UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM
For the quarterly period ended
OR
For the transition period from to
Commission file number
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
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(State or other jurisdiction of | (I.R.S. Employer | |
incorporation or organization) | Identification No.) |
(Address of principal executive offices)
(Zip Code)
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(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class: |
| Trading Symbol |
| Name of each exchange on which registered: |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☐ |
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Non-accelerated filer ☐ | Smaller reporting company | |
Emerging growth company |
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes
There were
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including statements regarding our business strategy, future operations and results thereof, future financial position, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, current and prospective products, product approvals, research and development costs, current and prospective collaborations, timing and likelihood of success, plans and objectives of management, expected market growth and future results of current and anticipated products, are forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “contemplate,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words.
These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about:
● | the implementation of our business model and our plans to develop and commercialize our two lead product candidates and other product candidates, including the potential clinical efficacy and other benefits thereof; |
● | our ongoing and future clinical trials for our two lead product candidates, whether conducted by us or by any of our collaborators, including the timing of initiation of these trials, the pace of enrollment, the completion of enrollment, the availability of data from these trials, the expected dates of Biological License Application, or BLA, submission and approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, and equivalent foreign regulatory authorities and of the anticipated results; |
● | our pre-clinical studies and future clinical trials for our other product candidates and our research and development programs, whether conducted by us or by any of our collaborators, including the timing of initiation of these trials, the pace of enrollment, the expected date of completion and of the anticipated results; |
● | the timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory, marketing and reimbursement approvals for our product candidates; |
● | the rate and degree of market acceptance and clinical utility of any products for which we receive marketing approval; |
● | the pricing and reimbursement levels of our product candidates, if approved; |
● | our ability to retain the continued service of our key employees and to identify, hire and retain additional qualified employees, including a direct sales force; |
● | our plans for remediation of material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting; |
● | our commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities and strategy; |
● | our intellectual property position and strategy and the scope of protection we are able to establish and maintain for the intellectual property rights covering our product candidates and technology; |
● | our ability to identify and develop additional product candidates and technologies with significant commercial potential; |
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● | our plans and ability to enter into collaborations or strategic partnerships for the development and commercialization of our product candidates and future operations; |
● | the potential benefits of any future collaboration or strategic partnerships; |
● | our expectations related to the use of our cash and cash equivalents, how long that cash is expected to last; |
● | the need for, timing and amount of any future financing transaction; |
● | our financial performance, including our estimates regarding revenues, expenses, capital expenditure requirements, |
● | developments relating to our competitors and our industry; |
● | adverse effects on our business, financial condition and results of operations from the global COVID-19 pandemic, including the pace of global economic recovery from the pandemic; |
● | the impact of government laws and regulations; |
● | our expectations regarding the time during which we will be an emerging growth company under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act; and |
● | our expectations related to the use of proceeds from our prior initial public offering and our secondary public offering. |
We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. We have included important factors in the cautionary statements included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, particularly in the “Risk Factors” section, that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that we make. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, collaborations, joint ventures or investments that we may make.
The forward-looking statements contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are made as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
You should read this Quarterly Report and the documents we have filed as exhibits to this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from the plans, intentions, and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we may make.
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PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements.
Y-MABS THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(unaudited)
(in thousands, except share data)
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2020 | 2019 | |||||
ASSETS |
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CURRENT ASSETS |
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Cash and cash equivalents | $ | | $ | | ||
Other current assets |
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Total current assets |
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Property and equipment, net |
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Operating lease right-of-use assets | | | ||||
Other assets |
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TOTAL ASSETS | $ | | $ | | ||
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY |
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LIABILITIES |
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Accounts payable | $ | | $ | | ||
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Operating lease liabilities, current portion | | | ||||
Total current liabilities |
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Accrued milestone and royalty payments |
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Operating lease liabilities, long-term portion | | | ||||
Other liabilities | | | ||||
TOTAL LIABILITIES |
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Commitments and contingencies (Note 6) |
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STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY |
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Preferred stock, $ |
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Common stock, $ |
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Additional paid in capital |
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Accumulated other comprehensive (loss)/income |
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Accumulated deficit |
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TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY |
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TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY | $ | | $ | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements
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Y-MABS THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Net Loss and Comprehensive Loss
(unaudited)
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
Three months ended June 30, |
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2020 | 2019 |
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OPERATING EXPENSES |
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Research and development | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | | ||||
General and administrative |
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Total operating expenses |
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Loss from operations |
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OTHER INCOME, NET |
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Interest and other income, net |
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NET LOSS | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||
Other comprehensive income |
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Foreign currency translation |
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COMPREHENSIVE LOSS | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||
Net loss per share attributable to common stockholders, basic and diluted | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | ||||
Weighted average common shares outstanding, basic and diluted |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements
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Y-MABS THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity
(unaudited)
(In thousands, except share data)
Accumulated | |||||||||||||||||
Other | |||||||||||||||||
Common Stock | Additional | Comprehensive | Accumulated | Stockholders’ | |||||||||||||
| Shares |
| Amount |
| Paid-in Capital |
| Income / (Loss) |
| Deficit |
| Equity | ||||||
Balance December 31, 2018 |
| | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | | |||||
Stock-based compensation expense | — | — | | — | — | | |||||||||||
Foreign currency translation | — | — | — | | — | | |||||||||||
Net loss | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | |||||||||||
Balance March 31, 2019 | | | | | ( | | |||||||||||
Stock-based compensation expense | — | — | | — | — | | |||||||||||
Foreign currency translation | — | — | — | ( | — | ( | |||||||||||
Net loss | — | — | — | ( | ( | ||||||||||||
Balance June 30, 2019 | | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | | ||||||
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Common Stock | Additional | Comprehensive | Accumulated | Stockholders’ | |||||||||||||
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Balance December 31, 2019 | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | ( | $ | | ||||||
Exercise of stock options | | — | | — | — | | |||||||||||
Stock-based compensation expense | | — | | — | — | | |||||||||||
Foreign currency translation | — | — | — | | — | | |||||||||||
Net loss | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | |||||||||||
Balance March 31, 2020 | | | | | ( | | |||||||||||
Issuance of common stock | | — | | — | — | | |||||||||||
Stock-based compensation expense | — | — | | — | — | | |||||||||||
Foreign currency translation | — | — | — | ( | — | ( | |||||||||||
Net loss | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | |||||||||||
Balance June 30, 2020 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements
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Y-MABS THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(unaudited)
(In thousands)
Six months ended June 30, | |||||||
2020 | 2019 | ||||||
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES |
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Net loss | $ | ( | $ | ( | |||
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
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Depreciation and amortization |
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Stock-based compensation |
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Non-cash expense in connection with equity issuance to MSK/MIT | | — | |||||
Non-cash expense in connection with equity issuance to inventors | | — | |||||
Foreign currency transactions |
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Changes in assets and liabilities: |
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Other current assets |
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Other assets |
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Accounts payable |
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Accrued liabilities and other |
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NET CASH USED IN OPERATING ACTIVITIES |
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CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES |
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Purchase of property and equipment |
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NET CASH USED IN INVESTING ACTIVITIES |
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CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES |
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Proceeds from exercised stock options | | — | |||||
NET CASH PROVIDED BY FINANCING ACTIVITIES |
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Effect of exchange rates on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash |
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NET DECREASE IN CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH |
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Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at the beginning of period |
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Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at the end of period | $ | | $ | | |||
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF NON-CASH ACTIVITIES |
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Property and equipment purchases in accounts payable | $ | — | $ | | |||
Right-of-use assets obtained in exchange for lease obligations | — | |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements
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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(unaudited)
NOTE 1—ORGANIZATION AND DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
Y-mAbs Therapeutics, Inc. (“we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company,” or “Y-mAbs”) is a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel antibody-based therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer.
