ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider the following risk factors together with the other information contained in this Annual Report, including our financial statements and the related notes appearing in this report. We cannot assure you that any of the events discussed in the risk factors below will not occur. If any of the following risks actually occur, they may materially harm our business and our financial condition and results of operations. In this event, the market price of our securities could decline and your investment could be lost. You should understand that it is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. Consequently, you should not consider the following to be a complete discussion of all potential risks or uncertainties.
Summary of Principal Risk Factors
● Our product development efforts may not be successful.
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Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Our product development efforts may not be successful.
The focus of our development efforts is currently on narazaciclib and oral rigosertib. Although, we believe that there are opportunities for us to develop narazaciclib, our novel multi kinase inhibitor targeting CDK4/6 as well as other tyrosine kinases, in indications such as endometrial cancer, metastatic breast cancer, mantle cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma, and oral rigosertib in RAS mutated cancers, clinical drug development is expensive, can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain. Even if our clinical development programs are successful, we may not be able to successfully commercialize any product. There can be no assurance that our focus on narazaciclib and oral rigosertib will be successful, and that we will be able to successfully develop a product candidate or, even if we do, that we will be able to successfully commercialize such candidate.
Our future success is dependent primarily on the regulatory approval and commercialization of our product candidates.
Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of any product candidate for a target indication, we must demonstrate with substantial evidence gathered in preclinical and well-controlled clinical studies and, with respect to approval in the United States, to the satisfaction of the FDA, that the product candidate is safe and effective for use for that target indication and that the manufacturing facilities, processes and controls are adequate. If we are unable to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates in one or more jurisdictions, we may not be able to obtain sufficient funding or generate sufficient revenue to continue the development of our product candidates.
The results of preclinical testing or earlier clinical studies are not necessarily predictive of future results. Any product candidate we advance into clinical trials may not have favorable results in later-stage clinical trials or receive regulatory approval.
Encouraging results in preclinical testing and earlier clinical studies do not ensure that later clinical trials will generate adequate data to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of an investigational drug. Additionally, mechanisms of action, studies in small or single patient populations, and interim study results may not be predictive of later stage studies. The development of a product for one indication may further impact its development for other indications. By example, our phase III study of intravenous rigosertib for HR MDS did not meet its primary endpoints. It is possible that this may impact how regulators or others view the development of rigosertib for alternative indications. If later-stage clinical trials do not produce favorable results, our ability to achieve regulatory approval for any of our product candidates may be adversely impacted.
Clinical drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process with an uncertain outcome.
We may experience delays in our ongoing or future clinical trials and we do not know whether planned clinical trials will begin or enroll subjects on time, need to be redesigned or be completed on schedule, if at all. Regulatory authorities may also find that our development programs do not support product approval. There can be no assurance that the FDA, an IRB, or a comparable foreign regulatory authority will permit our clinical trials to commence and will not put clinical trials of any of our product candidates on clinical hold in the future. Study results may also cause us to
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discontinue trials. Clinical trials may be delayed, suspended or prematurely terminated and development programs may not be successful for a variety of reasons, including:
● failure to follow the study procedures or applicable regulatory requirements;
● negative or ambiguous study results;
● manufacturing or product quality issues;
● the need to conduct additional development work, including clinical trials;
If we experience delays in the completion or termination of, any clinical trial of our product candidates, the commercial prospects of our product candidates will be harmed, and our ability to generate product revenues from any of these product candidates will be delayed. In addition, any delays in completing our clinical trials will increase our costs, slow down our product candidate development and approval process and jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenues. In addition, many of the factors that could cause a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of our product candidates.
Our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent their regulatory approval, limit the commercial profile of an approved label, or result in significant negative consequences following any marketing approval.
Undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authority.
As a result of undesirable side effects or safety or toxicity issues that we may experience in our clinical trials, we may not receive approval to market any product candidates, which could prevent us from ever generating revenues or achieving profitability. Results of our trials could reveal an unacceptably high severity and prevalence of side effects. In such an event, our trials could be suspended or terminated and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development or deny approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. These side effects could affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled subjects to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. They could also result in restrictive labeling for any approved products.
Failure to follow the FDA’s applicable regulatory requirements may result in enforcement action.
If we or our third party contractors are not able to follow the FDA’s regulatory requirements, we or they may face enforcement actions that may materially harm our business, including, but not limited to:
● injunctions, penalties, fines, or debarment;
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● adverse publicity.
Changes in product candidate manufacturing or formulation may result in additional costs or delay.
As product candidates are developed through preclinical studies to late-stage clinical trials towards approval and commercialization, it is common that various aspects of the development program, such as manufacturing methods and formulation, are altered along the way in an effort to optimize processes and results. During the course of a development program, sponsors may also change the contract manufacturers used to produce the product candidates. Such changes carry the risk that they will not achieve these intended objectives. Any of these changes could cause our product candidates to perform differently and affect the results of clinical trials. Such changes may also require additional testing, FDA notification, or FDA approval. This could delay completion of clinical trials; require the conduct of bridging clinical trials or studies, or the repetition of one or more clinical trials; increase clinical trial costs; delay approval of our product candidates; and jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue.
Healthcare legislation, including potentially unfavorable pricing regulations or other healthcare reform initiatives, may increase the difficulty and cost for us to obtain marketing approval of and commercialize our product candidates and affect the prices we may obtain.
The regulations that govern, among other things, marketing approvals, coverage, pricing and reimbursement for new drug products vary widely from country to country and our ability to commercialize any products will depend, in part, on the extent to which coverage and adequate reimbursement for our products is available. In the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, including the European Union, there have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities, limit coverage and reimbursement or restrict the prices we may charge including through payments of increased manufacturer rebates and penalties, and affect our ability to successfully sell any product candidates for which we obtain marketing approval. Furthermore, in the United States private payors often follow Medicare coverage policies and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement rates. These and any additional healthcare reform measures in the United States, the European Union and other potentially significant markets could further constrain our business or limit the amounts that governments will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in additional pricing pressures.
States, in the US, have also enacted laws requiring pharmaceutical companies to, among other things, establish marketing compliance programs, file periodic reports with the state, make periodic public disclosures on sales, marketing, pricing, clinical trials and other activities, cap or regulate price increases, negotiate or pay increased supplemental rebates and/or register their sales representatives, as well as to prohibit pharmacies and other healthcare entities from providing specified physician prescribing data to pharmaceutical companies for use in sales and marketing, and to prohibit other specified sales and marketing practices.
Some countries require approval of the sale price of a drug before it can be marketed. In many countries, the pricing review period begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted. In some foreign markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. As a result, we might obtain marketing approval for a product candidate in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay our commercial launch of the product, possibly for lengthy time periods, which could negatively impact the revenues we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that particular country.
Adverse pricing limitations may hinder our ability to recoup our investment in one or more product candidates even if our product candidates obtain marketing approval. We cannot be sure that timely coverage and adequate
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reimbursement will be available for any product that we commercialize and, if reimbursement is available, what the level of coverage and reimbursement will be.
Our employees may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements, which could cause significant liability for us and harm our reputation.
We are exposed to the risk of employee fraud or other misconduct, including intentional failures to comply with FDA regulations or similar regulations of comparable foreign regulatory authorities, provide accurate information to the FDA, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, comply with manufacturing standards we have established, comply with federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations and similar laws and regulations established and enforced by comparable foreign regulatory authorities, comply with the FDA’s laws and regulations, report financial information or data accurately or disclose unauthorized activities to us. Employee misconduct could also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. We have adopted a code of conduct for our directors, officers and employees, but it is not always possible to identify and deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business and results of operations, including the imposition of significant fines or other sanctions.
We face substantial competition, which may result in others discovering, developing or commercializing products before or more successfully than we do.
The development and commercialization of new drug products is highly competitive. We face competition with respect to our current product candidates and will face competition with respect to any product candidates that we may seek to develop or commercialize in the future, from major pharmaceutical companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies worldwide. There are a number of large pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies that currently market and sell products or are pursuing the development of products for the treatment of certain disease indications for which we are developing our product candidates. For example, large pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Novartis, Eli Lilly successfully market commercialized CDK 4/6 inhibitors palbociclib, ribociclib and abemaciclib and have done so for a number of years. More recently, G1 Therapeutics secured FDA approval of the CDK 4/6 triaciclib for the prevention of myelosuppression following chemotherapy.
The approved CDK 4/6 inhibitor drugs palbociclib, ribociclib and abemaciclib are well established therapies or products and are widely accepted by physicians, patients and third-party payors. By the time narazaciclib possibly is approved in the future, insurers and other third-party payors may also encourage the use of generic products. This may make it difficult for us to achieve market acceptance at desired levels in a timely manner to ensure viability of our business.
