Item 1A. Risk Factors.
An investment in shares of our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risk factors, as well as the other information in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in our other public filings. The occurrence of any of these risks could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and/or growth prospects or cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements we have made in this report and those we may make from time to time. You should consider all of the risk factors described in our public filings when evaluating our business.
Risks Related to Our Operations
Our short operating history and the Anelixis acquisition may make it difficult to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our future viability.
We are a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company. Our ongoing operations to date have been limited to organizing and staffing the Company, business planning, raising capital, acquiring and developing technology, identifying potential product candidates. We have not yet demonstrated our ability to successfully manufacture drug product in large enough quantities and with stability to support additional clinical trials, execute pivotal clinical trials, obtain marketing approvals, manufacture a commercial scale product or arrange for a third party to do so on our behalf, or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful product commercialization. It can take many years to develop a new medicine from the time it is discovered to when it is available for treating patients. Consequently, any predictions made about our future success or viability based on our short operating history to date may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history. In addition, as a result of the acquisition of Anelixis our future business, prospects, financial position and operating results could be significantly different than those in historical periods or projected by our management.
In addition, as an early stage business, we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other known and unknown factors. To successfully market any of our product candidates, we will need to transition from a company with a clinical development focus to a company capable of supporting commercial activities. We may not be successful in such a transition.
We have incurred significant operating losses since our inception and expect that we will continue to incur losses over the next several years and may never achieve or maintain profitability.
We have incurred significant annual net operating losses in every year since our inception. We have no products approved for commercial sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales to date, and we continue to incur significant research and development and other general and administrative expenses related to our ongoing operations. If AT-1501 or any future product candidates we develop are not successfully developed and approved, we may never generate any revenue from sales of products. The Company has experienced recurring net losses and negative cash flows from operating activities since its inception. The Company’s net loss for the year ended December 31, 2020 is $22.8 million. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $114.2 million, working capital of $113.1 million and an accumulated deficit of $80.4 million. We have not generated any revenues from product sales, have not completed the development of any product candidate and may never have a product candidate approved for commercialization. We expect it will be several years, if ever, before we have a product candidate ready for commercialization. We have financed our operations to date primarily through sales of equity. We have devoted substantially all of our financial resources and efforts to research and development, including preclinical studies and our clinical trials. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year and will depend, in part, on the rate at which we incur expenses and our ability to generate revenue. Net losses and negative cash flows have had, and will continue to have, an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital.
Although we raised approximately $108.1 million in total gross offering proceeds from our September and December 2020 financings, we anticipate that we will continue to incur significant expenses as we:
• seek to identify and acquire additional product candidates;
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• acquire or in-license other products and technologies;
• develop manufacturing processes;
• maintain, expand, and protect our intellectual property portfolio;
• hire additional personnel;
• operate as a public company.
To become and remain profitable, we must develop and eventually commercialize a product or products with significant market potential. This will require us to be successful in a range of challenging activities, including completing clinical trials of our product candidates, obtaining marketing approval for these product candidates and manufacturing, marketing and selling those products for which we obtain marketing approval. We may never succeed in these activities and, even if we do, may never generate revenues that are significant or large enough to achieve profitability. If we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to become and remain profitable would decrease the value of the Company, could impair our ability to raise capital, maintain our nonclinical and clinical development efforts, and expand our business or continue our operations and may require us to raise additional capital that may dilute the ownership interest of common stockholders. A decline in the value of the Company could also cause stockholders to lose all or part of their investment.
Our product candidates are in the early stages of clinical development and may not be successfully developed. If we are unable to successfully develop and commercialize these or any other product candidate, or if we experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed.
We currently do not have any products that have gained regulatory approval. We have invested substantially all our efforts and financial resources in product development, including funding our formulation and device development, manufacturing, nonclinical studies, and clinical trials. A significant portion of our financial resources were devoted to the development of products for patients with disorders of the ear, nose, and throat, particularly our surfactant-based product for the treatment of OM; however, in June 2020 topline results from our phase 2a clinical trial of OP0201 nasal aerosol in infants and children with acute otitis media did not meet the primary efficacy endpoints in the trial and our board of directors initiated a review of strategic alternatives that resulted in the acquisition of Anelixis, a privately held clinical stage biotechnology company with a single product candidate in clinical development (AT-1501) and a second candidate in pre-clinical development (AT-2001). Our ability to generate product revenues, which we do not expect will occur for several years, if ever, will depend heavily on the successful development and eventual commercialization of one or more drug candidates. As a result, our business is substantially dependent on our ability to successfully complete the development of and obtain regulatory approval for one of our or potential future additional product candidates.
We have not yet demonstrated an ability to successfully overcome many of the risks and uncertainties frequently encountered by companies in new and rapidly evolving fields, particularly in the pharmaceutical area. For example, to execute our business plan, we will need to successfully:
• manufacture drug product at commercial scale;
• maintain, leverage, and expand our intellectual property portfolio;
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• gain market acceptance for any approved and marketed drug products;
• obtain and maintain adequate product pricing and reimbursement;
• develop and maintain any strategic relationships we elect to enter; and
If we are unsuccessful in accomplishing these objectives, we may not be able to successfully develop and commercialize our or other product candidates, and our business will suffer.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken in response to it may result in additional disruptions to our business operations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our business and its operations, including but not limited to ongoing or planned research and development activities, have been adversely affected by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has also caused significant disruption in the operations of third parties upon whom we rely. The COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken by governments, businesses, and individuals in response to it, including executive orders, shelter-in-place orders and work-from-home policies, have had effects that have and may continue to negatively impact productivity and disrupt our business. For example, we have experienced delays in certain preclinical studies and resulting delays in data collection and have also experienced inefficiencies in planning and executing trials due to our limited ability to conduct meetings with key third parties. In addition, in response to public health directives and orders, we have ceased all non-essential business travel and implemented work-from-home policies for all of our employees, resulting in reduced productivity. These and similar, and perhaps more severe, disruptions in our operations could negatively impact our business, operating results and financial condition.
Quarantines, shelter-in-place, executive and similar government orders, or the perception that such orders, shutdowns or other restrictions on the conduct of business operations could occur, related to COVID-19 or other infectious diseases, could also impact personnel at the third parties on whom we are highly dependent for clinical trials as well as formulation and device development in the United States and other countries, or the timing, availability or cost of materials we use or require to conduct our business.
If COVID-19 continues to spread in the United States, Canada and elsewhere, we may experience additional disruptions that could severely impact our business and development activities, including, but not limited to:
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Drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome, including failure to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of the FDA or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States. We may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the formulation and commercialization of our product candidates.
Given the early stage of development for our product candidates, the risk of failure is high. Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities for the sale of any product candidate, we must conduct nonclinical trials, and then conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in humans. Formulation and device development, nonclinical and clinical testing are all expensive activities, difficult to design and implement, and can take years to complete. Failure can occur at any time during the development program, including during the clinical trial process. Further, the results of nonclinical studies and early clinical trials of our product candidates, as well as earlier generation formulations may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials. Interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results. Moreover, nonclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in nonclinical and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval of their products. There is a risk that additional nonclinical and/or clinical safety studies will be required by the FDA or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States. and/or that subsequent studies will not match results seen in prior studies. It is impossible to predict when or if any of our product candidates will prove effective, safe and well-tolerated in humans or will receive regulatory approval.
We may experience delays in our clinical trials, and we do not know whether planned clinical trials will begin or enroll subjects on time, need to be redesigned or be completed on schedule, if at all. There can be no assurance that the FDA or equivalent foreign regulatory bodies will approve investigational new drug applications and allow us to start clinical trials for any of our product candidates in the future, including for islet cell transplant. Once a clinical trial has commenced, there is also no assurance that the FDA or equivalent foreign regulatory body will not put any of our product candidates on clinical hold. We may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize our product candidates. Clinical trials may be delayed, suspended or prematurely terminated for a variety of reasons, such as:
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If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of our product candidates beyond those that we currently contemplate, if we are unable to successfully complete clinical trials of our product candidates or other testing, if the results of these trials or tests are not positive or are only modestly positive, or if there are safety concerns, we may:
• be delayed in obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates;
• not obtain marketing approval at all;
• have the product removed from the market after obtaining marketing approval.
Our product development costs will also increase if we experience delays in testing or marketing approvals. We do not know whether any of our nonclinical studies or clinical trials will need to be restructured or will be completed on schedule, or at all. Significant nonclinical or clinical trial delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or may allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do and impair our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates and may harm our business and results of operations.
If we experience delays or difficulties in the enrollment of patients in clinical trials, our receipt of necessary regulatory approvals could be delayed or prevented and expenses for the development of our product candidates could increase.
We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials for our product candidates if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible patients to participate in these trials to demonstrate safety and efficacy. We do not know whether the ongoing or planned clinical trials will enroll subjects in a timely fashion, require redesign of essential trial elements or be completed on its projected schedule. In addition, competitors may have ongoing clinical trials for product candidates that treat related or the same indications as our product candidates, and patients who would otherwise be eligible for our clinical trials may instead enroll in clinical trials of our competitors’ product candidates. Our inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for our clinical trials would result in significant delays and could require us to abandon one or more clinical trials altogether.
Patient enrollment is affected by other factors including:
• the eligibility criteria for the study in question;
• the perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate under study;
• the efforts to facilitate timely enrollment in clinical trials;
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• the patient referral practices of physicians;
Enrollment delays in our clinical trials may result in increased development costs for our product candidates, which would cause the value of the Company to decline and limit our ability to obtain additional financing.
If serious adverse events or unacceptable side effects are identified during the development of our product candidates, we may need to abandon or limit our development of some of our product candidates.
If our product candidates are associated with undesirable effects in nonclinical or clinical trials or have characteristics that are unexpected, we may need to interrupt, delay or abandon their development or limit development to more narrow uses or subpopulations in which the undesirable side effects or other characteristics are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective. Any occurrences of clinically significant adverse events with our product candidates may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.
AT-1501 is an early‐product candidate, and the side effect profile in humans has not been fully established. Currently unknown, drug-related side effects may be identified through ongoing and future clinical trials and, as such, these possible drug-related side effects could affect patient recruitment, the ability of enrolled subjects to complete the trial, or result in potential product liability claims.
Although we have raised significant capital, we will require additional funding to be able to complete the development of our lead drug candidate. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, we may be forced to significantly alter our business strategy, substantially curtail our current operations, or liquidate and cease operations altogether.
