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 and liabilities and disclosure of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Although actual results could differ from those estimates, management does not believe that such differences would be material.
Fair Value Measurements
The Company had no assets or liabilities that were measured using quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities or significant unobservable inputs (Level 2 and Level 3 assets and liabilities, respectively) as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019. The carrying value of cash held in money market funds of $152.8 million and $156.2 million as of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively, is included in cash and cash equivalents and approximates market values based on quoted market prices (Level 1 inputs).
Concentration of Credit Risk
Credit risk represents the risk that the Company would incur a loss if counterparties failed to perform pursuant to the terms of their agreements. Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents consist of money market funds with major financial institutions in the United States. These funds may be redeemed upon demand and, therefore, bear minimal risk. The Company does not anticipate any losses on such balances.
Revenue Recognition
The Company applies Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), 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. Under Topic 606, an entity recognizes revenue when its customer obtains control of promised goods or services in an amount that reflects the consideration which the entity expects to receive in exchange for those goods and services. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements that an entity determines are within the scope of Topic 606, the entity performs the following five steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with the customer(s); (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 entity satisfies a performance obligation. The Company only applies the five-step model to contracts when it is probable that the entity will collect the consideration it is entitled to in exchange for the goods and services it transfers to the customer. At contract inception, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract that falls under the scope of Topic 606, determines those that are performance obligations and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. 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.
The Company enters into licensing agreements which are within the scope of Topic 606, under which it licenses certain of its drug candidates’ rights to third parties. The terms of these arrangements typically include payment of one or more of the following: non-refundable, up-front license fees; development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments; and royalties on net sales of the licensed product, if and when earned. See Note 9 for additional information regarding a license agreement entered into during the three months ended March 31, 2020.
In determining the appropriate amount of revenue to be recognized as it fulfills its obligation under each of its agreements, the Company performs the five steps under Topic 606 described above. As part of the accounting for these arrangements, the Company must develop assumptions that require judgment to determine the stand-alone selling price, which may include forecasted revenues, development timelines, reimbursement of personnel costs, discount rates and probabilities of technical and regulatory success.
Licensing of Intellectual Property: If the license to the Company’s intellectual property is determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in the arrangement, the Company recognizes revenue from non-refundable, up-front fees allocated to the license when the license is transferred to the licensee and the licensee is able to use and benefit from the license. For licenses that are bundled with other promises, 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, up-front fees. The Company evaluates the measure of progress each reporting period, and, if necessary, adjusts the measure of performance and related revenue recognition.
Milestone Payments: At the inception of each arrangement that includes development milestone payments, the Company evaluates whether the milestones are considered probable of being reached and estimates the amount to be included in the transaction price using the most likely amount method. If it is probable that a significant revenue reversal will not occur, the associated milestone value is included in the transaction price. Milestone payments that are not within the control of the Company or the licensee, such as regulatory approvals, are not considered probable of being achieved until those approvals are received. The transaction price is then allocated to each performance obligation on a relative stand-alone selling price basis, for which the Company recognizes revenue as or when the performance obligations under the contract are satisfied. At the end of each subsequent reporting period, the Company re-evaluates the probability of achievement of such development milestones and any related constraint and, if necessary, adjusts its estimate of the overall transaction price. Any such adjustments are recorded on a cumulative catch-up basis, which would affect license, collaboration and other revenues and earnings in their period of adjustment.
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 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 from its license agreements.
Manufacturing and Supply: The promises under our agreements may include clinical and commercial manufacturing Products to be provided by us to the counterparty. The services are generally determined to be distinct from the other promises or performance obligations identified in the arrangement. We recognize the transaction price allocated to these services as revenue at a point in time when transfer of control of the related Products to the customer occurs.
Research and Development Costs (Including Accruals for Clinical Trial Expenses)
Except for payments made in advance of services, research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development costs primarily consist of employee-related expenses, including salaries and benefits, expenses incurred under agreements with contract research organizations (CROs), investigative sites and consultants that conduct the Company's clinical trials, the cost of acquiring and manufacturing clinical trial materials, including costs incurred under agreements with contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), and other allocated expenses, stock-based compensation expense, and costs associated with non-clinical activities and regulatory approvals.
Clinical trial expenses are a significant component of research and development expenses, and the Company outsources a significant portion of these clinical trial activities to third parties. Third-party clinical trial expenses include investigator fees, site and patient costs, CRO costs, and costs for central laboratory testing and data management. The accrual for site and patient costs includes inputs such as estimates of patient enrollment, patient cycles incurred, clinical site activations, and other pass-through costs. These inputs are required to be estimated due to a lag in receiving the actual clinical information from third parties. Payments for these activities are based on the terms of the individual arrangements, which may differ from the pattern of costs incurred, and are reflected on the balance sheets as a prepaid asset or accrued expenses. These third-party agreements are generally cancellable, and related costs are recorded as research and development expenses as incurred. Non-refundable advance clinical payments for goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are recorded as a prepaid asset and recognized as expense as the related goods are delivered or the related services are performed. When evaluating the adequacy of the accrued expenses, management assessments include: (i) an evaluation by the project manager of the work that has been completed during the period; (ii) measurement of progress prepared internally and/or provided by the third-party service
provider; (iii) analyses of data that justify the progress; and (iv) the Company’s judgment. Significant judgments and estimates may be made in determining the accrued balances at the end of any reporting period. Actual results could differ from the estimates made. The Company’s historical clinical accrual estimates have not been materially different from the actual costs. Clinical trial accruals that are due longer than one year are classified as noncurrent accrued expenses.
