Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Licenses Acquired

v3.3.1.900
Licenses Acquired
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Licenses Acquired [Abstract]  
Licenses Acquired
6. Licenses Acquired
 
CNDO-109
 
The Company has a license agreement with the University College London Business PLC (“UCLB”) under which the Company received an exclusive, worldwide license to develop and commercialize CNDO-109 to active NK cells for the treatment of cancer-related and other conditions. In consideration for the license, the Company made upfront payments totaling $0.1 million and may be required to make future milestone payments totaling up to approximately $22 million upon the achievement of various milestones related to regulatory or commercial events. In the event that CNDO-109 is commercialized, the Company is obligated to pay to UCLB annual royalties ranging from 3% to 5% based upon various levels of net sales of the product. Under the terms of the license agreement, the Company is allowed to grant sublicenses to third parties without the prior approval of UCLB. In the event that the Company sublicenses CNDO-109 to a third party, the Company is obligated to pay to UCLB all or a portion of the royalties the Company receives from the sublicensee. Through December 31, 2015, the Company has not sub-licensed CNDO-109 to a third party.
   
2015 Activities
 
In accordance with ASC 730-10-25-1, Research and Development, costs incurred in obtaining technology licenses are charged to research and development expense if the technology licensed has not reached technological feasibility and has no alternative future use. The assets purchased by Avenue, Mustang, Checkpoint, Coronado SO, Helocyte and Escala require substantial completion of research and development, regulatory and marketing approval efforts in order to reach technological feasibility. As such, for the year ended December 31, 2015, the purchase price of licenses, totaling approximately $11.4 million, was classified as research and development-licenses acquired in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. For the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company’s research and development-licenses acquired are comprised of the following:
 
($ in thousands)
 
For the Year
Ended December
31, 2015
 
Fortress Companies:
 
 
 
 
Avenue
 
$
3,000
 
Mustang
 
 
2,147
 
Checkpoint
 
 
3,159
 
Coronado SO
 
 
1,607
 
Helocyte
 
 
200
 
Escala
 
 
1,295
 
Total
 
$
11,408
 
 
Avenue Therapeutics, Inc.
 
License Agreement with Revogenex Ireland Ltd
 
In February 2015, the Company purchased an exclusive license to IV Tramadol for the U.S. market from Revogenex, a privately held company in Dublin, Ireland. Fortress made an upfront payment of $2.0 million to Revogenex upon execution of the exclusive license, which has been included in research and development-licenses acquired on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. In addition, on June 17, 2015, the Company paid an additional $1.0 million to Revogenex after receiving all the assets specified in the agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Revogenex is eligible to receive additional milestone payments upon the achievement of certain development milestones, in addition to royalty payments for sales of the product. Tramadol is a centrally acting synthetic opioid analgesic for moderate to moderately severe pain and is available as immediate release or extended-release tablets in the United States.
 
The Company transferred the Revogenex license and all other rights and obligations of Fortress under the License Agreement to Avenue pursuant to the Assignment and Assumption Agreement effective as of February 17, 2015. Per the terms of the agreement, Avenue assumed $3.0 million in debt (see Note 8).
 
Avenue plans to initiate a Phase 3 development program of IV Tramadol for the management of post-operative pain in 2016 following a pharmacokinetics or PK study.
 
In March 2015, Avenue granted 150,000 shares of its common stock to two consultants for services provided. In June 2015, Avenue granted 1 million shares of its common stock to its acting Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Lucy Lu, who is also the Chief Financial Officer of Fortress, for services to be provided. Dr. Lu’s grant vests 50% in four annual equal tranches of 12.5%, with the remaining 50% vesting upon the achievement of certain performance goals. In connection with these grants, for the year ended December 31, 2015, Avenue recorded approximately $29,000 as general and administrative expenses and $21,000 as research and development expenses on the Consolidated Statements of Operations (see Note 12).
   
Mustang Bio, Inc.
 
License Agreement with the City of Hope
 
In March 2015, Mustang entered into a license agreement with the City of Hope National Medical Center (“COH”) to acquire CAR-T. Pursuant to the agreement, in April 2015, Mustang paid COH an upfront fee of $2.0 million, which is included in research and development-licenses acquired on the Consolidated Statements of Operations, and granted 1,000,000 shares of Mustang common stock to COH, with additional milestones payments due to COH upon the achievement of certain development goals and royalty payments for sales of the product. In addition, Mustang entered into a Sponsored Research Agreement with COH in which Mustang will fund continued research in the amount of $2.0 million per year, payable in four equal installments, over the next five years.
 
The Company valued the stock grant to COH utilizing a discounted cash flow model to determine the weighted market value of invested capital, discounted by a lack of marketability of 44.8%, weighted average cost of capital of 30%, and net of debt utilized, resulting in a value of $0.147 per share or $0.1 million on March 31, 2015. During the year ended December 31, 2015, in connection with the grant, $147,000 of expenses were included in research and development - licenses acquired on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
 
Checkpoint Therapeutics, Inc.
 
License Agreement with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
 
In March 2015, Checkpoint entered into a license agreement with Dana-Farber to develop a portfolio of fully human immuno-oncology targeted antibodies. Under the terms of the agreement, Checkpoint paid Dana-Farber an up-front licensing fee of $1.0 million and, on May 11, 2015, Checkpoint granted Dana-Farber 500,000 shares of its common stock valued at $32,500 or $0.065 per share. In September 2015, Checkpoint, pursuant to the license, granted to Dana-Farber an additional 136,803 shares of Checkpoint common stock valued at $0.6 million or $4.39 per share, all of which has been included in research and development - licenses acquired on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Under the terms of the license agreement, Checkpoint also will pay development and sales-based milestone payments and royalties on net sales. The portfolio of antibodies licensed from Dana-Farber includes antibodies targeting PD-L1, GITR and CAIX. Checkpoint plans to develop these novel immuno-oncology and Checkpoint inhibitor antibodies on their own and in combination with each other, as data suggests that combinations of these targets can work synergistically together. Checkpoint expects clinical trials to start in the second half of 2016.
 
