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MNPR US Equity

Monopar TherapeuticsHealth Care · Pharmaceutical Preparations · CIK 1645469 · FY ends Dec 31
$123.84
+4.79 (+4.02%)
USD · as of 2026-08-19 · marketstack

MNPR · 10-K · period ended 2023-12-31

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filed 2024-03-28 · EDGAR original ↗

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Table of Contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM10-K

(Mark One)

For the Fiscal Year EndedDecember 31, 2023

For the transition period from_______________ to ________________

Commission File Number:001-39070

MONOPAR THERAPEUTICS INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(Address of principal executive offices) (zip code)

(847)388-0349

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered

Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act:

None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☐

Non-accelerated filer ☒ Smaller reporting company ☒

Emerging growth company ☒

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter. The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2023 was $4,608,643 based on the closing price reported for such date on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

The number of shares outstanding with respect to each of the classes of our common stock, as of March 8, 2024, is set forth below:

Class Number of shares outstanding

The documents incorporated by reference are as follows: None.

Table of Contents

MONOPAR THERAPEUTICS INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

Part I

Item 1. Business 7

Item 1A. Risk Factors 23

Item 1C. Cybersecurity 23

Item 2. Properties 58

Item 3. Legal Proceedings 58

Part II

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 69

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 70

Item 9B. Other Information 70

Part III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 71

Item 11. Executive Compensation 74

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 84

Part IV

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 85

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Forward-Looking Statements

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 (the “Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are forward-looking statements. The words “hopes,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “projects,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “will,” “continue,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. The following uncertainties and factors, among others, could affect future performance and cause actual results to differ materially from those matters expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements:

● our ability to raise funds on acceptable terms;

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Forward-Looking Statements (continued)

Although we believe that the risk assessments identified in such forward-looking statements are appropriate, we can give no assurance that such risks will materialize. Cautionary statements are disclosed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including without limitation statements in the section entitled “Item 1A - Risk Factors,” addressing forward-looking statements. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements. We undertake no obligation to update any statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or elsewhere, including without limitation any forward-looking statements, except as required by law.

Any forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K reflect our current views with respect to future events or to our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Information that is based on estimates, forecasts, projections, market research or similar methodologies is inherently subject to uncertainties and actual events or circumstances may differ materially from events and circumstances projected in this information.

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Summary Risk Factors

Our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including those highlighted in “Item 1A - Risk Factors” located elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. These risks include, among others, the following:

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Summary Risk Factors (continued)

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PART I

Item 1. Business

You should read the following discussion in conjunction with our financial statements as of December 31, 2023, and the notes to such financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Overview

We are a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative treatments for cancer patients. We are building a drug candidate pipeline through in-house development as well as the licensing and acquisition of therapeutics in late preclinical and in clinical development stages. We leverage our scientific and clinical experience to help reduce the risk and accelerate the clinical development of our drug product candidates.

We currently have several compounds in development: 1) MNPR-101-Zr, a clinical stage uPAR-targeted radiodiagnostic imaging agent; 2) MNPR-101-RIT, a late preclinical stage radiotherapeutic for advanced cancers; 3) camsirubicin (generic name for MNPR-201, GPX-150; 5-imino-13-deoxydoxorubicin), a Phase 1b clinical stage novel analog of doxorubicin engineered specifically to retain anticancer activity while minimizing toxic effects on the heart; and 4) an early stage camsirubicin analog, MNPR-202, for various cancers.

Our Product Pipeline

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Our Product Candidates

MNPR-101 for Radiopharmaceutical Use

Our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program was developed by us for advanced cancers expressing urokinase plasminogen activator receptor ("uPAR"). This proprietary, novel first-in-class radiopharmaceutical program aims to identify and selectively kill the tumors expressing uPAR, which include a majority of triple-negative breast, colorectal, and pancreatic cancers. The program uses MNPR-101, our proprietary humanized monoclonal antibody targeting uPAR, as a means to accurately deliver radioisotope payloads to the tumors. We have demonstrated promising preclinical data to-date for our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program. Positron emission tomography (“PET”) imaging data of preclinical human tumor xenograft mouse models for triple-negative breast, colorectal, and pancreatic tumors expressing uPAR display high, selective and durable uptake of MNPR-101 conjugated to the imaging radioisotope zirconium-89 ("MNPR-101-Zr"). Additionally, preclinical triple-negative breast and pancreatic cancer mouse model studies with MNPR-101 conjugated to therapeutic radioisotopes ("MNPR-101-RIT") have shown promising anti-tumor activity. Overall, the preclinical imaging and therapeutic efficacy study results demonstrate the potential utility of MNPR-101 as a precision targeting radiopharmaceutical agent for both imaging and therapy in multiple cancer indications. We are actively working towards enrolling our Phase 1 dosimetry clinical trial in Australia for MNPR-101-Zr in patients with advanced cancer.

MNPR-101 is designed to selectively bind to uPAR. uPAR is highly expressed in multiple types of tumors, including breast, pancreatic, and colorectal cancers but not on most normal cells. It is estimated that the tumors and/or tumor associated cells in 97% of breast, 89% of bladder, 87% of pancreatic and 85% of colorectal cancer patients express uPAR. Moreover, several Phase 1 PET imaging studies in advanced cancer patients show that uPAR can only be detected in the tumor and not in normal tissues, making it a potentially attractive target for cancer therapies, including radiopharmaceuticals.

In February 2024, we received Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) clearance in Australia to commence our Phase 1 dosimetry trial for MNPR-101-Zr in patients with advanced cancers. The trial will utilize total body PET/CT ("positron emission tomography–computed tomography") imaging to assess tumor uptake, normal organ biodistribution, and safety. The study will be conducted at Melbourne Theranostic Innovation Centre ("MTIC")headed by Professor Rodney Hicks, MBBS(Hons), MD, FRACP, FICIS, FAAHMS, and will use one of the world's most sensitive clinical total-body PET/CT scanners, the Siemens Biograph Vision Quadra, to image the targeting ability of MNPR-101-Zr in cancer patients. If the tumor uptake, biodistribution, and safety look encouraging in this Phase 1 clinical trial, which is anticipated to enroll approximately 12 patients, we plan to evaluate the efficacy in humans of a therapeutic version of MNPR-101 radiolabeled with an isotope such as actinium-225 ("Ac-225" or "Ac").

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Overview of Preclinical Development

In February 2024, we announced promising preclinical data for MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical imaging and therapeutic agents demonstrating highly selective and durable uptake in uPAR expressing tumors and potent anti-tumor effects in human tumor xenograft mouse models. Maximizing the dose delivered to the tumor relative to normal tissue is of paramount importance in radiopharmaceutical therapy. Figure 1 below shows the before and after optimization of MNPR-101-Zr. MNPR-101-Zr is a zirconium-89 labeled version of MNPR-101 that is being developed as a radiopharmaceutical imaging agent for advanced solid tumors expressing uPAR. Monopar’s in-house radiopharmaceutical development team was able to significantly increase tumor uptake of MNPR-101-Zr while minimizing uptake in healthy tissue, as shown in this preclinical PET sequential imaging time-series. The high specificity and durable tumor uptake are evident in the After Optimization panel below.

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Preclinical data to date demonstrate compelling and durable anti-tumor benefits with MNPR-101 conjugated to therapeutic radioisotopes. Figure 2 below shows preclinical efficacy data in triple negative breast cancer (left) and pancreatic cancer (right) human tumor xenograft mouse models utilizing two different therapeutic radioisotopes conjugated to MNPR-101; one of these radioisotopes has already been disclosed as being Ac-225. The results in both show near complete elimination of the tumor after a single injection of the radiopharmaceutical agent. These studies demonstrate the potential of a MNPR-101 based radiopharmaceutical to provide a very meaningful clinical benefit to cancer patients.

To visualize the biodistribution of a therapeutic radioisotope conjugated to MNPR-101, lutetium-177 ("Lu-177") was used. The results of a sequential SPECT ("single-photon emission computed tomography") imaging time-series utilizing MNPR-101 conjugated to Lu-177 ("MNPR-101-Lu") can be seen in Figure 3. High specificity and durable uptake of MNPR-101-Lu in the tumor relative to normal tissue is readily apparent, and help explain the near complete elimination of tumors observed after a single injection of therapeutic radioisotopes bound to MNPR-101.

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Camsirubicin (5-imino-13-deoxydoxorubicin; formerly MNPR-201, GPX-150)

Camsirubicin is a novel analog of doxorubicin which has been designed to reduce the cardiotoxic side effects generated by doxorubicin while retaining effective anti-cancer activity. A previous Phase 2 clinical trial for camsirubicin dosed up to 265 mg/m2 per cycle was completed in patients with advanced (e.g., unresectable or metastatic) soft tissue sarcoma (“ASTS”). Average life expectancy for these patients is 12-15 months. In this previous study, 52.6% of patients evaluable for tumor progression demonstrated clinical benefit (partial response or stable disease), which was proportional to dose and consistently observed at higher cumulative doses of camsirubicin (>1000 mg/m2). Camsirubicin was very well tolerated in this study and underscored the ability to potentially administer camsirubicin without restriction of cumulative dose in patients with ASTS. Although doxorubicin has been the standard of care treatment for ASTS for over 40 years, doxorubicin is limited to a lifetime cumulative dose maximum of 450 mg/m2 due to the risk of causing irreversible cardiotoxicity. Even if a patient is responding to doxorubicin, therefore, their treatment is discontinued once this lifetime cumulative dose has been reached.

In contrast to doxorubicin, camsirubicin is selective for topoisomerase II-alpha. Doxorubicin is used to treat adult and pediatric solid and blood (hematologic) cancers, including soft tissue sarcomas, breast, gastric, ovarian and bladder cancers, leukemias and lymphomas. Despite clinical studies demonstrating the anti-cancer benefit of higher cumulative doses of doxorubicin, the clinical efficacy of doxorubicin has historically been limited by the risk of patients developing irreversible, potentially life-threatening cardiotoxicity. For example, several clinical studies completed in the 1990s demonstrated that concurrent doxorubicin (60 mg/m2, 8 cycles) and paclitaxel gave a 94% overall response rate in patients with metastatic breast cancer but led to 18% of these patients developing congestive heart failure. Reduction of doxorubicin to 4-6 cycles of treatment decreased the incidence of congestive heart failure, but also reduced response rates to 45-55%. In a clinical study looking at dose response, sarcoma patients on the high dose (75 mg/m2) doxorubicin had a response rate of 37% compared to just 18% in the low dose (45 mg/m2) doxorubicin group. With the cumulative dose restriction on doxorubicin, the median progression free survival for ASTS patients is approximately 6 months, with median overall survival of 12-15 months. There is a significant unmet opportunity to develop a replacement for doxorubicin that can be dosed higher and for longer to improve anti-tumor activity.

Camsirubicin has been engineered specifically to retain the anticancer activity of doxorubicin while minimizing its toxic effects on the heart. Similar to doxorubicin, the antitumor effects of camsirubicin are mediated through the stabilization of the topoisomerase II complex after a DNA strand break and DNA intercalation leading to tumor cell apoptosis (cell death). Inhibiting the topoisomerase II-alpha isoform is desired for the anti-cancer effect, while inhibiting the topoisomerase II-beta isoform has been demonstrated to mediate, at least in part, the cardiotoxicity associated with all anthracycline drugs currently used in the clinic. Camsirubicin is substantially more selective than doxorubicin for inhibiting topoisomerase II-alpha versus topoisomerase II-beta. This selectivity may partly explain the minimal cardiotoxicity that has been observed for camsirubicin in preclinical and clinical studies to date. We believe that these attributes provide a strong rationale for developing camsirubicin as a monotherapy as well as in combination with other anticancer agents, without potential restrictions on cumulative dose, and offer the opportunity to pursue a large market opportunity for camsirubicin in a broad spectrum of cancer types.

Camsirubicin Clinical Data

Two clinical studies of camsirubicin have been completed and one is currently ongoing.

In October 2013, a Phase 1 dose escalation study conducted at the University of Iowa completed enrollment of 24 patients who received one of eight different dose levels of camsirubicin ranging from 14 to 265 mg/m2. No evidence of irreversible cardiotoxicity was observed in any of these patients, including 4 patients who received prior anthracycline (doxorubicin or related molecules) treatment. Stable disease was observed in 55.0% of patients in this Phase 1 study, including 3 out of 4 patients with leiomyosarcoma, which is a type of soft tissue sarcoma that originates in connective tissue and smooth muscle most commonly in the uterus, stomach and small intestine. No growth factor support (G-CSF) was given to patients, and the limiting toxicity was neutropenia.

