limited control over the nature or timing of the NCI’s clinical trial and limited visibility into their day-to-day
activities, including with respect to how they are providing and
administering T cell therapy. For example, the research we are funding constitutes only a small portion of the NCI’s overall research. Additionally, other research being conducted by Dr. Rosenberg may at times receive higher priority than research on our program. Further, in response to the COVID-19
pandemic, the NCI has taken precautionary measures that have delayed the enrollment of the TCR-T
clinical trial using the Sleeping Beauty
system to express TCRs for the treatment of solid tumors. In addition, enrollment in this clinical trial has been temporarily suspended due to issues internal to NCI and unrelated to our technology. The progress and timeline, including the timeline for dosing patients, for this trial are under the control of the NCI.
The CRADA terminates on January 9, 2022 unless it is extended in writing by the parties, and either party may terminate the CRADA by providing at least 60 days’ prior written notice to the other party. If the NCI unilaterally terminates the CRADA or the CRADA lapses without any extension, part or all of the research and development of the Sleeping Beauty
system conducted at the NCI would be suspended, and the research and development of our TCR program would be impacted.
Clinical trials are very expensive, time-consuming, difficult to design, initiate and implement.
Human clinical trials are very expensive and difficult to design, initiate and implement, in part because they are subject to rigorous regulatory requirements. The clinical trial start-up
and process itself is also time-consuming and results are inherently uncertain. We estimate that clinical trials of our product candidates will take at least several years to complete. Furthermore, failure can occur at any stage of the trials, and we could encounter problems that cause us to delay the start of, abandon or repeat clinical trials. The commencement and completion of clinical trials may be delayed by several factors, including:
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Additional nonclinical data requests by regulatory agencies;
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Unforeseen safety issues;
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Determination of dosing issues;
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Lack of effectiveness during clinical trials;
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Slower than expected rates of patient recruitment and enrollment;
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Inability to monitor patients adequately during or after treatment;
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Inability or unwillingness of medical investigators to follow our clinical protocols; and
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Regulatory determinations to temporarily or permanently cease enrollment for other reasons not related to patient safety.
Success in preclinical testing and early clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will be successful. In addition, we or the FDA may suspend our clinical trials at any time if it appears that we are exposing participants to unacceptable health risks or if the FDA finds deficiencies in our IND submission or in the conduct of these trials.
See also “Risks Related to the Clinical Testing, Regulatory Approval and Manufacturing of our Product Candidates-Our product candidates are in various stages of clinical trials, which are very expensive and time-consuming. We cannot be certain when we will be able to submit a BLA, to the FDA and any failure or delay in completing clinical trials for our product candidates could harm our business.”
We may not be able to commercialize any products, generate significant revenues, or attain profitability.
To date, none of our product candidates have been approved for commercial sale in any country. The process to develop, obtain regulatory approval for, and commercialize potential product candidates is long, complex, and costly. Unless and until we receive approval from the FDA and/or other foreign regulatory authorities for our product candidates, we cannot sell our products and will not have product revenues. Even if we obtain regulatory approval for one or more of our product candidates, if we are unable to successfully commercialize our products, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenues to achieve or maintain profitability, or to continue our business without raising significant additional capital, which may not be available. Our failure to achieve or maintain profitability could negatively impact the trading price of our common stock.
We have a limited operating history upon which to base an investment decision.
We have not demonstrated an ability to perform the functions necessary for the successful commercialization of any product candidates. The successful commercialization of any product candidates will require us to perform a variety of functions, including:
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Continuing to undertake preclinical development and clinical trials;
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Participating in regulatory approval processes;
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Formulating and manufacturing products; and
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Conducting sales and marketing activities.
Our operations have been limited to organizing and staffing our company, acquiring, developing and securing our proprietary product candidates, and undertaking preclinical and clinical trials of our product candidates. These operations provide a limited basis for you to assess our ability to commercialize our product candidates and the advisability of investing in our securities.
We may not be successful in establishing development and commercialization collaborations, which failure could adversely affect, and potentially prohibit, our ability to develop our product candidates.
Developing biopharmaceutical products and complementary technologies, conducting clinical trials, obtaining marketing approval, establishing manufacturing capabilities and marketing approved products is expensive and, therefore, we anticipate exploring collaborations with third parties that have alternative technologies, more resources and more experience than we do. In situations where we enter into a development and commercial collaboration arrangement for a product candidate or complementary technology, we may also seek to establish additional collaborations for development and commercialization in territories outside of those addressed by the first collaboration arrangement for such product candidate or technology. There are a limited number of potential partners, and we expect to face competition in seeking appropriate partners. If we are unable to enter into any development and commercial collaborations and/or sales and marketing arrangements on reasonable and acceptable terms, if at all, we may be unable to successfully develop and seek regulatory approval for our product candidates and/or effectively market and sell future approved products, if any, in some or all of the territories outside of the United States where it may otherwise be valuable to do so.
We may not be able to successfully manage our growth.
In the future, if we are able to advance our product candidates to the point of, and thereafter through, clinical trials, we will need to expand our development, regulatory, manufacturing, marketing and sales capabilities or contract with third parties to provide for these capabilities. Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize our product candidates and to compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to manage any future growth effectively. To manage this growth, we must expand our facilities, augment our operational, financial and management systems, and hire and train additional qualified personnel. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, our business may be harmed.
Our business will subject us to the risk of liability claims associated with the use of hazardous materials and chemicals.
Our contract research and development activities may involve the controlled use of hazardous materials and chemicals. Although we believe that our safety procedures for using, storing, handling and disposing of these materials comply with federal, state and local laws and regulations, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of accidental injury or contamination from these materials. In the event of such an accident, we could be held liable for any resulting damages and any liability could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations. In addition, the federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of hazardous or radioactive materials and waste products may require our contractors to incur substantial compliance costs that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We will need to attract, recruit and hire key executives and we will continue to rely on key scientific and medical advisors, and their knowledge of our business and technical expertise would be difficult to replace.
We have recently experienced significant turnover among our executive team and will need to attract and hire key executives to help lead our company. On February 25, 2021, our Board appointed Heidi Hagen, formerly our lead independent director, as our interim Chief Executive Officer and principal executive officer to replace Dr. Laurence J.N. Cooper. In December 2020, Satyavrat Shukla resigned from his position as our Chief Financial Officer. On February 17, 2021, we appointed Timothy Cunningham as our interim Chief Financial Officer and principal financial officer. We have commenced searches for a new Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer; however, the marketplace for attracting senior executives is competitive and identifying and hiring new executives may take several months or longer. Management transition is often difficult and inherently causes some loss of institutional knowledge. The departure of these executives or an extended delay finding replacements may adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. Our ability to execute our business strategies may also be adversely affected by the uncertainty associated with these transitions.
In addition, we may not be able to attract or retain qualified management and commercial, scientific and clinical personnel due to the intense competition for qualified personnel among biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other businesses. If we are not able to attract and retain necessary personnel to accomplish our business objectives, we may experience constraints that will significantly impede the achievement of our development objectives, our ability to raise additional capital and our ability to implement our business strategy.
We are highly dependent on our principal scientific, regulatory, and medical advisors. The loss of any of our key personnel, could result in delays in product development, loss of key personnel or partnerships, and diversion of management resources, which could adversely affect our operating results. We do not carry “key person” life insurance policies on any of our officers or key employees.
If we are unable to hire additional qualified personnel, our ability to grow our business may be harmed.
We will need to hire additional qualified personnel with expertise in preclinical and clinical research and testing, government regulation, formulation and manufacturing, and eventually, sales and marketing. We compete for
qualified individuals with numerous biopharmaceutical companies, universities, and other research institutions. Competition for such individuals is intense and we cannot be certain that our search for such personnel will be successful. Attracting and retaining qualified personnel will be critical to our success. If we are unable to hire additional qualified personnel, our ability to grow our business may be harmed.
We may incur substantial liabilities and may be required to limit commercialization of our products in response to product liability lawsuits.
The testing and marketing of medical products entail an inherent risk of product liability. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our products, if approved. Even a successful defense would require significant financial and management resources. Regardless of the merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:
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Decreased demand for our product candidates;
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Injury to our reputation;
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Withdrawal of clinical trial participants;
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Withdrawal of prior governmental approvals;
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Costs of related litigation;
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Substantial monetary awards to patients;
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Product recalls;
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Loss of revenue; and
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The inability to commercialize our product candidates.
We currently carry clinical trial insurance and product liability insurance. However, an inability to renew our policies or to obtain sufficient insurance at an acceptable cost could prevent or inhibit the commercialization of pharmaceutical products that we develop, alone or with collaborators.
Our business and operations would suffer in the event of system failures.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of our current and future contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. While we are not aware of any such material system failure, accident or security breach to date, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our development programs and our business operations. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed or future clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. Likewise, we rely on third parties to manufacture our product candidates and conduct clinical trials, and similar events relating to their computer systems could also have a material adverse effect on our business. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and the further development and commercialization of our product candidates could be delayed.
RISKS RELATED TO THE CLINICAL TESTING, REGULATORY APPROVAL AND MANUFACTURING OF OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES
If we are unable to obtain the necessary U.S. or worldwide regulatory approvals to commercialize any product candidate, our business will suffer.
We may not be able to obtain the approvals necessary to commercialize our product candidates, or any product candidate that we may acquire or develop in the future for commercial sale. We will need FDA approval to
commercialize our product candidates in the United States and approvals from regulatory authorities in foreign jurisdictions equivalent to the FDA to commercialize our product candidates in those jurisdictions. In order to obtain FDA approval of any product candidate, we must submit to the FDA a Biologics License Application, or BLA, demonstrating that the product candidate is safe for humans and effective for its intended use. This demonstration requires significant research and animal tests, which are referred to as preclinical studies, as well as human tests, which are referred to as clinical trials. Satisfaction of the FDA’s regulatory requirements typically takes many years, depending upon the type, complexity, and novelty of the product candidate, and will require substantial resources for research, development, and testing. We cannot predict whether our research, development, and clinical approaches will result in products that the FDA will consider safe for humans and effective for their intended uses. The FDA has substantial discretion in the approval process and may require us to conduct additional preclinical and clinical testing or to perform post-marketing studies. The approval process may also be delayed by changes in government regulation, future legislation, or administrative action or changes in FDA policy that occur prior to or during our regulatory review. Delays in obtaining regulatory approvals may:
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Delay commercialization of, and our ability to derive product revenues from, our product candidates;
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Impose costly procedures on us; and
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Diminish any competitive advantages that we may otherwise enjoy.
Even if we comply with all FDA requests, the FDA may ultimately reject one or more of our BLAs. We cannot be sure that we will ever obtain regulatory approval for any of our product candidates. Failure to obtain FDA approval for our product candidates will severely undermine our business by leaving us without a saleable product, and therefore without any potential revenue source, until another product candidate can be developed. There is no guarantee that we will ever be able to develop or acquire another product candidate or that we will obtain FDA approval if we are able to do so.
In foreign jurisdictions, we similarly must receive approval from applicable regulatory authorities before we can commercialize any of our product candidates. Foreign regulatory approval processes generally include all of the risks associated with the FDA approval procedures described above.
Our product candidates are in various stages of clinical trials, which are very expensive and time-consuming. We cannot be certain when we will be able to submit a BLA to the FDA and any failure or delay in completing clinical trials for our product candidates could harm our business.
Our product candidates are in various stages of development and require extensive clinical testing. Notwithstanding our current clinical trial plans for each of our existing product candidates, we may not be able to commence additional trials or see results from these trials within our anticipated timelines. As they enter later stages of development, our product candidates generally will become subject to more stringent regulatory requirements, including the FDA’s requirements for chemistry, manufacturing and controls for product candidates entering Phase 3 clinical trials. There is no guarantee the FDA will allow us to commence Phase 3 clinical trials for product candidates studied in early clinical trials.
If the FDA does not allow our product candidates to enter later stage clinical trials, or requires changes to the formulation or manufacture of our product candidates before commencing Phase 3 clinical trials, our ability to further develop, or seek approval for, such product candidates may be materially impacted. As such, we cannot predict with any certainty if or when we might submit a BLA for regulatory approval of our product candidates or whether such a BLA will be accepted. Because we do not anticipate generating revenues unless and until we submit one or more BLAs and thereafter obtain requisite FDA approvals, the timing of our BLA submissions and FDA determinations regarding approval thereof, will directly affect if and when we are able to generate revenues.
Our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label, or result in significant negative consequences following any potential marketing approval.
As with many pharmaceutical and biological products, treatment with our product candidates may produce undesirable side effects or adverse reactions or events, including potential adverse side effects related to cytokine release. If our product candidates or similar products or product candidates under development by third parties demonstrate unacceptable AEs, we may be required to halt or delay further clinical development of our product candidates. The FDA or other foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of or deny approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. For instance, Ad-RTS-hIL-12
plus veledimex may result in local reactions during the time of injection, including severe swelling and bleeding. If a serious adverse event was to occur in any of our clinical trials, including in our trial of Ad-RTS-hIL-12
plus veledimex for the treatment of DIPG, the FDA may place a hold on the clinical trial for this indication and, potentially, our clinical trials of Ad-RTS-hIL-12
plus veledimex in other indications.
The product-related side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. In addition, these side effects may not be appropriately or timely recognized or managed by the treating medical staff, particularly outside of the institutions that collaborate with us, as toxicities resulting from our novel technologies may not be normally encountered in the general patient population and by medical personnel. We expect to have to train medical personnel using our product candidates to understand their side effect profiles, both for our planned clinical trials and upon any commercialization of any product candidates. Inadequate training in recognizing or managing the potential side effects of our product candidates could result in adverse effects to patients, including death.
Additionally, if one or more of our product candidates receives marketing approval, and we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by such products, including during any long-term follow-up
observation period recommended or required for patients who receive treatment using our products, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:
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regulatory authorities may withdraw approvals of such product;
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regulatory authorities may require additional warnings on the label;
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we may be required to create a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy plan, which could include a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients, a communication plan for healthcare providers, and/or other elements to assure safe use;
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we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients; and
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our reputation may suffer.
Any of the foregoing could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the particular product candidate, if approved. Furthermore, any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.
Our cell-based and gene therapy immuno-oncology products rely on the availability of reagents, specialized equipment, and other specialty materials and infrastructure, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. For some of these reagents, equipment, and materials, we rely or may rely on sole source vendors or a limited number of vendors, which could impair our ability to manufacture and supply our products.
Manufacturing our product candidates will require many reagents, which are substances used in our manufacturing processes to bring about chemical or biological reactions, and other specialty materials and equipment, some of which are manufactured or supplied by small companies with limited resources and experience to support commercial biologics production. We currently depend on a limited number of vendors for certain materials and
equipment used in the manufacture of our product candidates. Some of these suppliers may not have the capacity to support commercial products manufactured under current good manufacturing practices by biopharmaceutical firms or may otherwise be ill-equipped
to support our needs. We also do not have supply contracts with many of these suppliers and may not be able to obtain supply contracts with them on acceptable terms or at all. Accordingly, we may experience delays in receiving key materials and equipment to support clinical or commercial manufacturing.
For some of these reagents, equipment, infrastructure, and materials, we rely and may in the future rely on sole source vendors or a limited number of vendors. An inability to continue to source product from any of these suppliers, which could be due to regulatory actions or requirements affecting the supplier, adverse financial or other strategic developments experienced by a supplier, labor disputes or shortages, unexpected demands, or quality issues, could adversely affect our ability to satisfy demand for our product candidates, which could adversely and materially affect our product sales and operating results or our ability to conduct clinical trials, either of which could significantly harm our business.
In addition, some of the reagents and products used by us, including in our clinical trials, may be stored at a single vendor. The loss of materials located at a single vendor, or the failure of such a vendor to manufacture clinical product in accordance with our specifications, would impact our ability to conduct ongoing or planned clinical trials and continue the development of our products. Further, manufacturing replacement material may be expensive and require a significant amount of time, which may further impact our clinical programs.
As we continue to develop and scale our manufacturing process, we expect that we will need to obtain rights to and supplies of certain materials and equipment to be used as part of that process. We may not be able to obtain rights to such materials on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, and if we are unable to alter our process in a commercially viable manner to avoid the use of such materials or find a suitable substitute, it would have a material adverse effect on our business. Even if we are able to alter our process so as to use other materials or equipment, such a change may lead to a delay in our clinical development and/or commercialization plans. If such a change occurs for product candidate that is already in clinical testing, the change may require us to perform both ex vivo comparability studies and to collect additional data from patients prior to undertaking more advanced clinical trials.
The results of our clinical trials may not support our product candidate claims.
Even if our clinical trials are completed as planned, we cannot be certain that their results will support approval of our product candidates. The FDA normally expects two randomized, well-controlled Phase 3 pivotal trials in support of approval of a BLA. Success in preclinical testing and early clinical trials does not ensure that later clinical trials will be successful, and we cannot be certain that the results of later clinical trials will replicate the results of prior clinical trials and preclinical testing. The clinical trial process may fail to demonstrate that our product candidates are safe for humans and effective for the indicated uses. This failure would cause us to abandon a product candidate and may delay development of other product candidates. Any delay in, or termination of, our clinical trials will delay the submission of our BLAs with the FDA and, ultimately, our ability to commercialize our product candidates and generate product revenues. In addition, our clinical trials involve small patient populations. Because of the small sample size, the results of these clinical trials may not be indicative of future results.
Our immuno-oncology product candidates are based on a novel technology, which makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of product candidate development and subsequently obtaining regulatory approval. Currently, few gene therapy and cell therapy products have been approved in the United States and Europe.
We are currently focused on developing products in immuno-oncology that employ novel gene expression, control and cell technologies to deliver safe, effective and scalable cell- and viral-based therapies for the treatment of cancer. Due to the novelty of this technology, there can be no assurance that any development problems we experience in the future related to our immuno-oncology platforms will not cause significant delays or unanticipated costs, or that such development problems can be solved. We may also experience unanticipated problems or delays in expanding our manufacturing capacity or transferring our manufacturing process to commercial partners, which may prevent us from completing our clinical trials or commercializing our immuno-oncology product candidates on a timely or profitable basis, if at all.
