Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited)
1. ORGANIZATION AND DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
Daré Bioscience, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to advancing innovative products for women’s health. Daré Bioscience, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries operate in one segment. In this report, the “Company” refers collectively to Daré Bioscience, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries, unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise requires.
The Company is driven by a mission to identify, develop and bring to market a diverse portfolio of differentiated therapies that expand treatment options, improve outcomes and facilitate convenience for women, primarily in the areas of contraception, vaginal health, sexual health and fertility. The Company's business strategy is to in-license or otherwise acquire the rights to differentiated product candidates in the Company's areas of focus, some of which have existing clinical proof-of-concept data, to take those candidates through mid to late-stage clinical development, and to establish and leverage strategic partnerships to achieve commercialization.
Since July 2017, the Company has assembled a portfolio of clinical-stage and pre-clinical-stage candidates. While the Company will continue to assess opportunities to expand its portfolio, its current focus is on advancing its existing product candidates through mid and late stages of clinical development or approval. The Company's portfolio includes three product candidates in advanced clinical development:
•DARE-BV1, a novel thermosetting bioadhesive hydrogel formulated with clindamycin phosphate 2% to be administered in a single vaginally delivered application, as a first line treatment for bacterial vaginosis;
•Ovaprene®, a novel, hormone-free, monthly contraceptive; and
•Sildenafil Cream, 3.6%, a proprietary cream formulation of sildenafil for topical administration to the vulva and vagina for treatment of female sexual arousal disorder.
The Company's portfolio also includes three product candidates in Phase 1 clinical development or that it believes are Phase 1-ready:
•DARE-HRT1, a combination bio-identical estradiol and progesterone intravaginal ring for the treatment of menopausal symptoms, including vasomotor symptoms, as part of a hormone therapy following menopause;
•DARE-FRT1, an intravaginal ring containing bio-identical progesterone for the prevention of preterm birth and broader luteal phase support as part of an in vitro fertilization treatment plan; and
•DARE-VVA1, a vaginally delivered formulation of tamoxifen to treat vulvar vaginal atrophy in patients with hormone-receptor positive breast cancer.
In addition, the Company's portfolio includes these pre-clinical stage product candidates:
•DARE-LARC1, a contraceptive implant with a woman-centered design that has the potential to be a long-acting, convenient and user-controlled contraceptive option;
•ADARE-204 and ADARE-214, injectable formulations of etonogestrel designed to provide contraception over 6-month and 12-month periods, respectively; and
•DARE-RH1, a novel approach to non-hormonal contraception for both men and women by targeting the CatSper ion channel.
The Company’s primary operations have consisted of, and are expected to continue to consist primarily of, research and development activities to advance its product candidates through clinical development and regulatory approval. The Company has focused on the advancement of DARE-BV1, Ovaprene, and Sildenafil Cream, 3.6%.
To date, the Company has not obtained any regulatory approvals for any of its product candidates, commercialized any of its product candidates or generated any revenue. The Company is subject to several risks common to clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companies, including dependence on key employees, dependence on third-party collaborators and service providers, competition from other companies, the need to develop commercially viable products in a timely and cost-effective manner, and the need to obtain adequate additional capital to fund the development of product candidates. The Company is also subject to several risks common to other companies in the industry, including rapid technology change, regulatory approval of products, uncertainty of market acceptance of products, competition from substitute products and larger companies, compliance with government regulations, protection of proprietary technology, and product liability.
The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 remain an evolving and uncertain risk to the Company's business, operating results, financial condition and stock price. Challenges to vaccination efforts, variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 circulating globally, including within the U.S., and other causes of virus spread have resulted in, and may continue to result in, local, state, federal and foreign governments reimposing restrictions in various geographies. To date, neither government-imposed restrictions or other governmental actions nor the Company's remote working arrangements or those of its third-party service providers and contract manufacturers have materially affected the Company's ability to operate its business, and the Company has been able to advance its portfolio of product candidates in meaningful ways during the pandemic, including by commencing and completing a Phase 3 clinical trial of DARE-BV1 during 2020. However, the effects of the pandemic could have a material adverse impact on the Company's business, operating results and financial condition, including, without limitation, by increasing the anticipated aggregate costs and timelines for the development and marketing approval of the Company's product candidates. For example, the pace of enrollment of participants in the Company's ongoing clinical trial for Sildenafil Cream, 3.6% at certain sites has recently declined because of those sites adhering to governmental guidelines recommending reductions or changes in their operations intended to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The commencement and/or completion of clinical trials for the Company's product candidates, including Ovaprene, could also be delayed for similar reasons or because of individuals being less inclined to participate in or complete trials that require multiple clinic visits as a result of increased transmissibility of the virus that causes COVID-19 or due to a spike in hospitalizations in the U.S. that causes healthcare industry resources to be diverted from participating in research and development activities for investigational products unrelated to COVID-19 or because the operations of contract manufacturers of clinical supplies are disrupted due to the effects of COVID-19 and are unable to fulfill the Company's needs. Conversely, continued re-opening of the U.S. and global economies may delay enrollment in clinical trials for Sildenafil Cream, 3.6% and Ovaprene as individuals gain more freedom to travel and participate in other activities that have not been available to them since the beginning of the pandemic and may be less inclined to participate in or complete studies that require multiple clinic visits. In addition, the effects of the pandemic could adversely impact the Company's ability to raise capital when needed or on terms favorable or acceptable to the Company. Continued uncertainty regarding the duration and impact of the pandemic on the U.S. and global economies, workplace environments and capital markets, preclude any prediction as to the ultimate effect of the pandemic on the Company's business. See also the risk factor titled, The COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 could negatively impact our business, including by increasing the cost and timelines for our clinical development programs, in Part II, ITEM 1A, Risk Factors, of this report.
Going Concern
The Company prepared its condensed consolidated financial statements on a going concern basis, which assumes that the Company will realize its assets and satisfy its liabilities in the normal course of business. The Company has a history of losses from operations, expects negative cash flows from its operations to continue for the foreseeable future, and expects that its net losses will continue for at least the next several years as it develops and seeks to bring to market its existing product candidates and to potentially acquire, license and develop additional product candidates. These circumstances raise substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and reclassification of assets or the amounts and classifications of liabilities that may result from the outcome of the uncertainty of the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
As of June 30, 2021, the Company had an accumulated deficit of approximately $87.9 million, cash and cash equivalents of approximately $9.1 million, and working capital of approximately $8.1 million. For the six months ended June 30, 2021, the Company incurred a net loss of $16.5 million and had negative cash flow from operations of approximately $20.2 million.
The Company’s primary uses of capital are, and the Company expects will continue to be, staff-related expenses, the cost of clinical trials, preclinical work and regulatory activities related to its product candidates, costs associated with contract manufacturing services and third-party clinical research and development services, payments due under license agreements and merger agreements upon the successful achievement of milestones of the Company’s product candidates, legal expenses, other regulatory expenses and general overhead costs. The Company’s future funding requirements could also include significant costs related to commercialization of its product candidates, if approved, depending on the type and nature of commercial partnerships or other arrangements the Company establishes.
