As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on December 30, 2016.
Registration Statement No. 333-
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Form F-1
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
ObsEva SA
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Switzerland | 2834 | Not applicable | ||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
Ernest Loumaye
Chief Executive Officer
ObsEva SA
Chemin des Aulx, 12
1228 Plan-les-Ouates
Geneva, Switzerland
Tel: +41 22 552 38 40
(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrants principal executive offices)
National Corporate Research, Ltd.
10 East 40 th Street
New York, New York 10016
(212) 947-7200
(Name, address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of agent for service)
Copies to:
Divakar Gupta Nicole Brookshire Charles S. Kim Cooley LLP 1114 Avenue of the Americas New York, New York 10036 (212) 479-6000 |
B. Shayne Kennedy Brian J. Cuneo Latham & Watkins LLP 140 Scott Drive Menlo Park, California 94025 (650) 328-4600 |
Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to public: As soon as practicable after this Registration Statement becomes effective.
If any of the securities being registered on this form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☐
If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(d) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE
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Title of Each Class of
Securities to be Registered |
Proposed
Maximum Aggregate Offering Price (1)(2) |
Amount of
Registration Fee |
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Common Shares, par value CHF 0.0769 per share |
$86,250,000 | $9,996.38 | ||
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|
(1) | In accordance with Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the number of common shares being registered and the proposed maximum offering price per share are not included in this table. |
(2) | Estimated solely for the purpose of computing the amount of the registration fee pursuant to Rule 457(o) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Includes common shares that the underwriters have the option to purchase. |
The Registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to such Section 8(a), shall determine.
The information contained in this preliminary prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and we are not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED DECEMBER 30, 2016
PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS
Shares
Common Shares
This is the initial public offering of common shares of ObsEva SA. No public market has previously existed for our common shares. We are offering of our common shares in this offering. The initial public offering price is expected to be between $ and $ per common share. We have applied to list our common shares on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol OBSV.
We are an emerging growth company and a foreign private issuer as defined under the federal securities laws and, as such, have elected to comply with certain reduced public company reporting requirements. See Prospectus SummaryImplications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Foreign Private Issuer.
Investing in our common shares involves a high degree of risk. Before buying any common shares, you should carefully read the discussion of material risks of investing in our common shares in Risk Factors beginning on page 10 of this prospectus.
Price to Public |
Underwriting Discounts and Commissions (1) |
Proceeds, Before
|
||||
Per common share |
$ | $ | $ | |||
Total |
$ | $ | $ |
(1) | See Underwriting for additional information regarding total underwriter compensation. |
We have granted the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days from the date of this prospectus to purchase an additional common shares from us.
Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The underwriters expect to deliver the common shares on or about , 2017.
Credit Suisse | Jefferies | Leerink Partners |
The date of this prospectus is , 2017
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F-1 |
We and the underwriters have not authorized anyone to provide you with any information other than contained in this prospectus or in any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us or to which we have referred you. We and the underwriters take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We are offering to sell, and seeking offers to buy, the common shares only in jurisdictions where offers and sales are permitted. The information in this prospectus is accurate only as of the date of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of the common shares.
For investors outside the United States: Neither we nor any of the underwriters have done anything that would permit this offering or possession or distribution of this prospectus in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required, other than in the United States. Persons outside the United States who come into possession of this prospectus must inform themselves about, and observe any restrictions relating to, the offering of the common shares and the distribution of this prospectus outside the United States.
The terms dollar, USD or $ refer to U.S. dollars, the terms Swiss Franc and CHF refer to the legal currency of Switzerland and the terms or euro are to the currency introduced at the start of the third stage of European economic and monetary union pursuant to the treaty establishing the European Community, as amended. Unless otherwise indicated, all references to currency amounts in this prospectus are in U.S. dollars.
We present the audited consolidated financial statements and the unaudited consolidated interim financial statements in U.S. dollars and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS.
Through and including , 2017 (the 25 th day after the date of this prospectus), all dealers that effect transactions in these securities, whether or not participating in this offering, may be required to deliver a prospectus. This is in addition to the dealers obligation to deliver a prospectus when acting as underwriters and with respect to their unsold allotments or subscriptions.
The following summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus and does not contain all of the information you should consider before investing in our common shares. You should read the entire prospectus carefully, including Risk Factors Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and our financial statements and the related notes, in each case included in this prospectus. You should carefully consider, among other things, the matters discussed in the section of this prospectus titled Business before making an investment decision. Unless otherwise indicated, ObsEva, the Company, our Company, we, us and our refer to ObsEva SA and its consolidated subsidiaries.
Company Overview
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for serious conditions that compromise a womans reproductive health and pregnancy. Our goal is to build the leading womens reproductive health and pregnancy company focused on conditions where current treatment options are limited and significant unmet needs exist.
We are focused on providing therapeutic solutions for women between the ages of 15 and 49 who suffer from reproductive health conditions that affect their quality of life, ability to conceive or that complicate pregnancy and the health of newborns. There are millions of women of reproductive age affected by conditions such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids and preterm labor, or that require in vitro fertilization, or IVF, to conceive. Our most advanced product candidates are designed to address the symptoms associated with endometriosis and uterine fibroids and to improve clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in women undergoing IVF. Endometriosis is an often painful disorder in which tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus, called the endometrium, grows outside of the uterus, causing monthly bleeding and chronic inflammatory reactions inside the abdomen, that may result in ovarian cyst formation, scar tissue and adhesions. Uterine fibroids, also known as leiomyomata or myoma, are common non-cancerous tumors that develop in the muscular wall of the uterus and have disabling symptoms such as heavy menstrual bleeding. We are also developing a product candidate to treat preterm labor.
We are advancing a pipeline of orally-administered innovative new chemical entities, or NCEs, for the treatment of symptoms associated with endometriosis and uterine fibroids, improvement of clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in women undergoing IVF and treatment of preterm labor. The following diagram summarizes the indications and development stage of our current product candidates:
1
We were founded in November 2012 by former executives of PregLem SA, or PregLem, a Swiss-based specialty biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of innovative drugs for womens reproductive health. While at PregLem, our senior management team collaborated in the clinical development and commercialization of several womens reproductive health therapeutics, including Esmya (ulipristal acetate) for the treatment of uterine fibroids. PregLem was subsequently acquired by Gedeon Richter in 2010. We believe we will be able to leverage our senior management teams long-standing experience working together and with key opinion leaders, patient groups, payors, reproductive health networks, fertility clinics, obstetricians and gynecologists, or OB/GYNs, nurses and pharmacists to identify, in-license or acquire, develop and commercialize product candidates.
Our portfolio currently consists of three in-licensed NCEs in clinical development for four indications intended to address areas that we believe present significant unmet medical needs.
OBE2109 for the Treatment of Pain Associated with Endometriosis and Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Associated with Uterine Fibroids
We are developing OBE2109 as a novel, oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH, receptor antagonist, which is a type of drug that binds to the receptor and thus inhibits GnRH from eliciting a response from the same receptor, for the treatment of pain associated with endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids in pre-menopausal women. As of 2014, we believe that approximately 2.5 million women in the United States were diagnosed and being treated for endometriosis, and the majority of those women experience significant pain during menstrual periods. According to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology in 2003, uterine fibroids affect an estimated 20 to 40% of women over the age of 30 in the United States based on clinical cases and women who undergo treatment.
In 2015, we in-licensed OBE2109 from Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., or Kissei, a Japanese pharmaceutical company. Prior to in-licensing OBE2109, Kissei completed a preclinical program, a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy female volunteers of Japanese and European descent and three Phase 2a clinical trials in patients of Japanese descent with endometriosis, including one trial that included a subgroup of patients with both endometriosis and uterine fibroids. In these trials, OBE2109 was observed to have a linear pharmacokinetic, or PK, profile, a predictable dose-dependent suppression of estradiol, which is a form of the hormone estrogen, and a dose range that was well-tolerated and provided symptom relief. A drugs PK profile refers to the specific way in which a given drug is handled by the body over time, including the particular patterns of the specified drugs absorption, distribution and elimination from the body, while a drugs pharmacodynamic, or PD, profile refers to the biochemical and physiological effects of a drug on the body. We expect OBE2109 to potentially reduce pain symptoms associated with endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids, while mitigating bone mineral density loss and other adverse effects associated with excessive estradiol suppression.
We are currently conducting a multiple-dose, placebo-controlled Phase 2b clinical trial of OBE2109 in patients with endometriosis across 46 sites in the United States and 15 sites in Central and Eastern Europe, with a target enrollment of 330 patients, which we refer to as the EDELWEISS clinical trial. We expect to report the primary efficacy results from the 24-week evaluation period of the EDELWEISS clinical trial in the first half of 2018. For the uterine fibroids indication, we intend to commence a Phase 3 clinical program with two Phase 3 clinical trials, which we refer to as the PRIMROSE clinical trials, in the first half of 2017. We expect to report data from these Phase 3 PRIMROSE clinical trials in the first half of 2020.
2
There are currently no GnRH receptor antagonists approved for the treatment of symptoms associated with endometriosis or uterine fibroids. However, we are aware that AbbVie Inc., Myovant Sciences, Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. are developing GnRH receptor antagonists for the treatment of symptoms associated with endometriosis or uterine fibroids. Based on publicly available information for these other products in development, we believe OBE2109 has the following potential advantages:
| Favorable and consistent PK profile . OBE2109 has been observed to have a consistent PK profile and low variability due to high bioavailability and low volume of distribution. We believe some of the competitive product candidates have low bioavailability and high volume of distribution due to drug accumulation in fat, which we believe may translate into variable efficacy and safety. In addition, OBE2109s half-life allows for once daily dosing across indications, while one of the competitive product candidates is being developed for twice daily dosing. |
| Personalized dosing . Based on OBE2109s consistent PK and PD profiles observed in preclinical studies and clinical trials, we are currently evaluating personalized dosing that can be tailored to a patients individual response. We believe this may allow us to pursue a label for varied dosing based on a patients estradiol levels and symptoms. We believe other products in clinical development are currently only being evaluated for one or two dosing options, which do not appear to account for individual patient characteristics, individual response or patient preference. |
| No systematic need for add-back therapy . For symptoms associated with both endometriosis and uterine fibroids, we are developing OBE2109 as a stand-alone treatment (without need for add-back therapy) and in association with add-back therapy (fixed-dose combination therapy) to fulfill the needs of a broad patient population with endometriosis or uterine fibroids. Add-back therapy refers to the administration of additional estrogen during treatment to counteract the side effects of excessive suppression of estradiol. We believe at least one other product in clinical development is only being evaluated as a fixed-dose combination therapy that includes add-back therapy, which we believe may not be suitable for treatment of women with poor tolerance or contraindications to add-back therapy. We also believe that at least one of the other products in clinical development has demonstrated, at the dose being developed in the clinical trials, a bone mineral density loss at 24 weeks of treatment comparable to Lupron, a GnRH agonist used for the treatment of endometriosis and uterine fibroids. |
| Compliance benefit . OBE2109 may have an advantage in patient compliance due to the lack of observed food effect and the ability to be taken once anytime throughout the day, as compared to certain of the competitive product candidates, which we believe need to be taken on an empty stomach. |
OBE001 (nolasiban) to Improve IVF Outcomes
We are developing OBE001 (nolasiban), an oral oxytocin receptor antagonist, to improve clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in women undergoing IVF. In Europe, approximately 620,000 IVF treatments were performed in 2012, and in the United States, approximately 210,000 IVF treatments were performed in 2014. The IVF process has an overall live birth rate of approximately 33% in the United States and 21% in Europe.
We in-licensed OBE001 from Merck Serono, which previously completed preclinical studies and Phase 1 clinical trials in 103 healthy female volunteers that evaluated the safety and PK profile of OBE001.
In 2016, we completed our 247-patient Phase 2 clinical trial of OBE001 in women undergoing IVF. In this Phase 2 clinical trial, OBE001 did not reach the primary endpoint of demonstrating a statistically significant increase in pregnancy rate at six weeks after embryo transfer. In our post-hoc analysis, which excluded patients with progesterone levels in the top quartile of the patient pool, we identified a statistically significant dose-proportional increase in pregnancy rate at 10 weeks as well as live birth rates. We believe that high progesterone levels can lead to a premature closing of the embryo implantation window. Based on these results, we intend to
3
initiate a European Phase 3 clinical trial in women undergoing IVF in the first half of 2017 and expect to report data for the primary endpoint in the second quarter of 2018.
OBE022 for the Treatment of Preterm Labor
We are developing OBE022, an oral and selective prostaglandin F 2 α , or PGF 2 α , receptor antagonist, as a once daily treatment for preterm labor in weeks 24 to 34 of pregnancy.
Preterm labor, defined as the body commencing the birthing process prior to 37 weeks, is characterized by uterine contractions, cervical dilation and rupture of the fetal membranes that surround and protect the fetus during pregnancy. Preterm labor can lead to preterm birth, which is currently the leading worldwide cause of death of newborn babies. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, approximately 9.6% of babies in the United States were born preterm in 2014.
We in-licensed OBE022 from Merck Serono in 2015. Based on its PK profile and efficacy observed in animal models, we believe OBE022 has the potential to become a first-in-class therapy to suppress preterm labor and delay or avoid preterm birth, without significant safety concerns for the fetus. We are currently conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial assessing the safety, tolerability and PK profile of OBE022 in healthy post-menopausal female volunteers. Based on preliminary data, OBE022 was observed to have a favorable safety profile and to be well-tolerated up to 1,300 mg, which is above the estimated clinical effective dose, after single dose administration.
Our Strengths
We believe our clinical and product development experience in the field of womens reproductive health and pregnancy provides us with the following strengths:
| Strategic focus on diseases in womens reproductive health and pregnancy that affect growing female populations with high unmet medical needs and significant commercial potential; |
| Three product candidates with clear mechanisms of action and early evidence of efficacy that have the potential to progress into and through late-stage clinical trials; |
| Management with substantial experience working together and developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products in the field of womens reproductive health and pregnancy; |
| Strong industry and key opinion leader relationships in the field of womens reproductive health and pregnancy that provide access to potential product in-licensing opportunities; and |
| Support from leading healthcare-focused investors and board members with experience in building and operating life science companies. |
Our Strategy
Our goal is to build the leading womens reproductive health and pregnancy company focused on conditions where current treatment options are limited and significant unmet needs exist. The key elements of our strategy include the following:
| Continue to advance each of our current product candidates in their respective indications; |
| Develop a targeted commercialization strategy for any approved product candidates; |
| Pursue additional indications for our current product candidates; and |
| Leverage our international product development experience and extensive network of clinical experts and pharmaceutical industry executives within womens reproductive health and pregnancy to in-license or acquire novel product candidates. |
4
Risks Associated with Our Business
Our business is subject to many risks and uncertainties, as more fully described under Risk Factors and
elsewhere in this prospectus. For example, you should be aware of the following risks before investing in our common shares.
| We have incurred significant operating losses since inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur substantial operating losses for the foreseeable future and may never achieve or maintain profitability. |
| We have a limited operating history and have never generated any revenue from product sales, which may make it difficult to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our future viability. |
| Even if this offering is successful, we will need substantial additional funding to pursue our business objectives. |
| We depend entirely on the success of a limited number of product candidates, which are in clinical development and none of which have completed a pivotal trial. |
| Clinical trials are very expensive, time-consuming and difficult to design and implement and involve uncertain outcomes. |
| Clinical trials may be delayed, suspended or terminated for many reasons, which will increase our expenses and delay the time it takes to develop our product candidates. |
| We operate in a highly competitive and rapidly changing industry, which may result in our competitors discovering, developing or commercializing competing products before or more successfully than we do, or our entering a market in which a competitor has commercialized an established competing product, and we may not be successful in competing with them. |
| If we fail to comply with our obligations under our existing and any future intellectual property licenses with third parties or if such licenses are subject to a disagreement over contract interpretation, we could lose license rights that are important to our business or be subject to a narrowing of the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology or an increase of our financial or other obligations to our licensors. |
Corporate Information
We are a Swiss stock corporation ( société anonyme ) organized under the laws of Switzerland. We were formed in 2012 with an indefinite duration. We are currently registered in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland. Our principal executive offices are located at Chemin des Aulx, 12, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland. Our telephone number is +41 22 552 38 40. Investors should contact us for any inquiries through the address and telephone number of our principal executive office. We maintain a web site at www.obseva.com. The reference to our website is an inactive textual reference only and the information contained in, or that can be accessed through, our web site is not a part of this prospectus.
ObsEva, the ObsEva logo and other trademarks or service marks of ObsEva SA appearing in this prospectus are the property of ObsEva SA. Trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies appearing in this prospectus are the property of their respective holders.
5
Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company and a Foreign Private Issuer
We qualify as an emerging growth company as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. An emerging growth company may take advantage of specified reduced reporting and other burdens that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include:
| a requirement to have only two years of audited financial statements in addition to any required interim financial statements and correspondingly reduced Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations disclosure in its initial registration statement; and |
| an exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of its internal control over financial reporting pursuant to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. See the section of this prospectus entitled Managements Discussion and AnalysisJOBS Act Exemptions. |
We may take advantage of these provisions up to the last day of the fiscal year ending after the fifth anniversary of this offering or such earlier time that we are no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company if we have more than $1.0 billion in annual revenue, have more than $700 million in market value of our common shares held by non-affiliates or issue more than $1.0 billion of non-convertible debt over a three-year period. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these reduced burdens.
Upon consummation of this offering, we will report under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, as a non-U.S. company with foreign private issuer status. Even after we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, as long as we qualify as a foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act we will be exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies, including:
| the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act; |
| the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their share ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and |
| the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information, or current reports on Form 8-K, upon the occurrence of specified significant events. |
Both foreign private issuers and emerging growth companies are also exempt from certain more stringent executive compensation disclosure rules. Thus, even if we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company, but remain a foreign private issuer, we will continue to be exempt from the more stringent compensation disclosures required of companies that are neither an emerging growth company nor a foreign private issuer.
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The Offering
Common shares offered by us |
common shares. |
Common shares to be outstanding after this offering |
common shares. |
Option to purchase additional common shares |
We have granted the underwriters an option for a period of 30 days from the date of this prospectus to purchase up to an additional common shares. |
Use of proceeds |
We expect the net proceeds to us from this offering, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, to be approximately $ based on an assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus. We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering to advance the development of OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022 and for general corporate purposes. Further, we may use a portion of the net proceeds to pursue our strategy to in-license or acquire additional product candidates, although we have no agreements or commitments for any specific acquisitions or in-licenses as of the date of this prospectus. These expectations are subject to change. See the section of this prospectus entitled Use of Proceeds for a more complete description of the intended use of proceeds from this offering. |
Risk Factors |
See Risk Factors and the other information included in this prospectus for a discussion of factors you should carefully consider before deciding to invest in our common shares. |
Proposed NASDAQ Global Market symbol |
OBSV. |
The number of common shares that will be outstanding after this offering is based on the number of common shares outstanding as of September 30, 2016 and excludes common shares that may be issued from our conditional share capital to cover equity grants awarded under our 2017 Equity Incentive Plan, which will become effective prior to the completion of this offering.
Except as otherwise noted, the information in this prospectus assumes or gives effect to the following:
| a one-for-13 forward share split of our outstanding common, preferred and non-voting shares effected on December 8, 2016; |
| the conversion of all of our outstanding preferred shares into an aggregate of 19,111,326 common shares, which will occur automatically immediately prior to the closing of this offering; |
| the conversion of all of our outstanding non-voting shares into an aggregate of 1,037,010 common shares, which will occur automatically immediately prior to the closing of this offering; |
| the filing and effectiveness of our amendment and restatement of our articles of association to increase the number of our authorized common shares to shares immediately prior to the closing of this offering; and |
| no exercise by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional common shares. |
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Summary Consolidated Financial Data
You should read the following summary consolidated financial data together with our audited consolidated financial statements and our unaudited consolidated interim financial statements, including, in each case, the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus and the Selected Consolidated Financial Data and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of this prospectus. We have derived the summary consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 presented below from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The summary consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 presented below and the summary consolidated balance sheet data as of September 30, 2016 presented below have been derived from our unaudited interim consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus and have been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited summary consolidated financial data reflects all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the financial information in those statements. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that should be expected in the future and the results for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year ending December 31, 2016 or any other future period.
We present the audited consolidated financial statements and the unaudited consolidated interim financial statements in U.S. dollars and in accordance with IFRS.
Nine Months Ended
September 30, |
Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
2016 | 2015 | 2015 | 2014 | |||||||||||||
(in thousands, except share and per share data) | ||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss: |
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Other operating income |
$ | 37 | $ | 14 | $ | 17 | $ | 45 | ||||||||
Operating expenses: |
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Research and development expenses |
(15,544 | ) | (11,943 | ) | (16,892 | ) | (11,402 | ) | ||||||||
General and administrative expenses |
(3,321 | ) | (1,586 | ) | (2,954 | ) | (1,560 | ) | ||||||||
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Total operating expenses |
(18,865 | ) | (13,529 | ) | (19,846 | ) | (12,962 | ) | ||||||||
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Operating loss |
(18,828 | ) | (13,515 | ) | (19,829 | ) | (12,917 | ) | ||||||||
Finance income |
34 | 195 | | 109 | ||||||||||||
Finance expense |
(267 | ) | | (38 | ) | | ||||||||||
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Net loss before tax |
(19,061 | ) | (13,320 | ) | (19,867 | ) | (12,808 | ) | ||||||||
Income tax expense |
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Net loss |
$ | (19,061 | ) | $ | (13,320 | ) | $ | (19,867 | ) | $ | (12,808 | ) | ||||
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Net loss per share, basic and diluted (1) |
$ | (0.9 | ) | $ | (1.4 | ) | $ | (1.9 | ) | $ | (1.4 | ) | ||||
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(1) | See Note 17 to our audited consolidated financial statements and Note 7 to our unaudited consolidated interim financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus for a description of the method used to compute basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to common shareholders. |
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As of September 30, 2016 | ||||||||
Actual | Pro Forma (1)(2) | |||||||
(in thousands) (unaudited) |
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Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 38,910 | $ | |||||
Working capital (3) |
33,168 | |||||||
Total assets |
57,416 | |||||||
Total liabilities |
9,301 | |||||||
Share capital |
1,735 | |||||||
Accumulated losses |
(27,859 | ) | ||||||
Total shareholders equity |
48,115 |
(1) | Pro forma consolidated balance sheet data reflects our sale of common shares in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. |
(2) | Pro forma consolidated balance sheet data is illustrative only and will change based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease the pro forma amount of each of cash and cash equivalents, working capital, total assets and total shareholders equity by $ , assuming that the number of common shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. A 1,000,000 share increase or decrease in the number of common shares offered by us would increase or decrease the pro forma amount of each of cash and cash equivalents, working capital, total assets and total shareholders equity by $ , assuming the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. |
(3) | We define working capital as current assets less current liabilities. See our audited consolidated financial statements and unaudited consolidated interim financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for further details regarding our current assets and current liabilities. |
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Investing in our common shares involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risks and all other information contained in this prospectus, including our financial statements and the related notes, before making an investment decision regarding our securities. The risks and uncertainties described below are those significant risk factors, currently known and specific to us, which we believe are relevant to an investment in our securities. If any of these risks materialize, our business, financial condition or results of operations could suffer, the price of our common shares could decline and you could lose part or all of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Need for Additional Capital
We have incurred significant operating losses since inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur substantial operating losses for the foreseeable future and may never achieve or maintain profitability.
Since our inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. Our net loss was $19.1 million, $19.9 million and $12.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. As of September 30, 2016, we had accumulated losses of $58.5 million, out of which $30.6 million were offset with share premium. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future. We have devoted substantially all of our efforts to in-licensing and developing our product candidates, OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022, as well as capital raising, and building our management team. It could be several years, if ever, before we have a commercialized product. The net losses we incur may fluctuate significantly from quarter to quarter and year to year. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if and as we:
| continue the ongoing and planned preclinical and clinical development of OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022 and make required milestone payments under license agreements; |
| initiate preclinical studies and clinical trials for any additional indications for our current product candidates and any future product candidates that we may pursue; |
| continue to build our portfolio of product candidates through the acquisition or in-license of additional product candidates or technologies; |
| continue to develop, maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio; |
| pursue regulatory approvals for our current and future product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials; |
| ultimately establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any product candidate for which we may obtain marketing approval; |
| hire additional clinical, regulatory, scientific and accounting personnel; and |
| incur additional legal, accounting and other expenses in operating as a public company. |
To become and remain profitable, we must develop and eventually commercialize one or more product candidates with significant market potential. This will require us to be successful in a range of challenging activities, including completing clinical trials of OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022, developing commercial scale manufacturing processes, obtaining marketing approval, manufacturing, marketing and selling any current and future product candidates for which we may obtain marketing approval, and satisfying any post-marketing requirements. We are only in the preliminary stages of most of these activities and, in some cases, have not yet commenced certain of these activities. We may never succeed in any or all of these activities and, even if we do, we may never generate sufficient revenue to achieve profitability.
Because of the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with product development, we are unable to accurately predict the timing or amount of expenses or when, or if, we will obtain marketing approval to
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commercialize any of our product candidates. If we are required by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, or other regulatory authorities such as the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, to perform studies and trials in addition to those currently expected, or if there are any delays in the development, or in the completion of any planned or future preclinical studies or clinical trials of our current or future product candidates, our expenses could increase and profitability could be further delayed.
Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to become and remain profitable would decrease the value of our company and could impair our ability to raise capital, maintain our research and development efforts, expand our business or continue our operations. A decline in the value of our company also could cause you to lose all or part of your investment.
We have a limited operating history and have never generated any revenue from product sales, which may make it difficult to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our future viability.
We commenced operations in 2012, and our operations to date have been largely focused on in-licensing and developing our product candidates, including conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials, raising capital, and building our management team and infrastructure. We have not yet demonstrated an ability to successfully complete later-stage clinical trials, obtain regulatory approvals, manufacture products on a commercial scale, or arrange for a third party to do so on our behalf, or conduct sales and marketing activities necessary for successful commercialization. Additionally, the markets for our product candidates are competitive, complex and have characteristics that differ by geography. Consequently, any predictions you make about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history or a history of successfully developing and commercializing products.
We expect our financial condition and operating results to continue to fluctuate from quarter to quarter and year to year due to a variety of factors, many of which are beyond our control. We will need to eventually transition from a company with a research and development focus to a company capable of undertaking commercial activities. We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications and delays, and may not be successful in such a transition.
Even if this offering is successful, we will need substantial additional funding to pursue our business objectives. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on terms favorable to us, we could be forced to curtail our planned operations and the pursuit of our growth strategy.
Identifying potential product candidates and conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials is a time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process that takes years to complete, and we may never generate the necessary data or results required to obtain regulatory approval and achieve product sales. We expect our expenses to increase in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we continue to develop our product candidates. Our expenses could increase beyond our current expectations if the FDA, EMA or other foreign regulatory agencies require us to perform clinical trials and other studies in addition to those that we currently anticipate. In addition, our product candidates, if approved, may not achieve commercial success. Our revenue, if any, will be derived from sales of products that we do not expect to be commercially available for a number of years, if at all. Additionally, if we obtain marketing approval for our product candidates, we expect to incur significant expenses related to manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution. Furthermore, upon the closing of this initial public offering, we expect to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company.
As of September 30, 2016, our cash and cash equivalents was $38.9 million. We expect our existing cash and cash equivalents, together with the proceeds from this offering, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months. This estimate is based on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we expect. Changes may
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occur beyond our control that would cause us to consume our available capital before that time, including changes in and progress of our development activities and changes in regulation. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
| the scope, progress, results and costs of our ongoing and planned preclinical studies and clinical trials for OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022; |
| the timing and amount of milestone payments we are required to make under our license agreements; |
| the extent to which we in-license or acquire other product candidates and technologies; |
| the number and development requirements of other product candidates that we may pursue; |
| the costs, timing and outcome of regulatory review of our product candidates; |
| the costs associated with building out our U.S. operations; |
| the costs and timing of future commercialization activities, including drug manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution, for any of our product candidates for which we receive marketing approval; |
| the revenue, if any, received from commercial sales of our product candidates for which we receive marketing approval; |
| our ability to establish strategic collaborations; and |
| the costs and timing of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights and defending any intellectual property-related claims. |
Even if this offering is successful, we will require additional capital to complete our planned clinical development programs for our current product candidates to seek regulatory approval. If we receive regulatory approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution. Any additional capital raising efforts may divert our management from their day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop and commercialize our current and future product candidates, if approved.
In addition, we cannot guarantee that future financing will be available on a timely basis, in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Moreover, the terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our shareholders and the issuance of additional securities, whether equity or debt, by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our common shares to decline. Further, as a Swiss corporation we have less flexibility to raise capital, particularly in a quick and efficient manner. As a result, once we are a listed company in the United States, we may not be able to access the capital markets as frequently as comparable U.S. companies. See the Risk Factor entitled Our status as a Swiss corporation means that our shareholders enjoy certain rights that may limit our flexibility to raise capital, issue dividends and otherwise manage ongoing capital needs for additional information related to our ability to timely raise capital. If we are unable to obtain funding on a timely basis on acceptable terms, we may be required to significantly curtail, delay or discontinue one or more of our research or development programs or the commercialization of any product candidates, if approved, or be unable to expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities, as desired.
Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our shareholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our intellectual property or future revenue streams.
Until such time as we can generate substantial product revenue, if ever, we expect to finance our operations through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, and license and development agreements in connection with any future collaborations. We do not have any committed external source of funds. In the event we seek additional funds, we may raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities. In such an event, you and our existing shareholders may experience substantial dilution, and the terms of these
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securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a holder of our common shares. Debt financing, if available, could result in increased fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, make capital expenditures, acquire, sell or license intellectual property rights or declare dividends, and other operating restrictions that could hurt our ability to conduct our business.
Further, if we raise additional capital through collaborations, strategic alliances, or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our intellectual property future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates, or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us.
Fluctuations in exchange rates may adversely affect our results of operations.
Our reporting currency is in U.S. dollars, but the results of operations and the financial position of our operations in Switzerland are reported in Swiss francs and then translated into U.S. dollars for reporting purposes. Our financial results are, thus, impacted primarily by currency fluctuations between U.S. dollars and Swiss francs. Moreover, a change in the concentration of our business activities could result in an increased effect of exchange rates on our financial position and results of operations. Although we do currently hedge against certain currency risks, see the section in this prospectus entitled Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsQualitative and Quantitative Disclosures about Financial Risks for more information regarding our exposure to currency fluctuations. There is no assurance that we will, in the future, be successful in fully or even adequately hedging our currency risk.
Risks Related to the Development of Our Product Candidates
We depend entirely on the success of a limited number of product candidates, which are in clinical development and none of which have completed a pivotal trial. If we do not obtain regulatory approval for and successfully commercialize one or more of our product candidates or we experience significant delays in doing so, we may never become profitable.
We do not have any products that have received regulatory approval and may never be able to develop marketable product candidates. We expect that a substantial portion of our efforts and expenses over the next few years will be devoted to OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022, and as a result, our business currently depends heavily on the successful development, regulatory approval and commercialization of these product candidates. We cannot be certain that our product candidates will receive regulatory approval or will be successfully commercialized even if they receive regulatory approval. The research, testing, manufacturing, safety, efficacy, labeling, approval, sale, marketing and distribution of our product candidates are, and will remain, subject to comprehensive regulation by the FDA, EMA and comparable foreign regulatory agencies. Failure to obtain regulatory approval for our product candidates in the United States, the European Union or other jurisdictions will prevent us from commercializing and marketing our product candidates. The success of our product candidates will depend on several additional factors, including:
| completing clinical trials that demonstrate their efficacy and safety; |
| receiving marketing approvals from applicable regulatory authorities; |
| completing any post-marketing studies required by applicable regulatory authorities; |
| establishing commercial manufacturing capabilities; |
| launching commercial sales, marketing and distribution operations; |
| the prevalence and severity of adverse events experienced with our product candidates; |
| acceptance of our product candidates by patients, the medical community and third-party payors; |
| a continued acceptable safety profile following approval; |
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| obtaining and maintaining healthcare coverage and adequate reimbursement for our product candidates; |
| competing effectively with other therapies, including with respect to the sales and marketing of our product candidates, if approved; and |
| qualifying for, maintaining, enforcing and defending our intellectual property rights and claims. |
Many of these factors are beyond our control, including the time needed to adequately complete clinical testing, the regulatory submission process, potential threats to our intellectual property rights and changes in the competitive landscape. It is possible that none of our product candidates will ever obtain regulatory approval, even if we expend substantial time and resources seeking such approval. If we do not achieve one or more of these factors in a timely manner or at all, we could experience significant delays or an inability to successfully complete clinical trials, obtain regulatory approval or, if approved, commercialize our product candidates, which would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Clinical trials are very expensive, time-consuming and difficult to design and implement and involve uncertain outcomes. Furthermore, results of earlier preclinical studies and clinical trials may not be predictive of results of future preclinical studies or clinical trials.
The risk of failure for our product candidates is high. It is impossible to predict when or if any of our product candidates will prove effective or safe in humans or will receive regulatory approval. To obtain the requisite regulatory approvals to market and sell any of our product candidates, we must demonstrate through extensive preclinical studies and clinical trials that our product candidates are safe and effective in humans. Clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete, and the outcome is inherently uncertain. Failure can occur at any time during the clinical trial process. For example, in our Phase 2 clinical trial of OBE001 in women undergoing IVF, OBE001 did not achieve the primary endpoint of a statistically significant increase in pregnancy rate after six weeks and, as a result, we are required to conduct additional clinical trials and analyses which may ultimately delay the development of OBE001. Additionally, we are planning to conduct a PK and PD study to confirm the add-back dosage to be utilized in our Phase 3 PRIMROSE clinical trials for OBE2109s uterine fibroid indication. If the results of the PK and PD study do not support our dosing assumptions, we may need to adapt our add-back drug dosing in the Phase 3 PRIMROSE clinical trials.
In addition, the results of preclinical studies and earlier clinical trials may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials. The results generated to date in preclinical studies or clinical trials for our product candidates do not ensure that later preclinical studies or clinical trials will demonstrate similar results. Further, we have limited clinical data for each of our product candidates and have not completed Phase 3 clinical trials for any of our product candidates. Product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having progressed through preclinical and earlier stage clinical trials. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in later-stage clinical trials due to lack of efficacy or adverse safety profiles, notwithstanding promising results in earlier trials, and we cannot be certain that we will not face similar setbacks. Moreover, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval of their products.
In some instances, there can be significant variability in safety or efficacy results between different clinical trials of the same product candidate due to numerous factors, including changes in clinical trial procedures set forth in protocols, differences in the size and type of the patient populations, adherence to the dosing regimen and other clinical trial protocols, and the rate of dropout among clinical trial participants. Specifically, the three Phase 2 clinical trials of OBE2109 only enrolled women of Japanese descent, and therefore the effects of OBE2109 on women of European descent in our Phase 2b clinical trial of OBE2109 in women with pain associated with endometriosis or our two planned Phase 3 clinical trials of OBE2109, which will be conducted in Europe and in the United States, in women with heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids may not be
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consistent with the results of the Japanese Phase 2 clinical trials. Additionally, in the case of our late-stage clinical product candidates, results may differ in general on the basis of the larger number of clinical trial sites and additional countries and languages involved in Phase 3 clinical trials. Different countries have different standards of care and different levels of access to care for patients. These differences may, in part, drive the heterogeneity of the patient populations that enroll in our studies.
In addition, because we in-licensed OBE2109 from Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., or Kissei, and OBE001 and OBE022 from Ares Trading S.A., an affiliate of Merck Serono, or Merck Serono, we were not involved in and had no control over the preclinical and clinical development of these product candidates prior to entering into these in-license agreements. In addition, we are relying on Kissei and Merck Serono to have conducted such research and development in accordance with the applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards, having accurately reported the results of all clinical trials conducted prior to our acquisition of OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022, and having correctly collected and interpreted the data from these studies and trials. To the extent any of these has not occurred, expected development time and costs may be increased which could adversely affect the marketing approval for and any future revenue from these product candidates.
The European Phase 3 clinical trial for OBE001 based on observations from our post-hoc analysis of the failed Phase 2 clinical trial may not achieve statistically significant results or otherwise meet its targeted endpoint.
Following the failure to achieve the primary endpoint of a statistically significant increase in pregnancy rate after six weeks in our Phase 2 clinical trial for OBE001, we completed a post-hoc analysis of the Phase 2 data. In the post-hoc analysis, which excluded patients with progesterone levels in the top quartile of the patient pool, we identified a statistically significant result for the primary endpoint. Based on these results, we intend to initiate a European Phase 3 clinical trial. There may be greater risk to the ultimate success of this clinical trial given the fact that we are basing our European Phase 3 clinical trial design on post-hoc analysis and this trial may not achieve in statistically significant results or otherwise meet its primary endpoint.
Clinical trials may be delayed, suspended or terminated for many reasons, which will increase our expenses and delay the time it takes to develop our product candidates.
We may experience delays in our ongoing or future preclinical studies or clinical trials, and we do not know whether future preclinical studies or clinical trials will begin on time, need to be redesigned, enroll an adequate number of patients on time or be completed on schedule, if at all. The completion of clinical trials for our clinical product candidates may be delayed, suspended or terminated as a result of many factors, including:
| the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities disagreeing as to the design or implementation of our clinical trials, including the design of our two Phase 3 clinical trials for OBE2109; |
| the delay or refusal of regulators or institutional review boards, or IRBs, to authorize us to commence a clinical trial at a prospective trial site and changes in regulatory requirements, policies and guidelines; |
| delays or failure to reach agreement on acceptable terms with prospective clinical research organizations, or CROs, and clinical trial sites, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and trial sites; |
| delays in patient enrollment and variability in the number and types of patients available for clinical trials; |
| the inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients in trials to ensure adequate statistical power to detect statistically significant treatment effects; |
| having clinical sites deviate from the trial protocol or dropping out of a trial; |
| negative or inconclusive results, which may require us to conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials or to abandon projects that we expect to be promising; |
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| safety or tolerability concerns could cause us to suspend or terminate a trial if we find that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks; |
| regulators or IRBs requiring that we or our investigators suspend or terminate clinical research for various reasons, including noncompliance with regulatory requirements or safety concerns, among others; |
| lower than anticipated retention rates of patients and volunteers in clinical trials; |
| the inability to enroll a sufficient number of patients in clinical trials due to social and cultural stigmas or sensitivities around reproductive therapies; |
| our CROs or clinical trial sites failing to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all, deviating from the protocol or dropping out of a trial; |
| delays relating to adding new clinical trial sites; |
| difficulty in maintaining contact with patients after treatment, resulting in incomplete data; |
| delays in establishing the appropriate dosage levels; |
| the quality or stability of the product candidate falling below acceptable standards; |
| the inability to produce or obtain sufficient quantities of the product candidate to complete clinical trials; and |
| exceeding budgeted costs due to difficulty in accurately predicting costs associated with clinical trials. |
We could also encounter delays if a clinical trial is suspended or terminated by us, by the IRBs or Ethics Committees of the institutions in which such trials are being conducted, by the Data Safety Monitoring Board for such trial or by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. Such authorities may suspend or terminate a clinical trial due to a number of factors, including failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols, inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the FDA or other regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold, unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects, failure to demonstrate a benefit from using a drug, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions or lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial.
Further, conducting clinical trials in foreign countries, as we plan to do for our product candidates, presents additional risks that may delay completion of our clinical trials. These risks include the failure of enrolled patients in foreign countries to adhere to the clinical protocol as a result of differences in healthcare services or cultural customs, managing additional administrative burdens associated with foreign regulatory schemes, as well as political and economic risks relevant to such foreign countries.
If we experience delays in the completion, or termination, of any clinical trial of our product candidates, the commercial prospects of our product candidates may be harmed, and our ability to generate product revenue from sales of any of these product candidates will be delayed or not realized at all.
We do not know whether any of our preclinical studies or clinical trials will begin as planned, will need to be restructured or will be completed on schedule, or at all. Any delays in completing our clinical trials will increase our costs, slow down our product candidate development and approval process and jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue from product sales. Any of these occurrences may significantly harm our business, financial condition and prospects. In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of our product candidates. Significant preclinical study or clinical trial delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do and impair our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates.
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The regulatory approval process of the FDA, EMA or any comparable foreign regulatory agency may be lengthy, time-consuming and unpredictable.
Our future success is dependent upon our ability to successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for and then successfully commercialize one or more of our product candidates. The time required to obtain approval by the FDA and comparable foreign authorities is unpredictable but typically takes many years following the commencement of clinical trials and depends upon numerous factors, including the substantial discretion of the regulatory authorities. In addition, approval policies, regulations, or the type and amount of clinical data necessary to gain approval may change during the course of a product candidates clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions. We have not obtained regulatory approval for any product candidate and it is possible that none of our existing product candidates or any product candidates we may seek to develop in the future will ever obtain regulatory approval. Neither we nor any future collaborator is permitted to market any of our product candidates in the United States or abroad until we receive regulatory approval of a New Drug Application, or NDA, from the FDA or approval from the EMA or other applicable foreign regulatory agency.
Prior to obtaining approval to commercialize a product candidate in any jurisdiction, we or our collaborators must demonstrate with substantial evidence from well-controlled clinical trials, and to the satisfaction of the FDA, EMA or any comparable foreign regulatory agency, that such product candidates are safe and effective for their intended uses. Results from preclinical studies and clinical trials can be interpreted in different ways. The FDA, EMA or any comparable foreign regulatory agency can delay, limit or deny approval of our product candidates or require us to conduct additional preclinical or clinical testing or abandon a program for many reasons, including:
| the FDA, EMA or the applicable foreign regulatory agencys disagreement with the design or implementation of our clinical trials; |
| negative or ambiguous results from our clinical trials or results that may not meet the level of statistical significance required by the FDA, EMA or any comparable foreign regulatory agency for approval; |
| serious and unexpected drug-related side effects experienced by participants in our clinical trials or by individuals using drugs similar to our product candidates; |
| our inability to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA, EMA or the applicable foreign regulatory agency that our product candidates are safe and effective for their proposed indications; |
| the FDAs, EMAs or the applicable foreign regulatory agencys disagreement with the interpretation of data from preclinical studies or clinical trials; |
| our inability to demonstrate the clinical and other benefits of our product candidates outweigh any safety or other perceived risks; |
| the FDAs, EMAs or the applicable foreign regulatory agencys requirement for additional preclinical studies or clinical trials; |
| the FDAs, EMAs or the applicable foreign regulatory agencys disagreement regarding the formulation, labeling or the specifications of our product candidates; |
| the FDAs, EMAs or the applicable foreign regulatory agencys failure to approve the manufacturing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we contract; or |
| the potential for approval policies or regulations of the FDA, EMA or the applicable foreign regulatory agencies to significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval. |
Any of our current or future product candidates could take a significantly longer time to gain regulatory approval than expected or may never gain regulatory approval. This could delay or eliminate any potential product revenue by delaying or terminating the potential commercialization of our product candidates.
Of the large number of drugs in development, only a small percentage successfully complete the FDA or foreign regulatory approval processes and are commercialized. The lengthy approval process as well as the
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unpredictability of future clinical trial results may result in our failing to obtain regulatory approval to market our product candidates, which would significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
We intend to seek formal advice and guidance from the FDA prior to advancing our product candidates into further studies and pivotal clinical trials. If the feedback we receive is different from what we currently anticipate, this could delay the development and regulatory approval process for these product candidates. For example, we do not believe our subjective 11-point numeric pain rating scale we are using in our Phase 2b clinical trial of OBE2109 in women with pain associated with endometriosis will be sufficient, on its own, to support a suitable endpoint for future Phase 3 clinical trials. As a result, we believe we will be required to validate an additional assessment of pain for our Phase 3 program. We will have limited experience using this new pain assessment rating scale in a clinical setting, which, as a result, increases the risk that we may have unforeseen, or variability in, results from this clinical trial.
We generally plan to seek regulatory approval to commercialize our product candidates in the United States, the European Union and other key global markets. To obtain regulatory approval in other countries, we must comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of such other countries regarding safety, efficacy, chemistry, manufacturing and controls, clinical trials, commercial sales, pricing and distribution of our product candidates. Even if we are successful in obtaining approval in one jurisdiction, we cannot ensure that we will obtain approval in any other jurisdiction. Failure to obtain approval in one jurisdiction may negatively impact our ability to obtain approval elsewhere. Failure to obtain marketing authorization for our product candidates will result in our being unable to market and sell such products. If we fail to obtain approval in any jurisdiction, the geographic market for our product candidates could be limited. Similarly, regulatory agencies may not approve the labeling claims that are necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of our product candidates or may grant approvals for more limited patient populations than requested.
Even if we eventually complete clinical testing and receive approval of an NDA or foreign marketing application for our product candidates, the FDA or the applicable foreign regulatory agency may grant approval contingent on the performance of costly additional clinical trials, including Phase 4 clinical trials or the implementation of a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, or REMS, which may be required to ensure safe use of the drug after approval. Any delay in obtaining, or inability to obtain, applicable regulatory approval would delay or prevent commercialization of that product candidate and would adversely impact our business and prospects.
Our clinical trials may fail to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates, or serious adverse or unacceptable side effects may be identified during the development of our product candidates, which could prevent or delay regulatory approval and commercialization, increase our costs or necessitate the abandonment or limitation of the development of some of our product candidates.
Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of our product candidates, we must demonstrate through lengthy, complex and expensive preclinical testing and clinical trials that our product candidates are both safe and effective for use in each target indication, and failures can occur at any stage of testing. Clinical trials, such as our initial Phase 2 clinical trial for OBE001, often fail to demonstrate efficacy or safety of the product candidate studied for the target indication.
Moreover, undesirable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Results of our clinical trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects or unexpected characteristics. Accordingly, we may need to abandon their development or limit development to certain uses or sub-populations in which such side effects are less prevalent, less severe or more acceptable from a risk-benefit perspective. Many compounds that initially showed promise in preclinical or early-stage testing have later been found to cause side effects that restricted their use and prevented further development of the compound for larger indications.
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For example, in evaluation of OBE2109 to date, patients have experienced adverse events consistent with the suppression of estradiol, including hot flashes and abnormal uterine bleeding. Three patients experienced hot flashes that were moderate in severity. Occurrence of serious treatment-related side effects could impede subject recruitment and clinical trial enrollment or the ability of enrolled patients to complete the trial, require us to halt the clinical trial, and prevent receipt of regulatory approval from the FDA, EMA or any comparable foreign regulatory agency. They could also adversely affect physician or patient acceptance of our product candidates or result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.
Additionally, if one or more of our product candidates receives regulatory approval, and we or others later identify undesirable side effects caused by these product candidates, a number of potentially significant negative consequences could result, including:
| withdrawal by regulatory authorities of approvals of such product; |
| seizure of the product by regulatory authorities; |
| recall of the product; |
| restrictions on the marketing of the product or the manufacturing process for any component thereof; |
| requirement by regulatory authorities of additional warnings on the label, such as a black box warning or contraindication; |
| requirement that we implement a REMS or create a medication guide outlining the risks of such side effects for distribution to patients; |
| commitment to expensive additional safety studies prior to launch as a prerequisite of approval by regulatory authorities of such product; |
| commitment to expensive post-marketing studies as a prerequisite of approval by regulatory authorities of such product; |
| the product may become less competitive; |
| initiation of legal action against us claiming to hold us liable for harm caused to patients; and |
| harm to our reputation and resulting harm to physician or patient acceptance of our products. |
Any of these events could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the particular product candidate, if approved, and could significantly harm our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
We depend on enrollment of patients in our clinical trials for our product candidates. If we are unable to enroll patients in our clinical trials, our research and development efforts could be adversely affected.
Identifying and qualifying patients to participate in clinical trials of our product candidates is critical to our success. Successful and timely completion of clinical trials will require that we enroll a sufficient number of patients who remain in the study until its conclusion. If patients are unwilling to participate in our clinical trials because of a lack of familiarity with our approach to the treatment of reproductive health conditions, negative publicity from adverse events in the reproductive health field or for other reasons, including competitive clinical trials for similar patient populations and general social or cultural stigmas and sensitivities towards reproductive health, our timelines for recruiting patients, conducting clinical trials and obtaining regulatory approval of potential products may be delayed. These delays could result in increased costs, delays in advancing our product development, delays in testing the effectiveness of our technology or termination of our clinical trials altogether.
We cannot predict how successful we will be at enrolling patients in future clinical trials. Patient enrollment is affected by other factors including:
| the eligibility criteria for the trial in question; |
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| the perceived risks and benefits of the product candidate in the trial; |
| clinicians and patients perceptions as to the potential advantages of the product candidate being studied in relation to other available therapies, including any new drugs that may be approved for the indications we are investigating or drugs that may be used off-label for these indications; |
| the size of the patient population required for analysis of the trials primary endpoints; |
| competition for patients for competitive product candidates undergoing clinical trials; |
| the efforts to facilitate timely enrollment in clinical trials; |
| the design of the trial; |
| the patient referral practices of physicians; |
| our ability to recruit clinical trial investigators with the appropriate competencies and experience; |
| the ability to monitor patients adequately during and after treatment; |
| the risk that patients enrolled in clinical trials will drop out of the trials before completion; |
| the ability to obtain and maintain patient consents; and |
| the proximity and availability of clinical trial sites for prospective patients. |
In addition, our clinical trials will compete with other clinical trials for product candidates that are in the same therapeutic areas as our product candidates, and this competition will reduce the number and types of patients available to us, because some patients who might have opted to enroll in our trials may instead opt to enroll in a trial being conducted by one of our competitors. We expect to conduct some of our clinical trials at the same clinical trial sites that some of our competitors use, which will reduce the number of patients who are available for our clinical trials in such clinical trial site.
In particular, for the clinical trials for OBE001 and OBE022, we will need to enroll women undergoing IVF and pregnant women, respectively. We believe that these patient populations may be reluctant to enroll in clinical trials, given the sensitivity of reproductive health issues, particularly for women who are undergoing IVF or are experiencing spontaneous preterm labor. In addition, to date, pregnant women have not been extensively evaluated in clinical trials. As a result, enrollment in our planned clinical trials is difficult to predict and may take longer or cost more than we anticipate.
Delays in the completion of any clinical trial of our product candidates will increase our costs, slow down our product candidate development and approval process, and delay or potentially jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue. In addition, many of the factors that may lead to a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of our product candidates.
We may not be successful in our efforts to in-license or acquire additional product candidates for other serious conditions compromising womens reproductive health and pregnancy.
A significant element of our strategy is to build and expand our pipeline of product candidates through in-licensing or acquiring additional product candidates for other serious conditions compromising womens reproductive health and pregnancy. Currently, we do not have the internal expertise, nor do we intend to develop the internal expertise, necessary to discover new chemical entities for therapeutic purposes. As a result, if we are not able to identify and acquire additional product candidates, we will not be able to expand our pipeline. Even if we are successful in continuing to build our pipeline through in-licensing or acquisitions, the potential product candidates that we in-license or acquire may not be suitable for clinical development, including as a result of being shown to have harmful side effects or other characteristics that indicate that they are unlikely to be drugs that will receive marketing approval and achieve market acceptance.
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We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular product candidate or indication and fail to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success.
We have limited financial and managerial resources. As a result, we may forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or for other indications that later prove to have greater commercial potential. Our resource allocation decisions may cause us to fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities. Our spending on current and future research and development programs and product candidates for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable products. If we do not accurately evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product candidate, we may relinquish valuable rights to that product candidate through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been more advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights to such product candidate.
We may become exposed to costly and damaging liability claims, either when testing our product candidates in the clinic or at the commercial stage, and our product liability insurance may not cover all damages from such claims.
We are exposed to potential product liability and professional indemnity risks that are inherent in the research, development, manufacturing, marketing, and use of pharmaceutical products. We currently have no products that have been approved for commercial sale. However, the current and future use of product candidates by us in clinical trials, and the sale of any approved products in the future, may expose us to liability claims. These claims might be made by patients that use the product, healthcare providers, pharmaceutical companies, or others selling such products. Any claims against us, regardless of their merit, could be difficult and costly to defend, and could compromise the market acceptance of our product candidates or any prospects for commercialization of our product candidates, if approved.
Although the clinical trial process is designed to identify and assess potential side effects, it is always possible that a drug, even after regulatory approval, may exhibit unforeseen side effects. If any of our product candidates were to cause adverse side effects during clinical trials or after approval of the product candidate, we may be exposed to substantial liabilities. Physicians and patients may not comply with any warnings that identify known potential adverse effects and patients who should not use our product candidates.
Although we maintain product liability insurance coverage, such insurance may not be adequate to cover all liabilities that we may incur. We may need to increase our insurance coverage each time we commence a clinical trial and if we successfully commercialize any product candidate. As the expense of insurance coverage is increasing, we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in an amount adequate to satisfy any liability that may arise. If a successful product liability claim or series of claims is brought against us for uninsured liabilities or in excess of insured liabilities, our assets may not be sufficient to cover such claims and our business operations could be impaired.
Risks Related to Commercialization of Our Product Candidates
We have never commercialized a product candidate and we may lack the necessary expertise, personnel and resources to successfully commercialize any of our products that receive regulatory approval on our own or together with collaborators.
We have never commercialized a product candidate. Our operations to date have been limited to organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, in-licensing or acquiring our product candidates and undertaking preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates. We currently have no sales force, marketing or distribution capabilities. To achieve commercial success of our product candidates, if any are approved, we will have to develop our own sales, marketing and supply capabilities or outsource these activities to a third party.
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Factors that may affect our ability to commercialize our product candidates on our own include recruiting and retaining adequate numbers of effective sales and marketing personnel, obtaining access to or persuading adequate numbers of physicians to prescribe our product candidates and other unforeseen costs associated with creating an independent sales and marketing organization. Developing a sales and marketing organization requires significant investment, is time-consuming and could delay the launch of our product candidates. We may not be able to build an effective sales and marketing organization in the United States, the European Union or other key global markets. If we are unable to build our own distribution and marketing capabilities or to find suitable partners for the commercialization of our product candidates, we may have difficulties generating revenue from them.
We operate in a highly competitive and rapidly changing industry.
Biopharmaceutical product development is highly competitive and subject to rapid and significant technological advancements. Our success is highly dependent upon our ability to in-license, acquire, develop and obtain regulatory approval for new and innovative products on a cost-effective basis and to market them successfully. In doing so, we face and will continue to face intense competition from a variety of businesses, including large, fully integrated, well-established pharmaceutical companies who already possess a large share of the market, specialty pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, government agencies and other private and public research institutions in the United States, the European Union and other jurisdictions.
With respect to OBE2109, there are no GnRH antagonists currently approved for the treatment of pain associated with endometriosis or heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids. However, we are aware that AbbVie Inc., Myovant Sciences, Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. are developing GnRH antagonist product candidates for treatment of symptoms associated with endometriosis or uterine fibroids. We also anticipate competing with GnRH agonists, including Lupron (leuprolide acetate), marketed by AbbVie Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Visanne (dienogest), which is approved for the treatment of endometriosis outside the United States and marketed by Bayer, ulipristal acetate, which is approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe symptoms of uterine fibroids outside the United States and marketed by Gedeon Richter in Europe and other regions, and by Actavis (Allergan) in Canada. Actavis (Allergan) has stated that it expects to submit an NDA for ulipristal acetate with the FDA in 2017. In addition, oral contraceptives and NSAIDs are routinely used as a first-line therapy for the treatment of symptoms associated with endometriosis and uterine fibroids and have a meaningful success rate at mitigating the symptoms associated with these conditions.
With respect to OBE001, there are no oxytocin receptor antagonists approved for use in connection with IVF. However, we are aware that Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. has been developing barusiban, an oxytocin receptor antagonist, to be administered subcutaneously, for use in connection with IVF. Ferring Pharmaceuticals atosiban, an oxytocin receptor antagonist, has been used in investigator initiated trials in connection with IVF outside the United States.
With respect to OBE022, we anticipate competing with atosiban, which has been approved to delay preterm birth outside of the United States, as well as currently available prostaglandin inhibitors, such as NSAIDs. We are also aware that GlaxoSmithKline is developing retosiban, an oxytocin receptor antagonist, to delay preterm birth.
We may also compete with other companies acquiring and developing or marketing drug therapies or products for womens reproductive health diseases.
Many of the companies against which we are competing or against which we may compete in the future have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and marketing approved drugs than we do. These third parties compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management
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personnel, establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. Mergers and acquisitions in the biopharmaceutical industry could result in even more resources being concentrated among a small number of our competitors.
Competition may further increase as a result of advances in the commercial applicability of technologies and greater availability of capital for investment in these industries. Our competitors may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing, on an exclusive basis, products that are more effective or less costly than any product candidate that we may develop.
Established biopharmaceutical companies may invest heavily to accelerate discovery and development of novel compounds or to in-license novel compounds that could make our product candidates less competitive. In addition, any new product that competes with an approved product must demonstrate compelling advantages in efficacy, convenience, tolerability and safety in order to overcome price competition and to be commercially successful. Accordingly, our competitors may succeed in obtaining patent protection, discovering, developing, receiving FDA, EMA or any comparable foreign regulatory agency approval for or commercializing drugs before we do, which would have an adverse impact on our business and results of operations.
The availability of our competitors products could limit the demand and the price we are able to charge for any product candidate we commercialize, if any. The inability to compete with existing or subsequently introduced drugs would harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The successful commercialization of certain of our product candidates will depend in part on the extent to which governmental authorities and health insurers establish adequate coverage, reimbursement levels and pricing policies. Failure to obtain or maintain adequate coverage and reimbursement for our product candidates, if approved, could limit our ability to market those products and decrease our ability to generate revenue.
The availability and adequacy of coverage and reimbursement by governmental healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, private health insurers and other third-party payors are essential for most patients to be able to afford products such as our product candidates, if approved. Our ability to achieve acceptable levels of coverage and reimbursement for products by governmental authorities, private health insurers and other organizations will have an effect on our ability to successfully commercialize, and attract additional collaboration partners to invest in the development of our product candidates. Coverage under certain government programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid and Tricare, may not be available for certain of our product candidates. Assuming we obtain coverage for a given product by a third-party payor, the resulting reimbursement payment rates may not be adequate or may require co-payments that patients find unacceptably high. We cannot be sure that coverage and reimbursement in the United States, the European Union or elsewhere will be available for any product that we may develop, and any reimbursement that may become available may be decreased or eliminated in the future.
Third-party payors increasingly are challenging prices charged for pharmaceutical products and services, and many third-party payors may refuse to provide coverage and reimbursement for particular drugs when an equivalent generic drug or a less expensive therapy is available. It is possible that a third-party payor may consider our product candidates and other therapies as substitutable and only offer to reimburse patients for the less expensive product. Even if we show improved efficacy or improved convenience of administration with our product candidates, pricing of existing drugs may limit the amount we will be able to charge for our product candidates. These payors may deny or revoke the reimbursement status of a given product or establish prices for new or existing marketed products at levels that are too low to enable us to realize an appropriate return on our investment in product development. If reimbursement is not available or is available only at limited levels, we may not be able to successfully commercialize our product candidates, and may not be able to obtain a satisfactory financial return on products that we may develop.
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There is significant uncertainty related to the insurance coverage and reimbursement of newly approved products. In the United States, third-party payors, including private and governmental payors, such as the Medicare and Medicaid programs, play an important role in determining the extent to which new drugs and biologics will be covered. The Medicare and Medicaid programs increasingly are used as models for how private payors and other governmental payors develop their coverage and reimbursement policies for drugs and biologics. Some third-party payors may require pre-approval of coverage for new or innovative devices or drug therapies before they will reimburse health care providers who use such therapies. It is difficult to predict at this time what third-party payors will decide with respect to the coverage and reimbursement for our product candidates.
Obtaining and maintaining reimbursement status is time-consuming and costly. No uniform policy for coverage and reimbursement for products exists among third-party payors in the United States. Therefore, coverage and reimbursement for products can differ significantly from payor to payor. As a result, the coverage determination process is often a time-consuming and costly process that will require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our products to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be applied consistently or obtained in the first instance. Furthermore, rules and regulations regarding reimbursement change frequently, in some cases at short notice, and we believe that changes in these rules and regulations are likely.
Outside the United States, international operations are generally subject to extensive governmental price controls and other market regulations, and we believe the increasing emphasis on cost-containment initiatives in Europe, Canada, and other countries has and will continue to put pressure on the pricing and usage of our product candidates. In many countries, the prices of medical products are subject to varying price control mechanisms as part of national health systems. Other countries allow companies to fix their own prices for medical products, but monitor and control company profits. Additional foreign price controls or other changes in pricing regulation could restrict the amount that we are able to charge for our product candidates. Accordingly, in markets outside the United States, the reimbursement for our products may be reduced compared with the United States and may be insufficient to generate commercially reasonable revenue and profits.
Moreover, increasing efforts by governmental and third-party payors in the United States and abroad to cap or reduce healthcare costs may cause such organizations to limit both coverage and the level of reimbursement for newly approved products and, as a result, they may not cover or provide adequate payment for our product candidates. We expect to experience pricing pressures in connection with the sale of any of our product candidates due to the trend toward managed healthcare, the increasing influence of health maintenance organizations, and additional legislative changes. The downward pressure on healthcare costs in general, particularly prescription drugs and surgical procedures and other treatments, has become very intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products.
Even if we obtain regulatory approval for OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or future product candidates, they will remain subject to ongoing regulatory oversight.
Even if we obtain any regulatory approval for OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or future product candidates, they will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements for manufacturing processes, labeling, packaging, distribution, adverse event reporting, storage, advertising, promotion, sampling and record-keeping. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, as well as continued compliance with current good manufacturing practices, or cGMP, regulations and good clinical practices, or GCPs, for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval, all of which may result in significant expense and limit our ability to commercialize such products. In addition, any regulatory approvals that we receive for OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or future product candidates may also be subject to limitations on the approved indicated uses for which the product may be marketed or to the conditions of approval, or contain requirements for potentially costly post-marketing testing, including Phase 4 clinical trials, and surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product candidate. The FDA may also require a REMS as a
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condition of approval of our product candidates, which could include requirements for a medication guide, physician communication plans or additional elements to ensure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools.
The FDAs and other regulatory authorities policies may change and additional government regulations may be enacted that could prevent, limit or delay regulatory approval of our product candidates. We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad. If we are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, we may lose any marketing approval that we may have obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability. Moreover, if there are changes in the application of legislation or regulatory policies, or if problems are discovered with a product or our manufacture of a product, or if we or one of our distributors, licensees or co-marketers fails to comply with regulatory requirements, the regulators could take various actions. These include imposing fines on us, imposing restrictions on the product or its manufacture and requiring us to recall or remove the product from the market. The regulators could also suspend or withdraw our marketing authorizations, requiring us to conduct additional clinical trials, change our product labeling or submit additional applications for marketing authorization. If any of these events occurs, our ability to sell such product may be impaired, and we may incur substantial additional expense to comply with regulatory requirements, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Off-label use is common in the indications for which our product candidates are under development, which may result in enforcement actions by the FDA and other regulatory agencies for violations of the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses.
Although physicians, in the practice of medicine, may prescribe approved drugs for unapproved indications, pharmaceutical companies are prohibited from marketing or promoting their drug products for uses outside the approved label, a practice known as off-label promotion. Certain of our product candidates, including OBE022 and OBE001, are under development for indications for which off-label use is common. For example, nifedipine is prescribed off-label for the treatment of preterm labor, although it is not approved for this use. Similarly, the anticipated market for OBE2109 is characterized by the use of oral contraceptives as a first-line therapy, which have been prescribed off-label for the treatment of a variety of indications. To the extent the price of our product candidates, if approved, is significantly higher than the prices of commercially available products that are frequently prescribed off-label, physicians may recommend and prescribe these commercial alternatives instead of writing prescriptions for our products. Either of these outcomes may adversely impact our results of operations by limiting how we price our product and increasing our competition.
In addition, if any of our product candidates are approved, our product labeling, advertising and promotional materials would be subject to regulatory requirements and continuing review by the FDA, Department of Justice, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, state attorneys general, members of Congress and the public. If we are found to have improperly promoted off-label uses of our product candidates, if approved, we may become subject to significant liability. Such enforcement has become more common in the industry. If we are found to have promoted our products for any such off-label uses, the federal government could levy civil, criminal or administrative penalties, and seek fines against us. The FDA or other regulatory authorities could also request that we enter into a consent decree or a corporate integrity agreement, or seek a permanent injunction against us under which specified promotional conduct is monitored, changed or curtailed. If we cannot successfully manage the promotion of our product candidates, if approved, we could become subject to significant liability, which would materially adversely affect our business and financial condition.
In the United States, engaging in the impermissible promotion of our products, following approval, for off-label uses can also subject us to false claims litigation under federal and state statutes, which can lead to civil and criminal penalties and fines, agreements with governmental authorities that materially restrict the manner in which we promote or distribute drug products through, for example, corporate integrity agreements, and
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debarment, suspension or exclusion from participation in federal and state healthcare programs. These false claims statutes include the, among others, federal civil False Claims Act, which allows any individual to bring a lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company on behalf of the federal government alleging submission of false or fraudulent claims, or causing others to present such false or fraudulent claims, for payment by a federal program such as Medicare or Medicaid. If the government decides to intervene and prevails in the lawsuit, the individual will share in the proceeds from any fines or settlement funds. If the government declines to intervene, the individual may pursue the case alone. These false claims lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies have increased significantly in volume and breadth, leading to several substantial civil and criminal settlements regarding certain sales practices promoting off-label drug uses. This growth in litigation has increased the risk that a pharmaceutical company will have to defend a false claim action, pay settlement fines or restitution, as well as criminal and civil penalties, agree to comply with burdensome reporting and compliance obligations, and be excluded from Medicare, Medicaid and other federal and state healthcare programs. If we do not lawfully promote our approved products, if any, we may become subject to such litigation and, if we do not successfully defend against such actions, those actions may have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Even if any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, it may fail to achieve the degree of market acceptance by physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community necessary for commercial success.
Even if the FDA, EMA or any comparable foreign regulatory agency approves the marketing of any product candidates that we develop, physicians, patients, third-party payors or the medical community may not accept or use them. Efforts to educate the medical community and third-party payors on the benefits of our product candidates may require significant resources and may not be successful. If OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or any future product candidate that we develop does not achieve an adequate level of acceptance, we may not generate significant product revenue or any profits from operations. The degree of market acceptance of OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or any of our future product candidates that are approved for commercial sale will depend on a variety of factors, including:
| the efficacy and potential advantages compared to alternative treatments; |
| effectiveness of sales and marketing efforts; |
| the cost of treatment in relation to alternative treatments, including any similar generic treatments; |
| our ability to offer our products, if approved, for sale at competitive prices; |
| the convenience and ease of administration compared to alternative treatments; |
| the willingness of the target patient population to try new therapies and of physicians to prescribe these therapies; |
| the strength of marketing and distribution support; |
| the availability of third-party coverage and adequate reimbursement, and patients willingness to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of third-party coverage or adequate reimbursement; |
| the prevalence and severity of any side effects; |
| any restrictions on the use of our products, if approved, together with other medications; and |
| other potential advantages over alternative treatment methods. |
Our efforts to educate physicians, patients, third-party payors and others in the medical community on the benefits of our products, if approved, may require significant resources and may never be successful. Such efforts may require more resources than are typically required due to the complexity and uniqueness of our product candidates. Because we expect sales of our product candidates, if approved, to generate substantially all of our product revenue for the foreseeable future, the failure of our product candidates to find market acceptance would harm our business and could require us to seek additional financing.
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In addition, the potential market opportunity for OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or any other product candidate we may develop is difficult to estimate precisely. Our estimates of the potential market opportunity are predicated on several key assumptions such as industry knowledge and publications, third-party research reports and other surveys. While we believe that our internal assumptions are reasonable, these assumptions may be inaccurate. If any of the assumptions proves to be inaccurate, then the actual market for OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or our future product candidates could be smaller than our estimates of the potential market opportunity. If the actual market for OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or our future product candidates is smaller than we expect, or if the products fail to achieve an adequate level of acceptance by physicians, health care payors and patients, our revenue from product sales may be limited and we may be unable to achieve or maintain profitability.
We currently have no marketing, sales or distribution infrastructure. If we are unable to develop sales, marketing and distribution capabilities on our own or through collaborations, or if we fail to achieve adequate pricing or reimbursement we will not be successful in commercializing our product candidates, if approved.
We currently have no marketing, sales and distribution capabilities and our product candidates are still in clinical development. If any of our product candidates are approved, we intend either to establish a sales and marketing organization with technical expertise and supporting distribution capabilities to commercialize our product candidates, or to outsource this these functions to a third party. Either of these options would be expensive and time-consuming. These costs may be incurred in advance of any approval of our product candidates. In addition, we may not be able to hire a sales force that is sufficient in size or has adequate expertise in the medical markets that we intend to target. Any failure or delay in the development of our internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities would adversely impact the commercialization of our products.
To the extent that we enter into collaboration agreements with respect to marketing, sales or distribution, our product revenue may be lower than if we directly marketed or sold any approved products. In addition, any revenue we receive will depend in whole or in part upon the efforts of these third-party collaborators, which may not be successful and are generally not within our control. If we are unable to enter into these arrangements on acceptable terms or at all, we may not be able to successfully commercialize any approved products. If we are not successful in commercializing any approved products, either on our own or through collaborations with one or more third parties, our future product revenue will suffer and we may incur significant additional losses.
Our business and operations would suffer in the event of computer system failures, cyber-attacks or a deficiency in our cyber-security.
Despite the implementation of security measures, our internal computer systems, and those of third parties on which we rely, are vulnerable to damage from computer viruses, malware, natural disasters, terrorism, war, telecommunication and electrical failures, cyber-attacks or cyber-intrusions over the Internet, attachments to emails, persons inside our organization, or persons with access to systems inside our organization. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber-attacks or cyber-intrusion, including by computer hackers, foreign governments, and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. If such an event were to occur and cause interruptions in our operations, it could result in a material disruption of our product development programs. For example, the loss of clinical trial data from completed or ongoing or planned clinical trials could result in delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. To the extent that any disruption or security breach was to result in a loss of or damage to our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur material legal claims and liability, damage to our reputation, and the further development of our product candidates could be delayed.
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Risks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties
If we fail to comply with our obligations under our existing and any future intellectual property licenses with third parties, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.
We are party to several license agreements under which we in-license patent rights and other intellectual property related to or business, including a license and supply agreement with Kissei, under which we were granted an exclusive license relating to OBE2109 and license agreements with Merck Serono, pursuant to which we were granted exclusive worldwide licenses relating to OBE001 and OBE022. We may enter into additional license agreements in the future. Our license agreements impose, and we expect that future license agreements will impose, various diligence, milestone payment, royalty, insurance and other obligations on us. Any uncured, material breach under these license agreements could result in our loss of rights to practice the patent rights and other intellectual property licensed to us under these agreements, and could compromise our development and commercialization efforts for OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022, or any future product candidates. See the section of this prospectus entitled Business for a more detailed description of our current license agreements.
We may be required to make significant payments in connection with our license and supply agreement with Kissei.
We acquired exclusive rights to OBE2109 pursuant to our license and supply agreement with Kissei in November 2015. Under the terms of Kissei license and supply agreement, we are obligated to cover substantial development costs for OBE2109, and make significant payments in connection with certain milestones and the sale of resulting products. If these obligations become due under the terms of the Kissei license and supply agreement, we may not have sufficient funds available to meet our obligations and our development efforts may be negatively impacted.
Our intellectual property in-licenses with third parties may be subject to disagreements over contract interpretations, which could narrow the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology or increase our financial or other obligations to our licensors.
The agreements under which we currently in-license intellectual property or technology from third parties are complex, and certain provisions in such agreements may be susceptible to multiple interpretations. The resolution of any contract interpretation disagreement that may arise could narrow what we believe to be the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology, or increase what we believe to be our financial or other obligations under the relevant agreement, either of which could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. If any of our current or future licenses or material relationships or any in-licenses upon which our current or future licenses are based are terminated or breached, we may:
| lose our rights to develop and market OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or any future product candidates; |
| lose patent protection for OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or any future product candidates; |
| experience significant delays in the development or commercialization of OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or any future product candidates; |
| not be able to obtain any other licenses on acceptable terms, if at all; or |
| incur liability for damages. |
If we experience any of the foregoing, it could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We rely on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials and if these third parties perform in an unsatisfactory manner, our business could be substantially harmed.
We currently do not have the ability to independently conduct preclinical studies that comply with the regulatory requirements known as good laboratory practice, or GLP, requirements. We also do not currently have
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the ability to independently conduct any clinical trials. We have relied upon and plan to continue to rely upon medical institutions, clinical investigators, contract laboratories and other third parties, such as CROs, to conduct GLP-compliant preclinical studies and GCP-compliant clinical trials on our product candidates properly and on time, and may not currently have all of the necessary contractual relationships in place to do so. Once we have established contractual relationships with such third-party CROs, we will have only limited control over their actual performance of these activities.
We and our CROs and other vendors are required to comply with cGMP, GCP and GLP, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA, the Competent Authorities of the Member States of the European Union and any comparable foreign regulatory authorities for all of our product candidates in preclinical and clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce these regulations through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators, clinical trial sites and other contractors. Although we rely on CROs to conduct any current or planned GLP-compliant preclinical studies and GCP-compliant clinical trials and have limited influence over their actual performance, we remain responsible for ensuring that each of our preclinical studies and clinical trials is conducted in accordance with its investigational plan and protocol and applicable laws and regulations, and our reliance on the CROs does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. If we or any of our CROs or vendors fail to comply with applicable regulations, the data generated in our preclinical studies and clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA, EMA or any comparable foreign regulatory agency may require us to perform additional preclinical studies and clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure you that upon inspection by a given regulatory agency, such regulatory agency will determine that all of our clinical trials comply with GCP regulations. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with products produced under cGMP requirements. Our failure to comply with these requirements may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process.
While we will have agreements governing their activities, our CROs will not be our employees, and we will not be able to control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our future preclinical and clinical programs. These CROs may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials, or other drug development activities which could harm our business. We face the risk of potential unauthorized disclosure or misappropriation of our intellectual property by CROs, which may reduce our trade secret protection and allow our potential competitors to access and exploit our proprietary technology. If our CROs do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations, fail to meet expected deadlines, or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or regulatory requirements or for any other reason, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval for, or successfully commercialize any product candidate that we develop. As a result, our financial results and the commercial prospects for any product candidate that we develop would be harmed, our costs could increase, and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed.
If our relationship with these CROs terminates, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative CROs or do so on commercially reasonable terms. Switching or adding additional CROs involves substantial cost and requires management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new CRO commences work. As a result, delays occur, which can negatively impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. Though we intend to carefully manage our relationships with our CROs, there can be no assurance that we will not encounter challenges or delays in the future or that these delays or challenges will not have a negative impact on our business and financial condition.
We currently rely on third parties for the production of our clinical supply of our product candidates and we intend to continue to rely on third parties for our clinical and commercial supply.
We currently rely on and expect to continue to rely on third parties for the manufacturing and supply of chemical compounds for the clinical trials of our product candidates and, if approved, our commercial supply. Further, Kissei has the exclusive right to supply us with the active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API, for
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OBE2109 for our clinical trials and commercial supply, if approved, subject to limited specified exceptions within the control of Kissei. Reliance on third-party suppliers may expose us to different risks than if we were to manufacture product candidates ourselves. The facilities used by our contract manufacturers to manufacture our product candidates must be approved by the FDA or other regulatory authorities pursuant to inspections that will be conducted after we submit our NDA or comparable marketing application to the FDA or other regulatory agency. Although we have auditing rights with all our manufacturing counterparties, we do not have control over a suppliers or manufacturers compliance with these laws, regulations and applicable cGMP standards and other laws and regulations, such as those related to environmental health and safety matters. For example, a contract manufacturing organization, or CMO, that Kissei is using to supply the API for OBE2109 received a warning letter from the FDA in November 2016 citing deviations from cGMP requirements with respect to its drug manufacturing facility. If our contract manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture material that conforms to our specifications and the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA or others, they will not be able to secure or maintain regulatory approval for their manufacturing facilities. In addition, we have no control over the ability of our contract manufacturers to maintain adequate quality control, quality assurance and qualified personnel. If the FDA or a comparable foreign regulatory agency does not approve these facilities for the manufacture of our product candidates or if it withdraws any such approval in the future, we may need to find alternative manufacturing facilities, which would significantly impact our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for or market our product candidates, if approved. Any failure to achieve and maintain compliance with these laws, regulations and standards could subject us to the risk that we may have to suspend the manufacturing of our product candidates or that obtained approvals could be revoked, which would adversely affect our business and reputation. Furthermore, third-party providers may breach agreements they have with us because of factors beyond our control. They may also terminate or refuse to renew their agreements because of their own financial difficulties or business priorities, potentially at a time that is costly or otherwise inconvenient for us. If we were unable to find adequate replacement or another acceptable solution in time, our clinical trials could be delayed or our commercial activities could be harmed.
In addition, the fact that we are dependent on third parties for the manufacture, storage and distribution of our product candidates means that we are subject to the risk that our product candidates and, if approved, commercial products may have manufacturing defects that we have limited ability to prevent or control. The sale of products containing such defects could result in recalls or regulatory enforcement action that could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We rely on our third-party manufacturers to source the supply of the materials for our product candidates and, in the case of OBE2109, a single and exclusive supplier for its API. The inability to obtain supply of the materials for our product candidates or the failure of, or loss of, our sole and exclusive supplier to supply us with the API for OBE2109 would materially and adversely affect our business.
We rely on our manufacturers to purchase from third-party suppliers the materials necessary to produce our product candidates for our clinical trials, and we expect to continue to depend on third-party suppliers for the foreseeable future. There are a limited number of suppliers for raw materials that we use to manufacture our drugs and there may be a need to assess alternate suppliers to prevent a possible disruption of the manufacture of the materials necessary to produce our product candidates for our clinical trials, and if approved, ultimately for commercial sale. We do not have any control over the process or timing of the acquisition of these raw materials by our manufacturers. Moreover, we currently do not have any agreements for the commercial production of these raw materials. Any significant delay in the supply of a product candidate, or the raw material components thereof, for an ongoing clinical trial due to the need to replace a third-party manufacturer could considerably delay completion of our clinical trials, product testing and potential regulatory approval of our product candidates. If our manufacturers or we are unable to purchase these raw materials after regulatory approval has been obtained for our product candidates, the commercial launch of our product candidates would be delayed or there would be a shortage in supply, which would impair our ability to generate revenue from the sale of our product candidates.
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Other than in respect of our agreement with Kissei, we have not yet entered into a long-term agreement with any alternate supplier of API for our product candidates. We may be unable to enter into long-term arrangements with alternative suppliers or do so on commercially reasonable terms, which could have a material adverse impact upon our business. With respect to OBE2109, we have entered into an exclusive agreement for the supply of the API for OBE2109 with Kissei. A CMO that Kissei is using to supply the API for OBE2109 received a warning letter from the FDA in November 2016 citing deviations from cGMP requirements with respect to its drug manufacturing facility. In the event of a disruption to Kissei or to a CMO Kissei elects to utilize for this source of supply, we will have no other means of producing OBE2109 until Kissei restores the affected facilities, selects an alternate CMO or we or it procures alternative manufacturing facilities. Additionally, any damage to or destruction of our or our third-party manufacturers or suppliers facilities or equipment may significantly impair our ability to manufacture our product candidates on a timely basis.
We rely on our manufacturers and other subcontractors to comply with and respect the proprietary rights of others in conducting their contractual obligations for us. If our manufacturers or other subcontractors fail to acquire the proper licenses or otherwise infringe third-party proprietary rights in the course of completing their contractual obligations to us, we may have to find alternative manufacturers or defend against claims of infringement, either of which would significantly impact our ability to develop, obtain regulatory approval for or market our product candidates, if approved.
We may in the future enter into collaborations with third parties to develop our product candidates. If these collaborations are not successful, our business could be harmed.
We may potentially enter into collaborations with third parties in the future. We will face, to the extent that we decide to enter into collaboration agreements, significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators. Moreover, collaboration arrangements are complex and time-consuming to negotiate, document, implement and maintain. We may not be successful in our efforts to establish and implement collaborations or other alternative arrangements should we so chose to enter into such arrangements. The terms of any collaborations or other arrangements that we may establish may not be favorable to us.
Any future collaborations that we enter into may not be successful. The success of our collaboration arrangements will depend heavily on the efforts and activities of our collaborators. Collaborations are subject to numerous risks, including:
| collaborators have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to these collaborations; |
| collaborators may not perform their obligations as expected; |
| the clinical trials conducted as part of these collaborations may not be successful; |
| collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of any product candidates that achieve regulatory approval or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization programs based on clinical trial results, changes in the collaborators strategic focus or available funding or external factors, such as an acquisition, that divert resources or create competing priorities; |
| collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for clinical trials, stop a clinical trial or abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing; |
| we may not have access to, or may be restricted from disclosing, certain information regarding product candidates being developed or commercialized under a collaboration and, consequently, may have limited ability to inform our shareholders about the status of such product candidates; |
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collaborators could independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our product candidates if the collaborators believe that competitive products are more |
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likely to be successfully developed or can be commercialized under terms that are more economically attractive than ours; |
| product candidates developed in collaboration with us may be viewed by our collaborators as competitive with their own product candidates or products, which may cause collaborators to cease to devote resources to the commercialization of our product candidates; |
| a collaborator with marketing and distribution rights to one or more of our product candidates that achieve regulatory approval may not commit sufficient resources to the marketing and distribution of any such product candidate; |
| disagreements with collaborators, including disagreements over proprietary rights, contract interpretation or the preferred course of development of any product candidates, may cause delays or termination of the research, development or commercialization of such product candidates, may lead to additional responsibilities for us with respect to such product candidates or may result in litigation or arbitration, any of which would be time-consuming and expensive; |
| collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our proprietary information in such a way as to invite litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential litigation; |
| disputes may arise with respect to the ownership of intellectual property developed pursuant to our collaborations; |
| collaborators may infringe the intellectual property rights of third parties, which may expose us to litigation and potential liability; and |
| collaborations may be terminated for the convenience of the collaborator and, if terminated, we could be required to raise additional capital to pursue further development or commercialization of the applicable product candidates. |
If any such potential future collaborations do not result in the successful development and commercialization of product candidates, or if one of our future collaborators terminates its agreement with us, we may not receive any future research funding or milestone or royalty payments under the collaboration. If we do not receive the funding we expect under these agreements, the development of our product candidates could be delayed and we may need additional resources to develop our product candidates. In addition, if one of our future collaborators terminates its agreement with us, we may find it more difficult to attract new collaborators and the perception of us in the business and financial communities could be adversely affected. All of the risks relating to product development, regulatory approval and commercialization apply to the activities of our potential future collaborators.
If we are not able to establish or maintain collaborations, we may have to alter some of our future development and commercialization plans.
Our product development programs and the potential commercialization of our product candidates will require substantial additional capital to fund expenses. For some of our product candidates, we may decide to collaborate with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for the future development and potential commercialization of those product candidates, particularly in Asia. Furthermore, we may find that our programs require the use of proprietary rights held by third parties, and the growth of our business may depend in part on our ability to acquire, in-license or use these proprietary rights.
We face significant competition in seeking appropriate collaborators, and a number of more established companies may also be pursuing strategies to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights that we may consider attractive. These established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, financial resources and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities. In addition, companies that
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perceive us to be a competitor may be unwilling to assign or license rights to us. Whether we reach a definitive agreement for a collaboration will depend, among other things, upon our assessment of the collaborators resources and expertise, the terms and conditions of the proposed collaboration and the proposed collaborators evaluation of a number of factors. Those factors may include the design or results of clinical trials, the likelihood of approval by the FDA, EMA or similar foreign regulatory authorities, the potential market for the subject product candidate, the costs and complexities of manufacturing and delivering such product candidate to patients, competing products, the existence of uncertainty with respect to our ownership of technology, which can exist if there is a challenge to such ownership without regard to the merits of the challenge, and industry and market conditions generally. The collaborator may also consider alternative product candidates or technologies for similar indications that may be available to collaborate on and whether such a collaboration could be more attractive than the one with us for our product candidate. We may also be restricted under existing license agreements from entering into agreements on certain terms with potential collaborators. Collaborations are complex and time-consuming to negotiate and document. In addition, there have been a significant number of recent business combinations among large pharmaceutical companies that have resulted in a reduced number of potential future collaborators.
We may not be able to negotiate collaborations on a timely basis, on acceptable terms, or at all. Even if we are able to obtain a license to intellectual property of interest, we may not be able to secure exclusive rights, in which case others could use the same rights and compete with us. If we are unable to successfully obtain rights to required third party intellectual property rights or maintain the existing intellectual property rights we have, we may have to curtail the development of such product candidate, reduce or delay its development program or one or more of our other development programs, delay its potential commercialization or reduce the scope of any sales or marketing activities, or increase our expenditures and undertake development or commercialization activities at our own expense. If we elect to increase our expenditures to fund development or commercialization activities on our own, we may need to obtain additional capital, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. If we do not have sufficient funds, we may not be able to further develop our product candidates or bring them to market and generate product revenue.
Our reliance on third parties requires us to share our trade secrets, which increases the possibility that a competitor will discover them or that our trade secrets will be misappropriated or disclosed.
Because we rely on third parties to develop and manufacture our product candidates, we must, at times, share trade secrets with them. We seek to protect our proprietary technology in part by entering into confidentiality agreements and, if applicable, material transfer agreements, collaborative research agreements, consulting agreements or other similar agreements with our collaborators, advisors, employees and consultants prior to beginning research or disclosing proprietary information. These agreements typically limit the rights of the third parties to use or disclose our confidential information, such as trade secrets. Despite these contractual agreements with third parties, sharing trade secrets and other confidential information increases the risk that such trade secrets become known by our competitors, are inadvertently incorporated into the technology of others, or are disclosed or used in violation of these agreements. Given that our proprietary position is based, in part, on our know-how and trade secrets, a competitors discovery of our trade secrets or other unauthorized use or disclosure would impair our competitive position and may harm our business.
In addition, these agreements typically restrict the ability of our advisors, employees, third-party contractors and consultants to publish data potentially relating to our trade secrets, although our agreements may contain certain limited publication rights. Despite our efforts to protect our trade secrets, our competitors may discover our trade secrets, either through breach of our agreements with third parties, independent development or publication of information by any of our third-party collaborators. A competitors discovery of our trade secrets would impair our competitive position and have an adverse impact on our business.
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Risks Related to Regulatory Compliance
Enacted and future legislation may increase the difficulty and cost for us to obtain marketing approval of and commercialize our product candidates and may affect the prices we may set.
In the United States, the European Union, and other foreign jurisdictions, there have been, and we expect there will continue to be, a number of legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes to the healthcare system that could affect our future results of operations. In particular, there have been and continue to be a number of initiatives at the United States federal and state levels that seek to reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of healthcare. For example, in March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or collectively the ACA, was enacted, which substantially changes the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers. Among the provisions of the ACA, those of greatest importance to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries include:
| an annual, non-deductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports certain branded prescription drugs and biologic agents, which is apportioned among these entities according to their market share in certain government healthcare programs; |
| a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must agree to offer 50% point-of-sale discounts off negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturers outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D; |
| new requirements to report certain financial arrangements with physicians and certain others, including reporting transfers of value made or distributed to prescribers and other healthcare providers and reporting investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members; |
| an increase in the statutory minimum rebates a manufacturer must pay under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program to 23.1% and 13.0% of the average manufacturer price for branded and generic drugs, respectively; |
| a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected; |
| extension of a manufacturers Medicaid rebate liability to covered drugs dispensed to individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations; |
| expansion of eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs by, among other things, allowing states to offer Medicaid coverage to certain individuals with income at or below 133% of the federal poverty level, thereby potentially increasing a manufacturers Medicaid rebate liability; |
| expansion of the entities eligible for discounts under the Public Health Service pharmaceutical pricing program; |
| a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research; and |
| establishment of a Center for Medicare Innovation at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, to test innovative payment and service delivery models to lower Medicare and Medicaid spending, potentially including prescription drug spending. |
There have been judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the ACA, and we expect there will be additional challenges and amendments to the ACA in the future. At this time, the full effect that the ACA would have on our business remains unclear.
In addition, other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the ACA was enacted. On August 2, 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, created measures for spending reductions by Congress. A Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, tasked with recommending a
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targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021, was unable to reach required goals, thereby triggering the legislations automatic reduction to several government programs. This includes aggregate reductions of Medicare payments to providers of 2% per fiscal year. These reductions went into effect on April 1, 2013 and, due to subsequent legislative amendments to the statute, will remain in effect through 2025 unless additional Congressional action is taken. On January 2, 2013, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 was signed into law, which, among other things, further reduced Medicare payments to several types of providers, including hospitals, imaging centers and cancer treatment centers, and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments to providers from three to five years. These new laws may result in additional reductions in Medicare and other health care funding, which could have an adverse effect on our customers and accordingly, our financial operations.
Moreover, payment methodologies may be subject to changes in healthcare legislation and regulatory initiatives. For example, CMS may develop new payment and delivery models, such as bundled payment models. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, set a goal of moving 30% of Medicare payments to alternative payment models tied to the quality or value of services by 2016 and 50% of Medicare payments into these alternative payment models by the end of 2018. In March, HHS announced that it has achieved its goal for 2016. In addition, recently there has been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products. We expect that additional U.S. federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that the U.S. federal government will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for our product candidates or additional pricing pressures.
Individual states in the United States have also become increasingly aggressive in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. Legally mandated price controls on payment amounts by third-party payors or other restrictions could harm our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects. In addition, regional healthcare authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other healthcare programs. This could reduce the ultimate demand for our products or put pressure on our product pricing, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and prospects.
In the European Union, similar political, economic and regulatory developments may affect our ability to profitably commercialize any of our product candidates, if approved. In addition to continuing pressure on prices and cost containment measures, legislative developments at the European Union or member state level may result in significant additional requirements or obstacles that may increase our operating costs. The delivery of healthcare in the European Union, including the establishment and operation of health services and the pricing and reimbursement of medicines, is almost exclusively a matter for national, rather than European Union, law and policy. National governments and health service providers have different priorities and approaches to the delivery of health care and the pricing and reimbursement of products in that context. In general, however, the healthcare budgetary constraints in most EU member states have resulted in restrictions on the pricing and reimbursement of medicines by relevant health service providers. Coupled with ever-increasing European Union and national regulatory burdens on those wishing to develop and market products, this could prevent or delay marketing approval of our product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities and affect our ability to commercialize any products for which we obtain marketing approval. In international markets, reimbursement and healthcare payment systems vary significantly by country, and many countries have instituted price ceilings on specific products and therapies.
We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the United States or abroad. If we or our collaborators are slow or unable to adapt to changes in existing requirements or the adoption of new requirements or policies, or if we or
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our collaborators are not able to maintain regulatory compliance, our product candidates may lose any regulatory approval that may have been obtained and we may not achieve or sustain profitability, which would adversely affect our business.
Our business operations and current and future relationships with investigators, health care professionals, consultants, third-party payors and customers will be subject, directly or indirectly, to federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws, health information privacy and security laws, and other healthcare laws and regulations. If we are unable to comply, or have not fully complied, with such laws, we could face substantial penalties.
Although we do not currently have any products on the market, if we obtain FDA approval for OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or any future product candidates, and begin commercializing those products in the United States, our operations may be directly, or indirectly through our prescribers, customers and third-party payors, subject to various U.S. federal and state healthcare laws and regulations, including, without limitation, the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute, the U.S. federal civil and criminal false claims laws and Physician Payments Sunshine Act and regulations. Healthcare providers, physicians and others play a primary role in the recommendation and prescription of any products for which we obtain marketing approval. These laws may impact, among other things, our current business operations, including our clinical research activities, and proposed sales, marketing and education programs and constrain the business of financial arrangements and relationships with healthcare providers, physicians and other parties through which we market, sell and distribute our products for which we obtain marketing approval. In addition, we may be subject to patient data privacy and security regulation by both the U.S. federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. Finally, we may be subject to additional healthcare, statutory and regulatory requirements and enforcement by foreign regulatory authorities in jurisdictions in which we conduct our business. The laws that may affect our ability to operate include:
| the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons or entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, offering, receiving or paying any remuneration (including any kickback, bribe, or certain rebates), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, lease, order or recommendation of, any good, facility, item or service, for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under U.S. federal and state healthcare programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation; |
| the U.S. federal false claims and civil monetary penalties laws, including the civil False Claims Act, which, among other things, impose criminal and civil penalties, including through civil whistleblower or qui tam actions, against individuals or entities for knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, to the U.S. federal government, claims for payment or approval that are false or fraudulent, knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used, a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim, or from knowingly making a false statement to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the U.S. federal government. In addition, the government may assert that a claim including items and services resulting from a violation of the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the False Claims Act; |
| the U.S. federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which imposes criminal and civil liability for, among other things, knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, or knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false statement, in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items or services; similar to the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation; |
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HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, or HITECH, and its implementing regulations, and as amended again by the Modifications to the |
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HIPAA Privacy, Security, Enforcement and Breach Notification Rules Under HITECH and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act; Other Modifications to the HIPAA Rules, commonly referred to as the Final HIPAA Omnibus Rule, published in January 2013, which imposes certain obligations, including mandatory contractual terms, with respect to safeguarding the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information without appropriate authorization by covered entities subject to the Final HIPAA Omnibus Rule, i.e. health plans, healthcare clearinghouses and healthcare providers, as well as their business associates that perform certain services for or on their behalf involving the use or disclosure of individually identifiable health information; |
| the U.S. federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which prohibits, among other things, the adulteration or misbranding of drugs, biologics and medical devices; |
| the U.S. federal legislation commonly referred to as Physician Payments Sunshine Act, enacted as part of the ACA, and its implementing regulations, which requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies that are reimbursable under Medicare, Medicaid, or the Childrens Health Insurance Program to report annually to the CMS information related to certain payments and other transfers of value to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors) and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by the physicians described above and their immediate family members; |
| analogous state laws and regulations, including: state anti-kickback and false claims laws, which may apply to our business practices, including, but not limited to, research, distribution, sales and marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including private insurers; state laws that require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industrys voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the U.S. federal government, or otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers and other potential referral sources; state laws and regulations that require drug manufacturers to file reports relating to pricing and marketing information, which requires tracking gifts and other remuneration and items of value provided to healthcare professionals and entities; and state laws governing the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts; and |
| European and other foreign law equivalents of each of the laws, including reporting requirements detailing interactions with and payments to healthcare providers. |
Ensuring that our internal operations and future business arrangements with third parties comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations will involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental authorities will conclude that our business practices do not comply with current or future statutes, regulations, agency guidance or case law involving applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental laws and regulations that may apply to us, we may be subject to significant penalties, including civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, exclusion from U.S. government funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, or similar programs in other countries or jurisdictions, disgorgement, individual imprisonment, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. Further, defending against any such actions can be costly, time-consuming and may require significant financial and personnel resources. Therefore, even if we are successful in defending against any such actions that may be brought against us, our business may be impaired. If any of the physicians or other providers or entities with whom we expect to do business is found to not be in compliance with applicable laws, they may be subject to criminal, civil or administrative sanctions, including exclusions from government funded healthcare programs and imprisonment. If any of the above occur, it could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.
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Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
If we fail to comply with our obligations under our existing and any future intellectual property licenses with third parties or if such licenses are subject to a disagreement over contract interpretation, we could lose license rights that are important to our business or be subject to a narrowing of the scope of our rights to the relevant intellectual property or technology or an increase of our financial or other obligations to our licensors.
We are party to several license agreements under which we in-license patent rights and other intellectual property related to our business, and we may enter into additional license agreements in the future. See Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Dependence on Third Parties for a more detailed description of risks related to current and future license agreements.
If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our technology and product candidates, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, we may not be able to compete effectively in our markets.
We rely upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect the intellectual property related to our development programs and product candidates. Our success depends in large part on our ability to obtain and maintain patent protection in the United States and other countries with respect to our current and future product candidates. We have sought to protect our proprietary position by filing and in-licensing patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our development programs and product candidates. The patent prosecution process is expensive and time-consuming, and we or our licensors may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner or in all jurisdictions.
It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection. Moreover, in some circumstances, we do not have the right to control the preparation, filing and prosecution of patent applications, or to maintain the patents, covering technology that we have licensed from third parties. We prosecute and maintain the patent rights for OBE022 and rely on our licensors Kissei and Merck Serono to prosecute and maintain the patent rights for OBE2109 and OBE001. Therefore, these patents and applications may not be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. The patent applications that we own or in-license may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover our current and future product candidates in the United States or in other foreign countries. Our patent applications cannot be enforced against third parties practicing the technology claimed in such applications unless, and until, a patent issues from such applications, and then only to the extent the issued claims cover the technology.
If the patent applications we hold or have in-licensed with respect to our development programs and product candidates fail to issue, if their breadth or strength of protection is threatened, or if they fail to provide meaningful exclusivity for our current and future product candidates, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to develop product candidates, and threaten our ability to commercialize, products. Any such outcome could have a negative effect on our business.
The patent position of biopharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions and has in recent years been the subject of much litigation. In addition, the laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. For example, EU patent law restricts the patentability of methods of treatment of the human body more than U.S. law does. Publications of discoveries in scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions remain confidential for a period of time after filing, and some remain so until issued. Therefore, we cannot know with certainty whether we were the first to make the inventions claimed in our owned or licensed patents or pending patent applications, or that we were the first to file for patent protection
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of such inventions. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our patent rights are highly uncertain. There is no assurance that all potentially relevant prior art relating to our patents and patent applications has been found, and such prior art could potentially invalidate a one or more of our patents or prevent a patent from issuing from a one or more of our pending patent applications. There is also no assurance that there is not prior art of which we are aware, but which we do not believe affects the validity or enforceability of a claim in our patents and patent applications, which may, nonetheless, ultimately be found to affect the validity or enforceability of a claim. Even if patents do successfully issue and even if such patents cover our current and future product candidates, third parties may challenge their validity, enforceability or scope, which may result in such patents being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, which could allow third parties to commercialize our technology or products and compete directly with us, without payment to us, or result in our inability to manufacture or commercialize products without infringing third-party patent rights. Any successful opposition to these patents or any other patents owned by or licensed to us could deprive us of rights necessary for the successful commercialization of any product candidates that we may develop. Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, our patents and patent applications may not adequately protect our intellectual property, provide exclusivity for our product candidates, prevent others from designing around our claims or provide us with a competitive advantage. Any of these outcomes could impair our ability to prevent competition from third parties. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our patents or narrow the scope of our patent protection.
We, independently or together with our licensors, have filed several patent applications covering various aspects of our product candidates. We cannot offer any assurances about which, if any, patents will issue, the breadth of any such patent, or whether any issued patents will be found invalid and unenforceable or will be challenged by third parties. Any successful opposition to these patents or any other patents owned by or licensed to us after patent issuance could deprive us of rights necessary for the successful commercialization of any product candidates that we may develop. Further, if we encounter delays in regulatory approvals, the period of time during which we could market a product candidate under patent protection could be reduced.
We may not identify relevant third-party patents or may incorrectly interpret the relevance, scope or expiration of a third-party patent which might adversely affect our ability to develop and market our product candidates.
We cannot guarantee that any of our or our licensors patent searches or analyses, including the identification of relevant patents, the scope of patent claims or the expiration of relevant patents, are complete or thorough, nor can we be certain that we have identified each and every third-party patent and pending application in the United States and abroad that is relevant to or necessary for the commercialization of our product candidates in any jurisdiction. For example, U.S. applications filed before November 29, 2000 and certain U.S. applications filed after that date that will not be filed outside the United States remain confidential until patents issue. Patent applications in the United States and elsewhere are published approximately 18 months after the earliest filing for which priority is claimed, with such earliest filing date being commonly referred to as the priority date. Therefore, patent applications covering our product candidates could have been filed by others without our knowledge. Additionally, pending patent applications that have been published can, subject to certain limitations, be later amended in a manner that could cover our product candidates or the use of our product candidates. The scope of a patent claim is determined by an interpretation of the law, the written disclosure in a patent and the patents prosecution history. Our interpretation of the relevance or the scope of a patent or a pending application may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to market our product candidates. We may incorrectly determine that our product candidates are not covered by a third-party patent or may incorrectly predict whether a third partys pending application will issue with claims of relevant scope. Our determination of the expiration date of any patent in the United States or abroad that we consider relevant may be incorrect, which may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our product candidates. Our failure to identify and correctly interpret relevant patents may negatively impact our ability to develop and market our product candidates.
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If we fail to identify and correctly interpret relevant patents, we may be subject to infringement claims. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to successfully settle or otherwise resolve such infringement claims. If we fail in any such dispute, in addition to being forced to pay damages, we may be temporarily or permanently prohibited from commercializing any of our product candidates that are held to be infringing. We might, if possible, also be forced to redesign product candidates that we no longer infringe the third-party intellectual property rights. Any of these events, even if we were ultimately to prevail, could require us to divert substantial financial and management resources that we would otherwise be able to devote to our business.
Patent terms may be inadequate to protect our competitive position on our product candidates for an adequate amount of time.
Patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, if all maintenance fees are timely paid, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years from its earliest U.S. non-provisional filing date. Various extensions may be available, but the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Even if patents covering OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022 are obtained, once the patent life has expired for a product candidate, we may be open to competition from competitive medications, including biosimilar or generic medications. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such product candidates might expire before or shortly after such product candidates are commercialized. As a result, our owned and licensed patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing product candidates similar or identical to ours.
Depending upon the timing, duration and conditions of FDA marketing approval of our product candidates, one or more of our U.S. patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, referred to as the Hatch-Waxman Amendments, and similar legislation in the European Union. The Hatch-Waxman Amendments permit a patent term extension of up to five years for a patent covering an approved product as compensation for effective patent term lost during product development and the FDA regulatory review process. However, we may not receive an extension if we fail to apply within applicable deadlines, fail to apply prior to expiration of relevant patents or otherwise fail to satisfy applicable requirements. Moreover, the length of the extension could be less than we request. If we are unable to obtain patent term extension or the term of any such extension is less than we request, the period during which we can enforce our patent rights for that product will be shortened and our competitors may obtain approval to market competing products sooner. As a result, our revenue from applicable products could be reduced. Further, if this occurs, our competitors may take advantage of our investment in development and trials by referencing our clinical and preclinical data and launch their product earlier than might otherwise be the case.
Intellectual property rights do not necessarily address all potential threats to our business.
Once granted, patents may remain open to opposition, interference, re-examination, post-grant review, inter partes review, nullification or derivation action in court of before patent offices or similar proceedings for a given period after allowance or grant, during which time third parties can raise objections against such grant. In the course of such proceedings, which may continue for a protracted period of time, the patent owner may be compelled to limit the scope of the allowed or granted claims thus attacked, or may lose the allowed or granted claims altogether. In addition, the degree of future protection afforded by our intellectual property rights is uncertain because even granted intellectual property rights have limitations, and may not adequately protect our business. The following examples are illustrative:
| others may be able to make compounds, or OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022 formulations that are similar to our OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022 formulations but that are not covered by the claims of the patents that we own or control; |
| the patents of third parties may have an adverse effect on our business; |
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| we or our licensors or any future strategic partners might not have been the first to conceive or reduce to practice the inventions covered by the issued patent or pending patent application that we own or have exclusively licensed; |
| we or our licensors or any future strategic partners might not have been the first to file patent applications covering certain of our inventions; |
| others may independently develop similar or alternative technologies or duplicate any of our technologies without infringing our intellectual property rights; |
| it is possible that our pending patent applications will not lead to issued patents; |
| issued patents that we own or have exclusively licensed may not provide us with any competitive advantage, or may be held invalid or unenforceable, as a result of legal challenges by our competitors; |
| our competitors might conduct research and development activities in countries where we do not have patent rights and then use the information learned from such activities to develop competitive products for sale in our major commercial markets; |
| third parties performing manufacturing or testing for us using our product candidates or technologies could use the intellectual property of others without obtaining a proper license; |
| we may not develop additional proprietary technologies that are patentable; and |
| the patents of others may have an adverse effect on our business. |
Changes in patent laws or patent jurisprudence could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our product candidates.
As is the case with other biopharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical industry involve both technological complexity and legal complexity. Therefore, obtaining and enforcing biopharmaceutical patents is costly, time-consuming and inherently uncertain. In addition, the America Invents Act, or the AIA, was signed into law on September 16, 2011, and many of the substantive changes became effective on March 16, 2013.
An important change introduced by the AIA is that, as of March 16, 2013, the United States transitioned to a first-to-file system for deciding which party should be granted a patent when two or more patent applications are filed by different parties claiming the same invention. A third party that files a patent application in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, after that date but before us could therefore be awarded a patent covering an invention of ours even if we had made the invention before it was made by the third party. This will require us to be cognizant going forward of the time from invention to filing of a patent application, but circumstances could prevent us from promptly filing patent applications on our inventions.
Among some of the other changes introduced by the AIA are changes that limit where a patentee may file a patent infringement suit and providing opportunities for third parties to challenge any issued patent in the USPTO. This applies to all of our U.S. patents, even those issued before March 16, 2013. Because of a lower evidentiary standard in USPTO proceedings compared to the evidentiary standard in U.S. federal courts necessary to invalidate a patent claim, a third party could potentially provide evidence in a USPTO proceeding sufficient for the USPTO to hold a claim invalid even though the same evidence would be insufficient to invalidate the claim if first presented in a district court action. Accordingly, a third party may attempt to use the USPTO procedures to invalidate our patent claims that would not have been invalidated if first challenged by the third party as a defendant in a district court action. The AIA and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our issued patents.
The USPTO has developed in the last few years regulations and procedures to govern administration of the AIA, and many of the substantive changes to patent law associated with the AIA, and, in particular, the first to
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file provisions, only became effective on March 16, 2013. Accordingly, it is not clear what, if any, impact the AIA will have on the operation of our business. However, the AIA and its implementation could increase the uncertainties and costs surrounding the prosecution of our or our licensors or collaboration partners patent applications and the enforcement or defense of our or our licensors or collaboration partners issued patents, all of which could have an adverse effect on our business and financial condition.
Additionally, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, such as Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc. (Myriad I), Mayo Collaborative Services v. Prometheus Laboratories, Inc. , and Alice Corporation Pty. Ltd. v. CLS Bank International , either narrowing the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weakening the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on decisions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that could weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future. Similarly, the complexity and uncertainty of European patent laws has also increased in recent years. For example, the April 2010 amendment of the European Patent Convention, which limited the time permitted for filing divisional applications, was subsequently abrogated. This amendment and subsequent abrogation illustrates the uncertainty involved in the prosecution of European patent laws. In addition, the European patent system is relatively stringent in the type of amendments that are allowed during prosecution. These changes could limit our ability to obtain new patents in the future that may be important for our business.
Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have a negative impact on the success of our business.
Our commercial success depends, in part, upon our ability, and the ability of our future collaborators, to develop, manufacture, market and sell OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 and any future product candidates, if approved, and use our proprietary technologies without alleged or actual infringement, misappropriation or other violation of the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. There have been many lawsuits and other proceedings involving patent and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries, including patent infringement lawsuits, interferences, oppositions and re-examination proceedings before the USPTO, and corresponding foreign patent offices. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which we are developing product candidates. Some claimants may have substantially greater resources than we do and may be able to sustain the costs of complex intellectual property litigation to a greater degree and for longer periods of time than we could. In addition, patent holding companies that focus solely on extracting royalties and settlements by enforcing patent rights may target us. As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our product candidates may be subject to claims of infringement of the intellectual property rights of third parties.
