Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Recent Developments, Liquidity and Management's Plans

v3.20.2
Recent Developments, Liquidity and Management's Plans
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2020
Expenses Related Public Offering [Domain]  
Recent Developments, Liquidity and Management's Plans

Note 3 – Recent Developments, Liquidity and Management’s Plans

 

Ceasing Production and Sale of Rapid, Point-Of-Care Screening and Testing Products

 

As previously disclosed, in light of the unfavorable factors persistent in our rapid, point-of-care screening and testing product business and the progress the Company has made in its partnership with Premas, the Company conducted a strategic review of the screening and testing products business. Following such review, in early July 2020, the Company ceased the production and sale of its rapid, point-of-care screening and testing products. The Company will continue to provide support for these testing products that remain in the market through their respective product expiration dates. The Company had been experiencing declining sales revenue and production backlogs for these products and, as it previously reported, had eliminated its sales force for such products. The Company intends to devote its attention to its partnership with Premas for the development of its COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate and will continue to explore strategic alternatives that the Company believes will increase shareholder value. In connection with the ceasing production and sale of its existing product line, on July 16, 2020, the Company decided to close the Thorofare Facility and exercised the early termination option under the Thorofare Lease, which provided for a 150-day notice to terminate the lease. Pursuant to the early termination option, the Thorofare Lease will mature on December 13, 2020.

 

Exploration of Strategic Alternatives

 

In addition, the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) continues to evaluate strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value. This process will consider a range of potential strategic alternatives including, but not limited to, business combinations. The Company does not plan to disclose or comment on developments regarding the strategic review process until it is complete or further disclosure is deemed appropriate. There can be no assurance that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in any transaction or other alternative.

 

August Offering

 

On August 13, 2020, pursuant to a securities purchase agreement with certain institutional and accredited investors, dated August 11, 2020, the Company issued and sold in a registered direct offering (the “August Offering”) an aggregate of 1,207,744 shares of its common stock at an offering price of $5.67 per share, for gross and net proceeds of approximately $6.8 million and $6.2 million, respectively. The Company issued to the placement agent or its designees warrants to purchase up to 96,620 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $7.0875 as compensation in connection with the August Offering. Such warrants are exercisable immediately and will expire on August 11, 2025.

 

ChubeWorkx Settlement Agreement and General Release

 

On August 3, 2020, the Company entered into a Settlement Agreement and General Release (the “SAGR”) with ChubeWorkx Guernsey Limited (“ChubeWorkx”). The Company and ChubeWorkx entered into the SAGR to terminate a prior Settlement Agreement, dated August 17, 2016, by and among the Company and ChubeWorkx, pursuant to which the Company granted ChubeWorkx a security interest in substantially all of the Company’s assets, and to fully and finally settle and compromise any and all current and future claims and liabilities of any nature arising between the Company and ChubeWorkx in relation to, or otherwise connected with, the Prior Agreements, on the terms set forth in the SAGR. For a more detailed discussion of the ChubeWorkx Settlement, see Note 7 herein.

 

Corporate Governance Reforms

 

On May 28, 2020, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey approved that certain Amended Stipulation and Agreement of Settlement, dated October 1, 2019 (the “Settlement”) among the settling parties in connection with a consolidated shareholder derivative action, Case No.: 2:18-cv-15992. Pursuant to the Settlement, effective as of July 21, 2020, the Company made various modifications to its corporate governance and business ethics practices as further discussed below.

 

On July 21, 2020, the Board adopted amended and restated bylaws (the “A&R Bylaws”) that became effective as of July 21, 2020 pursuant to the Settlement. The A&R Bylaws were adopted to require that, among other things: (i) each member of the Board attend each annual meeting of our shareholders in person, absent extraordinary circumstances; (ii) the role of the Chairman of the Board be rotated among our independent directors every five years; (iii) at least half (50%) of the Board be comprised of directors who qualify as independent directors under applicable listing standards of The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC; (iv) our independent directors to meet in executive session following each Board meeting, in no event less than four (4) times per year; (v) following November 27, 2020, the positions of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer are to be held by different individuals, and (vi) following November 27, 2020, no one person shall serve the positions of the chief executive officer and the chief financial officer. Pursuant to the Settlement, these changes will remain in place for at least four years.

