Commitments and Contingencies |
12. Commitments and Contingencies Operating Lease- Lessee Arrangements The Company has operating leases for corporate offices in the U.S. and U.K., and for manufacturing facilities in the U.K. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded in the balance sheet. The Company has elected the practical expedient to account for each separate lease component of a contract and its associated non-lease components as a single lease component, thus causing all fixed payments to be capitalized. The Company also elected the package of practical expedients permitted within the new standard, which among other things, allows the Company to carry forward historical lease classification. The lease renewal options have not been included in the calculation of the lease liabilities and right-of-use (“ROU”) assets as the Company has not yet determined whether to exercise the options. Variable lease payment amounts that cannot be determined at the commencement of the lease such as increases in lease payments based on changes in index rates or usage, are not included in the ROU assets or liabilities. These are expensed as incurred and recorded as variable lease expense. At March 31, 2024, the Company had operating lease liabilities of approximately $4.6 million for both the 20-year lease of the building for the manufacturing facility in Sawston, U.K., and the current office lease in the U.S. and ROU assets of approximately $4.1 million for the Sawston lease and U.S. office lease are included in the condensed consolidated balance sheet. Operating Lease - Lessor Arrangements On December 31, 2021, the Company entered into a Sub - lease Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Advent. The Agreement permits use by Advent of a portion of the space in the Sawston facility, which is leased by the Company under a separate head lease with a different counterparty (Huawei) that commenced on December 14, 2018. The Company subleased approximately 14,459 square feet of the 88,000 square foot building interior space, plus corresponding support space and parking. The lease payments amount under the Agreement are two times the amount payable by the Company under the head lease (which is currently L5.75 or approximately $7.26 per square foot based on exchange rate as of March 31, 2024), but subject to a cap of $10 per square foot. Accordingly, the monthly lease payments under the Sublease are based on $145,000 annually for 2024. The total lease payments paid by the Company to Huawei for the 88,000 square foot facility, exterior spaces and parking under the head lease are L550,000 (approximately $694,000) per year. The term of the Agreement shall end on the same date as the head lease term ends. The following summarizes quantitative information about the Company’s operating leases (amount in thousands): | | | | | | | | | | | | For the three months ended | | | March 31, 2024 | | | U.K | | U.S | | Total | Lease cost | | | | | | | | | | Operating lease cost | | $ | 156 | | $ | 65 | | $ | 221 | Short-term lease cost | | | 13 | | | — | | | 13 | Variable lease cost | | | — | | | 6 | | | 6 | Sub-lease income | | | (36) | | | — | | | (36) | Total | | $ | 133 | | $ | 71 | | $ | 205 | | | | | | | | | | | Other information | | | | | | | | | | Operating cash flows from operating leases | | $ | (166) | | $ | (75) | | $ | (241) | Weighted-average remaining lease term – operating leases | | | 7.7 | | | 0.4 | | | | Weighted-average discount rate – operating leases | | | 12 | % | | 12 | % | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | For the three months ended | | | March 31, 2023 | | | U.K | | U.S | | Total | Lease cost | | | | | | | | | | Operating lease cost | | $ | 144 | | $ | 65 | | $ | 209 | Short-term lease cost | | | 23 | | | — | | | 23 | Variable lease cost | | | — | | | 4 | | | 4 | Sub-lease income | | | (36) | | | — | | | (36) | Total | | $ | 131 | | $ | 69 | | $ | 200 | | | | | | | | | | | Other information | | | | | | | | | | Operating cash flows from operating leases | | $ | (152) | | $ | (73) | | $ | (225) | Weighted-average remaining lease term – operating leases | | | 8.4 | | | 1.1 | | | | Weighted-average discount rate – operating leases | | | 12 | % | | 12 | % | | |
The Company recorded lease costs as a component of general and administrative expense during the three months ended March 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Maturities of our operating leases, excluding short-term leases and sublease agreement, are as follows: | | | | Nine months ended December 31, 2024 | | $ | 621 | Year ended December 31, 2025 | | | 656 | Year ended December 31, 2026 | | | 656 | Year ended December 31, 2027 | | | 656 | Year ended December 31, 2028 | | | 656 | Thereafter | | | 6,542 | Total | | | 9,787 | Less present value discount | | | (5,158) | Operating lease liabilities included in the condensed consolidated balance sheet at March 31, 2024 | | $ | 4,629 |