In addition, the clinical study requirements of the FDA, the EMA and other regulatory agencies and the criteria these regulators use to determine the safety and efficacy of a product candidate vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended use and market of the potential products. The regulatory approval process for novel product candidates such as ours can be more expensive and take longer than for other, better known or extensively studied pharmaceutical or other product candidates. These factors make it difficult to determine how long it will take or how much it will cost to obtain regulatory approvals for our product candidates in either the United States or Europe. Approvals by the EMA may not be indicative of what the FDA may require for approval.
Regulatory requirements governing gene and cell therapy products have changed frequently and may continue to change in the future. For example, the FDA has established the Office of Tissue and Advanced Therapies within its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, or CBER, to consolidate the review of gene therapy and related products, and the Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee to advise CBER on its review. Also, before a clinical trial can begin at an institution, that institution’s institutional review board, or IRB, and its Institutional Biosafety Committee will have to review the proposed clinical trial to assess the safety of the trial. In addition, adverse developments in clinical trials of gene therapy products conducted by others may cause the FDA or other regulatory bodies to change the requirements for approval of any of our product candidates.
These regulatory review committees and advisory groups and the new guidelines they promulgate may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional studies, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of these treatment candidates or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. As we advance our immuno-oncology product candidates, we will be required to consult with these regulatory and advisory groups, and comply with applicable guidelines. If we fail to do so, we may be required to delay or discontinue development of our product candidates. These additional processes may result in a review and approval process that is longer than we otherwise would have expected for oncology product candidates. Delay or failure to obtain, or unexpected costs in obtaining, the regulatory approval necessary to bring a potential product to market could decrease our ability to generate sufficient product revenue to maintain our business.
Because we are dependent upon clinical research institutions and other contractors for clinical testing and for research and development activities, the results of our clinical trials and such research activities are, to a certain extent, beyond our control.
We materially rely upon independent investigators and collaborators, such as universities and medical institutions, to conduct our preclinical and clinical trials under agreements with us. These collaborators are not our employees and we cannot control the amount or timing of resources that they devote to our programs. These investigators may not assign as great a priority to our programs or pursue them as diligently as we would if we were undertaking such programs ourselves. If outside collaborators fail to devote sufficient time and resources to our product development programs, or if their performance is substandard, the approval of our FDA applications, if any, and our introduction of new products, if any, will be delayed. These institutions may also have, or implement in the future, policies and procedures that limit their ability to advance our programs. For instance, our partners may take measures in response to the COVID-19
pandemic, that may impact enrollment in our clinical trials. These collaborators may also have relationships with other commercial entities, some of whom may compete with us. If our collaborators assist our competitors to our detriment, our competitive position would be harmed.
Our reliance on third parties to formulate and manufacture our product candidates exposes us to a number of risks that may delay the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our products or result in higher product costs.
We have limited experience in biopharmaceutical manufacturing. We currently lack the internal resources and expertise to formulate or manufacture our own product candidates and, therefore, contract the manufacture of our product candidates with third parties. We intend to contract with one or more manufacturers to manufacture, supply,
store, and distribute supplies for our clinical trials. If a product candidate we develop or acquire in the future receives FDA approval, we may rely on one or more third-party contractors to manufacture our products. Our
anticipated future reliance on a limited number of third-party manufacturers exposes us to the following risks:
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We may be unable to identify manufacturers on acceptable terms or at all because the number of potential manufacturers is limited and the FDA must approve any replacement contractor. This approval would require new testing and compliance inspections. In addition, a new manufacturer would have to be educated in, or develop substantially equivalent processes for, production of our products after receipt of FDA approval, if any.
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Our third-party manufacturers might be unable to formulate and manufacture our products in the volume and of the quality required to meet our clinical needs and commercial needs, if any.
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Our future contract manufacturers may not perform as agreed or may not remain in the contract manufacturing business for the time required to supply our clinical trials or to successfully produce, store, and distribute our products.
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Biopharmaceutical manufacturers are subject to ongoing periodic unannounced inspection by the FDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration and corresponding state and foreign agencies to ensure strict compliance with current good manufacturing practices, or cGMP, and other government regulations and corresponding foreign standards. We do not have control over third-party manufacturers’ compliance with these regulations and standards.
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If any third-party manufacturer makes improvements in the manufacturing process for our products, we may not own, or may have to share, the intellectual property rights to the innovation.
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Further third-party manufacturers may encounter difficulties in achieving volume production, quality control, and quality assurance and also may experience shortages in qualified personnel and obtaining materials for our product candidates, including delays or shortages due to limited supply or capacity of production facilities as a result of the recent COVID-19
pandemic.
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Our third-party manufacturers may not be able to comply with cGMP regulations or similar regulatory requirements outside the United States. Our failure, or the failure of our third-party manufacturers, to comply with applicable regulations could result in sanctions being imposed on us, including clinical holds, fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of our products.
Each of these risks could delay our clinical trials, the approval, if any, of our product candidates by the FDA or the commercialization of our product candidates or result in higher costs or deprive us of potential product revenues.
Any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval could be subject to post-marketing restrictions or withdrawal from the market and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or if we experience unanticipated problems with our products, when and if any of them are approved.
Any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval, along with the manufacturing processes, post-approval clinical data, labeling, advertising and promotional activities for such product, will be subject to continual requirements of and review by the FDA and other regulatory authorities. These requirements include, among other things, submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration and listing requirements, cGMP requirements relating to manufacturing, quality control, quality assurance and corresponding maintenance of records and documents, requirements regarding the distribution of samples to physicians and recordkeeping. Even if marketing approval of a product candidate is granted, the approval may be subject to limitations on the indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, including the requirement to implement a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, which could include requirements for a restricted distribution system. If any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, the accompanying label may limit the approved uses, which could limit sales of the product.
The FDA may also impose requirements for costly post-marketing studies or clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of our approved products. The FDA closely regulates the post-approval marketing and promotion of products to ensure that they are marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. However, companies may share truthful and not misleading information that is otherwise consistent with the labeling. The FDA imposes stringent restrictions on manufacturers’ communications regarding off-label
use and if we market our products outside of their approved indications, we may be subject to enforcement action for off-label
marketing. Violations of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act relating to the promotion of prescription drugs may lead to investigations alleging violations of federal and state health care fraud and abuse laws, as well as state consumer protection laws.
In addition, later discovery of previously unknown AEs or other problems with our products, manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may yield various results, including:
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Litigation involving patients taking our product;
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Restrictions on such products, manufacturers or manufacturing processes;
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Restrictions on the labeling or marketing of a product;
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Restrictions on product distribution or use;
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Requirements to conduct post-marketing studies or clinical trials;
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Warning letters;
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Withdrawal of the products from the market;
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Refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications that we submit;
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Recall of products;
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Fines, restitution or disgorgement of profits or revenues;
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Suspension or withdrawal of marketing approvals;
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Damage to relationships with existing and potential collaborators;
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Unfavorable press coverage and damage to our reputation;
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Refusal to permit the import or export of our products;
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Product seizure; or
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Injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
Noncompliance with requirements regarding safety monitoring or pharmacovigilance can also result in significant financial penalties. Similarly, failure to comply with U.S. and foreign regulatory requirements regarding the development of products for pediatric populations and the protection of personal health information can also lead to significant penalties and sanctions.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR ABILITY TO COMMERCIALIZE OUR PRODUCT CANDIDATES
If we are unable either to create sales, marketing and distribution capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to perform these functions, we will be unable to commercialize our product candidates successfully.
We currently have no marketing, sales, or distribution capabilities. If, and when we become reasonably certain that we will be able to commercialize our current or future product candidates, we anticipate allocating resources to the marketing, sales and distribution of our proposed products in North America and in certain other countries; however, we cannot assure that we will be able to market, sell, and distribute our products successfully. Our future success also may depend, in part, on our ability to enter into and maintain collaborative relationships for such capabilities and to encourage the collaborator’s strategic interest in the products under development, and such
collaborator’s ability to successfully market and sell any such products. Although we intend to pursue certain collaborative arrangements regarding the sale and marketing of certain of our product candidates, there are no assurances that we will be able to establish or maintain collaborative arrangements or, if we are able to do so, whether we would be able to conduct our own sales efforts. There can also be no assurance that we will be able to establish or maintain relationships with third-party collaborators or develop in-house
sales and distribution capabilities. To the extent that we depend on third parties for marketing and distribution, any revenues we receive will depend upon the efforts of such third parties, and there can be no assurance that such efforts will be successful. In addition, there can also be no assurance that we will be able to market and sell our product candidates in the United States or overseas.
If we are not able to partner with a third party and are not successful in recruiting sales and marketing personnel or in building a sales and marketing infrastructure, we will have difficulty commercializing our product candidates, which would harm our business. If we rely on pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies with established distribution systems to market our products, we will need to establish and maintain partnership arrangements, and we may not be able to enter into these arrangements on acceptable terms or at all. To the extent that we enter into co-promotion
or other arrangements, any revenues we receive will depend upon the efforts of third parties that may not be successful and that will be only partially in our control.
If we cannot compete successfully for market share against other biopharmaceutical companies, we may not achieve sufficient product revenues and our business will suffer.
The market for our product candidates is characterized by intense competition and rapid technological advances. If a product candidate receives FDA approval, it will compete with a number of existing and future products and therapies developed, manufactured and marketed by others. Existing or future competing products may provide greater therapeutic convenience or clinical or other benefits for a specific indication than our products or may offer comparable performance at a lower cost. If our products fail to capture and maintain market share, we may not achieve sufficient product revenues and our business will suffer.
We will compete against fully integrated pharmaceutical companies and smaller companies that are collaborating with larger pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations. Many of these competitors have products already approved or in development. In addition, many of these competitors, either alone or together with their collaborative partners, operate larger research and development programs or have substantially greater financial resources than we do, as well as significantly greater experience in:
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Developing drugs and biopharmaceuticals;
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Undertaking preclinical testing and human clinical trials;
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Obtaining FDA and other regulatory approvals of drugs and biopharmaceuticals;
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Formulating and manufacturing drugs and biopharmaceuticals; and
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Launching, marketing, and selling drugs and biopharmaceuticals.
Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than any products that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. In addition, our ability to compete may be affected in many cases by insurers or other third-party payors seeking to encourage the use of generic products.
If physicians and patients do not accept and use our product candidates, our ability to generate revenue from sales of our products will be materially impaired.
Even if the FDA and/or foreign equivalents thereof approve our product candidates, physicians and patients may not accept and use them. Acceptance and use of our products will depend upon a number of factors including:
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Perceptions by members of the healthcare community, including physicians, about the safety and effectiveness of our products;
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Pharmacological benefit and cost-effectiveness of our products relative to competing products;
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Availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement for our products from government or other third-party payors;
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Effectiveness of marketing and distribution efforts by us and our licensees and distributors, if any; and
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The price at which we sell our products.
Because we expect sales of our current product candidates, if approved, to generate substantially all of our product revenues for the foreseeable future, the failure of a product to find market acceptance would harm our business and could require us to seek additional financing in order to fund the development of future product candidates.
Our ability to generate product revenues will be diminished if our products do not obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement from payors.
Our ability to commercialize our product candidates, if approved, alone or with collaborators, will depend in part on the extent to which coverage and reimbursement will be available from third-party payors, including government and health administration authorities, private health maintenance organizations and health insurers and other payors.
Patients who are prescribed medicine for the treatment of their conditions generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with their prescription drugs. Sufficient coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors are critical to new product acceptance. Coverage decisions may depend upon clinical and economic standards that disfavor new drug products when more established or lower cost therapeutic alternatives are already available or subsequently become available. It is difficult to predict the coverage and reimbursement decisions that will be made by third-party payors for novel gene and cell therapy products such as ours. Even if we obtain coverage for our product candidates, the resulting reimbursement payment rates might not be adequate or may require co-payments
that patients find unacceptably high. Patients are unlikely to use our product candidates unless coverage is provided and reimbursement is adequate to cover a significant portion of the cost of our product candidates.
In addition, the market for our product candidates for which we may receive regulatory approval will depend significantly on access to third-party payors’ drug formularies or lists of medications for which third-party payors provide coverage and reimbursement, which might not include all of the FDA-approved
drugs for a particular indication. The industry competition to be included in such formularies often leads to downward pricing pressures on pharmaceutical companies. Also, third-party payors may refuse to include a particular branded drug in their formularies or otherwise restrict patient access to a branded drug when a less costly generic equivalent or other alternative is available.
Third-party payors, whether foreign or domestic, or governmental or commercial, are developing increasingly sophisticated methods of controlling healthcare costs. In addition, in the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for drug products exists among third-party payors. Therefore, coverage and reimbursement for drug products can differ significantly from payor to payor. As a result, the coverage determination process is often a time-consuming and costly process that requires us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payor separately, with no assurance that approval will be obtained. If we are unable to obtain coverage of and adequate payment levels for our product candidates from third-party payors, physicians may limit how much or under what circumstances they will prescribe or administer our products and
patients may decline to purchase them. This in turn could affect our ability to successfully commercialize our products and impact our profitability, results of operations, financial condition, and future success.
In addition, in many foreign countries, particularly the countries of the EU, the pricing of prescription drugs is subject to government control. In some non-U.S.
jurisdictions, the proposed pricing for a drug must be approved before it may be lawfully marketed. The requirements governing drug pricing vary widely from country to country. For example, the EU provides options for its member states to restrict the range of medicinal products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. A member state may approve a specific price for the medicinal product or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the medicinal product on the market. We may face competition for our product candidates from lower-priced products in foreign countries that have placed price controls on pharmaceutical products. In addition, there may be importation of foreign products that compete with our own products, which could negatively impact our profitability.
The market opportunities for our product candidates may be limited to those patients who are ineligible for or have failed prior treatments and may be small.
Cancer therapies are sometimes characterized as first line, second line, or third line, and the FDA often approves new therapies initially only for third line use. When cancer is detected early enough, first line therapy is sometimes adequate to cure the cancer or prolong life without a cure. Whenever first line therapy, usually chemotherapy, hormone therapy, surgery, or a combination of these, proves unsuccessful, second line therapy may be administered. Second line therapies often consist of more chemotherapy, radiation, antibody drugs, tumor targeted small molecules, or a combination of these. Third line therapies can include bone marrow transplantation, antibody and small molecule targeted therapies, more invasive forms of surgery, and new technologies. We expect to initially seek approval of our product candidates as a third line therapy for patients who have failed other approved treatments.
Subsequently, for those products that prove to be sufficiently beneficial, if any, we would expect to seek approval as a second line therapy and potentially as a first line therapy, but there is no guarantee that our product candidates, even if approved, would be approved for second line or first line therapy. In addition, we may have to conduct additional clinical trials prior to gaining approval for second line or first line therapy.
Our projections of both the number of people who have the cancers we are targeting, as well as the subset of people with these cancers in a position to receive therapy and who have the potential to benefit from treatment with our product candidates, are based on our beliefs and estimates. These estimates have been derived from a variety of sources, including scientific literature, surveys of clinics, patient foundations, or market research and may prove to be incorrect. Further, new studies may change the estimated incidence or prevalence of these cancers. The number of patients may turn out to be lower than expected. Additionally, the potentially addressable patient population for our product candidates may be limited or may not be amenable to treatment with our product candidates.
Our market opportunities may also be limited by competitor treatments that may enter the market. See also “Risks Related to Our Ability to Commercialize Our Product Candidates-If we cannot compete successfully for market share against other biopharmaceutical companies, we may not achieve sufficient product revenues and our business will suffer
.”
Healthcare legislative reform measures may have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.
In both the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory enactments in recent years that change the healthcare system in ways that could impact our future ability to sell our product candidates profitably.
Furthermore, there have been and continue to be a number of initiatives at the federal and state level that seek to reduce healthcare costs. Most significantly, in March 2010, President Obama signed into law the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or collectively the ACA, which included measures that have significantly changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers. Among the provisions of the ACA of importance to the pharmaceutical industry are the following:
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Created an annual, nondeductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports certain branded prescription drugs and biologic agents, apportioned among these entities according to their market share in certain government healthcare programs;
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Increased the statutory minimum rebates a manufacturer must pay under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program to 23.1% and 13% of the average manufacturer price for most branded and generic drugs, respectively;
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Created a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must now agree to offer 70% point-of-sale
discounts off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturer’s outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D;
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Extended manufacturers’ Medicaid rebate liability to covered drugs dispensed to individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations;
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Created new methodologies by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected, and for drugs that are line extensions;
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Expanded eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs by, among other things, allowing states to offer Medicaid coverage to additional individuals with income at or below 133% of the Federal Poverty Level, thereby potentially increasing both the volume of sales and manufacturers’ Medicaid rebate liability;
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Expanded the entities eligible for discounts under the Public Health Service pharmaceutical pricing program;
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Created a new requirement to annually report drug samples that certain manufacturers and authorized distributors provide to physicians;
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Expanded healthcare fraud and abuse laws, including the False Claims Act and the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, new government investigative powers, and enhanced penalties for noncompliance;
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Created a licensure framework for follow-on
biologic products;
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Created new requirements under the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act for certain drug manufacturers to annually report information related to payments and other transfers of value made to physicians, as defined by such law, and teaching hospitals as well as ownership or investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members;
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Created a Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research; and