The Company is headquartered in New York, New York and was incorporated on April 30, 2015 under the laws of the State of Delaware.
NOTE 2—BASIS OF PRESENTATION
The Company has not generated any revenue and has incurred losses since inception. Operations of the Company are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, including, among others, uncertainty of drug candidate development; technological uncertainty; uncertainty regarding patents and proprietary rights; uncertainty in obtaining FDA approval in the United States and regulatory approval in other jurisdictions; marketing or sales capability or experience; uncertainty in getting adequate payer coverage and reimbursement; dependence on key personnel; compliance with government regulations and the need to obtain additional financing. The Company’s drug candidates currently under development will require significant additional research and development efforts, including extensive preclinical and clinical testing and regulatory approval, prior to commercialization. These efforts require significant amounts of additional capital, adequate personnel infrastructure and extensive compliance-reporting capabilities.
The Company’s drug candidates are in the development stage. There can be no assurance that the Company’s research and development will be successfully completed, that adequate protection for the Company’s intellectual property will be obtained, that any products developed will obtain necessary government regulatory approval or that any approved products will be commercially viable. Even if the Company’s product development efforts are successful, it is uncertain when, if ever, the Company will generate significant revenue from product sales. The Company operates in an environment of rapid change in technology and substantial competition from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
The Company’s financial statements have been prepared on the basis of continuity of operations, realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the ordinary course of business. The Company has experienced negative cash flows and had an accumulated deficit of $
The Company may be required to raise additional capital to fund future operations through the sale of its equity securities, incurring debt, entering into licensing or collaboration agreements with partners, grants or other sources of financing. Sufficient funds may not be available to the Company at all or on attractive terms when needed from equity or debt financing. If the Company is unable to obtain additional financing from these or other sources when needed, or to the extent needed, it may be necessary to significantly reduce its current rate of spending through delaying, scaling back, or suspending certain research and development programs and other operational programs.
The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements reflect the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary and have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the
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United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information, Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 270-10 and with the instructions to Form 10-Q. Accordingly, these financial statements do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. The unaudited interim financial statements include all adjustments (consisting only of normal recurring nature) necessary in the judgment of management for a fair statement of the results for the periods presented. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. The Company has evaluated subsequent events through the date of this filing. Operating results for the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ended December 31, 2020, any other interim periods, or any future year or period. The December 31, 2019 consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP. You should read these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.
NOTE 3—SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Our critical accounting policies are detailed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. Effective January 1, 2020, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Update No. 2018-15 (“ASU 2018-15”), Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service. The adoption of ASU 2018-15 did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Operating Leases
As described below, the Company adopted Topic 842 as of January 1, 2019. The Company determines if an arrangement includes a lease at inception. Operating lease right-of-use assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and operating lease liabilities represent its obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease right-of-use assets and liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. In determining the net present value of lease payments, the Company uses its estimated incremental borrowing rate based on information available at the lease commencement date. Because most of the Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate of return, an incremental borrowing rate is used based on the information available at the commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments on an individual lease basis. The Company’s incremental borrowing rate for a lease is the estimated rate of interest it would have to pay on a collateralized basis to borrow an amount equal to the lease payments under similar terms.
The Company’s leases may include options to extend or terminate the lease which are included in the lease term when it is reasonably certain that it will exercise any such options.
Topic 842 also provides practical expedients and certain exemptions for an entity’s ongoing accounting post implementation. The Company currently elected the short-term lease recognition exemption for all leases that qualify. This means, for those leases that qualify, we will not recognize right-of-use assets or liabilities, and this includes not recognizing right-of-use assets or liabilities for existing short-term leases of those assets in transition. We also elected the practical expedient to not separate lease and non-lease components for all of our leases. The Company has made an accounting policy election to account for each separate lease component of a contract and its associated non-lease components as a single lease component. See the Lease Agreements section in Note 6 for the related disclosures.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
The Company considers all highly liquid instruments with original maturities of three months or less from date of purchase to be cash equivalents. All cash and cash equivalents are held in highly rated securities including a Treasury money market fund which is unrestricted as to withdrawal or use. To date, the Company has not experienced any losses on its cash and cash equivalents. The carrying amount of cash and cash equivalents approximates its fair value due to its
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short-term and liquid nature. We maintain cash balances in excess of insured limits. We do not anticipate any losses with respect to such cash balances.
Fair Value Measurements
Certain assets and liabilities are carried at fair value under GAAP. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (i.e. an exit price). The accounting guidance includes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows:
• Level 1 — Unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets;
• Level 2 — Inputs other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities that are observable either directly or indirectly for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; and
• Level 3 — Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability, which include management's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk.
Cash equivalents held in money market funds are valued using other significant observable inputs, which represent a Level 2 measurement within the fair value hierarchy. The Company has no other cash equivalents.