We expect our expenses to increase in parallel with our ongoing activities, particularly as we incur expenses relating to the exploration of strategic options intended to maximize shareholder value, seek to identify new clinical candidates and potentially seek to partner, out-license or otherwise monetize our drug candidates. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on attractive terms, we may be forced to significantly alter our business strategy, substantially curtail our current operations, or liquidate and cease operations altogether. Our funding needs may fluctuate significantly based on a number of factors, such as:
• the costs, timing, and outcome of regulatory review of our product candidates;
Identifying potential product candidates and conducting formulation development, nonclinical testing and clinical trials is a time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process that takes years to complete, and we may never generate the necessary
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data or results required to obtain marketing approval and achieve product sales. In addition, our product candidates, if approved, may not achieve commercial success. Our commercial revenues, if any, will be derived from sales of products that we do not expect to be commercially available for several years, if at all. Accordingly, we will need to continue to rely on additional financing to achieve our business objectives. Even if we generate positive clinical data, additional financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise sufficient capital to fund our planned operations, we may be forced to significantly alter our business strategy, substantially curtail our current operations, or liquidate and cease operations altogether.
Our future success depends on our ability to retain executives and key employees and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel in the future.
We are highly dependent on the product development, clinical and business development expertise of the principal members of our management, scientific and clinical team. Although we have entered into employment agreements with our executives and key employees, each of them may terminate their employment with us at any time. We do not maintain “key person” insurance for any of our executives or other employees. Our recent acquisition of Anelixis and the resulting integration of the company may increase the likelihood that employees depart in the foreseeable future.
Recruiting and retaining qualified scientific, clinical, manufacturing, sales and marketing personnel is critical to our success. Due to the small size of the Company and the limited number of employees, each of our executives and key employees serves in a critical role. The loss of the services of our executive officers or other key employees could impede the achievement of our development and commercialization objectives and seriously harm our ability to successfully implement our business strategy. Furthermore, replacing executive officers and key employees may be difficult and may take an extended period of time because of the limited number of individuals in our industry with the breadth of skills and experience required to successfully develop, gain regulatory approval of, and commercialize products. Competition to hire from this limited pool is intense, and we may be unable to hire, train, retain or motivate these key personnel on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. We also experience competition for the hiring of scientific and clinical personnel from universities and research institutions. In addition, we rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating drug product, nonclinical development, clinical development, regulatory strategy, and commercial strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by employers other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to provide services to us. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain high quality personnel, our ability to pursue our growth strategy will be limited.
Risks Related to Regulatory Approval of Our Product Candidates and Other Legal Compliance Matters
If we are not able to obtain, or if there are delays in obtaining, required regulatory approvals, or the approvals may be for a narrow indication, we may not be able to commercialize our product candidates, and our ability to generate revenue may be materially impaired.
Our product candidates must be approved by the FDA pursuant to a new drug application in the United States and by other regulatory authorities outside the United States prior to commercialization in the respective regions. The process of obtaining marketing approvals, both in the United States and outside the United States, is expensive and takes several years, if approval is obtained at all, and can vary substantially based upon a variety of factors, including the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidates involved. Failure to obtain marketing approval for a product candidate will prevent us from commercializing the product candidate. We have not received approval to market any of our product candidates from regulatory authorities in any country. We have no experience in filing and supporting the applications necessary to gain marketing approvals for our products and may engage third-party consultants to assist in this process. Securing marketing approval requires the submission of extensive nonclinical and clinical data, and other supporting information to regulatory authorities for each therapeutic indication to establish the product candidate’s safety and efficacy. Securing marketing approval also requires the submission of information about the product formulation and manufacturing process to, and inspection of manufacturing facilities by, the regulatory authorities. Our product candidates may not be effective, may be only moderately effective or may prove to have undesirable or unintended side effects, toxicities or other characteristics that may preclude our obtaining marketing approval or prevent or limit commercial use. Regulatory authorities have substantial discretion in the approval process and may refuse to accept any application or may decide that our data are insufficient for approval and require additional nonclinical, clinical or other data. In addition, varying interpretations of the data obtained from nonclinical and clinical trials could delay, limit or prevent marketing approval of a product candidate. Changes in marketing approval policies during the development period, changes in or the enactment of additional statutes or regulations,
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or changes in regulatory review for each submitted product application, may also cause delays in or prevent the approval of an application.
Any marketing approval we ultimately obtain may be for fewer or more limited indications than requested or subject to restrictions or post-approval commitments that render the approved product not commercially viable or its market potential significantly impaired. In addition, regulatory agencies may not approve the labeling claims that are necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of our product candidates.
In order to market and sell our products in the EU and other international jurisdictions outside of the United States, we or our third-party collaborators must obtain separate marketing approvals and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements. The approval procedure varies among countries and may require additional nonclinical, clinical or health outcome data. In addition, the time required to obtain approval may differ substantially amongst international jurisdictions. The regulatory approval process outside the United States generally includes all the risks associated with obtaining FDA approval. In addition to regulatory approval, in many countries outside the United States, it is required that the product be approved for reimbursement before the product can be approved for sale in that country.
If we experience delays in obtaining approval or if we fail to obtain approval of our product candidates, the commercial prospects for our product candidates may be harmed and our ability to generate revenues will be materially impaired.
Any product candidate for which we obtain marketing approval will be subject to extensive post-marketing regulatory requirements and 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.
Our product candidates and the activities associated with their development and commercialization, including their testing, manufacture, recordkeeping, labeling, storage, approval, advertising, promotion, sale and distribution, are subject to comprehensive regulation that are specific to those defined by regulatory authorities in the countries where the product is approved. In the United States and other countries that follow the International Conference on Harmonization, these requirements include 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, including periodic inspections by the FDA and other regulatory authorities, requirements regarding the distribution of samples to physicians and recordkeeping.
The FDA, or other regulatory authorities, may also impose requirements for costly post-marketing studies or clinical trials and surveillance to monitor the safety or efficacy of the product. The FDA closely regulates the post-approval marketing and promotion of drugs to ensure drugs are marketed only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved labeling. The FDA imposes stringent restrictions on manufacturers’ communications regarding use of their products and if we promote our products beyond their approved indications, we may be subject to enforcement action for off-label promotion. 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 healthcare fraud and abuse laws, as well as state consumer protection laws.
In addition, later discovery of previously unknown adverse events or other problems with our products, manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may yield various results, including:
• restrictions on such products, manufacturers, or manufacturing processes;
• restrictions on the labeling or marketing of a product;
• restrictions on product distribution or use;
• requirements to conduct post-marketing studies or clinical trials;
• warning or untitled letters;
• withdrawal of the products from the market;
• recall of products;
• fines, restitution or disgorgement of profits or revenues;
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• suspension or withdrawal of marketing approvals;
• refusal to permit the import or export of our products;
• product seizure; or
• injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties.
Non-compliance with EU requirements regarding safety monitoring or pharmacovigilance, and with requirements related to the development of products for the pediatric population, can also result in significant financial penalties. Similarly, failure to comply with the EU’s requirements regarding the protection of personal information can also lead to significant penalties and sanctions.
Legislation regulating the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries may increase the difficulty and cost for us to obtain marketing approval of and commercialize our product candidates and affect the prices we may obtain.
In the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes intended to contain healthcare costs and modify the regulation of drug and biologic products. These and other regulatory changes could prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability to profitably sell any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval.
We expect that additional state and federal healthcare reform measures and regulations will be adopted in the future. Any of these measures and regulations could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services, result in reduced demand for our product candidates or additional pricing pressures and affect our product development, testing, marketing approvals and post-market activities.
Laws, restrictions, and other regulatory measures are also imposed by healthcare laws and regulations in international jurisdictions and in those jurisdictions we face the same issues as in the United States regarding difficulty and cost for us to obtain marketing approval and commercialization of our product candidates and which may affect the prices we may obtain.
In some countries, particularly the countries of the EU, the pricing of prescription pharmaceuticals is subject to governmental control. In these countries, pricing negotiations with governmental authorities can take considerable time after the receipt of marketing approval for a product. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval in some countries, we may be required to conduct a clinical trial that compares the cost-effectiveness of our product candidate to other available therapies. If reimbursement of our products is unavailable or limited in scope or amount, or if pricing is set at unsatisfactory levels, our business could be harmed, possibly materially.
Our business operations and relationships with healthcare providers, physicians, third-party payers, and customers will be subject to applicable anti-kickback, fraud and abuse and other broadly applicable healthcare laws, which could expose us to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, program exclusion, contractual damages, reputational harm and diminished profits and future earnings.
Healthcare providers, physicians and third-party payers will play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any product candidates for which we receive marketing approval. Our current and future arrangements may expose us to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws that may constrain the business or financial arrangements and relationships through which we would market, sell and distribute the products for which we receive marketing approval. Even though we will not control referrals of healthcare services or bill directly to Medicare, Medicaid or other third-party payers, federal and state healthcare laws are and will be applicable to our business. Such laws include, but are not limited to federal false claims, false statements and civil monetary penalties laws, including the federal civil False Claims Act (“FCA”), the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (“HIPAA”), patient data privacy and security regulation, including, in the United States, HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Clinical Health Act of 2009 (“HITECH”), the federal transparency requirements under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, and analogous state, local or foreign law.
Pharmaceutical and other healthcare companies have been prosecuted under these laws for a variety of promotional and marketing activities, such as: providing free trips, free goods, sham consulting fees and grants and other monetary benefits to prescribers; reporting to pricing services inflated average wholesale prices that were then used by federal programs to set reimbursement rates; engaging in off-label promotion; and submitting inflated best price information to the Medicaid Rebate Program to reduce liability for Medicaid rebates. Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements with third parties will comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental
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authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations.
If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws or any other governmental regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, disgorgement, fines, imprisonment, exclusion from government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, additional oversight and reporting obligations, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. If any of the physicians or other healthcare providers or entities with whom we expect to do business are found to be not in compliance with applicable laws, that person or entity may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government funded healthcare programs.
Laws, restrictions, and other regulatory measures are also imposed by anti-kickback, fraud and abuse, and other healthcare laws and regulations in international jurisdictions, and in those jurisdictions we face the same issues as in the United State regarding exposure to criminal sanctions, civil penalties, program exclusion, contractual damages, reputational harm, and diminished profits and future earnings.
We depend on our information technology systems and those of our third-party collaborators, service providers, contractors or consultants. Our internal computer systems, or those of our third-party collaborators, service providers, contractors or consultants, may fail or suffer security breaches, disruptions, or incidents, which could result in a material disruption of our development programs or loss of data or compromise the privacy, security, integrity or confidentiality of sensitive information related to our business and have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition or results of operations.