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Established a Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, to test innovative payment and service delivery models to lower Medicare and Medicaid spending, potentially including prescription drug spending.
There have been executive, legal and political challenges to certain aspects of the ACA. For example, President Trump signed several executive orders and other directives designed to delay, circumvent, or loosen certain requirements mandated by the ACA. Concurrently, Congress considered legislation to repeal or repeal and replace all or part of the ACA. While Congress has not passed comprehensive repeal legislation, several bills affecting the implementation of certain taxes under the ACA have been signed into law. In December 2017,
Congress repealed the tax penalty, effective January 1, 2019, for an individual’s failure to maintain ACA-mandated health insurance as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or Tax Act. Further, the 2020 federal spending package permanently eliminated effective January 1, 2020, the ACA-mandated “Cadillac” tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage and medical device tax and effective January 1, 2021 also eliminated the health insurance tax. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, or the BBA, among other things, amended the ACA, effective January 1, 2019, to increase from 50 percent to 70 percent the point-of-sale discount that is owed by pharmaceutical manufacturers who participate in Medicare Part D and close the coverage gap in most Medicare drug plans, commonly referred to as the “donut hole”. On December 14, 2018, a Texas U.S. District Court Judge ruled that ACA is unconstitutional in its entirety because the “individual mandate” was repealed by Congress as part of the Tax Act. Additionally, on December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the District Court ruling that the individual mandate was unconstitutional and remanded the case back to the District Court to determine whether the remaining provisions of the ACA are invalid as well. On March 2, 2020, the United States Supreme Court is currently reviewing this case, but it is unknown when a decision will be reached. Although the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the constitutionality of the ACA, on January 28, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order to initiate a special enrollment period from February 15, 2021 through May 15, 2021 for purposes of obtaining health insurance coverage through the ACA marketplace. The executive order also instructs certain governmental agencies to review and reconsider their existing policies and rules that limit access to healthcare, including among others, reexamining Medicaid demonstration projects and waiver programs that include work requirements, and policies that create unnecessary barriers to obtaining access to health insurance coverage through Medicaid or the ACA. It is unclear how the Supreme Court ruling, other such litigation and the healthcare reform measures of the Biden administration will impact ACA and our business. The ultimate content, timing or effect of any healthcare reform measures on the U.S. healthcare industry is unclear.
There have been executive, legal and political challenges to certain aspects of the ACA. For example, President Trump signed several executive orders and other directives designed to delay, circumvent, or loosen certain requirements mandated by the ACA. Concurrently, Congress considered legislation to repeal or repeal and replace all or part of the ACA. While Congress has not passed comprehensive repeal legislation, several bills affecting the implementation of certain taxes under the ACA have been signed into law. In December 2017, Congress repealed the tax penalty, effective January 1, 2019, for an individual’s failure to maintain ACA-mandated health insurance as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or Tax Act. Further, the 2020 federal spending package permanently eliminated effective January 1, 2020, the ACA-mandated “Cadillac” tax on high-cost employer-sponsored health coverage and medical device tax and effective January 1, 2021 also eliminated the health insurance tax. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, or the BBA, among other things, amended the ACA, effective January 1, 2019, to increase from 50 percent to 70 percent the point-of-sale discount that is owed by pharmaceutical manufacturers who participate in Medicare Part D and close the coverage gap in most Medicare drug plans, commonly referred to as the “donut hole”. On December 14, 2018, a Texas U.S. District Court Judge ruled that ACA is unconstitutional in its entirety because the “individual mandate” was repealed by Congress as part of the Tax Act. Additionally, on December 18, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit upheld the District Court ruling that the individual mandate was unconstitutional and remanded the case back to the District Court to determine whether the remaining provisions of the ACA are invalid as well. On March 2, 2020, the United States Supreme Court is currently reviewing this case, but it is unknown when a decision will be reached. Although the Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the constitutionality of the ACA, on January 28, 2021, President Biden issued an executive order to initiate a special enrollment period from February 15, 2021 through May 15, 2021 for purposes of obtaining health insurance coverage through the ACA marketplace. The executive order also instructs certain governmental agencies to review and reconsider their existing policies and rules that limit access to healthcare, including among others, reexamining Medicaid demonstration projects and waiver programs that include work requirements, and policies that create unnecessary barriers to obtaining access to health insurance coverage through Medicaid or the ACA. It is unclear how the Supreme Court ruling, other such litigation and the healthcare reform measures of the Biden administration will impact ACA and our business. The ultimate content, timing or effect of any healthcare reform measures on the U.S. healthcare industry is unclear.
Further, there has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to specialty drug pricing practices. As a result, there have been several U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. At the federal level, the Trump administration used several means to propose or implement drug pricing reform, including through federal budget proposals, executive orders and policy initiatives. For example, on July 24, 2020 and September 13, 2020, the Trump administration announced several executive orders related to prescription drug pricing that attempt to implement several of the administration’s proposals.
The FDA also released a final rule, effective November 30, 2020, implementing a portion of the importation executive order providing guidance for states to build and submit importation plans for drugs from Canada. Further, on November 20, 2020, HHS finalized a regulation removing safe harbor protection for price reductions from pharmaceutical manufacturers to plan sponsors under Part D, either directly or through pharmacy benefit managers, unless the price reduction is required by law. The implementation of the rule has been delayed by the Biden administration from January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2023 in response to ongoing litigation. The rule also creates a new safe harbor for price reductions reflected at the point-of-sale, as well as a new safe harbor for certain fixed fee arrangements between pharmacy benefit managers and manufacturers, the implementation of which have also been delayed pending review by the Biden administration until March 22, 2021. On November 20, 2020, CMS issued an interim final rule implementing President Trump’s Most Favored Nation executive order, which would tie Medicare Part B payments for certain physician-administered drugs to the lowest price paid in other economically advanced countries, effective January 1, 2021. On December 28, 2020, the United States District Court in Northern California issued a nationwide preliminary injunction against implementation of the interim final rule. However, it is unclear whether the Biden administration will work to reverse these measures or pursue similar policy initiatives. Individual states in the United States have also increasingly passed legislation and implemented regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.
It is possible that additional governmental action is taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
We expect that the ACA, as well as other healthcare reform measures that may be adopted in the future, particularly in light of the new presidential administration, which may result in more rigorous coverage criteria and in additional downward pressure on the price that we may receive for any approved product. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability, or if we receive regulatory approval, commercialize our products.
If we fail to comply with federal and state healthcare laws, including fraud and abuse and health information privacy and security laws, we could face substantial penalties and our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects could be adversely affected.
As a pharmaceutical company, even though we do not and will not control referrals of healthcare services or bill directly to Medicare, Medicaid or other third-party payors, certain federal and state healthcare laws and regulations pertaining to fraud and abuse and patients’ rights are and will be applicable to our business. For example, we could be subject to healthcare fraud and abuse and patient privacy regulation by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. The laws that may affect our ability to operate include, among others:
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The federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which regulates our business activities, including our marketing practices, educational programs, pricing policies, and relationships with healthcare providers or other
entities, by prohibiting, among other things, soliciting, receiving, offering or paying remuneration, directly or indirectly, to induce, or in return for, either the referral of an individual or the purchase or recommendation of an item or service reimbursable under a federal healthcare program, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs;
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Federal civil and criminal false claims laws, including the False Claims Act which permits a private individual acting as a “whistleblower” to bring actions on behalf of the federal government alleging violations of the False Claims Act, and civil monetary penalty laws, which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment from Medicare, Medicaid, or other third-party payors that are false or fraudulent;
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The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which created new federal civil and criminal statutes that prohibit, among other things, executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program or making false statements relating to healthcare matters;
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HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, or HITECH, and their implementing regulations, which imposes certain requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information on entities and individuals subject to the law including certain healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses, known as covered entities, as well as individuals and entities that perform services for them which involve the use, or disclosure of, individually identifiable health information, known as business associates and their subcontractors that use, disclose or otherwise process individually identifiable health information;
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Requirements under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act to report annually to CMS certain financial arrangements with physicians, (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals, as defined in the ACA and its implementing regulations, including reporting any “transfer of value” made or distributed to teaching hospitals, and physicians, as defined by such law and reporting any ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members and applicable group purchasing organizations during the preceding calendar year, which will be expanded beginning in 2022, to require applicable manufacturers to report such information regarding its relationships with physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, anesthesiologist assistants, certified registered nurse anesthetists and certified nurse midwives during the previous year; and
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State and foreign law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, such as anti-kickback and false claims laws which may apply to items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including commercial insurers; state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the applicable compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government that otherwise restricts certain payments that may be made to healthcare providers and entities; state laws that require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfer of value to physicians and other healthcare providers and entities; state laws that require the reporting of information related to drug pricing; state and local laws that require the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives; and state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.
Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness of the statutory exceptions and safe harbors available, it is possible that some of our business activities, including our consulting agreements with physicians, some of whom receive stock or stock options as compensation for their services, could be subject to challenge under one or more of such laws. In addition, recent health care reform legislation has further strengthened these laws. For example, the ACA, among other things, amended the intent requirement of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and certain criminal healthcare fraud statutes. A person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of this statute or specific intent to violate it. Moreover, the ACA provides that the government may assert that a claim including items or
services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act.
To the extent that any of our product candidates is ultimately sold in a foreign country, we may be subject to similar foreign laws and regulations.
Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements comply with applicable healthcare laws involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental and enforcement authorities will conclude that our business practices do not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law interpreting applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, we may be subject to significant penalties, including administrative, civil and criminal penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from participation in United States federal or state health care programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, disgorgement, imprisonment, integrity oversight and reporting obligations, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations any of which could materially adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our financial results. Although compliance programs can mitigate the risk of investigation and prosecution for violations of these laws, the risks cannot be entirely eliminated. Any action against us for violation of these laws, even if we successfully defend against it, could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business. Moreover, achieving and sustaining compliance with applicable federal and state privacy, security and fraud laws may prove costly.
Our immuno-oncology product candidates may face competition in the future from biosimilars.
The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009, or BPCIA, provides an abbreviated pathway for the approval of follow-on
biological products. Under the BPCIA, an application for a biosimilar product cannot be approved by the FDA until 12 years after the original branded product was approved under a BLA. However, there is a risk that the U.S. Congress could amend the BPCIA to significantly shorten this exclusivity period, potentially creating the opportunity for generic competition sooner than anticipated. Further, this data exclusivity does not prevent another company from developing a product that is highly similar to the original branded product, generating its own data and seeking approval. Data exclusivity only assures that another company cannot rely upon the data within the innovator’s application to support the biosimilar product’s approval.
We rely significantly on information technology and any failure, inadequacy, interruption or security lapse of that technology or loss of data, including any cyber security incidents, could compromise sensitive information related to our business, prevent us from accessing critical information or expose us to liability which could harm our ability to operate our business effectively and adversely affect our business and reputation.
In the ordinary course of our business, we, our contract research organizations and other third parties on which we rely collect and store sensitive data, including legally protected patient health information, personally identifiable information about our employees, intellectual property, and proprietary business information. We manage and maintain our applications and data utilizing on-site systems. These applications and data encompass a wide variety of business-critical information including research and development information and business and financial information.
The secure processing, storage, maintenance and transmission of this critical information is vital to our operations and business strategy. Because of the work-from-home policies we implemented due to COVID-19, information that is normally protected, including company confidential information, may be less secure. Additionally, despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems and those of third parties with which we contract are vulnerable to damage from cyber-attacks, computer viruses, breaches, unauthorized access, interruptions due to employee error or malfeasance or other disruptions, or damage from natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. In addition, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have enabled many of our employees to work remotely, which may make us more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Any such event could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed
by unauthorized parties, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. We have measures in place that are designed to detect and respond to such security incidents and breaches of privacy and security mandates. Any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, government enforcement actions and regulatory penalties. Unauthorized access, loss or dissemination could also disrupt our operations, including our ability to conduct research, development and commercialization activities, process and prepare company financial information, manage various general and administrative aspects of our business and damage our reputation, in addition to possibly requiring substantial expenditures of resources to remedy, any of which could adversely affect our business. The loss of clinical trial data could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. In addition, there can be no assurance that we will promptly detect any such disruption or security breach, if at all. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and our research, development and commercialization efforts could be delayed.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
If we or our licensors fail to adequately protect or enforce our intellectual property rights or secure rights to patents of others, the value of our intellectual property rights would diminish and our ability to successfully commercialize our products may be impaired.
Our success, competitive position, and future revenues will depend in part on our ability and the abilities of our licensors to obtain and maintain patent protection for our products, methods, processes and other technologies, to preserve confidential information, including trade secrets, to prevent third parties from infringing our proprietary rights, and to operate without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties.
To date, we have exclusive rights in the field of cancer treatment to certain U.S. and foreign intellectual property with respect to certain cell therapy and related technologies from MD Anderson and NCI, as well as with respect to the PGEN technology, including Ad-RTS-IL-12 plus veledimex. Under the MD Anderson License, future filings and applications require the agreement of each of MD Anderson, PGEN and us, and MD Anderson has the right to control the preparation and filing of additional patent applications unless the parties agree that we or PGEN may prosecute the application directly. Although under the agreement MD Anderson has agreed to review and incorporate any reasonable comments that we or PGEN may have regarding licensed patents and patent applications, we cannot guarantee that our comments will be solicited or followed. Under the patent license agreement with the NCI, the NCI is responsible for the preparation, filing, prosecution, and maintenance of patent applications or patents licensed to us. Although under the agreement, the NCI is required to consult with us in the preparation, filing, prosecution, and maintenance of all patent applications or patents licensed to us, we cannot guarantee that our comments will be solicited or followed. Under our License Agreement with PGEN, PGEN has the right, but not the obligation, to prepare, file, prosecute, and maintain the patents and patent applications licensed to us and shall bear any related costs incurred by it in regard to those actions. PGEN is required to consult with us and keep us reasonably informed of the status of the patents and patent applications licensed to us, and to confer with us prior to submitting any related filings and correspondence. Although under the agreement PGEN has agreed to consider in good faith and consult with us regarding any comments we may have regarding these patents and patent applications, we cannot guarantee that our comments will be solicited or followed. Without direct control of the in-licensed patents and patent applications, we are dependent on MD Anderson, the NCI or PGEN, as applicable, to keep us advised of prosecution, particularly in foreign jurisdictions where prosecution information may not be publicly available. We anticipate that we, MD Anderson, the NCI and PGEN will file additional patent applications both in the United States and in other countries. However, we cannot predict or guarantee:
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The degree and range of protection any patents will afford us against competitors, including whether third parties will find ways to invalidate or otherwise circumvent our patents;
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If and when patents will be issued;
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Whether or not others will obtain patents claiming subject matter related to or relevant to our product candidates; or
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Whether we will need to initiate litigation or administrative proceedings that may be costly whether we win or lose.
The patent prosecution process is expensive and time-consuming, and we may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost, in a timely manner, or in all jurisdictions. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection. Moreover, in some circumstances, we do not have the right to control the preparation, filing and prosecution of patent applications, or to maintain the patents, covering technology that we license from third parties. We may also require the cooperation of our licensors in order to enforce the licensed patent rights, and such cooperation may not be provided. Therefore, these patents and applications may not be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business.
The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions and has in recent years been the subject of much litigation. In addition, the laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States and we may fail to seek or obtain patent protection in all major markets. For example, European patent law restricts the patentability of methods of treatment of the human body more than United States law does. Publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all.
Changes in patent laws or in interpretations of patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our intellectual property or narrow the scope of our patent protection. In September 2011, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, or the Leahy-Smith Act, was signed into law, resulting in a number of significant changes to United States patent law. These changes include provisions that affect the way patent applications are prosecuted and may also affect patent litigation. In addition, the United States Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. This combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained, and with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future. As the USPTO continues to implement the Leahy-Smith Act, and as the federal courts have the opportunity to interpret the Leahy-Smith Act, the laws and regulations governing patents, and the rules regarding patent procurement could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future.
Certain technologies utilized in our research and development programs are already in the public domain. Moreover, a number of our competitors have developed technologies, filed patent applications or obtained patents on technologies, compositions and methods of use that are related to our business and may cover or conflict with our owned or licensed patent applications, technologies or product candidates. Such conflicts could limit the scope of the patents that we may be able to obtain or may result in the rejection of claims in our patent applications. Because patent applications in the United States and many foreign jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all, and because publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind actual discoveries, neither we nor our licensors can be certain that others have not filed or maintained patent applications for technology used by us or covered by our pending patent applications without our being aware of these applications. Therefore, we cannot know with certainty whether we were the first to make the inventions claimed in our owned patents or pending patent applications, or that we were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions, nor can we know whether those from whom we license patents were the first to make the inventions claimed or were the first to file. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our patent rights are highly uncertain. Our pending and future patent applications may not result in patents being issued which protect our technology or products, in whole or in part, or which effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive technologies and
products. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our patents or narrow the scope of our patent protection. In addition, our own earlier filed patents and applications or those of MD Anderson, NCI or PGEN may limit the scope of later patents we obtain or may result in the rejection of claims in our later filed patent applications. If third parties filed patent applications or obtained patents on technologies, compositions and methods of use that are related to our business and that cover or conflict with our owned or licensed patent applications, technologies or product candidates, we may be required to challenge such protection, terminate or modify our programs impacted by such protection or obtain licenses from such third parties, which might not be available on acceptable terms, or at all.
Even if our owned and licensed patent applications issue as patents, they may not issue in a form that will provide us with any meaningful protection, prevent competitors from competing with us or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. Our competitors may be able to circumvent our owned or licensed patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing