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In January 2015, a multi-center open label single arm Phase 2 clinical trial was initiated in doxorubicin-naïve patients with ASTS. This Phase 2 clinical trial enrolled 22 patients and was completed in August 2016. Camsirubicin was administered intravenously at 265 mg/m2 every 3 weeks for up to 16 doses, with all patients being given growth factor support, and there was clear indication of anticancer activity at this well-tolerated dose and schedule. The majority of patients (52.6%) evaluable for tumor progression demonstrated clinical benefit (stable disease or partial response), which was proportional to dose and consistently observed at higher cumulative doses of camsirubicin (>1000 mg/m2). The progression-free survival at 6 months was 38%, higher than the 6-month PFS of doxorubicin in three of the more recent studies, which showed 23%, 25%, and 33% 6-month PFS for doxorubicin. Camsirubicin was very well tolerated in this study and underscored the potential ability to administer camsirubicin without restriction for cumulative dose in patients with ASTS. Under compassionate use access, one patient received 20 cycles of camsirubicin (cumulative dose 5,300 mg/m2). Apart from one patient who developed febrile neutropenia and severe leukopenia, there were no grade 4 toxicities reported and no grade 3 side effects other than anemia. A transient decrease in left ventricular ejection fraction (“LVEF”) was observed in four patients treated with camsirubicin. These decreases in LVEF in camsirubicin treated patients were not serious adverse events and were transient, with LVEF subsequently returning to normal levels in all four subjects. Despite some subjects in this study receiving camsirubicin for up to 20 cycles, effects on cardiac function were of no clinical significance and there was no evidence of irreversible heart failure in any subject.

Based on the previous clinical results, in September 2021, we commenced an open-label, Phase 1b dose escalation trial of camsirubicin plus growth factor support (pegfilgrastim/G-CSF) in the U.S. as first-line treatment for patients with ASTS. The aim is to administer camsirubicin without restricting cumulative dose, thereby potentially improving efficacy by keeping patients who are responding on treatment. These are patients who are not candidates for surgery or radiation treatment, and are largely made up of patients with metastatic disease. Doxorubicin is the current standard of care in the first-line setting for these patients. Although this Phase 1b is designed to determine the maximum tolerated dose of camsirubicin, given the historical dose-dependent anti-tumor response repeatedly demonstrated with doxorubicin, efficacy measurements are being tracked in these patients as the dose is increased. We are presently enrolling patients at the fifth dose level. The fifth dose level is over twice the highest dose reached in any prior camsirubicin clinical trial (650 mg/m2 versus 265 mg/m2).

MNPR-202 and Related Analogs

In June 2021, we entered into a collaboration agreement with the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore (“CSI Singapore”), one of Asia’s premier cancer research centers, at the National University of Singapore (“NUS”) (consistently ranked as one of the world’s top universities) to evaluate the activity of MNPR-202 and related analogs in multiple types of cancer. MNPR-202 was designed to retain the same potentially non-cardiotoxic backbone as camsirubicin but is modified at other positions which may enable it to work in certain cancers that are resistant to camsirubicin and doxorubicin. In December 2020, we announced the issuance of our composition of matter U.S. patent (US10,450,340) covering MNPR-202 and related analogs. CSI Singapore has tested MNPR-202 in preclinical cancer models with promising results.

License,Development and Collaboration Agreements

XOMA Ltd.

To humanize our MNPR-101 antibody, we have taken a non-exclusive license to XOMA (US) LLC’s humanization technology and know-how. Humanization involves replacing most of the non-critical parts of the mouse sequence of an antibody with the human sequence to minimize the ability of the human immune system to recognize this antibody as foreign. As such, MNPR-101 has been engineered to be 95% human sequence using the XOMA technology. Under the terms of the non-exclusive license with XOMA Ltd., we are to pay only upon clinical, regulatory and sales milestones which could reach up to $14.925 million if we achieve all milestones. The agreement does not require the payment of sales royalties. There can be no assurance that we will reach any milestones. As of March 8, 2024, we had not reached any milestones and had not been required to pay XOMA Ltd. any funds under this license agreement. The first milestone payment is payable upon first dosing of a human patient in a Phase 2 clinical trial.

Onxeo S.A.

In June 2016, we executed an agreement with Onxeo S.A., a French public company, which gave us the exclusive option to license (on a world-wide exclusive basis) Validive (clonidine hydrocholoride mucobuccal tablet; clonidine HCI MBT) a mucoadhesive tablet of clonidine based on the Lauriad mucoadhesive technology. The agreement included clinical, regulatory, developmental and sales milestones and escalating royalties on net sales. In September 2017, we exercised the option to license Validive from Onxeo for $1 million. On March 27, 2023, we discontinued our Validive Phase 2b/3 VOICE trial based upon our Data Safety Monitoring Board’s determination that the trial did not meet the pre-defined threshold for efficacy of a 15% absolute difference in severe oral mucositis prevention between Validive and placebo. We have not incurred any license or royalty obligations and the license has been terminated effective January 2024.

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Intellectual Property Portfolio and Exclusivity

An important part of our strategy is obtaining patent protection to help preserve the proprietary nature of our product candidates, and to prevent others from developing competitive agents that are similar. Our patent portfolio includes issued patents and pending patent applications in the U.S. and in foreign countries. Our general practice is to seek patent protection in major markets worldwide.

MNPR-101

Our patent portfolio for our MNPR-101 antibody (huATN-658), as well as its epitope, consists of two issued U.S. composition of matter and their methods of use patents and corresponding (granted and pending) patents and patent applications in multiple foreign jurisdictions, including the European Union, Japan, and other Asian countries. These patents are owned by us. The patents covering the composition of matter of MNPR-101 will expire in 2025 and the patents covering the MNPR-101 epitope will expire in 2027. Being a novel biologic, it is eligible for 12 years of exclusivity in the U.S. under the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (“BPCI Act”), and it will benefit from varying durations of similar exclusivity in numerous other countries. The Radio-Immuno-Therapeutic derivative of MNPR-101 ("uPRIT") patent, if granted expires in 2041.

Patent life determination depends on the date of filing of the application and other factors as promulgated under the patent laws. In most countries, including the U.S., the patent term is generally 20 years from the earliest claimed filing date (the priority date) of a non-provisional patent application in the applicable country, not taking into consideration any potential patent term adjustment that may be filed in the future or any regulatory extensions that may be obtained. Some of our patents are currently near expiration and we may pursue patent term extensions for these where appropriate or to let patents lapse. See “Risk Factors – Risks Related to our Intellectual Property”.

MNPR-101 for Radiopharmaceutical Use

In collaboration with NorthStar, we filed a provisional patent application entitled “Precision Radioimmunotherapeutic Targeting of the Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor (uPAR) for Treatment of Severe COVID-19 Disease” with the USPTO on June 15, 2020. A full international application (International Application Number PCT/US2021/037416) that claims priority to the provisional filing date was filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (“PCT”) on June 15, 2021. This application covers novel compositions and uses of cytotoxic radioisotopes attached to antibodies that bind to uPAR, thereby creating precision targeted radiotherapeutics, also known as uPRITs, for the treatment of severe COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases.

In May 2021, we and NorthStar filed a provisional patent application with the USPTO titled “Bio-Targeted Radiopharmaceutical Compositions Containing Ac-225 and Methods of Preparation.” Radiopharmaceutical therapy is a promising approach to treat cancer and other diseases using radioactive isotopes bound with proteins/antibodies to target and kill cells. If validated through further evaluation, it could potentially improve efficacy and safety and enhance manufacturing efficiency of actinium-based radiopharmaceuticals, the full potential of which are presently constrained by the price and scarcity of Ac-225.

Also in May 2021, we and NorthStar filed a provisional composition of matter patent application titled “Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor-Targeted Radiopharmaceutical” covering a radiotherapeutic consisting of our proprietary antibody MNPR-101 bound to Ac-225 via the isotope binding agent PCTA. This RIT demonstrated 98% radiochemical purity and high stability and has the potential to be a highly selective, potent treatment for a variety of cancers, severe COVID-19, and other diseases characterized by aberrant uPAR expression.

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Camsirubicin

Camsirubicin (GPX-150) is covered by manufacturing process patents. We have a patent for chemical synthesis technology that efficiently converts cardiotoxic “13-keto” anthracyclines such as doxorubicin, daunorubicin, epirubicin, and idarubicin into novel, patentable, and potentially less-cardiotoxic “5-imino-13-deoxy” analogs. A novel chemical composition of an intermediate for this synthesis is also patented. In addition, we have a patent covering the combination of camsirubicin with paclitaxel for the treatment of cancer, plus covering the method of use of these two drugs for this purpose. Our camsirubicin patent portfolio contains eight issued U.S. patents (two of which have expired) and one U.S. pending patent application. We have certain corresponding patents and applications in twenty-nine foreign jurisdictions, including the U.S., EU, Japan, and other Asian countries. The process patents for the synthesis of camsirubicin intermediates will expire in 2024 and the patents covering the combination use of camsirubicin and its analogs with taxanes will expire in 2026. The patent covering novel, potentially more potent analogs of camsirubicin expires in 2038. We may pursue patent term extensions where appropriate or let patents lapse. We have obtained patent protection around the intermediates and process used to manufacture camsirubicin and we expect to obtain Hatch-Waxman exclusivity (applicable to new chemical entities) for 5 years that will prevent generic competition. We have also obtained U.S. and EU orphan drug status in soft tissue sarcoma.

MNPR-202

In December 2020, we announced the issuance of a U.S. patent (US 10,450,340) covering compositions of matter (2-pyrrilino camsirubicin) for a novel family of camsirubicin analogs. This patent, which expands the Company’s camsirubicin intellectual property portfolio, is expected to expire in 2038 not including any patent term extensions. The patent broadens our camsirubicin portfolio and creates a pipeline that has been designed to retain the potentially favorable non-cardiotoxic chemical backbone of camsirubicin and the potent broad-spectrum antitumor activity of doxorubicin. Further, preclinical evidence suggests that this new family of 2-pyrrilino camsirubicin analogs could be active in doxorubicin-resistant tumor cells which may enable use in cancer types beyond those possible with camsirubicin.

Manufacturing

We do not currently own or operate manufacturing facilities for the production or testing of MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program, camsirubicin, or MNPR-202, nor do we have plans to develop our own manufacturing operations in the foreseeable future. We presently depend on third-party contract manufacturers for all our required raw materials, Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (“API”), and finished drug products for our preclinical and clinical studies. We are having clinical batches of MNPR-101-Zr manufactured in preparation for treating patients in our Phase 1 radiopharma program in advanced cancers. Also, we have completed manufacturing of the clinical batches of drug product for camsirubicin which are being used in our ongoing Phase 1b dose-escalation camsirubicin clinical trial.

Oncology Market Competition

The pharmaceutical industry in general, and the oncology therapeutics sector in particular, are characterized by intense competition. We face competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, many of which are larger and better financed than us. We also face competition in our efforts to develop and commercialize new oncology therapeutics from academic and government laboratories. The therapeutics that we are developing, if successfully commercialized, will have to compete with existing therapeutics already on the market and novel therapeutics currently in development, as well as new therapeutics that may be discovered and developed in the future. Our product candidates will also have to compete with alternate treatment modalities, such as improvements in radiation treatments, which are also subject to continual innovation and improvement. Additional information can be found in the section entitled “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Industry.”

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MNPR-101 Radiopharmaceutical Program Competition

Our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program, including MNPR-101-Zr and MNPR-101 conjugated to therapeutic radioisotopes, is susceptible to all of the competitive factors listed in the first paragraph of this section on Oncology Market Competition. In addition to the current standard of care for patients with advanced cancers, we consider our most direct competitors to be companies that are developing targeted radiopharmaceuticals for the treatment of cancer. There are several companies that are developing radiopharmaceuticals for cancers including, but not limited to: Bayer AG, Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, Novartis AG, Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Johnson & Johnson, Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited, Lantheus Holdings, Inc. and Genentech, as well as several early-stage companies that are developing a wide range of targeted radiopharmaceuticals for advanced cancers. For the uPAR-targeted radiopharmaceuticals, CuraSight, a Danish biotech company, is currently developing a non-antibody-based uPAR radiodiagnostic and radiotherapeutic pair which binds to a different epitope on uPAR as compared to MNPR-101.