More established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their greater size, cash flows and institutional experience. Compared to us, many of our competitors may have significantly greater financial, technical and human resources.
If we breach our license agreements or fail to negotiate new agreements pertaining to our product candidates, we could lose the ability to continue the development and potential commercialization of these product candidates.
If we fail to meet our obligations under our current license agreements or if we fail to negotiate future license agreements, our rights under the licenses could be terminated, and upon the effective date of such termination, our right to use the licensed technology would terminate. While we would expect to exercise all rights and remedies available to us, including attempting to cure any breach by us, and otherwise seek to preserve our rights under the patents and other technology licensed to us, we may not be able to do so in a timely manner, at an acceptable cost or at all. Any uncured, material breach under the license agreement could result in our loss of exclusive rights and may lead to a complete termination of our product development and any commercialization efforts for the applicable product candidates.
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Product liability lawsuits against us could cause us to incur substantial liabilities and to limit commercialization of any products that we may develop.
We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to the testing of our product candidates in human clinical trials and will face an even greater risk if we commercially sell any products that we may develop. Product liability claims may be brought against us by subjects enrolled in our clinical trials, and patients, healthcare providers or others using, administering or selling our products in third party studies, expanded access programs, or commercially, if we receive product approval. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against claims that our product candidates or products caused injuries, the clinical development and commercialization of our product candidates could be adversely affected or terminated and we could incur substantial liabilities.
We may engage in future business combinations or collaborations that could disrupt our business, cause dilution to our stockholders and harm our financial condition and operating results.
While we currently have no specific plans to acquire any other specific businesses, we may, in the future, make acquisitions of, or investments in, or otherwise engage in business combinations or collaborations with companies that we believe have products or capabilities that are a strategic or commercial fit with our current product candidates and business or otherwise offer opportunities for our company. In connection with these acquisitions or investments, we may: issue stock that would dilute our existing stockholders’ percentage of ownership; incur debt and assume liabilities; and incur amortization expenses related to intangible assets or incur large and immediate write-offs.
We may not be able to complete any future business combination or collaborations on favorable terms, if at all. If we do complete a business combination or collaboration, we cannot assure you that it will ultimately strengthen our competitive position or that it will be viewed positively by customers, financial markets or investors. Furthermore, future business combinations could pose numerous additional risks to our operations, including: problems integrating the businesses, products or technologies; increases to our expenses; the failure to discover undisclosed liabilities of an acquired asset or transaction partner; diversion of management’s attention from their day-to-day responsibilities; and harm to our operating results or financial condition.
We may not be able to complete any collaboration or business combination or effectively integrate the operations, products or personnel gained through any such business combination.
We depend on information technology and computer systems to operate our business; our business and operations would suffer in the event of any failures or interruptions of our computer system, such as a data breach or cybersecurity incident.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems, and those of third parties on which we rely, are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, unauthorized access, natural disasters, fire, terrorism, war and telecommunication and electrical failures. Cybersecurity attacks are evolving and include, but are not limited to, malicious software, attempts to gain unauthorized access to data and other electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in systems, misappropriation of our confidential or otherwise protected information, corruption of data. While we have not experienced any such material system failure, accident or security breach to date, if such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our drug development programs. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed, ongoing or planned clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any disruption or security breach results in a loss of or damage to our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability or damage to our reputation, and the further development of our product candidates could be delayed.
Likewise, data privacy or security breaches by employees or others may pose a risk that sensitive data, including our intellectual property, trade secrets or personal information of our employees, patients or other business partners may be exposed to unauthorized persons or to the public. There can be no assurance that our efforts, or the efforts of our partners and vendors, will prevent service interruptions, or identify breaches in our systems, that could adversely affect our business and operations and/or result in the loss of critical or sensitive information, which could result in financial, legal,
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business or reputational harm to us. In addition, our liability insurance may not be sufficient in type or amount to cover us against claims related to security breaches, cyberattacks and other related breaches.
Climate change, environmental, social and governance and sustainability initiatives may result in regulatory or structural industry changes that could require significant operational changes and expenditures, reduce demand for the Company’s products and adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Climate change, environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability are a growing global movement. Continuing political and social attention to these issues has resulted in both existing and pending international agreements and national, regional and local legislation, regulatory measures, reporting obligations and policy changes. Also, there is increasing societal pressure in some of the areas where we operate, to limit greenhouse gas emissions as well as other global initiatives. These agreements and measures may require, or could result in future legislation, regulatory measures or policy changes that would require operational changes or increase expenses.
Furthermore, increasing attention to climate change, ESG and sustainability has resulted in governmental investigations, and public and private litigation, which could increase our costs or otherwise adversely affect our business or results of operations. In addition, organizations that provide information to investors on corporate governance and related matters have developed ratings processes for evaluating companies on their approach to ESG matters. Such ratings are used by some investors to inform their investment and voting decisions. Unfavorable ESG ratings may lead to increased negative investor sentiment toward us, which could have a negative impact on the price of our securities and our access to and costs of capital.
Any or all of these ESG and sustainability initiatives may result in significant operational changes and expenditures, cause us reputational harm, and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenues and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.
Our operations could be subject to earthquakes, power shortages, telecommunications failures, water shortages, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, fires, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics and other natural or manmade disasters or business interruptions, for which we are predominantly self-insured. The occurrence of any of these business disruptions could seriously harm our operations and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses. We rely on third-party manufacturers to produce our product candidates. Our ability to obtain clinical supplies of product candidates could be disrupted if the operations of these suppliers are affected by a man-made or natural disaster or other business interruption. The ultimate impact on us, our significant suppliers and our general infrastructure of being consolidated in certain geographical areas is unknown, but our operations and financial condition could suffer in the event of a major earthquake, fire or other natural disaster.
Our future success depends on our ability to retain our executive officers and to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel.
We are highly dependent upon Steven Fruchtman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Guerin, C.P.A., Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer, and Mark Gelder, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, and our other executive officers. Although we have employment agreements with the persons named above, these agreements are at-will and do not prevent such persons from terminating their employment with us at any time. We do not maintain "key person" insurance for any of our executives or other employees. The loss of the services of any of these persons could impede the achievement of our research, development and commercialization objectives.
The COVID-19 pandemic could adversely impact our business, including our clinical trials, drug manufacturing and nonclinical activities.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues around the globe, we may experience disruptions that could severely impact our business, clinical trials, drug manufacturing and nonclinical activities. These potential disruptions may include but
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are not limited to delays or difficulties in clinical site initiation and patient recruitment, patient withdrawals, postponement of planned clinical or preclinical studies, redirection of site resources from studies, study modification, suspension, or termination, the introduction of remote study procedures and modified informed consent procedures, study site changes, direct delivery of investigational products to patient homes requiring state licensing, study deviations or noncompliance, diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials, including the diversion of hospitals serving as our clinical trial sites and hospital staff supporting the conduct of our clinical trials, delays in receiving approval from local regulatory authorities to initiate our planned clinical trials, delays in obtaining supplies of our product candidate or other materials that may be necessary for the conduct of our development program, delays in obtaining necessary inspections from the FDA or other regulatory authorities, changing laws and regulations in responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, and changes or delays in site monitoring. The foregoing may require that we consult with relevant review and ethics committees, IRBs, and the FDA. The foregoing may also impact the integrity of our study data. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may also increase the need for clinical trial patient monitoring and regulatory reporting of adverse effects.
Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Capital Needs
Our recurring operating losses, negative cash flows from operations, and accumulated deficit raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern absent obtaining adequate new financings.
Management has concluded that substantial doubt exists about our ability to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months from the date of the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. As of December 31, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents of $38.8 million and current liabilities of $8.0 million. We believe that we have sufficient resources available to support our development activities and business operations and satisfy our obligations into the first quarter of 2024. We do not have sufficient cash and cash equivalents as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to support our operations for at least the 12 months following the date that the financial statements are issued.
We will require substantial additional financing to fund our ongoing clinical trials and operations, and to continue to execute our strategy. To alleviate the conditions that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, we plan to explore various dilutive and non-dilutive sources of funding, including equity financings, strategic alliances, business development and other sources. The future success of the Company is dependent upon our ability to obtain additional funding. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be successful in obtaining such funding in sufficient amounts, on terms acceptable to us, or at all. The failure to obtain sufficient capital on acceptable terms when needed would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Accordingly, we have concluded that substantial doubt exists with respect to our ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these financial statements are issued.