We may in the future become party to, or be threatened with, adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 and any future product candidates and technology, including interference or derivation proceedings, post grant review and inter partes review before the USPTO or similar adversarial proceedings or litigation in other jurisdictions. Similarly, we or our licensors or collaborators may initiate such proceedings or litigation against third parties, including to challenge the validity or scope of intellectual property rights controlled by third parties. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future, regardless of their merit. There is a risk that third parties may choose to engage in litigation with us to enforce or to otherwise assert their patent rights against us. Even if we believe such claims are without merit, a court of competent jurisdiction could hold that these third-party patents are valid, enforceable and infringed, and the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize such product candidate unless we obtained a license under the
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applicable patents, or until such patents expire or are finally determined to be invalid or unenforceable. Similarly, if any third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our compositions, formulations, or methods of treatment, prevention or use, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to develop and commercialize the applicable product candidate unless we obtained a license or until such patent expires or is finally determined to be invalid or unenforceable. In either case, such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. Furthermore, even in the absence of litigation, we may need to obtain licenses from third parties to advance our research or allow commercialization of our product candidates, and we have done so from time to time. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all. In such an event, we would be unable to further practice our technologies or develop and commercialize any of our product candidates at issue, which could harm our business significantly.
Parties making claims against us may obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop and commercialize one or more of our product candidates, if approved. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. Third parties making such claims may have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to these legal actions than we or our licensors or collaborators can. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys fees for willful infringement, pay royalties, redesign our infringing products or obtain one or more licenses from third parties, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure.
We may become involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents, the patents of our licensors or our other intellectual property rights, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful.
Competitors may infringe or otherwise violate our or our licensors patents or misappropriate or otherwise violate our or our licensors other intellectual property rights. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file legal claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. Our agreements with Merck Serono give Merck Serono the first right to control such claims. Therefore, these patents and applications may not be enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. Our or our licensors adversaries in these proceedings may have the ability to dedicate substantially greater resources to prosecuting these legal actions than we or our licensors can. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours or our licensors is not valid or is unenforceable, or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation or defense proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing. The initiation of a claim against a third party may also cause the third party to bring counter claims against us such as claims asserting that our patents are invalid or unenforceable or claims challenging the scope of the intellectual property rights we own or control. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity or unenforceability are commonplace. Grounds for a validity challenge could be an alleged failure to meet any of several statutory requirements, including lack of novelty, obviousness, non-enablement or lack of statutory subject matter. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant material information from the USPTO, or made a materially misleading statement, during prosecution. Third parties may also raise similar validity claims before the USPTO in post-grant proceedings such as ex parte re-examinations, inter partes review, or post-grant review, or oppositions or similar proceedings outside the United States, in parallel with litigation or even outside the context of litigation. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. We cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art, of which we, our licensors and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution. For the patents and patent applications that we have licensed, we may have limited or no right to participate in the defense of any licensed patents against challenge by a third party. Our agreements with Kissei and Merck Serono give our licensors the first right to defend such validity challenges. Therefore, these patents
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and applications may not be defended in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of any future patent protection on our current or future product candidates. Such a loss of patent protection could harm our business. In addition, if the breadth or strength of protection provided by our or our licensors patents and patent applications is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to license, develop or commercialize current or future product candidates.
We may not be able to prevent, alone or with our licensors, infringement or misappropriation of our intellectual property rights, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect those rights as fully as in the United States. Our business could be harmed if in litigation the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms. Any litigation or other proceedings to enforce our intellectual property rights may fail, and even if successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees.
Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. There could also be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have an adverse effect on the price of our common shares.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world, which could negatively impact our business.
Filing, prosecuting and defending patents covering OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 and any future product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States can be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States. Further, licensing partners may not prosecute patents in certain jurisdictions in which we may obtain commercial rights, thereby precluding the possibility of later obtaining patent protection in these countries. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and may also export infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our product candidates, and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.
Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biotechnology products, which could make it difficult for us to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions, whether or not successful, could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing, and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license. Furthermore, while we intend to protect our intellectual property rights in our expected significant markets, we cannot ensure that we will be able to initiate or maintain similar efforts in all jurisdictions in which we may wish to market our product candidates. Accordingly, our efforts to
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protect our intellectual property rights in such countries may be inadequate, which may have an adverse effect on our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates in all of our expected significant foreign markets.
Additionally, the requirements for patentability may differ in certain countries, particularly developing countries. For example, unlike other countries, China has a heightened requirement for patentability, and specifically requires a detailed description of medical uses of a claimed drug. In India, unlike the United States, there is no link between regulatory approval of a drug and its patent status. Furthermore, generic or biosimilar drug manufacturers or other competitors may challenge the scope, validity or enforceability of our or our licensors patents, requiring us or our licensors to engage in complex, lengthy and costly litigation or other proceedings. Generic or biosimilar drug manufacturers may develop, seek approval for, and launch biosimilar versions of our products. In addition to India, certain countries in Europe and developing countries, including China, have compulsory licensing laws under which a patent owner may be compelled to grant licenses to third parties. In those countries, we and our licensors may have limited remedies if patents are infringed or if we or our licensors are compelled to grant a license to a third party, which could materially diminish the value of those patents. This could limit our potential revenue opportunities. Accordingly, our and our licensors efforts to enforce intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we own or license.
We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of their former employers or other third parties.
We may employ individuals who were previously employed at universities or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees, consultants and independent contractors do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, and we are not currently subject to any claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties, we may in the future be subject to such claims. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Such intellectual property rights could be awarded to a third party, and we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to commercialize our technology or products. Such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees.
We may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship of our patents and other intellectual property.
Although we are not currently experiencing any claims challenging the inventorship of our patents or ownership of our intellectual property, we may in the future be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators or other third parties have an interest in our patents or other intellectual property as an inventor or co-inventor. While it is our policy to require our employees and contractors who may be involved in the conception or development of intellectual property to execute agreements assigning such intellectual property to us, we may be unsuccessful in executing such an agreement with each party who, in fact, conceives or develops intellectual property that we regard as our own. For example, the assignment of intellectual property rights may not be self-executing or the assignment agreements may be breached, or we may have inventorship disputes arise from conflicting obligations of consultants or others who are involved in developing our product candidates. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these and other claims challenging inventorship. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, valuable intellectual property. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees.
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Intellectual property litigation could cause us to spend substantial resources and distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities.
Litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims, with or without merit, is unpredictable and generally expensive and time-consuming and is likely to divert significant resources from our core business, including distracting our technical and management personnel from their normal responsibilities. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments and if securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common shares. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce the resources available for development activities or any future sales, marketing or distribution activities.
We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their greater financial resources and more mature and developed intellectual property portfolios. Accordingly, despite our efforts, we may not be able to prevent third parties from infringing upon, misappropriating or successfully challenging our intellectual property rights. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have an adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace.
Our inability to protect our confidential information and trade secrets would harm our business and competitive position.
In addition to seeking patents for some of our technology and products, we also rely on trade secrets, including unpatented know-how, technology and other proprietary information, to maintain our competitive position. We seek to protect these trade secrets, in part, by entering into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to them, such as our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors and other third parties. We also enter into confidentiality and invention or patent assignment agreements with our employees and consultants. We also seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data, trade secrets and know-how by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems. Monitoring unauthorized uses and disclosures is difficult, and we do not know whether the steps we have taken to protect our proprietary technologies will be effective. We cannot guarantee that our trade secrets and other proprietary and confidential information will not be disclosed or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets. Despite these efforts, any of these parties may breach the agreements and disclose our proprietary information, including our trade secrets, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, some courts both within and outside the United States may be less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. If a competitor lawfully obtained or independently developed any of our trade secrets, we would have no right to prevent such competitor from using that technology or information to compete with us, which could harm our competitive position.
Trade secrets and know-how can be difficult to protect as trade secrets and know-how will over time be disseminated within the industry through independent development, the publication of journal articles, and the movement of personnel skilled in the art from company to company or academic to industry scientific positions. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent such competitor from using that technology or information to compete with us, which could harm our competitive position. If we are unable to prevent material disclosure of the intellectual property related to our technologies to third parties, we will not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which could adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Even if we
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are able to adequately protect our trade secrets and proprietary information, our trade secrets could otherwise become known or could be independently discovered by our competitors. Competitors could purchase our products and attempt to replicate some or all of the competitive advantages we derive from our development efforts, willfully infringe our intellectual property rights, design around our protected technology or develop their own competitive technologies that fall outside of our intellectual property rights. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, in the absence of patent protection, we would have no right to prevent them, or those to whom they communicate, from using that technology or information to compete with us.
We may not be able to prevent misappropriation of our intellectual property, trade secrets or confidential information, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect those rights as fully as in the United States. Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common shares.
Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.
Periodic maintenance and annuity fees on any issued patent are due to be paid to the USPTO and foreign patent agencies in several stages over the lifetime of the patent. The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. While an inadvertent lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Non-compliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. If we or our licensors fail to maintain the patents and patent applications covering our products, our competitors might be able to enter the market, which would harm our business.
Risks Related to Our Business Operations, Employee Matters and Managing Growth
Our future growth and ability to compete depends on retaining our key personnel and recruiting additional qualified personnel.
We are highly dependent on the management, development, clinical, financial and business development experience of Ernest Loumaye, our Chief Executive Officer, Jean-Pierre Gotteland, our Chief Scientific Officer, Elke Bestel, our Chief Medical Officer and Head of Pharmacovigilance, Ben T.G. Tan, our Vice President of Commercial and Business Development, and Fabien Lefebvre de Ladonchamps, our Vice President of Finance. Each of these officers may currently terminate their employment with us at any time and will continue to be able to do so after the closing of this offering. We do not maintain key person insurance for any of our executives or employees.
Laws and regulations on executive compensation, including legislation in our home country, Switzerland, may restrict our ability to attract, motivate and retain the required level of qualified personnel. In Switzerland, legislation affecting public companies has been passed that, among other things, (1) imposes an annual binding shareholders say on pay vote with respect to the compensation of executive management, including executive officers and the board of directors, (2) generally prohibits severance, advances, transaction premiums and similar payments to members of our executive management and board of directors, (3) imposes other restrictive
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compensation practices and (4) requires companies to specify various compensation-related matters in their articles of association, thus requiring them to be approved by a shareholders vote. In addition, the competition for qualified personnel in the biopharmaceutical field is intense, and our future success depends upon our ability to attract, retain and motivate highly-skilled scientific, technical and managerial employees. Because the Swiss legislation affecting public companies will apply to operations in the United States and are more onerous and restrictive than comparable laws and regulations applying to U.S. domiciled companies, recruiting and retaining employees in the United States will be even more difficult as compared to companies in the United States. We face competition for personnel from other companies, universities, public and private research institutions and other organizations. If our recruitment and retention efforts are unsuccessful in the future, it may be difficult for us to implement business strategy, which could harm our business.
In addition, we rely on consultants and advisors, including scientific and clinical advisors, to assist us in formulating our development and commercialization strategy. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by employers other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to us. If we are unable to continue to attract and retain high quality personnel, our ability to pursue our growth strategy will be limited.
Our future growth depends, in part, on our ability to penetrate foreign markets, where we would be subject to additional regulatory burdens and other risks and uncertainties.
Our future profitability will depend, in part, on our ability to commercialize our product candidates in markets outside of the United States and the European Union. If we commercialize our product candidates in foreign markets, we will be subject to additional risks and uncertainties, including:
| economic weakness, including inflation, or political instability in particular economies and markets; |
| the burden of complying with complex and changing foreign regulatory, tax, accounting and legal requirements, many of which vary between countries; |
| different medical practices and customs in foreign countries affecting acceptance in the marketplace; |
| tariffs and trade barriers; |
| other trade protection measures, import or export licensing requirements or other restrictive actions by U.S. or foreign governments; |
| longer accounts receivable collection times; |
| longer lead times for shipping; |
| compliance with tax, employment, immigration and labor laws for employees living or traveling abroad; |
| workforce uncertainty in countries where labor unrest is common; |
| language barriers for technical training; |
| reduced protection of intellectual property rights in some foreign countries, and related prevalence of generic alternatives to therapeutics; |
| foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and currency controls; |
| differing foreign reimbursement landscapes; |
| uncertain and potentially inadequate reimbursement of our products; and |
| the interpretation of contractual provisions governed by foreign laws in the event of a contract dispute. |
Foreign sales of our products could also be adversely affected by the imposition of governmental controls, political and economic instability, trade restrictions and changes in tariffs.
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We expect to expand our development and regulatory capabilities and potentially implement sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, and as a result, we may encounter difficulties in managing our growth, which could disrupt our operations.
As of September 30, 2016, we had 27 employees. As our clinical development progresses, we expect to experience growth in the number of our employees and the scope of our operations, particularly in the areas of clinical operations, regulatory affairs and, if any of our product candidates receives marketing approval, sales, marketing and distribution. To manage our anticipated future growth, we must continue to implement and improve our managerial, operational and financial systems, expand our facilities and continue to recruit and train additional qualified personnel. Due to our limited financial resources and the limited experience of our management team in managing a company with such anticipated growth, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The expansion of our operations may lead to significant costs and may divert our management and business development resources. Any inability to manage growth could delay the execution of our business plans or disrupt our operations.
Our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial collaborators, principal investigators, CROs and vendors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including non-compliance with regulatory standards and requirements.
We are exposed to the risk that our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial collaborators, principal investigators, CROs and vendors may engage in fraudulent conduct or other illegal activity. Misconduct by these parties could include intentional, reckless or negligent conduct or unauthorized activities that violates (1) the laws and regulations of the FDA, the EMA and other similar regulatory authorities, including those laws requiring the reporting of true, complete and accurate information to such authorities, (2) manufacturing standards, (3) federal and state data privacy, security, fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations in the United States and abroad and (4) laws that require the true, complete and accurate reporting of financial information or data. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, misconduct, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive programs and other business arrangements. Misconduct by these parties could also involve the improper use of individually identifiable information, including information obtained in the course of clinical trials, creating fraudulent data in our preclinical studies or clinical trials or illegal misappropriation of product candidates, which could result in regulatory sanctions and serious harm to our reputation. Prior to the completion of this offering, we intend to adopt a code of business conduct and ethics, but it is not always possible to identify and deter misconduct by employees and other third parties, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent this activity may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or losses or in protecting us from governmental investigations or other actions or lawsuits stemming from a failure to be in compliance with such laws or regulations. Additionally, we are subject to the risk that a person or government could allege such fraud or other misconduct, even if none occurred. If any such actions are instituted against us, and we are not successful in defending ourselves or asserting our rights, those actions could have a significant impact on our business, including the imposition of significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties, including damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, exclusion from participation in government healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, contractual damages, reputational harm and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations.
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Risks Related to This Offering and Our Common Shares
The price of our common shares is likely to be volatile and may fluctuate due to factors beyond our control.
The share price of publicly traded emerging biopharmaceutical and drug discovery and development companies has been highly volatile and is likely to remain highly volatile in the future. The market price of our common shares may fluctuate significantly due to a variety of factors, including:
| positive or negative results of preclinical studies and clinical trials reported by us, strategic partners or competitors; |
| any delay in the commencement, enrollment and the ultimate completion of clinical trials; |
| technological innovations or commercial product introductions by us or competitors; |
| failure to successfully develop and commercialize any of our product candidates; |
| developments, announcements or changes in government regulations relating to drug products, including related to drug pricing, reimbursement and healthcare coverage; |
| delays in in-licensing or acquiring additional complementary product candidates; |
| developments concerning proprietary rights, including patents and litigation matters; |
| public concern relating to the commercial value or safety of any of our product candidates or reproductive therapy generally; |
| financing or other corporate transactions, or inability to obtain additional funding; |
| failure to meet or exceed expectations of the investment community; |
| announcements by therapeutic drug product providers related to pricing of therapeutics; |
| announcements of significant licenses, acquisitions, strategic partnerships or joint ventures by us or our competitors; |
| publication of research reports or comments by securities or industry analysts; |
| general market or regulatory conditions in the pharmaceutical industry or in the economy as a whole; or |
| other events and factors, many of which are beyond our control. |
These and other market and industry factors may cause the market price and demand for our securities to fluctuate substantially, regardless of our actual operating performance, which may limit or prevent investors from selling their common shares at or above the price paid for the shares and may otherwise negatively affect the liquidity of our common shares. In addition, the stock market in general, and biopharmaceutical companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies.
Some companies that have experienced volatility in the trading price of their shares have been the subject of securities class action litigation. Any lawsuit to which we are a party, with or without merit, may result in an unfavorable judgment. We also may decide to settle lawsuits on unfavorable terms. Any such negative outcome could result in payments of substantial damages or fines, damage to our reputation or adverse changes to our offerings or business practices. Defending against litigation is costly and time-consuming, and could divert our managements attention and resources. Furthermore, during the course of litigation, there could be negative public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments, which could have a negative effect on the market price of our common shares.
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We will incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management and board of directors will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives and corporate governance practices.
As a public company listed in the United States, we will incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of The NASDAQ Global Market, and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on non-U.S. reporting public companies, including the establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. In Switzerland, legislation affecting public companies will also impose additional disclosure and compliance requirements on us. Our management, board of directors and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly. For example, we expect that these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, which in turn could make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our management and board of directors. However, these rules and regulations are often subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices.
There has been no public market for our common shares prior to this offering, and an active market in the shares may not develop in which investors can resell our common shares.
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common shares. We cannot predict the extent to which an active market for our common shares will develop or be sustained after this offering, or how the development of such a market might affect the market price for our common shares. The initial public offering price of our common shares in this offering will be agreed upon between us and the underwriters based on a number of factors, including market conditions in effect at the time of the offering, which may not be indicative of the price at which our shares will trade following completion of the offering. If an active market for our common shares does not develop or is not sustained, it may be difficult for you to sell shares you purchased in this offering at an attractive price or at all.
Concentration of ownership of our common shares among our existing executive officers, directors and principal shareholders may prevent new investors from influencing significant corporate decisions.
Based upon our common shares outstanding as of , upon the closing of this offering, our executive officers, directors and shareholders who owned more than 5% of our outstanding common shares before this offering will, in the aggregate, beneficially own approximately % of our outstanding common shares. These shareholders, acting together, will be able to significantly influence all matters requiring shareholder approval, including the election and removal of directors and approval of any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets.
Some of these persons or entities may have interests different than yours. For example, because many of these shareholders purchased their shares at prices substantially below the price at which shares are being sold in this offering and have held their shares for a longer period, they may be more interested in selling our company to an acquirer than other investors, or they may want us to pursue strategies that deviate from the interests of other shareholders.
Future sales, or the possibility of future sales, of a substantial number of our common shares could adversely affect the price of our common shares.
Future sales of a substantial number of our common shares, or the perception that such sales will occur, could cause a decline in the market price of our common shares. Following the completion of this offering, we
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will have common shares outstanding, assuming the underwriters do not exercise their option to purchase additional common shares, based on common shares outstanding as of . This includes the common shares in this offering, which may be resold in the public market immediately without restriction, unless purchased by our affiliates. Approximately % of the common shares outstanding are expected to be held by existing shareholders. A significant portion of these common shares will be subject to the lock-up agreements described in the Underwriting section of this prospectus. If, after the end of such lock-up agreements, these shareholders sell substantial amounts of common shares in the public market, or the market perceives that such sales may occur, the market price of our common shares and our ability to raise capital through an issue of equity securities in the future could be adversely affected.
We also intend to enter into a registration rights agreement prior to the completion of this offering pursuant to which we will agree under certain circumstances to file a registration statement to register the resale of the common shares held by certain of our existing shareholders, as well as to cooperate in certain public offerings of such common shares. In addition, following the completion of this offering, we intend to adopt a new omnibus equity incentive plan under which we would have the discretion to grant a broad range of equity-based awards to eligible participants. We intend to register all common shares that we may issue under this equity compensation plan. Once we register these common shares, they can be freely sold in the public market upon issuance, subject to volume limitations applicable to affiliates and the lock-up agreements described in the Underwriting section of this prospectus.
We do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future.
We have not paid any dividends since our incorporation. Even if future operations lead to significant levels of distributable profits, we currently intend that any earnings will be reinvested in our business and that dividends will not be paid until we have an established revenue stream to support continuing dividends. The proposal to pay future dividends to shareholders will in addition effectively be at the discretion of our board of directors and shareholders after taking into account various factors including our business prospects, cash requirements, financial performance and new product development. In addition, payment of future dividends is subject to certain limitations pursuant to Swiss law or by our articles of association. See the section of this prospectus entitled Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association. Accordingly, investors cannot rely on dividend income from our common shares and any returns on an investment in our common shares will likely depend entirely upon any future appreciation in the price of our common shares.
If you purchase common shares in this offering, you will suffer immediate dilution of your investment.
The assumed initial public offering price of our common shares is substantially higher than the pro forma net tangible book value per common share. Therefore, if you purchase common shares in this offering, you will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds our pro forma net tangible book value per common share after this offering. Based on the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, you will experience immediate dilution of $ per common share, representing the difference between our pro forma net tangible book value per common share after giving effect to this offering and the assumed initial public offering price. In addition, purchasers of common shares in this offering will have contributed approximately % of the aggregate price paid by all purchasers of our common shares but will own only approximately % of our common shares outstanding after this offering. To the extent options are exercised, you will incur further dilution. See the section of this prospectus entitled Dilution.
We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively.
Our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering and could spend the proceeds in ways that do not improve our results of operations or enhance the value of our common shares. We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering to advance the development of OBE2109,
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OBE001 and OBE022 through additional clinical trials and for general corporate purposes. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could result in financial losses that could have an adverse effect on our business, cause the price of our common shares to decline and delay the development of our product candidates. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from this offering in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value.
We are a Swiss stock corporation. The rights of our shareholders may be different from the rights of shareholders in companies governed by the laws of U.S. jurisdictions.
We are a Swiss stock corporation. Our corporate affairs are governed by our articles of association and by the laws governing companies incorporated in Switzerland. The rights of our shareholders and the responsibilities of members of our board of directors may be different from the rights and obligations of shareholders and directors of companies governed by the U.S. laws. In the performance of its duties, our board of directors is required by Swiss law to consider the interests of our company, our shareholders, our employees and other stakeholders, in all cases with due observation of the principles of reasonableness and fairness. It is possible that some of these parties will have interests that are different from, or in addition to, your interests as a shareholder. Swiss corporate law limits the ability of our shareholders to challenge resolutions made or other actions taken by our board of directors in court. Our shareholders generally are not permitted to file a suit to reverse a decision or an action taken by our board of directors but are instead only permitted to seek damages for breaches of fiduciary duty. As a matter of Swiss law, shareholder claims against a member of our board of directors for breach of fiduciary duty would have to be brought in Geneva, Switzerland, or where the relevant member of our board of directors is domiciled. In addition, under Swiss law, any claims by our shareholders against us must be brought exclusively in Geneva, Switzerland. Class actions and derivative actions as such are not available under Swiss law. In addition, Swiss corporation law restricts our ability to implement rights plans or U.S.-style poison pills. Since the Swiss takeover rules do not apply to us, our ability to resist an unsolicited takeover attempt may be limited. See the sections of this prospectus entitled Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association and Comparison of Swiss Law and Delaware Law. Also, there can be no assurance that Swiss law will not change in the future or that it will serve to protect investors in a similar fashion afforded under corporate law principles in the United States, which could adversely affect the rights of investors.
Our shares are not listed in Switzerland, our home jurisdiction. As a result, certain Swiss law provisions designed to protect shareholders in the event of a public takeover offer or change of control transaction will not apply.
The Swiss rules that require investors to disclose their interest in our company if they reach, exceed or fall below certain ownership thresholds only applies to issuers that have a listing for their equity securities in Switzerland. Since our shares will be listed exclusively on The NASDAQ Global Market, a U.S. market, the disclosure obligations generally applicable to holders of significant interests in Swiss corporations do not apply to us. Likewise, the Swiss takeover regime only applies to issuers that have a listing for their shares in Switzerland. This regime does consequently not apply to us or our shareholders. In particular, the Swiss rules that oblige any person or group of persons that acquires more than one third of a companys voting rights to submit a cash offer for all the outstanding listed equity securities of the relevant company at a minimum price do not apply to us. Since Swiss corporation law restricts our ability to implement rights plans or U.S.-style poison pills, our ability to protect minority shareholders in the event of a change of control transaction may be limited.
U.S. shareholders may not be able to obtain judgments or enforce civil liabilities against us or our executive officers or members of our board of directors.
We are a Swiss stock corporation, and our jurisdiction of incorporation is Geneva, Switzerland. Moreover, a number of our directors and executive officers and a number of directors of each of our subsidiaries are not residents of the United States, and all or a substantial portion of the assets of such persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors to effect service of process within the United
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States upon us or upon such persons or to enforce against them judgments obtained in U.S. courts, including judgments in actions predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States. We have been advised by our Swiss counsel that there is doubt as to the enforceability in Switzerland of original actions, or in actions for enforcement of judgments of U.S. courts, of civil liabilities to the extent predicated upon the federal and state securities laws of the United States. Original actions against persons in Switzerland based solely upon the U.S. federal or state securities laws are governed, among other things, by the principles set forth in the Swiss Federal Act on International Private Law. This statute provides that the application of provisions of non-Swiss law by the courts in Switzerland shall be precluded if the result is incompatible with Swiss public policy. Also, mandatory provisions of Swiss law may be applicable regardless of any other law that would otherwise apply.
Switzerland and the United States do not have a treaty providing for reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. The recognition and enforcement of a judgment of the courts of the United States in Switzerland is governed by the principles set forth in the Swiss Federal Act on Private International Law. This statute provides in principle that a judgment rendered by a non-Swiss court may be enforced in Switzerland only if:
| the non-Swiss court had jurisdiction pursuant to the Swiss Federal Act on Private International Law; |
| the judgment of such non-Swiss court has become final and non-appealable; |
| the judgment does not contravene Swiss public policy; |
| the court procedures and the service of documents leading to the judgment were in accordance with the due process of law; and |
| no proceeding involving the same position and the same subject matter was first brought in Switzerland, or adjudicated in Switzerland, or was earlier adjudicated in a third state and this decision is recognizable in Switzerland. |
Our status as a Swiss stock corporation means that our shareholders enjoy certain rights that may limit our flexibility to raise capital, issue dividends and otherwise manage ongoing capital needs.
Swiss law reserves for approval by shareholders certain corporate actions over which a board of directors would have authority in some other jurisdictions. For example, the payment of dividends and cancellation of treasury shares must be approved by shareholders. Swiss law also requires that our shareholders themselves resolve to, or authorize our board of directors to, increase our share capital. While our shareholders may authorize share capital that can be issued by our board of directors without additional shareholder approval, Swiss law limits this authorization to 50% of the issued share capital at the time of the authorization. The authorization, furthermore, has a limited duration of up to two years and must be renewed by the shareholders from time to time thereafter in order to be available for raising capital. Additionally, subject to specified exceptions, including exceptions explicitly described in our articles of association, Swiss law grants pre-emptive rights to existing shareholders to subscribe for new issuances of shares. Swiss law also does not provide as much flexibility in the various rights and regulations that can attach to different classes of shares as do the laws of some other jurisdictions. These Swiss law requirements relating to our capital management may limit our flexibility, and situations may arise where greater flexibility would have provided benefits to our shareholders. See the sections of this prospectus entitled Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association and Comparison of Swiss Law and Delaware Law.
We are a foreign private issuer and, as a result, we will not be subject to U.S. proxy rules and will be subject to Exchange Act reporting obligations that, to some extent, are more lenient and less frequent than those of a U.S. domestic public company.
Following the consummation of this offering, we will report under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, as a non-U.S. company with foreign private issuer status. Because we qualify as a
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foreign private issuer under the Exchange Act and although we are subject to Swiss laws and regulations with regard to such matters and intend to furnish quarterly financial information to the SEC, we are exempt from certain provisions of the Exchange Act that are applicable to U.S. domestic public companies, including: (1) the sections of the Exchange Act regulating the solicitation of proxies, consents or authorizations in respect of a security registered under the Exchange Act; (2) the sections of the Exchange Act requiring insiders to file public reports of their share ownership and trading activities and liability for insiders who profit from trades made in a short period of time; and (3) the rules under the Exchange Act requiring the filing with the SEC of quarterly reports on Form 10-Q containing unaudited financial and other specified information, or current reports on Form 8-K, upon the occurrence of specified significant events. In addition, foreign private issuers are not required to file their annual report on Form 20-F until four months after the end of each financial year, while U.S. domestic issuers that are accelerated filers are required to file their annual report on Form 10-K within 75 days after the end of each fiscal year. Foreign private issuers are also exempt from the Regulation Fair Disclosure, aimed at preventing issuers from making selective disclosures of material information. As a result of the above, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are not foreign private issuers.
As a foreign private issuer and as permitted by the listing requirements of NASDAQ, we will have the option to follow certain home country governance practices rather than the corporate governance requirements of NASDAQ.
We are a foreign private issuer. As a result, in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5615(a)(3), we may choose to comply with home country governance requirements and certain exemptions thereunder rather than complying with certain of the corporate governance requirements of NASDAQ.
Swiss law does not require that a majority of our board of directors consist of independent directors. Our board of directors therefore may include fewer independent directors than would be required if we were subject to NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605(b)(1). In addition, we are not subject to NASDAQ Listing Rule 5605(b)(2), which requires that independent directors regularly have scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.
Although Swiss law also requires that we set up a compensation committee, we may follow home country requirements with respect to such committee.
Our articles of association provide for an independent proxy elected by our shareholders, who may represent our shareholders at a general meeting of shareholders, and we must provide shareholders with an agenda and other relevant documents for the general meeting of shareholders. However, Swiss law does not have a regulatory regime for the solicitation of proxies and company solicitation of proxies is prohibited for public companies in Switzerland, thus our practice may vary from the requirement of NASDAQ Listing Rule 5620(b), which sets forth certain requirements regarding the solicitation of proxies. Furthermore, in accordance with Swiss law and generally accepted business practices, our articles of association do not provide quorum requirements generally applicable to general meetings of shareholders. Our practice thus varies from the requirement of NASDAQ Listing Rule 5620(c), which requires an issuer to provide in its bylaws for a generally applicable quorum, and that such quorum may not be less than one-third of the outstanding voting stock.
For an overview of our corporate governance principles, see the section of this prospectus entitled Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association. As a result of the above, you may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of companies that are not foreign private issuers.
Following the consummation of this offering, we may lose our foreign private issuer status, which would then require us to comply with the domestic reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and cause us to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses.
We are currently a foreign private issuer and therefore, following the consummation of this offering, we will not be required to comply with all of the periodic disclosure and current reporting requirements of the Exchange
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Act applicable to U.S. domestic issuers. In order to maintain our current status as a foreign private issuer, either (1) a majority of our common shares must be either directly or indirectly owned of record by non-residents of the United States or (2)(a) a majority of our executive officers or directors may not be United States citizens or residents, (b) more than 50% of our assets cannot be located in the United States and (c) our business must be administered principally outside the United States. If we lost this status, we would be required to comply with the Exchange Act reporting and other requirements applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, which are more detailed and extensive than the requirements for foreign private issuers. We may also be required to make changes in our corporate governance practices in accordance with various SEC and stock exchange rules. The regulatory and compliance costs to us under U.S. securities laws if we are required to comply with the reporting requirements applicable to a U.S. domestic issuer may be significantly higher than the cost we would incur as a foreign private issuer. As a result, we expect that a loss of foreign private issuer status would increase our legal and financial compliance costs and would make some activities highly time-consuming and costly. If we lose our foreign private issuer status and are unable to devote adequate funding and the resources needed to maintain compliance with U.S. securities laws, while continuing our operations, we could be forced to deregister with the SEC. A deregistration would substantially reduce or effectively terminate the trading of our securities in the United States. We also expect that if we were required to comply with the rules and regulations applicable to U.S. domestic issuers, it would make it more difficult and expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage. These rules and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified members of our board of directors.
While we do not expect to be a passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, for U.S. federal income tax purposes for our current year and future years, we may be or become a PFIC, which could result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. holders.
Although we do not expect to be a PFIC for our taxable year ending December 31, 2016, and future taxable years, we could be or become a PFIC. Under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, we will be a PFIC for any taxable year in which (1) 75% or more of our gross income consists of passive income or (2) 50% or more of the average quarterly value of our assets consists of assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income. For purposes of the above calculations, a non-U.S. corporation that directly or indirectly owns at least 25% by value of the shares of another corporation is treated as if it held its proportionate share of the assets and received directly its proportionate share of the income of such other corporation. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, certain rents and royalties, and capital gains.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. holder holds our shares, the U.S. holder may be subject to adverse tax consequences, including (1) the treatment of all or a portion of any gain on the disposition of our common shares as ordinary income, (2) the addition of an interest charge to the tax on such gain and (3) the obligation to comply with certain reporting requirements.
Each U.S. holder is strongly urged to consult its tax advisor regarding these issues. For further discussion of the adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences in the event we are classified as a PFIC, see the section of this prospectus entitled Material Income Tax Considerations.
As a result of changes in tax laws, treaties, rulings, regulations or agreements, or their interpretation, of Switzerland or any other country in which we operate, the loss of a major tax dispute or a successful challenge to our operating structure, intercompany pricing policies or the taxable presence of our key subsidiaries in certain countries, or other factors, our effective income tax rates may increase in the future, which could adversely affect our net income and cash flows.
We operate in multiple jurisdictions and our profits are taxed pursuant to the tax laws of these jurisdictions. Our effective income tax rate may be affected by changes in or interpretations of tax laws, treaties, rulings, regulations or agreements in any given jurisdiction, utilization of net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards,
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changes in geographical allocation of income and expense, and changes in managements assessment of matters such as the realizability of deferred tax assets. In the past, we have experienced fluctuations in our effective income tax rate. Our effective income tax rate in a given fiscal year reflects a variety of factors that may not be present in the succeeding fiscal year or years. There is no assurance that our effective income tax rate will not change in future periods.
We file Swiss and non-Swiss tax returns. We are frequently subject to tax audits, examinations and assessments in various jurisdictions. If any tax authority successfully challenges our operational structure, intercompany pricing policies or the taxable presence of our key subsidiaries in certain countries, if the terms of certain income tax treaties are interpreted in a manner that is adverse to our structure, or if we lose a material tax dispute in any country, our effective income tax rate could increase. A material assessment by a governing tax authority could adversely affect our profitability. If our effective income tax rate increases in future periods, our net income and cash flows could be adversely affected.
We are an emerging growth company, and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common shares less attractive to investors.
We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act. For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, including not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and shareholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As an emerging growth company, we are required to report only two years of financial results and selected financial data compared to three and five years, respectively, for comparable data reported by other public companies. We may take advantage of these exemptions until we are no longer an emerging growth company. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the aggregate market value of our common shares held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 (the end of our second fiscal quarter) before that time, in which case we would no longer be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31 (our fiscal year end). We cannot predict if investors will find our common shares less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common shares and the price of our common shares may be more volatile.
If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, shareholders could lose confidence in our financial and other public reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common shares.
Effective internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controls and procedures, are designed to prevent fraud. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. In addition, any testing by us conducted in connection with Section 404, or any subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm, may reveal deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to our financial statements or identify other areas for further attention or improvement. Inferior internal controls could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our common shares.
We will be required to disclose changes made in our internal controls and procedures on a quarterly basis and our management will be required to assess the effectiveness of these controls annually. However, for as long as we are an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act, our independent registered public accounting
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firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404. We could be an emerging growth company for up to five years. An independent assessment of the effectiveness of our internal controls could detect problems that our managements assessment might not. Undetected material weaknesses in our internal controls could lead to financial statement restatements and require us to incur the expense of remediation.
If securities or industry analysts do not publish research, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research, about our business, the price of our common shares and our trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common shares will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. We do not currently have and may never obtain research coverage by equity research analysts. If no or too few securities or industry analysts commence coverage of us, the trading price for our common shares would likely be negatively affected. In the event securities or industry analysts initiate coverage, if one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our common shares or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our common shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common shares could decrease, which might cause the price of our common shares and trading volume to decline .
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PRESENTATION OF FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION
We present our consolidated financial statements in U.S. dollars and in accordance with IFRS. None of the financial statements were prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States.
The terms dollar, USD or $ refer to U.S. dollars, the terms Swiss Francs or CHF refer to the legal currency of Switzerland and the terms or euro are to the currency introduced at the start of the third stage of European economic and monetary union pursuant to the treaty establishing the European Community, as amended. Unless otherwise indicated, all references to currency amounts in this prospectus are in U.S. dollars.
We have made rounding adjustments to some of the figures included in this prospectus. Accordingly, numerical figures shown as totals in some tables may not be an arithmetic aggregation of the figures that preceded them.
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S PECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled Prospectus Summary, Risk Factors, Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations and Business, but are also contained elsewhere in this prospectus. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the words may, might, will, could, would, should, expect, intend, plan, objective, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, potential, continue and ongoing, or the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology intended to identify statements about the future. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and opinions contained in this prospectus are based upon information available to us as of the date of this prospectus and, while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. Forward-looking statements include statements about:
| the success, cost, timing and potential indications of our product candidates development activities and clinical trials, including our ongoing and future trials of OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022; |
| our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates, including OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022, in any of the indications for which we plan to develop them, and any related restrictions, limitations or warnings in the label of an approved product; |
| the results of ongoing or future clinical trials, including of OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022; |
| our ability to obtain funding for our operations, including funding necessary to complete the clinical trials of any of our product candidates; |
| our plans to research, develop and commercialize our product candidates; |
| the timing of our regulatory filings for our product candidates; |
| the clinical utility of our product candidates; |
| the size and growth potential of the markets for our product candidates; |
| our ability to raise additional capital and the terms on which we are able to raise that additional capital; |
| our commercialization, marketing and manufacturing capabilities and strategy; |
| our expectations regarding our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our product candidates and our ability to operate our business without infringing on the intellectual property rights of others; |
| the timing and amount of milestone and royalty payments we are required to make under our license agreements; |
| our ability to attract and retain qualified employees and key personnel; |
| our ability to contract with third-party suppliers and manufacturers and their ability to perform adequately; |
| the activities of our competitors; |
| the success of competing therapies that are or become available; |
| our plans to in-license or acquire additional product candidates; |
| the time period for how long we qualify as an emerging growth company and a foreign private issuer; |
| our estimates regarding future revenue, expenses and needs for additional financing; |
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| regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries; and |
| other risks and factors listed under Risk Factors and elsewhere in this prospectus. |
You should refer to the Risk Factors section of this prospectus for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. As a result of these factors, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this prospectus will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
You should read this prospectus and the documents that we reference in this prospectus and have filed as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part, completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements by these cautionary statements.
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This prospectus includes statistical and other industry and market data that we obtained from industry publications and research, surveys and studies conducted by third parties, as well estimates by our management based on such data. The market data and estimates used in this prospectus involve a number of assumptions and limitations, and you are cautioned not to give undue weight to such data and estimates. While we believe that the information from these industry publications, surveys and studies is reliable, the industry in which we operate is subject to a high degree of uncertainty and risk due to a variety of important factors, including those described in the section titled Risk Factors. These and other factors could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in the estimates made by the independent parties and by us.
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We estimate that the net proceeds to us from the sale of the common shares that we are offering will be $ million, based on an assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease the net proceeds to us from this offering by $ , assuming that the number of common shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. A 1,000,000 share increase or decrease in the number of common shares offered by us would increase or decrease the net proceeds to us from this offering by approximately $ , assuming the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We currently estimate that we will use the net proceeds from this offering, together with our existing cash and cash equivalents, as follows:
| approximately $ to advance the development of OBE2109; |
| approximately $ to advance the development of OBE001; |
| approximately $ to advance the development of OBE022; and |
| the remainder to fund other research and development activities, as well as for working capital and other general corporate purposes, including to pursue our strategy to in-license or acquire additional product candidates, although we have no agreements or commitments for any specific acquisitions or in-licenses as of the date of this prospectus. |
This expected use of net proceeds from this offering and our existing cash and cash equivalents represents our intentions based upon our current plans and business conditions, which could change in the future as our plans and business conditions evolve. The amounts and timing of our actual expenditures may vary significantly depending on numerous factors, including the progress of our development, the status of and results from clinical trials, as well as any collaborations that we may enter into with third parties for our product candidates, and any unforeseen cash needs.
As a result, our management will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds from this offering, and investors will be relying on the judgment of our management regarding the application of those net proceeds. Pending these uses, we plan to invest these net proceeds in short-term, interest bearing deposits.
Based on the planned use of proceeds described above, we believe that the net proceeds from this offering and our current cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements through at least the next 12 months. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be incorrect, and we could use our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect.
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Since our incorporation, we have never paid a dividend, and we do not anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future. We intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to fund the development and expansion of our business. As a result, investors in our common shares will benefit in the foreseeable future only if our common shares appreciate in value.
Under Swiss law, any dividend must be proposed by our board of directors and approved by a shareholders meeting. In addition, our auditors must confirm that the dividend proposal of our board of directors conforms to Swiss statutory law and our articles of association. A Swiss corporation may pay dividends only if it has sufficient distributable profits brought forward from the previous business years or if it has distributable reserves, each as evidenced by its audited stand-alone statutory balance sheet prepared pursuant to Swiss law and after allocations to reserves required by Swiss law and its articles of association have been deducted. Distributable reserves are generally booked either as retained earnings ( réserves issues du bénéfice ) or as capital reserves ( réserves issues du capital ). Distributions out of issued share capital, which is the aggregate par value of a corporations issued shares, may be made only by way of a share capital reduction. See the section of this prospectus entitled Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association.
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The following table sets forth our cash and cash equivalents and our capitalization as of September 30, 2016:
| on an actual basis; and |
| on a pro forma basis to give effect to the filing, registration and effectiveness of the amendment and restatement of our articles of association, which will occur immediately prior to the closing of this offering, and our sale of common shares in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. |
Our capitalization following the closing of this offering will depend on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. You should read this information in conjunction with our financial statements and the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus and the sections of this prospectus titled Selected Consolidated Financial Data and Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
As of September 30, 2016 | ||||||||
Actual | Pro Forma (1) | |||||||
(in thousands, except share data) (unaudited) |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 38,910 | $ | |||||
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|
|
|
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Shareholders equity: |
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Share capital, 22,363,770 shares issued and outstanding, actual; shares issued and outstanding, pro forma |
1,735 | |||||||
Share premium |
71,818 | |||||||
Reserves |
2,421 | |||||||
Accumulated losses |
(27,859 | ) | ||||||
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|
|
|
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Total shareholders equity |
48,115 | |||||||
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|
|
|
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Total capitalization |
$ | 48,115 | $ | |||||
|
|
|
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(1) | The pro forma information set forth above is illustrative only and will change based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease the pro forma amount of each of cash and cash equivalents, share premium, total shareholders equity and total capitalization by $ , assuming that the number of common shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. A 1,000,000 share increase or decrease in the number of common shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease the pro forma amount of each of cash and cash equivalents, share premium, total shareholders equity and total capitalization by $ , assuming the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus remains the same, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. |
The number of common shares outstanding in the table above does not include common shares that may be issued from our conditional share capital to cover equity grants awarded under our 2017 Equity Incentive Plan, which will become effective prior to the completion of this offering.
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If you invest in our common shares, your ownership interest will be diluted to the extent of the difference between the initial public offering price per common share paid by purchasers of the common shares and the pro forma net tangible book value per common share after this offering. Our net tangible book value as of September 30, 2016 was $30.6 million, or $1.37 per common share. Net tangible book value per common share is determined by dividing our total tangible assets less our total liabilities by the 22,363,770 common shares outstanding as of September 30, 2016.
After giving further effect to our sale of common shares in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us, our pro forma net tangible book value as of September 30, 2016 would have been $ , or $ per common share. This amount represents an immediate increase in net tangible book value of $ per common share to our existing shareholders and an immediate dilution in net tangible book value of $ per common share to new investors.
The following table illustrates this dilution on a per common share basis:
Assumed initial public offering price per common share |
$ | |||||||
Historical net tangible book value per common share as of September 30, 2016 |
$ | 1.37 | ||||||
Increase in net tangible book value per common share attributable to new investors participating in this offering |
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Pro forma net tangible book value per common share after giving effect to this offering |
||||||||
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|
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Dilution per common share to new investors participating in this offering |
$ | |||||||
|
|
The dilution information discussed above is illustrative only and will change based on the actual initial public offering price and other terms of this offering determined at pricing. Each $1.00 increase or decrease in the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase or decrease our pro forma net tangible book value by $ , our pro forma net tangible book value per common share after this offering by $ and dilution per common share to new investors participating in this offering by $ , assuming that the number of common shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. We may also increase or decrease the number of common shares we are offering. A 1,000,000 share increase in the number of common shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would increase the pro forma net tangible book value per common share after this offering by $ and decrease the dilution per common share to new investors participating in this offering by $ , assuming the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same, and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. A 1,000,000 share increase in the number of common shares offered by us, as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, would decrease the pro forma net tangible book value per common share after this offering by $ and increase the dilution per common share to new investors participating in this offering by $ , the assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page of this prospectus, remains the same and after deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and estimated offering expenses commissions payable by us.
If the underwriters exercise their option to purchase an additional common shares in this offering, our pro forma net tangible book value per common share after this offering would increase to $ per common share, representing an immediate increase in pro forma net tangible book value per common share of $ to existing shareholders and immediate dilution of $ in pro forma net tangible book value per common share to new investors participating in this offering.
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The following table summarizes as of September 30, 2016, on the pro forma basis described above, the number of common shares, the total consideration and the average price per common share (1) paid to us by existing shareholders and (2) to be paid by investors purchasing common shares in this offering at an assumed initial public offering price of $ per common share, which is the midpoint of the price range set forth on the cover page on this prospectus, before deducting the estimated underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us.
Average
Price Per Common Share |
||||||||||||||||||||
Common Shares
Purchased from Us |
Total
Consideration to Us |
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Number | Percent | Amount | Percent | |||||||||||||||||
Existing shareholders |
% | $ | % | $ | ||||||||||||||||
New investors |
$ | |||||||||||||||||||
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Total |
100.0 | % | $ | 100.0 | % | |||||||||||||||
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The table above assumes no exercise of the underwriters option to purchase additional common shares in this offering. If the underwriters option to purchase additional common shares is exercised in full, the number of common shares held by existing shareholders would be reduced to % of the total number of common shares outstanding after this offering, and the number of common shares held by new investors participating in the offering would be increased to % of the total number of common shares outstanding after this offering.
The tables and discussion above do not include common shares that may be issued from our conditional share capital to cover equity grants awarded under our 2017 Equity Incentive Plan, which will become effective prior to the completion of this offering.
To the extent that options are exercised, new options are issued under our equity incentive plan, or we issue additional common shares or convertible securities in the future, there will be further dilution to investors participating in this offering. In addition, we may choose to raise additional capital because of market conditions or strategic considerations, even if we believe that we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. If we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of these securities could result in further dilution to our shareholders.
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SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA
You should read the following selected consolidated financial data together with our audited consolidated financial statements and our unaudited consolidated interim financial statements, including, in each case, the related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus and the Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations section of this prospectus. We have derived the selected consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 presented below and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 presented below from our audited consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. The selected consolidated statements of comprehensive loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 presented below and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as of September 30, 2016 presented below have been derived from our unaudited consolidated interim financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus and have been prepared on the same basis as the audited consolidated financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited selected consolidated financial data reflects all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the financial information in those statements. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that should be expected in the future and the results for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year ending December 31, 2016 or any other future period.
We present the audited consolidated financial statements and unaudited consolidated interim financial statements in U.S. dollars and in accordance with IFRS.
Nine Months Ended
September 30, |
Year Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||
2016 | 2015 | 2015 | 2014 | |||||||||||||
(in thousands, except share and per share data) | ||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss: |
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Other operating income |
$ | 37 | $ | 14 | $ | 17 | $ | 45 | ||||||||
Operating expenses: |
||||||||||||||||
Research and development expenses |
(15,544 | ) | (11,943 | ) | (16,892 | ) | (11,402 | ) | ||||||||
General and administrative expenses |
(3,321 | ) | (1,586 | ) | (2,954 | ) | (1,560 | ) | ||||||||
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Total operating expenses |
(18,865 | ) | (13,529 | ) | (19,846 | ) | (12,962 | ) | ||||||||
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Operating loss |
(18,828 | ) | (13,515 | ) | (19,829 | ) | (12,917 | ) | ||||||||
Finance income |
34 | 195 | | 109 | ||||||||||||
Finance expense |
(267 | ) | | (38 | ) | | ||||||||||
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Net loss before tax |
(19,061 | ) | (13,320 | ) | (19,867 | ) | (12,808 | ) | ||||||||
Income tax expense |
| | | | ||||||||||||
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Net loss |
$ | (19,061 | ) | $ | (13,320 | ) | $ | (19,867 | ) | $ | (12,808 | ) | ||||
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Net loss per share, basic and diluted (1) |
$ | (0.9 | ) | $ | (1.4 | ) | $ | (1.9 | ) | $ | (1.4 | ) | ||||
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(1) | See Note 17 to our audited consolidated financial statements and Note 7 to our unaudited consolidated interim financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus for a description of the method used to compute basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to common shareholders. |
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As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
As of September 30, 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | ||||||||||
(in thousands) |
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(unaudited) | ||||||||||||
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
$ | 38,910 | $ | 54,275 | $ | 4,008 | ||||||
Working capital (1) |
33,168 | 50,266 | 2,566 | |||||||||
Total assets |
57,416 | 71,590 | 9,279 | |||||||||
Total liabilities |
9,301 | 6,915 | 3,292 | |||||||||
Share capital |
1,735 | 1,694 | 764 | |||||||||
Accumulated losses |
(27,859 | ) | (39,437 | ) | (18,214 | ) | ||||||
Total shareholders equity |
48,115 | 64,675 | 5,987 |
(1) | We define working capital as current assets less current liabilities. See our audited consolidated financial statements and unaudited consolidated interim financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for further details regarding our current assets and current liabilities. |
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MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION
AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
You should read the following discussion in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements and our unaudited consolidated interim financial statements, including, in each case, the related notes thereto, beginning on page F-1. In addition to historical information, this discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. You should read the sections of this prospectus titled Risk Factors and Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements for a discussion of the factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from our expectations.
Overview
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for serious conditions that compromise a womans reproductive health and pregnancy. We are focused on providing therapeutic solutions for women between the ages of 15 and 49 who suffer from reproductive health conditions that affect their quality of life, ability to conceive or that complicate pregnancy and the health of newborns. Our goal is to build the leading womens reproductive health and pregnancy company focused on conditions where current treatment options are limited and significant unmet needs exist.
We are developing OBE2109 as a novel, oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH, receptor antagonist, for the treatment of pain associated with endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids in pre-menopausal women. We are currently conducting a multiple-dose, placebo-controlled Phase 2b clinical trial of OBE2109 in patients with endometriosis, with a target enrollment of 330 patients. We expect to report data from the first 24-week evaluation period of this trial in the first half of 2018. For the uterine fibroids indication, we intend to commence a Phase 3 clinical development program with two Phase 3 clinical trials in the first half of 2017. We expect to report data from these Phase 3 clinical trials in the first half of 2020. We are also developing OBE001 (nolasiban), an oral oxytocin receptor antagonist, to improve clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in women undergoing in vitro fertilization, or IVF. We intend to initiate a European Phase 3 clinical trial in women undergoing IVF in the first half of 2017 and expect to report data for the primary endpoint in the second quarter of 2018. In addition, we are developing OBE022 an oral and selective prostaglandin F 2 α receptor antagonist, as a once daily treatment for preterm labor in weeks 24 to 34 of pregnancy. We are currently conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial assessing the safety, tolerability and PK profile of OBE022 in healthy post-menopausal female volunteers. Based on preliminary data, OBE022 was observed to have a favorable safety profile and to be well-tolerated up to 1,300 mg, which is above the estimated clinical effective dose, after single dose administration.
We were founded in November 2012 and our operations to date have included organizing and staffing our company, raising capital, in-licensing rights to OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022 and conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials. To date, we have not generated any revenue from product sales as none of our product candidates have been approved for commercialization. We have historically financed our operations exclusively through the sale of equity. As of September 30, 2016, we have raised an aggregate of $93.2 million of gross proceeds and also acquired license rights on product candidates from the sale of preferred shares.
We have never been profitable and have incurred significant net losses in each period since our inception. Our net losses were $19.9 million and $12.8 million for years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, and $19.1 million and $13.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively. As of September 30, 2016, we had accumulated losses of $58.5 million, out of which $30.6 million were offset with share premium. We expect to continue to incur significant expenses and operating losses for the foreseeable future. We anticipate that our expenses will increase significantly in connection with our ongoing activities as we:
|
continue to invest in the clinical development of our product candidates and specifically in connection with our ongoing Phase 2b clinical trial of OBE2109 for the treatment of endometriosis, our planned |
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Phase 3 clinical trials of OBE2109 for the treatment of uterine fibroids, our planned European Phase 3 clinical trial for OBE001, our ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial for OBE022 and any additional clinical trials that we may conduct for product candidates; |
| hire additional research and development, and general and administrative personnel; |
| maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio; |
| identify and in-license or acquire additional product candidates; and |
| incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company following the completion of this offering. |
We will need substantial additional funding to support our operating activities as we advance our product candidates through clinical development, seek regulatory approval and prepare for, and if any of our product candidates are approved, proceed to commercialization. Adequate funding may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.
We have no manufacturing facilities, and all of our manufacturing activities are contracted out to third parties. Additionally, we currently utilize third-party clinical research organizations, or CROs, to carry out our clinical development and trials. We do not yet have a sales organization.
Strategic Licensing Agreements
OBE2109
In November 2015, we entered into a license and supply agreement, or the Kissei license and supply agreement, with Kissei. Pursuant to the Kissei license and supply agreement we received an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize products, or the Product, containing the compounds which is a specified GnRH antagonist and covered by certain licensed patent rights, or the Compound, throughout the world except for specified Asian countries and we arranged to exclusively acquire from Kissei the material necessary to produce OBE2109.
In consideration for the license, we made an initial $10.0 million upfront payment. In addition, we have agreed to make aggregate milestone payments of up to $63.0 million upon the achievement of specified developmental milestones, such as the initiation of clinical trials and receipt of regulatory approvals. With respect to any Product we commercialize under the Kissei license and supply agreement, we have agreed to make additional aggregate milestone payments of up to $125.0 million to Kissei upon the achievement of specified commercial milestones.
Pursuant to the Kissei license and supply agreement, we have agreed to exclusively purchase the active pharmaceutical ingredient for OBE2109 from Kissei. During the development stage, we are obligated to pay Kissei a specified supply price. Following the first commercial sale of licensed product, we are obligated to pay Kissei a royalty payment in the low twenty percent range as a percentage of net sales, which includes payment for Kisseis supply of the active pharmaceutical ingredient until the latest of the date that the valid claim of a patent for the Product has expired, the expiration of our regulatory exclusivity period or 15 years from the first commercial sale of such product on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis. During the term, we are restricted from developing, marketing and selling GnRH agonists and GnRH antagonists other than the Compound to the extent allowed by applicable laws.
OBE001
In August 2013, we entered into a license agreement, or the 2013 license agreement, with Ares Trading S.A., an affiliate of Merck Serono, or Merck Serono, pursuant to which we received a worldwide exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize compounds covered by the licensed patent rights, including OBE001. In consideration for the license, we issued 914,069 Series A preferred shares to Merck Serono at the time of our Series A financing, which had a fair-value of $4.9 million based on an exchange rate of $1.00 for
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CHF 0.9244 as of the date of the transaction. With respect to any products we commercialize under the 2013 license agreement, we agreed to pay Merck Serono quarterly royalties based on a high-single-digit percentage of annual net sales of each product, subject to specified reductions, until the later of the date that all of the patent rights for that product have expired, as determined on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis, or ten years from the first commercial sale of such product on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis.
OBE022
In June 2015, we entered into a second license agreement with Merck Serono, or the 2015 license agreement, which we amended in July 2016, pursuant to which we received a worldwide exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize compounds covered by the licensed patent rights, including OBE022. In consideration for the license, we issued 325,000 Series A preferred shares to Merck Serono in September 2016 upon the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial for a licensed product. With respect to any products we commercialize under the 2015 license agreement, we agreed to pay Merck Serono quarterly royalties based on a mid-single-digit percentage of annual net sales of each product, subject to specified reductions, until the later of the date that all of the patent rights for that product have expired, as determined on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis or ten years from the first commercial sale of such product on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis.
Components of Results of Operations
Revenue
To date, we have not generated any revenue from product sales and do not expect to generate any revenue from product sales for the foreseeable future.
Other Operating Income
Other operating income mainly relates to consulting services rendered to a third party, which services terminated in June 2015, as well as re-invoicing costs associated with our Merck Serono license agreements.
Operating Expenses
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development expenses consist primarily of costs incurred in connection with our research and development activities and consist mainly of direct research costs, which include: costs associated with the use of CROs and consultants hired to assist on our research and development activities; personnel expenses, which include salaries, benefits and share-based compensation expenses for our employees; expenses related to regulatory affairs and intellectual property; manufacturing costs in connection with conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials; and depreciation expense for assets used in research and development activities. Research and development costs are generally expensed as incurred. However, costs for certain activities, such as manufacturing and preclinical studies and clinical trials, are generally recognized based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks using information and data provided to us by our vendors and collaborators.
We typically use our employee, consultant and infrastructure resources across our development programs. We track outsourced research and development costs by product candidate or preclinical program, but we do not allocate personnel costs, other internal costs or external consultant costs to specific product candidates.
From inception through September 30, 2016, we have incurred $46.5 million in research and development expenses to advance the development of our product candidates. The following table provides a breakdown of our outsourced research and development expenses that are directly attributable to the specified product candidates for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 and the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015.
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Nine Months Ended
September 30, |
Year Ended
December 31, |
|||||||||||||||
2016 | 2015 | 2015 | 2014 | |||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
OBE2109 |
$ | (5,538 | ) | $ | | $ | (188 | ) | $ | | ||||||
OBE001 |
(3,029 | ) | (7,773 | ) | (9,252 | ) | (6,983 | ) | ||||||||
OBE022 |
(2,687 | ) | (1,067 | ) | (1,275 | ) | (833 | ) | ||||||||
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Total outsourced research and development expenses |
$ | (11,254 | ) | $ | (8,840 | ) | $ | (10,715 | ) | $ | (7,816 | ) | ||||
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We expect our research and development expense will increase for the foreseeable future as we seek to advance the development of our product candidates. At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate or know the nature, timing and estimated costs of the efforts that will be necessary to complete the development of our product candidates. We are also unable to predict when, if ever, material net cash inflows will commence from sales of our product candidates. This is due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with developing such product candidates, including:
| the number of clinical sites included in the trials; |
| the length of time required to enroll suitable patients; |
| the number of patients that ultimately participate in the trials; |
| the number of doses patients receive; |
| the duration of patient follow-up; and |
| the results of our clinical trials. |
In addition, the probability of success for any of our product candidates will depend on numerous factors, including competition, manufacturing capability and commercial viability. A change in the outcome of any of these variables with respect to the development of any of our product candidates would significantly change the costs, timing and viability associated with the development of that product candidate.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel expenses, including salaries, benefits and share-based compensation expense, for personnel in executive, finance, accounting, business development, legal and human resource functions. General and administrative expense also includes corporate facility costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses, legal fees related to corporate matters and fees for accounting and consulting services.
We anticipate that our general and administrative expense will increase in the future to support continued research and development activities. We also anticipate that we will incur increased accounting, audit, legal, regulatory, compliance and director and officer insurance costs, as well as investor and public relations expenses, associated with operating as a public company.
Finance Result, Net
Finance result, net, consists mainly of interest income on our cash and cash equivalents and foreign exchange gains and losses.
Taxation
We are subject to corporate taxation in Switzerland. In 2015, the Canton of Geneva granted us a ten year tax holiday for all income and capital taxes on a communal and cantonal level commencing in fiscal year 2013 and valid through to 2022, subject to our Swiss domiciliation and the compliance with certain reporting provisions.
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We are also entitled under Swiss laws to carry forward any losses incurred for a period of seven years and can offset our losses carried forward against future taxes. As of December 31, 2015, we had tax loss carryforwards totaling $30.0 million. We do not believe it is probable that we will generate sufficient profits to avail ourselves of these tax loss carryforwards.
Analysis of Results of Operations
The following table sets forth our selected consolidated statements of operations data for the periods indicated:
Nine Months
Ended September 30, |
Year Ended
December 31, |
|||||||||||||||
2016 | 2015 | 2015 | 2014 | |||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
Consolidated Statement of Operations Data: |
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Other operating income |
$ | 37 | $ | 14 | $ | 17 | $ | 45 | ||||||||
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Operating expenses: |
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Research and development expenses |
(15,544 | ) | (11,943 | ) | (16,892 | ) | (11,402 | ) | ||||||||
General and administrative expenses |
(3,321 | ) | (1,586 | ) | (2,954 | ) | (1,560 | ) | ||||||||
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Total operating expenses |
(18,865 | ) | (13,529 | ) | (19,846 | ) | (12,962 | ) | ||||||||
Finance result, net |
(233 | ) | 195 | (38 | ) | 109 | ||||||||||
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Net loss |
$ | (19,061 | ) | $ | (13,320 | ) | $ | (19,867 | ) | $ | (12,808 | ) | ||||
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Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016 and 2015
Operating Expenses
Research and Development Expenses
Nine Months Ended
September 30, |
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2016 | 2015 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||
Research and development expenses by product candidate |
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OBE2109 |
$ | (5,538 | ) | $ | | |||
OBE001 |
(3,029 | ) | (7,773 | ) | ||||
OBE022 |
(2,687 | ) | (1,067 | ) | ||||
Unallocated expenses |
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Staff costs |
(3,234 | ) | (2,563 | ) | ||||
Other research and development costs |
(1,056 | ) | (540 | ) | ||||
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Total research and development expenses |
$ | (15,544 | ) | $ | (11,943 | ) | ||
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Research and development expenses increased by $3.6 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2015 primarily due to the increased costs of $5.5 million resulting from the initiation of our Phase 2b clinical trial with OBE2109 in endometriosis, increased costs of $1.6 million resulting from the initiation of our Phase 1 clinical trial with OBE022 and increased staff costs for $0.7 million associated with increased headcount, which were partially offset by decreased costs of $4.7 million from OBE001 as the result of the completion of the Phase 2 clinical trial.
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General and Administrative Expenses
Nine Months Ended
September 30, |
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2016 | 2015 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||
Staff costs |
$ | (1,140 | ) | $ | (986 | ) | ||
Professional fees |
(1,768 | ) | (373 | ) | ||||
Other general and administrative costs |
(413 | ) | (227 | ) | ||||
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Total general and administrative expenses |
$ | (3,321 | ) | $ | (1,586 | ) | ||
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General and administrative expenses increased by $1.7 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2015 primarily due to an increase of $0.2 million in employee salaries, related benefits and share-based compensation costs associated with an increased headcount and an increase of $1.4 million in professional fees mainly due to legal, audit and accounting fees associated with our initial public offering.
Finance Result, Net
Nine Months Ended
September 30, |
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2016 | 2015 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||
Finance result, net |
$ (233 | ) | $ | 195 |
Finance result, net decreased by $0.4 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2015 mainly due to the foreign exchange losses realized on our cash and cash equivalents.
Years Ended December 31, 2015 and 2014
Operating Expenses
Research and Development Expenses
Year Ended
December 31, |
||||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||
Research and development expenses by product candidate |
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OBE2109 |
$ | (188 | ) | $ | | |||
OBE001 |
(9,252 | ) | (6,983 | ) | ||||
OBE022 |
(1,275 | ) | (833 | ) | ||||
Unallocated expenses |
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Staff costs |
(5,367 | ) | (2,989 | ) | ||||
Other research and development costs |
(810 | ) | (597 | ) | ||||
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Total research and development expenses |
$ | (16,892 | ) | $ | (11,402 | ) | ||
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Research and development expenses increased by $5.5 million in 2015 compared to 2014 primarily due to a $2.3 million increase in the costs of outsourced research and development activities primarily attributable to the two Phase 2 clinical trials for OBE001 and a $2.4 million increase in employee salaries, related benefits and share-based compensation costs associated with an increased headcount.
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General and Administrative Expenses
Year Ended
December 31, |
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2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||
Staff costs |
$ | (1,946 | ) | $ | (933 | ) | ||
Professional fees |
(690 | ) | (367 | ) | ||||
Other general and administrative costs |
(318 | ) | (260 | ) | ||||
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Total general and administrative expenses |
$ | (2,954 | ) | $ | (1,560 | ) | ||
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General and administrative expenses increased by $1.4 million in 2015 compared to 2014 primarily due to costs associated with an increase in employee salaries, related benefits and share-based compensation costs associated with an increased headcount, as well as our Series B financing and the Kissei license and supply agreement.
Finance Result, Net
Year Ended
December 31, |
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2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Finance result, net |
$ | (38 | ) | $ | 109 |
Finance result, net decreased by $0.1 million in 2015 compared to 2014 primarily due to foreign exchange losses realized on our cash and cash equivalents.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Since our inception, we have not generated any revenue and have incurred net losses and negative cash flows from our operations. We have funded our operations primarily through the sale of equity. From inception through September 30, 2016, we have raised an aggregate of $93.2 million of gross proceeds from the sale of preferred shares. As of September 30, 2016, we had $38.9 million in cash and cash equivalents.
Our primary uses of cash are to fund operating expenses, primarily research and development expenditures. Cash used to fund operating expenses is impacted by the timing of when we pay these expenses, as reflected in the change in our outstanding accounts payable and accrued expenses. We currently have no ongoing material financing commitments, such as lines of credit or guarantees.
We expect our expenses to increase in connection with our ongoing activities, particularly as we continue the research and development of, continue or initiate clinical trials of, and seek marketing approval for, our product candidates. In addition, if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to program sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution to the extent that such sales, marketing and distribution are not the responsibility of potential collaborators. Furthermore, following the completion of this offering, we expect to incur additional costs associated with operating as a public company. Accordingly, we will need to obtain substantial additional funding in connection with our continuing operations. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on attractive terms, we would be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our research and development programs or future commercialization efforts.
We expect our existing cash and cash equivalents, together with the net proceeds from this offering, will enable us to fund our operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next 12 months.
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We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could utilize our available capital resources sooner than we currently expect. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:
| the scope, progress, results and costs of our ongoing and planned preclinical studies and clinical trials for OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022; |
| the timing and amount of milestone and royalty payments we are required to make under our license agreements; |
| the extent to which we in-license or acquire other product candidates and technologies; |
| the number and development requirements of other product candidates that we may pursue; |
| the costs, timing and outcome of regulatory review of our product candidates; |
| the costs associated with building out our U.S. operations; |
| the costs and timing of future commercialization activities, including drug manufacturing, marketing, sales and distribution, for any of our product candidates for which we receive marketing approval; |
| the revenue, if any, received from commercial sales of our product candidates for which we receive marketing approval; |
| our ability to establish strategic collaborations; and |
| the costs and timing of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights and defending any intellectual property-related claims. |
Identifying potential product candidates and conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials is a time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process that takes many years to complete, and we may never generate the necessary data or results required to obtain marketing approval and achieve product sales. In addition, our product candidates, if approved, may not achieve commercial success. Our revenue, if any, will be derived from sales of products that we do not expect to be commercially available for many years, if at all.
Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenue, we may finance our cash needs through a combination of equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, your ownership interest will be diluted, and the terms of any additional securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect your rights as a shareholder. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends.
If we raise funds through additional collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates or to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds through equity or debt financings when needed, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves.
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The following table shows a summary of our cash flows for the periods indicated:
Nine Months Ended
September 30, |
Year Ended
December 31, |
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2016 | 2015 | 2015 | 2014 | |||||||||||||
(in thousands) |
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(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period |
$ | 54,275 | $ | 4,008 | $ | 4,008 | $ | 16,293 | ||||||||
Net cash used in operating activities |
(16,589 | ) | (11,751 | ) | (13,911 | ) | (12,124 | ) | ||||||||
Net cash used in investing activities |
(38 | ) | (15 | ) | (10,050 | ) | (101 | ) | ||||||||
Net cash from financing activities |
19 | 16,312 | 74,404 | 427 | ||||||||||||
Effect of exchange rates |
1,243 | (146 | ) | (176 | ) | (487 | ) | |||||||||
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Cash and cash equivalents at end of period |
$ | 38,910 | $ | 8,408 | $ | 54,275 | $ | 4,008 | ||||||||
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Operating Activities
Net cash used in operating activities consists of net loss before tax adjusted for changes in net working capital, that is current assets less current liabilities, and for non-cash items such as depreciation and amortization, and the value of share-based services.
During the nine months ended September 30, 2016, operating activities used $16.6 million of cash, primarily as the result of our net loss before tax of $19.1 million, as adjusted for non-cash items and changes in the net working capital. Non-cash items amounted to $0.7 million and mainly consisted of share-based payments. Changes in the net working capital included primarily a $2.1 million increase in accrued expenses, mainly due to our ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial of OBE2109 in endometriosis as of September 30, 2016. During the nine months ended September 30, 2015, operating activities used $11.8 million of cash, primarily as the result of our net loss before tax of $13.3 million, as adjusted for non-cash items and changes in the net working capital. Non-cash items amounted to $0.5 million and mainly consisted of share-based payments. Changes in net working capital included primarily a $1.1 million increase in accrued expenses, mainly due to the two ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials as of September 30, 2015.
During the year ended December 31, 2015, operating activities used $13.9 million of cash, primarily as the result of our net loss before tax of $19.9 million, as adjusted for non-cash items and changes in the net working capital. Non-cash items amounted to $3.4 million and primarily consisted of share-based payments and the issuance of anti-dilution common shares during our Series B financing in November 2015. Changes in the net working capital included a $2.1 million increase in accrued expenses, primarily due to the stamp duty due on the proceeds from the Series B financing, as well as to accrued staff costs, including annual bonuses, and our ongoing clinical trials as of December 31, 2015. During the year ended December 31, 2014, operating activities used $12.1 million of cash, primarily as the result of our net loss before tax of $12.8 million, as adjusted for non-cash items and changes in the net working capital. Non-cash items amounted to $0.4 million and mainly consisted of share-based payments. Changes in the net working capital included mainly a $1.1 million increase in accrued expenses, mainly due to staff costs accrued, including annual bonuses, and our ongoing clinical trials as of December 31, 2014.
Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities consists primarily of investments in leasehold improvements and furniture and fixtures, as well as investments in intangible assets through the execution of in-licensing agreements.
Net cash used in investing activities in the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015, as well as in the year ended December 31, 2014, were primarily used to purchase furniture and fixtures for our offices in Switzerland. Net cash used in investing activities in 2015 mainly consisted of the upfront payment made to Kissei under the Kissei license and supply agreement.
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Financing Activities
Net cash from financing activities consists primarily of proceeds from the sale of equity securities.
Cash flows from financing activities in 2014 and during the nine months ended September 30, 2015, mainly consist of our receipt of the payment for the second tranche of the Series A financing. Cash flows from financing activities in 2015 mainly consist of the proceeds from the Series B financing. Cash flows from financing activities during the nine months ended September 30, 2016 mainly consist of interest received on our short-term interest bearing deposits.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
The following table summarizes our contractual obligations at December 31, 2015:
Less than
1 Year |
1 to 3
Years |
3 to 5
Years |
More than
5 Years |
Total | ||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Operating leases |
$ | 246 | $ | 369 | $ | | $ | | $ | 615 | ||||||||||
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Total |
$ | 246 | $ | 369 | $ | | $ | | $ | 615 | ||||||||||
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As of September 30, 2016, there have been no material changes to the amounts set forth in the table above.
Under our license agreements with Kissei and Merck Serono, we may be required to pay royalties in the future. In addition, pursuant to the Kissei license and supply agreement, we have agreed to make aggregate milestone payments of up to $63.0 million upon the achievement of specified developmental milestones, such as the initiation of clinical trials and receipt of regulatory approvals. With respect to any product we commercialize under the Kissei license and supply agreement, we have agreed to make additional aggregate milestone payments of up to $125.0 million to Kissei upon the achievement of specified commercial milestones. We have not included any contingent payment obligations, such as milestone payments and royalties, in the table above as the amount, timing and likelihood of such payments are not known.
We enter into contracts in the normal course of business with CROs for clinical trials, preclinical studies, manufacturing and other services and products for operating purposes. These contracts generally provide for termination upon notice, and therefore we believe that our non-cancelable obligations under these agreements are not material.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
For the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 and the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, we did not have, and we do not currently have, any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined in the rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Outstanding Debt
We do not engage in trading activities involving non-exchange traded contracts nor do we currently have any debt outstanding. We therefore believe that we are not materially exposed to any financing, liquidity, market or credit risk that could arise if we had engaged in these relationships.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates
Our managements discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which we have prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS. The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires us to make
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estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, costs and expenses. We base our estimates and assumptions on historical experience and other factors that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. We evaluate our estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis. Our actual results may differ from these estimates.
While our significant accounting policies are described in more detail in Note 3.4 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this prospectus, we believe the following accounting policies to be most critical to understanding our historical financial performance as they relate to the more significant areas involving managements judgments and estimates.
Recognition of Research and Development Expenses
We recognize expenses incurred in carrying out our research and development activities in line with our best estimation of the stage of completion of each separately contracted study or activity. This includes the calculation of research and development accruals at each period to account for expenditure that has been incurred. This requires us to estimate of the full costs to complete each study or activity and to estimate the current stage of completion. There have been no material adjustments to estimates based on the actual costs incurred for the periods presented. In all cases, we expense the full cost of each study or activity by the time the final study report or, where applicable, product, has been received.
We will recognize an internally-generated intangible asset arising from our development activities only when an asset is created that can be identified, it is probable that the asset created will generate future economic benefits and the development cost of the asset can be measured reliably. We have determined that regulatory and marketing approvals are the earliest points at which the probable threshold for the creation of an internally generated intangible asset can be achieved. We therefore expense all research and development expenditure incurred prior to achieving such approvals as it is incurred. None of our product candidates have yet received regulatory and marketing approvals.
Share-Based Compensation
We measure and recognize compensation expense for all share grants based on the estimated fair value of the award on the grant date. We only grant non-voting shares to our employees and key management. The fair value is recognized as expense, net of estimated forfeitures, over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the respective award.
The determination of the grant date fair value of non-voting shares using either an option pricing method that uses a Black-Scholes model or a hybrid method is affected principally by our estimated fair value of our preferred and common shares and requires management to make a number of assumptions. Measurement and recognition of share-based compensation expense includes estimates that are highly complex and subject to significant judgment.
In order to determine the fair value of our non-voting shares, our board of directors considered, among other things, contemporaneous valuations of our common shares and preferred shares prepared by unrelated third-party valuation firms in accordance with the guidance provided by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants 2013 Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation. Given the absence of a public trading market of our capital shares, our board of directors exercised reasonable judgment and considered a number of objective and subjective factors to determine the best estimate of the fair value of our non-voting shares, including:
| contemporaneous third-party valuations of our common shares; |
|
the prices, rights, preferences and privileges of our preferred shares and common shares relative to our non-voting shares; |
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|
| our business, financial condition and results of operations, including related industry trends affecting our operations; |
| the likelihood of achieving a liquidity event, such as an initial public offering or sale of our company, given prevailing market conditions; |
| the lack of marketability of our non-voting shares; |
| the market performance of comparable publicly traded companies; and |
| U.S. and global economic and capital market conditions and outlook. |
In valuing our non-voting shares, our board of directors determined the equity value of our business generally using a combination of the income approach and the backsolve approach valuation methods.
The income approach estimates value based on the expectation of future cash flows that a company will generate, such as cash earnings, cost savings, tax deductions and the proceeds from disposition. These future cash flows are discounted to their present values using a discount rate derived based on an analysis of the cost of capital of comparable publicly traded companies in similar lines of business, as of each valuation date, and is adjusted to reflect the risks inherent in our cash flows.
The backsolve method, a form of market approach, derives the implied enterprise equity value and the fair value of the non-voting share from a contemporaneous transaction involving the companys own securities using the following assumptions: rights and preferences of different classes of shares, probability of various liquidity event scenarios, expected timing of a liquidity event, volatility and expected value in a liquidity event.
Following the completion of this offering, the fair value per share of our shares for purposes of determining share-based compensation expense will be the closing price of our common shares as reported on the applicable grant date.
Impairments
Goodwill and intangible assets that have an indefinite useful life or that are not available for use are not subject to amortization and are tested annually for impairment or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that they might be impaired. Other assets are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable.
We test assets for impairment in accordance with International Accounting Standard, or IAS, 36 Impairment of Assets. IAS 36 outlines that an impairment loss must be recognized if an assets carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount. The recoverable amount is the higher of an assets fair value less costs to sell and its value in use. For the purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are separately identifiable cash inflows which are largely independent of the cash inflows from other assets or groups of assets (cash-generating units). The recoverable amounts of our assets and cash-generating units have been determined based on fair value less costs to sell calculations, which require the use of certain assumptions.
Management maintains internal valuations of each asset annually (or more frequently should indicators of impairment be identified) and valuations from independent experts are requested periodically. The internal valuations are continually reviewed by management and consideration is given as to whether there are indicators of impairment which would warrant impairment testing.
Employee Benefits
We maintain a pension plan for all employees in Switzerland that is maintained through payments to a legally independent collective foundation. This pension plan qualifies under IFRS as defined benefit pension plan. There are no pension plans for the subsidiaries in Ireland and the United States.
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The liability recognized in the balance sheet in respect of defined benefit pension plans is the present value of the defined benefit obligation at the end of the reporting period less the fair value of plan assets. The defined benefit obligation is calculated annually by an independent actuary, using the projected unit credit method. The present value of the defined benefit obligation is determined by discounting the estimated future cash outflows using interest rates of high-quality corporate bonds that are denominated in the currency in which the benefits will be paid, and that have terms to maturity approximating to the terms of the related pension obligation.
Actuarial gains and losses arising from experience adjustments and changes in actuarial assumptions are charged or credited to equity in other comprehensive income in the period in which they arise. Past-service costs are recognized immediately in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
See Note 3.3 to our consolidated financial statements beginning on page F-1 of this prospectus for a description of recent accounting pronouncements applicable to our consolidated financial statements.
Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosures about Financial Risks
We operate primarily in Switzerland, Europe and in the United States and are therefore exposed to market risk, which represents the risk of loss that may impact our financial position due to adverse changes in financial market prices and rates.
As of September 30, 2016, we had $38.9 million of cash and cash equivalents and we had no debt.
Interest Rate Risk
Our cash is held in readily available checking and money market accounts. These securities are generally not dependent on interest rate fluctuations that may cause the principal amount of these assets to fluctuate. As a result, a change in market interest rates would not have any significant impact on our financial position or results of operations. As of September 30, 2016, we had no debt and, therefore, have no material interest rate risk exposure.
Foreign Currency Exchange Risk
We operate primarily in Switzerland, Europe and in the United States and our functional currency is the Swiss franc, and as a result, we are exposed to (1) transactional foreign exchange risk when we or a subsidiary enter into a transaction in a currency other than our or its functional currency and (2) translational foreign exchange risk when we translate our financial statements from our functional currency into U.S. dollars.
Transactional Risk
Our expenses are generally denominated in the currencies of the countries where the relevant transaction takes place, which is primarily in Switzerland, the United States, Euro-zone countries and to a lesser extent in the United Kingdom. Transactions in foreign currencies of our Swiss company are recorded in Swiss francs at the applicable exchange rate on the date of the relevant transaction. Our results of operations and cash flows are, therefore, subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates and may be adversely affected in the future due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.
Translational Risk
Because our reporting currency is the U.S. dollar, we may be exposed to translation risk when the income statements of us and our subsidiaries located in countries outside the United States are converted into U.S. dollars using the average exchange rate for the period, and whilst revenues and costs are unchanged in local currency, changes in exchange rates may lead to effects on the converted balances of revenue, costs and the result in U.S. dollars.
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To date, our risk management policy is to economically hedge 100% of anticipated transactions in each major currency for the subsequent 12 months. As our operations grow, we will continue to reassess our approach to manage our risk relating to fluctuations in foreign currency rates.
Capital Risk
We are not regulated and not subject to specific capital requirements, however, we aim to be compliant with the specific needs of the Swiss law. To ensure that statutory capital requirements are met, we monitor capital periodically on an interim basis as well as annually. From time to time, we may take appropriate measures or propose capital increases at the shareholders meeting to ensure the necessary capital remains intact.
JOBS Act Transition Period
In April 2012, the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, was enacted. Section 107 of the JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended for complying with new or revised accounting standards. Thus, an emerging growth company can delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this extended transition period and, as a result, we will adopt new or revised accounting standards on the relevant dates on which adoption of such standards is required for other public companies.
We are in the process of evaluating the benefits of relying on other exemptions and reduced reporting requirements under the JOBS Act. Subject to certain conditions, as an emerging growth company, we may rely on certain of these exemptions, including without limitation, (1) providing an auditors attestation report on our system of internal controls over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and (2) complying with any requirement that may be adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board regarding mandatory audit firm rotation or a supplement to the auditors report providing additional information about the audit and the financial statements, known as the auditor discussion and analysis. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier to occur of (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of this offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenues of at least $1.0 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which means the market value of our common shares that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.
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Overview
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for serious conditions that compromise a womans reproductive health and pregnancy. We are advancing a pipeline of orally-administered innovative new chemical entities, or NCEs, for the treatment of symptoms associated with endometriosis and uterine fibroids, improvement of clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in women undergoing in vitro fertilization, or IVF, and treatment of preterm labor. We have assembled a strong management team with extensive experience in successfully developing and commercializing therapeutics in our target market. Our goal is to build the leading womens reproductive health and pregnancy company focused on conditions where current treatment options are limited and significant unmet needs exist.
We were founded in November 2012 by former executives of PregLem SA, or PregLem, a Swiss-based specialty biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and commercialization of innovative drugs for womens reproductive medicine. While at PregLem, our senior management team collaborated in the clinical development and commercialization of several womens reproductive health therapeutics, including Esmya (ulipristal acetate) for the treatment of uterine fibroids. PregLem was subsequently acquired by Gedeon Richter in 2010. We believe we will be able to leverage our senior management teams long-standing experience working together and with key opinion leaders, patient groups, payors, reproductive health networks, fertility clinics, obstetricians and gynecologists, or OB/GYNs, nurses and pharmacists to identify, in-license or acquire, develop and commercialize product candidates. We are merging our passion for, and extensive experience in, the field of womens reproductive health and pregnancy, to develop therapeutics that can help women lead more healthy and fulfilling lives.
We are focused on providing therapeutic solutions for women between the ages of 15 and 49 who suffer from reproductive health conditions that affect their quality of life, ability to conceive or that complicate pregnancy and the health of newborns. There are millions of women of reproductive age affected by conditions such as endometriosis, uterine fibroids and preterm labor, or that require IVF to conceive. We believe the efficacy of current treatment options is limited and creates a significant unmet need for improved therapeutics for these women. The graphic below depicts the segments and associated characteristics of the therapeutic market for womens reproductive health products:
* | IMS Health Incorporated estimate as of 2015. |
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Our portfolio currently consists of three in-licensed NCEs in clinical development for four indications intended to address areas that we believe present significant unmet medical needs:
| OBE2109 for the treatment of pain associated with endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids . We are developing OBE2109 as a novel, oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH, receptor antagonist, for the treatment of pain associated with endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids in pre-menopausal women. Endometriosis is an often painful disorder in which the tissue that normally lines the inside of the uterus, called the endometrium, grows outside of the uterus, causing monthly bleeding and chronic inflammatory reactions inside the abdomen that may result in ovarian cyst formation, scar tissue and adhesions. The symptoms of endometriosis include significant pain during menstrual periods, chronic pelvic pain, pain during intercourse, excessive menstrual bleeding and infertility. These symptoms can impact general physical, mental and social well-being. As of 2014, we believe that approximately 2.5 million women in the United States were diagnosed and being treated for endometriosis and that the majority of those women experience significant pain during menstrual periods. Uterine fibroids are common non-cancerous tumors that develop in the muscular wall of the uterus and have disabling symptoms such as heavy menstrual bleeding. According to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology in 2003, uterine fibroids affect an estimated 20 to 40% of women over the age of 30 in the United States based on clinical cases and women who undergo treatment. |
In previous Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials, OBE2109 was observed to have a linear pharmacokinetic, or PK, profile, a predictable dose-dependent suppression of estradiol and a dose range that was well-tolerated and provided symptom relief. We are currently conducting a multiple-dose, placebo-controlled Phase 2b clinical trial of OBE2109 in patients with endometriosis, with a target enrollment of 330 patients, which we refer to as the EDELWEISS trial. We expect to report data from the first 24-week evaluation period of the EDELWEISS trial in the first half of 2018. For the uterine fibroids indication, we plan to perform a Phase 1 PK and PD clinical trial to assess two different doses of add-back therapy in patients receiving 100 mg and 200 mg doses of OBE2109 over six weeks. We expect that the results of this clinical trial, which we expect to receive in the first half of 2017, will confirm the selection of the add-back therapy dose or doses planned in the two randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trials that we intend to commence in the first half of 2017. We refer to these Phase 3 clinical trials of OBE2109 in patients with heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids as the PRIMROSE clinical trials. The PRIMROSE clinical trials will each have a target enrollment of approximately 500 patients. We expect to report data from the PRIMROSE clinical trials in the first half of 2020. We believe OBE2109, if approved in either indication, has the potential to be a best-in-class oral GnRH receptor antagonist based on its favorable PK and pharmacodynamic, or PD, profiles, and its expected balance between safety and efficacy. We expect OBE2109 to potentially reduce pain symptoms associated with endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids, while mitigating bone mineral density loss and other adverse effects associated with excessive estradiol suppression. Further, we believe that OBE2109 has the potential to offer personalized dosing that can be tailored to a patients individual response. Finally, we believe OBE2109 has certain advantageous characteristics including the absence of food effect, high bioavailability, low volume of distribution, and low PK and PD variability. We believe these characteristics could be key product differentiators compared to other GnRH receptor antagonists in clinical development.
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OBE001 (nolasiban) to improve IVF outcome . We are developing OBE001 (nolasiban), an oral oxytocin receptor antagonist, to improve clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in women undergoing IVF. Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system that impairs the bodys ability to perform the basic function of reproduction. IVF helps women achieve pregnancy through the collection of mature eggs in the ovaries, followed by fertilization and early embryo development in the laboratory before transfer of the embryos into the womb. In Europe, approximately 620,000 IVF treatments were performed in 2012, and in the United States, approximately 210,000 IVF treatments were performed in |
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2014. We believe that OBE001, if approved, could represent a compelling option for increasing IVF outcomes, which, based on current treatments, only has an overall live birth rate of approximately 33% in the United States and 21% in Europe. In 2016, we completed our 247-patient Phase 2 clinical trial of OBE001 in women undergoing IVF. OBE001 did not reach the primary endpoint of a statistically significant increase in pregnancy rate at six weeks after embryo transfer, or ET. In our post-hoc analysis of the data, which excluded patients with progesterone levels in the top quartile of the patient pool, we identified a statistically significant dose-proportional increase in pregnancy rate at 10 weeks and live birth rate. We believe that high progesterone levels can lead to a premature closing of the embryo implantation window. Based on these results, we intend to initiate a European Phase 3 clinical trial in women undergoing IVF in the first half of 2017 and expect to report data for the primary endpoint in the second quarter of 2018. |
| OBE022 for the treatment of preterm labor (GA 24-34 weeks) . We are developing OBE022, an oral and selective prostaglandin F 2 α , or PGF 2 α , receptor antagonist, as a once daily treatment for preterm labor from 24 to 34 weeks gestational age, or GA. PGF 2 α is a naturally occurring prostaglandin, or active lipid compound, that acts to induce labor. Preterm labor, defined as the body commencing the birthing process prior to 37 weeks, is characterized by uterine contractions, cervical dilation and rupture of the fetal membranes that surround and protect the fetus during pregnancy. Preterm labor can lead to preterm birth, which is currently the leading worldwide cause of death of newborn babies. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, approximately 9.6% of babies in the United States were born preterm in 2014. Through specific antagonism of the PGF 2 α receptor, OBE022 is designed to control preterm labor by reducing inflammation, decreasing uterine contractions and preventing cervical changes and fetal membrane ruptures. Based on its PK profile and efficacy observed in animal models, we believe OBE022 has the potential to become a first-in-class therapy to suppress preterm labor and delay or avoid preterm birth, without significant safety concerns for the fetus. We are currently conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial assessing the safety, tolerability and PK profile of OBE022 in healthy post-menopausal female volunteers. Based on preliminary data, OBE022 was observed to have a favorable safety profile and to be well-tolerated up to 1,300 mg, which is above the estimated clinical effective dose, after single dose administration. |
The following table summarizes key information regarding our current product candidates:
We are also evaluating additional indications for our current product candidates as well as opportunities to in-license or acquire additional product candidates in our therapeutic field.
Our executive team has substantial experience in developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products in this field. For example, Ernest Loumaye, M.D., Ph.D., OB/GYN, our Chief Executive Officer and co-founder,
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is a board certified and academically trained OB/GYN with extensive experience developing therapeutics for womens health and over 90 publications in peer-reviewed journals. Most recently he was the Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of PregLem. Prior to PregLem, Dr. Loumaye spent nine years as Head of Clinical Development for Reproductive Health at Serono, now Merck Serono, where he led the worldwide clinical development and contributed to the worldwide registration of Gonal-F, Luveris and Ovidrel.
In addition, Jean-Pierre Gotteland, Ph.D., our Chief Scientific Officer, and Elke Bestel M.D., our Chief Medical Officer held the same roles at PregLem where they worked with Dr. Loumaye for six years and successfully in-licensed, developed and registered a first-in-class product, Esmya (ulipristal acetate), for the treatment of uterine fibroids.
Collectively, our management team has led the clinical development or contributed to the worldwide registration of three market-leading fertility products at Serono, Gonal-F, Luveris and Ovidrel, as well as other products including Esmya, Puregon Pen, Implanon, NuvaRing and Evamist. In addition, members of our management team bring pharmaceutical development, regulatory approval, manufacturing, reimbursement and commercialization experience from other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Merck Serono, Organon, Allergan, Pierre Fabre, Novartis Pharma AG, Roche, SmithKline Beecham, Shire, Galderma, Speedel, Evolva SA and Acrux.
We have demonstrated an ability to successfully execute on the first part of our strategy by leveraging our extensive network in the field of womens reproductive health and pregnancy to in-license OBE2109 from Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., or Kissei, and OBE001 and OBE022 from Ares Trading S.A., an affiliate of Merck Serono, or Merck Serono. Additionally, we have raised $93.2 million in equity financing from inception to September 30, 2016 from leading healthcare investors, including HBM Healthcare Investments, New Enterprise Associates, Novo A/S, OrbiMed, Sofinnova Partners and Sofinnova Ventures.
Our Strengths
We believe our clinical and product development experience in the field of womens reproductive health and pregnancy provides us with the following strengths:
| Strategic focus on diseases in womens reproductive health and pregnancy that affect growing female populations with high unmet medical needs and significant commercial potential; |
| Three product candidates with clear mechanisms of action and early evidence of efficacy that have the potential to progress into and through late-stage clinical trials; |
| Management with substantial experience working together and developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products in the field of womens reproductive health and pregnancy; |
| Strong industry and key opinion leader relationships in the field of womens reproductive health and pregnancy that provide access to potential product in-licensing opportunities and product development experience; and |
| Support from leading healthcare-focused investors and board members with experience in building and operating life science companies. |
Our Strategy
Our goal is to build the leading womens reproductive health and pregnancy company focused on conditions where current treatment options are limited and significant unmet needs exist. The key elements of our strategy include the following:
| Continue to advance each of our current product candidates in their respective indications: |
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OBE2109 for the treatment of pain associated with endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids . We are currently conducting the EDELWEISS trial, which is a |
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multiple-dose, placebo-controlled Phase 2b clinical trial of OBE2109 in endometriosis patients in the United States and Europe, with a target enrollment of 330 patients, from which we expect to report initial data in the first half of 2018. Additionally, we intend to commence the PRIMROSE Phase 3 clinical trials in patients with heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids in the first half of 2017. The PRIMROSE clinical trials will each have a target enrollment of approximately 500 patients and will be conducted in the United States and in Europe. We expect to report data from these Phase 3 clinical trials in the first half of 2020. |
| OBE001 for the improvement of IVF outcomes in women undergoing assisted reproductive technology, or ART . We intend to advance OBE001 into Phase 3 clinical development to evaluate its potential to improve clinical pregnancy and live birth rates for women undergoing IVF. We plan to conduct an initial Phase 3 clinical trial in Europe, where we believe more IVF treatments are conducted than in the United States, in the first half of 2017, and expect to report data for the primary endpoint in the second quarter of 2018. If this trial is successful, we plan on conducting an end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA and to reactivate our investigational new drug application, or IND, before commencing any U.S. clinical trials. |
| OBE022 for the treatment of preterm labor (GA 24-34 weeks) . We are assessing the safety, tolerability and PK profile of OBE022 in a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy post-menopausal female volunteers. Based on preliminary data, OBE022 was observed to have a favorable safety profile and to be well-tolerated up to 1,300 mg after single dose administration. If the results of our Phase 1 clinical trial are favorable, and pending successful completion of a set of drug-drug interaction, or DDI, studies, we intend to initiate, in the second half of 2017, a Phase 2a proof-of-concept clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of OBE022 to delay birth in women 24 to 34 weeks pregnant who face preterm labor and potentially preterm delivery. |
| Develop a targeted commercialization strategy for any approved product candidates . We have obtained worldwide commercial rights to our lead product candidates, except for certain countries in Asia with respect to OBE2109. As we move our product candidates through development toward regulatory approval we will evaluate several options for each product candidates commercialization strategy. These options include building our own internal sales force, entering into a joint marketing partnership with another pharmaceutical or biotechnology company, or out-licensing the product to another pharmaceutical or biotechnology company. |
| Pursue additional indications for our current product candidates . We believe each of our current product candidates have application outside the indications we are currently developing. For example, we are evaluating OBE2109 for the treatment of symptoms associated with adenomyosis, precocious puberty and polycystic ovary syndrome; OBE001 for improving clinical pregnancy and live birth rates following frozen thawed embryo transfer; and OBE022 for treatment of late-stage preterm labor in weeks 34 to 37 of pregnancy. We plan to pursue additional indications for our existing product candidates. |
| Leverage our international product development experience and extensive network of clinical experts and pharmaceutical industry executives within womens reproductive health and pregnancy to in-license or acquire novel product candidates . We are focused on identifying, and in-licensing or acquiring, additional clinical-stage product candidates that we believe have the potential to become best-in-class or first-in-class products for the treatment of serious conditions in womens reproductive health and pregnancy, if approved. We intend to focus on product candidates that we believe will be efficient from a capital-management standpoint, and we are exploring additional needs in our therapeutic field, such as premenstrual syndrome, fibrocystic breast disease, post-menopausal hot flashes, preeclampsia and dysmenorrhea. |
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OBE2109: Investigational GnRH Receptor Antagonist for Symptoms Associated with Endometriosis and Uterine Fibroids
We are developing OBE2109 as an oral GnRH receptor antagonist for the treatment of pain associated with endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids. We believe OBE2109, if approved, has the potential to be a best-in-class oral GnRH receptor antagonist based on its favorable PK and PD profiles, and its potential to provide targeted estradiol suppression to reduce pain symptoms associated with endometriosis and heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids, while mitigating bone mineral density loss and other adverse effects that are typically associated with excessive estradiol suppression. We believe that OBE2109 has the potential to offer personalized dosing that can be tailored to a patients individual response and that it will be supported by key differentiating product characteristics, including absence of food effect, high bioavailability, low volume of distribution, and low PK and PD variability. We believe these characteristics are key product differentiators compared to other GnRH receptor antagonists in development.
In 2015, we in-licensed OBE2109 from Kissei. Kissei completed three Phase 2a clinical trials in Japan of OBE2109 in patients with endometriosis, including one double blind placebo-controlled trial with a subgroup of patients diagnosed with both endometriosis and uterine fibroids. We are currently conducting the 330-patient multiple-dose, placebo-controlled Phase 2b EDELWEISS clinical trial of OBE2109 in endometriosis patients across 46 sites in the United States and 15 sites in Central and Eastern Europe. We expect to report data from the first 24-week evaluation period of this trial in the first half of 2018. We intend to commence our two Phase 3 PRIMROSE clinical trials in patients with heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids in the first half of 2017. The PRIMROSE clinical trials will each have a target enrollment of approximately 500 patients and will be conducted in the United States and in Europe. We expect to report data from these Phase 3 clinical trials in the first half of 2020.
Background of Endometriosis and Uterine Fibroids
Endometriosis is a painful disorder in which the endometrium grows outside of the uterus, typically on the lining of the pelvis, on the ovaries, in the rectovaginal septum, on the bladder, and in the bowels. Endometriosis causes monthly bleeding and chronic inflammatory reactions in the abdomen that may result in ovarian cyst formation, scar tissue and adhesions. The symptoms of endometriosis include significant pain during menstrual periods, chronic pelvic pain, pain during intercourse, excessive menstrual bleeding and infertility which in turn can impact general physical, mental and social well-being. Often the pain associated with endometriosis is cyclical in nature and reflects the response to reproductive hormones circulating throughout the body, particularly estrogen. Endometriosis is also one of the leading causes of infertility. In many instances, endometriosis is only diagnosed when women seek treatment for such infertility.
According to the World Endometriosis Research Foundation, as of 2014, endometriosis affects an estimated one in ten women during their reproductive years, totaling approximately 176 million women globally between the ages of 15 and 49. As of 2014, we believe that approximately 2.5 million women in the United States were diagnosed and treated for endometriosis, and the majority of those women experience significant pain during menstrual periods.
Uterine fibroids are common non-cancerous tumors that develop in the muscular wall of the uterus. Uterine fibroids can vary in size from a few millimeters to more than 20 centimeters, and in number from a single fibroid to several dozen fibroids. The main symptoms of uterine fibroids are heavy menstrual bleeding, anemia, abdominal pressure, abdominal pain, bloating, increased urinary frequency and reproductive dysfunction. Heavy menstrual blood loss is the most frequent disabling symptom of uterine fibroids. Uterine fibroids also carry an increased risk of pregnancy complications such as infertility, miscarriage, placental abruption and premature onset of labor.
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According to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology in 2003, uterine fibroids affect an estimated 20 to 40% of women over the age of 30 in the United States based on clinical cases and women who undergo treatment. We believe that more than four million women in the United States are diagnosed and being treated for uterine fibroids.
The Role of GnRH
The exact causes of endometriosis and uterine fibroids are not currently understood. However, several factors can contribute to their development and progression, including the rise and fall of hormones, particularly estrogen, mainly in the form of estradiol. The production of estrogen in the body is regulated by GnRH. GnRH is responsible for stimulating the synthesis and release of luteinizing hormone, or LH, and follicle stimulating hormone, or FSH, by the pituitary gland. LH and FSH in turn drive estrogen production through stimulation of the ovaries. Estradiol is the hormone that, among other effects, causes the endometrium inside the uterus to thicken during the menstrual cycle. Similarly, estradiol has been determined to promote the growth of endometriosis lesions and uterine fibroids. Various pharmacological treatments directed at addressing endometriosis and uterine fibroids attempt to regulate the production of estrogen, particularly estradiol, by controlling the activity of GnRH.
Limitations of Current Therapies for Endometriosis and Uterine Fibroids
Current treatment options for endometriosis and uterine fibroids are either pharmacological or surgical.
Endometriosis
For endometriosis, the treatment selected is based on the severity of pain and the extent of the disease. Endometriosis treatments aim first to alleviate pain, then to remove or decrease the size and number of endometrial lesions, and possibly improve fertility. Oral contraceptives, progestins and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, or NSAIDs, are generally first-line treatments for women experiencing pain. Following the failure of first-line therapies, current treatment options are limited to intra-muscular or subcutaneous GnRH agonist injections, GnRH agonists nasal spray pumps or surgery for the most symptomatic cases.
Surgery can provide short-term relief by excising the endometrial lesions, but often does not prevent the endometrial lesions from recurring. Surgery requires general anesthesia, and has a risk of scar tissue and adhesion formation, which could lead to infertility, make pain worse, require additional surgeries or damage other pelvic structures. Surgical treatments for endometriosis range from laparoscopy to more complex open abdominal surgery. If a woman has not responded to other medical or surgical treatments, a radical hysterectomy, which is the removal of all or part of the uterus and the ovaries may be required, resulting in definitive infertility and immediate menopause.
The World Endometriosis Research Foundation through its EndoCost study estimated the aggregate annual cost of endometriosis to be approximately $80 billion in the United States and approximately $60 billion in Germany, the UK, France and Italy in 2012 based on current exchange rates.
Uterine Fibroids
For heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids, current treatment options are limited and generally consist of oral contraceptives, GnRH agonist injections or surgery. Oral contraceptives are generally used as the first-line therapy. Upon failure of a first-line therapy or contraindication to oral contraceptives, surgical intervention is generally the next treatment option. Hysterectomy is the most commonly performed surgical treatment option. Other less invasive procedures include (1) myomectomy, which is a selective removal of the fibroid typically performed by laparoscopy, which usually preserves fertility, (2) uterine artery embolization, which is a procedure to obstruct the arteries nurturing the fibroid, performed by arterial catheterization, and (3) if
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the dominant symptom is bleeding, endometrial ablation, which is a procedure to remove the inner layer of the uterus performed by thermic or ultrasonic process. According to a study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology in 2012, approximately 200,000 hysterectomies and 30,000 myomectomies are performed annually for the treatment of uterine fibroids in the United States as of 2003. Hysterectomies are major surgeries and, according to the National Uterine Fibroids Foundation, approximately 660 women die each year in the United States from complications from a hysterectomy. Hysterectomies can be both physically and psychologically damaging, not only resulting in a woman becoming infertile, but they also can be perceived by some women as impairing their feminine integrity. Surgery also carries a risk of scar tissue and adhesions, which could lead to infertility, make pain worse, require additional surgeries or damage other pelvic structures.
Treating uterine fibroids is expensive, as surgery constitutes a significant cost burden. Patients who do not undergo surgery often require medical management, hospitalization and additional outpatient physician visits, which further increase the annual costs of the disease. According to a systematic review of literature published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology in 2012, direct and indirect costs associated with uterine fibroids were estimated in 2010 to be up to $34.4 billion annually in the United States.
Mechanism of Action and Limitations of GnRH Agonists
GnRH agonists are a standard pharmaceutical therapy for estrogen dependent conditions such as endometriosis and uterine fibroids. However, GnRH agonists have significant drawbacks and limitations.
GnRH agonists act by overstimulating the GnRH receptors, which desensitizes pituitary cells, resulting in reduced secretion of LH and FSH, and reduced production of estrogen, a contributing factor to endometriosis and uterine fibroids. This leads to a state referred to as pseudo-menopause, in which patients experience menopausal symptoms before ultimately experiencing symptom relief. While GnRH agonists may be effective at treating the symptoms of endometriosis and uterine fibroids, they can be accompanied with serious drawbacks and limitations including:
| Excessive suppression of estradiol and related unfavorable side effect profile . Because GnRH agonists cannot be titrated, they act by excessively suppressing estradiol to a post-menopausal level of less than 20 picogram/milliliter, or pg/ml. Excessive suppression of estrogen can result in multiple side effects before the patient experiences any relief, including hot flashes and bone mineral density loss. Clinical trials of an approved GnRH agonist demonstrated that patients lose an average of up to 6% of their bone mineral density after 12 months of GnRH agonist treatment. |
| Delayed therapeutic effect and initial worsening of symptoms . Since GnRH agonists act by overstimulating the GnRH receptors, they can cause an initial worsening of symptoms that can last for several weeks. |
| Administration by injection . Many GnRH agonists such as Lupron (leuprolide acetate) must be injected, which generally requires the assistance of a doctor or nurse. |
| Required add-back therapy . To counteract the side effects of the excessive suppression of estrogen, additional administration of estrogen, referred to as add-back therapy, may be recommended after three months of treatment and is required after six months of treatment. Add-back therapy may result in additional contraindications and adverse effects. |
| Variable and unpredictable reversibility of treatment . After stopping treatment with injectable GnRH agonists, a patients ovarian function can take weeks or months to return to normal. This is particularly relevant and problematic if a patient wishes to conceive after treatment or if treatment is interrupted for lack of tolerance. |
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OBE2109s Mechanism of Action and Solution to GnRH Agonist Drawbacks and Limitations
OBE2109 has been designed to be a GnRH receptor antagonist with oral administration and low PK and PD variability. OBE2109 binds to and blocks the GnRH receptor in the pituitary gland, which clinical trials suggest results in a dose-dependent reduction of LH and FSH production. This reduction in LH and FSH production in turn leads to a reduction of estrogen levels.
At selected doses, OBE2109 has been observed to maintain estradiol levels in the target range of 20 to 60 pg/ml, which we believe is the optimal range to relieve symptoms associated with endometriosis and uterine fibroids while mitigating bone mineral density loss or other adverse effects that can be associated with excessive estradiol suppression.
We believe OBE2109 has the potential to overcome certain drawbacks and limitations of GnRH agonists. The potential advantages of OBE2109 compared to GnRH agonists include:
| Fast onset of therapeutic effect . By blocking, as opposed to stimulating, the GnRH receptor, OBE2109 has the potential to suppress LH and FSH within hours, lowering estradiol levels and reducing pain within days while potentially mitigating the initial worsening of symptoms which is often associated with GnRH agonist treatments. |
| Ease of administration . OBE2109 has the potential to be administered orally once daily due to its observed half-life of approximately 15 hours. This potential dosing regime is a more convenient treatment option than GnRH agonist intramuscular or subcutaneous injections. |
| Optionality for endometriosis and uterine fibroids treatment: stand alone or in combination with add-back therapy . In contrast to GnRH agonists, for which add-back therapy may be recommended when treatment exceeds three months and is required when treatment exceeds six months, we believe that at the 50 to 200 mg doses being tested in our Phase 2b trial, OBE2109 has the potential to be utilized as a stand-alone treatment for a majority of patients with pain associated with endometriosis by maintaining estradiol levels between 20 and 60 pg/ml, without the need for add-back therapy to counteract the side effects associated with severe suppression of estradiol. For the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids, we believe that based on our proposed dosing (100-200 mg) some patients may not require add-back therapy, while others may require add-back therapy, depending on the treatment dosage. |
| Quick reversibility of effect . As a result of OBE2109s observed half-life of approximately 15 hours, we believe OBE2109 has the potential for ovarian function to resume within days following the end of treatment. In contrast, a patients ovarian function can take weeks or months to return to normal after stopping treatment with injectable GnRH agonists. |
OBE2109s Potential Advantages to Other GnRH Receptor Antagonists in Development
There are currently no GnRH receptor antagonists approved for the treatment of symptoms associated with endometriosis or uterine fibroids. We are aware that AbbVie Inc., Myovant Sciences, Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. are developing GnRH receptor antagonists for the treatment of symptoms associated with endometriosis or uterine fibroids.