The Company expects its expenses, and in particular its research and development expenses, to increase significantly in 2021 compared to 2020 as it continues to develop and seek to bring to market its product candidates, with a focus on its later stage candidates DARE-BV1, Ovaprene and Sildenafil Cream, 3.6%.
To date, the Company has not obtained any regulatory approvals for any of its product candidates, commercialized any of its product candidates or generated any revenue, and the Company cannot anticipate if or when it will generate any revenue. The Company has devoted significant resources to acquiring its portfolio of product candidates and to research and development activities for its product candidates. The Company must obtain regulatory approvals to market and sell any of its products in the future. The Company will need to generate sufficient safety and efficacy data on its product candidates for them to receive regulatory approvals and to be attractive assets for potential strategic partners to license or for pharmaceutical companies to acquire, and for the Company to generate cash and other license fees related to such product candidates.
Based on the Company's current operating plan estimates, the Company does not have sufficient cash to satisfy its working capital needs and other liquidity requirements over at least the next 12 months from the date of issuance of the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements. The Company needs to raise substantial additional capital to continue to fund its operations and to successfully execute its current operating plan, including the development of its product candidates. The Company is currently evaluating a variety of capital raising options, including equity and debt financings, government or other grant funding, collaborations and strategic alliances and other similar types of arrangements to cover its operating expenses, including the development of its product candidates and any future product candidates it may license or otherwise acquire. The amount and timing of the Company's capital needs have been and will continue to depend highly on many factors, including the product development programs the Company chooses to pursue and the pace and results of its clinical development efforts. If the Company raises capital through collaborations, strategic alliances or other similar types of arrangements, it may have to relinquish, on terms that are not favorable to the Company, rights to some of its technologies or product candidates it would otherwise seek to develop or commercialize. There can be no assurances that capital will be available when needed or that, if available, it will be obtained on terms favorable to the Company and its stockholders, including because developments in the COVID-19 pandemic could adversely impact investor sentiment. In addition, equity or debt financings may have a dilutive effect on the holdings of the Company's existing stockholders, and debt financings may subject the Company to restrictive covenants, operational restrictions and security interests in its assets. If the Company cannot raise capital when needed, on favorable terms or at all, the Company will not be able to continue development of its product candidates, will need to reevaluate its planned operations and may need to delay, scale back or eliminate some or all of its development programs, reduce expenses, file for bankruptcy, reorganize, merge with another entity, or cease operations. If the Company becomes unable to continue as a going concern, the Company may have to liquidate its assets, and might realize significantly less than the values at which they are carried on its condensed consolidated financial statements, and stockholders may lose all or part of their investment in the Company's common stock. The condensed consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The Company’s significant accounting policies are described in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements included in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, or the 2020 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, on March 30, 2021. Since the date of those consolidated financial statements, there have been no material changes to the Company’s significant accounting policies.
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP, as defined by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In management’s opinion, the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary for a fair presentation of the results of the interim periods presented.
Interim financial results are not necessarily indicative of results anticipated for any other interim period or for the full year. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto included in the 2020 10-K.
Leases
The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. Operating leases are included in other non-current assets, current portion of lease liabilities, and lease liabilities long-term on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheets.
ROU lease assets represent the Company's right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease obligations represent the Company's obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating ROU lease assets and obligations are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. If the lease does not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The ROU lease assets also includes any lease payments made and excludes lease incentives. The Company's lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease and the related payments are only included in the lease liability when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. (See Note 6, Leased Properties.)
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
GAAP defines fair value as the price that would be received for an asset or the exit price that would be paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date, and also establishes a fair value hierarchy which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs, where available. The three-level hierarchy of valuation techniques established to measure fair value is defined as follows:
•Level 1: inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
•Level 2: inputs other than Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices in active markets for similar assets and liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of assets or liabilities.
•Level 3: unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.
The following tables present the classification within the fair value hierarchy of financial assets and liabilities that are remeasured on a recurring basis as of June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020. There were no financial assets or liabilities that were remeasured using a quoted price in active markets for identical assets (Level 2) as of June 30, 2021 or December 31, 2020.
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Fair Value Measurements
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Level 1
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Level 2
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Level 3
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Total
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Balance at June 30, 2021
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Current assets:
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Cash equivalents (1)
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$
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7,666,170
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$
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—
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$
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—
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|
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$
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7,666,170
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Current liabilities:
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Current portion of contingent consideration (2)
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$
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—
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$
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—
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|
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$
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1,000,000
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$
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1,000,000
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Balance at December 31, 2020
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Current assets:
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Cash equivalents (1)
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$
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2,823,099
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$
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—
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$
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—
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|
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$
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2,823,099
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Other non-current liabilities:
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Current portion of contingent consideration (2)
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$
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—
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$
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—
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$
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1,000,000
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$
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1,000,000
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(1) Represents the cash held in money market funds.
(2) Represents the estimated fair value of the contingent consideration potentially payable by the Company related to an acquisition completed in November 2019, as described in Note 3.
Revenue Recognition
The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which applies to all contracts with customers, except for contracts that are within the scope of other standards, such as leases, insurance, collaboration arrangements and financial instruments.
The Company recognizes revenue when it transfers promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which it expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. To determine revenue recognition for contracts with customers, the Company performs the following five steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies its performance obligations. At contract inception, the Company assesses the goods or services agreed upon within each contract and assess whether each good or service is distinct and determine those that are performance obligations. The Company then recognizes as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied.
In a contract with multiple performance obligations, the Company develops estimates and assumptions that require judgment to determine the underlying stand-alone selling price for each performance obligation, which determines how the transaction price is allocated among the performance obligations. The estimation of the stand-alone selling price(s) may include estimates regarding forecasted revenues or costs, development timelines, discount rates, and probabilities of technical and regulatory success. The Company evaluates each performance obligation to determine if it can be satisfied at a point in time or over time. Any change made to estimated progress towards completion of a performance obligation and, therefore, revenue recognized will be recorded as a change in estimate. In addition, variable consideration must be evaluated to determine if it is constrained and, therefore, excluded from the transaction price.
License Fees. If the license to the Company’s intellectual property is determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in a contract, the Company recognizes revenues from non-refundable, upfront fees allocated to the license when the license is transferred to the customer and the customer is able to use and benefit from the license. For licenses that are bundled with other promises, the Company utilizes judgment to assess the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time and, if over time, the appropriate method of measuring progress for purposes of recognizing revenue from non-refundable, upfront fees. The Company evaluates the measure of progress each reporting period and, if necessary, adjusts the measure of performance and related revenue recognition. To date, the Company has not recognized any license fee revenue.
Royalties. For arrangements that include sales-based royalties, including milestone payments based on the level of sales, and for which the license is deemed to be the predominant item to which the royalties relate, the Company recognizes revenue at the later of (i) when the related sales occur, or (ii) when the performance obligation to which some or all of the royalty has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied). To date, the Company has not recognized any royalty revenue.