The report of our independent registered accounting firm on our audited financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 contains an explanatory paragraph relating to our ability to continue as a going concern.
The auditor’s opinion on our audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022 includes an explanatory paragraph stating that we have incurred recurring losses from operations that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months from the date of the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. While we believe that we will be able to raise the capital we need to continue our operations, there can be no assurances that we will be successful in these efforts or will be able to resolve our liquidity issues or eliminate our operating losses. If we are unable to obtain sufficient funding, we would need to significantly reduce our operating plans and curtail some or all of our development efforts. Accordingly, our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected, and we may be unable to continue as a going concern. If we seek additional financing to fund our business activities in the future and there remains substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, investors or other financing sources may be unwilling to provide additional funding on commercially reasonable terms or at all.
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We need to obtain additional funding to continue as a going concern; if we are unable to meet our needs for additional funding in the future, we will be required to limit, scale back or cease operations.
Our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022 have been prepared assuming we will continue to operate as a going concern. However, due to our ongoing operating losses and our accumulated deficit, management has concluded that there is substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months from the date of the financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.Because we continue to experience net operating losses, our ability to continue as a going concern is subject to our ability to successfully raise sufficient additional capital, through future financings or through strategic and collaborative arrangements. If we are unable to obtain additional funding, we may not be able to continue as a going concern.
We do not have the funding resources necessary to carry out all of our proposed operating activities. We will need to obtain additional financing in the future in order to fully fund rigosertib or any other product candidates through the regulatory approval process. Accordingly, we may delay or pause our planned clinical trials, until we secure adequate additional funding. If we seek to proceed with a clinical trial without additional funding, we may receive questions or comments from the FDA, fail to obtain IRB approval, or find it more difficult to enroll patients in the trial. We have scaled down our operations in order to reduce spending on general and administrative functions, research and development, and other clinical trials, but by themselves, those measures may not be sufficient to address our funding needs.
Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
● timing and success of our clinical trials;
● cost, timing, and results of regulatory reviews and approvals;
● costs of any legal proceedings, claims, lawsuits and investigations;
● costs of commercializing any of our product candidates;
● technological and market developments;
● compliance with Nasdaq's continued listing requirements;
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● cost of manufacturing development; and
● timing and volume of sales of products for which we obtain marketing approval.
These factors could result in variations from our projected operating and liquidity requirements. Additional funds may not be available when needed, or, if available, we may not be able to obtain such funds on terms acceptable to us. If adequate funds are unavailable, we may be required, among other things, to:
● further reduce or cease operations.
We have incurred significant losses since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur losses in the future.
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company. Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that a product candidate could fail to gain regulatory approval or become commercially viable. We do not have any products approved by regulatory authorities for marketing and have not generated any revenue from product sales to date, and we continue to incur significant research, development and other expenses related to our ongoing operations. As a result, we are not profitable and have incurred losses in every reporting period since our inception in 1998. For the years ended December 31, 2022, and 2021, we reported net losses of $19.0 million and $16.2 million, respectively, and we had an accumulated deficit of $463.7 million at December 31, 2022.
We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future. These losses may increase as we continue the research and development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, our product candidates, and potentially begin to commercialize any products that may achieve regulatory approval. We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our business. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenues. If any of our product candidates fail in clinical trials or do not gain regulatory approval, or if approved, fail to achieve market acceptance, we may never become profitable. Even if we achieve profitability in the future, we may not be able to sustain profitability in subsequent periods.
We currently have no source of product revenue and may never become profitable.
To date, we have not generated any revenues from commercial product sales. Our ability to generate revenue from product sales and achieve profitability will depend upon our ability to successfully commercialize products, including any of our current product candidates, or other product candidates that we may in-license or acquire in the future. Even if we are able to successfully achieve regulatory approval for these product candidates, we do not know when any of these products will generate revenue from product sales for us, if at all.
In addition, because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development, including that our product candidates may not advance through development or achieve the endpoints of applicable clinical trials, we are unable to predict the timing or amount of increased expenses, or when or if we will be able to achieve or maintain profitability. Even if we are able to complete the development and regulatory process for any product candidates, we anticipate incurring significant costs associated with commercializing these products. Even if we are able to generate revenues from the sale of our products, we may not become profitable and may need to obtain additional funding to
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continue operations. If we fail to become profitable or are unable to sustain profitability on a continuing basis, then we may be unable to continue our operations at planned levels and be forced to reduce or suspend our operations.
We need to obtain additional funding to further develop our products in future clinical trials and through regulatory processes; if we are unable to meet our needs for additional funding in the future, we will be required to limit, scale back or cease operations.
Our ability to successfully raise sufficient additional capital, through future financings or through strategic and collaborative arrangements will be necessary to carry out all of our proposed future operating activities. We will need to obtain additional financing in the future in order to fully fund product candidates through the regulatory approval process.
Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, which could result in variations from our projected operating and liquidity requirements. Additional funds may not be available when needed, or, if available, we may not be able to obtain such funds on terms acceptable to us. If adequate funds are unavailable, we may be required, among other things, to: delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate one or more of our research or development programs; license rights to technologies, product candidates or products at an earlier stage or for indications or territories than otherwise would be desirable, or on terms that are less favorable to us than might otherwise be available; obtain funds through arrangements that may require us to relinquish rights to product candidates or products that we would otherwise seek to develop or commercialize by ourselves; or further reduce or cease operations.
Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our existing stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates.
Until we can generate substantial revenue from product sales, if ever, we expect to seek additional capital through a combination of private and public equity offerings, debt financings, strategic collaborations and alliances and licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interests of existing stockholders will be diluted, and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of existing stockholders. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants limiting our ability to take important actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through strategic collaborations and alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, which may include existing collaboration partners, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financing when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates or formulations that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.
Adverse developments affecting financial institutions, companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, such as actual events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults or non-performance, could adversely affect our operations and liquidity.
Actual events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. For example, on March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank, (SVB), was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or the FDIC, as receiver. As of March 10, 2023, we had nearly all of our cash and cash equivalent balances in segregated custodial accounts held by U.S. Bank for which SVB Asset Management is the advisor. Although a statement by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC stated that all depositors of SVB would have access to all of their money after only one business day following the date of closure and we and other depositors with SVB received such access on March 13, 2023, uncertainty and liquidity concerns in the broader financial services industry remain. There is no guarantee that the U.S. Department of Treasury, FDIC and Federal Reserve Board will provide access to uninsured funds in the future in the event of the closure of other banks or financial institutions in a timely fashion or at all.
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Changes in United States and China relations, as well as relations with other countries, and/or regulations may adversely impact our business, our operating results, our ability to raise capital and the market price of our shares.
The US government, including the SEC, has made statements and taken certain actions that led to changes to US and international relations, and will impact companies with connections to the United States or China, including imposing several rounds of tariffs affecting certain products manufactured in China, imposing certain sanctions and restrictions in relation to China and issuing statements indicating enhanced review of companies with significant China-based operations. It is unknown whether and to what extent new legislation, executive orders, tariffs, laws or regulations will be adopted, or the effect that any such actions would have on companies with significant connections to the U.S. or to China, our industry or on us. Any unfavorable government policies on cross-border relations and/or international trade, including increased scrutiny on companies with significant China-based operations, capital controls or tariffs, may affect our ability to raise capital and the market price of our shares.
If any new legislation, executive orders, tariffs, laws and/or regulations are implemented, if existing trade agreements are renegotiated or if the U.S. or Chinese governments take retaliatory actions due to the recent U.S.-China tension, such changes could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, our ability to raise capital and the market price of our shares.
Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties
We rely on third parties to conduct our preclinical and clinical trials. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or commercialize our product candidates.
We have relied upon and plan to continue to rely upon third-party CROs to monitor and manage data for our ongoing preclinical and clinical programs, as well as clinical trial sites for the conduct of our clinical trials. There is no guarantee that we will be able to maintain the relationships with these third parties, that we will be able to enter into additional relationships, or that we will be able to find replacement sites or CROs should any of our agreements terminate. We rely on these parties for execution of our preclinical and clinical trials, and we control only some aspects of their activities. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with the applicable protocol and legal, regulatory and scientific standards, and our reliance on the CROs and sites does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We also rely on third parties to assist in conducting our preclinical studies in accordance with Good Laboratory Practices, or GLP, and the Animal Welfare Act requirements. We, our clinical trial sites, and our CROs are required to comply with federal regulations and current GCPs, which are international standards meant to protect the rights and health of patients that are enforced by the FDA, the Competent Authorities of the Member States of the European Economic Area and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for all of our products in clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce GCP through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites. If we or any of our sites or CROs fail to comply with applicable GCP, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. We or they may also face regulatory enforcement. We cannot assure you that upon inspection by a given regulatory authority, such regulatory authority will determine that any of our clinical trials comply with GCP requirements. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with product produced under cGMP requirements. Failure to comply with these regulations may require us to repeat preclinical and clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process. We may also face liability and/or regulatory enforcement action should any of the third parties that we rely upon fail to comply with legal and/or regulatory requirements.