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-based payments are accounted for in accordance with the provisions of ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation. The fair value of stock-based payments is estimated, on the date of grant, using the Black-Scholes-Merton model. The resulting fair value is recognized ratably over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the option. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur and does not make an estimate of expected forfeitures at the time of grant.
The Company has elected to use the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model to value any options granted. The Company will reconsider use of the Black-Scholes-Merton model if additional information becomes available in the future that indicates another model would be more appropriate or if grants issued in future periods have characteristics that prevent their value from being reasonably estimated using this model.
A discussion of management’s methodology for developing some of the assumptions used in the valuation model follows:
Expected Dividend Yield—The Company has never declared or paid dividends and has no plans to do so in the foreseeable future.
Expected Volatility—Volatility is a measure of the amount by which a financial variable such as share price has fluctuated (historical volatility) or is expected to fluctuate (expected volatility) during a period. Effective January 1, 2020, the Company bases the expected volatility on the historical volatility of the Company’s publicly traded common stock. Prior to January 1, 2020, the Company utilized the historical volatilities of a peer group (e.g., several public entities of similar size, complexity, and stage of development), along with the Company’s historical volatility since its initial public offering, to determine its expected volatility.
Risk-Free Interest Rate—This is the U.S. Treasury rate for the week of each option grant during the year, having a term that most closely resembles the expected life of the option.
Expected Term—This is a period of time that the options granted are expected to remain unexercised. Options granted have a maximum term of 10 years. The Company estimates the expected life of the option term to be 6.25 years. The Company uses a simplified method to calculate the average expected term.
Net Loss Per Common Share
Basic net loss per common share is determined by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period, without consideration of common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common stock equivalents outstanding for the period. The treasury stock method is used to determine the dilutive effect of the Company’s stock options and restricted stock units.
The following potentially dilutive securities outstanding, at March 31, have been excluded from the computation of diluted weighted-average common shares outstanding, as they would be anti-dilutive:
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|
|
|
|
|
|
2020
|
|
2019
|
|
Stock options and restricted stock units
|
|
6,291,212
|
|
4,836,170
|
|
7. Stockholders’ Equity
At-The-Market Sales Facility
On September 28, 2017, the Company entered into an at-the-market sales agreement (the September 2017 Sales Agreement) with Cowen and Company, LLC to sell up to $100.0 million of the Company’s common stock registered under a shelf registration statement filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in September 2017. As of March 31, 2020, $80.0 million remained available to be sold under the terms of the September 2017 Sales Agreement. There were no shares sold under the September 2017 Sales Agreement during the three months ended March 31, 2020 or 2019.
2003 Stock Incentive Plan
The 2003 Stock Incentive Plan (the 2003 Plan) provided for the grant of incentives and nonqualified stock options and restricted stock awards. The exercise price for incentive stock options must be at least equal to the fair value of the common stock on the grant date. Unless otherwise stated in a stock option agreement, 25% of the shares subject to an option grant will vest upon the first anniversary of the vesting start date and thereafter at the rate of one forty-eighth of the option shares per month as of the first day of each month after the first anniversary. Upon termination of employment by reasons other than death, cause, or disability, any vested options shall terminate 60 days after the termination date. Stock options terminate 10 years from the date of grant. The 2003 Plan expired on May 21, 2013.
A summary of the Company’s stock option activity under the 2003 Plan for the three months ended March 31, 2020 is as follows:
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|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
WEIGHTED-
|
|
AGGREGATE
|
|
|
|
|
|
WEIGHTED-
|
|
AVERAGE
|
|
INTRINSIC
|
|
|
|
|
|
AVERAGE
|
|
REMAINING
|
|
VALUE
|
|
|
|
OUTSTANDING
|
|
EXERCISE
|
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CONTRACTUAL
|
|
(IN
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|
|
|
OPTIONS
|
|
PRICE
|
|
TERM (YEARS)
|
|
THOUSANDS)
|
|
Outstanding as of December 31, 2019
|
|
382,337
|
|
$
|
1.33
|
|
1.3
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|
|
|
|
Options exercised
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|
(116,046)
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|
|
1.12
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|
|
|
|
|
|
Options forfeited
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|
—
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding, Vested and Exercisable as of March 31, 2020
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|
266,291
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|
|
1.43
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|
1.2
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|
$
|
228
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|
As of March 31, 2020, outstanding options under the 2003 Plan were fully expensed and all shares underlying outstanding options were fully vested. Total intrinsic value of the options exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 was $459,098 and $129,250, respectively, and total cash received for options exercised was $129,972 and $12,320 during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
2013 Equity Incentive Plan
The Company’s board of directors adopted, and its stockholders approved, its 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (the 2013 Plan) effective on January 9, 2014. The 2013 Plan provides for the grant of incentive stock options within the meaning of Section 422 of the Internal Revenue Code to the Company’s employees and its parent and subsidiary corporations’ employees, and for the grant of nonstatutory stock options, restricted stock awards, restricted stock unit awards, stock appreciation rights, performance stock awards and other forms of stock compensation to its employees, including officers, consultants and directors. The 2013 Plan also provides for the grant of performance cash awards to the Company’s employees, consultants and directors. Unless otherwise stated in a stock option agreement, 25% of the shares subject to an option grant will typically vest upon the first anniversary of the vesting start date, with the balance of the shares vesting in a series of thirty-six successive equal monthly installments as of the first day of each month measured from the first anniversary of the vesting start date. Upon termination of employment by reasons other than death, cause, or disability, any vested options will terminate 90 days after the termination date, unless otherwise set forth in a stock option agreement. Stock options generally terminate 10 years from the date of grant.