manner.
The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, and our owned and licensed patents may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Such challenges may result in loss of exclusivity or freedom to operate or in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, in whole or in part, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and products. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our owned and licensed patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours.
If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our confidential information, our business and competitive position would be harmed.
Our success also depends upon the skills, knowledge, and experience of our scientific and technical personnel, our consultants and advisors, as well as our licensors and contractors. To help protect our proprietary know-how
and our inventions for which patents may be unobtainable or difficult to obtain, and to maintain our competitive position, we rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements. To this end, it is our general policy to require our employees, consultants, advisors, and contractors to enter into agreements that prohibit the disclosure of confidential information and, where applicable, require disclosure and assignment to us of the ideas, developments, discoveries, and inventions important to our business. These agreements may not provide adequate protection for our trade secrets, know-how,
confidential information or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use or disclosure or the lawful development by others of such information. Moreover, we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for any breaches of these agreements. Our trade secrets or other confidential information may also be obtained by third parties by other means, such as breaches of our physical or computer security systems. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret or other confidential information is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, some courts inside and outside the United States are less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. If any of our trade secrets or other confidential information were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent them, or those to whom they communicate it, from using that technology or information to compete with us. If any of our trade secrets, know-how
or other proprietary information is disclosed, the value of our trade secrets, know-how
and other proprietary rights would be significantly impaired and our business and competitive position would suffer.
Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement would require us to spend significant time and money and could prevent us from developing or commercializing our products.
In order to protect or enforce patent rights, we may initiate patent infringement litigation against third parties. Similarly, we may be sued by others for patent infringement. We also may become subject to proceedings
conducted in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, including interference proceedings to determine the priority or derivation of inventions, or post-grant review, inter partes review, or reexamination proceedings reviewing the patentability of our patented claims. In addition, any foreign patents that are granted may become subject to opposition, nullity, or revocation proceedings in foreign jurisdictions having such proceedings. The defense and prosecution, if necessary, of intellectual property actions are costly and divert technical and management personnel away from their normal responsibilities.
Our commercial success depends upon our ability, and the ability of our collaborators, to develop, manufacture, market and sell our product candidates without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. There is considerable intellectual property litigation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. While no such litigation has been brought against us and we have not been held by any court to have infringed a third party’s intellectual property rights, we cannot guarantee that our products or use of our products do not infringe third-party patents. It is also possible that we have failed to identify relevant third-party patents or applications. For example, applications filed before November 29, 2000 and certain applications filed after that date that will not be filed outside the United States remain confidential until patents issue. Patent applications in the United States and elsewhere are published approximately 18 months after the earliest filing, which is referred to as the priority date. Therefore, patent applications covering our products or technology could have been filed by others without our knowledge. Additionally, pending patent applications which have been published can, subject to certain limitations, be later amended in a manner that could cover our products or the use of our products.
Our research, development and commercialization activities, as well as any product candidates or products resulting from these activities, may infringe or be claimed to infringe patents or patent applications under which we do not hold licenses or other rights. A patent does not protect its owner from a claim of infringement of another owner’s patent. Therefore, our patent position cannot and does not provide any assurance that we are not infringing the patent rights of another.
The patent landscape in the field of immuno-oncology is particularly complex. We are aware of numerous United States and foreign patents and pending patent applications of third parties that cover compositions, methods of use and methods of manufacture of immuno-oncology products. In addition, there may be patents and patent applications in the field of which we are not aware. The technology we license from MD Anderson, NCI and PGEN is early-stage technology and we are in the process of designing and developing products using this technology. Although we will seek to avoid pursuing the development of products that may infringe any patent claims that we believe to be valid and enforceable, we may fail to do so. Moreover, given the breadth and number of claims in patents and pending patent applications in the field of immuno-oncology and the complexities and uncertainties associated with them, third parties may allege that we are infringing patent claims even if we do not believe such claims to be valid and enforceable.
If a claim for patent infringement is asserted, there can be no assurance that the resolution of the claim would permit us to continue marketing the relevant product on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. We may not have sufficient resources to bring these actions to a successful conclusion. If we do not successfully defend any infringement actions to which we become a party or are unable to have infringed patents declared invalid or unenforceable, we may have to pay substantial monetary damages, which can be tripled if the infringement is deemed willful, or we may be required to discontinue or significantly delay commercialization and development of the affected products.
Any legal action against us or our collaborators claiming damages and seeking to enjoin developmental or marketing activities relating to affected products could, in addition to subjecting us to potential liability for damages, require us or our collaborators to obtain licenses to continue to develop, manufacture, or market the affected products. Such a license may not be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.
An adverse determination in a proceeding involving our owned or licensed intellectual property may allow entry of substitutes, including biosimilar or generic substitutes, for our products.
Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for noncompliance with these requirements.
Periodic maintenance fees on any issued patent are due to be paid to the USPTO and foreign patent agencies in several stages over the lifetime of the patent. The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. While an inadvertent lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Noncompliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include, but are not limited to, failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits,
non-payment
of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. In such an event, our competitors might be able to enter the market, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.
We license rights to products and technology that are important to our business, and we expect to enter into additional licenses in the future. For instance, we have exclusively licensed patents and patent applications under the MD Anderson License and our patent license agreement with the NCI as well as under our License Agreement with PGEN. Under these agreements, we are subject to a range of commercialization and development, sublicensing, royalty, patent prosecution and maintenance, insurance and other obligations.
Any failure by us to comply with any of these obligations or any other breach by us of our license agreements could give the licensor the right to terminate the license in whole, terminate the exclusive nature of the license or bring a claim against us for damages. Any such termination or claim could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity or business. Even if we contest any such termination or claim and are ultimately successful, such dispute could lead to delays in the development or commercialization of potential products and result in time-consuming and expensive litigation or arbitration. On termination we may be required to license to the licensor any related intellectual property that we developed.
In addition, in certain cases, the rights licensed to us are rights of a third party licensed to our licensor. In such instances, if our licensors do not comply with their obligations under such licenses, our rights under our license agreements with our licensor may be adversely affected.
We may be subject to claims by third parties asserting that our employees or we have misappropriated their intellectual property or claiming ownership of what we regard as our own intellectual property.
Many of our employees were previously employed at universities or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees do not use the proprietary information or know-how
of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that these employees or we have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such employee’s former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims.
In addition, while it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who in fact develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. Our and their assignment agreements may not be self-executing or may be breached, and we may be forced to bring claims against third parties, or defend claims they may bring against us, to determine the ownership of what we regard as our intellectual property.
If we fail in prosecuting or defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if we are successful in prosecuting or defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.
OTHER RISKS RELATED TO OUR COMPANY
Our stock price has been, and may continue to be, volatile.
The market price for our common stock is volatile and may fluctuate significantly in response to a number of factors, most of which we cannot control, including:
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Price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market;
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Changes in operating results and performance and stock market valuations of other biopharmaceutical companies generally, or those that develop and commercialize cancer drugs in particular;
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Market conditions or trends in our industry or the economy as a whole;
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Preclinical studies or clinical trial results;
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Public concern as to the safety of drugs developed by us or others;
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The financial or operational projections we may provide to the public, any changes in these projections or our failure to meet these projections;
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Comments by securities analysts or changes in financial estimates or ratings by any securities analysts who follow our common stock, our failure to meet these estimates or failure of those analysts to initiate or maintain coverage of our common stock;
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The public’s response to press releases or other public announcements by us or third parties, including our filings with the SEC, as well as announcements of the status of development of our products, announcements of technological innovations or new therapeutic products by us or our competitors, announcements regarding collaborative agreements and other announcements relating to product development, litigation and intellectual property impacting us or our business;
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Government regulation;
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FDA determinations on the approval of a product candidate BLA submission;
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The sustainability of an active trading market for our common stock;
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Future sales of our common stock by us, our executive officers, directors and significant stockholders;
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Announcements of mergers or acquisition transactions;
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Our inclusion or deletion from certain stock indices;
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Developments in patent or other proprietary rights;
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Changes in reimbursement policies;
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Announcements of medical innovations or new products by our competitors;
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Announcements of changes in our senior management or directors;
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General economic, industry, political and market conditions, including, but not limited to, the ongoing impact of the COVID 19 pandemic;
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Other events or factors, including those resulting from war, incidents of terrorism, natural disasters or responses to these events; and
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Changes in accounting principles.
In addition, the stock market in general and our stock in particular from time to time experiences significant price and volume fluctuations unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies, including in connection with the ongoing COVID-19
pandemic, which has resulted in decreased stock prices for many companies notwithstanding the lack of a fundamental change in their underlying business models or prospects. Public debt
and equity markets, and in particular the Nasdaq Global Select Market, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected and continue to affect the market prices of equity securities of many biopharmaceutical companies.
Stock prices of many biopharmaceutical companies have fluctuated in a manner unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. In the past, stockholders have instituted securities class action litigation following periods of market volatility. If we were involved in securities litigation, we could incur substantial costs and our resources, and the attention of management could be diverted from our business.
Anti-takeover provisions in our charter documents and under Delaware law may make an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult.
Provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders. These provisions authorize the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that could be issued by our board of directors to increase the number of outstanding shares and hinder a takeover attempt, and limit who may call a special meeting of stockholders. In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law generally prohibits a publicly-held Delaware corporation from engaging in a business combination with a party that owns at least 15% of its common stock unless the business combination is approved by the company’s board of directors before the person acquires the 15% ownership stake or later by its board of directors and two-thirds
of its stockholders. Section 203 could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control that our stockholders might consider to be in their best interests.
Because we do not expect to pay dividends, you will not realize any income from an investment in our common stock unless and until you sell your shares at profit.
We have never paid dividends on our common stock and we do not anticipate that we will pay any dividends for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, any return on an investment in us will be realized, if at all, only when you sell shares of our common stock.
Our ability to use net operating loss carryforwards and research tax credits to reduce future tax payments may be limited or restricted.
We have generated significant net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, and research and development tax credits, or R&D credits, as a result of our incurrence of losses and our conduct of research activities since inception. We generally are able to carry NOLs and R&D credits forward to reduce our tax liability in future years. However, our ability to utilize the NOLs and R&D credits is subject to the rules of Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, respectively. Those sections generally restrict the use of NOLs and R&D credits after an “ownership change.” An ownership change occurs if, among other things, the stockholders (or specified groups of stockholders) who own or have owned, directly or indirectly, 5% or more of a corporation’s common stock or are otherwise treated as 5% stockholders under Section 382 of the code and the United States Treasury Department regulations promulgated thereunder increase their aggregate percentage ownership of that corporation’s stock by more than 50 percentage points over the lowest percentage of the stock owned by these stockholders over the applicable testing period. In the event of an ownership change, Section 382 imposes an annual limitation on the amount of taxable income a corporation may offset with NOL carry forwards and Section 383 imposes an annual limitation on the amount of tax a corporation may offset with business credit (including the R&D credit) carry forwards.
We may have experienced an “ownership change” within the meaning of Section 382 in the past and there can be no assurance that we will not experience additional ownership changes in the future. As a result, our NOLs and business credits (including the R&D credit) may be subject to limitations and we may be required to pay taxes earlier and in larger amounts than would be the case if our NOLs or R&D credits were freely usable.
If securities and/or industry analysts fail to continue publishing research about our business, if they change their recommendations adversely or if our results of operations do not meet their expectations, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock will be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline. In addition, it is likely that in some future period our operating results will be below the expectations of securities analysts or investors. If one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock, or if our results of operations do not meet their expectations, our stock price could decline.
Our business could be negatively affected as a result of the actions of activist stockholders.
Recently, we were engaged in a consent solicitation led by WaterMill Asset Management Corp. where two new directors were added to our Board. We could experience other stockholder activism in the future, including another consent solicitation or a proxy contest. Activist shareholders may advocate for certain governance and strategic changes at our company. In the event of stockholder activism, particularly with respect to matters which our Board, in exercising their fiduciary duties, disagree with or have determined not to pursue, our business could be adversely affected because responding to actions by activist stockholders can be costly and time-consuming, disrupting our operations and diverting the attention of management, and perceived uncertainties as to our future direction may result in the loss of potential business opportunities and may make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel, business partners, and customers.
In addition, if faced with a consent solicitation or proxy contest, we may not be able to respond successfully to the contest or dispute, which would be disruptive to our business. If individuals are elected to our Board with a differing agenda, our ability to effectively and timely implement our strategic plan and create additional value for our stockholders may be adversely affected.
Our principal stockholders, executive officers and directors have substantial control over the company, which may prevent you and other stockholders from influencing significant corporate decisions and may harm the market price of our common stock.
As of December 31, 2020, our executive officers, directors and holders of five percent or more of our outstanding common stock, beneficially owned, in the aggregate, 49.6% of our outstanding common stock. These stockholders may have interests that conflict with our other stockholders and, if acting together, have the ability to influence the outcome of matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, including the election and removal of directors and any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. Accordingly, this concentration of ownership may harm the market price of our common stock by:
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Delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control;
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Impeding a merger, consolidation, takeover or other business combination involving us; or
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Discouraging a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us.
In addition, this significant concentration of stock ownership may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock should investors perceive disadvantages in owning shares of common stock in a company that has such concentrated ownership.
We previously identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting for the year ended December 31, 2019, which we believe has been fully remediated. If we have inadequately remediated this material weakness, or we otherwise fail to develop, implement and maintain an effective system of internal controls in future periods, our ability to report our financial condition or results of operations could be adversely affected and may result in material misstatements of our financial statements or could have a material adverse effect on our business and trading price of our securities.
We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules and regulations of The Nasdaq Global Market. Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we are required to perform system and process evaluation and testing of our internal control over financial reporting to allow our management to report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. We are also required to have our independent registered public accounting firm issue an opinion on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting on an annual basis.
In connection with the audit of our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2019, we identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our consolidated financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. The material weakness was related to the design and maintenance of effective controls relating to the monitoring and oversight of expensing third party clinical trial costs. Specifically, our internal controls were not designed effectively to provide reasonable assurance regarding the accurate and timely evaluation of the amount of third-party costs to record.
To remediate the material weakness described above and prevent similar deficiencies in the future, throughout 2020 we added additional controls and procedures, including: (i) implementation of monthly meeting between the finance and clinical departments to review accruals, material contracts, pre-authorized work and material pass-through costs, (ii) monthly contract meetings with the legal department to review the terms of material contracts, including leases, and (iii) engaging a third-party to perform an evaluation to ascertain whether the components of internal control were present and functioning throughout the year ended December 31, 2020.
During the fourth quarter of 2020, we completed our testing of the operating effectiveness of the implemented controls and found them to be effective. As a result, we have concluded the material weakness has been remediated as of December 31, 2020.
If we have inadequately remediated this material weakness, there will continue to be an increased risk that our future financial statements could contain errors that will be undetected. Further and continued determinations that there are material weaknesses in the effectiveness of our internal controls could reduce our ability to obtain financing or could increase the cost of any financing we obtain and require additional expenditures of resources to comply with applicable requirements. For more information relating to our internal controls and disclosure controls and procedures, and the remediation plan undertaken by us, see Item 9A, “Controls and Procedures” of the Annual Report.
We cannot assure you that material weaknesses or material deficiencies will not occur in the future and that we will be able to remediate such weaknesses or deficiencies in a timely manner, which could impair our ability to accurately and timely report our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. See the related risk factor included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.We are in the process of designing and implementing measures to remediate the underlying causes of the control deficiencies that gave rise to the material weakness. In addition, we are providing in-house accounting personnel training to ensure that they have the relevant expertise related to the monitoring and oversight of expensing third party clinical trial costs. We will continue to monitor the effectiveness of these controls and will make any further changes management determines appropriate.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law in 2017 could adversely affect our business and financial condition.
On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law legislation, known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, or Tax Act, that significantly revises the Code. The federal income tax law is referred to as the Tax Act, and contains significant changes to corporate taxation, including reduction of the corporate tax rate from a top marginal rate of 35% to a flat rate of 21%, limitation of the tax deduction for interest expense to 30% of adjusted earnings (except for certain small businesses), limitation of the deduction for NOLs to 80% of current year taxable income and elimination of NOL carrybacks, one time taxation of offshore earnings at reduced rates regardless of whether they are repatriated, elimination of U.S. tax on foreign earnings (subject to certain important exceptions), immediate deductions for certain new investments instead of deductions for depreciation expense over time, and modifying or repealing many business deductions and credits. The CARES Act, enacted in 2020, modified certain of these tax changes, and enacted other tax changes applicable to corporations. Notwithstanding the reduction in the corporate income tax rate, the overall impact of the Tax Act and the CARES Act is uncertain and our business and financial condition could be adversely affected. In addition, it is uncertain if and to what extent various states will conform to the Tax Act or the CARES Act. The impact of the Tax Act and the CARES Act on holders of our common stock is also uncertain and could be adverse. We urge our stockholders to consult with their legal and tax advisors with respect to this legislation and the potential tax consequences of investing in or holding our common stock.