Our CROs and the employees at clinical sites are not our employees, and except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such CROs and sites, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our ongoing clinical, nonclinical and preclinical programs. If CROs or sites do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols, regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for or
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successfully commercialize our product candidates. As a result, our results of operations and the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenues could be delayed.
Because we have relied on third parties, our internal capacity to perform these functions is limited. Outsourcing these functions involves risk that third parties may not perform to our standards, may not produce results in a timely manner or may fail to perform at all. In addition, the use of third-party service providers requires us to disclose our proprietary information to these parties, which could increase the risk that this information will be misappropriated. We currently have a small number of employees, which limits the internal resources we have available to identify and monitor our third-party providers. To the extent we are unable to identify and successfully manage the performance of third-party service providers in the future, our business may be adversely affected. Though we carefully manage our relationships with our CROs and clinical trial sites, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and prospects.
If we lose our relationships with CROs, our drug development efforts could be delayed.
We rely on third-party vendors and CROs for preclinical studies and clinical trials related to our drug development efforts. Switching or adding additional CROs would involve additional cost and requires management time and focus. Our CROs have the right to terminate their agreements with us in the event of an uncured material breach. In addition, some of our CROs have an ability to terminate their respective agreements with us if it can be reasonably demonstrated that the safety of the subjects participating in our clinical trials warrants such termination, if we make a general assignment for the benefit of our creditors or if we are liquidated. We may also terminate a CRO for a number of reasons. Identifying, qualifying and managing performance of third-party service providers can be difficult, time consuming and cause delays in our development programs. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO commences work and the new CRO may not provide the same type or level of services as the original provider. If any of our relationships with our third-party CROs terminate, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs or to do so on commercially reasonable terms.
We have limited experience manufacturing our product candidates on a large clinical or commercial scale and have no manufacturing facility. We are dependent on third-party manufacturers for the manufacture of our product candidates for clinical trials as well as on third parties for our supply chain, and if we experience problems with any third parties, the manufacturing of our product candidates or products could be delayed.
We do not own or operate facilities for the manufacture of our product candidates. We currently have no plans to build our own clinical or commercial scale manufacturing capabilities. We currently rely on a single source CMO, for the chemical manufacture of active pharmaceutical ingredient for each of our product candidates. To meet our projected needs for clinical supplies to support our activities through regulatory approval and commercial manufacturing, the CMOs with whom we currently work will need to increase the scale of production. We may need to identify additional CMOs for continued production of supply for our product candidates. In addition, regulatory authorities enforce cGMP through periodic inspections and remote regulatory assessments of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and drug product manufacturing sites, quality control contract laboratories and distribution centers. If we or our CMO fail to comply with applicable cGMP, the manufacturing data generated and subsequent API lots and drug product batches in our supply chain may be deemed unreliable. Clinical trials using the product candidate may also be deemed to be unreliable. As such, the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional API and drug product manufacturing before continuing clinical trials or approving our marketing applications, may require us to conduct additional studies, and any such deficient product we supply to any collaboration partner may subject us to certain obligations under relevant agreements. We or our contractors may also face enforcement actions. We have not yet qualified alternate suppliers in the event the current CMOs we utilize are unable to scale production, or if we otherwise experience any problems with them. By example, our third party manufacturers may not be able to obtain sufficient quantities of any necessary supplies such as due to changing trade policies or supply shortages. Although alternative third-party suppliers with the necessary manufacturing and regulatory expertise and facilities exist, as we have experienced with respect to our existing CMOs, it could be expensive and take a significant amount of time to arrange for alternative suppliers. If we are unable to arrange for alternative third-party manufacturing sources, or to do so
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on commercially reasonable terms or in a timely manner, we may not be able to complete development of our product candidates, or market or distribute them.
Reliance on third-party manufacturers entails risks to which we would not be subject if we manufactured product candidates or products ourselves, including reliance on the third party for regulatory compliance and quality assurance, the possibility of breach of the manufacturing agreement by the third party because of factors beyond our control, including a failure to synthesize and manufacture our product candidates or any products we may eventually commercialize in accordance with our specifications, and the possibility of termination or nonrenewal of the agreement by the third party, based on its own business priorities, at a time that is costly or damaging to us. In addition, the FDA and other regulatory authorities require that our product candidates and any products that we may eventually commercialize be manufactured according to cGMP and similar foreign standards. Any failure by our third-party manufacturers to comply with cGMP or failure to scale up manufacturing processes, including any failure to deliver sufficient quantities of product candidates in a timely manner, could lead to a delay in, or failure to obtain, regulatory approval of any of our product candidates. In addition, such failure could be the basis for the FDA to issue a warning letter, withdraw approvals for product candidates previously granted to us, or take other regulatory or legal action, including recall or seizure of outside supplies of the product candidate, total or partial suspension of production, suspension of ongoing clinical trials, refusal to approve pending applications or supplemental applications, detention of product, refusal to permit the import or export of products, injunction, or imposing civil and criminal penalties. The manufacturing facilities that we use must also be approved by the FDA under a pre-approval inspection. If the facilities cannot pass these inspections, the FDA will not approve our marketing application. These manufacturing facilities will further be subject to continuing regulatory oversight and inspection, and, thus, they must continue to expend time and resources to maintain regulatory compliance.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
We could be required to incur significant expenses to perfect our intellectual property rights, and our intellectual property rights may be inadequate to protect our competitive position. If we are unable to protect our intellectual property rights, our competitive position could be harmed.
We depend on our ability to protect our proprietary technology. We rely on trade secret, patent, copyright and trademark laws, and confidentiality, licensing and other agreements with employees and third parties, all of which offer only limited protection. Our commercial success will depend in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection in the United States and other countries with respect to our proprietary technology and products. Where we have the right to do so under our license agreements, we seek to protect our proprietary position by filing patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our novel technologies and products that are important to our business. The patent positions of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally are highly uncertain, involve complex legal and factual questions and have in recent years been the subject of much litigation. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our patents, including those patent rights licensed to us by third parties, are highly uncertain.
The steps we have taken to protect our proprietary rights may not be adequate to preclude misappropriation of our proprietary information or infringement of our intellectual property rights, both inside and outside the United States. The rights already granted under any of our currently issued patents and those that may be granted under future issued patents may not provide us with the proprietary protection or competitive advantages we are seeking. If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our technology and products, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficient, our competitors could develop and commercialize technology and products similar or superior to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our technology and products may be adversely affected.
With respect to patent rights, we do not know whether any of the pending patent applications for any of our licensed compounds will result in the issuance of patents that protect our technology or products, or if any of our issued patents will effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive technologies and products. Our pending applications cannot be enforced against third parties practicing the technology claimed in such applications unless and until a patent issues from such applications. Further, the examination process may require us or our licensor to narrow the claims for our pending patent applications, which may limit the scope of patent protection that may be obtained if these
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applications issue. Because the issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its inventorship, scope, validity or enforceability, issued patents that we own or have licensed from third parties may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Such challenges may result in the loss of patent protection, the narrowing of claims in such patents or the invalidity or unenforceability of such patents, which could limit our ability to stop others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection for our technology and products. Protecting against the unauthorized use of our patented technology, trademarks and other intellectual property rights is expensive, difficult and may in some cases not be possible. In some cases, it may be difficult or impossible to detect third-party infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights, even in relation to issued patent claims, and proving any such infringement may be even more difficult.
Even if patents are granted that cover commercially-valuable compounds, we may decide to allow such patents to lapse, or if in-licensed, return the patents to the licensor. The effects of doing so are uncertain. In the case of returning granted patents to a licensor, we may encounter a scenario in which we need the patents in the future and are unable to obtain a new license to such patents on commercially-reasonable terms or at all. The licensor may license the returned patents to a competitor, who may then enforce the patents against us. In the first quarter of 2023, we returned a portion of the patents that we in-licensed from Temple University back to Temple. The long-term economic effects of doing so are uncertain.
We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our intellectual property, which could be expensive, time consuming and unsuccessful.