Bayer License. In January 2020, the Company entered into a license agreement with Bayer HealthCare LLC, or Bayer, regarding the further development and commercialization of Ovaprene in the U.S. Upon execution of the agreement, the Company received a $1.0 million upfront non-refundable license fee payment from Bayer. Bayer, in its sole discretion, has the right to make the license effective by paying the Company an additional $20.0 million. The Company concluded that there was one significant performance obligation related to the $1.0 million upfront payment: a distinct license to commercialize Ovaprene effective upon the receipt of the $20.0 million fee. The $1.0 million upfront payment will be recorded as license revenue at the earlier of (1) the point in time the Company receives the $20.0 million fee, the license is transferred to Bayer and Bayer is able to use and benefit from the license and (2) the termination of the agreement. As of June 30, 2021, neither of the foregoing had occurred. The $1.0 million payment is recorded as long-term deferred license revenue in the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet at June 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020.
The Company will also be entitled to receive (a) milestone payments totaling up to $310.0 million related to the commercial sales of Ovaprene, if all such milestones are achieved, (b) tiered royalties starting in the low double digits based on annual net sales of Ovaprene during a calendar year, subject to customary royalty reductions and offsets, and (c) a percentage of sublicense revenue.
Potential future payments for variable consideration, such as commercial milestones, will be recognized when it is probable that, if recorded, a significant reversal will not take place. Potential future royalty payments will be recorded as revenue when the associated sales occur. (See Note 3, License and Collaboration Agreements.)
3. LICENSE AND COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS
Out-License Agreements
Bayer HealthCare License Agreement
In January 2020, the Company entered into a license agreement with Bayer, regarding the further development and commercialization of Ovaprene in the U.S. Under the agreement, the Company received a $1.0 million upfront non-refundable license fee payment from Bayer. If Bayer pays an additional $20.0 million to the Company after Bayer receives and reviews the results of the pivotal clinical trial of Ovaprene, which payment Bayer may elect to make in its sole discretion, the license grant to Bayer to develop and commercialize Ovaprene for human contraception in the U.S. becomes effective.
Milestone & Royalty Payments. The Company will be entitled to receive (a) a milestone payment in the low double-digit millions upon the first commercial sale of Ovaprene in the U.S. and escalating milestone payments based on annual net sales of Ovaprene during a calendar year, totaling up to $310.0 million if all such milestones are achieved, (b) tiered royalties starting in the low double digits based on annual net sales of Ovaprene during a calendar year, subject to customary royalty reductions and offsets, and (c) a percentage of sublicense revenue.
Efforts. The Company is responsible for the pivotal trial for Ovaprene and for its development and regulatory activities and has product supply obligations. Bayer is supporting the Company in development and regulatory activities by providing up to two full-time equivalents with expertise in clinical, regulatory, preclinical, commercial, CMC and product supply matters in an advisory capacity. After payment of the $20.0 million fee, Bayer will be responsible for the commercialization of Ovaprene for human contraception in the U.S.
Term. The initial term of the agreement, which is subject to automatic renewal terms, continues until the later of (a) the expiration of any valid claim covering the manufacture, use, sale or import of Ovaprene in the U.S.; or (b) 15 years from the first commercial sale of Ovaprene in the U.S. In addition to customary termination rights for both parties, Bayer may terminate the agreement at any time on 90 days' notice and the agreement will automatically terminate if the Company does not receive the $20.0 million fee if and when due.
In-License Agreements
Hammock/MilanaPharm Assignment and License Agreement
In December 2018, the Company entered into (a) an Assignment Agreement with Hammock Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or the Assignment Agreement, and (b) a First Amendment to License Agreement with TriLogic Pharma, LLC and MilanaPharm LLC, or the License Amendment. Both agreements relate to the Exclusive License Agreement among Hammock, TriLogic and MilanaPharm dated as of January 9, 2017, or the MilanaPharm License Agreement. Under the Assignment Agreement and the MilanaPharm License Agreement, as amended by the License Amendment, the Company acquired an exclusive, worldwide license under certain intellectual property to, among other things, develop and commercialize products for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of human diseases or conditions in or through any intravaginal or urological applications. The licensed intellectual property relates to the hydrogel drug delivery platform of TriLogic and MilanaPharm known as TRI-726. In DARE-BV1, this proprietary technology is formulated with clindamycin for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis. In December 2019, the Company entered into amendments to each of the Assignment Agreement and License Amendment.
The following is a summary of other terms of the License Amendment, as amended:
License Fees. A total of $235,000 in license fees were payable, and were paid to, MilanaPharm: (1) $25,000 in connection with the execution of the License Amendment; (2) $100,000 in 2019; and (3) $110,000 in 2020.
Milestone Payments. The Company will pay to MilanaPharm (1) up to $300,000 in the aggregate upon achievement of certain clinical and regulatory development milestones, $50,000 of which was paid during the second quarter of 2020, and (2) up to $1.75 million in the aggregate upon achieving certain commercial sales milestones. See Note 10.
Foreign Sublicense Income. The Company will pay MilanaPharm a low double-digit percentage of all income received by the Company or its affiliates in connection with any sublicense granted to a third party for use outside of the United States, subject to certain exclusions.
Royalty Payments. During the royalty term, the Company will pay MilanaPharm high single-digit to low double-digit royalties based on annual worldwide net sales of licensed products and processes. The royalty term, which is determined on a country-by-country basis and licensed product-by-product basis (or process-by-process basis), begins with the first commercial sale of a licensed product or process in a country and terminates on the latest of (1) the expiration date of the last valid claim of the licensed patent rights that cover the method of use of such product or process in such country, or (2) 10 years following the first commercial sale of such product or process in such country. Royalty payments are subject to reduction in certain circumstances, including as a result of generic competition, patent prosecution expenses incurred by the Company, or payments to third parties for rights or know-how required for us to exercise the licenses granted to it under the MilanaPharm License Agreement or that are strategically important or could add value to a licensed product or process in a manner expected to materially generate or increase sales.
Efforts. The Company must use commercially reasonable efforts and resources to (1) develop and commercialize at least one licensed product or process in the United States and at least one licensed product or process in at least one of Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy or Spain, and (2) continue to commercialize that product or process following the first commercial sale of a licensed product or process in the applicable jurisdiction.
Term. Unless earlier terminated, the license term continues until (1) on a licensed product-by-product (or process-by-process basis) and country-by-country basis, the date of expiration of the royalty term with respect to such licensed product in such country, and (2) the expiration of all applicable royalty terms under the MilanaPharm License Agreement with respect to all licensed products and processes in all countries. Upon expiration of the term with respect to any licensed product or process in a country (but not upon earlier termination of the MilanaPharm License Agreement), the licenses granted to the Company under the MilanaPharm License Agreement will convert automatically to an exclusive, fully paid-up, royalty-free, perpetual, non-terminable and irrevocable right and license under the licensed intellectual property.
