Commitments and Contingencies |
3 Months Ended |
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Mar. 31, 2025 | |
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract] | |
Commitments and Contingencies |
Note 7 – Commitments and Contingencies
Litigation
The Company is involved in certain legal proceedings that arise from time to time in the ordinary course of our business. Except for income tax contingencies, we record accruals for contingencies to the extent that our management concludes that the occurrence is probable and that the related amounts of loss can be reasonably estimated. Legal expenses associated with the contingency are expensed as incurred. There is no current or pending litigation of any significance with the exception of the matters identified below that have arisen under, and are being handled in, the normal course of business:
Ohri Matter
On July 22, 2024, the Company filed an AAA Arbitration Demand against Manu Ohri, its former Chief Financial Officer. In the Demand, the Company asserts claims against Mr. Ohri for breach of his fiduciary duties and breach of contract and seeks a declaratory judgment providing that the Company may characterize Mr. Ohri’s termination as “for cause” under his Employment Agreement, and that the Company may revoke the Separation Agreement entered into between the Company and Mr. Ohri prior to the Company learning of Mr. Ohri’s breaches. In addition to the declaratory judgment, the Company seeks damages arising from Mr. Ohri’s violations, and attorneys’ fees and any forum and arbitration fees. On September 3, 2024, Mr. Ohri filed both a general denial of the Company’s claims against him and counterclaims for breach of his Employment Agreement and Separation Agreement. A final hearing is scheduled for June 10th through June 12th, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. At this stage in the proceedings the Company is not able to determine the probability of the outcome of this matter or a range of reasonably expected losses, if any. The Company believes it has recorded an appropriate accrual for the matter.
TWF Global Matter
On May 24, 2023, TWF Global, LLC (“TWF”) filed a Complaint in the California Superior Court for the County of Los Angeles naming the Company as defendant. The Complaint alleges that TWF is the holder of two Convertible Promissory Notes (“Notes”) and that the Company did not deliver shares of common stock due on conversion in February 2021. TWF was seeking per diem liquidated damages based on the terms of alleged Notes. On July 14, 2023, the Company filed a motion to dismiss for improper forum because the terms of the Notes, as alleged, require disputes to be filed in New York state and federal courts. TWF voluntarily dismissed its Complaint before the California Superior Court of Los Angeles without prejudice. The Company subsequently filed a Summons and Complaint for Interpleader against TWF and Z-One LLC before the Supreme Court of the State of New York County of New York, asking the Supreme Court to determine if the Company’s shares of common stock are properly registered to TWF or Z-One LLC, as both of these entities have made conflicting demands for registration of the shares of common stock. On February 5, 2024, the Company filed a motion for entry of default against TWF, seeking an order directing the Company to register the shares of common stock in the name of Z-One and that the Company be released from all associated liability and claims. The Court denied the motion without prejudice and agreed to reconsider the motion without further briefing upon the filing of a supplemental party affidavit. On May 9, 2024, Z-One filed a motion for summary judgement seeking dismissal of the action, representing that Z-One and TWF have settled their dispute over the entitlement to the Company’s shares of common stock and there is no remaining dispute before the Court. On May 21, 2024, the Company filed a supplemental affidavit in support of its motion for entry of default. On November 14, 2024, the Court held a hearing on the parties’ motions, at which the Court found that the motion for entry of default was mooted by the settlement agreement between Z-One and TWF. The Court ordered that the case be dismissed. On February 17, 2025, Z-One, LLC filed a Summons with Notice in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York. Z-One alleges that it was assigned TWF’s rights under the Notes and seeks enforcement and damages. The Company intends to demand a complaint, and seek dismissal of the case. The Company believes that the claims related to the Notes are without merit, and will continue to vigorously defend against these claims.
Significant Agreements
Cytovance Biologics, Inc., a Related Party
In October 2020, the Company entered into a Master Services Agreement with Cytovance Biologics, Inc. (“Cytovance”), to perform biologic development and manufacturing services, and to produce and test compounds used in the Company’s potential product candidates. The Company subsequently executed numerous Statements of Work (“SOWs”) for the research and development of products for use in clinical trials.
On August 24, 2022, the Company entered into a Settlement and Investment Agreement with Cytovance that amended existing SOWs and allowed for future invoices to be settled in in a combination of cash and issuance of the Company’s common stock. The Agreement also set Cytovance’s beneficial ownership limitation at 4.9% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock.
On April 25, 2024, the Company entered into an Amendment to the Settlement and Investment Agreement with Cytovance that increased Cytovance’s beneficial ownership limitation to 9.9% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock.
On June 30, 2024, Cytovance became a related party as their beneficial ownership exceeded 5% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock.
During the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, the Company recognized research and development expenses of $532,000 and $269,000, respectively and made cash payments amounting to $268,000 and $1.8 million, respectively to Cytovance. In addition, during the three months ended March 31, 2025, the Company issued pre-funded warrants to purchase up to 326,251 shares of common stock exercisable at $0.0001 per share to settle accounts payable valued at approximately $847,000.