Authorized Shares
The maximum number of shares of common stock that initially could be issued under the 2013 Plan was 1,000,000 shares, plus any shares subject to stock options or similar awards granted under the 2003 Plan that expire or terminate without having been exercised in full or are forfeited or repurchased by the Company. The number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the 2013 Plan automatically increases on January 1 of each year until January 1, 2023, by 3% of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding on December 31 of the preceding calendar year, or a lesser number of shares as may be determined by the Company’s board of directors. The maximum number of shares that may be issued pursuant to exercise of incentive stock options under the 2013 Plan is 20,000,000 shares. As of January 1, 2020, the number of shares of common stock that may be issued under the 2013 Plan was automatically increased by 1,304,007 shares, representing 3% of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding on December 31, 2019, increasing the number of shares of common stock available for issuance under the 2013 Plan to 6,466,823 shares.
Shares issued under the 2013 Plan may be authorized but unissued or reacquired shares of common stock. Shares subject to stock awards granted under the 2013 Plan that expire or terminate without being exercised in full, or that are paid out in cash rather than in shares, will not reduce the number of shares available for issuance under the 2013 Plan. Additionally, shares issued pursuant to stock awards under the 2013 Plan that the Company repurchases or that are forfeited, as well as shares reacquired by the Company as consideration for the exercise or purchase price of a stock award or to satisfy tax withholding obligations related to a stock award, will become available for future grant under the 2013 Plan.
A summary of the Company’s stock option activity under the 2013 Plan for the three months ended March 31, 2020 is as follows:
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|
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|
WEIGHTED-
|
|
AGGREGATE
|
|
|
|
|
|
WEIGHTED-
|
|
AVERAGE
|
|
INTRINSIC
|
|
|
|
|
|
AVERAGE
|
|
REMAINING
|
|
VALUE
|
|
|
|
OUTSTANDING
|
|
EXERCISE
|
|
CONTRACTUAL
|
|
(IN
|
|
|
|
OPTIONS
|
|
PRICE
|
|
TERM (YEARS)
|
|
THOUSANDS)
|
|
Outstanding as of December 31, 2019
|
|
4,399,606
|
|
$
|
10.43
|
|
6.8
|
|
|
|
|
Options granted
|
|
1,334,700
|
|
|
4.64
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options exercised
|
|
—
|
|
|
—
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Options forfeited
|
|
(26,065)
|
|
|
9.11
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding as of March 31, 2020
|
|
5,708,241
|
|
|
9.08
|
|
7.3
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
Vested or expected to vest as of March 31, 2020
|
|
5,708,241
|
|
|
9.08
|
|
7.3
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
Exercisable as of March 31, 2020
|
|
3,032,134
|
|
|
9.44
|
|
5.7
|
|
$
|
-
|
|
The weighted-average fair value of the options granted during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 was $3.35 per share and $7.00 per share, respectively, applying the Black-Scholes-Merton option pricing model utilizing the following weighted-average assumptions:
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|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31,
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|
|
2020
|
|
2019
|
Expected term
|
|
6.25 years
|
|
6.25 years
|
Expected volatility
|
|
84.30%
|
|
71.34%
|
Risk-free interest rate
|
|
1.59%
|
|
2.62%
|
Expected dividend yield
|
|
0%
|
|
0%
|
As of March 31, 2020, there was $14,046,917 of total unrecognized compensation expense related to unvested options under the 2013 Plan that will be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 1.9 years. There were no options exercised under the 2013 Plan during the three months ended March 31, 2020. Total intrinsic value of the options exercised during the three months ended March 31, 2019 was $23,176 and total cash received for options exercised was $18,234 during three months ended March 31, 2019. The total fair value of shares underlying options which vested in the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 was $2,618,307 and $2,724,218, respectively.
ITEM 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Certain statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words or phrases “would be,” “will allow,” “intends to,” “will likely result,” “are expected to,” “will continue,” “is anticipated,” “estimate,” “project,” or similar expressions, or the negative of such words or phrases, are intended to identify “forward-looking statements.” We have based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. Because such statements include risks and uncertainties, actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include those below and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in Part I – Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements made herein are as of the date of the filing of this Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission and should not be relied upon as of any subsequent date. Unless otherwise required by applicable law, we do not undertake, and we specifically disclaim, any obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect occurrences, developments, unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statement.
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our unaudited financial statements and related notes that appear in Item 1 of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and with our audited financial statements and related notes for the year ended December 31, 2019, which are included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 28, 2020.
Overview
We are a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on the discovery and development of novel glycomimetic drugs to address unmet medical needs resulting from diseases in which carbohydrate biology plays a key role. We are developing a pipeline of glycomimetics, which are molecules that mimic the structure of carbohydrates involved in important biological processes, to inhibit disease-related functions of carbohydrates such as the roles they play in inflammation, cancer and infection. We believe this represents an innovative approach to drug discovery to treat a wide range of diseases. We are focusing our efforts on drug candidates for rare diseases that we believe will qualify for orphan drug designation.
Our proprietary glycomimetics platform is based on our expertise in carbohydrate chemistry and our understanding of the role carbohydrates play in key biological processes. Most human proteins are modified by the addition of complex carbohydrate structures to the surface of such proteins, which affects the functions of the proteins and their interactions with other molecules. Our initial research and development efforts have focused on drug candidates targeting selectins, which are proteins that serve as adhesion molecules and bind to carbohydrates that are involved in the inflammatory component and progression of a wide range of diseases, including hematologic disorders, cancer and cardiovascular disease. For example, we believe that members of the selectin family play a key role in tumor metastasis and resistance to chemotherapy. Inhibiting specific carbohydrates from binding to selectins has long been viewed as a potentially attractive approach for therapeutic intervention. The ability to successfully develop drug-like compounds that inhibit binding with selectins, known as selectin antagonists, has historically been limited by the complexities of carbohydrate chemistry. We believe our expertise in carbohydrate chemistry enables us to design selectin antagonists and other glycomimetics that may inhibit the disease-related functions of certain carbohydrates in order to develop novel drug candidates to address orphan diseases with high unmet medical need.