In the ordinary course of our business, we collect, store and transmit large amounts of confidential information, including intellectual property, proprietary business information and personal information. Our internal technology systems and infrastructure, and those of our current or future third-party collaborators, service providers, contractors and consultants are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access or use resulting from malware, natural disasters, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures, denial-of-service attacks, cyber-attacks or cyber-intrusions over the Internet, hacking, phishing and other social engineering attacks, persons inside our organizations (including employees or contractors), loss or theft, or persons with access to systems inside our organization. Attacks on information technology systems are increasing in their frequency, levels of persistence, sophistication and intensity, and they are being conducted by increasingly sophisticated and organized foreign governments, groups and individuals with a wide range of motives and expertise. In addition to extracting or accessing sensitive information, such attacks could include the deployment of harmful malware, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and threaten the security, confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. The prevalent use of mobile devices that access sensitive information also increases the risk of data security incidents which could lead to the loss of confidential information or other intellectual property. While to our knowledge we have not experienced any material system failure, accident or security breach to date, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations or the operations of third-party collaborators, service providers, contractors and consultants, it could result in a material disruption of our development programs and significant reputational, financial, legal, regulatory, business or operational harm. The costs to us to mitigate, investigate and respond to potential security incidents, breaches, disruptions, network security problems, bugs, viruses, worms, malicious software programs and security vulnerabilities could be significant, and while we have implemented security measures to protect our data security and information technology systems, our efforts to address these problems may not be successful, and these problems could result in unexpected interruptions, delays, cessation of service and other harm to our business and our competitive position.
For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed, ongoing or planned clinical trials for our product candidates could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any real or perceived security breach affects our systems (or those of our third-party collaborators, service providers, contractors or consultants), or results in the loss of or accidental, unlawful or unauthorized access to, use of, release of, or other processing of personally identifiable information or damage to our data or applications or other data or applications relating to our technology or product candidates, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liabilities and the further development of our product candidates could be delayed. Such a breach may require notification to governmental agencies, the media or individuals pursuant to various foreign, domestic (federal and state) privacy and security laws, if applicable, including HIPAA, as amended by HITECH, and its implementing rules and regulations, as well as regulations promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission and state breach notification laws. In addition, our liability insurance may not be sufficient in type or amount to cover us against claims related to security breaches, cyberattacks and other related incidents.
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Any failure or perceived failure by us or any third-party collaborators, service providers, contractors or consultants to comply with our privacy, confidentiality, data security or similar obligations, or any data security incidents or other security breaches that result in the accidental, unlawful or unauthorized access to, use of, release of, processing of, or transfer of sensitive information, including personally identifiable information, may result in negative publicity, harm to our reputation, governmental investigations, enforcement actions, regulatory fines, litigation or public statements against us, could cause third parties to lose trust in us or could result in claims by third parties, including those that assert that we have breached our privacy, confidentiality, data security or similar obligations, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, financial condition or results of operations. To the extent we maintain individually identifiable health information, we could be subject to fines and penalties (including civil and criminal) under HIPAA for any failure by us or our business associates to comply with HIPAA’s requirements. Moreover, data security incidents and other security breaches can be difficult to detect, and any delay in identifying them may lead to increased harm. While we have implemented data security measures intended to protect our information, data, information technology systems, applications and infrastructure, there can be no assurance that such measures will successfully prevent service interruptions or data security incidents.
European data collection is governed by restrictive regulations governing the collection, use, processing and cross-border transfer of personal information.
We may collect, process, use or transfer personal information from individuals located in the European Economic Area in connection with our business, including in connection with conducting clinical trials in the EEA. Additionally, if any of our product candidates are approved, we may seek to commercialize those products in the European Economic Area. The collection and use of personal health data in the European Economic Area is governed by the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation ((EU) 2016/679) (the “GDPR”), along with other European Union and country-specific laws and regulations. The United Kingdom and Switzerland have also adopted data protection laws and regulations. These legislative acts (together with regulations and guidelines) impose requirements relating to having legal bases for processing personal data relating to identifiable individuals and transferring such data outside of the European Economic Area, including to the United States, providing details to those individuals regarding the processing of their personal data, keeping personal data secure, having data processing agreements with third parties who process personal data, responding to individuals’ requests to exercise their rights in respect of their personal data, reporting security breaches involving personal data to the competent national data protection authority and affected individuals, appointing data protection officers or corporate representatives, conducting data protection impact assessments and record-keeping. The GDPR imposes additional responsibilities and liabilities in relation to personal data that we process, and we may be required to put in place additional mechanisms ensuring compliance with the new data protection rules. Failure to comply with the requirements of the GDPR and related national data protection laws of the member states of the European Economic Area and other states in the European Economic Area may result in substantial fines, other administrative penalties and civil claims being brought against us, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. European data protection authorities may interpret the GDPR and national laws differently and may impose additional requirements, which adds to the complexity of processing personal data in or from the EEA or United Kingdom. Guidance on implementation and compliance practices are often updated or otherwise revised.
If we fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could harm our business.
We may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our nonclinical or clinical development or production efforts. Our failure to comply with these laws and regulations also may result in substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions.
Risks Related to the Commercialization of Our Product Candidates
Even if any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, we may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payers and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.
If any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, we may nonetheless fail to gain sufficient market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payers and others in the medical community. In addition, physicians, patients and third-party payers may prefer other novel products to ours. If our product candidates do not achieve an adequate level of acceptance, we may not generate significant product revenues and we may not become profitable. The degree of market acceptance of our product candidates, if approved for commercial sale, will depend on a number of factors, including:
• the ability to offer our products for sale at competitive prices;
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• the convenience and ease of administration compared to alternative treatments;
• the strength of our marketing and distribution support;
• the prevalence and severity of any side effects; and
• any restrictions on the use of our products together with other medications.
If our current product candidates, or a future product candidate receives marketing approval and we, or others, later discover that the product is less effective than previously believed or causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, the ability to market the product could be compromised.
Clinical trials are conducted in carefully defined subsets of patients who have agreed to enter into clinical trials. Consequently, it is possible that our clinical trials may indicate an apparent beneficial effect of a product candidate that is greater than the actual positive effect in a broader patient population or alternatively fail to identify undesirable side effects. If, following approval of a product candidate, we, or others, discover that the product is less effective than previously believed or causes undesirable side effects that were not previously identified, any of the following events could occur:
• we could be sued and held liable for harm caused to patients;
• the product may become less competitive; and
• our reputation may suffer.
Any of these events could have a material and adverse effect on our operations and business. The commercial prospects for our product candidates may be harmed and our ability to generate revenues will be materially impaired.
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We currently have no marketing and sales force. If we are unable to establish effective marketing and sales capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our product candidates, we may not be able to effectively market and sell our product candidates, if approved, or generate product revenues.
We currently do not have a marketing or sales team for the marketing, sales and distribution of any of our product candidates that are able to obtain regulatory approval. In order to commercialize any product candidates, we must build on a territory-by-territory basis marketing, sales, distribution, managerial and other non-technical capabilities or make arrangements with third parties to perform these services, and we may not be successful in doing so. If our product candidates receive regulatory approval, we intend to establish an internal sales and marketing team with technical expertise and supporting distribution capabilities to commercialize our product candidates, which will be expensive and time-consuming, will require significant attention of our executive officers to manage and may nonetheless fail to effectively market and sell our product candidates. Any failure or delay in the development of our internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities would adversely impact the commercialization of any of our products that we obtain approval to market. With respect to the commercialization of all or certain of our product candidates, we may choose to collaborate, either globally or on a territory-by-territory basis, with third parties that have direct sales forces and established distribution systems, either to augment our own sales force and distribution systems or in lieu of our own sales force and distribution systems. If we are unable to enter into such arrangements when needed on acceptable terms or at all, we may not be able to successfully commercialize any of our product candidates that receive regulatory approval, or any such commercialization may experience delays or limitations. If we are not successful in commercializing our product candidates, either on our own or through collaborations with one or more third parties, our future product revenue will suffer, and we may incur significant additional losses.
We face substantial competition, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing competing products before or more successfully than we do.
The development and commercialization of new drug products is highly competitive. We face competition with respect to our current product candidates and will face competition with respect to any product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future, from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide. There are several large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that currently market and sell products or are pursuing the development of products for the treatment of the disease indications for which we are developing our product candidates. Some of these competitive products and therapies are based on scientific approaches that are the same as or similar to our approach, and others are based on entirely different approaches. Potential competitors also include academic institutions, government agencies and other public and private research organizations that conduct research, seek patent protection and establish collaborative arrangements for research, development, manufacturing and commercialization.
Specifically, there are a number of companies developing competing anti-CD40 and anti-CD40L therapeutics, including Novartis, Boehringer Ingelheim, Astellas, Abbvie, Sanofi, UCB, Horizon Therapeutics (post acquisition of Viela Bio), Bristol Myers Squibb and Kiniksa. All of these companies are larger than Eledon and have significantly greater resources to develop their drug candidates.
If approved, we expect that AT-1501 will face competition from numerous FDA-approved therapeutics for the prevention of transplant rejection, including PROGRAF®, ASTAGRAF XL®, ENVARSUS XR®, NULOJIX®, CELLCEPT®, MYFORTIC®, and numerous other branded and generic immunosuppressive agents. Multiple companies are working on islet cell and kidney transplant solutions that may ultimately potentially negate the need for immunosuppressive agents in these indications altogether.
If approved, we expect AT-1501 will face competition from other FDA-approved therapeutics for the treatment of LN, FSGS or IgAN, including LUPKYNISTM and BENLYSTA®, and numerous other branded and generic medicines are already being used “off-label” to treat them.
We expect that AT-1501 will face competition from FDA-approved therapeutics for the treatment of ALS including RADICAVA®, riluzole, and numerous other branded and generic immunosuppressive agents. Multiple pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including but not limited to Biogen, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Alexion Pharmaceuticals, Orion Pharma, Orphazyme, AZTherapies, Voyager Therapeutics, Apic Bio, Brainstorm Cell Therapeutics, Cytokinetics and Amylyx Pharmaceuticals are also working on competing ALS pharmaceutical, gene therapy and cell therapy approaches.
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Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than any products that we may develop. In addition, our ability to compete may be affected in many cases by insurers or other third-party payers seeking to encourage the use of generic products.
Generic products are currently available, with additional generic products expected to become available over the coming years, potentially creating pricing pressure. If our product candidates achieve marketing approval, we expect that they will be priced at a significant premium over competitive generic products.
Many of the companies against which we are competing or against which we may compete in the future have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, conducting nonclinical studies, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and marketing approved products than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller number of our competitors. Smaller and other early stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These third parties compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel, establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs.