Maturities of our operating leases under the sublease agreement, are as follows: | | | | Nine months ended December 31, 2024 | | $ | 108 | Year ended December 31, 2025 | | | 145 | Year ended December 31, 2026 | | | 145 | Year ended December 31, 2027 | | | 145 | Year ended December 31, 2028 | | | 145 | Thereafter | | | 1,450 | Total | | $ | 2,138 |
Advent BioServices Services Agreement On May 14, 2018, the Company entered into a DCVax®-L Manufacturing and Services Agreement (“MSA”) with Advent BioServices, a related party which was formerly part of Cognate BioServices and was spun off separately as part of an institutional financing of Cognate. The MSA provides for manufacturing of DCVax-L products at an existing facility in London. The MSA is structured in the same manner as the Company’s prior agreements with Cognate BioServices. The MSA provides for certain payments for achievement of milestones and, as was the case under the prior agreement with Cognate BioServices, the Company is required to pay certain fees for dedicated production capacity reserved exclusively for DCVax production and pay for manufacturing of DCVax-L products for a certain minimum number of patients, whether or not the Company fully utilizes the dedicated capacity and number of patients. The MSA remains in force until five years after the first commercial sales of DCVax-L products pursuant to a marketing authorization, accelerated approval or other commercial approval, unless cancelled. Either party may terminate the MSA on twelve months’ notice, to allow for transition arrangements by both parties. During the notice period services would still be provided. Minimum required payments for this notice period are anticipated to total approximately £4.5 million ($5.7 million). German Tax Matter The German tax authorities have audited our wholly owned subsidiary, NW Bio GmbH, for 2013-2015. The NW Bio GmbH submitted substantial documentation to refute certain aspects of the assessments and the German tax authorities agreed in principle with the Company’s proposed revised approach and settlement offer. A final settlement bill was received from the German Tax Authority confirming that only a portion of the original bill was owed, €277,000 (approximately $299,000), for corporate taxes, interest, and reduced penalty for the period under audit, which the Company paid on September 2, 2021. The Company also received and paid the final settlement bill from the local authority for trade taxes for the audit period in the amount of €231,000 (approximately $249,000). On November 4, 2021, the Company received a letter from the local tax authorities asking for additional late fees of €513,000 (now approximately $554,000) on reimbursable withholding taxes that had been waived during the settlement process. On December 8, 2021, the Company appealed the assessment of additional late fees. Additionally, the Company requested that NW Bio GmbH be deregistered from the trade register, as it no longer had current operations. The deregistration was granted effective December 31, 2021. Between January 2022 and July 2022, the Company received tax bills for the corporate and trade taxes for the 2016-2020 tax years that totaled approximately €222,000 (approximately $240,000). On July 27, 2022, the Company was informed that the German Tax Authorities were prepared to waive €135,000 (approximately $146,000) of the penalties. The Company offered to pay this reduced penalty if an extended payment plan was approved. A response was received dated November 14, 2022 indicating that the tax authority would not be able to grant a further deferral of payment of these penalties. In a letter dated December 27, 2022, the Leipzig tax authority sent letters to the former and current managing directors of NW Bio GmbH giving 30 days to respond to a tax liability questionnaire. Based on the responses to the liability questionnaires the tax authorities have currently not directed any further measures against former and current managing directors of NW Bio GmbH with respect to tax liability proceedings. On October 12, 2023 and January 16, 2024, the Company made €189,000 and €189,000 payments, respectively, regarding to the late payment penalty. As of March 31, 2024, the Company accrued for trade tax liability of €155,000 (approximately $168,000) and corporation tax of €99,000 (approximately $107,000). Based on the Company’s current operating state in Germany and the negotiations, the Company believes, based on its evaluation under ASC 740, that the resolution of these tax matters will not likely result in a net material charge to the Company. Other Contingent Payment Obligation During the three months ended March 31, 2024, the Company entered into a non-dilutive funding agreement with an individual investor, pursuant to which the Company received funding of $50,000 related to a gain contingency. These agreements are accounted for under ASC 470 and are recognized as contingent payment obligations on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet. The Company’s payment obligations only apply when such are received by the Company.
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