The following tables present the Company’s fair value hierarchy for its cash equivalents, which are measured at fair value on a recurring basis (in thousands):
Fair Value Measurements at June 30, 2020 Using: | ||||||||||||
| Level 1 |
| Level 2 |
| Level 3 |
| Total | |||||
Cash equivalents: | ||||||||||||
Money market funds | $ | — | $ | | $ | — | $ | | ||||
$ | — | $ | | $ | — | $ | |
Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2019 Using: | ||||||||||||
| Level 1 |
| Level 2 |
| Level 3 |
| Total | |||||
Cash equivalents: | ||||||||||||
Money market funds | $ | — | $ | | $ | — | $ | | ||||
$ | — | $ | | $ | — | $ | |
During the quarter ended June 30, 2020, there were
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, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in these financial statements include, but are not limited to, the accrual for research and development expenses, the accrual of milestone and royalty payments, and the valuation of stock options. Estimates are periodically reviewed in light of changes in circumstances, facts and experience. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
The full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will directly or indirectly impact our business, results of operations and financial condition, including expenses, manufacturing, clinical trials, research and development costs and employee-related amounts, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain, including as a result of
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new information that may emerge concerning COVID-19 and the actions taken to contain it or treat COVID-19, as well as the economic impact on local, regional, national and international markets. We have made estimates of the impact of COVID-19 within our financial statements and there may be changes to those estimates in future periods. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
Segment Information
The Company is engaged solely in the discovery and development of novel antibody-based therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer. Accordingly, the Company has determined that it operates in
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements – Adopted
In August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2018 -13 (“ASU2018-13”), Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820) Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement. ASU 2018-13 allows to remove the reasons for transfer between Level 1 and Level 2 assets, and adds the changes in unrealized gains and losses for recurring level 3 fair value measurements. ASU 2018-13 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this standard on January 1, 2020 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
In August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2018-15 (“ASU 2018-15”), Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract. ASU 2018-15 clarifies certain aspects of ASU 2015-05, Customer’s Accounting for Fees Paid in a Cloud Computing Arrangement, which was issued in April 2015. Specifically, ASU 2018-15 aligns the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred in a hosting arrangement that is a service contract with the requirements for capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal-use software license). ASU 2018-15 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this standard on January 1, 2020 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
In July 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2018-09 (“ASU 2018-09”), Codification Improvements, which clarify, correct errors in, or make minor improvements to a variety of ASC topics. The changes in ASU 2018-09 are not expected to have a significant effect on current accounting practices. Some of the amendments in this update do not require transition guidance and will be effective upon this update. However, many of the updates do have transition guidance with effective dates for periods beginning after December 15, 2018. The adoption of this standard on January 1, 2019 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-07, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718), Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting (“ASU 2018-07”). ASU 2018-07 is intended to simplify aspects of share-based compensation issued to non-employees by making the guidance consistent with the accounting for employee share-based compensation. ASU 2018-07 is required to be adopted for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this standard on January 1, 2019 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
In February 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2018-02, (“ASU 2018-02”), Reclassification of Certain Tax Effects from Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income. ASU 2018-02 allows a reclassification from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings for stranded tax effects resulting from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. ASU 2018-07 is required to be adopted for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this standard on January 1, 2019 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
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In February 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-02 (“ASU 2016-02”), Leases, which is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2018 with early adoption permitted. Under ASU 2016-02, lessees will be required to recognize for all leases, at the commencement date of the lease, a lease liability, which is a lessee’s obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease measured on a discounted basis, and a right-to-use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee’s right to use or control the use of a specified asset for the lease term. Topic 842 was subsequently amended by ASU 2017-13, Revenue and Leases: Amendments to SEC Paragraphs Pursuant to the Staff Announcement at the July 20, 2017 EITF Meeting and Rescission of Prior SEC Staff Announcements and Observer Comments; ASU 2018-01, Land Easement Practical Expedient for Transition to Topic 842; ASU No. 2018-10, Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases; ASU No. 2018-11, Targeted Improvements and ASU No. 2018-20, Narrow Scope Improvements for Lessors.
The Company
Upon adoption of the new leasing standards, the Company recognized a lease liability of $
NOTE 4—NET LOSS PER SHARE
Basic net loss per share (“EPS”) is calculated by dividing net income or loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average common stock outstanding. Diluted EPS is calculated by adjusting weighted average common shares outstanding for the dilutive effect of common stock options and restricted stock units. In periods in which a net loss is recorded, no effect is given to potentially dilutive securities, since the effect would be antidilutive. Securities that could potentially dilute basic EPS in the future were not included in the computation of diluted EPS because to do so would have been antidilutive. The calculations of basic and diluted net loss per share are as follows:
Three months ended June 30, | Six months ended June 30, | ||||||||||||
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| 2020 | 2019 | ||||||||
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Net loss (numerator) | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | |||||
Weighted-average shares (denominator) |
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Basic and diluted net loss per share | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | ( |
Potentially dilutive securities excluded from the computation of diluted earnings per share relate to stock options outstanding and unvested restricted shares and RSUs and totaled
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NOTE 5—ACCRUED LIABILITIES
Accrued short-term liabilities at June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 are as follows:
June 30, |
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Accrued licensing, milestone and royalty payments | $ | | $ | | ||
Accrued clinical costs |
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Total | $ | | $ | |
NOTE 6—LICENSE AGREEMENTS AND COMMITMENTS
As of June 30, 2020, the Company has entered into
MSK License Agreement
On August 20, 2015, we entered into the MSK License Agreement that grants us an exclusive worldwide, sublicensable license to MSK’s rights to certain patent rights and intellectual property rights to develop, make, and commercialize licensed products and to perform services for all therapeutic and diagnostic uses in the field of cancer diagnostics and cancer treatments.
The patents and patent applications covered by this agreement are directed, in part, to naxitamab, an anti-GD2 antibody, and omburtamab, which is an anti B3-H7 antibody, as well as affinity matured versions of certain antibodies and certain single chain variable fragments (Fv) constructs, and their use for immunotherapy, targeting the treatment of oncology indications. Upon entering into the MSK License Agreement in 2015 and in exchange for the licenses, we paid MSK an upfront payment, issued
The MSK License Agreement requires us to pay to MSK mid to high single digit royalties based on annual net sales of licensed products or the performance of licensed services by us and our affiliates and sublicensees. We are obligated to pay annual minimum royalties of $
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milestone payments under the MSK License Agreement. Certain of the clinical and regulatory milestone payments become due at the earlier of completion of the related milestone activity or the date indicated in the MSK License Agreement. Total clinical and regulatory milestones potentially due under the MSK License Agreement are $
Research and development is inherently uncertain and as described above, should such research and development fail, the MSK License Agreement is cancelable at the Company’s option. The Company also considered the development risk and each party’s termination rights under the agreement when considering whether any regulatory-based milestone payments, certain of which also contain time-based payment requirements, were probable. Such regulatory-based obligations were determined not to be probable as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, and therefore have not been accrued.
CD33 License Agreement
On November 13, 2017, we entered into an exclusive license agreement for MSK rights in connection with certain CD33 antibodies, which we refer to as the CD33 License Agreement. The CD33 License Agreement obligates us to pay to MSK mid to high single-digit royalties based on annual net sales of licensed products or the performance of licensed services by us and our affiliates and sublicensees. We are obligated to pay annual minimum royalties of $
The total milestone obligations previously expensed under the CD33 License Agreement with MSK were $
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term liabilities as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019. Research and development is inherently uncertain and as described above, should such research and development fail, the CD33 License Agreement is cancelable at the Company’s option. The Company considered risks as well as each party’s termination rights under the CD33 License Agreement when considering whether any regulatory-based milestone payments and minimum royalty payments, certain of which also contain time-based payment requirements, were probable. Given the uncertainty associated with research and development and the Company’s ability to cancel the CD33 License Agreement, such obligations were determined not to be probable as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 and therefore have not been accrued.