The insurance coverage and reimbursement status of newly approved products is uncertain. Failure to obtain or maintain adequate coverage and reimbursement for new or current products could limit our ability to market those products and decrease our ability to generate revenue.
The availability and extent of reimbursement by governmental and private payers is essential for most patients to be able to afford expensive treatments. Sales of our product candidates will depend substantially, both domestically and internationally, on the extent to which the costs of our product candidates will be paid by health maintenance, managed care, pharmacy benefit and similar healthcare management organizations, or reimbursed by government health administration authorities, private health coverage insurers and other third-party payers. If reimbursement is not available, or is available only to limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our product candidates. Even if coverage is provided, the approved reimbursement amount may not be high enough to allow us to establish or maintain pricing sufficient to realize a sufficient return on our investment.
There is significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. In the United States, the principal decisions about reimbursement for new medicines are typically made by CMS, as CMS decides whether and to what extent a new medicine will be covered and reimbursed under Medicare. Private payers tend to follow CMS to a substantial degree. It is difficult to predict what CMS will decide with respect to reimbursement for fundamentally novel products such as ours, as there is no body of established practices and precedents for these new products. Reimbursement agencies in Europe may be more conservative than CMS. Outside the United States, international operations are generally subject to extensive governmental price controls and other market regulations, and we believe the increasing emphasis on cost-containment initiatives in Europe, Canada, and other countries has and will continue to put pressure on the pricing and usage of our product candidates. In many countries, the prices of medical products are subject to varying price control mechanisms as part of national health systems. In general, the prices of medicines under such systems are substantially lower than in the United States. Other countries allow companies to fix their own prices for medicines but monitor and control company profits. Additional foreign price controls or other changes in pricing regulation could restrict the amount that we are able to charge for our product candidates. Accordingly, in markets outside the United States, the reimbursement for our products may be reduced compared with the United States and may be insufficient to generate commercially reasonable revenues and profits.
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Moreover, increasing efforts by governmental and third-party payers, in the United States and internationally, to cap or reduce healthcare costs may cause such organizations to limit both coverage and level of reimbursement for new products approved and, as a result, they may not cover or provide adequate payment for our product candidates. Increased expense is incurred to cover costs of health outcome focused research used to generate data necessary to justify the value of our products in order to secure reimbursement. We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of any of our product candidates, due to the trend toward managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizations and additional legislative changes. The downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, particularly prescription drugs and surgical procedures and other treatments, has become very intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products into the healthcare market.
In addition, many private payers contract with commercial vendors who sell software that provide guidelines that attempt to limit utilization of, and therefore reimbursement for, certain products deemed to provide limited benefit to existing alternatives. Such organizations may set guidelines that limit reimbursement or utilization of our products.
Product liability lawsuits against us could cause us to incur substantial liabilities and to limit commercialization of any products that we may develop.
We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to the testing of our product candidates in human clinical trials and will face an even greater risk if we commercially sell any products that we may develop. If we cannot successfully defend against claims that our product candidates or products caused injuries, we will incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in decreased demand for any product candidates or products that we may develop; injury to our reputation and significant negative media attention; withdrawal of clinical trial participants; significant costs to defend the related litigation; substantial monetary awards to trial participants or patients; loss of revenue; reduced resources of our management to pursue our business strategy; and the inability to commercialize any products that we may develop.
We currently hold $5.0 million in product liability insurance coverage in the aggregate, with a per incident limit of $5.0 million, which may not be adequate to cover all liabilities that we may incur. We may need to increase our insurance coverage as we expand our clinical trials or if we commence commercialization of our product candidates. Insurance coverage is increasingly expensive. We may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in an amount adequate to satisfy any liability that may arise.
Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties
We contract with third parties for the manufacture of our product candidates for nonclinical and clinical trials and expect to continue to do so for commercialization. This reliance on third parties increases the risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of our product candidates or products at an acceptable cost and quality, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts.
We have utilized, and intend to continue utilizing, third parties to formulate, manufacture, package, and distribute clinical supplies of our drug candidates. We have no experience in manufacturing and do not have any manufacturing facilities. Currently, we rely on third parties for the manufacturing of drug substance and drug product for nonclinical and clinical activities. Our manufacturing vendors utilize proprietary cell culture media, cell lines, buffers, manufacturing equipment, manufacturing supplies, and storage buffers for the manufacturing of AT-1501 and other product candidates. These materials are custom-made and available from only a limited number of sources. Although we believe that our third-party suppliers maintain a significant supply of these materials and equipment on hand, any sustained disruption in this supply, including as a result of operational disruptions related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, could adversely affect our operations. We do not have any long-term agreements in place with our current suppliers. If we are required to change manufacturers, we may experience delays associated with finding an alternate manufacturer that is properly qualified to produce supplies of our products and product candidates in accordance with regulatory requirements and our specifications. Any delays or difficulties in obtaining or in manufacturing, packaging or distributing approved product candidates could negatively impact our clinical trials.
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We expect to rely on third-party manufacturers or third-party collaborators for the manufacture of commercial supply of any other product candidates for which our collaborators or we obtain marketing approval. Despite drug substance and product risk management, this reliance on third parties presents a risk that we will not have sufficient quantities of our product candidates or products or such quantities at an acceptable cost or quality, which could delay, prevent or impair our development or commercialization efforts. In addition, the operations of these third parties have been and may continue to be significantly disrupted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Any delay or performance failure on the part of our existing or future manufacturers of drug substance or drug products could delay clinical development or marketing approval. We do not currently have arrangements in place for redundant supply. If suppliers cannot supply us with our requirements, we may be required to identify alternative manufacturers, which would lead us to incur added costs and delays in identifying and qualifying any such replacement.
Formulations and devices used in early studies are not final formulations and devices for commercialization. Additional changes may be required by the FDA or other regulatory authorities on specifications and storage conditions. These may require additional studies and may result in a delay in our clinical trials and commercialization activities.
We also expect to rely on other third parties to label, store, and distribute drug supplies for our clinical trials. Any performance failure on the part of our distributors could delay clinical development or marketing approval of our product candidates or commercialization of our products, producing additional losses and depriving us of potential product revenue.
We may be unable to establish any agreements with third-party manufacturers or to do so on acceptable terms. Even if we are able to establish agreements with third-party manufacturers, reliance on third-party manufacturers entails additional risks, including:
• reliance on the third party for regulatory compliance and quality assurance;
• the possible breach of the manufacturing agreement by the third party;
The third parties we rely on for manufacturing and packaging are also subject to regulatory review, and any regulatory compliance problems with these third parties could significantly delay or disrupt our clinical or commercialization activities. 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 product candidates or products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of our products. Additionally, macro-economic conditions may adversely affect these third parties, causing them to suffer liquidity or operational problems. If a key third-party vendor becomes insolvent or is forced to lay off workers assisting with our projects, our results and development timing could suffer.
Our product candidates and any products that we may develop may compete with other product candidates and products for access to manufacturing facilities. There are a limited number of manufacturers that operate under cGMP regulations and that might be capable of manufacturing for us.
Our current and anticipated future dependence upon others for the manufacture of our product candidates or products may adversely affect our future profit margins and our ability to commercialize any products that receive marketing approval on a timely and competitive basis.
We depend on CROs and other contracted third parties to perform nonclinical and clinical testing and certain other research and development activities. As a result, the outcomes of the activities performed by these organizations will be, to a certain extent, beyond our control.
The nature of outsourcing a substantial portion of our business will require that we rely on CROs and other contractors to assist us with research and development, clinical testing activities, patient enrollment, data collection, and regulatory submissions to the FDA or other regulatory bodies. As a result, our success will depend partially on the success of these third parties in performing their responsibilities. Although we intend to pre-qualify our CROs and other contractors and we believe that the contractors selected will be fully capable of performing their contractual obligations, we cannot directly control the
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adequacy and timeliness of the resources and expertise that they apply to these activities. Additionally, macro-economic conditions may affect our development partners and vendors, which could adversely affect their ability to timely perform their tasks. If our contractors do not perform their obligations in an adequate and timely manner, the pace of clinical development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our drug candidates could be significantly delayed, and our prospects could be adversely affected.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
If we are unable to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our technology and products or if the scope of the intellectual property protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize technology and products similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our technology and products may be impaired.
Our success depends in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection in relevant countries with respect to our proprietary technology and products. We seek to protect our proprietary position by filing patent applications in the United States and internationally that are related to our novel technologies and product candidates. This patent portfolio includes issued patents and pending patent applications covering pharmaceutical compositions and methods of use.
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 or in a timely manner. We may choose not to seek patent protection for certain innovations and may choose not to pursue patent protection in certain jurisdictions, and under the laws of certain jurisdictions, patents or other intellectual property rights may be unavailable or limited in scope. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our discovery and nonclinical development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection. Moreover, in some circumstances, we may 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. 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. For example, India and China do not allow patents for methods of treating the human body. 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. Therefore, we cannot know with certainty whether we were the first to make the inventions claimed in our owned or licensed patents or pending patent applications, or that we were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions. 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 EU, the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our patents or narrow the scope of our patent protection.
The risks described pertaining to our patents and other intellectual property rights also apply to the intellectual property rights that we license, and any failure to obtain, maintain and enforce these rights could have a material adverse effect on our business. In some cases, we may not have control over the prosecution, maintenance or enforcement of the patents that we license, and our licensors may fail to take the steps that we believe are necessary or desirable in order to obtain, maintain and enforce the licensed patents. Any inability on our part to protect adequately our intellectual property may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and financial position.
The USPTO and various non-U.S. governmental patent agencies require compliance with several procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. In certain situations, non-compliance 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. In such an event, our competitors might be able to enter the market and this circumstance would have a material adverse effect on our business.
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In addition, we have acquired rights to AT-1501 and other product candidates through a license agreement with The ALS Therapy Development Institute, and may in the future enter into other license agreements with third parties for other intellectual property rights or assets. These license agreements may impose various diligence, milestone payment, royalty, and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with our obligations under these agreements, or we are subject to a bankruptcy, we may be required to make certain payments to the licensor, we may lose the exclusivity of our license, or the licensor may have the right to terminate the license, in which event we would not be able to develop or market products covered by the license. Additionally, the milestone and other payments associated with these licenses will make it less profitable for us to develop our drug candidates than if we had developed the licensed technology internally.
In some cases, patent prosecution of our licensed technology may be controlled solely by the licensor. If our licensors fail to obtain and maintain patent or other protection for the proprietary intellectual property we license from them, we could lose our rights to the intellectual property or our exclusivity with respect to those rights, and our competitors could market competing products using the intellectual property. In certain cases, we may control the prosecution of patents resulting from licensed technology. In the event we breach any of our obligations related to such prosecution, we may incur significant liability to our licensing partners. If disputes over intellectual property and other rights that we have licensed prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on acceptable terms, we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates.