In addition to customary termination rights for all parties, MilanaPharm may terminate the license granted to the Company solely with respect to a licensed product or process in a country if, after having launched such product or process in such country, (1) the Company or its affiliates or sublicensees discontinue the sale of such product or process in such country and MilanaPharm notifies the Company of such termination within 60 days of having first been notified by the Company of such discontinuation, or (2) the Company or its affiliates or sublicensees (A) discontinue all commercially reasonable marketing efforts to sell, and discontinue all sales of, such product or process in such country for nine months or more, (B) fail to resume such commercially reasonable marketing efforts within 120 days of having been notified of such failure by MilanaPharm, (C) fail to reasonably demonstrate a strategic justification for the discontinuation and failure to resume to MilanaPharm, and (D) MilanaPharm gives 90 days’ notice to the Company.
The following is a summary of other terms of the Assignment Agreement, as amended:
Assignment; Technology Transfer. Hammock assigned and transferred to the Company all of its right, title and interest in and to the MilanaPharm License Agreement and agreed to cooperate to transfer to the Company all of the data, materials and the licensed technology in its possession pursuant to a technology transfer plan to be agreed upon by the parties, with a goal for the Company to independently practice the licensed intellectual property as soon as commercially practical in order to develop and commercialize the licensed products and processes.
Fees. A total of $512,500 in fees were payable, and were paid, to Hammock: (1) $250,000 in connection with the execution of the Assignment Agreement; (2) $125,000 in 2019; and (3) $137,500 in 2020.
Milestone Payments. The Company will pay Hammock up to $1.1 million in the aggregate upon achievement of certain clinical and regulatory development milestones, $250,000 of which was paid during the second quarter of 2021.
Term. The Assignment Agreement will terminate upon the later of (1) completion of the parties' technology transfer plan, and (2) payment to Hammock of the last of the milestone payments.
ADVA-Tec License Agreement
In March 2017, the Company entered into a license agreement with ADVA-Tec, Inc., under which the Company was granted the exclusive right to develop and commercialize Ovaprene for human contraceptive use worldwide. The Company must use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and commercialize Ovaprene and must meet certain minimum spending amounts per year, and $5.0 million in the aggregate over the first three years, to cover such activities until a final PMA is filed, or until the first commercial sale of Ovaprene, whichever occurs first.
Milestone Payments. The Company will pay to ADVA-Tec: (1) up to $14.6 million in the aggregate based on the achievement of specified development and regulatory milestones; and (2) up to $20.0 million in the aggregate based on the achievement of certain worldwide net sales milestones.
Royalty Payments. After the commercial launch of Ovaprene, the Company will pay to ADVA-Tec royalties based on aggregate annual net sales of Ovaprene in specified regions, at a royalty rate that will vary between 1% and 10% and will increase based on various net sales thresholds.
Term. Unless earlier terminated, the license continues on a country-by-country basis until the later of the life of the licensed patents or final commercial sale of Ovaprene. In addition to customary termination rights for both parties: (A) the Company may terminate the agreement with or without cause in whole or on a country-by-country basis upon 60 days prior written notice; and (B) ADVA-Tec may terminate the agreement if the Company develops or commercializes any non-hormonal ring-based vaginal contraceptive device competitive to Ovaprene or if the Company fails to: (1) in certain limited circumstances, commercialize Ovaprene in certain designated countries within three years of the first commercial sale of Ovaprene; (2) satisfy the annual spending obligation described above, (3) use commercially reasonable efforts to complete all necessary pre-clinical and clinical studies required to support and submit a PMA, (4) conduct clinical trials as set forth in the development plan to which the Company and ADVA-Tec agree, and as may be modified by a joint research committee, unless such failure is caused by events outside of the Company’s reasonable control, or (5) enroll a patient in the first non-significant risk medical device study or clinical trial as allowed by an institutional review board within six months of the production and release of Ovaprene, unless such failure is caused by events outside of the Company’s reasonable control.
SST License and Collaboration Agreement
In February 2018, the Company entered into a license and collaboration agreement with Strategic Science & Technologies-D, LLC and Strategic Science & Technologies, LLC, referred to collectively as SST, under which the Company received an exclusive, royalty-bearing, sublicensable license to develop and commercialize, in all countries and geographic territories of the world, for all indications for women related to female sexual dysfunction and/or female reproductive health, including the treatment of female sexual arousal disorder, or the Field of Use, SST’s topical formulation of Sildenafil Cream, 3.6% as it existed as of the effective date of the agreement, or any other topically applied pharmaceutical product containing sildenafil or a salt thereof as a pharmaceutically active ingredient, alone or with other active ingredients, but specifically excluding any product containing ibuprofen or any salt derivative of ibuprofen, or the Licensed Products.
The following is a summary of other terms of this license and collaboration agreement:
Invention Ownership. The Company retains rights to inventions made by its employees, SST retains rights to inventions made by its employees, and each party shall own a 50% undivided interest in all joint inventions.
Joint Development Committee. The parties will collaborate through a joint development committee that will determine the strategic objectives for, and generally oversee, the development efforts of both parties under the agreement.
Development. The Company must use commercially reasonable efforts to develop the Licensed Products in the Field of Use in accordance with a development plan in the agreement, and to commercialize the Licensed Products in the Field of Use. The Company is responsible for all reasonable internal and external costs and expenses incurred by SST in its performance of the development activities it must perform under the agreement.
Royalty Payments. SST will be eligible to receive tiered royalties based on percentages of annual net sales of Licensed Products in the single digits to the mid double digits, subject to customary royalty reductions and offsets, and a percentage of sublicense revenue.
Milestone Payments. SST will be eligible to receive payments (1) ranging from $0.5 million to $18.0 million in the aggregate on achieving certain clinical and regulatory milestones in the U.S. and worldwide, and (2) between $10.0 million to $100.0 million in the aggregate upon achieving certain commercial sales milestones. If the Company enters into strategic development or distribution partnerships related to the Licensed Products, additional milestone payments would be due to SST.
Term. The Company’s license continues on a country-by-country basis until the later of 10 years from the date of the first commercial sale of such Licensed Product or the expiration of the last valid claim of patent rights covering the Licensed Product in the Field of Use. Upon expiration (but not termination) of the agreement in a particular country, the Company will have a fully paid-up license under the licensed intellectual property to develop and commercialize the applicable Licensed Products in the applicable country on a non-exclusive basis.
Termination. In addition to customary termination rights for both parties: (1) prior to receipt of approval by a regulatory authority necessary for commercialization of a Licensed Product in the corresponding jurisdiction, including NDA approval, the Company may terminate the agreement without cause upon 90 days prior written notice; (2) following receipt of approval by a regulatory authority necessary for commercialization of a Licensed Product in the corresponding jurisdiction, including NDA approval, the Company may terminate the agreement without cause upon 180 days prior written notice; and (3) SST may terminate the agreement with respect to the applicable Licensed Product(s) in the applicable country(ies) upon 30 days’ notice if the Company fails to use commercially reasonable efforts to perform development activities in substantial accordance with the development plan and do not cure such failure within 60 days of receipt of SST's notice thereof.