As of March 31, 2025 the Company’s commitments in relation to unbilled and unaccrued SOWs and any related Change Orders from Cytovance for services that have not yet been rendered as of March 31, 2025, amounted to approximately $340,000.
University of Minnesota
2023 Sponsored Research Agreement
On May 20, 2024, the Company entered into a sponsored research agreement with the Regents of the University of Minnesota (the “2016 Exclusive Patent License Agreement”), effective July 1, 2023, and expiring on July 1, 2025. Payments totaling approximately $1.7 million are due over the life of the agreement. The purpose of the agreement is for the Regents of the University of Minnesota to continue work with the Company with three major goals in mind: (1) support the Company’s TriKE® product development and commercial GMP manufacturing efforts; (2) TriKE® pharmacokinetics optimization in humans and investigation of effects of altering the route of administration; and (3) research and development of TriKE® platform. The major deliverables proposed are: (1) creation of IND enabling data for TriKE® constructs in support of the Company’s product development and commercial GMP manufacturing efforts outside of the University of Minnesota; (2) TriKE® platform drug delivery changes to allow transition from intravenous (IV) continuous infusion to alternative drug delivery administration (IV bolus, intraperitoneal [IP], subcutaneous [SQ]) and extended PK in humans and gain an increased understanding of changes in the patient’s native NK cell population as a result of alteration of TriKE® administration; and (3) research and development of TriKE® platform combination with other FDA approved (or soon to be approved) therapeutics and alterations to TriKE® platform through formation of immune complexes. Most studies will use TriKE® DNA/amino acid sequences created by the Company under existing licensing terms.
The Company recorded an expense classified as research and development of approximately $216,000 and $0, pursuant to the 2023 Sponsored Research Agreement, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
As of March 31, 2025 the Company’s commitments in relation to unbilled and unaccrued amounts from the University of Minnesota pursuant to the 2023 Sponsored Research Agreement for services that have not yet been rendered as of March 31, 2025, amounted to approximately $431,000.
2016 Exclusive Patent License Agreement
Effective July 18, 2016, the Company entered into an exclusive patent license agreement with the Regents of the University of Minnesota (as amended, the “2016 Exclusive Patent License Agreement”), to further develop and commercialize cancer therapies using TriKE® technology developed by researchers at the University of Minnesota to target NK cells to cancer. Under the terms of the agreement, the Company receives exclusive rights to conduct research and to develop, make, use, sell, and import TriKE® technology worldwide for the treatment of any disease, state, or condition in humans. The Company is responsible for obtaining all permits, licenses, authorizations, registrations, and regulatory approvals required or granted by any governmental authority anywhere in the world that is responsible for the regulation of products such as the TriKE® technology, including without limitation the FDA and the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products in the European Union. The agreement requires an upfront payment of $200,000, and license maintenance fees of $200,000 for years 2017 through 2020, and $100,000 per year beginning in year 2021 and each year thereafter. The agreement also includes 4% royalty fees on the net sales of licensed products, not to exceed 6% under subsequent license agreements or amendments to this agreement, and minimum royalty payments due upon the commencement of commercial sales of licensed product is $250,000 beginning in 2022, $2 million beginning in 2025, and $5 million beginning in 2027 throughout the remainder of the term. The agreement also includes numerous performance milestone payments including clinical development milestone payments totaling $3.1 million, and one-time sales milestone payments of $1 million upon reaching $250 million in cumulative gross sales, and $5 million upon reaching $500 million in cumulative gross sales of licensed products.
Effective May 13, 2024, the Company entered into an amended and restated exclusive patent license agreement with the Regents of the University of Minnesota. The amendment requires an upfront payment of $145,000 and amends the license maintenance fees to $50,000 in 2025, and $100,000 per year beginning in year 2026 and each year thereafter. The amendment also includes 1% to 5% royalty fees on the net sales of licensed products, not to exceed 6% under subsequent license agreements or amendments, and minimum royalty payments due upon the commencement of commercial sales of licensed product is $250,000 in year one, $2 million in years two through five, and $5 million in year six throughout the remainder of the term. The amendment also includes numerous performance milestone payments including clinical development milestone payments totaling $3.1 million, and one-time sales milestone, and one-time sales milestone payments of $1 million upon reaching $250 million in cumulative gross sales, and $5 million upon reaching $500 million in cumulative gross sales of licensed products.