We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or other intellectual property, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful.
Our commercial success depends upon our ability, and the ability of our collaborators, to develop, manufacture, market and sell our product candidates and use our proprietary technologies without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. There is considerable intellectual property litigation in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. We may become party to, or threatened with, future adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our products and technology, including interference or derivation proceedings before the USPTO. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future.
If we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to continue developing and marketing our products and technology. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. We could be forced, including by court order, to cease commercializing the infringing technology or product. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees if we are found to have willfully infringed a patent. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially harm our business. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties could have a similar negative impact on our business.
Because competition in our industry is intense, competitors may infringe or otherwise violate our issued patents, patents of our licensors or other intellectual property. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Any claims we assert against perceived infringers could provoke these parties to assert counterclaims against us alleging that we infringe their patents. In addition, in a patent infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours is invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, construe the patent’s claims narrowly, or refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation proceeding could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly. We may also elect to enter into license agreements in order to settle patent infringement claims or to resolve disputes prior to litigation, and any such license agreements may require us to pay royalties and other fees that could be significant. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure.
We may need to license certain intellectual property from third parties, and such licenses may not be available or may not be available on commercially reasonable terms.
A third party may hold intellectual property, including patent rights, that are important or necessary to the development of our products. It may be necessary for us to use the patented or proprietary technology of third parties to commercialize our products, in which case we would be required to obtain a license from these third parties on commercially reasonable terms,
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or our business could be harmed, possibly materially. If we were not able to obtain a license, or are not able to obtain a license on commercially reasonable terms, our business could be harmed, possibly materially.
If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets, our business and competitive position would be harmed.
In addition to seeking patents for some of our technology and product candidates, we also rely on trade secrets, including unpatented know-how, technology and other proprietary information, to maintain our competitive position. Any NDAs or similar agreements entered into by the Company may not be with all relevant parties, or adequately protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets. Moreover, to the extent we enter into such agreements, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret 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 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 them, from using that technology or information to compete with us. If any of our trade secrets were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor, our competitive position would be harmed.
We may be subject to claims of misappropriation of trade secrets from former employers of Company personnel.
Many of our employees and certain of our directors were previously employed at or affiliated with research foundations or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies. Although we try to ensure that our employees and directors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these employees or directors have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such employee’s or director’s former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in 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 defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
We expect our stock price to be volatile, and the market price of our common stock may drop unexpectedly.
The market price of our common stock could be subject to significant fluctuations. Market prices for securities of early-stage pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and other life sciences companies have historically been particularly volatile. Some of the factors that may cause the market price of our common stock to fluctuate include:
• issues in manufacturing our approved products, if any, or product candidates;
• the loss of key employees;
• changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems; and
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• period-to-period fluctuations in our financial results.
Moreover, the stock markets in general have experienced substantial volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of individual companies. These broad market fluctuations may also adversely affect the trading price of our common stock.
In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, stockholders have often instituted class action securities litigation against those companies. Such litigation, if instituted, could result in substantial costs and diversion of management attention and resources, which could significantly harm our profitability and reputation.
If we fail to establish and maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting, our operating results and our ability to operate our business could be harmed.
Ensuring that we will have adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place so that we can produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis is a costly and time-consuming effort that needs to be re-evaluated frequently. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”).
If we are unable to successfully maintain internal controls over financial reporting, the accuracy and timing of our financial reporting, and our stock price, may be adversely affected and we may be unable to maintain compliance with the applicable stock exchange listing requirements. Additionally, as we become a larger company, we will become subject to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which requires our independent auditors to document and test our internal controls. These additional requirements are costly, and our auditors may identify control deficiencies.
Implementing any appropriate changes to our internal controls may distract the officers and employees of the Company, entail substantial costs to modify its existing processes and take significant time to complete. These changes may not, however, be effective in maintaining the adequacy of the internal controls of the Company, and any failure to maintain that adequacy, or consequent inability to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis, could increase operating costs and harm the business. In addition, investors’ perceptions that the internal controls of the Company are inadequate or that we are unable to produce accurate financial statements on a timely basis may harm the stock price of the Company.
Provisions in our corporate charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of the Company, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Provisions in our corporate charter and bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of the Company that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which our stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, thereby depressing the market price of our common stock. In addition, because the board of directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by stockholders to replace or remove the current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of the board of directors. Among other things, these provisions:
• limit the manner in which stockholders can remove directors from the board;
• limit who may call stockholder meetings;
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We do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
We expect to retain our future earnings to fund the development and growth of our business. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be the sole source of gain, if any, for any stockholders for the foreseeable future.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
Not applicable.
Item 2. Properties.
Our executive offices are located in Irvine, California. We lease approximately 5,197 square feet of office space under an operating lease that expires in September 2021. Additionally, the Company has operating leases for four serviced office spaces in Burlington, Massachusetts that expire on June 30, 2021.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
Information pertaining to legal proceedings is provided under the heading “Legal Proceedings” in Note 5, Commitments and Contingencies, to the consolidated financial statements and is incorporated by reference herein.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
None.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Market Information
Our common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “ELDN”.
As of March 23, 2021, there were approximately 87 stockholders of record of our common stock.
Dividends
We have never declared or paid, and do not anticipate declaring or paying in the foreseeable future, any cash dividends on our common stock. Future determination as to the declaration and payment of dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on then existing conditions, including our operating results, financial condition, contractual restrictions, capital requirements, business prospects and other factors that our board of directors may deem relevant.
Item 6. Selected Financial Data.
Per §229.301 of Regulation S-K, the Company, designated a Smaller Reporting Company as defined in §229.10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K, is not required to provide the disclosure required by this Item.
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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations is intended to help the reader understand the results of operations and financial condition of the Company. The Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2020. In addition to historical information, this Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, which are intended to be covered by the safe harbors created thereby. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” in this report. Our actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from those discussed in our forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including those set forth under the Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors section and elsewhere in this report, as well as, in other reports and documents we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS
Legacy Operations and Acquisition of Anelixis Therapeutics, Inc.
On September 14, 2020, the Company completed the acquisition of Anelixis Therapeutics, Inc. (“Anelixis”), a privately held clinical stage biotechnology company developing a next generation anti-CD40L antibody as a potential treatment for organ and cellular transplantation, autoimmune diseases, and ALS. Concurrent with the Company’s acquisition of Anelixis on September 14, 2020, the Company entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Stock Purchase Agreement”) with certain institutional and accredited investors (the “PIPE Investors”), pursuant to which the Company issued and sold approximately 217,200 shares of Series X1 Preferred Stock (the “PIPE Shares”) for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $108.15 million (the “Financing”). The Financing was exempt from registration pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and/or Regulation D promulgated thereunder, as a transaction by an issuer not involving a public offering. At the closing of the Financing, the Company entered into a Registration Rights Agreement (the “Registration Rights Agreement”) with the Investors. Pursuant to the Registration Rights Agreement, on December 22, 2020 the Company registered 12,065,875 shares of common stock, which may be issued upon conversion of the PIPE Shares on its under its effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-251305). The proceeds from the private placement will be used to fund the Company’s operations, including to advance up to Phase 2 clinical trials of AT-1501, a humanized IgG1 anti-CD40L antibody.
Prior to our acquisition of Anelixis, we had been focused on developing novel products for patients with disorders of the ear, nose, and throat (“ENT”). In June 2020, we announced that our lead program did not achieve statistical significance for the primary efficacy endpoints in the treatment of acute otitis media. As a result of this failure to achieve the primary study endpoint and expected need to reformulate the investigational drug, we suspended the clinical development of our legacy ENT assets while we assess alternate development strategies, including out-licensing or a sale of these assets. Following the June 2020 announcement, we significantly curtailed development expenses as we sought to identify strategic alternatives that would maximize stockholder value. As a result of these activities, we acquired Anelixis and raised additional capital in September 2020, as described above.
Other Developments
Equity Distribution Agreement
On July 23, 2018, the Company filed a prospectus supplement (the “2018 Prospectus Supplement”) under which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time, through Piper Jaffray, up to $9.8 million in shares of its common stock. During the year ended December 31, 2019, 1,401 shares were sold under the 2018 Prospectus Supplement for gross proceeds of approximately $110,000. No shares were sold during the year ended December 31, 2020. This agreement was terminated in 2020. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2020, no additional amounts remained available to be offered and sold under the 2018 Prospectus Supplement.
2019 Equity Offering
On April 30, 2019, the Company agreed to sell in a registered direct offering, an aggregate 191,617 shares of its common stock to certain investors for gross proceeds of approximately $10.7 million under its effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-226286). In a concurrent private placement, the Company also agreed to issue to such investors Series A warrants to purchase up to 191,617 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $72.00 with a term
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of eighteen months (the “Series A Warrants”) and Series B warrants to purchase up 191,6172 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $72.00 with a term of five years (the “Series B Warrants”). The Series B Warrants become exercisable only upon the exercise of the Series A Warrants. In addition, the Company agreed to issue to H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, the placement agent for the transaction, warrants to purchase up to 9,580 shares of common stock. The placement agent warrants have substantially the same terms as the Series A Warrants, except that the placement agent warrants have an exercise price equal to $69.6375 and will expire on April 20, 2024. We refer to the registered direct offering and the concurrent private placement collectively as the “2019 Equity Offering.”
Warrant Exercise Transaction
On January 10, 2020 and January 15, 2020, the Company entered into warrant exercise agreements (the “Exercise Agreements”) with the holders (the “Holders”) of its Series A Warrants and Series B Warrants (collectively, the “Warrants”), issued in the 2019 Equity Offering, pursuant to which the Holders agreed to exercise in cash their Warrants to purchase an aggregate of 383,234 shares of the Company’s common stock at a reduced exercise price of $12.87 per share, plus an additional $2.25 per share for the issuance of the private placement warrants for gross proceeds (before placement agent fees and expenses) to the Company of approximately $5.8 million (the “Exercise Transaction”).