Based on publicly available information and data for these other product candidates in development, we believe the potential advantages of OBE2109 compared to other GnRH receptor antagonists being developed include:
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Favorable and consistent PK profile . OBE2109 has been observed to have a consistent PK profile and low variability, due to high bioavailability and low volume of distribution. We believe some of the competitive product candidates have low bioavailability and high volume of distribution due to drug |
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accumulation in fat, which we believe may translate into variable efficacy and safety. In addition, OBE2109s half-life allows for once daily dosing for across indications, while one of the competitive product candidates is being developed for twice daily dosing. |
| Personalized dosing . Based on OBE2109s consistent PK and PD profile observed in preclinical studies and clinical trials, we are currently evaluating personalized dosing that can be tailored to a patients individual response. We believe this may allow us to pursue a label for varied dosing based on a patients estradiol levels and symptoms. We believe other products in clinical development are currently only being evaluated for one or two dosing options, which do not appear to account for patient characteristics, individual response or patient preference. |
| No systematic need for add-back therapy . For symptoms associated with both endometriosis and uterine fibroids, we are developing OBE2109 as a stand-alone treatment (without need for add-back therapy) and in association with add-back therapy (fixed-dose combination therapy) to fulfill the needs of a broad patient population with endometriosis or uterine fibroids. We believe at least one other product in clinical development is only being evaluated as a fixed-dose combination therapy that includes add-back therapy, which we believe may not be suitable for treatment of women with poor tolerance or contraindications to add-back therapy. We also believe that at least one of the other products in clinical development has demonstrated, at the dose being developed in the clinical trials, a bone mineral density loss at 24 weeks of treatment comparable to Lupron, a GnRH agonist used for the treatment of endometriosis and uterine fibroids. |
| Compliance benefit . OBE2109 may have an advantage in patient compliance due to the lack of observed food effect and the ability to be taken once anytime throughout the day, as compared to certain of the competitive product candidates, which we believe need to be taken on an empty stomach. |
OBE2109 Preclinical and Clinical Development for Pain Associated with Endometriosis
Prior to in-licensing OBE2109, Kissei completed a preclinical program, a Phase 1 clinical trial in healthy female volunteers of Japanese and European descent and three Phase 2a clinical trials in patients of Japanese descent with endometriosis, including one trial that included a subgroup of patients with both endometriosis and uterine fibroids. In these trials, OBE2109 was observed to have a linear PK profile, a predictable dose-dependent suppression of estradiol and a dose range that was well-tolerated and provided symptom relief. Following our in-license of OBE2109 from Kissei, we submitted an IND for OBE2109 in May 2016, which was accepted by the FDA. We are currently conducting the multiple-dose, placebo-controlled Phase 2b EDELWEISS clinical trial of OBE2109 in 330 endometriosis patients in the United States and Europe. We expect to report initial data for this trial in the first half of 2018.
Preclinical Studies and Phase 1 Clinical Trial
In preclinical studies, OBE2109 was observed to be a highly potent and selective antagonist of the GnRH receptor. The preclinical toxicology and safety pharmacology studies did not raise tolerance or safety concerns or potential for DDIs.
In the Phase 1 clinical trial, OBE2109 was observed to have a favorable safety profile and to be well-tolerated up to 400 mg once daily for seven days. Additionally, OBE2109 had a linear PK profile, a half-life of approximately 15 hours and no significant differences between women of Japanese and European descent. Moreover, OBE2109 was observed to have a low volume of distribution, meaning the drug remained in the blood and did not accumulate in fatty tissue, and a dose-proportional response shown in the Figure 1 below. Furthermore, in the Phase 1 clinical trial, there was no food effect observed. OBE2109 was observed to induce a dose-dependent decrease in LH and FSH over time, which we believe correlates with the ability of OBE2109 to control estradiol levels in a dose-dependent manner. Based on the low PK variability and lack of dose overlap observed in the Phase 1 clinical trial, we believe we will be able to more tightly control biological response with personalized doses of OBE2109.
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Figure 1: Mean OBE2109 Concentration Over Time | Figure 2: LH Reduction from Baseline Over Time |
Completed Phase 2a Clinical Trials
Kissei completed three Phase 2a clinical trials of OBE2109 in patients of Japanese descent with endometriosis in 2013 and 2014. Endometriosis was either diagnosed by laparoscopy or by confirmation using ultrasound of ovarian chocolate cysts, which are a particular type of ovarian cyst associated with endometriosis. Outcomes included changes in pelvic menstrual, non-menstrual and overall pain scores, analgesic use and hormone levels. The designs of these trials are summarized in the table below.
Patients reported daily whether they were bleeding, and the level of their pelvic pain using a verbal rating scale from 0 to 4, with 0 representing no pain and 4 representing unbearable pain even after using a pain relieving drug.
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Improvement rate of pelvic pain severity was assessed using the proportion of pain free days during the evaluation period. Pain free is defined as the absence of pain or slight pain during menstruation and the absence of pain during non-menstruation. Across all three studies, OBE2109 was observed to rapidly and consistently reduce pelvic pain scores. All doses were observed to have statistically significant reductions of both menstrual and non-menstrual pelvic pain compared to placebo.
In the KLH1201 trial, the average severity of pelvic pain during menstruation in the 50 mg and 200 mg treatment groups was 1.74 +/- 0.62 (mean +/- standard deviation), and 1.42 +/- 0.61, respectively, at baseline, as compared to 0.94 +/- 0.98 and 0.00 +/- 0.00, respectively, at week 8. The average severity of pelvic pain during non-menstruation in the 50 mg and 200 mg treatment groups was 0.25 +/- 0.26 and 0.23 +/- 0.30, respectively, at baseline, as compared to 0.06 +/- 0.12 and 0.12 +/- 0.29, respectively, at week 8. As the trial was not placebo-controlled, no statistical testing was conducted.
In the KLH1203 trial, the average reduction from baseline to week 8 in severity of pelvic pain during menstruation in the 75 mg and 150 mg treatment groups was 1.39 +/- 0.79 and 2.05 +/- 0.90, respectively. The average reduction from baseline to week 8 in average severity of pelvic pain during non-menstruation in these groups was 0.46 +/- 0.68 and 0.64 +/- 0.70, respectively. As the trial was not placebo-controlled, no statistical testing was conducted.
In the placebo-controlled KLH1202 trial, there was a statistically significant reduction in pain for each of the 50 mg, 100 mg and 200 mg treatment groups, as compared to placebo at weeks 4, 8 and 12. For menstrual pain, a p-value of less than 0.001 was considered to be statistically significant for all doses. For non-menstrual pain, a p-value equal to 0.003, 0.010 and 0.005 for the 50 mg, 100 mg and 200 mg doses, respectively, was considered to be statistically significant. Patients also reported that their pelvic pain reduction was maintained four weeks after treatment. The decrease in average severity of pelvic pain (regardless of presence or absence of menstrual bleeding) and the associated p-value is shown in Figure 3 below.
Figure 3: Average Change in Severity of Pelvic Pain Over Time (Menstrual and Non-menstrual Pain Combined)
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In addition, patients reported significant dose-dependent reductions in analgesic use (p<0.001 for all comparisons) and bleeding days. Estradiol levels were increasingly suppressed in a dose-dependent manner consistently across all three Phase 2a trials, which we believe resulted in the reduction of pelvic pain, analgesic use and bleeding days. Doses of 50 mg and 75 mg were observed to result in median serum estradiol levels in the target range of 20 to 60 pg/ml. Doses of 100 mg, 150 mg and 200 mg were observed to reduce median estradiol serum levels below 20 pg/ml.
Figure 4: Median Estradiol Levels Over Time
In addition, as shown in Figure 5 below, approximately 40% of the patients receiving 50 mg and 100 mg doses of OBE2109 were observed to have estradiol levels between 20 to 60 pg/ml at week 12.
Trial KLH1201 KLH1202 KLH1203 Open-label Placebo-controlled, double- Open-label Trial Design parallel-group blind, parallel-group parallel-group 50 mg (n=29), 100 mg (n=26), 50 mg (n=12) or 75 mg (n=11) or Daily Dose 200 mg (n=28) or 200 mg (n=12) 150 mg (n=10) placebo (n=24) Treatment Duration 8 weeks 12 weeks 8 weeks Trial Population 24 endometriosis patients 107 endometriosis patients 21 endometriosis patients Japanese women Japanese women Japanese women Average age: 35 years Average age: 35 years Average age: 35 years Average weight: 53kg Average weight: 54kg Average weight: 53kg Demographics Average duration of Average duration of Average duration of endometriosis: 6 years endometriosis: 4 years endometriosis: 4 years Varying severity of Varying severity of Varying severity of endometriosis endometriosis endometriosis Severity of pelvic pain* during menstruation verbal and numerical rating scales Severity of pelvic pain* during non-menstruation using verbal and numerical rating scales Analgesics usage during menstruation Key Endpoints Analgesics usage during non-menstruation Estradiol levels * Pelvic pain refers to any pain symptoms around the pelvic area such as lower abdominal pain and low back pain excluding temporary pains
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Figure 5: Percent of Patients at Various Estradiol Levels in KLH1202 Trial at Week 12
Safety Results of Phase 1 and Phase 2a Clinical Trials
The safety and tolerability of OBE2109 was evaluated in a total of 128 patients with endometriosis and 77 healthy female volunteers across the four clinical trials, with doses up to 400 mg for seven days and up to 200 mg for 12 weeks.
In the Phase 1 clinical trial, adverse events were reported with similar frequency in all groups, including the placebo group. No serious adverse events were reported.
In the three Phase 2a clinical trials, almost all of the adverse events were mild across all treatment groups. The most common adverse events were abnormal bleeding from the uterus, contracting a cold, headaches and hot flashes. Most hot flashes were mild, three were moderate in severity and none were severe. No serious adverse events were reported in the KLH1203 trial. A single serious adverse event was observed in each of the KLH1201 and KLH1202 trials and both were determined by the principal investigators to be unrelated to OBE2109.
Clinical Development PlanPhase 2b EDELWEISS Clinical Trial in Pain Associated with Endometriosis
We are currently conducting the Phase 2b EDELWEISS clinical trial in patients with endometriosis. We expect to enroll approximately 330 patients across 46 sites in the United States and 15 sites in Central and Eastern Europe. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we are evaluating four doses of OBE2109: 50 mg, 75 mg, 100 mg and 200 mg, each with no add-back therapy. Patients will report their pain on a daily basis with an electronic diary and we will analyze data at 12 weeks and 24 weeks after initial treatment. After the initial 12-week evaluation period, we plan on exploring a dose titration regimen in an additional trial arm, in which some patients initially dosed with 75 mg will receive an increased dose of 100 mg, a decreased dose of 50 mg or the
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same dose of 75 mg for the second 12-week evaluation period, depending on their respective estradiol levels at 4 and 8 weeks after initial treatment. In addition, after the first 12 weeks, patients receiving placebo will switch to a 100 mg daily dose.
Figure 6 below depicts the trial design of the EDELWEISS trial:
Figure 6: Design of Phase 2b EDELWEISS Clinical Trial
We believe our current data in endometriosis patients of Japanese descent supports a daily dose of 50 mg or 75 mg of OBE2109. We believe this daily dose will suppress estradiol within the target range and not result in bone mineral density loss that requires add-back therapy. We expect slightly higher doses will be required to achieve estradiol suppression within the target range in patients of American and European descent given a higher average body weight. We plan to confirm this following the review of the results from the Phase 2b EDELWEISS clinical trial.
Menstrual and non-menstrual pelvic pain will be assessed with a 4-point Verbal Rating Scale, or VRS, and an 11-point Numeric Rating Scale, or NRS. The primary endpoint of this trial will be the reduction from baseline at week 12 in the mean overall pelvic VRS pain score. The key secondary endpoint is the bone mineral density after 24 weeks of treatment assessed with a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan.
After 24 weeks of treatment, patients may choose to continue in an extension trial. In the extension trial, patients will continue treatment for another 28 weeks at the same dose, with the exception of patients receiving a 200 mg dose, who will be switched to a 100 mg daily dose. After treatment, all patients will be followed for an additional, 24-week period that will be treatment free.
We expect to receive the primary efficacy results for the 24-week evaluation period in the first half of 2018, which will allow us to assess the efficacy of OBE2109 in patients with endometriosis. We expect to receive the final results for the 28-week extension by the fourth quarter of 2018 and the 24-week follow-up period in the first half of 2019. Upon completion of the initial 24-week period and assuming the results of the trial are favorable, we will request an end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA to determine the design of our Phase 3 program for pain associated with endometriosis.
OBE2109 Clinical Development for Heavy Menstrual Bleeding Associated with Uterine Fibroids
We are developing OBE2109 for reduction of heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids in adult women of reproductive age. We believe OBE2109 has the potential to provide an alternative to surgery,
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which is the most common treatment for uterine fibroids. One of the three Phase 2a clinical trials in patients of Japanese descent with endometriosis, KLH1202, included a subgroup of 51 patients with both endometriosis and uterine fibroids.
Completed Phase 2a Clinical Trial
In the KLH1202 clinical trial, 51 patients presented with uterine fibroids in addition to endometriosis. For these patients, both menstrual bleeding and uterine volume were evaluated.
Efficacy Results
As shown in Figure 7 below, we observed a dose-dependent reduction in the percentage of days in which bleeding occurred during the 12-week treatment period in patients treated with OBE2109.
Figure 7: Percentage of Days with Bleeding During 12-Week Treatment Period
Further, in these patients with uterine fibroids, the 50 mg dose of OBE2109 suppressed bleeding in approximately 55% of patients, whereas the 200 mg daily dose of OBE2109 suppressed bleeding in approximately 95% of patients as shown in Figure 8 below. In addition, most patients stopped bleeding within a few weeks of treatment initiation in the 100 mg and 200 mg group, as shown in Figure 8 below.
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Figure 8: Time to No Bleeding for Uterine Fibroids Patients in KLH1202 Trial
These patients experienced a dose-dependent reduction in uterine volume, while no meaningful reduction in uterine volume was observed in the placebo group, as shown in Figure 9 below. Reducing uterine volume is important for the treatment of uterine fibroid patients, as patients with lower uterine volume are eligible for less invasive surgical procedures, such as a hysterectomy. In addition, uterine volume is correlated with several symptoms of uterine fibroids, such as urinary incontinence and frequency.
Figure 9: Change in Uterine Volume over Time
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Safety Results
The safety results on the subgroup of patients with uterine fibroids did not differ from the safety in endometriosis patients. The adverse events were generally mild across all treatment groups. The most common adverse events were those associated with suppression of estradiol, including abnormal bleeding from the uterus and hot flashes. Abnormal bleeding from the uterus was not more frequent in uterine fibroid patients than in endometriosis only patients.
Clinical Development PlanHeavy Menstrual Bleeding Associated with Uterine Fibroids
Based on feedback we received from the FDA in November 2016, we intend to commence the two PRIMROSE Phase 3 clinical trials in patients with heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids in the first half of 2017. The PRIMROSE clinical trials will each have a target enrollment of approximately 500 patients. One of the trials will be conducted in the United States and the other trial will be conducted in the United States and in Europe. We expect to report data from these PRIMROSE Phase 3 clinical trials in the first half of 2020. We also plan to perform a Phase 1 PK and PD clinical trial to assess two different doses of add-back therapy in patients receiving 100 mg and 200 mg doses of OBE2109 over six weeks. We expect that the results of this clinical trial, which we expect to receive in the first half of 2017, will confirm the selection of the add-back therapy dose or doses planned in the PRIMROSE clinical trials. We believe that a 100 mg dose of OBE2109 could control symptoms in a significant proportion of patients without requiring add-back therapy. We also intend to further assess the efficacy of a 200 mg dose of OBE2109 both with and without add-back therapy. We believe that the 200 mg dose will require add-back therapy to prevent excessive bone mineral density loss. In addition, in 2016 we completed a Phase 1 trial to assess the impact of OBE2109 on the potential induction of a liver enzyme known as cytochrome P450 3A4 (CYP3A4), which is responsible for the metabolism of add-back back therapy. In this trial, we observed no relevant CYP3A4 induction, which we believe means that OBE2109 will not interfere with add-back therapy.
Figure 10 below depicts the trial design of the Phase 3 PRIMROSE clinical trials:
Figure 10: Design of Phase 3 PRIMROSE Clinical Trials
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Throughout the PRIMROSE clinical trials, patients will collect and deliver their used sanitary protection to us to be analyzed. In addition, patients will report their bleeding status on a daily basis with an electronic diary.
The PRIMROSE clinical trials will have a 52-week evaluation period. The primary endpoint of these clinical trials will be the reduction from baseline at week 24 of menstrual blood loss, defined as menstrual blood loss of less than 80 mL and equal to or greater than a 50% reduction from baseline, assessed with the alkaline hematin method. A key secondary endpoint will be the bone mineral density after 24 weeks of treatment assessed with a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan. After the 52-week evaluation period, all patients will be followed for an additional, 24-week period that will be treatment free. We expect to report data from the PRIMROSE Phase 3 clinical trials in the first half of 2020, and, if the results are favorable, we intend to submit an NDA in the second half of 2020.
OBE001 (nolasiban) in IVF
We are developing OBE001 (nolasiban), as an oral oxytocin receptor antagonist, to improve clinical pregnancy and live birth rates in women undergoing embryo transfer after IVF, including intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or ICSI. We have observed OBE001s ability to improve uterine receptivity by decreasing uterine contractions, improving uterine blood flow and enhancing the receptivity of the endometrium to embryo implantation. We in-licensed OBE001 from Merck Serono, which previously completed preclinical studies and Phase 1 clinical trials in 103 healthy female volunteers that evaluated the safety and PK profile of OBE001. We completed a 247-patient Phase 2 clinical trial of OBE001 in women undergoing IVF, which we refer to as the IMPLANT trial. In the IMPLANT trial, OBE001 did not reach the primary endpoint of demonstrating a statistically significant increase in pregnancy rate at six weeks after ET. In our post-hoc analysis, which excluded patients with progesterone levels in the top quartile of the patient pool, we identified a statistically significant dose-proportional increase in pregnancy rate at 10 weeks and live birth rate. We believe that high progesterone levels can lead to a premature closing of the embryo implantation window. Based on these results, we believe that OBE001 could represent a compelling option for increasing IVF outcomes, which, based on current treatments, only has an overall live birth rate of approximately 33% in the United States and 21% in Europe. We intend to initiate a European Phase 3 clinical trial in women undergoing IVF in the first half of 2017 and expect to report data for the primary endpoint in the second quarter of 2018.
Background on Assisted Reproductive Technology (IVF/ICSI)
Infertility is a disease of the reproductive system that impairs the bodys ability to reproduce. From 2006 to 2010, the inability to have a child affected approximately 6.7 million women in the United States, which represented approximately 11% of the reproductive-age population. An increasing number of women in developed countries are delaying having children until their mid-thirties, which has resulted in decreased fertility rates and increased demand for reproductive therapies.
ART is used primarily for infertility treatments. According to the Centers for Disease Control and the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, IVF represents the vast majority of ART treatments or procedures. IVF helps women achieve pregnancy by the collection of mature eggs in the ovaries, followed by fertilization and early embryo development in the laboratory before transfer of the embryos into the womb. According to the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, every year about 1.6 million ART treatments are performed worldwide. In Europe, ART treatments doubled from 2000 to 2010, and approximately 620,000 IVF treatments were performed in 2012. In the United States, IVF treatments increased by 41.7% from 2010 to 2014, with approximately 210,000 treatments performed in 2014. In Japan, approximately 325,000 IVF treatments were performed in 2012.
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The first step in IVF is stimulation of egg production. Approximately ten days later, the eggs are harvested from the ovaries, otherwise known as ovum pick-up, or OPU, and co-incubated with sperm cells, with this day being referred to as Day 0. The resulting embryos are either used for fresh transfer to the uterus over the next three to five days or frozen for future use. In Europe, approximately 50% of all embryo transfers occur three days after Day 0 and an additional 25% occur five days after Day 0, with the remaining 25% frozen for future transfer. The figure below depicts the IVF procedure:
The cost of one IVF cycle varies between $8,000 to $15,000 in the United States, EUR 2,000 to EUR 10,000 in Europe and $3,000 to $6,000 in Japan. As of 2006, fertility drugs account for more than $2,000 of the cost of a treatment cycle. Most patients require multiple fertility treatment cycles. IMS Health Incorporated estimates that global sales of fertility drugs exceeded $2 billion in 2014.
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The IVF process has an overall live birth rate of approximately 33% in the United States and 21% in Europe. The success of IVF depends on the quality of the embryo, the transfer procedure and ultimately the receptivity of the uterus. In order for the embryo transfer to be successful, it is important for the uterus to be receptive to embryo implantation, which includes a proper hormonal environment, appropriate blood flow within the uterus, and minimal uterine contractions at the time of embryo transfer. The endometrium is the inner layer of the uterus that is in direct contact with the implanting embryo. Uterine contractions occur throughout the course of a womans menstrual cycle and the frequency and intensity of the contractions depend on the phase of the cycle. In a study published in Human Reproduction in 1998, after IVF, the rate of uterine contractions assessed at the time of embryo transfer was observed to be negatively correlated with pregnancy rates as shown in the figure below.
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Role of Oxytocin in Embryo Implantation
Oxytocin is a hormone that is secreted by the pituitary gland. Oxytocin receptors are present on the uterus smooth muscle cells, the endometrium and the uterus arteries. The release of oxytocin by the pituitary gland activates oxytocin receptors, which results in uterine contractions. As shown in the graphic below, blocking the activation of the uterine oxytocin receptors at the time of embryo transfer may enhance uterine receptivity by decreasing uterine contractions, improving uterine blood flow and enhancing the receptivity of the endometrium to embryo implantation, which can lead to increased clinical pregnancy and live birth rates.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of investigator-sponsored trials conducted in 2014 and published in Fertility & Sterility concluded that pregnancy rates doubled with the infusion of an oxytocin receptor antagonist at the time of embryo transfer. As part of this analysis, it was observed that improvement in pregnancy rates was not restricted to women with a high rate of uterine contractions. According to this analysis, additional mechanisms, such as endometrium receptivity and uterine blood flow, may also contribute to improving pregnancy rates. In a recent trial published in 2016 involving patients with endometriosis undergoing frozen-thawed embryo transfer, clinical pregnancy rates were approximately 20% higher after treatment with an oxytocin receptor antagonist, representing a 51% increase relative to the placebo. In addition, according to studies published in Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics in 2011, women who received an oxytocin receptor antagonist after embryo transfer, were observed, based on three dimensional power doppler ultrasound, to have improved characteristics for uterine receptivity, including enhanced endometrial blood flow.
Limitations of Current Treatment Options
Currently, there are no oxytocin receptor antagonists approved for use in connection with IVF.
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Potential Therapeutic Benefits of OBE001
We are developing OBE001, an oxytocin receptor antagonist, for use in connection with IVF. We believe OBE001 has the potential to offer the following therapeutic benefits:
| Increased live birth rate . Though OBE001 did not reach the primary endpoint of a statistically significant increase in pregnancy rate at six weeks after ET, we conducted a post-hoc analysis of the IMPLANT clinical trial, which excluded patients with progesterone levels in the top quartile of the patient pool. In this post-hoc analysis, we identified a dose-proportional increase in ongoing pregnancy rate at week 10 and live birth rate from 30.6% for placebo to 51.0% for 900 mg OBE001, representing a 67% increase relative to placebo. |
| Convenience of administration . We are designing OBE001 to be an oral oxytocin receptor antagonist, which could be easily incorporated into IVF procedures. |
| Fast and sustained therapeutic effect. In clinical trials, OBE001 was observed to be rapidly absorbed in the body and, in the case of the 900 mg dose, to maintain effective concentrations in the body for three days after treatment, potentially allowing for a single administration at the time of embryo transfer . |
| Favorable safety profile. In Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials, single doses of OBE001 were well tolerated by patients. In addition, extensive testing in animal models around the time of embryo implantation and during pregnancy has not revealed any concerns regarding embryo toxicity. |
OBE001 Preclinical and Clinical Development
OBE001 was discovered and initially developed by Merck Serono. Following our in-license of OBE001 from Merck Serono in 2013, we submitted an IND for OBE001, which became effective in January 2015. Under that IND, we completed a Phase 2 clinical trial of OBE001 in 2016. Though OBE001 did not reach the primary endpoint of a statistically significant increase in pregnancy rate six weeks after the ET based on our post-hoc analysis of the Phase 2 data excluding patients with progesterone levels in the top quartile of the patient pool, we identified a statistically significant dose-proportional increase in ongoing pregnancy rate at week 10 and live birth rate, with both having an absolute increase of up to 20%, equivalent to a 67% relative increase to the placebo. Beginning in the first half of 2017, we intend to initiate a European Phase 3 clinical trial in women undergoing IVF to further evaluate the efficacy and safety of OBE001. Our IND for OBE001 is currently inactive following the Phase 2 clinical trial, but we intend to reactivate the IND after discussions with the FDA if the planned European Phase 3 clinical trial is successful.
Preclinical Studies and Phase 1 Clinical Trials
In preclinical studies, the ability of OBE001 to inhibit uterine contraction was observed, and there were no tolerance or safety concerns. Specifically, studies were conducted focusing on the reproductive toxicology in rats and rabbits during the time of implantation, and such studies did not reveal concerns of embryo toxicity after repeated exposure to OBE001.
In single and multiple ascending dose Phase 1 clinical trials conducted in the United Kingdom by Merck Serono, OBE001 was tested in 103 healthy female volunteers with single doses up to 1,500 mg and multiple doses up to 900 mg for seven days. There were no safety signals, trends in adverse events or negative findings from vital signs or laboratory parameters. OBE001 was observed to be quickly absorbed, reaching maximum concentration in approximately two hours, and to have a dose-proportional PK profile and a half-life that could support once daily dosing. There was no observed food effect.
STUDY TOTAL DURATION PER SUBJECT UP TO 22 WEEKS Screening Visit: Up to 12 Weeks Prior OPU OPU Day + 3 (Baseline Visit) Dosing and Embryo Transfer Post-Treatment Period Key Measurements Taken Prior to Dosing Uterine contractions OBE001 PK Estradiol, progesterone vital signs To Dosing T+3.5h Uterine contractions OBE001 PK Estradiol, progesterone T+4h Embryo Transfer (ET) T+4.5h Vital signs 14 days Blood pregn.test Hemato/chemistry Vital signs Physical exam 6 & 10 Weeks Ultrasound to confirm pregnancy continuation: No. of gestational sac & embryo with cardiac activity
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Phase 2 Clinical Trial
In 2016, we completed a Phase 2, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose ranging, clinical trial of OBE001 in women undergoing IVF, which we refer to as the IMPLANT trial. This trial enrolled 247 women across 26 fertility clinics in five European countries. Patients were between the ages of 18 and 36, were currently undergoing medically indicated IVF and had no more than one previous IVF cycle failure. The study evaluated three doses of OBE001, 100 mg, 300 mg or 900 mg, compared to placebo. Patients received a single oral dose approximately four hours before a Day 3 fresh embryo transfer. The patients were evaluated once pregnant at weeks 2, 6 and 10 and we also evaluated the infants born for up to six months after birth. Assuming a 20% pregnancy rate in placebo and a 40% pregnancy rate in OBE001 at 900 mg, the number of patients in each arm of the trial provided an 80% chance to show a statistically significant increase in pregnancy rate from placebo through ascending doses of OBE001 using a trend test. We believed this was the appropriate trial design to determine dose effect and guide future clinical development.
The trial design is summarized below:
The primary endpoint of this trial was:
| the percentage of women with an intra-uterine pregnancy with positive embryo heartbeat at six weeks after the ET day. |
Secondary endpoints included:
| the percentage of women with a positive blood pregnancy test at 14 days after the OPU day; |
| the percentage of women with an intra-uterine pregnancy with positive embryo heartbeat at 10 weeks after the OPU day; |
| the embryo-implantation rate defined as the number of intra-uterine embryos with positive heartbeat at six weeks after the ET day divided by the number of embryos transferred; and |
| the absolute and relative change from baseline, prior to OBE001 or placebo administration, to the time of embryo transfer, which is about 3.5 hours after OBE001/placebo administration and prior to embryo transfer, in the rate of uterine contractions per minute. |
Efficacy Results
As shown in Figure 11 below, which we refer to as the Full Set Analysis, the overall percentage of patients with an intra-uterine pregnancy with a positive heartbeat at six weeks after ET and the live birth rate were increased by over 9%, equivalent to a 26% increase relative to placebo. The median uterine contractions decreased by 8.7%, 4.0% and 13.3% for the 100 mg, 300 mg and 900 mg groups, respectively, compared to placebo. However, statistical significance was not reached for the primary endpoint, as indicated in the Trend Test column in Figure 11 below. We believe the lack of statistical significance was attributable to the limited
Full Set Analysis Placebo OBE001 100 mg OBE001 300
mg OBE001 900 mg OBE001 All Doses Trend Test Number of patients 65 62 60 60 182 Relative change in uterine contractions 0.0% -8.7% -4.0% -13.3%** Ongoing pregnancy rate at 6 weeks after ET day 33.8% 46.8% 35.0% 46.7% 42.9% p=0.33 Ongoing pregnancy
rate at 10 weeks after OPU day 29.2% 43.5%* 35.0% 45.0%* 41.2% p=0.15 Live birth rate (baby born alive
³
24 weeks gestation) 29.2% 40.3% 35.0% 43.3% 39.6% p=0.20
*p
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0.10 **p
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0.05
Subset Post-Hoc Analysis Placebo OBE001 100 mg OBE001
300 mg OBE001 900 mg OBE001 All Doses Trend Test Number of Patients 49 50 35 49 134 Ongoing pregnancy rate at 6 weeks after ET day 36.7% 44.0% 48.6% 53.1% 48.5% p=0.095* Ongoing pregnancy rate at 10 weeks after OPU day 30.6% 42.0%* 48.6% 51.0%*
47.0% p=0.035** Live birth rate (baby born alive
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24 weeks gestation) 30.6% 38.0% 48.6% 51.0% 45.5% p=0.025** *p
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sample size and based on the 300 mg dose group of OBE001 which had lower clinical pregnancy and live birth rates than the 100 mg and 900 mg treatment groups.
The trend test is a statistical technique that was used to determine whether there was a statistically significant linear relationship between the dose of OBE001 administered and the amplitude of the increase in ongoing pregnancy rate at six weeks after the ET day. In this Phase 2 IMPLANT trial, we considered a p-value of less than 0.10 to be statistically significant.
Figure 11
Following our receipt of the initial data, we reviewed the patients characteristics within each of the dose groups. From this review, we discovered that patients in the 300 mg group demonstrated higher estradiol levels and higher progesterone levels prior to embryo transfer than in the other groups. We believe that high estradiol levels are responsible for the earlier expression of progesterone receptors, which induce advancement of endometrial maturation, and that high progesterone levels can lead to a premature closing of the embryo implantation window, preventing or impairing the embryo implantation. Therefore, we subsequently conducted a post-hoc analysis of the results of the Phase 2 clinical trial, removing patients with a progesterone level in the top quartile of the patient pool. There were 25 patients excluded in this post-hoc analysis from the 300 mg group, while only 16, 12 and 11 patients were excluded in this post-hoc analysis from the placebo, 100 mg and 900 mg groups, respectively, which we believe demonstrates the imbalance between the 300 mg group and the other groups.
Parameters Placebo n=65 OBE001 100 mg n=62 OBE001 300 mg n=60 OBE001 900 mg n=60 Ectopic Pregnancy 1 1 0 1 Congenital Malformation 2* 40 1 Intra-uterine Growth Retardation 0 0 2 0 * Club-Foot/ Renal Hydrops 0 Acrania/Turner Syndrome/Prader Willi Syndrom/Left Ventricular Hypoplasia Polydactyly
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In our post-hoc analysis, we identified a statistically significant relationship between the dose of OBE001 and the ongoing pregnancy rate at week 10 and live birth rate, with an increase from 30.6% for placebo to 51.0% for 900 mg OBE001 at week 10 and for live birth rate, equivalent to a 67% increase relative to placebo (trend test p-value < 0.05). The results of our post-hoc analysis are shown in Figure 12 below:
Figure 12
Based on these results, we believe that a single 900 mg dose of OBE001 administered just before embryo transfer has the potential to increase clinical pregnancy and live birth rates following IVF.
Phase 2 Clinical Safety Results
In the IMPLANT trial, OBE001 was well tolerated at doses up to 900 mg. Adverse events were reported through 10 weeks following the OPU day. Increased doses were not observed to result in increased occurrence of adverse events. The most common adverse events were determined to be related to pregnancy, menstrual bleeding or the IVF procedure and occurred at similar frequencies in the placebo and active treatment groups. Serious adverse events were reported in six patients and included ectopic pregnancy in three patients, and adnexal torsion, vaginal hemorrhage and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in one patient each. None of these serious adverse events were determined by the investigator to be related to the treatment and none caused trial discontinuation. One patient in the OBE001 900 mg group discontinued participation in the trial due to a non-serious adverse event of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which was determined by the investigator to be unrelated to treatment. Only three adverse events, which occurred in patients in the 300 mg group, were considered related to treatment (mild nausea, mild dizziness and mild rash), and the patients fully recovered from the adverse events.
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In the trial, ongoing pregnancies were followed up to 28 days post-delivery. As expected with human pregnancies, some congenital malformations were observed both in the placebo group and the treatment groups. There appeared to be no relationship between the OBE001 dose and the incidence of the congenital malformations, as shown in Figure 13 below, and none were determined by the investigator to be related to treatment. In addition, OBE001 was not associated with an increase in ectopic pregnancy or in intra-uterine growth retardation.
Figure 13
Clinical Development Plan
We intend to advance OBE001 into Phase 3 clinical development to evaluate its potential to improve clinical pregnancy and live birth rates for women undergoing IVF. We plan to first conduct a Phase 3 clinical trial in Europe, where we believe more IVF treatments are conducted. The European Phase 3 clinical trial is designed to test the effect of a single oral dose of 900 mg of OBE001 administered four hours before embryo transfer, compared to placebo. The primary endpoint will be the ongoing pregnancy rate at ten weeks after the OPU day. Secondary endpoints will include clinical pregnancy rates at six weeks after the ET day, live birth rates, maternal, newborn baby and infant follow-up. The design of this European Phase 3 clinical trial is shown in Figure 14 below.
Figure 14
We plan to initiate this European Phase 3 clinical trial in the first half of 2017, and expect to report data for the primary endpoint in the second quarter of 2018. If this trial is successful, we plan on holding an end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA and to reactivate our IND before commencing any U.S. clinical trials.
Delay of Delivery 48 Hours 7 Days Placebo/Control 53 (45-61) [9] 39 (28-49) [8] Betamimetics 75 (65-85) [29] 65 (59-71) [26] Calcium-Channel Blocker 76 (57-95) [17] 62 (56-69) [10] Magnesium Sulfate 89 (85-93) [11] 61 (39-84) [5] Oxytocin Receptor Antagonists 86 (80-91) [8] 78 (68-88) [6] Prostaglandln Inhibitors 93 (90-95) [8] 76 (67-85) [3] Data presented as percentage of women experiencing delay () = 95% confidence interval [] = number of studies
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OBE022: Our PGF 2 α Receptor Antagonist for the Treatment of Preterm Labor (GA 24-34 weeks)
We are developing OBE022 as a potential first-in-class, once daily, oral and selective PGF 2 α , receptor antagonist for the treatment of preterm labor in weeks 24 to 34 of pregnancy. PGF 2 α is a naturally occurring prostaglandin that acts to induce labor in pregnant women. Through specific antagonism of the PGF 2 α receptor, OBE022 is designed to control preterm labor by reducing inflammation, decreasing uterine contractions and preventing cervical changes and membrane ruptures. Based on its PK profile and efficacy observed in animal models, we believe OBE022 has the potential to become a first-in-class therapy to suppress premature labor and delay or avoid preterm birth while also being safe for the fetus. We are currently conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial to assess the safety, tolerability and PK profile of OBE022 in healthy post-menopausal female volunteers. Based on preliminary data, OBE022 was observed to have a favorable safety profile and to be well-tolerated up to 1,300 mg, which is above the estimated clinical effective dose, after single dose administration.
Background and Impact of Preterm Labor
Preterm labor, defined as the body commencing the birthing process prior to 37 weeks, is characterized by uterine contractions, cervical dilation and rupture of the fetal membranes that surround and protect the fetus during pregnancy. According to a study published in the Lancet in 2012, approximately 15 million babies were born preterm in 2010, accounting for 11.1% of all live births worldwide. In the 65 countries with reliable data for preterm birth, 62 countries had increasing rates of preterm birth over the period from 1990 to 2010. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the United States preterm birth rate was 9.6% in 2014, which, according to the March of Dimes Foundation, ranks among the worst of high-resource countries. In 2007, the Institute of Medicine reported that the cost associated with premature birth in the United States was approximately $26.2 billion each year.
According to the World Health Organization, preterm birth is the leading worldwide cause of neonatal death, defined as death in the first 28 days of life. Preterm birth complications are also the leading cause of death in children under the age of five, having caused nearly one million deaths in 2013 worldwide. Infants who survive preterm birth may have lifelong health problems such as cerebral palsy, vision and hearing impairment and intellectual disabilities. Approximately one-third of children born prematurely need special school services, according to the March of Dimes Foundation.
Role of Prostaglandins in Preterm Labor
Prostaglandins play a major role in the normal function of the female reproductive system. There are various prostaglandins at work in the human body with different functions, such as prostaglandin E2, or PGE2, and PGF 2 α . PGE2 and PGF 2 α have opposing effects on the female reproductive system. PGE2 causes the widening of blood vessels. PGE2 is produced by the fetus and is important in fetal physiology and development, and therefore, blocking its action has the potential to produce unwanted fetal effects. By contrast, PGF 2 α is a constrictor of the myometrium and uterine blood vessels. PGF 2 α is present in the uterus and plays a major role in the initiation and process of childbirth. PGF 2 α modulates various functions leading to the progression of labor and is involved in all aspects of childbirth including ripening of the cervix, membrane rupture and induction of uterine contraction. PGF 2 α promotes the establishment of a pro-inflammatory intra-uterine environment by stimulation of pro-inflammatory cytokine and chemokine production in the myometrium, leading to the initiation of labor.
Limitations of Current Treatment Options
Various classes of pharmaceutical agents that decrease uterine contractions, also known as tocolytics, are used to delay preterm labor. These different classes act on the uterine muscle through various mechanisms of action but have limited efficacy, restrictive safety issues and are used off-label in the United States. These different classes include nifedipine, a calcium channel blocker, magnesium sulfate and glyceryl trinitrate, each of which have been observed to have limited efficacy. Beta-adrenergic agonists have been largely discontinued
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because of severe maternal cardiovascular side effects. Atosiban, an oxytocin receptor antagonist, is approved in Europe and can delay preterm labor, but is administered through a bolus injection followed by an infusion and is not indicated for dosing beyond 48 hours.
Reviews of these different classes of tocolytic drugs concluded that prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors, also known as NSAIDs, provided the best efficacy for delaying labor at 48 hours and seven days. According to a study published in Obstetrics & Gynecology in 2009, prostaglandin antagonists were most effective at delaying delivery at 48 hours and seven days among the class of drugs available in the United States. Delaying delivery as long as possible up to full term is ideal, but delaying delivery by at least 48 hours is significant because a steroid can be administered to the mother to mature the babys lungs so the baby can potentially breathe on its own. The table below, which shows the results of that study, displays the percentage of patients that did not deliver a baby at various time points following treatment.
Figure 15: Weighted Percentages of Tocolytic Agents for Efficacy
Currently available prostaglandin inhibitors, such as the NSAID indomethacin, act by non-selective inhibition of prostaglandin-forming enzymes, thus blocking the generation and signaling of many prostaglandin sub-types, including both PGE2 and PGF 2 α . Because they potentially adversely affect fetal physiology through the inhibition of PGE2, NSAIDs are no longer recommended for pregnant women due to these unwanted side effects. According to a publication in 2015 in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, the most concerning side effects associated with the non-selective prostaglandin inhibitors include severe conditions in newborn babies, such as renal function impairment, constriction of the blood vessel connecting the pulmonary artery to the aorta, bleeding into the fluid-filled areas of the brain, necrotizing enterocolitis, which is a serious condition that occurs when the intestinal tissue blood flow is damaged and begins to die, and periventricular leukomalacia, which is a form of brain injury that can lead to serious disabilities.
As a result of the limited efficacy and unfavorable safety profile of many current therapies used off-label to treat preterm labor, we believe there remains a significant unmet need for a selective prostaglandin inhibitor focused on the inhibition of only PGF 2 α to delay preterm labor and provide a safe treatment option for both mother and child.
Preclinical and Clinical Development
OBE022 was discovered and initially developed by Merck Serono as a selective inhibitor of PGF 2 α . We in-licensed OBE022 from Merck Serono in 2015. In preclinical studies, OBE022 was observed to reduce uterine contractions and to exert a synergistic effect in combination with nifedipine to delay delivery. In our current Phase 1 clinical trial, we are assessing the safety, tolerability and PK profile of OBE022 when administered in healthy post-menopausal female volunteers. Based on preliminary data, OBE022 was observed to have a favorable safety profile and to be well-tolerated up to 1,300 mg after single dose administration. If the results of
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the Phase 1 clinical trial are positive, following completion of a set of DDI studies, we intend to initiate, in the second half of 2017, a Phase 2a proof-of-concept clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of OBE022 to delay birth after oral administration in pregnant women who face preterm labor and potentially preterm delivery in weeks 24 to 34 of pregnancy.
Preclinical Development
In the preclinical pharmacology, PK and toxicology studies conducted by Merck Serono, OBE022 was observed to be a highly selective, competitive and reversible PGF 2 α receptor antagonist with over 100 times the affinity for it compared to other prostaglandin receptor subtypes. OBE022 has been observed to have tocolytic effects in vitro and in vivo by markedly reducing spontaneous uterine contractions in a preterm labor animal model.
Preclinical studies have also been conducted to support oral administration of OBE022 in humans. Overall, the toxicological profile of OBE022 observed in repeated-dose toxicity studies in rats and dogs appeared to be benign. We also conducted safety studies to evaluate OBE022 compared to NSAIDs in pregnant rats prior to delivery. In these studies, we observed that the NSAID indomethacin induced constriction of the blood vessel connecting the pulmonary artery to the aorta and impaired the renal function in the newborn rats, while OBE022 did not. Based on the results of these preclinical studies, we believe that OBE022 has the potential to be an effective, safer tocolytic agent for the treatment of preterm labor.
Clinical Development Plan
In our current Phase 1 clinical trial, we are assessing the safety, tolerability and PK profile of OBE022 when administered in approximately 70 healthy post-menopausal female volunteers as single and multiple ascending doses at one site in the United Kingdom. As PGF 2 α is also involved in uterine contractions and the related pain that can occur during normal menstruation in non-pregnant women, we are assessing the ability of OBE022 to reduce the intra-uterine pressure and the pelvic pain scores in healthy female volunteers of child bearing age during menstruation. Based on preliminary data from the single doses administered in the Phase 1 clinical trial, which is ongoing, OBE022 was observed to be readily absorbed and converted into the active stable metabolite OBE002. Exposure to OBE002 increased with dose of OBE022 and reached clinically meaningful exposure levels within an hour after administration which is an important feature for orally administered preterm labor treatments. Median OBE022 half-lives were observed to be between 8 and 15 hours, which we believe is an adequate half-life for OBE022 to have once daily or twice daily dosing. Preliminary plasma concentration-time data is presented in Figure 16 below. To date, single and multiple administrations of OBE022 were well tolerated at all doses. There have been no serious adverse events and no clinically relevant changes in safety parameters.
Figure 16:
We will also be initiating DDI studies in healthy female patients to generate safety, tolerability and PK data associated with OBE022 when co-administered with other medications typically used in patients with preterm labor. We anticipate receiving data from these studies in the second quarter of 2017.
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If the results of our Phase 1 clinical trials are favorable, we intend to initiate in the second half of 2017 a Phase 2a proof-of-concept clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of OBE022 to delay birth after oral administration in pregnant women who face preterm labor and potentially preterm delivery. The targeted patient population will include women who are at least 24 and less than 34 weeks pregnant, with intact membranes, presenting with spontaneous preterm labor and no contraindications to a prolongation of pregnancy. Giving birth between 34 weeks and 37 weeks is generally not viewed as high risk to the baby and therefore using pharmaceutical agents to delay child birth is controversial during this period.
Commercialization
We have not yet established a sales, marketing or product distribution infrastructure. In order to commercialize any of our product candidates if approved for commercial sale, we must either establish a sales and marketing organization with technical expertise and supporting distribution capabilities or collaborate with third-parties that have sales and marketing experience. As we move our product candidates through development toward regulatory approval we will evaluate several options for each product candidates commercialization strategy. These options include building our own internal sales force, entering into a joint marketing partnership with another pharmaceutical or biotechnology company, or out-licensing the product to another pharmaceutical or biotechnology company.
Manufacturing
We rely on contract manufacturing organizations, or CMOs, to produce our product candidates in accordance with the FDAs current Good Manufacturing Practices, or cGMP, regulations for use in our clinical trials. The manufacture of pharmaceuticals is subject to extensive cGMP regulations, which impose various procedural and documentation requirements and govern all areas of record keeping, production processes and controls, personnel and quality control. Replacement of any of our CMOs would require us to qualify new manufacturers and negotiate and execute contractual agreements with them. If any of our supply or service agreements with our CMOs are terminated, we will experience delays and additional expenses in the completion of the development of and obtaining regulatory approval for OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022.
To meet our projected needs for clinical supplies to support our activities through regulatory approval and commercial manufacturing, the CMOs with whom we currently work will need to increase scale of production or we will need to secure alternate suppliers. Pursuant to the Kissei license and supply agreement, we have agreed to exclusively purchase the active pharmaceutical ingredient for OBE2109 from Kissei. A CMO that Kissei is using to supply the active pharmaceutical ingredient for OBE2019 received a warning letter from the FDA in November 2016 citing deviations from cGMP requirements with respect to its drug manufacturing facility. For OBE001 and OBE022, we obtain supply on a purchase order basis from a single source. However, we believe that there are multiple potential sources for our contract manufacturing for OBE001 and OBE022. Neither we nor Kissei has engaged alternate suppliers in the event that our current CMOs for OBE001 and OBE022, or Kisseis CMOs for OBE2109, are unable to scale production or suffer disruption to their supply. In the event of a disruption to Kissei or to a CMO Kissei elects to utilize for OBE2019, we will have no other means of producing OBE2109 until Kissei restores the affected facilities, selects an alternate CMO or we or it procures alternative manufacturing facilities. Kissei is working with the CMO to completely correct all deviations cited in the warning letter. If we are unable to obtain sufficient quantities of our products candidates or receive raw materials in a timely manner, we could be required to delay our ongoing clinical trials and seek alternative manufacturers, which would be costly and time-consuming.
The CMOs with whom we currently work will also need to ensure and maintain quality (specifications, shelf-life, expiry, in-process-control) throughout the production process of our clinical and commercial supplies. If we are unable to ensure and maintain quality of our products candidates, we could be required to delay our ongoing clinical trials which would be costly and time-consuming.
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To mitigate the risks above, our relationships with CMOs are managed by internal personnel with extensive experience in NCE pharmaceutical development and chemistry, manufacturing and controls, or CMC.
Competition
Biopharmaceutical product development is highly competitive and subject to rapid and significant technological advancements. Our success is highly dependent upon our ability to in-license, acquire, develop and obtain regulatory approval for new and innovative products on a cost-effective basis and to market them successfully. In doing so, we face and will continue to face intense competition from a variety of businesses, including large, fully integrated, well-established pharmaceutical companies who already possess a large share of the market, specialty pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, government agencies and other private and public research institutions in the European Union, United States and other jurisdictions.
With respect to OBE2109, there are no GnRH antagonists currently approved for the treatment of pain associated with endometriosis or heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids. However, we are aware that AbbVie Inc., Myovant Sciences, Inc. and Astellas Pharma Inc. are developing GnRH antagonist product candidates for treatment of symptoms associated with endometriosis or uterine fibroids. We also anticipate competing with GnRH agonists, including Lupron (leuprolide acetate), marketed by AbbVie Inc. and Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Visanne, which is approved for the treatment of endometriosis outside the United States and marketed by Bayer, ulipristal acetate, which is approved for the treatment of moderate-to-severe symptoms of uterine fibroids outside the United States and marketed by Gedeon Richter in Europe and other regions, and by Actavis (Allergan) in Canada. Actavis (Allergan) has stated that it expects to submit an NDA for ulipristal acetate with the FDA in 2017. In addition, oral contraceptives and NSAIDs are routinely used as a first-line therapy for treatment of symptoms associated with endometriosis and uterine fibroids and have a meaningful success rate at mitigating the symptoms associated with these conditions.
With respect to OBE001, there are no oxytocin receptor antagonists approved for use in connection with IVF. However, we are aware that Ferring Pharmaceuticals Inc. has been developing barusiban, an oxytocin receptor antagonist, to be administered subcutaneously, for use in connection with IVF. Ferring Pharmaceuticals atosiban, an oxytocin receptor antagonist, has been used in investigator initiated trials in connection with IVF outside the United States.
With respect to OBE022, we anticipate competing with atosiban, which has been approved to delay preterm birth outside of the United States, as well as currently available prostaglandin inhibitors, such as NSAIDs. We are also aware that GlaxoSmithKline is developing retosiban, an oxytocin receptor antagonist, to delay preterm birth.
We may also compete with other companies acquiring and developing or marketing drug therapies or products for womens reproductive health diseases.
Many of the companies against which we are competing or against which we may compete in the future have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and marketing approved drugs than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the biopharmaceutical industry could result in even more resources being concentrated among a small number of our competitors. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large and established companies. These third parties compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel, establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs.
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Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are safer, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than OBE2109, OBE001 or OBE022 or any other product candidate that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their product candidates more rapidly than we may obtain approval for our product candidates, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. Any new product that competes with an approved product must demonstrate compelling advantages in efficacy, convenience, tolerability and safety in order to overcome price competition and to be commercially successful.
In addition, established biopharmaceutical companies may invest heavily to accelerate discovery and development of novel compounds or to in-license novel compounds that could make OBE2109, OBE001, OBE022 or any of our future product candidates less competitive.
Intellectual Property
We have filed numerous patent applications and have licensed numerous issued patents and patent applications pertaining to our product candidates and methods of manufacture and clinical use. We strive to protect and enhance the proprietary technology, inventions, and improvements that are commercially important to the development of our business by seeking, maintaining and defending our intellectual property, whether developed internally or licensed from third parties. For additional information regarding the license agreements to which we are a party, see the sections entitled 2013 License Agreement with Merck Serono, 2015 License Agreement with Merck Serono and License and Supply Agreement with Kissei. We also rely on trade secrets, know-how, continuing technological innovation and potential in-licensing opportunities to develop, strengthen and maintain our proprietary position in the field of reproductive healthcare. Additionally, we intend to rely on regulatory protection afforded through data exclusivity and market exclusivity, as well as patent term extensions, where available.
As of September 30, 2016, our patent portfolio as it pertains to certain of our product candidates included:
| five U.S. patent applications, projected to expire between 2034 and 2037, as well as corresponding patent applications internationally, directed to OBE001 compositions of matter and uses of OBE001 in artificial reproductive technology and for the treatment of preterm labor; |
| two U.S. patent applications, projected to expire in 2037, directed to uses of OBE022 for the treatment of preterm labor; and |
| one U.S. patent application, projected to expire in 2037, directed to uses of OBE2109 for the treatment of sex hormone-dependent diseases. |
As of September 30, 2016, our in-licensed patent portfolio as it pertains to certain of our product candidates included:
| one U.S. patent, projected to expire in 2023, as well as corresponding patents and patent applications internationally, directed to OBE001 as a composition of matter and uses of OBE001 for the treatment of preterm labor; |
| two U.S. patents, projected to expire between 2024 and 2036, as well as corresponding patents and patent applications internationally, and one U.S. patent application, projected to expire in 2036, directed to OBE022 compositions of matter and uses of OBE022 for the treatment of preterm labor; and |
| two U.S. patents, projected to expire between 2030 and 2032, as well as corresponding patents and patent applications internationally outside of specified Asian countries, as well as one U.S. patent application, projected to expire in 2031, directed to OBE2109 compositions of matter and uses of OBE2109 for the treatment of sex hormone-dependent diseases. |
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The term of individual patents may vary based on the countries in which they are obtained. Generally, patents issued for applications filed in the United States are effective for 20 years from the earliest effective non-provisional filing date in the absence, for example, of a terminal disclaimer shortening the term of the patent or patent term adjustment increasing the term of the patent. In addition, in certain instances, a patent term can be extended to recapture a portion of the term effectively lost as a result of FDA regulatory review periods. The restoration period cannot be longer than five years and the total patent term, including the restoration period, must not exceed 14 years following FDA approval. The duration of patents outside of the United States varies in accordance with provisions of applicable local law, but typically is also 20 years from the earliest effective non-provisional filing date.
In addition to patents and patent applications that we own and license, we rely on trade secrets and know-how to develop and maintain our competitive position. However, trade secrets can be difficult to protect. We seek to protect our proprietary technology and processes, and obtain and maintain ownership of certain technologies, in part, through confidentiality agreements and invention assignment agreements with our employees, consultants, scientific advisors, contractors, and commercial partners.
Our future commercial success depends, in part, on our ability to obtain and maintain patent and other proprietary protection for commercially important technology, inventions and know-how related to our business; defend and enforce our patents; preserve the confidentiality of our trade secrets; and operate without infringing valid enforceable patents and proprietary rights of third parties. Our ability to stop third parties from making, using, selling, offering to sell, or importing our products may depend on the extent to which we have rights under valid and enforceable patents or trade secrets that cover these activities. With respect to our owned and licensed intellectual property, we cannot be sure that patents will issue from any of the pending patent applications to which we own or license rights or from any patent applications that we or our licensors may file in the future, nor can we be sure that any of our licensed patents or any patents that may be issued in the future to us or to our licensors will be commercially useful in protecting our product candidates and methods of using or manufacturing the same. Moreover, we may be unable to obtain patent protection for certain aspects of our product candidates generally, as well as with respect to certain indications. See the section entitled Risk FactorsRisks Related to Our Intellectual Property for a more comprehensive description of risks related to our intellectual property.
2013 License Agreement with Merck Serono
In August 2013, we entered into a license agreement, or the 2013 license agreement, with Merck Serono, pursuant to which we received a worldwide exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize compounds covered by the licensed patent rights, including OBE001, which we are developing for the treatment of conditions associated with ART. In consideration for the license, we issued 914,069 Series A preferred shares to Merck Serono at the time of our Series A financing, which had a fair-value of $4.9 million. With respect to any products we commercialize under the 2013 license agreement, we have agreed to pay Merck Serono quarterly royalties based on our annual net sales of each product at a high-single-digit percentage of annual net sales, subject to specified reductions, until the later of the date that all of the patent rights for that product have expired, as determined on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis, or ten years from the first commercial sale of such product on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis.
We are solely responsible for the development and commercialization of the product candidates licensed under the 2013 license agreement. Merck Serono has the first right to maintain, prosecute, and even enforce the licensed patent rights. The 2013 license agreement expires on the date of expiration of all royalty obligations, at which time our license becomes fully paid-up, irrevocable, and perpetual. Either party may terminate the 2013 license agreement earlier for an uncured material breach, subject to notice requirements and specified exceptions. Merck may terminate the 2013 license agreement if we or any of our affiliates or sublicensees challenge the licensed patent rights or in the event of our bankruptcy if we do not obtain a sublicensee within two years thereafter. We may also terminate the 2013 license agreement without cause at any time upon advance written notice to Merck Serono. Upon any termination, all license granted to us under the 2013 license agreement terminate.
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2015 License Agreement with Merck Serono
In June 2015, we entered into a second license agreement with Merck Serono, or the 2015 license agreement, which we amended in July 2016, pursuant to which we received a worldwide exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize compounds covered by the licensed patent rights, including OBE022, which we are developing for the treatment of preterm labor in weeks 24 to 34 of pregnancy. In consideration for the license, we agreed to issue 325,000 Series A preferred shares to Merck Serono upon the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial for a licensed product. With respect to any products we commercialize under the 2015 license agreement, we have agreed to pay Merck Serono quarterly royalties based on our annual net sales of each product at a mid-single-digit percentage of annual net sales, subject to specified reductions, until the later of the date that all of the patent rights for that product have expired, as determined on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis or ten years from the first commercial sale of such product on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis.
We are solely responsible for the development and commercialization of the product candidates licensed under the 2015 license agreement. Merck Serono has the first right to maintain, prosecute, and even enforce the licensed patent rights. The 2015 license agreement expires on the date of expiration of all royalty obligations, at which time our license becomes fully paid-up, irrevocable and perpetual. Either party may terminate the 2015 license agreement earlier for an uncured material breach, subject to notice requirements and specified exceptions. Merck may terminate the 2015 license agreement if we or any of our affiliates or sublicensees challenge the licensed patent rights or in the event of our bankruptcy if we do not obtain a sublicensee within two years thereafter. We may also terminate the agreement without cause at any time upon advance written notice to Merck Serono. Upon any termination, all license granted to us under the 2015 license agreement terminate.
License and Supply Agreement with Kissei
In November 2015, we entered into a license and supply agreement, or the Kissei license and supply agreement, with Kissei. Pursuant to the Kissei license and supply agreement we received an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize products, or the Product, containing the compounds which is a specified GnRH antagonist and covered by certain licensed patent rights, or the Compound, throughout the world except for specified Asian countries and we arranged to exclusively acquire from Kissei the material necessary to produce OBE2109. Under the Kissei license and supply agreement, we are developing OBE2109 for the treatment of heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids and pain associated with endometriosis. The agreement also establishes a joint development committee, and upon the filing of regulatory approval, a joint marketing committee, each of which shall be composed of an equal number of representatives for each party, which will exchange information and monitor progress in the development and marketing of the Product, respectively. We must use commercially reasonable efforts to develop, manufacture and commercialize the Compound and the Product. We and Kissei will share development data and regulatory filings from our respective territories with one another. Further, we granted Kissei an exclusive license under any of our know-how and patents related to inventions or improvements resulting from our activities under the Kissei license and supply agreement, for Kissei to use in exploiting the Compound and the Product in their retained territory.
In consideration for the license, we made an initial $10.0 million upfront payment. In addition, we have agreed to make aggregate milestone payments of up to $63.0 million upon the achievement of specified developmental milestones, such as the initiation of clinical trials and receipt of regulatory approvals. With respect to any Product we commercialize under the Kissei license and supply agreement, we have agreed to make additional aggregate milestone payments of up to $125.0 million to Kissei upon the achievement of specified commercial milestones.
Pursuant to the Kissei license and supply agreement, we have agreed to exclusively purchase the active pharmaceutical ingredient for OBE2109 from Kissei. During the development stage, we are obligated to pay Kissei a specified supply price. Following the first commercial sale of licensed product, we are obligated to pay Kissei a royalty payment in the low twenty percent range as a percentage of net sales, which includes payment for Kisseis supply of the active pharmaceutical ingredient until the latest of the date that the valid claim of a
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patent for the Product has expired, the expiration of our regulatory exclusivity period or 15 years from the first commercial sale of such product on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis. During the term, we are restricted from developing, marketing and selling GnRH agonists and GnRH antagonists other than the Compound to the extent allowed by applicable laws.
We are solely responsible, at our expense, for the development and commercialization of the Product candidates licensed under the Kissei license and supply agreement in the licensed territory. Kissei has the responsibility to maintain and prosecute the licensed patent rights in the licensed territory and we have the right to enforce any of them in the event that Kissei abandons it. The Kissei license and supply agreement terminates on the date of expiration of all royalty obligations, unless we elect to continue to purchase the Compound from Kissei after the expiration of all royalty obligations. Either party may terminate the Kissei license and supply agreement earlier for an uncured breach, subject to notice requirements and specified exceptions, including that Kissei has the option to convert the exclusive licenses granted to us to non-exclusive if we breach the agreement and fail to cure within a specified time period. We may also terminate the agreement for scientific, commercial, strategic or intellectual property reasons at any time upon advance written notice to Kissei. Kissei may also terminate the agreement if we do not fulfill certain development-related obligations for a specified period of time, or if, in connection with a change of control by us, we do not fulfill certain diligence obligations for a specified period of time. Further, under the terms of the Kissei license and supply agreement, Kissei is obligated to have a backup supplier based on the pharmaceutical industry standard. We may only gain the right to obtain a second source of the supply of OBE2109 upon Kissei failing to deliver a substantial percentage of the requested supply, delivering the supply late or delivering the supply of OBE2019 in nonconforming manner; provided that Kissei has a specified period of time to cure any of these defects. Further, we and Kissei are each obligated to maintain a specified percentage of supply in excess of the estimate for yearly requirements that we submit to Kissei.
Government Regulation
FDA Drug Approval Process
In the United States, pharmaceutical products are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA. The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or FDCA, and other federal and state statutes and regulations, govern, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacture, storage, recordkeeping, approval, labeling, promotion and marketing, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, sampling and import and export of pharmaceutical products. To obtain regulatory approvals in the United States and in foreign countries, and subsequently comply with applicable statutes and regulations, we will need to spend substantial time and financial resources.
Approval Process
The FDA must approve any new drug or a drug with certain changes to a previously approved drug before a company can market it in the United States. Failure to comply with applicable U.S. requirements may subject a company to a variety of administrative or judicial sanctions, such as FDA refusal to approve pending applications, warning or untitled letters, clinical holds, withdrawal of an approval, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement, civil penalties or criminal prosecution.
The steps required before a drug may be marketed in the United States generally include the following:
| completion of extensive preclinical laboratory tests, animal studies and CMC studies, all performed in accordance with the FDAs Good Laboratory Practice, or GLP, regulations; |
| submission to the FDA of an IND application for human clinical testing, which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin. The sponsor must update the IND annually; |
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| approval of the study by an institutional review board, or IRB, or ethics committee at each site before the study begins; |
| performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials in accordance with good clinical practice, or GCP, requirements to establish the safety and efficacy of the drug for each proposed indication to the FDAs satisfaction; |
| submission to the FDA of a new drug application, or NDA, after completion of all clinical trials; |
| potential review of the drug application by an FDA advisory committee, if applicable; |
| satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the products is produced to assess compliance with cGMP regulations and to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the drugs identity; and |
| FDA review and approval of the NDA prior to any commercial marketing or sale of the drug in the United States. |
Satisfaction of FDA pre-market approval requirements typically takes many years and the actual time required may vary substantially based upon the type, complexity and novelty of the product or disease.
Preclinical tests include laboratory evaluation of product chemistry, formulation and toxicity, as well as animal trials to assess the characteristics and potential safety and efficacy of the product. The conduct of the preclinical tests must comply with federal regulations and requirements, including GLP. The company submits the results of the preclinical testing, together with manufacturing information, analytical data and any available clinical data or literature to the FDA as part of an IND along with other information, including information about product CMC and a proposed clinical trial protocol. Long term preclinical tests, such as animal tests of reproductive toxicity and carcinogenicity, may continue after submitting the initial IND.
The FDA requires a 30-day waiting period after the submission of each IND before the company can begin clinical testing in humans. The FDA may, within the 30-day time period, raise concerns or questions relating to one or more proposed clinical trials and place the study on a clinical hold. In such a case, the company and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the company may begin the clinical trial. Accordingly, the submission of an IND may or may not be sufficient to permit the sponsor to start a clinical trial. If, following the 30-day period, the FDA does not raise any concerns regarding the IND submission, the company may begin clinical testing under the IND. The company must also make a separate submission to an existing IND for each successive clinical trial conducted during drug development.
Clinical Trials
Clinical trials involve administering the investigational new drug to healthy volunteers or patient trials under the supervision of a qualified investigator. The company must conduct clinical trials:
| in compliance with federal regulations; |
| in compliance with GCP, an international standard meant to protect the rights and health of patients and to define the roles of clinical trial sponsors, administrators, and monitors; as well as |
| under protocols detailing the objectives of the trial, the safety monitoring parameters, and the effectiveness criteria to be evaluated. |
The FDA may order the temporary, or permanent, discontinuation of a clinical trial at any time, or impose other sanctions, if it believes that the sponsor is not conducting the clinical trial in accordance with FDA requirements or presents an unacceptable risk to the clinical trial patients. The sponsor must also submit the study protocol, any amendments to protocols and informed consent information for patients in clinical trials to an IRB for approval at each site at which the clinical trial will be conducted. An IRB may halt the clinical trial, either
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temporarily or permanently, for failure to comply with the IRBs requirements, or may impose other conditions. Information about certain clinical trials and their results must be also submitted within specific timeframes to the National Institutes of Health, or NIH, for public dissemination on their www.clinicaltrials.gov website.
Companies generally divide the clinical investigation of a drug into three or four phases. While companies usually conduct these phases sequentially, they are sometimes overlapped or combined.
| Phase 1. These trials typically evaluate the safety, dosage tolerance, metabolism and pharmacologic actions of the investigational new drug in humans, the side effects associated with increasing doses, and if possible, gain early evidence on effectiveness. Other Phase 1 or clinical pharmacology studies generally evaluate the drug for potential DDI, cardiovascular safety and special population interactions. These studies, if needed, are to be conducted prior to NDA submission but may be conducted in parallel to Phase 2 and Phase 3. |
| Phase 2. The drug is administered to a limited patient population to evaluate dosage tolerance and optimal dosage, identify possible adverse side effects and safety risks, and preliminarily evaluate efficacy. Phase 2 trials may be denoted as Phase 2a, wherein initial dose-response relationship is explored, and Phase 2b, wherein dose ranging and proof of concept is targeted. |
| Phase 3. The drug is administered to an expanded patient population, generally at geographically dispersed clinical trial sites, in well-controlled clinical trials to generate enough data to statistically evaluate dosage, clinical effectiveness and safety, to establish the overall benefit-risk relationship of the investigational drug, and to provide an adequate basis for labeling and product approval. |
| Phase 4. In some cases, the FDA may condition approval of an NDA for a drug on the companys agreement to conduct additional clinical trials after approval. In other cases, a sponsor may voluntarily conduct additional clinical trials after approval to gain more information about the drug. Companies typically refer to such post-approval trials as Phase 4 clinical trials. |
The FDA, the IRB, or the clinical trial sponsor may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRBs requirements or if the drug has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients. Additionally, an independent group of qualified experts organized by the clinical trial sponsor, known as a data safety monitoring board or committee, may oversee some clinical trials. This group provides authorization for whether or not a trial may move forward at designated check points based on access to certain data from the trial. We may also suspend or terminate a clinical trial based on evolving business objectives and the competitive climate.
Submission of an NDA
After we complete the required preclinical, CMC and clinical testing, we can prepare and submit an NDA to the FDA, who must approve the NDA before we can start marketing the drug in the United States. An NDA must include all relevant data available from pertinent preclinical studies and clinical trials, including negative or ambiguous results as well as positive findings, together with detailed information relating to the drugs chemistry, manufacturing, controls, and proposed labeling, among other things. Data can come from company-sponsored clinical trials on a drug, or from a number of alternative sources, including studies initiated by investigators. To support marketing authorization, the data we submit must be sufficient in quality and quantity to establish the safety and effectiveness of the investigational drug to the FDAs satisfaction.
The cost of preparing and submitting an NDA is substantial. The submission of most NDAs is additionally subject to a substantial application user fee, and the manufacturer or sponsor under an approved NDA are also subject to annual drug and establishment user fees. The FDA typically increases these fees annually.
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The FDA has 60 days from its receipt of an NDA to determine whether it will accept the application for filing based on the agencys threshold determination that the application is sufficiently complete to permit substantive review. The FDA may request additional information rather than accept an NDA for filing. In this event, the application must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application is also subject to review before the FDA accepts it for filing. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth substantive review. The FDA reviews an NDA to determine, among other things, whether the drug is safe and effective and whether the facility in which it is manufactured, processed, packaged or held meets standards designed to assure the products continued safety, quality and purity. Once the FDA accepts the filing, the FDA begins an in-depth review. The FDA has agreed to certain performance goals in the review of NDAs. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the FDA has a goal of responding to standard review NDAs within ten months after the 60-day filing review period, but this timeframe is often extended. The FDA reviews most applications for standard review drugs within ten to 12 months and most applications for priority review drugs within six to eight months. Priority review can be applied to drugs that the FDA determines offer major advances in treatment, or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists.
In addition, under the Pediatric Research Equity Act of 2003, as amended and reauthorized, certain NDAs or supplements to an NDA must contain data that are adequate to assess the safety and effectiveness of the drug for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations, and to support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the product is safe and effective. The FDA may, on its own initiative or at the request of the applicant, grant deferrals for submission of some or all pediatric data until after approval of the product for use in adults, or full or partial waivers from the pediatric data requirements.
The FDA may also refer applications for novel drug products, or drug products that present difficult questions of safety or efficacy, to an advisory committee. This is typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts that will review, evaluate, and recommend whether the FDA should approve the application. The FDA is not bound by the recommendation of an advisory committee, but it generally follows such recommendations. Before approving an NDA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure compliance with GCP, and will inspect the facility or the facilities at which the drug is manufactured. The FDA will not approve the product unless compliance with cGMP is satisfactory and the NDA contains data that provide evidence that the drug is safe and effective in the indication studied.
The FDAs Decision on an NDA
After the FDA evaluates the NDA and all related information, including the advisory committee recommendation, if any, and inspection reports regarding the manufacturing facilities and clinical trial sites, it issues either an approval letter or a complete response letter. A complete response letter indicates that the FDA has completed its review of the application, and the agency has determined that it will not approve the application in its present form. A complete response letter generally outlines the deficiencies in the submission and may require substantial additional clinical data or other significant, expensive, and time-consuming requirements related to clinical trials, preclinical studies or manufacturing. The FDA has committed to reviewing resubmissions of the NDA addressing such deficiencies in two or six months, depending on the type of information included. Even with the submission of this additional information, the FDA may ultimately decide that the NDA does not satisfy the criteria for approval. The government may establish additional requirements, including those resulting from new legislation, or the FDAs policies may change, which could delay or prevent regulatory approval of our drugs under development.
An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the drug with specific prescribing information for specific indications. As a condition of NDA approval, the FDA may require a risk evaluation and mitigation strategy, or REMS, to help ensure that the benefits of the drug outweigh the potential risks. REMS can include medication guides, communication plans for healthcare professionals, special training or certification for prescribing or dispensing, dispensing only under certain circumstances, special monitoring, and the use of patient registries. The requirement for REMS can materially affect the potential market and profitability of the drug. Moreover, the FDA may condition approval on substantial post-approval testing and surveillance to monitor the drugs safety or efficacy.
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Changes to some of the conditions established in an approved application, including changes in indications, labeling, or manufacturing processes or facilities, require submission and FDA approval of a new NDA or NDA supplement before we can implement the change. An NDA supplement for a new indication typically requires clinical data similar to that in the original application, and the FDA uses the same procedures and actions in reviewing NDA supplements as it does in reviewing new NDAs. As with new NDAs, the FDA often significantly extends the review process with requests for additional information or clarification.
Post-approval Requirements
The FDA regulates products that are manufactured or distributed pursuant to FDA approvals and has specific requirements pertaining to recordkeeping, periodic reporting, product sampling and distribution, advertising and promotion and reporting of adverse experiences with the product. After approval, the FDA must provide review and approval for most changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications or other labeling claims. There also are continuing, annual user fee requirements for any marketed products and the establishments who manufacture our products, as well as new application fees for supplemental applications with clinical data.
In some cases, the FDA may condition approval of an NDA for a product on the sponsors agreement to conduct additional clinical trials after approval. In other cases, a sponsor may voluntarily conduct additional clinical trials after approval to gain more information about the product. Such post-approval trials are typically referred to as Phase 4 clinical trials.
In addition, drug manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved drugs are required to register their establishments with the FDA and state agencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and state agencies for compliance with cGMP requirements. There are strict regulations regarding changes to the manufacturing process, and, depending on the significance of the change, it may require prior FDA approval before we can implement it. FDA regulations also require investigation and correction of any deviations from cGMP and impose reporting and documentation requirements upon us and any third-party manufacturers that we may decide to use. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain compliance with cGMP and other aspects of regulatory compliance.
The FDA may withdraw approval if a company does not comply with regulatory requirements and maintain standards or if problems occur after the product reaches the market. If a company or the FDA discovers previously unknown problems with a product, including adverse events of unanticipated severity or frequency, issues with manufacturing processes, or the companys failure to comply with regulatory requirements, the FDA may revise the approved labeling to add new safety information; impose post-marketing trials or other clinical trials to assess new safety risks; or impose distribution or other restrictions under a REMS program. Other potential consequences may include:
| restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, complete withdrawal of the product from the market or product recalls; |
| fines, warning letters or holds on post-approval clinical trials; |
| the FDA refusing to approve pending NDAs or supplements to approved NDAs, or suspending or revoking of product license approvals; |
| product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of products; or |
| injunctions or the imposition of civil or criminal penalties. |
The FDA strictly regulates marketing, labeling, advertising, and promotion of products that are placed on the market. Products may be promoted only for the approved indications and in accordance with the provisions of the approved label. The FDA and other agencies actively enforce the laws and regulations prohibiting the promotion of off-label uses. We could be subject to significant liability if we violated these laws and regulations.
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Healthcare Reform
In the United States, the European Union and foreign jurisdictions, the legislative landscape continues to evolve. There have been a number of legislative and regulatory changes to the healthcare system that could affect our future results of operations. In particular, there have been and continue to be a number of initiatives at the United States federal and state levels that seek to reduce healthcare costs. In March 2010, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act, or collectively, the ACA, was enacted, which includes measures that have significantly changed health care financing by both governmental and private insurers. The provisions of the ACA of importance to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry are, among others, the following:
| an annual, nondeductible fee on any entity that manufactures or imports certain branded prescription drugs agents and biologic agents, which is apportioned among these entities according to their market share in certain government healthcare programs; |
| an increase in the rebates a manufacturer must pay under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program to 23.1% and 13% of the average manufacturer price for branded and generic drugs, respectively; |
| a new Medicare Part D coverage gap discount program, in which manufacturers must agree to offer 50% point-of-sale discounts to negotiated prices of applicable brand drugs to eligible beneficiaries during their coverage gap period, as a condition for the manufacturers outpatient drugs to be covered under Medicare Part D; |
| extension of manufacturers Medicaid rebate liability to covered drugs dispensed to individuals who are enrolled in Medicaid managed care organizations, unless the drug is subject to discounts under the 340B drug discount program; |
| a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted or injected; |
| expansion of eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs by, among other things, allowing states to offer Medicaid coverage to additional individuals and by adding new mandatory eligibility categories for certain individuals with income at or below 133% of the federal poverty level, thereby potentially increasing manufacturers Medicaid rebate liability; |
| expansion of the entities eligible for discounts under the Public Health Service pharmaceutical pricing program; |
| new requirements under the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act for drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value made to physicians and teaching hospitals as well as ownership or investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members; |
| a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee, identify priorities in, and conduct comparative clinical effectiveness research, along with funding for such research; |
| creation of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, which has authority to recommend certain changes to the Medicare program that could result in reduced payments for prescription drugs and those recommendations could have the effect of law unless overruled by a supermajority vote of Congress; and |
| establishment of a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS, to test innovative payment and service delivery models to lower Medicare and Medicaid spending, potentially including prescription drug spending. |
There have been judicial and Congressional challenges to certain aspects of the ACA, and we expect there will be additional challenges and amendments to the ACA in the future. At this time, the full effect that the ACA would have on our business remains unclear.
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In addition, other federal health reform measures have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the ACA was enacted. For example, as a result of the Budget Control Act of 2011, providers are subject to Medicare payment reductions of 2% per fiscal year through 2025 unless additional Congressional action is taken. Further, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 reduced Medicare payments to several providers and increased the statute of limitations period for the government to recover overpayments from providers from three to five years. More recently, there has been heightened governmental scrutiny recently over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which have resulted in several recent Congressional inquiries and proposed bills designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to product pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for products.
Individual states in the United States have also become increasingly aggressive in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical and biological product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. In addition, regional healthcare authorities and individual hospitals are increasingly using bidding procedures to determine what pharmaceutical products and which suppliers will be included in their prescription drug and other healthcare programs. This measure could reduce the ultimate demand for our products or put pressure on our product pricing.
Coverage, Reimbursement and Pricing
Significant uncertainty exists as to the coverage and reimbursement status of any products for which we may obtain regulatory approval. In the United States and markets in other countries, sales of any products for which we receive regulatory approval for commercial sale will depend, in part, on the availability of coverage and the adequacy of reimbursement from third-party payors. Third-party payors include government authorities, managed care organizations, private health insurers and other organizations. The process for determining whether a third-party payor will provide coverage for a product may be separate from the process for setting the reimbursement rate that the payor will pay for the product. Third-party payors may limit coverage to specific products on an approved list, or formulary, which might not include all of the FDA-approved products for a particular indication. Moreover, a third-party payors decision to provide coverage for a product does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved. For example, the payors reimbursement payment rate may not be adequate or may require co-payments that patients find unacceptably high. Additionally, coverage and reimbursement for products can differ significantly from payor to payor. The Medicare and Medicaid programs increasingly are used as models for how private payors and other governmental payors develop their coverage and reimbursement policies for drugs and biologics. However, one third-party payors decision to cover a particular product does not ensure that other payors will also provide coverage for the product, or will provide coverage at an adequate reimbursement rate. Adequate third-party reimbursement may not be available to enable us to maintain price levels sufficient to realize an appropriate return on our investment in product development. Further, some third-party payors may require pre-approval of coverage for new or innovative devices or drug therapies before they provide reimbursement for use of such therapies.
Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the price and examining the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of products and services, in addition to their safety and efficacy. To obtain coverage and reimbursement for any product that might be approved for sale, we may need to conduct expensive pharmacoeconomic studies to demonstrate the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of our product. These studies will be in addition to the studies required to obtain regulatory approvals. If third-party payors do not consider a product to be cost-effective compared to other available therapies, they may not cover the product after approval as a benefit under their plans or, if they do, the level of payment may not be sufficient to allow a company to sell its products at a profit. Thus, obtaining and maintaining reimbursement status is time-consuming and costly.
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The U.S. government, state legislatures and foreign governments have shown significant interest in implementing cost containment programs to limit the growth of government-paid health care costs, including price controls, restrictions on reimbursement and requirements for substitution of generic products for branded prescription products. By way of example, the ACA contains provisions that may reduce the profitability of products, including, for example, increased rebates for products sold to Medicaid programs, extension of Medicaid rebates to Medicaid managed care plans, mandatory discounts for certain Medicare Part D beneficiaries and annual fees based on pharmaceutical companies share of sales to federal health care programs. CMS may develop new payment and delivery models, such as bundled payment models. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, set a goal of moving 30% of Medicare payments to alternative payment models tied to the quality or value of services by 2016 and 50% of Medicare payments into these alternative payment models by the end of 2018. Adoption of government controls and measures, and tightening of restrictive policies in jurisdictions with existing controls and measures, could limit payments for our products.
In the European Community, governments influence the price of products through their pricing and reimbursement rules and control of national health care systems that fund a large part of the cost of those products to consumers. Some jurisdictions operate positive and negative list systems under which products may only be marketed once a reimbursement price has been agreed to by the government. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval, some of these countries may require the completion of clinical trials that compare the cost effectiveness of a particular product candidate to currently available therapies. Other member states allow companies to fix their own prices for medicines, but monitor and control company profits. The downward pressure on health care costs in general, particularly prescription products, has become very intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products. In addition, in some countries, cross border imports from low-priced markets exert a commercial pressure on pricing within a country.
The marketability of any products for which we receive regulatory approval for commercial sale may suffer if the government and third-party payors fail to provide adequate coverage and reimbursement. In addition, the focus on cost containment measures in the United States and other countries has increased and we expect will continue to increase the pressure on pharmaceutical pricing. Coverage policies and third-party reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if we attain favorable coverage and reimbursement status for one or more products for which we receive regulatory approval, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.
Sales and Marketing
Numerous regulatory authorities in addition to the FDA, including, in the United States, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, other divisions of the HHS, the U.S. Department of Justice, and similar foreign, state, and local government authorities, regulate sales, promotion and other activities following product approval. As described above, the FDA regulates all advertising and promotion activities for products under its jurisdiction both prior to and after approval. Only those claims relating to safety and efficacy that the FDA has approved may be used in labeling. Physicians may prescribe legally available products for uses that are not described in the products labeling and that differ from those we tested and the FDA approved. Such off-label uses are common across medical specialties, and often reflect a physicians belief that the off-label use is the best treatment for the patients. The FDA does not regulate the behavior of physicians in their choice of treatments, but FDA regulations do impose stringent restrictions on manufacturers communications regarding off-label uses. If we do not comply with applicable FDA requirements we may face adverse publicity, enforcement action by the FDA, corrective advertising, consent decrees and the full range of civil and criminal penalties available to the FDA. Promotion of off-label uses of products can also implicate the false claims laws described below.
In the United States, clinical research, sales, marketing and scientific/educational programs must also comply with various federal and state laws pertaining to healthcare fraud and abuse, including anti-kickback laws and false claims laws. Anti-kickback laws including, without limitation, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute that applies to items and services reimbursable under governmental healthcare programs such as Medicare and
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Medicaid, make it illegal for a prescription drug manufacturer to solicit, offer, receive, or pay any remuneration in exchange for, or to induce, the referral of business, including the purchase or prescription of a particular product. Due to the breadth of the statutory provisions, limited statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors, and the scarcity of guidance in the form of regulations, agency advisory opinions, sub-regulatory guidance and judicial decisions addressing industry practices, it is possible that our practices might be challenged under anti-kickback or similar laws. Moreover, recent healthcare reform legislation has strengthened these laws. For example, the ACA, among other things, amends the intent requirement of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute and criminal healthcare fraud statutes to clarify that a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of this statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation. In addition, the ACA clarifies that the government may assert that a claim that includes items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal civil False Claims Act. In addition, private individuals can bring similar actions under the federal civil False Claims Act. False claims laws, including, without limitation, the federal civil False Claims Act, prohibit anyone from knowingly and willingly presenting, or causing to be presented for payment, to third-party payors (including Medicare and Medicaid) claims for reimbursed products or services that are false or fraudulent, claims for items or services not provided as claimed, or claims for medically unnecessary items or services. Our activities relating to the sale and marketing of our products may be subject to scrutiny under these laws, as well as civil monetary penalties laws and the criminal healthcare fraud provisions enacted as part of the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA. Violations of fraud and abuse laws may be punishable by criminal and civil sanctions, including fines and civil monetary penalties, the possibility of exclusion from federal healthcare programs (including Medicare and Medicaid), disgorgement, and corporate integrity agreements, which impose, among other things, rigorous operational and monitoring requirements on companies. Similar sanctions and penalties, as well as imprisonment, also can be imposed upon executive officers and employees, including criminal sanctions against executive officers under the so-called responsible corporate officer doctrine, even in situations where the executive officer did not intend to violate the law and was unaware of any wrongdoing.
Given the significant penalties and fines that can be imposed on companies and individuals if convicted, allegations of such violations often result in settlements even if the company or individual being investigated admits no wrongdoing. Settlements often include significant civil sanctions, including fines and civil monetary penalties, and corporate integrity agreements. If the government were to allege or convict us or our executive officers of violating these laws, our business could be harmed. Our activities could be subject to challenge for the reasons discussed above and due to the broad scope of these laws and the increasing attention being given to them by law enforcement authorities. Other healthcare laws that may affect our ability to operate include HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, which governs the conduct of certain electronic healthcare transactions and protects the security and privacy of protected health information; analogous state laws governing the privacy and security of health information, some of which are more stringent than HIPAA and many of which differ from each other in significant ways and may not have the same effect, and the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which requires certain manufacturers of products, devices, biologics, and medical supplies to report annually to HHS information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and teaching hospitals, and ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members.
Further, there are an increasing number of state laws that affect our business operations. Some states require manufacturers to make reports to states on pricing and marketing information. Other state laws require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industrys voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the U.S. federal government, or otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers and other potential referral sources. Some states maintain anti-kickback and false claims laws that apply to claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by any third-party payor, including private insurers. We may also be subject to state laws governing the privacy and security of health information in certain circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts. Many of these state laws contain ambiguities as to what is required to comply with the laws. Given the lack of clarity in laws and their implementation, our
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reporting actions could be subject to the penalty provisions of the pertinent state authorities. Ensuring that our internal operations and future business arrangements with third parties comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations could involve substantial costs.
Similar rigid restrictions are imposed on the promotion and marketing of products in the European Union and other countries. Even in those countries where we may not be directly responsible for the promotion and marketing of our products, if our potential international distribution partners engage in inappropriate activity it can have adverse implications for us.
Foreign Regulation
In order to market any product outside of the United States, we would need to comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other countries and jurisdictions regarding quality, safety and efficacy and governing, among other things, clinical trials, marketing authorization, commercial sales and distribution of our products. Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a product, we would need to obtain the necessary approvals by the comparable foreign regulatory authorities before we can commence clinical trials or marketing of the product in foreign countries and jurisdictions. Although many of the issues discussed above with respect to the United States apply similarly in the context of the European Union, the approval process varies between countries and jurisdictions and can involve additional product testing and additional administrative review periods. The time required to obtain approval in other countries and jurisdictions might differ from and be longer than that required to obtain FDA approval. Regulatory approval in one country or jurisdiction does not ensure regulatory approval in another, but a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one country or jurisdiction may negatively impact the regulatory process in others.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA, prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering, or authorizing payment or offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party, or candidate for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of the foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with accounting provisions requiring the company to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries, and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations. Activities that violate the FCPA, even if they occur wholly outside the United States, can result in criminal and civil fines, imprisonment, disgorgement, oversight, and debarment from government contracts.
European UnionEMA process
In the European Union, products follow a similar demanding process as that we described above for the United States and the ICH Common Technical Document is the basis for applications.
Centralized Procedure
Under the centralized procedure, after the EMA issues an opinion, the European Commission issues a single marketing authorization valid across the European Union, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. The centralized procedure is compulsory for human products that are: derived from biotechnology processes, such as genetic engineering; contain a new active substance indicated for the treatment of certain diseases, such as HIV/AIDS, cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative disorders or autoimmune diseases and other immune dysfunctions; and officially designated orphan drugs. For products that do not fall within these categories, an applicant has the option of submitting an application for a centralized marketing authorization to the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, as long as the product concerned is a significant therapeutic, scientific or technical innovation, or if its authorization would be in the interest of public health.
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National Authorization Procedures
There are also two other possible routes to authorize medicinal products in several countries, which are available for products that fall outside the scope of the centralized procedure:
| Decentralized procedure. Using the decentralized procedure, an applicant may apply for simultaneous authorization in more than one European Union country of a medicinal product that has not yet been authorized in any European Union country and that does not fall within the mandatory scope of the centralized procedure. |
| Mutual recognition procedure. In the mutual recognition procedure, a medicine is first authorized in one European Union Member State, in accordance with the national procedures of that country. Thereafter, further marketing authorizations can be sought from other European Union countries in a procedure whereby the countries concerned agree to recognize the validity of the original, national marketing authorization. |
Good Manufacturing Practices
Like the FDA, the EMA, the competent authorities of the European Union Member States and other regulatory agencies regulate and inspect equipment, facilities and processes used in the manufacturing of products prior to approving a product. If, after receiving clearance from regulatory agencies, a company makes a material change in manufacturing equipment, location, or process, additional regulatory review and approval may be required. Once we or our partners commercialize products, we will be required to comply with cGMP, and product-specific regulations enforced by, the European Commission, the EMA and the competent authorities of European Union Member States following product approval. Also like the FDA, the EMA, the competent authorities of the European Union Member States and other regulatory agencies also conduct regular, periodic visits to re-inspect equipment, facilities, and processes following the initial approval of a product. If, as a result of these inspections, the regulatory agencies determine that our or our partners equipment, facilities, or processes do not comply with applicable regulations and conditions of product approval, they may seek civil, criminal or administrative sanctions or remedies against us, including the suspension of our manufacturing operations or the withdrawal of our product from the market.
Data and Market Exclusivity
Similar to the United States, there is a process to authorize generic versions of innovative products in the European Union. Generic competitors can submit abridged applications to authorize generic versions of products authorized by EMA through a centralized procedure referencing the innovators data and demonstrating bioequivalence to the reference product, among other things. New products in the European Union can receive eight years of data exclusivity coupled with two years of market exclusivity, and a potential one-year extension, if the marketing authorizations holder obtains an authorization for one or more new therapeutic indications that demonstrates significant clinical benefit in comparison with existing therapies. This system is usually referred to as 8+2. Abridged applications cannot rely on an innovators data until after expiry of the eight year date exclusivity term, meaning that a competitor can file an application for a generic product but the product cannot be marketed until the end of the market exclusivity term.
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Employees
As of September 30, 2016, we had 27 employees. None of our employees are represented by any collective bargaining agreements. We believe that we maintain good relations with our employees. At each date shown, we had the following number of employees, broken out by department and geography.
As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
2015 | 2014 | 2013 | ||||||||||
Function |
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Research and preclinical development |
6 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||
Clinical, medical and regulatory affairs |
10 | 7 | 3 | |||||||||
Management and administrative |
5 | 4 | 3 | |||||||||
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Total |
21 | 15 | 10 | |||||||||
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Geography |
||||||||||||
Switzerland |
21 | 15 | 10 |
Facilities
Our principal executive offices are located at Chemin des Aulx, 12, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland, where we lease an approximately 600 square meter facility. We believe that our current facilities are suitable and adequate to meet our current needs. If we need to add new facilities or expand existing facilities as we add employees, we believe that suitable additional space will be available to accommodate any such expansion of our operations.
Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we may be involved in various claims and legal proceedings relating to claims arising out of our operations. We are not currently a party to any legal proceedings that, in the opinion of our management, are likely to have a material adverse effect on our business. Regardless of outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.
Corporate Structure
The following diagram illustrates our corporate structure:
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Executive Officers and Directors
The following table sets forth information regarding our executive officers and directors, including their ages, as of September 30, 2016. The term of each of our directors is one year and, accordingly, will expire one year from the date of our extraordinary meeting of shareholders held on December 6, 2016.
Name |
Age |
Position(s) |
||||
Executive Officers: |
||||||
Ernest Loumaye |
64 | Chief Executive Officer and Director | ||||
Jean-Pierre Gotteland |
52 | Chief Scientific Officer | ||||
Elke Bestel |
50 | Chief Medical Officer and Head of Pharmacovigilance | ||||
Fabien Lefebvre de Ladonchamps |
38 | Vice President of Finance | ||||
Ben T.G. Tan |
57 | Vice President of Commercial & Business Development | ||||
Non-Employee Directors: |
||||||
Frank Verwiel |
54 | Chairperson of the Board of Directors | ||||
Annette Clancy |
61 | Director | ||||
Barbara Duncan |
51 | Director | ||||
James I. Healy |
51 | Director | ||||
Nanna Lüneborg (1) |
41 | Director | ||||
Ed Mathers |
56 | Director | ||||
Rafaèle Tordjman |
47 | Director | ||||
Jacky Vonderscher |
61 | Director |
(1) | Dr. Lüneborg will resign from the board of directors contingent upon, and effective immediately prior to, the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. |
Unless otherwise indicated, the current business addresses for our executive officers and directors is: Chemin des Aulx, 12, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland.
Executive Officers
Ernest Loumaye is a co-founder of our company and has served as our Chief Executive Officer since our inception in November 2012. Previously, Dr. Loumaye co-founded PregLem SA, a Swiss specialty biopharmaceutical company, and served as its Chief Executive Officer from 2006 until October 2012. Dr. Loumaye currently serves as the chairman of the board of directors of GenKyoTex S.A., a private Swiss pharmaceutical company. Dr. Loumaye holds a M.D. and a Ph.D. from Louvain University, with a specialization in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Our board of directors believes that Dr. Loumayes leadership of our company since its inception and experience with biopharmaceutical companies prior to founding our company provide him with the qualifications and skills to serve as a director.
Jean-Pierre Gotteland has served as our Chief Scientific Officer since September 2015. From May 2007 to August 2015, Dr. Gotteland worked at PregLem SA, initially as the Vice President of Non-Clinical Development and CMC from 2007 to 2012 and as the Chief Development Officer from January 2012 to August 2015. From 1998 to 2007, Dr. Gotteland held several research and development positions at Serono (subsequently Merck Serono). From 1991 to 1998, Dr. Gotteland served as medicinal chemistry group leader at Pierre Pabre Meclicament. Dr. Gotteland holds a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the University Claude Bernard and an Engineering Diploma from Ecole Superieure de Chimie Industrielle.
Elke Bestel has served as our Chief Medical Officer and Head of Pharmacovigilance since September 2015. Prior to joining our company, Dr. Bestel worked at PregLem SA, initially as a Global Project Director from 2008 to 2009, then as the Vice President Clinical Operations from 2009 to August 2012 and finally as the
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Chief Medical Officer from September 2012 to August 2015. Dr. Bestel studied at the Georg-August University Medical School of Göttingen, Germany and the Ludwig-Maximilian University Medical School of Munich, Germany. Dr. Bestel holds an M.D. from the University of Göttingen.
Fabien Lefebvre de Ladonchamps has served as our Vice President of Finance since January 2016 and previously served as our Finance Director from October 2013 to December 2015. Prior to joining our company, Mr. de Ladonchamps worked at Addex Therapeutics, initially as Chief Accountant from 2008 to 2009 and then as Group Financial Controller from 2010 to September 2013. Mr. de Ladonchamps holds a French degree in Finance and Accounting from the Lyon III University in Lyon, France.
Ben T.G. Tan has served as our Vice President of Commercial & Business Development since September 2014. Prior to joining our company, Mr. Tan worked at Evolva SA, as Director, Business Development Pharmaceuticals from April 2012 to March 2014. Prior to joining Evolva SA, Mr. Tan worked at Novartis as Global Program Strategic Director, Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases from 2008 to 2011. Prior to joining Novartis, Mr. Tan worked at Speedel as Head of Business Development & Licensing from 2001 to 2008. Prior to joining Speedel, Mr. Tan worked at Devgen, as Executive Vice President of Business from 2000 to 2001. Prior to joining Devgen, Mr. Tan worked at Organon, as Global Head of Licensing from 1997 to 2000. Prior to joining Organon, Mr. Tan worked at Roche, as Global Business Leader/International Product Manager from 1994 to 1997, and at Roche Netherlands, as Head of Medical Marketing from 1990 to 1993. Mr. Tan holds an M.S. from the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.
Non-Employee Directors
Frank Verwiel has served as a member of our board of directors since March 2016 and has served as the chairperson of the board since December 2016. Dr. Verwiel was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Aptalis Pharma Inc. from 2005 to 2014, where he also served on the board of directors. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors of the public companies Achillion Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, Avexis, Inc., a biotechnology company, and Bavarian Nordic A/S, a biotechnology company. Dr. Verwiel previously served on the board of directors of InterMune, Inc. from 2012 to 2014. Dr. Verwiel was also a director of the Biotechnology Industry Organisation. Dr. Verwiel received his M.D. from Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, and his M.B.A. from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France. Our board of directors believes that Dr. Verwiels scientific acumen and his over 25 years of strategic, operational and international experience in the pharmaceutical industry provide him with the qualifications and skills to serve as a director.
Annette Clancy has served as a member of our board of directors since November 2013 and served as our chairperson from November 2013 to December 2016. Since 2009, Ms. Clancy has been a senior advisor at Frazier Healthcare Ventures, a U.S.-based healthcare venture capital firm. Prior to joining Frazier Healthcare Ventures, Ms. Clancy held various positions at GlaxoSmithKline, a global healthcare company. Ms. Clancy is currently on the board of directors of Swedish Orphan Biovitrum AB, a public biopharmaceutical company, as well as several private companies. Ms. Clancy holds a B.Sc. in Pharmacology from Bath University and a series of American Management Association diplomas in finance and marketing. Our board of directors believes that Ms. Clancys over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical industries provide her with the qualifications and skills to serve as a director.
Barbara Duncan has served as a member of our board of directors since December 2016. From May 2009 through June 2016, Ms. Duncan served as the Chief Financial Officer of Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Intercept Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ms. Duncan served as the Chief Financial Officer and then Chief Executive Officer of DOV Pharmaceutical, Inc., or DOV, from 2001 to April 2009. Prior to joining DOV, Ms. Duncan served as a vice president of Lehman Brothers Inc. in its corporate finance division from August 1998 to August 2001. From September 1994 to August 1998, Ms. Duncan was an associate and director at SBC Warburg Dillon Read, Inc. in its corporate finance group. Ms. Duncan serves on the board of directors of Aevi Genomic Medicines, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company,
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and Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc, a biopharmaceutical company, and Innoviva, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, as well as two private companies. Ms. Duncan received her B.S. from Louisiana State University in 1985 and her M.B.A. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, in 1994. Our board of directors believes that Ms. Duncans expertise with public and financial accounting matters, as well as her experience in the pharmaceutical industry, provide her with the qualifications and skills to serve as a director.
James I. Healy has served as a member of our board of directors since August 2013. Dr. Healy has been a General Partner of Sofinnova Ventures, a venture capital firm, since June 2000. Prior to June 2000, Dr. Healy held various positions at Sanderling Ventures, Bayer Healthcare Pharmaceuticals (as successor to Miles Laboratories) and ISTA Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Healy is currently on the board of directors of the public companies Ascendis Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company, Auris Medical Holding AG, a biopharmaceutical company, Coherus BioSciences, Inc., a biologics platform company, Amarin Corporation PLC, a biopharmaceutical company, Edge Therapeutics, Inc., a biotechnology company, and Natera, Inc., a genetic testing company, as well as several private companies. Previously, he served as a board member of InterMune, Inc., Anthera Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Durata Therapeutics, Inc., CoTherix, Inc., Hyperion Therapeutics, Inc. and KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Dr. Healy was nominated to our board of directors by Sofinnova Ventures. Dr. Healy holds an M.D. and a Ph.D. in Immunology from the Stanford School of Medicine and holds a B.A. in Molecular Biology and a B.A. in Scandinavian Studies from the University of California at Berkeley. Our board of directors believes that Dr. Healys experience in the pharmaceutical industry and investing in life sciences companies, as well as his medical and scientific background, provide him with the qualifications and skills to serve as a director.
Nanna Lüneborg has served as a member of our board of directors since April 2016. Since March 2012, Dr. Lüneborg has been a principal of Novo A/S, a Danish limited liability company that manages investments and financial assets. Prior to joining Novo A/S, Dr. Lüneborg was an associate at Apposite Capital from July 2008 to January 2012 and previously held various roles from May 2005 to July 2007 with Cancer Research UK. Dr. Lüneborg was nominated to our board of directors by Novo A/S. Dr. Lüneborg holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from University College London, an MBA with distinction from University of Cambridge, and a 1st class BA from University of Oxford. Dr. Lüneborg is currently on the board of directors of several private companies. Our board of directors believes that Dr. Lüneborgs experience in the pharmaceutical industry and investing in life sciences companies, as well as her medical and scientific background, provide her with the qualifications and skills to serve as a director.
Ed Mathers has served as a member of our board of directors since February 2016. Since August 2008, Mr. Mathers has been a Partner at New Enterprise Associates, Inc., or NEA, a private venture capital firm focusing on technology and healthcare investments. Mr. Mathers serves on the board of directors of Envisia Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, Liquidia Technologies, a biotechnology company, Ra Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, Rhythm Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical company, Lumos Pharma, a biotechnology company, Mirna Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, as well as several private companies. From 2002 to 2008, Mr. Mathers served as Executive Vice President, Corporate Development and Venture at MedImmune, Inc., or MedImmune, and led its venture capital subsidiary, MedImmune Ventures, Inc. Before joining MedImmune in 2002, he was Vice President, Marketing and Corporate Licensing and Acquisitions at Inhale Therapeutic Systems. Previously, Mr. Mathers spent 15 years at Glaxo Wellcome, Inc. where he held various sales and marketing positions. Mr. Mathers was nominated to our board of directors by NEA. Mr. Mathers holds a B.S. in Chemistry from North Carolina State University. Our board of directors believes that Mr. Matherss experience with the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries and his broad management experience provide him with the qualifications and skills to serve as a director.
Rafaèle Tordjman has served as a member of our board of directors since August 2013. Dr. Tordjman joined the French venture capital firm Sofinnova Partners in 2001 and is a Managing Partner specializing in life sciences investments. Dr. Tordjman serves on the board of directors of the public company Ascendis Pharma A/S, a clinical-stage pharmaceutical company. Dr. Tordjman has also served on the boards of directors at several life sciences companies including, DBV Technologies SA, a French publicly traded company specializing in allergy therapies, Flexion Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded company specializing in clinical-stage pharmaceuticals, as
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well as a private company, and Preglem, a company that specialized in reproductive female medicine. Previously, Dr. Tordjman was a research scientist at the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (INSERM) in Cochin Hospital, Paris, France. Dr. Tordjman has also practiced as a medical doctor, specializing in clinical hematology and internal medicine. Dr. Tordjman was nominated to our board of directors by Sofinnova Partners. Dr. Tordjman received an M.D. and completed a fellowship in hematology and internal medicine at the Paris University Hospitals. She received a Ph.D. in hematopoiesis and angiogenesis from and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in immunology at the University of Paris VII. Our board of directors believes that Dr. Tordjmans experience in the pharmaceutical industry and investing in life sciences companies, as well as her medical and scientific background, provide her with the qualifications and skills to serve as a director.
Jacky Vonderscher has served as a member of our board of directors since October 2013. Since September 2013, Dr. Vonderscher has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Vonderscher & Co GmbH, a consultancy company, and since January 2014, Dr. Vonderscher has served as the President of ENYO Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company. Dr. Vonderscher has also served as the Chief Executive Officer of ENYO Pharma since July 2016. Prior to joining ENYO Pharma, Dr. Vonderscher served as a Senior Vice President of Hoffmann-La-Roche Ltd from 2008 to December 2013. From 1979 to 2008, Dr. Vonderscher held a variety of senior positions at Novartis Pharma AG. Dr. Vonderscher also serves on the boards of directors of several private companies. Dr. Vonderscher holds an engineering degree in Biological Chemistry from the National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA-Lyon, France) and a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Geneva. Our board of directors believes that Dr. Vonderschers experience in the pharmaceutical industry, as well as his scientific background, provide him with the qualifications and skills to serve as a director.
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships among any of our executive officers or directors.
Board Composition and Election of Directors after this Offering
Our board of directors is composed of eight members. Each director is elected for a one-year term. The current members of our board of directors were appointed at an extraordinary shareholders meeting held on December 6, 2016 to serve until our first annual general meeting as a public company in 2017.
We will be a foreign private issuer. As a result, in accordance with the NASDAQ listing requirements, we may rely on home country governance requirements and certain exemptions thereunder rather than relying on the stock exchange corporate governance requirements. For an overview of our corporate governance principles, see the section of this prospectus entitled Description of Share Capital and Articles of Association.
Board Committees
Our board of directors will establish an audit committee and a compensation, nominating and corporate governance committee prior to the completion of this offering.
Audit Committee
The audit committee, which is expected to consist of Barbara Duncan, Ed Mathers and Frank Verwiel, will assist our board of directors in overseeing our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of our financial statements. In addition, the audit committee will be directly responsible for the compensation, retention and oversight of the work of our independent registered public accounting firm and statutory auditors who are appointed by the shareholders pursuant to Swiss corporation law. Ms. Duncan will serve as chairman of the committee. The audit committee will consist exclusively of members of our board of directors who are financially literate, and Ms. Duncan is considered an audit committee financial expert as defined by the U.S.
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Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Our board of directors has determined that Ms. Duncan, Mr. Mathers and Dr. Verwiel satisfy the independence requirements set forth in Rule 10A-3 under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.
The audit committee will be governed by a charter that complies with NASDAQ listing rules. Upon the completion of this offering, the audit committee will be responsible for, among other things:
| recommending an auditor for submission to the shareholders; |
| the compensation, retention and oversight of any auditor or accounting firm engaged for the purpose of preparing or issuing an audit report or performing other audit, review or attest services; |
| pre-approving the audit services and non-audit services to be provided by our independent auditor before the auditor is engaged to render such services; |
| reviewing and discussing with the independent auditor its responsibilities under generally accepted auditing standards, the planned scope and timing of the independent auditors annual audit plan(s) and significant findings from the audit; |
| obtaining and reviewing a report from the independent auditor describing all relationships between the independent auditor and us consistent with the applicable Public Company Accounting Oversight Board requirements regarding the independent auditors communications with the audit committee concerning independence; |
| confirming and evaluating the rotation of the audit partners on the audit engagement team as required by law; |
| reviewing with management and the independent auditor, in separate meetings whenever the audit committee deems appropriate, any analyses or other written communications prepared by the management or the independent auditor setting forth significant financial reporting issues and judgments made in connection with the preparation of the financial statements, including analyses of the effects of alternative IFRS methods on the financial statements, and our other critical accounting policies and practices; |
| reviewing, in conjunction with our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, our disclosure controls and procedures; |
| establishing procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters, and the confidential, anonymous submission by our employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters; and |
| approving or ratifying any related party transaction (as defined in our related party transaction policy) in accordance with our related party transaction policy. |
The audit committee will meet as often as it determines is appropriate to carry out its responsibilities, but in any event will meet at least four times per year.
Compensation, Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee
Our compensation, nominating and corporate governance committee consists of four members, Annette Clancy, Rafaèle Tordjman, James I. Healy and Barbara Duncan. Our board of directors has determined that each of Ms. Clancy, Ms. Duncan and Drs. Tordjman and Healy are independent under the NASDAQ listing standards, are non-employee directors as defined in Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act and are outside directors as that term is defined in Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or Section 162(m). The chair of our compensation, nominating and corporate governance committee is Ms. Clancy. The primary purpose of our compensation, nominating and corporate governance committee is to discharge our board of directors responsibilities to oversee our compensation policies, plans and programs and to review and
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determine the compensation to be paid to our executive officers, directors and other senior management, as appropriate. We will be subject to the Swiss Ordinance against excessive compensation in listed stock corporations, known as the Say on Pay rule. As a result of the Say on Pay rule, the members of the compensation, nominating and corporate governance committee must be elected by our shareholders and the aggregate compensation of our board of directors and executive officers must also be approved by our shareholders.
In addition, this committee will also be responsible for director nominations as well as reviewing and making recommendations to the board, if required, on our corporate governance framework and guidelines.