 

In addition, pursuant to the Settlement, on July 21, 2020, the Board formed a risk and disclosure committee (the “Risk and Disclosure Committee”) and adopted a new whistleblower policy (the “Whistleblower Policy”) and a charter for the Risk and Disclosure Committee (the “Risk and Disclosure Committee Charter”) to govern the Risk and Disclosure Committee. In order to align the Company’s Code of Ethics (the “Code”) that applies to all of its directors, officers, and employees with the newly adopted Whistleblower Policy and the Risk and Disclosure Committee Charter, the Board revised the Code. As required by the Settlement, any waivers of any provision of the Code may be granted only by the Risk and Disclosure Committee. In addition, the Code was revised to clarify the enforcement mechanism for violations of the Code. Furthermore, pursuant to the Settlement, the Board approved and adopted revised charters of our standing committees.

 

Departure of Interim Chief Financial Officer

 

On July 19, 2020, the Company and Howard R. Yeaton, our Interim Chief Financial Officer, agreed by mutual understanding that Mr. Yeaton’s employment as the Company’s officer and employee will cease effective August 19, 2020, in accordance with the terms of his employment agreement dated January 6, 2020.

 

Appointment of Chief Financial Officer

 

On July 21, 2020, the Company entered into a CFO Consulting Agreement (the “Consulting Agreement”) with Brio Financial Group (“Brio”), pursuant to which the Company appointed Mr. Stuart Benson as Chief Financial Officer, effective August 19, 2020, with a term ending June 30, 2021. Pursuant to the Consulting Agreement, the Company will pay Brio an initial retainer fee of $7,500 and a fixed monthly payment of $13,500, commencing August 15, 2020. The Company will also be billed for travel and other out-of-pocket costs, such as report production, postage, etc.

 

Acquisition of Cystron

 

On March 23, 2020, the Company acquired Cystron pursuant to that certain Membership Interest Purchase Agreement (the “MIPA”). Cystron was incorporated on March 10, 2020. Upon the Company’s purchase of Cystron, Cystron’s sole asset consisted of an exclusive license with respect to Premas’ vaccine platform for the development of a vaccine against COVID-19 and other coronavirus infections. Since its formation and through the date of its acquisition by the Company, Cystron did not have any employees. The acquisition of Cystron was accounted for as the purchase of an asset.

 

As consideration for the Membership Interests (as defined in the MIPA), the Company delivered to the members of Cystron (the “Sellers”): (1) that number of newly issued shares of its common stock equal to 19.9% of the issued and outstanding shares of its common stock and pre-funded warrants as of the date of the MIPA, but, to the extent that the issuance of its common stock would have resulted in any Seller owning in excess of 4.9% of the Company’s outstanding common stock, then, at such Seller’s election, such Seller received “common stock equivalent” preferred shares with a customary 4.9% blocker (with such common stock and preferred stock collectively referred to as “Common Stock Consideration”), and (2) $1,000,000 in cash. On March 24, 2020 the Company paid $1,000,000 to the Sellers and delivered 411,403 shares of common stock and 211,353 shares of Series D Convertible Preferred Stock with a customary 4.9% blocker, with an aggregate fair market value of $1,233,057, and recorded $2,233,057 as a charge to research and development expense within the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss. On April 22, 2020, Premas, one of the Sellers, returned to us $299,074 representing its portion of the cash purchase price to acquire Cystron. Premas has advised us that these funds were returned temporarily for Premas to meet certain regulatory requirements in India.