Under the Exercise Agreements, the Company also agreed to issue to the Holders new warrants to purchase up to 383,234 shares of the Company’s common stock at an exercise price of $12.96 per share, with an exercise period of five and a half years (the “Private Placement Warrants”). The Private Placement Warrants transaction subsequently closed and the Private Placement Warrants were issued on January 14, 2020 with respect to the Warrants exercised on January 10, 2020 and on or about January 17, 2020, with respect to the Warrants exercised on January 15, 2020. In addition, the Company agreed to issue to the placement agent warrants to purchase up to 19,162 shares of common stock, representing 5.0% of the aggregate number of shares of common stock issued in the Exercise Transaction. The placement agent warrants have substantially the same terms as the Private Placement Warrants issued to the Holders, except that the placement agent warrants have an exercise price equal to $18.90. A warrant inducement expense of $4.8 million was incurred which was determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and was calculated as the difference between the fair value of the Warrants prior to, and immediately after, the reduction in the exercise price on the date of repricing in addition to the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants issued.
Common Stock Exchange Agreements
On February 13, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement (the “Exchange Agreement”) with Biotechnology Value Fund, L.P., Biotechnology Value Fund II, L.P. and Biotechnology Value Trading Fund OS, L.P. (the “Exchanging Stockholders”), pursuant to which the Exchanging Stockholders exchanged (the “February Exchange”) 210,888 shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share, for 3,796 shares of newly designated Series X Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Series X Preferred Stock”). The Company agreed to reimburse the Exchanging Stockholders for their expenses in connection with the Exchange up to a total of $25,000, which was recorded as operating expense in the Company’s condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
On February 13, 2020, in connection with the February Exchange, the Company filed a Certificate of Designation setting forth the preferences, rights and limitations of the Series X Preferred Stock with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware. Each share of Series X Preferred Stock will be convertible into 55.5556 shares of common stock at the option of the holder at any time; subject to certain limitations, including, that the holder will be prohibited from converting Series X Preferred Stock into common stock if, as a result of such conversion, the holder, together with its affiliates, would beneficially own a number of shares of common stock above a conversion blocker, which is initially set at 9.99% of the total common stock then issued and outstanding immediately following the conversion of such shares of Series X Preferred Stock. In the event of the Company’s liquidation, dissolution or winding up, holders of Series X Preferred Stock will participate pari passu with any distribution of proceeds to holders of common stock. Holders of Series X Preferred Stock are entitled to receive dividends on shares of Series X Preferred Stock equal (on an as-if-converted-to-common stock basis) to and in the same form as dividends actually paid on the common stock or other junior securities of the Company. Shares of Series X Preferred Stock will generally have no voting rights, except as required by law and except that the consent of a majority of the holders of the outstanding Series X Preferred Stock will be required to amend the terms of the Series X Preferred Stock.
On December 31, 2020, the Company entered into an exchange agreement (the “Series X Exchange Agreement”) with Biotechnology Value Fund, L.P., Biotechnology Value Fund II, L.P., Biotechnology Value Trading Fund OS, L.P. , MSI BVF SPV, L.L.C. (the “BVF Exchanging Stockholders”) and Cormorant Global Healthcare Master Fund, LP (together with the BVF Exchanging Stockholders, the “Exchanging Stockholders”), pursuant to which the Exchanging Stockholders
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exchanged (the “Series X Exchange”) 344,666 shares of the Company’s common stock,for 6,203.98 shares of Series X Preferred Stock.
In addition, on December 31, 2020 the Company entered into an exchange agreement (the “Warrant Exchange Agreement,” and together with the Series X Exchange Agreement, the “Exchange Agreements”) with the BVF Exchanging Stockholders, pursuant to which the BVF Exchanging Stockholders exchanged (the “Warrant Exchange,” and together with the Series X Exchange, “the Exchanges”) 509,117 shares of the Common Stock for one or more pre-funded warrants to purchase an aggregate of 509,117 shares of the Common Stock at a nominal exercise price (the “Warrants”).
Following the Exchanges, the Company will have 14,306,614 shares of Common Stock outstanding and 6,203.98 shares of Series X Preferred Stock outstanding, which are convertible into 344,663 shares of Common Stock (after rounding for fractional shares)
September 2020 Stock Purchase Agreement
On September 14, 2020, Eledon entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Purchase Agreement”) with certain institutional and accredited investors (the “Investors”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, Eledon agreed to sell an aggregate of approximately 199,112 shares of Series X1 Preferred Stock for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $99.1 million (collectively, the “Financing”). Eledon had commitments for an additional $9.0 million in equity financing that was contingent upon the satisfaction of certain incremental closing conditions, including stockholder approval of the issuance of the Company’s common stock upon the conversion of the Company’s X1 Preferred Stock and the effective registration of its common stock. Subject to stockholder approval, each share of Series X1 Preferred Stock was convertible into 55.5556 shares of Common Stock, as described below. The preferences, rights and limitations applicable to the Series X1 Preferred Stock are set forth in the Certificate of Designation, as filed with the SEC. The Financing was exempt from registration pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and/or Regulation D promulgated thereunder, as a transaction by an issuer not involving a public offering. The Investors have acquired the securities for investment only and not with a view to or for sale in connection with any distribution thereof, and appropriate legends have been affixed to the securities issued in this transaction.
On December 18, 2020, the Company held a special meeting of stockholders (the “Special Meeting”). At the Special Meeting, the Company’s stockholders approved the issuance of the Company’s common stock, upon conversion of the Company’s Series X1 Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 per share, issued in September 2020.
On December 23, 2020, the Company sold 1,004,111 shares of its common stock for gross proceeds of $9.0 million that was contingent upon the satisfaction of certain incremental closing conditions, as described above.
Reverse Stock-Split
On October 5, 2020, the Company effected a reverse stock-split of its issued and outstanding common stock and options for common stock at a ratio of one-for-eighteen. The Company filed an Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware effecting the reverse stock-split. The discussion in this Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations gives retroactive effect to the reverse stock-split for all periods presented.
COVID-19 Impact
The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting global disruptions have adversely affected our business and operations, including, but not limited to, the operations of third parties upon whom we rely. The effects of executive and similar government orders, shelter-in-place orders and our work-from-home policies may negatively impact our productivity and disrupt our business. Although the impacts of COVID-19 have not been material to-date, we have experienced delays in certain preclinical studies and resulting delays in data collection and have also experienced inefficiencies in planning and executing trials due to our limited ability to conduct meetings with key third parties. In addition, in response to public health directives and orders, we have ceased all non-essential business travel and implemented work-from-home policies for all of our employees, resulting in reduced productivity and limited business development and investor relations activities. The magnitude of such effects 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.
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The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting global disruptions have caused significant volatility in financial and credit markets. We have utilized a range of financing methods to fund our operations in the past; however, current conditions in the financial and credit markets may limit the availability of funding or increase the cost of funding. Due to the rapidly evolving nature of the global situation, it is not possible to predict the extent to which these conditions could adversely affect our liquidity and capital resources in the future.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND SIGNIFICANT JUDGMENTS AND ESTIMATES
Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events, and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Business Combinations
Accounting for acquisitions requires extensive use of estimates and judgment to measure the fair value of the identifiable tangible and intangible assets acquired, including in-process research and development (“IPR&D”) and liabilities assumed. Additionally, the Company must determine whether an acquired entity is considered a business or a set of net assets because the excess of the purchase price over the fair value of net assets acquired can only be recognized as goodwill in a business combination. The Company accounted for the acquisition of Anelixis as a business combination under the acquisition method of accounting. Consideration paid to acquire Anelixis was measured at fair value and included the exchange of Anelixis’ common stock. The allocation of the purchase price resulted in recognition of intangible assets related to goodwill and IPR&D. Acquired IPR&D is recognized at fair value and initially characterized as an indefinite-lived intangible asset, irrespective of whether the acquired IPR&D has an alternative future use. The operating activity for Anelixis, the acquiree for accounting purposes, was immediately integrated with Eledon post-acquisition, therefore it is not practical to segregate results of operations related specifically to Anelixis since the date of acquisition.
During the measurement period, which extends no later than one year from the acquisition date, the Company may record certain adjustments to the carrying value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed with the corresponding offset to goodwill. After the measurement period, all adjustments are recorded in the consolidated statements of operations as operating expenses or income.
Goodwill
Goodwill represents the difference between the consideration transferred and the fair value of the net assets acquired under the acquisition method of accounting. Goodwill is not amortized but is evaluated for impairment as of October 1 of each year or earlier if indicators of impairment exist that would, more likely than not, reduce the fair value from its carrying amount. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company recognized $1.9 million of goodwill impairment which was included in the consolidated statements of operations. No impairment was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2020.
The Company performs its goodwill impairment analysis at the reporting unit level, which aligns with the Company’s reporting structure and availability of discrete financial information. The Company performs its annual impairment analysis by either comparing the reporting unit’s estimated fair value to its carrying amount or doing a qualitative assessment of a reporting unit’s fair value from the last quantitative assessment to determine if there is potential impairment. The Company may do a qualitative assessment when the results of the previous quantitative test indicated the reporting unit’s estimated fair value was significantly in excess of the carrying value of its net assets and it does not believe there have been significant changes in the reporting unit’s operations that would significantly decrease its estimated fair value or significantly increase its net assets. If a quantitative assessment is performed the evaluation includes management estimates of cash flow projections based on internal future projections and/or use of a market approach by looking at market values of comparable companies. Key assumptions for these projections include revenue growth, future gross and operating margin growth, and its weighted cost of capital and terminal growth rates. The revenue and margin growth are based on increased sales of new products as the Company maintains investments in research and development. Additional assumed value creators may include increased efficiencies from capital spending. The resulting cash flows are discounted using a weighted average cost of capital. Operating mechanisms and requirements to ensure that growth and efficiency assumptions will ultimately be
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realized are also considered in the evaluation, including timing and probability of regulatory approvals for Company products to be commercialized. The Company’s market capitalization is also considered as a part of its analysis.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses include personnel and facility-related expenses, outside contracted services including clinical trial costs, manufacturing and process development costs, research costs and other consulting services and non-cash stock-based compensation. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Amounts due under contracts with third parties may be either fixed fee or fee for service, and may include upfront payments, monthly payments and payments upon the completion of milestones or receipt of deliverables. Non-refundable advance payments under agreements are capitalized and expensed as the related goods are delivered or services are performed.
The Company’s contracts with third parties to perform various clinical trial activities in the on-going development of potential products. The financial terms of these agreements are subject to negotiation, vary from contract to contract and may result in uneven payment flows to its vendors. Payments under the contracts depend on factors such as the achievement of certain events, successful enrollment of patients, and completion of portions of the clinical trial or similar conditions. The Company’s accrual for clinical trials is based on estimates of the services received and efforts expended pursuant to contracts with clinical trial centers and clinical research organizations. These contracts may be terminated by the Company upon written notice and the Company is generally only liable for actual effort expended by the organizations to the date of termination, although in certain instances the Company may be further responsible for termination fees and penalties. The Company estimates its research and development expenses and the related accrual as of each balance sheet date based on the facts and circumstances known to the Company at that time. There have been no material adjustments to the Company’s prior period accrued estimates for clinical trial activities through December 31, 2020.