Upon the completion of this offering, the compensation, nominating and corporate governance committee has the responsibility to, among other things:
| review and approve, or recommend that our board of directors approve, the compensation of our executive officers based on the aggregate compensation approved by our shareholders; |
| review and recommend to our board of directors the compensation of our directors based on the aggregate compensation approved by our shareholders; |
| review and approve, or recommend that our board of directors approve, the terms of compensatory arrangements with our executive officers; |
| administer our share and equity incentive plans; |
| select independent compensation consultants and assess whether there are any conflicts of interest with any of the committees compensation advisers; |
| review and approve, or recommend that our board of directors approve, incentive compensation and equity plans, and any other compensatory arrangements for our executive officers and other senior management, as appropriate; |
| review and establish general policies relating to compensation and benefits of our employees and reviewing our overall compensation philosophy; |
| identify, evaluate and select, or recommend that our board of directors approve, nominees for election to our board of directors; |
| evaluate the performance of our board of directors and of individual directors; |
| consider and make recommendations to our board of directors regarding the composition of the committees of the board of directors; |
| review developments in corporate governance practices; |
| evaluate the adequacy of our corporate governance practices and reporting; |
| review management succession plans; |
| approve any loans by the company to executive officers (to the extent permitted by applicable law and our articles of association) and loans by the company to employees that are not executive officers, where the amount of any such loan exceeds $10,000; |
| develop and make recommendations to our board of directors regarding corporate governance guidelines and matters; and |
| oversee periodic evaluations of the board of directors performance. |
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Other Corporate Governance Matters
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as related rules subsequently implemented by the SEC, requires foreign private issuers, including our company, to comply with various corporate governance practices. In addition, NASDAQ rules provide that foreign private issuers may follow home country practice in lieu of the NASDAQ corporate governance standards, subject to certain exceptions and except to the extent that such exemptions would be contrary to U.S. federal securities laws.
Because we are a foreign private issuer, our members of our board of directors, executive board members and senior management are not subject to short-swing profit and insider trading reporting obligations under Section 16 of the Exchange Act. They will, however, be subject to the obligations to report changes in share ownership under Section 13 of the Exchange Act and related SEC rules.
Compensation of Executive Officers and Directors
For the year ended December 31, 2015, the aggregate compensation paid to the members of our board of directors and our executive officers for services in all capacities was $2.0 million.
During the year ended December 31, 2015, we had no performance based compensation programs.
The amount set aside by us to provide pension, retirement or similar benefits to members of our board of directors or executive officers amounted to a total of $0.1 million in the year ended December 31, 2015.
Non-Voting Share Incentive Plan
On November 26, 2013, we adopted an incentive plan, or the Plan, under which, subject to the approval of our board of directors, we may grant awards of restricted non-voting shares to eligible participants. The material terms of our Plan are set forth below.
All of our employees, advisors, including scientific consultants, agents and members of our board of directors are eligible to participate in our Plan. As of September 30, 2016, there were 1,037,010 issued and outstanding non-voting shares awarded under our Plan. All outstanding non-voting shares will be converted into common shares immediately prior to the closing of this offering. Under our Plan, non-voting shares are issued to participants and registered in their name. Each non-voting share has a par value of CHF 0.0769 per share, which the participant must pay, in respect of the aggregate number of shares underlying the non-voting share award. Non-voting shares held by participants are subject to a four-year vesting period, or as otherwise set out in the participants issuance agreement. Under the Plan, one-fourth of the non-voting shares would vest upon the first anniversary of the issuance date, and one-36th of the remaining non-voting shares would vest, starting from the first anniversary of the issuance date, over a total period of three years. Upon a termination of employment, certain forfeiture provisions may apply to a participants vested or unvested non-voting shares.
Equity Incentive Plans
Following the completion of this offering, we intend to cease issuing any new grants under our Plan and to adopt a new omnibus equity incentive plan under which we would have the discretion to grant a broad range of equity-based awards to eligible participants.
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Since January 1, 2013, we have engaged in the following transactions with our directors, executive officers and holders of more than 5% of our outstanding voting securities and their affiliates, which we refer to as our related parties. Except as noted below, the following discussion does not give effect to the automatic conversion of our outstanding preferred shares and non-voting into common shares immediately prior to the closing of this offering.
Bridge Loans
In May 2013, we issued an aggregate principal amount of $0.7 million of unsecured convertible loans, or the bridge loans, with an interest rate of 6% per annum to entities affiliated with members of our board of directors, our executive officers and holders of more than 5% of our voting securities. In consideration of the grant of the bridge loans, we granted each bridge loan lender the number of warrant rights corresponding to 20% of the number of Series A preferred shares into which such lender could convert his bridge loan amount. The table below summarizes these issuances.
Name |
Principal Amount of
Bridge Loans |
|||
(in thousands) | ||||
Ernest Loumaye |
$ | 209 | ||
Fund Sofinnova Capital VII |
524 |
All principal and interest under the bridge loans was converted into Series A preferred shares in connection with our August 2013 financing described below.
Sale of Series A Preferred Shares
In August 2013, we issued an aggregate of 6,792,708 Series A preferred shares at a price of $5.33 per share for an aggregate price of $34.6 million, 5,609,188 shares of which were sold to entities affiliated with members of our board of directors, our executive officers and holders of more than 5% of our voting securities. In some cases, some of the purchase price for these shares took the form of conversion of principal and interest under outstanding bridge loans held by the respective investors. In connection with this financing and in August 2013, our bridge loan lenders exercised their respective warrants for an aggregate of 269,451 Series A preferred shares. The table below summarizes the issuances of our Series A preferred shares to entities affiliated with members of our board of directors, our officers and holders of more than 5% of our voting securities.
Name of Shareholder |
Number of Series A
Preferred Shares Purchased (#) |
Number of Series
A Preferred Shares Issued Pursuant to Warrant Exercise (#) |
Aggregate
|
|||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||
Ernest Loumaye |
209,768 | 127,634 | $ | 1,092 | ||||||||
Fund Sofinnova Capital VII (1) |
2,454,114 | 141,817 | 12,994 | |||||||||
Sofinnova Venture Partners VIII, L.P. (2) |
2,031,250 | | 10,818 | |||||||||
Novo A/S (3) |
1,828,125 | | 9,736 |
(1) | Fund Sofinnova Capital VII is a holder of more than 5% of our voting securities and Rafaèle Tordjman, a member of our board of directors, is a managing partner of Sofinnova Partners SAS, the management company of Fund Sofinnova Capital VII. |
(2) | Sofinnova Venture Partners VIII, L.P. is a holder of more than 5% of our voting securities and James I. Healy, a member of our board of directors, is a managing member of Sofinnova Management VIII, L.L.C., the general partner of Sofinnova Venture Partners VIII, L.P. |
(3) | Novo A/S is a holder of more than 5% of our voting securities and Nanna Lüneborg, a member of our board of directors, is a principal of Novo A/ S. |
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In addition to the preferred shares purchased in the above table, we issued to Ares Trading S.A. 914,069 Series A preferred shares in August 2013, pursuant to our August 2013 license agreement with Merck Serono, and an additional 325,000 Series A preferred shares in September 2016, pursuant to the June 2015 license agreement with Merck Serono, upon the initiation of our Phase 1 clinical trial for OBE022.
All outstanding Series A preferred shares will be converted into common shares immediately prior to the closing of this offering.
Sale of Series B Preferred Shares
In November 2015, we issued an aggregate of 11,079,549 Series B preferred shares at a price of $5.37 per share for an aggregate price of $59.6 million, 10,340,915 of which were sold to entities affiliated with members of our board of directors, our executive officers and holders of more than 5% of our voting securities. The table below summarizes these sales.
Name of Shareholder |
Number of Series B
Preferred Shares Purchased (#) |
Aggregate Purchase
Price |
||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Ernest Loumaye |
162,903 | $ | 875 | |||||
Fund Sofinnova Capital VII (1) |
1,253,343 | 6,729 | ||||||
Sofinnova Venture Partners VIII, L.P. (2) |
980,707 | 5,265 | ||||||
Novo A/S (3) |
882,635 | 4,738 | ||||||
New Enterprise Associates 15, L.P. (4) |
2,769,897 | 14,870 | ||||||
HBM Healthcare Investments (Cayman) Ltd. |
1,846,598 | 9,913 | ||||||
Orbimed Private Investments V, LP |
1,846,598 | 9,913 | ||||||
Ares Trading S.A. |
598,234 | 3,212 |
(1) | Fund Sofinnova Capital VII is a holder of more than 5% of our voting securities and Rafaèle Tordjman, a member of our board of directors, is a managing partner of Sofinnova Partners SAS, the management company of Fund Sofinnova Capital VII. |
(2) | Sofinnova Venture Partners VIII, L.P. is a holder of more than 5% of our voting securities and James I. Healy, a member of our board of directors, is a managing member of Sofinnova Management VIII, L.L.C., the general partner of Sofinnova Venture Partners VIII, L.P. |
(3) | Novo A/S is a holder of more than 5% of our voting securities and Nanna Lüneborg, a member of our board of directors, is a principal of Novo A/ S. |
(4) | New Enterprise Associates 15, L.P. is a holder of more than 5% of our voting securities and Ed Mathers, a member of our board of directors, is a partner of New Enterprise Associates, Inc. |
In connection with the Series B preferred share financing, on November 19, 2015, we issued 915,434 common shares at a subscription price of CHF 0.0769 per share to Dr. Loumaye as a result of anti-dilution provisions in our shareholders agreement that we entered into in 2013 in connection with our Series A preferred share financing.
All outstanding Series B preferred shares will be converted into common shares immediately prior to the closing of this offering.
Series B Shareholders Agreement
On November 19, 2015, all of our then existing shareholders entered into a shareholders agreement, or the Series B Shareholders Agreement. The Series B Shareholders Agreement will terminate upon the completion of this offering.
Pursuant to the Series B Shareholders Agreement, in the event of our initial public offering, all of our outstanding preferred shares will convert into our common shares. The conversion rate offering will be one-for-one. Based upon this provision, our shareholders resolved on December 6, 2016 to convert our outstanding
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preferred shares as well as our non-voting shares into common shares. The shareholder resolution will be put into effect immediately prior to the closing of this offering. As a result, immediately prior to the closing of this offering, all of our outstanding preferred shares will convert into an aggregate of 19,111,326 common shares.
Registration Rights Agreement
Prior to the completion of this offering, we intend to enter into a registration rights agreement with certain of our existing shareholders pursuant to which we will grant them customary registration rights for the resale of the common shares held by certain of our existing shareholders.
Indemnification Agreements
We intend to enter into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers. The indemnification agreements and our articles of association require us to indemnify our directors and executive officers to the fullest extent permitted by law.
Related-Party Transactions Policy
Prior to this offering, we have not had a formal policy regarding approval of transactions with related parties. Prior to the completion of this offering, we expect to adopt a related-party transaction policy that sets forth our procedures for the identification, review, consideration and approval or ratification of related-party transactions. The policy will become effective immediately upon the completion of this offering. For purposes of our policy only, a related-party transaction is a transaction, arrangement or relationship, or any series of similar transactions, arrangements or relationships, in which we and any related parties are, were or will be participants, which are not (1) in the ordinary course of business, (2) at arms length and (3) in which the amount involved exceeds $120,000. Transactions involving compensation for services provided to us as an employee or director are not covered by this policy. For purposes of this policy, a related party is any executive officer, director (or nominee for director) or beneficial owner of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities, including any of their immediate family members and any entity owned or controlled by such persons.
Under the policy, if a transaction has been identified as a related-party transaction, including any transaction that was not a related-party transaction when originally consummated or any transaction that was not initially identified as a related-party transaction prior to consummation, our management must present information regarding the related-party transaction to our board of directors for review, consideration and approval. The presentation must include a description of, among other things, the material facts, the interests, direct and indirect, of the related parties, the benefits to us of the transaction and whether the transaction is on terms that are comparable to the terms available to or from, as the case may be, an unrelated third party or to or from employees generally. Under the policy, we will collect information that we deem reasonably necessary from each director, executive officer and, to the extent feasible, significant shareholder to enable us to identify any existing or potential related-party transactions and to effectuate the terms of the policy. In addition, under our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that we expect to adopt upon the completion of this offering, our employees and directors will have an affirmative responsibility to disclose any transaction or relationship that reasonably could be expected to give rise to a conflict of interest. In considering related-party transactions, our audit committee, or other independent body of our board of directors, will take into account the relevant available facts and circumstances including:
| the risks, costs and benefits to us; |
| the impact on a directors independence in the event that the related party is a director, immediate family member of a director or an entity with which a director is affiliated; |
| the availability of other sources for comparable services or products; and |
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| the terms available to or from, as the case may be, unrelated third parties or to or from employees generally. |
The policy requires that, in determining whether to approve, ratify or reject a related-party transaction, our audit committee, or other independent body of our board of directors, must consider, in light of known circumstances, whether the transaction is in, or is not inconsistent with, our best interests and those of our shareholders, as our audit committee, or other independent body of our board of directors, determines in the good faith exercise of its discretion.
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The following table sets forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our common shares as of September 30, 2016 for:
| each beneficial owner of 5% or more of our outstanding common shares; |
| each of our directors and executive officers; and |
| all of our directors and executive officers as a group. |
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the SEC. These rules generally attribute beneficial ownership of securities to persons who possess sole or shared voting power or investment power with respect to those securities and include common shares issuable upon the exercise of options that are immediately exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of September 30, 2016. Percentage ownership calculations are based on 22,363,770 common shares outstanding as of September 30, 2016. The percentage ownership calculations and other information in the following table gives effect to the conversion of all of our outstanding preferred shares and non-voting shares into an aggregate of 20,137,936 common shares immediately prior to the closing of this offering.
Except as otherwise indicated, all of the shares reflected in the table are common shares and all persons listed below have sole voting and investment power with respect to the shares beneficially owned by them, subject to applicable community property laws. The information is not necessarily indicative of beneficial ownership for any other purpose.
In computing the number of common shares beneficially owned by a person and the percentage ownership of that person, we deemed outstanding common shares subject to options held by that person that are immediately exercisable or exercisable within 60 days of September 30, 2016. We did not deem these shares outstanding, however, for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person. Beneficial ownership representing less than 1% is denoted with an asterisk (*).
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As of September 30, 2016, 8,367,086 common shares, or approximately 36.1%, are held by four record holders in the United States. Except as otherwise indicated in the table below, addresses of the directors, executive officers and named beneficial owners are in care of ObsEva SA, Chemin des Aulx, 12, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland.
Name of Beneficial Owner |
Number of Shares
Beneficially Owned |
Percentage of Shares Beneficially
Owned |
||||||||||
Before
Offering |
After Offering | |||||||||||
Principal Shareholders: |
||||||||||||
Fund Sofinnova Capital VII (1) |
3,849,274 | 17.2 | % | |||||||||
Sofinnova Venture Partners VIII, L.P. (2) |
3,011,957 | 13.5 | ||||||||||
Novo A/S (3) |
2,710,760 | 12.1 | ||||||||||
Ares Trading S.A. (4) |
1,837,303 | 8.2 | ||||||||||
New Enterprise Associates 15, L.P. (5) |
2,769,897 | 12.4 | ||||||||||
HBM Healthcare Investments (Cayman) Ltd (6) |
1,846,598 | 8.3 | ||||||||||
Orbimed Private Investments V, LP (7) |
1,846,598 | 8.3 | ||||||||||
Executive Officers and Directors: |
||||||||||||
Ernest Loumaye (8) |
2,818,439 | 13.0 | ||||||||||
Jean-Pierre Gotteland |
* | * | ||||||||||
Elke Bestel |
* | * | ||||||||||
Fabien Lefebvre de Ladonchamps |
* | * | ||||||||||
Ben T.G. Tan |
* | * | ||||||||||
Barbara Duncan |
| | ||||||||||
Annette Clancy |
* | * | ||||||||||
James I. Healy (2) |
3,011,957 | 13.5 | ||||||||||
Nanna Lüneborg |
| | ||||||||||
Ed Mathers (5) |
2,769,897 | 12.4 | ||||||||||
Rafaèle Tordjman (1) |
3,849,274 | 17.2 | ||||||||||
Frank Verwiel |
| | ||||||||||
Jacky Vonderscher |
* | * | ||||||||||
All current directors and executive officers as a group (13 persons) (9) |
12,847,367 | 57.4 |
* | Represents beneficial ownership of less than 1%. |
(1) | Consists of 3,849,274 common shares issuable upon conversion of preferred shares held by Fund Sofinnova Capital VII. Sofinnova Partners SAS, a French corporation and the management company of Fund Sofinnova Capital VII, may be deemed to have sole voting and dispositive power over the shares held by Fund Sofinnova Capital VII. The managing partners of Sofinnova Partners SAS, Denis Lucquin, Antoine Papiernik, Rafaèle Tordjman, M.D., Ph.D. (a member of our board of directors) and Monique Saulnier, may be deemed to have shared voting and dispositive power with respect to such shares. The address of Fund Sofinnova Capital VII is Sofinnova Partners, Immeuble le Centorial, 16-18 Rue du Quatre-Septembre, 75002 Paris, France. |
(2) | Consists of 3,011,957 common shares issuable upon conversion of preferred shares held by Sofinnova Venture Partners VIII, L.P., or Sofinnova VIII. Sofinnova Management VIII, L.L.C. is the general partner of Sofinnova VIII, and Anand Mehra, M.D., James Healy, M.D. (a member of our board of directors) and Michael Powell, Ph.D., the managing members of Sofinnova Management VIII, L.L.C., may be deemed to have shared voting and dispositive power with respect to such shares. The address of Sofinnova VIII is c/o Sofinnova Ventures, Inc., 3000 Sand Hill Road, Bldg. 4, Suite 250, Menlo Park, California 94025. |
(3) | Consists of 2,710,760 common shares issuable upon conversion of preferred shares held by Novo A/S, a Danish limited liability company that manages investments and financial assets. The board of directors of Novo A/S, which is currently comprised of Sten Scheibye, Göran Ando, Jeppe Christiansen, Steen Riisgaard and Per Wold-Olsen, has shared voting and dispositive power with respect to these shares and may exercise such control only with the support of a majority of the board. As such, no individual member of the board is deemed to hold any beneficial ownership of these shares. Dr. Lüneborg, a member of our board of directors, is employed as a principal of Novo A/S and is not deemed to be a beneficial owner of these shares. The address of Novo A/S is Tuborg Havnevej 19, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark. |
(4) | Consists of 1,837,303 common shares issuable upon conversion of preferred shares held by Ares Trading S.A. Ares Trading S.A. is the wholly owned subsidiary of Merck Serono S.A., which is the wholly owned subsidiary of Merck KGaA. By virtue of such relationships, Merck Serono S.A. and Merck KGaA may be deemed to have shared voting and dispositive power with respect to the shares held by Ares Trading S.A. The address of Ares Trading S.A. is Zone Industrielle de lOuriettaz, 1170 Aubonne, Switzerland. |
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(5) | Consists of 2,769,897 common shares issuable upon conversion of preferred shares held by New Enterprise Associates 15, L.P., or NEA 15. The shares directly held by NEA 15 are indirectly held by NEA Partners 15, L.P., or NEA Partners 15, the sole general partner of NEA 15, NEA 15 GP, LLC, or NEA 15 LLC, the sole general partner of NEA Partner 15 and each of the individual Managers of NEA 15 LLC. The individual Managers of NEA 15 LLC, or collectively, the NEA 15 Managers, are Peter J. Barris, Forest Baskett, Anthony A. Florence, Jr., Kristna Kittu Kolluri, David M. Mott, Jon Sakoda, Scott D. Sandell, Peter Sonsini Ravi Viswanathan and Harry R. Weller. NEA 15, NEA Partners 15, NEA 15 LLC and the NEA 15 Managers share voting and dispositive power with regard to our securities directly held by NEA 15. Ed Mathers, a partner of New Enterprise Associates, Inc., is a member of our board of directors. The address of New Enterprise Associates 15, L.P. is c/o New Enterprise Associates, Inc., 1954 Greenspring Drive, Suite 600, Timonium, Maryland 21093. |
(6) | Consists of 1,846,598 common shares issuable upon conversion of preferred shares held by HBM Healthcare Investments (Cayman) Ltd. The board of directors of HBM Healthcare Investments (Cayman) Ltd. has sole voting and dispositive power with respect to the shares. The board of directors of HBM Healthcare Investments (Cayman) Ltd. is comprised of Jean-Marc Lesieur, Richard Coles, Sophia Harris, Dr. Andrea Wicki and Paul Woodhouse, none of whom has individual voting or dispositive power with respect to the shares. The address of HBM Healthcare Investments (Cayman) Ltd is Governors Square, Suite 4-212-2, 23 Lime Tree Bay Avenue, West Bay, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. |
(7) | Consists of 1,846,598 common shares issuable upon conversion of preferred shares held by Orbimed Private Investments V, LP, or OPI V. OrbiMed Capital GP V LLC, or GP V, is the sole general partner of OPI V, and OrbiMed Advisors LLC, or Advisors, a registered adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, is the sole managing member of GP V. Samuel D. Isaly is the managing member of, and holder of a controlling interest in Advisors. By virtue of such relationships, GP V, Advisors and Mr. Isaly may be deemed to have voting and investment power with respect to the shares held by OPI V and as a result may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of such shares. The address of OPI V is 601 Lexington Avenue, 54th floor, New York, New York 10022. |
(8) | Consists of 2,085,434 common shares, 500,305 common shares issuable upon conversion of preferred shares and 232,700 common shares issuable upon conversion of non-voting shares. Of the non-voting shares, 68,835 non-voting shares were subject to a right of repurchase in our favor within 60 days of September 30, 2016 upon the occurrence of certain events. |
(9) | Consists of 2,085,434 common shares, 10,131,433 common shares issuable upon conversion of preferred shares and 630,500 common shares issuable upon conversion of non-voting shares. Of the non-voting shares, 288,639 non-voting shares were subject to a right of repurchase in our favor within 60 days of September 30, 2016 upon the occurrence of certain events. |
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DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
The Company
We are a Swiss stock corporation ( société anonyme ) organized under the laws of Switzerland. We were formed in 2012. We are currently registered in Geneva, Switzerland. Our head office is currently located at Chemin des Aulx, 12, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland.
Share Capital
As of the date of this prospectus, our share capital is divided into common shares, two classes of preferred shares and non-voting shares. Immediately prior to the closing of this offering, all of our preferred shares and non-voting shares will be converted into common shares, effective upon the registration of the revised articles of association with the commercial register of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. See Articles of Association. Upon the closing of this offering, giving effect to (1) the issuance of the common shares to be sold in this offering and (2) the conversion of our preferred shares and non-voting shares into common shares on a one-for-one basis, our issued fully paid-in share capital will consist of 23,181,262 common shares, with a par value of 1/13 of a Swiss franc, or approximately CHF 0.0769 per share, and no preferred shares.
Articles of Association
Prior to the closing of this offering, we intend to adopt amended and restated articles of association which will become effective immediately prior to the closing of this offering and the registration of the revised articles of association with the commercial register of the Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. When we refer to our articles of association in this prospectus, we refer to our amended and restated articles of association as they will be in force upon the closing of this offering.
Ordinary Capital Increase, Authorized and Conditional Share Capital
Under Swiss law, we may increase our share capital ( capital-actions ) with a resolution of the general meeting of shareholders (ordinary capital increase) that must be carried out by the board of directors within three months in order to become effective. Under our articles of association, in the case of subscription and increase against payment of contributions in cash, a resolution passed by an absolute majority of the votes cast at the general meeting of shareholders is required. In the case of subscription and increase against contributions in kind or to fund acquisitions in kind, when shareholders statutory pre-emptive rights are withdrawn or where transformation of reserves into share capital is involved, a resolution passed by two-thirds of the shares represented at a general meeting of shareholders and the absolute majority of the par value of the shares represented is required.
Furthermore, under the Swiss Code of Obligations, or the CO, our shareholders, by a resolution passed by two-thirds of the shares represented at a general meeting of shareholders and the absolute majority of the par value of the shares represented, may empower our board of directors to issue shares of a specific aggregate par value up to a maximum of 50% of the share capital in the form of:
| conditional capital ( capital conditionnel ) for the purpose of issuing shares in connection with, among other things, (1) option and conversion rights granted in connection with warrants and convertible bonds of us or one of our subsidiaries or (2) grants of rights to employees, members of our board of directors or consultants or our subsidiaries to subscribe for new shares (conversion or option rights); or |
| authorized capital ( capital autorisé ) to be utilized by our board of directors within a period determined by the shareholders but not exceeding two years from the date of the shareholder approval. |
Pre-emptive Rights
Pursuant to the CO, shareholders have pre-emptive rights ( droits de souscription ) to subscribe for new issuances of shares. With respect to conditional capital in connection with the issuance of conversion rights,
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convertible bonds or similar debt instruments, shareholders have advance subscription rights ( droit préférentiel de souscription ) for the subscription of conversion rights, convertible bonds or similar debt instruments.
A resolution passed at a general meeting of shareholders by two-thirds of the shares represented and the absolute majority of the par value of the shares represented may authorize our board of directors to withdraw or limit pre-emptive rights or advance subscription rights in certain circumstances.
If pre-emptive rights are granted, but not exercised, our board of directors may allocate the pre-emptive rights as it elects.
With respect to our authorized share capital, we expect our board of directors to be authorized by our articles of association to withdraw or to limit the pre-emptive rights of shareholders, and to allocate them to third parties or to us, in the event that the newly issued shares are used for the purpose of:
| expanding the shareholder base in certain capital markets or in the context of the listing, admission to official trading or registration of the shares at domestic or international stock exchanges; |
| granting an over-allotment option to underwriters in connection with a placement of shares; |
| share placements, provided the issue price is determined by reference to the market price; |
| the participation of our employees, members of our board of directors or consultants or of one of our subsidiaries in one or several equity incentive plans adopted by our board of directors; |
| the acquisition of companies, assets, participations or new investment projects or for public or private share placements for the financing or refinancing of such transactions; |
| for raising equity capital in a fast and flexible manner as such transaction would be difficult to carry out without the withdrawal of the pre-emptive rights of the existing shareholders; |
| the acquisition of a participation in us by a strategic partner; or |
| for all other reasons allowed by law pursuant to Article 652b, paragraph 2, of the CO. |
Our Authorized Share Capital
Under our articles of association, our board of directors is authorized at any time until December 6, 2018 to increase our share capital by a maximum aggregate amount of CHF 891,587 through the issuance of not more than 11,590,631 shares, which would have to be fully paid-in, with a par value of CHF 0.0769 each.
Increases in partial amounts are permitted. Our board of directors has the power to determine the type of contributions, the issue price and the date on which the dividend entitlement starts.
Our board of directors is also authorized to withdraw or limit pre-emptive rights as described above. This authorization is exclusively linked to the particular available authorized share capital set out in the respective article. If the period to increase the share capital lapses without having been used by our board of directors, the authorization to withdraw or to limit the pre-emptive rights lapses simultaneously with such capital.
Our common shares to be sold in this offering will be issued out of our authorized share capital. Accordingly upon the consummation of this offering, our authorized but unissued share capital will decrease by the amount of CHF 891,587 (or by a larger amount to the extent that any over-allotment shares will be issued).
Our Conditional Share Capital
Conditional Share Capital for Warrants and Convertible Bonds
Our share capital may be increased by a maximum aggregate amount of CHF 570,616 through the issuance of not more than 7,418,008 common shares, which would have to be fully paid-in, with a par value of
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CHF 0.0769 each, by the exercise of option and conversion rights granted in connection with convertible bonds or similar instruments of the Company or one of our subsidiaries. Shareholders will not have pre-emptive rights in such circumstances, but have a right to subscribe for the new bonds or other debt instruments by preference. The holders of the relevant debt instruments will be entitled to the new shares upon the occurrence of the applicable acquisition or conversion feature.
When issuing relevant debt instruments, the board of directors is authorized to withdraw or to limit the right of shareholders to subscribe for the relevant debt instruments by preference:
| for the purpose of financing or refinancing our acquisition of enterprises, divisions thereof, or of participations or of newly planned investments; |
| if the issuance occurs in domestic or international capital markets including private placements; or |
| if the relevant debt instruments are to be acquired by an underwriter with subsequent offering to the public. |
To the extent that the rights to subscribe for the new instruments by preference are withdrawn (1) the new instruments are to be issued at market conditions; (2) the term to exercise the option or conversion rights may not exceed ten years as of the date of the issue; and (3) the exercise price for the new shares must at least correspond to the market conditions at the time of the issuance.
Conditional Share Capital for Equity Incentive Plans
Our share capital may, to the exclusion of the pre-emptive rights of shareholders, be increased by a maximum aggregate amount of CHF 320,971 through the issuance of not more than 4,172,623 common shares, which would have to be fully paid-in, with a par value of CHF 0.0769 each, by the exercise of option or conversion rights that have been granted to employees, members of our board of directors or our consultants or of one of our subsidiaries through one or more equity incentive plans created by our board of directors.
Uncertificated Securities
Our shares are uncertificated securities ( droits-valeurs , within the meaning of Article 973c of the CO) and, when administered by a financial intermediary ( dépositaire , within the meaning of the Federal Act on Intermediated Securities, or FISA), qualify as intermediated securities ( titres intermédiés , within the meaning of the FISA). In accordance with Article 973c of the CO, we will maintain a non-public register of uncertificated securities ( registre des droits-valeurs ).
Shareholders may request from us a written confirmation in respect of their shares. Shareholders are not entitled, however, to request the printing and delivery of share certificates. We may print and deliver certificates for shares at any time at our option. We may also, at our option, withdraw uncertificated shares from the custodian system where they have been registered and, with the consent of the shareholder, cancel issued certificates that are returned to us.
General Meeting of Shareholders
The general meeting of shareholders is our supreme corporate body. Under Swiss law, ordinary and extraordinary general meetings of shareholders may be held. Under Swiss law, an ordinary general meeting of shareholders must be held annually within six months after the end of a corporations financial year. In our case, this means on or before June 30 of any calendar year.
The following powers are vested exclusively in the general meeting of shareholders:
| adopting and amending our articles of association; |
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| electing the members of the board of directors, the chairman of the board of directors, the members of the compensation committee, the auditors and the independent proxy; |
| approving the business report, the annual statutory financial statements and the consolidated financial statements, and deciding on the allocation of profits as shown on the balance sheet, in particular with regard to dividends; |
| approving the compensation of members of the board of directors and executive management, which under Swiss law is not necessarily limited to the executive officers; |
| discharging the members of the board of directors and executive management from liability with respect to their tenure in the previous financial year; and |
| deciding matters reserved to the general meeting of shareholders by law or our articles of association or that are presented to it by the board of directors. |
An extraordinary general meeting of shareholders may be called by a resolution of the board of directors or, under certain circumstances, by our auditor, liquidator or the representatives of bond holders, if any. In addition, the board of directors is required to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders if shareholders representing at least 10% of the share capital request such general meeting of shareholders in writing. Such request must set forth the items to be discussed and the proposals to be acted upon. The board of directors must convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders and propose financial restructuring measures if, based on our stand-alone annual statutory balance sheet, half of our share capital and reserves are not covered by our assets.
Voting and Quorum Requirements
Shareholder resolutions and elections (including elections of members of the board of directors) require the affirmative vote of the absolute majority of the votes cast at the general meeting of shareholders, unless otherwise stipulated by law or our articles of association.
Under Swiss corporation law and our articles of association, a resolution of the general meeting of the shareholders passed by two-thirds of the shares represented at the meeting, and the absolute majority of the par value of the shares represented is required for:
| amending our corporate purpose; |
| creating or cancelling shares with preference rights; |
| restricting the transferability of registered shares; |
| creating authorized or conditional share capital; |
| increasing the share capital out of equity, against contributions in kind or for the purpose of acquiring specific assets and granting specific benefits; |
| limiting or withdrawing shareholders pre-emptive rights; |
| relocating our registered office; |
| dissolving or liquidating; |
| amending the provision of our articles of association, which limits the number of our directors to eight; and |
| removing a serving member of our board of directors. |
The same voting requirements apply to resolutions regarding transactions among corporations based on Switzerlands Federal Act on Mergers, Demergers, Transformations and the Transfer of Assets of 2003, as amended, or the Swiss Merger Act (including a merger, demerger or conversion of a corporation) see Compulsory Acquisitions; Appraisal Rights.
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In accordance with Swiss law and generally accepted business practices, our articles of association do not provide quorum requirements generally applicable to general meetings of shareholders. To this extent, our practice varies from the requirement of NASDAQ Listing Rule 5620(c), which requires an issuer to provide in its bylaws for a generally applicable quorum, and that such quorum may not be less than one-third of the outstanding voting shares.
Notice
General meetings of shareholders must be convened by the board of directors at least twenty days before the date of the meeting. The general meeting of shareholders is convened by way of a notice appearing in our official publication medium, currently the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce. Registered shareholders may also be informed by mail. The notice of a general meeting of shareholders must state the items on the agenda, the proposals to be acted upon and, in case of elections, the names of the nominated candidates. Except in the limited circumstances listed below, a resolution may not be passed at a general meeting without proper notice. This limitation does not apply to proposals to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders or to initiate a special investigation. No previous notification is required for proposals concerning items included in the agenda or for debates that do not result in a vote.
The owners or representatives of all of our shares may, if no objection is raised, hold a general meeting of shareholders without complying with the formal requirements for convening general meetings of shareholders (a universal meeting). This universal meeting of shareholders may discuss and pass binding resolutions on all matters within the purview of the ordinary general meeting of shareholders, provided that the owners or representatives of all the shares are present at the meeting.
Agenda Requests
Pursuant to Swiss law, one or more shareholders whose combined shareholdings represent the lower of (1) one tenth of the share capital or (2) an aggregate par value of at least CHF 1,000,000, may request that an item be included in the agenda for a general meeting of shareholders. To be timely, the shareholders request must be received by us at least 60 calendar days in advance of the meeting.
Our business report, the compensation report and the auditors report must be made available for inspection by the shareholders at our registered office no later than 20 days prior to the ordinary general meeting. Shareholders of record must be notified of this in writing.
Shareholder Proposals
Under Swiss statutory law, at any general meeting of shareholders any shareholder may put proposals to the meeting if the proposal is part of an agenda item. In addition, even if the proposal is not part of any agenda item, any shareholder may propose to the meeting to convene an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders or to have a specific matter investigated by means of a special audit where this is necessary for the proper exercise of shareholders rights.
Voting Rights
Each of our shares entitles a holder to one vote, regardless of its par value. The shares are not divisible. The right to vote and the other rights of share ownership may only be exercised by shareholders (including any nominees) or usufructuaries who are entered in our share register at cut-off date determined by the board of directors. Those entitled to vote in the general meeting of shareholders may be represented by the independent proxy holder (annually elected by the general meeting of shareholders), another registered shareholder or third person with written authorization to act as proxy or the shareholders legal representative.
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Dividends and Other Distributions
Our board of directors may propose to shareholders that a dividend or other distribution be paid but cannot itself authorize the distribution. Under our articles of association, dividend payments require a resolution passed by an absolute majority of the votes cast at a general meeting of shareholders. In addition, our auditors must confirm that the dividend proposal of our board of directors conforms to Swiss statutory law and our articles of association.
Under Swiss law, we may pay dividends only if we have sufficient distributable profits brought forward from the previous business years, or if we have distributable reserves, each as evidenced by our audited stand-alone statutory balance sheet prepared pursuant to Swiss law, and after allocations to reserves required by Swiss law and the articles of association have been deducted. We are not permitted to pay interim dividends out of profit of the current business year.
Distributable reserves are booked either as retained earnings ( réserves issues du bénéfice ) or as reserves from capital contributions ( réserves issues du capital ). Under the CO, if our general reserves ( réserve générale ) amount to less than 20% of our share capital recorded in the commercial register (i.e., 20% of the aggregate par value of our issued capital), then at least 5% of our annual profit must be retained as general reserves. In addition, if our general reserves amount to less than 50% of our share capital, 10% of the amounts distributed beyond payment of a dividend of 5% must be retained as general reserves. The CO permits us to accrue additional general reserves. Further, a purchase of our own shares (whether by us or a subsidiary) reduces the distributable reserves in an amount corresponding to the purchase price of such own shares. Finally, the CO under certain circumstances requires the creation of revaluation reserves which are not distributable.
Distributions out of issued share capital (i.e. the aggregate par value of our issued shares) are not allowed and may be made only by way of a share capital reduction. Such a capital reduction requires a resolution passed by an absolute majority of the shares cast at a general meeting of shareholders. The resolution of the shareholders must be recorded in a public deed and a special audit report must confirm that claims of our creditors remain fully covered despite the reduction in the share capital recorded in the commercial register. The share capital may be reduced below CHF 100,000 only if and to the extent that at the same time the statutory minimum share capital of CHF 100,000 is reestablished by sufficient new fully paid-up capital. Upon approval by the general meeting of shareholders of the capital reduction, the board of directors must give public notice of the capital reduction resolution in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce three times and notify creditors that they may request, within two months of the third publication, satisfaction of or security for their claims. The reduction of the share capital may be implemented only after expiration of this time limit.
Our board of directors determines the date on which the dividend entitlement starts. Dividends are usually due and payable shortly after the shareholders have passed the resolution approving the payment, but shareholders may also resolve at the ordinary general meeting of shareholders to pay dividends in quarterly or other installments.
For a discussion of the taxation of dividends, see the section in this prospectus entitled Material Income Tax ConsiderationsSwiss Tax ConsiderationsTaxation of Common SharesSwiss Federal Withholding Tax on Dividends and Distributions.
Transfer of Shares
Shares in uncertificated form may only be transferred by way of assignment. Shares that constitute intermediated securities ( titres intermédiés ) may only be transferred when a credit of the relevant intermediated securities to the acquirers securities account is made in accordance with the relevant provisions of the FISA. Our articles of association provide that registered shares not incorporated into a certificate and that are not held as book entry securities may be transferred only by assignment. Such assignment shall be valid only if we have been notified thereof.
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Voting rights may be exercised only after a shareholder has been entered in our share register ( registre des actions ) with his or her name and address (in the case of legal entities, the registered office) as a shareholder with voting rights.
Inspection of Books and Records
Under the CO, a shareholder has a right to inspect our share register with respect to his own shares and otherwise to the extent necessary to exercise his shareholder rights. No other person has a right to inspect our share register. Our books and correspondence may be inspected with the express authorization of the general meeting of shareholders or by resolution of the board of directors and subject to the safeguarding of our business secrets. See Comparison of Swiss Law and Delaware LawInspection of Books and Records.
Special Investigation
If the shareholders inspection rights as outlined above prove to be insufficient in the judgment of the shareholder, any shareholder may propose to the general meeting of shareholders that specific facts be examined by a special auditor in a special investigation. If the general meeting of shareholders approves the proposal, we or any shareholder may, within 30 calendar days after the general meeting of shareholders, request a court sitting at our registered office (currently in Geneva, Switzerland) to appoint a special auditor. If the general meeting of shareholders rejects the request, one or more shareholders representing at least 10% of the share capital or holders of shares in an aggregate par value of at least CHF 2,000,000 may request that the court appoint a special auditor. The court will issue such an order if the petitioners can demonstrate that the board of directors, any member of the board of directors or our executive management infringed the law or our articles of association and thereby caused damages to us or the shareholders. The costs of the investigation would generally be allocated to us and only in exceptional cases to the petitioners.
Compulsory Acquisitions; Appraisal Rights
Business combinations and other transactions that are governed by the Federal Act on Mergers, Demergers, Transformations and Asset Transfers of 2003, as amended, or the Swiss Merger Act, are binding on all shareholders. A statutory merger or demerger requires approval of two-thirds of the shares represented at a general meeting of shareholders and the absolute majority of the par value of the shares represented.
If a transaction under the Swiss Merger Act receives all of the necessary consents, all shareholders are compelled to participate in such transaction.
Swiss corporations may be acquired by an acquirer through the direct acquisition of shares. The Swiss Merger Act provides for the possibility of a so-called cash-out or squeeze-out merger if the acquirer controls 90% of the outstanding shares. In these limited circumstances, minority shareholders of the corporation being acquired may be compensated in a form other than through shares of the acquiring corporation (for instance, through cash or securities of a parent corporation of the acquiring corporation or of another corporation).
For business combinations effected in the form of a statutory merger or demerger and subject to Swiss law, the Swiss Merger Act provides that if equity rights have not been adequately preserved or compensation payments in the transaction are unreasonable, a shareholder may request the competent court to determine a reasonable amount of compensation. A decision issued by a competent court in this respect can be acted upon by any person who has the same legal status as the claimant.
In addition, under Swiss law, the sale of all or substantially all of our assets may be construed as a de facto dissolution of our company, and consequently require the approval of two-thirds of the shares represented at a general meeting of shareholders and the absolute majority of the par value of the shares represented. Whether a
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shareholder resolution is required depends on the particular transaction, whereas the following circumstances are generally deemed relevant in this respect:
| a core part of the companys business is sold without which it is economically impracticable or unreasonable to continue to operate the remaining business; |
| the companys assets, after the divestment, are not invested in accordance with the companys statutory business purpose; and |
| the proceeds of the divestment are not earmarked for reinvestment in accordance with the companys business purpose but, instead, are intended for distribution to the companys shareholders or for financial investments unrelated to the companys business. |
A shareholder of a Swiss corporation participating in certain corporate transactions governed by the Swiss Merger Act may, under certain circumstances, be entitled to appraisal rights. As a result, such shareholder may, in addition to the consideration (be it in shares or in cash) receive an additional amount to ensure that the shareholder receives the fair value of the shares held by the shareholder. Following a statutory merger or demerger, pursuant to the Swiss Merger Act, shareholders can file an appraisal action against the surviving company. If the consideration is deemed inadequate, the court will determine an adequate compensation payment.
Board of Directors
Our articles of association provide that our board of directors shall consist of no more than eight directors.
The members of our board of directors and the chairman are elected annually by the general meeting of shareholders for a period until the completion of the subsequent ordinary general meeting of shareholders and are eligible for re-election. Each member of the board of directors must be elected individually.
Powers
The board of directors has the following non-delegable and inalienable powers and duties:
| the ultimate direction of the business of the company and issuing of the relevant directives; |
| laying down the organization of the company; |
| formulating accounting procedures, financial controls and financial planning; |
| nominating and removing persons entrusted with the management and representation of the company and regulating the power to sign for the company; |
| the ultimate supervision of those persons entrusted with management of the company, with particular regard to adherence to law, our articles of association as well as our regulations and directives; |
| issuing the business report and the compensation report, and preparing for the general meeting of shareholders and carrying out its resolutions; |
| informing the court in case of over-indebtedness. |
The board of directors may, while retaining such non-delegable and inalienable powers and duties, delegate some of its powers, in particular direct management, to a single or to several of its members, managing directors, committees or to third parties who need be neither members of the board of directors nor shareholders. Pursuant to Swiss law, details of the delegation must be set in the organizational rules issued by the board of directors. The organizational rules may also contain other procedural rules such as quorum requirements.
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Indemnification of Executive Management and Directors
Subject to Swiss law, our articles of association provide for indemnification of the existing and former members of the board of directors, executive management and their heirs, executors and administrators, against liabilities arising in connection with the performance of their duties in such capacity, and permits us to advance the expenses of defending any act, suit or proceeding to our directors and executive management.
In addition, under general principles of Swiss employment law, an employer may be required to indemnify an employee against losses and expenses incurred by such employee in the proper execution of his or her duties under the employment agreement with the employer. See the section of this prospectus entitled Comparison of Swiss Law and Delaware LawIndemnification of directors and executive management and limitation of liability.
We have entered or will enter into indemnification agreements with each of the members of our board of directors and executive management. See the section of this prospectus entitled Related Party TransactionsIndemnification Agreements.
Conflict of Interest, Management Transactions
Swiss law does not have a specific provision regarding conflicts of interest. However, the CO contains a provision that requires our directors and executive management to safeguard the companys interests and imposes a duty of loyalty and duty of care on our directors and executive management. This rule is generally understood to disqualify directors and executive management from participation in decisions that directly affect them. Our directors and executive officers are personally liable to us for breach of these provisions. In addition, Swiss law contains provisions under which directors and all persons engaged in the companys management are liable to the company, each shareholder and the companys creditors for damages caused by an intentional or negligent violation of their duties. Furthermore, Swiss law contains a provision under which payments made to any of the companys shareholders or directors or any person associated with any such shareholder or director, other than payments made at arms length, must be repaid to the company if such shareholder, director or associated person acted in bad faith.
Our board of directors has adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics to be effective upon the closing of this offering that will cover a broad range of matters, including the handling of conflicts of interest.
Principles of the Compensation of the Board of Directors and the Executive Management
Pursuant to Swiss law, beginning at our first annual meeting as a public company our shareholders must annually approve the compensation of the board of directors and the persons whom the board of directors has, fully or partially, entrusted with our management, which we refer to as our executive management. The board of directors must issue, on an annual basis, a written compensation report that must be reviewed together with a report on our business by our auditor. The compensation report must disclose all compensation, loans and other forms of indebtedness granted by us, directly or indirectly, to current or former members of the board of directors and executive management to the extent related to their former role or not on customary market terms.
The disclosure concerning compensation, loans and other forms of indebtedness must include:
| the aggregate amount for the board of directors as well as the particular amount for each member of the board of directors, specifying the name and function of each respective person; and |
| the aggregate amount for the executive management as well as the particular amount for the member of the executive management with the highest compensation, specifying the name and function of such member. |
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Certain forms of compensation are prohibited for members of our board of directors and executive management, such as:
| severance payments provided for either contractually or in the articles of association (compensation due during the notice period before termination of a contractual relationship does not qualify as severance payment); |
| advance compensation; |
| incentive fees for the acquisition or transfer of corporations or parts thereof by us or by companies being, directly or indirectly, controlled by the us; |
| loans, other forms of indebtedness, pension benefits not based on occupational pension schemes and performance-based compensation not provided for in the articles of association; and |
| equity securities and conversion and option rights awards not provided for in the articles of association. |
Compensation to members of the board of directors and executive management for activities in entities that are, directly or indirectly, controlled by us is prohibited if the compensation (1) would have been prohibited if it was paid directly by us, (2) is not provided for in our articles of association and (3) has not been approved by the general meeting of shareholders.
Beginning at our first annual meeting as a public company, the shareholders will annually vote on the proposals of the board of directors with respect to:
| the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the board of directors until the next annual general meeting; and |
| the maximum aggregate amount of compensation of the executive management for the following financial year. |
The board of directors may submit for approval at the general meeting of shareholders deviating or additional proposals relating to the same or different periods.
If the general meeting of shareholders does not approve a compensation proposal made by the board of directors, the board of directors must convene an extraordinary general meeting and submit a new compensation proposal to such meeting.
In addition to fixed compensation, members of the executive management and, under certain circumstances, the board of directors may be paid variable compensation, depending on the achievement of certain performance criteria or for retention purposes.
The performance criteria may include corporate targets and targets in relation to the market, other companies or comparable benchmarks and individual targets, taking into account the position and level of responsibility of the recipient of the variable compensation. The board of directors or, where delegated to it, the compensation committee shall determine the relative weight of the performance criteria and the respective target values.
Compensation may be paid or granted in the form of cash, shares, financial instruments, or in the form of other types of benefits. The board of directors or, where delegated to it, the compensation committee shall determine grant, vesting, exercise and forfeiture conditions.
Borrowing Powers
Neither Swiss law nor our articles of association restrict in any way our power to borrow and raise funds. The decision to borrow funds is made by or under the direction of our board of directors, and no approval by the shareholders is required in relation to any such borrowing .
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Repurchases of Shares and Purchases of Own Shares
The CO limits our right to purchase and hold our own shares. We and our subsidiaries may purchase shares only if and to the extent that (1) we have freely distributable reserves in the amount of the purchase price; and (2) the aggregate par value of all shares held by us does not exceed 10% of our share capital. Pursuant to Swiss law, where shares are acquired in connection with a transfer restriction set out in the articles of association, the foregoing upper limit is 20%. We currently do not have any transfer restriction in our articles of association. If we own shares that exceed the threshold of 10% of our share capital, the excess must be sold or cancelled by means of a capital reduction within two years.
Shares held by us or our subsidiaries are not entitled to vote at the general meeting of shareholders but are entitled to the economic benefits applicable to the shares generally, including dividends and pre-emptive rights in the case of share capital increases.
In addition, selective share repurchases are only permitted under certain circumstances. Within these limitations, as is customary for Swiss corporations, we may purchase and sell our own shares from time to time in order to meet our obligations under our equity plans, to meet imbalances of supply and demand, to provide liquidity and to even out variances in the market price of shares.
Notification and Disclosure of Substantial Share Interests
The disclosure obligations generally applicable to shareholders of Swiss corporations under the Federal Act on Financial Market Infrastructures and Market Conduct in Securities and Derivatives Trading of 2015, or the Financial Market Infrastructure Act, do not apply to us since our shares are not listed on a Swiss exchange.
Pursuant to Article 663c of the CO, Swiss corporations whose shares are listed on a stock exchange must disclose their significant shareholders and their shareholdings in the notes to their balance sheet, where this information is known or ought to be known. Significant shareholders are defined as shareholders and groups of shareholders linked through voting rights who hold more than 5% of all voting rights.
Mandatory Bid Rules
The obligation of any person or group of persons that acquires more than one third of a companys voting rights to submit a cash offer for all the outstanding listed equity securities of the relevant company at a minimum price pursuant to the Financial Market Infrastructure Act does not apply to us since our shares are not listed on a Swiss exchange.
Stock Exchange Listing
We have applied to list our common shares on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol OBSV.
The Depository Trust Company
Initial settlement of the common shares issued in this offering will take place on the completion date of this offering through The Depository Trust Company, or DTC, in accordance with its customary settlement procedures for equity securities. Each person owning common shares held through DTC must rely on the procedures thereof and on institutions that have accounts therewith to exercise any rights of a holder of the shares.
Transfer Agent and Registrar of Shares
Our share register will initially be kept by . The share register reflects only record owners of our shares. Swiss law does not recognize fractional share interests.
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COMPARISON OF SWISS LAW AND DELAWARE LAW
The Swiss laws applicable to Swiss corporations and their shareholders differ from laws applicable to U.S. corporations and their shareholders. The following table summarizes significant differences in shareholder rights between the provisions of the Swiss Code of Obligations ( Code suisse des obligations ) and the Swiss Ordinance against excessive compensation in listed stock corporations applicable to our company and the Delaware General Corporation Law applicable to companies incorporated in Delaware and their shareholders. Please note that this is only a general summary of certain provisions applicable to companies in Delaware. Certain Delaware companies may be permitted to exclude certain of the provisions summarized below in their charter documents.
DELAWARE CORPORATE LAW |
SWISS CORPORATE LAW |
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Mergers and similar arrangements | ||
Under the Delaware General Corporation Law, with certain exceptions, a merger, consolidation, sale, lease or transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of a corporation must be approved by the board of directors and a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote thereon. A shareholder of a Delaware corporation participating in certain major corporate transactions may, under certain circumstances, be entitled to appraisal rights pursuant to which such shareholder may receive cash in the amount of the fair value of the shares held by such shareholder (as determined by a court) in lieu of the consideration such shareholder would otherwise receive in the transaction. The Delaware General Corporation Law also provides that a parent corporation, by resolution of its board of directors, may merge with any subsidiary, of which it owns at least 90.0% of each class of capital stock without a vote by the shareholders of such subsidiary. Upon any such merger, dissenting shareholders of the subsidiary would have appraisal rights. | Under Swiss law, with certain exceptions, a merger or a division of the corporation or a sale of all or substantially all of the assets of a corporation must be approved by two-thirds of the shares represented at the relevant general meeting of shareholders as well as the absolute majority of the par value of the shares represented at such shareholders meeting. The articles of association may increase the voting threshold. A shareholder of a Swiss corporation participating in a statutory merger or demerger pursuant to the Swiss Merger Act can file an appraisal right lawsuit against the surviving company. As a result, if the consideration is deemed inadequate, such shareholder may, in addition to the consideration (be it in shares or in cash) receive an additional amount to ensure that such shareholder receives the fair value of the shares held by such shareholder. Swiss law also provides that a parent corporation, by resolution of its board of directors, may merge with any subsidiary, of which it owns at least 90.0% of the voting rights without a vote by shareholders of such subsidiary, if the shareholders of the subsidiary are offered the payment of the fair value in cash as an alternative to shares. | |
Shareholders suits | ||
Class actions and derivative actions generally are available to shareholders of a Delaware corporation for, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty, corporate waste and actions not taken in accordance with applicable law. In such actions, the court has discretion to permit the winning party to recover attorneys fees incurred in connection with such action. | Class actions and derivative actions as such are not available under Swiss law. Nevertheless, certain actions may, to a limited extent, have a similar effect. An appraisal lawsuit won by a shareholder can be acted upon by any person who has the same legal status as the claimant. Also, a shareholder is entitled to bring suit against directors for breach of, among other things, their fiduciary duties and claim the payment of damages. However, unless the company is subject to bankruptcy proceedings, or if the relevant shareholder can demonstrate having suffered a loss in a personal capacity, a shareholder will only be allowed to ask for payment of damages to the |
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DELAWARE CORPORATE LAW |
SWISS CORPORATE LAW |
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voting power of the corporation. Only if the dissolution is initiated by the board of directors may it be approved by a simple majority of the corporations outstanding shares. Delaware law allows a Delaware corporation to include in its certificate of incorporation a supermajority voting requirement in connection with dissolutions initiated by the board. | value of the shares represented at a general meeting of shareholders passing a resolution on such dissolution and winding up. The articles of association may increase the voting thresholds required for such a resolution. | |
Variation of rights of shares | ||
A Delaware corporation may vary the rights of a class of shares with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares of such class, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. | A Swiss corporation may modify the rights of a classes of shares with (1) a resolution passed by an absolute majority of the shares represented at the general meeting of shareholders and (2) a resolution passed by an absolute majority of the shares represented at the special meeting of the affected preferred shareholders. The issuance of shares that are granted more voting power requires the approval by two-thirds of the shares represented as well as the absolute majority of the par value of the shares represented at the relevant general meeting of shareholders. | |
Amendment of governing documents | ||
A Delaware corporations governing documents may be amended with the approval of a majority of the outstanding shares entitled to vote, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise. | The articles of association of a Swiss corporation may be amended with a resolution passed by an absolute majority of the shares represented at such meeting, unless otherwise provided in the articles of association. There are a number of resolutions, such as an amendment of the stated purpose of the corporation and the introduction of authorized and conditional capital, that require the approval by two-thirds of the votes and an absolute majority of the par value of the shares represented at a shareholders meeting. The articles of association may increase the voting thresholds. Our articles of association require that a shareholder resolution to amend the provision, which limits the number of our directors to eight, be passed with a majority of two-thirds of the shares represented as well as the absolute majority of the par value of the shares represented. | |
Inspection of books and records | ||
Shareholders of a Delaware corporation, upon written demand under oath stating the purpose thereof, have the right during the usual hours for business to inspect for any proper purpose, and to obtain copies of list(s) of shareholders and other books and records of the corporation and its subsidiaries, if any, to the extent the books and records of such subsidiaries are available to the corporation. | Shareholders of a Swiss corporation may only inspect books and records if the general meeting of shareholders or the board of directors approved such inspection and only if confidential information possessed by a corporation is protected. A shareholder is only entitled to receive information to the extent required to exercise such shareholders rights, subject to the interests of the corporation. The |
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COMMON SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common shares. Future sales of substantial amounts of our common shares in the public market could adversely affect market prices prevailing from time to time. Furthermore, because only a limited number of common shares will be available for sale shortly after this offering due to existing contractual and legal restrictions on resale as described below, there may be sales of substantial amounts of our common shares in the public market after such restrictions lapse. This may adversely affect the prevailing market price and our ability to raise equity capital in the future.
Upon completion of this offering and the conversion of all of our preferred shares into common shares on a one-for-one basis upon the closing of this offering, we will have common shares outstanding, assuming no exercise of the underwriters option to purchase additional common shares and assuming no outstanding options are exercised. Of these shares, common shares sold in this offering will be freely transferable without restriction or registration under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, except for any common shares purchased by one of our existing affiliates, as that term is defined in Rule 144 under the Securities Act. The remaining common shares existing are restricted shares as defined in Rule 144. Restricted shares may be sold in the public market only if registered or if they qualify for an exemption from registration under Rules 144 or 701 of the Securities Act. After the expiration of the contractual 180-day lock-up period described below, these common shares may be sold in the public market only if registered or pursuant to an exemption under Rules 144 or 701, which are summarized below.
Rule 144
In general, persons who have beneficially owned restricted common shares for at least six months, and any affiliate of the company who owns either restricted or unrestricted common shares, are entitled to sell their securities without registration with the SEC under an exemption from registration provided by Rule 144 under the Securities Act.
Non-Affiliates
Any person who is not deemed to have been one of our affiliates at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale may sell an unlimited number of restricted securities under Rule 144 if:
| the restricted securities have been held for at least six months, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of our affiliates; |
| we have been subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least 90 days before the sale; and |
| we are current in our Exchange Act reporting at the time of sale. |
Any person who is not deemed to have been an affiliate of ours at the time of, or at any time during the three months preceding, a sale and has held the restricted securities for at least one year, including the holding period of any prior owner other than one of our affiliates, will be entitled to sell an unlimited number of restricted securities without regard to the length of time we have been subject to Exchange Act periodic reporting or whether we are current in our Exchange Act reporting.
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Affiliates
Persons seeking to sell restricted securities who are our affiliates at the time of, or any time during the three months preceding, a sale, would be subject to the restrictions described above. They are also subject to additional restrictions, by which such person would be required to comply with the manner of sale and notice provisions of Rule 144 and would be entitled to sell within any three-month period only that number of securities that does not exceed the greater of either of the following:
| 1% of the number of common shares then outstanding, which will equal approximately shares immediately after the closing of this offering based on the number of common shares outstanding as of ; or |
| the average weekly trading volume of our common shares on The NASDAQ Global Market during the four calendar weeks preceding the filing of a notice on Form 144 with respect to the sale. |
Additionally, persons who are our affiliates at the time of, or any time during the three months preceding, a sale may sell unrestricted securities under the requirements of Rule 144 described above, without regard to the six-month holding period of Rule 144, which does not apply to sales of unrestricted securities.
Rule 701
Rule 701 under the Securities Act, as in effect on the date of this prospectus, permits resales of shares in reliance upon Rule 144 but without compliance with certain restrictions of Rule 144, including the holding period requirement. Most of our employees, executive officers or directors who purchased shares under a written compensatory plan or contract may be entitled to rely on the resale provisions of Rule 701, but all holders of Rule 701 shares are required to wait until 90 days after the date of this prospectus before selling their shares. However, substantially all Rule 701 shares are subject to lock-up agreements as described below and in the section of this prospectus titled Underwriting and will become eligible for sale upon the expiration of the restrictions set forth in those agreements.
Regulation S
Regulation S provides generally that sales made in offshore transactions are not subject to the registration or prospectus-delivery requirements of the Securities Act.
Registration Rights
We intend to enter into a registration rights agreement prior to the completion of this offering pursuant to which we will agree under certain circumstances to file a registration statement to register the resale of the shares held by certain of our existing shareholders, as well as to cooperate in certain public offerings of such shares. Registration of these shares under the Securities Act would result in these shares becoming freely tradable without restriction under the Securities Act immediately upon the effectiveness of the registration, except for shares purchased by affiliates.
Lock-up Agreements
All of our directors, executive officers and the holders of substantially all of our shares have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to offer, pledge, announce the intention to sell, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, or enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the common shares or such other securities for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus, without the prior written consent of Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Jefferies LLC and Leerink Partners LLC. See the section of this prospectus entitled Underwriting.
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MATERIAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following summary contains a description of the material Swiss and U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of common shares, but it does not purport to be a comprehensive description of all the tax considerations that may be relevant to a decision to purchase common shares. The summary is based upon the tax laws of Switzerland and regulations thereunder and on the tax laws of the United States and regulations thereunder as of the date hereof, which are subject to change.
Swiss Tax Considerations
This summary of material Swiss tax consequences is based on Swiss law and regulations and the practice of the Swiss tax administration as in effect on the date hereof, all of which are subject to change (or subject to changes in interpretation), possibly with retroactive effect. The summary does not purport to take into account the specific circumstances of any particular shareholder or potential investor and does not relate to persons in the business of buying and selling common shares or other securities. The summary is not intended to be, and should not be interpreted as, legal or tax advice to any particular potential shareholder, and no representation with respect to the tax consequences to any particular shareholder is made.
Current and prospective shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisors in light of their particular circumstances as to the Swiss tax laws, regulations and regulatory practices that could be relevant for them in connection with the offering, the acquiring, owning and selling or otherwise disposing of common shares and receiving dividends and similar cash or in-kind distributions on common shares (including dividends on liquidation proceeds and stock dividends) or distributions on common shares based upon a capital reduction ( remboursements liés à la réduction de la valeur nominale des actions ) or distributions paid out of capital contributions reserves ( réserves issues dapports de capital ) and the consequences thereof under the tax laws, regulations and regulatory practices of Switzerland.
Taxation of Common Shares
Swiss Federal Withholding Tax on Dividends and Distributions
Dividend payments and similar cash or in-kind distributions on the common shares (including dividends on liquidation proceeds and stock dividends) that the Company makes to shareholders are subject to Swiss federal withholding tax ( impôt anticipé ) at a rate of 35% on the gross amount of the dividend. We are required to withhold the Swiss federal withholding tax from the dividend and remit it to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration. Distributions based upon a capital reduction ( remboursements liés à la réduction de la valeur nominale des actions ) and distributions paid out of capital contributions reserves ( réserves issues dapports de capital ) are not subject to Swiss federal withholding tax.
The Swiss federal withholding tax may also apply to gains realized upon a repurchase of shares by the company, on the difference between the repurchase price and the par value of the shares; a different basis of taxation may apply under the capital contribution principle.
The Swiss federal withholding tax is refundable or creditable in full to a Swiss tax resident corporate and individual shareholder as well as to a non-Swiss tax resident corporate or individual shareholder who holds the common shares as part of a trade or business carried on in Switzerland through a permanent establishment or fixed place of business situated for tax purposes in Switzerland, if such person is the beneficial owner of the distribution and, in the case of a Swiss tax resident individual who holds the common shares as part of his private assets, duly reports the gross distribution received in his individual income tax return or, in the case of a person who holds the common shares as part of a trade or business carried on in Switzerland through a permanent establishment or fixed place of business situated for tax purposes in Switzerland, recognizes the gross dividend distribution for tax purposes as earnings in the income statements and reports the annual profit in the income tax return.
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If a shareholder who is not a Swiss resident for tax purposes and does not hold the common shares in connection with the conduct of a trade or business in Switzerland through a permanent establishment or fixed place of business situated, for tax purposes in Switzerland, receives a distribution from the Company, the shareholder may be entitled to a full or partial refund or credit of Swiss federal withholding tax incurred on a taxable distribution if the country in which such shareholder is resident for tax purposes has entered into a treaty for the avoidance of double taxation with Switzerland and the further prerequisites of the treaty for a refund have been met. Shareholders not resident in Switzerland should be aware that the procedures for claiming treaty benefits (and the time required for obtaining a refund or credit) may differ from country to country.
Besides the bilateral treaties Switzerland has entered into an agreement with the European Community providing for measures equivalent to those laid down in Council Directive 2003/48/EC on taxation of savings income in the form of interest payments. This agreement contains in its Article 15 provisions on taxation of dividends which apply with respect to EU member states and provides for an exemption of Withholding Tax for companies under certain circumstances.
On January 1, 2013, treaties on final withholding taxes entered into by Switzerland with the United Kingdom and Austria came into force, each a Contracting State. The treaties require a Swiss paying agent, as defined in the treaties, to levy a flat-rate final withholding tax at rates specified in the treaties on certain capital gains and income items (including dividends), all as defined in the treaties, deriving from assets, including the common shares held in account or deposits with a Swiss paying agent by (1) an individual resident in a Contracting State, or (2) if certain requirements are met, by a domiciliary company ( société de domicile ), an insurance company in connection with a so-called insurance wrapper ( contrat dassurance vie utilisé comme envelope ) or other individuals if the beneficial owner is an individual resident in a Contracting State. Under the treaty with the UK, the tax rate for individuals resident and domiciled in the UK is 35% on dividends and 27% on capital gains, and, under the treaty with Austria, 25% on dividends and capital gains. The flat-rate tax withheld substitutes the ordinary capital gains tax and income tax on the relevant capital gains and income items in the Contracting State where the individuals are tax resident, unless the individuals elect for the flat-rate tax withheld to be treated as if it were a credit allowable against the income tax or, as the case may be, capital gains tax, due for the relevant tax year in the relevant Contracting State. Alternatively, instead of paying the flat-rate tax, such individuals may opt for a disclosure or the relevant capital gains and income items to the tax authorities of the Contracting State where they are tax residents. If Swiss federal withholding tax of 35% has been withheld on dividends, the Swiss paying agent willto the extent provided in the applicable bilateral treaty for the avoidance of double taxation between Switzerland and the Contracting Statein its own name and on behalf of the relevant shareholder file with the Swiss tax authorities a request for the partial refund of the Swiss federal withholding tax. The Swiss federal withholding tax which is not refundable according to the bilateral tax treaty (residual tax) is credited against the flat-rate final withholding tax.
Individual and Corporate Income Tax on Dividends
Swiss resident individuals holding the common shares as part of their private assets who receive dividends and similar distributions (including stock dividends and liquidation proceeds), which are not repayments of the par value of the common shares or distributions paid out of capital contributions reserves ( réserves issues dapports de capital ) are required to report such payments in their individual income tax returns and are liable to Swiss federal, cantonal and communal income taxes on any net taxable income for the relevant tax period. Furthermore, for the purpose of the Direct Federal Tax, dividends, shares in profits, liquidation proceeds and pecuniary benefits from shares (including bonus shares) are included in the tax base for only 60% of their value, if the investment amounts to at least 10% of nominal capital of the Company. All cantons have introduced similar partial taxation measures at cantonal and communal levels.
Swiss resident individuals as well as non-Swiss resident individual taxpayers holding the common shares in connection with the conduct of a trade or business in Switzerland through a permanent establishment or fixed place of business situated, for tax purposes, in Switzerland, are required to recognize dividends, distributions
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based upon a capital reduction ( remboursements liés à la réduction de la valeur nominale des actions ) and distributions paid out of capital contributions reserves ( réserves issues dapports de capital ) in their income statements for the relevant tax period and are liable to Swiss federal, cantonal and communal individual or corporate income taxes, as the case may be, on any net taxable earnings accumulated (including the payment of dividends) for such period. Furthermore, for the purpose of the Direct Federal Tax, dividends, shares in profits, liquidation proceeds and pecuniary benefits from shares (including bonus shares) are included in the tax base for only 50%, if the investment is held in connection with the conduct of a trade or business or qualifies as an opted business asset according to Swiss tax law and amounts to at least 10% of nominal capital of the Company. All cantons, save for Neuenburg, have introduced similar partial taxation measures at cantonal and communal levels.
Swiss resident corporate taxpayers as well as non-Swiss resident corporate taxpayers holding the common shares in connection with the conduct of a trade or business through a permanent establishment or fixed place of business situated, for tax purposes, in Switzerland, are required to recognize dividends, distributions based upon a capital reduction ( remboursements liés à la réduction de la valeur nominale des actions ) and distributions paid out of capital contributions reserves ( réserves issues dapports de capital ) in their income statements for the relevant tax period and are liable to Swiss federal, cantonal and communal corporate income taxes on any net taxable earnings accumulated for such period. Swiss resident corporate taxpayers as well as non-Swiss resident corporate taxpayers holding the common shares in connection with the conduct of a trade or business through a permanent establishment or fixed place of business situated, for tax purposes, in Switzerland may be eligible for dividend relief ( réduction pour participation ) in respect of dividends and distributions based upon a capital reduction ( remboursements liés à la réduction de la valeur nominale des actions ) and distributions paid out of capital contributions reserves ( réserves issues dapports de capital ) if the common shares held by them as part of a Swiss business have an aggregate market value of at least CHF 1 million of represent at least 10% of the share capital of the Company or give entitlement to at least 10% of the profits and reserves of the Company, respectively.
Recipients of dividends and similar distributions on the common shares (including stock dividends and liquidation proceeds) who are neither residents of Switzerland nor during the current taxation year have engaged in a trade or business in Switzerland and who are not subject to taxation in Switzerland for any other reason are not subject to Swiss federal, cantonal or communal individual or corporate income taxes in respect of dividend payments and similar distributions because of the mere holding of the common shares.
Wealth and Annual Capital Tax on Holding of Common Shares
Swiss resident individuals and non-Swiss resident individuals holding the common shares in connection with the conduct of a trade or business in Switzerland through a permanent establishment or fixed place of business situated, for tax purposes, in Switzerland, are required to report their common shares as part of their wealth and will be subject to cantonal and communal wealth tax to the extent the aggregate taxable net wealth is allocable to Switzerland.
Swiss resident corporate taxpayers and non-Swiss resident corporate taxpayers holding the common shares in connection with the conduct of a trade or business in Switzerland through a permanent establishment or fixed place of business situated, for tax purposes, in Switzerland, will be subject to cantonal and communal annual capital tax on the taxable capital to the extent the aggregate taxable capital is allocable to Switzerland.
Individuals and corporate taxpayers not resident in Switzerland for tax purposes and not holding the common shares in connection with the conduct of a trade or business in Switzerland through a permanent establishment or fixed place of business situated, for tax purposes, in Switzerland, are not subject to wealth or annual capital tax in Switzerland because of the mere holding of the common shares.
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Capital Gains on Disposal of Common Shares
Swiss resident individuals who sell or otherwise dispose of the common shares realize a tax-free capital gain, or a non-deductible capital loss, as the case may be, provided that they hold the common shares as part of their private assets.
Capital gains realized on the sale of the common shares held by Swiss resident individuals, Swiss resident corporate taxpayers as well as non-Swiss resident individuals and corporate taxpayers holding the common shares in connection with the conduct of a trade or business in Switzerland through a permanent establishment or fixed place of business situated, for tax purposes, in Switzerland, will be subject to Swiss federal, cantonal and communal individual or corporate income tax, as the case may be. This also applies to Swiss resident individuals who, for individual income tax purposes, are deemed to be professional securities dealers for reasons of, inter alia, frequent dealing and debt-financed purchases. Capital gains realized by resident individuals who hold the common shares as business assets might be entitled to reductions or partial taxations similar to those mentioned above for dividends if certain conditions are met (e.g. holding period of at least one year and participation of at least 10% of nominal capital).
Swiss resident corporate taxpayers as well as non-Swiss resident corporate taxpayers holding the common shares in connection with the conduct of a trade or business, through a permanent establishment or fixed place of business situated, for tax purposes, in Switzerland, are required to recognize such capital gain in their income statements for the relevant tax period. Corporate taxpayers may qualify for participation relief on capital gains ( réduction pour participations ), if the common shares sold during the tax period reflect an interest of at least 10% in the Companys capital or if the common shares sold allow for at least 10% of the Companys profit and reserve and were held for at least one year. The tax relief applies to the difference between the sale proceeds of common shares by the Company and the investment cost of the participation.
Individuals and corporations not resident in Switzerland for tax purposes and not holding the common shares in connection with the conduct of a trade or business in Switzerland through a permanent establishment or fixed place of business situated, for tax purposes, in Switzerland, are not subject to Swiss federal, cantonal and communal individual income or corporate income tax, as the case may be, on capital gains realized on the sale of the common shares.
Gift and Inheritance Tax
Transfers of common shares may be subject to cantonal or communal inheritance or gift taxes if the deceased or the donor or the recipient were resident in a Canton levying such taxes and, in international circumstances where residency requirements are satisfied, if the applicable tax treaty were to allocate the right to tax to Switzerland.
Swiss Issuance Stamp Duty
The Company will be subject to and pay to the Swiss Federal Tax Administration a 1% Swiss federal issuance stamp duty ( droit de timbre démissions ) on the consideration received by it for the issuance of the Shares less certain costs incurred in connection with the issuance.
Swiss Securities Transfer Stamp Duty
The purchase or sale of the common shares, whether by Swiss residents or non-Swiss residents, may be subject to Swiss securities transfer stamp duty of up to 0.15%, calculated on the purchase price or the proceeds if the purchase or sale occurs through or with a Swiss bank or other Swiss securities dealer as defined in the Swiss Federal Stamp Duty Act as an intermediary or party to the transaction unless an exemption applies. The issuance of the common shares to the initial shareholders at the offering price is not subject to Swiss securities transfer stamp duty.
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Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences for U.S. Holders
The following is a description of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. Holders (as defined below) of owning and disposing of common shares, but it does not purport to be a comprehensive description of all tax consequences that may be relevant to a particular persons decision to acquire common shares. This discussion applies only to a U.S. Holder that will hold common shares as capital assets for tax purposes (generally, property held for investment). In addition, it does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be relevant in light of the U.S. Holders particular circumstances, including alternative minimum tax consequences, the potential impact of the Medicare contribution tax on net investment income or tax consequences applicable to U.S. Holders subject to special rules, such as:
| certain financial institutions; |
| dealers or traders in securities who use a mark-to-market method of tax accounting; |
| persons holding common shares as part of a hedging transaction, straddle, wash sale, conversion transaction or integrated transaction or persons entering into a constructive sale with respect to the common shares; |
| persons whose functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes is not the U.S. dollar; |
| entities or arrangements classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes; |
| tax-exempt entities; |
| persons that own or are deemed to own ten percent or more of our voting stock; |
| persons who acquired our voting stock pursuant to the exercise of a stock option or otherwise as compensation; or |
| persons holding shares in connection with a trade or business conducted outside of the United States. |
If an entity or arrangement that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds common shares, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner will generally depend on the status of the partner, the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner level. Partnerships considering the acquisition of common shares and partners in such partnerships should consult their tax advisors as to their particular U.S. federal income tax consequences of owning and disposing of the common shares.
This discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, administrative pronouncements, judicial decisions, final, temporary and proposed Treasury regulations, and the income tax treaty between Switzerland and the United States, or the Treaty, all as of the date hereof, any of which is subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.
A U.S. Holder is a holder who, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is a beneficial owner of common shares who is eligible for the benefits of the Treaty and is:
| an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States; |
| a corporation, or other entity taxable as a corporation, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States, any state therein or the District of Columbia; or |
| an estate or trust the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source. |
U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors concerning the U.S. federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of owning and disposing of common shares in their particular circumstances.
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Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules
In general, a non-U.S. corporation will be a passive foreign investment corporation or PFIC for any taxable year in which (1) 75% or more of its gross income consists of passive income (the PFIC income test) or (2) 50% or more of the average quarterly value of its assets consists of assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income (the PFIC asset test). For purposes of the above calculations, a non-U.S. corporation that directly or indirectly owns at least 25% (by value) of the shares of another corporation is treated as if it held its proportionate share of the assets and received directly its proportionate share of the income of such other corporation. Passive income generally includes dividends, interest, certain rents and royalties, and capital gains. Assets that produce, or are held for the production of, passive income include cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.
We do not believe that we were a PFIC in prior taxable years and we do not expect to be a PFIC for our taxable year ending December 31, 2016. However, our operations generate very limited amounts of non-passive income. Until we generate sufficient revenue from active licensing and other non-passive sources, there is a risk that we will be a PFIC under the PFIC income test. Moreover, we hold, and expect to continue to hold following this offering, a substantial amount of cash and cash equivalents. Because the calculation of the value of our assets may be based in part on the value of our common shares, the value of which may fluctuate considerably after this offering, it is difficult to predict whether we will be a PFIC under the PFIC asset test. Even if we determine that we are not a PFIC after the close of a taxable year, there can be no assurance that the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, will agree with our conclusion. Because PFIC status is a fact specific determination, and generally cannot be made until the close of the taxable year in question, no assurance can be given that we will not be a PFIC for our current taxable year and that we will not be a PFIC in future taxable years. Our United States counsel expresses no opinion with respect to our PFIC status for prior years, the current taxable year or any future years.
Under attribution rules, if we are a PFIC, U.S. Holders will be deemed to own their proportionate shares of Lower-tier PFICs and will be subject to U.S. federal income tax according to the rules described in the following paragraphs on (1) certain distributions by a Lower-tier PFIC and (2) a disposition of shares of a Lower-tier PFIC, in each case as if the U.S. Holder held such shares directly, even though such holders have not received the proceeds of those distributions or dispositions directly.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds our common shares, the U.S. Holder may be subject to certain adverse tax consequences. Unless a holder makes a timely mark-to-market election or qualified electing fund election, each as discussed below, gain recognized on a disposition (including, under certain circumstances, a pledge) of common shares by the U.S. Holder, or on an indirect disposition of shares of a Lower-tier PFIC, will be allocated ratably over the U.S. Holders holding period for the shares. The amounts allocated to the taxable year of disposition and to years before we became a PFIC will be taxed as ordinary income arising in the taxable year of disposition. The amounts allocated to each other taxable year will be subject to tax at the highest rate in effect for that taxable year for individuals or corporations, as appropriate, and an interest charge will be imposed on the tax attributable to the allocated amounts. Further, to the extent that any distribution received by a U.S. Holder on our common shares (or a distribution by a Lower-tier PFIC that is deemed to be received by a U.S. Holder) exceeds 125% of the average of the annual distributions with respect to such shares received during the preceding three taxable years or the U.S. Holders holding period, whichever is shorter, the distribution will be subject to taxation in the same manner as gain on disposition of common shares, described immediately above.
If we are a PFIC for any year during which a U.S. Holder holds common shares, we generally will continue to be treated as a PFIC with respect to such holder for all succeeding years during which such U.S. Holder holds common shares, even if we cease to meet the threshold requirements for PFIC status. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the potential availability of a deemed sale election that would allow them to eliminate this continuing PFIC status under certain circumstances.
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If the common shares are regularly traded on a qualified exchange, a U.S. Holder may make a mark-to-market election that would result in tax treatment different from the general tax treatment for PFICs described above. The common shares will be treated as regularly traded in any calendar year in which more than a de minimis quantity of the common shares is traded on a qualified exchange on at least 15 days during each calendar quarter. The NASDAQ Global Market, on which we plan to list the common shares, is a qualified exchange for this purpose. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the availability and advisability of making a mark-to-market election in their particular circumstances. In particular, U.S. Holders should consider carefully the impact of a mark-to-market election with respect to their common shares given that we may have Lower-tier PFICs for which a mark-to-market election would not be available.
If a U.S. Holder makes the mark-to-market election, such holder generally will recognize as ordinary income any excess of the fair market value of their common shares at the end of each taxable year over their adjusted tax basis, and will recognize an ordinary loss in respect of any excess of the adjusted tax basis of their common shares over their fair market value at the end of the taxable year (but only to the extent of the net amount of income previously included as a result of the mark-to-market election). If a U.S. Holder makes the election, such holders tax basis in their common shares will be adjusted to reflect the income or loss amounts recognized. Any gain recognized on the sale or other disposition of common shares in a year when we are a PFIC will be treated as ordinary income and any loss will be treated as an ordinary loss (but only to the extent of the net amount of income previously included as a result of the mark-to-market election). Distributions paid on common shares will be treated as discussed below under Taxation of Distributions.
Alternatively, a U.S. Holder can make a qualified electing fund election, or a QEF Election, if we provide the information required to treat us and each Lower-tier PFIC as a qualified electing fund in the first taxable year that we are a PFIC with respect to such holder. The U.S. Holder makes a QEF Election for us (and each Lower-tier PFIC) by attaching a separate properly completed IRS Form 8621 for us (and each Lower-tier PFIC) to the holders timely filed U.S. federal income tax return. We currently intend to provide the information necessary for a U.S. Holder to make a QEF Election with respect to us and we currently intend to cause each Lower-tier PFIC that we control to provide such information and take any additional steps that may be necessary to allow a U.S. Holder to make a QEF Election for us and each such Lower-tier PFIC.
If a U.S. Holder makes a QEF Election with respect to us, the electing U.S. Holder will be currently taxable on its pro rata share of our ordinary earnings and net capital gain (at ordinary income and capital gain rates, respectively) for each taxable year that we are a PFIC with respect to such U.S. Holder. Distributions paid by us out of our earnings and profits that were included in the holders income as a result of the holder having made a QEF Election will not be included in the gross income of the holder. A U.S. Holder will increase its tax basis in our common shares by an amount equal to its pro rata share of our ordinary earnings and net capital gain included in gross income and decrease its tax basis in our common shares by an amount distributed on those common shares to the extent the distribution is not included in the holders gross income. In addition, a U.S. Holder will recognize capital gain or loss on the disposition of our common shares in an amount equal to the difference between the amount realized and the holders adjusted tax basis in our common shares. U.S. Holders should note that if they make QEF Elections with respect to us and Lower-tier PFICs, they may be required to pay U.S. federal income tax with respect to their common shares for any taxable year significantly in excess of any cash distributions received on the shares for such taxable year. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding making QEF Elections in their particular circumstances.
Furthermore, as discussed below, if we are a PFIC for the taxable year in which we pay a dividend or the prior taxable year, the 20% dividend rate with respect to dividends paid to certain non-corporate U.S. Holders would not apply.
If we are a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder holds common shares, such U.S. Holder will be required to file an annual information report with such U.S. Holders U.S. federal income tax return on IRS Form 8621.
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U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors concerning our PFIC status and the tax considerations relevant to an investment in a PFIC.
Taxation of Distributions
As described in the section entitled Dividend Policy, we do not anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future. However, if we do make distributions of cash or property on our common shares, subject to the passive foreign investment company rules described above, such distributions, other than certain pro rata distributions of common shares, will be treated as dividends to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined under U.S. federal income tax principles). Because we do not maintain calculations of our earnings and profits under U.S. federal income tax principles, it is expected that distributions generally will be reported to U.S. Holders as dividends. The amount of a dividend will include any amounts withheld by us in respect of Swiss taxes. The amount of the dividend will be treated as foreign-source dividend income to U.S. Holders and will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally available to U.S. corporations under the Code. Dividends will be included in a U.S. Holders income on the date of the U.S. Holders receipt of the dividend. The amount of any dividend income paid in Swiss Francs will be the U.S. dollar amount calculated by reference to the exchange rate in effect on the date of receipt, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into U.S. dollars. If the dividend is converted into U.S. dollars on the date of receipt, a U.S. Holder should not be required to recognize foreign currency gain or loss in respect of the dividend income. A U.S. Holder may have foreign currency gain or loss if the dividend is converted into U.S. dollars after the date of receipt.
Dividends paid by us will generally be taxable to a non-corporate U.S. Holder at the special reduced rate normally applicable to long-term capital gains, provided we are not a PFIC in the taxable year in which the dividends are received or in the preceding taxable year, and so long as certain holding period requirements are met. However, as discussed above under Passive Foreign Investment Company Rules, if we are considered a PFIC, the special reduced rate will not be available with respect to dividends paid by us.
Subject to applicable limitations, some of which vary depending upon the U.S. Holders circumstances, Swiss income taxes withheld from dividends on common shares at a rate not exceeding the rate provided by the Treaty will be creditable against the U.S. Holders U.S. federal income tax liability. Swiss taxes withheld in excess of the rate applicable under the Treaty will not be eligible for credit against a U.S. Holders federal income tax liability. The rules governing foreign tax credits are complex, and U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the creditability of foreign taxes in their particular circumstances. In lieu of claiming a foreign tax credit, U.S. Holders may, at their election, deduct foreign taxes, including the Swiss tax, in computing their taxable income, subject to generally applicable limitations under U.S. law. An election to deduct foreign taxes instead of claiming foreign tax credits applies to all foreign taxes paid or accrued in the taxable year.
Sale or Other Taxable Disposition of Common Shares
Subject to the passive foreign investment company rules described above, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, gain or loss realized on the sale or other taxable disposition of common shares will be capital gain or loss, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. Holder held the common shares for more than one year at the time of sale or other taxable disposition. The amount of the gain or loss will equal the difference between the amount realized on the disposition of the common shares and such U.S. Holders adjusted tax basis in the common shares, in each case as determined in U.S. dollars. This gain or loss will generally be U.S.-source gain or loss for foreign tax credit purposes.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
Payments of dividends and sales proceeds that are made within the United States or through certain U.S.-related financial intermediaries generally are subject to information reporting, and may be subject to backup
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withholding, unless (1) the U.S. Holder is a corporation or other exempt recipient or (2) in the case of backup withholding, the U.S. Holder provides a correct taxpayer identification number and certifies that it is not subject to backup withholding, or otherwise establishes an exemption.
The amount of any backup withholding from a payment to a U.S. Holder may be allowed as a credit against such holders U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle such holder to a refund, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.
Information With Respect to Foreign Financial Assets
Certain U.S. Holders who are individuals or that are certain entities are required to report information relating to an interest in our common shares, subject to certain exceptions (including an exception for common shares held in accounts maintained by certain U.S. financial institutions). U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the effect, if any, of this legislation on their ownership and disposition of the common shares.
Transfer Reporting Requirements
A U.S. Holder that acquires our common shares may be required to file a Form 926 or a similar form with the IRS if the amount of cash paid by the holder to us to purchase such common shares, when aggregated with all transfers made by such person (or any related person, including family members) within the preceding 12 month period, exceeds $100,000 and certain other conditions are met. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisors regarding the applicability of this requirement to their acquisition of the common shares.
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Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in an underwriting agreement dated , 2017, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters named below, for whom Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, Jefferies LLC and Leerink Partners LLC are acting as representatives the following respective numbers of common shares:
Underwriter |
Number
of Shares |
|||
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC |
||||
Jefferies LLC |
||||
Leerink Partners LLC |
||||
|
|
|||
Total |
||||
|
|
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement, the underwriters are obligated to purchase all the common shares in the offering if any are purchased, other than those shares covered by the over-allotment option described below. The underwriting agreement also provides that if an underwriter defaults the purchase commitments of non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or the offering may be terminated.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters and certain of their controlling persons against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and to contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
We have granted to the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase on a pro rata basis up to additional shares at the initial public offering price less the underwriting discounts and commissions. The option may be exercised only to cover any over-allotments of common shares.
The underwriters propose to offer the common shares initially at the public offering price on the cover page of this prospectus at that price less a selling concession of $ per share. The underwriters and selling group members may allow a discount of $ per share on sales to other broker/dealers. After the initial public offering the underwriters may change the public offering price and concession and discount to broker/dealers.
The following table summarizes the compensation and estimated expenses we will pay with and without the option to purchase additional shares:
Per Share | Total | |||||||||||||||
Without
Option |
With
Option |
Without
Option |
With
Option |
|||||||||||||
Initial public offering price |
$ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
Underwriting Discounts and Commissions paid by us |
$ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
Expenses payable by us |
$ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
Proceeds to us |
$ | $ | $ | $ |
We have also agreed to reimburse the underwriters for certain expenses, including up to $ for their FINRA counsel fee. In accordance with FINRA Rule 5110, this reimbursed fee is deemed underwriting compensation for this offering.
We have agreed that we will not offer, sell, issue, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, or file with the Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement under the Securities Act relating to, any of our common shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any of our common shares, or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge, disposition or filing, without the prior written consent of the representatives for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus. The
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restrictions described in this paragraph do not apply to (1) grants of employee options or other equity-based awards pursuant to the terms of our equity incentive plans, (2) issuances of our common shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any of our common shares pursuant to the exercise of such options or other equity-based awards, (3) issuances of our common shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any of our common shares pursuant to the conversion or exchange of convertible or exchangeable securities or the exercise of warrants or option or (4) the issuance of our common shares in this offering, provided in the case of clauses (2) and (3), the recipients of our common shares or securities agree to be bound by a lockup letter in the form executed by our directors, officers and existing securityholders.
Our officers, directors and substantially all of our existing security holders have agreed that they will not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any of our common shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any of our common shares, enter into a transaction that would have the same effect, or enter into any swap, hedge or other arrangement that transfers, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of our common shares, whether any of these transactions is to be settled by delivery of our common shares or other securities, in cash or otherwise, or publicly disclose the intention to make any offer, sale, pledge or disposition, or to enter into any transaction, swap, hedge or other arrangement, without, in each case, the prior written consent of the representatives for a period of 180 days after the date of this prospectus. If, prior to the expiration of the 180-day period, a request to release securities subject to a lock-up agreement is received, the representatives will consider, among other factors, such holders reasons for requesting the release, the number of securities for which the release is being requested and market conditions at the time. The restrictions described in this paragraph do not apply to:
(1) any of our common shares acquired by the lock-up signatory in the offering or in the open market (other than shares purchased by our directors and officers pursuant to our directed share program);
(2) the exercise with cash of options or other similar awards granted pursuant to our equity incentive plans described in this prospectus, provided that such restrictions shall apply to any of the lock-up signatorys common shares issued upon such exercise;
(3) the establishment of any contract, instruction or plan, referred to herein as a Plan, that satisfies all of the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Exchange Act for the transfer of common shares, provided that no sales of the lock-up signatorys common shares shall be made pursuant to such a Plan prior to the expiration of the 180-day period referred to above;
(4) transfers of our common shares or any security convertible or exchangeable for our common shares as a bona fide gift or gifts not involving a disposition for value or for bona fide estate planning purposes, as a bona fide gift to a charity or educational institution, transfers to a member or members of the lock-up signatorys family or to a trust, the direct or indirect beneficiaries of which are the lock-up signatory or a member or members of the lock-up signatorys family, by testate succession or intestate distribution, if the undersigned is a trust, to any beneficiary of the undersigned or to the estate of any such beneficiary, to shareholders, members, current or former partners (general or limited or managers or owners of a similar equity interest in, the lock-up signatory or to any corporation, partnership or other person or entity that is a direct or indirect affiliate of the lock-up signatory, transfers to the estates of any such shareholders, affiliates, partners, members or managers not involving a disposition for value of the common shares or transfers that occurs by operation of law pursuant to a qualified domestic order or in connection with a divorce settlement or other court order provided that each donee, distributee or transferee, as the case may be, agrees to be subject to the same restrictions as the lock-up signatory;
(5) transfers of common shares or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for common shares pursuant to a bona fide third-party tender offer for all of our outstanding common shares, merger, consolidation or other similar transaction made to all holders of our common shares involving a change of control of us (including the entering into any lock-up, voting or similar agreement pursuant to which the lock-up signatory may agree to transfer, sell, tender or otherwise dispose of our common shares in connection with such transaction), provided that in the event that such tender offer, merger, consolidation or other such transaction is not completed, such common shares will remain subject to the transfer restrictions described above;
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(6) any conversion of our non-voting shares or preferred shares into our common shares, provided that any common shares received upon such conversion remain subject to the transfer restrictions described above; or
(7) the transfer of the lock-up signatorys shares of our common shares or any security convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for our common shares to us pursuant to any contractual arrangement in effect on the date of the lock-up agreement that provides for the repurchase of the lock-up signatorys common shares or such other securities by us or in connection with the termination of the lock-up signatorys employment or other service relationship with us.
The above restrictions apply to any shares purchased pursuant to our directed share program.
In the case of any transfer or distribution pursuant to clause (2) through (4), no filing by any party under the Exchange Act or other public announcement shall be required or voluntarily made (other than a filing on Form 5 after the expiration of the 180-day period referred to above). In the case of clause (1), no filing by any party under the Exchange Act or other public announcement shall be required or voluntarily made with respect to the subsequent sales of such Securities acquired by the lock-up signatory in the offering or in the open market (other than a filing on Form 5 after the expiration of the 180-day period referred to above).
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribute to payments that the underwriters may be required to make in that respect.
NASDAQ
We have applied to list our common shares on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol OBSV.
Determination of Offering Price
Prior to this offering, there has been no public market for our common shares. Consequently, the initial public offering price will be determined by negotiations among us and the representatives and will not necessarily reflect the market price of the common shares following this offering. The principal factors that will be considered in determining the initial public offering price will include:
| the information presented in this prospectus and otherwise available to the underwriters; |
| the history of, and prospects for, the industry in which we will compete; |
| the ability of our management; |
| the prospects for our future earnings; |
| the present state of our development, results of operations and our current financial condition; |
| the general condition of the securities markets at the time of this offering; and |
| the recent market prices of, and the demand for, publicly traded common stock of generally comparable companies. |
We cannot assure you that the initial public offering price will correspond to the price at which the common shares will trade in the public market subsequent to this offering or that an active trading market for the common shares will develop and continue after this offering.
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Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids
In connection with the offering the underwriters may engage in stabilizing transactions, over-allotment transactions, syndicate covering transactions, penalty bids and passive market making in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act.
| Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum. |
| Over-allotment involves sales by the underwriters of shares in excess of the number of shares the underwriters are obligated to purchase, which creates a syndicate short position. The short position may be either a covered short position or a naked short position. In a covered short position, the number of shares over-allotted by the underwriters is not greater than the number of shares that they may purchase in the over-allotment option. In a naked short position, the number of shares involved is greater than the number of shares in the over-allotment option. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their over-allotment option or purchasing shares in the open market. |
| Syndicate covering transactions involve purchases of the common shares in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover syndicate short positions. In determining the source of shares to close out the short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase shares through the over-allotment option. If the underwriters sell more shares than could be covered by the over-allotment option, a naked short position, the position can only be closed out by buying shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there could be downward pressure on the price of the shares in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. |
| Penalty bids permit the representatives to reclaim a selling concession from a syndicate member when the common shares originally sold by the syndicate member is purchased in a stabilizing or syndicate covering transaction to cover syndicate short positions. |
| In passive market making, market makers in the common shares who are underwriters or prospective underwriters may, subject to limitations, make bids for or purchases of our common shares until the time, if any, at which a stabilizing bid is made. |
These stabilizing transactions, syndicate covering transactions and penalty bids may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our common shares or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the common shares. As a result the price of our common shares may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. These transactions may be effected on The NASDAQ Global Market and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
Electronic Distribution
A prospectus in electronic format will be made available on the web sites maintained by one or more of the underwriters, or selling group members, if any, participating in this offering and one or more of the underwriters participating in this offering may distribute prospectuses electronically. Internet distributions will be allocated by the underwriters and selling group members that will make internet distributions on the same basis as other allocations.
177
Selling Restrictions
Notice to Investors in the European Economic Area
In relation to each Member State of the European Economic Area that has implemented the Prospectus Directive, each a Relevant Member State, the underwriters represent and agree that with effect from and including the date on which the Prospectus Directive is implemented in that Relevant Member State, or the Relevant Implementation Date, they have not made and will not make an offer of our common shares to the public in that Relevant Member State prior to the publication of a prospectus in relation to our common shares that has been approved by the competent authority in that Relevant Member State or, where appropriate, approved in another Relevant Member State and notified to the competent authority in that Relevant Member State, all in accordance with the Prospectus Directive, except that they may, with effect from and including the Relevant Implementation Date, make an offer of our common shares to the public in that Relevant Member State at any time:
| to any legal entity which is a qualified investor as defined in the Prospectus Directive |
| to fewer than 100 or, if the Relevant Member State has implemented the relevant provision of the PD Amending Directive, 150, natural or legal persons (other than qualified investors as defined in the Prospectus Directive) subject to obtaining the prior consent of the manager for any such offer; or |
| in any other circumstances falling within Article 3(2) of the Prospectus Directive, provided that no such offer of our common shares shall require the publication by the issuer or the underwriters of a prospectus pursuant to Article 3 of the Prospectus Directive. |
For the purposes of this provision, the expression an offer to the public in relation to any of our common shares in any Relevant Member State means the communication in any form and by any means of sufficient information on the terms of the offer and our common shares to be offered so as to enable an investor to decide to purchase or subscribe our common shares, as the same may be varied in that Relevant Member State by any measure implementing the Prospectus Directive in that Member State and the expression Prospectus Directive means Directive 2003/71/EC and (and amendments thereto, including Directive 2010/73/EU, to the extent implemented in each Relevant Member State) includes any relevant implementing measure in each Relevant Member State.
Notice to Investors in the United Kingdom
The underwriters:
| have only communicated or caused to be communicated and will only communicate or cause to be communicated any invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity within the meaning of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, or FSMA, in connection with the sale or issue of the common shares in circumstances in which section 21 of FSMA does not apply to the underwriters; and |
| have complied with, and will comply with all applicable provisions of FSMA with respect to anything done by them in relation to the common shares in, from or otherwise involving the United Kingdom. |
This prospectus is directed solely at persons who (1) are outside the United Kingdom, (2) have professional experience in matters relating to investments or (3) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of The Financial Services and Markets Act (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (all such persons together being referred to as Relevant Persons). This prospectus must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not Relevant Persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this prospectus relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in with Relevant Persons only.
178
Notice to Prospective Investors in Switzerland
The shares will not be listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, or SIX, or on any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland. This document has been prepared without regard to the disclosure standards for listing prospectuses under art. 27 ff. of the SIX Listing Rules or the listing rules of any other stock exchange or regulated trading facility in Switzerland.
Neither this document nor any other offering or marketing material relating to this offering, the Company, or the shares have been or will be filed with or approved by any Swiss regulatory authority. In particular, this document will not be filed with, and the offer of shares will not be supervised by, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority, and the offer of shares has not been and will not be authorized under the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes, or the CISA. The investor protection afforded to acquirers of interests in collective investment schemes under the CISA does not extend to acquirers of shares.
Notice to Prospective Investors in the Dubai International Financial Centre
This prospectus relates to an Exempt Offer in accordance with the Offered Securities Rules of the Dubai Financial Services Authority, or the DFSA. This prospectus is intended for distribution only to persons of a type specified in the Offered Securities Rules of the DFSA. It must not be delivered to, or relied on by, any other person. The DFSA has no responsibility for reviewing or verifying any documents in connection with Exempt Offers. The DFSA has not approved this prospectus nor taken steps to verify the information set forth herein and has no responsibility for the prospectus. The shares to which this prospectus relates may be illiquid or subject to restrictions on their resale. Prospective purchasers of the shares offered should conduct their own due diligence on the shares. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus you should consult an authorized financial advisor.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Australia
No placement document, prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document has been lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, or the ASIC, in relation to this offering. This prospectus does not constitute a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act 2001, the Corporations Act, and does not purport to include the information required for a prospectus, product disclosure statement or other disclosure document under the Corporations Act.
Any offer in Australia of the shares may only be made to persons, the Exempt Investors, who are sophisticated investors (within the meaning of section 708(8) of the Corporations Act), professional investors (within the meaning of section 708(11) of the Corporations Act) or otherwise pursuant to one or more exemptions contained in section 708 of the Corporations Act so that it is lawful to offer the shares without disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act.
The shares applied for by Exempt Investors in Australia must not be offered for sale in Australia in the period of 12 months after the date of allotment under this offering, except in circumstances where disclosure to investors under Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act would not be required pursuant to an exemption under section 708 of the Corporations Act or otherwise or where the offer is pursuant to a disclosure document which complies with Chapter 6D of the Corporations Act. Any person acquiring shares must observe such Australian on-sale restrictions.
This prospectus contains general information only and does not take account of the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. It does not contain any securities recommendations or financial product advice. Before making an investment decision, investors need to consider whether the information in this prospectus is appropriate to their needs, objectives and circumstances, and, if necessary, seek expert advice on those matters.
179
Notice to Prospective Investors in Hong Kong
The common shares have not been offered or sold and will not be offered or sold in Hong Kong, by means of any document, other than (1) to professional investors as defined in the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) of Hong Kong and any rules made under that Ordinance; or (2) in other circumstances which do not result in the document being a prospectus as defined in the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) of Hong Kong or which do not constitute an offer to the public within the meaning of that Ordinance. No advertisement, invitation or document relating to the common shares has been or may be issued or has been or may be in the possession of any person for the purposes of issue, whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, which is directed at, or the contents of which are likely to be accessed or read by, the public of Hong Kong (except if permitted to do so under the securities laws of Hong Kong).
Notice to Prospective Investors in Japan
The common shares have not been and will not be registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law of Japan (Law No. 25 of 1948, as amended) and, accordingly, will not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in Japan, or for the benefit of any Japanese Person or to others for re-offering or resale, directly or indirectly, in Japan or to any Japanese Person, except in compliance with all applicable laws, regulations and ministerial guidelines promulgated by relevant Japanese governmental or regulatory authorities in effect at the relevant time. For the purposes of this paragraph, Japanese Person shall mean any person resident in Japan, including any corporation or other entity organized under the laws of Japan.
Notice to Prospective Investors in Singapore
This prospectus has not been registered as a prospectus with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Accordingly, this prospectus and any other document or material in connection with the offer or sale, or invitation for subscription or purchase, of Non-CIS Securities may not be circulated or distributed, nor may the Non-CIS Securities be offered or sold, or be made the subject of an invitation for subscription or purchase, whether directly or indirectly, to persons in Singapore other than (1) to an institutional investor under Section 274 of the Securities and Futures Act, Chapter 289 of Singapore, the SFA, (2) to a relevant person pursuant to Section 275(1), or any person pursuant to Section 275(1A), and in accordance with the conditions specified in Section 275, of the SFA, or (3) otherwise pursuant to, and in accordance with the conditions of, any other applicable provision of the SFA.
Where the Non-CIS Securities are subscribed or purchased under Section 275 of the SFA by a relevant person which is: (1) a corporation (which is not an accredited investor (as defined in Section 4A of the SFA)) the sole business of which is to hold investments and the entire share capital of which is owned by one or more individuals, each of whom is an accredited investor; or (2) a trust (where the trustee is not an accredited investor) whose sole purpose is to hold investments and each beneficiary of the trust is an individual who is an accredited investor, securities (as defined in Section 239(1) of the SFA) of that corporation or the beneficiaries rights and interest (howsoever described) in that trust shall not be transferred within six months after that corporation or that trust has acquired the Non-CIS Securities pursuant to an offer made under Section 275 of the SFA except:
| to an institutional investor or to a relevant person defined in Section 275(2) of the SFA, or to any person arising from an offer referred to in Section 275(1A) or Section 276(4)(i)(B) of the SFA; |
| where no consideration is or will be given for the transfer; |
| where the transfer is by operation of law; |
| as specified in Section 267(7) of the SFA; or |
| as specified in Regulation 32 of the Securities and Futures (Offers of Investments) (Shares and Debentures) Regulations 2005 of Singapore. |
180
Notice to Canadian Residents
Resale Restrictions
The distribution of the common shares in Canada is being made only in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia on a private placement basis exempt from the requirement that we prepare and file a prospectus with the securities regulatory authorities in each province where trades of these securities are made. Any resale of the common shares in Canada must be made under applicable securities laws which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made under available statutory exemptions or under a discretionary exemption granted by the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authority. Purchasers are advised to seek legal advice prior to any resale of the securities.
Representations of Canadian Purchasers
By purchasing the common shares in Canada and accepting delivery of a purchase confirmation, a purchaser is representing to us and the dealer from whom the purchase confirmation is received that:
| the purchaser is entitled under applicable provincial securities laws to purchase the common shares without the benefit of a prospectus qualified under those securities laws as it is an accredited investor as defined under National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions ; |
| the purchaser is a permitted client as defined in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations ; |
| where required by law, the purchaser is purchasing as principal and not as agent, and |
| the purchaser has reviewed the text above under Resale Restrictions. |
Conflicts of Interest
Canadian purchasers are hereby notified that the underwriters are relying on the exemption set out in section 3A.3 or 3A.4, if applicable, of National Instrument 33-105Underwriting Conflicts from having to provide certain conflict of interest disclosure in this document.
Statutory Rights of Action
Securities legislation in certain provinces or territories of Canada may provide a purchaser with remedies for rescission or damages if the offering memorandum (including any amendment thereto) such as this document contains a misrepresentation, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchasers province or territory. The purchaser of these securities in Canada should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchasers province or territory for particulars of these rights or consult with a legal advisor.
Enforcement of Legal Rights
All of our directors and officers as well as the experts named herein may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible for Canadian purchasers to effect service of process within Canada upon us or those persons. All or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of those persons may be located outside of Canada and, as a result, it may not be possible to satisfy a judgment against us or those persons in Canada or to enforce a judgment obtained in Canadian courts against us or those persons outside of Canada.
Taxation and Eligibility for Investment
Canadian purchasers of the common shares offered in this offering should consult their own legal and tax advisors with respect to the tax consequences of an investment in such common shares in their particular circumstances and about the eligibility of the common shares for investment by the purchaser under relevant Canadian legislation.
181
Other Relationships
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full-service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include securities trading, commercial and investment banking, financial advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, financing and brokerage activities. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have, from time to time, performed, and may in the future perform, various financial advisory and investment banking services for us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In addition, in the ordinary course of their business activities, the underwriters and their affiliates may make or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade debt and equity securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans) for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. These investments and securities activities may involve securities or instruments of ours or our affiliates. The underwriters and their affiliates may also make investment recommendations or publish or express independent research views in respect of such securities or financial instruments and may hold, or recommend to clients that they acquire, long or short positions in such securities and instruments.
182
Set forth below is an itemization of the total expenses, excluding the underwriting discounts and commissions, which are expected to be incurred in connection with our sale of shares in this offering. With the exception of the registration fee payable to the SEC, the NASDAQ listing fee and the filing fee payable to FINRA all amounts are estimates.
Itemized Expense |
Amount | |||
SEC registration fee |
$ | 9,996.38 | ||
NASDAQ listing fee |
* | |||
FINRA filing fee |
13,437.50 | |||
Printing expenses |
* | |||
Legal fees and expenses |
* | |||
Accounting fees and expenses |
* | |||
Miscellaneous costs |
* | |||
|
|
|||
Total |
$ | * | ||
|
|
* | To be filed by amendment. |
183
Certain matters of U.S. federal and New York State law will be passed upon for us by Cooley LLP, New York, New York. The validity of the common shares and certain other matters of Swiss law will be passed upon for us by Lenz & Staehelin, Geneva, Switzerland. Latham & Watkins LLP, Menlo Park, California, is representing the underwriters in connection with this offering.
The consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2015 and 2014 and for each of the two years ended December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, included in this prospectus have been so included in reliance on the report (which contains an emphasis of a matter paragraph relating to the Companys restatement of its consolidated financial statements to give effect to the stock split, as described in Note 22 to the consolidated financial statements) of PricewaterhouseCoopers SA, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.
The current address of PricewaterhouseCoopers SA is Avenue Giuseppe-Motta 50, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland.
184
We are organized under the laws of Switzerland and our jurisdiction of incorporation is Geneva, Switzerland. Moreover, a number of our directors and executive officers and a number of directors of each of our subsidiaries are not residents of the United States, and all or a substantial portion of the assets of such persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may not be possible for investors to effect service of process within the United States upon us or upon such persons or to enforce against them judgments obtained in U.S. courts, including judgments in actions predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States. We have been advised by our Swiss counsel that there is doubt as to the enforceability in Switzerland of original actions, or in actions for enforcement of judgments of U.S. courts, of civil liabilities to the extent predicated upon the federal and state securities laws of the United States. Original actions against persons in Switzerland based solely upon the U.S. federal or state securities laws are governed, among other things, by the principles set forth in the Swiss Federal Act on International Private Law of 1987, as amended, or PILA. This statute provides that the application of provisions of non-Swiss law by the courts in Switzerland shall be precluded if the result was incompatible with Swiss public policy. Also, mandatory provisions of Swiss law may be applicable regardless of any other law that would otherwise apply.
Switzerland and the United States do not have a treaty providing for reciprocal recognition of and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. The recognition and enforcement of a judgment of the courts of the United States in Switzerland is governed by the principles set forth in the PILA. This statute provides in principle that a judgment rendered by a non-Swiss court may be enforced in Switzerland only if:
| the non-Swiss court had jurisdiction pursuant to the PILA; |
| the judgment of such non-Swiss court has become final and non-appealable; |
| the judgment does not contravene Swiss public policy; |
| the court procedures and the service of documents leading to the judgment were in accordance with the due process of law; and |
| no proceeding involving the same position and the same subject matter was first brought in Switzerland, or adjudicated in Switzerland, or was earlier adjudicated in a third state and this decision is recognizable in Switzerland. |
185
WHERE YOU CAN FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, a registration statement (including amendments and exhibits to the registration statement) on Form F-1 under the Securities Act with respect to the common shares offered in this prospectus. This prospectus, which forms a part of the registration statement, does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement and the exhibits and schedules to the registration statement. Certain information is omitted and you should refer to the registration statement and its exhibits and schedules for that information. If a document has been filed as an exhibit to the registration statement, we refer you to the copy of the document that has been filed. Each statement in this prospectus relating to a document filed as an exhibit is qualified in all respects by the filed exhibit.