Catalent JNP License Agreement
In April 2018, the Company entered into an exclusive license agreement with Catalent JNP, Inc. (formerly known as Juniper Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and which the Company refers to as Catalent), under which Catalent granted the Company: (a) an exclusive, royalty-bearing worldwide license under certain patent rights, either owned by or exclusively licensed to Catalent, to make, have made, use, have used, sell, have sold, import and have imported products and processes; and (b) a non-exclusive, royalty-bearing worldwide license to use certain technological information owned by Catalent to make, have made, use, have used, sell, have sold, import and have imported products and processes. The Company is entitled to sublicense the rights granted to it under this agreement.
Upfront Fee. The Company paid a $250,000 non-creditable upfront license fee to Catalent in connection with the execution of the agreement.
Annual Maintenance Fee. The Company will pay an annual license maintenance fee to Catalent on each anniversary of the date of the agreement, the amount of which will be $50,000 for the first two years and $100,000 thereafter, and which will be creditable against royalties and other payments due to Catalent in the same calendar year but may not be carried forward to any other year.
Milestone Payments. The Company must make potential future development and sales milestone payments of (1) up to $13.5 million in the aggregate upon achieving certain clinical and regulatory milestones, and (2) up to $30.3 million in the aggregate upon achieving certain commercial sales milestones for each product or process covered by the licenses granted under the agreement. See Note 10.
Royalty Payments. During the royalty term, the Company will pay Catalent mid-single-digit to low double-digit royalties based on worldwide net sales of products and processes covered by the licenses granted under the agreement. In lieu of such royalty payments, the Company will pay Catalent a low double-digit percentage of all sublicense income the Company receives for the sublicense of rights under the agreement to a third party.
Efforts. The Company must use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and make at least one product or process available to the public, which efforts include achieving specific diligence requirements by specific dates specified in the agreement.
Term. Unless earlier terminated, the term of the agreement will continue on a country-by-country basis until the later of (1) the expiration date of the last valid claim within such country, or (2) 10 years from the date of first commercial sale of a product or process in such country. Upon expiration (but not early termination) of the agreement, the licenses granted thereunder will convert automatically to fully-paid irrevocable licenses. Catalent may terminate the agreement (1) upon 30 days’ notice for the Company’s uncured breach of any payment obligation under the agreement, (2) if the Company fails to maintain required insurance, (3) immediately upon the Company’s insolvency or the making of an assignment for the benefit of the Company’s creditors or if a bankruptcy petition is filed for or against the Company, which petition is not dismissed within 90 days, or (4) upon 60 days’ notice for any uncured material breach by the Company of any of the Company’s other obligations under the agreement. The Company may terminate the agreement on a country-by-country basis for any reason by giving 180 days’ notice (or 90 days’ notice if such termination occurs prior to receipt of marketing approval in the United States). If Catalent terminates the agreement for the reason described in clause (4) above or if the Company terminates the agreement, Catalent will have full access including the right to use and reference all product data generated during the term of the agreement that is owned by the Company.
Adare Development and Option Agreement
In March 2018, the Company entered into an exclusive development and option agreement with Adare Pharmaceuticals (formerly known as Orbis Biosciences, and which the Company refers to as Adare), for the development of long-acting injectable etonogestrel contraceptive with 6- and 12-month durations (ADARE-204 and ADARE-214, respectively). Under this agreement, the Company paid Adare $300,000 to conduct the first stage of development work, Stage 1, as follows: $150,000 upon signing the agreement; $75,000 at the 50% completion point, not later than 6 months following the date the agreement was signed (which the Company paid in 2018); and $75,000 upon delivery by Adare of the 6-month batch, not later than 11 months following the date the agreement was signed (which the Company paid in 2019).
Upon Adare successfully completing the first stage of development work and achieving the predetermined target milestones for that stage, the Company will have 90 days to instruct Adare whether to commence the second stage of development work. Should the Company execute its option to proceed with the second stage, it will have to provide additional funding to Adare for such activities.
Pre-clinical studies for the 6- and 12-month formulations have been completed, including establishing pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics profiles. The collaboration with Adare will continue to advance the program through formulation optimization with the goal of achieving sustained release over the target time period.
The agreement provides the Company with an option to enter into a license agreement for ADARE-204 and ADARE-214 should development efforts be successful.
Acquired Products
MBI Acquisition
In November 2019, the Company acquired Dare MB Inc. (formerly, Microchips Biotech, Inc.), or MBI, to secure the rights to develop a long-acting reversible contraception method that a woman can turn on or off herself, according to her own needs. This candidate is now known as DARE-LARC1.
The Company issued an aggregate of 2,999,990 shares of its common stock to the holders of shares of MBI's capital stock outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the merger. The transaction was valued at $2.4 million, based on the fair value of the 2,999,990 shares issued at $0.79 per share, which was the closing price per share of the Company's common stock on the date of closing. The shares were issued in exchange for MBI’s cash and cash equivalents of $6.1 million, less net liabilities of $3.5 million and transaction costs of $202,000, which was allocated based on the relative fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed.
The Company also agreed to pay the following additional consideration to the former MBI stockholders: (a) up to $46.5 million contingent upon the achievement of specified funding, product development and regulatory milestones; (b) up to $55.0 million contingent upon the achievement of specified amounts of aggregate net sales of products incorporating the intellectual property acquired by the Company in the merger; (c) tiered royalty payments ranging from low single-digit to low double-digit percentages of annual net sales of such products, subject to customary provisions permitting royalty reductions and offset; and (d) a percentage of sublicense revenue related to such products. The Company agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to achieve specified development and regulatory objectives relating to DARE-LARC1. On June 30, 2021, a total of $1.25 million of that potential additional consideration became payable upon the achievement of certain of the funding and product development milestone events, $1.0 million of which was recorded as contingent consideration on the Company's consolidated balance sheets upon the completion of the MBI acquisition and $250,000 of which was recorded on the Company's consolidated balance sheets in accrued expenses. See Notes 7 and 10.
Pear Tree Acquisition
In May 2018, the Company completed its acquisition of Pear Tree Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Pear Tree. The Company acquired Pear Tree to secure the rights to develop a proprietary vaginal formulation of tamoxifen, now known as DARE-VVA1, as a potential treatment for vulvar and vaginal atrophy.
Milestone Payments. The Company must make contingent payments to the Pear Tree former stockholders and their representatives, or the Holders, that are based on achieving certain clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones, which may be paid, in the Company’s sole discretion, in cash or shares of the Company’s common stock.
Royalty Payments. The Holders will be eligible to receive, subject to certain offsets, tiered royalties, including customary provisions permitting royalty reductions and offset, based on percentages of annual net sales of certain products subject to license agreements the Company assumed and a percentage of sublicense revenue.
4. STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan
The Company’s 2014 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, or the ESPP, became effective in April 2014, but no offering period has been initiated thereunder since January 2017. There was no stock-based compensation related to the ESPP for the six months ended June 30, 2021 or June 30, 2020.