Camsirubicin Competition

We believe our camsirubicin program, if approved, could replace doxorubicin as the first-line treatment for ASTS. In addition, we believe that camsirubicin would compete with a number of currently available anthracycline-based drugs on the market for other cancer indications. These are largely derivatives of doxorubicin, or reformulations of doxorubicin such as liposomal doxorubicin (e.g., Doxil, sold by Johnson & Johnson). All of these have the issue of cardiotoxicity. In addition to approved products, there are a number of product candidates in development, largely as new formulations or derivatives of doxorubicin.

MNPR-202 Competition

Our MNPR-202 program is in the early stages of development and as such is the most susceptible to all of the competitive factors listed in the first paragraph of this section on Oncology Market Competition.

Government Regulation and Product Approval

Government authorities in the U.S., at the federal, state and local level, and in other countries such as Australia, extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, quality control, approval, labeling, packaging, storage, record-keeping, promotion, advertising, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, marketing and export and import of products such as those we are developing. The pharmaceutical product candidates that we develop must be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") and the Therapeutics Goods Administration ("TGA") before they may be legally marketed in the U.S. and Australia, respectively. See “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Clinical Development and Regulatory Approval”.

Regulatory Framework in Australia

The Therapeutic Goods Administration, through the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 and the Therapeutic Goods Regulations, is responsible for the efficacy, quality, safety and timely availability of drugs and medical devices in Australia. The mission statement of the TGA is “To ensure the safety, quality and efficacy of therapeutic goods available in Australia at a standard equal to that of comparable countries, and that premarket assessment of therapeutic goods is conducted within a reasonable time." The TGA administers two pathways for clinical trials, the Clinical Trials Notification ("CTN") and Clinical Trials Approval ("CTA") schemes. These provide an avenue through which 'unapproved' therapeutic goods may be lawfully supplied for use solely for experimental purposes in humans. The choice of which route to use (CTN or CTA) lies firstly with the Australian clinical trial sponsor and then with the Human Research Ethics Committee ("HREC") that approves the protocol.

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Clinical trials of medicines and biologicals typically proceed through 'phases' of development, which generally follow: Phase 1 (human pharmacology), Phase 2 (therapeutic exploratory), and Phase 3 (therapeutic confirmatory). Phase 4 may be conducted for post-marketing surveillance or resolution of treatment uncertainties. Clinical development pathways are becoming less rigid with respect to phase and seamless adaptive trial designs and other cross-phase studies exist. Under the CTN and CTA schemes the use of therapeutic goods in the trial must be in accordance with the Guideline for Good Clinical Practice, the National Statement and the protocol approved by the HREC responsible for monitoring the conduct of the trial. The trial sponsor must also comply with the requirements of any other Commonwealth and/or state and territory legislation in relation to clinical trials and the supply of therapeutic goods.

A company or organization wishing to supply a therapeutic good in Australia must apply for market authorization from the TGA. The TGA assesses the application, and if market authorization is granted, the therapeutic good is entered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods ("ARTG"). The TGA uses three pathways to evaluate a prescription medicine: the standard pathway, the priority review pathway and the provisional approval pathway. The TGA is required by statute to complete its evaluation for approval of a medicine in the standard pathway within 255 working days. The priority review pathway has a target timeframe of 150 working days and allows for faster assessment of vital and life-saving prescription medicines. Sponsors of promising new prescription medicines (with only preliminary clinical data available) can seek fast-tracked registration through the provisional approval pathway. All pathways require evidence that medicines are made according to Good Manufacturing Practice ("GMP"). GMP describes principles and procedures to ensure therapeutic goods are of high quality. The TGA inspects Australian (and some overseas) manufacturers to ensure compliance with GMP standards.

The evaluation and approval process of a new medicine in Australia generally follows:

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Therapeutic goods generally need to be entered on the ARTG before they can be sold in Australia. However, there are a number of ways that patients can gain access to products that have not been approved for use in Australia:

U.S. Pharmaceutical Product Development Process

In the U.S., the FDA regulates pharmaceutical products under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) and implementing regulations. Pharmaceutical products are also subject to other federal, state and local statutes and regulations. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or after approval, may subject an applicant to administrative or judicial enforcement. FDA enforcement could result in refusal to approve pending applications, withdrawal of an approval, a clinical hold, warning letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement or civil or criminal penalties. Any agency or judicial enforcement action could have a material adverse effect on us. The process required by the FDA before a non-biological pharmaceutical product may be marketed in the U.S. generally involves the following:

● FDA review and approval of the NDA; and

● Fulfillment of FDA post-marketing requirements, if any.

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The lengthy process of seeking required approvals and the continuing need for compliance with applicable statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial resources, and approvals are inherently uncertain.

Before testing any compounds with potential therapeutic value in humans, the pharmaceutical product candidate enters the preclinical testing stage. Preclinical tests include laboratory evaluations of product chemistry, toxicity and formulation, as well as in-vitro and animal studies to assess the potential safety and activity of the pharmaceutical product candidate. These early proof-of-principle studies are done using sound scientific procedures and thorough documentation. The conduct of single and repeat dose toxicology and toxicokinetic studies in animals must comply with federal regulations and requirements including GLP. The sponsor must submit the results of the preclinical tests, together with manufacturing information, analytical data, any available clinical data or literature and a proposed clinical protocol, to the FDA as part of the IND. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA has concerns and notifies the sponsor. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical study can begin. If resolution cannot be reached within the 30-day review period, either the FDA places the IND on clinical hold, or the sponsor withdraws the application. The FDA may also impose clinical holds on a pharmaceutical product candidate at any time before or during clinical studies due to safety concerns or non-compliance. Accordingly, it is not certain that submission of an IND will result in the FDA allowing clinical studies to begin, or that, once begun, issues will not arise that suspend or terminate such clinical studies.

During the development of a new drug, sponsors are given opportunities to meet with the FDA at certain points. These points may be prior to submission of an IND, at the end of Phase 2, and before an NDA or BLA is submitted. Meetings at other times may be requested. These meetings can provide an opportunity for the sponsor to share information about the data gathered to date, for the sponsor to ask specific questions to the FDA, for the FDA to provide advice, and for the sponsor and FDA to reach agreement on the next phase of development. Sponsors typically use the end of Phase 2 meeting to discuss their Phase 2 clinical results and present their plans for the pivotal Phase 3 clinical (registration) trial(s) that they believe will support approval of the new drug. A sponsor may be able to request a Special Protocol Assessment (“SPA”), the purpose of which is to reach agreement with the FDA on the Phase 3 clinical trial protocol design and analyses that will form the primary basis of an efficacy claim.

According to FDA guidance for industry on the SPA process, a sponsor which meets the prerequisites may make a specific request for a SPA and provide information regarding the design and size of the proposed clinical trial. The FDA’s goal is to evaluate the protocol within 45 days of the request to assess whether the proposed trial is adequate, and that evaluation may result in discussions and a request for additional information. A SPA request must be made before the proposed trial begins, and all open issues must be resolved before the trial begins. If a written agreement is reached, it will be documented and made part of the IND record. The agreement will be binding on the FDA and may not be changed by the sponsor or the FDA after the trial begins except with the written agreement of the sponsor and the FDA or if the FDA determines that a substantial scientific issue essential to determining the safety or efficacy of the drug was identified after the testing began.

Clinical studies involve the administration of the pharmaceutical product candidate to healthy volunteers or patients under the supervision of qualified investigators, generally physicians not employed by or under the clinical study sponsor’s control. Clinical studies are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the clinical study, dosing procedures, subject selection and exclusion criteria, how the results will be analyzed and presented and the parameters to be used to monitor subject safety. Each protocol must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. Clinical studies must be conducted in accordance with Good Clinical Practice (“GCP”) guidelines. Further, each clinical study must be reviewed and approved by an independent institutional review board (“IRB”), at, or servicing, each institution at which the clinical study will be conducted. An IRB is charged with protecting the welfare and rights of study participants and is tasked with considering such items as whether the risks to individuals participating in the clinical studies are minimized and are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits. The IRB also approves the informed consent form that must be provided to each clinical study subject or his or her legal representative and must monitor the clinical study until completed.

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Human clinical studies are typically conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap or be combined:

Concurrent with clinical studies, companies usually complete additional animal studies and must also develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the pharmaceutical product as well as finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the pharmaceutical product candidate and, among other things, must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality and purity of the final pharmaceutical product. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested, and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the pharmaceutical product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.

U.S. Review and Approval Processes

The results of product development, preclinical studies and clinical studies, along with descriptions of the manufacturing process, analytical tests conducted on the chemistry of the pharmaceutical product, proposed labeling and other relevant information are submitted to the FDA as part of an NDA or BLA requesting approval to market the product. The submission of an NDA or BLA is subject to the payment of substantial user fees; a waiver of such fees may be obtained under certain limited circumstances.

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In addition, under the Pediatric Research Equity Act (“PREA”), an NDA, BLA or a supplement thereof must contain data to assess the safety and effectiveness of the pharmaceutical product for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations and to support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the product is safe and effective. The FDA may grant deferrals for submission of data or full or partial waivers. Unless otherwise required by regulation, PREA does not apply to any pharmaceutical product for an indication for which orphan designation has been granted.

The FDA reviews all NDAs and BLAs submitted before it accepts them for filing and may request additional information rather than accepting an NDA or BLA for filing. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth review of the NDA or BLA. Under the goals and policies agreed to by the FDA under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (“PDUFA”), the FDA has 10 months in which to complete its initial review of a standard NDA or BLA and respond to the applicant, and six months for a priority NDA or BLA. The FDA does not always meet its PDUFA goal dates for standard and priority NDAs or BLAs. The review process and the PDUFA goal date may be extended by three months if the FDA requests or if the NDA or BLA sponsor otherwise provides additional information or clarification regarding information already provided in the submission within the last three months before the PDUFA goal date.

After the NDA or BLA submission is accepted for filing, the FDA reviews the NDA or BLA application to determine, among other things, whether the proposed product is safe and effective for its intended use, and whether the product is being manufactured in accordance with cGMP to assure and preserve the product’s identity, strength, quality and purity. The FDA may refer applications for novel pharmaceutical products or pharmaceutical products which present difficult questions of safety or efficacy to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts, for review, evaluation and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions. During the pharmaceutical product approval process, the FDA also will determine whether a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy (“REMS”), is necessary to assure the safe use of the pharmaceutical product. If the FDA concludes that a REMS is needed, the sponsor of the NDA or BLA must submit a proposed REMS; the FDA will not approve the NDA or BLA without a REMS, if required.

Before approving an NDA or BLA, the FDA will inspect the facilities at which the product is manufactured. The FDA will not approve the product unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. Additionally, before approving an NDA or BLA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites as well as the site where the pharmaceutical product is manufactured to assure compliance with GCP and cGMP. If the FDA determines the application, manufacturing process or manufacturing facilities are not acceptable, it will outline the deficiencies in the submission and often will request additional testing or information. In addition, the FDA will require the review and approval of product labeling.

The NDA and BLA review and approval process is lengthy and difficult and the FDA may refuse to approve an NDA or BLA if the applicable regulatory criteria are not satisfied or may require additional clinical data or other data and information. Even if such data and information are submitted, the FDA may ultimately decide that the NDA or BLA does not satisfy the criteria for approval. Data obtained from clinical studies are not always conclusive and the FDA may interpret data differently than the sponsor interprets the same data. The FDA will issue a complete response letter if the agency decides not to approve the NDA or BLA. The complete response letter usually describes all of the specific deficiencies in the NDA or BLA identified by the FDA. The deficiencies identified may be minor, for example, requiring labeling changes, or major, for example, requiring additional clinical studies. Additionally, the complete response letter may include recommended actions that the applicant might take to place the application in a condition for approval. If a complete response letter is issued, the applicant may either resubmit the NDA or BLA, addressing all of the deficiencies identified in the letter, or withdraw the application.