MabVax Sublicense Agreement
On June 27, 2018, we entered into a sublicense agreement with MabVax pursuant to which MabVax has sublicensed to the Company certain of MabVax’s patent rights and know-how for development and commercialization of products for the prevention or treatment of neuroblastoma by means of administering a GD2-GD3 Vaccine, granted to MabVax pursuant to an exclusive license agreement between MabVax and MSK. Under the sublicense agreement, the Company previously paid and expensed the license fees. The Company has agreed to become solely responsible for future amounts payable to MSK and to handle other of MabVax’ obligations applicable to the licensed indication towards MSK. This includes the obligation to pay development milestones totaling $
On December 2, 2019, we entered into the SAAA to preserve the license agreement and the rights granted to us under the Sublicense Agreement and to create a direct relationship between MSK and us with respect to the rights covered under the Sublicense Agreement. Research and development is inherently uncertain and as described above, should such research and development fail, the SAAA is cancelable at the Company’s option. The Company considered risks as well as each party’s termination rights under the SAAA when considering whether any milestone payments and minimum royalty payments were probable. Given the uncertainty associated with research and development and the Company’s ability to cancel the SAAA, such obligations were determined not to be probable as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 and therefore have not been accrued.
Additionally, the SAAA stipulates that, if we are granted a PRV from the FDA covering a licensed product under the MabVax/Y-mAbs Sublicense and the PRV is subsequently sold, we will pay directly to MabVax and to MSK, respectively a total of
SADA License Agreement
On April 15, 2020, we entered into a license agreement (the “SADA License Agreement”) with MSK and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (“MIT”) that grants us an exclusive worldwide, sublicensable license to MSK’s and MIT’s rights to certain patent rights and intellectual property rights to develop, make, and commercialize licensed products and to perform services for all therapeutic and diagnostic uses in the field of cancer diagnostics and cancer treatments using the SADA BiDE Pre-targeted Radioimmunotherapy Platform (“SADA technology”). We have assessed the licensing and other rights acquired and given the lack of outputs upon acquisition and that
The patents and patent applications covered by this agreement are directed, in part, to the SADA technology, as well as a number of SADA constructs developed by MSK. Upon entering into the SADA License Agreement and in exchange for the licenses granted thereunder, we concluded that the technology acquired under the licensing arrangement had no alternative future use. This conclusion was based on consideration of the rights conveyed under the agreement, extent of further development necessary and presence of uncertainty prior to obtaining regulatory approval for any product. Accordingly, we expensed and paid MSK and MIT an upfront payment of $
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agreement based on the fair value of the stock on the grant date and $
The SADA License Agreement requires us to pay to MSK and MIT mid to high single-digit royalties based on annual net sales of licensed products or the performance of licensed services by us and our affiliates and sublicensees. We are obligated to pay annual minimum royalties of $
The Company is also obligated to pay MSK and MIT certain clinical, regulatory and sales-based milestone payments under the SADA License Agreement. Certain of the clinical and regulatory milestone payments become due at the earlier of completion of the related milestone activity or the date indicated in the SADA License Agreement. Total clinical and regulatory milestones potentially due under the SADA License Agreement are $
In addition, to the extent we enter into sublicense arrangements, we are obligated to pay to MSK and MIT a percentage of certain payments received from sublicensees of the rights licensed to us by MSK and MIT, which percentage will be based upon the achievement of certain clinical milestones. The Company has not entered into any sublicenses related to the SADA License Agreement. For each of the constructs previously generated by MSK using the SADA technology and sold for the Company by a sublicensee, the Company may pay sales milestones up to $
Failure by the Company to meet certain conditions under the arrangement could cause the related license to such licensed products to be canceled and could result in termination of the entire arrangement with MSK and MIT. In addition, the Company may terminate the SADA License Agreement with prior written notice.
Research and development is inherently uncertain and as described above, should such research and development fail, the SADA License Agreement is cancelable at the Company’s option. The Company will also consider the development risk and each party’s termination rights under the agreement when considering whether any clinical or regulatory based milestone payments, certain of which also contain time-based payment requirements, are probable. The Company records milestones in the period in which the contingent liability is probable and the amount is reasonably estimable. During the quarter ended June 30, 2020, we expensed $
Other agreements
We have also entered into various other support agreements with MSK including a sponsored research agreement to provide research services related to the intellectual property licensed under the MSK License Agreement; a master data services agreement, for services provided by approximately
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Agreement, we have agreed to enter a sponsored research agreement to fund research of $
Lease Agreements
In February 2019, the Company entered into a lease agreement in connection with its
January 2018, the Company entered into a lease agreement in connection with its corporate headquarters in New York. The term of the lease is
Additionally, the Company entered a
As described above in Note 3, the Company adopted Topic 842 as of January 1, 2019.
Total operating lease costs were $
During the three months ended June 30, 2020, the expenses were recorded as $
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 was $
Maturities of operating lease liabilities at June 30, 2020 were as follows (in thousands):
Operating Leases | |||
| at June 30, 2020 | ||
Remainder of 2020 | $ | | |
Years ending December 31, | |||
2021 | | ||
2022 | | ||
2023 | | ||
2024 | | ||
Total lease payments | | ||
Less: Imputed interest | ( | ||
Total operating lease liabilities at June 30, 2020 | $ | |
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Maturities of operating leases at December 31, 2019 were as follows (in thousands):
Operating Leases | |||
| at December 31, 2019 | ||
2020 | $ | | |
2021 | | ||
2022 | | ||
2023 | | ||
2024 | | ||
Total lease payments | | ||
Less: Imputed interest | ( | ||
Total operating lease liabilities at December 31, 2019 | $ | |
Operating lease liabilities are based on the net present value of the remaining lease payments over the remaining lease term. In determining the present value of lease payments, the Company uses its estimate of its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the lease commencement date. As of June 30, 2020, the weighted average remaining lease term is
NOTE 7—STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Authorized Stock
As of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company has authorized a total of
Common Stock
Each share of common stock is entitled to
Preferred Stock
Preferred stock may be issued from time to time in one or more series with such designations, preferences and relative participating, optional or other special rights and qualifications, limitations or restrictions as approved by the Company’s Board of Directors.