 

Additionally, the Company shall (A) make an initial payment to the Sellers of up to $1,000,000 upon its receipt of cumulative gross proceeds from the consummation of an initial equity offering after the date of the MIPA of $8,000,000, and (B) pay to Sellers an amount in cash equal to 10% of the gross proceeds in excess of $8,000,000 raised from future equity offerings after the date of the MIPA until the Sellers have received an aggregate additional cash consideration equal to $10,000,000 (collectively, the “Equity Offering Payments”). On May 14, 2020, the Company and the Sellers entered into an Amendment No. 1 to the MIPA (the “Amendment”), which provided that any Equity Offering Payments in respect of an equity offering that is consummated prior to September 23, 2020, shall be accrued, but shall not be due and payable until September 24, 2020. The other provisions of the MIPA remain unmodified and in full force and effect. Upon the achievement of certain milestones, including the completion of a Phase 2 study for a COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate that meets its primary endpoints, Sellers will be entitled to receive an additional 750,000 shares of the Company’s common stock or, in the event the Company is unable to obtain stockholder approval for the issuance of such shares, 750,000 shares of non-voting preferred stock that are valued following the achievement of such milestones and shall bear a 10% annual dividend (the “Milestone Shares”). Sellers will also be entitled to contingent payments from the Company of up to $20,750,000 upon the achievement of certain milestones, including the approval of a new drug application by the FDA.

 

Pursuant to the MIPA, upon the Company’s consummation of the registered direct equity offering closed on April 8, 2020, the Company paid the Sellers $250,000 on April 20, 2020 (the “April Payment”). On April 30, 2020, Premas, one of the Sellers, returned to us $83,334, representing their portion of the $250,000 amount paid to the Sellers on April 20, 2020. Premas has advised us that these funds were returned temporarily for Premas to meet certain regulatory requirements in India. The Company recorded liabilities of $892,500 (the “May Payment”) and $684,790 to the Sellers upon the consummation of the registered direct equity offering closed on May 18, 2020 and the consummation of the August Offering, respectively, which are payable on September 24, 2020 pursuant to the Amendment. For the three months period ended June 30, 2020, $1,142,500 is included in research and development expense within the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss for the April Payment and the May Payment.

 

The Company shall also make quarterly royalty payments to Sellers equal to 5% of the net sales of a COVID-19 vaccine or combination product by the Company (the “COVID-19 Vaccine”) for a period of five (5) years following the first commercial sale of the COVID-19 Vaccine; provided, that such payment shall be reduced to 3% for any net sales of the COVID-19 Vaccine above $500 million.

 

In addition, Sellers shall be entitled to receive 12.5% of the transaction value, as defined in the MIPA, of any change of control transaction, as defined in the MIPA, that occurs prior to the fifth (5th) anniversary of the closing date of the MIPA, provided that the Company is still developing the COVID-19 Vaccine Candidate at that time. Following the consummation of any change of control transaction, the Sellers shall not be entitled to any payments as described above under the MIPA.

 

License Agreement

 

Cystron is a party to a License and Development Agreement (the “Initial License Agreement”) with Premas. As a condition to the Company’s entry into the MIPA, Cystron amended and restated the Initial License Agreement on March 19, 2020 (as amended and restated, the “License Agreement”). Pursuant to the License Agreement, Premas granted Cystron, amongst other things, an exclusive license with respect to Premas’ vaccine platform for the development of a vaccine against COVID-19 and other coronavirus infections.

 

Upon the achievement of certain developmental milestones by Cystron, Cystron shall pay to Premas a total of up to $2,000,000. On April 16, 2020, the Company paid Premas $500,000 for the achievement of the first two development milestones of which $250,000 was accrued as research and development expense for the three months ended March 31, 2020. On May 18, 2020, the Company paid Premas $500,000 for the achievement of the third development milestone. On July 7, 2020, the Company and Premas agreed that the fourth milestone under the License Agreement had been satisfied. Due to the achievement of this milestone, Premas is entitled to receive a payment of $1,000,000.