Competitors may infringe our patents or misappropriate or otherwise violate our intellectual property rights. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, litigation may be necessary in the future to enforce or defend our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets or to determine the validity and scope of our own intellectual property rights or the proprietary rights of others. This can be expensive and time consuming. Many of our current and potential competitors have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to defend their intellectual property rights than we can. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon or misappropriating our intellectual property. Litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of management resources. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent owned by or licensed to us is invalid or unenforceable, or a court may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation proceeding could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated, held unenforceable or interpreted narrowly. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation.
Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could harm our business.
Our commercial success depends upon our ability and the ability of our collaborators to develop, manufacture, market and sell our product candidates, and to use our proprietary technologies without infringing the proprietary rights of third parties. We may become party to, or threatened with, future adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our products and technology, including interference or derivation proceedings before the USPTO. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future. If we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to continue developing and commercializing our products and technology. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we are able to obtain a license, it may be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. We could be forced, including by court order, to cease commercializing the infringing technology or product. In addition, in any such proceeding or litigation, we could be found liable for monetary damages. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially harm our business. Any claims by third parties that we have misappropriated their confidential information or trade secrets could have a similar negative impact on our business.
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We may be subject to claims that our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers.
Many of our employees, including our senior management, were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Some of these employees, including each member of our senior management, executed proprietary rights, non-disclosure and non-competition agreements in connection with such previous employment. Although we try to ensure that our employees do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these employees have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such employee’s former employer.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock and Common Stock Warrants
We may not be able to comply with the Nasdaq continued listing requirements. If we are unable to regain compliance with the continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market, our Common Stock could be delisted, which could affect our Common Stock's market price and liquidity and reduce our ability to raise capital.
We are required to meet certain qualitative and financial tests to maintain the listing of our securities on The Nasdaq Capital Market. As of March 27, 2023, we were not in compliance with the Nasdaq continued listing requirements related to minimum bid price.
On March 28, 2023, we received a letter from The Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) indicating that we failed to comply with the minimum bid price requirement of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a) (2) requires that companies listed on Nasdaq maintain a minimum closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share.
Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), we have a 180 calendar day grace period, or until September 25, 2023, to regain compliance by meeting the continued listing standard. The continued listing standard will be met if the Company’s common stock has a minimum closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of ten consecutive business days during the 180 calendar day grace period.
If we are not in compliance by September 25, 2023, we may be afforded a second 180 calendar day period to regain compliance. To qualify, we would be required to meet the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards for The Nasdaq Capital Market, except for the minimum bid price requirement. In addition, we would be required to notify Nasdaq of our intention to cure the minimum bid price deficiency during the second compliance period, by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary.
If we do not regain compliance within the allotted compliance period(s), including any extensions that may be granted by Nasdaq, Nasdaq will provide notice that the Company’s common stock will be subject to delisting. At that time, we may appeal the Nasdaq Staff’s determination to a Nasdaq Hearings Panel.
We intend to monitor the closing bid price of the Company’s common stock and consider our available options to resolve the noncompliance with the minimum bid price requirement.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement or will otherwise be in compliance with other Nasdaq listing criteria.
If we are unable to maintain compliance with the continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market, our Common Stock could be delisted, making it could be more difficult to buy or sell our securities and to obtain accurate quotations, and the price of our securities could suffer a material decline. Delisting could also impair our ability to raise capital.
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Our share price and the liquidity of our stock may be volatile and result in substantial losses to our stockholders.
The trading price of our common stock is highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. In addition, the stock market in general, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. The realization of any of these risks or any of a broad range of other risks could have a dramatic and material adverse impact on the market price of our common stock.
We may be subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert management attention.
In the past companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been subject to securities class action litigation. We may be the target of this type of litigation in the future. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention from other business concerns, which could seriously harm our business.
Some provisions of our charter documents and Delaware law may have anti-takeover effects that could discourage an acquisition of us by others, even if an acquisition would be beneficial to our stockholders and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Provisions in our Tenth Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, as amended, or Certificate of Incorporation, and Amended and Restated Bylaws, as well as provisions of Delaware law, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us or increase the cost of acquiring us, even if doing so would benefit our stockholders, or remove our current management. These include provisions that will:
These provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors, who are responsible for appointing the members of our management. Because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which may discourage, delay or prevent someone from acquiring us or merging with us whether or not it is desired by or beneficial to our stockholders. Under Delaware law, a corporation may not, in general, engage in a business combination with any holder of 15% or more of
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its capital stock unless the holder has held the stock for three years or, among other things, the board of directors has approved the transaction. Any provision of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or amended and restated bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our stockholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock, and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Our corporate headquarters is located in Newtown, Pennsylvania, where we lease short-term flexible office space. We believe that suitable additional or alternative space would be available on commercially reasonable terms if required in the future.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
We are not a party to any legal proceedings and we are not aware of any such proceedings contemplated by government authorities.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
Not applicable.
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PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our common stock is listed under the symbol ONTX on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
Stockholders
As of February 28, 2023, there were approximately 97 holders of record for shares of our common stock. This does not reflect beneficial stockholders who held their common stock in “street” or nominee name through brokerage firms.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
Information regarding securities authorized for issuance under the Company’s equity compensation plans is contained in Part III, Item 11 of this Annual Report.
Dividend Policy
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to support our operations and finance the growth and development of our business. We do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future.
ITEM 6. RESERVED
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and other financial information included elsewhere in this Annual Report. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Annual Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business and related financing, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. You should review the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report for a discussion of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.
Overview
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel products for patients with cancer. We have proprietary molecularly targeted agents designed to disrupt specific cellular pathways that are important for cancer cell proliferation. We believe that the product candidates in our pipeline have the potential to be efficacious in a variety of cancers with unmet medical need. We have the following two clinical-stage programs: 1. narazaciclib (ON 123300), a multi-targeted kinase inhibitor in solid tumors and hematological malignancies as a single agent or in combination with other anti-cancer therapies; and 2. rigosertib administered alone or in combination for the treatment of various cancers. We are currently evaluating potential compounds for in-licensing opportunities.
We were incorporated in Delaware in December 1998 and commenced operations in January 1999. Our operations to date have included our organization and staffing, business planning, raising capital, in-licensing technology from research institutions, identifying potential product candidates, developing product candidates and building strategic alliances, as well as undertaking preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates.
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Since commencing operations, we have dedicated a significant portion of our resources to the development of our clinical-stage product candidates, particularly narazaciclib and rigosertib. We incurred research and development expenses of $11.4 million and $7.3 million during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. We anticipate that a significant portion of our operating expenses will continue to be related to research and development as we continue to advance narazaciclib and our other programs.
In January 2021, we closed on an offering of common stock. We issued 1,303,408 shares of common stock and net proceeds were approximately $8.5 million. In February 2021, we closed on an offering of common stock. We issued 1,916,667 shares of common stock and net proceeds were approximately $26.7 million. In September 2021, we closed on an offering of common stock. We issued 5,000,000 shares of common stock and net proceeds were approximately $19.5 million.
In August 2021, we entered into an at-the-market equity distribution agreement for the sale of up to $25.0 million of common stock. Through September 30, 2021, we sold 109,523 shares under the agreement and net proceeds were approximately $0.5 million. There were no other sales during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Our net losses were $19.0 million and $16.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. As of December 31, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of $463.7 million. We expect to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future as we continue the development and clinical trials of, and seek regulatory approval for, our product candidates, even if milestones under our license and collaboration agreements may be met.
As of December 31, 2022 we had $38.8 million in cash and cash equivalents. We believe that our cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our ongoing trials and operations into the first quarter of 2024; however, based on current projections, we do not have sufficient cash and cash equivalents as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to support our operations for at least the 12 months following the date that the financial statements are issued. Accordingly, substantial doubt exists with respect to our ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these financial statements are issued.
Financial Overview
Revenue
During the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, our revenues were derived exclusively from activities conducted in accordance with our collaboration arrangement with SymBio.
We have not generated any revenue from commercial product sales. In the future, if any of our product candidates currently under development are approved for commercial sale in the United States or other territories where we have retained commercialization rights, we may generate revenue from product sales, or alternatively, we may choose to select a collaborator to commercialize our product candidates in these markets.
We are recognizing the $7.5 million upfront payment received in 2011 under the SymBio collaboration agreement as revenue on a straight-line basis through December 2037, reflecting our estimate of when we will complete our obligations under the agreement. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we recognized revenues of $226,000 and $226,000, respectively, under the SymBio collaboration agreement. In addition, we recognized revenues of $0 and $0 for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, related to the supply agreement.