Stock grant agreements with non-employees
In August 2015, we entered into certain stock grant agreements with non-employees of the Company. We agreed to issue a total of
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In connection with the SADA License Agreement, in April 2020 we entered into certain stock grant agreements pursuant to which we agreed to issue a total of
In July 2020, pursuant to the stock grant agreements, we also lent the
Issuance of common stock
In November 2019, we completed a secondary public offering and issued
In January 2020 we issued
In April 2020 we issued
NOTE 8—SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION
2015 Equity Incentive Plan
Our board of directors and stockholders have approved and adopted the 2015 Plan, which provided for the grant of incentive stock options, within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code (the Internal Revenue Code), to our employees and any parent and subsidiary corporations’ employees, and for the grant of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock and restricted stock units to our employees, directors and consultants and our parent and subsidiary corporations’ employees and consultants. A total of
2018 Equity Incentive Plan
Our board of directors and stockholders approved and adopted the 2018 Plan, which became effective upon the Company’s initial public offering in September 2018 and which provides for the grant of incentive stock options, within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code (the Internal Revenue Code), to our employees and any parent and subsidiary corporations’ employees, and for the grant of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock and restricted stock units to our employees, directors and consultants and our parent and subsidiary corporations’ employees and consultants. A total of
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addition, the number of shares available for issuance under the 2018 Plan will also include an annual increase on the first day of each fiscal year beginning in 2019, equal to
Stock Option Valuation
During the three month periods ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, stock-based compensation for stock option grants were $
During the six month periods ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, stock-based compensation for stock option grants were $
The following table summarizes common stock options issued and outstanding:
|
|
|
| Weighted | ||||||
Weighted | Aggregate | average | ||||||||
average | intrinsic | remaining | ||||||||
exercise | value | contractual | ||||||||
Options | price | (in thousands) | life (years) | |||||||
Outstanding and expected to vest at December 31, 2019 |
| | $ | | $ | |
| |||
Granted |
| | | |||||||
Exercised | ( | | ||||||||
Forfeited | ( | | ||||||||
Outstanding and expected to vest at June 30, 2020 |
| | $ | | $ | | ||||
Exercisable at June 30, 2020 |
| | $ | | $ | |
The weighted average fair value of stock options granted during the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 was $
The weighted average fair value of stock options granted during the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 was $
The aggregate intrinsic value of stock options is calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the stock options and the fair value of the Company’s common stock for those stock options that had exercise prices lower than the fair value of the Company’s common stock.
As of June 30, 2020, we had $
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unrecognized compensation expense related to employee stock options that are expected to vest over a period of
Restricted Stock Unit Activity
During the three months ended June 30, 2020 and June 30, 2019, stock-based compensation for restricted stock unit grants was $
During the six months ended June 30, 2020 and June 30, 2019, stock-based compensation for restricted stock unit grants was $
The following table summarizes restricted stock units issued and outstanding:
| Restricted Stock Units |
| |
Outstanding and expected to vest at December 31, 2019 | | ||
Granted | | ||
Vested | ( | ||
Forfeited | ( | ||
Outstanding and expected to vest at June 30, 2020 | |
The weighted average fair value of restricted stock units granted during the six months ended June 30, 2020 was $
NOTE 9—RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
MSK is a shareholder of the Company. Under the MSK License Agreement, SADA License Agreement, the CD33 License Agreement, CTA, CFAs, SRA and MDSA, we have expensed costs in the total amount of $
NOTE 10—INCOME TAXES
The Company provided
The Company recognizes income tax benefits for tax positions determined more likely than not to be sustained upon examination, based on the technical merits of the positions. As of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company has determined that there were
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The valuation allowance related primarily to net U.S. deferred tax assets from operating losses, research and development tax credit carryforwards, and acquired intangibles.
The Company maintains a full valuation allowance on its U.S. and foreign deferred tax assets. The assessment regarding whether a valuation allowance is required considers both positive and negative evidence when determining whether it is more likely than not that deferred tax assets are recoverable. In making this assessment, significant weight is given to evidence that can be objectively verified. In its evaluation, the Company considered its cumulative losses historically and in recent years and its forecasted losses in the near term as significant negative evidence. Based upon review of available positive and negative evidence, the Company determined that the negative evidence outweighed the positive evidence and a full valuation allowance on its U.S. and foreign deferred tax assets will be maintained. The Company will continue to assess the realizability of its deferred tax assets and will adjust the valuation allowance as needed.
NOTE 11—OTHER BENEFITS
The Company has adopted a defined contribution 401(k) savings plan (the 401(k) plan) covering all U.S. employees of the Company. Participants may elect to defer a percentage of their pretax or after-tax compensation to the 401(k) plan, subject to defined limitations. The plan allows for a discretionary match by the Company. The Company made
The Company has established a retirement program for employees of the Company’s Danish subsidiary pursuant to which all such employees can contribute an amount at their election from their base compensation and may receive contributions from our Danish subsidiary.
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Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our accompanying financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 on file with the SEC. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business and related financing, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, including those factors set forth in the “Risk Factors” section of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, our actual results could differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis. For convenience of presentation some of the numbers have been rounded in the text below.
Overview
We are a late-stage clinical biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel, antibody-based therapeutic products for the treatment of cancer. We have a broad and advanced product pipeline, including two registration-stage product candidates—naxitamab and omburtamab—which target tumors that express GD2 and B7-H3, respectively. We are developing naxitamab for the treatment of pediatric patients with relapsed or refractory, or R/R, high-risk neuroblastoma, or NB, and radiolabeled omburtamab for the treatment of pediatric patients with central nervous system, or CNS, leptomeningeal metastasis, or LM, from NB. NB is a rare and almost exclusively pediatric cancer that develops in the sympathetic nervous system and CNS/LM is a rare and usually fatal complication of NB in which the disease spreads to the membranes, or meninges, surrounding the brain and spinal cord in the CNS.
In March 2020, we completed submission of our rolling BLA for naxitamab to the FDA with a goal of receiving approval by the FDA in 2020. The submission began in November 2019, when we submitted the initial portion of our BLA under the FDA’s rolling review process. In June 2020, we announced that the FDA has set an action date of November 30, 2020, under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA. The Agency also indicated in the BLA filing communication letter that it is not currently planning to hold an advisory committee meeting to discuss the application.
In August 2020, we completed the submission of our rolling BLA to the FDA for omburtamab. The submission began in June 2020 when we submitted the initial portion of our BLA under the FDA’s rolling review process.
We plan to commercialize both naxitamab and omburtamab in the United States as soon as possible after obtaining FDA approval, if such approval occurs.
Additionally, we are conducting clinical studies of naxitamab in front-line and third-line neuroblastoma, and in osteosarcoma, as well as clinical studies of omburtamab in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, and desmoplastic small round cell tumor, or DSRCT. We also have two omburtamab follow-on product candidates in pre-clinical development, 177Lu-omburtamab-DTPA and huB7-H3, a humanized version of omburtamab, each targeting indications with large adult patient populations. In addition, we have initiated a Phase 1 trial with nivatrotamab, our huGD2 bispecific antibody, or BsAb, product candidate for the treatment of refractory GD2 positive adult and pediatric solid tumors, thereby addressing large patient populations.