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If a product receives regulatory approval, the approval may be significantly limited to specific diseases and dosages or the indications for use may otherwise be limited, which could restrict the commercial value of the product. Further, the FDA may require that certain contraindications, warnings or precautions be included in the product labeling. In addition, the FDA may require Phase 4 testing which involves clinical studies designed to further assess pharmaceutical product safety and effectiveness and may require testing and surveillance programs to monitor the safety of approved products that have been commercialized.

Other International Regulation

In addition to regulations in the U.S. and Australia, there are a variety of foreign regulations governing clinical studies and commercial sales and distribution of our future product candidates. Whether or not FDA or HREC approval is obtained for a product, approval of a product must be obtained by the comparable regulatory authorities of foreign countries before clinical studies or marketing of the product can commence in those countries. The approval process varies from country to country, and the time may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA or HREC approval. The requirements governing the conduct of clinical studies, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary greatly from country to country. In addition, certain regulatory authorities in select countries may require us to repeat previously conducted preclinical and/or clinical studies under specific criteria for approval in their respective country which may delay and/or greatly increase the cost of approval in certain markets targeted for approval by us.

Under E.U. regulatory systems, marketing applications for pharmaceutical products are typically submitted under a centralized procedure to the EMA. The centralized procedure provides for the granting of a single marketing authorization that is valid for all E.U. member states. The EMA also has designations for Orphan Drugs, which, if applicable, can provide for faster review, lower fees and more access to advice during drug development. While the marketing authorization in the European Union is centralized, the system for clinical studies (application, review and requirements) is handled by each individual country. Approval to run a clinical study in one country does not guarantee approval in any other country. The pharmaceutical industry in Canada is regulated by Health Canada. A New Drug Submission (“NDS”) is the equivalent of a U.S. NDA and must be filed to obtain approval to market a pharmaceutical product in Canada. Marketing regulations and reimbursement are subject to national and provincial laws. In Japan, applications for approval to manufacture and market new drugs must be approved by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Nonclinical and clinical studies must meet the requirements of Japanese laws. Results from clinical studies conducted outside of Japan must be supplemented with at least a bridging clinical study conducted in Japanese patients.

In addition to regulations in Europe, Canada, Japan, Australia and the U.S., there are a variety of foreign regulations governing clinical studies, commercial distribution and reimbursement of future product candidates which we may be subject to as we pursue regulatory approval of the MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program, camsirubicin, or any future product candidates internationally.

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Compliance with Environmental Laws

Since we do not have our own laboratory or manufacturing facilities, we do not estimate any annual costs of compliance with environmental laws.

Employees

Our operations are currently managed by five individuals (including our executive chairman and our Acting Chief Medical Officer), of whom two have a PhD, two have an MD, two have an MBA, one has an MSc in health economics and policy, one has an MS from Stanford University, and one is a former CPA. They have worked at industry leading companies such as BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., Raptor Pharmaceuticals, and Onyx Pharmaceuticals. As of March 8, 2024, we had ten employees; nine of whom were full-time. We anticipate hiring additional employees in clinical operations, regulatory affairs and other departments, to help manage our clinical studies, regulatory submissions, and manufacturing to support the MNPR-101 program and camsirubicin development, business development and corporate strategy. In addition, to complement our internal expertise, we have contracts with medical and scientific consultants, manufacturers, laboratories, and contract research organizations that specialize in various aspects of drug development including clinical development, preclinical development, manufacturing, quality assurance, and regulatory affairs.

Corporate Information

We were formed as a Delaware limited liability company in December 2014, with the name Monopar Therapeutics, LLC. In December 2015, we converted to a Delaware C corporation. Our principal executive offices are located at 1000 Skokie Blvd, Suite 350, Wilmette, IL 60091. Our telephone number is (847) 388-0349. Our corporate website is located at www.monopartx.com. Any information contained in, or that can be accessed through our website, is not incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Trademark Notice

All trademarks, service marks and trade names in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are the property of their respective owners. We have omitted the ® and TM designations, as applicable, for the trademarks used herein.

Available Information

Our corporate website is located at www.monopartx.com. The reference to these website addresses does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained on the websites and should not be considered part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

We intend to satisfy any disclosure requirement under Item 5.05 of Form 8-K regarding an amendment to, or waiver from, a provision of our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics by posting such information on our website as specified above.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. A prospective investor should carefully consider the following information about these risks, together with other information appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, before deciding to invest in our common stock. The occurrence of any of the following risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and future prospects and prospective investors could lose all or part of their investment. The risk factors discussed below and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are not exhaustive; other significant risks may exist that are not identified in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, but that might still materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations were any of such risks to occur.

Risks Related to Our Financial Condition and Capital Requirements

We have a limited operating history, expect to incur significant operating losses, and have a high risk of never being profitable.

We commenced operations in December 2014 and have an operating history of approximately nine years. Therefore, there is limited historical financial or operational information upon which to evaluate our performance. Our prospects must be considered in light of the uncertainties, risks, expenses, and difficulties frequently encountered by companies in their early clinical stages of operations. Many, if not most, companies in our industry at our stage of development never become profitable and are acquired, merge, sell major product assets or go out of business before successfully developing any product that generates revenue from commercial sales and enables profitability.

From inception in December 2014 through December 31, 2023, we have incurred losses of approximately $60.2 million, which includes $13.5 million of non-cash in-process research and development, which was incurred in connection with our 2017 acquisition of camsirubicin. We expect to continue to incur substantial operating losses over the next several years for the clinical development of our current and future licensed or purchased product candidates and will continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future. We expect that our R&D and G&A expenses will increase to enable the execution of our strategic plan. As a result, we anticipate that we will seek to raise additional capital within the next 12 months to fund our future operations. We will seek to obtain needed capital through a combination of equity offerings, including at-the-market sales programs, debt financings, strategic collaborations and grant funding. To date, we have funded our operations through net proceeds from the initial public offering of our common stock, net proceeds from sales of our common stock through at-the-market sales programs, private placements of our preferred and common stock, and the net receipt of funds related to our acquisition of camsirubicin and related assets.

The amount of future losses and when, if ever, we will become profitable are uncertain. We do not have any products that have generated revenues from commercial sales, and do not expect to generate revenues from the commercial sale of products in the near future, if ever. Our ability to generate revenue and achieve profitability will depend on, among other things, successful completion of the development of our product candidates; obtaining necessary regulatory approvals from the FDA and international regulatory agencies; establishing manufacturing/quality, sales, and marketing and distribution arrangements with third parties; obtaining adequate reimbursement by third-party payers; and raising sufficient funds to finance our activities. If we are unsuccessful at some or all of these undertakings, our business, financial condition, and results of operations are expected to be materially and adversely affected.

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We will need to raise substantial additional funding or find one or more suitable pharmaceutical partners to continue to advance our clinical programs and support our preclinical activities.

In order to be commercially viable, we must successfully research, develop, test, obtain regulatory approval for, manufacture, introduce, market and distribute some or all MNPR-101-Zr, MNPR-101 RIT, camsirubicin, and MNPR-202, and, if applicable, any other product candidates we may develop. The estimated required capital and time-frames necessary to achieve these developmental milestones as described in this Annual Report on Form 10-K or as we may state from time to time are subject to inherent risks, which are beyond our control. Clinical development of MNPR-101-Zr, MNPR-101 RIT, camsirubicin and MNPR-202 will require significant funds. Proceeds to-date from the sales of our common stock we believe could be sufficient for us to complete our planned Phase 1 dosimetry trial of MNPR-101-Zr, continued development of MNPR-101-RIT and the ongoing open-label Phase 1b camsirubicin clinical trial, but will not be sufficient for us to support additional clinical development of MNPR-101 for radiopharmaceutical use in advanced cancers and camsirubicin clinical development beyond Phase 1b. To complete the MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical and camsirubicin clinical programs we will need to raise additional funding in the tens of millions of dollars. Therefore, we will need to raise significant additional funds or find a suitable pharmaceutical partner within the next 12 months to support our current and any future product candidates through completion of clinical trials, approval processes and, if applicable, commercialization. If we are able to raise financing, it may be on terms that are unfavorable to us and if we are unable to raise sufficient funds or find a suitable pharmaceutical partner, we may have to discontinue or delay clinical development of our current or future product candidates.

The Russia-Ukraine war and/or the Israel-Hamas war will likely have continuing global effects on fuel costs and shipping and broader impacts on economic, trade and financial market conditions, which could delay the shipping of supplies for our clinical material manufacturing, potentially resulting in increased manufacturing expenses, delays to our clinical programs and adverse effects on ourfinancing activities and financial condition.

The Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war are volatile situations, resulting in financial services and banking instability in the respective regions. The U.S. and other countries’ sanctions against Russia and Russian entities, together with existing inflationary conditions and supply chain challenges arising in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, are affecting fuel costs and shipping, resulting in higher costs and delays for various types of supplies. These cost increases and delays may affect our clinical material manufacturing which will likely have an adverse effect on our financial condition. In addition, at this stage, we are unable to predict whether the wars and resulting instability will have broader adverse impacts to European, U.S. or global economic, trade and financial market conditions, which could adversely affect our operations and financial condition in a variety of ways. In particular, financial market instability or volatility may make it more difficult to raise required financing.

If we continue to incur operating losses and fail to obtain the capital necessary to fund our operations, we will be unable to advance our development programs, complete our clinical trials, or bring products to market, or may be forced to reduce or cease operations entirely. In addition, any capital obtained by us may be obtained on terms that are unfavorable to us, our investors, or both.

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While we believe adequate cash is currently available to operate at least through June 30, 2025, developing a new drug and conducting clinical trials and the regulatory review processes for one or more disease indications involves substantial costs. We have projected cash requirements for the near term based on a variety of assumptions, but some or all of such assumptions are likely to be incorrect and/or incomplete, possibly materially in an adverse direction. Our actual cash needs may deviate materially from those projections, changes in market conditions or other factors may increase our cash requirements, or we may not be successful even in raising the amount of cash we currently project will be required for the near term. We will need to raise additional capital in the future; the amount of additional capital needed will vary as a result of a number of factors, including without limitation the following:

● receiving less funding than we require;

● higher than expected costs for preclinical testing;

When we attempt to raise additional financing, there can be no assurance that we will be able to secure such additional financing in sufficient quantities or at all. We may be unable to raise additional capital for reasons including, without limitation, our operational and/or financial performance, investor confidence in us and the biopharmaceutical industry, credit availability from banks and other financial institutions, the status of current projects, and our prospects for obtaining any necessary regulatory approvals. General economic and financial market conditions, which have recently been impacted by inflation, bank instability and other factors, can also adversely impact our ability to raise additional financing. Potential investors’ capital investments may have shifted to other opportunities with perceived greater returns and/or lower risk, thereby reducing capital available to us, if available at all.

In addition, any additional financing might not be available, and even if available, may not be available on terms acceptable to us or our then-existing investors. We will seek to raise funds through public or private equity offerings, including at-the-market sales programs, debt financings, corporate collaboration or licensing arrangements, mergers, acquisitions, sales of intellectual property, or other financing vehicles or arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities or other securities, our then-existing investors will experience dilution. If we raise funds through debt financings or bank loans, we may become subject to restrictive covenants, our assets may be pledged as collateral for the debt, and the interests of our then-existing investors would be subordinated to the debt holders or banks. In addition, our use of and ability to exploit assets pledged as collateral for debt or loans may be restricted or forfeited. To the extent that we raise additional funds through collaboration or licensing arrangements, we may be required to relinquish significant rights (including without limitation intellectual property rights) to our technologies or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. If we are not able to raise needed funding under acceptable terms or at all, then we will have to reduce expenses, including the possible options of curtailing operations, abandoning opportunities, licensing or selling off assets, reducing costs to a point where clinical development or other progress is impaired, or ceasing operations entirely.

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Market variables, such as inflation of product costs, labor rates and fuel, freight and energy costs, as well as geopolitical events could likely cause us to suffer significant increases in our operating and administrative expenses.

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war and other geopolitical factors, economic conditions have become strained, with inflation and supply chain challenges impacting businesses worldwide. These conditions affect fuel costs and shipping, resulting in higher costs and delays for various types of supplies. These cost increases and delays may affect our clinical material manufacturing which will likely have an adverse effect on our financial condition. In addition, the effects of responses to inflationary conditions, such as significantly increased interest rates, on the economy and market conditions are difficult to predict. If U.S. or global economic, trade and financial market conditions continue to be challenged or volatile, or we do not effectively manage our response to these conditions, our operations and financial condition could be adversely affected in a variety of ways.