Collaboration Agreements with TG Therapeutics, Inc.
  
In connection with its license agreement with Dana-Farber, Checkpoint entered into a collaboration agreement with TG Therapeutics, Inc. (“TGTX”), a related party, to develop and commercialize the Anti-PD-L1 and Anti-GITR antibody research programs in the field of hematological malignancies. Under the terms of the collaboration agreement, Checkpoint retains the right to develop and commercialize these antibodies in the field of solid tumors. Both programs are currently in pre-clinical development. TGTX paid Checkpoint $0.5 million, representing an up-front licensing fee, and will make additional development and sales-based milestone payments as well as pay a tiered single digit royalty on net sales. During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company recognized $0.6 million in revenue from its collaboration agreement with TGTX on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
 
In connection with its license with NeuPharma, Checkpoint entered into an option with TGTX for $25,000, included in revenue, for a global collaboration in connection with the future development of the certain compounds licensed. The option was extended on December 17, 2015 for an additional 180 days, to June 17, 2016.
 
NeuPharma, Inc.
 
Effective March 17, 2015, the Company assigned all of its rights under its agreement with NeuPharma to develop and commercialize novel irreversible, third generation EGFR inhibitors on a worldwide basis other than certain Asian countries, to Checkpoint in exchange for debt. Under the terms of the agreement, Fortress paid NeuPharma an upfront licensing fee of $1.0 million, which is included in research and development-licenses acquired on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Checkpoint will also make development and sales-based milestone payments and will pay a tiered single digit royalty on net sales.
 
On September 15, 2015, Checkpoint entered into a sponsored research agreement with NeuPharma to identify additional inhibitors with differing profiles from the licensed products. Under the terms of the agreement, Checkpoint will pay NeuPharma for specific sponsored research projects.
 
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (through its subsidiary, Cephalon, Inc.)
 
In December 2015, Checkpoint licensed, for $0.5 million, the exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize CK-102 (formerly CEP-9722), a poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (“PARP”) inhibitor, from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., through its subsidiary, Cephalon, Inc. CK-102 is an oral, small molecule selective inhibitor of PARP-1 and PARP-2 enzymes in early clinical development for solid tumors. Checkpoint plans to develop CK-102 as both a monotherapy and in combination with other anti-cancer agents, including Checkpoint’s novel immuno-oncology and Checkpoint inhibitor antibodies currently in development
 
Coronado SO Company
 
License Agreement
 
In February 2015, Coronado SO entered into an exclusive license agreement with a third party for a topical product used in the treatment of hand-foot syndrome, a common painful side effect of chemotherapeutics. Coronado SO paid $0.9 million upfront, included in research and development-licenses acquired on the Consolidated Statements of Operations and issued a stock grant of 150,000 shares of common stock of Coronado SO. In October 2015, Coronado SO paid an additional $0.5 million which is included in research and development-licenses acquired on the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Additional milestone payments are due upon the achievement of certain development milestones and royalties will become due on sales of the product.
 
The Company valued the stock grant to the third party utilizing a discounted cash flow model to determine the weighted market value of invested capital, discounted by a lack of marketability of 44.8% and a weighted average cost of capital of 30%, and net of debt utilized, resulting in a value of $1.19 per share. During the year ended December 31, 2015, in connection with the grant, approximately $0.2 million of expense was included in research and development-licenses acquired on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
 
Helocyte, Inc.
 
License Agreement with the City of Hope
 
On April 2, 2015, Helocyte entered into an agreement with COH to secure the exclusive license to the worldwide rights for two T-cell immunotherapeutic vaccines, known as Triplex and PepVax, for controlling CMV in HSCT and SOT recipients, for an upfront payment of $150,000. As further consideration for the license, Helocyte is to grant to COH, upon their acceptance of the terms of the grant, 500,000 shares of Helocyte common stock. Triplex and PepVax have now both entered into Phase 2 clinical studies, with PepVax expected to enroll patients later this year. Both programs are supported by grants paid and payable to COH by the National Cancer Institute. In connection with the licensing of Triplex and PepVax, Helocyte further entered into an option for exclusive worldwide rights to Pentamer, a universal immunotherapeutic vaccine being developed for the prevention of CMV transmission in utero. On April 28, 2015, Helocyte exercised the option and secured exclusive worldwide rights to the Pentamer vaccine from COH for an upfront payment of $50,000. If Helocyte successfully develops and commercializes PepVax, Triplex and Pentamer, COH will receive additional milestone and other payments. During the year ended December 31, 2015, Helocyte recorded an expense of $0.2 million in research and development-licenses acquired on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
 
Escala Therapeutics, Inc.
 
On July 16, 2015, Escala acquired from New Zealand Pharmaceuticals Limited (“NZP”) a license from the NIH and cooperative research and development agreements for the development of oral ManNAc, a key compound in the sialic biosynthetic pathway, for the treatment of hyposialylation disorders, including GNE myopathy and various forms of nephropathy. As part of this agreement, Escala provided NZP and NIH an upfront payment of approximately $1.3 million comprised of an upfront milestone payment of $0.7 million to NZP and reimbursement of $0.6 million of development costs for Phase II Myopathy and Phase I Nephropathy Clinical Trial being conducted at the NIH. Additional development and sales-based milestone payments are payable upon achievement. During the year ended December 31, 2015, Escala recorded an expense of approximately $1.3 million in research and development-licenses acquired on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.