In April 2020, we entered into a license agreement, or the SADA License Agreement, with MSK and MIT that grants us an exclusive, worldwide, sublicensable license to certain patent and intellectual property rights developed by MSK and MIT to develop, make, and commercialize licensed products and to perform services for all therapeutic and diagnostic uses in the field of cancer diagnostics and cancer treatments using SADA-BiDE (2-step Self-Assembly and DisAssembly-Bispecific DOTA-Engaging antibody system) Pre-targeted Radioimmunotherapy Platform, or the SADA Technology, a concept we also refer to as Liquid RadiationTM. We have designated GD2-SADA for potential use in GD2 positive solid tumors, GPA33-SADA for potential use in colon cancer, HER2-SADA for potential use in breast cancer and B7-H3-SADA for potential use in prostate cancer as our first SADA constructs, and expect to file an IND for GD2-SADA in 2021.
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We are also advancing a pipeline of novel BsAbs through late pre-clinical development, including our huCD33-BsAb product candidate for the treatment of hematological cancers expressing CD33, a transmembrane receptor expressed on cells of myeloid lineage. We believe our BsAbs have the potential to result in improved tumor-binding, longer serum half-life and significantly greater T-cell mediated killing of tumor cells without the need for continuous infusion. Our GD2-GD3 Vaccine for the treatment of high-risk NB patients in remission is being tested in a Phase 2 trial.
Our mission is to become the world leader in developing better and safer antibody-based oncology products addressing clear unmet medical needs and, as such, have a transformational impact on the lives of pediatic patients. We intend to advance and expand our product pipeline into certain adult cancer indications either independently or in collaboration with potential partners.
Since our inception on April 30, 2015, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to organizing and staffing our company, business planning, identifying potential product candidates, conducting pre-clinical studies of our product candidates and clinical trials of our lead product candidates, raising capital, and acquiring and developing our technology platform among other matters. We do not have any products approved for sale and have not generated any revenues from product sales.
To date, we have financed our operations primarily through private placements of our securities, proceeds from our initial public offering and proceeds from our secondary public offering. On November 1, 2019, we completed our secondary public offering of 5,134,750 shares of our common stock, at a price of $28.00 per share, which includes the exercise in full of the underwriters’ option to purchase 669,750 additional shares of our common stock. The aggregate gross proceeds to us, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, were approximately $143.8 million.
We have received aggregate gross proceeds of $374.2 million through June 30, 2020 from the sale and issuance of our common stock of $373.8 million and exercised stock options of $0.4 million.
As of June 30, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $232.4 million. Our net losses were $40.4 million and $18.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and $66.6 million and $34.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We have incurred significant net operating losses in every year since our inception and expect to continue to incur increasing net operating losses and significant expenses for the foreseeable future. Our net losses may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year. We anticipate that our expenses will increase significantly as we:
● | continue to advance our lead product candidates through the regulatory approval process both in the U.S. and internationally; |
● | continue to advance our other product candidates through pre-clinical and clinical development; |
● | continue to identify additional research programs and additional product candidates, as well as additional indications for existing product candidates; |
● | initiate pre-clinical studies and clinical trials for any additional product candidates we identify; |
● | develop, maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio; |
● | hire additional research, sales force, commercialization, clinical and scientific personnel; and |
● | incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company, including expanding our operational, finance and management teams. |
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We believe that our cash on hand will be sufficient to fund our operations through the fourth quarter of 2022. We do not expect to generate revenues from product sales unless and until we successfully complete development and obtain regulatory approval for a product candidate, which is subject to significant uncertainty and may never occur. We completed our BLA submission for our lead product candidate, naxitamab for the treatment of pediatric R/R high risk NB on March 31, 2020 and omburtamab for the treatment of CNS/LM from NB on August 5, 2020.
Pursuant to the MSK License, we have obtained exclusive rights to MSK’s rights in our current antibody product candidates. Under the MSK License, we have committed to funding scientific research at MSK as well as conducting certain clinical trial activities at MSK. As these product candidates progress through clinical development, regulatory approval and commercialization, certain milestone payments will come due either as a result of the milestones having been met or the passage of time even if the milestones have not been met. Also, we will owe MSK customary royalties on commercial sales of our approved products, including a fixed minimum royalty starting in 2020 whether or not product sales are ever achieved. In addition, we have committed to obtain certain personnel and laboratory services at MSK under our Master Data Services Agreement, or MDSA, and two separate Core Facility Service Agreements, or CFSAs. Also, under our Investigator-Sponsored Master Clinical Trial Agreement, or MCTA, with MSK, we will provide drug product and funding for certain clinical trials at MSK.
On April 15, 2020, we entered into a license agreement, or the SADA License Agreement, with MSK and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, or MIT, that grants us an exclusive, worldwide, sublicensable license to certain patent and intellectual property rights developed by MSK and MIT to develop, make, and commercialize licensed products and to perform services for all therapeutic and diagnostic uses in the field of cancer diagnostics and cancer treatments using SADA-BiDE (2-step Self-Assembly and DisAssembly-Bispecific DOTA-Engaging antibody system) Pre-targeted Radioimmunotherapy Platform, or the SADA Technology, a concept we also refer to as Liquid RadiationTM. The patents and patent applications covered by the SADA License Agreement are directed, in part, to the SADA Technology, as well as a number of SADA constructs developed by MSK. Upon entering into the SADA License Agreement in April 2020 and in exchange for the licenses, we paid MSK and MIT a cash upfront payment and issued an aggregate of 42,900 shares of our common stock to them.
Under the SADA License Agreement, we have committed to funding scientific research at MSK for up to $1,500,000 over the next three years. Further, the SADA License Agreement requires us to pay to MSK and MIT mid to high single-digit royalties based on annual net sales of licensed products or the performance of licensed services by us and our affiliates and sublicensees. We are obligated to pay annual minimum royalties of $40,000, increasing to $60,000 once a patent has been issued, over the royalty term, commencing on the tenth anniversary of the license agreement. These amounts are non-refundable but are creditable against royalty payments otherwise due under the SADA License Agreement.
Under the SADA License, we are also obligated to pay MSK and MIT certain clinical, regulatory and sales-based milestone payments. Certain of the clinical and regulatory milestone payments become due at the earlier of completion of the related milestone activity or the date indicated in the SADA License Agreement. Total clinical and regulatory milestones potentially due under the SADA License Agreement are $4,730,000 and $18,125,000, respectively. There are also sales-based milestones, totaling $23,750,000, that become due should the Company achieve certain amounts of sales of licensed products. In addition, for each of the SADA constructs generated by MSK and sold for the Company by a sublicensee, the Company may pay sales milestones in the total amount up to $60,000,000 based on the achievement of various cumulative net sales made by the sub-licensee. Finally, under the terms of the SADA License, MSK is entitled to receive 25% of any income generated from the sale of any PRV or the sale of other comparable incentives provided by any non-U.S. jurisdiction.