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Operating Expenses
The following table summarizes our operating expenses for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist principally of salaries and related costs for executive and other administrative personnel, including stock-based compensation and travel expenses. Other general and administrative expenses include facility-related costs, communication expenses, insurance, board of directors expenses and professional fees for legal, patent review, consulting and accounting services.
We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will remain consistent in the short-term, but would increase in the future with the continued research and development and potential commercialization of our product candidates. These increases will likely include increased costs for insurance, costs related to the hiring of additional personnel and payments to outside consultants among other expenses. Additionally, if and when we believe a regulatory approval of a product candidate appears likely, we anticipate an increase in payroll and expense as a result of our preparation for commercial operations, especially as it relates to the sales and marketing of our product candidates.
Research and Development Expenses
Our research and development expenses consist primarily of costs incurred for the development of our product candidates, which include:
● the cost of acquiring, developing and manufacturing clinical trial materials;
● costs associated with preclinical activities and regulatory operations.
Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. License fees and milestone payments we make related to in-licensed products and technology are expensed if it is determined that they have no alternative future use. We record costs for some development activities, such as clinical trials, based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks using data such as patient enrollment, clinical site activations or information provided to us by our vendors.
Research and development activities are central to our business model. Product candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development, primarily due to the increased size and duration of later-stage clinical trials.
Our research and development expenses are related to narazaciclib, oral rigosertib, other candidates in our pipeline, and potentially in-licensed products. We do not currently utilize a formal time allocation system to capture expenses on a project-by-project basis because we are organized and record expense by functional department and our employees may allocate time to more than one development project. Accordingly, we do not allocate expenses to individual projects or
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product candidates, although we do allocate some portion of our research and development expenses by functional area and by compound.
It is difficult to determine with certainty the duration and completion costs of our current or future preclinical programs and clinical trials of our product candidates, or if, when or to what extent we will generate revenues from the commercialization and sale of any of our product candidates that obtain regulatory approval. We may never succeed in achieving regulatory approval for any of our product candidates. The duration, costs and timing of clinical trials and development of our product candidates will depend on a variety of factors, including the uncertainties of future clinical and preclinical studies, uncertainties in clinical trial enrollment rate and significant and changing government regulation. In addition, the probability of success for each product candidate will depend on numerous factors, including competition, manufacturing capability and commercial viability. We will determine which programs to pursue and how much to fund each program in response to the scientific and clinical success of each product candidate, an assessment of each product candidate’s commercial potential and our available funds.
Interest Expense and Other Income, Net
Other income, net consists principally of interest income earned on cash and cash equivalent balances and foreign exchange gains and losses.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
This management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in our consolidated financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
We believe the following accounting policies may involve a higher degree of judgment and complexity in their application than our other accounting policies and represent the most critical judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. Our significant accounting policies are presented within Note 2 to our Financial Statements.
Clinical Trial Expense
As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate our accrued expenses. Our clinical trial accrual process is designed to account for expenses resulting from our obligations under contracts with vendors, consultants and CROs and clinical site agreements in connection with conducting clinical trials. The financial terms of these contracts are subject to negotiations, which vary from contract to contract and may result in payment flows that do not match the periods over which materials or services are provided to us under such contracts. Our objective is to reflect the appropriate clinical trial expenses in our consolidated financial statements by matching the appropriate expenses with the period in which services are provided and efforts are expended. We account for these expenses according to the progress of the trial as measured by patient progression and the timing of various aspects of the trial. We determine accrual estimates through financial models that take into account discussion with applicable personnel and outside service providers as to the progress or state of completion of trials, or the services completed. During the course of a clinical trial, we adjust our clinical expense recognition if actual results differ from our estimates. We make estimates of our accrued expenses as of each balance sheet date in our consolidated financial statements based on the facts and circumstances known to us at that time. Our clinical trial accrual and prepaid assets are dependent, in part, upon the receipt of timely and accurate reporting from CROs and other third-party vendors. Although we do not expect our estimates to be materially different from amounts actually incurred, our understanding of the status and
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timing of services performed relative to the actual status and timing of services performed may vary and may result in us reporting amounts that are too high or too low for any particular period.
Stock-Based Compensation
We account for stock-based payments to employees and non-employees using an option pricing model for estimating fair value. Accordingly, stock-based compensation expense is measured based on the estimated fair value of the awards on the date of grant, net of forfeitures. Compensation expense is recognized for the portion that is ultimately expected to vest over the period during which the recipient renders the required services, using the straight-line single option method.
We record stock-based compensation expense as a component of research and development expenses or general and administrative expenses, depending on the function performed by the optionee. For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, we allocated stock-based compensation as follows:
Year ended December 31,
Fair Value Estimates
We estimate the fair value of share-based awards to employees and non-employees using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The Black-Scholes model requires the input of highly complex and subjective assumptions, including (a) the expected stock price volatility, (b) the calculation of the expected term of the award, (c) the risk free interest rate and (d) expected dividends. Expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock. We estimate the expected life of our employee stock options using the “simplified” method, whereby, the expected life equals the arithmetic average of the vesting term and the original contractual term of the option. The risk-free interest rates for periods within the expected life of the option are based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect during the period when the options were granted. We have never paid, and do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future.
Income Taxes
We recorded deferred tax assets of $170.1 million as of December 31, 2022, which have been fully offset by a valuation allowance due to uncertainties surrounding our ability to realize these tax benefits. The deferred tax assets are primarily composed of federal and state tax net operating loss (NOL), carry forwards and research and development tax credit carry forwards. As of December 31, 2022, we had federal NOL carry forwards of $298.1 million, state NOL carry forwards of $257.8 million, federal research and development tax credit carry forwards of $89.7 million and state research and development tax credit carry forwards of $1.1 million available to reduce future taxable income, if any. Federal NOL carry forwards generated before 2018 will begin to expire at various dates starting in 2023. The state NOL carry forwards will begin to expire at various dates starting in 2025. In general, if we experience a greater than 50 percentage point aggregate change in ownership of specified significant stockholders over a three-year period, utilization of our pre-change US NOL, tax credit and other tax attribute carry forwards may be subject to an annual limitations under Sections 382 and 383 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the Code) and similar state laws. Such limitations may result in expiration of a portion of the NOL carry forwards before utilization and may be substantial. The amount of the annual limitation, if any, will be determined based on the value of the Company immediately prior to the ownership change. Subsequent ownership changes may further affect the limitation in future years. The Company believes such a change occurred and may impact available net operating losses and carry over research credits generated. The Company has not performed any detailed analysis as it expects these to expire before utilization and has provided for a full valuation allowance but will perform a Section 382 and 383 study if any tax attributes are to be utilized in a given year.
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Results of Operations
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2022 and 2021
Year ended December 31,
Operating expenses:
Change in fair value of warrant liability — 321,000 (321,000)
Income taxes — — —
Revenues
Revenues for 2022 were consistent with 2021 and were due to the recognition of deferred revenue from our collaboration with SymBio.
General and administrative expenses
General and administrative expenses decreased by $1.0 million or 10.4%, to $8.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 from $9.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. The decrease was attributable primarily to $1.2 million lower expenses for investor relations, proxy solicitation, and fees related to our shareholder meetings in the 2021 period which did not recur in the 2022 period, $0.1 million lower facilities related costs, $0.1 million lower insurance expenses and $0.1 million lower commercial consulting expenses in the 2022 period. These decreases were partially offset by $0.2 million higher personnel related costs and $0.2 higher professional and consulting fees during the 2022 period.
The details of our general and administrative expenses are:
Year Ended December 31,
Research and development expenses
Research and development expenses increased by $4.1 million, or 56.3%, to $11.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 from $7.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2021. This increase was caused primarily by $2.0 million higher clinical and preclinical development expenses related to narazaciclib, by $1.5 million higher manufacturing costs related to narazaciclib drug substance and drug product, and also by $0.9 million higher personnel and stock compensation expense during the 2022 period. These increases were partially offset by a $0.3 million decrease in consulting expenses in the 2022 period.
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The details of our research and development expenses are:
Year ended December 31,
Change in fair value of warrant liability
The fair value of the warrant liability was reduced to $0 during the third quarter of 2021, following the expiration of the underlying tradable warrants. The change in the fair value of the warrant liability was an increase of $0.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2021 based on the change in market value of the tradable warrants in the 2021 period.