The Company did not record any expense classified as research and development, pursuant to the 2016 Exclusive Patent License Agreement, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively
2021 Exclusive License Agreement
Effective March 26, 2021, the Company entered into an exclusive license agreement with the Regents of the University of Minnesota (the “2021 Exclusive Patent License Agreement”), specific to the B7H3 targeted TriKE®. The agreement requires an upfront payment of $20,000, and license maintenance fees of $5,000 per year beginning in year 2022 and each year thereafter. The agreement also includes 2.5% to 5% royalty fees on the net sales of licensed products, and minimum royalty payments due upon the commencement of commercial sales of licensed product is $250,000 in year one though four, and $2 million beginning in year five and throughout the remainder of the term. The agreement also includes numerous performance milestone payments including clinical development milestone payments totaling $3.1 million, and one-time sales milestone payments of $1 million upon reaching $250 million in cumulative gross sales, and $5 million upon reaching $500 million in cumulative gross sales of licensed products. There is no double payment intended; if one of the milestone payments has been paid under the 2016 restated exclusive patent license agreement no further payment is due for the corresponding milestone.
The Company did not record any expense classified as research and development, pursuant to the 2021 Exclusive License Agreement, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
2024 GTB-3650 Clinical Trial Agreement
On November 18, 2024, the Registrant entered into an Investigator Initiated Clinical Trial Agreement (the “Agreement”) with the Regents of the University of Minnesota (the “University”), pursuant to which, the University shall sponsor an Investigational New Drug (“IND”) application for IND 165546 GTB-3650 (the “Research Program”) and shall serve as a sponsor investigator for a phase 1 clinical trial entitled, “GTB-3650 (CD16/IL-15/CD33) Tri-Specific Killer Engager (TriKE) for the Treatment of High Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS), Refractory/Relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), and Minimal Residual Disease in AML,” designed by the University (the “Study”). The Research Program is being conducted for clinical research use. The budget for the Study, including without limitations, funding and resources, provides for up to approximately $2 million over the course of three years borne by the Company. The Study data will be owned by the University, however, the Company may use the Study data subject to any applicable signed informed consent documents and authorization forms, applicable law and terms of the Agreement. The University and the Company will each have the right to publish the Study results. The Agreement may be terminated by the Company or the University at any time upon thirty days’ written notice to the other party, by the University immediately for health, welfare and safety reasons, or by either party if the other party materially breaches the Agreement, provided that the breaching party fails to cure such breach within thirty days.
The Company did not record any expense classified as research and development, pursuant to the 2024 Clinical Trial Agreement, for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
As of March 31, 2025 the Company’s commitments in relation to unbilled and unaccrued amounts from the University of Minnesota pursuant to the 2024 Clinical Trial Agreement for services that have not yet been rendered as of March 31, 2025, amounted to approximately $1.9 million.
Contingency – NASDAQ Matters
On November 21, 2024, we received a letter (the “Notification Letter”) from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Staff (the “Staff”) notifying us that the amount of our stockholders’ equity had fallen below the $2,500,000 required minimum for continued listing set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) (the “Minimum Stockholders’ Equity Requirement”). Nasdaq’s determination was based upon our stockholders’ equity as reported in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2024. The Notification Letter also noted that we did not meet the alternatives of market value of listed securities or net income from continuing operations, and therefore, we no longer complied with Nasdaq’s Listing Rules.
The Notification Letter indicated that we had 45 days (i.e., until January 6, 2025) to submit a plan to regain compliance with the Minimum Stockholders’ Equity Requirement, noting that if such plan is accepted, the Staff can grant us an extension of up to 180 days from the date of the Notification Letter to evidence compliance. In determining whether to accept our plan, the Staff will consider such things as the likelihood that the plan will result in compliance with Nasdaq’s continued listing criteria, our past compliance history, the reasons for our current non-compliance, other corporate events that may occur within the review period, our overall financial condition and our public disclosures.
We submitted a plan of compliance to the Staff on December 31, 2024, outlining our plan to conduct periodic public and private securities offerings to regain compliance. The Staff has not, as yet, accepted our plan of compliance, and has requested additional information regarding our financing plans. We can provide no assurance that the Staff will accept our plan of compliance.
If the Staff does not accept our plan of compliance, or if the Staff accepts our plan but we do not regain compliance within the allotted compliance period, Nasdaq will provide notice that our Common Stock will be subject to delisting. If our Common Stock is delisted from Nasdaq, our ability to raise capital through public offerings of our securities and to finance our operations could be adversely affected. We also believe that delisting would likely result in decreased liquidity and/or increased volatility in our Common Stock and could harm our business and future prospects. In addition, we believe that, if our Common Stock is delisted, our stockholders would likely find it more difficult to obtain accurate quotations as to the price of our Common Stock and it may be more difficult for stockholders to buy or sell our Common Stock at competitive market prices, or at all.
As a result of the private placement of preferred stock and common stock warrants that occurred on May 12, 2025, the Company believes it has stockholders’ equity on an unaudited proforma basis of at least $2.5 million as of the date of the filing of this Form 10-Q. Nasdaq will continue to monitor the Company to ensure its ongoing compliance with the Minimum Stockholders’ Equity Requirement, so if at the time of the filing of the Company’s next periodic financial statements the Company does not evidence compliance with the Minimum Stockholders’ Equity Requirement, the Company may be subject to delisting.
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