These MSK agreements are important to our business. For a more detailed discussion of the terms and conditions of certain of these agreements, see Note 6 (License Agreements and Commitments).
If we obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates, we expect to incur significant milestone costs, as well as commercialization expenses related to product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution. Accordingly, we may continue to fund our operations through public or private equity or debt financings or other sources, including
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strategic collaborations. We may, however, be unable to raise additional funds or enter into such other arrangements when needed on favorable terms or at all. Our failure to raise capital or enter into such other arrangements as and when needed would have a negative impact on our financial condition and our ability to develop our current product candidates, or any additional product candidates, if developed. Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the development of our existing product candidates and any future product candidates, our platform and technology and because the extent to which we may enter into collaborations with third parties for development of any of our product candidates is unknown, we are unable to estimate the amounts of increased capital outlays and operating expenses associated with completing the research and development of our product candidates. If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances, or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs, product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us and could have a negative impact on our financial condition.
Recent Developments
Since it was first reported to have emerged in December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has spread around the world, including the New York metropolitan area and Copenhagen, Denmark, where our primary office and laboratory spaces are located. The coronavirus pandemic is evolving, and to date has led to the implementation of various responses, including government-imposed quarantines, travel restrictions and other public health safety measures. The extent to which the coronavirus impacts our operations or those of our third-party partners, including our preclinical studies, clinical trials, manufacturing operations and commercialization efforts, will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration of the outbreak, new information that will emerge concerning the severity of the coronavirus and the actions to contain the coronavirus or treat its impact, among others. We have taken temporary precautionary measures intended to help minimize the risk of the virus to our employees, including temporarily requiring all employees to work remotely, other than those performing or supporting business-critical functions, such as certain members of our laboratory staff, suspending all non-essential travel worldwide for our employees and employee attendance at industry events and in-person work-related meetings, which could negatively affect our business. For those employees that are performing or supporting business-critical functions, we have implemented stringent safety measures designed to comply with applicable US federal, state and local guidelines as well as Danish safety guidelines instituted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We cannot presently predict the scope and severity of the planned and potential shutdowns or disruptions of businesses and government agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, the FDA or other domestic and international regulatory authorities.
Components of Our Results of Operations
Revenue
To date, we have not generated any revenue from product sales and do not expect to do so until the end of 2020. We expect that we will experience increasing losses as we continue our development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, our product candidates and begin to commercialize any approved products. Our ability to generate revenue for each product candidate for which we receive regulatory approval, if any, will depend on numerous factors, including reimbursement coverage, competition, commercial manufacturing capability and market acceptance of such approved products.
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Operating Expenses
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist of expenses incurred in connection with the discovery and development of our product candidates. We expense research and development costs as incurred. These expenses include:
● | sponsored research, laboratory facility services, clinical trial and data service at MSK under the Sponsored Research Agreement, or the SRA, the two CFSAs, the MCTA, and the MDSA, with MSK; |
● | expenses incurred under agreements with CROs, as well as investigative sites and consultants that conduct our non-clinical studies and pre-clinical and clinical trials; |
● | expenses incurred under agreement with CMOs, including manufacturing scale-up expenses and the cost of acquiring and manufacturing pre-clinical and clinical trial materials, including manufacturing validation batches; |
● | upfront, milestone and other non-revenue related payments due under our third-party licensing agreements; |
● | employee-related expenses, which include salaries, benefits, travel and stock-based compensation; |
● | expenses related to regulatory activities, including filing fees paid to regulatory agencies; |
● | outsourced professional scientific development services; and |
● | allocated expenses for utilities and other facility-related costs, including rent, insurance, supplies and maintenance expenses, and other operating costs. |
The successful development and regulatory approval of our product candidates is highly uncertain. 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 naxitamab and omburtamab or any future product candidates we may develop. This uncertainty is due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the duration and cost of clinical trials, which vary significantly over the life of a project as a result of many factors, including:
● | the number of clinical sites included in the trials; |
● | the availability and length of time required to enroll a sufficient number of suitable patients in our clinical trials; |
● | the actual probability of success for our product candidates, including the safety and efficacy, early clinical data, competition, manufacturing capability and commercial viability; |
● | significant and changing government regulation and regulatory guidance; |
● | the performance of our existing and any future collaborators; |
● | the number of doses patients receive; |
● | the duration of patient follow-up; |
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● | the results of our clinical trials and pre-clinical studies; |
● | the establishment of commercial manufacturing capabilities; |
● | adequate ongoing availability of raw materials and drug substance for clinical development and any commercial sales; |
● | the timing of our BLA submissions and their acceptance; |
● | the receipt of marketing approvals, including a safety, tolerability and efficacy profile that is satisfactory to the FDA or any non-U.S. regulatory authority; |
● | any requirement by the FDA or any non-US regulatory authority to conduct post market surveillance or safety studies; |
● | the expense of filing, prosecuting, defending and enforcing any patent claims and other intellectual property rights; and |
● | the commercialization of approved products. |
Our expenditures are subject to additional uncertainties, including the terms and timing of regulatory approvals. We may never succeed in achieving regulatory approval for naxitamab, omburtamab or any other product candidates we may develop.
A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of a product candidate could mean a significant change in the costs and timing associated with the development of that product candidate. For example, if the FDA or another regulatory authority were to require us to conduct clinical trials beyond those that we anticipate will be required for the completion of clinical development of a product candidate, or if we experience significant delays in our clinical trials due to patient enrollment or other reasons, we would be required to expend significant additional financial resources and time on the completion of clinical development.
Research and development activities are central to our business model. Product candidates in later stages of clinical development, like naxitamab and omburtamab, 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 significantly over the next several years as we increase personnel costs, including stock-based compensation, conduct clinical trials and potentially prepare supplementary regulatory filings for naxitamab and omburtamab.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of employee related expenses, including salaries, bonus, benefits, and stock-based compensation expenses for personnel in executive, commercial, finance and administrative functions. Other significant costs include facility costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses, legal fees relating to corporate matters, and fees for patent, accounting, tax, and consulting services.