Other income, net
Other income, net, increased by $0.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 compared to the year ended December 31, 2021 due primarily to $0.6 million higher interest income in the 2022 period and $27,000 higher foreign currency exchange gain in the 2022 period.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Since our inception, we have incurred net losses and experienced negative cash flows from our operations. We incurred net losses of $19.0 million and $16.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Our operating activities used $16.3 million and $19.5 million of net cash during the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively. At December 31, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of $463.7 million, working capital of $31.3 million, and cash and cash equivalents of $38.8 million. We believe that our cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our ongoing trials and business operations into the first quarter of 2024; however, based on current projections, we do not have sufficient cash and cash equivalents as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to support our operations for at least the 12 months following the date that the financial statements are issued. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern through the one-year period after the date that the financial statements are issued. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making estimates and the risks associated with the research, development, and commercialization of biotechnology products, we may have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and our operating plan may change as a result of many factors currently unknown to us.
We will require substantial additional financing to fund our ongoing clinical trials and operations, and to continue to execute our strategy. To alleviate the conditions that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, we plan to explore various dilutive and non-dilutive sources of funding, including equity financings, strategic alliances, business development and other sources. The future success of the Company is dependent upon our ability to obtain additional funding. There can be no assurance, however, that we will be successful in obtaining such funding in sufficient amounts, on terms acceptable to us, or at all. The failure to obtain sufficient capital on acceptable terms when needed would have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, and financial condition. Accordingly, we have concluded that substantial doubt exists with respect to our ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these financial statements are issued.
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business, and do not include any adjustments relating to recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should we be unable to continue as a going concern.
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Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021:
Year Ended December 31,
Net cash (used in) provided by:
Effect of foreign currency translation (19,000) (28,000)
Net cash used in operating activities
Net cash used in operating activities was $16.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 and consisted primarily of a net loss of $19.0 million, including $1.2 million of noncash stock-based compensation and depreciation expense. Changes in operating assets and liabilities resulted in a net increase in cash of $1.5 million. Significant changes in operating assets and liabilities included an increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $1.9 million as a result of the timing of clinical trial and other accruals, and receipt and payment of vendor invoices, and an increase of $0.2 million in prepaid expenses and other current assets. Deferred revenue decreased $0.2 million due to recognition of the unamortized portion of the upfront payment under our collaboration agreement with SymBio.
Net cash used in operating activities was $19.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2021 and consisted primarily of a net loss of $16.2 million, including a favorable change in fair value of warrant liability of $0.3 million and $0.6 million of noncash stock-based compensation and depreciation expense. Changes in operating assets and liabilities resulted in a net decrease in cash of $3.6 million. Significant changes in operating assets and liabilities included a decrease in accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $3.9 million as a result of the timing of clinical trial and other accruals, and receipt and payment of vendor invoices, and the reduction of prepaid expenses of $0.5 million primarily as a result of recognition of insurance expense. Deferred revenue decreased $0.2 million due to recognition of the unamortized portion of the upfront payment under our collaboration agreement with SymBio.
Net cash provided by financing activities
There was no net cash used in or provided by financing activities in the 2022 period. Net cash provided by financing activities for the year ended December 31, 2021 was $55.6 million, which resulted from the proceeds received from the sale of common stock in January, February, and September 2021 and through the at-the-market facility during August and September 2021. An additional $0.5 million was provided by the exercise of common stock warrants.
Material Cash Requirements
We have not achieved profitability since our inception and we expect to continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future. We expect net cash expended in 2023 to be higher than 2022 due to clinical trials with narazaciclib and increased headcount in our clinical and regulatory groups. We also expect an increase in costs for potential in-licensing, the timing of which will be determined by the timing of any potential in-licensing. We enter into contracts in the normal course of business with third-party contract organizations for clinical trials, preclinical studies, manufacturing and other services and products for operating purposes. These contracts generally provide for termination following a certain period after notice and therefore we believe that, currently, our non-cancelable obligations under these agreements are not material. We believe that our cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our ongoing trials and operations into the first quarter of 2024; however, based on current projections, we do not have sufficient cash and cash equivalents as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to support our operations for at least the 12 months following the date that the financial statements are issued. These conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern through the one-year period after the date that the financial statements are issued.
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We are exploring various sources of funding for continued development of narazaciclib and any potential in-licensed compounds as well as our ongoing operations. We expect to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future as we continue the development and clinical trials of, and seek regulatory approval for, our product candidates, even if milestones under our license and collaboration agreements may be met. If we obtain regulatory approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant NDA preparation and commercialization expenses. We do not currently have an organization for the sales, marketing and distribution of pharmaceutical products. We may rely on licensing and co-promotion agreements with strategic or collaborative partners for the commercialization of our products in the United States and other territories. If we choose to build a commercial infrastructure to support marketing in the United States for any of our product candidates that achieve regulatory approval, such commercial infrastructure could be expected to include a targeted, oncology sales force supported by sales management, internal sales support, an internal marketing group and distribution support. To develop the appropriate commercial infrastructure internally, we would have to invest financial and management resources, some of which would have to be deployed prior to having any certainty about marketing approval. Furthermore, we have and expect to continue to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company.
Please see “Risk Factors” for additional risks associated with our substantial capital requirements.
Segment Reporting
We view our operations and manage our business in one segment, which is the identification and development of oncology therapeutics.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued new guidance on the accounting for credit losses on financial instruments. The guidance was amended in November 2019. The new guidance introduces an expected loss model for estimating credit losses, replacing the incurred loss model. The new guidance also changes the impairment model for available-for-sale debt securities, requiring the use of an allowance to record estimated credit losses (and subsequent recoveries). The guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, and interim periods within those years, for companies deemed to be smaller reporting companies as of November 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. We will adopt the guidance as of January 1, 2023. The guidance is not expected to have a material effect on the Company.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
As a smaller reporting company, the Company is not required to provide the information otherwise required by this Item.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
The financial statements and supplementary data required by this item are listed in Item 15 — “Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules” of this Annual Report.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
None.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management, with the participation of our President and Chief Executive Officer (our principal executive officer) and our Chief Financial Officer (our principal financial officer), evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure
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controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2022. Based upon this evaluation, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that, as of such date, disclosure controls and procedures were effective.
Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2022. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued in 2013. Based upon the assessments, management has concluded that as of December 31, 2022 our internal control over financial reporting was effective to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP.
This Annual Report does not include an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our registered public accounting firm pursuant to exemptions provided to issuers that are non-accelerated filers or qualify as an “emerging growth company,” as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBS Act.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2022 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continuing Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing.
On March 28, 2023, the Company received a letter from The Nasdaq Capital Market (“Nasdaq”) indicating that the Company has failed to comply with the minimum bid price requirement of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a) (2) requires that companies listed on Nasdaq maintain a minimum closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share.
Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the Company has a 180 calendar day grace period, or until September 25, 2023, to regain compliance by meeting the continued listing standard. The continued listing standard will be met if the Company’s common stock has a minimum closing bid price of at least $1.00 per share for a minimum of ten consecutive business days during the 180 calendar day grace period.
If the Company is not in compliance by September 25, 2023, the Company may be afforded a second 180 calendar day period to regain compliance. To qualify, the Company would be required to meet the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other initial listing standards for The Nasdaq Capital Market, except for the minimum bid price requirement. In addition, the Company would be required to notify Nasdaq of its intention to cure the minimum bid price deficiency during the second compliance period, by effecting a reverse stock split, if necessary.
If the Company does not regain compliance within the allotted compliance period(s), including any extensions that may be granted by Nasdaq, Nasdaq will provide notice that the Company’s common stock will be subject to delisting. At that time, the Company may appeal the Nasdaq Staff’s determination to a Nasdaq Hearings Panel.
The Company intends to monitor the closing bid price of the Company’s common stock and consider its available options to resolve the noncompliance with the minimum bid price requirement.
There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement or will otherwise be in compliance with other Nasdaq listing criteria.
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ITEM 9C. DISCLOSURE REGARDING FOREIGN JURISDICTIONS THAT PREVENT INSPECTIONS
Not applicable.
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PART III
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Information with respect to this item will be set forth in the Proxy Statement for the 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the Proxy Statement) under the headings “Election of Directors,” “Executive Officers,” “Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance,” “Code of Ethics” and “Corporate Governance” and is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Information with respect to this item will be set forth in the Proxy Statement under the headings “Executive Compensation” and “Director Compensation,” and is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
Information with respect to this item will be set forth in the Proxy Statement under the headings “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” and “Executive Compensation,” and is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Information with respect to this item will be set forth in the Proxy Statement under the headings “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions” and “Corporate Governance” and is incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
Information with respect to this item will be set forth in the Proxy Statement under the heading “Ratification of the Selection of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm,” and is incorporated herein by reference.