Our lead glycomimetic drug candidate, uproleselan, is a specific E-selectin inhibitor that we are developing to be used in combination with chemotherapy to treat patients with acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, a life-threatening hematologic cancer, and potentially other hematologic cancers. We completed an initial Phase 1 trial in healthy volunteers for uproleselan, and in May 2017 we completed enrollment in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with either relapsed/refractory or de novo/secondary AML. In December 2018, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, or ASH, we presented clinical data from this Phase 1/2 clinical trial that showed high remission rates, improved overall survival and improved event-free survival, all compared to historical controls derived from third-party clinical trials evaluating treatment with standard chemotherapy.
In March 2018, we announced our design for a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate uproleselan in individuals with relapsed/refractory AML, which design is aligned with guidance received from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA. Based on consultations with the FDA, the single pivotal trial is planned to enroll approximately 380 adult patients with relapsed or refractory AML at centers in the United States, Canada, Europe and Australia. We dosed the first patient in this trial in November 2018. The primary efficacy endpoint will be overall survival; importantly, the FDA has advised us that data on overall survival will not need to be censored for transplant in the primary efficacy analysis, meaning that patients who proceed to transplant will continue to be included as part of the survival analysis. All patients will be treated with standard chemotherapy of either MEC (mitoxantrone, etoposide and cytarabine) or FAI (fludarabine, cytarabine and idarubicin), with approximately one-half of the patients randomized to receive uproleselan in addition to chemotherapy. Patients receiving uproleselan will be dosed for one day prior to initiation of chemotherapy, twice a day through the chemotherapy regimen, and then for two days after the end of chemotherapy, which was the same regimen as in the Phase 1/2 trial. The dose regimen will be fixed, rather than weight-based, which we believe will simplify administration. We plan to offer up to three cycles of consolidation therapy in both arms of the trial for patients who achieve remission. We believe that multiple cycles of treatment in patients who respond may drive an even deeper response in patients treated with uproleselan. If this is the case, it could lengthen the duration of remission with potential for additional benefit on survival. Key secondary endpoints of the Phase 3 trial will include the incidence of severe mucositis and remission rate, which will be assessed in a hierarchical fashion which may provide supportive data.
The recent imposition of “lockdown,” “social distancing” and “shelter in place” directives by state and federal governments in the United States as well as governments in other regions of the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including in locations in which our Phase 3 clinical trial of uproleselan is being conducted, has resulted in slowed clinical site initiation, patient recruitment and enrollment rates in April 2020. We cannot at this time fully assess whether these slower rates reflect a long- or short-term change that could potentially materially adversely impact the timing of completion of enrollment of our Phase 3 clinical trial. We continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation and any potential impact to our planned activities.
Uproleselan received orphan drug designation from the FDA in May 2015 for the treatment of patients with AML. In June 2016, uproleselan received fast track designation from the FDA for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory AML and elderly patients aged 60 years or older with AML. In May 2017, uproleselan received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the FDA for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory AML. In May 2017, the European Commission, based on a favorable recommendation from the EMA Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, granted orphan designation for uproleselan for the treatment of patients with AML. In June 2018, we received a response from the EMA to our request for scientific advice with respect to our Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, development plan. Based on this guidance, we are conducting the global Phase 3 clinical trial and intend to pursue regulatory approval of uproleselan for the treatment of AML.
In May 2018, we signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or CRADA, with the National Cancer Institute, or NCI, part of the National Institutes of Health. Under the terms of the CRADA, we will collaborate with both the NCI and the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology to conduct a Phase 2/3 randomized, controlled clinical trial testing the addition of uproleselan to a standard cytarabine/daunorubicin chemotherapy regimen (7&3) in older adults with previously untreated AML who are suitable for intensive chemotherapy. The primary endpoint will be overall survival, which is defined as the time from the date of randomization to death from any cause, with a planned interim analysis based on event-free survival after the first 250 patients have been enrolled in the trial. The full trial is expected to enroll approximately 670 patients. Under the terms of the CRADA, the NCI may also fund additional research, including clinical trials involving pediatric patients with AML as well as preclinical experiments and clinical trials evaluating alternative populations and chemotherapy regimens. We will supply uproleselan as well as provide financial support to augment data analysis and monitoring for the Phase 3 program. The trial opened for enrollment in early 2019 and enrolled the first patient in April 2019.
As a potential life-cycle extension to uproleselan, we have rationally designed an innovative antagonist of E-selectin, GMI-1687, that could be suitable for subcutaneous administration. When given by subcutaneous injection in animal models, GMI-1687 has been observed to have equivalent activity to uproleselan, but at an approximately 1,000-fold lower dose. We believe that GMI-1687 could be developed to broaden the clinical usefulness of an E-selectin antagonist to conditions where outpatient treatment is preferred or required. We are currently conducting preclinical
studies with GMI-1687 to support our planned submission of an investigational new drug application, or IND, to the FDA.