You may review a copy of the registration statement, including exhibits and any schedule filed therewith, and obtain copies of such materials at the SECs Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains an Internet website (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers, like us, that file electronically with the SEC.
Upon completion of this offering, we will be subject to the information reporting requirements of the Exchange Act applicable to foreign private issuers. Accordingly, we will be required to file reports and other information with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 20-F and reports on Form 6-K. Those reports may be inspected without charge at the locations described above. As a foreign private issuer, we will be exempt from the rules under the Exchange Act related to the furnishing and content of proxy statements, and our officers, directors and principal shareholders will be exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act. In addition, we will not be required under the Exchange Act to file periodic reports and financial statements with the SEC as frequently or as promptly as U.S. companies whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act. Nevertheless, following this offering, we intend to submit quarterly interim consolidated financial data to the SEC under cover of the SECs Form 6-K.
We maintain a corporate website at www.obseva.com . Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of, and shall not be incorporated by reference into, this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.
186
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Consolidated Financial Statements | ||||
F-2 | ||||
Consolidated Balance Sheets as at December 31, 2015 and 2014 |
F-3 | |||
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 |
F-4 | |||
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014 |
F-5 | |||
F-6 | ||||
F-7 | ||||
Consolidated Interim Financial Statements | ||||
Consolidated Balance Sheets as at September 30, 2016 (unaudited) and December 31, 2015 |
F-28 | |||
F-29 | ||||
F-30 | ||||
Unaudited Statements of Changes in Equity for the period from January 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016 |
F-31 | |||
F-32 |
F-1
Consolidated Financial Statements
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
To the Board of Directors of ObsEva SA:
In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related consolidated statements of comprehensive loss, changes in equity and of cash flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of ObsEva SA and its subsidiaries at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2015 in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Companys management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. We conducted our audits of these statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Emphasis of a Matter
We draw attention to note 22 of the consolidated financial statements which describes the restatement and reissuance of the consolidated financial statements due to a stock split the Company effected on December 8, 2016. Management updated the accompanying financial statements to give retroactive effect to the stock split in the outstanding shares, and the loss per share amounts. We issued our original auditors report dated October 14, 2016 on the previously issued consolidated financial statements. Due to the restatement described in note 22, we provide this new auditors report on the reissued consolidated financial statements. Our opinion is not qualified in respect of this matter.
PricewaterhouseCoopers SA
/s/ Michael Foley |
/s/ Corinne Pointet Chambettaz |
|
||||||||||||
Michael Foley |
Corinne Pointet Chambettaz |
Geneva, Switzerland
December 27, 2016
PricewaterhouseCoopers SA, avenue Giuseppe-Motta 50, Case postale, 1211 Genève 2 Telephone: +41 58 792 91 00, Facsimile: +41 58 792 91 10, www.pwc.ch
PricewaterhouseCoopers SA is a member of a global network of companies that are legally independent of one another. |
F-2
Consolidated Financial Statements
Consolidated Balance Sheets
As of December 31, | ||||||||||||
Notes | 2015 | 2014 | ||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||
Assets |
||||||||||||
Current assets |
||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
5 | 54,275 | 4,008 | |||||||||
Other receivables |
6 | 69 | 73 | |||||||||
Prepaid expenses |
174 | 457 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total current assets |
54,518 | 4,538 | ||||||||||
Non-current assets |
||||||||||||
Plant and equipment |
7 | 124 | 111 | |||||||||
Intangible assets |
8 | 16,857 | 4,548 | |||||||||
Other long-term assets |
9 | 91 | 82 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total non-current assets |
17,072 | 4,741 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total assets |
71,590 | 9,279 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Liabilities and Equity |
|
|||||||||||
Current liabilities |
||||||||||||
Other payables and current liabilities |
6 | 595 | 440 | |||||||||
Accrued expenses |
3,657 | 1,532 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total current liabilities |
4,252 | 1,972 | ||||||||||
Non-current liabilities |
||||||||||||
Post-retirement obligations |
10 | 2,663 | 1,320 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total non-current liabilities |
2,663 | 1,320 | ||||||||||
Shareholders equity |
||||||||||||
Share capital |
11 | 1,694 | 764 | |||||||||
Share premium |
11 | 99,597 | 23,255 | |||||||||
Reserves |
11 | 2,821 | 182 | |||||||||
Accumulated losses |
11 | (39,437 | ) | (18,214 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total shareholders equity |
64,675 | 5,987 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total liabilities and shareholders equity |
71,590 | 9,279 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-3
Consolidated Financial Statements
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
Notes | 2015 | 2014 | ||||||||||
(in thousands, except per
share data) |
||||||||||||
Other operating income |
12 | 17 | 45 | |||||||||
Operating expenses |
||||||||||||
Research and development expenses |
13 | (16,892 | ) | (11,402 | ) | |||||||
General and administrative expenses |
13 | (2,954 | ) | (1,560 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total operating expenses |
(19,846 | ) | (12,962 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Operating loss |
(19,829 | ) | (12,917 | ) | ||||||||
Finance income |
15 | | 109 | |||||||||
Finance expense |
15 | (38 | ) | | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Net loss before tax |
(19,867 | ) | (12,808 | ) | ||||||||
Income tax expense |
16 | | | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Net loss for the year |
(19,867 | ) | (12,808 | ) | ||||||||
Net loss per share |
||||||||||||
Basic |
17 | (1.9 | ) | (1.4 | ) | |||||||
Diluted |
17 | (1.9 | ) | (1.4 | ) | |||||||
Other Comprehensive Loss |
||||||||||||
Items that will not be reclassified to profit and loss |
||||||||||||
Remeasurements on post-retirement benefit plans |
(1,356 | ) | (923 | ) | ||||||||
Items that may be reclassified to profit or loss |
||||||||||||
Currency translation differences |
(128 | ) | (983 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total other comprehensive loss |
(1,484 | ) | (1,906 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total comprehensive loss |
(21,351 | ) | (14,714 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-4
Consolidated Financial Statements
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||
Notes | 2015 | 2014 | ||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||
Net loss before tax |
(19,867 | ) | (12,808 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Adjustments for: |
||||||||||||
Depreciation |
7 | 36 | 20 | |||||||||
Post-retirement benefit / (cost) |
57 | (78 | ) | |||||||||
Share-based payments |
18 | 3,268 | 537 | |||||||||
Finance expense / (income) |
38 | (109 | ) | |||||||||
Decrease / (increase) in other receivables |
4 | (21 | ) | |||||||||
Decrease / (increase) in prepaid expenses and other long term-assets |
273 | (443 | ) | |||||||||
Increase / (decrease) in other payables and current liabilities |
155 | (341 | ) | |||||||||
Increase in accrued expenses |
2,125 | 1,119 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Net cash flows used in operating activities |
(13,911 | ) | (12,124 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Payments for plant and equipment |
7 | (50 | ) | (101 | ) | |||||||
Acquisition of a license |
8 | (10,000 | ) | | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Net cash flows used in investing activities |
(10,050 | ) | (101 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Proceeds from issues of shares and other equity securities |
75,836 | 423 | ||||||||||
Payment of share issuance costs |
(1,433 | ) | | |||||||||
Interest received |
1 | 4 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Net cash flows from financing activities |
74,404 | 427 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents |
50,443 | (11,798 | ) | |||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents as at January 1, |
4,008 | 16,293 | ||||||||||
Effects of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
(176 | ) | (487 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents as at December 31, |
54,275 | 4,008 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-5
Consolidated Financial Statements
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity
Share
Capital |
Share
Premium |
Share-Based
Payments Reserve |
Foreign
Currency Translation Reserve |
Total
Reserves |
Accumulated
Losses |
Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
December 31, 2013 |
751 | 22,499 | 269 | 705 | 974 | (4,483 | ) | 19,741 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Loss for the year |
| | | | | (12,808 | ) | (12,808 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Other comprehensive loss |
| | | (983 | ) | (983 | ) | (923 | ) | (1,906 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Total comprehensive loss |
| | | (983 | ) | (983 | ) | (13,731 | ) | (14,714 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Capital contribution |
| 410 | | | | | 410 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of non-voting shares |
13 | 346 | (346 | ) | | (346 | ) | | 13 | |||||||||||||||||||
Share-based remuneration |
| | 537 | | 537 | | 537 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
December 31, 2014 |
764 | 23,255 | 460 | (278 | ) | 182 | (18,214 | ) | 5,987 | |||||||||||||||||||
Loss for the year |
| | | | | (19,867 | ) | (19,867 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Other comprehensive loss |
| | | (128 | ) | (128 | ) | (1,356 | ) | (1,484 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Total comprehensive loss |
| | | (128 | ) | (128 | ) | (21,223 | ) | (21,351 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Capital contribution |
915 | 77,286 | (2,378 | ) | | (2,378 | ) | | 75,823 | |||||||||||||||||||
Share issuance costs |
| (1,433 | ) | | | | | (1,433 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of non-voting shares |
15 | 489 | (489 | ) | | (489 | ) | | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||
Acquisition of license |
| | 2,366 | | 2,366 | | 2,366 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based remuneration |
| | 3,268 | | 3,268 | | 3,268 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
December 31, 2015 |
1,694 | 99,597 | 3,227 | (406 | ) | 2,821 | (39,437 | ) | 64,675 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-6
Consolidated Financial Statements
Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements
1. | General Information |
ObsEva SA (the Company) was founded on November 14, 2012, and its address is 12 Chemin des Aulx, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland. The terms ObsEva or the Group refer to ObsEva SA together with its subsidiary included in the scope of consolidation (note 3.2).
The Group is focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for serious conditions that compromise womens reproductive health and pregnancy. The Group has a portfolio of 3 mid- to late-stage development in-licensed compounds (OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022) developed in 4 indications. The Group has no currently marketed products.
The consolidated financial statements are presented in dollars of the United States (USD), rounded to the nearest thousand, except share and per share data, and have been prepared on the basis of the accounting principles described in note 3.
The consolidated financial statements were authorized for issue by the Companys Board of Directors (the Board of Directors) on December 27, 2016.
2. | Significant Events During the Reporting Period |
The financial position and performance of the Group were particularly affected by the following events and transactions during the reporting period:
| In June 2015, the Group signed an agreement with Ares Trading S.A., an affiliate of Merck Serono, (Merck Serono) to in-license OBE022, a prostaglandin F2 receptor antagonist, for a consideration of 325,000 series A preferred shares, issuable contingent on the initiation by the Group of Phase 1 trial of the in-licensed compound (note 8); |
| In November 2015, the Group entered into a transaction with Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Kissei) involving the in-license OBE2109, a gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist, pursuant to which the Group made an initial upfront payment of USD 10.0 million (note 8); and |
| In November 2015, the Group completed a round of financing, raising USD 59.6 million through the issuance of 11,079,549 series B preferred shares (note 11). The Group also received the final proceeds relating to partially paid shares for USD 16.3 million. |
3. | Accounting Principles Applied in the Preparation of the Consolidated Financial Statements |
3.1 Basis of Preparation
These consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as published by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). The consolidated financial statements are based on a historical cost basis.
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. It also requires management to exercise its judgement in the process of applying the Groups accounting policies. The areas involving a higher degree of judgement or complexity, or areas where assumptions and estimates are significant to the consolidated financial statements, are disclosed in note 3.5.
Due to rounding, numbers presented throughout these consolidated financial statements may not add up precisely to the totals provided. All ratios and variances are calculated using the underlying amount rather than the presented rounded amount.
F-7
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
3.2 Scope of Consolidation
Subsidiaries are all entities (including structured entities) over which the Group has control. The Group controls an entity when the Group is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns from its involvement with the entity and has the ability to affect those returns through its power to direct the activities of the entity. Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control is transferred to the Group. They are deconsolidated from the date that control ceases.
The Company currently consolidates the financial operations of its only fully-owned subsidiary, ObsEva Ireland Ltd, which is registered in Cork, Ireland and organized under the laws of Ireland. ObsEva Ireland Ltd currently has no operations and no results of operations to report.
3.3 Standards and Interpretations Published By the IASB But Not Yet Effective
The IASB and the International Financing Reporting Standards Interpretations Committee (IFRS IC) have recently issued new standards and interpretations to be applied to the Groups consolidated financial statements.
In 2018, the Group expects to adopt the following new relevant standards:
IFRS 9 Financial Instruments
In July 2014, the IASB issued IFRS 9 Financial Instruments which replaces International Accounting Standard (IAS) 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement . The new standard will change the classification and measurement requirements of financial assets and financial liabilities and the general hedge accounting rules. The Group is in the process of evaluating the impact IFRS 9 may have on its consolidated financial statements.
In 2019, the Group expects to adopt the following new relevant standards:
IFRS 16 Leases
In January 2016, the IASB issued IFRS 16 Leases , which replaces IAS 17 Leases and related interpretations. The new standard will require lessees to recognize a lease liability reflecting future lease payments and a right-of-use asset for virtually all lease contracts. The Group is in the process of evaluating the impact IFRS 16 may have on its consolidated financial statements.
Other new standards and amendments published but not yet effective will have no material impact on the consolidated financial statements of the Group.
3.4 Significant Accounting Policies
Current Assets
Other receivables and other current receivables or prepayments are carried at their nominal value.
Individual receivables that are known to be uncollectible are written off by reducing the carrying amount directly. The group considers that there is evidence of impairment if any of the following indicators are present:
| significant financial difficulties of the debtor; |
| probability that the debtor will enter bankruptcy or financial reorganization; and |
| default or delinquency in payments (more than 30 days overdue). |
F-8
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
Receivables for which an impairment provision was recognized are written off against the provision when there is no expectation of recovering additional cash.
Plant and Equipment
Plant and equipment are carried at cost less depreciation and impairment. Historical cost includes expenditure that is directly attributable to the acquisition of the items. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method, on the basis of the following useful lives:
Furniture |
5 years | |
Hardware |
3 years | |
Leasehold improvement |
5 years |
Plant and equipment are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amount may not be recoverable, on an individual basis. An impairment loss is recognized for the amount by which the assets carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount.
The assets residual values and useful lives are reviewed, and adjusted if appropriate, at the end of each reporting period.
Intangible Assets
Separately acquired patents, licenses and other intangible assets are recorded at historical cost and subsequently measured at cost less accumulated amortization and any impairment losses.
The acquisition of certain intangible assets, mainly licenses, may involve additional payments contingent on the occurrence of specific events or milestones. Unless the Group already has a present obligation to make the payment at a future date, the initial measurement of the intangible asset does not include such contingent payments. Instead, such payments are subsequently capitalised as intangible assets when the contingency or milestone occurs.
Estimated useful life is the lower of legal duration and economic useful life, which does not exceed 20 years. The estimated useful life of the intangible assets is annually reviewed, and if necessary, the future amortization charge is accelerated.
For licenses, the amortization starts when the assets become available for use, generally once proper regulatory and marketing approval are obtained.
Intangible assets are subject to impairment testing whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. Intangible assets for which amortization has not commenced are subject to impairment testing at least annually.
Post-Retirement Benefits
All employees of the Company participate in a retirement defined benefit plan. A defined benefit plan is a pension plan that defines an amount of pension benefit that an employee will receive on retirement, usually dependent on one or more factors such as age, years of service and compensation. The liability recognized in the balance sheet in respect of defined benefit pension plans is the present value of the defined benefit obligation at the end of the reporting period less the fair value of plan assets. The defined benefit obligation is calculated
F-9
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
annually by an independent actuary, using the projected unit credit method. The present value of the defined benefit obligation is determined by discounting the estimated future cash outflows using interest rates of high-quality corporate bonds that are denominated in the currency in which the benefits will be paid, and that have terms to maturity approximating to the terms of the related pension obligation.
Actuarial gains and losses arising from experience adjustments and changes in actuarial assumptions are charged or credited to equity in other comprehensive income in the period in which they arise. Past-service costs are recognized immediately in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss.
Equity
Incremental costs directly attributable to the issuance of common shares and options are recognized as a deduction from equity, net of any tax effects.
Treasury shares (equity instruments of the Company held by the Group) are accounted for as a reduction of equity at acquisition cost and are not subsequently re-measured. When shares are sold out of treasury shares, the resulting profit or loss is recognized in equity, net of tax.
Research and Development
Research expenses are charged to the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss as incurred. Development expenses are capitalized as intangible assets when it is probable that future economic benefits will flow to the Group, and the following criteria are fulfilled:
| it is technically feasible to complete the intangible asset so that it will be available for use or sale; |
| management intends to complete the intangible asset and use or sell it; |
| there is an ability to use or sell the intangible asset; |
| adequate technical, financial and other resources to complete the development and to use or sell the intangible asset are available; and |
| the expenditure attributable to the intangible asset during its development can be reliably measured. |
In the opinion of management, due to uncertainties inherent in the development of the Groups product candidates, the criteria for development costs to be recognized as an asset as defined by IAS 38 Intangible Assets are not met.
Foreign Currencies
Functional and Presentation Currency
Items included in the consolidated financial statements of the Group and its subsidiary are measured using the currency of the primary economic environment in which the entity operates (the functional currency). The functional currency of the Company is Swiss francs (CHF).
The consolidated financial statements are presented in USD, which is the presentation currency of the Group.
Transactions and Balances
Foreign currency transactions are translated into the functional currency using the exchange rates at the dates of the transactions. Foreign exchange gains and losses resulting from the settlement of such transactions and from the translation of monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies at year end exchange rates are generally recognized in profit or loss.
F-10
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
Foreign exchange gains and losses that relate to borrowings are presented in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss, within finance costs. All other foreign exchange gains and losses are presented in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss on a net basis within other income or other expenses.
Translation into the Presentation Currency
The results and financial position of operations that have a functional currency different from the presentation currency are translated into the presentation currency as follows:
| assets and liabilities are translated at the exchange rate prevailing on December 31 of each year; |
| income and expenses are translated at average exchange rates (unless this is not a reasonable approximation of the cumulative effect of the rates prevailing on the transaction dates, in which case income and expenses are translated at the dates of the transactions); and |
| all resulting exchange differences are recognized in other comprehensive income. |
The following rates have been used for the translation from the functional currency to the presentation currency:
Income Statement
Average rate (CHF) |
Balance Sheet
Closing rate as of December 31, (CHF) |
|||||||||||||||||||
2015 | 2014 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | ||||||||||||||||
USD |
0.96 | 0.92 | 1.00 | 0.99 | 0.89 |
Share-Based Compensation
A share-based, equity-settled, plan (the Plan) was formally set-up by the Group in 2013. Participants eligible for awards under the Plan are executives, directors, employees, agents and consultants. The fair value of the shares granted is determined at each grant date by using either an option pricing method that uses a Black-Scholes model or an hybrid method, as appropriate, both based on a combination of the discounted cash flow method, under the income approach, and the backsolve method. When the equity instruments granted do not vest until the counterparty completes a specified period of services, the Group accounts for those services as they are rendered by the counterparty, during the vesting period, with a corresponding increase in equity.
Deferred Income Taxes
Deferred income tax is provided in full, using the liability method, on temporary differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the consolidated financial statements. However, if the deferred income tax arises from initial recognition of an asset or liability in a transaction other than a business combination that at the time of the transaction affects neither accounting nor taxable profit and loss, it is not accounted for. Deferred income tax is determined using tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the balance sheet date and are expected to apply when the related deferred income tax asset is realized or the deferred income tax liability is settled.
Deferred income tax assets are recognized to the extent that it is probable that future taxable profit will be available against which the temporary differences can be utilized.
Leases
Leases of assets under which all the risks and rewards of ownership are effectively retained by the lessor are classified as operating leases, and payments made are charged to the statement of comprehensive loss on a straight-line basis.
F-11
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
Segment Information
The Group operates in one segment, which is the research, development of innovative womens reproductive, health and pregnancy therapeutics. The marketing and commercialization of such therapeutics depend on the success of the clinical development phase. The Chief Executive Officer of the Company reviews the consolidated statement of operations of the Group on an aggregated basis and manages the operations of the Group as a single operating segment.
The Group currently generates no revenue from the sales of therapeutics products.
The long lived assets of the Group are all held in Switzerland.
3.5 Critical Accounting Estimates and Judgments
Estimates and judgments are continually evaluated and are based on historical experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances.
Critical Accounting Estimates and Assumptions
The Group makes estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The resulting accounting estimates will not necessarily equal to related actual outcome. The following areas involve a higher degree of judgement or complexity or are areas where assumptions and estimates can have a significant impact on the consolidated financial statements:
| Post-retirement obligations: the actuarial valuation involves making assumptions about discount rates, future salary increases, mortality rates and future pension increases. Due to the long-term nature of these plans, such estimates are subject to significant uncertainty (note 10); |
| Share-based compensation: the determination of the fair value of the shares granted involves the use of certain assumptions subject to judgement (note 18); |
| Intangible assets: when acquiring certain intangible assets, including licenses on its product candidates, the Group assess whether such acquisitions qualify as business combinations per IFRS 3, involving a certain degree of judgement (note 8); |
| Commencement of depreciation and amortization: the depreciation and amortization starts when the assets are available for use in the manner intended by management, which requires judgement (notes 7 & 8); |
| Research and development costs: the Group recognizes expenditure incurred in carrying out its research and development activities until it becomes probable that future economic benefits will flow to the Group, which results in recognizing such costs as intangible assets, involving a certain degree of judgement (notes 8 & 13); |
| Deferred taxes: the recognition of deferred tax assets requires assessment of whether it is probable that sufficient future taxable profit will be available against which the deferred tax assets can be utilized (note 16); |
| Impairment of assets: as part of impairment tests, the recoverable amounts of tested assets have been determined based on value in use calculations requiring the use of certain assumptions, subject to judgement (note 8); |
F-12
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
| Preferred shares: the classification of preferred as equity or debt is based on an assessment of the terms and conditions of such shares, involving a certain degree of judgement (note 11); |
| Going concern: the assessment of whether there is significant doubt on the Groups ability to continue as a going concern requires a certain degree of judgement (note 21). |
4. | Financial Risk Management |
4.1 Financial Risk Factors
The Groups activities expose it to a variety of financial risks such as foreign exchange risk, credit risk, interest rate risk and liquidity risk. The Groups overall risk management program focuses on the unpredictability of financial markets and seeks to minimize potential adverse effects on the Groups financial performance. Financial risk management is carried out by the Groups finance department subject to and pursuing policies approved by the Board of Directors.
Foreign Exchange Risk
The Group operates internationally and is exposed to foreign exchange risk arising from various currency exposures, primarily with respect to the U.S. dollar (USD), Euro (EUR), British Pound (GBP) and Swiss Franc (CHF). Foreign exchange risk arises from future commercial transactions (e.g. costs for clinical services) and recognized assets and liabilities. Management has set up a policy to manage the foreign exchange risk against their functional currency. To manage its foreign exchange risk arising from future commercial transactions and recognized assets and liabilities, the Groups finance department maintains foreign currency cash balances to cover anticipated future requirements.
The sensitivity of profit or loss to changes in the exchange rates arises mainly from the transactions denominated in EUR.
EUR positions |
Increase / decrease
exchange rate vs USD |
Effect on profit
before tax |
Effect on shareholders
equity |
|||||||||
(in thousands) | (in thousands) | |||||||||||
2015 |
+5 | % | 395 | 395 | ||||||||
-5 | % | (395 | ) | (395 | ) | |||||||
2014 |
+5 | % | 264 | 264 | ||||||||
-5 | % | (264 | ) | (264 | ) |
The impacts of exchange rates fluctuations on positions denominated in other currencies are not material for the reported periods.
Credit Risk
Cash and cash equivalents are deposited with top tier banks and institutions with a rating of A-1 or P-1 with Standard & Poors and Moodys, respectively.
The maximum credit risk exposure the Group faces in connection with its financial assets, being cash and cash equivalents and other receivables, is the carrying amounts of these balances as shown in the consolidated balance sheet.
F-13
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
Interest Rate Risk
The Groups exposure to interest rate fluctuations is limited because the Group has no interest-bearing indebtedness. Recent decisions to apply negative interests on bank deposits, especially in Switzerland, would expose the Group to certain interest risks on interest-bearing assets, which are, however, assessed as limited.
Liquidity Risk
The Groups principal source of liquidity is the cash reserves which are obtained through the issuance of new shares. The Groups policy is to invest these funds in low risk investments including interest bearing deposits. The ability of the Group to maintain adequate cash reserves to sustain its activities in the medium term is subject to risk as it is highly dependent on the Groups ability to raise further funds from the sale of new shares.
4.2 Capital Management
The Groups objectives when managing capital are to safeguard the Groups ability to continue as a going concern in order to ensure the financing of successful research and development activities so that future profits can be generated and to maintain sufficient financial resources to mitigate against risks and unforeseen events.
The Group is also subject to capital maintenance requirement under Swiss law. To ensure that statutory capital requirements are met, the Group monitors capital periodically. The Group may issue new shares in order to maintain sufficient cash position.
4.3 Fair Value Estimation and Financial Instruments
The carrying value less impairment provision of receivables and payables approximate their fair values due to their short-term nature. The fair value of long-term financial liabilities for disclosure purposes is estimated by discounting the future contractual cash flows at the current market interest rate that is available to the Group for similar financial instruments.
IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement requires disclosure of fair value measurements by level of the following fair value measurement hierarchy:
| Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1). |
| Inputs other than quoted prices included within level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly (that is as prices) or indirectly (that is derived from prices) (level 2). |
| Inputs for the asset or liability that are not based on observable market data (that is unobservable inputs, level 3). |
All financial assets and liabilities, respectively, are held at their amortized cost.
The Groups financial assets consist of cash and cash equivalents and other receivables which are classified as loans and receivables at amortized costs according to IAS 39. The Groups financial liabilities consist of other payables and accruals which are classified as other liabilities at amortized cost according to IAS 39.
F-14
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
5. | Cash and Cash Equivalents |
As of December 31, | ||||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Bank deposits |
43,801 | 4,008 | ||||||
Interest bearing deposits |
10,474 | | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total cash and cash equivalents as at December 31, |
54,275 | 4,008 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
Split by currency
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
CHF |
54 | % | 53 | % | ||||
USD |
21 | % | 6 | % | ||||
EUR |
20 | % | 20 | % | ||||
GBP |
5 | % | 21 | % |
6. | Receivables and Payables |
As at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, other receivables, other current receivables, other payables and other current liabilities are all due from and to third parties and carried at amortised cost.
All payables have a contract maturity within 1 year.
7. | Plant and Equipment |
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Net book value as at January 1, |
111 | 41 | ||||||
Additions |
50 | 100 | ||||||
Depreciation charge |
(36 | ) | (20 | ) | ||||
Currency translation effects |
(1 | ) | (10 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net book value as at December 31, |
124 | 111 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total cost |
182 | 134 | ||||||
Accumulated depreciation |
(58 | ) | (23 | ) |
Plant and equipment assets mainly consist of office furniture and leasehold improvements.
8. | Intangible Assets |
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Net book value as at January 1, |
4,548 | 5,052 | ||||||
Additions |
12,372 | | ||||||
Amortization charge |
| | ||||||
Currency translation effects |
(63 | ) | (504 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net book value as at December 31, |
16,857 | 4,548 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total cost |
16,857 | 4,548 | ||||||
Accumulated amortization |
| |
F-15
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
As at December 31, 2015, the Group holds a number of licenses to operate several biopharmaceutical product candidates, the value of which is recorded at USD 16.9 million (2014: USD 4.5 million).
Merck Serono Licenses
On August 28, 2013, the Group in-licensed OBE001 for USD 4.9 million.
In June 2015, the Group acquired the in-license for OBE022 for consideration including 325,000 series A preferred shares. The consideration payment is contingent on the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial by the Group.
In accordance with IFRS 2 Share Based Payments , the in-license acquisition is measured directly, at the fair value of the goods or services received, unless that fair value cannot be estimated reliably.
Considering the very early-stage of the product candidate, and the high uncertainty and sensitivity attached to the assumptions used in a fair valuation model of the license received, management deemed that the in-license could not be reliably measured, and measured instead the value of the in-license, indirectly, by reference to the fair value of the equity instruments granted.
As a result, the Group recognised the in-license for an amount of USD 2.4 million, based on (1) its best available estimate of the number of equity instruments expected to vest and be issued (325,000 series A preferred shares), and (2) the fair value (CHF 6.79) of the Companys equity instruments issued at the transaction date.
Management used an income approach to determine the Companys equity value at the transaction date, from which the fair value of the series A preferred share was derived using varying allocation methodologies to each classes of shares.
Kissei License
On November 19, 2015, the Group entered into an exclusive in-license and supply agreement with Kissei to acquire the product candidate OBE2109 for which Kissei successfully completed Phase 2 trial in Japan. This in-license agreement grants the Group an exclusive license to use, develop and commercialize the product candidate worldwide excluding certain Asian countries.
This in-license was acquired for an upfront cash consideration of USD 10 million, with additional contingent payments upon occurrence of certain milestones (note 19).
The Group has concluded that the Merck Serono licenses and the Kissei license acquisitions do not qualify as business combinations per IFRS 3, as the Group did not acquire processes that are capable of producing outputs given the in-licensed compounds are very early-stage.
Amortization and Impairment
The licenses are currently not amortized as no regulatory and marketing approvals were obtained.
| In accordance with IAS 38, the licenses have been reviewed for impairment by assessing the fair value less costs of disposal (FVLCOD). The valuation is considered to be Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy due to unobservable inputs used in the valuation. No impairment was identified. |
F-16
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
The key assumptions used in the valuation model (income approach) to determine the FVLCOD of the licenses are as follows:
| expected research and development costs; |
| probabilities of achieving development milestones based on industry standards; |
| reported disease prevalence; |
| expected market share; |
| drug reimbursement, costs of goods and marketing expenses; and |
| expected patent life. |
The valuation model covers a 20-year period due to the length of the development cycle for assets of this nature. A discount factor of 15%, based on the assumed cost of capital for the Group, has been used over the forecast period.
Based on sensitivity analysis, no reasonably possible change in assumption would cause the carrying value of the licenses to exceed their recoverable amount.
9. | Other Long-Term Assets |
The Groups other long-term assets mainly consist of security rental deposits for the Groups offices.
10. | Post-Retirement Benefits |
In accordance with the mandatory Swiss pension fund law, all employees of the Company participate in a retirement defined benefit plan. Swiss based pension plans are governed by the Swiss Federal Law on Occupational Retirement, Survivors and Disability Pension Plans (the LPP), which stipulates that pension plans are to be managed by independent, legally autonomous units. Under the terms of the pension plan, participants are insured against the financial consequences of old age, disability and death. The various insurance benefits are governed by regulations, with the LPP specifying the minimum benefits that are to be provided. The employer and employees pay contributions to the pension plan. In the event the pension plans statutory funding falls below a certain level, various measures can be taken to increase funding above such level, such as increasing the current contribution, lowering the interest rate on the retirement account balances or reducing the additional prospective benefits. The employer can also make additional restructuring contributions. Since the risks of death and disability are fully reinsured by an insurance group, the savings plan must be qualified as a defined benefit plan. As required by IAS 19 Employee Benefits , the projected unit credit method has been used in the calculation of present value of the benefit obligations and the related current service cost.
F-17
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
The investment risk is borne by the insurer and the reinsurer respectively, and the investment decision is taken by the board of trustees of the collective insurance.
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Change in defined benefit obligation |
||||||||
Defined benefit obligation at January 1, |
(4,368 | ) | (3,118 | ) | ||||
Current service cost |
(578 | ) | (347 | ) | ||||
Interest cost |
(66 | ) | (76 | ) | ||||
Benefits paid |
| | ||||||
Transfers |
(1,558 | ) | (362 | ) | ||||
Currency translation effects |
189 | 437 | ||||||
Remeasurements : |
||||||||
Effect of changes in demographic assumptions |
| | ||||||
Effect of changes in financial assumptions |
(411 | ) | (564 | ) | ||||
Effect in experience assumptions |
(973 | ) | (338 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Defined benefit obligation at December 31, |
(7,765 | ) | (4,368 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Change in plan assets |
||||||||
Fair value of plan assets at January 1, |
3,048 | 2,520 | ||||||
Interest income |
52 | 67 | ||||||
Employer contributions |
267 | 217 | ||||||
Employee contributions |
267 | 217 | ||||||
Benefits paid |
| | ||||||
Transfers |
1,559 | 362 | ||||||
Currency translation effects |
(119 | ) | (314 | ) | ||||
Remeasurements: return on plan assets (excluding interest income) |
28 | (21 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Fair value of plan assets at December 31, |
5,102 | 3,048 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Components of defined benefit cost |
||||||||
Current service cost |
577 | 347 | ||||||
Interest expense on defined benefit obligation |
66 | 76 | ||||||
Interest income on plan assets |
(52 | ) | (67 | ) | ||||
Employee contributions |
(267 | ) | (217 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total included in staff costs (note 14) |
324 | 139 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-18
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Remeasurements recognized in other comprehensive loss |
||||||||
Effect of changes in demographic assumptions |
| | ||||||
Effect of changes in financial assumptions |
(411 | ) | (564 | ) | ||||
Effect in experience assumptions |
(973 | ) | (338 | ) | ||||
Return on plan assets (excluding interest income) |
28 | (21 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total remeasurements recognized as other comprehensive loss |
(1,356 | ) | (923 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cumulative amount of remeasurements immediately recognized in other comprehensive loss |
(2,840 | ) | (1,484 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Amounts recognized in the statement of financial position |
||||||||
Defined benefit obligation |
(7,765 | ) | (4,368 | ) | ||||
Fair value of plan assets |
5,102 | 3,048 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net liability |
(2,663 | ) | (1,320 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Movement of defined benefit liability |
||||||||
Net defined benefit liability at January 1, |
(1,320 | ) | (598 | ) | ||||
Defined benefit cost included in statement of comprehensive loss |
(324 | ) | (139 | ) | ||||
Total remeasurements included in other comprehensive loss |
(1,356 | ) | (923 | ) | ||||
Employer contributions |
267 | 217 | ||||||
Currency translation effects |
70 | 123 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net pension liability at December 31, |
(2,663 | ) | (1,320 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Plan assets | 2015 | 2014 | ||||||
Cash |
0.3 | % | 1.7 | % | ||||
Bonds |
70.4 | % | 75.4 | % | ||||
Shares |
7.9 | % | 4.3 | % | ||||
Real estate |
14.0 | % | 12.1 | % | ||||
Mortgages |
7.3 | % | 6.4 | % | ||||
Alternative investments |
0.1 | % | 0.1 | % | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total |
100.0 | % | 100.0 | % | ||||
|
|
|
|
To develop the expected long-term rate of return on asset assumption, the Group considered the current level of expected returns on risk free investments (high-quality corporate bonds), the historical level of the risk premium associated with the other asset classes in which the portfolio is invested, and the expectation for future returns of each asset allocation.
F-19
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
The principal actuarial assumptions used were as follows:
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
Discount rate |
0.85 | % | 1.25 | % | ||||
Salary increase (including inflation) |
1.00 | % | 1.00 | % | ||||
Rate of pension increases |
0.25 | % | 0.25 | % | ||||
Post-retirement mortality table |
LPP 2010 G | LPP 2010 G |
Sensitivity analysis illustrates the sensitivity of the Group defined benefit obligation at December 31, 2015 by varying the discount rate and the salary increase rate by plus / minus 50 basis points:
Discount Rate | Discount Rate |
Salary
Increase |
Salary
Increase |
|||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||
Sensitivity analysis |
plus 50bps | minus 50bps | plus 50bps | minus 50bps | ||||||||||||
Discount rate |
1.35 | % | 0.35 | % | 0.85 | % | 0.85 | % | ||||||||
Salary increase |
1.00 | % | 1.00 | % | 1.50 | % | 0.50 | % | ||||||||
Defined benefit obligation |
(7,080 | ) | (8,559 | ) | (7,827 | ) | (7,707 | ) |
Average duration of the defined benefit obligation | 2015 | 2014 | ||||||
Duration in years |
19.1 | 16.4 |
Expected contributions by the employer to be paid to the post-retirement benefit plans during the annual period beginning after the end of the reporting period amount to approximately USD 300,000.
11. | Shareholders Equity |
Number of Shares | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common
Shares |
Series A
Preferred Shares |
Series B
Preferred Shares |
Non-
Voting
Shares |
Total Shares |
Share
Capital |
Share
Premium |
Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
January 1, 2014 |
1,300,000 | 7,706,777 | | | 9,006,777 | 751 | 22,499 | 23,250 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Final contribution on partly paid shares |
| | | | | | 410 | 410 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of non-voting shares to employees |
| | | 164,684 | 164,684 | 13 | 346 | 359 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
December 31, 2014 |
1,300,000 | 7,706,777 | | 164,684 | 9,171,461 | 764 | 23,255 | 24,019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Number of Shares | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Common
Shares |
Series A
Preferred Shares |
Series B
Preferred Shares |
Non- Voting
Shares |
Total Shares |
Share
Capital |
Share
Premium |
Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
January 1, 2015 |
1,300,000 | 7,706,777 | | 164,684 | 9,171,461 | 764 | 23,255 | 24,019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of common shares |
915,434 | | | | 915,434 | 70 | 2,378 | 2,448 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of preferred B shares |
| | 11,079,549 | | 11,079,549 | 845 | 58,637 | 59,482 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Final contribution on partly paid shares |
| | | | | | 16,270 | 16,270 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Transaction costs arising on share issues |
| | | | | | (1,433 | ) | (1,433 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of non-voting shares to employees |
| | | 182,429 | 182,429 | 15 | 490 | 505 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
December 31, 2015 |
2,215,434 | 7,706,777 | 11,079,549 | 347,113 | 21,348,873 | 1,694 | 99,597 | 101,291 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
F-20
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
Share Capital
As at December 31, 2015, the total outstanding share capital of USD 1.7 million, fully paid, consists of 2,215,434 common shares, 7,706,777 series A preferred shares, 11,079,549 series B preferred shares and 347,113 non-voting shares. All shares have a nominal value of 1/13 of a Swiss franc, translated into USD using historical rates at the issuance date. Series A preferred shares and series B preferred shares have preferential rights as to the liquidation dividends and proceeds within the terms of the articles of association, and confer the same voting rights as those attached to common shares. In case of an Initial Public Offering (IPO), all series A and series B preferred shares shall automatically be converted into common shares. Based on the terms and conditions attached to the preferred shares, management concluded to a classification of those shares as equity.
On December 10, 2014, the Group called the second tranche of the subscription price of the series A preferred shares, amounting to CHF 15,650,016. This final contribution on partly paid shares was settled for CHF 400,000 (USD 409,878) in 2014 and for CHF 15,250,016 (USD 16,269,712) in 2015.
On November 19, 2015, the Group issued 915,434 common shares at a subscription price of 1/13 of a Swiss franc per share as a result of anti-dilution provisions (note 18) and 11,079,549 series B preferred shares at a subscription price of CHF 5.42 (USD 5.37) per share, amounting to a total CHF 60.1 million (USD 59.6 million).
Non-Voting Share Capital
As at December 31, 2015, the total outstanding non-voting share capital amounting to USD 28,710, fully paid, consists of 347,113 non-voting shares issued at the end of the vesting period associated with the Plan. All non-voting shares have a nominal value of 1/13 of a Swiss franc, translated into USD using historical rates at the issuance date.
The non-voting shares are part of the non-voting share capital and have the same financial rights than those attached to common shares. The non-voting shares do not confer the right to vote or to participate in the ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the Group.
Authorized Voting and Non-Voting Share Capital
The authorized voting share capital and authorized non-voting share capital that are not outstanding as at December 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 are as follows:
As of December 31, | ||||||||
Number of shares | 2015 | 2014 | ||||||
Authorized voting share capital |
| | ||||||
Authorized non-voting share capital |
1,096,992 | 322,179 |
12. | Revenue and Other Income |
The Group currently derives no revenue from its research and development activities with biopharmaceutical product candidates.
Other income mainly relates to consulting services rendered to third parties by the Company.
F-21
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
13. | Operating Expenses by Nature |
Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
External research and development costs |
10,784 | 7,881 | ||||||
Staff costs (note 14) |
7,313 | 3,922 | ||||||
Professional fees |
743 | 370 | ||||||
Rents |
367 | 420 | ||||||
Travel expenses |
313 | 126 | ||||||
Patent registration costs |
87 | 46 | ||||||
Depreciation |
36 | 20 | ||||||
Other |
203 | 177 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total operating expenses by nature |
19,846 | 12,962 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
Due to the difficulty in assessing when research and development projects would generate revenue, the Group expenses all research and development costs on the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss. In 2015, research and development expenses amounted to USD 16.9 million (2014: USD 11.4 million).
The depreciation expense has been allocated as follows:
Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Research and development expenses |
28 | 17 | ||||||
General and administrative expenses |
8 | 3 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total depreciation |
36 | 20 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
14. | Staff Costs |
Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Wages and salaries |
3,384 | 2,990 | ||||||
Social charges |
337 | 256 | ||||||
Post-retirement benefits |
324 | 139 | ||||||
Share-based payments |
3,268 | 537 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total staff costs |
7,313 | 3,922 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
The Group employed on average 16.2 full-time equivalents (FTE) in 2015, compared to 12.6 FTE in 2014, and 19.9 FTE as at December 31, 2015 compared to 14.1 FTE as at December 31, 2014.
15. | Finance Income and Expenses |
Finance income mainly relates to foreign exchange gain, and interests on bank deposits.
Finance expense mainly relates to interest expense.
F-22
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
16. | Income Taxes and Deferred Taxes |
Because the Group has incurred net losses since its inception, it has no current income tax expenses.
In 2015, the Group was granted by the State Council of the Canton of Geneva an exemption of income and capital tax at municipal and cantonal levels for the period from 2013 until 2022.
The following details the tax losses carry forwards and their respective expiring dates. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the future results of operations and the uncertainty as to whether the Group can use the losses carry forwards for tax purposes, no deferred taxes have been recognized on the balance sheet.
As of December 31, | ||||||||
Expiring tax losses | 2015 | 2014 | ||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
2020 |
2,850 | 2,883 | ||||||
2021 |
11,289 | 11,422 | ||||||
2022 |
15,836 | | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total unrecorded tax losses carry forwards |
29,975 | 14,305 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
17. | Loss Per Share |
The Companys ordinary shares are comprised of common shares and non-voting shares. In addition, the Company has issued series A and series B preferred shares. As the series A and series B preferred shares participate with ordinary shares in the profit or loss on a pro-rata basis, the net loss is allocated to each class pro-rata to their weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. The basic loss per share is calculated by dividing the loss of the period attributable to the ordinary shares by the weighted average number of ordinary shares (common and non-voting) outstanding during the period as follows:
Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Series B
Preferred Shares |
Series A
Preferred Shares |
Common and
Non-Voting Shares |
Series B
Preferred Shares |
Series A
Preferred Shares |
Common and
Non-Voting Shares |
|||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except share and per share data) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss attributable to shareholders |
(2,380 | ) | (14,384 | ) | (3,102 | ) | | (10,860 | ) | (1,949 | ) | |||||||||||||
Weighted average number of shares outstanding |
1,274,910 | 7,706,777 | 1,661,231 | | 7,706,777 | 1,382,342 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Basic and diluted loss per share |
(1.9 | ) | (1.9 | ) | (1.9 | ) | | (1.4 | ) | (1.4 | ) | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, 686,647 and 602,576 non-vested shares, respectively, which would have anti-dilutive impact on the calculation of the diluted earnings per share, are excluded from the calculation.
18. | Share-Based Compensation |
The total expenses arising from share-based payment transactions recognized during the period as part of staff costs were as follows:
Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Employee share plan |
890 | 537 | ||||||
Anti-dilution provisions |
2,378 | | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total share-based compensation |
3,268 | 537 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
F-23
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
Employee Share Plan
The Company has established the Plan for employees, executives, directors and consultants (the Beneficiaries) of the Group. This equity-settled plan entitles the Beneficiaries to acquire a certain amount of the Companys non-voting shares at a pre-determined price (1/13 of a Swiss franc). The possibility to enroll in the Plan and acquire shares is generally offered at the hiring date as well as on the basis of employees performance. The Beneficiaries may elect not to participate in the Plan.
Upon Beneficiaries enrolment in the Plan, Beneficiaries are granted a certain number of shares which they are entitled to acquire. The pre-determined price is generally paid by the Beneficiaries at the grant date and recognized as a pre-payment until the vesting period elapses resulting in the shares issuance being accounted for.
The shares generally fully vest over a four year vesting period, with 25% of the shares underlying the grant vesting after one year, and 1/48 th of the shares underlying the grant vesting each month over a further period of three years.
The Group has no present obligation to repurchase or settle the shares in cash.
The total expense arising from the Plan amounted to USD 0.9 million in 2015 and USD 0.5 million in 2014.
Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands, except per
share data) |
||||||||
Number of shares issued under the plan |
182,429 | 164,684 | ||||||
Average grant date fair value |
2.48 | 3.95 | ||||||
Expense arising from the plan |
890 | 537 |
The fair value of the shares was calculated using a combination of the discounted cash flow method, under the income approach, and the backsolve method. The backsolve method, a form of the market approach to valuation, derives the implied enterprise equity value and the fair value of the non-voting share from a recent and contemporaneous transaction involving the companys own securities.
Anti-Dilution Provisions
The shareholders agreement signed in 2013 includes specific anti-dilution clauses benefiting one of the Groups founders, Ernest Loumaye (the Founder). Subject to specified exceptions, per this clause, if, as a result of a share issuance, the Founders shareholding in the Groups certain classes of shares is diluted below 10%, then the Founder is entitled to acquire at nominal value (1/13 of a Swiss franc) a number of common shares allowing him to maintain his shareholding at 10%.
In November 2015, the completion of a round of financing (note 11) triggered this clause which resulted in the issuance of 915,434 common shares to the Founder.
In accordance with IFRS 2, such transaction resulted in a share-based expense of USD 2.4 million. The fair value of the common shares delivered to the Founder was calculated using a backsolve method (USD 2.68).
F-24
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
19. | Commitments and Contingencies |
Operating Lease Commitments
As of December 31, | ||||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Within 1 year |
246 | 237 | ||||||
Later than 1 year and no later than 5 years |
369 | 622 | ||||||
Later than 5 years |
| | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total |
615 | 859 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
Operating lease commitments relate to the Groups lease for its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Contingencies
As a result of the licenses granted to the Group, the following contingencies are to be noted:
Kissei License
Under the terms of the license and supply agreement, the Group would be obligated to make milestone payments upon the achievement of specified regulatory milestones with respect to OBE2109. The total of all potential undiscounted future payments that the Group could be required to make under this arrangement ranges between USD 0 and USD 188 million.
Pursuant to the Kissei license and supply agreement, the Group has agreed to exclusively purchase the active pharmaceutical ingredient for OBE2109 from Kissei. During the development stage, the Group is obligated to pay Kissei a specified supply price. Following the first commercial sale of licensed product, the Group is obligated to pay Kissei a payment in the low twenty percent range as a percentage of net sales, which includes payment for Kisseis supply of the active pharmaceutical ingredient until the latest of the date that the valid claim of a patent for the product has expired, the expiration of our regulatory exclusivity period or 15 years from the first commercial sale of such product on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis.
Merck Serono Licenses
Under the terms of the two license agreements with Merck Serono for OBE001 and OBE022, the Group would be obligated to pay Merck Serono a high-single digit and a mid-single digit royalty, respectively, of net sales generated by the Group, its affiliates or sub-licensees of any product containing the in-licensed compounds.
20. | Related Parties Transactions |
The Groups related parties only consist in the key management (Board of Directors and Executive Committee). No individual shareholder is considered as a related party.
F-25
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
Key Management Remuneration
The Board of Directors is composed of 8 members (with the same number of directors in 2014), whereas the Executive Committee is composed of 8 members (with 6 members in 2014). The following table sets forth the total remuneration recorded for members of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee:
Year Ended December 31, | ||||||||
2015 | 2014 | |||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
Short-term employee benefits (including base and variable cash remuneration) |
2,067 | 1,616 | ||||||
Post-retirement benefits |
179 | 78 | ||||||
Share-based payments |
3,121 | 432 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total |
5,367 | 2,126 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
Share-based payments mainly include the effect of the anti-dilution provisions (note 18).
Other Transactions with Related Parties
There were no significant other transactions with related parties during the years presented.
21. | Going Concern |
The Group fulfills its obligations by the use of its cash reserves. The Board of Directors believes the Group will be able to meet all of its obligations for a further 12 months as they fall due and, hence, the consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.
22. | Events After the Reporting Period |
Financing
As of the date of the approval of the consolidated financial statements by the Board of Directors, the Group plans (although is not contractually committed) to start a number of additional late-stage clinical trials in the first half of 2017. The Group has accordingly revised its financing plans to fulfill its obligations under the expected development plan, primarily through the sale of equity or equity-related instruments. The Group also prepared contingency plans such as the potential deferral of the aforementioned clinical trials, in case the Group is unable to raise such additional funds.
Share Capital
In July 2016, the Group issued 279,500 non-voting shares from its authorized non-voting share capital subsequent to grants made to its employees. In August 2016, the Groups product candidate known as OBE022 entered into a Phase 1 clinical trial, triggering the obligation of payment to Merck Serono of the 325,000 series A preferred shares due upon occurrence of that event. The 325,000 shares were issued through an ordinary capital increase of the Group on September 28, 2016.
Scope of Consolidation
On September 22, 2016, the Group created a new U.S.-based, fully-owned subsidiary, ObsEva USA Inc., for the main purpose of supporting the Groups clinical activities in North America. The newly created subsidiary has currently no activity.
F-26
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Financial Statements
Forward Stock Split
On December 8, 2016, the Company effected a one-for-13 forward stock split of its outstanding common, preferred and non-voting shares. Accordingly, all share and per share amounts for all periods presented in these financial statements and notes thereto have been adjusted retroactively, where applicable, to reflect this forward stock split.
There were no other material events after the balance sheet date.
F-27
Consolidated Interim Financial Statements
Consolidated Balance Sheets
Notes |
As at
September 30, 2016 |
As at
December 31, 2015 |
||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||
(unaudited) | (audited) | |||||||||||
Assets |
||||||||||||
Current assets |
||||||||||||
Cash and cash equivalents |
3 | 38,910 | 54,275 | |||||||||
Other receivables |
229 | 69 | ||||||||||
Prepaid expenses and deferred costs |
4 | 627 | 174 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total current assets |
39,766 | 54,518 | ||||||||||
Non-current assets |
||||||||||||
Plant and equipment |
131 | 124 | ||||||||||
Intangible assets |
17,425 | 16,857 | ||||||||||
Other long-term assets |
94 | 91 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total non-current assets |
17,650 | 17,072 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total assets |
57,416 | 71,590 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Liabilities and Equity |
||||||||||||
Current liabilities |
||||||||||||
Other payables and current liabilities |
883 | 595 | ||||||||||
Accrued expenses |
5,715 | 3,657 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total current liabilities |
6,598 | 4,252 | ||||||||||
Non-current liabilities |
||||||||||||
Post-retirement obligations |
2,703 | 2,663 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total non-current liabilities |
2,703 | 2,663 | ||||||||||
Shareholders equity |
||||||||||||
Share capital |
5 | 1,735 | 1,694 | |||||||||
Share premium |
5 | 71,818 | 99,597 | |||||||||
Reserves |
5 | 2,421 | 2,821 | |||||||||
Accumulated losses |
5 | (27,859 | ) | (39,437 | ) | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total shareholders equity |
48,115 | 64,675 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total liabilities & shareholders equity |
57,416 | 71,590 | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-28
Consolidated Interim Financial Statements
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss
Nine Months Ended
September 30, |
||||||||||||
Notes | 2016 | 2015 | ||||||||||
(in thousands, except
(unaudited) |
||||||||||||
Other operating income |
37 | 14 | ||||||||||
Operating expenses |
||||||||||||
Research and development expenses |
6 | (15,544 | ) | (11,943 | ) | |||||||
General and administrative expenses |
(3,321 | ) | (1,586 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total operating expenses |
(18,865 | ) | (13,529 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Operating loss |
(18,828 | ) | (13,515 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Finance income |
34 | 195 | ||||||||||
Finance expense |
(267 | ) | | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Net loss before tax |
(19,061 | ) | (13,320 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Income tax expense |
| | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Net loss |
(19,061 | ) | (13,320 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Net loss per share |
||||||||||||
Basic |
7 | (0.9 | ) | (1.4 | ) | |||||||
Diluted |
7 | (0.9 | ) | (1.4 | ) | |||||||
Other comprehensive income / (loss) |
||||||||||||
Items that will not be reclassified to profit and loss |
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Remeasurements on post-retirement benefit plans |
| | ||||||||||
Items that may be reclassified to profit or loss |
||||||||||||
Currency translation differences |
1,956 | (373 | ) | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total other comprehensive income / (loss). |
1,956 | (373 | ) | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Total comprehensive loss |
(17,105 | ) | (13,693 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-29
Consolidated Interim Financial Statements
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
Nine Months Ended
September 30, |
||||||||
2016 | 2015 | |||||||
(in thousands) (unaudited) |
||||||||
Net loss before tax for the period |
(19,061 | ) | (13,320 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Adjustments for: |
||||||||
Depreciation |
34 | 26 | ||||||
Post-retirement benefit |
(48 | ) | 61 | |||||
Share based payments |
514 | 653 | ||||||
Finance expense, net |
233 | (195 | ) | |||||
(Increase) / decrease in other receivables |
(160 | ) | 27 | |||||
Increase in prepaid expenses, other long-term assets and deferred costs payable |
(447 | ) | (60 | ) | ||||
Increase / (decrease) in other payables and current liabilities |
288 | (24 | ) | |||||
Increase in accrued expenses |
2,058 | 1,081 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net cash flows used in operating activities |
(16,589 | ) | (11,751 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Payments for plant and equipment |
(38 | ) | (15 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net cash flows used in investing activities |
(38 | ) | (15 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Proceeds from issues of shares and other equity securities |
15 | 16,312 | ||||||
Payments of deferred costs of financing activities |
(9 | ) | | |||||
Share issuance costs |
(10 | ) | | |||||
Interest received |
23 | | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net cash flows from financing activities |
19 | 16,312 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net (decrease) / increase in cash and cash equivalents |
(16,608 | ) | 4,546 | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cash and cash equivalents as at January 1, |
54,275 | 4,008 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Effects of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents |
1,243 | (146 | ) | |||||
Cash and cash equivalents as at September 30, |
38,910 | 8,408 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-30
Consolidated Interim Financial Statements
Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity
Share
Capital |
Share
Premium |
Share-
Based Payments Reserve |
Foreign
Currency Translation Reserve |
Total
Reserves |
Accumulated
Losses |
Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(unaudited) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
January 1, 2015 |
764 | 23,255 | 460 | (278 | ) | 182 | (18,214 | ) | 5,987 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Loss for the period |
| | | | | (13,320 | ) | (13,320 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Other comprehensive loss |
| | | (373 | ) | (373 | ) | | (373 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Total comprehensive loss |
| | | (373 | ) | (373 | ) | (13,320 | ) | (13,693 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Capital contribution |
| 16,305 | | | | | 16,305 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of non-voting shares |
7 | 196 | (196 | ) | | (196 | ) | | 7 | |||||||||||||||||||
Acquisition of a license |
| | 2,366 | | 2,366 | | 2,366 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based remuneration |
| | 653 | | 653 | | 653 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
September 30, 2015 |
771 | 39,756 | 3,283 | (651 | ) | 2,632 | (31,534 | ) | 11,625 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
January 1, 2016 |
1,694 | 99,597 | 3,227 | (406 | ) | 2,821 | (39,437 | ) | 64,675 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Loss for the period |
| | | | | (19,061 | ) | (19,061 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Other comprehensive loss |
| | | 1,956 | 1,956 | | 1,956 | |||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Total comprehensive loss |
| | | 1,956 | 1,956 | (19,061 | ) | (17,105 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Issuance of non-voting shares |
15 | 504 | (504 | ) | | (504 | ) | | 15 | |||||||||||||||||||
Share issuance costs |
| (10 | ) | | | | | (10 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
Acquisition of license |
26 | 2,366 | (2,366 | ) | | (2,366 | ) | | 26 | |||||||||||||||||||
Share-based remuneration |
| | 514 | | 514 | | 514 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Offset of accumulated losses with share premium |
| (30,639 | ) | | | | 30,639 | | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
September 30, 2016 |
1,735 | 71,818 | 871 | 1,550 | 2,421 | (27,859 | ) | 48,115 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
F-31
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Interim Financial Statements
Notes to the Interim Financial Statements for the Nine-Month Period Ended September 30, 2016 (Unaudited)
1. | General Information |
ObsEva SA (the Company) was founded on November 14, 2012, and its address is 12 Chemin des Aulx, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland. The terms ObsEva or the Group refer to ObsEva SA together with its subsidiary included in the scope of consolidation (Note 2.3).
The Group is focused on the development and commercialization of novel therapeutics for serious conditions that compromise womens reproductive health and pregnancy. The Group has a portfolio of 3 mid- to late-stage development in-licensed compounds (OBE2109, OBE001 and OBE022) developed in 4 indications. The Group has no currently marketed products.
The consolidated financial statements are presented in dollars of the United States (USD), rounded to the nearest thousand, except share and per share data, and have been prepared on the basis of the accounting principles described in Note 2.
The consolidated financial statements were authorized for issue by the Companys Board of Directors (the Board of Directors) on December 27, 2016.
2. | Accounting Principles and Scope of Consolidation |
2.1 Basis of Preparation and Accounting Principles
The unaudited nine-month consolidated interim financial statements (the interim financial statements) are prepared in accordance with International Accounting Standard (IAS) 34 Interim Financial Reporting as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (the IASB). The accounting policies used in the preparation and presentation of the consolidated interim financial statements are consistent with those used in the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015 (the annual financial statements).
The consolidated interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated annual financial statements as they provide an update of previously reported information.
The Group fulfills its obligations by the use of its cash reserves. As of the date of the approval of the unaudited consolidated interim financial statements by the Board of Directors, the Group plans to start a number of additional late-stage clinical trials in the first half of 2017. The Group has therefore revised its financing plans to fulfill its obligations under the expected development plan, primarily through the sale of equity or equity-related instruments. The Group also prepared contingency plans, including the potential deferral of the aforementioned clinical trials, in case it is unable to raise such additional funds. Therefore the Group believes it will be able to meet all of its obligations as they fall due for a further 12 months from September 30, 2016, hence, the unaudited consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.
2.2 Use of Estimates and Assumptions
The preparation of consolidated interim financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of revenues, expenses, assets, liabilities and disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the interim financial statements. If in the future such estimates and assumptions, which are based on managements best judgment at the date of the consolidated interim financial statements, deviate from the actual circumstances, the original estimates and assumptions will be modified as appropriate during the period in which the circumstances change.
F-32
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Interim Financial Statements
The Groups activities are not affected by any significant seasonal effect.
2.3 Scope of Consolidation
The following change occurred to the scope of consolidation during the reporting period:
On September 12, 2016, the Group created a new US-based, fully-owned subsidiary, ObsEva USA Inc., for the main purpose of supporting the Groups clinical activities in North America. The newly created subsidiary has currently no activity.
3. | Cash and Cash Equivalents |
As at
September 30, 2016 |
As at
December 31, 2015 |
|||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||
(unaudited) | (audited) | |||||||
Bank deposits |
35,910 | 43,801 | ||||||
Interest bearing deposits |
3,000 | 10,474 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Total cash and cash equivalents |
38,910 | 54,275 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
4. | Prepaid Expenses and Deferred Costs |
Prepaid expenses and deferred costs include an amount of USD 108 thousand of costs which have been incurred in connection with the Groups planned initial public offering (IPO) and related issuance of new shares. These costs have been deferred and will be deducted from equity upon issuance of the shares. The portion of these costs that has been paid as of September 30, 2016 has been reflected as cash used in financing activities in the consolidated statements of cash flows.
5. | Shareholders Equity |
On February 23, 2016, the shareholders voted for statutory purposes a resolution to offset the accumulated losses with the share premium balance for an amount of USD 30.6 million. Such transaction has no impact on the overall equity position.
On July 29, 2016, the Group issued 279,500 non-voting shares from its authorized non-voting share capital subsequent to grants made to its employees.
In August 2016, the Groups product candidate known as OBE022 entered into a Phase 1 clinical trial, triggering the obligation of payment to Merck Serono of the 325,000 series A preferred shares due upon occurrence of that event. The 325,000 shares were issued through a capital increase of the Group on September 28, 2016.
An amount of USD 2.4 million was reclassified from the share-based payment reserve to share premium.
6. | Research and Development Expenses |
Due to the difficulty in assessing when research and development projects would generate revenue, the Group expenses all research and development costs to the profit and loss accounts.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, the Group pursued its research and development programs totaling expenses of USD 15.5 million and USD 11.9 million, respectively.
F-33
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Interim Financial Statements
7. | Loss Per Share |
The Companys ordinary shares are comprised of common shares and non-voting shares. In addition, the Company has issued series A and series B preferred shares. As the series A and series B preferred shares participate with ordinary shares in the profit or loss on a pro-rata basis, the net loss is allocated to each class pro-rata to their weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. The basic loss per share is calculated by dividing the loss of the period attributable to the ordinary shares by the weighted average number of ordinary shares (common and non-voting) outstanding during the period as follows:
Nine Months Ended September 30, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
2016 | 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Series B
Preferred Shares |
Series A
Preferred Shares |
Common
and Non- Voting Shares |
Series B
Preferred Shares |
Series A
Preferred Shares |
Common
and Non- Voting Shares |
|||||||||||||||||||
(in thousands, except share and per share data) (unaudited) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net loss attributable to shareholders |
(9,846 | ) | (6,851 | ) | (2,364 | ) | | (11,137 | ) | (2,183 | ) | |||||||||||||
Weighted average number of shares outstanding |
11,079,549 | 7,709,182 | 2,659,852 | | 7,706,777 | 1,510,990 | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Basic and diluted loss per share |
(0.9 | ) | (0.9 | ) | (0.9 | ) | | (1.4 | ) | (1.4 | ) | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For the periods ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, 505,024 and 496,964 non-vested shares, respectively, which would have an anti-dilutive impact on the calculation of the diluted earnings per share, are excluded from the calculation.
8. | Financial Instruments |
The Groups financial assets consist of cash and cash equivalents and other receivables which are classified as assets at amortized costs according to IAS 39. The Groups financial liabilities consist of other payables and accruals which are classified as other liabilities at amortized cost according to IAS 39.
All financial assets and liabilities, respectively, are held at their amortized cost.
9. | Segment Information |
The Group operates in one segment, which is the research, development of innovative womens reproductive, health and pregnancy therapeutics. The marketing and commercialization of such therapeutics depend on the success of the clinical development phase. The Chief Executive Officer of the Company reviews the consolidated statement of operations of the Group on an aggregated basis and manages the operations of the Group as a single operating segment.
The Group currently generates no revenue from the sales of therapeutics products.
The long lived assets of the Group are all held in Switzerland.
10. | Events After the Reporting Period |
In November 2016, the Group issued 817,492 non-voting shares from its authorized non-voting share capital subsequent to grants made to its employees.
F-34
ObsEva SA
Consolidated Interim Financial Statements
Forward Stock Split
On December 8, 2016, the Company effected a one-for-13 forward stock split of its outstanding common, preferred and non-voting shares. Accordingly, all share and per share amounts for all periods presented in these financial statements and notes thereto have been adjusted retroactively, where applicable, to reflect this forward stock split.
There were no other material events after the balance sheet date.
F-35
PART II
INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS
Item 6. | Indemnification of Directors and Officers. |
Under Swiss law, a corporation may indemnify its directors or officers against losses and expenses, except for such losses and expenses arising from willful misconduct or negligence (although some legal scholars advocate that at least gross negligence be required), including attorneys fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts actually and reasonably incurred in a civil or criminal action, suit or proceeding by reason of having been the representative of, or serving at the request of, the corporation.
Subject to Swiss law, our articles of association provides for indemnification of the existing and former members of our board of directors, executive management, and their heirs, executors and administrators, against liabilities arising in connection with the performance of their duties in such capacity, and permits us to advance the expenses of defending any act, suit or proceeding to members of our board of directors and executive management.
In addition, under general principles of Swiss employment law, an employer may be required to indemnify an employee against losses and expenses incurred by such employee in the proper execution of their duties under the employment agreement with the Company.
We intend to enter into indemnification agreements with each of the members of our board of directors and executive officers upon the completion of this offering.
In the underwriting agreement that we enter into in connection with the sale of the common shares being registered hereby, the underwriters will agree to indemnify, under certain conditions, us, our directors, our officers and persons who control us within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, against certain liabilities.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Company, the Company has been advised that, in the opinion of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.
Item 7. | Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities. |
Set forth below is information regarding share capital issued and options granted by us since January 1, 2013. None of the below described transactions involved any underwriters, underwriting discounts or commissions, or any public offering. Some of the transactions described below involved directors, officers and 5% shareholders and are more fully described under the section of the prospectus titled Related-Party Transactions. The following discussion does not give effect to the conversion of our preferred shares into common shares upon the completion of this offering.
Issuances of Shares, Promissory Notes and Warrants
The following list sets forth information regarding all unregistered securities issued by us since January 1, 2013.
1) In May 2013, we borrowed $0.7 million from two lenders pursuant to a convertible loan and issued the lender a warrants to purchase 20% of the number of Series A preferred shares into which such lender could convert the convertible loan.
2) In August 2013, we issued an aggregate of 6,523,257 Series A preferred shares to five investors at a purchase price of $5.33 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $34.6 million. In some cases, some of
II-1
the purchase price for these shares took the form of conversion of principal and interest under outstanding convertible loans held by the respective investors. We also issued an aggregate of 269,451 Series A preferred shares to two investors upon the exercise of their warrants to purchase Series A preferred shares for aggregate consideration of $22,422. In addition, we issued 914,069 Series A preferred shares to one investor in consideration for an in-license.
3) In November 2015, we sold 11,079,549 Series B preferred shares to nine investors at a purchase price of $5.37 per share, for an aggregate purchase price of $59.6 million.
4) In September 2016, we issued 325,000 additional Series A preferred shares to one investor in consideration for an in-license.
The offers, sales and issuances of the securities described in the preceding two paragraphs were exempt from registration either (1) under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act in that the transactions were between an issuer and sophisticated investors and did not involve any public offering within the meaning of Section 4(a)(2) or (2) under Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act in that offers, sales and issuances were not made to persons in the United States and no directed selling efforts were made in the United States.
Issuances Under Our Equity Plans
Since January 1, 2013, we granted to employees, consultants and non-employee directors, pursuant to our equity incentive plans and in exchange for services rendered or to be rendered, an aggregate of 1,854,502 non-voting shares, each with an exercise price of CHF 0.0769 per share, for aggregate proceeds of approximately $146,000.
The offers, sales and issuances of the securities described in the preceding paragraph were exempt from registration either (1) under Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act in that the transactions were between an issuer and members of its senior executive management and did not involve any public offering within the meaning of Section 4(a)(2), (2) under Rule 701 promulgated under the Securities Act in that the transactions were under compensatory benefit plans and contracts relating to compensation or (3) under Regulation S promulgated under the Securities Act in that offers, sales and issuances were not made to persons in the United States and no directed selling efforts were made in the United States.
Item 8. | Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules |
Exhibits
The exhibits to the registration statement are listed in the Exhibit Index attached hereto and are incorporated by reference herein.
Financial Statement Schedules
None.
Item 9. | Undertakings. |
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes to provide to the underwriters at the closing specified in the underwriting agreements, certificates in such denominations and registered in such names as required by the underwriters to permit prompt delivery to each purchaser.
Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the provisions described in Item 6 hereof, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of
II-2
expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:
(1) For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the Registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.
(2) For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.
II-3
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the Registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-1 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Geneva, Switzerland, on December 30, 2016.
OBSEVA SA | ||
By: |
/s/ Ernest Loumaye |
|
Ernest Loumaye | ||
Chief Executive Officer |
KNOW ALL BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below hereby constitutes and appoints Ernest Loumaye and Fabien de Ladonchamps, and each of them, his or her true and lawful agent, proxy and attorney-in-fact, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to (1) act on, sign and file with the Securities and Exchange Commission any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this Registration Statement together with all schedules and exhibits thereto and any subsequent registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, together with all schedules and exhibits thereto, (2) act on, sign and file such certificates, instruments, agreements and other documents as may be necessary or appropriate in connection therewith, (3) act on and file any supplement to any prospectus included in this Registration Statement or any such amendment or any subsequent registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and (4) take any and all actions which may be necessary or appropriate to be done, as fully for all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby approving, ratifying and confirming all that such agent, proxy and attorney-in-fact or any of his or her substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue thereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature |
Title |
Date |
||
/s/ Ernest Loumaye |
Chief Executive Officer and Director (Principal Executive Officer) |
December 30, 2016 | ||
Ernest Loumaye | ||||
/s/ Fabien de Ladonchamps |
Vice President Finance (Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer) |
December 30, 2016 | ||
Fabien de Ladonchamps | ||||
/s/ Frank Verwiel |
Chairperson of the Board of Directors | December 30, 2016 | ||
Frank Verwiel | ||||
/s/ Annette Clancy |
Director |
December 30, 2016 | ||
Annette Clancy | ||||
/s/ Barbara Duncan |
Director |
December 30, 2016 | ||
Barbara Duncan | ||||
/s/ James I. Healy |
Director | December 30, 2016 | ||
James I. Healy |
Signature |
Title |
Date |
||
/s/ Nanna Lüneborg |
Director | December 30, 2016 | ||
Nanna Lüneborg | ||||
/s/ Ed Mathers |
Director | December 30, 2016 | ||
Ed Mathers | ||||
/s/ Rafaèle Tordjman |
Director | December 30, 2016 | ||
Rafaèle Tordjman | ||||
/s/ Jacky Vonderscher |
Director | December 30, 2016 | ||
Jacky Vonderscher | ||||
/s/ Colleen A. VeDries |
Authorized Representative in the United States | December 30, 2016 | ||
Colleen A. VeDries SVP on behalf of National Corporate Research, Ltd. |
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit
|
Description of Exhibit |
Filed
|
Previously
|
To be
Filed
|
||||||||||
1.1 | Form of Underwriting Agreement | X | ||||||||||||
3.1 | Articles of Association, as currently in effect | X | ||||||||||||
3.2 | Form of Amended and Restated Articles of Association to become effective immediately prior to the closing of this offering | X | ||||||||||||
4.1 | Specimen certificate for common shares of the Registrant | X | ||||||||||||
4.2 | Series B Shareholders Agreement by and among the Registrant and certain holders of its capital shares, dated as of November 19, 2015 | X | ||||||||||||
4.3 | Form of Registration Rights Agreement | X | ||||||||||||
5.1 | Opinion of Lenz & Staehelin, Swiss counsel of the Registrant, as to the validity of the common shares | X | ||||||||||||
8.1 | Opinion of Lenz & Staehelin, Swiss counsel of the Registrant, as to Swiss tax matters | X | ||||||||||||
8.2 | Opinion of Cooley LLP, as to U.S. tax matters | X | ||||||||||||
10.1# | License Agreement, by and between the Registrant and Ares Trading S.A., dated as of August 28, 2013 | X | ||||||||||||
10.2# | License Agreement, by and between the Registrant and Ares Trading S.A., dated as of June 10, 2015, as amended | X | ||||||||||||
10.3# | Exclusive License Agreement, by and between the Registrant and Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., dated as of November 19, 2015 | X | ||||||||||||
10.4 | English language translation of Lease Agreement between the Registrant and Eldista GmbH, dated as of July 1, 2013, as amended | X | ||||||||||||
10.5 | Form of Indemnification Agreement between the Registrant and each of its executive officers and directors | X | ||||||||||||
10.6 | Incentive Plan (including form of Issuance Agreement) | X | ||||||||||||
10.7 | 2017 Equity Incentive Plan | X | ||||||||||||
10.8 | Form of Stock Option Grant Notice and Stock Option Agreement under 2017 Equity Incentive Plan | X | ||||||||||||
21.1 | List of subsidiaries of the Registrant | X | ||||||||||||
23.1 | Consent of PricewaterhouseCoopers SA | X | ||||||||||||
23.2 | Consent of Lenz & Staehelin (included in Exhibits 5.1 and 8.1) | X | ||||||||||||
23.3 | Consent of Cooley LLP (included in Exhibit 8.2) | X | ||||||||||||
24.1 | Power of Attorney (included on signature page) | X | ||||||||||||
99.1 | Registrants Application for Waiver of Requirements of Form 20-F, Item 8.A.4. | X |
| Indicates management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement. |
# | Portions of this exhibit (indicated by asterisks) have been omitted pursuant to a request for confidential treatment and have been separately filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. |
Exhibit 3.1
STATUTS
DE
ObsEva SA [ObsEva Ltd] [ObsEva AG] |
ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
OF
ObsEva SA [ObsEva Ltd] [ObsEva AG] |
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TITRE I: | RAISON SOCIALE - SIEGE - BUT DUREE | TITLE I: | CORPORATE NAME - REGISTERED OFFICE - PURPOSE - DURATION | |||||
Article 1: | Raison sociale | Article 1: | Corporate Name | |||||
Il existe sous la raison sociale
ObsEva SA [ObsEva Ltd] [ObsEva AG]
une société anonyme qui est régie par les présents statuts et, pour tous les cas qui ny sont pas prévus, par le titre XXVI du Code des obligations (« CO »). |
There exists under the name
ObsEva SA [ObsEva Ltd] [ObsEva AG]
a company limited by shares which is governed by the present Articles of Association and for any situation not provided herein by the Title XXVI of the Swiss Code of Obligations ( CO ). |
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Article 2: | Siège | Article 2: | Registered Office | |||||
La société a son siège à Plan-les-Ouates. | The registered office of the company is in Plan-les-Ouates. | |||||||
Article 3: | But | Article 3: | Purpose | |||||
La société a pour but toutes activités et services dans les domaines de la recherche, du développement, de la fabrication, de lenregistrement, de la promotion et de la commercialisation de produits biotechniques et pharmaceutiques. | The purpose of the company is all activities and services in the domains of research, development, fabrication, registration, promotion and commercialization of biotechnological and pharmaceutical products. |
La société peut effectuer toute transaction commerciale et financière, directement ou indirectement liée à son but. Elle peut faire inscrire des succursales et des filiales en Suisse et à létranger, ainsi quacquérir, détenir, gérer et vendre des immeubles. | The company may carry out all commercial and financial transactions which are directly or indirectly related to its purpose. The company may establish branch offices and subsidiaries in Switzerland and abroad as well as acquire, manage, hold and sell real estate. | |||||||
La société peut accorder des prêts ou tout autre forme de financement à des sociétés du même groupe, ainsi que donner des sûretés de tout genre, au bénéfice direct ou indirect de sociétés du même groupe ou de tiers, en particulier sous la forme de garanties, gages ou sûretés sur les actifs de la société. | The company may grant loans and other forms of financing to other group companies and provide security of any sort for the direct or indirect benefit of group companies or third parties, in particular in the form of guarantees, pledges or fiduciary assignments of assets of the company. | |||||||
Article 4: | Durée | Article 4: | Duration | |||||
La durée de la société est indéterminée. | The duration of the company is indefinite. | |||||||
TITRE II: | CAPITAL-ACTIONS ET CAPITAL-PARTICIPATION | TITLE II: | SHARE CAPITAL AND NON-VOTING SHARE CAPITAL | |||||
Article 5: | Capital-actions | Article 5: | Share capital | |||||
Le capital-actions est fixé à la somme de un million six cent quarante mille cinq cent vingt francs (CHF 1640520), entièrement libéré. | The share capital of the company is set at the amount of one million six hundred and forty thousand five hundred and twenty francs (CHF 1,640,520), fully paid up. | |||||||
Il est divisé en: | It is divided into: | |||||||
cent septante mille quatre cent dix-huit (170418) actions ordinaires, nominatives (les Action Ordinaires ) dune valeur nominale de un franc (CHF 1) chacune, |
one hundred and seventy thousand four hundred and eighteen (170,418) common registered shares (the Common Shares ) with a par value of one franc (CHF 1) per share, |
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six cent dix-sept mille huit cent vingt-neuf (617829) actions nominatives dune valeur nominale de un franc (CHF 1) chacune, privilégiées quant au produit de liquidation et aux dividendes selon les termes des articles 35bis et 36 des présents statuts (les Actions Privilégiées A ), et |
six hundred and seventeen thousand eight hundred and twenty-nine (617,829) registered shares with a par value of one franc (CHF 1) per share, with preferential rights as to the liquidation proceeds and dividends within the terms of Articles 35bis and 36 of the present articles of association (the Series A Preferred Shares ), and |
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huit cent cinquante-deux mille deux cent septante-trois (852273) actions nominatives dune valeur nominale de un franc (CHF 1) chacune, privilégiées quant au produit de liquidation et aux dividendes selon les termes des articles 35bis et 36 des présents statuts (les Actions Privilégiées B et ensemble avec les Actions Privilégiées A, les Actions Privilégiées ). |
eight hundred and fifty-two thousand two hundred and seventy-three (852,273) registered shares with a par value of one franc (CHF 1) per share, with preferential rights as to the liquidation proceeds and dividends within the terms of Articles 35bis and 36 of the present articles of association (the Series B Preferred Shares and together with the Series A Preferred Shares, the Preferred Shares ). |
Article 5bis: | Capital-Participation Autorisé | Article 5bis: | Authorized Non-Voting Share Capital | |||||
Le conseil dadministration est autorisé à augmenter, jusquau dix-neuf novembre deux mille dix-sept (19 novembre 2017), le capital-participation, dun montant de CHF 62884 au plus, par lémission dun maximum de 62884 bons de participation nominatifs, entièrement libérés, dune valeur nominale de CHF 1 chacun ( Bons de Participation ). | The board of directors shall be authorized, at any time until nineteen of November two-thousand seventeen (19 November 2017) to increase the non-voting share capital by a maximum amount of CHF 62,884 through the issuance of a maximum of 62,884 fully paid registered non-voting shares ( Non-Voting Shares ) with a nominal value of CHF 1 each. | |||||||
Les Bons de Participation donnent les mêmes droits financiers que ceux des Actions Ordinaires. | Non-Voting Shares have the same financial rights than those attached to the Common Shares. | |||||||
Les Bons de Participation ne confèrent pas le droit de vote. En particulier, les participants nont pas le droit de prendre part aux assemblées ordinaires et extraordinaires de la Société. Dans les limites de la loi, les participants ne disposent pas des droits dinformation et de consultation des actionnaires. | Non-Voting Shares do not confer the right to vote. In particular, the non-voting shareholders do not have the right to participate to the ordinary and extraordinary meetings of the company. Within the limit of the legal provisions, the non-voting shareholders do not have the shareholders rights on information and inspection. | |||||||
Les dispositions légales et statutaires relatives au capital-actions, aux actions et aux actionnaires sappliquent également au capital-participation, aux bons de participation et aux participants dans la mesure où la loi et les statuts nen disposent pas autrement. | The provision of law and of the articles of association concerning the share capital, the shares and the shareholder also apply to the non-voting share capital, the Non-Voting Shares and the non- voting shareholder, unless otherwise provided for by law or by the articles of association. |
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Le conseil dadministration peut limiter ou supprimer le droit de souscription préférentiel des actionnaires et des participants pour le juste motif suivant: si les nouveaux Bons de Participation sont émis dans le cadre de la participation dans lentreprise des employés et des consultants de la Société, conformément à un ou plusieurs plans dintéressement qui devront être adoptés par le conseil dadministration. Les Bons de Participataion pour lesquels le droit de souscription est accordé sans toutefois être exercé sont à la disposition du conseil dadministration, qui les utilise dans lintérêt de la Société. | The board of directors may limit or cancel the preferential subscription rights of shareholders and non-voting shareholders for the following just cause: if the new Non-Voting Shares are issued in the frame of the participation in the company of the employees and consultants of the company, in accordance with one or several incentive compensation plans which need to be adopted by the board of directors. The Non-Voting Shares for which the preferential subscription right has been granted but without being exercised, shall remain at the disposal of the board of directors, who will use them in the companys interest. | |||||||
Le conseil dadministration peut procéder à laugmentation du capital-participation en entier ou par tranches. | The board of directors may undertake a non-voting share capital increase in full or partially. | |||||||
Le conseil dadministration détermine le prix démission, la manière de libérer les nouveaux Bons de Participation et la date à partir de laquelle les nouveaux Bons de Participation donnent droit au paiement dun dividende. | The board of directors shall determine the issue price, how to release new Non-Voting Shares and the date from which the new Non-Voting Shares give entitlement to the payment of a dividend. | |||||||
Après leur émission, les nouveaux Bons de Participation seront soumis aux restrictions de transfert prévues à larticle 8 des présents statuts. | After their issuance, the new Non-Voting Shares will be subject to the transfer restrictions set forth in Article 8 of these articles of association. | |||||||
Article 5ter: | Capital-Participation | Article 5ter: | Non-Voting Share Capital | |||||
Le capital-participation est fixé à la somme de CHF 79770, entièrement libéré. | The Non-Voting Share Capital is set at the amount of CHF 79,770, fully paid up. | |||||||
Il est divisé en 79770 bons de participation nominatifs, dune valeur nominale de CHF 1 chacun. | It is divided into 79,770 registered non-voting shares with a par value of CHF 1 each. | |||||||
Article 6: | Espèce dactions | Article 6: | Type of Shares | |||||
Les actions sont nominatives. | The shares are registered. | |||||||
Elles sont numérotées et signées par un membre du conseil dadministration. La signature peut être apposée en fac-similé. | They are numbered and signed by a member of the board of directors. The signature may be inserted as a facsimile. |
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La société peut émettre en lieu et place dactions des certificats dactions. | The company may issue share certificates instead of shares. | |||||||
Par une modification des statuts, lassemblée générale peut en tout temps, par une décision prise à la majorité des voix exprimées, convertir des actions nominatives en actions au porteur ou des actions au porteur en actions nominatives. | The general meeting of shareholders may, at any time, by decision taken by a majority of the votes, convert the registered shares into bearer shares, and vice versa, by modifying these articles of association. | |||||||
Elle peut diviser les actions en titres de valeur nominale réduite, ou les réunir en titres de valeur nominale plus élevée par une modification des statuts et à la condition que le montant du capital-actions ne subisse pas de changement. La réunion en titres de valeur nominale plus élevée ne peut sopérer que du consentement de lactionnaire. | The general meeting of shareholders may divide the shares into shares with a reduced par value, or combine shares to form shares with a higher par value by the amendment of the articles of association and provided that the amount of the share-capital is not altered. The combination of shares to form shares with a higher par value may be carried out only upon approval of the shareholder. | |||||||
Article 7: | Droits et obligations des actionnaires | Article 7: | Shareholders Rights and Duties | |||||
Chaque action est indivisible à légard de la société, qui ne reconnaît quun propriétaire pour une action. | Each share is indivisible towards the company, which only recognizes one legal owner for each share. | |||||||
Chaque action donne droit à une part proportionnelle du bénéfice résultant du bilan et du produit de la liquidation en proportion des versements opérés au capital-actions, sous réserve du privilège accordé aux détenteurs dActions Privilégiées A et dActions Privilégiées B. | Each share confers the right to a portion of the profit resulting from the balance sheet and the liquidation proceeds, in proportion to the payments made in the share capital, subject to the preference rights granted to the holders of Series A Preferred Shares and Series B Preferred Shares. | |||||||
Les actionnaires ne sont tenus que des prestations statutaires. Ils ne répondent pas personnellement des dettes sociales. | The obligations of the shareholders are limited to those specified in the articles of association. The shareholders are not personally liable for the debts of the company. | |||||||
Article 8: | Transfert des actions | Article 8: | Share Transfer | |||||
La cession des actions sopère par voie dendossement ou cession écrite. | The transfer of shares is made by way of endorsement or written assignment. | |||||||
Les actions nominatives ne peuvent être transférées quavec laccord du conseil dadministration. Cette restriction sapplique aussi à la constitution dun usufruit. | Registered shares may be transferred only with the consent of the board of directors. This restriction shall also apply to the establishment of a usufruct. |
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Conformément à larticle 685b alinéa 3 CO, le conseil dadministration peut refuser linscription au registre des actions si lacquéreur na pas expressément déclaré quil reprenait les actions en son propre nom et pour son propre compte. | In accordance with article 685b (3) CO, the board of directors may reject a request for registration if the acquirer does not explicitly declare that he/she/it has acquired the shares in his/her/its own name and for his/her/its own account. | |||||||
Si les actions ont été acquises par succession, partage successoral, en vertu du régime matrimonial ou dans une procédure dexécution forcée, le conseil dadministration ne peut refuser son approbation que sil offre à lacquéreur de reprendre les actions en cause à leur valeur réelle. | If shares have been acquired by way of inheritance, upon division of an estate, pursuant to the law governing matrimonial property or upon foreclosure, the board of directors may reject the request for registration in the share register only if the company offers to acquire the shares at their intrinsic value. | |||||||
Article 9: | Registre des actions | Article 9: | Share Register | |||||
La société tient un registre des actions qui mentionne le nom et ladresse des propriétaires et des usufruitiers des actions nominatives. | The company keeps a share register which contains the names and addresses of the owners of the shares or the persons benefiting from an usufruct interest in the registered shares. | |||||||
Est considéré comme actionnaire ou usufruitier à légard de la société celui qui est inscrit au registre des actions. Un actionnaire peut demander à la société une confirmation quil est dûment inscrit au registre des actions. | Only the persons registered in the share register are considered shareholders or holders of a usufruct interest in the shares towards the company. A shareholder may request from the company a confirmation that he is duly registered in the share register. | |||||||
La société tient une liste des ayants droit économiques annoncés à la société. | The company holds a list of the beneficial owners disclosed to the company. | |||||||
Article 9bis - | Annonce dayants droit économiques | Article 9bis - | Notification of beneficial owners | |||||
Quiconque acquiert, seul ou de concert avec un tiers, des actions de la société dont les titres ne sont pas cotés en bourse et dont la participation, à la suite de cette opération, atteint ou dépasse le seuil de 25 % du capital-actions ou des voix, est tenu dannoncer dans un délai dun mois à la société le prénom, le nom et ladresse de la personne physique pour le compte de laquelle il agit en dernier lieu (ayant droit économique). | Whoever acquires, alone or with a third party, shares of the company which are not publicly traded and whose participation as a result of this transaction, equals or exceeds the threshold of 25% of the share capital or votes, is required to notify within one month to the company the name, surname and address of the natural person on behalf of whom it acts in last resort (beneficial owner). |
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Lactionnaire est tenu de communiquer à la société toute modification du prénom, du nom ou de ladresse de layant droit économique. | The shareholder must notify the company of any change in the name, surname or address of the beneficial owner. | |||||||
Lactionnaire ne peut pas exercer les droits sociaux liés aux actions dont lacquisition est soumise à lobligation dannoncer tant quil ne sest pas conformé à cette dernière. | The shareholder can not exercise the social rights with respect to shares whose acquisition is subject to the notification obligation as long as it has not complied with it. | |||||||
Il ne peut faire valoir les droits patrimoniaux liés à ses actions quune fois quil sest conformé à son obligation dannoncer. | It can claim the economic rights associated with its shares only once it has complied with its notification obligation. | |||||||
TITRE III: | ORGANISATION DE LA SOCIETE | TITLE III: | ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY | |||||
Les organes de la société sont:
A. Lassemblée générale
B. Le conseil dadministration
C. Lorgane de révision |
The corporate bodies of the company are:
A. The general meeting
B. The board of directors
C. The auditors |
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A. ASSEMBLEE GENERALE | A. GENERAL MEETING | |||||||
Article 10: | Droits intransmissibles ; Portée des décisions de lassemblée générale | Article 10: | Non-Transferable Rights; Consequences of the General Meetings Decisions | |||||
Lassemblée générale des actionnaires est le pouvoir suprême de la société. | The general meeting of shareholders is the highest authority of the company. | |||||||
Elle a les droits intransmissibles:
1. dadopter et de modifier les statuts, sous réserve des articles 652g et 653g CO; |
It has the non-transferable rights:
1. to adopt and amend the articles of association, subject to Articles 652g and 653g CO; |
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2. de nommer et de révoquer les membres du conseil dadministration, lorgane de révision et, lorsque la loi le prescrit, les réviseurs des comptes consolidés; |
2. to elect and dismiss the board members, the auditors and, to the extent required by law, the auditors of the consolidated financial statements; |
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3. dapprouver le rapport annuel et les comptes consolidés; |
3. to approve the annual report and the consolidated financial statements; |
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4. dapprouver les comptes annuels et de déterminer lemploi du bénéfice résultant du bilan, en particulier de fixer le dividende et les tantièmes; |
4. to approve the annual financial statements and to decide upon the use of the profit resulting from the balance sheet, and in particular to decide upon the dividends and the portion of the profit allocated to the board member; |
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5. de donner décharge aux membres du conseil dadministration; |
5. to grant release to the board of directors; |
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6. de prendre toutes les décisions qui lui sont réservées par la loi, en particulier par le CO ou la Loi fédérale sur la fusion, la scission, la transformation et le transfert de patrimoine ou les statuts. |
6. to pass resolutions regarding issues, which are reserved to the general meeting of shareholders by law, in particular the CO and the Swiss Federal Merger Act, or by the articles of association. |
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Ses décisions sont obligatoires pour tous les actionnaires, même non présents ou non représentés. | Its resolutions are binding upon all shareholders, even those not present or not represented. | |||||||
Les décisions de lassemblée générale qui violent la loi ou les statuts peuvent être attaquées par le conseil dadministration ou par chaque actionnaire dans les conditions prévues aux articles 706, 706a et 706b CO. | The resolutions of the general meeting of shareholders which infringe the law or the articles of association may be challenged by the board of directors or by each shareholder in accordance with Articles 706, 706a and 706b CO. | |||||||
Article 11: | Assemblée ordinaire et extraordinaire | Article 11: | Ordinary and Extraordinary Meeting | |||||
Lassemblée générale ordinaire a lieu chaque année dans les six mois qui suivent la clôture de lexercice; des assemblées générales extraordinaires sont convoquées aussi souvent quil est nécessaire, notamment dans les cas prévus par la loi. | The ordinary general meeting of shareholders shall be held every year within six months following the end of the business year; extraordinary general meetings of shareholders may be convened as often as necessary, in particular in the cases provided by law. | |||||||
Lassemblée générale se réunit au lieu désigné par le conseil dadministration. | The general meeting of shareholders shall meet at the place determined by the board of directors. |
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Article 12: | Convocation de lassemblée générale | Article 12: | Convenance of the General Meeting | |||||
Lassemblée générale est convoquée par le conseil dadministration et, au besoin, par lorgane de révision, les liquidateurs ou les représentants des obligataires. | The general meeting of shareholders is convened by the board of directors and, if necessary, by the auditors, the liquidators or the bondholders representatives. | |||||||
Un ou plusieurs actionnaires représentant ensemble 10 pour cent au moins du capital-actions peuvent aussi requérir la convocation de lassemblée générale. Des actionnaires qui représentent des actions totalisant une valeur nominale de 1 million de francs peuvent requérir linscription dun objet à lordre du jour. La convocation et linscription dun objet à lordre du jour doivent être requises par écrit en indiquant les objets de discussion et les propositions. | One or several shareholders, holding together at least 10 per cent of the share capital, may also request that a general meeting be convened. Shareholders representing shares of a total par value of one million Swiss Francs may require that items be included on the agenda of the meeting. Such requests must be made in writing and state the items to be discussed and the proposals. | |||||||
Article 13: | Mode de convocation | Article 13: | Notice of Meeting | |||||
Lassemblée générale est convoquée 20 jours au moins avant la date de sa réunion par communication écrite à chacun des actionnaires ou des usufruitiers à ladresse figurant au registre des actions. Pour le calcul du délai de convocation, la date de remise à la poste est déterminante ; le jour de la remise à la poste et celui de lassemblée générale ne sont pas comptés. | The convening of a general meeting of shareholders shall be notified at least 20 days before the date of the meeting by written notice addressed to each shareholder or holder of a usufruct interest at the address appearing in the share register. For the purpose of computing this time period, the date on which the convening is delivered at the post office is decisive. The date of the said delivery and the date of the general meeting are not taken into account when computing the 20-day time period. | |||||||
Le rapport de gestion et le rapport de révision sont mis à la disposition des actionnaires au siège de la société, au plus tard 20 jours avant lassemblée générale ordinaire. | The management report and the auditors report are available to the shareholders at the companys registered office at the latest 20 days prior to the ordinary general meeting of shareholders. | |||||||
Sont mentionnés dans la convocation les objets portés à lordre du jour, ainsi que les propositions du conseil dadministration et des actionnaires qui ont demandé la convocation de lassemblée ou linscription dun objet à lordre du jour. La convocation dune assemblée générale ordinaire | The notice of meeting shall include the agenda as well as the proposals of the board of directors and of the shareholders who have requested the convening of a general meeting of shareholders or the inclusion of an item on the agenda. The notice of an ordinary general |
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mentionne en outre le droit de chaque actionnaire de se faire délivrer par la société, dans les meilleurs délais, le rapport de gestion ainsi que le rapport de révision. | meeting of shareholders further mentions the right of each shareholder to receive, without delay, the management report and the auditors report. | |||||||
Aucune décision ne peut être prise sur des objets qui nont pas été dûment portés à lordre du jour, à lexception des propositions déposées par un actionnaire dans le but de convoquer une assemblée générale extraordinaire, dinstituer un contrôle spécial ou délire un organe de révision. | No decision may be taken on matters not duly included on the agenda, except for a decision on a proposal made by a shareholder in order to request an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders, to initiate a special audit or to appoint auditors. | |||||||
Il nest ni nécessaire dannoncer à lavance les propositions entrant dans le cadre des objets portés à lordre du jour ni les délibérations qui ne doivent pas être suivies dun vote. | Prior notice is neither required for proposals that are within the scope of matters included on the agenda, nor for discussions which are not to be followed by a vote. | |||||||
Article 14: | Assemblée universelle | Article 14: | Universal Meeting | |||||
Les propriétaires ou les représentants de la totalité des actions peuvent, sil ny a pas dopposition, tenir une assemblée générale sans observer les formes prévues pour sa convocation. Aussi longtemps quils sont tous présents ou représentés, cette assemblée a le droit de délibérer et de statuer valablement sur tous les objets qui sont du ressort de lassemblée générale. | The holders or the representatives of the entire share capital of the company may, if there is no objection, hold a general meeting of shareholders without complying with the formalities related to the convening of a meeting. Provided all shareholders are present or represented, such meeting may discuss and validly decide upon all matters that are within the duties of the general meeting of shareholders. | |||||||
Article 15: | Légitimation des actionnaires | Article 15: | Representation of Shareholders | |||||
Chaque actionnaire peut faire représenter ses actions à lassemblée générale par une autre personne, actionnaire ou non, munie dune procuration écrite. | Each shareholder may have his shares represented at the general meeting of shareholders by another person or entity, who is not necessarily a shareholder, provided that such representation is made on the basis of a written power of attorney. | |||||||
Sous réserve de dispositions contraires des statuts, lassemblée générale est valablement constituée quel que soit le nombre dactions représentées. | Subject to any contrary provisions of these articles of association, a general meeting of shareholders is duly convened independently from the number of shares represented. |
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Article 16: | Présidence | Article 16: | Presidency | |||||
Lassemblée générale est présidée par le président ou un autre membre du conseil dadministration. A leur défaut, le président est désigné par lassemblée générale. | The general meeting of shareholders is chaired by the chairman of the board of directors or by another board member. In the absence of these persons, the chairman is appointed by the general meeting of shareholders. | |||||||
Le président désigne le secrétaire de lassemblée générale et les scrutateurs. Le secrétaire de lassemblée générale et les scrutateurs ne doivent pas nécessairement être actionnaires. | The chairman appoints the secretary of the general meeting of shareholders and the scrutinizers. The secretary and the scrutinizers do not necessarily have to be shareholders. | |||||||
Article 17: | Droit de vote à lassemblée générale | Article 17: | Voting Right at the General Meeting | |||||
Les actionnaires exercent leur droit de vote à lassemblée générale proportionnellement à la valeur nominale de toutes les actions qui leurs appartiennent. | The shareholders vote at the general meeting of shareholders in proportion to the par value of the shares they hold. | |||||||
Chaque actionnaire a droit à une voix au moins, même sil ne possède quune action. | Each shareholder is entitled to at least one vote, even if such shareholder only holds one share. | |||||||
Article 18: | Décisions et élection | Article 18: | Resolutions and Election | |||||
Si la loi ou les statuts nen disposent pas autrement, elle prend ses décisions et procède aux élections à la majorité absolue des voix attribuées aux actions représentées. | Unless provided otherwise by the law or the Articles of Incorporation, the meeting takes its resolutions and conducts its elections with the absolute majority of votes allotted to the shares represented. | |||||||
Si le premier tour de scrutin ne permet pas de réunir une majorité absolue sur une élection, il sera procédé à un second tour de scrutin au cours duquel la majorité relative sera déterminante. | If an absolute majority is not reached in the first round, then there shall be a second round in which a relative majority shall be decisive. | |||||||
Une décision de lassemblée générale recueillant au moins les deux tiers des voix attribuées aux actions représentées et la majorité absolue des valeurs nominales représentées est nécessaire pour: | A resolution of the general meeting of shareholders approved by at least two-thirds of the votes allotted to the shares represented at the meeting, and the absolute majority of the aggregate par value of the shares represented is necessary to: | |||||||
1. la modification du but social; |
1. amend the purpose of the company; |
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2. lintroduction dactions à droit de vote privilégié; |
2. create shares with privileged voting rights; |
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3. la restriction de la transmissibilité des actions nominatives; |
3. restrict the transferability of the registered shares; |
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4. laugmentation autorisée ou conditionnelle du capital- actions; |
4. authorize or conditionally authorize an increase of the share capital; |
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5. laugmentation du capital-actions au moyen des fonds propres, contre apport en nature ou en vue dune reprise de biens et loctroi davantages particuliers; |
5. increase the share capital out of own funds, against contributions in kind, or to enable an exchange for property and the grant of special advantages; |
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6. la limitation ou la suppression du droit de souscription préférentiel; |
6. limit or withdraw preferential subscription rights; |
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7. le transfert du siège de la société; |
7. transfer the registered office of the company; |
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8. la dissolution de la société. |
8. dissolve the company. |
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Les dispositions statutaires qui prévoient pour la prise de certaines décisions une plus forte majorité que celle prévue par la loi ne peuvent être adoptées quà la majorité prévue. | The provisions of these Articles of Association which provide for certain decisions to be taken by a greater majority than required by law may only be adopted by such majority. | |||||||
Toute décision relative à la fusion, la scission ou la transformation de la société sera prise en conformité avec les dispositions de la loi fédérale sur la fusion, la scission, la transformation et le transfert de patrimoine. | Any decision related to a merger, demerger or conversion of the company shall be taken in accordance with the Swiss Federal Merger Act. | |||||||
Article 19: | Procès-verbal | Article 19: | Minutes | |||||
Il est dressé procès-verbal des réunions de lassemblée générale. Le conseil dadministration veille à la rédaction du procès-verbal. | Minutes of the general meetings of shareholders are to be kept. The board of directors ensures that the minutes be kept. | |||||||
Celui-ci mentionne: | The minutes shall mention: | |||||||
1. le nombre, lespèce, la valeur nominale et la catégorie des actions représentées par les actionnaires, les organes, ainsi que les représentants indépendants et les représentants dépositaires; |
1. the number, type, par value and class of shares represented by shareholders, by the corporate bodies of the company, by independent representatives and by custodial representatives; |
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2. les décisions et le résultat des élections; |
2. the resolutions and the outcome of the elections; |
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3. les demandes de renseignements et les réponses données; |
3. the requests for information and the replies given; |
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4. les déclarations dont les actionnaires demandent linscription. |
4. the statements which the shareholders request to be placed on record. |
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Le procès-verbal est signé par le président et le secrétaire de lassemblée générale. | The minutes shall be signed by the chairman and by the secretary of the general meeting of shareholders. | |||||||
Les actionnaires ont le droit de consulter le procès-verbal. Les extraits qui en sont délivrés sont certifiés conformes par un membre du conseil dadministration. | The shareholders have the right to consult the minutes. Extracts which are supplied are to be certified true copies by a board member. | |||||||
B. CONSEIL DADMINISTRATION | B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS | |||||||
Article 20: | Composition et durée des fonctions | Article 20: | Composition and Duration | |||||
Le conseil dadministration de la société se compose dun ou de plusieurs membres (8 membres au plus) qui sont élus par lassemblée générale. | The board of directors of the company shall consist of one or more members (however not more than 8 members) who are elected by the general meeting of shareholders. | |||||||
Une personne morale ou une société commerciale ne peut avoir la qualité de membre du conseil dadministration; ses représentants sont éligibles en lieu et place. | A legal entity or a commercial company may not become a board member; its representatives are eligible instead. | |||||||
Les membres du conseil dadministration sont élus pour la période sécoulant jusquà la prochaine assemblée générale ordinaire. | The board members are appointed to hold office until the next ordinary general meeting of shareholders. | |||||||
Ils sont indéfiniment rééligibles.
Chaque catégorie dactions a le droit davoir un représentant au moins au conseil dadministration. |
There is no limit to their re-election.