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PART IV
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
(3) Exhibits: See Exhibits Index on pages 60 to 64
ITEM 16. FORM 10-K SUMMARY
Information with respect to this item is not required and has been omitted at the Company’s option.
EXHIBITS INDEX
Exhibit Number Exhibit Description
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Exhibit Number Exhibit Description
61
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Exhibit Number Exhibit Description
62
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Exhibit Number Exhibit Description
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Exhibit Number Exhibit Description
21.1 Subsidiaries of Onconova Therapeutics, Inc.
23.1 Consent of Ernst & Young, LLP.
101.SCH XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document
101.CAL XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.DEF XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document
101.LAB XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document
101.PRE XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document
+ Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.
** Portions of the exhibit have been omitted.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Onconova Therapeutics, Inc.
By: /s/ STEVEN M. FRUCHTMAN, M.D.
Steven M. FruchtmanChief Executive Officer
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated:
Signature Title Date
Steven M. Fruchtman, M.D.
Mark Guerin
/s/ JAMES J. MARINO Chairman, Board of Directors March 30, 2023
James J. Marino
/s/ Peter Atadja PH.D. Director March 30, 2023
Peter Atadja, Ph.D.
/s/ Trafford Clarke, PH.D. Director March 30, 2023
Trafford Clarke, Ph.D.
/s/ JEROME E. GROOPMAN, M.D. Director March 30, 2023
Jerome E. Groopman, M.D.
/s/ VIREN MEHTA, PH.D. Director March 30, 2023
J Viren Mehta, Ph.D.
/s/ MARY TERESA SHOEMAKER Director March 30, 2023
Mary Teresa Shoemaker
/s/ JACK E. STOVER Director March 30, 2023
Jack E. Stover
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ONCONOVA THERAPEUTICS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Index to Consolidated Financial Statements
Page
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (PCAOB ID: 42) F-2
Consolidated Balance Sheets, December 31, 2022 and 2021 F-4
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements F-9
All common stock, equity, share and per share amounts have been retroactively adjusted to reflect a one-for-fifteen reverse stock split which was effective May 20, 2021.
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and the Board of Directors of Onconova Therapeutics, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the years then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2022 and 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
The Company's Ability to Continue as a Going Concern
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has suffered recurring losses from operations and has stated that substantial doubt exists about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. Management's evaluation of the events and conditions and management's plans regarding these matters are also described in Note 1. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
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Clinical Trial Expense Accruals
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2013.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
March 30, 2023
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ONCONOVA THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
December 31,
Assets
Current assets:
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 561,000 332,000
Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Current liabilities:
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders’ equity:
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (33,000) (14,000)
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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ONCONOVA THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Years ended December 31,
Operating expenses:
Change in fair value of warrant liability — 321,000
Net loss per share, basic and diluted $ (0.91) $ (0.96)
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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ONCONOVA THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
Years ended December 31,
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax:
Foreign currency translation adjustments, net (19,000) (28,000)
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax (19,000) (28,000)
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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ONCONOVA THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
Stockholders’ Equity
Accumulated
Additional other
Common Stock Paid in Accumulated comprehensive
Shares Amount Capital deficit income (loss) Total
Other comprehensive loss — — — — (28,000) (28,000)
Other comprehensive loss — — — — (19,000) (19,000)
Stock-based compensation — — 1,172,000 — — 1,172,000
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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ONCONOVA THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Year Ended December 31,
Operating activities:
Change in fair value of warrant liabilities — (321,000)
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Prepaid expenses and other current assets (229,000) 530,000
Other assets 9,000 —
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 828,000 (1,830,000)
Financing activities:
Proceeds from the exercise of common warrants — 495,000
Proceeds from the exercise of stock options — 24,000
Net cash provided by financing activities — 55,560,000
Effect of foreign currency translation on cash (19,000) (28,000)
See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.
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ONCONOVA THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
1. Nature of Business
The Company
Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. (the Company) was incorporated in the State of Delaware on December 22, 1998 and commenced operations on January 1, 1999. The Company's headquarters are located in Newtown, Pennsylvania. The Company is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel products for patients with cancer. The Company has proprietary targeted anti-cancer agents designed to disrupt specific cellular pathways that are important for cancer cell proliferation. The Company believes that the product candidates in its pipeline have the potential to be efficacious in a variety of cancers with unmet medical need. The Company has the following two clinical-stage programs: 1. narazaciclib (ON 123300), a multi-kinase inhibitor in solid tumors; and 2. oral rigosertib alone or in combination with PD-1 inhibitors for treatment of KRAS-mutated solid tumors. During 2012, Onconova Europe GmbH was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company for the purpose of further developing business in Europe.
On May 20, 2021, the Company amended its certificate of incorporation to effect a one-for-fifteen reverse stock split of its common stock. All common stock, equity, share and per share amounts in the financial statements and notes have been retroactively adjusted to reflect this one-for-fifteen reverse stock split.
On May 20, 2021, the Company amended its certificate of incorporation to decrease the number of authorized shares of common stock par value $0.01 per share from 250,000,000 to 125,000,000.
Liquidity
On January 11, 2021, the Company closed on an offering of common stock. The Company issued 1,303,408 shares of common stock and net proceeds were approximately $8.5 million. On February 16, 2021, the Company closed on an offering of common stock. The Company issued 1,916,667 shares of common stock and net proceeds were approximately $26.7 million. On September 28, 2021, the Company closed on an offering of common stock. The Company issued 5,000,000 shares of common stock and net proceeds were approximately $19.5 million.
On August 20, 2021, the Company entered into an at-the-market equity distribution agreement for the sale of up to $25.0 million of common stock. Through September 30, 2021, the Company sold 109,523 shares under the agreement at a weighted average price of $5.32 per share. Net proceeds after commissions and offering expenses were approximately $0.5 million. There were no other sales during the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
The Company has incurred recurring operating losses since inception. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company incurred a net loss of $18,964,000 and as of December 31, 2022 the Company had generated an accumulated deficit of $463,683,000. The Company anticipates operating losses to continue for the foreseeable future due to, among other things, costs related to research, development of its product candidates and its preclinical programs, strategic alliances and its administrative organization. At December 31, 2022, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $38,757,000. The Company believes that its cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund its ongoing trials and business operations into the first quarter of 2024; however, based on current projections, the Company does not have sufficient cash and cash equivalents as of the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to support its operations for at least the 12 months following the date that the financial statements are issued. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern through the one year period after the date that the financial statements are issued. Due to the inherent uncertainty involved in making estimates and the risks associated with the research, development, and commercialization of biotechnology products, the Company may have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and the Company's operating plan may change as a result of many factors currently unknown to the Company.
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The Company will require substantial additional financing to fund its ongoing clinical trials and operations, and to continue to execute its strategy. To alleviate the conditions that raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, management plans to explore various dilutive and non-dilutive sources of funding, including equity financings, strategic alliances, business development and other sources. The future success of the Company is dependent upon its ability to obtain additional funding. There can be no assurance, however, that the Company will be successful in obtaining such funding in sufficient amounts, on terms acceptable to the Company, or at all. The failure to obtain sufficient capital on acceptable terms when needed would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, results of operations, and financial condition. Accordingly, management has concluded that substantial doubt exists with respect to the Company's ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that these financial statements are issued.
The accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business, and do not include any adjustments relating to recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.
2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The consolidated financial statements are prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP). The financial statements include the consolidated accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Onconova Europe GmbH. All significant intercompany transactions have been eliminated.
All common stock, equity, share and per share amounts have been retroactively adjusted to reflect a one-for-fifteen reverse stock split which was effective May 20, 2021.
Segment Information
Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision maker, or decision-making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. The Company views its operations and manages its business in one segment, which is the identification and development of oncology therapeutics.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, other comprehensive income and related disclosures. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates, including estimates related to clinical trial accruals, warrant liability, and allocation of consideration for revenue recognition. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and other market-specific or other relevant assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from those estimates or assumptions.
Concentrations of Credit Risk and Off-Balance Sheet Risk
Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk are primarily cash and cash equivalents. The Company maintains a portion of its cash and cash equivalent balances in the form of money market accounts with financial institutions that management believes are creditworthy. The Company has no financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk of loss.
At December 31, 2022 the Company had $38,522,000 of its cash and cash equivalents in a Morgan Stanley Institutional Liquidity Fund. The fund is a AAA rated money market fund that invests in a portfolio of liquid, high-quality debt securities issued by the U.S. government. The fund resides in a custodial account held by U.S. Bank for which SVB Asset Management is the advisor (see Note: 16, Subsequent Events).
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