 

Cystron Medical Panel

 

On April 10, 2020, the Company established the Cystron Medical Panel and appointed its first member to the panel. Each member shall be compensated with an initial grant of the Company’s common stock with an aggregate fair market value of $25,000 and a monthly cash stipend in the initial amount of $2,500. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, the Company recorded $10,274 as a charge to research and development expense within the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss.

 

Series D Convertible Preferred Stock

 

On March 24, 2020, the Company filed the Certificate of Designation of Preferences, Rights and Limitations of Series D Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Certificate of Designation”) with the Secretary of State of the State of New Jersey. Pursuant to the Certificate of Designation, in the event of the Company’s liquidation or winding up of its affairs, the holders of its Series D Convertible Preferred Stock (the “Preferred Stock”) will be entitled to receive the same amount that a holder of the Company’s common stock would receive if the Preferred Stock were fully converted (disregarding for such purposes any conversion limitations set forth in the Certificate of Designation) to common stock which amounts shall be paid pari passu with all holders of the Company’s common stock. Each share of Preferred Stock has a stated value equal to $0.01 (the “Stated Value”), subject to increase as set forth in Section 7 of the Certificate of Designation.

 

A holder of Preferred Stock is entitled at any time to convert any whole or partial number of shares of Preferred Stock into shares of the Company’s common stock determined by dividing the Stated Value of the Preferred Stock being converted by the conversion price of $0.01 per share.

 

A holder of Preferred Stock will be prohibited from converting Preferred Stock into shares of the Company’s common stock if, as a result of such conversion, the holder, together with its affiliates, would own more than 4.99% of the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock then issued and outstanding (with such ownership restriction referred to as the “Beneficial Ownership Limitation”). However, any holder may increase or decrease such percentage to any other percentage not in excess of 9.99%, provided that any increase in such percentage shall not be effective until 61 days after such notice to us. In addition, a holder of Preferred Stock is prohibited from converting any portion of the Preferred Stock if, as a result of such conversion, the holder, together with its affiliates, would exceed the aggregate number shares of our common stock which we may issue under the MIPA without breaching our obligations under the rules or regulations of the Nasdaq Stock Market (the number of shares which may be issued without violating such rules and regulations, the “Exchange Cap”).

 

Subject to the Beneficial Ownership Limitation and the Exchange Cap, on any matter presented to the Company’s stockholders for their action or consideration at any meeting of the Company’s stockholders (or by written consent of stockholders in lieu of a meeting), each holder of Preferred Stock will be entitled to cast the number of votes equal to the number of whole shares of the Company’s common stock into which the shares of Preferred Stock beneficially owned by such holder are convertible as of the record date for determining stockholders entitled to vote on or consent to such matter (taking into account all Preferred Stock beneficially owned by such holder). Except as otherwise required by law or by the other provisions of the Company’s certificate of incorporation, the holders of Preferred Stock will vote together with the holders of the Company’s common stock and any other class or series of stock entitled to vote thereon as a single class.

 

A holder of Preferred Stock shall be entitled to receive dividends as and when paid to the holders of the Company’s common stock on an as-converted basis.

 

During the three and six months ended June 30, 2020, 2,776 shares of Preferred Stock were converted to 2,776 common shares. As of June 30, 2020, 208,577 shares of Series D Preferred Stock were issued and outstanding.

 

Liquidity

 

As of June 30, 2020, the Company’s cash on hand was $11,561,811 (which included restricted cash of $115,094), and its marketable securities were $6,856,805. The Company has incurred net losses of $7,166,667 for the six months ended June 30, 2020. As of June 30, 2020, the Company had working capital of $15,772,329 and stockholder’s equity of $15,972,148. During the six months ended June 30, 2020, cash flows used in operating activities were $3,883,101, consisting primarily of a net loss of $7,166,667, which includes, principally, research and development costs in connection with the purchase of a license and milestone license fees of $4,375,557. Since its inception, the Company has met its liquidity requirements principally through the sale of its common stock in public and private placements.