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ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments
None.

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Item 2. Properties
Our corporate office is located at One First Avenue, Parris Building #34, Navy Yard Plaza, Boston, Massachusetts 02129. The Boston office is leased pursuant to a lease agreement that expires in August 2021. On December 21, 2015, we renewed a portion of the lease for Boston office through August 31, 2021.
In October 2019, we entered into an agreement with MD Anderson to lease laboratory and office space on MD Anderson’s campus. The lease was subsequently amended and currently includes approximately 14,037 square feet of laboratory and office space on MD Anderson’s campus. The laboratory supports our internal research and development activities. A portion of the space will be used for a pilot clinical production unit for GMP cell therapy manufacturing. The lease expires in February 2027. The monthly rent expense of these leases with MD Anderson is deducted from our prepayment at MD Anderson.
In December 2020, we entered into an agreement with MD Anderson to lease approximately 18,111 square feet of space on MD Anderson’s campus that may be used GMP cell therapy manufacturing and research activities. The monthly rent expense of this lease with MD Anderson is deducted from our prepayment at MD Anderson. The lease expires in April 2028 and may be extended for five years at our election. See Note 8 to the accompanying financial statements for further details.
We believe that our existing facilities are adequate to meet our current needs.

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ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
In the ordinary course of business, we may periodically become subject to legal proceedings and claims arising in connection with ongoing business activities. The results of litigation and claims cannot be predicted with certainty, and unfavorable resolutions are possible and could materially affect our results of operations, cash flows or financial position. In addition, regardless of the outcome, litigation could have an adverse impact on us because of defense costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.
We do not have any pending litigation that, separately or in the aggregate, would, in the opinion of management, have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