Amended and Restated 2014 Stock Incentive Plan
The Company maintains the Amended and Restated 2014 Plan, or the Amended 2014 Plan, which provides for the grant of options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units and other stock-based awards to employees, officers and directors, and consultants and advisors. There were 2,046,885 shares of common stock authorized for issuance under the Amended 2014 Plan when it was approved by the Company's stockholders in July 2018. The number of authorized shares increases annually on the first day of each fiscal year until, and including, the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024 by the least of (i) 2,000,000, (ii) 4% of the number of outstanding shares of common stock on such date, or (iii) an amount determined by the Company’s board of directors. On January 1, 2021, the number of authorized shares increased by 1,663,850 to 2,168,366, which increase represented 4% of the number of outstanding shares of common stock on such date.
Summary of Stock Option Activity
The table below summarizes stock option activity under the Amended 2014 Plan and related information for the six months ended June 30, 2021. The exercise price of all options granted during the six months ended June 30, 2021 was equal to the market value of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. As of June 30, 2021, unamortized stock-based compensation expense of $4,391,749 will be amortized over a weighted average period of 3.06 years. At June 30, 2021, 298,291 shares of common stock were reserved for future awards granted under the Amended 2014 Plan.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Number of Shares
|
|
Weighted Average
Exercise Price
|
Outstanding at December 31, 2020
|
2,786,591
|
|
|
$
|
1.16
|
|
Granted
|
1,870,075
|
|
|
2.38
|
|
Exercised
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
Canceled/forfeited
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
Expired
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
Outstanding at June 30, 2021
|
4,656,666
|
|
|
$
|
1.65
|
|
Exercisable at June 30, 2021
|
1,801,414
|
|
|
$
|
1.40
|
|
Compensation Expense
Total stock-based compensation expense related to stock options granted to employees and directors recognized in the condensed consolidated statements of operations is as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended
June 30,
|
|
Six Months Ended
June 30,
|
|
2021
|
|
2020
|
|
2021
|
|
2020
|
Research and development
|
$
|
129,397
|
|
|
$
|
59,713
|
|
|
$
|
245,022
|
|
|
$
|
106,093
|
|
General and administrative
|
$
|
276,081
|
|
|
$
|
127,146
|
|
|
$
|
526,367
|
|
|
$
|
241,607
|
|
Total
|
$
|
405,478
|
|
|
$
|
186,859
|
|
|
$
|
771,389
|
|
|
$
|
347,700
|
|
The assumptions used in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model for stock options granted to employees and to directors in respect of board services during the six months ended June 30, 2021 are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended
June 30, 2021
|
|
Six Months Ended
June 30, 2021
|
Expected life in years
|
|
5.7
|
|
6.0
|
Risk-free interest rate
|
|
0.87%
|
|
0.64%
|
Expected volatility
|
|
124%
|
|
122%
|
Forfeiture rate
|
|
0.0%
|
|
0.0%
|
Dividend yield
|
|
0.0%
|
|
0.0%
|
Weighted-average fair value of options granted
|
|
$1.26
|
|
$2.06
|
5. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
April 2021 ATM Sales Agreement
In April 2021, the Company entered into a sales agreement with SVB Leerink LLC to sell shares of its common stock from time to time through an ATM equity offering program under which SVB Leerink acts as the Company's agent. Under the sales agreement, the Company may issue and sell up to $50.0 million of shares of its common stock. The Company agreed to pay a commission equal to 3% of the gross proceeds of any common stock sold under the agreement, plus certain legal expenses. Any shares of the Company's common stock sold under the agreement will be issued pursuant to the Company's shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-254862) and the base prospectus included therein, originally filed with the SEC on March 30, 2021, and declared effective on April 7, 2021, and the prospectus supplement dated April 7, 2021 filed with the SEC on April 8, 2021.
During the three months ended June 30, 2021, the Company sold approximately 7.7 million shares of common stock under this agreement for gross proceeds of approximately $10.7 million and incurred offering expenses of approximately $363,000.
2018 ATM Sales Agreement
In January 2018 the Company entered into a common stock sales agreement with H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC, or Wainwright, relating to the offering and sale of shares of our common stock from time to time in an "at the market offerings" of equity securities (as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act) through Wainwright, acting as sales agent. In accordance with the agreement, on March 29, 2021, we provided notice to Wainwright to terminate the agreement. The agreement terminated on April 3, 2021. Under the agreement, Wainwright was entitled to a commission at a fixed commission rate equal to 3.0% of the gross proceeds per share sold under the agreement and we provided Wainwright with customary indemnification rights.
During the six months ended June 30, 2021, the Company sold approximately 3.3 million shares of common stock under this agreement for gross proceeds of approximately $7.7 million and incurred offering expenses of $245,000. During the six months ended June 30, 2020, the Company sold approximately 6.0 million shares under this agreement for gross proceeds of approximately $8.4 million and incurred offering expenses of approximately $338,000.
Equity Line
In April 2020, the Company entered into a purchase agreement, or the Purchase Agreement, and a registration rights agreement with Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC, or Lincoln Park. Under the terms and subject to the conditions of the Purchase Agreement, the Company has the right, but not the obligation, to sell to Lincoln Park, and Lincoln Park is obligated to purchase up to $15.0 million of the Company’s common stock. Such sales of common stock by the Company may occur from time to time, at the Company’s sole discretion, subject to certain limitations, until May 19, 2023. On April 22, 2020, in accordance with the Purchase Agreement, the Company issued 285,714 shares of its common stock, or the Commitment Shares, to Lincoln Park in consideration for its commitment to purchase shares under the Purchase Agreement. The Company filed a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-237954) to register the resale by Lincoln Park of up to 7.5 million shares of the Company's common stock issued or issuable to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement, including the Commitment Shares, and such registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on May 12, 2020. The Company filed a registration statement on Form S-1 (File No. 333-251599) to register the resale by Lincoln Park of up to 6.4 million additional shares of the Company's common stock issued or issuable to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement, and such registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on January 7, 2021.
The Company incurred legal, accounting, and other fees related to the Purchase Agreement of approximately $374,000. These costs are amortized and expensed as shares are sold under the Purchase Agreement and as of June 30, 2021 there were no unamortized costs. During the six months ended June 30, 2021, the Company sold, and Lincoln Park purchased, 4.8 million shares under the Purchase Agreement for gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $7.0 million and recognized offering expenses of approximately $207,000. As of June 30, 2021, the Company has sold and Lincoln Park has purchased a total of $15.0 million of the Company's common stock under the Purchase Agreement, and no more shares of common stock may be sold by the Company to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement.
Common Stock Warrants
In February 2018, the Company closed an underwritten public offering in connection with which the Company issued to the investors in that offering warrants exercisable through February 2023 and that initially had an exercise price of $3.00 per share. The warrants include a price-based anti-dilution provision, which provides that, subject to certain limited exceptions, the exercise price of the warrants will be reduced each time the Company issues or sells (or is deemed to issue or sell) securities for a net consideration per share less than the exercise price of those warrants in effect immediately prior to such issuance or sale. In addition, subject to certain exceptions, if the Company issues, sells or enters into any agreement to issue or sell securities at a price which varies or may vary with the market price of the shares of the Company’s common stock, the warrant holders have the right to substitute such variable price for the exercise price of the warrant then in effect. These warrants are exercisable only for cash, unless a registration statement covering the shares issued upon exercise of the warrants is not effective, in which case the warrants may be exercised on a cashless basis. A registration statement covering the shares issued upon exercise of the warrants is currently effective. The Company estimated the fair value of the warrants as of February 15, 2018 to be approximately $3.0 million which was recorded in equity as of the grant date. The Company early adopted ASU 2017-11 as of January 1, 2018 and recorded the fair value of the warrants as equity.