We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses will increase in the future to support continued research and development activities, potential commercialization of our product candidates and costs associated with operating as a public company, including expenses related to services associated with maintaining compliance with exchange listing and the SEC requirements, director and officer insurance costs and investor and public relations costs. These increases will likely include increased costs related to the hiring of additional personnel and fees to outside consultants, lawyers and accountants, among other expenses. Additionally, if and when we believe a regulatory approval of a product candidate appears likely, we anticipate an increase in payroll and other employee-related expenses as a
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result of our preparation for commercial operations, especially as it relates to the sales and marketing of that product candidate.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates
Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our financial statements, which we have prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. We believe that several accounting policies are significant to understanding our historical and future performance. We refer to these policies as critical because these specific areas generally require us to make judgments and estimates about matters that are uncertain at the time we make the estimate, and different estimates—which also would have been reasonable—could have been used. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those described in greater detail below. We base our estimates on historical experience and other market-specific or other relevant assumptions that we believe 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 sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
While our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in the notes to our financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, we believe the following accounting policies to be most critical to the judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements.
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, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in these financial statements include, but are not limited to, the accrual for research and development expenses, the accrual of milestone and royalty payments, the valuation of stock options. Estimates are periodically reviewed in light of changes in circumstances, facts and experience. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
The full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will directly or indirectly impact our business, results of operations and financial condition, including expenses, manufacturing, clinical trials, research and development costs and employee-related amounts, will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain, including as a result of new information that may emerge concerning COVID-19 and the actions taken to contain it or treat COVID-19, as well as the economic impact on local, regional, national and international markets. We have made estimates of the impact of COVID-19 within our financial statements and there may be changes to those estimates in future periods. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development costs are charged to operations when incurred and are included in operating expenses. Research and development costs consist principally of compensation cost for our employees and consultants that perform our research activities, the costs to obtain to maintain our licenses, the payments to third parties for manufacturing and clinical research organizations and additional product development, and consumables and other materials used in research and development. The increase in research and development expenses in the three and six-month periods ended June 30, 2020 related to the up-front payment, license and other costs incurred associated with the SADA arrangement as we concluded that the patent rights acquired had no alternative future use. We record accruals for estimated ongoing research costs. When evaluating the adequacy of the accrued liabilities, we analyze progress of the studies or clinical trials, including the phase or completion of events, invoices received and contracted costs. Actual results could differ from our estimates. We are obligated to make certain milestone and royalty payments in accordance with the contractual terms of the MSK License, CD33 License, MabVax Sublicense, and SADA License based upon the resolution of certain contingencies. Certain of these milestone payments are due and payable with the passage of time whether or not the milestones have actually been met. We record the milestone and royalty payment when the
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achievement of the milestone (including the passage of time) or payment of the milestone or royalty is probable and the amount of the payment is reasonably estimable.
Fair Value Measurements
Certain assets and liabilities are carried at fair value under GAAP. Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (i.e. an exit price). The accounting guidance includes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are as follows:
• Level 1 — Unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets;
• Level 2 — Inputs other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities that are observable either directly or indirectly for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; and
• Level 3 — Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability, which include management's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk.
The Company’s cash equivalents are carried at fair value, determined according to the fair value hierarchy described above.
Income Taxes
We account for income taxes under the asset and liability approach for the financial accounting and reporting of income taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to net operating loss carry forwards and temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. These assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is established when management determines that it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.
We prepare and file tax returns based on its interpretation of tax laws and regulations. In the normal course of business, our tax returns are subject to examination by various taxing authorities. Such examinations may result in future tax and interest assessments by these taxing authorities. In determining our tax provision for financial reporting purposes, we establish a reserve for uncertain tax positions unless such positions are determined to be more likely than not of being sustained upon examination based on their technical merits. We consider many factors when evaluating and estimating our tax positions and tax benefits, which may require periodic adjustments and which may not accurately anticipate actual outcomes. Accordingly, we will report a liability for unrecognized tax benefits resulting from any uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken on a tax return.
Our policy is to recognize, when applicable, interest and penalties on uncertain tax positions as part of income tax expense.
Stock-Based Compensation
We measure stock options and restricted share units granted to employees and directors based on the fair value on the date of the grant and recognize compensation expense of those awards, over the requisite service period, which is the vesting period of the respective award. Forfeitures are accounted for as they occur. We issue stock options and restricted share units to employees and directors with only service-based vesting conditions and record the expense for these awards using the straight-line method over the requisite service period.
For share-based awards granted to non-employees prior to January 1, 2019, compensation expense is recognized over the period during which services are rendered by such non-employees until completed. At the end of
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each financial reporting period prior to completion of the service, the fair value of these awards is remeasured using the then-current fair value of our shares of common stock and updated assumption inputs in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. In connection with SADA agreement, we issued 213,996 shares into escrow with 40% of the shares immediately vesting at the time of issuance and the remaining 60% of the shares vesting ratably over the next three years on the anniversary date of the agreement (please refer to Note 9-Related Party Transactions and Note 6-License Agreements and Commitments for details). These shares will be forfeited with the termination of SADA license agreement.
The fair value of each stock option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Historically, we have been a private company and lack company-specific historical and implied volatility information for our shares. Therefore, we estimate our expected share price volatility based on the historical volatility of a group of publicly-traded peer companies and we expect to continue to do so until such time as we have adequate historical data regarding the volatility of our own traded share price. The expected term of our stock options has been determined utilizing the “simplified” method for awards as we have limited historical data to support the expected term assumption. The expected term of stock options granted to non-employees is equal to the contractual term of the option award. The risk-free interest rate is determined by reference to the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant of the award for time periods approximately equal to the expected term of the award. The expected dividend yield is based on the fact that we have never paid cash dividends on shares of our common stock and do not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Three Months Ended June 30, 2020 and 2019
The following table summarizes our results of operations for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019:
Three Months Ended | |||||||||
June 30, | |||||||||
| 2020 |
| 2019 |
| Change | ||||
(in thousands) | |||||||||
Operating expenses: |
|
|
|
|
|
| |||
Research and development | $ | 30,059 | $ | 14,494 | $ | 15,565 | |||
General and administrative |
| 10,393 |
| 4,140 |
| 6,253 | |||
Total operating expenses |
| 40,452 |
| 18,634 |
| 21,818 | |||
Loss from operations |
| (40,452) |
| (18,634) |
| (21,818) | |||
Interest and other income |
| 59 |
| 598 |
| (539) | |||
Net loss | $ | (40,393) | $ | (18,036) | $ | (22,357) |
Research and Development Expenses
We do not record our research and development expenses on a program-by-program or on a product-by-product basis as they primarily relate to personnel, research, manufacturing, license fees, non-cash expense in connection with
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equity issuances to MSK, MIT, and non-employee researchers; and consumable costs, which are simultaneously deployed across multiple projects under development. These costs are included in the table below.
Three Months Ended | ||||||
June 30, | ||||||
| 2020 |
| 2019 | |||
(in thousands) | ||||||
Outsourced manufacturing | $ | 6,633 | $ | 5,952 | ||
Clinical trials |
| 1,817 |
| 1,823 | ||
Outsourced research and supplies |
| 3,632 |
| 4,209 | ||
Milestones and license acquisition costs |