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ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURE
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
PART II

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ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholders Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market for Common Stock
Our common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “ZIOP.”
Record Holders
As of February 18, 2021, we had approximately 260 holders of record of our common stock, one of which was Cede & Co., a nominee for Depository Trust Company, or DTC. Shares of common stock that are held by financial institutions as nominees for beneficial owners or in “street name” are deposited into participant accounts at DTC and are considered to be held of record by Cede & Co. as one stockholder. As of February 18, 2021, we had approximately 29,049 beneficial holders of our common stock.
Dividends
We have never declared or paid a cash dividend on our common stock and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
Stockholder Return Comparison
The following shall not be deemed incorporated by reference into any of our other filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, except to the extent we specifically incorporate it by reference into such filings.
The graph below matches the cumulative 5-year
total return of holders of our common stock with the cumulative total returns of the Nasdaq Composite index and the Nasdaq Biotechnology index. The graph assumes that the value of the investment in our common stock and in each of the indexes (including reinvestment of dividends) was $100 on December 31, 2015 and tracks it through December 31, 2020.
The comparisons in the graph below are based upon historical data and are not indicative of, nor intended to forecast, future performance of our common stock.

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ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Item 6. Selected Financial Data
We have elected to comply with Item 301 of Regulation S-K, as amended February 10, 2021 and are omitting this disclosure in reliance thereon.