Unstable market and economic conditions may have serious adverse consequences on our ability to raise funds, which may cause us to delay, restructure or cease our operations.

From time to time, global and domestic credit and financial markets have experienced extreme disruptions, including severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in unemployment rates, and uncertainty about economic stability. Recently, COVID-19, the Russia-Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas war have created volatility and uncertainty. Recent instability in the banking industry has added to the volatility and uncertainty. Our financing strategy will be adversely affected by any such economic downturn, volatile business environment and continued unpredictable and unstable market conditions. If the equity and credit markets deteriorate, it may make a debt or equity financing more difficult to complete, costlier, and more dilutive. Failure to secure any necessary financing in a timely manner and on favorable terms will have a material adverse effect on our business strategy and financial performance, and could require us to cease or delay our operations.

Our operations and financial results could be adversely impacted by resurgences of COVID-19 or any future pandemics, which may negatively impact our ability to manufacture our product candidates for our clinical trials, our ability to accrue and conduct our clinical trials, and may delay regulatory agency responses. Any such impact will negatively impact our financial condition and could require us to delay our clinical development programs.

If there is a resurgence of COVID-19 or any future pandemics arise, we may experience disruptions that could severely impact our business, preclinical studies and clinical trials, including:

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The extent to which the long-term effects of COVID-19 or any future pandemics further impact our business, including our preclinical studies and clinical trials, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments which remain highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence.

Risks Related to Clinical Development and Regulatory Approval

Radiopharmaceuticals are a relatively novel approach to cancer imaging and treatment, which may create significant and potentially unpredictable challenges for it.

Our future success depends on the successful development of our product candidates, including MNPR-101 for radiopharmaceutical use and any future radiopharmaceutical agent(s) that we may develop in-house, in-license or acquire, which are designed to image, identify or treat cancers by targeted delivery of radioisotopes to tumors. While radiation as a therapy for cancers has existed for decades, oncology treatment using systemic delivery of targeted radiopharmaceuticals in general is relatively new. Only a few therapies utilizing systemic delivery of radioisotopes have been approved globally, and only a limited number of clinical trials of products based on radioisotope therapies have been conducted. There are currently no approved therapies which use Ac-225, which we are exploring with MNPR-101. Global supply of Ac-225 is also currently limited and may not be capable of expanding sufficiently to provide the amounts required at commercial scale. As such, it is difficult to accurately predict the developmental challenges that the Company may incur for its product candidates as they proceed through product discovery or identification, preclinical studies and clinical trials, and, if approved, commercialization. In addition, there may be long-term effects from radiopharmaceutical treatment, including late radiation toxicity, with any of the Company's current or future product radiopharmaceutical candidates that it cannot predict at this time. It is difficult for us to predict the time and cost of the development of our product candidates. Any of these factors may prevent the Company from completing our preclinical and clinical trials that we may initiate, or from commercializing any product candidates we may develop on a timely or profitable basis, if at all. In addition, the success of the Company's current and future radiopharmaceutical programs will depend on several factors, including the following:

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The lengthy process of seeking required approvals and the continuing need for compliance with applicable statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial resources, and approvals are inherently uncertain. If any of our radiopharmaceutical program product candidates are approved, their commercial success will depend upon competitive products, public perception of radioisotopes and the degree of their market acceptance by physicians, patients, healthcare payors and others in the medical community.

Adverse events in clinical trials of our product candidates or in clinical trials of others developing radiopharmaceuticals or similar agents and the resulting negative publicity, as well as any other adverse events in the field of radiopharmaceuticals that may occur in the future, could result in a decrease in demand for our product candidates. Also, future success of our drug candidates, if approved will depend on gaining and maintaining acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and other members of the medical community as their being efficacious and cost-effective alternatives to competing products and treatments.

Due to the radioactive nature of MNPR-101-Zr and MNPR-101 therapeutic agents, as well as our future radiopharmaceutical candidates, once manufactured, our drug candidates will have time-limited stability, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties with fulfilment and logistics. If we or our manufacturers are unable to meet the challenges posed by the time-limitations inherent in the composition of our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program or any of our future drug candidates, it would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We expect our other radiopharmaceutical drug candidates to also have time-limited stability. As such, our drug candidates, including MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program, must be manufactured on an as-needed basis, and shipped almost immediately thereafter. Because our drug candidates, including our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program, cannot be “stockpiled” and stored for even a small number of days ahead of shipment, we or any third-party manufacturer must be able to manufacture our drug candidates on a rolling basis, and any kind of delays, even if seemingly insignificant, could result in an immediate and substantial impact on our ability to deliver the drug candidate to patients. Any significant delays in delivering drug candidates to patients could damage our reputation and result in deviations from our clinical trial protocols, which in turn could affect our ability to advance the preclinical and clinical development of our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program or our other current and future radiopharmaceutical candidates on a timely basis, or at all. We do not currently maintain a manufacturing facility, and therefore we currently rely on third-party manufacturers for the production of our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program in connection with our ongoing studies. We cannot be sure that such manufacturers will be able to meet our demand for our radiopharmaceutical programs on a timely basis.

In addition, once manufactured, our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program and future radiopharmaceutical drug candidates in the clinic must be quickly and safely transported to the applicable clinical trial site. As we scale our operations and enroll larger clinical trials, and prepare for potential commercialization, we will need to scale our shipping capabilities. Labor disputes, government restrictions, work stoppages, pandemics, derailments, damage or loss events, adverse weather conditions, and other events beyond our control could interrupt or delay transportation, which could result in the damage to our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program or any current or future drug candidate with similar shelf-life restrictions.

If we or our manufacturers are unable to meet the challenges posed by the time-limitations inherent in the composition of our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program or any of our current or future drug candidates, it would adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Perceptions of these challenges and risks in the market may adversely impact our stock price and our ability to successfully raise funding as we focus our preclinical and clinical efforts on our radiopharmaceutical program.

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We do not have and may never have any approved products on the market. Our business is highly dependent upon receiving approvals from various U.S., Australian, and international governmental agencies and will be severely harmed if we are not granted approval to manufacture and sell our product candidates.

In order for us to commercialize any treatment for cancer or any other disease indication, we must obtain regulatory approvals of such treatment for that indication. Satisfying regulatory requirements is an expensive process that takes many years and involves compliance with requirements covering research and development, testing, manufacturing, quality control, labeling and promotion of drugs for human use. To obtain necessary regulatory approvals, we must, among other requirements, complete clinical trials demonstrating that our products are safe and effective for a particular indication. There can be no assurance that our products will prove to be safe and effective, that our clinical trials will demonstrate the necessary safety and effectiveness of our product candidates, or that we will succeed in obtaining regulatory approval for any treatment we develop even if such safety and effectiveness are demonstrated.

Any delays or difficulties we encounter in our clinical trials may delay or preclude regulatory approval from the FDA, or from international regulatory organizations. Any delay or preclusion of regulatory approval would be expected to delay or preclude the commercialization of our products. Examples of delays or difficulties that we may encounter in our clinical trials include, without limitation. the following:

Any success we may achieve at a given stage of our clinical trials does not guarantee that we will achieve success at any subsequent stage, including without limitation final FDA or other regulatory organizations’ approval.

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We may encounter delays or rejections in the regulatory approval process because of additional government regulation resulting from future legislation or administrative action, or from changes in the policies of the FDA or other regulatory bodies during the period of product development, clinical trials, or regulatory review. Failure to comply with applicable regulatory requirements may result in criminal prosecution, civil penalties, recall or seizure of products, total or partial suspension of production, or an injunction preventing certain activity, as well as other regulatory action against our product candidates or us. As a company, we have no experience in successfully obtaining regulatory approval for a product and thus may be poorly equipped to gauge, and may prove unable to manage, risks relating to obtaining such approval.

Outside the U.S., our ability to market a product is contingent upon receiving clearances from appropriate non-U.S. regulatory authorities, including the HREC in Australia. Non-U.S. regulatory approval typically includes all of the risks associated with FDA clearance discussed above as well as geopolitical uncertainties and the additional uncertainties and potential prejudices faced by U.S. pharmaceutical companies conducting business abroad. In certain cases, governmental pricing restrictions and practices can make achieving even limited profitability very difficult.

Even if we complete the clinical trials we discussed with the FDA or TGA, there is no guarantee that at the time of submission the FDA or TGA will accept our new drug application (“NDA”) or biologics license application ("BLA") based on the trials discussed.

Any future decision by the FDA and TGA will be driven largely by the data generated from our currently ongoing or any future planned trials. However, the FDA and other regulatory organizations, including the TGA, will learn from their total experience in the review of multiple drugs in multiple indications and they will apply that knowledge of broad and diverse experience even if less than a perfect match with our product. If the FDA or TGA require additional clinical trials it will increase our costs, delay our potential path to commercialization and could materially affect our financial condition.

As a company, we have never completed a clinical trial and have limited experience in completing regulatory filings and any delays in regulatory filings could materially affect our financial condition.

While members of our team have conducted numerous clinical trials at previous companies, and have launched and marketed innovative pharmaceutical products in the U.S. and internationally, as a company, we have not yet completed any clinical trials of our product candidates, nor have we demonstrated the ability to obtain marketing approvals, manufacture product candidates at a commercial scale, or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for the successful commercialization of a product. Consequently, we have no historical basis as a company by which one can evaluate or predict reliably our future success or viability.

Additionally, while our team has experience at prior companies with regulatory filings, as a company, we have limited experience with regulatory filings with agencies such as the FDA, TGA, or EMA. Any delay in our regulatory filings for our product candidates, and any adverse development or perceived adverse development with respect to the applicable regulatory authority’s review of such filings, including, without limitation, the FDA’s issuance of a “refuse to file” letter or a request for additional information, could materially affect our financial condition.

We, or any future collaborators, may not be able to obtain and maintain orphan drug exclusivity for our product candidates in the U.S. and Europe.

Camsirubicin has been granted orphan drug designation for the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma in the U.S. and in the EU. We may seek additional orphan drug designations or regulatory incentives for our pipeline product candidates, for other indications or for future product candidates. There can be no assurances that we will be able to obtain such designations.

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Even if we obtain orphan drug designation for a product candidate, we may not be able to maintain orphan drug exclusivity for that drug. For example, in certain geographies, orphan drug designation may be removed if the prevalence of an indication increases beyond the patient number limit required to maintain designation. Generally, if a drug with an orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the drug is entitled to a period of marketing exclusivity, which precludes the EMA or the FDA from approving another marketing application for the same product in the same indication for that time period. Orphan drug exclusivity may be lost if the FDA or EMA determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantity at the specified quality of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition. Moreover, even after an orphan drug is approved, the FDA can subsequently approve a different drug for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the later drug is clinically superior in that it is shown to be safer, more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care compared to our product.

The FDA may reevaluate the Orphan Drug Act and its regulations and policies, and similarly the EMA may reevaluate its policies and regulations. We do not know if, when, or how the FDA or EMA may change their orphan drug regulations and policies in the future, and it is uncertain how any changes might affect our business. Depending on what changes the FDA and/or EMA may make to their orphan drug regulations and policies, our business could be adversely impacted.

If serious adverse or undesirable side effects are identified during the development of our product candidates, we may abandon or limit our development or commercialization of such product candidates.

If our product candidates are associated with undesirable side effects or have unexpected characteristics, we may need to abandon their development or limit development to certain 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.

If we elect to or are forced to suspend or terminate any clinical trial with one of our product candidates, the commercial prospects of such product candidate will be harmed, and our ability to generate revenue from such product candidate will be delayed or eliminated. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.

If we experience delays or difficulties in the enrollment of subjects to our clinical trials, our receipt of necessary regulatory approvals could be delayed or prevented, which could materially affect our financial condition.

Identifying, screening and enrolling patients to participate in clinical trials of our product candidates is critical to our success, and we may not be able to identify, recruit, enroll and dose a sufficient number of patients with the required or desired characteristics to complete our clinical trials in a timely manner. The timing of our clinical trials depends on our ability to recruit patients to participate as well as to subsequently dose these patients and complete required follow-up periods.

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In addition, we may experience enrollment delays related to increased or unforeseen regulatory, legal and logistical requirements and COVID-19-related or other future pandemic-related as well as issues related to currently ongoing or any future geopolitical risks at certain clinical trial sites. These delays could be caused by reviews by regulatory authorities and contractual discussions with individual clinical trial sites. Any delays in enrolling and/or dosing patients in our current clinical trials could result in increased costs, delays in advancing our product candidates, delays in testing the effectiveness of our product candidates or in termination of the clinical trials altogether.