Each category of shares has the right to have at least one representative elected to the board of directors. |
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Article 21: | Organisation | Article 21: | Organisation | |||||
Lassemblée générale élit un président et un vice-président à la majorité absolue des voix attribuées aux actions représentées devant également comprendre au moins deux tiers de lensemble des droits de vote attribués aux Actions Privilégiées. | The general meeting of shareholders shall have the right to appoint the chairman and a vice-chairman with the absolute majority of votes allotted to the shares represented which shall also include at least two-thirds of the entire voting rights attached to the Preferred Shares. | |||||||
Le conseil dadministration peut désigner un secrétaire qui ne doit pas nécessairement faire partie du conseil dadministration. | The board of directors shall appoint a secretary, who need not be a member of the board of directors. | |||||||
Article 22: | Convocation | Article 22: | Notice of Meeting | |||||
Le conseil dadministration est convoqué par le président, par communication écrite (lettre, fax ou e-mail) aussi souvent que les affaires lexigent. Chaque membre du conseil dadministration peut exiger du président, en indiquant les motifs, la convocation immédiate du conseil dadministration à une séance. Si le président refuse de convoquer le conseil dadministration à une séance, le vice-président ou tout autre administrateur peut convoquer le conseil dadminitration à une séance. | Meetings of the board of directors shall be convened in writing (letter, fax or e-mail) by the chairman as often as required by the business of the company. Each board member, while giving reasons therefore, may require the chairman to immediately convene a board meeting. In case the chairman refuses to convene a board meeting, the vice-chairman or any other board member shall be entitled to convene a board meeting. | |||||||
Chaque membre du conseil dadministration a le droit dobtenir des renseignements sur toutes les affaires de la société. | Each board member has the right to obtain information on all the activities of the company. | |||||||
Pendant les séances, chaque membre du conseil dadministration peut exiger des renseignements des autres membres ainsi que des personnes chargées de la gestion. | During meetings, each board member may request information from the other board members as well as from the management. | |||||||
Article 23: | Décisions | Article 23: | Decisions | |||||
Si le conseil dadministration se compose de plusieurs membres, ses décisions sont prises à la majorité des voix émises par les membres présents, pourvu que toutefois que ceux-ci forment la majorité du conseil. | If the board of directors comprises more than one member, resolutions shall be passed by a majority of the votes of the members attending, provided these members represent the majority of the board members. |
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Les décisions du conseil dadministration peuvent aussi être prises en la forme dune approbation donnée par écrit (lettre, fax ou e-mail) par la majorité de tous les membres du conseil dadministration à une proposition, pour autant que la proposition ait été soumise à tous les membres du conseil dadministration, à moins quune discussion ne soit requise par lun dentre eux. | Resolutions of the board of directors may also be passed by way of a written consent (letter, fax or e-mail) to a proposal, given by a majority of board members, provided that the proposal has been submitted to all board members and none of them requires a discussion. | |||||||
Toutefois, aucun quorum nest nécessaire pour procéder aux formalités relatives aux augmentations de capital-actions, à la libération ultérieure du capital-actions ou à lémission de bons de participation, ainsi quaux modifications statutaires y relatives. | Notwithstanding the above, no quorum is required as regards the formalities related to share capital increases, to the subsequent paying-in of share capital or to the issuance of participation certificates, as well as to the related amendment of the articles of association. | |||||||
Article 24: | Procès-verbal | Article 24: | Minutes | |||||
Les délibérations et les décisions du conseil dadministration sont consignées dans un procès-verbal signé par le président et le secrétaire. | The discussions and the resolutions of the board of directors shall be recorded in minutes signed by the chairman and the secretary. | |||||||
Le procès-verbal doit mentionner les membres présents. | The minutes shall indicate the board members attending the meeting. | |||||||
Article 25: | Attributions intransmissibles et inaliénables | Article 25: | Non Transferable and Inalienable Duties | |||||
Le conseil dadministration peut prendre des décisions sur toutes les affaires qui ne sont pas attribuées à lassemblée générale par la loi ou les statuts. | The board of directors may decide upon all matters which are not conferred upon the general meeting of shareholders by law or by the articles of association. | |||||||
Il a les attributions intransmissibles et inaliénables suivantes: | The board of directors has the following non transferable and inalienable powers and duties: | |||||||
1. exercer la haute direction de la société et établir les instructions nécessaires; |
1. the strategic management of the company and the issuing of the necessary instructions; |
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2. fixer lorganisation; |
2. the determination of the organisation; |
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3. fixer les principes de la comptabilité et du contrôle financier ainsi que le plan financier pour autant que celui- ci soit nécessaire à la gestion de la société; |
3. the establishing of the accounting principles and the principles of financial controlling as well as the financial plan insofar as such plan is necessary to manage the company; |
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4. nommer et révoquer les personnes chargées de la gestion et de la représentation; |
4. the appointment and dismissal of the management and the persons authorized to represent the company; |
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5. exercer la haute surveillance sur les personnes chargées de la gestion pour sassurer notamment quelles observent la loi, les statuts, les règlements et les instructions données; |
5. the supervision of the management, in particular to ensure compliance with the law, the articles of association, the rules and regulations and the instructions given; |
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6. établir le rapport de gestion, préparer lassemblée générale et exécuter ses décisions; |
6. the drawing up of the management report, preparing the general meeting of shareholders and implementing its decisions; |
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7. informer le juge en cas de surendettement. |
7. the information of the judge in the case of overindebtedness. |
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Article 26: | Gestion | Article 26: | Management | |||||
Le conseil dadministration peut déléguer toute ou partie de la gestion à un ou plusieurs de ses membres (délégués) ou à des tiers (directeurs), conformément au règlement dorganisation. | The board of directors may delegate all or part of the management to one or more of its members (managing directors) or to third parties (managers), in accordance with the organizational regulations. | |||||||
Article 27: | Représentation de la société | Article 27: | Powers of Representation | |||||
Le conseil dadministration représente la société à légard des tiers. | The board of directors represents the company towards third parties. | |||||||
Il peut déléguer le pouvoir de représentation à un ou plusieurs de ses membres (délégués) ou à des tiers (directeurs). | It may delegate the power of representation to one or several of its members (managing directors) or to third parties (managers). | |||||||
Il peut nommer des fondés de procuration et dautres mandataires commerciaux. | It may appoint authorized signatories and commercial agents. | |||||||
Un membre du conseil dadministration au moins doit avoir qualité pour représenter la société. | At least one board member shall have the power to represent the company. | |||||||
La société doit pouvoir être représentée par une personne domiciliée en Suisse. Un membre du conseil dadministration ou un directeur doit satisfaire à cette exigence. | The company must be represented by one person domiciled in Switzerland. Either a board member or a manager may satisfy this requirement. | |||||||
Cette personne doit avoir accès au registre des actions et à la liste des ayants droit économiques. | This person must have access to the share register and to the list of the beneficial owners. |
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C. ORGANE DE REVISION | C. AUDITORS | |||||||
Article 28: | Organe de révision | Article 28: | Auditors | |||||
Lassemblée générale élit un ou plusieurs réviseurs comme organe de révision. Elle peut désigner des suppléants. | The general meeting of shareholders appoints one or several auditors. It may also elect substitute auditors. | |||||||
Elle peut renoncer à lélection dun réviseur lorsque: | The company may waive the appointment of auditors if: | |||||||
1. la société nest pas assujettie au contrôle ordinaire; et |
1. the company is not subject to an ordinary audit; and |
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2. lensemble des actionnaires y consent; et |
2. all the shareholders agree to such a waiver; and |
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3. leffectif de la société ne dépasse pas 10 emplois à plein temps en moyenne annuelle. |
3. the workforce of the company does not exceed 10 full-time employees on an annual basis. |
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Lorsque les actionnaires ont renoncé au contrôle restreint, cette renonciation est également valable les années qui suivent. Chaque actionnaire a toutefois le droit dexiger un contrôle restreint et lélection dun réviseur au plus tard 10 jours avant lassemblée générale. Dans ce cas, lassemblée générale ne peut prendre les décisions conformément à larticle 10 ch. 3 et 4 quune fois que le rapport de révision est disponible. | When the shareholders have renounced to a limited audit, such renunciation is also valid for the following years. This notwithstanding, each shareholder may request a limited audit and the appointment of auditors at the latest 10 days before the general meeting of shareholders. In this case, the general meeting of shareholders may only take the decisions referred to in Article 10 n° 3 and 4 once the auditors report is made available. | |||||||
Article 29: | Exigences | Article 29: | Requirements | |||||
Sont éligibles comme organes de révision une ou plusieurs personnes physiques ou morales ainsi que les sociétés de personnes. | One or several individuals, legal entities or partnerships may be appointed as auditors. |
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Lorgane de révision doit avoir en Suisse son domicile, son siège ou une succursale inscrite au registre du commerce. Lorsque la société a plusieurs organes de révision, lun au moins doit satisfaire à cette exigence. | The auditors must have their domicile, their registered office or a branch registered in Switzerland in the Commercial Register. If the company has several auditors, at least one of them must fulfil this requirement. | |||||||
Lorsque la société est tenue de soumettre ses comptes annuels au contrôle ordinaire dun organe de révision en vertu de: | When the companys financial statements are subject to an ordinary audit pursuant to: | |||||||
1. larticle 727 al. 1 ch. 2 ou 3 CO |
1. Article 727 para. 1 N. 2 or 3 CO |
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2. larticle 727 al. 2 CO |
2. Article 727 para. 2 CO |
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lassemblée générale élit un expert-réviseur agréé au sens de la loi fédérale sur la surveillance des réviseurs du 16 décembre 2005 comme organe de révision. | the general meeting of shareholders appoints a certified audit expert within the meaning of the Swiss Federal Act on the Supervision of Auditors of December 16, 2005. | |||||||
Lorsque la société est tenue de soumettre ses comptes annuels au contrôle restreint dun organe de révision, lassemblée générale élit un réviseur agréé au sens de la loi fédérale sur la surveillance des réviseurs du 16 décembre 2005 comme un organe de révision. La renonciation à lélection dun organe de révision en vertu de larticle 28 demeure réservée. | If the companys financial statements are subject to a limited audit (review), the general meeting of shareholders appoints a certified auditor within the meaning of the Swiss Federal Act on the Supervision of Auditors of December 16, 2005. The waiver to appoint auditors as per Article 28 is reserved. | |||||||
Lorgane de révision doit être indépendant au sens de larticle 728, respectivement 729 CO. | The auditors must be independent within the meaning of Articles 728 and 729 CO, respectively. | |||||||
Les réviseurs doivent avoir les qualifications nécessaires à laccomplissement de leur tâche. | Auditors must have the qualifications that are required to perform their duties. | |||||||
Article 30: | Durée | Article 30: | Duration | |||||
Lorgane de révision est élu pour une durée de un à trois exercices comptables. Son mandat prend fin avec lapprobation des derniers comptes annuels. Il peut être reconduit dans ses fonctions. | The auditors are appointed for a period of one to three business years. Their term ends with the approval of the last annual financial statements. The auditors may be reappointed. | |||||||
En cas de contrôle ordinaire, la personne qui dirige la révision peut exercer ce mandat pendant 7 ans au plus. Elle ne peut reprendre le même mandat quaprès une interruption de 3 ans. | In case of ordinary audit, the person responsible for the audit may be mandated for a maximum period of 7 years. Such person may not take over responsibility for such mandate only after an interruption of 3 years. |
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Article 31: | Attribution | Article 31: | Duties | |||||
Lorgane de révision vérifie si les comptes annuels et, le cas échéant, les comptes consolidés, et la proposition concernant lemploi du bénéfice résultant du bilan sont conformes à la loi et aux statuts. Il vérifie également sil existe un système de contrôle interne. | The auditors verify whether the annual financial statements, and as the case may be the consolidated financial statements, and the proposal for the distribution of the profit resulting from the balance sheet, comply with the law and the articles of association. The auditors also verify the existence of an internal control system. | |||||||
La manière dont le conseil dadministration dirige la société nest pas soumise au contrôle interne. | The board of directors management of the company is not subject to the control of the auditors. | |||||||
Lorgane de révision établit à lintention du conseil dadministration un rapport détaillé contenant des constatations relatives à létablissement des comptes, au système de contrôle interne ainsi quà lexécution et au résultat du contrôle. | The auditors prepare to the attention of the board of directors a detailed report setting out their findings with respect to the preparation of the financial statements, the internal control system and the outcome of the audit. | |||||||
Lorgane de révision établit à lintention de lassemblée générale un rapport écrit qui résume le résultat de la révision. | The auditors prepare to the attention of the general meeting of shareholders a written report summarizing the outcome of the audit. | |||||||
En cas de surendettement manifeste, il avise le juge si le conseil dadministration omet de le faire. | In case of obvious overindebtedness of the company, the auditors are to inform the judge, if the board of directors omits to do so. | |||||||
Article 32: | Présence | Article 32: | Attendance | |||||
Lassemblée générale ne peut approuver le rapport annuel et les comptes consolidés, ni décider de lemploi du bénéfice résultant du bilan que si un rapport de révision lui est soumis. | The general meeting of shareholders may only approve the annual report and the consolidated financial statements and decide upon the use of the profit resulting from the balance sheet if the audit report has been made available to the meeting. | |||||||
En cas de contrôle ordinaire, le réviseur doit être présent à lassemblée générale, à moins que celle-ci ny renonce par une décision prise à lunanimité. | In case of ordinary audit, the auditors shall attend the general meeting of shareholders, unless such meeting waives such attendance requirement by a unanimous decision. |
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TITRE IV: | ANNEE SOCIALE COMPTES ANNUELS REPARTITION DU BENEFICE | TITLE IV: | BUSINESS YEAR - ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - ALLOCATION OF PROFITS | |||||
Article 33: | Année sociale | Article 33: | Business Year | |||||
Lannée sociale est déterminée par le conseil dadministration. | The business year is defined by the board of directors. | |||||||
Article 34: | Rapport de gestion | Article 34: | Management Report | |||||
Le conseil dadministration établit pour chaque exercice un rapport de gestion qui comprend les comptes annuels et, lorsque la loi le prescrit, le rapport annuel et les comptes consolidés. | For each business year, the board of directors draws up a management report which is composed of the annual financial statements, and if such statements are required by law, the annual report and the consolidated statements. | |||||||
Les comptes annuels se composent du bilan, du compte de résultat et de lannexe. Ils sont établis conformément aux règles du Code des obligations, en particulier aux articles 957 et suivants CO. | The annual financial statements are composed of the balance sheet, the profit and loss statement and the notes. They shall be prepared in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Obligations, particularly with articles 957 et seq. CO. | |||||||
Article 35: | Affectation du bénéfice | Article 35: | Profit Distribution | |||||
Cinq pour cent du bénéfice de lexercice sont affectés à la réserve générale jusquà ce que celle-ci atteigne 20 pour cent du capital-actions libéré. Si, par la suite, la réserve générale natteint plus la limite légale de 20 pour cent, des affectations supplémentaires devront être effectuées jusquà ce que cette limite soit à nouveau atteinte. | Each year, 5 per cent of the profit of the business year is allocated to the general reserve, until this reserve reaches 20 per cent of the paid-in share capital. If, subsequently, the general reserve falls below the required level of 20 percent, additional allocations to the general reserve shall be made until this level is reached again. | |||||||
Le solde du bénéfice résultant du bilan est réparti conformément aux décisions de lassemblée générale, sur proposition du conseil dadministration. Toutefois, les dispositions impératives de la loi relatives à la réserve légale doivent être respectées. | The balance of the profit resulting from the balance sheet is allocated in accordance with the resolutions of the general meeting of shareholders, upon proposition of the board of directors. This notwithstanding, the mandatory provisions of the law relating to the general reserve must be complied with. |
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Article 35bis: | Privilège de liquidation | Article 35bis: | Privilege of liquidation | |||||
Lassemblée générale peut en tout temps décider la dissolution et la liquidation de la société conformément aux dispositions légales et aux présents statuts. | The shareholders meeting may at any time resolve on the dissolution and liquidation of the company in accordance with the provisions of the law as well as of these articles of association. | |||||||
En cas de dissolution et liquidation de la société, les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées B recevront le prix de souscription de leurs Actions Privilégiées B, plus des dividendes votés mais non encore payés (le Privilège de Liquidation B ), avant que des actifs nets ou des fonds (excédent de liquidation) soient distribués aux autres actionnaires. | In the event of a dissolution and liquidation of the company, the holders of Series B Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive the subscription price paid for their Series B Preferred Shares, plus any voted but unpaid dividends (the Liquidation Preference B ), before any net assets or funds (liquidation proceeds) are distributed to the other shareholders. | |||||||
Toutes distributions de dividendes aux détenteurs dActions Privilégiées B selon larticle 36 des présents statuts seront déduites du Privilège de Liquidation B. | Any distribution of dividends to the holders of Series B Preferred Shares according to article 36 of these articles of association shall be deducted from the Liquidation Preference B. | |||||||
Au cas où lexcédent de liquidation ne suffirait pas à couvrir les montants auxquels ont droit les détenteurs dActions Privilégiées B en vertu de la présente disposition, lexcédent de liquidation sera réparti en priorité entre les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées B en proportion du nombre dActions Privilégiées B quils détiennent. Pour écarter tout doute en relation avec le contenu du privilège conféré aux Actions Privilégiées B, des paiements conditionnels ou des paiements fiduciaires ne seront pas considérés comme étant des versements faits aux détenteurs dActions Privilégiées B, et reçus par ces derniers. | If the liquidation proceeds are insufficient to allow for the payment of the full amount to which all holders of Series B Preferred Shares are entitled, such liquidation proceeds will, in first priority, be distributed to the holders of Series B Preferred Shares in proportion to the number of Series B Preferred Shares held by them. For the avoidance of doubt, for purposes of these preferences, contingent payments or payments into escrow shall not be deemed payments paid to and received by the holders of Series B Preferred Shares. | |||||||
Une fois que les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées B auront reçu le Privilège de Liquidation B, les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées A recevront le prix de souscription de leurs Actions Privilégiées A, plus des dividendes votés mais non encore payés (le Privilège de Liquidation A ), avant que des actifs nets ou des fonds (excédent de liquidation) soient distribués aux autres actionnaires. | Once the holders of Series B Preferred Shares have received the Liquidation Preference B, the holders of Series A Preferred Shares shall be entitled to receive the subscription price paid for their Series A Preferred Shares, plus any voted but unpaid dividends (the Liquidation Preference A ), before any net assets or funds (liquidation proceeds) are distributed to the other shareholders. | |||||||
Toutes distributions de dividendes aux détenteurs dActions Privilégiées A selon larticle 36 des présents statuts seront déduites du Privilège de Liquidation A. | Any distribution of dividends to the holders of Series A Preferred Shares according to article 36 of these articles of association shall be deducted from the Liquidation Preference A. |
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Au cas où lexcédent de liquidation ne suffirait pas à couvrir les montants auxquels ont droit les détenteurs dActions Privilégiées A en vertu de la présente disposition, lexcédent de liquidation sera réparti en priorité entre les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées A en proportion du nombre dActions Privilégiées A quils détiennent. Pour écarter tout doute en relation avec le contenu du privilège conféré aux Actions Privilégiées A, des paiements conditionnels ou des paiements fiduciaires ne seront pas considérés comme étant des versements faits aux détenteurs dActions Privilégiées A, et reçus par ces derniers. | If the liquidation proceeds are insufficient to allow for the payment of the full amount to which all holders of Series A Preferred Shares are entitled, such liquidation proceeds will, in first priority, be distributed to the holders of Series A Preferred Shares in proportion to the number of Series A Preferred Shares held by them. For the avoidance of doubt, for purposes of these preferences, contingent payments or payments into escrow shall not be deemed payments paid to and received by the holders of Series A Preferred Shares. | |||||||
Une fois que les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées B auront reçu le Privilège de Liquidation B et que les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées A auront reçu le Privilège de Liquidation A, le solde de lexcédent de liquidation sera réparti entre les détenteurs des Actions Ordinaires, les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées A et les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées B proportionnellement au nombre dactions détenues par chaque actionnaire. | Once the holders of Series B Preferred Shares have received the Liquidation Preference B and the holders of Series A Preferred Shares have received the Liquidation Preference A, the balance of the liquidation proceeds will be distributed between the holders of Common Shares, the holders of Series A Preferred Shares and the holders of Series B Preferred Shares in proportion to the number of shares held by each shareholder. | |||||||
Article 36: | Dividendes | Article 36: | Dividends | |||||
Le paiement du dividende a lieu à lépoque fixée par le conseil dadministration. | Dividends are to be paid at the time specified by the board of directors. | |||||||
Le dividende ne peut être fixé quaprès que les affectations aux réserves légales et statutaires aient été opérées conformément à la loi et aux statuts. | The dividends can only be determined once the allocations to the legal and statutory reserves have been made in accordance with the law and the articles of association. | |||||||
Des dividendes ne peuvent être prélevés que sur le bénéfice résultant du bilan et sur les réserves constituées à cet effet. | Dividends may only derive from the profit resulting from the balance sheet and the reserves created for that purpose. | |||||||
Les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées B, les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées A et les détenteurs des Actions Ordinaires ont droit au dividende découlant respectivement de leur Actions Privilégiées B, Actions Privilégiées A et Actions Ordinaires. | The holders of Series B Preferred Shares, the holders of Series A Preferred Shares and the holders of Common Shares shall be entitled to receive dividends respectively on their Series B Preferred Shares, Series A Preferred Shares and Common Shares |
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Tout paiement de dividendes devra être distribué en priorité aux détenteurs dActions Privilégiées B jusquà la couverture du prix de souscription de leurs Actions Privilégiées B. | Any dividend payment shall be distributed in first priority to the holders of Series B Preferred Shares up to the subscription price paid for their Series B Preferred Shares. | |||||||
Une fois que les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées B auront reçu les montants auxquels ils ont droit en vertu de lalinéa précédent, tout paiement de dividendes devra être distribué en priorité aux détenteurs dActions Privilégiées A jusquà la couverture du prix de souscription de leurs Actions Privilégiées A. | Once the holders of Series B Preferred Shares have received the amounts to which they are entitled by virtue of the preceding paragraph, any dividend payment shall be distributed in first priority to the holders of Series A Preferred Shares up to the subscription price paid for their Series A Preferred Shares. | |||||||
Une fois que les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées B et les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées A auront reçu les montants auxquels ils ont droit en vertu des deux alinéas précédents, la distribution de dividendes excédant le montant du privilège sera réparti entre les détenteurs des Actions Ordinaires, les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiées A et les détenteurs des Actions Privilégiés B proportionnellement au nombre dactions détenues par chaque actionnaire. | Once the holders of Series B Preferred Shares and the holders of Series A Preferred Shares have received the amounts to which they are entitled by virtue of the two preceding paragraphs, dividend payments exceeding the preference amount shall be distributed between the holders of Common Shares, the holders of Series A Preferred Shares and the holders of Series B Preferred Shares in proportion to the number of shares held by each shareholder. | |||||||
TITRE V: | LIQUIDATION | TITLE V: | LIQUIDATION | |||||
Article 37: | Liquidateur | Article 37: | Liquidator | |||||
En cas de dissolution de la société pour dautres causes que sa faillite ou une décision judiciaire, la liquidation a lieu par les soins du conseil dadministration, à moins que lassemblée générale ne désigne dautres liquidateurs. | In the event of dissolution of the company for other causes than bankruptcy or a judicial decision, the liquidation shall be carried out by the board of directors, unless the general meeting of shareholders appoints other liquidators. | |||||||
Lun au moins des liquidateurs doit être domicilié en Suisse et avoir qualité pour représenter la société. | At least one of the liquidators must be domiciled in Switzerland and have the authority to represent the company. | |||||||
Article 38: | Attributions | Article 38: | Duties | |||||
Pendant la liquidation, les pouvoirs des organes sociaux sont restreints aux actes qui sont nécessaires à cette opération et qui, de par leur nature, ne sont point du ressort des liquidateurs. | During the liquidation process, the powers of the corporate bodies of the company are restricted to acts which are necessary for the liquidation and which, by their nature, are not part of the liquidators duties. |
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Lassemblée générale conserve le droit dapprouver les comptes de la liquidation et de donner décharge aux liquidateurs. | The general meeting of shareholders retains the right to approve the liquidation accounts and to grant release to the liquidators. | |||||||
Après paiement des dettes, lactif de la société dissoute est réparti entre les actionnaires au prorata de leurs versements. | The assets available after payment of the liabilities are allocated among the shareholders of the company in proportion to their contributions. | |||||||
Cette répartition ne peut se faire quaprès lexpiration dune année dès le jour où lappel aux créanciers a été publié pour la troisième fois. | This allocation may occur after expiration of a one year period as of the day on which the notice to creditors for the filing of their claims is published for the third time. | |||||||
Une répartition peut avoir lieu après un délai de trois mois si un expert-réviseur agréé atteste que les dettes sont éteintes et quon peut inférer des circonstances quaucun intérêt de tiers nest mis en péril. | A distribution may occur after three months if a certified audit expert certifies that the liabilities are paid and that, in light of the circumstances of the case, no interest of any third party would be jeopardized by such early distribution. | |||||||
TITRE VI: | PUBLICATIONS LANGUE | TITLE VI: | NOTICES LANGUAGE | |||||
Article 39: | Forme des publications | Article 39: | Notices | |||||
Les publications de la société requises par la loi ont lieu dans la Feuille Officielle Suisse du Commerce. | Notices issued by the company which are required by law are published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce. | |||||||
Sont considérés comme communication écrite au sens des articles 13 et 22 ou approbation écrite au sens de larticle 23 une lettre, un téléfax ou un e-mail. | A letter, fax or email is deemed to be a written notice within the meaning of articles 13 and 22 or a written consent within the meaning of article 23. | |||||||
Article 40: | Langue | Article 40: | Languages | |||||
En cas de divergence entre la version française et la version anglaise, la version française des présents statuts prévaut. | In the event of a discrepancy between the French and the English versions of these articles of association, the French version shall prevail. |
Genève, le 19 novembre 2015
David LACIN, notaire
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Modifications of the Articles of Association adopted during the December 6, 2016 EGM and already in force
Article 5ter is new and comes after Article 5bis. The other provisions have been restated in their entirety, except for Article 6, which has been amended by the addition of the part higlighted in yellow below.
Article 5: Capital-actions | Article 5: Share capital | |||||||
Le capital-actions est fixé à la somme de un million six cent quarante mille cinq cent vingt francs (CHF 1640520), entièrement libéré. |
The share capital of the company is set at the amount of one million six hundred forty thousand five hundred twenty francs (CHF 1,640,520), fully paid up. |
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Il est divisé en :
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It is divided into :
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deux millions deux cent quinze mille quatre cent trente-quatre (2215434) actions ordinaires, nominatives (les Actions Ordinaires ) dune valeur nominale d1/13 de franc chacune,
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two million two hundred fifteen thousand four hundred thirty-four (2,215,434) common registered shares (the Common Shares ) with a par value of 1/13 of a franc each,
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huit millions trente et un mille sept cent septante-sept (8031777) actions nominatives dune valeur nominale d1/13 de franc chacune, privilégiées quant au produit de liquidation et aux dividendes selon les termes des articles 35bis et 36 des présents statuts (les Actions Privilégiées A ), et
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eight million thirty-one thousand seven hundred seventy-seven (8,031,777) registered shares with a par value of 1/13 of a franc each, with preferential rights as to the liquidation proceeds and dividends within the terms of Articles 35bis and 36 of the present articles of association (the Series A Preferred Shares ), and
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onze millions septante-neuf mille cinq cent quarante-neuf (11079549) actions nominatives dune valeur nominale d1/13 de franc chacune, privilégiées quant au produit de liquidation et aux dividendes selon les termes des articles 35bis et 36 des présents statuts (les Actions Privilégiées B et ensemble avec les Actions Privilégiées A, les Actions Privilégiées ). |
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eleven million seventy-nine thousand five hundred forty-nine (11079549) registered shares with a par value of 1/13 of a franc each, with preferential rights as to the liquidation proceeds and dividends within the terms of Articles 35bis and 36 of the present articles of association (the Series B Preferred Shares and together with the Series A Preferred Shares, the Preferred Shares ). |
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Article 5ter: Capital-Participation
Le capital-participation est fixé à la somme de cent quarante-deux mille six cent cinquante-quatre francs (CHF 142654), entièrement libéré.
Il est divisé en un million huit cent cinquante quatre cinq cent deux (1854502) bons de participation nominatifs, dune valeur nominale d1/13 de franc chacun. |
Article 5ter: Non-Voting Share Capital
The Non-Voting Share Capital is set at the amount of one hundred forty-two thousand six hundred fifty-four francs (CHF 142654), fully paid up.
It is divided into one million eight hundred fifty-four thousand five hundred two (1854502) registered non-voting shares with a par value of 1/13 of a franc each. |
Article 5a: Capital-actions autorisé
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Article 5a: Authorized share capital
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Le conseil dadministration est autorisé à augmenter jusquau 6 décembre 2018 le capital-actions dun montant de huit cent nonante et un mille cinq cent huitante-sept francs (CHF 891587) au plus, par lémission dun maximum de onze millions cinq cent nonante mille six cent trente et un (11590631) actions nominatives ordinaires, entièrement libérées, dune valeur nominale d1/13 de franc chacune, liées selon statuts. |
The board of directors is authorized at any time until December 6, 2018 to increase the share capital by a maximum aggregate amount of eight hundred ninety-one thousand five hundred eighty-seven francs (CHF 891,587) through the issuance of not more than eleven million five hundred ninety thousand six hundred thirty-one (11,590,631) registered ordinary shares, which will have to be fully paid-in, with a par value of 1/13 of a franc each, subject to the transfer restrictions set forth in these articles of association.
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Des augmentations partielles sont autorisées. Le conseil dadministration peut également émettre de nouvelles actions par voie de prise ferme ou dautres formes de souscription par une ou plusieurs banques avec offre subséquente aux actionnaires ou à des tierces personnes. Le conseil dadministration détermine la nature des apports, le prix démission et la date de lémission, les conditions dexercice des droits préférentiels de souscription, lallocation des droits préférentiels de souscription qui nont pas été exercés et la date à laquelle débute le droit au dividende. Le conseil dadministration peut permettre, restreindre ou exclure la négociation des droits préférentiels de souscription.
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Increases in partial amounts are permitted. The board of directors may issue new shares also by means of underwriting or in any other manner by one or more banks and subsequent offer to shareholders or third parties. The board of directors shall determine the type of contributions, the issue price, the time of the issue, the conditions for the exercise of the pre-emptive rights, the allocation of pre-emptive rights which have not been exercised, and the date on which the dividend entitlement starts. The board of directors is authorized to permit, to restrict or to exclude the trading of pre-emptive rights. | |||||||
Si des droits préférentiels de souscription sont octroyés mais pas exercés, le conseil dadministration les utilise dans lintérêt de la société.
Le conseil dadministration peut limiter ou supprimer les droits préférentiels de souscription des actionnaires et attribuer ces droits à des personnes tierces ou à la société elle-même lorsque les actions sont émises pour lun des buts suivants: a) lélargissement de lactionnariat de la société dans certains marchés financiers ou dans la perspective dune cotation, dune admission au négoce ou dun enregistrement de nouvelles actions à des bourses nationales ou étrangères; b) loctroi dune option de surallocation (greenshoe) à un ou plusieurs souscripteurs en relation avec |
If pre-emptive rights are granted, but not exercised, the board of directors shall use the relevant shares in the interest of the company.
The board of directors is authorized to withdraw or limit the pre-emptive rights of the shareholders, and to allocate them to third parties or to the company, in the event of use of the shares for the purpose of: a) expanding the shareholder base in certain capital markets or in the context of the listing, admission to official trading or registration of the shares at domestic or international stock exchanges; b) granting an over-allotment option (greenshoe) to one or several underwriters in connection with a placement of shares; c) share placements, provided the issue price is |
un placement dactions; c) des placements dactions si le prix démission est déterminé par référence au prix du marché; d) lintéressement des employés, des membres du conseil dadministration ou de consultants de la société ou de lune de ses filiales selon un ou plusieurs plans dintéressement adoptés par le conseil dadministration; e) lacquisition de sociétés, dactifs de sociétés, de participations, de produits, de droits de propriété intellectuelle, de licences ou de nouveaux projets dinvestissement ou encore pour des placements dactions privés ou publics à des fins de financement et/ou refinancement de telles transactions; f) la levée de fonds propres de façon rapide et flexible, lorsquune telle transaction ne pourrait pas être réalisée, ou ne pourrait être réalisée quà des conditions moins favorables, sans lexclusion du droit préférentiel de souscription des actionnaires existants; ou g) lacquisition dune participation dans la société par un partenaire stratégique (y compris dans le cas dune offre publique dacquisition). | determined by reference to market price; d) the participation of employees, members of the board of directors or consultants of the company or of one of its subsidiaries according to one or several equity incentive plans adopted by the board of directors; e) the acquisition of companies, company assets, participations, the acquisition of products, intellectual property rights, licenses or new investment projects or for public or private share placements for the financing and/or refinancing of such transactions; f) for raising equity capital in a fast and flexible manner as such transaction would be difficult to carry out, or could be carried out only at less favorable terms, without the exclusion of the pre-emptive rights of the existing shareholders; or g) the acquisition of a participation in the company by a strategic partner (including in the case of a public takeover offer). | |||||||
Article 6: Espèces dactions
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Article 6: Type of shares |
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Les actions sont nominatives.
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The shares shall be registered. | |||||||
Elles sont numérotées et signées par un membre du conseil dadministration. La signature peut être apposée en fac-similé.
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They are numbered and signed by a member of the board of directors. The signature may be inserted as a facsimile. | |||||||
La société peut émettre en lieu et place dactions des certificats dactions.
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The company may issue share certificates instead of shares. | |||||||
Par une modification des statuts, lassemblée générale peut en tout temps, par une décision prise à la majorité des voix exprimées, convertir des actions nominatives en action au porteur ou des actions au porteur en actions nominatives.
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The general meeting of shareholders may, at any time, by decision taken by a majority of the votes, convert the registered shares into bearer shares, and vice versa, by modifying these articles of association. | |||||||
Par une modification des statuts, lassemblée générale peut aussi en tout temps convertir des actions dune catégorie en actions dune autre catégorie, ou encore des bons de participation en actions. Lart. 654 CO et les dispositions de ces statuts sont réservés. |
The general meeting of shareholders may also, at any time, by modifying these articles of association, convert shares of one class into shares of another class, or non-voting shares into voting shares. Article 654 CO and the provisions of these articles of association are reserved.
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Elle peut diviser les actions en titres de valeur nominale réduite, ou les réunir en titres de valeur nominale plus élevée par une modification des statuts et à la condition que le | The general meeting of shareholders may divide the shares into shares with a reduced par value, or combine shares to form shares with a higher par value by the amendment of the |
montant du capital-actions ne subisse pas de changement. La réunion en titres de valeurs nominale plus élevée ne peut sopérer que du consentement de lactionnaire. | articles of association and provided that the amount of the share-capital is not altered. The combination of shares to form shares with a higher par value may be carried out only upon approval of the shareholder. |
Exhibit 3.2
STATUTS
DE
ObsEva SA ObsEva Ltd ObsEva AG
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ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION
OF
ObsEva SA ObsEva Ltd ObsEva AG
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TITRE I: RAISON SOCIALE - SIEGE - BUT DUREE |
TITLE I: CORPORATE NAME - REGISTERED OFFICE - PURPOSE - DURATION
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Article 1: Raison sociale |
Article 1: Corporate Name
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Il existe sous la raison sociale
ObsEva SA ObsEva Ltd ObsEva AG
une société anonyme qui est régie par les présents statuts et, pour tous les cas qui ny sont pas prévus, par le titre XXVI du Code suisse des obligations ( CO ). |
There exists under the name
ObsEva SA ObsEva Ltd ObsEva AG
a company limited by shares which is governed by these articles of association and for any situation not provided herein by the Title XXVI of the Swiss Code of Obligations ( CO ). |
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Article 2: Siège |
Article 2: Registered Office
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La société a son siège à Plan-les-Ouates (GE). | The registered office of the company is in Plan-les-Ouates (GE). | |||||||
Article 3: But |
Article 3: Purpose
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La société a pour but toutes activités et services dans les domaines de la recherche, du développement, de la fabrication, de lenregistrement, de la promotion et de la commercialisation de produits biotechniques et pharmaceutiques. |
The purpose of the company is all activities and services in the domains of research, development, fabrication, registration, promotion and commercialization of biotechnological and pharmaceutical products.
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La société peut effectuer toute transaction commerciale et financière, directement ou indirectement liée à son but. Elle peut faire inscrire des succursales et des filiales en Suisse et à létranger, ainsi quacquérir, détenir, gérer et vendre des immeubles. | The company may carry out all commercial and financial transactions which are directly or indirectly related to its purpose. The company may establish branch offices and subsidiaries in Switzerland and abroad as well as acquire, manage, hold and sell real estate. |
La société peut accorder des prêts ou tout autre forme de financement à des sociétés du même groupe, ainsi que donner des sûretés de tout genre, au bénéfice direct ou indirect de sociétés du même groupe ou de tiers, en particulier sous la forme de garanties, gages ou sûretés sur les actifs de la société. | The company may grant loans and other forms of financing to other group companies and provide security of any sort for the direct or indirect benefit of group companies or third parties, in particular in the form of guarantees, pledges or fiduciary assignments of assets of the company. | |||||||
Article 4: Durée |
Article 4: Duration
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La durée de la société est indéterminée. | The duration of the company is indefinite. | |||||||
TITRE II: CAPITAL-ACTIONS ET ACTIONS
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TITLE II: SHARE CAPITAL AND SHARES
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Article 5: Montant nominal et division
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Article 5: Par value and number of shares
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Le capital-actions est fixé à la somme de un million six cent quarante mille cinq cent vingt francs (CHF 1640520), entièrement libéré.
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The share capital of the company is set at the amount of one million six hundred forty thousand five hundred twenty francs (CHF 1,640,520), fully paid up.
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en vingt-trois millions cent huitante et un mille deux cent soixante-deux (23181262) actions dune valeur nominale de 1/13 de franc chacune. | It is divided into twenty-three million one hundred eighty-one thousand two hundred sixty-two (23,181,262) shares with a par value of 1/13 of a franc each. | |||||||
Article 5a: Capital-actions autorisé |
Article 5a: Authorized share capital |
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Le conseil dadministration est autorisé à augmenter jusquau 6 décembre 2018 le capital-actions dun montant de huit cent nonante et un mille cinq cent huitante-sept francs (CHF 891587) au plus, par lémission dun maximum de onze millions cinq cent nonante mille six cent trente et un (11590631) actions nominatives ordinaires, entièrement libérées, dune valeur nominale de 1/13 de franc chacune. |
The board of directors is authorized at any time until December 6, 2018 to increase the share capital by a maximum aggregate amount of eight hundred ninety-one thousand five hundred eighty-seven francs (CHF 891,587) through the issuance of not more than eleven million five hundred ninety thousand six hundred thirty-one (11590,631) registered ordinary shares, which will have to be fully paid-in, with a par value of 1/13 of a franc each. |
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Des augmentations partielles sont autorisées. Le conseil dadministration peut également émettre de nouvelles actions par voie de prise ferme ou dautres formes de souscription par une ou plusieurs banques avec offre subséquente aux actionnaires ou à des tierces personnes. Le conseil dadministration détermine la nature des apports, le prix démission et la date de lémission, les conditions dexercice des droits |
Increases in partial amounts are permitted. The board of directors may issue new shares also by means of underwriting or in any other manner by one or more banks and subsequent offer to shareholders or third parties. The board of directors shall determine the type of contributions, the issue price, the time of the issue, the conditions for the exercise of the pre-emptive rights, the allocation of pre-emptive rights which have not been exercised, |
préférentiels de souscription, lallocation des droits préférentiels de souscription qui nont pas été exercés et la date à laquelle débute le droit au dividende. Le conseil dadministration peut permettre, restreindre ou exclure la négociation des droits préférentiels de souscription. | and the date on which the dividend entitlement starts. The board of directors is authorized to permit, to restrict or to exclude the trading of pre-emptive rights. | |||||||
Si des droits préférentiels de souscription sont octroyés mais pas exercés, le conseil dadministration les utilise dans lintérêt de la société. |
If pre-emptive rights are granted, but not exercised, the board of directors shall use the relevant shares in the interest of the company. |
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Le conseil dadministration peut limiter ou supprimer les droits préférentiels de souscription des actionnaires et attribuer ces droits à des personnes tierces ou à la société elle-même lorsque les actions sont émises pour lun des buts suivants: a) lélargissement de lactionnariat de la société dans certains marchés financiers ou dans la perspective dune cotation, dune admission au négoce ou dun enregistrement de nouvelles actions à des bourses nationales ou étrangères; b) loctroi dune option de surallocation (greenshoe) à un ou plusieurs souscripteurs en relation avec un placement dactions; c) des placements dactions si le prix démission est déterminé par référence au prix du marché; d) lintéressement des employés, des membres du conseil dadministration ou de consultants de la société ou de lune de ses filiales selon un ou plusieurs plans dintéressement adoptés par le conseil dadministration; e) lacquisition de sociétés, dactifs de sociétés, de participations, de produits, de droits de propriété intellectuelle, de licences ou de nouveaux projets dinvestissement ou encore pour des placements dactions privés ou publics à des fins de financement et/ou refinancement de telles transactions; f) la levée de fonds propres de façon rapide et flexible, lorsquune telle transaction ne pourrait pas être réalisée, ou ne pourrait être réalisée quà des conditions moins favorables, sans lexclusion du droit préférentiel de souscription des actionnaires existants; ou g) lacquisition dune participation dans la société par un partenaire stratégique (y compris dans le cas dune offre publique dacquisition). |
The board of directors is authorized to withdraw or limit the pre-emptive rights of the shareholders, and to allocate them to third parties or to the company, in the event of use of the shares for the purpose of: a) expanding the shareholder base in certain capital markets or in the context of the listing, admission to official trading or registration of the shares at domestic or international stock exchanges; b) granting an over-allotment option (greenshoe) to one or several underwriters in connection with a placement of shares; c) share placements, provided the issue price is determined by reference to market price; d) the participation of employees, members of the board of directors or consultants of the company or of one of its subsidiaries according to one or several equity incentive plans adopted by the board of directors; e) the acquisition of companies, company assets, participations, the acquisition of products, intellectual property rights, licenses or new investment projects or for public or private share placements for the financing and/or refinancing of such transactions; f) for raising equity capital in a fast and flexible manner as such transaction would be difficult to carry out, or could be carried out only at less favorable terms, without the exclusion of the pre-emptive rights of the existing shareholders; or g) the acquisition of a participation in the company by a strategic partner (including in the case of a public takeover offer). |
Article 5b: Capital conditionnel en vue de financement
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Article 5b: Conditional share capital for financing purposes
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Le capital-actions de la société peut être augmenté dun montant maximum total de cinq cent septante mille six cent seize francs (CHF 570616) par lémission dun maximum de sept millions quatre cent dix-huit mille quatre (7,418,004) actions nominatives ordinaires, dune valeur nominale de 1/13 de franc chacune, à libérer entièrement, suite à lexercice de droits de conversion et/ou doption accordés en relation avec des obligations, dautres formes comparables de titres de dette, des emprunts ou dautres instruments similaires du marché des capitaux ou des obligations contractuelles de la société ou de lune de ses filiales, et/ou par lexercice de droits doption émis par les sociétés ou lune de ses filiales (les instruments financiers). Le droit préférentiel de souscription des actionnaires est exclu. Le droit de souscrire les nouvelles actions appartient aux détenteurs des instruments financiers. Le conseil dadministration fixe les conditions des instruments financiers . | The companys share capital shall be increased by a maximum aggregate amount of five hundred seventy thousand six hundred sixteen francs (CHF 570,616) through the issuance of not more than seven million four hundred eighteen thousand four (7,418,004) registered ordinary shares, which will have to be fully paid-in, with a par value of 1/13 of a franc each, by the exercise of option and conversion rights which are granted in connection with bonds, similar debt instruments, loans or other financial market instruments or contractual obligations of the company or one of its subsidiaries, and/or by the exercise of option rights issued by the company or one of its subsidiaries (financial instruments). The pre-emptive rights of shareholders are excluded. The right to subscribe for the new shares shall be held by the holders of the financial instruments. The board of directors shall determine the terms of the financial instruments. | |||||||
Lors de lémission dinstruments financiers, le conseil dadministration peut limiter ou exclure les droits des actionnaires de souscrire les instruments financiers par préférence dans les cas suivants: |
When issuing financial instruments, the board of directors shall have the right to limit or exclude the right of shareholders to subscribe for the financial instruments by preference: |
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a) pour financer ou refinancer lacquisition dentreprises ou de parts dentreprise, ou de nouvelles participations, produits, droits de propriété intellectuelle, licences, ou pour favoriser des coopérations ou nouveaux plans dinvestissements de la société; |
a) for the purpose of financing or refinancing the acquisition of enterprises, divisions thereof, or of participations, products, intellectual property rights, licenses, cooperations or of newly planned investments of the company; |
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b) si lémission se fait sur des marchés internationaux des capitaux, y compris par placement privé; ou |
b) if the issuance is made on domestic or international capital markets, including by means of private placements; or |
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c) en vue de la souscription des instruments financiers par une institution bancaire ou un consortium de banques avec offre publique subséquente. |
c) for purposes of an underwriting of the financial instruments by a banking institution or a consortium of banks with subsequent offering to the public. |
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Si le droit des actionnaires de souscrire aux instruments financiers par préférence est exclu, (i) les instruments financiers doivent être attribués aux conditions du marché; (ii) la période dexercice, la période déchange ou la période de conversion des instruments financiers ne doit pas dépasser 10 ans à partir de la date à laquelle ces instruments sont émis; et (iii) le prix de conversion, le prix déchange ou tout autre prix dexercice des instruments financiers doit être fixé par référence aux conditions du marché. |
To the extent that the right of shareholders to subscribe for the financial instruments by preference is excluded, (i) the financial instruments shall be placed at market conditions; (ii) the exercise period, the conversion period or the exchange period of the financial instruments shall not exceed 10 years as of the date of the issue; and (iii) the conversion price, the exchange price or other exercise price of the financial instruments shall be determined by reference to market prices. |
Article 5c: Capital conditionnel pour les plans dintéressement | Article 5c: Conditional share capital for equity plans | |||||||
Le capital-participation de la société peut être augmenté dun montant maximum total de trois cent vingt mille neuf cent septante et un francs (CHF 320971) par lémission dun maximum de quatre millions cent septante-deux mille six cent vingt-sept (4172627) bons de participation nominatifs, entièrement libérés, dune valeur nominale de 1/13 de franc chacun, liés selon statuts, lors de lexercice de droits doption ou de souscription accordés ou attribués à des employés, membres du conseil dadministration ou consultants de la société ou de lune de ses filiales selon les termes dun ou de plusieurs plans dintéressement ou règlements adoptés par le conseil dadministration. Le droit préférentiel de souscription des actionnaires est exclu à légard de ces bons de participation. Le conseil dadministration fixe les conditions des plans dintéressement et des règlements, ainsi que de lémission des bons de participation. | The companys non-voting share capital shall be increased by a maximum aggregate amount of three hundred twenty thousand nine hundred seventy-one francs (CHF 320,971) through the issuance of not more than four million one hundred seventy-two thousand six hundred twenty-seven (4,172,627) registered non-voting shares, which shall be fully paid-in, with a par value of 1/13 of a franc each, subject to the transfer restrictions set forth in these articles of association, by issuance of shares upon the exercise of options or pre-emptive rights thereof, which have been issued or granted to employees, members of the board of directors or consultants of the company or of one of its subsidiaries under the terms of one or more equity incentive plans or regulations adopted by the board of directors. The pre-emptive rights of shareholders are excluded. The board of directors shall determine the terms of the equity incentive plans or regulations and of the issuance of the shares. | |||||||
Article 6: Espèces dactions | Article 6: Type of shares | |||||||
Les actions sont nominatives. | The shares shall be registered. | |||||||
Par une modification des statuts, lassemblée générale peut en tout temps convertir des actions nominatives en actions au porteur et des actions au porteur en actions nominatives. | The general meeting of shareholders may, at any time, by modifying these articles of association, convert the registered shares into bearer shares and convert bearer shares into registered shares. | |||||||
Par une modification des statuts, lassemblée générale peut aussi en tout temps convertir des actions dune catégorie en actions dune autre catégorie, ou encore des bons de participation en actions. Lart. 654 CO et les dispositions de ces statuts sont réservés. | The general meeting of shareholders may also, at any time, by modifying these articles of association, convert shares of one class into shares of another class, or non-voting shares into voting shares. Article 654 CO and the provisions of these articles of association are reserved. | |||||||
Sous réserve du paragraphe ci-dessous, les actions nominatives de la société sont émises sous forme de droits-valeur (tels que définis par le CO) et de titres intermédiés (tels que définis par la Loi fédérale suisse sur les titres intermédiés). | Subject to the paragraph below, the registered shares of the company will be uncertificated securities (in terms of the CO) and intermediated securities (in terms of the Swiss Federal Intermediated Securities Act). | |||||||
Suite à son inscription au registre des actions, un actionnaire peut demander en tout temps à la | A shareholder registered in the companys shareholders register may request from the |
société détablir un relevé des actions nominatives quil détient. Il na cependant pas de droit à exiger limpression et la livraison de certificats dactions. En revanche, la société peut à tout moment imprimer et livrer des certificats incorporant des actions nominatives. La société peut aussi, à son choix, retirer les actions nominatives revêtant la forme de titres intermédiés des divers organismes de dépôt auprès desquelles elles ont été enregistrées, et avec le consentement de lactionnaire, annuler sans les remplacer les certificats daction qui lui auront été remis. | company a statement of the shareholders registered shares at any time. Shareholders do not have a right to the printing and delivery of share certificates. The company may, however, print and deliver certificates for shares at any time at its option. The company may also, at its option, withdraw uncertificated shares from the custodian system where they have been registered and, with the consent of the shareholder, cancel issued certificates that are returned to the company. | |||||||
Si la société décide dimprimer et de livrer des certificats dactions, ces derniers doivent porter la signature de deux signataires autorisés de la société, dont lun au moins doit être membre du conseil dadministration. Les signatures peuvent être apposées par facsimilé. | If the company decides to print and deliver share certificates, the share certificates shall bear the signatures of two duly authorized signatories of the company, at least one of which shall be a member of the board of directors. These signatures may be facsimile signatures. | |||||||
Article 7: Droits et obligations des actionnaires | Article 7: Shareholders rights and duties | |||||||
Chaque action est indivisible à légard de la société, qui ne reconnaît quun propriétaire pour une action. | Each share shall be indivisible towards the company, which only recognizes one legal owner for each share. | |||||||
Chaque action donne droit à une part proportionnelle du bénéfice résultant du bilan et du produit de la liquidation en proportion des versements opérés au capital-actions. | Each share confers the right to a portion of the profit resulting from the balance sheet and the proceeds of liquidation, in proportion to the payments made to pay-in the share capital. | |||||||
Les actionnaires ne sont tenus que des prestations statutaires. Ils ne répondent pas personnellement des dettes sociales. | The obligations of the shareholders are limited to those specified in these articles of association. The shareholders are not personally liable for the debts of the company. | |||||||
Article 8: Transfert des actions | Article 8: Transfer of shares | |||||||
Le transfert de la propriété des actions émises sous forme de papier-valeur requiert la remise du titre endossé à lacquéreur. | The transfer of ownership of certificated shares shall require delivery of the properly endorsed share certificate to the purchaser. | |||||||
Le transfert de la propriété dactions détenues sous forme de titres intermédiés sopère conformément aux dispositions de la Loi fédérale suisse sur les titres intermédiés. | The transfer of ownership of shares held as book entry securities shall be carried out according to the provisions of the Swiss Federal Intermediated Securities Act. | |||||||
Les actions nominatives non incorporées dans un papier-valeur et qui ne sont pas détenues sous la forme de titres intermédiés, | Registered shares not incorporated into a certificate and that are not held as book entry securities as well as the respective rights associated therewith which |
respectivement les droits y afférents, eux-mêmes non incorporés dans un papier-valeur, ne peuvent être transférés que par cession. La cession nest valable que si elle est notifiée à la société. | are not incorporated into any certificate may be transferred only by assignment. Such assignment shall be valid only if the company has been notified thereof. | |||||||
Article 9: Registre des actions | Article 9: Share register | |||||||
La société tient un registre des actions qui mentionne le nom et ladresse des propriétaires et des usufruitiers des actions nominatives. | The company shall keep a share register, which shall contain the names and addresses of the owners of the shares or the persons benefiting from an usufruct interest in the shares. | |||||||
Est considéré comme actionnaire ou usufruitier à légard de la société celui qui est inscrit au registre des actions. Un actionnaire peut demander à la société une confirmation quil est dûment inscrit au registre des actions. | Only the persons registered in the share register shall be considered shareholders or holders of a usufruct interest in the shares towards the company. A shareholder may request from the company a confirmation that he is duly registered in the share register. | |||||||
Si un actionnaire change dadresse, il doit en informer la société. Tant quil ne laura pas fait, toute communication sera valablement faite à sa dernière adresse inscrite au registre des actions. | Should a shareholder change his address, he must so inform the company. As long as a shareholder has not provided notice of a change of address to the company, any communication shall be validly made to his last address entered in the share register. | |||||||
TITRE III: ORGANISATION DE LA SOCIETE | TITLE III: ORGANIZATION OF THE COMPANY | |||||||
A. ASSEMBLEE GENERALE | A. GENERAL MEETING | |||||||
Article 10: Droits intransmissibles | Article 10: Non-transferable rights | |||||||
Lassemblée générale des actionnaires est le pouvoir suprême de la société. | The general meeting of shareholders is the highest authority of the company. | |||||||
Elle a les droits intransmissibles: | It has the non-transferable rights: | |||||||
1. | dadopter et de modifier les statuts; | 1. | to adopt and amend the articles of association | |||||
2. | de nommer les membres du conseil dadministration, de lorgane de révision, le président du conseil dadministration, les membres du comité de rémunération et le représentant indépendant des actionnaires; | 2. | to elect the members of the board of directors, the auditors, the chairman of the board of directors, the members of the compensation committee and the independent representative of shareholders; | |||||
3. | dapprouver le rapport annuel et les comptes consolidés de la société; | 3. | to approve the business report and the consolidated financial statements of the company; |
4. | dapprouver les comptes annuels et de déterminer lemploi du bénéfice résultant du bilan, en particulier de fixer le dividende; | 4. | to approve the annual statutory financial statements of the company and to decide upon the allocation of profits as shown on the balance sheet, in particular with regard to dividends; | |||||
5. | sur proposition du conseil dadministration, dapprouver la rémunération des membres du conseil dadministration et du comité exécutif; | 5. | on proposal of the board of directors, to approve the compensation of members of the board of directors and of executive committee; | |||||
6. | de donner décharge aux membres du conseil dadministration; | 6. | to discharge the members of the board of directors from liability; and | |||||
7. | de prendre toutes les décisions qui lui sont réservées par la loi et ces statuts. | 7. | to decide on all matters reserved to it by law and by these articles of association. | |||||
Article 11: Assemblées générales ordinaires et extraordinaires | Article 11: Annual and extraordinary general meetings | |||||||
Lassemblée générale ordinaire a lieu chaque année dans les six mois qui suivent la clôture de lexercice; des assemblées générales extraordinaires sont convoquées aussi souvent quil est nécessaire, notamment dans les cas prévus par la loi. | The annual general meeting of shareholders shall be held every year within six months following the end of the business year; extraordinary general meetings of shareholders may be convened as often as necessary, in particular in the cases provided by law. | |||||||
Lassemblée générale se réunit au lieu désigné par le conseil dadministration. | The general meeting of shareholders shall meet at the place determined by the board of directors. | |||||||
Article 12: Convocation de lassemblée générale | Article 12: Invitation to the general meeting | |||||||
Lassemblée générale est convoquée par le conseil dadministration et, dans les cas prévus par la loi ou ces statuts, par lorgane de révision, les liquidateurs ou, le cas échéant, les représentants des obligataires. | The general meetings of shareholders shall be called by the board of directors or, if required by law or these articles of association, by the auditors, the liquidators of the company or the representatives of the bond holders, if any. | |||||||
Un ou plusieurs actionnaires représentant ensemble 10 pour cent au moins du capital-actions peuvent aussi requérir la convocation de lassemblée générale. Des actionnaires qui représentent des actions totalisant une valeur nominale de un million de Francs suisses peuvent requérir linscription dun objet à lordre du jour. La convocation et linscription dun objet à lordre du jour doivent être requises par écrit 60 jours au moins avant la date de lassemblée et inclure une courte description des points à porter à lordre du jour et les propositions. | One or several shareholders, holding together at least ten per cent of the share capital, may also request that a general meeting be convened. Shareholders representing shares of a total par value of one million Swiss Francs may require that items be included on the agenda of the meeting. Such requests must be made in writing not less than 60 days ahead of the meeting and shall include a brief description of the items to be discussed and the proposals. |
Article 13: Mode de convocation | Article 13: Notice of Meeting | |||||||
Les assemblées générales ordinaires ou extraordinaires sont convoquées par publication dans la Feuille officielle suisse du commerce au moins vingt jours avant la date prévue pour la réunion. | Annual or extraordinary general meetings of shareholders shall be called by notice in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce not less than twenty days before the date fixed for the meeting. | |||||||
Une assemblée générale des actionnaires peut également être convoquée par communication écrite à chacun des actionnaires à ladresse figurant au registre des actions. Dans un tel cas, le délai de convocation de vingt jours mentionné ci-dessus débute le jour suivant la date à laquelle la communication écrite a été expédiée. | A general meeting of shareholders may also be called by means of a notice sent to the shareholders at their address registered in the share register. In such a case, the twenty-day notice period referred to above shall begin on the day following the date on which the notices shall have been mailed. | |||||||
La convocation à une assemblée mentionne les objets portés à lordre du jour, ainsi que les propositions du conseil dadministration et des actionnaires qui ont demandé la convocation de lassemblée générale ou requis linscription dun objet à lordre du jour. | The notice of a meeting shall state the items on the agenda and the proposals of the board of directors and of the shareholders who requested that a general meeting be convened or that items be included in the agenda. | |||||||
Aucune décision ne peut être prise sur des objets qui nont pas été dûment portés à lordre du jour, à lexception des propositions déposées par un actionnaire dans le but de convoquer une assemblée générale extraordinaire, dinstituer un contrôle spécial ou délire des auditeurs. | No resolution shall be passed at a general meeting of shareholders on matters which do not appear on the agenda except for a resolution convening an extraordinary general meeting, the setting up of a special audit or the election of auditors. | |||||||
Il nest pas nécessaire dannoncer à lavance les propositions entrant dans le cadre des objets portés à lordre du jour ni les délibérations qui ne doivent pas être suivies dun vote. | No prior notice is required to bring motions related to items already on the agenda or for the discussion of matters on which no resolution is to be taken. | |||||||
Article 14: Légitimation des actionnaires | Article 14: Representation of shareholders | |||||||
Tout actionnaire qui ne participe pas à lassemblée générale des actionnaires en personne peut faire représenter ses actions à lassemblée par le représentant indépendant ou par une autre personne ou entité qui ne doit pas nécessairement être un actionnaire. Le conseil dadministration règle les exigences régissant la participation et la représentation à lassemblée générale. | Each shareholder who does not attend the general meeting of shareholders in person may have his shares represented at the meeting by the independent representative or by another person or entity, who does not have to be a shareholder. The board of directors shall determine the requirements regarding participation and representation in the general meeting of shareholders. | |||||||
Sauf dispositions contraires de ces statuts, une assemblée générale des actionnaires est dûment convoquée et apte à statuer quel que soit le nombre dactions représentées. | Subject to provisions to the contrary in these articles of association, a general meeting of shareholders is duly convened and capable of passing resolutions regardless of the number of shares represented. |
Article 15: Présidence; procès-verbal | Article 15: Acting chair; minutes | |||||||
Lassemblée générale des actionnaires est présidée par le président du conseil dadministration, le vice-président ou par toute autre personne désignée à cet effet par le conseil dadministration. A leur défaut, la personne désignée par lassemblée générale des actionnaires préside. | The general meeting of shareholders is chaired by the chairman of the board of directors, the vice-chairman or by any other person designated to that effect by the board of directors. In the absence of such persons, the person appointed by the general meeting of shareholders shall take the chair. | |||||||
Le président désigne le secrétaire de lassemblée et les scrutateurs, qui ne doivent pas nécessairement être actionnaires. | The chairperson shall appoint the secretary of the meeting and the vote counters, none of whom need to be a shareholder. | |||||||
Le président a les pouvoirs et compétences nécessaires et suffisantes pour assurer le bon déroulement de lassemblée générale des actionnaires. | The chairperson shall have all powers and authority necessary and appropriate to ensure the orderly conduct of the general meeting of shareholders. | |||||||
Les procès-verbaux de lassemblée générale des actionnaires sont signés par le président et le secrétaire de lassemblée. | The minutes of the general meeting of shareholders shall be signed by the chairman and the secretary of the meeting. | |||||||
Article 16: Droit de vote | Article 16: Voting right | |||||||
Chaque action donne droit à une voix. | Each share shall convey the right to one vote. | |||||||
Article 17: Décisions et élections | Article 17: Resolutions and elections | |||||||
Sauf disposition contraire de la loi ou de ces statuts, lassemblée générale prend ses décisions et procède aux élections à la majorité absolue des voix exprimées. | Unless required otherwise by law or these articles of association, the general meeting of shareholders shall make resolutions and proceed to elections by an absolute majority of the votes cast. | |||||||
En cas de partage égal des voix, celle du président est prépondérante. | In the event the votes are evenly split, the chairman shall have a casting vote. | |||||||
Une décision de lassemblée générale recueillant au moins les deux tiers des voix attribuées aux actions représentées et la majorité absolue des valeurs nominales représentées est nécessaire pour: | A resolution of the general meeting of shareholders approved by at least two-thirds of the votes allotted to the shares represented at the meeting, and the absolute majority of the aggregate par value of the shares represented is necessary to: | |||||||
1. | la modification du but social; | 1. | amend the purpose of the company; | |||||
2. | lintroduction dactions à droit de vote privilégié; | 2. | create shares with privileged voting rights; | |||||
3. | la restriction de la transmissibilité des actions nominatives; | 3. | restrict the transferability of the registered shares; |
4. | laugmentation autorisée ou conditionnelle du capital-actions; | 4. | authorize or conditionally authorize an increase in share capital; | |||||
5. | laugmentation du capital-actions au moyen des fonds propres, contre apport en nature ou en vue dune reprise de biens et loctroi davantages particuliers; | 5. | increase the share capital through the conversion of capital surplus, through contribution in kind or for purposes of an acquisition of assets, or the granting of special privileges; | |||||
6. | la limitation ou la suppression du droit préférentiel de souscription | 6. | withdraw or limit pre-emptive rights; | |||||
7. | le transfert du siège de la société; | 7. | relocate the registered office of the company; | |||||
8. | la dissolution de la société. | 8. | dissolve the company; | |||||
9. | abroger ou modifier larticle 20 al. 1, de ces statuts; ou | 9. | abrogate or amend Article 20 para. 1 of these articles of association; or | |||||
10. | révoquer un membre en fonction du conseil dadministration. | 10. | remove a serving member of the board of directors. | |||||
Toute décision relative à la fusion, la scission ou la transformation de la société sera prise en conformité avec les dispositions de la loi fédérale suisse sur la fusion, la scission, la transformation et le transfert de patrimoine. | Any decision related to a merger, demerger or conversion of the company shall be taken in accordance with the Swiss Federal Act on Mergers, De-mergers, Transformations and Transfers of Businesses. | |||||||
B. REPRESENTANT INDEPENDANT DES ACTIONNAIRES | B. THE INDEPENDENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SHAREHOLDERS | |||||||
Article 18. Election, durée du mandat et révocation | Article 18. Election, office and removal | |||||||
Lassemblée générale des actionnaires élit le représentant indépendant des actionnaires. | The general meeting of shareholders elects the independent representative of shareholders. | |||||||
Sont éligibles les personnes physiques ou morales ou les sociétés de personnes. | Natural or legal persons or partnerships may be elected. | |||||||
Lart. 728 al. 2 à 6 CO sapplique par analogie au représentant indépendant. | Article 728 para. 2 to 6 CO applies by analogy to the independent representative. | |||||||
Les fonctions du représentant indépendant sachèvent à la fin de lassemblée générale ordinaire suivante. | The independent representative shall hold office until the end of the next annual general meeting. | |||||||
Lassemblée générale des actionnaires peut révoquer le représentant indépendant pour la fin de lassemblée. | The general meeting of shareholders may remove the independent representative with effect at the end of the meeting. |
Lorsque la société na pas de représentant indépendant, le conseil dadministration le désigne en vue de la prochaine assemblée générale des actionnaires. | If the company has no independent representative, the board of directors appoints one for the next general meeting of shareholders. | |||||||
B. CONSEIL DADMINISTRATION | B. BOARD OF DIRECTORS | |||||||
Article 19: Composition et durée des fonctions | Article 19: Composition and term of office | |||||||
Le conseil dadministration de la société est composé de huit membres au plus qui sont élus individuellement par lassemblée générale des actionnaires pour une durée de fonctions sachevant à la fin de lassemblée générale ordinaire suivante. Ils sont rééligibles indéfiniment. | The board of directors of the company shall be composed of not more than eight members, who shall be elected individually by the general meeting of shareholders for a term of office expiring after completion of the subsequent annual general meeting and who shall be indefinitely re-eligible. | |||||||
Le président du conseil dadministration est élu par lassemblée générale pour une durée de fonctions sachevant à la fin de lassemblée générale ordinaire suivante. Il est rééligible indéfiniment. | The chairman of the board of directors shall also be appointed by the general meeting for a term of office expiring after completion of the subsequent annual general meeting and who shall be indefinitely re-eligible. | |||||||
Article 20: Mandats externes | Article 20: Outside mandates | |||||||
Aucun membre du conseil dadministration ne peut exercer plus de [6] mandats additionnels dans des organes supérieurs de direction ou dadministration de sociétés dont les titres de participation sont cotés en bourse et [10] mandats additionnels dans des organes supérieurs de direction ou dadministration dautres sociétés. | No member of the board of directors may hold more than [6] additional mandates in the highest supervisory or management bodies of third party companies whose equity securities are listed on a stock exchange and [10] additional mandates in the highest management bodies of other companies. | |||||||
Les mandats suivants ne sont pas sujets aux limitations précitées: | The following mandates are not subject to these limitations: | |||||||
a) | les mandats dans des sociétés qui sont contrôlées par la société ou qui contrôlent la société; | a) | mandates in companies which are controlled by the company or which control the company; | |||||
b) | les mandats dans des organes supérieurs de direction ou dadministration dorganisations caritatives, de fondations, de trusts et dinstitutions de prévoyance en faveur du personnel. Aucun membre du conseil dadministration nexercera plus de [10] mandats à ce titre. | b) | mandates in the highest supervisory or management bodies of associations, charitable organizations, foundations, trusts and employee welfare foundations. No member of the board of directors shall hold more than [10] such mandates. |
Article 21: Organisation | Article 21: Organization | |||||||
Sauf disposition contraire de la loi ou de ces statuts, le conseil dadministration se constitue lui-même. Il peut désigner, parmi ses membres, un ou plusieurs vice-présidents qui assument la responsabilité de président du conseil dadministration en cas dincapacité de ce dernier. | Unless provided otherwise in the law or these articles of association, the board of directors shall organize itself. It may elect, among its members, one or more vice-chairpersons, who shall assume the responsibilities of the chairman of the board of directors if the latter is incapacitated. | |||||||
Article 22: Convocation | Article 22: Notice of meeting | |||||||
Le conseil dadministration est convoqué par le président aussi souvent que les affaires lexigent. | Meetings of the board of directors shall be convened by the chairman as often as business requires. | |||||||
Les délibérations et les décisions du conseil dadministration sont consignées dans un procès-verbal signé par le président et le secrétaire. | Minutes of the business discussed and resolutions carried by the board of directors shall be kept and signed by the chairman and secretary. | |||||||
Article 23: Décisions | Article 23: Resolutions | |||||||
Les décisions du conseil dadministration sont prises à la majorité des membres présents. Le règlement dorganisation adopté par le conseil dadministration peut prévoir un quorum de présence pour certaines décisions. Aucun quorum de présence nest requis pour les décisions concernant lexécution dune augmentation de capital décidée antérieurement et pour la modification des statuts résultant dune telle augmentation de capital. | Resolutions of the board of directors shall be made with a majority of the members present. The organizational regulations adopted by the board of directors may impose presence quorums for certain resolutions. No quorum requirement applies for resolutions regarding the completion of a previously decided capital increase and the amendment of the articles of association evidencing such capital increase. | |||||||
Les décisions peuvent aussi être prises en la forme dune approbation donnée par écrit à une proposition, à moins quune discussion ne soit requise par lun des membres du conseil dadministration. Les approbations données par écrit sont consignées dans le procès-verbal de la séance suivante. | Resolutions may also be made by written consent to a proposed motion, provided no member requests that it be debated orally. Such resolutions by written consent shall be entered in the minutes of the next meeting. | |||||||
Article 24: Compétences | Article 24: Powers | |||||||
Le conseil dadministration peut prendre des décisions sur toutes les affaires qui ne sont pas attribuées à lassemblée générale ou à un autre organe par la loi ou ces statuts. | The board of directors may pass resolutions on all matters not reserved to the general meeting or another corporate body by law or these articles of association. | |||||||
Sous réserve de lart. 716 a CO, le conseil | Subject to Article 716 a CO, the board of directors |
dadministration peut déléguer tout ou partie de la gestion de la société à un ou plusieurs de ses membres ou à des tiers, conformément aux dispositions du règlement dorganisation quil aura adopté à cette fin. | may delegate the management of all or part of the companys business to one or more of its members or to third parties, under the terms of organizational regulations that it shall have adopted for that purpose. | |||||||
COMITE DE REMUNERATION
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D. COMPENSATION COMMITTEE |
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Article 25: Composition et organisation
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Article 25: Composition and organisation | |||||||
Le comité de rémunération se compose de deux membres au moins du conseil dadministration, qui sont élus individuellement par lassemblée générale.
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The compensation committee shall be composed of two or more members of the board of directors who shall be individually elected by the general meeting of shareholders. | |||||||
Lorsque le comité de rémunération nest pas complet, le conseil dadministration désigne les membres manquants pour la période allant jusquà la fin de la durée de fonctions.
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If the compensation committee is not complete, the board of directors nominates the missing members for the remaining period of office. | |||||||
Le conseil dadministration désigne le président parmi les membres du comité de rémunération.
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The board of directors elects the chair from the members of the compensation committee. | |||||||
Pour le surplus, le comité de rémunération se constitue lui-même. | Otherwise, the compensation committee shall constitute itself. | |||||||
Article 26: Durée du mandat
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Article 26: Term of office |
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Les membres du comité de rémunération sont élus pour la période sécoulant jusquà la fin de lassemblée générale ordinaire suivante.
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The members of the compensation committee shall hold office until the end of the next annual general meeting. | |||||||
Ils sont indéfiniment rééligibles. | They shall be eligible for re-election indefinitely. | |||||||
Article 27: Compétences du comité de rémunération
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Article 27: Compensation committees powers |
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Le comité de rémunération assiste le conseil dadministration dans létablissement et lexamen périodique de la stratégie de rémunération, des directives qui sy rapportent et des objectifs de performance, ainsi que pour la préparation des propositions à soumettre à lassemblée générale des actionnaires pour la rémunération du conseil dadministration et du comité exécutif. Il peut soumettre des propositions au conseil dadministration sur dautres questions relatives à la rémunération.
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The compensation committee shall support the board of directors in establishing and reviewing the companys compensation strategy, guidelines and the performance targets, as well as in preparing the proposals to the general meeting of shareholders regarding the compensation of the board of directors and of the executive committee. It may submit proposals to the board of directors in other compensation-related issues. | |||||||
Le conseil dadministration détermine dans le règlement dorganisation (i) pour quelles | The board of directors shall set out in the organizational regulations (i) for which positions of |
fonctions du conseil dadministration et du comité exécutif le comité de rémunération fait des propositions au conseil dadministration pour ce qui concerne la rémunération et (ii) pour quelles autres fonctions le comité de rémunération fixe lui-même la rémunération conformément à ces statuts et aux directives concernant la rémunération.
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the board of directors and of the executive committee the compensation committee shall submit proposals for the compensation, and (ii) for which positions the compensation committee shall determine such compensation in accordance with these articles of association and the compensation guidelines. | |||||||
Le conseil dadministration peut déléguer au comité de rémunération dautres tâches définies dans le règlement. | The board of directors may delegate further tasks to the compensation committee that shall be determined in regulations. | |||||||
E. COMITE EXECUTIF
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E. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE |
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Article 28: Composition et organisation
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Article 28: Composition and organisation | |||||||
Le conseil dadministration élit les membres du comité exécutif. |
The board of directors shall elect the members of the executive committee.
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Sauf dans les cas prévus par la loi, seules des personnes physiques peuvent être élues au comité exécutif.
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Unless specifically permitted by law, only natural persons may be elected in the executive committee. | |||||||
Le conseil dadministration désigne le président du comité exécutif (CEO). Il fixe lorganisation du comité exécutif dans le règlement dorganisation. Pour le reste, le comité exécutif se constitue lui-même. | The board of directors shall appoint the head of the executive committee (CEO). It shall determine the organization of the executive committee in the organization regulations. For the rest, the executive committee shall constitute itself. | |||||||
Article 29: Rapports contractuels
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Article 29: Contractual relationships |
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Les contrats de durée déterminée entre des membres du comité exécutif, dune part, et la société ou des sociétés contrôlées par la société, dautre part, au sujet de leur rémunération, ne peuvent pas excéder un an. De tels contrats peuvent être renouvelés. |
Fixed-term agreements entered into by the company or companies controlled by the company, on the one hand, and members of the executive committee, on the other hand, with regard to their compensation cannot exceed one year. Such fixed-term agreements can be renewed.
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Si les contrats mentionnés à lalinéa 1 sont conclus pour une durée indéterminée, le délai de congé ne peut excéder un an. | If agreements within the scope of the prior paragraph are entered into for an indefinite period of time, their notice period cannot exceed one year. | |||||||
Article 30: Mandats externes
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Article 30: Outside mandates |
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Aucun membre du comité exécutif ne peut exercer plus de 6 mandats dans des organes supérieurs de direction ou dadministration de sociétés tierces dont les titres de participation sont cotés en bourse et 10 mandats additionnels | No member of the executive committee may hold more than 6 additional mandates in the highest supervisory or management bodies of third party companies whose equity securities are listed on a stock exchange and 10 additional mandates in the |
dans des organes supérieurs de direction ou dadministration dautres sociétés. Lacception de tels mandats par un membre du comité exécutif requiert laccord préalable du conseil dadministration.
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highest supervisory or management bodies of other companies. Members of the executive committee shall only accept such mandates with the prior consent of the board of directors. | |||||||
Les mandats suivants ne sont pas sujets aux limitations précitées:
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The following mandates are not subject to these limitations:
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les mandats dans des sociétés qui sont contrôlées par la société ou qui contrôlent la société;
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a) | mandates in companies which are controlled by the company or which control the company; | |||||
b) | les mandats dans des organes supérieurs de direction ou dadministration dorganisations caritatives, de fondations, de trusts et dinstitutions de prévoyance en faveur du personnel. Aucun membre du comité exécutif nexercera plus de 10 mandats à ce titre. | b) | mandates in the highest governing bodies of associations, charitable organizations, foundations, trusts and employee welfare foundations. No member of the executive committee shall hold more than 10 such mandates. | |||||
F. ORGANE DE REVISION
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F. AUDITORS |
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Article 31: Organe de révision
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Article 31: Auditors | |||||||
Lassemblée générale élit un ou plusieurs réviseurs comme organe de révision. Elle peut désigner des suppléants.
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The general meeting of shareholders shall elect one or several auditors. It may also elect deputy auditors. | |||||||
Au moins lun des réviseurs doit avoir en Suisse son domicile, son siège ou une succursale inscrite au registre du commerce. |
At least one auditor must have in Switzerland its domicile, registered office or branch registered in the commercial registry.
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Les réviseurs doivent satisfaire les exigences de qualification et dindépendance prévues par la loi.
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The auditors shall satisfy the qualification and independence requirements contemplated by law. | |||||||
Lorgane de révision exerce les attributions prévues par la loi, notamment les art. 728 a à 728 c CO. |
The auditors shall carry out their duties and report in accordance with the law, in particular Articles 728 a to 728 c CO.
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La durée de fonction des réviseurs est dune année. Elle se termine à la fin de lassemblée générale qui approuve les comptes annuels sur lesquels porte leur rapport. Ils sont immédiatement rééligibles. |
The term of office of the auditors is one year. It expires at the end of the general meeting of shareholders, which approves the annual statutory financial statements to which their audit relates. They shall be immediately eligible for re-election.
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Les réviseurs sont tenus de participer à lassemblée générale ordinaire. | The auditors shall be bound to attend the annual general meeting of shareholders. |
TITRE IV. REMUNERATION DES MEMBRES DU CONSEIL DADMINISTRATION ET DU COMITE EXECUTIF
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TITLE IV. COMPENSATION OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE | |||||||
Article 32: Principes de rémunération
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Article 32: Compensation principles | |||||||
La rémunération des membres du conseil dadministration se compose dune rémunération fixe et dindemnités de présence. Les membres exécutifs du conseil dadministration peuvent, en outre, se voir attribuer des éléments de rémunération des membres du comité exécutif.
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The compensation of the members of the board of directors shall consist of a fixed compensation and attendance allowances. Executive members of the board of directors can, in addition, receive compensation elements applicable with respect to members of the executive committee. | |||||||
La rémunération des membres du comité exécutif comprend des éléments de rémunération fixes et variables. La rémunération fixe comprend le salaire de base et dautres éléments de rémunération. La rémunération variable peut comprendre des éléments de rémunération à court et à long terme. La rémunération totale prend en compte la position et le niveau de responsabilité du bénéficiaire.
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The compensation of the members of the executive committee consists of fixed and variable compensation elements. Fixed compensation comprises the base salary and other compensation elements. Variable compensation may comprise short-term and long-term compensation elements. The total compensation shall take into account position and level of responsibility of the recipient. | |||||||
Les éléments de rémunération variable à court terme sont régis par des mesures de performance qui prennent en compte la performance de la société et de tout ou partie de ses filiales, la performance du marché, dautres sociétés ou éléments de référence comparables et/ou dobjectifs de performance personnels quantitatifs et qualitatifs.
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Short-term variable compensation elements shall be governed by performance metrics that take into account the performance of the company and some or all of its subsidiaries, market performance, other companies or comparable benchmarks and/or individual quantitative and qualitative performance targets. | |||||||
Les éléments de rémunération variables à long terme sont régis par des mesures de performance qui prennent en compte des objectifs stratégiques et/ou financiers, ainsi que des éléments de rétention.
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Long-term variable compensation elements shall be governed by performance metrics that take into account strategic and/or financial objectives, as well as retention elements. | |||||||
Le conseil dadministration, le comité de rémunération ou tout autre organe auquel cette compétence a été déléguée détermine les mesures de performance, les objectifs de performance, ainsi que leur accomplissement.
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The board of directors or, to the extent delegated to it, the compensation committee or another body shall determine the performance metrics, the target levels as well as their achievement. | |||||||
La rémunération peut être versée en espèces ou sous dautres formes. Elle peut être versée sous forme dactions, doptions ou dautres instruments financiers. Le conseil dadministration ou le comité de rémunération, | Compensation may be paid in the form of cash or in the form of other types of benefits. It can be paid by the grant of shares, stock options or other financial instruments. The board of directors or, to the extent delegated to it, the compensation committee shall |
si cette compétence lui a été déléguée, détermine les conditions doctroi, dacquisition ( vesting ), dexercice et de déchéance. Il peut en particulier prévoir la continuation, laccélération ou la suppression des conditions dacquisition ( vesting ) et dexercice, le paiement ou lattribution dune rémunération lors de latteinte des objectifs ou encore la déchéance des droits, dans chaque cas lors dévénements prédéterminés tels quun changement de contrôle ou la fin dun contrat de travail ou de mandat. La société peut se procurer les actions requises par le biais dachats sur le marché, directement ou par lintermédiaire de sociétés quelle contrôle, ou par lémission dactions nouvelles.
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determine grant, vesting, exercise and forfeiture conditions. In particular, they may provide for continuation, acceleration or removal of vesting and exercise conditions, for payment or grant of compensation based upon assumed target achievement, or for forfeiture, in each case in the event of pre-determined events such as a change-of-control or termination of an employment or mandate agreement. The company may procure the required shares through purchases in the market, either directly or through companies controlled by it, or by issuing new shares.
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Les membres du conseil dadministration et/ou du comité exécutif peuvent participer à des plans de souscription dactions établis par la société ou par des sociétés contrôlées par celle-ci, lesquels peuvent permettre aux employés éligibles daffecter une partie de leur rémunération à lacquisition dactions de la société à un prix inférieur à celui du marché.
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Members of the board of directors and/or executive committee may participate in share purchase plans established by the company or companies controlled by it, under the terms of which eligible employees may allocate a portion of their compensation to the purchase of shares of the company at a discount to market price. | |||||||
La rémunération peut être versée par la société ou par une société quelle contrôle.
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Compensation may be paid by the company or companies controlled by it. | |||||||
La société ou les sociétés quelle contrôle remboursent les frais encourus par les membres du conseil dadministration ou du comité exécutif. Les frais remboursés ne font pas partie de la rémunération. | The company or companies controlled by it shall reimburse the expenses incurred by the members of the board of directors or executive committee. Expenses reimbursements are not part of the compensation. | |||||||
Article 33: Prêts, crédits et prestations de prévoyance
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Article 33: Loans, credits and retirement benefits |
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Sous réserve de larticle 34 para. 5, la société naccorde pas de prêts ou de crédits aux membres du conseil dadministration ou aux membres du comité exécutif.
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Subject to Article 34 para. 5, the company shall not grant loans or credit facilities to members of the board of directors or members of the executive committee. | |||||||
Les cotisations de retraite et les prestations de prévoyance sont effectuées selon les règles applicables aux plans de pension auxquels participe, en Suisse ou à létranger, la société ou les sociétés contrôlées par celle-ci. | Pension contributions and post-retirement benefits shall be made or provided in accordance with the regulations applicable to the pension schemes in which the company or the companies controlled by it participate in Switzerland or abroad. |
Article 34: Vote de lassemblée générale sur les rémunérations |
Article 34: Vote of the general meeting of shareholders on the compensation
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Sur proposition du conseil dadministration, lassemblée générale des actionnaires approuve annuellement et séparément: | Following a proposal by the board of directors, the general meeting of shareholders annually and separately approves: | |||||||
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la rémunération totale du conseil dadministration pour la période allant jusquà lassemblée générale ordinaire suivante; et
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the aggregate compensation of the board of directors until the next annual general meeting; and |
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la rémunération totale du comité exécutif pour lexercice annuel suivant.
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the aggregate compensation of the executive committee for the following business year.
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Le conseil dadministration peut soumettre à lassemblée générale des propositions de rémunération portant sur des périodes différentes et se rapportant à lensemble des membres du conseil dadministration ou du comité exécutif ou à certains dentre eux seulement.
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The board of directors can submit compensation proposals to the general meeting of shareholders for other periods and for all members of the board of directors or executive committee or some of them only. | |||||||
Le vote de lassemblée générale des actionnaires sur les propositions de rémunération a un caractère contraignant. |
The vote of the general meeting of shareholders on the compensation proposals shall be binding.
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Si lassemblée générale des actionnaires napprouve pas une proposition de rémunération faite par le conseil dadministration, ce dernier convoque une assemblée générale extraordinaire.
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If the general meeting of shareholders does not approve a compensation proposal made by the board of directors, the board of directors shall convene an extraordinary general meeting. | |||||||
Des rémunérations peuvent être payées avant approbation de lassemblée générale des actionnaires, celles-ci devant toutefois être sujettes à approbation ultérieure et à restitution en labsence dune telle approbation ultérieure.
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Compensation may be paid out prior to approval by the general meeting of shareholders, subject to subsequent approval and, absent such subsequent approval, to restitution to the company. | |||||||
Si le montant global maximal de la rémunération déjà approuvé par lassemblée générale des actionnaires nest pas suffisant pour couvrir la rémunération fixe dune personne devenant membre du comité exécutif après que lassemblée générale a approuvé la rémunération du comité exécutif pour la période visée (nouveau membre), la société ou toute autre société quelle contrôle peut verser à ce ou à ces nouveaux membres un montant complémentaire pour la période de rémunération déjà approuvée. Le montant complémentaire ne doit pas dépasser (i) pour le président du comité exécutif (CEO), 140% de la rémunération annuelle totale de lancien CEO et (ii) pour tout autre nouveau membre, 140% de la rémunération annuelle totale la plus élevée dun membre du comité exécutif en fonction autre que le CEO. | If the maximum aggregate amount of compensation already approved by the general meeting of shareholders is not sufficient to also cover the compensation of one or more persons who become members of the executive committee during a compensation period for which the general meeting of shareholders has already approved the compensation of the executive committee (new hire), the company or companies controlled by it shall be authorized to pay an additional amount with respect to the compensation period already approved. Such additional amount shall not exceed (i) for the head of the executive committee (CEO), 140% of the total annual compensation of the former CEO and (ii) for any new hire other than the CEO, 140% of the highest total annual compensation of any member of the executive committee in office other than the CEO. |
Article 35: Indemnisation
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Article 35: Indemnification | |||||||
[Dans toute la mesure permise par la loi, la société indemnisera et relèvera les membres actuels et anciens du conseil dadministration, du comité exécutif, ainsi que leurs héritiers, exécuteurs et administrateurs, de tous dommages, pertes, responsabilités et frais résultant dactions, procédures ou enquêtes annoncées, pendantes ou conclues, que ces dernières soient civiles, pénales, administratives ou de toute autre nature (y compris en particulier de toute responsabilité contractuelle, délictuelle, légale ou résultant de législations ou réglementations étrangères applicables, ainsi que de tous frais ou dépenses légaux ou autres raisonnablement encourus) que lun ou lensemble dentre eux ou leurs héritiers, exécuteurs ou administrateurs auront encouru ou supporté du fait de: a) tout acte commis ou prétendument commis, perpétré ou prétendument perpétré ainsi que toute omission ou prétendue omission intervenus dans lexercice de leurs obligations ou de leurs prétendues obligations; ou b) lexercice de leur fonction de membre du conseil dadministration ou du comité exécutif de la société; ou c) lexercice, sur requête de la société, de la fonction dadministrateur, dorgane, demployé ou de représentant dune autre personne morale, société de personnes, trust ou de toute autre entreprise. Cette indemnisation ne sétendra pas aux circonstances dans lesquelles lune des personnes susmentionnées aura été reconnue avoir violé ses obligations de membre du conseil dadministration ou du comité exécutif intentionnellement ou par une négligence grave par un jugement ou une décision finale émanant dune autorité judiciaire, dun tribunal arbitral, dune autorité gouvernementale ou administrative et non susceptible de recours.
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[The company shall indemnify and hold harmless, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the current and former members of the board of directors, the executive committee, and their heirs, executors and administrators out of the assets of the company from against all damages, losses, liabilities and expenses in connection with threatened, pending or completed actions, proceedings or investigations, whether civil, criminal, administrative or other (including, but not limited to, liabilities under contract, tort and statute or any applicable foreign law or regulation and all reasonable legal and other costs and expenses properly payable) which they or any of them, their heirs, executors or administrators, shall or may incur or sustain by or reason of a) any act done or alleged to be done, concurred or alleged to be concurred in or omitted or alleged to be omitted in or about the execution of their duty, or alleged duty; or b) serving as a member of the board of directors or member of the executive committee of the company; or c) serving at the request of the company as director, officer, or employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, trust or other enterprise. This indemnity shall not extend to any matter in which any of the said persons is found, in a final judgment or decree of a court, arbitral tribunal or governmental or administrative authority of competent jurisdiction not subject to appeal, to have committed an intentional or grossly negligent breach of said persons duties as member of the board of directors or member of the executive committee. | |||||||
Nonobstant ce qui précède, la société avancera le montant des frais judiciaires et des honoraires davocat se rapportant aux procédures civiles, pénales, administratives ou aux enquêtes mentionnées à lalinéa précédent. La société pourra refuser et/ou obtenir le remboursement de telles avances si un tribunal ou une autorité gouvernementale ou administrative compétente constate dans une décision non susceptible de recours que le membre du conseil dadministration ou du comité exécutif concerné | Without limiting the foregoing, the company shall advance to existing and former members of the board of directors and executive committee court costs and attorney fees in connection with civil, criminal, administrative or investigative proceedings as described in the preceding paragraph. The company may reject and/or recover such advanced costs if a court or governmental or administrative authority of competent jurisdiction not subject to appeal holds that the member of the board of directors or |
a violé ses obligations de membre du conseil dadministration ou du comité exécutif intentionnellement ou par une négligence grave. La société pourra souscrire une assurance responsabilité en faveur des membres du conseil dadministration et des membres du comité exécutif. Les primes de cette assurance seront mises à la charge et payées par la société ou par lune de ses filiales]. | member of the executive management in question has committed an intentional or grossly negligent breach of his statutory duties as a member of the board of directors or member of the executive committee. The company may procure directors and officers liability insurance for members of the board of directors and members of the executive committee of the company. The insurance premiums shall be charged to and paid by the company or its subsidiaries]. | |||||||
TITRE V. ANNEE SOCIALE REPARTITION DU BENEFICE
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TITLE V. BUSINESS YEAR ALLOCATION OF PROFITS |
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Article 36: Année sociale |
Article 36: Business year
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Le conseil dadministration détermine lannée sociale. | The board of directors shall determine the business year. | |||||||
Article 37: Distribution du bénéfice
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Article 37: Allocation of profit |
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Chaque année, 5% du bénéfice de lexercice sont affectés à la réserve générale jusquà ce que celle-ci atteigne 20 % du capital-actions libéré. Si, par la suite, la réserve générale natteint plus la limite légale de 20 %, des affectations supplémentaires devront être effectuées jusquà ce que cette limite soit à nouveau atteinte.
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Each year 5% of the annual net profit must be transferred to a general reserve until this fund amounts to 20% of the paid-in capital. Whenever the general reserve falls below 20%, additional transfers shall be made until the 20% limit is once again reached. | |||||||
Le solde du bénéfice résultant du bilan est, sur proposition du conseil dadministration, réparti conformément aux décisions de lassemblée générale des actionnaires dans les limites des dispositions impératives de la loi concernant la réserve légale. | The remainder of the net profit shall be allocated in the manner decided by the general meeting of shareholders, following a proposal by the board of directors and subject, however, to the mandatory provisions of the law concerning the general reserve. | |||||||
Article 38: Dividende
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Article 38: Dividends |
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Le paiement du dividende a lieu à lépoque fixée par le conseil dadministration. Tout dividende qui na pas été réclamé dans les cinq ans dès son exigibilité revient de plein droit à la société. | Dividends shall be paid at such time as the board of directors shall determine. Any dividend not claimed within five years of it becoming due shall be forfeited to the company. |
TITRE VI. LIQUIDATION DE LA SOCIETE
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TITLE VI. LIQUIDATION OF THE COMPANY | |||||||
Article 39: Liquidation
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Article 39: Liquidation | |||||||
Lorsque la dissolution de la société est décidée, la liquidation est menée par le conseil dadministration, à moins que lassemblée générale des actionnaires ne désigne dautres liquidateurs. |
In the event that it is decided to dissolve the company, the liquidation thereof shall be carried out by the board of directors, unless the general meeting of shareholders appoints other liquidators.
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Lun au moins des liquidateurs doit être domicilié en Suisse et avoir qualité pour représenter la société. Les liquidateurs décident du mode de signature. | At least one of the liquidators shall be domiciled in Switzerland and shall have the right to represent the company. The liquidators shall determine the signature rights. | |||||||
Article 40: Compétences pendant la liquidition
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Article 40: Powers during the liquidation |
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Pendant la liquidation, les pouvoirs des organes sociaux sont restreints aux actes qui sont nécessaires à cette opération et qui, de par leur nature, ne sont pas du ressort des liquidateurs. |
During the liquidation, the powers of the corporate bodies of the company shall be restricted to operations that are necessary for the liquidation, but which, by their nature, lie outside the scope of the function of the liquidators.
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Lassemblée générale des actionnaires conserve le droit dapprouver les comptes de la liquidation et de donner décharge aux liquidateurs.
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The general meeting of the shareholders shall retain the right to approve the accounts of the liquidation and to discharge the liquidators from liability. | |||||||
Après paiement des dettes, lactif disponible de la société dissoute est réparti entre les actionnaires de la société au prorata des apports effectués. | The available assets, after discharge of liabilities, shall be distributed to the shareholders of the company in proportion to the paid-in contributions. | |||||||
TITRE VII. PUBLICATIONS DROIT APPLICABLE FOR
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TITRE VII. ANNOUNCEMENTS GOVERNING LAW JURISDICTION |
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Article 41: Publications
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Article 41: Announcements | |||||||
Sauf disposition contraire de ces statuts, les communications de la société aux actionnaires sont faites par avis écrit aux actionnaires inscrits au registre des actions ou, si le conseil dadministration le décide, par publication dans la Feuille officielle suisse du commerce.
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Unless these Articles provide otherwise, company notices to shareholders shall be sent out in writing to shareholders entered in the Share Register or, if the board of directors so decides, shall be published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce. | |||||||
Lorgane de publication est la Feuille officielle suisse du commerce. | The journal for publishing notices shall be the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce. |
Article 42: Droit applicable et for
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Article 42: Governing law and jurisdiction | |||||||
Une action en justice contre la société, les personnes chargées de ladministration, de la gestion, de la révision et de la liquidation peut être ouverte devant le juge ordinaire du siège de la société; le droit suisse est applicable. | All disputes and proceedings against the company, its directors, executive officers, auditors, or liquidators shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts of the place of the registered office of the company; Swiss law shall apply. |
La version anglaise de ces statuts est une traduction de loriginal en langue française. En cas de contradiction entre la version française et la version anglaise de ces statuts, la version française fait foi.
The English version of these articles of association is a translation of the original version in French. In the event of any discrepancies between the French and English versions, the French version shall prevail.
Genève, le 6 décembre 2016
Dr. Ernest L OUMAYE :
David L ACIN , notaire:
Exhibit 4.2
S HAREHOLDERS A GREEMENT
by and among
M R . E RNEST L OUMAYE , domiciled at [*]
( Ernest Loumaye )
F UND S OFINNOVA C APITAL VII (SCVII) , a French venture capital fund represented by its management company, Sofinnova Partners SAS, a company organized under the laws of France, having its registered office at Immeuble Le Centorial, 16-18 rue du 4 Septembre, 75002 Paris, France
( Sofinnova Partners )
S OFINNOVA V ENTURE P ARTNERS VIII, L.P. , a Delaware limited partnership represented by its management company, Sofinnova Management VIII, L.L.C., a Delaware limited liability company, each having its principal office at 3000 Sand Hill Road, 4-250 Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA
( Sofinnova Ventures )
N OVO A/S , a public limited liability company established under the laws of Denmark with CVR no. 24 25 76 30 in the Danish Business Register and having its registered address at Tuborg Havnevej 19, 2900 Hellerup, Denmark
( Novo )
A RES T RADING SA , a company organized under the laws of Switzerland, having its registered seat in Aubonne, Switzerland
( Ares Trading )
(Ernest Loumaye, Sofinnova Partners, Sofinnova Ventures, Novo and Ares Trading are collectively referred to as the Series A Investors )
and
HBM Healthcare Investments (Cayman) Ltd. , with registered office at Governors Square, Suite 4-212-2, 23 Lime Tree Bay Avenue, West Bay, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands.
( HBM )
New Enterprise Associates 15, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership represented by its general partner, NEA Partners 15, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership further represented by its general partner, NEA 15 GP, LLC, with offices at c/o New Enterprise Associates, Inc., 1954 Greenspring Drive, Suite 600, Timonium, MD 21093, USA.
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( NEA )
OrbiMed Private Investments V, LP , a Delaware limited partnership, represented by its general partner OrbiMed Capital GP V LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, itself represented by its managing member OrbiMed Advisors LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, each having its registered office at c/o Corporation Service Company, 27111 Centerville Road, Suite 400, Wilmington, County of New Castle, Delaware 19808, USA.
( Orbimed )
(collectively the Lead Series B Investors )
Rock Springs Capital Master Fund LP , with registered office at 190 Elgin Avenue, George Town, Grand Cayman, KY1-9005, Cayman Islands, represented by its general partner, Rock Springs GP LLC a Delaware limited liability company having its office at 650 South Exeter St., Suite 1070, Baltimore, MD, 21202, United States.
( Rock Springs )
(the Lead Series B Investors and Rock Springs are collectively referred to as the New Investors )
(the Series A Investors and the New Investors are collectively referred to as the Series B Investors )
and
M R . A NDRE C HOLLET , domiciled at [*]
( André Chollet )
and
O BS E VA SA , a company organized under the laws of Switzerland, having its registered office at 12, chemin des Aulx, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Switzerland
(the Company )
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Table of Contents
1 |
Definitions |
4 | ||||
2 |
Conditions precedent |
10 | ||||
3 |
Scope |
10 | ||||
4 |
Mission and Objective |
11 | ||||
5 |
Organization and Management |
11 | ||||
6 |
Restrictions on Transfer |
18 | ||||
7 |
Preemptive Rights |
19 | ||||
8 |
Right of First Refusal |
20 | ||||
9 |
Drag-Along Right |
23 | ||||
10 |
Tag-Along Right |
24 | ||||
11 |
Rights, Preferences and Privileges of the Preferred Shares |
25 | ||||
12 |
Conversion |
27 | ||||
13 |
Preferred Shareholders Anti-Dilution |
28 | ||||
14 |
Mr. Ernest Loumayes Anti-Dilution |
29 | ||||
15 |
Equity Incentive Plan |
31 | ||||
16 |
Initial Public Offering |
32 | ||||
17 |
Non-Compete |
33 | ||||
18 |
Intellectual Property |
34 | ||||
19 |
Bad Leaver / Good Leaver |
34 | ||||
20 |
Call Option |
36 | ||||
21 |
New Shareholder |
36 | ||||
22 |
Representations and Warranties |
36 | ||||
23 |
Confidentiality |
37 | ||||
24 |
Miscellaneous |
38 | ||||
25 |
Governing Law and Jurisdiction |
39 |
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Preamble
W HEREAS , the Company is a Swiss corporation ( société anonyme ) registered with the commercial register of the Canton of Geneva under the federal number n o CHE-253.914.856;
W HEREAS , on August 28, 2013, the Series A Investors subscribed 592829 Preferred A Shares in the share capital of the Company;
W HEREAS , on the date hereof, the Series B Investors and ObsEva have entered into an investment agreement pursuant to which the Series B Investors shall, inter alia , subscribe shares in the share capital of the Company to be issued pursuant to a share capital increase as specified in such investment agreement and in the capitalization table attached as Schedule A to such investment agreement (the Capitalization Table );
W HEREAS , as a result thereof, upon Closing (as defined below), the Parties (other than the Company) shall together own 100% of the outstanding Shares of the Company;
W HEREAS , the Shareholders (as defined below) wish to set forth herein their agreements with respect to the operation and management of the Company and their respective rights and obligations as shareholders of the Company, to provide reasonable restrictions upon the transfer of shares in the Company and to agree to vote their shares in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement.
Now, therefore, the Parties hereby agree as follows:
1 | D EFINITIONS |
1.1 | In addition to the terms defined above, the following terms shall have the following meanings for all purposes of this Agreement (such meanings to be equally applicable to both the singular and plural forms of the terms defined): |
1.1.1 | Affiliate shall mean, with respect to any person or entity, any other person or entity directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with, such person or entity. |
1.1.2 | Agreement shall mean this Shareholders Agreement together with the Schedules. |
1.1.3 | Appraiser shall have the meaning set forth in Article 19.3. |
1.1.4 | Anti-dilution Shares A shall have the meaning set forth in Article 13.1. |
1.1.5 | Anti-dilution Shares B shall have the meaning set forth in Article 13.6. |
1.1.6 | Articles of Incorporation shall mean the Articles of Incorporation of the Company attached hereto as Exhibit 1 , as amended from time to time. |
1.1.7 | Audit Committee shall have the meaning set forth in Article 5.2.8(i). |
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1.1.8 | Auditors shall mean the statutory auditors of the Company . |
1.1.9 | Average Subscription Price A shall mean with respect to any Preferred A Shareholder at any given point in time the result of dividing (a) the sum of (i) the subscription price paid for any Preferred A Shares and (ii) any further contribution or partial further contribution paid to the Company by such Preferred A Shareholder within the meaning of the Series A Investment Agreement dated 28 August 2013 and (iii) the subscription price paid for any Anti-Dilution Shares A by such Preferred A Shareholder and (iv) the subscription price paid for any subsequent issuance of Preferred A Shares by such Preferred A Shareholder (excluding Anti-Dilution Shares A) by (b) the aggregate number of Preferred A Shares held by such Preferred A Shareholder at such given point in time. |
1.1.10 | Average Subscription Price B shall mean with respect to any Preferred B Shareholder at any given point in time the result of dividing (a) the sum of (i) the subscription price paid for any Preferred B Shares and (ii) the subscription price paid for any Anti-Dilution Shares B by such Preferred B Shareholder and (iii) the subscription price paid for any subsequent issuance of Preferred B Shares by such Preferred B Shareholder (excluding Anti-Dilution Shares B) by (b) the aggregate number of Preferred B Shares held by such Preferred B Shareholder at such given point in time. |
1.1.11 | Beneficiary shall have the meaning set forth in Article 15.1. |
1.1.12 | Board of Directors shall mean the board of directors of the Company. |
1.1.13 | Budget shall mean the Companys budget prepared by the Management and approved by the Series B Investors during their due diligence before Closing. |
1.1.14 | Business Day shall mean any day upon which banks are open in Geneva, Switzerland. |
1.1.15 | Call Option shall have the meaning set forth in Article 19.1 and 20.1. |
1.1.16 | Capitalization Table shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement. |
1.1.17 | Cause shall mean a justified cause ( justes motifs ) in the sense of Article 337 CO as applied from time to time by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court; in no event, a release from an obligation to work shall be deemed as a justified cause for termination. |
1.1.18 | Chairperson shall mean the chairperson of the Board of Directors. |
1.1.19 | Closing shall mean the closing of the transactions contemplated by the Investment Agreement. |
1.1.20 | Closing Date shall mean the day on which Closing occurs. |
1.1.21 | CO shall mean the Swiss Federal Code of Obligations. |
1.1.22 | Common Shareholders shall mean the holders of Common Shares, as well as their successors and permitted assigns. |
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1.1.23 | Common Shares shall mean the ordinary registered Shares in the Company, as well as any and all future ordinary registered Shares having the same rights, preferences and privileges. |
1.1.24 | Compensation Committee shall have the meaning set forth in Article 5.2.8(h). |
1.1.25 | Competitive Field shall have the meaning set forth in Article 17.1(a). |
1.1.26 | Control shall mean, with respect to any person or entity, the possession directly or indirectly of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such person or entity whether through ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise; controlling , controlled by and under common control with shall be construed accordingly. |
1.1.27 | Controlling Interest shall mean any interest in Shares conferring at the time in question in the aggregate 50 per cent or more of the voting rights. |
1.1.28 | Deemed Liquidation shall have the meaning set forth in Article 11.2.1. |
1.1.29 | Deemed Liquidation Preference A Amount shall have the meaning set forth in Article 11.2.1. |
1.1.30 | Deemed Liquidation Preference B Amount shall have the meaning set forth in Article 11.2.1. |
1.1.31 | Director shall mean a member of the Board of Directors from time to time. |
1.1.32 | Down-Round A shall have the meaning set forth in Article 13.1. |
1.1.33 | Down-Round B shall have the meaning set forth in Article 13.6. |
1.1.34 | Drag-Along Notice shall have the meaning set forth in Article 9.1(a). |
1.1.35 | Eligible A Shareholders shall have the meaning set forth in Article 8.4.1. |
1.1.36 | Eligible B Shareholders shall have the meaning set forth in Article 8.5.1. |
1.1.37 | Eligible Shareholders shall have the meaning set forth in Article 8.3.1. |
1.1.38 | ESG Issues shall have the meaning set forth in Article 5.2.8(j). |
1.1.39 | Exercising A Shareholders shall have the meaning set forth in Article 8.4.2. |
1.1.40 | Exercising B Shareholders shall have the meaning set forth in Article 8.5.2. |
1.1.41 | Exercising Shareholders shall have the meaning set forth in Article 8.3.2. |
1.1.42 | Financial Statements shall mean the audited balance sheet and the profit and loss accounts of the Company and the notes, schedules and exhibits thereto, as well as the reports of the Board of Directors and of the Auditors related thereto. |
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1.1.43 | Garden Leave Arrangement shall have the meaning set forth in Article 17.1. |
1.1.44 | General Meeting of Shareholders shall mean the meeting of all or part of the Shareholders in accordance with the CO and the Articles of Incorporation. |
1.1.45 | Indemnified Persons shall have the meaning set forth in Article 22.3. |
1.1.46 | Initial Public Offering shall mean the listing of all or part of the Shares on an internationally recognized stock exchange. |
1.1.47 | Intellectual Property shall mean trademarks, service marks, logos, trade and business names, domain names, registered designs, design rights, copyright (including all such rights in computer software), algorithms, database rights, moral rights and confidential information (including know-how and trade secrets) licenses, information and other intellectual property rights, registering rights and processes and in each case whether registered or unregistered and including applications for and renewals and extensions of any of the above rights or the right to apply for any of the foregoing in any part of the world, as well as the Patents. |
1.1.48 | Invalidity shall mean a total incapacity of earning which is presumed to be permanent. |
1.1.49 | Investment Agreement shall mean the Investment Agreement of the date hereof by and among the Series B Investors and the Company. |
1.1.50 | Lead Series B Investors shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement. |
1.1.51 | Management shall mean the management team of the Company from time to time. |
1.1.52 | Market Value shall have the meaning set forth in Article 19.3. |
1.1.53 | Material Contracts shall have the meaning set forth in Article 18 of Exhibit 4. |
1.1.54 | Merger Act shall mean the Swiss Federal Act of October 3, 2003 on Mergers, Demergers, Transformations and Transfers of Assets (as amended from time to time). |
1.1.55 | New Investors shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to this Agreement. |
1.1.56 | Nomination Committee shall have the meaning set forth in Article 5.2.2. |
1.1.57 | Notice shall have the meaning set forth in Article 8.1. |
1.1.58 | Notice Period shall have the meanings set forth in Articles 8.3.1 and 8.4.5. |
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1.1.59 | Non-Voting Shares, or NVS shall have the meaning set forth in Article 15.1. |
1.1.60 | Offered Shares shall have the meaning set forth in Article 8.2. |
1.1.61 | Offering Shareholder shall have the meaning set forth in Article 8.1. |
1.1.62 | Offeror shall have the meaning set forth in Article 8.2. |
1.1.63 | Organizational Regulations shall have the meaning set forth in Article 5.2.8. |
1.1.64 | Other Shareholders shall have the meaning set forth in Article 9.1(b). |
1.1.65 | Outside Directors shall mean the outside, non-executive and independent Directors with industry experience to be appointed in accordance with Article 5.2.2. |
1.1.66 | Party shall mean a party signing this Agreement, as well as his successors and permitted assigns. |
1.1.67 | Patents shall mean all patents or letters patent, claims in any patent and applications for the same and the right to apply for the same in any part of the world including, without limitation, all reissues, extensions, substitutions, confirmations, registrations, revalidations, additions, continuations, continuations in part and divisionals thereof (including any supplementary protection certificates); |
1.1.68 | Preferred A Shareholders shall mean the holders of Preferred A Shares, as well as their successors and permitted assigns. |
1.1.69 | Preferred A Shares shall mean the preferred registered A Shares having, as of the Closing, the rights, preferences and privileges set forth in the Articles of Incorporation and this Agreement, as well as any and all future preferred registered Shares having the same rights, preferences and privileges. |
1.1.70 | Preferred B Shareholders shall mean the holders of Preferred B Shares, as well as their successors and permitted assigns. |
1.1.71 | Preferred B Shares shall mean the preferred registered B Shares having, as of the Closing, the rights, preferences and privileges set forth in the Articles of Incorporation and this Agreement, as well as any and all future preferred registered Shares having the same rights, preferences and privileges. |
1.1.72 | Preferred Directors shall mean the Directors designated by and representing the Preferred Shareholders on the Board pursuant to and in accordance with Article 5.2.2. |
1.1.73 | Preferred Shareholders shall mean the holders of Preferred Shares, as well as their successors and permitted assigns. |
1.1.74 | Preferred Shares shall mean the Preferred A Shares together with the Preferred B Shares. |
1.1.75 | Put Closing shall have the meaning set forth in Article 10.2. |
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1.1.76 | Put Right Notice shall have the meaning set forth in Article 10.2. |
1.1.77 | Qualified A Majority shall mean the approval by Shareholders representing in the aggregate at least 2/3 of all Preferred A Shares outstanding on such date. |
1.1.78 | Qualified B Majority shall mean the approval by Shareholders representing in the aggregate at least 2/3 of all Preferred B Shares outstanding on such date. |
1.1.79 | Qualified Majority shall mean the approval by shareholders representing in the aggregate at least 2/3 of all Preferred Shares outstanding on such date. |
1.1.80 | Selling Party shall have the meaning set forth in Article 10.1. |
1.1.81 | Series A Investors shall mean Sofinnova Partners, Mr. Ernest Loumaye, Sofinnova Ventures, Ares Trading and Novo as subscribers of Preferred A Shares. |
1.1.82 | Series B Financing shall have the meaning set forth in the preamble to the Investment Agreement. |
1.1.83 | Series B Investors shall mean Sofinnova Partners, Mr. Ernest Loumaye, Sofinnova Ventures, Ares Trading, Novo, HBM, NEA, Orbimed and Rock Springs as subscribers of Preferred B Shares. |
1.1.84 | Shareholders shall mean the holders of Shares, including the Common Shareholders and the Preferred Shareholders, as well as their successors and permitted assigns. |
1.1.85 | Shares shall mean the Common Shares, the Preferred Shares as well as any other equity security issued by the Company to the exclusion of the Non-Voting Shares. Whenever this Agreement refers to a percentage of the share capital, such percentage will be calculated, unless otherwise provided, by taking into account all outstanding Shares. |
1.1.86 | Successors shall have the meaning set forth in Article 6.5. |
1.1.87 | Tag Put Right shall have the meaning set forth in Article 10.2. |
1.1.88 | Third Party shall mean, with respect to any person or entity, any bona fide other person or entity who is not an Affiliate or a related party of such person or entity. |
1.1.89 | Transfer shall mean any transfer of Shares by any of the Shareholders (alone or together with other Shareholders), with or without any counterpart, resulting from any contribution in cash or in kind, any donation or any other kind of transfer, including but not limited to any transfer occurring by operation of law or by a judiciary decision, as well as any transfer for security purposes; to transfer, transferring and transferred shall be construed accordingly. |
1.1.90 | Transfer Documents shall have the meaning set forth in Article 8.7. |
1.1.91 | Warrantors shall mean, in the context of the representations and warranties as per Article 22, Ernest Loumaye and the Company. |
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1.2 | Except to the extent that the context otherwise requires: |
(a) | when a reference is made in this Agreement to an Article or Exhibit, such reference is to an Article of, or Exhibit to, this Agreement unless otherwise indicated; |
(b) | the headings for this Agreement are for reference purposes only and do not affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement; |
(c) | whenever the words include, includes or including are used in this Agreement, they are deemed to be followed by the words without limitation; |
(d) | the words hereof, herein and hereunder and words of similar import, when used in this Agreement, refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement; and |
(e) | the use of or is not intended to be exclusive unless expressly indicated otherwise. |
2 | C ONDITIONS PRECEDENT |
The entry into force and the effectiveness of any rights and obligations of the Parties under this Agreement are conditional upon the Investment Agreement, the license agreement between Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., 1-8-9 Nihonbashi, Muromachi, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo 103-0022, Japan and the Company on the compound known as KLH-2109 and any and all compounds included in the composition of matter patent for KLH-2109 (PCT/JP2006/320681) (the License Agreement ) and any agreements provided for therein being executed and delivered and becoming fully effective at Closing and in particular all conditions precedent to the Investment Agreement and any agreements provided for therein, as well as any operations to take place prior or at Closing, being satisfied or waived.