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ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
Item 7. Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. In
addition to historical financial information, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those contained in or implied by any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those under “Risk Factors” included in Part I, Item 1A and under “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” or in other parts of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Overview
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, developing and commercializing next generation immunooncology platforms that leverage cell- and gene-based therapies to treat patients with cancer. We are developing platform technologies that utilize the immune system by employing innovative cell engineering and novel, controlled gene expression technologies designed to deliver safe and effective, cell and gene therapies for the treatment of multiple cancer types. Our major platform and priority is referred to as Sleeping Beauty and is based on the non-viral genetic engineering of immune cells using a transposon/transposase system that is intended to stably engineer T cells outside of the body for subsequent infusion. Our second platform is referred to as Controlled IL-12 and is designed to stimulate expression of interleukin 12, or IL-12,
a master regulator of the immune system, in a controlled manner to focus the patient’s immune system to more effectively attack cancer cells.
Using our Sleeping Beauty platform, we are developing T cell receptor, or TCR, T cell therapies to target neoantigens in solid tumors using two approaches, which we refer to as our “Library TCR-T Approach” and “our Personalized TCR-T Approach.” The Library TCR-T Approach uses third party (allogeneic) TCRs that have
been prepared before the recipient has been identified to genetically modify patient-derived T cells to redirect specificity to public, or shared neoantigens. The Personalized TCR-T Approach uses patient-derived (autologous) TCRs that are prepared from the recipient to genetically modify patient-derived T cells to redirect specificity to private neoantigens. It is anticipated that more than one TCR-T product with more than one specificity will be administered in the Personalized TCR-T Approach. In February 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or the FDA, cleared our company-sponsored investigational new drug, or IND, application submitted for a Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating TCRs from our library for the investigational treatment of lung, cholangiocarcinoma, pancreatic, colorectal and gynecological cancers. Initially, six curated TCRs reactive to mutated KRAS and TP53 will be included in the clinical trial: however, we expect to expand the number of TCRs to be evaluated in our clinical trial. This clinical trial is being conducted in collaboration with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, or MD Anderson, which will be the first site for the clinical trial.
Under our Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, the National Cancer Institute, or NCI, is conducting a Phase 2 Personalized TCR-T clinical trial to evaluate autologous peripheral blood lymphocytes genetically modified with the Sleeping Beauty system to express private neoantigen-specific TCRs. The trial is designed to enroll patients with a broad range of solid tumors. The FDA has cleared the IND application submitted by the NCI for this clinical trial. However, enrollment in this clinical trial has been temporarily suspended due to issues internal to NCI and unrelated to our technology. The progress and timeline for this trial, including the timeline for dosing patients, are under the control of the NCI.
We are developing chimeric antigen receptor, or CAR, T cell, or CAR+ T, therapies targeting CD19 on malignant B cells using our Sleeping Beauty platform. We are advancing our so-called rapid personalized manufacture, or RPM, technology, in Greater China with Eden BioCell, Ltd., or Eden BioCell, our joint venture with TriArm Therapeutics, Ltd. RPM enables small numbers of T cells to be infused as soon as the day after gene transfer which is made possible by the genetic modification of resting T cells to express CAR and membrane bound IL-15, or mbIL15. Eden BioCell is leading the clinical development and commercialization of Sleeping Beauty-generated CD19-specific RPM CAR+T therapies using patient-derived (autologous) T cells in order to treat patients with relapsed or refractory CD19+ leukemias and lymphomas. In the fourth quarter of 2020, an IND was cleared by the Taiwan FDA for a Phase 1 clinical trial designed to evaluate safety and efficacy in this patient group. In our Phase 1 clinical trial being conducted in the United States, we plan to infuse donor-derived T cells after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, or BMT, for recipients who have relapsed with CD19+ leukemias and lymphomas with our CD19- specific CAR+ T therapies manufactured using our technology.
Our Controlled IL-12 platform is based on an engineered replication-incompetent adenovirus, referred to as Ad-RTS-hIL-12,
plus veledimex as a gene delivery system to conditionally produce IL-12, a potent, naturally occurring anti-cancer protein, to treat patients with solid tumors. Our Controlled IL-12 platform allows us to deliver IL-12 in a tunable dose as the cytokine is under transcriptional control of the RheoSwitch Therapeutic System®
(RTS®
). We have completed enrollment to all our Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials of patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, or rGBM. These trials examine the effect of Controlled IL-12 as a monotherapy and in combination with blockade of the immune checkpoint protein PD-1. Dosing is ongoing in a Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex in combination with PD1 antibody Libtayo®
(cemiplimab-rwlc) for the treatment of recurrent or progressive glioblastoma multiforme in adults. Data from our monotherapy and combination studies have been presented at major scientific conferences.
As of December 31, 2020, we have approximately $115.1 million of cash and cash equivalents. Given our current development plans, we anticipate our cash resources will be sufficient to fund our operations into the second quarter of 2022, and we have no committed sources of additional capital at this time. The forecast of cash resources is forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties, and the actual amount of our expenses could vary materially and adversely as a result of a number of factors. We have based our estimates on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and our expenses could prove to be significantly higher than we currently anticipate. Management does not know whether additional financing will be on terms favorable or
acceptable to us when needed, if at all. If adequate additional funds are not available when required, or if we are unsuccessful in entering into partnership agreements for further development of our product candidates, management may need to curtail its development efforts and planned operations.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue 250,000,000 shares of common stock. As of February 24, 2020, there were 214,667,023 shares of common stock outstanding and an additional 31,115,329 shares of common stock reserved for issuance pursuant to outstanding stock options and warrants. Though we have no immediate plans to issue additional shares of common stock, other than in connection with our 2020 Equity Incentive Plan, we may need additional shares for business and financial purposes in the future.
We have not generated significant revenue and have incurred significant net losses in each year since our inception. For the year ended December 31, 2020, we had a net loss of $80.0 million, and through December 31, 2020, we have incurred approximately $764.1 million of accumulated deficit since our inception in 2003. We expect to continue to incur significant operating expenditures and net losses. Further development of our product candidates will likely require substantial increases in our expenses as we:
•
continue to undertake clinical trials for product candidates;
•
seek regulatory approvals for product candidates;
•
work with regulatory authorities to identify and address program-related inquiries;
•
implement additional internal systems and infrastructure;
•
hire additional personnel; and
•
scale-up
the formulation and manufacturing of our product candidates.
We continue to seek additional financial resources to fund the further development of our product candidates. If we are unable to obtain sufficient additional capital, one or more of these programs could be delayed, and we may be unable to continue our operations at planned levels and be forced to reduce our operations. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development, we are unable to predict the timing or amount of increased expenses or when or if we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability.
At-the-Market Offering Program
In June 2019, we entered into an Open Market Sale Agreement with Jefferies LLC, as agent, or Jefferies, pursuant to which we may offer and sell, from time to time through Jefferies, shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $100.0 million. Shares will be sold pursuant to our effective registration statement on Form S-3ASR (File No. 333-232283), as previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. During the year ended December 31, 2020, we issued and sold an aggregate of 2,814,673 shares of our common stock under the sales agreement for aggregate net proceeds of $13.0 million after deducting commissions and offering expenses of $0.4 million and may sell and issue approximately $80.9 million in additional shares under the sales agreement.
Financial Overview
Collaboration Revenue
We recognize research and development funding revenue over the estimated period of performance. We have not generated product revenues since our inception. Unless and until we receive approval from the FDA and/or other regulatory authorities for our product candidates, we cannot sell our products and will not have product revenues.
Research and Development Expenses
Our research and development expense consists primarily of salaries and related expenses for personnel, costs of contract manufacturing services, costs of facilities and equipment, fees paid to professional service providers in
conjunction with our clinical trials, fees paid to contract research organizations in conjunction with preclinical animal studies, costs of materials used in research and development, consulting, license and milestone payments and sponsored research fees paid to third parties.
We have not accumulated and tracked our internal historical research and development costs or our personnel and personnel-related costs on a program-by-program
basis. Our employee and infrastructure resources are allocated across several projects, and many of our costs are directed to broadly applicable research endeavors. As a result, we cannot state the costs incurred for each of our oncology programs on a program-by-program
basis.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, our clinical stage projects included a Phase 1 clinical trial with Ad-RTS-IL-12
plus veledimex in progressive glioblastoma; a Phase 1 clinical trial infusing our 2nd generation CD19-specific CAR+
T cells in patients with advanced lymphoid malignancies; and a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of Ad-RTS-hIL-12
with veledimex for the treatment of pediatric brain tumors. The expenses incurred by us to third parties for our Phase 1 clinical trial with Ad-RTS-IL-12
plus veledimex in progressive glioblastoma were $3.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 and $14.3 million from the project’s inception in September 2015 through December 31, 2020. There were minimal expenses incurred by us to third parties for our Phase 1 clinical trial infusing our 2nd generation CD19-specific CAR+
T cells in patients with advanced lymphoid malignancies for the year ended December 31, 2020 and $6.1 million from the project’s inception in December 2015 through December 31, 2020. The expenses incurred by us to third parties for our Phase 1/2 clinical trial of Ad-RTS-hIL-12
with veledimex for the treatment of pediatric brain tumors were $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 and $2.2 million from the project’s inception in October 2017 through December 31, 2020. The expense incurred by us to third parties for our Phase 2 clinical trial of Ad-RTS-hIL-12
with veledimex in combination with cemiplimab-rwlc in progressive glioblastoma were $4.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 and $5.8 million from the projects inception in June 2019 through December 31, 2020.
Our future research and development expenses in support of our current and future programs will be subject to numerous uncertainties in timing and cost to completion. We test potential products in numerous preclinical studies for safety, toxicology and efficacy. We may conduct multiple clinical trials for each product. As we obtain results from trials, we may elect to discontinue or delay clinical trials for certain products in order to focus our resources on more promising products or indications. Completion of clinical trials may take several years or more, and the length of time generally varies substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended use of a product. It is not unusual for preclinical and clinical development of each of these types of products to require the expenditure of substantial resources.
We estimate that clinical trials of the type generally needed to secure new drug approval are typically completed over the following timelines:
Clinical Phase
Estimated Completion Period
Phase 1
1 - 2 years
Phase 2
2 - 3 years
Phase 3
2 - 4 years
The duration and the cost of clinical trials may vary significantly over the life of a project as a result of differences arising during clinical development, including, among others, the following:
•
The number of clinical sites included in the trials;
•
The length of time required to enroll suitable patients;
•
The number of patients that ultimately participate in the trials;
•
The duration of patient follow-up
to ensure the absence of long-term product-related adverse events; and
•
The efficacy and safety profile of the product.
As a result of the uncertainties discussed above, we are unable to determine the duration and completion costs of our programs or when and to what extent we will receive cash inflows from the commercialization and sale of a product. Our inability to complete our programs in a timely manner or our failure to enter into appropriate collaborative agreements could significantly increase our capital requirements and could adversely impact our liquidity. These uncertainties could force us to seek additional, external sources of financing from time-to-time
in order to continue with our product development strategy. Our inability to raise additional capital, or to do so on terms reasonably acceptable to us, would jeopardize the future success of our business.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation, consulting and professional fees, including patent related costs, general corporate costs and facility costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses or cost of product revenue.
Other Income (Expense)
Other income (expense) consists primarily of interest income and changes in the fair value of our Series 1 preferred stock. All of the Series 1 preferred stock was forfeited on October 5, 2018 in conjunction with entering the License Agreement with PGEN Therapeutics, or PGEN, a wholly owned subsidiary of Precigen Inc., or Precigen, which was formerly known as Intrexon Corporation.
Results of Operations for the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
Collaboration Revenues
There was no revenue for the years end December 31, 2020 and 2019.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
Change
($ in thousands)
Research and development
$ 52,696
$ 38,331
$ 14,365
%
Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2020 increased by $14.4 million when compared to the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase in expense during the year ended December 31, 2020 was due to an increase of $6.3 million in employee related expenses, driven primarily by increased headcount in 2020 compared to 2019, an increase of $6.1 million in gene therapy expenses driven by increased manufacturing and trial cost to support our ongoing clinical initiatives, $1.2 million of facility related services due to the buildout of the Houston facility on the MD Anderson campus, $1.2 million of cell therapy expenses driven by increased manufacturing to support our upcoming clinical initiatives, offset by a $0.4 million decrease in travel and contracted outside service.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:
Year ended December 31,
Change
($ in thousands)
General and administrative
$ 27,665
$ 19,527
$ 8,138
%
General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2020 increased by $8.1 million as compared to the year ended December 31, 2019. The change was primarily due to increased contracted outside professional services of $5.6 million related to advisory services, an increase of $2.0 million in employee related expenses, driven primarily by increased headcount in 2020 compared to 2019, and increase of $0.9 million in facility related services, offset by a decrease of $0.4 million in travel related expenses.
Other Income (Expense)
Other income (expense) during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:
Year ended December 31,
Change
($ in thousands)
Other income
$
$
$ (428 )
%
Non-cash inducement warrant expense
-
(60,751 )
60,751
%
Total
$
$ (59,938 )
$ 60,323
During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recorded a non-cash
inducement warrant expense of $60.8 million relating to the issuance of new warrants as an inducement for warrant holders to exercise their 2018 warrants early. There was no inducement warrant expense incurred for the year ended December 31, 2020. Additionally, we recorded $385 thousand in other income for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to $813 thousand in other income for the year ended December 31, 2019, due to market fluctuations.
Results of Operations for the Fiscal Year ended December 31, 2019 and 2018
Collaboration Revenues
Revenues for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:
Year ended December 31,
Change
($ in thousands)
Collaboration revenue
$ -
$
$ (146 )
%
Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2019 decreased by $146 thousand in comparison to revenue for the year ended December 31, 2018. During the year ended December 31, 2019, there was no recognized revenue. During the year ended December 31, 2018, we recognized $146 thousand of revenue related to the Ares Trading Agreement under ASC 606 (Note 3).
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:
Year ended December 31,
Change
($ in thousands)
Research and development
$ 38,331
$ 34,124
$ 4,207
%
Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2019 increased by $4.2 million when compared to the year ended December 31, 2018. The increase in expense during the year ended December 31, 2019 was due to an increase of $1.5 million in T cell therapy expenses, driven primarily by manufacturing costs and costs associated with our Patent License with the NCI, an increase of $1.2 million in employee related expenses, driven primarily by increased headcount in 2019 compared to 2018, $1.1 million of Gorilla IL-12
expenses driven by increased manufacturing and trial cost to support our ongoing clinical initiatives and $0.4 million of contracted outside services due to the buildout of the Houston facility at MD Anderson (Note 8).
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:
Year ended December 31,
Change
($ in thousands)
General and administrative
$ 19,527
$ 19,918
$ (391 )
%
General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2019 decreased by $0.4 million as compared to the prior year. The change was primarily due to decreased stock compensation of $0.9 million and decreased contracted outside services and advisory fees related to our License Agreement with PGEN in 2018 (Note 7) of $0.9 million. The decreased costs in 2019 were offset by an increase of employee related costs of $0.8 million, an increase of facilities related costs of $0.4 million, and an increase of travel related costs due to international travel by executives of $0.2 million.
Other Income (Expense)
Other income (expense) during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 were as follows:
Year ended December 31,
Change
($ in thousands)
Other income (expense), net
$
$
$
%
Non-cash
inducement warrant expense
(60,751 )
-
(60,751 )
%
Change in fair value of derivative liabilities
-
(158 )
%
Total
$ (59,938 )
$
$ (60,727 )
During the year ended December 31, 2019, we recorded a non-cash
inducement warrant expense of $60.8 million relating to the issuance of new warrants as an inducement for warrant holders to exercise their 2018 warrants early. During the year ended December 31, 2018 we recorded a gain on the change in fair value of the derivative liabilities of $158 thousand, which was derived from the number of previously outstanding shares of Series 1 preferred stock and their respective valuations. Additionally, we recorded $813 thousand in other income for the year ended December 31, 2019, compared to $631 thousand earned in the prior year, due to increases in our cash equivalent accounts.
Sources of Liquidity
To date, we have financed our operations primarily through public offerings of our common stock, private placements of our convertible equity securities and collaborations. Through December 31, 2020, we have received an aggregate of $[●] from public offerings and through our “at-the-market” offering program.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
As of December 31, 2020, we have approximately $115.1 million of cash and cash equivalents. Given our current development plans, in addition to our recent financing, we anticipate cash resources will be sufficient to fund our operations into the second quarter of 2022, and we have no committed sources of additional capital at this time. The forecast of cash resources is forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties, and the actual amount of our expenses could vary materially and adversely as a result of a number of factors. We have based our estimates on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and our expenses could prove to be significantly higher than we currently anticipate. Management does not know whether additional financing will be on terms favorable or acceptable to us when needed, if at all. If adequate additional funds are not available when required, or if we are unsuccessful in entering into partnership agreements for further development of our products, management may need to curtail development efforts.
In addition to these factors, our actual cash requirements may vary materially from our current expectations for a number of other factors that may include, but are not limited to, changes in the focus and direction of our development programs, competitive and technical advances, costs associated with the development of our product candidates, our ability to secure partnering arrangements, and the costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing our intellectual property rights. If we exhaust our capital reserves more quickly than anticipated, regardless of the reason, and we are unable to obtain additional financing on terms acceptable to us or at all, we will be unable to proceed with development of some or all of our product candidates on expected timelines and will be forced to prioritize among them.
We expect that we will need additional financing to support our long-term plans for clinical trials and new product development. We expect to finance our cash needs through the sale of equity securities, strategic collaborations and/or debt financings, or through other sources that may be dilutive to existing stockholders. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain funding from any of these sources or, if obtained, what the terms of such funding(s) may be, or that any amount that we are able to obtain will be adequate to support our working capital requirements until we achieve profitable operations. We have no current committed sources of additional capital. Recently, capital markets have experienced a period of instability that may severely hinder our ability to raise capital within the time periods needed or on terms we consider acceptable, if at all. If we are unable to raise additional funds when needed, we may not be able to continue development and regulatory approval of our products, or we could be required to delay, scale back or eliminate some or all our research and development programs.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue 250,000,000 shares of common stock. As of February 24, 2020, there were 214,667,023 shares of common stock outstanding and an additional 31,115,329 shares of common stock reserved for issuance pursuant to outstanding stock options and warrants. Though we have no immediate plans to issue additional shares of common stock, other than in connection with our 2020 Equity Incentive Plan, we may need additional shares for business and financial purposes in the future.
Recent Financing Transactions
February 2020 Public Offering
On February 5, 2020, we entered into an underwriting agreement with Jefferies, as representative of the several underwriters named therein, relating to the issuance and sale of 27,826,086 shares of our common stock. The price to the public in the offering was $3.25 per share, and the underwriters agreed to purchase the shares from us pursuant to the underwriting agreement at a purchase price of $3.055 per share. Under the terms of the underwriting agreement, we also granted the underwriters an option, exercisable for 30 days, to purchase up to an additional 4,173,912 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $3.055 per share.
The offering, which closed on February 7, 2020, was made pursuant to our effective registration statement on Form S-3ASR
(File No. 333-232283)
previously filed with the SEC, and a prospectus supplement thereunder. The net proceeds from the offering were approximately $84.8 million after deducting underwriting discounts and our offering expenses.
On March 10, 2020, the underwriters exercised their option to purchase an additional 1,284,025 shares. The net proceeds were approximately $3.9 million after deducting underwriting discounts and offering expenses paid by us.
At-the-Market
Offering
During the year ended December 31, 2020, we sold an aggregate of 2,814,673 shares of our common stock. The offering was made pursuant to our effective registration statement on Form S-3ASR
(File No. 333-232283)
previously filed with the SEC, and a prospectus supplement thereunder. The net proceeds from the offering were approximately $13.0 million after deducting underwriting discounts and our offering expenses.
During the year ended December 31, 2019, we sold an aggregate of 1,271,274 shares of our common stock. The offering was made pursuant to our effective registration statement on Form S-3ASR
(File No. 333-232283)
previously filed with the SEC, and a prospectus supplement thereunder. The net proceeds from the offering were approximately $6.1 million after deducting underwriting discounts and our offering expenses.
July 2019 and September 2019 Warrant Exercise
On July 26, 2019 and September 12, 2019, we entered into agreements for the exercise of the warrants issued in November 2018 to purchase common stock in a private placement. Pursuant to the terms of the agreements, investors exercised warrants for an aggregate of 17,803,031 shares of common stock, at an exercise price of $3.01 per share. We issued new warrants to purchase up to 17,803,031 additional shares of common stock as an inducement for warrant holders to exercise their 2018 warrants early. The new warrants will become exercisable six months following the date of issuance, will expire on the fifth anniversary of the initial exercise date, and have an exercise price of $7.00 (Note 10). Proceeds from the exercise of the warrants, before deducting placement agent fees and other related expenses of $1.1 million were approximately $52.5 million. For the year ended December 31, 2019, we also recorded $60.8 million in non-cash
inducement warrant expense, which is included in our statement of operations.
November 2018 Private Placement
On November 11, 2018, we entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain institutional and accredited investors pursuant to which we agreed to issue and sell to the investors an aggregate of 18,939,394 immediately separable units at a price per unit of $2.64, for net proceeds of approximately $47.1 million. Each unit was comprised of (i) one share of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share and (ii) a warrant to purchase one share of common stock. The securities issued by us pursuant to the securities purchase agreement and to be issued upon exercise of the warrants were not registered under the Securities Act and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements. When issuing the units, we relied on the private placement exemption from registration provided by Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and by Rule 506 of Registration D, promulgated thereunder and on similar exemptions under applicable state laws and filed a Form D with the SEC on November 19, 2018. On February 7, 2019, we filed a registration statement on Form S-3
registering the resale of shares issued pursuant to the securities purchase agreement and the resale of shares that may be issued upon exercise of the warrants.
The following table summarizes our net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents for the years ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018:
Year ended December 31,
($ in thousands)
Net cash provided by (used in):
Operating activities
$ (57,013 )
$ (40,854 )
$ (49,457 )
Investing activities
(9,778 )
(284 )
(459 )
Financing activities
102,119
59,150
40,311
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
$ 35,328
$ 18,012
$ (9,605 )
Cash flows from operating activities represent the cash receipts and disbursements related to all of our activities other than investing and financing activities. Operating cash flow is derived by adjusting our net loss for:
•
Non-cash
operating items such as depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, inducement warrant expense and preferred stock and warrants for common stock issued in connection with license agreements;
•
Changes in operating assets and liabilities which reflect timing differences between the receipt and payment of cash associated with transactions and when they are recognized in results of operations; and
•
Changes associated with the fair value of our derivative liabilities.
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $57.0 million, as compared to net cash used in operating activities of $40.9 million and $49.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily a result of our net loss of $80.0 million, an increase in receivables of $1.3 million, an increase in other noncurrent assets of $0.6 million, offset by an decrease in prepaid expenses and other current assets of $11.6 million primarily related to the use of funds at MD Anderson and an increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses of $5.3 million. The net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 was primarily a result of our net loss of $117.8 million, an increase in receivables of $1.5 million, an increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets of $1.7 million, offset by a decrease in other noncurrent assets of $9.4 million, and an increase in accounts payable and accrued expenses of $1.9 million. Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily a result of our net loss of $53.1 million, an increase in receivables of $1.9 million, an increase of prepaid expenses and other current assets of $1.3 million, and a decrease in accounts payable and accrued expenses of $4.8 million, offset by a decrease of other noncurrent assets of $4.0 million.
Net cash used in investing activities was $9.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to $284 thousand and $459 thousand for the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2018, respectively. The change was due primarily to increases in equipment purchases and leasehold improvements under our agreement with MD Anderson to build out space in Houston, Texas during the year ended December 31, 2020.
Net cash provided by financing activities was $102.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $59.2 million and $40.3 million provided by financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The $102.1 million provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2020, is a result of net proceeds of $88.7 million from the issuance of common stock in our follow-on public
offering, net and $13.0 million from the issuance of common stock pursuant to our ATM facility. The $59.2 million provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2019 is a result of net proceeds from the issuance of common stock upon exercise of warrants of $52.5 million, net proceeds from the issuance in connection with an at the market offering of $6.1 million, proceeds from the exercise of stock options of $1.2 million, offset by $0.7 million used to repurchase common stock. The $40.3 million provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2018 is a result of net proceeds of $47.1 million from our November 2018 financing which were offset by cash paid of $5.4 million from our License Agreement and $1.6 million paid for the repurchase of common stock.
Operating Capital and Capital Expenditure Requirements
We anticipate that losses will continue for the foreseeable future. At December 31, 2020, our accumulated deficit was approximately $764.1 million. Our actual cash requirements may vary materially from those planned because of a number of factors including:
•
changes in the focus, direction and pace of our development programs;
•
competitive and technical advances;
•
costs associated with the development of our product candidates;
•
our ability to secure partnering arrangements;
•
costs of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and any other intellectual property rights, or other developments; and
•
other matters identified under Part I - Item 1A. “Risk Factors.”
Working capital as of December 31, 2020 was $112.2 million, consisting of $130.6 million in current assets and $18.4 million in current liabilities. Working capital as of December 31, 2019 was $93.0 million, consisting of $105.5 million in current assets and $12.5 million in current liabilities.
Contractual Obligations
The following table summarizes our outstanding obligations as of December 31, 2020 and the effect those obligations are expected to have on our liquidity and cash flows in future periods:
($ in thousands)
Total
Less than
1 year
2 - 3 years
4 - 5 years
More than
5 years
Operating leases
$ 6,171
$ 1,189
$ 1,620
$ 1,714
$ 1,648
CRADA
2,500
2,500
-
-
-
Royalty and license fees
3,050
1,550
Strategic advisory services
1,125
1,125
Total
$ 12,846
$ 4,914
$ 2,320
$ 2,414
$ 3,198
Our commitments for operating leases relate to the lease for our corporate headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, and laboratory and office space in Houston, Texas. On December 21, 2015 and April 15, 2016, we renewed the sublease for our corporate headquarters in Boston, MA through August 31, 2021. On January 30, 2018, we entered into a lease agreement for office space in Houston, TX at MD Anderson through April 2021. On March 12, 2019, we entered into a lease agreement for additional office Space in Houston through April 2021. On October 15, 2019, we entered into another lease agreement for additional office space in Houston through February 2027. On April 13, 2020, we entered into another lease agreement for additional office and laboratory space in Houston through February 2027. On June 1, 2020, we entered into a short-term lease in Houston for office and laboratory space. On September 1, 2020, we entered an additional short-term lease in Houston for additional office and laboratory space. On December 15, 2020, we entered into another lease for additional office and laboratory space in Houston through April 2028.
On January 10, 2017, we announced the signing of a CRADA with the NCI for the development of ACT-based
immunotherapies genetically modified using the Sleeping Beauty
transposon/transposase system for the treatment of solid tumors. In February 2019, we extended the CRADA with the NCI until January 9, 2022.
On May 28, 2019, we entered into a patent license agreement, or the Patent License, with the NCI. The terms of the Patent License require us to pay the NCI minimum annual royalties in the amount of $0.3 million, which amount will be reduced to $0.1 million once the aggregate minimum annual royalties paid by us equals $1.5 million.
On October 5, 2018, we entered into the License Agreement with Precigen. Under the License Agreement, we are obligated to pay PGEN an annual licensing fee of $100 thousand expected to be paid through the term of the agreement.
On November 27, 2020, we entered into two agreements for strategic advisory services that require us to pay $1.1 million through September 30, 2021.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Estimates
Our Management’s Discussion and Analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at
the date of the financial statements as well as the reported expenses during the reporting periods. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
We believe the following are our more significant estimates and judgments used in the preparation of our financial statements:
•
Research and Development Costs / Clinical trial expenses;
•
Revenue recognition from collaboration agreements;
•
Fair value measurements of stock-based compensation;
•
Income taxes.
Research and Development Costs / Clinical Trial Expenses
As part of the process of preparing our financial statements, we are required to estimate our accrued research and development expenses. This process involves reviewing open contracts and purchase orders, communicating with our personnel to identify services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated costs incurred for the services when we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of the actual costs. The majority of our service providers invoice us in arrears for services performed, on a predetermined schedule or when contractual milestones are met; however, a few require advanced payments. We make estimates of our accrued expenses as of each balance sheet date in our financial statements based on facts and circumstances known to us at that time. Examples of estimated accrued research and development expenses include fees paid to:
•
CROs in connection with performing research services on our behalf and clinical trials,
•
investigative sites or other providers in connection with clinical trials,
•
vendors in connection with preclinical and clinical development activities, and
•
vendors related to product manufacturing, development, and distribution of preclinical and clinical supplies.
We base our expenses related to preclinical studies and clinical trials on our estimates of the services received and efforts expended pursuant to quotes and contracts with multiple CROs that conduct and manage clinical trials on our behalf. The financial terms of these agreements are subject to negotiation, vary from contract to contract and may result in uneven payment flows. There may be instances in which payments made to our vendors will exceed the level of services provided and result in a prepayment of the clinical expense. Payments under some of these contracts depend on factors such as the completion of clinical trial milestones. In accruing service fees, we estimate the time period over which services will be performed, enrollment of patients, number of sites activated and the level of effort to be expended in each period. If the actual timing of the performance of services or the level of effort varies from our estimate, we adjust the accrual or amount of prepaid expense accordingly. Although we do not expect our estimates to be materially different from amounts actually incurred, our understanding of the status and timing of services performed relative to the actual status and timing of services performed may vary and may result in us reporting amounts that are too high or too low in any particular period. To date, we have not made any material adjustments to our prior estimates of accrued research and development expenses.
Revenue Recognition from Collaboration Agreements
We primarily generate revenue through collaboration arrangements with strategic partners for the development and commercialization of product candidates. Commencing January 1, 2018, we recognized revenue in accordance with ASC 606 which replaced ASC 605, Multiple Element Arrangements
, as used in historical years. The core principle of ASC 606 is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods and/or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled
in exchange for those goods and/or services. To determine the appropriate amount of revenue to be recognized for arrangements that we determine are within the scope of ASC 606, we perform the following steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with the customer, (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract, (iii) determine the transaction price, (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) each performance obligation is satisfied.
We recognize collaboration revenue under certain of our license or collaboration agreements that are within the scope of ASC 606. Our contracts with customers typically include promises related to licenses to intellectual property, research and development services and options to purchase additional goods and/or services. If the license to our intellectual property is determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in the arrangement, we recognize revenue from non-refundable,
up-front
fees allocated to the license when the license is transferred to the licensee and the licensee is able to use and benefit from the license. For licenses that are bundled with other promises, we utilize judgment to assess the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time and, if over time, the appropriate method of measuring progress for purposes of recognizing revenue from non-refundable,
up-front
fees. Contracts that include an option to acquire additional goods and/or services are evaluated to determine if such option provides a material right to the customer that it would not have received without entering into the contract. If so, the option is accounted for as a separate performance obligation. If not, the option is considered a marketing offer which would be accounted for as a separate contract upon the customer’s election.
The terms of our arrangements with customers typically include the payment of one or more of the following: (i) non-refundable,
up-front
payment, (ii) development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, (iii) future options and (iv) royalties on net sales of licensed products. Accordingly, the transaction price is generally comprised of a fixed fee due at contract inception and variable consideration in the form of milestone payments due upon the achievement of specified events and tiered royalties earned when customers recognize net sales of licensed products. We measure the transaction price based on the amount of consideration to which it expects to be entitled in exchange for transferring the promised goods and/or services to the customer. We utilize the most likely amount method to estimate the amount of variable consideration, to predict the amount of consideration to which we will be entitled for our one open contract. Amounts of variable consideration are included in the transaction price to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved. At the inception of each arrangement that includes development and regulatory milestone payments, we evaluate whether the associated event is considered probable of achievement and estimates the amount to be included in the transaction price using the most likely amount method. Milestone payments that are not within the control of us or the licensee, such as those dependent upon receipt of regulatory approval, are not considered to be probable of achievement until the triggering event occurs. At the end of each reporting period, we reevaluate the probability of achievement of each milestone and any related constraint, and if necessary, adjusts its estimate of the overall transaction price. Any such adjustments are recorded on a cumulative catch-up
basis, which would affect revenue and net loss in the period of adjustment. For arrangements that include sales-based royalties, including milestone payments based upon the achievement of a certain level of product sales, we recognize revenue upon the later of: (i) when the related sales occur or (ii) when the performance obligation to which some or all of the payment has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied). To date, we have not recognized any development, regulatory or commercial milestones or royalty revenue resulting from any of our collaboration arrangements. Consideration that would be received for optional goods and/or services is excluded from the transaction price at contract inception.
We allocate the transaction price to each performance obligation identified in the contract on a relative standalone selling price basis. However, certain components of variable consideration are allocated specifically to one or more particular performance obligations in a contact to the extent both of the following criteria are met: (i) the terms of the payment relate specifically to the efforts to satisfy the performance obligation or transfer the distinct good or service and (ii) allocating the variable amount of consideration entirely to the performance
obligation or the distinct good or service is consistent with the allocation objective of the standard whereby the amount allocated depicts the amount of consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for transferring the promised goods or services. We develop assumptions that require judgment to determine the standalone selling price for each performance obligation identified in each contract. The key assumptions utilized in determining the standalone selling price for each performance obligation may include forecasted revenues, development timelines, estimated research and development costs, discount rates, likelihood of exercise and probabilities of technical and regulatory success.
Revenue is recognized based on the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to each respective performance obligation when or as the performance obligation is satisfied by transferring a promised good and/or service to the customer. For performance obligations that are satisfied over time, we recognize revenue by measuring the progress toward complete satisfaction of the performance obligation using a single method of measuring progress which depicts the performance in transferring control of the associated goods and/or services to the customer. We use input methods to measure the progress toward the complete satisfaction of performance obligations satisfied over time. We evaluate the measure of progress each reporting period and, if necessary, adjusts the measure of performance and related revenue recognition. Any such adjustments are recorded on a cumulative catch-up
basis, which would affect revenue and net loss in the period of adjustment.
Fair Value Measurements of Stock Based Compensation and Series 1 Preferred Stock (including related dividends)
Accounting standards define fair value, establish a framework for measuring fair value under generally accepted accounting principles and enhance disclosures about fair value measurements. Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The standard describes a fair value hierarchy based on three levels of inputs, of which the first two are considered observable and the last unobservable, that may be used to measure fair value which are the following:
•
Level 1-Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
•
Level 2-Inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.
•
Level 3-Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.
We make certain assumptions to value and expense our share-based compensation awards, as well as our Series 1 preferred stock (including related dividends), which as of October 2018 is no longer outstanding. In connection with valuing stock options we use the Black-Scholes valuation model, which requires us to estimate certain subjective assumptions. The key assumptions we make are: the expected volatility of our stock and the expected term of the award.
We review our valuation assumptions periodically and, as a result, we may change our valuation assumptions used to value share-based awards granted in future periods. Such changes may lead to a significant change in the expense we recognize in connection with share-based payments.
Income Taxes
In preparing our financial statements, we estimate our income tax liability in each of the jurisdictions in which we operate by estimating our actual current tax expense together with assessing temporary differences resulting
from differing treatment of items for tax and financial reporting purposes. These differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities, which, prior to the consideration for the need for a valuation allowance, are included on the balance sheet. Significant management judgment is required in assessing the realizability of our deferred tax assets. In performing this assessment, we consider whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. In making this determination, under the applicable financial accounting standards, we are allowed to consider the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, and the effects of tax planning strategies. Our estimates of future taxable income include, among other items, our estimates of future income tax deductions related to the exercise of stock options. In the event that actual results differ from our estimates, we adjust our estimates in future periods and we may need to establish a valuation allowance, which could materially impact our financial position and results of operations.
We account for uncertain tax positions using a “more-likely-than-not”
threshold for recognizing and resolving uncertain tax positions. The evaluation of uncertain tax positions is based on factors that include, but are not limited to, changes in tax law, the measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in tax returns, the effective settlement of matters subject to audit, new audit activity and changes in facts or circumstances related to a tax position. We evaluate uncertain tax positions on an annual basis and adjust the level of the liability to reflect any subsequent changes in the relevant facts surrounding the uncertain positions. Our liabilities for uncertain tax positions can be relieved only if the contingency becomes legally extinguished through either payment to the taxing authority or the expiration of the statute of limitations, the recognition of the benefits associated with the position meet the “more-likely-than-not”
threshold or the liability becomes effectively settled through the examination process. We consider matters to be effectively settled once the taxing authority has completed all of its required or expected examination procedures, including all appeals and administrative reviews; we have no plans to appeal or litigate any aspect of the tax position; and we believe that it is highly unlikely that the taxing authority would examine or re-examine
the related tax position. We also accrue for potential interest and penalties, related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
For a discussion of new accounting standards, please read Note 3 to the accompanying financial statements, Summary of Significant Accounting Principles
included in this report.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
We have not entered into, nor do we currently have any special purpose entities or off-balance
sheet financing arrangements as defined under SEC rules.