Patient enrollment may be affected if our competitors have ongoing clinical trials with products for the same indications as our product candidates, and patients who would otherwise be eligible for our clinical trials instead enroll in our competitors’ clinical trials. Patient enrollment may also be affected by other factors, including:

● design of the clinical trial protocol;

● eligibility and exclusion criteria;

● time of year in which the trials are initiated or conducted;

● severity and prognosis of the diseases under investigation;

● ability to obtain and maintain subject consents;

● ability to enroll and treat patients in a timely manner;

● risk that enrolled subjects will drop out before completion of the trials;

● proximity and availability of clinical trial sites for prospective patients;

● ability to monitor subjects adequately during and after treatment;

● patient referral practices of physicians; and

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Our inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients for clinical trials would result in significant delays and could require us to abandon one or more clinical trials altogether. Enrollment delays in these clinical trials may result in increased development costs for our product candidates, which could materially affect our financial condition.

If we or our licensees, development collaborators, or suppliers are unable to manufacture our products in sufficient quantities or at defined quality specifications, or are unable to obtain regulatory approvals for the manufacturing facility, we may be unable to develop and/or meet demand for our products and lose time to market and potential revenues.

Completion of our clinical trials and commercialization of our product candidates require access to, or development of, facilities to manufacture a sufficient supply of our product candidates. We will utilize third parties to manufacture our MNPR-101 radiopharma program and camsirubicin. We currently have manufacturing arrangements for MNPR-101-Zr and camsirubicin for clinical use. We have not yet secured manufacturing agreements for MNPR-101-RIT or MNPR-202 for clinical use.

In the future we may become unable, for various reasons, to rely on our sources for the manufacture of our product candidates, either for clinical trials or, at some future date, for commercial distribution. We may not be successful in identifying additional or replacement third-party manufacturers, or in negotiating acceptable terms with any we do identify. We may face competition for access to these manufacturers’ facilities and may be subject to manufacturing delays if the manufacturers give other clients higher priority than they give to us. Even if we are able to identify an additional or replacement third-party manufacturer, the delays and costs associated with establishing and maintaining a relationship with such manufacturer may have a material adverse effect on us.

Before we can begin to commercially manufacture camsirubicin, MNPR-101-Zr, MNPR-101 RIT, MNPR-202 or any other product candidate, we must obtain regulatory approval of the manufacturing facility and process. Manufacturing of drugs for clinical and commercial purposes must comply with current Good Manufacturing Practices requirements, commonly known as “cGMP.” The cGMP requirements govern quality control and documentation policies and procedures. Complying with cGMP and non-U.S. regulatory requirements will require that we expend time, money, and effort in production, recordkeeping, and quality control to ensure that the product meets applicable specifications and other requirements. We, or our contracted manufacturing facility, must also pass a pre-approval inspection prior to FDA or TGA approval. Failure to pass a pre-approval inspection will likely significantly delay or prevent FDA, TGA or other international regulatory agencies' approval of our products. If we fail to comply with these requirements, we would be subject to possible regulatory action and may be limited in the jurisdictions in which we are permitted to sell our products and will lose time to market and potential revenues.

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It is uncertain whether product liability insurance will be adequate to address product liability claims, or that insurance against such claims will be affordable or available on acceptable terms in the future.

Clinical research involves the testing of new drugs on human volunteers pursuant to a clinical trial protocol. Such testing involves a risk of liability for personal injury to or death of patients due to, among other causes, adverse side effects, improper administration of the new drug, or improper volunteer behavior. Claims may arise from patients, clinical trial volunteers, consumers, physicians, hospitals, companies, institutions, researchers, or others using, selling, or buying our products, as well as from governmental bodies including a possibility in some states for product liability claims being made based on generic copies of our drugs. In addition, product liability and related risks are likely to increase over time, in particular upon the commercialization or marketing of any products by us or parties with which we enter into development, marketing, or distribution collaborations. Although we have obtained product liability insurance in connection with our clinical trials, there can be no assurance that the amount and scope of such insurance coverage will be appropriate and sufficient in the event any claims arise, that we will be able to secure additional coverage should we attempt to do so, or that our insurers would not contest or refuse any attempt by us to collect on such insurance policies. Regardless of their merit or eventual outcome, product liability claims may result in:

● withdrawal of clinical trial volunteers;

● decreased demand for our products when approved;

● injury to our reputation and significant, adverse media attention; and

If the market opportunities for our current and potential future drug candidates are smaller than we believe they are, our ability to generate product revenues will be adversely affected and our business may suffer.

Our understanding of the number of patients who have advanced cancers that express uPAR and are eligible for MNPR-101-Zr and MNPR-101-RIT as well as patients who have advanced soft tissue sarcoma ("ASTS") is based upon estimates and various scientific publications from governments or academic institutions. These estimates or reports may prove to be incorrect, and new studies may demonstrate or suggest a lower estimated incidence or prevalence of patients who might be eligible or amenable to MNPR-101-Zr, MNPR-101-RIT, and camsirubicin. Also, eligible or amenable patients may become increasingly difficult to identify and access due to many different factors, such as increasing competition in the radiopharmaceutical space. Moreover, the targetable population for our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program and camsirubicin may further be reduced if our estimates or addressable populations are erroneous or sub-populations of patients within the addressable populations do not benefit from our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program or camsirubicin.

Risks Related to Our Reliance on Third Parties

Corporate, non-profit, and academic collaborators may take actions (including lack of effective actions) to delay, prevent, or undermine the success of our products.

Our operating and financial strategy for the development, clinical testing, manufacture, and commercialization of product candidates is heavily dependent on us entering into collaborations with corporations, non-profit organizations, academic institutions, licensors, licensees, and other parties. There can be no assurance that we will be successful in establishing such collaborations. Current and future collaborations are and may be terminable at the sole discretion of the collaborator. The activities of any collaborator will not be within our direct control and may not be in our power to influence. There can be no assurance that any collaborator will perform its obligations to our satisfaction or at all; that we will derive any revenue, profits, or benefit from such collaborations; or that any collaborator will not compete with us. If any collaboration is not pursued, we may require substantially greater capital to undertake development and commercialization of our proposed products, and may not be able to develop and commercialize such products effectively, if at all. In addition, a lack of development and commercialization collaborations may lead to significant delays in introducing proposed products into certain markets and/or reduced sales of proposed products in such markets. Furthermore, current and future collaborators may act deliberately or inadvertently in ways detrimental to our interests.

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The termination of third-party licenses could adversely affect our rights to important compounds or technologies.

We rely on certain rights to MNPR-101 that we have secured through a non-exclusive license agreement with XOMA. XOMA, as licensor, has the ability to terminate the license if we breach our obligations under the license agreement and do not remedy any such breach within a set time after receiving written notice of such breach from XOMA. A termination of the license agreement might force us to cease developing and/or selling MNPR-101-Zr or MNPR-101 RIT, if either gets to market.

Data provided by collaborators and other parties upon which we rely have not been independently verified and could turn out to be inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete.

We rely on third-party vendors, scientists, and collaborators to provide us with significant data and other information related to our projects, clinical trials, and business. We do not independently verify or audit all of such data (including possibly material portions thereof). As a result, such data may be inaccurate, misleading, or incomplete.

In certain cases, we may need to rely on a single supplier for a particular manufacturing material or service, and any interruption in or termination of service by such supplier could delay or disrupt the commercialization of our products.

We rely on third-party suppliers for the materials used to manufacture our compounds. Some of these materials may at times only be available from one supplier. Any interruption in or termination of service by such single source suppliers could result in a delay or disruption in manufacturing until we locate an alternative source of supply. There can be no assurance that we would be successful in locating an alternative source of supply or in negotiating acceptable terms with such prospective supplier.

We rely on a limited number of contracted manufacturing plants.If we need to enlist new contract manufacturers, it will delay our MNPR-101 radiopharmaceutical program and our camsirubicin program and may increase the costs of our clinical trials.

Our contracted camsirubicin active pharmaceutical ingredient manufacturing plant as well as our contracted raw materials manufacturing plant are in countries in Asia and Europe, either of which may be affected by imposed tariffs and regional geopolitical factors outside of their control, including the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Hamas war, which may affect the supply of camsirubicin active pharmaceutical ingredient and raw materials. If we need to enlist new contract manufacturers, it will delay our camsirubicin clinical program and may increase our cost for our Phase 1b and future camsirubicin clinical trials.

Our contracted MNPR-101-Zr manufacturing plant as well as our raw material supplier are currently located in the U.S., but the Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Hamas war may adversely affect the sourcing of radioisotopes and timely supply of MNPR-101-Zr to clinical sites. If we need to enlist new contract manufacturers, it will delay our MNPR-101-Zr clinical program and may increase our cost for the currently ongoing or future clinical trials.

We rely on third parties to conduct our non-clinical studies and our clinical trials. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines, we may be unable to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our current product candidates or any future products, on a timely and efficient basis or at all, and our financial condition will be adversely affected.

We do not have the capacity to independently conduct non-clinical studies and clinical trials. We rely on medical institutions, clinical investigators, contract laboratories, collaborative partners and other third parties, such as contract research organizations or clinical research organizations, to conduct non-clinical studies and clinical trials on our product candidates. The third parties with whom we contract for execution of our non-clinical studies and clinical trials play a significant role in the conduct of these studies and trials and the subsequent collection and analysis of data. However, these third parties are not our employees, and except for contractual duties and obligations, we have limited ability to control the amount or timing of resources that they devote to our programs.

Although we rely on third parties to conduct our non-clinical studies and clinical trials, we remain responsible for ensuring that each of our non-clinical studies and clinical trials is conducted in accordance with its investigational plan and protocol. Moreover, the FDA, TGA, EMA and other foreign regulatory authorities require us to comply with regulations and standards, including some regulations commonly referred to as good clinical practices (“GCPs”), for conducting, monitoring, recording and reporting the results of clinical trials to ensure that the data and results are scientifically credible and accurate, and that the trial subjects are adequately informed of the potential risks of participating in clinical trials.

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In addition, the execution of non-clinical studies and clinical trials, and the subsequent compilation and analyses of the data produced, requires coordination among various parties. In order for these functions to be carried out effectively and efficiently, it is imperative that these parties communicate and coordinate with one another. Moreover, these third parties may also have relationships with other commercial entities, some of which may compete with us. Under certain circumstances, these third parties may be able to terminate their agreements with us upon short notice. If the third parties conducting our clinical trials do not perform their contractual duties or obligations, experience work stoppages, do not meet expected deadlines, terminate their agreements with us or need to be replaced, or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical trial protocols or GCPs, or for any other reason, we may need to enter into new arrangements with alternative third parties, which could be difficult, costly or impossible, and our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated or may need to be repeated. If any of the foregoing were to occur, we may not be able to obtain, on a timely and efficient basis or at all, regulatory approval for or to commercialize the product candidate being tested in such trials, and as a result, our financial condition will be adversely affected.

Risks Related to Commercialization of Our Product Candidates

We have no experience as a company in commercializing any product. If we fail to obtain commercial expertise, upon product approval by regulatory agencies, our product launch and revenues could be delayed.

As a company, we have never obtained regulatory approval for, or commercialized, any product. Accordingly, we have not yet begun to build out any sales or marketing or distribution capabilities. If we are unable to establish, or contract for, effective sales and marketing and distribution capabilities, or if we are unable to enter into agreements with third parties to commercialize our product candidates on favorable terms or on any reasonable terms at all, we may not be able to effectively generate product revenues once our product candidates are approved for marketing. If we fail to obtain commercial expertise or capabilities, upon drug approval, our product launch and subsequent revenues could be delayed and /or fail to reach their commercial potential.

Our product development efforts are at an early stage. We have not yet undertaken any marketing efforts, and there can be no assurance that future anticipated market testing and analyses will validate our marketing strategy. We may need to modify the products, or we may not be successful in either developing or marketing those products.