3 | S COPE |
3.1 | Scope . This Agreement governs the relationship between the Parties in their capacities as Shareholders and, as the case may be, as Directors. This Agreement shall bind the Parties with respect to all of their Shares held directly or indirectly. If further Shares are acquired or obtained by the Parties, the provisions of this Agreement shall also apply with respect to such further Shares. |
3.2 | Compliance. Each Party undertakes with each other Party to comply with this Agreement. Each undertaking by the Company in respect of each provision of this Agreement shall be construed as a separate undertaking and if any of the undertakings is unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining undertakings shall continue to bind the Company. The Parties undertake, each individually in their capacities as Shareholders and, as the case may be, as Directors, directly or indirectly, to implement the corporate structure and agreements as provided for by this Agreement, to exercise their voting rights and other rights as Shareholders and, as the case may be, as Directors, to accordingly, to the extent legally possible, instruct Director(s) appointed by them, and to take all such further actions as may be reasonably necessary or appropriate in order to satisfy, give full effect to and carry out the provisions of this Agreement and the rights and obligations of the Parties as set out in this Agreement. |
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3.3 | Articles of Incorporation. The Shareholders undertake to modify and adapt from time to time the Articles of Incorporation in order that such continuously comply with the terms of this Agreement. The terms of this Agreement or of any amendment thereto shall however be binding upon their execution by the Parties irrespective of any modifications and/or adaptations to the Articles of Incorporation. In the event of conflicts or discrepancies between the provisions of this Agreement and those of the Articles of Incorporation, the provisions of this Agreement shall prevail. |
3.4 | New Shareholder . Without prejudice to Article 21, the Parties agree that any person or entity acquiring Shares, other than pursuant to a Transfer which constitutes a Deemed Liquidation, but including pursuant to a share capital increase or a conversion, shall be required before being registered as a Shareholder, to execute this Agreement by a deed of accession in the form attached as Exhibit 3 or an adapted version of it, and shall thereby become a new Party to this Agreement and to be subject to all its terms and conditions. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement and the Articles of Incorporation, the Parties accept any such person or entity as a Party. |
4 | M ISSION AND O BJECTIVE |
The Companys main mission and objective shall be to implement the business strategy as determined by the Board of Directors from time to time.
5 | O RGANIZATION AND M ANAGEMENT |
The Shareholders shall exercise all voting and other power of control available to them directly and indirectly in relation to the Company so as to procure that the Company be managed as follows:
5.1 | General Meeting of Shareholders |
5.1.1 | Powers . Without prejudice to any other provision of this Agreement, the General Meeting of Shareholders shall have the exclusive power to decide to: |
(a) | adopt and amend the Articles of Incorporation, subject to Articles 652g and 653g CO; |
(b) | to elect and dismiss the members of the Board of Directors and the Auditors; |
(c) | approve the annual report and the Financial Statements, as well as resolve on the use of the balance sheet profit, in particular the declaration of dividends; |
(d) | release the Directors; and |
(e) | pass resolutions regarding issues, which are reserved to the General Meeting of Shareholders by law, in particular the CO and the Merger Act, or by the Articles of Incorporation or which are presented to it by the Board of Directors. |
5.1.2 |
Majority . Unless expressly indicated otherwise herein and subject to applicable law, in particular Article 704 CO requesting a qualified majority for certain decisions, and where no consensus can be reached, the Shareholders shall decide by a simple majority of the voting rights of the total number of Shares represented at a General |
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Meeting of Shareholders on each and any item on which they shall resolve, decide, vote, act or abstain pursuant to this Agreement or to the Articles of Incorporation. |
5.2 | Board of Directors |
5.2.1 | Composition . The Board of Directors shall be composed of up to 8 (eight) Directors (including the Chairperson). After Closing, the Board of Directors shall be appointed pursuant to, and in accordance with, Schedule C to the Investment Agreement. |
5.2.2 | Directors . The Board of Directors shall consist of: |
(a) | Ernest Loumaye, provided and as long as (i) he is active at least 80% as CEO of the Company or (ii) he holds 4% (pre dilution) or more of the share capital and voting rights thereof; |
(b) | Three members for the Series A Investors to be designated as follows: (i) one by Sofinnova Partners, (ii) one by Sofinnova Ventures, and (iii) one by Novo; |
(c) | Two members for the Series B Investors to be designated as follows: (i) one member to be designated by NEA and (ii) one member to be designated by HBM/Orbimed; |
(d) | Two Outside Directors to be designated and appointed by the Shareholders, it being understood that Annette Clancy and Jacky Vonderscher shall initially act in such capacity; |
provided that each of Article 5.2.2 (b) and (c) is only applicable as long as the relevant parties hold, on an individual basis and in case of Article 5.2.2 (c) (ii) on a collective (joint) basis, 5% or more of the fully diluted share capital and voting rights thereof, it being understood that the designated member may become an observer if the relevant partys shareholding falls below such threshold.
The Board of Directors shall establish a nomination committee (the Nomination Committee ) consisting of four members, namely Mr. Ernest Loumaye, one Outside Director which shall initially be Annette Clancy, one member to be designated by a Qualified A Majority and one member to be designated by a Qualified B Majority.
The Nomination Committee may consult with the Shareholders and the other members of the Board of Directors in the nomination process.
Each Shareholder hereby undertakes to vote in favour of the election as Director of the candidates who will be nominated by the Nomination Committee, and to cause its representative on the Board of Directors to vote in favour of the corresponding proposal, unless such Shareholder has a just cause to refuse the candidates put forward by the Nomination Committee (in which case the relevant Shareholder shall work proactively with the Nomination Committee to submit an alternative proposal as soon as possible after the refusal of the candidates nominated by the Nomination Committee).
5.2.3 |
In addition, (i) Ares Trading shall have the right to designate one board observer, and (ii) HBM/Orbimed shall have the right to |
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designate one board observer. In case and for so long as HBM/Orbimed do not designate an employee of either firm as their representative on the Board of Directors but an industry expert, each of HBM and Orbimed shall have the right to designate one board observer. In their functions, the observers shall be bound to the same confidentiality, loyalty and fiduciary duties as a Director |
5.2.4 | Chairperson . The General Meeting of Shareholders shall have the right to appoint the Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson by a Qualified Majority. The Chairperson shall have a casting vote. Should the Chairperson be unable to exercise his/her functions, his/her functions shall be assumed by the Vice-Chairperson, including the right to convene a Board of Directors meeting. The initial Chairperson shall be Annette Clancy. |
5.2.5 | Powers . The Board of Directors shall have the powers assigned to it by law, in particular by Articles 716 and 716a CO and the Articles of Incorporation, and be authorized to make decisions on all matters except for those which by law or pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement may be determined exclusively by the General Meeting of Shareholders. |
5.2.6 | Decisions and Quorum . Subject to the provisions of Article 5.4 and Article 17.6, decisions shall be taken by simple majority of the votes cast. Each Director shall have one vote. The presence quorum for any decision by the Board of Directors shall be three Directors, including at least one Director designated according to Article 5.2.2 (b) and one Director designated according to Article 5.2.2 (c). Any Director who is unable to attend a meeting in person shall have the right to attend the meeting by means of telephone or video conference so that all persons so participating and attending such meeting in person can hear and be heard by all others so participating and attending. The Board of Directors may take without a meeting any action it would be permitted to take at a meeting by a written consent signed by each Director. |
5.2.7 | Resignation and Renewal . Subject to Articles 5.2.1 and 5.2.2 and except for the case of Mr. Ernest Loumaye, if one Director resigns, is removed or for any other reason ceases to serve as a Director, the Shareholder(s) who originally designated such Director shall have the right to designate the successor of such person, and provided they designate a successor within 20 (twenty) Business Days after the predecessor ceased to serve as a Director, the other Directors shall not take any action, whether at a meeting of the Board of Directors or otherwise, until such successor has been elected as a Director. |
5.2.8 | Organizational Regulations . The Board of Directors shall organize itself and delegate the management of the Company to the Management pursuant to rules of procedure / organizational regulations ( règlement dorganisation ; the Organizational Regulations ) , which shall provide in particular that: |
(a) | the Board of Directors shall meet at least 6 (six) times per year (including at least 4 (four) face-to-face meetings) or at such other higher frequency as the majority of the Directors may deem appropriate; |
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(b) | the meeting of the Board of Directors shall be held at the Companys registered office or at such other place as the majority of the Directors shall agree; |
(c) | each Director may call a telephone conference meeting, stating the agenda and reasons for calling such meeting with at least three (3) days prior notice or with such other antecedence as the majority of the Directors shall decide; |
(d) | the board meetings will take place in the English language and all written communications and minutes will be in English, other than as required by applicable law; |
(e) | the Company will reimburse all Directors and board observers (who are not members of the Management) for their reasonable expenses to carry out their duties as Directors (including as members of any committees of the Board of Directors), including but not limited to accommodation, travel, and communication expenses; such expenses shall however be capped at CHF 10000,- per attendee per meeting; |
(f) | the Outside Directors shall receive reasonable compensation (to be approved by the Board of Directors) for duties carried out on behalf of the Company; |
(g) | subject to Article 5.4, a majority of the Board of Directors shall be necessary to recommend to approve, amend or waive any provision of the Articles of Incorporation or of the Organizational Regulations; |
(h) | the Board of Directors shall establish a compensation committee, to be composed of two Preferred Directors and one Outside Director (the Compensation Committee ); |
(i) | the Board of Directors shall establish an audit committee, to be composed of two Preferred Directors and one Outside Director (the Audit Committee ); |
(j) | The Board of Directors shall appoint one of its members to be responsible for oversight of a Code of Ethical Conduct and for reporting on a regular basis to the Board of Directors, to the Preferred Shareholders on the Companys management of any Environmental, Social and Governance issues ( ESG Issues ). The Board of Directors and the Preferred Shareholders will be provided with a short report each year outlining how important ESG issues have been managed during the year, what (if any) further action needs to be taken, the ESG improvements achieved and the plans for future actions to improve the Companys ESG performance. The Company will respond to the Preferred Shareholders reasonable additional requests for information on its ESG policies, practices and procedures and keep it promptly informed of any material developments in ESG Issues; |
(k) | The Board of Directors shall submit reporting information a week before each Board meeting, it being specified that the format of the reporting information shall be agreed at the first Board meeting and amended only with the consent of the Board of Directors. |
The initial Organizational Regulations shall be in substantially the form and substance set forth in Exhibit 2 .
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5.2.9 | Without prejudice to the generality of Article 3.2, the Company undertakes: |
(a) | to the extent permitted by law, not to effect or to propose any of the matters referred to in Article 5.4 without first obtaining the requisite consent required for that specific matter as set out in Article 5.4; |
(b) | not to register, or permit the registration of, any Transfer unless such Transfer is in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement and the Articles of Incorporation; |
(c) | to maintain a policy with respect to Directors and officers liability insurance that provides for an amount to be determined by the Preferred Directors; and |
(d) | to obtain an assignment from all present and future officers, employees and consultants of the Company of all Intellectual Property, which has been or will be developed while performing activities or services for the Company. |
5.3 | Auditors |
The Auditors shall continue to be PricewaterhouseCoopers, Geneva, or any other auditor the General Meeting of Shareholders may appoint from time to time.
5.4 | Protective provisions |
5.4.1 | Board of Directors |
The Shareholders shall, and shall procure that the members of the Board of Directors shall, exercise all voting and other power of control available to them directly or indirectly in relation to the Company so as to procure that the prior agreement of the majority of the Board of Directors, including at least the consent of two Directors designated according to Article 5.2.2 (b) and one Director designated according to Article 5.2.2 (c), shall be required for the following decisions (notwithstanding additional requirements by law, in this Agreement or set forth in the Articles of Incorporation, such as a decision by the General Meeting of Shareholders):
(a) | approval of financial statements and adoption of any budgets and business plans; |
(b) | entering any related party transaction; |
(c) | the appointment or removal of any member of the Management (i.e. CEO direct reports) and the approval of their term of employment; |
(d) | entering, terminating or amending any material licensing, partnering, financing or other material agreement or arrangement or any joint venture or agreement for the acquisition of another company; |
(e) | incurring or granting any actual or contingent financial debt, including loans, financial leasing, financial guarantees, letters of credit and other indebtedness over CHF 50000.- per year; |
(f) | engaging in any material investment or capital expenditure over CHF 50000.-, unless specifically provided by the budget; |
(g) | entering, terminating or amending any transactions or agreements outside the ordinary course of business or not at arms length terms and conditions; |
(h) | any change of accounting and reporting standards and policies; |
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(i) | any purchase by the Company of its own shares, securities or financial instruments; |
(j) | amendment of the Organizational Regulations; or |
(k) | approval of any Transfer other than in a Liquidity Event (as defined below). |
5.4.2 | General Meeting of Shareholders |
Provided that the majority of Article 5.1.2 is met, the Shareholders shall procure that decisions or actions listed below require the affirmative vote of a Qualified A Majority and a Qualified B Majority notwithstanding additional requirements by law or set forth in the Articles of Incorporation:
(a) | to amend the Articles of Incorporation and the Organizational Regulations; |
(b) | to establish or to issue any shares or securities or rights to sell or acquire any shares or securities, including the creation or increase of an authorized or conditional share capital, the issuance of convertible debt instruments or debt instruments with options to subscribe for Shares (except if pursuant to a stock option plan adopted by the Board of Directors); |
(c) | to create or to authorize any additional Preferred Shares or any other preferred shares or amend the rights of any classes of Shares; |
(d) | to effect any sale, liquidation, winding up, capital reduction, merger, spin-off or demerger of the Company or any assets or any transaction in which control or material assets of the Company are being transferred, including any Deemed Liquidation; |
(e) | to set up or close subsidiaries; |
(f) | to pay dividends or other distributions on any Shares; |
(g) | to engage in any action which would adversely affect the Preferred Shareholders; |
(h) | to effect an Initial Public Offering or stock listing; |
(i) | to sell, assign, license, pledge or otherwise encumber material Intellectual Property or other material assets of the Company; and |
(j) | to adopt, amend or modify (except for non-material changes) any equity incentive plan, stock option agreement, restricted stock purchase agreement or stock restriction agreement. |
5.5 | Information Rights |
5.5.1 | General Information Rights . The Company shall provide the following information to the holders of Preferred Shares (on a consolidated basis if and when the Company shall have subsidiaries, irrespective of legal thresholds): |
(a) | within 30 days of the beginning of each fiscal year: annual projected budget and annual financing for the year; |
(b) | within 60 days after the close of the fiscal year: yearly Financial Statements; |
(c) | within 15 days after the end of a calendar month: monthly statement of cash flows, monthly income statement with a management report and cash flow variance analysis compared with the approved budget. |
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The information to be provided pursuant to this Article 5.5.1 shall be in the format and in accordance with the reporting guidelines set forth by the Board of Directors from time to time.
5.5.2 | Inspection Rights . Each Preferred Shareholder shall have the right to visit the Companys registered office and premises and inspect the financial books and accounts upon reasonable notice and during normal business hours. Each Preferred Shareholder shall have the right to be accompanied by an attorney or a certified public accountant subject to professional secrecy and to make copies of all such financial books and accounts. Further, each Preferred Shareholder shall have the right to request such additional information and speak to the Management and key personnel as it may deem appropriate, except that the Company may deny such request for anti-trust reasons or to prevent potential disclosure to a competitor of the Company. |
5.5.3 | Management Rights. The Company shall execute and deliver a standard management rights letter that will give the Preferred Shareholders the right to consult with the Management in a manner sufficient to meet their ERISA and venture capital operating company requirements (substantially in the form of Exhibit 5 ). |
5.5.4 | Tax Status. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Companys bylaws or the Companys Articles of Association to the contrary: |
The Company shall use commercially reasonable efforts to avoid being a passive foreign investment Company (a PFIC), as defined in Section 1297 of the Code. The Company will make due inquiry with its U.S. tax advisors at least annually regarding the Companys status as a PFIC and if the Company becomes a PFIC, or if there is a likelihood of the Company being a PFIC for any taxable year, the Company shall promptly notify each U.S.-based holder of Shares (each a U.S. Holder) of such status or risk, as the case may be. The Company will, as soon as reasonably practicable following the end of each taxable year of the Company (but in no event later than sixty (60) days following the end of each taxable year) provide each U.S. Holder with an accurate and complete PFIC Annual Information Statement in the form set out in Exhibit 6 to the Agreement and the Company will permit each U.S. Holder and its direct or indirect owners to inspect and copy the Companys permanent books of account, records and such other Company documents as are necessary to establish that the Companys ordinary earnings and net capital gain are computed in accordance with U.S. income tax principles.
The Company shall not change its characterization as an association taxable as a corporation (for United States tax purposes) without the prior written consent of at least the majority of the US Holders.
If the tax advisors of any US Holder or its Partners reasonably determine that they are subject to U.S. information and reporting requirements that require the disclosure of information about the Company or Company transactions not readily available to such US Holder or its Partners, the Company agrees to provide such information to such US Holder and its Partners as may be necessary to allow such US Holder and its Partners to fulfill their U.S. tax reporting obligations.
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6 | R ESTRICTIONS ON T RANSFER |
6.1 | Principle . No Shareholder shall assign, pledge, otherwise encumber, dispose of or effect a Transfer of any Shares, except in compliance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Without limitation to any other restrictions set out herein, but subject to Article 10 (Tag-Along) below, André Chollet and Ernest Loumaye undertake not to Transfer, assign, pledge or otherwise encumber their Shares until November 19, 2018, without the express written consent of shareholders representing three-quarters of the Preferred Shareholders, not including the transferring shareholder if this latter is Ernest Loumaye (for the avoidance of doubt, Article 6.3 below is applicable to André Chollet and Ernest Loumaye for the full term of this Agreement). No Transfer whatsoever can further occur, nor will any Shares be transferred without the acquirer being first bound by this Agreement in accordance with Articles 3.4 and 21 and any Shareholders transferring Shares to a Third Party shall cause such Third Party to do so. |
6.2 | Exceptions . The restrictions on Transfer of Shares as contained in this Article 6, the right of first refusal as contained in Article 8, the drag-along right as contained in Article 9 and the tag-along right as contained in Article 10 shall not apply to: |
(a) | Transfers by a Preferred Shareholder to (i) any of its Affiliates and/or (ii) any of its limited partners in case no Deemed Liquidation occurs prior to the end of a Preferred Shareholder funds life as well as Transfers among closely related investment vehicles of each Preferred Shareholder; |
(b) | Transfers to any manager, officer, employee, Director or advisor of the Company pursuant to an equity incentive plan approved by the Board of Directors and a Qualified Majority, provided such Transfer shall be subject to such conditions as the Board of Directors shall impose; and |
(c) | Transfers to spouses, children, or for reasonable estate planning purposes in which case the rights and obligations attached to the Shares under this Agreement shall remain applicable and enforceable (including bad leaver / good leaver as per Article 19 of this Agreement), subject to prior approval by express written consent of shareholders representing three-quarters of the Preferred Shares provided that the transferring Preferred Shareholder will not be allowed to vote on this issue, |
provided however that the acquirer becomes a Party to this Agreement in accordance with Articles 3.4 and 21 (or, in case of an equity incentive plan, to this Agreement and/or to any other agreement as decided by the Board of Directors) and as a result thereof the obligations under this Agreement shall be fully assumed by such acquirer.
In case of a Transfer of Shares which is approved by a Qualified A Majority and a Qualified B majority and constitutes a Deemed Liquidation, Article 8 (right of first refusal) shall not apply.
6.3 | Encumbrance . No Shareholder may mortgage, pledge or encumber in any other manner, in whole or in part, any of its Shares. |
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6.4 | Certificate . No physical share certificates shall be issued and the Shares shall solely be evidenced by virtue of corresponding entries in the share register of the Company. |
6.5 | Death or Incapacity . In case of death or incapacity in the meaning of the Swiss Civil Code of an individual Shareholder, his heirs, successors and/or legal representatives (the Successors ) shall be entitled to exercise all the rights and shall be bound by all the obligations contained in this Agreement; in particular, they shall not be allowed to transfer their Shares in any other way than according to the rules contained in this Agreement. If an individual Shareholder is succeeded by more than one Successor, such Successors shall appoint a joint representative to act on their behalf. As long as no such representative is appointed, all rights of the Successors, including but not limited to the right to vote at the General Meeting of Shareholders, are suspended. |
6.6 | Price . Unless it is otherwise stipulated in this Agreement, the price to be used in case of Transfer of Shares resulting from the exercise of the right of first refusal under Article 8 hereafter, will be the price contained in the Notice (as defined below). This notwithstanding, in the event the price of the Transfer of any Shares is not stipulated in cash and cannot be agreed upon the Parties, the said price shall be the fair market value in relation to an arms length transaction with a Third Party, as determined by a reputable investment bank or audit firm to be appointed by the Board of Directors; the costs of the determination shall be borne by the Company. |
6.7 | Consequences . Any Transfer of Shares made in violation of this Agreement shall be considered null and void. |
7 | P REEMPTIVE R IGHTS |
7.1 | Save for the transactions contemplated by the Investment Agreement, the Shareholders shall have preemptive rights ( droit de souscription préférentiel ) with respect to any issuance of new Shares or other financing instruments, including debt instruments, (except Shares issued pursuant to an equity incentive plan of the Company, as well as Shares to be issued in connection with an Initial Public Offering or an acquisition of companies by the Company, for which each Shareholder shall refrain from exercising and hereby waives any of his preemptive rights) to maintain the Shareholders respective shareholding in the Company. If certain Shareholders do not elect to exercise their preemptive rights, the other Shareholders shall have the right to elect to subscribe all or part of the new Shares that such Shareholder would be entitled to. In the event that the request of the other Shareholders exceeds the number of new Shares available, the Shareholders who exercise their right to take up the new Shares not preempted will be attributed new Shares proportionally to the number of Shares they already own compared to the total amount of Shares owned by the other Shareholders having elected to take up the new Shares. The preemptive rights can be limited to the extent permitted by Swiss law. |
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8 | R IGHT OF F IRST R EFUSAL |
If a Shareholder shall elect to Transfer any of its Shares, certain Shareholders (as provided for below), as the case may be, shall have a right of first refusal with respect to the Shares to be transferred as follows:
8.1 | The Shareholder who proposes to dispose of any of its Shares (the Offering Shareholder ) shall give a signed written notice to the Chairperson of such proposed disposition (the Notice ). The Chairperson shall in turn give notice thereof to the other Shareholders within 3 (three) Business Days of receipt of the Notice. |
8.2 | No Notice of any proposed disposition of Shares shall be valid unless such proposed disposition is a Transfer of such Shares and unless the Offering Shareholder shall have received an offer from a Shareholder or a Third Party (the Offeror ). The Notice shall specify the number of Shares the Offering Shareholder intends to Transfer (the Offered Shares ), identify the Offeror, and indicate the price (which shall consist of only cash or security with an ascertainable market value), terms and conditions of the proposed Transfer. |
8.3 | To the extent that the Offered Shares are Common Shares, the following rules shall apply: |
8.3.1 | All Preferred Shareholders (except the Offering Shareholder) (the Eligible Shareholders ) shall have the irrevocable and exclusive right, but not the obligation, within 20 (twenty) Business Days of the sending of the Notice (the Notice Period ) to purchase all or part of the Offered Shares, at the price and upon the terms and conditions offered by the Offeror, with payment to be made in accordance with Article 8.6. If the Eligible Shareholders elect to purchase some or all of the Offered Shares, they shall give notice of such election to the Chairperson within the Notice Period, and the Chairperson shall in turn immediately inform all Shareholders. |
8.3.2 | The Eligible Shareholders who exercise their right of first refusal (the Exercising Shareholders ) shall be obligated to purchase from the Offering Shareholder, and the Offering Shareholder shall be obligated to sell to the Exercising Shareholders, the number of Offered Shares at the price and on the terms and conditions determined pursuant to this Article. |
8.3.3 | In the event that the request of the Exercising Shareholders exceeds the number of Offered Shares, each of the Exercising Shareholders will be attributed the Offered Shares proportionally to the number of Shares it already owns compared to the total amount of Shares owned by the other Exercising Shareholders, up to the amount of their respective election to purchase. |
8.3.4 | Subject to Article 10, if the Exercising Shareholders do not offer to purchase all of the Offered Shares among them, or if none of the Offered Shares have been preempted, the Offering Shareholder may elect to Transfer all the (or as the case may be, remaining) Offered Shares to the Offeror, provided however that such Transfer occurs within 10 (ten) Business Days after the expiry of the last deadline for purchasing the Offered Shares, and on the same price, terms and conditions as set forth in the Notice. |
8.4 | To the extent that the Offered Shares are Preferred A Shares, the following rules shall apply: |
8.4.1 |
All Preferred A Shareholders (except the Offering Shareholder) (the Eligible A Shareholders ) shall have the irrevocable and exclusive right, but not the obligation, within the Notice Period to purchase all or part of the Offered Shares, at the price and upon the terms and |
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conditions offered by the Offeror, with payment to be made in accordance with Article 8.6. If the Eligible A Shareholders elect to purchase some or all of the Offered Shares, they shall give notice of such election to the Chairperson within the Notice Period, and the Chairperson shall in turn immediately inform all Shareholders. |
8.4.2 | The Eligible A Shareholders who exercise their right of first refusal (the Exercising A Shareholders ) shall be obligated to purchase from the Offering Shareholder, and the Offering Shareholder shall be obligated to sell to the Exercising A Shareholders, the number of Offered Shares at the price and on the terms and conditions determined pursuant to this Article. |
8.4.3 | In the event that the request of the Exercising A Shareholders exceeds the number of Offered Shares, each of the Exercising A Shareholders will be attributed the Offered Shares proportionally to the number of Shares it already owns compared to the total amount of Shares owned by the other Exercising A Shareholders, up to the amount of their respective election to purchase. |
8.4.4 | If the Exercising A Shareholders do not offer to purchase all of the Offered Shares among them, or if none of the Offered Shares have been preempted, the Chairperson shall inform the Eligible B Shareholders (as defined below) within 3 (three) Business Days of the proposed disposition in the same terms as in the Notice, except that, for the purposes of Articles 8.4.5 to 8.4.8, the Offered Shares shall only correspond to the remaining Preferred A Shares which have not been preempted and that such information to the Eligible B Shareholders shall be deemed the Notice. |
8.4.5 | All Eligible B Shareholders shall have the irrevocable and exclusive right, but not the obligation, within 10 (ten) Business Days of the sending of the Notice (the Notice Period ) to purchase all or part of the Offered Shares, at the price and upon the terms and conditions offered by the Offeror, with payment to be made in accordance with Article 8.6. If the Eligible B Shareholders elect to purchase some or all of the Offered Shares, they shall give notice of such election to the Chairperson within the Notice Period, and the Chairperson shall in turn immediately inform all Preferred Shareholders. |
8.4.6 | The Exercising B Shareholders (as defined below) shall be obligated to purchase from the Offering Shareholder, and the Offering Shareholder shall be obligated to sell to the Exercising B Shareholders, the number of Offered Shares at the price and on the terms and conditions determined pursuant to this Article. |
8.4.7 | In the event that the request of the Exercising B Shareholders exceeds the number of Offered Shares, each of the Exercising B Shareholders will be attributed the Offered Shares proportionally to the number of Shares it already owns compared to the total amount of Shares owned by the other Exercising B Shareholders, up to the amount of their respective election to purchase. |
8.4.8 | Subject to Article 10, if the Exercising B Shareholders do not offer to purchase all of the Offered Shares among them, or if none of the Offered Shares have been preempted, the Offering Shareholder may elect to Transfer all the (or as the case may be, remaining) Offered Shares to the Offeror, provided however that such Transfer occurs within 10 (ten) Business Days after the expiry of the last deadline for purchasing the Offered Shares, and on the same price, terms and conditions as set forth in the Notice. |
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8.5 | To the extent that the Offered Shares are Preferred B Shares, the following rules shall apply: |
8.5.1 | All Preferred B Shareholders (except the Offering Shareholder) (the Eligible B Shareholders ) shall have the irrevocable and exclusive right, but not the obligation, within the Notice Period to purchase all or part of the Offered Shares, at the price and upon the terms and conditions offered by the Offeror, with payment to be made in accordance with Article 8.6. If the Eligible B Shareholders elect to purchase some or all of the Offered Shares, they shall give notice of such election to the Chairperson within the Notice Period, and the Chairperson shall in turn immediately inform all Shareholders. |
8.5.2 | The Eligible B Shareholders who exercise their right of first refusal (the Exercising B Shareholders ) shall be obligated to purchase from the Offering Shareholder, and the Offering Shareholder shall be obligated to sell to the Exercising B Shareholders, the number of Offered Shares at the price and on the terms and conditions determined pursuant to this Article. |
8.5.3 | In the event that the request of the Exercising B Shareholders exceeds the number of Offered Shares, each of the Exercising B Shareholders will be attributed the Offered Shares proportionally to the number of Shares it already owns compared to the total amount of Shares owned by the other Exercising B Shareholders, up to the amount of their respective election to purchase. |
8.5.4 | Subject to Article 10, if the Exercising B Shareholders do not offer to purchase all of the Offered Shares among them, or if none of the Offered Shares have been preempted, the Offering Shareholder may elect to Transfer all the (or as the case may be, remaining) Offered Shares to the Offeror, provided however that such Transfer occurs within 10 (ten) Business Days after the expiry of the last deadline for purchasing the Offered Shares, and on the same price, terms and conditions as set forth in the Notice. |
8.6 | Subject to a Deemed Liquidation under Article 11.2.1, the Exercising Shareholders shall pay for the purchased Shares in the manner and on any terms and conditions determined above, respectively in the Notice (if the stated price includes any security other than cash, such a stated price shall be deemed to be the amount of any cash included in the stated price plus the value of such other security included in such price). The closing of such purchase shall take place at the latest 10 (ten) Business Days after the day of the last notice by the Exercising Shareholders of their election to purchase, at the principal office of the Company, or at such different date, different place, or both, as the parties to such purchase agree in writing. |
8.7 | The Company, the Offering Shareholder and the Eligible Shareholders shall execute all necessary documents with respect to the Transfer (the Transfer Documents ) for the Shares purchased and shall take any other necessary action to effect the Transfer to be recorded in the stock ledger of the Company. By delivering the Transfer Documents prior to or at closing, the Offering Shareholder shall be deemed to represent that it is transferring a good title to such Shares, free and clear of all liens, security interests, pledges, charges, encumbrances, shareholders agreements, voting trusts and preemptive rights, other than those created by this Agreement. |
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8.8 | Relationship to a Deemed Liquidation |
In case of a Transfer of Shares which is approved by a Qualified A Majority and a Qualified B majority and constitutes a Deemed Liquidation, the right of first refusal in this Article 8 shall not apply.
9 | D RAG -A LONG R IGHT |
9.1 | Principle . In the event of a proposed acquisition (whether by way of share acquisition, merger or other transaction) by a Third Party (the Third Party Offeror ) of at least 80% of the Shares, Shareholders representing or being supported by a Qualified Majority shall have the right to: |
(a) | give a signed written notice to the Chairperson of such proposed transfer containing the information specified in Article 8.2. The Chairperson shall in turn give notice thereof (the Drag-Along Notice ) to the other Shareholders within 3 (three) Business Days of the receipt of such notice; and |
(b) | to require by such notice that the other Shareholders (the Other Shareholders ) concurrently sell their Shares and related options, conversion rights or similar securities, to such Offeror on the same terms and conditions (including as to price and consideration subject to Article 11.2) and in the same proportion (if Third Party Offeror does not acquire 100%). Anything to the contrary notwithstanding, no Preferred Shareholder shall, however, be obligated pursuant to this Article 9 to accept or become a party or be bound by (i) any agreement or arrangement in connection with the Drag-Along Notice that contains provisions that relate only to the relevant Shareholder or Shareholders or to any non-compete agreement or arrangement, (ii) any representations, warranties, indemnities, covenants, conditions, escrow agreements or other provisions or agreements in connection with the sale in a manner disproportionate to or inconsistent with the representations, warranties, indemnities, covenants, conditions, escrow agreements or other provisions or agreements given by any other Shareholder in respect of such sale, (iii) an obligation to indemnify the acquiring or surviving entity in such sale for an amount in excess of the total amount of consideration receivable by such Shareholder (net of applicable taxes and other costs) in respect of such sale (except in the case of potential liability for fraud or willful misconduct by such Shareholder) or (iv) accept joint and several liability in connection with the sale, other than a joint escrow consisting of pro rata (without prejudice, however, to the preference rights of the Preferred Shareholders) funds from all the Shareholders. Irrespective of the above, Ernest Loumaye is required to accept non-compete provisions towards the purchaser of the Shares in the transaction documents of the same scope and length as the one included in this Agreement. |
Upon receipt of the Drag-Along Notice, the Other Shareholders shall thereupon become bound to transfer their Shares and related options, conversion rights or similar securities, to the Offeror with full title guarantee and such other rights and obligations as may have been agreed in accordance with the limitations set out herein by the Shareholders requesting the Transfer to the Third Party Offeror on the date specified in the Drag-Along Notice. For the avoidance of doubt, no Preferred Shareholder shall be obligated to be bound to an agreement which is not in compliance with Article 9.1(b).
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9.2 | If any Other Shareholder shall not, within 5 (five) Business Days of being required to do so, transfer the Shares and related options, conversion rights or similar securities held by it, then the Company is hereby jointly by all Shareholders authorized and mandated to execute, and is entitled to authorize and instruct any person as it thinks fit to execute, the necessary transfer(s) on the Other Shareholders behalf in accordance with this Article 9. |
9.3 | Relationship to right of first refusal. In the event of a Drag-Along Notice, the Shareholders shall have no right of first refusal pursuant to Article 8. |
10 | T AG -A LONG R IGHT |
10.1 | Tag-Along . Subject to the exceptions set forth in Article 6.2 above, in the event of an intended Transfer of all or part of its Shares by one or more Shareholders(s) (the Selling Party ) representing 10 % or more in any class or series or in the aggregate of all then outstanding Shares to a Third Party and upon receipt of the Notice, each Shareholder shall have the right, but not the obligation, within 3 (three) Business Days after the expiry of the last deadline given to the Eligible Shareholders for purchasing the Offered Shares as per Article 8, to require as a condition to the proposed transaction that the same proportion of such Shareholders Shares compared with the total amount of Shares to be acquired by the Third Party (as the case may be, after exercising his right of first refusal as per Article 8) as the proportion of the Shares to be transferred by the relevant Shareholder be concurrently purchased by the Third Party: |
(a) | on the same terms and conditions (including as to price, consideration and any other terms and conditions subject to Article 11.2) to the extent the Shares that are subject to the tag-along right belong to the same class or series of Shares than those intended for the Transfer; |
(b) | on the same terms and conditions, except for price, to the extent the Shares that are subject to the tag-along right belong to a different class or series of Shares than those intended for the Transfer. In this case, the Parties should agree on a price at arms length to be approved by the Board of Directors. Any dispute in connection to the price of Shares belonging to a different class or series of Shares shall be referred to Ernst & Young, Geneva, or, if for any reason the audit firm named in this Article 10.1 (b) is unable or unwilling to act in such capacity, to the Appraiser (to be elected in accordance with Article 19.3 and which should not be the audit firm named in this Article 10.1 (b)). |
(c) | A Shareholder owning Shares of different categories, shall use the tag-along right first with respect to the Shares of the same category as the category of Shares to be sold and thereby triggering the tag-along right. For the avoidance of doubt, this priority shall not prevent such Shareholder from using the tag-along right with respect to the Shares belonging to a different category of Shares than those intended for the Transfer. |
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10.2 | Breach of Tag-along Rights. If any of the Selling Parties fails to comply with Article 10.1, each other Shareholder shall have the right, but not the obligation, to irrevocably elect to sell to the Selling Parties (and the Selling Parties shall have an obligation to purchase on a joint and several basis) such number of Shares such Shareholder would have been entitled to sell if Article 10.1 was complied with (the Tag Put Right ). A Shareholder may exercise the Tag Put Right by delivering a written notice to the Selling Parties stating that the Shareholder irrevocably elects to exercise the Tag Put Right (the Put Right Notice ). The sale price of the Shares to be sold pursuant to the exercise of the Tag Put Right shall be equal to the price that the Shareholder would have been entitled to sell its Shares had the tag-along rights in Article 10.1 been complied with. The closing of the sale and purchase of the Shares subject to the Tag Put Right (the Put Closing ) shall take place no later than the tenth (10th) Business Day following the delivery of the Put Right Notice. The price to be paid for the Shareholders Shares shall be payable in cash by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account designated two (2) days prior to the Put Closing and at the Put Closing the selling Shareholder shall deliver all such instruments of transfer, share certificates and other documents as are required by it to transfer the Shares to the Selling Parties free and clear of all encumbrances. The existence and/or exercise of the Tag Put Right is without prejudice to any other remedy that may arise in respect of any breach of Article 10.1. |
10.3 | Relationship to right of first refusal . The tag-along/co-sale rights under this Article 10 shall not preclude the Shareholders from exercising their right of first refusal pursuant to Article 8, provided that the Shareholders are only entitled to either exercise (i) such tag-along/co-sale rights or (ii) such right of first refusal. |
11 | R IGHTS , P REFERENCES AND P RIVILEGES OF THE P REFERRED S HARES |
11.1 | Dividend Preferences |
The Preferred B Shareholders, the Preferred A Shareholders and the Common Shareholders shall be entitled to receive dividends respectively on their Preferred B Shares, Preferred A Shares or Common Shares, whenever funds are legally available and when and if proposed by the Board of Directors and voted by the General Meeting of Shareholders. Dividends on Common Shares, Preferred A Shares and Preferred B Shares shall be declared and paid on a pari passu basis, save that the Company may pay a dividend on Preferred B Shares at a rate greater than on Preferred A Shares and Common Shares and the Company may pay a dividend on Preferred A Shares at a rate greater than on Common Shares if such a dividend is paid in the context of a Deemed Liquidation to achieve a payment of the Deemed Liquidation Preference B Amount and Deemed Liquidation Preference A Amount as set out in Article 11.2. The dividends will be non-cumulative and, if voted but unpaid prior to liquidation, will be payable upon liquidation .
In case of a Deemed Liquidation, dividends on the Preferred A Shares and the Preferred B Shares will be payable respectively to the Preferred A Shareholders and the Preferred B Shareholders in accordance with Article 11.2.
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11.2 | Deemed Liquidation Preferences |
11.2.1 | Unless otherwise resolved by a Qualified Majority (which resolution shall not constitute a waiver of the preference rights with regard to future Deemed Liquidations), a Deemed Liquidation shall mean (i) any payment of cash dividends, liquidation, capital reduction, other distribution, dissolution, reorganization, winding-up, bankruptcy of the Company or any comparable event, (ii) a Transfer of Shares (whether through a single transaction or a series of related transactions) resulting in a change of control of the Company, that is a Controlling Interest being owned by the acquiring person or entity as a result of the Transfer (including any Transfers pursuant to Articles 9.1, 10.1 and 11.2.3), provided that the acquiring person or entity is not an Affiliate of a Party, (iii) a Transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company (or its Subsidiaries) or (iv) a merger or other disposal, spin-off, reorganization or restructuring (whether through a single transaction or a series of related transactions) that results in a change of control of the Company. In the event of a Deemed Liquidation, subject to any creditors rights under mandatory applicable law, the Preferred B Shareholders shall be entitled to receive in preference to the Preferred A Shareholders and the Common Shareholders, the amount paid by such Preferred B Shareholders to the Company as nominal value, share premium or other related cash contribution (including for the avoidance of doubt any contribution into the reserves of the Company) per Preferred B Share, plus any voted and unpaid dividends (the Deemed Liquidation Preference B Amount ), before any net assets or funds be distributed to the Preferred A Shareholders and the Common Shareholders. If the Deemed Liquidation proceeds are insufficient to satisfy the Deemed Liquidation Preference B Amount, the available proceeds shall be distributed among the Preferred B Shareholders on a pro rata basis of their ownership of Preferred B Shares as a percentage of the aggregate number of then outstanding Preferred B Shares. Subject to any creditors rights under mandatory applicable law, the Preferred A Shareholders shall be entitled to receive in preference to the Common Shareholders, the amount paid by such Preferred A Shareholders to the Company as nominal value, share premium or other related cash contribution (including for the avoidance of doubt any contribution into the reserves of the Company and any partial further contributions or further contributions within the meaning of the Series A Investment Agreement dated 28 August 2013) per Preferred A Share, plus any voted and unpaid dividends (the Deemed Liquidation Preference A Amount ), before any net assets or funds be distributed to the Common Shareholders. If the Deemed Liquidation proceeds after full payment of the Deemed Liquidation Preference B Amount are insufficient to satisfy the Deemed Liquidation Preference A Amount, the available proceeds shall be distributed among the Preferred A Shareholders on a pro rata basis of their ownership of Preferred A Shares as a percentage of the aggregate number of then outstanding Preferred A Shares. |
11.2.2 | Any remaining proceeds after payment of the Deemed Liquidation Preference B Amount and the Deemed Liquidation Preference A Amout shall be distributed amongst all Shareholders pro rata to their holding in Shares, including, for the avoidance of doubt, Preferred B Shares and Preferred A Shares (and taking into account any stock splits, combinations and/or anti-dilution adjustments). Subject to the terms and conditions of this |
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Agreement, all Shareholders agree to split between themselves any proceeds of a Deemed Liquidation in accordance with the provisions in this Article. |
11.2.3 | In case of a Transfer of Shares resulting in a Transfer of a Controlling Interest, the provisions on the liquidation preference with respect to sale proceeds shall apply pro rata to the number of Shares sold. |
11.2.4 | For the avoidance of doubt, in the event of an Initial Public Offering (irrespective of its nature and even if it results in a change of control of the Company) or in the event of a restructuring of the Company required prior to and for the purpose of an Initial Public Offering, any such Deemed Liquidation preference shall lapse and the Preferred Shares shall automatically be converted into Common Shares in accordance with Article 12.2 below. For the purpose of this Article, an Initial Public Offering and any restructuring of the Company required prior to and for the purpose of an Initial Public Offering shall not be considered a Deemed Liquidation as defined under Article 11.2.1. |
11.2.5 | Relationship to right of first refusal. In the event of a Deemed Liquidation supported by a Qualified A Majority and a Qualified B majority, the Shareholders shall have no right of first refusal pursuant to Article 8 nor, with regard to any Transfer for that purpose, transfer restrictions as set out in Article 6.1. |
12 | C ONVERSION |
The Shareholders shall exercise all voting and other power of control available to them directly and indirectly in relation to the Company so as to procure that:
12.1 | Conversion Rights . Each Preferred Shareholder shall have the right at any time to request that all or some of its Preferred Shares be converted into Common Shares at the rate set out in Article 12.3. |
12.2 | Mandatory Conversion of Preferred Shares . The Preferred Shares shall automatically be converted into Common Shares at the rate set out in Article 12.3 upon (i) an affirmative vote of a Qualified Majority or (ii) an Initial Public Offering approved by a Qualified Majority. |
12.3 | Preferred Shares Conversion Rate. The number of fully paid Common Shares into which the Preferred Shares shall be converted will be equal to a ratio of 1 Common Share for 1 Preferred Share subject to stock splits, combinations and alike. |
12.4 | Manner of Conversion. Conversion shall be effected in such a manner as the Board of Directors shall, subject to the provisions of the CO, from time to time determine. |
12.5 | Ranking of Common Shares Resulting from Conversion. The Common Shares arising on conversion shall rank pari passu in all respects with the Common Shares then in issue and shall entitle the holders thereof to all dividends declared or paid after the conversion date on the Common Shares. |
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1 3 | P REFERRED S HAREHOLDERS A NTI -D ILUTION |
13.1 | Except for new Shares issued pursuant to Article 2 of the Investment Agreement and Article 15 of this Agreement, if the Company increases subsequently its share capital and issues new Shares to the existing Shareholders or to third parties, for a subscription price lower than the Average Subscription Price A (a Down-Round A ), the Shareholders, upon election of a Qualified A Majority, undertake to cause the Company to issue to each Preferred A Shareholder for a subscription price per share of CHF 1.-, a number of Preferred A Shares computed according to the following formula ( Anti-Dilution Shares A ): |
{[(A - B)*C] / (B - CHF 1)}* (D / E)
Whereas:
A means the Average Subscription Price A paid by the relevant Preferred A Shareholder immediately before the contemplated dilutive share capital increase.
B means the lower subscription price per share offered in the contemplated dilutive share capital increase.
C means the aggregate number of Preferred A Shares subscribed by the relevant Preferred A Shareholder (including any Anti-Dilution Shares A) immediately before the contemplated dilutive share capital increase.
D means the number of new Shares issued for B (lower subscription price) or E, whichever is lower.
E means the aggregate number of Preferred A Shares subscribed by the Preferred A Shareholder (including any Anti-Dilution Shares A) immediately before the contemplated dilutive share capital increase.
13.2 | Article 13.1 shall apply to each subsequent share capital increase. If the number of Anti-Dilution Shares A is not a round number (ex : 4,7 Anti-Dilution Shares A), it is rounded downward (ex : 4 Anti-Dilution Shares A). |
13.3 | For the avoidance of doubt, upon issuance of Anti-Dilution Shares A to any Preferred A Shareholder, the liquidation preference attached to the Anti-Dilution Shares A and all Preferred A Shares held by such Preferred A Shareholder shall be reduced to an amount equal to the Average Subscription Price A. |
13.4 | In the event where a Preferred A Shareholder has been indemnified by the Company under Article 22 of this Agreement, the amount so received by the Preferred A Shareholder shall be taken into consideration to compute the relevant Average Subscription Price A in as much as its computation would cause a double indemnification of the Preferred A Shareholder. |
13.5 | Should the formula not be workable for any reason whatsoever, the Parties undertake to achieve the same results by different means. |
13.6 | Except for new Shares issued pursuant to Article 2 of the Investment Agreement and Article 15 of this Agreement, if the Company increases subsequently its share capital and issues new Shares to the existing Shareholders or to third parties, for a subscription price lower than the Average Subscription Price B (a Down-Round B ), the Shareholders, upon election of a Qualified B Majority, undertake to cause the Company to issue to each Preferred B Shareholder for a subscription price per share of CHF 1.-, a number of Preferred B Shares computed according to the following formula ( Anti-Dilution Shares B ): |
{[(A - B)*C] / (B - CHF 1)}* (D / E)
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Whereas:
A means the Average Subscription Price B paid by the relevant Preferred B Shareholder immediately before the contemplated dilutive share capital increase.
B means the lower subscription price per share offered in the contemplated dilutive share capital increase.
C means the aggregate number of Preferred B Shares subscribed by the relevant Preferred B Shareholder (including any Anti-Dilution Shares B) immediately before the contemplated dilutive share capital increase.
D means the number of new Shares issued for B (lower subscription price) or E, whichever is lower.
E means the aggregate number of Preferred B Shares subscribed by the Preferred B Shareholder (including any Anti-Dilution Shares B) immediately before the contemplated dilutive share capital increase.
13.7 | Article 13.6 shall apply to each subsequent share capital increase. If the number of Anti-Dilution Shares B is not a round number (ex : 4,7 Anti-Dilution Shares B), it is rounded downward (ex : 4 Anti-Dilution Shares B). |
13.8 | For the avoidance of doubt, upon issuance of Anti-Dilution Shares B to any Preferred B Shareholder, the liquidation preference attached to the Anti-Dilution Shares B and all Preferred B Shares held by such Preferred B Shareholder shall be reduced to an amount equal to the Average Subscription Price B. |
13.9 | In the event where a Preferred B Shareholder has been indemnified by the Company under Article 22 of this Agreement, the amount so received by the Preferred B Shareholder shall be taken into consideration to compute the relevant Average Subscription Price B in as much as its computation would cause a double indemnification of the Preferred B Shareholder. |
13.10 | Should the formula not be workable for any reason whatsoever, the Parties undertake to achieve the same results by different means. |
14 | M R . E RNEST L OUMAYE S A NTI -D ILUTION |
14.1 | Except for new Shares issued pursuant to Article 2 of the Investment Agreement and Article 15 of this Agreement, if the Company increases subsequently its share capital and issues new Shares to the existing Shareholders or to third parties which results in diluting Mr. Ernest Loumaye shareholding below 10% of the fully diluted share capital of the Company (taking into account as shareholdings of Mr. Ernest Loumaye the Common Shares and options or conversion rights/NVS he holds at such time, but not the Preferred Shares), then Mr. Ernest Loumaye shall be entitled to subscribe and acquire from the Company at nominal value a number of Common Shares allowing Mr. Ernest Loumaye to maintain a shareholding of 10% of the fully diluted share capital of the Company (taking into account as shareholdings of Mr. Ernest Loumaye the Common Shares and options or conversion rights/NVS he holds at such time, but not the Preferred Shares), subject to the following terms and conditions: |
(a) | Any Common Shares, options or conversion rights/NVS held by Mr. Ernest Loumaye at any time and sold or otherwise disposed of by him afterwards shall be deemed to still be held by Mr. Ernest Loumaye for purposes of determining whether he dropped below the 10% threshold. |
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(b) | This anti-dilution right shall apply only in case of and with regard to the dilution by a positive scenario issuance ( Positive Issuance ), but not in and with regard to a Down-Round B. |
(c) | This anti-dilution right shall apply only for the first thirty million Swiss francs (CHF 30000000.) to be raised by the Company after the Series B Financing under any private round of investment, including cross-over and mezzanine financing rounds. For the avoidance of doubt, the anti-dilution right shall not apply to and shall terminate upon occurrence of an IPO or a merger with a public company. |
(d) | A Positive Issuance shall mean any arms length issuance of equity or equity-linked securities for cash or conversion against a loan or other cash claim at the same or at a higher price than the highest price paid for Shares with the same nominal value by investors. |
(e) | In the event of a Down-Round B followed by a subsequent Positive Issuance, the anti-dilution right shall (i) only apply if the subsequent Positive Issuance is at a price that is higher than the per share Preferred B Share issuance price and (ii) entitle Mr. Ernest Loumaye to subscribe and acquire from the Company at nominal value such number of Common Shares allowing Mr. Ernest Loumaye to maintain a shareholding of 8% of the fully diluted share capital of the Company (taking into account as shareholdings of Mr. Ernest Loumaye the Common Shares and options or conversion rights/NVS he holds at such time, but not the Preferred Shares). |
(f) | If this anti-dilution right is triggered by contingent issuance of securities (e.g. by the grant of option or conversion rights or other equity-linked securities), Mr. Ernest Loumayes right to acquire additional Shares in accordance with this provision cannot be exercised as long as such contingent right has not lapsed or is being exercised or monetized in an exit transaction (e.g. by a sale of such rights to a buyer of the Company). |
(g) | This anti-dilution right shall lapse without further effect in any of the following cases (except if otherwise resolved or extended by the Board of Directors and a Qualified Majority that shall not include Mr. Ernest Loumaye): |
| If the Company has to file for bankruptcy or receivership, enters a creditor moratorium, has to be re-financed or otherwise financially restructured; |
| If Mr. Ernest Loumayes employment or function as at least 80%-CEO of the Company ends or |
| if Mr. Ernest Loumaye is in material breach of any of his obligations as a Shareholder, member of the Board of Directors or employee of the Company. |
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(h) | The rights of Mr. Ernest Loumaye set out hereunder and their exercise or execution are strictly personal and not transferrable by sale, heritage or otherwise. |
15 | E QUITY I NCENTIVE P LAN |
15.1 | The board of directors shall be authorized, at any time until November 19, 2017 to increase the non-voting share capital by a maximum amount of CHF 84,384 through the issuance of a maximum of 84,384 fully paid registered non-voting shares (the Non-Voting Shares , or NVS ) with a nominal value of CHF 1 each in the meaning of Articles 651 et seq. CO, in favor of consultants, directors, advisors or employees (each a Beneficiary ) in accordance with the equity incentive plan established by the Company. Such equity instruments, including the 58270 Non-Voting Shares already issued, shall represent 8% of the share capital of the Company based on a fully diluted basis post-Series B Financing. |
15.2 | The equity incentive plan established by the Company in particular provides that each vested equity instrument may only be disposed in connection with a Deemed Liquidation or an Initial Public Offering. Equity instruments consist of Non-Voting Shares of the Company that the Company proposes to the Beneficiaries for acquisition. Non-Voting Shares granted to Beneficiaries are subject to a four-year vesting schedule with a one-year cliff whereby 25% of the Non-Voting Shares granted vest on the first anniversary of such Non-Voting Shares grant and the remainder vest monthly over the remaining three years following the first anniversary of the grant of Non-Voting Shares (1/36 th vesting per month). |
15.3 | If an employee is dismissed for Cause by the Company or if Ernest Loumaye breaches Article 17 or in the case set out in Article 20.1 (b) or (d), all unvested Non-Voting Shares shall be repurchased by the Company at a unit price equal to the par value of the Companys Shares, and the Company shall have the option to repurchase all vested Non-Voting Shares at a unit price equal to the par value of the Companys Shares, unless otherwise agreed by all the Preferred Shareholders. |
15.4 | If an employee leaves the Company for Cause, all unvested Non-Voting Shares shall be repurchased by the Company at a unit price equal to the par value of the Companys Shares, and the Company shall have the option to repurchase all vested Non-Voting Shares at a unit price equal to the Market Value of a Companys Share. |
15.5 | If an employee: |
(a) | leaves the Company for death, Invalidity or retirement at age 65, |
(b) | leaves the Company without Cause, or |
(c) | is dismissed without Cause by the Company, |
all unvested Non-Voting Shares shall be repurchased by the Company at a unit price equal to the par value of the Companys Shares and all vested Non-Voting Shares are definitely acquired by the employee according to the equity incentive plan.
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15.6 | If a Beneficiarys agreement terminates for whatever reason all unvested Non-Voting Shares shall be repurchased by the Company and all vested Non-Voting Shares are definitely acquired by the Beneficiary according to the equity incentive plan, except in case of termination by the Company for Cause or material breach of the Beneficiarys contractual obligations, in which case the Company shall have the option to repurchase all vested Non-Voting Shares at a unit price equal to the par value of the Companys Shares, unless otherwise agreed by all the Preferred Shareholders. |
15.7 | Depending on the performance by Ernest Loumaye in building substantial value in the Company, the Board of Directors may decide in connection with subsequent equity incentive plans to allocate Ernest Loumaye new options, Shares or Non-Voting Shares, in order for him to hold on to a meaningful portion of the Shares in the Company. |
15.8 | Non-Voting Shares have the same financial rights than those attached to the Common Shares. |
16 | I NITIAL P UBLIC O FFERING |
16.1 | If so requested by a by a Qualified A Majority and a Qualified B majority, the Company and the Shareholders shall attempt to have all or part of the Shares offered to the public by way of an Initial Public Offering. |
16.2 | In the event of an Initial Public Offering, all Shareholders shall be treated equally, subject to applicable law and any regulatory requirements. |
16.3 | In view of an ordinary exit and upon an Initial Public Offering, all Shareholders agree to be bound by regulatory stock exchange lock-up restrictions applicable or standard in connection with the Initial Public Offering and shall execute standard agreements and undertakings in this respect. Each Shareholder shall be released pro rata from any such lock-up if any other Shareholder is released from his lock-up. |
16.4 | In the event that an Initial Public Offering requires the restructuring of the Company (e.g. a transfer of the Shares to a foreign holding company), the Shareholders shall, and shall procure that the Directors shall, exercise all voting power and other power of control available to them directly or indirectly in relation to the Company to do such acts and actions and to make such declarations as required to effect such restructuring to the extent that such acts, actions and declarations shall not result in unreasonable tax burden for the Company and/or any of the Shareholders. |
16.5 | Upon the occurrence of an Initial Public Offering, the restrictions on Transfer of Shares contained in Article 6, the right of first refusal contained in Article 8, the drag-along and tag-along rights contained in Articles 9 and 10 shall not apply. In addition, as provided for in Article 7.1, all Shareholders waive and agree to waive all pre-emptive rights ( droit de souscription préférentiel ) with respect to any issuance of Shares in connection with an Initial Public Offering. |
16.6 | The Common Shares and shares issuable on conversion of the Preferred Shares will be entitled, if applicable, to standard demand registration rights, Form S-3 registration rights and piggyback rights. The Company shall pay all registration expenses for demand, piggyback and S-3 registrations, as applicable. |
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17 | N ON -C OMPETE |
17.1 | Ernest Loumaye hereby undertakes as a separate and independent undertaking that he shall, (i) as long as he is an employee of the Company and (ii) for a period of 12 (twelve) months after termination of the employment relationship by the Company for Cause or, if longer, for the duration of a garden leave arrangement as and if provided in his employment agreement with the Company (the Garden Leave Arrangement ), neither directly nor indirectly: |
(a) | (i) solicit, induce or attempt to induce any person who is an employee of the Company to leave the employ of the Company or to engage in any business that competes directly with the Company (such notion to be understood for the purposes of this Article as the field of obstetrics (the Competitive Field )); or (ii) hire or assist in hiring any person who is an employee of the Company to become an employee of a company that he controls or to work for any business in the Competitive Field; or (iii) interfere with or entice away any person who is or has been a customer or partner of the Company; or (iv) in any way interfere with the relationships between the Company and its employees, suppliers, customers, business partners and/or consultants; |
(b) | carry out directly or indirectly any activity or be engaged, concerned or interested or accept any employment or become (other than as set out in (c) below) an investor or shareholder, adviser, consultant, agent for or a board member of a company, entity or other business in the Competitive Field; |
(c) | make or administrate investments in listed securities of entities in the Competitive Field exceeding 5 (five) percent of the outstanding securities; |
(d) | take or file for any Patents or trademarks in the Competitive Field; |
(e) | become an adviser or an executive board member in a non-competing company if such commitment exceeds 15 (fifteen) days a year, except with the prior approval of a majority of the Preferred Shareholders. |
17.2 | The prohibition to compete shall apply in the United States, the European Union, Switzerland and other European countries, Japan, China, Korea, India, as well as other countries in which the Company is active or intends to be active in the near future at the time of termination of the employment relationship. |
17.3 | In the event of Article 17.1 (ii) above in connection with a Garden Leave Arrangement (if any), Article 17 shall only apply in the event that the Company pays the employee the salary (including bonuses and fringe benefits), respectively the fees, to which he is entitled for the duration of such Garden Leave Arrangement. |
17.4 | In case of breach of this undertaking and in addition to any remedy that may be contained in this Agreement or in an employment or consultancy agreement, the Preferred Shareholders shall have the Call Option set out in Article 20.1. In addition, Ernest Loumaye shall have to compensate the Company for any further damages and financial losses directly or indirectly arising out of or relating to such breach, and shall lose any right to be compensated under the Garden Leave Arrangement, if any. |
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17.5 | The remedies provided for in this Article shall not release Ernest Loumaye from his obligations not to compete and not to solicit as provided in this Article. |
17.6 | The Board of Directors including at least the consent of two Directors designated according to Article 5.2.2 (b) and one Director designated according to Article 5.2.2 (c) shall have the right to waive or reduce the prohibition to compete in this Article with respect to Ernest Loumaye, bearing in mind that Mr. Ernest Loumaye should abstain from voting in connection with a resolution regarding his own prohibition to compete. |
17.7 | The terms of this Article 17 have been agreed by the Parties irrespective of any employment relationship and are basis and part of the mutual consideration, rights and obligations granted and accepted in connection with the investments in the Company. |
18 | I NTELLECTUAL P ROPERTY |
18.1 | Any inventions, patents, trademarks, designs, copyrights or know-how or Intellectual Property ensuing from the work performed by Ernest Loumaye or owned by Ernest Loumaye and related to the business of the Company, during or within one year after termination of their employment are herewith assigned to the Company without additional compensation. Ernest Loumaye shall provide the Company with all support reasonably requested in connection with any registration or use of such assigned rights. |
19 | B AD L EAVER / G OOD L EAVER |
19.1 | Termination for Cause. |
19.1.1 | If the employment agreement of Ernest Loumaye is terminated for Cause by the Company and such Cause results in a material damage to the Company, the remaining Preferred Shareholders have a right to acquire (the Call Option ) all of his Shares (including NVS) in the Company at nominal value, unless otherwise agreed by all the Preferred Shareholders. |
19.1.2 | If Ernest Loumaye terminates his employment agreement for Cause within a period of three (3) years as from the Closing, the remaining Preferred Shareholders shall have a Call Option on all Shares (including NVS) held by Ernest Loumaye at Market Value. |
Ernest Loumayes downgrading to the position of chief medical officer (CMO), chief business officer (CBO), chief scientific officer (CSO), chief operational officer (COO) or chief development officer (CDO), provided that the other employment conditions remain the same, shall not constitute a case of termination for Cause as per this Article 19.1.2. Should Ernest Loumaye then leave the Company, Article 19.2.1 shall apply.
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19.2 | Termination without Cause. |
19.2.1 | Subject to Article 19.2.2, the following rules apply if Ernest Loumaye terminates his employment without Cause (except if Ernest Loumaye leaves in case of retirement at age 65, in which cases he is entitled to keep his Shares (including NVS)): |
(a) | within a period of three (3) years as from the Closing: Article 19.1.1 shall apply; |
(b) | after a period of three (3) years as from the Closing: he may retain all his Shares and all his vested NVS; |
(c) | For letter (b) above: all vested NVS are definitely acquired by Ernest Loumaye and all unvested NVS shall be repurchased by the Company at a unit price equal to the par value of the Companys Shares. |
19.2.2 | In the event of a termination triggered by Ernest Loumayes death or Invalidity the Preferred Shareholders shall have a Call Option on all Shares (including vested NVS) held by Ernest Loumaye, respectively his estate, at Market Value. Vested NVS are definitely acquired by Ernest Loumaye, respectively his estate, and all unvested NVS shall be repurchased by the Company at a unit price equal to the par value of the Companys Shares. |
19.2.3 | If the Company terminates the employment agreement of Ernest Loumaye without Cause he may retain all his Shares and vested NVS are definitely acquired by Ernest Loumaye. All unvested NVS shall be repurchased by the Company at a unit price equal to the par value of the Companys Shares. |
19.3 | The Market Value of the relevant Shares shall be determined as follows: The Preferred Shareholders shall make a proposal of the fair market value of the relevant Shares to Ernest Loumaye. Should the latter not agree on the market value proposed by the Preferred Shareholders, Ernest Loumaye may request in writing to the Preferred Shareholders within 20 (twenty) Business Days that an expert (the Appraiser ) determine such market value. Should Ernest Loumaye fail to make such request within the deadline, the market value proposed by the Preferred Shareholders shall be deemed to be accepted by Ernest Loumaye. The Appraiser shall be appointed by mutual agreement between the Preferred Shareholders and Ernest Loumaye within 5 (five) Business Days following receipt of such request. Should both Parties not find an agreement within such deadline, either of them may request from the Chairman of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services to appoint such Appraiser who shall be chosen among partners of the audit department of an internationally recognized auditing firm in Switzerland to establish independently the market value of the Company. |
In so doing, the Appraiser shall act as an expert ( Schiedsgutachter ), and not as an arbitrator, and his determination of any subject matter falling within the scope of his mandate shall be final and binding on the Parties, except in the event of manifest error on the part of the Appraiser, as a consequence of which the relevant part of his determination shall be void and the matter be remitted to the Appraiser for correction. The Appraiser shall within 20 (twenty) Business Days of receipt of the notice of its appointment or such other period as the expert reasonably determines deliver the determination of the market value of the Company.
The costs and expenses related to the Appraiser and his appointment shall be borne by the Company.
19.4 | In case several Preferred Shareholders decide to exercise their Call Option, each Preferred Shareholder shall have a right to purchase the Shares of Ernest Loumaye pro rata their preferred shareholding . |
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20 | C ALL O PTION |
20.1 | If: |
(a) | Ernest Loumaye breaches Article 17; |
(b) | A Shareholder breaches materially this Agreement, provided that such breach has not been remedied for 30 (thirty) Business Days after notification by the other Shareholders to the breaching Shareholder that such breach has occurred; |
(c) | A Shareholder becomes insolvent, bankrupt or petitions or applies to any court, tribunal or other authority for creditor protection or for the appointment of, or there shall otherwise be appointed a liquidator, trustee or other similar officer; or |
(d) | A Shareholder is found by a court to have committed a criminal act against the interests of another Shareholder, of the Company or of any of its subsidiaries, |
the Preferred Shareholders have the right to acquire the Shares of such Shareholder (the Call Option ) at the lower of the nominal value and the Market Value, unless otherwise agreed by all the Preferred Shareholders. In case several Preferred Shareholders decide to exercise their Call Option, each Preferred Shareholder shall have a right to purchase the Shares of the relevant Shareholder pro rata their preferred shareholding.
21 | N EW S HAREHOLDER |
Except as otherwise decided by a Qualified Majority for specific individuals such as scientific advisors, the Shareholders shall cause any person acquiring any Share in accordance with the terms hereof, or being issued Shares, to sign this Agreement or an adapted version of it, or a deed of accession in substantially the form and substance as set forth in Exhibit 3 , and to become a new Party to this Agreement or such an adapted version of it and to be subject to all its terms and conditions, as well as, if and where applicable, to all terms and conditions of the Investment Agreement.
22 | R EPRESENTATIONS AND W ARRANTIES |
22.1 | Ernest Loumaye and the Company, acting jointly and severally, give the representations and warranties set out in Exhibit 4 as of the date hereof and as of the Closing Date. The Warrantors do not make, and the Parties expressly exclude, any representations or warranties other than those in Exhibit 4. Each of the representations and warranties shall be independent and shall not be limited by reference to any other representations or warranties. |
22.2 | Each of the Preferred A Shareholders severally and not jointly with any other Preferred A Shareholder gives the representations and warranties set out in Article 1 and 10.2 of Exhibit 4. André Chollet and Ernest Loumaye give the representations and warranties set out in Article 10.3 of Exhibit 4. |
22.3 |
Subject to Article 22.8, the Warrantors hereby agree and undertake to pay by way of indemnification and to indemnify fully, hold harmless and defend the Series B Investors and their Affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, representatives, successors and assigns (the Indemnified |
36 / 43
Persons ), from and against any and all claims and/or liabilities, damages, penalties, judgments, assessments, losses, costs and expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys fees) arising out of, relating to, or based upon such inaccuracy or breach of any representation or warranty contained in this Agreement. |
22.4 | Claims for indemnification under Article 22.3 may be made by the Indemnified Persons at any time until 12 (twelve) months after the Closing Date by giving written notice to the Warrantors. It is expressly agreed that any provisions of all applicable laws providing for immediate notice of defect or (potential) claims for indemnification (such as article 201 CO) are not applicable to any claim by an Indemnified Person under this Article. |
22.5 | Each Indemnified Person shall be entitled to set-off any amount payable by the Warrantors under this Article against any amount payable by such Indemnified Person to the Warrantors. |
22.6 | The relevant Shareholder shall have conduct of all litigations in respect of all claims by a third party which might give rise to a claim for indemnification under this Article. However, such Shareholder shall not be able to settle, compromise, consent or withdraw in connection with any proceeding without the prior written consent of the Series B Investors. |
22.7 | All sums payable by the Warrantors under this Agreement to an Indemnified Person shall be paid free and clear of all deductions or withholdings except as may be required by law. If any deduction or withholding is required by law to be made to any payment by Ernest Loumaye, the Indemnified Persons shall, at the same time as the sum, which is the subject to the deduction or withholding, is payable under this Agreement, be paid such additional amount as shall be required to ensure that the net amount received by the Indemnified Person under this Agreement will equal the full amount which would have been received by it had no such deduction or withholding been required to be made. |
22.8 | Any obligation to pay under this Article shall be capped for Ernest Loumaye to one time his aggregate yearly salaries (including any gratuities, bonuses, options, premiums or other extra payments, etc.) paid pursuant to his employment agreement. |
22.9 | In compliance with mandatory provisions of Swiss law limiting the distribution of the Companys assets to shareholders (notably articles 680 CO and 671 al. 3 CO), the Companys liability under Article 22 is limited to the maximum amount of the Companys profits and reserves available for distribution, in accordance with, without limitation, Articles 671 (1) to (3) and 675 (2) CO at the time the Company makes a payment under this Article 22 (provided that this is still a requirement under applicable law at that time). |
23 | C ONFIDENTIALITY |
23.1 |
Other than to the extent necessary to perform this Agreement or as required by law, or as required by such Partys organizational or fund documents, or for purposes of customary due diligence purposes (subject to appropriate confidentiality and non-use obligations) each Party agrees at all times to keep in strictest confidence the subject matter of this Agreement, all information relating to or acquired from the other Parties in connection with the performance of this Agreement, any agreements |
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provided for the performance of this Agreement and any agreements provided for herein, including any information regarding the business and affairs of the Company, except for the fact that the Series B Investors invested in the Company. |
23.2 | The Lead Series B Investors will define together with the Company the contents and timing of a press release announcing completion of the Series B Financing, subject to final approval of the Series B Investors. There will be no other press release, unless the Series B Investors wish to make independent press releases in which case it shall be authorized to proceed subject to the prior approval of both the Series B Investors and the Company. |
24 | M ISCELLANEOUS |
24.1 | Term and Termination . This Agreement shall have a fixed term through November 19, 2025. Thereafter it may be terminated by any Shareholder with six months prior written notice to all other Shareholders by the end of June or the end of December of each calendar year. This Agreement may be terminated by a written agreement between all Parties to this Agreement. It shall also terminate automatically upon an Initial Public Offering or on any Party becoming the owner of 100% of the Shares. Articles 16, 17, 20, 22 and 23 shall survive termination of this Agreement. |
24.2 | Expenses . Except as provided hereunder and in the Investment Agreement, each Party shall pay its own costs and expenses (including, but not limited to, all legal, accounting and advisory fees), as well as any taxes or other charges which might become due in connection with, this Agreement, any agreements provided for the performance of this Agreement or any agreements provided for herein and the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby. The costs associated with the share capital increases (notary fees, stamp duty tax, registration fees, etc.) shall be borne by the Company. |
24.3 | Amendment . This Agreement may be amended by a written instrument signed by a Qualified Majority with effect for all Parties provided always that such amendments do not increase, or reduce or amend the rights or obligations of any individual Shareholder or group of Shareholders compared to other Shareholders/groups of Shareholders and do not eliminate any vested payment claims nor impose any additional payment obligations and provided that the rights of the Shareholders will not be reduced in relation to Article 9 (Drag-Along Right). |
24.4 | Entire Agreement . This Agreement and the Investment Agreement contain all of the terms and conditions agreed upon by the Parties relating to the subject matter of this Agreement and the Investment Agreement and supersede all prior agreements, negotiations, correspondence, undertakings and communications of the Parties, whether oral or written, with respect to such subject matter, in particular the Shareholders Agreement executed on August 28, 2013 between Mr. Ernest Loumaye, Mr. André Chollet, Sofinnova Partners, Sofinnova Ventures, Novo, Ares Trading and the Company. |
24.5 | Notices . Any notice or other communication made in connection with this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be mailed by certified mail, as an attachment to an email or by telefax with a same day copy by certified mail addressed to the addresses set forth at the beginning of this Agreement. All notices shall be in writing and in the English language. |
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Such addresses may be changed, from time to time, by means of a notice given in the manner provided in this Article. In the event that notification has to be made within a certain period of time, the concerned Party should have complied with such requirement if it has mailed, transmitted or initiated delivery procedure at the last day of such period.
24.6 | Severability . If any provision of this Agreement is held to be unenforceable for any reason, it shall be adjusted rather than voided, if possible, in order to achieve the intent of the Parties to this Agreement to the fullest extent possible. In any event, all other provisions of this Agreement shall remain valid and enforceable to the fullest extent possible. |
24.7 | No Waiver . The failure of any of the Parties to enforce any of the provisions of this Agreement or any rights with respect thereto shall in no way be considered as a waiver of such provisions or rights or in any way affect the validity of this Agreement. The waiver of any breach of this Agreement by any Party shall not operate to be construed as a waiver of any other prior or subsequent breach. |
24.8 | Binding on Successors . All of the terms, provisions and conditions of this Agreement shall be binding upon to the benefit of the Parties hereto and their respective successors, assigns and legal representatives. |
24.9 | Non-Assignability . Except as specifically provided for in this Agreement, no Party may assign or transfer, in whole or in part, or delegate all or any portion of its respective rights or obligations under this Agreement without the prior written consent of the Preferred Shareholders. Any assignment, transfer or delegation made without such consent shall be null and void. |
24.10 | No Third Party Beneficiaries . This Agreement does not create, and shall not be construed as creating, any rights enforceable by any person not a Party to this Agreement. |
24.11 | Further Actions . At any time and from time to time each Party agrees, at its expenses, to take such actions and to execute and deliver such documents as may be reasonably necessary to fully perform this Agreement. |
25 | G OVERNING L AW AND J URISDICTION |
25.1 | This Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby shall be governed, interpreted and construed by, under and pursuant to Swiss law, to the exclusion of any conflict of law rules. |
25.2 | Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or in connection with this Agreement, including its conclusion, validity, binding effect, amendment, breach, termination or rescission shall be resolved by arbitration in accordance with the Swiss Rules of International Arbitration of the Swiss Chambers of commerce in force on the date when the Notice of Arbitration is submitted in accordance with these Rules. The number of arbitrators shall be three. The seat of the arbitration shall be Geneva and the arbitral proceedings shall be conducted in English; provided that evidence may be submitted to the arbitral tribunal in German and French without translation into English. |
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I N WITNESS WHEREOF , the Parties hereto have duly executed this Shareholders Agreement in 11 originals on November 19, 2015.
Mr. Ernest Loumaye : | ||||
/s/ Ernest Loumaye |
||||
F UND S OFINNOVA C APITAL VII (SCVII) : | ||||
By: Sofinnova Partners SAS |
||||
its General Partner | ||||
By |
/s/ Rafaele Tordjman |
|||
Name: |
Rafaele Tordjman Managing Partner |
|||
S OFINNOVA V ENTURE P ARTNERS VIII, L.P. | ||||
By: Sofinnova Management VIII, L.L.C. | ||||
its General Partner | ||||
By |
/s/ James Healey |
|||
James Healy, Managing Member | ||||
N OVO A/S : | ||||
/s/ Bjarne Graven Larsen |
||||
Name: | Bjarne Graven Larsen, CFO | |||
/s/ Elvind Kolding |
||||
Name: | Elvind Kolding, CEO |
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A RES T RADING SA : | ||||
/s/ Cedric Hyde |
||||
Name: | Cedric Hyde | |||
Authorized Representative | ||||
/s/ James Singleton |
||||
Name: | James Singleton | |||
Authorized Representative | ||||
HBM Healthcare Investments (Cayman) Ltd.: | ||||
/s/ Jean Marc LeSieur |
||||
Name: | Jean Marc LeSieur | |||
Director | ||||
New Enterprise Associates 15, L.P.: | ||||
By: NEA Partners 15, L.P. | ||||
By: NEA 15 GP, L.L.C. | ||||
By |
/s/ Louis Citron |
|||
Louis Citron, Chief Legal Officer | ||||
\OrbiMed Private Investments V, LP: | ||||
By: OrbiMed Capital GP V LLC, | ||||
its General Partner | ||||
By: OrbiMed Advisors LLC, | ||||
its Managing Member | ||||
By |
/s/ Jonathan Silverstein |
|||
Name and Title: | Jonathan Silverstein, Member |
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R OCK S PRINGS C APITAL M ASTER F UNDS , L.P. | ||
By: Rock Springs GP, L.L.C. | ||
its General Partner | ||
By |
/s/ Graham McPhail |
|
Graham McPhail, | ||
Managing Director | ||
Mr. André CHOLLET : | ||
/s/ André Chollet |
||
O BS E VA SA | ||
/s/ Ernest Loumaye |
||
Name: Ernest Loumaye | ||
/s/ Fabien De Ladonchamps |
||
Name: | Fabien De Ladonchamps |
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E XHIBITS TO THE
S HAREHOLDERS A GREEMENT
1. | Articles of Incorporation |
2. | Organizational Regulations |
3. | Form of Deed of Accession |
4. | Representations and Warranties |
5. | ERISA Letter |
6. | PFIC Annual Information Statement |
43 / 43
CONFIDENTIAL
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Exhibit 10.1
LICENSE AGREEMENT
Dated August 28, 2013
By and Between
ARES TRADING S.A.
And
OBSEVA S.A.
LICENSE AGREEMENT
THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT (the Agreement ) is dated as of August 28, 2013 (the Effective Date ) by and between ARES TRADING SA , a Swiss corporation with registered offices at Zone Industrielle de lOuriettaz, 1108 Aubonne, Switzerland ( Merck Serono ) and OBSEVA S.A. , a Swiss corporation with registered offices at 29, Chemin de Planta, CH-1223 Cologny ( Licensee ). Merck Serono and Licensee may be referred to herein as a Party or, collectively, as Parties .
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS , Licensee is active in the field of reproductive health and medicine;
WHEREAS , Merck Serono is engaged, among other activities, in the development of pharmaceutical products; and
WHEREAS , Merck Serono wishes to license to Licensee, on an exclusive worldwide basis, the right to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize products comprising the Licensed Compounds in the Field (as hereinafter defined); and
WHEREAS , Licensee wishes to obtain, and Merck Serono is willing to grant a license to the Merck Serono Technology upon the terms and conditions set forth herein; and
WHEREAS contemporaneously with the execution of this Agreement, and as a condition hereto, the Parties will enter into a Shareholders Agreement (as defined hereunder) and an Investment Agreement (as defined hereunder);
NOW, THEREFORE , in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants contained herein, the parties agree to as follows:
ARTICLE 1 - DEFINITIONS
The following terms shall have the following respective definitions:
1.1 Affiliate means a Person or entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a Party, but only for so long as such control exists. For the purposes of this Section 1.1, the word control (including, with correlative meaning, the terms controlled by or under the common control with) means the actual power, either directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, to direct the management and policies of such Person or entity, whether by the ownership of at least fifty percent (50%) of the voting stock of such entity, or by contract or otherwise.
2
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.2 Bankruptcy Event means: (a) voluntary or involuntary proceedings by or against a Party instituted in bankruptcy under any insolvency law, which proceedings, if involuntary, shall not have been dismissed within sixty (60) days after the date of filing; (b) a receiver or custodian is appointed for a Party; (c) proceedings are instituted by or against a Party for corporate reorganization, dissolution, liquidation or winding-up of such Party, which proceedings, if involuntary, shall not have been dismissed within sixty (60) days after the date of filing; or (d) substantially all of the assets of a Party are seized or attached and not released within sixty (60) days thereafter.
1.3 Calendar Quarter means each three (3) month period commencing January 1, April 1, July 1 or October 1, provided however that (i) the first Calendar Quarter of the Term shall extend from the Effective Date to the end of the first full Calendar Quarter thereafter, and (ii) the last Calendar Quarter of the Term shall end upon the expiration of this Agreement.
1.4 Calendar Year means the period beginning on the 1 st of January and ending on the 31 st of December of the same year, provided however that (i) the first Calendar Year of the Term shall commence on the Effective Date and end on December 31, 2013 and (ii) the last Calendar Year of the Term shall commence on January 1 of the Calendar Year in which this Agreement terminates or expires and ends on the date of termination or expiration of this Agreement.
1.5 Clinical Trial means a clinical trial in human subjects that has been approved by a Regulatory Authority and is designed to measure the safety and/or efficacy of a Licensed Product. Clinical Trials shall include Phase I Trials, Phase II Trials and Phase III Trials.
1.6 Combination Product means a product containing the Licensed Product together with one or more active ingredient, or with one or more product, device, equipment or component.
1.7 Commercialization or Commercialize means any and all activities undertaken prior to and after Regulatory Approval of an NDA for a particular Licensed Product and that relate to the marketing, promoting, distributing, importing for sale, offering for sale, and selling of the Licensed Product.
1.8 Commercially Reasonable Efforts means, (a) with respect to the efforts to be expended by any Party with respect to any objective, such reasonable, diligent, and good faith efforts as such Party would normally use to accomplish a similar objective under similar circumstances, and (b) with respect to any obligation relating to research, Development or Commercialization of a Licensed Product by Licensee, the application by Licensee of the level of efforts required to carry out such obligation in a sustained manner consistent with the efforts a similarly situated biopharmaceutical company or pharmaceutical company, as the case may be, devotes to a product of similar market potential, profit potential or strategic value resulting from its own research efforts.
1.9 Compound means a chemical substance that is biologically active and has constant chemical composition.
1.10 Confidential Information of a Party means information relating to the business, operations and products of a Party or any of its Affiliates, including but not limited to, any technical information, Know-How, trade secrets, or inventions (whether patentable or not), not known or generally available to the public, that such Party discloses to the other Party under this Agreement, or otherwise becomes known to the other Party by virtue of this Agreement.
3
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.11 Controlled means, with respect to (a) Patent Rights, (b) Know-How or (c) biological, chemical or physical material, that a Third Party or a Party or one of its Affiliates owns or has a license or sublicense to such right, item, or material (or in the case of material, has the right to physical possession of such material) and has the ability to grant a license or sublicense to, or assign its right, title and interest in and to, such right, item or material as provided for in this Agreement.
1.12 Cover , Covering or Covered means, with respect to a Licensed Product, that the using, selling, or offering for sale of such Licensed Product would, but for a license granted in this Agreement under the Merck Serono Patents, infringe a Valid Claim of the Merck Serono Patents in the country in which the activity occurs.
1.13 Developmen t means, with respect to a Licensed Product, the performance of all pre-clinical and clinical development (including toxicology, pharmacology, test method development and stability testing, process development, formulation development, quality control development, statistical analysis), Clinical Trials (excluding clinical trials conducted after Regulatory Approval of an NDA), manufacturing and regulatory activities that are required to obtain Regulatory Approval of the Licensed Product in the Territory.
1.14 Executive Officers means, together, a member of the senior management of the pharmaceutical division of Merck Serono and the Chief Executive Officer of Licensee.
1.15 EMA means the European Medicines Agency or any successor agency.
1.16 FDA means the United States Food and Drug Administration, or a successor federal agency thereto.
1.17 Field means all prophylactic, palliative, therapeutic or diagnostic uses in humans and animals.
1.18 First Commercial Sale shall mean, on a country-by-country basis, the first sale for monetary value to a Third Party for use or consumption of the Licensed Product, by Licensee, its Affiliate(s) or Sublicensees. For the avoidance of doubt, a First Commercial Sale may only occur after the Licensed Product has received Regulatory Approval valid for the country in which the First Commercial Sale occurs.
1.19 Governmental Body means any: (a) nation, principality, state, commonwealth, province, territory, county, municipality, district or other jurisdiction of any nature; (b) federal, state, local, municipal, foreign or other government; (c) governmental or quasi-governmental authority of any nature (including any governmental division, subdivision, department, agency, bureau, branch, office, commission, council, board, instrumentality, officer, official, representative, organization, unit, body or entity and any court or other tribunal); (d) multi-national or supranational organization or body; or (e) individual, entity, or body exercising, or entitled to exercise, any executive, legislative, judicial, administrative, regulatory, police, military or taxing authority or power of any nature.
4
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.20 IND means an investigational new drug application filed with the FDA or the equivalent application or filing filed with any equivalent agency or Governmental Body outside the United States (including any supra-national entity such as in the European Union) for approval to commence Clinical Trials in such jurisdiction, and including all regulations at 21 CFR § 312 Et. Seq. and equivalent foreign regulations.
1.21 Investment Agreement shall mean the Investment Agreement entered into among Licensee, Sofinnova Partners, Ernest Loumaye, André Chollet, Merck Serono and if applicable other investors, on the same date as this Agreement.
1.22 Know-How means any scientific or technical information, results and data of any type whatsoever, in any tangible form, that is not in the public domain or otherwise publicly known, including, without limitation, discoveries, inventions, trade secrets, databases, practices, protocols, regulatory filings, methods, processes, techniques, biological and other materials, reagents, specifications, formulations, formulae, data (including pharmacological, biological, chemical, toxicological and clinical information, analytical, quality control and stability data, studies and procedures), manufacturing process and development information, results and data, whether or not patentable, all to the extent not claimed or disclosed in a patent. Know How excludes Patent Rights.
1.23 Licensed Compounds means the Compounds known as [*] and which are listed on Schedule 1.23, and any other Compound covered by a Merck Serono Patent. For the avoidance of doubt, Licensed Compounds are oxytocin receptors antagonists.
1.24 Licensed Product(s) means any pharmaceutical product, in any dosage form, formulation, presentation or package configuration that is commercialized or undergoing research or pre-clinical or clinical development that contains or comprises, in part or in whole, a Licensed Compound.
1.25 Licensee Know-How means all Know-How that is owned or Controlled by Licensee or its Affiliates after the Effective Date and is necessary in the research, Development, manufacture, use, or Commercialization of the Licensed Products.
1.26 Major Market means the United States, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain.
1.27 Merck Serono Know-How means all Know-How that is owned or Controlled by Merck Serono as of the Effective Date and is necessary in the research, Development, manufacture, use, or Commercialization of the Licensed Products. The Know-How set forth on Schedule 1.27 constitutes all of such Know-How owned or Controlled by Merck Serono on the Effective Date.
1.28 Merck Serono Materials means all chemical, biological or physical materials that are owned or Controlled by Merck Serono or any of its Affiliates as of the Effective Date and that are necessary in the research, Development, manufacture, use or Commercialization of the Licensed Products. The Merck Serono Materials are set forth on Schedule 1.28.
1.29 Merck Serono Patents means the Patent Rights listed on Schedule 1.29.
5
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.30 Merck Serono Technology means the Merck Serono Know-How, the Merck Serono Patents and the Merck Serono Materials, collectively.
1.31 NDA means a New Drug Application filed pursuant to the requirements of the FDA, as more fully defined in 21 CFR.§ 314.3 et seq, a Biologics License Application filed pursuant to the requirements of the FDA, as more fully defined in 21 CFR § 601, and any equivalent application filed in any country in the Territory, together, in each case, with all additions, deletions or supplements thereto.
1.32 Net Sales means, with respect to each country of the Territory, the amounts invoiced by Licensee or its Affiliates or Sublicensees for all sales of Licensed Products to a Third Party (whether an end user, a distributor or otherwise), less the following:
(i) | trade, cash and quantities discounts, rebates (including rebates similar to Medicare or other government rebates), reimbursements, allowances and credits for expired Licensed Products; |
(ii) | sales, use or similar taxes (including duties or other governmental charges levied or otherwise imposed on the sale or use of such Licensed Product, including, without limitation, value added taxes or other governmental charges otherwise measured by the billing amount, but only to the extent such amount(s) is (are) included in the billing); |
(iii) | freight, postage, shipping, customs duties and insurance charges, but only to the extent such amount(s) is (are) included in the billing; |
(iv) | any other specifically identified amounts included in the Licensed Product invoice price that should be credited for reasons substantially equivalent to those listed above or as determined in accordance with Licensees usual and customary accounting methods which are in accordance with International Accounting Standards or equivalent. |
Net Sales shall not include credits or allowances actually granted for damaged goods, returns or rejections of previously sold Licensed Products and retroactive price reductions for wastage replacement, indigent patients and similar programs.
For the avoidance of doubt, Net Sales may only occur after the Licensed Product has received Regulatory Approval valid for the country in which the Net Sales occur.
In the event that a Licensed Product is sold in the form of a Combination Product, Net Sales for such Combination Product will be calculated by multiplying actual Net Sales of such Combination Product by the fraction A/(A+B) where A is the invoice price of the Licensed Product containing a Compound as the only active ingredient if sold separately, and B is the invoice price of any other active ingredient(s) or other products, devices, equipment or components in the Combination Product if sold separately. In the event that the Licensed Product or one or more of such active ingredients or other products, devices, equipment or components in the Combination Product are not sold separately, then the Net Sales for such Combination Product shall be determined by the Parties in good faith.
6
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.33 Patent Right(s) means: (a) an issued or granted patent, including any extension, supplemental protection certificate, registration, confirmation, reissue, reexamination, extension or renewal thereof; (b) a pending patent application, including any continuation, divisional, continuation-in-part, substitute or provisional application thereof; and (c) all counterparts or foreign equivalents of any of the foregoing issued by or filed in any country or other jurisdiction.
1.34 Person means any natural person, corporation, firm, business trust, joint venture, association, organization, company, partnership or other business entity, or any Governmental Body, government or agency or political subdivision thereof.
1.35 Phase I Trial means a Clinical Trial in which the Licensed Product is administered to human subjects at multiple dose levels with the primary purpose of determining safety, metabolism, and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the Licensed Product, and consistent with 21 CFR § 312.21(a).
1.36 Phase II Trial means a Clinical Trial of the Licensed Product in human patients, the principal purposes of which are to make a preliminary determination that the Licensed Product is safe for its intended use, to determine its optimal dose, and to obtain sufficient information about the Licensed Products efficacy to permit the design of Phase III Trials, and consistent with 21 CFR 312.21(b).
1.37 Phase III Trial means a human Clinical Trial of the Licensed Product, which trial is designed (a) to establish that the Licensed Product is safe and efficacious for its intended use; (b) to define warnings, precautions and adverse reactions that are associated with the Licensed Product in the dosage range to be prescribed; and (c) consistent with 21 CFR § 312.21(c).
1.38 Regulatory Authority means (a) the FDA, (b) the EMA or the European Commission, or (c) any regulatory body with similar regulatory authority over pharmaceutical or biotechnology products in any other jurisdiction anywhere in the world.
1.39 Regulatory Approval means the receipt from a Regulatory Authority by Licensee, its Affiliates, or Sublicensees of approval to lawfully market a Licensed Product in the corresponding jurisdiction in the Territory.
1.40 Series A Investment Round means the first financing of the Licensee by cash (or in kind) contribution, in which new investors subscribe to new shares for a total subscription price of (or around) CHF 28,000,000.-.
1.41 Shareholders Agreement means the Shareholders Agreement entered into among Licensee, Sofinnova Partners, Ernest Loumaye, André Chollet, Merck Serono and if applicable other shareholders of Licensee, on the same date as this Agreement was entered into.
1.42 Sublicensee means a Person other than an Affiliate of Licensee to which Licensee (or its Affiliate) has, pursuant to Section 2.2, granted sublicense rights under any of the Merck Serono Technology licensed under Section 2.1. Sublicense shall be construed accordingly. For the avoidance of doubt, a Third Party contract manufacturer of Licensed Products on behalf of Licensee shall not be considered a Sublicensee for the purpose of this Agreement.
7
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.43 Territory means all the countries in the world.
1.44 Third Party shall mean any Person that is not a Party, an Affiliate of a Party, or a Sublicensee of Licensee hereunder.
1.45 Third Party License Agreement means any agreement entered into by Licensee with a Third Party, or any amendment or supplement thereto, in each case following the Effective Date, whereby royalties, fees or other payments are to be made by Licensee to such Third Party in connection with the grant of rights under intellectual property rights Controlled by such Third Party, which rights are necessary to research or Develop the Licensed Compounds or Licensed Products.
1.46 Valid Claim means any claim in any (i) unexpired and issued patent that has not been disclaimed, revoked or held invalid by a final nonappealable decision of a court or other governmental agency of competent jurisdiction or any (ii) patent application [*].
1.47 Other Terms. The definition of each of the following terms is set forth in the section of the Agreement indicated below:
Action has the meaning set forth in Section 5.5 (b).
Controlling Party has the meaning set forth in Section 5.6 (c).
Disputes has the meaning set forth in Section 10.9.
Licensee Indemnitees has the meaning set forth in Section 8.1.
Licensee Patents has the meaning set forth in Section 5.4 (a).
Losses has the meaning set forth in Section 8.1.
Merck Serono Indemnitees has the meaning set forth in Section 8.2.
Royalty Term has the meaning set forth in Section 4.2 (d).
Term has the meaning set forth in Section 9.1.
Upfront Payment has the meaning set forth in Section 4.1.
ARTICLE 2 GRANT OF LICENSE
2.1 Grant of License . Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Merck Serono hereby grants to Licensee an exclusive (even as to Merck Serono), worldwide, royalty-bearing right and license (with the right to sublicense subject to the provisions of Section 2.2) under the Merck Serono Technology to research, Develop, make, have made, import, export, use and Commercialize the Licensed Products in the Field in the Territory.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
2.2 Grant of Sublicense by Licensee . The Licensee shall have the right to grant Sublicenses under the license granted in Section 2.1, subject to Merck Serono being duly informed in writing by Licensee in advance of the execution of any Sublicense agreement. The Sublicense agreement shall be consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. The granting by Licensee of a Sublicense shall not relieve Licensee of its obligations hereunder. Licensee shall promptly provide Merck Serono with a copy of the fully executed Sublicense agreement, which shall be redacted from its commercial terms, and Merck Serono hereby undertakes to treat such redacted Sublicense agreement as Confidential Information. For the avoidance of doubt, Licensee may grant Sublicenses to Sublicensees on a country-by-country basis or worldwide.
2.3 Transfer. Merck Serono shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to transfer to Licensee the Merck Serono Know-How and the Merck Serono Materials within thirty (30) days following the Effective Date. If within sixty (60) days after the initial transfer Licensee identifies specific items within the Merck Serono Know-How that were not transferred to Licensee, then Merck Serono will use reasonable efforts to provide the same to Licensee upon request. In addition, at Licensees reasonable request, Merck Serono shall provide access to any raw data or report directly and exclusively related to the Licensed Product which may become necessary for the Licensee to research, manufacture and Develop any Licensed Product in the Field. Each Party hereby designates a contact person as indicated below whose responsibility it will be to oversee the transfer described in this Section 2.3:
For Licensee:
[*]
For Merck Serono:
[*]
ARTICLE 3 DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION
3.1 Development and Commercialization of the Licensed Products by Licensee . Licensee shall have the exclusive right and responsibility to research and Develop the Licensed Products and to conduct (either itself or through its Affiliates, agents, subcontractors and/or Sublicensees) all Clinical Trials and non-clinical studies Licensee believes appropriate to obtain Regulatory Approval for the Licensed Products in any indication. In addition, Licensee shall have the exclusive right to Commercialize the Licensed Products itself or through one or more Third Parties and/or Sublicensees selected by Licensee, and shall have the responsibility in all matters relating to the Commercialization of the Licensed Products.
3.2 Manufacturing and Supply. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Licensee shall have the exclusive right to manufacture the Licensed Compounds and the Licensed Products itself or through one or more Third Party subcontractor(s) selected by Licensee.
3.3 Regulatory Filings. Licensee shall be responsible for and shall own and maintain all regulatory filings and Regulatory Approvals for the Licensed Products, including all INDs and NDAs.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
3.4 Diligence by Licensee. Licensee shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to (a) research and Develop at least one Licensed Product, in accordance with its development plan as updated and/or amended from time to time and (b) launch and Commercialize at least one Licensed Product in each Major Market within [*] after receiving Regulatory Approval (which for the purpose of this clause 3.4 shall include approval of pricing and reimbursement) in such Major Market.
3.5 Reporting. Licensee (or its Sublicensee, as applicable) shall, on each anniversary of the Effective Date, provide Merck Serono with a written report summarizing its research, Development, manufacturing and as applicable Commercialization activities in the Territory during the preceding Calendar Year.
3.6 Trademarks. Licensee shall have the sole authority to select trademarks for the Licensed Products and shall own all such trademarks.
ARTICLE 4 FINANCIAL TERMS
4.1 Upfront Payment. In partial consideration for the grant of the rights hereunder, Licensee shall pay to Merck Serono the non-refundable, non-creditable sum of Four Million Five Hundred Thousand Swiss Francs (CHF 4,500,000.-) (the Upfront Payment ). The Upfront Payment shall be paid to Merck Serono through the sales to Merck Serono of 70,313 ObsEva Preferred A Shares at nominal value of CHF 1.-, being understood that the subscription price of ObsEvas Shares will be CHF 64. (sixty four Swiss Francs) per share in the Series A Investment Round. The terms under which the Upfront Payment will be made are further set forth in the Shareholders Agreement and the Investment Agreement.
4.2 Royalty Payments.
(a) Royalty Rate. As further consideration for Merck Seronos grant of the rights and licenses to the Licensee hereunder, the Licensee shall, during each applicable Royalty Term (i.e. on a country-by-country basis), pay to Merck Serono a royalty on aggregate annual worldwide Net Sales of each Licensed Products for each Calendar Year, at the percentage rate set forth below:
Royalty Rate for Annual Net Sales of Licensed Products Net Sales per Calendar Year |
[*] |
(b) Know-How Royalty. The royalty rate set forth in Section 4.2 (a) applicable to the Net Sales of a Licensed Product in a country will be reduced by [*] during any period there exists no Valid Claim of a Merck Serono Patent in such country that Covers such Licensed Product in such country. For the avoidance of doubt, no Know-How Royalties shall be due in any country after the end of the Royalty Term pursuant to Section 4.2 (d) in such country.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(c) Third Party License Agreements. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, if Licensee enters into one or more Third Party License Agreement(s), Licensee will be entitled to deduct from any royalties payable to Merck Serono under Section 4.2 (from the amount calculated by consideration of the then applicable royalty rate), an amount equal to not more than [*] of any amounts paid by Licensee pursuant to such Third Party License Agreement(s) in respect of the Licensed Product which gave rise to the payment obligation under Section 4.2. Notwithstanding the foregoing, under no circumstances shall the deductions under this Section 4.2 (c) result in the amount payable to Merck Serono being reduced by more than [*] compared with the amount otherwise payable under Section 4.2. In the event that Licensee is not able to deduct the full amount of the permitted deduction from the amount due to Merck Serono due to the [*] minimum amount, Licensee shall be entitled to deduct any undeducted excess amount from subsequent amounts owed to Merck Serono (subject always to Merck Serono receiving a minimum of [*] of the amount owed).
(d) Royalty Term. Royalties shall be payable on a Licensed Product-by-Licensed Product and country-by-country basis from the period from the First Commercial Sale of Licensed Product in such country until the latest of (a) the last date on which such Licensed Product is Covered by a Valid Claim within a Merck Serono Patent in such country, or (b) ten (10) years after such First Commercial Sale of Licensed Product in such country (the Royalty Term ). For the avoidance of doubt, Licensee Patents shall not be taken into account for the determination of the Royalty Term in any country.
(e) Payment of Royalties. Nothing herein contained shall obligate Licensee and/or its Sublicensees to pay or cause to be paid to Merck Serono more than one royalty on any unit of Licensed Product. Simultaneous with the delivery of the report described in Section 4.2 (f) hereof, Licensee shall pay, or cause to be paid, to Merck Serono at such place as Merck Serono may from time to time designate in writing, all royalties earned pursuant to this Section 4.2 in the preceding Calendar Quarter. All such payments shall be made in Euros.
(f) Royalty Reports; Currency Conversion. Commencing with the Calendar Quarter in which the First Commercial Sale of a Licensed Product is made by the Licensee or its Affiliate or Sublicensee, Licensee shall submit to Merck Serono with each royalty payment a report detailing its computation of royalties due on Net Sales in each country during each Calendar Quarter within sixty (60) days after the end of such Calendar Quarter (and Licensee shall cause its Sublicensees to submit royalty reports containing the same level of detail). All payments to Merck Serono hereunder shall be made by deposit of Euros in the requisite amount to such bank account as Merck Serono may from time to time designate by written notice to Licensee. With respect to sales not denominated in Euros, royalty amounts owed shall first be calculated in the currency of sale, and then such amounts shall be converted into Euro using the exchange rate of the European Central Bank on the last day of the Calendar Quarter to which the report relates. For accounting and documentation purposes, the Parties may vary the method of payment set forth herein at any time upon mutual agreement, and any change shall be consistent with the local law at the place of payment or remittance.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(g) Record Retention, Inspection. Licensee shall keep or cause its Affiliates and Sublicensee to keep complete and accurate records in sufficient detail to enable Net Sales and royalties payable under Section 4.2 to be established for a period of sixty (60) months after the date that such royalties were payable. Such records shall be consistent with Licensees normal accounting principles. At the request and cost of Merck Serono (but not more frequently than once each Calendar Year) an independent chartered or certified public accountant chosen by Merck Serono but approved by the Licensee (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be allowed access during ordinary business hours to such records pertaining to the preceding two (2) Calendar Year solely to verify the accuracy of any payments made to Merck Serono under Section 4.2. The accountant shall not disclose to Merck Serono any information other than that which should properly be contained in a report of matters relevant to Net Sales and royalty calculation and payment arising under Section 4.2 above. Licensee shall make Sublicensee records available to Merck to the same extent as set forth in this Section 4.2 (g).
4.3 Tax. If applicable law requires that taxes be deducted and withheld from royalties or any other payments paid under this Agreement by either Party, said Party shall (i) deduct those taxes and interests and penalties assessed thereon from the payment or from any other payment owed by said Party hereunder; (ii) pay the taxes to the proper Governmental Body; (iii) send evidence of the obligation together with proof of payment to the other Party within three (3) months following such payment; (iv) remit the net amount, after deductions or withholding made under this Section 4.3 and (v) cooperate with other Party in any way reasonably requested by said other Party, to obtain available reductions, credits or refunds of such taxes; provided, however, that the other Party shall reimburse said Party for said Partys out-of-pocket expenses incurred in providing such assistance. It is understood and agreed between the Parties that any payments made by either Party under this Agreement are exclusive of any value added or similar tax imposed upon such payment.
4.4 Late Payment. Payments not paid when due shall bear interest at a rate of [*] per annum above the three-month EURO LIBOR which applied on the day when the payment was due. Calculation of interest will be made for the exact number of days in the interest period based on a year of three hundred and sixty (360) days.
ARTICLE 5 - INVENTIONS AND PATENTS
5.1 Certification Under Drug Price Competition and Patent Restoration Act. Each Party shall immediately give written notice to the other Party of any certification of which they become aware filed pursuant to 21 U.S.C. Section 355(b)(2)(A) (or any amendment or successor statute thereto) claiming that any Merck Serono Patents covering Licensed Compounds or Licensed Products, or the manufacture or use of each of the foregoing, are invalid or unenforceable, or that infringement will not arise from the manufacture, use or sale of a product by a Third Party.
5.2 Listing of Patents . Merck Serono shall determine which of the Merck Serono Patents, if any, shall be listed for inclusion in the Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations pursuant to 21 U.S.C. Section 355, or any successor law in the United States, together with any comparable laws or regulations in any other country in the Territory. Licensee shall have the right to propose Merck Serono Patents for such listing and Merck Serono shall not unreasonably reject any such proposal.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
5.3 Title to Inventions. All inventions having as inventors solely employees or independent contractors of one Party in the course of the Parties performance under this Agreement, and all intellectual property rights pertaining to such inventions shall be the property of such Party.
5.4 Patent Prosecution and Maintenance.
(a) Licensee Patents . Licensee shall have the right to file, prosecute and maintain the Patent Rights owned by Licensee pursuant to Section 5.3 or otherwise (such Patent Rights, the Licensee Patents ). Licensee shall bear all costs and expenses of filing, prosecuting and maintaining Licensee Patents in the Territory. For the avoidance of doubt, Merck Serono shall have no right whatsoever regarding any Licensee Patents, including if such Licensee Patents are entirely or partially based on Merck Serono Know-How.
(b) Merck Serono Patents . Merck Serono shall have the first right, and the obligation, to file, prosecute and maintain Merck Serono Patents. Merck Serono shall bear all costs and expenses of filing, prosecuting and maintaining Merck Serono Patents in the Territory. Merck Serono shall keep Licensee informed of the course of the filing and prosecution of Merck Serono Patents or related proceedings (e.g. interferences, oppositions, reexaminations, reissues, revocations or nullifications) in the United States, the European Union, Japan, China, Canada and Australia in a timely manner, and shall take into consideration the advice and recommendations of Licensee in that respect. At Merck Seronos request, Licensee will provide Merck Serono with reasonable assistance in prosecuting Merck Serono Patents to the extent possible, including providing such data in Licensees control that is, in Merck Seronos reasonable judgment, needed to support the prosecution of a Merck Serono Patent; provided, however, that Merck Serono shall reimburse Licensee for Licensees out-of-pocket expenses incurred in providing such assistance.
(c) Election not to file and prosecute Merck Serono Patents . If Merck Serono elects not to file, prosecute or maintain a Merck Serono Patent in a country or possession in the Territory, then it shall notify Licensee in writing at least ninety (90) days before any deadline applicable to the filing, prosecution or maintenance of such Merck Serono Patent, as the case may be, or any other date by which an action must be taken to establish or preserve such Merck Serono Patent in such country or possession. In such case, Licensee shall have the right, but not the obligation, to pursue the filing or support the continued prosecution or maintenance of such Merck Serono Patent. If Licensee does elect to take such action in a country in the Territory, then it shall notify Merck Serono of such election, and Merck Serono shall reasonably cooperate with Licensee in this regard. If Licensee does elect to take such action in a country in the Territory, it shall also notify Merck Serono, at the time of such election, whether Licensee requests from Merck Serono the assignment of all its right, title and interest in and to any such Merck Serono Patent in such country. If Licensee does not request from Merck Serono such assignment
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
of a Merck Serono Patent, Merck Serono shall file, prosecute or maintain a Merck Serono Patent in a country or possession in the Territory and such Merck Serono Patent shall remain a Merck Patent under which royalty payments shall be due by Licensee under Article 4 of this Agreement. If Licensee does request from Merck Serono the assignment of Merck Serono Patent Patent in a country or possession in the Territory, such Merck Serono Patent shall become a Licensee Patent under which no royalty payments in such country or possession in the Territory shall be due by Licensee under this Agreement, and Licensee shall thereupon be responsible for all costs of filing, prosecution and maintenance of such new Licensee Patent for aforesaid country or possession in the Territory.
(d) Patent Term Extension . Merck Serono shall be responsible for obtaining patent term extensions wherever available for Merck Serono Patents, at Merck Serono costs. Licensee shall provide Merck Serono with all relevant information, documentation and assistance in this respect. Any such assistance, supply of information and consultation shall be provided promptly and in a manner that will ensure that all patent term extensions for Licensed Products are obtained wherever legally permissible, and to the maximum extent available. In the event that any election with respect to obtaining patent term extensions is to be made, Licensee shall have the right to make such elections, and Merck Serono shall abide by all such elections.
5.5 Enforcement of Patents.
(a) Notice. If either Party believes that a Merck Serono Patent is being infringed by a Third Party or if a Third Party claims that any Merck Serono Patent is invalid or unenforceable, the Party possessing such knowledge or belief shall notify the other Party and provide it with details of such infringement or claim that are known by such Party.
(b) Right to bring an Action. Merck Serono shall have the exclusive right to attempt to resolve such infringement or claim pertaining to a Merck Serono Patent, including by filing an infringement suit, defending against such claim or taking other similar action (each, an Action ) and to compromise or settle such infringement or claim. If Merck Serono does not intend to prosecute or defend an Action, Merck Serono shall promptly inform Licensee in writing and Licensee shall have the right to initiate an Action. If Licensee does not initiate an Action with respect to such an infringement or claim within one hundred and eighty (180) days following notice thereof, Merck Serono shall have the right to attempt to resolve such infringement or claim. The Party initiating the Action shall have the sole and exclusive right to select counsel for any suit initiated by it pursuant to this Section 5.5. Each Party shall have the right to join an Action relating to a Merck Serono-Patent taken by the other Party, at its own expense.
(c) Costs of an Action. Subject to the respective indemnity obligations of the Parties set forth in Article 8, the Party taking an Action under Section 5.5 (b) shall pay all costs associated with such Action, other than the expenses of the other Party if the other Party elects to join such Action.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(d) Settlement . Neither Party shall settle or otherwise compromise any Action by admitting that any Merck Serono Patent is invalid or unenforceable without the other Partys prior written consent, and, in the case of Licensee, Licensee may not settle or otherwise compromise an Action in a way that adversely affects or would be reasonably expected to adversely effect Merck Seronos rights or benefits hereunder with respect to the Licensed Product, without Merck Seronos prior written consent. The settlement will be treated in accordance with the law of the country to which the settlement relates.
(e) Reasonable Assistance. The Party not enforcing or defending Merck Serono-Patents shall provide reasonable assistance to the other Party, including providing access to relevant documents and other evidence and making its employees available, subject to the other Partys reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the non-enforcing or non-defending Party in providing such assistance.