In April 2019 and July 2020, in accordance with the price-based anti-dilution provision discussed above, the exercise price of these warrants was automatically reduced to $0.98 per share and to $0.96 per share, respectively, and as a result of the triggering of the anti-dilution provision, $0.8 million and $6,863, respectively, was recorded to additional paid-in capital.
During the six months ended June 30, 2021, warrants to purchase an aggregate of 52,500 shares of common stock were exercised for gross proceeds of approximately $50,000. During the six months ended June 30, 2020, warrants to purchase an aggregate of 1,699,000 shares of common stock were exercised for gross proceeds of approximately $1.7 million. As of June 30, 2021, the Company had the following warrants outstanding:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shares Underlying
Outstanding Warrants
|
|
Exercise Price
|
|
Expiration Date
|
2,906
|
|
$
|
120.40
|
|
12/01/2021
|
3,737
|
|
$
|
120.40
|
|
12/06/2021
|
6,500
|
|
$
|
10.00
|
|
04/04/2026
|
1,843,000
|
|
$
|
0.96
|
|
02/15/2023
|
1,856,143
|
|
|
|
|
|
6. LEASED PROPERTIES
The Company's lease for its corporate headquarters (3,169 square feet of office space) commenced on July 1, 2018. In January 2021, the Company exercised its option to extend the term of the lease for one year such that the term now expires July 31, 2022.
MBI, a wholly owned subsidiary the Company acquired in November 2019, leases general office space in Lexington, Massachusetts and warehouse space in Billerica, Massachusetts. The Lexington lease commenced on July 1, 2013. In January 2021, the Company entered into an amendment to extend the term of the lease for one year such that the term now expires on September 30, 2022. The Billerica lease commenced on October 1, 2016 and terminates on March 31, 2022.
Under the terms of each lease, the lessee pays base annual rent (subject to an annual fixed percentage increase), plus property taxes, and other normal and necessary expenses, such as utilities, repairs, and maintenance. The Company evaluates renewal options at lease inception and on an ongoing basis and includes renewal options that it is reasonably certain to exercise in its expected lease terms when classifying leases and measuring lease liabilities. The leases do not require material variable lease payments, residual value guarantees or restrictive covenants.
The leases do not provide an implicit rate, and therefore the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate as the discount rate when measuring operating lease liabilities. The incremental borrowing rate represents an estimate of the interest rate the Company would incur at lease commencement to borrow an amount equal to the lease payments on a collateralized basis over the term of the lease within a particular currency environment. The Company uses an incremental borrowing rate of 7% for operating leases that commenced prior to January 2019 (and all of the Company's operating leases commenced prior to such date). The depreciable lives of operating leases and leasehold improvements are limited by the expected lease term.
At June 30, 2021, the Company reported operating lease ROU assets of approximately $388,000 in other non-current assets, and $419,000 and $73,000, respectively, in current portion of lease liabilities and lease liabilities long-term on the condensed consolidated balance sheet.
Total operating lease costs were approximately $151,000 and $76,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2021 and June 30, 2020, respectively, and $286,000 and $152,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and June 30, 2020, respectively. Operating lease costs consist of monthly lease payments expense, common area maintenance and other repair and maintenance costs and are included in general and administrative expenses in the condensed consolidated statements of operations.
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of operating lease liabilities was approximately $114,000 and $110,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2021 and June 30, 2020, respectively, and $226,000 and $238,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2021 and June 30, 2020, respectively. These amounts are included in operating activities in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows. Further, at June 30, 2021, operating leases had a weighted average remaining lease term of 1.06 years.
As of June 30, 2021, future minimum lease payments under the Company's operating leases are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Remainder of 2021
|
$
|
236,000
|
|
2022
|
277,000
|
|
Total future minimum lease payments
|
513,000
|
|
Less: accreted interest
|
21,000
|
|
Total operating lease liabilities
|
$
|
492,000
|
|
7. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Contingent Consideration
As discussed in Note 3 above, in connection with the acquisition of MBI, the Company agreed to pay additional consideration of up to $45.5 million to the former stockholders of MBI contingent upon the achievement of specified funding, product development and regulatory milestones. On June 30, 2021, a total of $1.25 million of that potential additional consideration became payable upon the achievement of certain of the funding and product development milestone events, $1.0 million of which was previously recorded as contingent consideration on the Company's consolidated balance sheets upon the completion of the MBI acquisition and $250,000 of which was recorded on the Company's consolidated balance sheets in accrued expenses. See also Note 10.
Note Payable
In April 2020, due to the economic uncertainty resulting from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's operations and to support its ongoing operations and retain all employees, the Company applied for and received a loan of $367,285 under the Paycheck Protection Program, or the PPP, of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration, or the SBA. Under the terms of the PPP, the loan proceeds could be used for "qualifying expenses" and, subject to specified limitations in the CARES Act and under the terms of the PPP, certain amounts of the loan, including accrued interest, may be forgiven if used for qualifying expenses. In January 2021, the Company was notified that the principal balance of its PPP loan and all accrued interest, which together totaled $369,887, were fully forgiven by the SBA. The Company recorded a gain on extinguishment of note payable and debt forgiveness income with respect to such loan forgiveness in the first quarter of 2021.
8. GRANT AWARDS
NICHD Non-Dilutive Grant Funding
The Company has received notices of awards and non-dilutive grant funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as represented by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, or NICHD, to support the development of Ovaprene and DARE-FRT1. NICHD issues notices of awards to the Company for a specified amount, and the Company must incur and track expenses eligible for reimbursement under the award and submit a detailed accounting of such expenses to receive payment. If the Company receives payments under the award, the amounts of such payments are recognized in the statement of operations as a reduction to research and development activities as the related costs are incurred to meet those obligations over the period.
Ovaprene
Since 2018, the Company has received approximately $1.9 million of non-dilutive grant funding from NICHD for clinical development efforts supporting Ovaprene. The final notice of award the Company received was for approximately $731,000 in April 2020, all of which has been funded to date.
The Company recorded credits to research and development expense for costs related to the NICHD award of an immaterial amount during both the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 and approximately $167,000 and $459,000 during the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, respectively.
DARE-FRT1
In August 2020, the Company received a notice of award of a grant from NICHD to support the development of DARE-FRT1. The award in the amount of $300,000 was for what is referred to as the "Phase I" segment of the project outlined in the Company's grant application, which is to occur during the period of August 2020 through July 2021. Additional potential funding of up to approximately $2.0 million for the "Phase II" segment of the project outlined in the grant application is contingent upon satisfying specified requirements, including, assessment of the results of the Phase I segment, determination that the Phase I goals were achieved, and availability of funds. There is no guarantee the Company will receive any Phase II award.