Stock-Based Compensation
For stock options granted to employees and directors, the Company recognizes compensation expense for all stock-based awards based on the grant-date estimated fair value. The fair value of stock options is determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, using assumptions which are subjective and require significant judgment and estimation by management. The risk-free rate assumption was based on observed yields from governmental zero-coupon bonds with an equivalent term. The expected volatility assumption was based on historical volatilities of a group of comparable industry companies whose share prices are publicly available. The peer group was developed based on companies in the pharmaceutical industry. The expected term of stock options represents the weighted-average period that the stock options are expected to be outstanding. Because the Company does not have historical exercise behavior, the Company determined the expected life assumption using the simplified method for stock options granted to employees, which is an average of the options ordinary vesting period and the contractual term. For stock options granted to the board of directors, the Company determined the expected life assumption using the simplified method as the starting point with an average period of twelve (12) months added to take into account for the extended range of time of 12 to 18 months vested stock options granted to board of directors may be exercised upon termination. The expected dividend assumption was based on the Company’s history and expectation of dividend payouts. The Company has not paid and does not expect to pay dividends at any time in the foreseeable future. The Company recognizes forfeitures on an actual basis and as such did not estimate forfeitures to calculate stock-based compensation.
Restricted Stock Units (“RSU”) and Performance-Based Restricted Stock Units (“PRSU”) are measured and recognized based on the quoted market price of our common stock on the date of grant.
Stock-based compensation expense related to stock options granted to nonemployees is recognized based on the estimated fair value of the stock options on their grant date, determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The awards generally vest over the period the Company expects to receive services from the nonemployees. Similar to stock options granted to employees, the fair value of stock options granted nonemployees, determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, involves assumptions that are subjective and require significant judgment and estimation by management. The risk-free rate assumption was based on observed yields from governmental zero-coupon bonds with an equivalent term. The expected volatility assumption was based on historical volatilities of a group of comparable industry companies whose share prices are publicly available. The peer group was developed based on companies in the pharmaceutical industry. The expected term of stock options represents the weighted-average period that the stock options are expected to be outstanding. Because the Company does not have historical exercise behavior on stock options granted to nonemployees, the Company determined the contractual term is the appropriate period for expected life on stock options granted to nonemployees. The expected dividend assumption was based on the Company’s history and expectation of
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dividend payouts. The Company has not paid and does not expect to pay dividends at any time in the foreseeable future. The Company recognizes forfeitures on an actual basis and as such did not estimate forfeitures to calculate stock-based compensation.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
The following table provides comparative results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
Operating expenses:
Other income (expense), net 79 40 39 98 %
Research and Development Expenses
The decrease in research and development expenses of $2.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily due to decreases in clinical costs of $1.5 million and formulation development costs of $1.5 million, as well as decreases in personnel costs of $84,000, travel and meetings expense of $82,000, and miscellaneous operating costs of $2,000. The decreases were partially offset by increases in stock-based compensation expense and consulting costs of $911,000 and $247,000, respectively. The decreases were made following the completion of our Phase 2a study of our legacy lead program in acute otitis media and the subsequent suspension of development as we assessed strategic options. We expect our research and development costs to increase in future periods as we proceed with the development of AT-1501.
General and Administrative Expenses
The increase in general and administrative expenses of $4.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily due to increases in merger related costs of $2.9 million as a result of the Anelixis acquisition and $441,000 in administrative costs associated with operating a public company, as well as increases in stock-based compensation expense and general operating costs of $953,000 and $80,000, respectively. The increases were offset by a decrease in litigation costs of $281,000, as well as decreases in travel and meetings expense and personnel costs of $44,000 and $5,000, respectively. Following the completion of Anelixis acquisition, we expect our general and administrative expenses to increase in future periods, as we have a larger headcount and incur expenses relating to the development of a larger product pipeline.
Restructuring Expense
On June 11, 2020, following the prior announcement of topline results of the Phase 2a Clinical Trial of OP0201 in acute otitis media, the Board of the Company approved a reduction in force. The restructuring was completed on June 30, 2020. Additionally, on September 3, 2020, the Board of the Company accepted the resignation of Gregory Flesher as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board, effective as of the close of business on September 4, 2020. Furthermore, following the acquisition of Anelixis, the severance terms of certain terminated employees were modified. The Company incurred charges totaling $2.3 million for the estimated cash payments related to employee separation costs, including severance and post-employment health benefits.
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Goodwill Impairment
The Company performed a goodwill impairment test as of December 31, 2019 and determined that the fair value of its goodwill was below its carrying value. As a result, the Company recognized $1.9 million of goodwill impairment. No impairment was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Other Income, Net
The change in other income, net was due to miscellaneous income of $35,000 related to disgorgement of profits on prohibited stock transactions by an investor, a decrease in realized losses on foreign currency translation of $22,000, and a decrease in VAT tax of $3,000, partially offset by a decrease in interest income of $21,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Warrant Inducement Expense
The Company recognized warrant inducement expense of $4.8 million as a result of the Warrant Exercise Transaction in addition to the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants issued. (See Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this filing).
Income Tax Benefit
The Company recognized an income tax benefit of $404,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020 due to the current year change in deferred tax liability for the acquired IPR&D related to the Anelixis acquisition.
Pro Forma Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
The following table provides pro forma combined financial information presented to illustrate the estimated effects of the Anelixis acquisition based on the historical financial statements and accounting records of the Company and Anelixis after giving effect to the acquisition. This pro forma information is not necessarily indicative either of the combined results of operations that actually would have been realized by us had the Anelixis acquisition been consummated at the beginning of the period for which the pro forma information is presented, or of future results. Additionally, the pro forma combined financial information does not reflect any merger-related expenses.
Year Ended December 31,
Operating expenses
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Revenue
The decrease in revenue of $380,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020 was due to the difference in amount Anelixis earned from a research grant. Anelixis had a $944,000 research grant agreement, which contained four research and productivity milestones. The current phase, which earned Anelixis $120,000, was the fourth and final phase of this agreement.
Research and Development Expenses
The decrease in research and development expenses of approximately $2.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily due to decreases in clinical costs and formulation development costs of approximately $2.2 million and $1.2 million, respectively, as well as a decrease in travel and meetings expense of $82,000. The decreases were partially offset by an increase in stock-based compensation costs of $911,000, personnel costs of $343,000, consulting services of $232,000, and $13,000 in general operating costs. As noted above, we expect research and development expenses to increase in future periods.
General and Administrative Expenses
The increase in general and administrative expenses of $732,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily due to increases in stock-based compensation costs of $953,000 and costs associated with operating a publicly traded company of $510,000. The increase was offset by decreases in litigation costs of $281,000, general operating costs of $245,000, personnel costs of $161,000, and travel and meetings expense of $44,000. As noted above, we expect our general and administrative expenses to increase in future periods.
Restructuring Expense
On June 11, 2020, following the prior announcement of topline results of the Phase 2a Clinical Trial of OP0201 in acute otitis media, the Board of the Company approved a reduction in force. The restructuring was completed on June 30, 2020. Additionally, on September 3, 2020, the Board of the Company accepted the resignation of Gregory Flesher as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board, effective as of the close of business on September 4, 2020. Furthermore, following the acquisition of Anelixis, the severance terms of certain terminated employees were modified. The Company incurred charges totaling $2.3 million for the estimated cash payments related to employee separation costs, including severance and post-employment health benefits.
Other Income, Net
The change in other income, net was due to miscellaneous income of $35,000 related to disgorgement of profits on prohibited stock transactions by an investor, a decrease in realized losses on foreign currency translation of $22,000, and a decrease in VAT tax of $3,000, offset by a decrease in interest income of $21,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Warrant Inducement Expense
The Company recognized warrant inducement expense of $4.8 million as a result of the Warrant Exercise Transaction in addition to the fair value of the Private Placement Warrants issued. (See Note 7 to the consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this filing).
Income Tax Benefit
The Company recognized an income tax benefit of $404,000 for the year ended December 31, 2020 due to the current year change in deferred tax liability.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
As of December 31, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $114.2 million, consisting of readily available cash and cash equivalents in bank accounts and an accumulated deficit of $80.4 million. While we believe our cash and cash equivalents are not subject to excessive risk, we maintain significant amounts of cash and cash equivalents at one or more financial institutions that are in excess of federally insured limits. To date, our operations have been financed primarily by net proceeds from the sale of preferred and common stock and warrants, the issuance of convertible promissory notes.
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We do not have any approved products for commercial sale and have never generated revenue from product sales, and have incurred significant net losses since our inception and expect to continue to incur net operating losses for the foreseeable future. We do not expect to receive any revenue from any product candidates that we develop unless and until we obtain regulatory approval and commercialize our product candidates or enter into collaborative arrangements with third parties. Our primary use of cash is to fund operating expenses, which consist of research and development expenses and general and administrative expenses. Cash used to fund operating expenses is impacted by the timing of when we pay or prepay these expenses. We expect our expenses to increase in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we expand our clinical program with AT-1501, continue the research and development of, and seek marketing approval for, our product candidates. In addition, if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution.
We will continue to require additional financing in order to advance our drug product through clinical development, to manufacture, obtain regulatory approval for and to commercialize our product candidates, to develop, acquire or in-license other potential product candidates, and to fund operations for the foreseeable future. Therefore, we will seek to raise additional capital through equity offerings, debt financings or other capital sources, including potentially collaborations, licenses and other similar arrangements. Adequate additional funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms on a timely basis, or at all. Any such failure to raise capital as and when needed could have a negative impact on our financial condition and on our ability to pursue our business plans and strategies, and may cause us to delay the scope of or suspend one or more of our clinical trials, research and development programs or commercialization efforts, out-license intellectual property rights to our product candidates or sell unsecured assets, or a combination of the above. Any of these actions could materially harm our business. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, our stockholders’ ownership interests will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect our stockholders’ rights. Debt financing, if available, would result in fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants that limit our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends, that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. If we raise funds through collaborations, licenses and other similar arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates or to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. Please see the section of this Annual Report titled “Risk Factors” for additional risks associated with our substantial capital requirements and the challenges we may face in raising capital.
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We plan to continue to fund losses from operations and capital funding needs through cash on hand and future equity or debt financings, as well as potential additional collaborations or strategic partnerships with other companies. The sale of additional equity or convertible debt could result in additional dilution to our stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations.
See Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operationsin this Annual Report on Form 10-K under the caption “Recent Developments” for a discussion of additional sources of liquidity, including the 2019 Equity Offering, the Exercise Transaction and the Financing.
Our primary uses of capital are, and we expect will continue to be, funding research efforts and the development of our product candidates, compensation and related expenses, hiring additional staff (including clinical, scientific, operational, financial, and management personnel) and costs associated with operating as a public company. We expect to incur substantial expenditures in the foreseeable future for the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates.
Cash Flows
The following table provides a summary of our net cash flow activity for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
Net cash used in operating activities $ (15,212 ) $ (13,857 )
Net cash provided by investing activities 11,035 —
Net cash provided by financing activities 109,581 9,676
Net change in cash and cash equivalents $ 105,404 $ (4,181 )
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 consisted primarily of our net loss of $22.8 million, partially offset by non-cash items consisting primarily of depreciation and amortization of $183,000, warrant inducement expense of $4.8 million, net deferred income taxes of $404,000, and stock-based compensation totaling $3.2 million. Additionally, cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 reflected a net decrease in cash from changes in operating assets and liabilities of $180,000, due to a decrease in operating lease liability.
Net cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 consisted primarily of our net loss of $16.0 million, partially offset by non-cash items consisting primarily of depreciation and amortization of $182,000, a goodwill impairment charge of $1.9 million, and stock-based compensation totaling $1.3 million. Additionally, cash used in operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 reflected a net decrease in cash from changes in operating assets and liabilities of $1.2 million, due to a decrease in our accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $1.4 million and a decrease in our operating lease liability of $165,000, offset by a decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets of $354,000.
Net cash provided by investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 consisted of cash and cash equivalents received from the acquisition of Anelixis.
There was no cash provided by or used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2020 was comprised of $95.2 million in net proceeds from the 2020 Purchase Agreement for the sale of 199,112 shares of Series X1 preferred stock, $5.4 million in net proceeds from the exercise of warrants by stockholders to purchase approximately 0.4 million shares of common stock, and $9.0 million in net proceeds for the sale of approximately 1.0 million shares of common stock, offset by $25,000 of cash paid in connection with the cancellation of common stock related to the Company’s reverse stock-split.
Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2019 was comprised of $9.6 million in net proceeds from the 2019 Equity Offering for the sale of approximately 3.4 million shares of common stock and $107,000 in net proceeds from the 2018 Prospectus for the sale of approximately 25,000 shares of common stock.
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Contractual Obligations
Per §229.303 of Regulation S-K, the Company, designated a Smaller Reporting Company as defined in §229.10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K, is not required to provide the disclosure required by this Item.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements as defined in the rules and regulations of the SEC.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
Per §229.305 of Regulation S-K, the Company, designated a Smaller Reporting Company as defined in §229.10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K, is not required to provide the disclosure required by this Item.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
The Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes listed under Part IV, Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules of this Annual Report on Form 10-K are set forth beginning on page F-1 immediately following the signature page hereof and incorporated by reference herein.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
Not applicable
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
As of December 31, 2020, our management, with the participation of our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Based on this evaluation, management concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective in alerting them in a timely manner to material information required to be disclosed in our periodic reports filed with the SEC.
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act. Our internal control system is designed to provide reasonable assurance to our management and board of directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published financial statements. All internal control systems, no matter how well designed, have inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation.
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Our management has assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO Framework”) in its 2013 Internal Control—Integrated Framework.Management believes that the COSO Framework is a suitable framework for its evaluation of financial reporting because it is free from bias, permits reasonably consistent qualitative and quantitative measurements of our internal control over financial reporting, is sufficiently complete so that those relevant factors that would alter a conclusion about the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting are not omitted and is relevant to an evaluation of internal control over financial reporting.
Based on this assessment, our management has concluded that as of December 31, 2020, our internal control over financial reporting is effective.
As a non-accelerated filer, we are not required to provide an attestation report on our internal control over financial reporting issued by the Company’s independent registered accounting firm.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the 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.
On March 30, 2021, the Company entered into an Open Market Sale Agreement (the “Sale Agreement”) with Jefferies LLC (“Jefferies”) to sell shares of the Company’s common stock, par value $0.001 per share, having aggregate sales proceeds of up to $75,000,000, from time to time, through an “at the market” equity offering program under which Jefferies will act as sales agent.
Under the Sale Agreement, the Company will set the parameters for the sale of shares, including the number of shares to be issued, the time period during which sales are requested to be made, limitation on the number of shares that may be sold in any one trading day and any minimum price below which sales may not be made. Subject to the terms and conditions of the Sale Agreement, Jefferies may sell the shares by methods deemed to be an “at the market offering” as defined in Rule 415(a)(4) promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including sales made directly on The Nasdaq Capital Market or on any other existing trading market for the common stock. The Company and Jefferies may each terminate the Sale Agreement at any time as set forth in the Sale Agreement. Under the terms of the Sale Agreement, the Company may also sell shares to Jefferies acting as principal for Jefferies’ own account.
The compensation to Jefferies for sales of the Company’s common stock will be an amount equal to 3.0% of the gross proceeds of any shares of common stock sold under the Sale Agreement. The Company has no obligation to sell any shares under the Sale Agreement, and may at any time suspend solicitation and offers under the Sale Agreement.
The shares will be issued pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 to be filed with the SEC. No sales may be made under the registration statement until it has been declared effective by the SEC.
The foregoing description of the Sale Agreement is not complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of such agreement, a copy of which is filed herewith as Exhibit 1.1 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
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PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
The information required by this Item 10 is incorporated herein by reference to information in our proxy statement for our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “2021 Proxy Statement”), which we expect to be filed with the SEC within 120 days of the end of our fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, including under headings “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance—Election of Directors,” “Executive Officers and Executive Compensation—Executive Officers,” “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance—Code of Business Conduct and Ethics,” “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance—Director Nomination Process” and “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance—Committees of the Board of Directors”.
We have adopted a written code of business conduct and ethics that applies to our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions. A copy of the code is available on the Corporate Governance section of our website, which is located at http://ir.eledon.com/corporate-governance/governance-overview. We intend to disclose on our website any amendments to, or waivers from, the code of business conduct and ethics that are required to be disclosed pursuant to the disclosure requirements of Item 5.05 of Form 8-K within four business days following the date of the amendment or waiver.
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
The information required by this Item 11 is incorporated herein by reference to information in our 2021 Proxy Statement, including under headings “Executive Compensation,” “Director Compensation,” “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance—Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation,” “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance—Oversight of Risk”.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The information required by this Item 12 is incorporated herein by reference to information in our 2021 Proxy Statement, including under headings “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” and “Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans”.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
The information required by this Item 13 is incorporated herein by reference to information in our 2021 Proxy Statement, including under headings “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance—Related Person Transactions,” “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance,” and “Board of Directors and Corporate Governance—Committees of the Board of Directors”.
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services.
The information required by this Item 14 is incorporated herein by reference to information in our 2021 Proxy Statement, including under headings “Proposal No. 2—Ratification of the Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm”.
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PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
(1) Financial Statements:
The Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, our consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are set forth beginning on page F-1 immediately following the signature page of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
(2) Financial Statement Schedules:
The financial statement schedules are omitted as they are either not applicable or the information required is presented in the financial statements and notes thereto under Part II, Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
(3) Exhibits:
Exhibit
Number Exhibit Description Incorporated by Reference Filed
Form File No. Exhibit Filing Date Herewith
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Exhibit
Number Exhibit Description Incorporated by Reference Filed
Form File No. Exhibit Filing Date Herewith
4.5 Description of Securities X
10.11 Novus Therapeutics, Inc., 2020 Long Term Incentive Plan X
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Exhibit
Number Exhibit Description Incorporated by Reference Filed
Form File No. Exhibit Filing Date Herewith
101.INS XBRL Instance Document
101.SCH XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document
101.LAB XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document
101.PRE XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
* Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan
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Item 16. Form 10-K Summary.
None.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Date: March 30, 2021 By: /s/ David-Alexandre C. Gros, M.D.
David-Alexandre C. Gros, M.D.
Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer)
Date: March 30, 2021 By: /s/ Paul Little
Paul Little
Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer)
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Name Title Date
David-Alexandre C. Gros, M.D. (Principal Executive Officer)
/s/ Paul Little Chief Financial Officer March 30, 2021
Paul Little (Principal Financial Officer)
Jon S. Kuwahara (Principal Accounting Officer)
/s/ Keith A. Katkin Chairman of the Board of Directors March 30, 2021
Keith A. Katkin
/s/ Gary A. Lyons Director March 30, 2021
Gary A. Lyons
/s/ John S. McBride Director March 30, 2021
John S. McBride
/s/ Walter Ogier Director March 30, 2021
Walter Ogier
/s/ June Lee, M.D. Director March 30, 2021
June Lee, M.D.
/s/ Steven Perrin President, Director March 30, 2021
Steven Perrin
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ELEDON PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm F-2
Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 F-4
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements F-8
F-1
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of
Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Eledon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matters
The critical audit matters communicated below are matters arising from the current period audit of the consolidated financial statements that were communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relate to accounts or disclosures that are material to the consolidated financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective, or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matters does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matters below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matters or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
Anelixis Therapeutics, Inc. Business Combination
Critical Audit Matter Description
As described in Notes 1, 2, 4, 7 and 10 to the consolidated financial statements, on September 14, 2020, the Company acquired Anelixis Therapeutics, Inc. (“Anelixis”) pursuant to a merger agreement. The Company issued to the stockholders of Anelixis 175,488 shares of common stock and 140,026 shares of Series X1 Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock (“Preferred Stock”). In addition, the Company assumed outstanding Anelixis stock options and warrants and replaced them with the Company’s warrants and stock options. The Company applied the acquisition method of accounting to the acquired assets and assumed liabilities of Anelixis. The allocation of the purchase price included an identified intangible asset that consisted of in-process research and development (“IPR&D”) with an estimated fair value of $32.4 million related to
F-2
Anelixis’ clinical development program of AT-1501. The estimated fair value of the IPR&D was determined by management based on an external valuation specialists’ analysis of replacement costs to recreate AT-1501 in its current clinical stage.
Given that the accounting for the transaction required management to make significant judgments in (1) assessing whether the acquisition should be accounted for as a business combination or asset acquisition, (2) determining the accounting acquirer, and (3) estimating the fair value of the acquired IPR&D intangible asset, auditing the transaction was challenging and complex as it required a high degree of auditor judgment and an increased extent of effort, including the need to involve a valuation specialist.
How the Critical Audit Matter Was Addressed in the Audit