As a company, we have not completed the development or clinical trials of any product candidates and, accordingly, have not yet begun to market or generate revenue from the commercialization of any products. Obtaining approvals of these product candidates will require substantial additional research and development as well as costly clinical trials. There can be no assurance that we will successfully complete development of our product candidates or successfully market them. We may encounter problems and delays relating to research and development, regulatory approval, intellectual property rights of product candidates, or other factors. There can be no assurance that our development programs will be successful, that our product candidates will prove to be safe and effective in or after clinical trials, that the necessary regulatory approvals for any product candidates will be obtained, or, even if obtained, will be as broad as sought or will be maintained for any period thereafter, that patents will issue on our patent applications, that any intellectual property protections we secure will be adequate, or that our collaboration arrangements will not diminish the value of our intellectual property through licensing or other arrangements. Furthermore, there can be no assurance that any product we might market will be received favorably by customers (whether physicians, payers, patients, or all three), adequately reimbursed by third-party payers, or that competitive products will not perform better and/or be marketed more successfully. Additionally, there can be no assurances that any future market testing and analyses will validate our marketing strategies. We may need to seek to modify the product labels through additional studies in order to be able to market them successfully to reach their commercial potential.

If we are unable to establish relationships with licensees or collaborators to carry out sales, marketing, and distribution functions or to create effective marketing, sales, and distribution capabilities, we will be unable to market our products successfully.

Our business strategy may include out-licensing product candidates to or collaborating with larger firms with experience in marketing and selling pharmaceutical products. There can be no assurance that we will successfully be able to establish marketing, sales, or distribution relationships with any third-party, that such relationships, if established, will be successful, or that we will be successful in gaining market acceptance for any products we might develop. To the extent that we enter into any marketing, sales, or distribution arrangements with third parties, our product revenues per unit sold are expected to be lower than if we marketed, sold, and distributed our products directly, and any revenues we receive will depend upon the efforts of such third parties.

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If we are unable to establish such third-party marketing and sales relationships, or choose not to do so, we would have to establish in-house marketing and sales capabilities. We have no experience in marketing or selling oncology pharmaceutical products, and currently have no marketing, sales, or distribution infrastructure and no experience developing or managing such infrastructure for an oncology related product. To market any products directly, we would have to establish a marketing, sales, and distribution force that has technical expertise and could support a distribution capability. Competition in the biopharmaceutical industry for technically proficient marketing, sales, and distribution personnel is intense and attracting and retaining such personnel may significantly increase our costs. There can be no assurance that we will be able to establish internal marketing, sales, or distribution capabilities or that these capabilities will be sufficient to meet our needs.

Commercial success of our product candidates will depend on the acceptance of these products by physicians, payers, and patients.

Any product candidate that we may develop may not gain market acceptance among physicians, payers and patients. Market acceptance of and demand for any product that we may develop will depend on many factors, including without limitation:

● Less incidence, less prevalence and more severity of adverse side effects;

● Potential advantages over alternative treatments;

● Cost effectiveness;

● Sufficient third-party coverage and/or reimbursement;

● Strength of sales, marketing and distribution support; and

If any product candidate developed by us receives regulatory approval but does not achieve an adequate level of market acceptance by physicians, payers, and patients, we may generate insufficient, little, or no product revenue to earn appropriate returns on the investment of product development costs and may not become profitable at sufficient product sales volumes to earn sustainable profitability.

Our products may not be accepted for reimbursement or adequately reimbursed by third-party payers.

The successful commercialization of any products we might develop will depend substantially on whether the costs of our products and related treatments are reimbursed at acceptable levels by government authorities, private healthcare insurers, and other third-party payers, such as health maintenance organizations. Reimbursement rates may vary, depending upon the third-party payer, the type of insurance plan, and other similar or dissimilar factors. If our products do not achieve adequate reimbursement, then the number of physician prescriptions of our products may not be sufficient to make our products profitable, and to earn a sufficient profit to earn a reasonable return on our investment and a provide a cash flow to finance future investments on the next generation of products and investments in new technological platforms.

Comparative effectiveness research demonstrating benefits of a competitor’s product could adversely affect the sales of our product candidates. If third-party payers do not consider our products to be cost-effective compared to other available therapies, they may not cover our products as a benefit under their plans or, if they do, the level of payment may not be sufficient to allow us to sell our products on a profitable basis sufficient for our Company to remain competitive and thrive.

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Adequate third-party reimbursement may not be available to enable us to maintain price levels sufficient to realize an appropriate return on our investment in the product development of that product. In addition, in the U.S. there is a growing emphasis on comparative effectiveness research, both by private payers and by government agencies. To the extent other drugs or therapies are found to be more effective than our products, payers may elect to cover such therapies in lieu of our products or reimburse our products at a lower rate.

The effects of economic and political pressure to lower pharmaceutical prices are a major threat to the economic viability of new research-based pharmaceutical products, and any significant decrease in drug prices could materially and adversely affect our prospects.

Emphasis on managed care and government price controls in the U.S. has increased and we expect this will continue to increase the pressure on pharmaceutical pricing. Coverage policies and third-party reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained for one or more products for which we receive regulatory approval, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.

Any development along these lines could materially and adversely affect our prospects. We are unable to predict what political, legislative or regulatory changes relating to the healthcare industry, including without limitation any changes affecting governmental and/or private or third-party coverage and reimbursement, may be enacted in the future, or what effect such legislative or regulatory changes would have on our business. However, if governmental price management does not provide for the very high price of pharmaceutical research, it could create very demanding challenges for our industry and our prospects or require breakthroughs in research productivity, of which there can be no assurance.

If we obtain FDA approval for any of our product candidates, we will be subject to various federal and state fraud and abuse laws; these laws may impact, among other things, our proposed sales, marketing and education programs. Fraud and abuse laws are expected to increase in breadth and in detail, which will likely increase our operating costs and the complexity of our programs to ensure compliance with such enhanced laws.

If we obtain FDA approval for any of our product candidates and begin commercializing those products in the U.S., our operations may be directly, or indirectly through our customers, distributors, or other business partners, subject to various federal and state fraud and abuse laws, including, without limitation, anti-kickback statutes and false claims statutes which may increase our operating costs. These laws may impact, among other things, our proposed sales, marketing and education programs. In addition, we may be subject to data privacy and security regulation by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct business.

If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the federal and state fraud and abuse laws or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to criminal actions and significant civil monetary penalties, which would adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.

If our operations are found to be in violation, even inadvertently, of any of the federal and state fraud and abuse laws, including, without limitation, anti-kickback statutes and false claims statutes or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to penalties, including criminal and significant civil monetary penalties, damages, fines, imprisonment, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations. To the extent that any of our product candidates are ultimately sold in a foreign country, we may be subject to similar foreign laws and regulations, which may include, for instance, applicable post-marketing requirements, including safety surveillance, anti-fraud and abuse laws, and implementation of corporate compliance programs and reporting of payments or transfers of value to healthcare professionals.

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Negotiated prices for our products covered by a Part D prescription drug plan and other government programs will be lower than the prices we might otherwise obtain.

Government payment for some of the costs of prescription drugs may increase demand for our products for which we receive marketing approval; however, any negotiated prices for our products covered by a Part D prescription drug plan and other government programs will be lower than the prices we might otherwise obtain. We anticipate that the number and type of products that will be subject to federal pricing will increase substantially over time. There may be rules to demand that the government and medical institutions, which are in part supported by government funding, will be granted access to medicines at the same highly favorable prices given to the governmental direct medical care programs.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we and our third-party licensors do not obtain and preserve protection for our respective intellectual property rights, our competitors may be able to take advantage of our (and our licensors’) development efforts to develop competing drugs.

Our commercial success will depend in part on obtaining patent protection for any products and other technologies we might develop, and successfully defending any patents we obtain against third-party challenges. See “Business – License, Development and Collaboration Agreements”. The assignment and transfer of the camsirubicin (formerly GPX-150) patent portfolio from TacticGem, LLC (“TacticGem”) to us has been completed. We filed and have been granted in the U.S. and various countries around the world patents for antibodies that target uPAR for our MNPR-101 program. We have also been granted in the U.S. and various countries around the world patents to a specific sequence of amino acids on uPAR, to which our MNPR-101 antibody binds. We are currently prosecuting this patent in other countries around the world to further protect MNPR-101. We also have jointly applied for patents with our collaborator, NorthStar, for MNPR-101-Zr and MNPR-101-RIT conjugates. The patent process is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that we will be successful in obtaining and defending patents. See “Business - Intellectual Property Portfolio and Exclusivity”. These risks and uncertainties include without limitation the following:

In addition, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) and patent offices in other jurisdictions have often required that patent applications concerning pharmaceutical and/or biotechnology-related inventions be limited or narrowed substantially to cover only the specific innovations exemplified in the patent application, thereby limiting their scope of protection against competitive challenges. Thus, even if we or our licensors are able to obtain patents, the scope of the patents may be substantially narrower than anticipated.

If we permit our patents to lapse or expire, we will not be protected and will have less of a competitive advantage. The value of our products may be greatly reduced if this occurs. Our patents expire at different times and are subject to the laws of multiple countries. Some of our patents are currently near expiration and we may pursue patent term extensions for these where appropriate or permit them to lapse. See “Business - Intellectual Property Portfolio and Exclusivity”.

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In addition to patents, we also rely on trade secrets and proprietary know-how. While we take measures to protect this information by entering into confidentiality and invention agreements with our employees, consultants and collaborators, we cannot provide any assurances that these agreements will be fully enforceable and will not be breached, that we will be able to protect ourselves from the harmful effects of disclosure if they are not fully enforceable or are breached, that any remedy for a breach will adequately compensate us, that these agreements will achieve their intended aims, or that our trade secrets will not otherwise become known or be independently discovered by competitors. 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 U.S., 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 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, and the value of the trade secrets may be greatly reduced.

The patent protection we obtain and preserve for our product candidates may not be sufficient to provide us with any material competitive advantage.

We may be subject to competition despite the existence of intellectual property we license or own. We can give no assurances that our intellectual property claims will be sufficient to prevent third parties from designing around patents we own or license and developing and commercializing competitive products. The existence of competitive products that avoid our intellectual property could materially adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. Furthermore, limitations, or perceived limitations, in our intellectual property may limit the interest of third parties to partner, collaborate or otherwise transact with us, if third parties perceive a higher than acceptable risk to commercialization of our products or future products. If a competitor were able to successfully design around any method of use and formulation patents we may have now or in the future, it is highly likely that our business and competitive advantage would be adversely affected.

Patent terms may be inadequate to protect our competitive position on our product candidates for an adequate amount of time. If this occurs, our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects would be materially harmed.

Patents have a limited lifespan. In the U.S., if all maintenance fees are timely paid, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years from its earliest U.S. non-provisional filing date. Various extensions may be available, but the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Even if patents covering our product candidates are obtained, once the patent life has expired for a product candidate, we may be open to competition from competitive medications, including generic medications. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such product candidates might expire before or shortly after such product candidates are commercialized. As a result, our owned and licensed patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing product candidates similar or identical to ours.

Depending upon the timing, duration and conditions of any FDA marketing approval of our product candidates, one or more of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, referred to as the Hatch-Waxman Amendments, and similar legislation in the European Union. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments permit a patent term extension of up to five years for a patent covering an approved product as compensation for effective patent term lost during product development and the FDA regulatory review process. However, we may not receive an extension if we fail to exercise due diligence during the testing phase or regulatory review process, fail to apply within applicable deadlines, fail to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents or otherwise fail to satisfy applicable requirements. Moreover, the length of the extension could be less than we request. Only one patent per approved product can be extended, the extension cannot extend the total patent term beyond 14 years from approval and only those claims covering the approved drug, a method for using it or a method for manufacturing it may be extended. If we are unable to obtain patent term extension or the term of any such extension is less than we request, the period during which we can enforce our patent rights for the applicable product candidate will be shortened and our competitors may obtain approval to market competing products sooner. As a result, our revenue from applicable products could be reduced. Further, if this occurs, our competitors may take advantage of our investment in development and trials by referencing our clinical and preclinical data and launch their product earlier than might otherwise be the case, and our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects would be materially harmed.

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Intellectual property disputes could require us to spend time and money to address such disputes and could limit our intellectual property rights.