The Company recorded credits to research and development expense for costs related to the NICHD award of approximately $12,000 and $26,000 during the three and six months ended June 30, 2021, respectively. At June 30, 2021, the Company recorded a receivable of approximately $12,000 for expenses incurred through such date that it believes are eligible for reimbursement under the grant.
DARE-LARC1 Non-Dilutive Grant Funding
MBI Grant Agreement
The Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, MBI, has an agreement with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, or the Foundation, under which the Company was awarded $5.4 million to support the development of DARE-LARC1. The funding period under this agreement ended on June 30, 2021. Expenses eligible for funding were incurred, tracked and reported to the Foundation. MBI received payments under this agreement of approximately $2.9 million in 2019 and $2.5 million in 2020. At June 30, 2021, all payments under this agreement associated with research and development expenses for DARE-LARC1 had been incurred and reported to the Foundation. There is no deferred grant funding liability under this agreement recorded in the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet at June 30, 2021.
2021 DARE-LARC1 Grant Agreement
On June 30, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with the Foundation, or the 2021 DARE-LARC1 Grant Agreement, under which the Company was awarded up to $48.95 million to support the development of DARE-LARC1. The 2021 DARE-LARC1 Grant Agreement will support technology development and preclinical activities over the period of June 30, 2021 to November 1, 2026, to advance DARE-LARC1 in non-clinical proof of principle studies. An initial payment of $11.45 million was due to the Company in July 2021 (see Note 10). Additional payments are contingent upon the DARE-LARC1 program’s achievement of specified development and reporting milestones. At June 30, 2021, no payments had been received under the 2021 DARE-LARC1 Grant Agreement, and no deferred grant funding liability under this agreement was recorded in the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet.
9. NET LOSS PER SHARE
The Company computes basic net loss per share using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net income per share is based upon the weighted average number of common shares and potentially dilutive securities (common share equivalents) outstanding during the period. Common share equivalents outstanding, determined using the treasury stock method, are comprised of shares that may be issued under outstanding options and warrants to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock. Common share equivalents are excluded from the diluted net loss per share calculation if their effect is anti-dilutive.
The following potentially dilutive outstanding securities were excluded from diluted net loss per common share for the period indicated because of their anti-dilutive effect:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Potentially dilutive securities
|
|
Three Months Ended
June 30,
|
|
Six Months Ended
June 30,
|
|
|
2021
|
|
2020
|
|
2021
|
|
2020
|
Stock options
|
|
4,656,666
|
|
|
2,766,626
|
|
|
4,656,666
|
|
|
2,766,626
|
|
Warrants
|
|
1,856,143
|
|
|
2,034,643
|
|
|
1,856,143
|
|
|
2,034,643
|
|
Total
|
|
6,512,809
|
|
|
4,801,269
|
|
|
6,512,809
|
|
|
4,801,269
|
|
10. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Milestone Payments
As discussed in Note 3 above, under the Company's license agreements with Catalent and MilanaPharm, the Company must make certain milestone payments upon achieving certain development and commercial sales milestones. With regards to the Catalent license agreement, in August 2021, $1.0 million of milestone payments became payable upon achievement of certain development milestones. In accordance with the license agreement, the amount payable is offset by the $100,000 annual maintenance fee, for a net amount payable of $900,000. With regards to the MilanaPharm license agreement, in August 2021, $250,000 of milestone payments became payable upon achievement of certain development milestones.
CRADA with NICHD for the Pivotal Phase 3 Study of Ovaprene
On July 8, 2021, the Company entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or the CRADA, with NICHD for the conduct of a multi-center, non-comparative, pivotal Phase 3 clinical study of Ovaprene, or the Phase 3. The Phase 3 will be conducted within NICHD’s Contraceptive Clinical Trial Network with NICHD contractor Health Decisions Inc., a contract research organization, providing clinical coordination and data collection and management services for the Phase 3. The Company and NICHD will each provide medical oversight and final data review and analysis for the Phase 3 and will work together to prepare the final report of the results of the Phase 3. The Company is responsible for providing clinical supplies of Ovaprene, coordinating interactions with the FDA, preparing and submitting supportive regulatory documentation, and providing a total of $5.5 million in payments to NICHD to be applied toward the costs of conducting the Phase 3. NICHD will be responsible for the other costs related to the conduct of the Phase 3. In July 2021, in accordance with the payment schedule under the CRADA, the Company paid $250,000 of the total amount payable to NICHD.
Milestone Payments to Former MBI Stockholders
As discussed in Note 3 and Note 7 above, in connection with the acquisition of MBI, the Company agreed to pay additional consideration of up to $45.5 million to the former stockholders of MBI contingent upon the achievement of specified funding, product development and regulatory milestones. On June 30, 2021, a total of $1.25 million of that potential additional consideration became payable upon the achievement of certain of the funding and product development milestone events, $1.0 million of which was recorded as contingent consideration on the Company's consolidated balance sheets upon the completion of the MBI acquisition. Pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement, the Company, in its sole discretion, could elect to pay the $1.25 million in milestone payments in cash, shares of the Company’s common stock or a combination of both, except that $75,000 must be paid in cash to the stockholders’ representative. In July 2021, the Company’s board of directors elected to make these milestone payments in shares of the Company’s common stock. The Company expects to issue approximately 700,000 shares of its common stock to former stockholders of MBI and pay $75,000 to the stockholders’ representative in satisfaction of the $1.25 million in milestone payments associated with milestones achieved on June 30, 2021.
Exercise of February 2018 Warrants
On July 7, 2021, warrants to purchase an aggregate of 25,000 shares of common stock were exercised at an exercise price of $0.96 per share resulting in gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $24,000 (see Note 5).
Sales of Common Stock
Between July 1, 2021 and August 9, 2021, the Company sold an aggregate of approximately 13.1 million shares of common stock under its ATM equity offering program for aggregate net proceeds of approximately $25.4 million.
Receipt of Payment under 2021 DARE-LARC1 Grant Agreement
In July 2021, the Company received an initial payment of $11.45 million under the 2021 DARE-LARC1 Grant Agreement (see Note 8). The Company’s receipt of any additional funding is contingent upon the DARE-LARC1 program’s achievement of development and reporting milestones specified in the 2021 DARE-LARC1 Grant Agreement.
FDA Accepts for Filing the Company's NDA for DARE-BV1 and Grants Waiver of Application Fee
In July 2021, the Company was notified that the FDA granted the Company’s small business waiver and refund request with respect to the $2.9 million application fee the Company paid in June 2021 upon the submission of its new drug application, or NDA, for DARE-BV1 for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis. The Company expects to receive the refund in the third quarter of 2021. The $2.9 million application fee refund is recorded in other receivables on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheets at June 30, 2021.
In August, 2021, the Company announced that the FDA accepted for filing and granted Priority Review for the Company's NDA for DARE-BV1 for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis, and that the FDA set a PDUFA date of December 7, 2021 for the target completion of its review of the NDA.