We are developing an additional drug candidate, GMI-1359, that simultaneously targets both E-selectin and a chemokine receptor known as CXCR4. Since E-selectin and CXCR4 are implicated in the retention of cancer cells in the bone and bone marrow, we believe that targeting both E-selectin and CXCR4 with a single compound could improve efficacy in the treatment of cancers that affect the bone and bone marrow, particularly solid tumors that have a propensity to metastasize to bone, such as breast and prostate cancer. We completed a Phase 1 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single-dose escalation trial of GMI-1359 in healthy volunteers. In this trial, volunteer participants received a single injection of either GMI-1359 or placebo, after which they were evaluated for safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics, or PK. This trial was conducted at a single site in the United States. GMI-1359 was generally well tolerated in this trial, with no participants experiencing serious adverse events. In the fourth quarter of 2019, we initiated a Phase 1b trial of GMI-1359 in hormone receptor positive breast cancer patients whose tumors have spread to bone, and the first patient was dosed in January 2020. The trial is being conducted at Duke University and will evaluate dose escalation as well as safety, PK and pharmacodynamics markers of biologic activity in these patients. In January 2020, the FDA granted GMI-1359 orphan drug designation and rare pediatric disease designation for the treatment of osteosarcoma, a rare cancer affecting approximately 900 adolescents each year in the United States. These designations are expected to make GMI-1359 eligible for priority review by the FDA.
In addition to our programs described above, we are also advancing other preclinical-stage programs. These programs include small-molecule glycomimetic compounds that inhibit the protein galectin-3, which we believe may have potential to be used for the treatment of fibrosis, cancer and cardiovascular disease.
We previously developed another glycomimetic drug candidate, rivipansel, a pan-selectin antagonist for the potential treatment of vaso-occlusive crisis, a debilitating and painful condition that occurs periodically throughout the life of a person with sickle cell disease, or SCD. Rivipansel received fast track designation from the FDA as well as orphan drug designation from the FDA in the United States and from the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, in the European Union. We entered into an exclusive license agreement with Pfizer Inc., or the Pfizer Agreement, for Pfizer to further develop, obtain regulatory approval and potentially commercialize rivipansel worldwide. Pfizer conducted a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rivipansel in patients aged six and older with SCD who were hospitalized for a vaso-occlusive crisis and required treatment with intravenous opioids. The clinical trial did not meet its primary or key secondary efficacy endpoints, and Pfizer has terminated the Pfizer Agreement. The IND for rivipansel has been transferred back to us, and we are currently evaluating what, if any, next steps to take with respect to the rivipansel program after reviewing the Phase 3 data more completely.
We commenced operations in 2003, and our operations to date have been limited to organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, developing our glycomimetics platform, identifying potential drug candidates, undertaking preclinical studies and conducting, both alone and in collaboration with third parties, clinical trials of uproleselan, GMI-1359 and rivipansel. To date, we have financed our operations primarily through private placements of our securities, up-front and milestone payments under our license and collaboration agreements and the net proceeds from public offerings of common stock, including sales of common stock under at-the-market sales facilities with Cowen and Company LLC, or Cowen. We have no approved drugs currently available for sale, and substantially all of our revenue to date has been revenue from up-front and milestone payments, although we have received nominal amounts of revenue under research grants.
Since inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. We had an accumulated deficit of $266.1 million as of March 31, 2020, and we expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses over at least the next several years. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year, depending on the timing of our clinical trials and our expenditures on other research and development activities. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially as we:
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·
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initiate and conduct our planned clinical trials of uproleselan, GMI-1359 and GMI-1687, including fulfilling our funding and supply commitments related to the clinical trial of uproleselan being conducted in collaboration with NCI;
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·
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conduct NDA-enabling activities related to manufacture, toxicology and clinical pharmacology for our product candidates;
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·
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manufacture additional uproleselan drug supplies for validation and prepare for commercialization;
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·
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seek to discover and develop additional drug candidates;
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·
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seek regulatory approvals for any drug candidates that successfully complete clinical trials;
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·
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ultimately establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure and scale up external manufacturing capabilities to commercialize any drug candidates for which we may obtain regulatory approval;
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·
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maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio;
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·
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hire additional clinical, quality control, regulatory and scientific personnel; and
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·
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add operational, financial and management information systems and personnel, including personnel to support our drug development and potential future commercialization efforts.
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To fund further operations, we will need to raise capital. We may obtain additional financing in the future through the issuance of our common stock, through other equity or debt financings, potentially including the use of our at-the-market sales facility with Cowen, or through collaborations or partnerships with other companies, such as our recent collaboration with Apollomics. We may not be able to raise additional capital on terms acceptable to us, or at all, and any failure to raise capital as and when needed could compromise our ability to execute on our business plan. For example, the current global COVID-19 pandemic presents material uncertainty and its disruption of the capital markets may have a material adverse impact on our ability to raise additional capital if we decided to do so. Although it is difficult to predict future liquidity requirements, we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our operations into 2022. However, our ability to successfully transition to profitability will be dependent upon achieving a level of revenues adequate to support our cost structure. We cannot assure you that we will ever be profitable or generate positive cash flow from operating activities.
COVID-19 Business Update
With the global spread of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the first quarter of 2020, we have implemented business continuity plans designed to address and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our employees and our business. While we are experiencing limited financial impacts at this time beyond the delays in recruitment in our ongoing uproleselan Phase 3 clinical trial, given the global economic slowdown, the overall disruption of global healthcare systems and the other risks and uncertainties associated with the pandemic, our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects could be materially adversely affected. We continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation as we evolve our business continuity plans and response strategy. In March 2020, our workforce transitioned to working remotely in accordance with federal and state declarations. We are currently preparing plans to reopen our office to allow employees to return to the office based on a phased approach that is consistent with federal and state guidelines, with a focus on employee safety and optimal work environment.