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ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Our exposure to market risk is limited to our cash. The goals of our investment policy is the preservation of capital, fulfillment of liquidity needs, fiduciary control of cash and investments. We also seek to maximize income from our investments without assuming significant risk and consistent with regulatory limitations. To achieve our goals, we maintain our cash in interest-bearing cash accounts. As all of our investments are cash deposits in a global bank, which is subject to minimal interest rate risk.
Effect of Currency Exchange Rates and Exchange Rate Risk Management
We conduct a small number of clinical trials outside of the United States, primarily in Western Europe. These business operations are not material at this time, and therefore we do not anticipate that currency fluctuations will have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows at this time.

---

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
The information required by this Item 8 is contained on pages
through
of this Annual Report and is incorporated herein by reference.

---

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosures
None.

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ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures.
Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our interim Chief Executive Officer and interim Chief Financial Officer, we have evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined under Rule 13a-15(e)
or 15d-15(e)
promulgated under the Exchange Act, as of December 31, 2020. Based on that evaluation, our interim Chief Executive Officer and our interim Chief Financial Officer have concluded that as of December 31, 2020, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as described below under “Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting.”
Remediation of Material Weakness
In connection with our audit of the fiscal year 2019 consolidated financial statements, we and our independent registered public accounting firm determined that we had material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. We did not design and maintain effective controls relating to the monitoring and oversight of expensing third party clinical trial costs. Specifically, our internal controls were not designed effectively to provide reasonable assurance regarding the accurate and timely evaluation of the amount of third-party costs to record. There were no changes to any of our previously released financial statements. Based on this material weakness, our management concluded that at December 31, 2019, our internal control over financial reporting was not effective.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, we implemented enhanced procedures to remediate the deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting including implementation of additional in-house meetings across departments to ensure that they have the relevant expertise related to the monitoring and oversight of expensing third party clinical trial costs.
We have completed execution of our remediation plan and successfully remediated the material weakness in internal control over financial reporting described above as of December 31, 2020.
Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is defined in Rules 13(a)-15(f) and 15(d)-15(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our interim principal executive and interim principal financial officers and effected by our board of directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and includes those policies and procedures that:
•
Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets;
•
Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and
•
Provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including our interim principal executive and interim financial officers, we assessed our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on criteria for effective internal control over financial reporting established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework (2013), issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Our management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting included testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of our internal controls. In management’s opinion, we have maintained effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020, based on the criteria discussed above.
The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020 has been audited by RSM US LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report which is included herein.
Inherent Limitations on Internal Controls
Our management, including our interim Chief Executive Officer and our interim Chief Financial Officer, does not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures or our internal controls will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, within our company have been detected. These inherent limitations include the realities that judgements in decision-making can be faulty, and that breakdowns can occur because of a simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the control. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
Changes in Internal Controls over Financial Reporting
Except for the remediation measures discussed above, there were no other changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13(a)-15(f) of the Exchange Act) that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2020 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

---

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 9B. Other Information
Date of 2021 Annual Meeting
We intend to hold our annual meeting of stockholders on Wednesday, May 19, 2021 (the “2021 Annual Meeting”). Because the expected date of the 2021 Annual Meeting represents a change of more than 30 calendar days from the date of the anniversary of our 2020 annual meeting of stockholders, we are providing revised deadlines for receipt of stockholder proposals and nominations with respect to the 2021 Annual Meeting.
Pursuant to Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), stockholders may present proposals for inclusion in our proxy statement for the 2021 annual meeting of
stockholders (“2021 Annual Meeting”) by submitting their proposals to us a reasonable time before we begin to print and send our proxy materials. We will consider any such proposal must be provided not later than the close of business on or prior to Monday, March 8, 2021 to be timely, which is a reasonable time before we begin to distribute the proxy materials for the 2021 Annual Meeting. Any such proposals must comply with the applicable requirements of Rule 14a-8 of the Exchange Act regarding the inclusion of stockholder proposals in company-sponsored proxy materials and other applicable laws and must be received in writing by us at the following address: Ziopharm Oncology, Inc., One First Avenue, Parris Building 34, Navy Yard Plaza, Third Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02129, Attention: Corporate Secretary. Due to the complexity of the respective rights of the stockholders and us in this area, any stockholder desiring to propose such an action is advised to consult with his or her legal counsel with respect to such rights. We suggest that any such proposal be submitted to us by certified mail, return receipt requested.
Rule 14a-4 under the Exchange Act governs our use of our discretionary proxy voting authority with respect to a stockholder proposal that the stockholder has not sought to include in our proxy statement. Rule 14a-4 provides that if a proponent of a proposal fails to notify us at least 45 days prior to the month and day of mailing of the prior year’s proxy statement, management proxyholders will be allowed to use their discretionary voting authority as to whether the proposal is raised at the annual meeting, without any discussion of the matter. If a stockholder wishes to bring a matter before the stockholders at the 2021 Annual Meeting but does not notify us before Monday, March 15, 2021, which is a reasonable time before we begin to distribute the proxy materials for the 2021 Annual Meeting, for all proxies we receive, the management proxyholders will have discretionary authority to vote on the matter, including discretionary authority to vote in opposition to the stockholder’s proposal. Any such notices should be received in writing at the following address: Ziopharm Oncology, Inc., One First Avenue, Parris Building 34, Navy Yard Plaza, Third Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02129, Attention: Corporate Secretary.
PART III

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ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
Information in response to this Item is incorporated herein by reference to the information from our definitive proxy statement to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report under the sections titled Proposal No. 1-Election of Directors, Current Directors, Director Nominees and Executive Officers, Information Regarding the Board of Directors and Corporate Governance
, Beneficial Ownership and Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports
.

---

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Item 11. Executive Compensation
Information in response to this Item is incorporated herein by reference to the information from our definitive proxy statement to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report under the section titled Executive Compensation
.

---

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans
Our 2012 Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2012 Plan and our 2020 Equity Incentive Plan, or the 2020 Plan, are our only equity compensation plans approved by our stockholders. The following table sets forth certain information as of December 31, 2020 with respect to the 2012 Plan and 2020 Plan:
Number of Securities to
be Issued Upon Exercise
of Outstanding Options
Weighted-Average
Exercise Price of
Outstanding Options
Number of Securities
Remaining Available for
Future Issuance Under
Equity Compensation
Plans (Excluding
Securities Reflected in
Column (A))
Plan Category
(A)
(B)
(C)
Equity compensation plans approved by stockholders:
2012 Stock Option Plan
5,659,018
$ 4.01
-
2020 Equity Incentive Plan
1,173,368
2.83
5,714,648
Total:
6,832,386
$ 3.93
5,714,648
Equity compensation plans not approved by stockholders:
Inducement Awards
588,333
5.78
-
Total:
588,333
$ 5.78
-
Additional information in response to this Item is incorporated herein by reference to the information from our definitive proxy statement to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report under the section titled Beneficial Ownership
.

---

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence
Information in response to this Item is incorporated herein by reference to the information from our definitive proxy statement to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report under the sections titled Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Information Regarding the Board of Directors and Corporate Governance
.

---

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
Information in response to this Item is incorporated herein by reference to the information from our definitive proxy statement to be filed pursuant to Regulation 14A within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report under the section titled Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm Fees and Other Matters
.
PART IV

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ITEM 15. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules
(1) Financial Statements:
The Financial Statements required to be filed by Item 8 of this Annual Report, and filed in this Item 15, are as follows:
Page
Reports of Independent Accounting Firm
-
Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2020 and 2019
Statements of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018
Statements of Changes Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) for the Years Ended December 31, 2020,
2019, and 2018
-
Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2020, 2019, and 2018
Notes to Financial Statements
(2) Financial Statement Schedules:
Schedules are omitted because they are not applicable, or are not required, or because the information is included in the financial statements and notes thereto.
(3) Exhibits:
Exhibit No.
Description of Document
2.1
Agreement and Plan of Merger among the Registrant (formerly “EasyWeb, Inc.”), ZIO Acquisition Corp. and ZIOPHARM, Inc., dated August 3, 2005 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K, SEC File No. 000-32353, filed August 9, 2005).
3.1
Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as filed with the Delaware Secretary of State on April 26, 2006 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 000-32353, filed April 26, 2006).
3.2
Certificate of Merger dated September 13, 2005, relating to the merger of ZIO Acquisition Corp. with and into ZIOPHARM, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K, SEC File No. 000-32353, filed September 19, 2005).
3.3
Certificate of Ownership of the Registrant (formerly “EasyWeb, Inc.”) dated as of September 14, 2005, relating the merger of ZIOPHARM, Inc. with and into the Registrant, and changing the Registrant’s corporate name from EasyWeb, Inc. to ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Registrant’s Form 8-K, SEC File No. 000-32353, filed September 19, 2005).
3.4
Amended and Restated Certificate of Designation, Preferences and Rights of Series 1 Preferred Stock, as filed with the Delaware Secretary of State on July 1, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K/A, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed July 1, 2016).
3.5
Amended and Restated Bylaws of the Registrant, dated as of September 21, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed September 22, 2020).
4.1
Specimen common stock certificate (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form SB-2, SEC File No. 333-129020, filed October 14, 2005).
Exhibit No.
Description of Document
4.2
Form of Option for the Purchase of Shares of common stock dated August 30, 2004 and issued to The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.6 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-KSB, SEC File No. 000-32353, filed March 20, 2006).
4.3
Schedule identifying Material Terms of Options for the Purchase of Shares of Common Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.7 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-KSB, SEC File No. 000-32353, filed March 20, 2006).
4.4
Form of Warrant to Purchase Common Stock (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038 filed November 13, 2018).
4.5#
Warrant to Purchase Common Stock issued to The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.7 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed March 2, 2020).
4.6
Description of Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act Of 1934, as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.8 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed March 2, 2020).
10.1+
ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. Amended and Restated 2003 Stock Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K SEC File No. 001-33038 filed March 1, 2011).
10.2+
Form of Incentive Stock Option Agreement granted under the Registrant’s 2003 Stock Option Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-KSB, SEC File No. 000-32353, filed March 20, 2006).
10.3+
ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. 2012 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038 filed September 24, 2018).
10.4+
Form of Restricted Stock Agreement Granted Under the ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038 filed June 26, 2012).
10.5+
Form of Option Agreement Granted Under the ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. 2012 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038 filed June 26, 2012).
10.6+
Inducement Award Agreement between the Registrant and Satyavrat Shukla, dated July 23, 2019 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed July 22, 2019).
10.7+
Form of Inducement Award Grant Notice and Inducement Award Grant Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.3 to the Registrant’s Registration Statement on Form S-8, SEC File No. 333-238090, filed May 8, 2020).
10.8+
ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038 filed July 1, 2020).
10.9+*
Form of Restricted Stock Agreement Granted Under the ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan.
10.10+*
Form of Stock Option Agreement Granted Under the ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. 2020 Equity Incentive Plan.
10.11+
Form of Indemnity Agreement for directors and executive officers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed January 31, 2013).
Exhibit No.
Description of Document
10.12+
Employment Agreement by and between the Registrant and Laurence James Neil Cooper, M.D., Ph.D. dated as of May 5, 2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed May 7, 2015).
10.13+
Employment Agreement, dated as of April 23, 2019, by and between the Registrant and David Mauney, M.D. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed April 29, 2019).
10.14+
Consulting Agreement by and between the Registrant and Dr. David Mauney, dated May 26, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038, filed May 29, 2020).
10.15+
Separation Agreement and Release by and between the Registrant and Dr. David Mauney, effective May 26, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038, filed May 29, 2020).
10.16+
Employment Agreement, dated as of April 23, 2019, by and between the Registrant and Robert Hadfield (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed April 29, 2019).
10.17+*
Amendment to the Employment Agreement by and between the Registrant and Robert Hadfield, dated as of November 23, 2020.
10.18+
Employment Agreement, dated as of June 4, 2019, by and between the Registrant and Sath Shukla (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed July 24, 2019).
10.19+*
Amendment to the Employment Agreement by and between the Registrant and Sath Shukla, dated as of November 23, 2020.
10.20#*
Form of Retention Bonus Agreement.
10.21+
Consulting Agreement by and between Ziopharm Oncology Inc. and Danforth Advisors LLC, effective as of January 21, 2021 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038, filed February 23, 2021).
10.22
License Agreement by and among the Registrant, Intrexon Corporation and The University of Texas System Board of Regents on behalf of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center dated as of January 13, 2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.5 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed January 28, 2015).
10.23†
Exclusive License Agreement by and between the Registrant, Precigen, Inc. and Intrexon Corporation, dated October 5, 2018 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed November 9, 2018).
10.24#
Amendment No. 1 to the Exclusive License Agreement by and between the Registrant and PGEN Therapeutics, Inc. (formerly known as Precigen, Inc.), dated October 15, 2020 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q SEC File No. 001-33038, filed November 5, 2020).
10.25†
License and Collaboration Agreement by and among the Registrant, Intrexon Corporation and Ares Trading S.A. dated as of March 27, 2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed April 2, 2015).
10.26
Research and Development Agreement by and among the Registrant, Intrexon Corporation and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center dated as of August 17, 2015 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed August 21, 2015).
Exhibit No.
Description of Document
10.27
Amendment #1 to the Research and Development Agreement by and among the Registrant, Intrexon Corporation and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center dated as of August 30, 2016 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed March 5, 2019).
10.28
Amendment #2 to the Research and Development Agreement by and among the Registrant, Intrexon Corporation and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center dated as of January 17, 2017 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed March 5, 2019).
10.29
Amendment #3 to the Research and Development Agreement by and among the Registrant, Intrexon Corporation and The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center dated as of November 14, 2017 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.23 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed March 5, 2019).
10.30
Fourth Amendment to Research and Development Agreement, dated September 19, 2019 by and among the Registrant, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Precigen, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed November 7, 2019).
10.31#
Fifth Amendment to Research and Development Agreement, dated October 22, 2019 by and among the Registrant and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed March 2, 2020).
10.32#
2019 Research and Development Agreement, dated October 22, 2019, by and between the Registrant and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.21 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed March 2, 2020).
10.33#
Patent License Agreement, dated as of May 28, 2019, by and between the Registrant and the National Cancer Institute (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed August 8, 2019).
10.34#
Amendment to Patent License Agreement, dated as of January 8, 2020, by and between the Registrant and the National Cancer Institute (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.23 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed March 2, 2020).
10.35#
Second Amendment to Patent License Agreement, dated as of September 28, 2020, by and between the Registrant and the National Cancer Institute (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, SEC File No. 000-33038, filed November 5, 2020).
10.36#
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, dated January 9, 2017, by and among the Registrant, the National Cancer Institute, and Intrexon Corporation (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038, filed September 26, 2019).
10.37
Amendment #1 to the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, dated March 23, 2018, by and among the Registrant, National Cancer Institute, Intrexon Corporation and Precigen, Inc (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038, filed September 26, 2019).
10.38#
Amendment #2 to the Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, dated February 1, 2019, by and among the National Cancer Institute, the Registrant and Precigen, Inc (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038, filed September 26, 2019).
Exhibit No.
Description of Document
10.39*
Lease Agreement, dated as of October 15, 2019, by and between the Registrant and The University of Texas System Board of Regents on behalf of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
10.40*
First Amendment, dated as of April 7, 2020, to the Lease Agreement, dated as of October 15, 2019, by and between the Registrant and The University of Texas System Board of Regents on behalf of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
10.41*
Second Amendment, dated as of April 7, 2020, to the Lease Agreement, dated as of October 15, 2019, by and between the Registrant and The University of Texas System Board of Regents on behalf of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
10.42*
Third Amendment, dated as of December 15, 2020, to the Lease Agreement, dated as of October 15, 2019, by and between the Registrant and The University of Texas System Board of Regents on behalf of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
10.43*
Lease Agreement dated as of December 15, 2020, by and between the Registrant and The University of Texas System Board of Regents on behalf of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
10.44
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated November 11, 2018, by and between the Registrant and certain investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed November 13, 2018).
10.45
Form of Registration Rights Agreement, dated November 11, 2018, by and between the Registrant and certain investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed November 13, 2018).
10.46
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated July 26, 2019, by and between the Registrant and certain investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038, filed August 1, 2019).
10.47
Form of Registration Rights Agreement, dated July 26, 2019, by and between the Registrant and certain investors (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038, filed August 1, 2019).
10.48
Form of Securities Purchase Agreement, dated September 12, 2019, by and between the Registrant and an investor (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038, filed September 13, 2019).
10.49
Form of Registration Rights Agreement, dated September 12, 2019, by and between the Registrant and an investor (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K SEC File No. 001-33038, filed September 13, 2019).
10.50
Agreement, by and among ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc., WaterMill Asset Management Corp. Robert W. Postma, Jamie Vieser, and Holger Weis, dated February 4, 2021 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Current Report on Form 8-K, SEC File No. 001-33038, filed February 5, 2021).
21.1*
Subsidiaries of the Registrant.
23.1*
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
24.1*
Power of Attorney (incorporated by reference to the signature page of this Annual Report on Form 10-K).
31.1*
Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a) or 15(d)-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
31.2*
Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a) or 15(d)-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Exhibit No.
Description of Document
32.1**
Certification of Principal Executive Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
32.2**
Certification of Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
101.INS*
Inline XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH*
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL*
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF*
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB*
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE*
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
104*
Cover Page Interactive Data File-the cover page interactive data is embedded within the Inline XBRL document or included within the Exhibit 101 attachments
* Filed herewith.
** Furnished herewith.
+ Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.
† Confidential treatment has been granted by the Securities and Exchange Commission as to certain portions of this document.
# Portions of this document (indicated by “[***]”) have been omitted because they are not material and would likely cause competitive harm to Ziopharm Oncology, Inc. if disclosed.