 

On April 8, 2020, pursuant to a securities purchase agreement with certain institutional and accredited investors, the Company issued and sold in a registered direct offering (the “April Offering”) an aggregate of 766,667 shares of common stock of the Company at an offering price of $6.00 per share, for gross and net proceeds of $4,600,002 and $4,086,207, respectively.

 

In connection with the April Offering, the Company issued to the placement agent or designees warrants to purchase up to 61,333 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $7.50 (the “April Placement Agent Warrants”) in a private placement. The April Placement Agent Warrants will be exercisable at any time and from time to time, in whole or in part, following the date of issuance and for a term of five years from the effective date of the April Offering.

 

On April 20, 2020, the Company recorded $250,000 of the net proceeds from the April Offering to the former members of Cystron Biotech, LLC, pursuant to the terms of that certain MIPA as a charge to research and development expense within the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss.

 

During the period of April 6, 2020 through April 16, 2020, warrants to purchase an aggregate of 1,043,500 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock were exercised at an exercise price of $4.00 per share, yielding proceeds of $4,174,000.

 

On May 18, 2020, pursuant to a securities purchase agreement with certain institutional and accredited investors, the Company issued and sold in a registered direct offering (the “May Offering”) an aggregate of 1,366,856 shares of its common stock at an offering price of $3.53 per share, for gross and net proceeds of $4,825,002 and $4,320,720, respectively.

 

In connection with the May Offering, the Company issued to the placement agent or designees warrants to purchase up to 109,348 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $4.4125 (the “May Placement Agent Warrants”) in a private placement. The May Placement Agent Warrants will be exercisable at any time and from time to time, in whole or in part, following the date of issuance and for a term of five years from the effective date of the May Offering.

 

During the period subsequent to June 30, 2020 and through August 11, 2020, warrants to purchase an aggregate of 891,500 shares of Series C Convertible Preferred Stock were exercised at an exercise price of $4.00 per share, yielding proceeds of $3,566,000.

 

In connection with the August Offering, the Company issued and sold an aggregate of 1,207,744 shares of its common stock at an offering price of $5.67 per share, for gross and net proceeds of $6,847,908 and approximately $6,178,000, respectively.

 

In connection with the August Offering, the Company issued to the placement agent or designees warrants to purchase up to 96,620 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $7.0875 (the “August Placement Agent Warrants”) in a private placement. The August Placement Agent Warrants will be exercisable at any time and from time to time, in whole or in part, following the date of issuance and for a term of five years from the effective date of the August Offering.

 

Liquidity

 

The Company’s current cash resources will not be sufficient to fund the development of its COVID-19 Vaccine candidate through all of the required clinical trials to receive regulatory approval and commercialization. While the Company does not currently have an estimate of all of the costs that it will incur in the development of the COVID-19 Vaccine, the Company anticipates that it will need to raise significant additional funds in order to continue the development of the Company’s COVID-19 Vaccine candidate during the next 12-months. In addition, the Company could also have increased capital needs if it were to engage in strategic alternatives. The Company’s ability to obtain additional capital may depend on prevailing economic conditions and financial, business and other factors beyond its control. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unstable economic environment globally, and the ultimate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s operations is unknown and will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence. These include but are not limited to the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, and any additional preventative and protective actions that regulators, or the board or management of the Company, may determine are needed. Disruptions in the global financial markets may adversely impact the availability and cost of credit, as well as the Company’s ability to raise money in the capital markets. Current economic conditions have been and continue to be volatile. Continued instability in these market conditions may limit the Company’s ability to access the capital necessary to fund and grow its business.

 

The Company believes that its current financial resources as of the date of the issuance of these consolidated financial statements, are sufficient to fund its current twelve month operating budget, alleviating any substantial doubt raised by the Company’s historical operating results and satisfying its estimated liquidity needs for twelve months from the issuance of these consolidated financial statements.