Our Collaboration and License Agreements
Apollomics
In January 2020, we entered into an exclusive collaboration and license agreement with Apollomics (Hong Kong) Limited, or Apollomics, for the development and commercialization of uproleselan and GMI-1687 in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, also known as Greater China. Under the terms of the agreement, Apollomics will be responsible for clinical development and commercialization in Greater China. We will also collaborate with Apollomics to advance the preclinical and clinical development of GMI-1687. We received an upfront cash payment of $9.0 million and, subject to the terms of the agreement, will be eligible to receive potential milestone payments totaling approximately $180.0 million, as well as tiered royalties ranging from the high single digits to 15%, as a percentage of net sales. Apollomics will be responsible for all costs related to development, regulatory approvals, and commercialization activities for uproleselan and GMI-1687 in Greater China, and we and Apollomics expect to enter
into clinical and commercial supply agreements with respect to our provision of uproleselan and GMI-1687 to Apollomics. We retain all rights for both compounds in the rest of the world.
Pfizer
In October 2011, we entered into the Pfizer Agreement, under which we granted Pfizer an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize products containing rivipansel for all fields and uses. Pfizer was required to use commercially reasonable efforts, at its expense, to develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize rivipansel for SCD in the United States. On August 2, 2019, Pfizer announced that its pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of rivipansel in patients aged six and older with SCD who were hospitalized for a vaso-occlusive crisis and required treatment with intravenous opioids did not meet its primary or key secondary efficacy endpoints. On February 5, 2020, Pfizer delivered notice to us of its termination of the Pfizer Agreement, which termination was effective as of April 5, 2020. Following the effective date of the termination of the Pfizer Agreement, we retain all rights to the potential future development and commercialization of rivipansel. We did not earn any revenue or receive any payments from Pfizer during the three months ended March 31, 2020 or 2019 and will not be eligible to receive any future payments from Pfizer following the termination of the Pfizer Agreement.
University of Basel
We entered into a research services agreement, or the Research Agreement, with the University of Basel, or the University, for biological evaluation of selectin antagonists. While the scope of work under the Research Agreement ended in 2017, certain patents covering the rivipansel compound are subject to provisions of the Research Agreement. Under the terms of the Research Agreement, we owed the University 10% of any milestone and royalty payments received from Pfizer with respect to rivipansel. There were no payments due to the University for the three months ended March 31, 2020 or 2019, and as a result of the termination of the Pfizer Agreement, we do not expect to make any future payments to the University.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates
Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses in our financial statements. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to our revenue recognition, accrued research and development expenses, stock-based compensation expense and income taxes. We base our estimates on historical experience, known trends and events and various other factors that we believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other resources. Actual results may differ from these estimates and judgments under different assumptions or conditions. We periodically review our estimates in light of changes in circumstances, facts and experience. The effects of material revisions in estimates are reflected in our financial statements prospectively from the date of the change in estimate.
We define our critical accounting policies as those accounting principles generally accepted in the United States that require us to make subjective estimates and judgments about matters that are uncertain and are likely to have a material impact on our financial condition and results of operations, as well as the specific manner in which we apply those principles. For a description of our critical accounting policies, please see the disclosures in Part II, Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. There have not been any material changes to our critical accounting policies since December 31, 2019.
Components of Operating Results
Revenue
To date, we have not generated any revenue from the sale of our drug candidates and do not expect to generate any revenue from the sale of drugs in the near future. Substantially all of our historical revenue has consisted of upfront and milestone payments under the agreements with Pfizer and Apollomics.
Research and Development
Research and development expenses consist of expenses incurred in performing research and development activities, including compensation and benefits for full-time research and development employees, facilities expenses, overhead expenses, cost of laboratory supplies, clinical trial and related clinical manufacturing expenses, fees paid to CROs and other consultants and other outside expenses. Other preclinical research and platform programs include activities related to exploratory efforts, target validation, lead optimization for our earlier programs and our proprietary glycomimetics platform. Our research and development expenses have related primarily to the development of rivipansel, uproleselan and our other drug candidates.
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 only allocate a portion of our research and development expenses by functional area and by drug candidate.
Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Non-refundable advance payments for goods or services to be received in the future for use in research and development activities are deferred and capitalized. The capitalized amounts are expensed as the related goods are delivered or the services are performed.
Research and development activities are central to our business model. Drug 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. We expect our research and development expenses to increase over the next several years as we seek to progress uproleselan, GMI-1359 and our other drug candidates into and through clinical development. However, it is difficult to determine with certainty the duration and completion costs of our current or future preclinical studies and clinical trials of our drug candidates, or if, when or to what extent we will generate revenues from the commercialization and sale of any of our drug candidates that obtain regulatory approval. We may never succeed in achieving regulatory approval for any of our drug candidates.
The duration, costs and timing of clinical trials and development of our drug candidates will depend on a variety of factors that include:
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per patient trial costs;
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·
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the number of patients that participate in the trials;
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·
|
|
the number of sites included in the trials;
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|
·
|
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the countries in which the trial is conducted;
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·
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the length of time required to enroll eligible patients, which we expect to be lengthened as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic;
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·
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the number of doses that patients receive;
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·
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the drop-out or discontinuation rates of patients;
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·
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|
potential additional safety monitoring or other studies requested by regulatory agencies;
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·
|
|
the duration of patient follow-up; and
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·
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|
the safety and efficacy profile of the drug candidate.
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In addition, the probability of success for each drug 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 drug candidate, as well as an assessment of each drug candidate’s commercial potential.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other related costs, including stock-based compensation, for personnel in executive, finance, accounting, business development and human resources functions. Other significant costs include facility costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses, legal fees relating to patent and corporate matters and fees for accounting and consulting services. We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase in the future to support our continued research and development activities.
Interest Income
Interest income consists of interest income earned on our cash and cash equivalents.