The biopharmaceutical industry has been characterized by extensive litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights, and companies have employed intellectual property litigation and USPTO post-grant proceedings to gain a competitive advantage. We may become subject to infringement claims or litigation arising out of patents and pending applications of our competitors, or additional interference proceedings declared by the USPTO to determine the priority and patentability of inventions. The defense and prosecution of intellectual property suits, USPTO proceedings, and related legal and administrative proceedings are costly and time-consuming to pursue, and their outcome is uncertain. Litigation may be necessary to enforce our issued patents, to protect our trade secrets and know-how, or to determine the enforceability, scope, and validity of the proprietary rights of others. An adverse determination in litigation or USPTO post-grant and interference proceedings to which we may become a party could subject us to significant liabilities, require us to obtain licenses from third parties, or restrict or prevent us from selling our products in certain markets. Even if a given patent or intellectual property dispute were settled through licensing or similar arrangements, our costs associated with such arrangements may be substantial and could include the payment by us of large, fixed payments and ongoing royalties. Furthermore, the necessary licenses may not be available on satisfactory terms or at all. Even where we have meritorious claims or defenses, the costs of litigation may prevent us from pursuing these claims or defenses and/or may require extensive financial and personnel resources to pursue these claims or defenses. In addition, it is possible there may be defects of form in our current and future patents that could result in our inability to defend the intended claims. Intellectual property disputes arising from the aforementioned factors, or other factors, may materially harm our business.

We may not be able to enforce our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

The laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the laws of the U.S. Companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in certain foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of some countries, particularly developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents and other intellectual property protection, especially those relating to life sciences. This could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or the misappropriation of our other intellectual property rights. For example, many foreign countries have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner must grant licenses to third parties. In addition, many countries limit the enforceability of patents against third parties, including government agencies or government contractors. In these countries, patents may provide limited or no benefit.

Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions, whether or not successful, could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business. Furthermore, while we intend to protect our intellectual property rights in our expected significant markets, we cannot ensure that we will be able to initiate or maintain similar efforts in all jurisdictions in which we may wish to market our current or any future product candidates. Accordingly, our efforts to protect our intellectual property rights in such countries may be inadequate. In addition, changes in the law and legal decisions by courts in the U.S. and foreign countries may affect our ability to obtain and enforce adequate intellectual property protection for our products and technology.

Changes to the patent law in the U.S. and other jurisdictions could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our product candidates.

As is the case with other biopharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical industry involves both technological and legal diligence and complexity. Therefore, obtaining and enforcing biopharmaceutical patents is costly, time consuming and inherently uncertain. In addition, the U.S. has recently enacted and is currently implementing wide ranging patent reform legislation. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents once obtained. Depending on future actions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts and the USPTO, as well as other jurisdictions around the world, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future.

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Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.

The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other provisions during the patent process. There are situations in which noncompliance due to issues beyond our control, can result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, competitors might be able to enter the market earlier than would otherwise have been the case.

If we fail to comply with our obligations under any license, collaboration or other intellectual property-related agreements, we may be required to pay damages and could lose intellectual property rights that may be necessary for developing, commercializing and protecting our current or future technologies or drug candidates or we could lose certain rights to grant sublicenses.

Any license, collaboration or other intellectual property-related agreements impose, and any future license, collaboration or other intellectual property-related agreements we enter into are likely to impose, various development, commercialization, funding, milestone, royalty, diligence, sublicensing, insurance, patent prosecution and enforcement or other obligations on us. If we breach any of these obligations, or use the intellectual property licensed to us in an unauthorized manner, we may be required to pay damages and the licensor may have the right to terminate the license. In spite of our best efforts, any of our future licensors might conclude that we have materially breached our license agreements and might therefore terminate the license agreements, thereby removing our ability to develop and commercialize products and technologies covered by these license agreements. Any license agreements we enter into may be complex, and certain provisions in such agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement that may arise could narrow what we believe to be the scope our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology, or increase what we believe to be our financial or other obligations under the relevant agreement, either of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

We may seek to obtain licenses from licensors in the future, however, we may be unable to obtain any such licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all. In addition, if any of our future licensors terminate any such license agreements, such license termination could result in our inability to develop, manufacture and sell products that are covered by the licensed technology or could enable a competitor to gain access to the licensed technology. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our competitive position, business, financial condition, results of operations, and ability to achieve profitability.

Furthermore, we may not have the right to control the preparation, filing, prosecution, maintenance, enforcement and defense of patents and patent applications that we license from third parties. Therefore, we cannot be certain that these patents and patent applications will be prepared, filed, prosecuted, maintained, enforced and defended in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. If our future licensors fail to prosecute, maintain, enforce and defend patents we may in-license, or lose rights to licensed patents or patent applications, our license rights may be reduced or eliminated. In such circumstances, our right to develop and commercialize any of our products or drug candidates that is the subject of such licensed rights could be materially adversely affected. In certain circumstances, our licensed patent rights are subject to our reimbursing our licensors for their patent prosecution and maintenance costs.

Moreover, our licensors may own or control intellectual property that has not been licensed to us and, as a result, we may be subject to claims, regardless of their merit, that we are infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the licensor’s intellectual property rights and the amount of any damages or future royalty obligations that would result, if any such claims were successful, would depend on the technology and intellectual property we use in products that we successfully develop and commercialize, if any. Therefore, even if we successfully develop and commercialize products, due to such obligations, we may be unable to achieve or maintain profitability.

Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have a material adverse impact on the success of our business.

Our commercial success depends, in part, upon our ability or the ability of any of our future collaborators to develop, manufacture, market and sell our current or any future drug candidates and to use our proprietary technologies without infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating the proprietary and intellectual property rights of third parties. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries are characterized by extensive and complex litigation regarding patents and other intellectual property rights.

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We or any of our future licensors or strategic partners, may be party to, or be threatened with, adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our current or any potential future drug candidates and technologies, including derivation, reexamination, inter partes review, post-grant review or interference proceedings before the USPTO and similar proceedings in jurisdictions outside of the U.S. such as opposition proceedings. If we or our licensors or strategic partners are unsuccessful in any interference proceedings or other priority or validity disputes (including through any patent oppositions) to which we or they are subject, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights through the loss of one or more patents or our patent claims may be narrowed, invalidated, or held unenforceable. In some instances, we may be required to indemnify our licensors or strategic partners for the costs associated with any such adversarial proceedings or litigation. Third parties may also assert infringement, misappropriation or other claims against us, our licensors or our strategic partners based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future, as well as other intellectual property rights, regardless of their merit. There is a risk that third parties may choose to engage in litigation or other adversarial proceedings with us, our licensors or our strategic partners to enforce or otherwise assert their patent rights or other intellectual property rights. Even if we believe such claims are without merit, a court of competent jurisdiction could hold that these third-party patents and other intellectual property rights are valid, enforceable and infringed, which could have a material adverse impact on our ability to utilize our developed technologies or to commercialize our current or any future drug candidates deemed to be infringing. In order to successfully challenge the validity of any such U.S. patent in federal court, we would need to overcome a presumption of validity by presenting clear and convincing evidence of invalidity. There is no assurance that a court of competent jurisdiction, even if presented with evidence we believe to be clear and convincing, would invalidate the claims of any such U.S. patent.

Further, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully settle or otherwise resolve such adversarial proceedings or litigation. If we are unable to successfully settle future claims on terms acceptable to us, we may be required to engage in or to continue costly, unpredictable and time-consuming litigation and may be prevented from or experience substantial delays in marketing our drug candidates. If we or any of our licensors or strategic partners are found to infringe, misappropriate or violate a third-party patent or other intellectual property rights, we could be required to pay damages, including treble damages and attorney’s fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed. In addition, we, or any of our licensors or strategic partners may choose to seek, or be required to seek, a license from a third-party, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Even if a license can be obtained on commercially reasonable terms, the rights may be non-exclusive, which could give our competitors access to the same technology or intellectual property rights licensed to us, and we could be required to make substantial licensing and royalty payments. We also could be forced, including by court order, to cease utilizing, developing, manufacturing and commercializing our developed technologies or drug candidates deemed to be infringing. We may be forced to redesign current or future technologies or products. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on our ability to generate revenue or achieve profitability and possibly prevent us from generating revenue sufficient to sustain our operations.

In addition, we or our licensors or strategic partners may find it necessary to pursue claims or to initiate lawsuits to protect or enforce our patent or other intellectual property rights. If we or our licensors or strategic partners were to initiate legal proceedings against a third-party to enforce a patent covering one of our drug candidates or our developed technology, the defendant could counterclaim that such patent is invalid or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the U.S., defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, for example, claiming patent-ineligible subject matter, lack of novelty, indefiniteness, lack of written description, non-enablement, anticipation or obviousness. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information from the USPTO or made a misleading statement during prosecution. The outcome of such invalidity and unenforceability claims is unpredictable. With respect to the validity question, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art of which we or our licensors or strategic partners and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we could lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection for one or more of our drug candidates. The narrowing or loss of our owned and licensed patent claims could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technologies and products. All of these events could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Patent and other intellectual property rights also will not protect our drug candidates and technologies if competitors or third parties design around such drug candidates and technologies without legally infringing, misappropriating or violating our patent or other intellectual property rights.

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The cost to us in defending or initiating any litigation or other proceedings relating to our patent or other intellectual property rights, even if resolved in our favor, could be substantial, and any litigation or other proceedings would divert our management’s attention and distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities. Such litigation or proceedings could materially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to conduct such litigation or proceedings adequately. Some of our competitors may be able to more effectively sustain the costs of complex patent litigation because they have substantially greater resources. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could delay our research and development efforts and materially limit our ability to continue our operations. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with certain such proceedings, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, such announcements could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock.

Intellectual property rights of third parties could adversely affect our ability to commercialize our current or future technologies or drug candidates, and we might be required to litigate or obtain licenses from third parties to develop or market our current or future technologies or drug candidates, which may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all.

There are numerous companies that have pending patent applications and issued patents broadly covering immune-therapies generally or covering small molecules directed against the same targets as, or targets similar to, those we are pursuing. Our competitive position may materially suffer if patents issued to third parties or other third-party intellectual property rights cover our current or future technologies, drug candidates or elements thereof, or our manufacture or uses relevant to our development plans. In such cases, we may not be in a position to develop or commercialize current or future technologies or drug candidates unless we successfully pursue litigation to nullify or invalidate the third-party intellectual property rights concerned or enter into a license agreement with the intellectual property rights holder, if available on commercially reasonable terms. There may be issued patents of which we are not aware, held by third parties that, if found to be valid and enforceable, could be alleged to be infringed by our current or future technologies or drug candidates. There also may be pending patent applications of which we are not aware that may result in issued patents, which could be alleged to be infringed by our current or future technologies or drug candidates. Should such an infringement claim be successfully brought, we may be required to pay substantial damages or be forced to abandon our current or future technologies or drug candidates or to seek a license from any patent holders. No assurances can be given that a license will be available on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.

Third-party intellectual property rights holders may also actively bring infringement, misappropriation or other claims alleging violations of intellectual property rights against us. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully settle or otherwise resolve such claims. If we are unable to successfully settle future claims on terms acceptable to us, we may be required to engage in or to continue costly, unpredictable and time-consuming litigation and may be prevented from, or experience substantial delays in, marketing our drug candidates. If we fail in any such dispute, in addition to being forced to pay damages, we may be temporarily or permanently prohibited from commercializing any of our current or future technologies or drug candidates that are held to be infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating third-party intellectual property rights. We might, if possible, also be forced to redesign current or future technologies or drug candidates so that we no longer infringe, misappropriate or violate the third-party intellectual property rights. Any of these events, even if we were ultimately to prevail, could require us to divert substantial financial and management resources that we would otherwise be able to devote to our business, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

Risks Related to Our Business Operations and Industry

We have a limited operating history.

To date, we have engaged exclusively in acquiring pharmaceutical product candidates, licensing rights to product candidates, entering into collaboration agreements with respect to key services or technologies for our drug product development, and conducted clinical trials, but have not yet received any governmental approvals, brought any product to market, manufactured products in commercial quantities or sold any pharmaceutical products. As a company we have limited experience in negotiating, establishing, and maintaining strategic relationships, conducting clinical trials, and managing the regulatory approval process, all of which will be necessary if we are to be successful. Our lack of experience in these critical areas makes it difficult for a prospective investor to evaluate our abilities and increases the risk that we will fail to successfully execute our strategies.

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Source: SEC EDGAR (public domain) · 10-K for the period ended 2023-12-31, filed 2024-03-28 · accession 0001437749-24-009687

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