Results of Operations for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020 and 2019
The following table sets forth our results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019:
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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Three Months Ended March 31,
|
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Period-to-Period
|
|
(in thousands)
|
|
2020
|
|
2019
|
|
Change
|
|
Revenue
|
|
$
|
9,000
|
|
$
|
—
|
|
$
|
9,000
|
|
Costs and expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Research and development expense
|
|
|
12,668
|
|
|
11,773
|
|
|
895
|
|
General and administrative expense
|
|
|
4,440
|
|
|
3,360
|
|
|
1,080
|
|
Total costs and expenses
|
|
|
17,108
|
|
|
15,133
|
|
|
1,975
|
|
Loss from operations
|
|
|
(8,108)
|
|
|
(15,133)
|
|
|
7,025
|
|
Interest income
|
|
|
445
|
|
|
1,049
|
|
|
(604)
|
|
Net loss and comprehensive loss
|
|
$
|
(7,663)
|
|
$
|
(14,084)
|
|
$
|
6,421
|
|
Revenue
We recognized $9.0 million in revenue during the three months ended March 31, 2020 from the Apollomics Agreement for the development and commercialization of uproleselan and GMI-1687 in Greater China. There was no revenue recognized during the three months ended March 31, 2019.
Research and Development Expense
The following table summarizes our research and development expense by functional area for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019:
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|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31,
|
|
Period-to-Period
|
|
(in thousands)
|
|
2020
|
|
2019
|
|
Change
|
|
Clinical development
|
|
$
|
5,023
|
|
$
|
2,607
|
|
$
|
2,416
|
|
Manufacturing and formulation
|
|
|
3,137
|
|
|
5,244
|
|
|
(2,107)
|
|
Contract research services, consulting and other costs
|
|
|
568
|
|
|
594
|
|
|
(26)
|
|
Laboratory costs
|
|
|
574
|
|
|
502
|
|
|
72
|
|
Personnel-related
|
|
|
2,630
|
|
|
2,318
|
|
|
312
|
|
Stock-based compensation
|
|
|
736
|
|
|
508
|
|
|
228
|
|
Research and development expense
|
|
$
|
12,668
|
|
$
|
11,773
|
|
$
|
895
|
|
The following table summarizes our research and development expense by drug candidate for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019:
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|
|
|
|
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|
|
Three Months Ended March 31,
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Period-to-Period
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(in thousands)
|
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2020
|
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2019
|
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Change
|
|
Uproleselan
|
|
$
|
8,161
|
|
$
|
7,874
|
|
$
|
287
|
|
GMI-1359
|
|
|
104
|
|
|
166
|
|
|
(62)
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|
Other research and development
|
|
|
1,037
|
|
|
907
|
|
|
130
|
|
Personnel-related and stock-based compensation
|
|
|
3,366
|
|
|
2,826
|
|
|
540
|
|
Research and development expense
|
|
$
|
12,668
|
|
$
|
11,773
|
|
$
|
895
|
|
Research and development expense increased by $895,000, or 8%, to $12.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 from $11.8 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019. Clinical development expenses increased by $2.4 million, primarily as a result of increased clinical costs related to our ongoing global Phase 3 clinical trial of uproleselan in individuals with relapsed/refractory AML and the Phase 2/3 clinical trial being conducted by the NCI, which opened for enrollment in early 2019. Personnel-related and stock-based compensation expenses increased due to annual performance adjustments processed in the quarter ended March 31, 2020. These increases were offset in part by a $2.1 million decrease in manufacturing and formulation due to lower raw material costs in the first quarter ended March 31, 2020 as compared to the first quarter ended March 31, 2019.
General and Administrative Expense
The following table summarizes the components of our general and administrative expense for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019:
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31,
|
|
Period-to-Period
|
|
(in thousands)
|
|
2020
|
|
2019
|
|
Change
|
|
Personnel-related
|
|
$
|
1,607
|
|
$
|
1,134
|
|
$
|
473
|
|
Stock-based compensation
|
|
|
1,086
|
|
|
875
|
|
|
211
|
|
Legal, consulting and other professional expenses
|
|
|
1,508
|
|
|
1,135
|
|
|
373
|
|
Other
|
|
|
239
|
|
|
216
|
|
|
23
|
|
General and administrative expense
|
|
$
|
4,440
|
|
$
|
3,360
|
|
$
|
1,080
|
|
General and administrative expense increased for the three months ended March 31, 2020 by $1.1 million, or 32%, compared to the first quarter ended March 31, 2019 primarily due to an increase in personnel-related costs and professional fees including legal, patent and consulting expenses. Personnel-related expenses increased due to additional general and administrative headcount and annual salary adjustments awarded in the first quarter of 2020. Patent, legal fees, consulting and other professional expenses including director and officer’s insurance premiums, increased by $373,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 as compared to March 31, 2019.
Interest Income
Interest income decreased by $604,000 to $445,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 from $1.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2019, due to lower average cash balances and lower interest rates on those balances.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Sources of Liquidity
We have historically financed our operations primarily through public offerings and private placements of our capital stock, including sales agreements with Cowen, and upfront and milestone payments from our license and collaboration agreements. As of March 31, 2020, we had $154.8 million in cash and cash equivalents.
In September 2017, we entered into a new at-the-market sales agreement with Cowen, under which we may offer and sell, from time to time at our sole discretion, shares of our common stock having an aggregate offering price of up to $100.0 million through Cowen acting as our sales agent. During the year ended December 31, 2017, we sold an aggregate of 1,600,000 shares of our common stock under the at-the-market facility for net proceeds of $19.3 million. There were no sales under this agreement during the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019. As of March 31, 2020, we have the ability to sell up to $80.0 million of common stock under the at-the-market sales agreement with Cowen.
We entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Apollomics in January 2020 and are potentially eligible to earn milestone payments and royalties under that agreement. In January 2020, Apollomics made an upfront payment to the Company of $9.0 million. Our ability to earn the milestone and royalty payments and their timing will be dependent upon the outcome of Apollomics’ activities and is uncertain at this time.
Funding Requirements
Our primary uses of capital are, and we expect will continue to be, compensation and related expenses, third-party clinical research and development services, laboratory and related supplies, clinical costs, legal and other regulatory expenses and general overhead costs.
The successful development of any of our drug candidates is highly uncertain. As such, at this time, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing and costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the remainder of the development of uproleselan or our other drug candidates. We are also unable to predict when, if ever, material net cash inflows will commence from uproleselan or our other drug candidates. This is due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing drugs, including the uncertainty of:
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·
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successful enrollment in, and completion of, clinical trials;
|
|
·
|
|
receipt of marketing approvals from applicable regulatory authorities;
|
|
·
|
|
establishing commercial manufacturing capabilities or making arrangements with third-party manufacturers;
|
|
·
|
|
obtaining and maintaining patent and trade secret protection and regulatory exclusivity for drug candidates;
|
|
·
|
|
launching commercial sales of drugs, if and when approved, whether alone or in collaboration with others; and
|
|
·
|
|
obtaining and maintaining healthcare coverage and adequate reimbursement.
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A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of any of our drug candidates would significantly change the costs and timing associated with the development of that drug candidate. Because our drug candidates are in various stages of clinical and preclinical development and the outcome of these efforts is uncertain, we cannot estimate the actual amounts necessary to successfully complete the development and commercialization of our drug candidates or whether, or when, we may achieve profitability. Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenues, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity or debt financings and collaboration arrangements, including our existing license agreement with Apollomics. Except for Apollomics’ conditional obligations to make milestone and royalty payments to us under our license agreement, we do not have any committed external source of liquidity.
To the extent that we raise additional capital through the future sale of equity or debt, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our existing common stockholders. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of convertible debt securities, these securities could contain covenants that would restrict our operations.
We may require additional capital beyond our currently anticipated amounts. Additional capital may not be available on reasonable terms, or at all. If we raise additional funds through collaboration arrangements in the future, we
may have to relinquish valuable rights to our drug candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our drug development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market drug candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.
The recent imposition of “lockdown,” “social distancing” and “shelter in place” directives by state and federal governments in the United States as well as governments in other regions of the world in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in slowed clinical site initiation, patient recruitment and enrollment rates in April 2020 in our Phase 3 clinical trial of uproleselan. We cannot at this time determine whether these slower rates reflect a long- or short-term change that could potentially materially adversely impact our cash available to fund our continuing operations or the timing of completion of enrollment of our Phase 3 clinical trial. We continue to closely monitor the COVID-19 situation and any potential impact to our planned activities.
Outlook
Based on our research and development plans and our timing expectations related to the progress of our programs, we expect that our existing cash and cash equivalents will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into 2022. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our capital resources sooner than we expect. Additionally, the process of testing drug candidates in clinical trials is costly, and the timing of progress in these trials is uncertain. As discussed above, at this time we can not accurately predict changes in our cash used in operating activities or the timing of completion of enrollment in our Phase 3 clinical trial of uproleselan due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are continuing to assess and monitor the COVID-19 situation and the potential impact to our clinical trial plans and expectations as a result of delayed site initiations and patient recruitment and enrollment. As we continue to gather data regarding our clinical trial activities, we expect to be in a position to assess the need, if any, to change our previous guidance.
Cash Flows
The following is a summary of our cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three Months Ended March 31,
|
|
(in thousands)
|
|
2020
|
|
2019
|
|
Net cash provided by (used in):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating activities
|
|
$
|
(3,500)
|
|
$
|
(14,348)
|
|
Investing activities
|
|
|
(8)
|
|
|
(40)
|
|
Financing activities
|
|
|
130
|
|
|
31
|
|
Net change in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
$
|
(3,378)
|
|
$
|
(14,357)
|
|
Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 was primarily the result of ongoing costs associated with our uproleselan clinical development programs which includes significant costs for project support, investigator site start-up costs and patient enrollment fees as well as clinical manufacturing costs. These cash expenses were offset by non-cash expenses for stock-based compensation, lease expense and depreciation, and for the three months ended March 31, 2020, the upfront payment of $9.0 million received from Apollomics.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 was for computer, office and laboratory equipment.
Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 consisted of proceeds from stock option exercises.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
During the three months ended March 31, 2020, we did not have, and we do not currently have, any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined under SEC rules.
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
The market risk inherent in our financial instruments and in our financial position represents the potential loss arising from adverse changes in interest rates. As of March 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, we had cash and cash equivalents of $154.8 million and $158.2 million, respectively. We generally hold our cash in interest-bearing money market accounts. Our primary exposure to market risk is interest rate sensitivity, which is affected by changes in the general level of U.S. interest rates. Due to the short-term maturities of our cash equivalents and the low risk profile of our investments, an immediate 100 basis point change in interest rates would not have a material effect on the fair market value of our cash equivalents.
ITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, refers to controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that such information is accumulated and communicated to a company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
In designing and evaluating our disclosure controls and procedures, management recognizes that disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Additionally, in designing disclosure controls and procedures, our management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible disclosure controls and procedures. The design of any system of controls also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions; over time, controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or the degree of compliance with policies or procedures may deteriorate. Because of the inherent limitations in a control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of March 31, 2020, the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Based upon such evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of such date at the reasonable assurance level.
(b) Changes in Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting
There have not been any changes in our internal controls over financial reporting during our fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2020 that materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.