(f) Distribution of Amounts Recovered. Any amounts recovered by the Party taking an Action pursuant to this Section 5.5, whether by settlement or judgment, shall be allocated in the following order: (i) to reimburse the Party taking such Action for any costs incurred, (ii) to reimburse the Party not taking such Action for its costs incurred in such Action, if it joins such Action; and (iii) the remaining amount of such recovery shall be attributed to Licensee (as if it were Net Sales), and Licensee shall pay to Merck Serono a royalty on such remaining amount based on the royalty rates set forth in Section 4.2.
5.6 Third Party Actions Claiming Infringement.
(a) Notice . If a Party becomes aware of any claim or action by a Third Party against either Party that claims that the Licensed Product, or its use, Development, manufacture or sale infringes such Third Partys intellectual property rights (each, a Third Party Action ), such Party shall promptly notify the other Party of all details regarding such Third Party Action that is reasonably available to such Party.
(b) Right to Defend. Merck Serono shall have the right, at its sole expense, but not the obligation, to defend a Third Party Action through counsel of its choosing. If Merck Serono declines or fails to assert its intention to defend such Third Party Action within sixty (60) days of receipt/sending of notice under Section 5.6 (a), then Licensee shall have the right to defend such Third Party Action. The Party defending such Third Party Action shall have the sole and exclusive right to select counsel for such Third Party Action. Each Party shall have the right to join any Third Party Action defended by the other Party, at its own expense.
(c) Consultation. The Party defending a Third Party Action pursuant to Section 5.6 (b) shall be the Controlling Party. The Controlling Party shall consult with the non-Controlling Party on all material aspects of the defense. The non-Controlling Party shall have a reasonable opportunity for meaningful participation in decision-making and formulation of defense strategy. The Parties shall reasonably cooperate with each other in all such actions or proceedings. The non-Controlling Party will be entitled to be represented by independent counsel of its own choice at its own expense.
(d) Appeal . In the event that a judgment in a Third Party Action is entered against the Controlling Party and an appeal is available, the Controlling Party shall have the first
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
right, but not the obligation, to file such appeal. In the event the Controlling Party does not desire to file such an appeal, it will promptly, in a reasonable time period (i.e., with sufficient time for the non-Controlling Party to take whatever action may be necessary) prior to the date on which such right to appeal will lapse or otherwise diminish, permit the non-Controlling Party to pursue such appeal at such non-Controlling Partys own cost and expense. The non-Controlling Party shall then become the Controlling Party. If applicable law requires the non-Controlling Partys involvement in an appeal, the non-Controlling Party shall be a nominal party of the appeal and shall provide reasonable cooperation to the Controlling Party at the Controlling Partys expense.
(e) Costs of an Action . Subject to the respective indemnity obligations of the Parties set forth in Article 8, the Controlling Party shall pay all costs associated with such Third Party Action other than the expenses of the other Party if the other Party elects to join such Action.
(f) No Settlement Without Consent. No Controlling Party shall settle or otherwise compromise any Third Party Action by admitting that any Merck Serono Patent is invalid or unenforceable without the non-Controlling Partys prior written consent.
ARTICLE 6 - CONFIDENTIALITY
6.1 Confidentiality Obligations. Each Party agrees that, for the Term and for [*] years thereafter, such Party shall, and shall ensure that its officers, directors, employees, agents and Sublicensees shall keep completely confidential and not publish or otherwise disclose and not use for any purpose, except as expressly permitted hereunder, any Confidential Information disclosed to it by the other Party pursuant to this Agreement. The foregoing obligations shall not apply to any Confidential Information disclosed by a Party hereunder to the extent that the receiving Party can demonstrate that such Confidential Information:
(a) was already known to the receiving Party or its Affiliates, other than under an obligation of confidentiality, at the time of disclosure;
(b) was generally available to the public or otherwise part of the public domain at the time of its disclosure to the receiving Party;
(c) became generally available to the public or otherwise part of the public domain after its disclosure and other than through any act or omission of the receiving Party in breach of this Agreement;
(d) was subsequently lawfully disclosed to the receiving Party or its Affiliates by a Third Party without an obligation of confidentiality other than in contravention of a confidentiality obligation of such Third Party to the disclosing Party; or
(e) was developed or discovered by employees or agents of the receiving Party or its Affiliates who had no access to the Confidential Information of the disclosing Party.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Notwithstanding the above obligations of confidentiality and non-use, a Party may disclose information to the extent that such disclosure is reasonably necessary in connection with:
(i) | filing or prosecuting patent applications, subject to the terms of Section 5.3; |
(ii) | prosecuting or defending litigation; |
(iii) | conducting pre-clinical studies or Clinical Trials; |
(iv) | seeking Regulatory Approval of the Licensed Product; or |
(v) | complying with applicable law, including securities law and the rules of any securities exchange or market on which a Partys securities are listed or traded; |
(vi) | due diligence performed by a Third Party in connection with either Partys business development activities, subject to such Third Parties being bound by written obligations of confidentiality that are at least as stringent as the ones herein. |
In addition, in connection with any permitted filing by either Party of this Agreement with any Governmental Body, included but not limited to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Agreement, the filing Party shall endeavor to obtain confidential treatment of economic, trade secret information and such other information as may be requested by the other Party, and shall provide the other Party with the proposed confidential treatment request with reasonable time for such other Party to provide comments, and shall include in such confidential treatment request all reasonable comments of the other Party. The filing Party shall, where reasonably practicable, give such advance notice to the other Party of such disclosure requirement as is reasonable under the circumstances and will use its reasonable efforts to cooperate with the other Party in order to secure confidential treatment of such Confidential Information required to be disclosed.
6.2 Publications. Licensee shall not publish any information relating to the Licensed Compounds or the Licensed Products without the written consent of Merck Serono, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. Licensee shall submit to Merck Serono for Merck Seronos written consent any publication, presentation or abstract of information related to the Licensed Product for review and approval at least thirty (30) days prior to submission. In case Merck Serono does not object to said proposed publication, presentation or abstract within said thirty (30) day deadline, Merck Serono shall be deemed to have approved said publication, presentation or abstract.
6.3 Press Releases and Disclosure.
a) The proposed public announcement by Merck Serono of the execution of this Agreement is set forth in Exhibit A hereto.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
b) Licensee may not make any subsequent press release or public announcements regarding this Agreement or any matter covered by this Agreement, including the Development or Commercialization of Licensed Products, without the prior written consent of Merck Serono (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld). In case Merck Serono does not object to said press release within ten (10) business days deadline, Merck Serono shall be deemed to have approved the said Press Release. In the event that Licensee believes it is required to issue a press release or make an other public announcement to comply with applicable law as a publicly-traded company and Merck Serono does not believe such public announcement is so required, Licensee may only issue such press release if (a) it obtains an opinion of legal counsel, from a reputable law firm approved by Merck Serono, that it is required to make such disclosure to comply with applicable law and (b) after receiving such opinion, provides the text of such planned disclosure to Merck Serono no less than seven (7) days prior to disclosure, and has incorporated all reasonable comments of Merck Serono regarding such disclosure.
ARTICLE 7 - REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
7.1 Merck Serono representations and warranties.
Merck Serono represents and warranties to the Licensee that:
a) Merck Serono has the full power, authority and right to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof, and all requisite corporate action has been taken to authorize Merck Seronos execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement;
b) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by Merck Serono does not breach, violate, contravene or constitute a default under any contract, arrangement or commitment to which Merck Serono is a party or by which it is bound, or violate any statute, law or regulation or any court, governmental body or administrative or other agency having jurisdiction over Merck Serono; and
c) All consents, approvals and authorizations from all governmental authorities or other Third Parties required to be obtained by Merck Serono in connection with the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement have been obtained.
d) Merck Serono has all right, title and interest in and to the Merck Serono Technology, and Merck Serono has not previously licensed, assigned, transferred, or otherwise conveyed any right, title or interest in and to the Merck Serono Technology to any Third Party, including but not limited to any rights to any Licensed Compounds and Licensed Products; the Merck Serono Technology is free and clear of any liens, charges, encumbrances or rights of others to possession or use.
e) No claims have been asserted, or, to Merck Seronos knowledge, threatened by any Person, nor are there any valid grounds for any claim of any such kind (i) challenging the validity, effectiveness, or ownership of Merck Serono Technology, and/or (ii) to the effect that the use, reproduction, modification, manufacturing,
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
distribution, licensing, sublicensing, sale or any other exercise of rights in any of Merck Serono Technology infringes or will infringe on any intellectual property right of any Person. No such claims have been asserted or, to the knowledge of Merck Serono, are threatened.
f) MERCK SERONO DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES TO TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, TO FREEDOM TO OPERATE, OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS OF LICENSED COMPOUND/LICENSED PRODUCT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
7.2 Licensee representations and warranties.
Licensee represents and warranties to Merck Serono that:
(a) Licensee has the full power, authority and right to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof, and all requisite corporate action has been taken to authorize Licensees execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement;
(b) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by Licensee does not breach, violate, contravene or constitute a default under any contract, arrangement or commitment to which Licensee is a party or by which it is bound, or violate any statute, law or regulation or any court, governmental body or administrative or other agency having jurisdiction over Licensee; and
(c) All consents, approvals and authorizations from all governmental authorities or other Third Parties required to be obtained by Licensee in connection with the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement have been obtained.
ARTICLE 8 - INDEMNIFICATION
8.1 Indemnification by Merck Serono. Merck Serono shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless Licensee, its Affiliates, directors, employees and agents (the Licensee Indemnitees ) from and against any and all liability, damage, loss, cost or expense (including reasonable attorneys fees and expenses of litigation) ( Losses ) arising or resulting from any claims made or suits brought by Third Parties to the extent such Losses arise or result from the breach of any provision of this Agreement by Merck Serono, including a breach of any of the Merck Serono representations and warranties set forth in Section 7.1 of this Agreement. In the event of a claim against the Licensee Indemnitees which may be subject to the foregoing indemnification obligation, the Licensee Indemnitees agree to notify Merck Serono promptly of such claim and Merck Serono shall provide Licensee Indemnitees with any assistance Licensee Indemnitees may reasonably require in the defense of such action, at Merck Seronos cost and expense.
8.2 Indemnification by Licensee. Licensee shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless Merck Serono, its Affiliates, directors, employees and agents (the Merck Serono Indemnitees ) from and against any and all Losses arising or resulting from any claims made or suits brought by
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Third Parties to the extent such Losses arise or result from (i) the breach of any provision of this Agreement by Licensee, including a breach of any of the Licensee representations and warranties set forth in Section 7.2 of this Agreement, and (ii) a product liability claim relating to the Licensed Product. In the event of a claim against the Merck Serono Indemnitees which may be subject to the foregoing indemnification obligation, the Merck Serono Indemnitees agree to notify Licensee promptly of such claim and Licensee shall provide Merck Serono Indemnitees with any assistance Merck Serono Indemnitees may reasonably require in the defense of such action, at Licensees cost and expense.
ARTICLE 9 TERM AND TERMINATION
9.0 This Agreement shall come into force on the date of its signature by both Parties, provided the Shareholders Agreement and the Investment Agreement are contemporaneously executed by the Parties.
9.1 Term of Agreement. This Agreement shall remain in force and effect from the Effective Date and shall continue in force and effect until the end of the last-to-expire Royalty Term in any country with respect to a Licensed Product, unless the Agreement is terminated at an earlier date pursuant to Article 9.2 to 9.6 below ( the Term ). As of the effective date of expiration of the Royalty Term in any country of the Territory, the license from Merck Serono to Licensee under Article 2 in such country shall convert to a fully paid, royalty free, irrevocable, perpetual, exclusive, and sublicensable license under the Merck Serono Technology to research, Develop, manufacture, make, have made, use, import, export, Commercialize, offer for sale and sell the Licensed Products in said country.
9.2 Termination of the Agreement by Licensee for convenience. At any time during the Term, Licensee may, at its convenience, terminate this Agreement in its entirety upon ninety (90) days prior written notice to Merck Serono.
9.3 Termination for Non-Payment. If Licensee has not paid the Upfront Payment or a royalty payment by the required respective payment dates set forth in Section 4.1 and 4.2, Merck Serono shall have the right to terminate this Agreement with ninety (90) days prior notice to Licensee, unless Licensee has proceeded to payment within the period of such notice. Such termination shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any other remedies available to Merck Serono, at law and in equity.
9.4 Termination for Breach Either Party may terminate this Agreement, and the rights and licenses granted hereunder, with ninety (90) days prior notice to the other Party if the other Party breaches any material provision of this Agreement, unless the other Party cures such breach within the period of such notice.
9.5 No Immediate Termination on Bankruptcy . To the extent permitted by applicable law, all rights and licenses granted pursuant to this Agreement by a Party to the other Party shall not be terminated upon a Bankruptcy Event of such Party or its Affiliates, and each Party hereby claims the benefit of any applicable law which may enable it to prevent such termination. In the event of a Bankruptcy Event of Licensee, the Licensee shall, during the 24-month period following such Bankruptcy Event, seek to enter into one or several Sublicense agreements for the Territory with
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
one or several Sublicensees. Any such Sublicense shall be subject to the terms of Section 2.2. If, upon expiry of the 24-month period Licensee has failed to enter into one or more definitive Sublicense agreement(s), Merck Serono shall have the right to terminate this Agreement and to exercise its rights under Section 9.7. During the aforementioned 24-month period, Licensee shall continue to prosecute and maintain the Licensee Patents, if any, and shall use appropriate safeguards in order for the value and usefulness of the Licensee Know-How to be preserved.
9.6 No Challenge. In the event that Licensee or any of its Affiliates or Sublicensee, anywhere in the world, institutes, prosecutes or otherwise participates in (or in any way aids any Third Party in instituting, prosecuting or participating in), at law or in equity or before any administrative or regulatory body, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or its foreign counterparts, any claim, demand, action or cause of action for declaratory relief, damages or any other remedy, or for an enjoinment, injunction or any other equitable remedy, including any interference, re-examination, opposition or any similar proceeding, alleging that any claim in a Merck Serono Patent is invalid, unenforceable or otherwise not patentable, except in the case where asserted as a defense or counterclaim to an action brought by Merck Serono against Licensee or any of its Affiliates or Sublicensee, Merck Serono shall have the right (i) to terminate this Agreement as a whole or (ii) to terminate the license granted to Licensee or Sublicensee under such challenged Merck Serono Patent on a patent-by-patent basis.
9.7 Effects of Termination.
9.7.1 Accrued Rights and Obligations. Termination of this Agreement shall not release either Party from its obligations accrued prior to the effective date of termination nor deprive either Party from any rights that this Agreement provides shall survive termination. The provisions of Article 6 (Confidentiality), Article 8 (Indemnification), Section 9.6 (No Challenge) and 9.7 (Effects of Termination) shall survive any termination of this Agreement.
9.7.2 Termination by Licensee pursuant to Section 9.2 or by Merck Serono pursuant to Sections 9.3, 9.4, 9.5 or 9.6. Upon any termination of this Agreement by Licensee pursuant to Section 9.2 or by Merck Serono pursuant to Sections 9.3, 9.4, 9.5 or 9.6 (being understood that the effects mentioned below will occur only to the extent permitted by applicable law if the termination results from the application of Section 9.5 on bankruptcy):
(1) | all licenses granted to Licensee under Section 2.1 shall terminate; |
(2) | Licensee shall return to Merck Serono (or at Merck Seronos request, destroy) all relevant records and materials (including Merck Serono Materials) in its possession or control containing or comprising the Merck Serono Know-How or such other Confidential Information of Merck Serono. |
(3) | Licensee shall automatically grant Merck Serono an exclusive, sublicensable, royalty-free license under the Licensee Patents and the Licensee Know-How, if any, to research, Develop, make, have made, import, export, use and Commercialize the Licensed Products in the Field in the Territory. |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(4) | Licensee shall promptly and fully disclose and transfer to Merck Serono the Licensee Know How; |
(5) | Licensee shall, upon written request by Merck Serono and subject to Merck Serono assuming legal responsibility for any Clinical Trials of the Licensed Product then ongoing, transfer to Merck Serono, at Licensees cost and expense, all regulatory documentation and Regulatory Approvals prepared or obtained by or on behalf of Licensee prior to the date of such termination, to the extent solely related to Licensed Products and transferable; |
(6) | To the extent not prohibited by law, Licensee shall either wind down any ongoing Clinical Trials with respect to the Licensed Product, or at Merck Seronos option, transfer such Clinical Trials to Merck Serono at Licensees cost; |
(7) | Licensee shall, at Merck Seronos option, transfer to Merck Serono free of charge any and all chemical, biological or physical materials relating to or comprising the Licensed Products, including clinical supplies of Licensed Products, that are owned or Controlled by Licensee. |
(8) | Licensee and its Affiliates and Sublicensees shall be entitled, during the eighteen (18) month period following such termination, to sell any commercial inventory of Licensed Products which remains on hand as of the date of the termination, so long as Licensee pays to Merck Serono the royalties applicable to said subsequent sales in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. Any commercial inventory remaining following such eighteen (18) month period shall be offered for sale to Merck Serono, at a price equal to be mutually agreed upon between the Parties in good faith. |
9.7.3 Save as set forth in Section 9.7 and to the extent permitted by applicable law, upon any termination of this Agreement, each of Licensees Sublicensees shall continue to have the rights and license set forth in their respective Sublicense agreements, which agreements shall be automatically assigned to Merck Serono, provided however, that such Sublicensee is not then in breach of any of its material obligations under its Sublicense agreement and provided further that the terms of the Sublicense are at least as favourable as the ones herein and do not impose any obligations on Merck Serono that are not expressly set forth herein.
ARTICLE 10 - MISCELLANEOUS
10.1 Relationship of the Parties. Nothing in this Agreement is intended or shall be deemed to constitute a partnership, agency, joint venture or employer-employee relationship between the Parties.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
10.2 Assignment.
(a) Except as expressly provided herein, neither this Agreement nor any interest hereunder shall be assignable, nor any other obligation delegable, by Licensee without the prior written consent of Merck Serono (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed). Notwithstanding the foregoing, Licensee may assign this Agreement in whole without the consent of Merck Serono to (a) any Affiliate or (b) a successor to substantially all of the business of the Licensee to which this Agreement relates, in connection with any company merger, company trade sale, sale of stock, sale of assets or other similar transaction.
(b) Merck Serono may assign this Agreement, in whole or in part, to any Affiliate or a successor in interest without the consent of Licensee. Merck Serono shall give written notice to Licensee promptly following any such assignment.
(c) No assignment under this Section 10.2 shall relieve the assigning party of any of its responsibilities or obligations hereunder and provided, further, that as a condition of such assignment, the assignee shall agree to be bound by all obligations of the assigning Party hereunder.
(d) This Agreement shall be binding upon the successors and permitted assigns of the Parties.
(e) Any assignment not in accordance with this Section 10.2 shall be void.
10.3 Further Actions. Each Party agrees to execute, acknowledge and deliver such further instruments and to do all such other acts as may be necessary or appropriate in order to carry out the purposes and intent of this Agreement.
10.4 Accounting Procedures. Each Party shall calculate all amounts hereunder and perform other accounting procedures required hereunder and applicable to it in accordance with either, as applicable (a) United States generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) or (b) International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS), whichever is normally used by such Party to calculate its financial position, and in each case consistently applied by such Party.
10.5 Force Majeure. Neither Party shall be liable to the other for failure or delay in the performance of any of its obligations under this Agreement for the time and to the extent such failure or delay is caused by acts of God, earthquake, riot, civil commotion, terrorism, war, strikes or other labor disputes, fire, flood, failure or delay of transportation, default by suppliers or unavailability of raw materials, governmental acts or restrictions or any other reason which is beyond the control of the respective Party. The Party affected by force majeure shall provide the other Party with full particulars thereof as soon as it becomes aware of the same (including its best estimate of the likely extent and duration of the interference with its activities), and will use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to overcome the difficulties created thereby and to resume performance of its obligations hereunder as soon as practicable.
10.6 No Trademark Rights. No right, express or implied, is granted by this Agreement to a Party to use in any manner the name or any other trade name or trademark of the other Party in connection with the performance of this Agreement or otherwise .
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
10.7 Entire Agreement of the Parties; Amendments. This Agreement and the schedules and exhibits hereto constitute and contain the entire understanding and agreement of the Parties respecting the subject matter hereof and cancel and supersede any and all prior negotiations, correspondence, understandings and agreements between the Parties, whether oral or written, regarding such subject matter. No waiver, modification or amendment of any provision of this Agreement shall be valid or effective unless made in a writing referencing this Agreement and signed by a duly authorized officer of each Party.
10.8 Captions. The captions to this Agreement are for convenience only, and are to be of no force or effect in construing or interpreting any of the provisions of this Agreement.
10.9 Disputes . If a dispute or difference arises under or in connection with this Agreement or hereunder between Merck Serono and the Licensee, including but not limited to any dispute or difference as to its interpretation, validity or termination (a Dispute ) the Parties agree first to use all reasonable endeavours in good faith to settle the Dispute. A Party claiming that a Dispute has arisen must give notice to the other Party specifying the nature of the Dispute and requesting that the Dispute be resolved by the Executive Officers within fifteen (15) days of their first consideration of such dispute. If the Executive Officers cannot resolve such dispute within fifteen (15) days of their first consideration of such dispute, then, at any time after such fifteen (15) days period, either Party may proceed to enforce any and all of its rights with respect to such dispute.
10.10 Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of Switzerland, and will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of competent jurisdiction located in the Canton of Geneva.
10.11 Notices and Deliveries . Any notice, request, approval or consent required or permitted to be given under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been sufficiently given if delivered in person, transmitted by facsimile (receipt verified) or by express courier service (signature required) to the Party to which it is directed at its address or facsimile number shown below or such other address or facsimile number as such Party shall have last given by notice to the other Party.
If to Merck Serono, addressed to:
ARES TRADING SA
Zone Industrielle de lOuriettaz
1170 Aubonne
Switzerland
Facsimile: [*]
With a copy to:
Merck Serono S.A. - Aubonne
Zone Industrielle de lOuriettaz
1170 Aubonne
Switzerland
Attn: Legal Department
Facsimile: [*]
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
If to Licensee, addressed to:
OBSEVA S.A.
29, Chemin de Planta
CH-1223 Cologny
Switzerland
Attn: [*]
10.12 Waiver. A waiver by either Party of any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement in any instance shall not be deemed or construed to be a waiver of such term or condition for the future, or of any other term or condition hereof. All rights, remedies, undertakings, obligations and agreements contained in this Agreement shall be cumulative and none of them shall be in limitation of any other remedy, right, undertaking, obligation or agreement of either Party.
10.13 Severability. When possible, each provision of this Agreement will be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Agreement is held to be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision will be ineffective only to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of this Agreement. The Parties shall make a good faith effort to replace the invalid or unenforceable provision with a valid one which in its economic effect is most consistent with the invalid or unenforceable provision.
10.14 Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which will be deemed an original, and all of which together will be deemed to be one and the same instrument. A facsimile or a portable document format (PDF) copy of this Agreement, including the signature pages, will be deemed an original.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed and delivered in duplicate by their duly authorized representatives with legal and binding effect as of the date first above written.
OBSEVA S.A. | ARES TRADING SA | |||||||
By: |
/s/ Ernest Loumaye |
By: |
/s/ James Singleton |
|||||
Name: |
Ernest Loumaye |
Name: |
James Singleton |
|||||
Title: |
CEO |
Title: |
Authorized Representative |
|||||
By: |
/s/ Cedric Hyde |
|||||||
Name: |
Cedric Hyde |
|||||||
Title: |
Authorized Representative |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Schedule 1.23
Licensed Compounds
| [*]: Pyrrolidine Derivatives as Oxytocin Antagonists |
| [*]: Pyrrolidine Derivatives as Oxytocin Antagonists |
| [*]; Pyrrolidine Oxadiazole and Thiadiazole Oxime Derivatives Being Oxytocin Receptor Antagonists |
| [*]: Pyrrolidine Oxadiazole and Thiadiazole Oxime Derivatives Being Oxytocin Receptor Antagonists |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Schedule 1.27
Merck Serono Know-How
[*]
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Schedule 1.28
Merck Serono Materials
[*]
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Schedule 1.29
Merck Serono Patents
[*]
30
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Exhibit A
Press release
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
CONFIDENTIAL
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Exhibit 10.2
LICENSE AGREEMENT
Dated June 10, 2015
By and Between
ARES TRADING S.A.
And
OBSEVA S.A.
LICENSE AGREEMENT
THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT (the Agreement ) is dated as of June 10, 2015 (the Effective Date ) by and between ARES TRADING SA , a Swiss corporation with registered offices at Zone Industrielle de lOuriettaz, 1108 Aubonne, Switzerland ( Merck Serono ) and OBSEVA S.A. , a Swiss corporation with registered offices at 12, Chemin des Aulx, 1228 Plan-Les-Ouates, Geneva ( Licensee ). Merck Serono and Licensee may be referred to herein as a Party or, collectively, as Parties .
WITNESSETH:
WHEREAS , Licensee is active in the field of reproductive health and medicine;
WHEREAS , Merck Serono is engaged, among other activities, in the development of pharmaceutical products; and
WHEREAS , Merck Serono wishes to license to Licensee, on an exclusive worldwide basis, the right to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize products comprising the Licensed Compounds in the Field (as hereinafter defined); and
WHEREAS , Licensee wishes to obtain, and Merck Serono is willing to grant a license to the Merck Serono Technology upon the terms and conditions set forth herein; and
NOW, THEREFORE , in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants contained herein, the parties agree to as follows:
ARTICLE 1 - DEFINITIONS
The following terms shall have the following respective definitions:
1.1 Affiliate means a Person or entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a Party, but only for so long as such control exists. For the purposes of this Section 1.1, the word control (including, with correlative meaning, the terms controlled by or under the common control with) means the actual power, either directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, to direct the management and policies of such Person or entity, whether by the ownership of at least fifty percent (50%) of the voting stock of such entity, or by contract or otherwise.
1.2 Bankruptcy Event means: (a) voluntary or involuntary proceedings by or against a Party instituted in bankruptcy under any insolvency law, which proceedings, if involuntary, shall not have been dismissed within sixty (60) days after the date of filing; (b) a receiver or custodian is appointed for a Party; (c) proceedings are instituted by or against a Party for corporate reorganization, dissolution, liquidation or winding-up of such Party, which proceedings, if involuntary, shall not have been dismissed within sixty (60) days after the date of filing; or (d) substantially all of the assets of a Party are seized or attached and not released within sixty (60) days thereafter.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.3 Calendar Quarter means each three (3) month period commencing January 1, April 1, July 1 or October 1, provided however that (i) the first Calendar Quarter of the Term shall extend from the Effective Date to the end of the first full Calendar Quarter thereafter, and (ii) the last Calendar Quarter of the Term shall end upon the expiration of this Agreement.
1.4 Calendar Year means the period beginning on the 1 st of January and ending on the 31 st of December of the same year, provided however that (i) the first Calendar Year of the Term shall commence on the Effective Date and end on December 31, 2015 and (ii) the last Calendar Year of the Term shall commence on January 1 of the Calendar Year in which this Agreement terminates or expires and ends on the date of termination or expiration of this Agreement.
1.5 Clinical Trial means a clinical trial in human subjects that has been approved by a Regulatory Authority and is designed to measure the safety and/or efficacy of a Licensed Product. Clinical Trials shall include Phase I Trials, Phase II Trials and Phase III Trials.
1.6 Combination Product means a product containing the Licensed Product together with one or more active ingredient, or with one or more product, device, equipment or component.
1.7 Commercialization or Commercialize means any and all activities undertaken prior to and after Regulatory Approval of an NDA for a particular Licensed Product and that relate to the marketing, promoting, distributing, importing for sale, offering for sale, and selling of the Licensed Product.
1.8 Commercially Reasonable Efforts means, (a) with respect to the efforts to be expended by any Party with respect to any objective, such reasonable, diligent, and good faith efforts as such Party would normally use to accomplish a similar objective under similar circumstances, and (b) with respect to any obligation relating to research, Development or Commercialization of a Licensed Product by Licensee, the application by Licensee of the level of efforts required to carry out such obligation in a sustained manner consistent with the efforts a similarly situated biopharmaceutical company or pharmaceutical company, as the case may be, devotes to a product of similar market potential, profit potential or strategic value resulting from its own research efforts.
1.9 Confidential Information of a Party means information relating to the business, operations and products of a Party or any of its Affiliates, including but not limited to, any technical information, Know-How, trade secrets, or inventions (whether patentable or not), not known or generally available to the public, that such Party discloses to the other Party under this Agreement, or otherwise becomes known to the other Party by virtue of this Agreement.
1.10 Controlled means, with respect to (a) Patent Rights, (b) Know-How or (c) biological, chemical or physical material, that a Third Party or a Party or one of its Affiliates owns or has a license or sublicense to such right, item, or material (or in the case of material, has the right to physical possession of such material) and has the ability to grant a license or sublicense to, or assign its right, title and interest in and to, such right, item or material as provided for in this Agreement.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.11 Cover , Covering or Covered means, with respect to a Licensed Product, that the using, selling, or offering for sale of such Licensed Product would, but for a license granted in this Agreement under the Merck Serono Patents, infringe a Valid Claim of the Merck Serono Patents in the country in which the activity occurs.
1.12 Developmen t means, with respect to a Licensed Product, the performance of all pre-clinical and clinical development (including toxicology, pharmacology, test method development and stability testing, process development, formulation development, quality control development, statistical analysis), Clinical Trials (excluding clinical trials conducted after Regulatory Approval of an NDA), manufacturing and regulatory activities that are required to obtain Regulatory Approval of the Licensed Product in the Territory.
1.13 Executive Officers means, together, a member of the senior management of the pharmaceutical division of Merck Serono and the Chief Executive Officer of Licensee.
1.14 EMA means the European Medicines Agency or any successor agency.
1.15 FDA means the United States Food and Drug Administration, or a successor federal agency thereto.
1.16 Field means all prophylactic, palliative, therapeutic or diagnostic uses in humans and animals.
1.17 First Commercial Sale shall mean, on a country-by-country basis, the first sale for monetary value to a Third Party for use or consumption of the Licensed Product, by Licensee, its Affiliate(s) or Sublicensees. For the avoidance of doubt, a First Commercial Sale may only occur after the Licensed Product has received Regulatory Approval valid for the country in which the First Commercial Sale occurs.
1.18 Governmental Body means any: (a) nation, principality, state, commonwealth, province, territory, county, municipality, district or other jurisdiction of any nature; (b) federal, state, local, municipal, foreign or other government; (c) governmental or quasi-governmental authority of any nature (including any governmental division, subdivision, department, agency, bureau, branch, office, commission, council, board, instrumentality, officer, official, representative, organization, unit, body or entity and any court or other tribunal); (d) multi-national or supranational organization or body; or (e) individual, entity, or body exercising, or entitled to exercise, any executive, legislative, judicial, administrative, regulatory, police, military or taxing authority or power of any nature.
1.19 IND means an investigational new drug application filed with the FDA or the equivalent application or filing filed with any equivalent agency or Governmental Body outside the United States (including any supra-national entity such as in the European Union) for approval to commence Clinical Trials in such jurisdiction, and including all regulations at 21 CFR § 312 Et. Seq. and equivalent foreign regulations.
1.20 Initiation of a Clinical Trial means the [*] patient with a Licensed Product in such Clinical Trial.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.21 Know-How means any scientific or technical information, results and data of any type whatsoever, in any tangible form, that is not in the public domain or otherwise publicly known, including, without limitation, discoveries, inventions, trade secrets, databases, practices, protocols, regulatory filings, methods, processes, techniques, biological and other materials, reagents, specifications, formulations, formulae, data (including pharmacological, biological, chemical, toxicological and clinical information, analytical, quality control and stability data, studies and procedures), manufacturing process and development information, results and data, whether or not patentable, all to the extent not claimed or disclosed in a patent. Know How excludes Patent Rights.
1.22 Licensed Compound(s) means the Merck Seronos proprietary compounds known as [*] and which are listed on Schedule 1.23. For the avoidance of doubt, Licensed Compounds are prostaglandin F2 receptors antagonists.
1.23 Licensed Product(s) means any pharmaceutical product, in any dosage form, formulation, presentation or package configuration that is commercialized or undergoing research or pre-clinical or clinical development that contains or comprises, in part or in whole, a Licensed Compound.
1.24 Licensee Know-How means all Know-How that is owned or Controlled by Licensee or its Affiliates after the Effective Date and is necessary in the research, Development, manufacture, use, or Commercialization of the Licensed Products.
1.25 Major Market means the United States, Germany, France, Italy, the United Kingdom and Spain.
1.26 Merck Serono Know-How means all Know-How that is owned or Controlled by Merck Serono as of the Effective Date and is necessary in the research, Development, manufacture, use, or Commercialization of the Licensed Products. The Know-How set forth on Schedule 1.27 constitutes all of such Know-How owned or Controlled by Merck Serono on the Effective Date.
1.27 Merck Serono Materials means all chemical, biological or physical materials that are owned or Controlled by Merck Serono or any of its Affiliates as of the Effective Date and that are necessary in the research, Development, manufacture, use or Commercialization of the Licensed Products. The Merck Serono Materials are set forth on Schedule 1.28.
1.28 Merck Serono Patents means the Patent Rights listed on Schedule 1.29.
1.29 Merck Serono Technology means the Merck Serono Know-How, the Merck Serono Patents and the Merck Serono Materials, collectively.
1.30 NDA means a New Drug Application filed pursuant to the requirements of the FDA, as more fully defined in 21 CFR.§ 314.3 et seq, a Biologics License Application filed pursuant to the requirements of the FDA, as more fully defined in 21 CFR § 601, and any equivalent application filed in any country in the Territory, together, in each case, with all additions, deletions or supplements thereto.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.31 Net Sales means, with respect to each country of the Territory, the amounts invoiced by Licensee or its Affiliates or Sublicensees for all sales of Licensed Products to a Third Party (whether an end user, a distributor or otherwise), less the following:
(i) | trade, cash and quantities discounts, rebates (including rebates similar to Medicare or other government rebates), reimbursements, allowances and credits for expired Licensed Products; |
(ii) | sales, use or similar taxes (including duties or other governmental charges levied or otherwise imposed on the sale or use of such Licensed Product, including, without limitation, value added taxes or other governmental charges otherwise measured by the billing amount, but only to the extent such amount(s) is (are) included in the billing); |
(iii) | freight, postage, shipping, customs duties and insurance charges, but only to the extent such amount(s) is (are) included in the billing; |
(iv) | any other specifically identified amounts included in the Licensed Product invoice price that should be credited for reasons substantially equivalent to those listed above or as determined in accordance with Licensees usual and customary accounting methods which are in accordance with International Accounting Standards or equivalent. |
Net Sales shall not include credits or allowances actually granted for damaged goods, returns or rejections of previously sold Licensed Products and retroactive price reductions for wastage replacement, indigent patients and similar programs.
For the avoidance of doubt, Net Sales may only occur after the Licensed Product has received Regulatory Approval valid for the country in which the Net Sales occur.
In the event that a Licensed Product is sold in the form of a Combination Product, Net Sales for such Combination Product will be calculated by multiplying actual Net Sales of such Combination Product by the fraction A/(A+B) where A is the invoice price of the Licensed Product containing a Compound as the only active ingredient if sold separately, and B is the invoice price of any other active ingredient(s) or other products, devices, equipment or components in the Combination Product if sold separately. In the event that the Licensed Product or one or more of such active ingredients or other products, devices, equipment or components in the Combination Product are not sold separately, then the Net Sales for such Combination Product shall be determined by the Parties in good faith.
1.32 Patent Right(s) means: (a) an issued or granted patent, including any extension, supplemental protection certificate, registration, confirmation, reissue, reexamination, extension or renewal thereof; (b) a pending patent application, including any continuation, divisional, continuation-in-part, substitute or provisional application thereof; and (c) all counterparts or foreign equivalents of any of the foregoing issued by or filed in any country or other jurisdiction.
1.33 Person means any natural person, corporation, firm, business trust, joint venture, association, organization, company, partnership or other business entity, or any Governmental Body, government or agency or political subdivision thereof.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.34 Phase I Trial means a Clinical Trial in which the Licensed Product is administered to human subjects at multiple dose levels with the primary purpose of determining safety, metabolism, and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties of the Licensed Product, and consistent with 21 CFR § 312.21(a).
1.35 Phase II Trial means a Clinical Trial of the Licensed Product in human patients, the principal purposes of which are to make a preliminary determination that the Licensed Product is safe for its intended use, to determine its optimal dose, and to obtain sufficient information about the Licensed Products efficacy to permit the design of Phase III Trials, and consistent with 21 CFR 312.21(b).
1.36 Phase III Trial means a human Clinical Trial of the Licensed Product, which trial is designed (a) to establish that the Licensed Product is safe and efficacious for its intended use; (b) to define warnings, precautions and adverse reactions that are associated with the Licensed Product in the dosage range to be prescribed; and (c) consistent with 21 CFR § 312.21(c).
1.37 Preferred Equity means, with respect to shares, equity with rights identical to existing Series A Preferred shares.
1.38 Regulatory Authority means (a) the FDA, (b) the EMA or the European Commission, or (c) any regulatory body with similar regulatory authority over pharmaceutical or biotechnology products in any other jurisdiction anywhere in the world.
1.39 Regulatory Approval means the receipt from a Regulatory Authority by Licensee, its Affiliates, or Sublicensees of approval to lawfully market a Licensed Product in the corresponding jurisdiction in the Territory.
1.40 Sublicensee means a Person other than an Affiliate of Licensee to which Licensee (or its Affiliate) has, pursuant to Section 2.2, granted sublicense rights under any of the Merck Serono Technology licensed under Section 2.1. Sublicense shall be construed accordingly. For the avoidance of doubt, a Third Party contract manufacturer of Licensed Products on behalf of Licensee shall not be considered a Sublicensee for the purpose of this Agreement.
1.41 Territory means all the countries in the world.
1.42 Third Party shall mean any Person that is not a Party, an Affiliate of a Party, or a Sublicensee of Licensee hereunder.
1.43 Third Party License Agreement means any agreement entered into by Licensee with a Third Party, or any amendment or supplement thereto, in each case following the Effective Date, whereby royalties, fees or other payments are to be made by Licensee to such Third Party in connection with the grant of rights under intellectual property rights Controlled by such Third Party, which rights are necessary to research or Develop the Licensed Compounds or Licensed Products.
1.44 Valid Claim means any claim in any (i) unexpired and issued patent that has not been disclaimed, revoked or held invalid by a final nonappealable decision of a court or other governmental agency of competent jurisdiction or any (ii) patent application [*].
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.47 Other Terms. The definition of each of the following terms is set forth in the section of the Agreement indicated below:
Action has the meaning set forth in Section 5.5 (b).
Controlling Party has the meaning set forth in Section 5.6 (c).
Disputes has the meaning set forth in Section 10.9.
Licensee Indemnitees has the meaning set forth in Section 8.1.
Licensee Patents has the meaning set forth in Section 5.4 (a).
Losses has the meaning set forth in Section 8.1.
Merck Serono Indemnitees has the meaning set forth in Section 8.2.
Royalty Term has the meaning set forth in Section 4.2 (d).
Term has the meaning set forth in Section 9.1.
Upfront Payment has the meaning set forth in Section 4.1.
ARTICLE 2 GRANT OF LICENSE
2.1 Grant of License . Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Merck Serono hereby grants to Licensee an exclusive (even as to Merck Serono), worldwide, royalty-bearing right and license (with the right to sublicense subject to the provisions of Section 2.2) under the Merck Serono Technology to research, Develop, make, have made, import, export, use and Commercialize the Licensed Products in the Field in the Territory.
2.2 Grant of Sublicense by Licensee . The Licensee shall have the right to grant Sublicenses under the license granted in Section 2.1, subject to Merck Serono being duly informed in writing by Licensee in advance of the execution of any Sublicense agreement. The Sublicense agreement shall be consistent with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. The granting by Licensee of a Sublicense shall not relieve Licensee of its obligations hereunder. Licensee shall promptly provide Merck Serono with a copy of the fully executed Sublicense agreement, which shall be redacted from its commercial terms, and Merck Serono hereby undertakes to treat such redacted Sublicense agreement as Confidential Information. For the avoidance of doubt, Licensee may grant Sublicenses to Sublicensees on a country-by-country basis or worldwide.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
2.3 Transfer. Merck Serono shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to transfer to Licensee the Merck Serono Know-How and the Merck Serono Materials within thirty (30) days following the Effective Date. If within sixty (60) days after the initial transfer Licensee identifies specific items within the Merck Serono Know-How that were not transferred to Licensee, then Merck Serono will use reasonable efforts to provide the same to Licensee upon request. In addition, at Licensees reasonable request, Merck Serono shall provide access to any raw data or report directly and exclusively related to the Licensed Product which may become necessary for the Licensee to research, manufacture and Develop any Licensed Product in the Field. Each Party hereby designates a contact person as indicated below whose responsibility it will be to oversee the transfer described in this Section 2.3:
For Licensee: [*]
For Merck Serono: [*]
ARTICLE 3 DEVELOPMENT AND COMMERCIALIZATION
3.1 Development and Commercialization of the Licensed Products by Licensee . Licensee shall have the exclusive right and responsibility to research and Develop the Licensed Products and to conduct (either itself or through its Affiliates, agents, subcontractors and/or Sublicensees) all Clinical Trials and non-clinical studies Licensee believes appropriate to obtain Regulatory Approval for the Licensed Products in any indication. In addition, Licensee shall have the exclusive right to Commercialize the Licensed Products itself or through one or more Third Parties and/or Sublicensees selected by Licensee, and shall have the responsibility in all matters relating to the Commercialization of the Licensed Products.
3.2 Manufacturing and Supply. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, Licensee shall have the exclusive right to manufacture the Licensed Compounds and the Licensed Products itself or through one or more Third Party subcontractor(s) selected by Licensee.
3.3 Regulatory Filings. Licensee shall be responsible for and shall own and maintain all regulatory filings and Regulatory Approvals for the Licensed Products, including all INDs and NDAs.
3.4 Diligence by Licensee. Licensee shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to (a) research and Develop at least one Licensed Product, in accordance with its development plan as updated and/or amended from time to time and (b) launch and Commercialize at least one Licensed Product in each Major Market within [*] after receiving Regulatory Approval (which for the purpose of this clause 3.4 shall include approval of pricing and reimbursement) in such Major Market.
3.5 Reporting. Licensee (or its Sublicensee, as applicable) shall, on each anniversary of the Effective Date, provide Merck Serono with a written report summarizing its research, Development, manufacturing and as applicable Commercialization activities in the Territory during the preceding Calendar Year.
3.6 Trademarks. Licensee shall have the sole authority to select trademarks for the Licensed Products and shall own all such trademarks.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
ARTICLE 4 FINANCIAL TERMS
4.1 Upfront Payment. In partial consideration for the grant of the rights hereunder, Licensee shall assign 25000 Preferred Equity shares (Upfront Payment) to Merck Serono within thirty (30) days after the Initiation of the first Phase I Trial (Phase I Equity Event), it being specified that Merck Serono will subscribe to such Preferred Equity shares at the nominal value of CHF 1,-. In the event of any liquidation, dissolution, winding-up, sale or merger of Obseva (a Liquidation Event), irrespective of its legal qualification, before the occurrence of the Phase I Equity Event, Licensee shall automatically assign the 25000 Preferred Equity shares to Merck Serono, it being specified that Merck Serono will subscribe to such Preferred Equity shares at the nominal value of CHF 1,- and such assignment shall take place immediately before the Liquidation Event. If additional securities are issued or sold by ObsEva prior to the occurrence of the Phase I Equity Event, Merck Serono shall have the right to maintain a percentage ownership on an as converted basis through the purchase of its pro rata share of such securities on the same terms as such securities are offered to other purchasers (the pre-Phase I Equity Event Pre-emptive Rights). For the calculation of the pro-rata share purchase under such pre-Phase I Equity Event Pre-emptive Right, the 25000 Preferred Equity Shares shall be counted as if they have been assigned to Merck Serono on the Effective Date.
4.2 Royalty Payments.
(a) Royalty Rate. As further consideration for Merck Seronos grant of the rights and licenses to the Licensee hereunder, the Licensee shall, during each applicable Royalty Term (i.e. on a country-by-country basis), pay to Merck Serono a royalty on aggregate annual worldwide Net Sales of each Licensed Product for each Calendar Year, at the percentage rate set forth below:
Royalty Rate for Annual Net Sales of Licensed Products Net Sales per Calendar Year | [*] |
(b) Know-How Royalty. The royalty rate set forth in Section 4.2 (a) applicable to the Net Sales of a Licensed Product in a country will be reduced by [*] during any period there exists no Valid Claim of a Merck Serono Patent in such country that Covers such Licensed Product in such country. For the avoidance of doubt, no Know-How Royalties shall be due in any country after the end of the Royalty Term pursuant to Section 4.2 (d) in such country.
(c) Third Party License Agreements. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, if Licensee enters into one or more Third Party License Agreement(s), Licensee will be entitled to deduct from any royalties payable to Merck Serono under Section 4.2 (from the amount calculated by consideration of the then applicable royalty rate), an amount equal to not more than [*] of any amounts paid by Licensee pursuant to such Third Party License Agreement(s) in respect of the Licensed Product which gave rise to the payment obligation under Section 4.2. Notwithstanding the foregoing, under no circumstances shall the deductions under this Section 4.2 (c) result in the amount payable to Merck Serono being reduced by more than [*] compared with the amount otherwise payable under Section 4.2. In the event that Licensee is not able to deduct the full amount of the permitted deduction from the amount due to Merck Serono due to the [*] minimum amount, Licensee shall be entitled to deduct any undeducted excess amount from subsequent amounts owed to Merck Serono (subject always to Merck Serono receiving a minimum of [*] of the amount owed).
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(d) Royalty Term. Royalties shall be payable on a Licensed Product-by-Licensed Product and country-by-country basis from the period from the First Commercial Sale of Licensed Product in such country until the latest of (a) the last date on which such Licensed Product is Covered by a Valid Claim within a Merck Serono Patent in such country, or (b) ten (10) years after such First Commercial Sale of Licensed Product in such country (the Royalty Term ).
(e) Payment of Royalties. Nothing herein contained shall obligate Licensee and/or its Sublicensees to pay or cause to be paid to Merck Serono more than one royalty on any unit of Licensed Product. Simultaneous with the delivery of the report described in Section 4.2 (f) hereof, Licensee shall pay, or cause to be paid, to Merck Serono at such place as Merck Serono may from time to time designate in writing, all royalties earned pursuant to this Section 4.2 in the preceding Calendar Quarter. All such payments shall be made in Euros.
(f) Royalty Reports; Currency Conversion. Commencing with the Calendar Quarter in which the First Commercial Sale of a Licensed Product is made by the Licensee or its Affiliate or Sublicensee, Licensee shall submit to Merck Serono with each royalty payment a report detailing its computation of royalties due on Net Sales in each country during each Calendar Quarter within sixty (60) days after the end of such Calendar Quarter (and Licensee shall cause its Sublicensees to submit royalty reports containing the same level of detail). All payments to Merck Serono hereunder shall be made by deposit of Euros in the requisite amount to such bank account as Merck Serono may from time to time designate by written notice to Licensee. With respect to sales not denominated in Euros, royalty amounts owed shall first be calculated in the currency of sale, and then such amounts shall be converted into Euro using the exchange rate of the European Central Bank on the last day of the Calendar Quarter to which the report relates. For accounting and documentation purposes, the Parties may vary the method of payment set forth herein at any time upon mutual agreement, and any change shall be consistent with the local law at the place of payment or remittance.
(g) Record Retention, Inspection. Licensee shall keep or cause its Affiliates and Sublicensee to keep complete and accurate records in sufficient detail to enable Net Sales and royalties payable under Section 4.2 to be established for a period of sixty (60) months after the date that such royalties were payable. Such records shall be consistent with Licensees normal accounting principles. At the request and cost of Merck Serono (but not more frequently than once each Calendar Year) an independent chartered or certified public accountant chosen by Merck Serono but approved by the Licensee (which approval shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed) shall be allowed access during ordinary business hours to such records pertaining to the preceding two (2) Calendar Year solely to verify the accuracy of any payments made to Merck Serono under Section 4.2. The accountant shall not disclose to Merck Serono any information other than that which should properly be contained in a report of matters relevant to Net Sales and royalty calculation and payment arising under Section 4.2 above. Licensee shall make Sublicensee records available to Merck to the same extent as set forth in this Section 4.2 (g).
4.3 Tax. If applicable law requires that taxes be deducted and withheld from royalties or any other payments paid under this Agreement by either Party, said Party shall (i) deduct those taxes
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
and interests and penalties assessed thereon from the payment or from any other payment owed by said Party hereunder; (ii) pay the taxes to the proper Governmental Body; (iii) send evidence of the obligation together with proof of payment to the other Party within three (3) months following such payment; (iv) remit the net amount, after deductions or withholding made under this Section 4.3 and (v) cooperate with other Party in any way reasonably requested by said other Party, to obtain available reductions, credits or refunds of such taxes; provided, however, that the other Party shall reimburse said Party for said Partys out-of-pocket expenses incurred in providing such assistance. It is understood and agreed between the Parties that any payments made by either Party under this Agreement are exclusive of any value added or similar tax imposed upon such payment.
4.4 Late Payment. Payments not paid when due shall bear interest at a rate of [*] per annum above the three-month EURO LIBOR which applied on the day when the payment was due. Calculation of interest will be made for the exact number of days in the interest period based on a year of three hundred and sixty (360) days.
ARTICLE 5 - INVENTIONS AND PATENTS
5.1 Certification Under Drug Price Competition and Patent Restoration Act. Each Party shall immediately give written notice to the other Party of any certification of which they become aware filed pursuant to 21 U.S.C. Section 355(b)(2)(A) (or any amendment or successor statute thereto) claiming that any Merck Serono Patents covering Licensed Compounds or Licensed Products, or the manufacture or use of each of the foregoing, are invalid or unenforceable, or that infringement will not arise from the manufacture, use or sale of a product by a Third Party.
5.2 Listing of Patents . Merck Serono shall determine which of the Merck Serono Patents, if any, shall be listed for inclusion in the Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations pursuant to 21 U.S.C. Section 355, or any successor law in the United States, together with any comparable laws or regulations in any other country in the Territory. Licensee shall have the right to propose Merck Serono Patents for such listing and Merck Serono shall not unreasonably reject any such proposal.
5.3 Title to Inventions. All inventions having as inventors solely employees or independent contractors of one Party in the course of the Parties performance under this Agreement, and all intellectual property rights pertaining to such inventions shall be the property of such Party.
5.4 Patent Prosecution and Maintenance.
(a) Licensee Patents . Licensee shall have the right to file, prosecute and maintain the Patent Rights owned by Licensee pursuant to Section 5.3 or otherwise (such Patent Rights, the Licensee Patents ). Licensee shall bear all costs and expenses of filing, prosecuting and maintaining Licensee Patents in the Territory. For the avoidance of doubt, Merck Serono shall have no right whatsoever regarding any Licensee Patents, including if such Licensee Patents are entirely or partially based on Merck Serono Know-How.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(b) Merck Serono Patents . Merck Serono shall have the first right, and the obligation, to file, prosecute and maintain Merck Serono Patents. Merck Serono shall bear all costs and expenses of filing, prosecuting and maintaining Merck Serono Patents in the Territory. Merck Serono shall keep Licensee informed of the course of the filing and prosecution of Merck Serono Patents or related proceedings (e.g. interferences, oppositions, reexaminations, reissues, revocations or nullifications) in the United States, the European Union, Japan, China, Canada and Australia in a timely manner, and shall take into consideration the advice and recommendations of Licensee in that respect. At Merck Seronos request, Licensee will provide Merck Serono with reasonable assistance in prosecuting Merck Serono Patents to the extent possible, including providing such data in Licensees control that is, in Merck Seronos reasonable judgment, needed to support the prosecution of a Merck Serono Patent; provided, however, that Merck Serono shall reimburse Licensee for Licensees out-of-pocket expenses incurred in providing such assistance.
(c) Election not to file and prosecute Merck Serono Patents . If Merck Serono elects not to file, prosecute or maintain a Merck Serono Patent in a country or possession in the Territory, then it shall notify Licensee in writing at least ninety (90) days before any deadline applicable to the filing, prosecution or maintenance of such Merck Serono Patent, as the case may be, or any other date by which an action must be taken to establish or preserve such Merck Serono Patent in such country or possession. In such case, Licensee shall have the right, but not the obligation, to pursue the filing or support the continued prosecution or maintenance of such Merck Serono Patent. If Licensee does elect to take such action in a country in the Territory, then it shall notify Merck Serono of such election, and Merck Serono shall reasonably cooperate with Licensee in this regard. If Licensee does elect to take such action in a country in the Territory, it shall also notify Merck Serono, at the time of such election, whether Licensee requests from Merck Serono the assignment of all its right, title and interest in and to any such Merck Serono Patent in such country. If Licensee does not request from Merck Serono such assignment of a Merck Serono Patent, Merck Serono shall file, prosecute or maintain a Merck Serono Patent in a country or possession in the Territory and such Merck Serono Patent shall remain a Merck Patent under which royalty payments shall be due by Licensee under Article 4 of this Agreement. If Licensee does request from Merck Serono the assignment of Merck Serono Patent Patent in a country or possession in the Territory, such Merck Serono Patent shall become a Licensee Patent under which no royalty payments in such country or possession in the Territory shall be due by Licensee under this Agreement, and Licensee shall thereupon be responsible for all costs of filing, prosecution and maintenance of such new Licensee Patent for aforesaid country or possession in the Territory.
(d) Patent Term Extension . Merck Serono shall be responsible for obtaining patent term extensions wherever available for Merck Serono Patents, at Merck Serono costs. Licensee shall provide Merck Serono with all relevant information, documentation and assistance in this respect. Any such assistance, supply of information and consultation shall be provided promptly and in a manner that will ensure that all patent term extensions for Licensed Products are obtained wherever legally permissible, and to the maximum extent available. In the event that any election with respect to obtaining patent term extensions is to be made, Licensee shall have the right to make such elections, and Merck Serono shall abide by all such elections.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
5.5 Enforcement of Patents.
(a) Notice. If either Party believes that a Merck Serono Patent is being infringed by a Third Party or if a Third Party claims that any Merck Serono Patent is invalid or unenforceable, the Party possessing such knowledge or belief shall notify the other Party and provide it with details of such infringement or claim that are known by such Party.
(b) Right to bring an Action. Merck Serono shall have the exclusive right to attempt to resolve such infringement or claim pertaining to a Merck Serono Patent, including by filing an infringement suit, defending against such claim or taking other similar action (each, an Action ) and to compromise or settle such infringement or claim. If Merck Serono does not intend to prosecute or defend an Action, Merck Serono shall promptly inform Licensee in writing and Licensee shall have the right to initiate an Action. If Licensee does not initiate an Action with respect to such an infringement or claim within one hundred and eighty (180) days following notice thereof, Merck Serono shall have the right to attempt to resolve such infringement or claim. The Party initiating the Action shall have the sole and exclusive right to select counsel for any suit initiated by it pursuant to this Section 5.5. Each Party shall have the right to join an Action relating to a Merck Serono-Patent taken by the other Party, at its own expense.
(c) Costs of an Action. Subject to the respective indemnity obligations of the Parties set forth in Article 8, the Party taking an Action under Section 5.5 (b) shall pay all costs associated with such Action, other than the expenses of the other Party if the other Party elects to join such Action.
(d) Settlement . Neither Party shall settle or otherwise compromise any Action by admitting that any Merck Serono Patent is invalid or unenforceable without the other Partys prior written consent, and, in the case of Licensee, Licensee may not settle or otherwise compromise an Action in a way that adversely affects or would be reasonably expected to adversely effect Merck Seronos rights or benefits hereunder with respect to the Licensed Product, without Merck Seronos prior written consent. The settlement will be treated in accordance with the law of the country to which the settlement relates.
(e) Reasonable Assistance . The Party not enforcing or defending Merck Serono-Patents shall provide reasonable assistance to the other Party, including providing access to relevant documents and other evidence and making its employees available, subject to the other Partys reimbursement of any out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the non-enforcing or non-defending Party in providing such assistance.
(f) Distribution of Amounts Recovered. Any amounts recovered by the Party taking an Action pursuant to this Section 5.5, whether by settlement or judgment, shall be allocated in the following order: (i) to reimburse the Party taking such Action for any costs incurred, (ii) to reimburse the Party not taking such Action for its costs incurred in such Action, if it joins such Action; and (iii) the remaining amount of such recovery shall be attributed to Licensee (as if it were Net Sales), and Licensee shall pay to Merck Serono a royalty on such remaining amount based on the royalty rates set forth in Section 4.2.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
5.6 Third Party Actions Claiming Infringement.
(a) Notice . If a Party becomes aware of any claim or action by a Third Party against either Party that claims that the Licensed Product, or its use, Development, manufacture or sale infringes such Third Partys intellectual property rights (each, a Third Party Action ), such Party shall promptly notify the other Party of all details regarding such Third Party Action that is reasonably available to such Party.
(b) Right to Defend. Merck Serono shall have the right, at its sole expense, but not the obligation, to defend a Third Party Action through counsel of its choosing. If Merck Serono declines or fails to assert its intention to defend such Third Party Action within sixty (60) days of receipt/sending of notice under Section 5.6 (a), then Licensee shall have the right to defend such Third Party Action. The Party defending such Third Party Action shall have the sole and exclusive right to select counsel for such Third Party Action. Each Party shall have the right to join any Third Party Action defended by the other Party, at its own expense.
(c) Consultation. The Party defending a Third Party Action pursuant to Section 5.6 (b) shall be the Controlling Party. The Controlling Party shall consult with the non-Controlling Party on all material aspects of the defense. The non-Controlling Party shall have a reasonable opportunity for meaningful participation in decision-making and formulation of defense strategy. The Parties shall reasonably cooperate with each other in all such actions or proceedings. The non-Controlling Party will be entitled to be represented by independent counsel of its own choice at its own expense.
(d) Appeal . In the event that a judgment in a Third Party Action is entered against the Controlling Party and an appeal is available, the Controlling Party shall have the first right, but not the obligation, to file such appeal. In the event the Controlling Party does not desire to file such an appeal, it will promptly, in a reasonable time period (i.e., with sufficient time for the non-Controlling Party to take whatever action may be necessary) prior to the date on which such right to appeal will lapse or otherwise diminish, permit the non-Controlling Party to pursue such appeal at such non-Controlling Partys own cost and expense. The non-Controlling Party shall then become the Controlling Party. If applicable law requires the non-Controlling Partys involvement in an appeal, the non-Controlling Party shall be a nominal party of the appeal and shall provide reasonable cooperation to the Controlling Party at the Controlling Partys expense.
(e) Costs of an Action . Subject to the respective indemnity obligations of the Parties set forth in Article 8, the Controlling Party shall pay all costs associated with such Third Party Action other than the expenses of the other Party if the other Party elects to join such Action.
(f) No Settlement Without Consent. No Controlling Party shall settle or otherwise compromise any Third Party Action by admitting that any Merck Serono Patent is invalid or unenforceable without the non-Controlling Partys prior written consent.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
ARTICLE 6 CONFIDENTIALITY
6.1 Confidentiality Obligations. Each Party agrees that, for the Term and for [*] years thereafter, such Party shall, and shall ensure that its officers, directors, employees, agents and Sublicensees shall keep completely confidential and not publish or otherwise disclose and not use for any purpose, except as expressly permitted hereunder, any Confidential Information disclosed to it by the other Party pursuant to this Agreement. The foregoing obligations shall not apply to any Confidential Information disclosed by a Party hereunder to the extent that the receiving Party can demonstrate that such Confidential Information:
(a) was already known to the receiving Party or its Affiliates, other than under an obligation of confidentiality, at the time of disclosure;
(b) was generally available to the public or otherwise part of the public domain at the time of its disclosure to the receiving Party;
(c) became generally available to the public or otherwise part of the public domain after its disclosure and other than through any act or omission of the receiving Party in breach of this Agreement;
(d) was subsequently lawfully disclosed to the receiving Party or its Affiliates by a Third Party without an obligation of confidentiality other than in contravention of a confidentiality obligation of such Third Party to the disclosing Party; or
(e) was developed or discovered by employees or agents of the receiving Party or its Affiliates who had no access to the Confidential Information of the disclosing Party.
Notwithstanding the above obligations of confidentiality and non-use, a Party may disclose information to the extent that such disclosure is reasonably necessary in connection with:
(i) | filing or prosecuting patent applications, subject to the terms of Section 5.3; |
(ii) | prosecuting or defending litigation; |
(iii) | conducting pre-clinical studies or Clinical Trials; |
(iv) | seeking Regulatory Approval of the Licensed Product; or |
(v) | complying with applicable law, including securities law and the rules of any securities exchange or market on which a Partys securities are listed or traded; |
(vi) | due diligence performed by a Third Party in connection with either Partys business development activities, subject to such Third Parties being bound by written obligations of confidentiality that are at least as stringent as the ones herein. |
In addition, in connection with any permitted filing by either Party of this Agreement with any Governmental Body, included but not limited to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Agreement, the filing Party shall endeavor to obtain confidential treatment of economic, trade secret information and such other information as may be requested by the other Party, and shall provide the other Party with the proposed confidential treatment request with reasonable time for such other Party to provide comments, and shall include in such confidential treatment request all reasonable comments of the other Party. The filing Party shall, where reasonably practicable, give
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
such advance notice to the other Party of such disclosure requirement as is reasonable under the circumstances and will use its reasonable efforts to cooperate with the other Party in order to secure confidential treatment of such Confidential Information required to be disclosed.
6.2 Publications. Licensee shall not publish any information relating to the Licensed Compounds or the Licensed Products without the written consent of Merck Serono, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld. Licensee shall submit to Merck Serono for Merck Seronos written consent any publication, presentation or abstract of information related to the Licensed Product for review and approval at least thirty (30) days prior to submission. In case Merck Serono does not object to said proposed publication, presentation or abstract within said thirty (30) day deadline, Merck Serono shall be deemed to have approved said publication, presentation or abstract.
6.3 Press Releases and Disclosure. Licensee may not make any subsequent press release or public announcements regarding this Agreement or any matter covered by this Agreement, including the Development or Commercialization of Licensed Products, without the prior written consent of Merck Serono (which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld). In case Merck Serono does not object to said press release within ten (10) business days deadline, Merck Serono shall be deemed to have approved the said Press Release. In the event that Licensee believes it is required to issue a press release or make an other public announcement to comply with applicable law as a publicly-traded company and Merck Serono does not believe such public announcement is so required, Licensee may only issue such press release if (a) it obtains an opinion of legal counsel, from a reputable law firm approved by Merck Serono, that it is required to make such disclosure to comply with applicable law and (b) after receiving such opinion, provides the text of such planned disclosure to Merck Serono no less than seven (7) days prior to disclosure, and has incorporated all reasonable comments of Merck Serono regarding such disclosure.
ARTICLE 7 - REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES
7.1 Merck Serono representations and warranties. Merck Serono represents and warranties to the Licensee that:
(a) Merck Serono has the full power, authority and right to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof, and all requisite corporate action has been taken to authorize Merck Seronos execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement;
(b) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by Merck Serono does not breach, violate, contravene or constitute a default under any contract, arrangement or commitment to which Merck Serono is a party or by which it is bound, or violate any statute, law or regulation or any court, governmental body or administrative or other agency having jurisdiction over Merck Serono; and
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(c) All consents, approvals and authorizations from all governmental authorities or other Third Parties required to be obtained by Merck Serono in connection with the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement have been obtained.
(d) Merck Serono has all right, title and interest in and to the Merck Serono Technology, and Merck Serono has not previously licensed, assigned, transferred, or otherwise conveyed any right, title or interest in and to the Merck Serono Technology to any Third Party, including but not limited to any rights to any Licensed Compounds and Licensed Products; the Merck Serono Technology is free and clear of any liens, charges, encumbrances or rights of others to possession or use.
(e) No claims have been asserted, or, to Merck Seronos knowledge, threatened by any Person, nor are there any valid grounds for any claim of any such kind (i) challenging the validity, effectiveness, or ownership of Merck Serono Technology, and/or (ii) to the effect that the use, reproduction, modification, manufacturing, distribution, licensing, sublicensing, sale or any other exercise of rights in any of Merck Serono Technology infringes or will infringe on any intellectual property right of any Person. No such claims have been asserted or, to the knowledge of Merck Serono, are threatened.
(f) MERCK SERONO DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES TO TITLE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, TO FREEDOM TO OPERATE, OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS OF LICENSED COMPOUND/LICENSED PRODUCT FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
7.2 Licensee representations and warranties. Licensee represents and warranties to Merck Serono that:
(a) Licensee has the full power, authority and right to enter into this Agreement and to perform its obligations hereunder in accordance with the terms and conditions hereof, and all requisite corporate action has been taken to authorize Licensees execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement;
(b) The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by Licensee does not breach, violate, contravene or constitute a default under any contract, arrangement or commitment to which Licensee is a party or by which it is bound, or violate any statute, law or regulation or any court, governmental body or administrative or other agency having jurisdiction over Licensee; and
(c) All consents, approvals and authorizations from all governmental authorities or other Third Parties required to be obtained by Licensee in connection with the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement have been obtained.
18
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
ARTICLE 8 - INDEMNIFICATION
8.1 Indemnification by Merck Serono. Merck Serono shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless Licensee, its Affiliates, directors, employees and agents (the Licensee Indemnitees ) from and against any and all liability, damage, loss, cost or expense (including reasonable attorneys fees and expenses of litigation) ( Losses ) arising or resulting from any claims made or suits brought by Third Parties to the extent such Losses arise or result from the breach of any provision of this Agreement by Merck Serono, including a breach of any of the Merck Serono representations and warranties set forth in Section 7.1 of this Agreement. In the event of a claim against the Licensee Indemnitees which may be subject to the foregoing indemnification obligation, the Licensee Indemnitees agree to notify Merck Serono promptly of such claim and Merck Serono shall provide Licensee Indemnitees with any assistance Licensee Indemnitees may reasonably require in the defense of such action, at Merck Seronos cost and expense.
8.2 Indemnification by Licensee. Licensee shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless Merck Serono, its Affiliates, directors, employees and agents (the Merck Serono Indemnitees ) from and against any and all Losses arising or resulting from any claims made or suits brought by Third Parties to the extent such Losses arise or result from (i) the breach of any provision of this Agreement by Licensee, including a breach of any of the Licensee representations and warranties set forth in Section 7.2 of this Agreement, and (ii) a product liability claim relating to the Licensed Product. In the event of a claim against the Merck Serono Indemnitees which may be subject to the foregoing indemnification obligation, the Merck Serono Indemnitees agree to notify Licensee promptly of such claim and Licensee shall provide Merck Serono Indemnitees with any assistance Merck Serono Indemnitees may reasonably require in the defense of such action, at Licensees cost and expense.
ARTICLE 9 TERM AND TERMINATION
9.1 Term of Agreement. This Agreement shall come into force on the Effective Date and shall continue in full force and effect until the end of the last-to-expire Royalty Term in any country with respect to a Licensed Product, unless the Agreement is terminated at an earlier date pursuant to Article 9.2 to 9.6 below ( the Term ). As of the effective date of expiration of the Royalty Term in any country of the Territory, the license from Merck Serono to Licensee under Article 2 in such country shall convert to a fully paid, royalty free, irrevocable, perpetual, exclusive, and sublicensable license under the Merck Serono Technology to research, Develop, manufacture, make, have made, use, import, export, Commercialize, offer for sale and sell the Licensed Products in said country.
9.2 Termination of the Agreement by Licensee for convenience. At any time during the Term, Licensee may, at its convenience, terminate this Agreement in its entirety upon ninety (90) days prior written notice to Merck Serono.
9.3 Termination for Non-Payment. If Licensee has not paid the Upfront Payment or a royalty payment by the required respective payment dates set forth in Section 4.1 and 4.2, Merck Serono shall have the right to terminate this Agreement with ninety (90) days prior notice to Licensee, unless Licensee has proceeded to payment within the period of such notice. Such termination shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any other remedies available to Merck Serono, at law and in equity.
19
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
9.4 Termination for Breach Either Party may terminate this Agreement, and the rights and licenses granted hereunder, with ninety (90) days prior notice to the other Party if the other Party breaches any material provision of this Agreement, unless the other Party cures such breach within the period of such notice.
9.5 No Immediate Termination on Bankruptcy . To the extent permitted by applicable law, all rights and licenses granted pursuant to this Agreement by a Party to the other Party shall not be terminated upon a Bankruptcy Event of such Party or its Affiliates, and each Party hereby claims the benefit of any applicable law which may enable it to prevent such termination. In the event of a Bankruptcy Event of Licensee, the Licensee shall, during the 24-month period following such Bankruptcy Event, seek to enter into one or several Sublicense agreements for the Territory with one or several Sublicensees. Any such Sublicense shall be subject to the terms of Section 2.2. If, upon expiry of the 24-month period Licensee has failed to enter into one or more definitive Sublicense agreement(s), Merck Serono shall have the right to terminate this Agreement and to exercise its rights under Section 9.7. During the aforementioned 24-month period, Licensee shall continue to prosecute and maintain the Licensee Patents, if any, and shall use appropriate safeguards in order for the value and usefulness of the Licensee Know-How to be preserved.
9.6 No Challenge. In the event that Licensee or any of its Affiliates or Sublicensee, anywhere in the world, institutes, prosecutes or otherwise participates in (or in any way aids any Third Party in instituting, prosecuting or participating in), at law or in equity or before any administrative or regulatory body, including the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or its foreign counterparts, any claim, demand, action or cause of action for declaratory relief, damages or any other remedy, or for an enjoinment, injunction or any other equitable remedy, including any interference, re-examination, opposition or any similar proceeding, alleging that any claim in a Merck Serono Patent is invalid, unenforceable or otherwise not patentable, except in the case where asserted as a defense or counterclaim to an action brought by Merck Serono against Licensee or any of its Affiliates or Sublicensee, Merck Serono shall have the right (i) to terminate this Agreement as a whole or (ii) to terminate the license granted to Licensee or Sublicensee under such challenged Merck Serono Patent on a patent-by-patent basis.
9.7 Effects of Termination.
(a) Accrued Rights and Obligations. Termination of this Agreement shall not release either Party from its obligations accrued prior to the effective date of termination nor deprive either Party from any rights that this Agreement provides shall survive termination. The provisions of Article 6 (Confidentiality), Article 8 (Indemnification), Section 9.6 (No Challenge) and 9.7 (Effects of Termination) shall survive any termination of this Agreement.
20
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(b) Termination by Licensee pursuant to Section 9.2 or by Merck Serono pursuant to Sections 9.3, 9.4, 9.5 or 9.6. Upon any termination of this Agreement by Licensee pursuant to Section 9.2 or by Merck Serono pursuant to Sections 9.3, 9.4, 9.5 or 9.6 (being understood that the effects mentioned below will occur only to the extent permitted by applicable law if the termination results from the application of Section 9.5 on bankruptcy):
(1) | all licenses granted to Licensee under Section 2.1 shall terminate; |
(2) | Licensee shall return to Merck Serono (or at Merck Seronos request, destroy) all relevant records and materials (including Merck Serono Materials) in its possession or control containing or comprising the Merck Serono Know-How or such other Confidential Information of Merck Serono. |
(3) | Licensee shall automatically grant Merck Serono an exclusive, sublicensable, royalty-free license under the Licensee Patents and the Licensee Know-How, if any, to research, Develop, make, have made, import, export, use and Commercialize the Licensed Products in the Field in the Territory. |
(4) | Licensee shall promptly and fully disclose and transfer to Merck Serono the Licensee Know How; |
(5) | Licensee shall, upon written request by Merck Serono and subject to Merck Serono assuming legal responsibility for any Clinical Trials of the Licensed Product then ongoing, transfer to Merck Serono, at Licensees cost and expense, all regulatory documentation and Regulatory Approvals prepared or obtained by or on behalf of Licensee prior to the date of such termination, to the extent solely related to Licensed Products and transferable; |
(6) | To the extent not prohibited by law, Licensee shall either wind down any ongoing Clinical Trials with respect to the Licensed Product, or at Merck Seronos option, transfer such Clinical Trials to Merck Serono at Licensees cost; |
(7) | Licensee shall, at Merck Seronos option, transfer to Merck Serono free of charge any and all chemical, biological or physical materials relating to or comprising the Licensed Products, including clinical supplies of Licensed Products, that are owned or Controlled by Licensee. |
(8) | Licensee and its Affiliates and Sublicensees shall be entitled, during the eighteen (18) month period following such termination, to sell any commercial inventory of Licensed Products which remains on hand as of the date of the termination, so long as Licensee pays to Merck Serono the royalties applicable to said subsequent sales in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. Any commercial inventory remaining following such eighteen (18) month period shall be offered for sale to Merck Serono, at a price equal to be mutually agreed upon between the Parties in good faith. |
(c) Save as set forth in Section 9.7 and to the extent permitted by applicable law, upon any termination of this Agreement, each of Licensees Sublicensees shall continue to have the rights and license set forth in their respective Sublicense agreements, which agreements shall be automatically assigned to Merck Serono, provided however, that such Sublicensee is not then in breach of any of its material obligations under its Sublicense agreement and provided further that the terms of the Sublicense are at least as favourable as the ones herein and do not impose any obligations on Merck Serono that are not expressly set forth herein.
21
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
ARTICLE 10 MISCELLANEOUS
10.1 Relationship of the Parties. Nothing in this Agreement is intended or shall be deemed to constitute a partnership, agency, joint venture or employer-employee relationship between the Parties.
10.2 Assignment.
(a) Except as expressly provided herein, neither this Agreement nor any interest hereunder shall be assignable, nor any other obligation delegable, by Licensee without the prior written consent of Merck Serono (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed). Notwithstanding the foregoing, Licensee may assign this Agreement in whole without the consent of Merck Serono to (a) any Affiliate or (b) a successor to substantially all of the business of the Licensee to which this Agreement relates, in connection with any company merger, company trade sale, sale of stock, sale of assets or other similar transaction.
(b) Merck Serono may assign this Agreement, in whole or in part, to any Affiliate or a successor in interest without the consent of Licensee. Merck Serono shall give written notice to Licensee promptly following any such assignment.
(c) No assignment under this Section 10.2 shall relieve the assigning party of any of its responsibilities or obligations hereunder and provided, further, that as a condition of such assignment, the assignee shall agree to be bound by all obligations of the assigning Party hereunder.
(d) This Agreement shall be binding upon the successors and permitted assigns of the Parties.
(e) Any assignment not in accordance with this Section 10.2 shall be void.
10.3 Further Actions. Each Party agrees to execute, acknowledge and deliver such further instruments and to do all such other acts as may be necessary or appropriate in order to carry out the purposes and intent of this Agreement.
10.4 Accounting Procedures. Each Party shall calculate all amounts hereunder and perform other accounting procedures required hereunder and applicable to it in accordance with either, as applicable (a) United States generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) or (b) International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS), whichever is normally used by such Party to calculate its financial position, and in each case consistently applied by such Party.
10.5 Force Majeure. Neither Party shall be liable to the other for failure or delay in the performance of any of its obligations under this Agreement for the time and to the extent such failure or delay is caused by acts of God, earthquake, riot, civil commotion, terrorism, war, strikes or other labor disputes, fire, flood, failure or delay of transportation, default by suppliers or
22
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
unavailability of raw materials, governmental acts or restrictions or any other reason which is beyond the control of the respective Party. The Party affected by force majeure shall provide the other Party with full particulars thereof as soon as it becomes aware of the same (including its best estimate of the likely extent and duration of the interference with its activities), and will use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to overcome the difficulties created thereby and to resume performance of its obligations hereunder as soon as practicable.
10.6 No Trademark Rights. No right, express or implied, is granted by this Agreement to a Party to use in any manner the name or any other trade name or trademark of the other Party in connection with the performance of this Agreement or otherwise .
10.7 Entire Agreement of the Parties; Amendments. This Agreement and the schedules and exhibits hereto constitute and contain the entire understanding and agreement of the Parties respecting the subject matter hereof and cancel and supersede any and all prior negotiations, correspondence, understandings and agreements between the Parties, whether oral or written, regarding such subject matter. No waiver, modification or amendment of any provision of this Agreement shall be valid or effective unless made in a writing referencing this Agreement and signed by a duly authorized officer of each Party.
10.8 Captions. The captions to this Agreement are for convenience only, and are to be of no force or effect in construing or interpreting any of the provisions of this Agreement.
10.9 Disputes . If a dispute or difference arises under or in connection with this Agreement or hereunder between Merck Serono and the Licensee, including but not limited to any dispute or difference as to its interpretation, validity or termination (a Dispute ) the Parties agree first to use all reasonable endeavours in good faith to settle the Dispute. A Party claiming that a Dispute has arisen must give notice to the other Party specifying the nature of the Dispute and requesting that the Dispute be resolved by the Executive Officers within fifteen (15) days of their first consideration of such dispute. If the Executive Officers cannot resolve such dispute within fifteen (15) days of their first consideration of such dispute, then, at any time after such fifteen (15) days period, either Party may proceed to enforce any and all of its rights with respect to such dispute.
10.10 Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of Switzerland, and will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of competent jurisdiction located in the Canton of Geneva.
10.11 Notices and Deliveries . Any notice, request, approval or consent required or permitted to be given under this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been sufficiently given if delivered in person, transmitted by facsimile (receipt verified) or by express courier service (signature required) to the Party to which it is directed at its address or facsimile number shown below or such other address or facsimile number as such Party shall have last given by notice to the other Party.
23
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
If to Merck Serono, addressed to:
ARES TRADING SA
Zone Industrielle de lOuriettaz
1170 Aubonne
Switzerland
Facsimile: [*]
With a copy to:
Merck Serono S.A.
Zone Industrielle de lOuriettaz
1170 Aubonne
Switzerland
Attn: Legal Department
Facsimile: [*]
If to Licensee, addressed to:
OBSEVA S.A.
12, Chemin des Aulx
1228 Plan-Les-Ouates, Geneva
Switzerland
Attn: [*]
10.12 Waiver. A waiver by either Party of any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement in any instance shall not be deemed or construed to be a waiver of such term or condition for the future, or of any other term or condition hereof. All rights, remedies, undertakings, obligations and agreements contained in this Agreement shall be cumulative and none of them shall be in limitation of any other remedy, right, undertaking, obligation or agreement of either Party.
10.13 Severability. When possible, each provision of this Agreement will be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law, but if any provision of this Agreement is held to be prohibited by or invalid under applicable law, such provision will be ineffective only to the extent of such prohibition or invalidity, without invalidating the remainder of this Agreement. The Parties shall make a good faith effort to replace the invalid or unenforceable provision with a valid one which in its economic effect is most consistent with the invalid or unenforceable provision.
10.14 Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which will be deemed an original, and all of which together will be deemed to be one and the same instrument. A facsimile or a portable document format (PDF) copy of this Agreement, including the signature pages, will be deemed an original.
{Signature page to follow}
24
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF , the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed and delivered in duplicate by their duly authorized representatives with legal and binding effect as of the date first above written.
OBSEVA S.A. | ARES TRADING SA | |||||||
By: |
/s/ Ernest Loumaye |
By: |
/s/ James Singleton |
|||||
Name: |
Ernest Loumaye |
Name: |
James Singleton |
|||||
Title: |
CEO |
Title: |
Authorized Representative |
|||||
10.06.2015 | ||||||||
By: |
/s/ Fabien de Ladonchamps |
By: |
/s/ Cedric Hyde |
|||||
Name: |
Fabien de Ladonchamps |
Name: |
Cedric Hyde |
|||||
Title: |
Finance Director |
Title: |
Authorized Representative |
25
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Schedule 1.23
Licensed Compounds
| [*] Thiazolidine Carboxamide Derivatives as Modulators of the Prostaglandin F Receptor |
| [*] Thiazolidine Carboxamide Derivatives as Modulators of the Prostaglandin F Receptor |
26
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Schedule 1.27
Merck Serono Know-How
[*]
27
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Schedule 1.28
Merck Serono Materials
[*]
28
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Schedule 1.29
Merck Serono Patents
[*]
29
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE
LICENSE AGREEMENT
THIS AMENDMENT N°1 TO THE LICENSE AGREEMENT ( First Amendment ), effective as of July 8, 2016 ( First Amendment Effective Date ), is made and entered into by and between ARES TRADING SA , a Swiss corporation with registered offices at Zone Industrielle de lOuriettaz, 1170 Aubonne, Switzerland ( Merck Serono ) and OBSEVA S.A. , a Swiss corporation with registered offices at Chemin des Aulx, 12, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva, Switzerland ( Licensee ). Merck Serono and Licensee may be referred to herein as the Party or, collectively, as the Parties .
WHEREAS, the Parties entered into a License Agreement on 10 June 2015 ( License Agreement ) concerning Merck Seronos proprietary compounds known as [*];
WHEREAS, [*], is not claimed by and not specifically disclosed in the Merck Serono Patents listed on Schedule 1.29 of the License Agreement;
WHEREAS, Licensee wishes and Merck Serono agrees to seek patent protection for [*] and Licensee instructed Clark and Elbing LLP, a law firm with registered offices at 101 Federal Street Fl, 1500 Boston, MA02110, US ( C&E ) to prepare and file two new US patent applications covering [*] which were agreed upon by the Parties and of which the abstracts are attached hereto as Exhibit A;
WHEREAS, the two patent applications were filed on 4 January 2016 and the U.S. Patent Application No.: [*] under attorney docket [*] contains only Merck Serono Know-How and compounds and the U.S. Patent Application No.: [*] under attorney docket [*] contains both, Merck Serono Know-How and Licensee Know-How;
WHEREAS, the Parties agree that the patent application [*] shall be a Merck Serono Patent according to Section 5.3 of the License Agreement and that the patent application [*] shall be a Licensee Patent according to Section 5.4(a) of the License Agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Parties therefore wish to amend the License Agreement as set forth herein.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein, and for other good and valuable consideration, the Parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows:
Capitalized terms used but not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings ascribed to such terms in the License Agreement.
I. Modification of Schedule 1.29. The following patent application shall be added to the Merck Serono Patents in Schedule 1.29 of the License Agreement:
[*]
II. Reimbursement. According to Section 5.4(b) of the License Agreement Merck Serono shall reimburse Licensee $8989.75 for patent expenses incurred by Licensee in the
Page 1 of 4
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
preparation and filing of the patent application [*] and Merck shall bear all further costs and expenses of filing, prosecution and maintaining this patent application in the Territory.
For the avoidance of doubt and in accordance with Section 5.4(a) of the License Agreement, Licensee shall solely bear all costs and expenses of filing, prosecution and maintaining the patent application [*] in the Territory.
III. Patent Maintenance. Contrary to what is provided by Section 5.4(b) of the License Agreement, Merck Serono agrees that the filing, prosecution, and maintenance of patent application [*] shall be under the responsibility of Licensee, provided that (i) Licensee coordinates all responses to office actions, country selection, filing strategy, enforcement activities and any other matter related to patent application [*] with the Merck Patent Department in Darmstadt (hereinafter Merck Patent GmbH ) and (ii) Merck Serono via Merck Patent GmbH shall reimburse Licensee for all reasonable costs and out-of-pocket expenses related to the filing, prosecution, and maintenance of patent application [*] after approval by a Merck Patent GmbH patent attorney, it being specified that such approval shall not unreasonably be withheld. Invoices can only be processed if they are addressed to Merck Patent GmbH.
For the coordination activities described in the preceding paragraph:
(a) | Merck Patent GmbHs contact person is [*], it being specified that Merck Patent GmbH shall be allowed to change such contact person provided that (i) it informs Licensee in a written notice prior to such change and (ii) the newly appointed contact person shall have the same skills and competences as the previous contact person; and |
(b) | Licensee shall inform Merck Patent GmbH about the coordination activities and Merck shall participate in the coordination activities, both in a timely manner (in particular in view of any relevant process timelines); in the event Merck Patent GmbH fails to do so, it is understood by the Parties that Licensee shall have the right to proceed further in such relevant process. |
For the avoidance of doubt, Licensee is solely responsible for filing, prosecution, maintaining and enforcement of the patent application [*] in the Territory.
IV. Effectiveness. This First Amendment shall become effective as of the First Amendment Effective Date.
V. Counterparts; Fax; Signatures. This First Amendment may be executed in two (2) counterparts, including by facsimile or PDF, each of which, when signed and executed, shall be deemed to be an original and both of which together shall constitute the one and same document.
VI. Full Force and Effect. Except as set forth in this First Amendment, the License Agreement shall remain unchanged. This First Amendment, including its Exhibit A, shall be incorporated into and deemed part of the License Agreement from the First Amendment Effective Date on, and any future reference to the License Agreement shall include the terms and conditions of this First Amendment.
Page 2 of 4
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused this First Amendment to be executed by their duly authorized representatives.
OBSEVA S.A. | ARES TRADING S.A. | |||||||
By: |
/s/ Ernest Loumaye |
By: |
/s/ Cedric Hyde |
|||||
Name: |
Ernest Loumaye |
Name: |
Cedric Hyde |
|||||
Title: |
CEO |
Title: |
Authorized Representative |
|||||
By: |
/s/ Fabien de Ladonchamps |
By: |
/s/ Sebastien Boutte |
|||||
Name: |
Fabien de Ladonchamps |
Name: |
Sebastien Boutte |
|||||
Title: |
VP Finance |
Title: |
Authorized Representative |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
EXHIBIT A
[*]
Page 4 of 4
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Exhibit 10.3
EXCLUSIVE LICENSE AGREEMENT
This EXCLUSIVE LICENSE AGREEMENT (the Agreement ) made this 19 th day of November, 2015 (the Effective Date ) by and between Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of Japan and having its registered office at 19-48, Yoshino, Matsumoto-City, Nagano- Prefecture, Japan ( Kissei ) and ObsEva SA, a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of the Switzerland, and having its principal place of business at Chemin des Aulx, 12, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Switzerland ( ObsEva ). Each of Kissei and ObsEva is referred to herein as a Party and collectively, as the Parties .
WITNESSETH THAT:
WHEREAS, Kissei has developed and is still developing GnRH antagonist as a promising drug candidate with the internal development code name of KLH-2109, and is the owner of all rights and title to and interest in certain patents, patent applications and technical information relating to such drug candidate;
WHEREAS, ObsEva desires to obtain from Kissei an exclusive license with respect to such drug candidate under such Kissei patents, patent applications and technical information for the formulation, development, manufacture, marketing, distribution and sales of the pharmaceutical preparations containing such drug candidate in certain territories of the world;
WHEREAS, Kissei and ObsEva entered into the Letter Agreement -CMC Activities relating to KLH-2109 as of August 5th, 2015 (the Letter Agreement ) in which the Parties agreed that ObsEva may conduct certain activities for research and development of KLH-2109 at its own cost and responsibility before the execution of this Agreement; and
WHEREAS, Kissei is willing to grant an exclusive license to ObsEva, under the terms and conditions hereinafter appearing.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the covenants and obligations expressed herein, and intending to be legally bound, the Parties hereto agree as follows:
1 | Definitions |
1.1 Affiliate means any and all persons, corporations, firms, partnerships, limited liability companies or other entities that control, are controlled by or are under common control with a Party to this Agreement. For the purpose of this definition, an entity will be regarded as in control of another if (a) it owns or directly or indirectly controls at least 50% of the voting stock of the other entity or such lesser maximum percentage permitted in those jurisdictions where majority ownership by foreign entities is prohibited, (b) it owns or has a right to at least 50% of the net assets of an entity without voting securities, or (c) it possesses, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause to direct the management and policies of the entity, whether through contract or otherwise.
1.2 Combination Product means a product containing the Compound together with one or more active ingredient, or with one or more product or component.
1.3 Commercially Reasonable Efforts means (a) with respect to the efforts to be expended by any Party with respect to any objective, such reasonable, diligent, and good faith efforts as such Party would normally use to accomplish a similar objective under similar circumstances, and (b) with respect to any obligation relating to research, development or commercialization of a Product by ObsEva, the application by ObsEva of the level of efforts required to carry out such obligation in a sustained manner consistent with the efforts a similarly situated biopharmaceutical company or pharmaceutical company, as the case may be, devotes to a product of similar market potential, profit potential or strategic value resulting from its own research efforts.
1.4 Compound means KLH-2109 [*], which is further described in Exhibit A, and any and all compounds included in the composition of matter patent for KLH-2109 [*] ([*], which is one of the Kissei Patents).
1.5 CoG has the meaning set forth in Section 5.01.
1.6 Control means, with respect to any Patent, Know-How or other intellectual property right, that the Party controlling such right owns a transferable interest or has a license to practice such Patent, Know-How or right and has the ability and right to grant the other Party access, a license or a sublicense (as applicable) to use as provided for in this Agreement such Patent, Know-How or right without violating the rights of any Third Party.
1.7 EMA means the European Medicines Agency, or any successor organization thereto.
1.8 FDA means the United States Food and Drug Administration, or any successor agency thereto.
1.9 Field means all prophylactic, palliative, therapeutic or diagnostic uses in humans.
1.10 Floor Price has the meaning set forth in Section 9.02.
2
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.11 Generic Competition means the condition in any country where sales in such country by one or more Third Parties, excluding ObsEvas sublicensees, of the products containing the Compound for the same indication exceeds [*] of the total sales (objective measure in units) in such country during two (2) consecutive calendar quarters of all products for the same indication containing the Compound (including the Product) in all dosage forms.
1.12 Improvement means any and all technical information, patentable or non-patentable, owned, owned jointly or Controlled by either Party or its Affiliates, licensees (in case of Kissei) or sublicensees (in case of ObsEva), which covers any improvement, invention or discovery concerning the Compound or the Product, including, without limitation, new or improved methods of manufacture, formulas, uses, indications, methods of delivery and dosage forms thereof.
1.13 IND means an Investigational New Drug Application (as defined in 21 C.F.R. Part 312 or any successor regulations) filed with FDA in conformance with applicable laws and regulations, for the purposes of initiating clinical trials of a pharmaceutical compound in the United States.
1.14 JDC has the meaning set forth in Section 6.01.
1.15 JMC has the meaning set forth in Section 7.03.
1.16 Kissei Know-How means all Know-How Controlled by Kissei or any of its Affiliates, licensees (other than ObsEva), or contractors on the Effective Date and all Know-How which becomes Controlled by Kissei or any of its Affiliates, licensees (other than ObsEva), or contractors during the term of this Agreement.
1.17 Kissei Patents means all Patents that relate to the Compound and Product in the ObsEva Territory Controlled by Kissei or any of its Affiliates as of the Effective Date, and all Patents that relate to the Compound, Products or Improvements thereof in the ObsEva Territory that become Controlled by Kissei or any of its Affiliates or licensees (other than ObsEva) during the term of this Agreement, which are listed in Exhibit B-1, as amended and updated from time to time under the terms of this Agreement.
1.18 Kissei Relevant Patents means all Patents listed in Exhibit B-2.
1.19 Kissei Territory means the Excluded Territories.
1.20 Know-How means all present and future scientific, technical, or commercial information, results and data of any type whatsoever developed or generated in relation to the Compound or the Product in the Field, in any tangible or intangible form, whether patentable or not, including, without limitation, all (i) biological, toxicological, chemical, and biochemical information, (ii) metabolic, non-clinical, pre-clinical, clinical, pharmacological, and pharmacokinetic data, (iii) physico-chemical properties, assays, formulations, quality controls, processes, synthesis processes, manufacturing methods and data, specifications, discoveries, formulae, protocols, practices, reagents, inventions, Improvement, databases and (iv) any other information relating thereto.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.21 MAA means a Marketing Authorization Application submitted to EMA for the purpose of obtaining European Commission approval for the marketing of the Product for the countries located within the European Union.
1.22 Major Countries means the United States, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. As a correlative definition, the term Major Country shall mean any one of the countries specified in the previous sentence.
1.23 Marketing Approval means the approval of an NDA in the United States, the approval of an MAA in the EU, or any corresponding approvals in any other countries of the ObsEva Territory.
1.24 NDA means a new drug application submitted to the FDA in conformance with applicable laws and regulations, to obtain FDA approval for the marketing of a pharmaceutical product in the United States and all subsequent amendments and supplements to such NDA.
1.25 Net Sales means with respect to the Product, the gross amounts invoiced by ObsEva, its Affiliates or sublicensees to Third Party customers for sales or other transfers or disposition of the Product, less:
(i) | customary trade, quantity, and cash discounts or rebates actually allowed on the Product; |
(ii) | credits or allowances given to customers for rejections or returns of the Product or on account of retroactive price reductions affecting such Product; |
(iii) | amounts debited on account of bad debts with respect to Net Sales previously invoiced (provided that the net amount of any such bad debts subsequently collected shall be counted as sales); |
(iv) | sales taxes, excise taxes, use taxes, import/export duties or other governmental charges actually due or incurred with respect to the production, importation, use or sale of the Product to Third Parties; |
(v) | postage, shipping, and transportation charges to the extent that they are included in the price or otherwise paid by the purchaser, including insurance, for transporting the Product; |
(vi) | Product rebates and Product chargebacks including those granted to managed-care entities and government agencies. |
Sales or transfers of the Product among ObsEva, its Affiliates and/or sublicensees shall be excluded from the computation of Net Sales, and no royalties will be payable on such sales.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
In the event that a Product is sold in the form of a Combination Product, Net Sales for such Combination Product will be calculated by multiplying actual Net Sales of such Combination Product by the fraction A/(A+B) where A is the invoice price of the Product containing a Compound as the only active ingredient if sold separately, and B is the invoice price of any other active ingredient(s), product(s), or component(s) in the Combination Product if sold separately. In the event the Product or one or more of such other active ingredient(s), product(s), or component(s) in the Combination Product are not sold separately, then the Net Sales for such Combination Product shall be determined by the Parties in good faith prior to the submission of MAA or NDA or such similar submission in other countries than European Union and the United States. In the event the Product or one or more of such other active ingredient(s), product(s), or component(s) in the Combination Product are sold separately but the basic elements including but not limited to their strength in the Combination Product is different, such Product or such other active ingredient(s), product(s), or component(s) are deemed not to be sold separately, and the Net Sales for such Combination Product shall be determined by the Parties in good faith as stipulated in the preceding sentence.
1.26 ObsEva Know-How means all Know-How which becomes Controlled by ObsEva or its Affiliates, sublicensees or contractors during the term of this Agreement.
1.27 ObsEva Patents has the meaning set forth in Section 14.02.
1.28 ObsEva Territory means all countries of the world, excluding Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China including Hong-Kong and Macao, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Palau, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and Viet Nam (the Excluded Territories ).
1.29 Patent means all patents and patent applications, including provisional and priority filings, and which specifically or generally claim the Compound or Product, claim a use for the Compound or Product, claim a method of making the Compound or Product or otherwise covers the Compound or Product, including but not limited to the patent applications listed in Exhibit B-1 and B-2, together in all cases with any continuations, continuations-in-part, divisions, patents of addition, reexaminations, reissues, renewals as well as extensions and supplementary protection certificates of any of the foregoing.
1.30 Product means any and all pharmaceutical preparations in the Field in finished dosage package forms ready for sale to Third Party which contain the Compound. For the avoidance of doubt, a Combination Product is covered by the definition of Product.
1.31 Regulatory Filings means (i) with respect to the United States, any IND or NDA, and (ii) with respect to countries or jurisdiction outside the United States but still within the ObsEva Territory, any filings, registrations or applications equivalent to an IND or NDA.
1.32 Royalty has the meaning set forth in Section 5.01.
1.33 Royalty Period has the meaning set forth in Section 5.04.
1.34 Royalty Report has the meaning set forth in Section 5.04.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
1.35 Royalty Term has the meaning set forth in Section 5.01.
1.36 Section means a section of this Agreement.
1.37 Supply Price has the meaning set forth in Section 9.02.
1.38 Territory means the Kissei Territory or ObsEva Territory.
1.39 Third Party means any party other than a Party to this Agreement and such Partys Affiliates.
1.40 Trademark has the meaning set forth in Section 8.01.
1.41 Valid Claim means any claim contained in issued and unexpired Kissei Patents which has not been held unenforceable, unpatentable or invalid by a decision of a court or other governmental agency or competent jurisdiction, unappealable or unappealed within the time allowed for appeal, and which has not been admitted to be invalid or unenforceable through abandonment, reissue, disclaimer or otherwise.
1.42 Definitions in the singular include the plural and vice versa.
2 | Grant |
2.01 Grant of Rights . Kissei hereby grants to ObsEva an exclusive license, with the right to grant sublicenses, under the Kissei Patents, the Kissei Know-How, and the Trademark, for the full duration of rights protecting each of the Kissei Patents, Kissei Know-How, and Trademark, to use, import and export the Compound in the Field in the ObsEva Territory, and to make, have made, use, develop, commercialize, sell, offer to sell, import and export the Product in the Field in the ObsEva Territory.
2.02 Sublicenses . ObsEva shall inform diligently Kissei of potential ObsEva sublicensee and Kissei may submit comments to ObsEva regarding such potential sublicensee and ObsEva shall take into account the comments from Kissei in good faith if Kissei has reasonable causes for not accepting sublicensing. For clarity, ObsEva has the final decision making power. In the event ObsEva has decided to grant a sublicense to any Third Party, ObsEva shall inform Kissei of the name, location and other details of such Third Party in writing at least thirty (30) days before the sublicense is granted. Any sublicense granted by ObsEva shall have no provision that conflicts with the provisions of this Agreement.
2.03 Contractors . ObsEva may use contractors in the drug development, in Marketing Approval processes, non-clinical and clinical testing and formulation of the Compound and distribution contractors with respect to the sale and distribution of the Product, each in any country in the ObsEva Territory without informing Kissei prior to entering into such agreement.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
2.04 Kissei Relevant Patents . Kissei shall not grant to the Third Parties a license to use, import, export, make, have made, develop, commercialize, sell, offer to sell the compound and/or the product covered by Kissei Relevant Patents in the Field in the ObsEva Territory without prior written consent of ObsEva. In the case where ObsEva decides to develop a compound which is included in the Kissei Relevant Patents with Commercially Reasonable Efforts, such compound shall be included in the definition of Compound without any additional consideration by ObsEva to Kissei.
2.05 Kissei Drug Master Files. Kissei hereby grants to ObsEva a non-exclusive right to access, reference or cross-reference all Kissei Drug Master Files (as defined in Section 3.01) for any IND and/or Marketing Approval by or for ObsEva in or for the ObsEva Territory.
3 | Disclosure and Use of Know-How |
3.01 Disclosure of Kissei Know-How . Promptly after the Effective Date of this Agreement, Kissei shall disclose and deliver to ObsEva, or make available to ObsEva, all of the Kissei Know-How, and from time to time thereafter during the term of this Agreement, Kissei shall disclose or make available to ObsEva all future Kissei Know-How, provided that Kissei may reserve the right not to disclose the information on manufacturing Compound to ObsEva, but Kissei shall file or cause its contract manufacturer to file a Drug Master File to the FDA, EMA and all other competent authorities implementing the same system in each country of the ObsEva Territory on the manufacturing method of Compound (each a Kissei Drug Master File) so that ObsEva, its Affiliates and its sublicensees may refer to the filed Kissei Drug Master File at the time of submission of IND and/or Marketing Approval by ObsEva, its Affiliates or its sublicensees. Both Parties shall cooperate in preparing the CMC (Chemistry, Manufacturing and Control) part of the IMPD (Investigational Medicinal Product Dossier) that would support a CTA (Clinical Trial Application) by ObsEva. Kissei shall ensure that the manufacturing site and facilities of Kisseis contract manufacturer of Compound shall be maintained, and its CMC shall be performed, in conformity with the GMP requirements by the FDA, EMA and all other competent authorities in each country of the ObsEva Territory during the term of this Agreement.
3.02 Use of Kissei Know-How . Subject to Section 2, ObsEva shall have the right to use and disclose any and all Kissei Know-How received from Kissei pursuant to Sections 3.01 hereof to its Affiliates and/or its sublicensees in the ObsEva Territory for their use and subject to terms and conditions of this Agreement.
3.03 Disclosure and Use of ObsEva Know-How . ObsEva agrees to provide Kissei, from time to time during the term of this Agreement, with any and all ObsEva Know-How. Subject to Section 14, Kissei shall have the right to use and disclose the ObsEva Know-How received from ObsEva pursuant to this Section 3.03 to its Affiliates and its licensees (other than ObsEva) in the Kissei Territory and subject to terms and conditions of this Agreement.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
4 | Milestone Payments |
4.01 Milestone Payments . In consideration of the acquisition of license rights granted to ObsEva by Kissei as of the Effective Date hereunder, ObsEva shall pay to Kissei the following milestone amounts within sixty (60) calendar days for (i) and within thirty (30) calendar days for (ii) through (vi) of the occurrence of the corresponding events described below:
Milestone Event |
Milestone
Payment (US $): |
|||
(i) |
Effective Date | [*] | ||
(ii) |
[*] | [*] | ||
(iii) |
[*] | [*] | ||
(iv) |
[*] | [*] | ||
(v) |
[*] | |||
[*] | [*] | |||
[*] | [*] | |||
(vi) |
Commercial Milestones | |||
When the annual Net Sales exceeds [*] | [*] | |||
When the annual Net Sales exceeds [*] | [*] | |||
When the annual Net Sales exceeds [*] | [*] |
[*]
[*]
4.02 Non-Refundable . Any payments made by ObsEva in accordance with Section 4.01 hereof shall, once they are paid, not be refundable nor creditable for any reason whatsoever, except as expressly provided to the contrary in this Agreement.
4.03 Single Payments. The Milestone Payments specified above shall be made only once, upon the first occurrence of the Milestone Event described above, regardless of how many times such Milestone Event may be achieved.
5 | Royalties |
5.01 Royalty Rates and Term of Royalty . In consideration of the acquisition of license rights granted to ObsEva as of the Effective Date hereunder, ObsEva shall pay to Kissei on Net Sales of all Products, on a Product-by-Product and country-by-country basis, a non-refundable royalty ( the Royalty ), which shall be fully included in the supply price (the Supply Price , as defined in Section 9.02 hereof), as follows:
(i) | ObsEva shall pay the Supply Price from the first commercial sales of the Product in countries of the ObsEva Territory until the latest of (a) the last date on which such Product is covered by a Valid Claim which Kissei has at the Effective Date hereof and during this Agreement, (b) the expiration of regulatory exclusivity period, or (c) to the extent authorized under applicable law fifteen (15) years after the first commercial sale of the Product in such country (from the first commercial sales to the latest of (a), (b) and (c) above: the Royalty Term ). |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(ii) | For each country within the ObsEva Territory where no Generic Competition exists, irrespective of existence or non-existence of Kissei Patents or ObsEva Patents, the full Supply Price shall be applied during the Royalty Term. |
(iii) | Notwithstanding the above Section 5.01 (ii), for each country within the ObsEva Territory where no Valid Claim of Kissei Patents exists and no Generic Competition exists solely because of ObsEva Patent or ObsEva Patent application, the Supply Price shall be reduced to [*] |
For the avoidance of doubt, the Floor Price as set out in Section 9.02 does not apply under this Section 5.01(iii).
(iv) | For each country within the ObsEva Territory where the Generic Competition exists, the Supply Price in consideration of the Trademark and Kissei Know-How license, shall be reduced to CoG [*] as described in the Section 5.01 (x). [*] |
For the avoidance of doubt, the Supply Price and the Floor Price as set out in Section 9.02 do not apply under this Section 5.01 (iv).
(v) | In the case where ObsEva continues to purchase Compound from Kissei after the expiration of the Royalty Term in accordance with Section 8.02, the supply price of the Compound, in consideration of the Trademark license, shall be CoG [*] as described in the Section 5.01 (x). [*] |
For the avoidance of doubt, the Supply Price and the Floor Price as set out in Section 9.02 does not apply under this Section 5.01 (v).
(vi) | ObsEva shall notify Kissei as soon as ObsEva becomes aware of the occurrence of the above (iii) through (v), and Kissei does not have an obligation to refund the ObsEvas excess payment made to Kissei during the period from the occurrence of such event to the date of notification. |
(vii) | Kissei shall disclose to ObsEva the CoG for the sole purpose of calculation stipulated in this Section. ObsEva shall have the right to have a public accounting firm review the CoG during reasonable business hours upon reasonable prior written notice to Kissei and not more often than once each Kisseis financial year, for not more than three (3) previous years for the sole purpose of determining the appropriateness of the CoG at its cost. Kissei shall provide such public accounting firm with any relevant information and documents for such purpose. Kissei shall have the right to require said public accounting firm to sign a confidential disclosure agreement before the audit commences and such public accounting firm shall not disclose to ObsEva any information other than those contained in a report of matters relevant to the CoG. If any discrepancy between the then used CoG and the CoG in the report is found and it caused the overpayment or underpayment of ObsEva, the Parties shall refund the difference caused by such discrepancy without delay unless such discrepancy is less than [*]. In such cases and if the discrepancy is exceeding [*], Kissei shall pay the costs for the public accounting firm. In any case, ObsEva may recommend certain measures to improve the CoG after having the report, and Kissei shall take that recommendation into consideration in good faith. |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(viii) | The Supply Price determined according to Section 5.01 (iii) and 5.01 (iv) and the supply price determined according to Section 5.01 (v) will be updated with the updated CoG once every Kisseis financial year. For the avoidance of doubt, the Supply Price or the supply price shall be updated upon the first occurrence of 5.01 (iii), (iv) or (v). |
(ix) | Kissei shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to reduce the CoG. |
(x) | For the clarity purpose, the Supply Price in all case intended by both Parties in the Section 5.01 shall be as follows; |
Case |
the Royalty Term | after the Royalty Term | ||
No Generic Competition except the case where only ObsEva Patents prevents Generic Competition |
[*] |
[*] |
||
No Generic Competition Only ObsEva Patents prevents Generic Competition. |
[*] | |||
Generic Competition |
[*] |
5.02 Accrual of Royalties . No royalties shall be payable on sales between ObsEva and/or its Affiliates and/or its sublicensees, but royalties shall be payable on subsequent sales by ObsEva, its Affiliates or its sublicensees to a Third Party.
5.03 Third Party Royalties . In the event that (i) the Compound or Product is deemed by a court of competent jurisdiction to infringe a valid claim of a patent owned or Controlled by a Third Party in any country of the ObsEva Territory, or (ii) ObsEva and/or its Affiliates or its sublicensees determine, [*] that it is necessary to pay royalties or other fees to any Third Party to obtain a license to exercise any Third Parties rights in order to market, manufacture or develop the Compound or Product in any country of the ObsEva Territory, then in such event, ObsEva and its Affiliates and its sublicensees may deduct [*] of all expenses due to such Third Parties (including royalties, milestones, other license fees and other reasonable amounts expended in settlement of such claim, or for securing such rights) from the Supply Price otherwise due to Kissei under Section 5.01 for such country, [*]. The Supply Price after such reduction shall in no case be below the Floor Price.
5.04 Royalty Reports; Records . During the term of this Agreement and after the first commercial sales, ObsEva shall furnish or cause to be furnished to Kissei on a quarterly basis a written report or reports (the Royalty Report ) covering ObsEvas fiscal quarter (currently ending on the last day of March, June, September and December; each such fiscal quarter being sometimes referred to herein as a Royalty Period ) showing:
(a) | the gross amount of sales to Third Party and Net Sales of all Products in each country of the ObsEva Territory during the Royalty Period; |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(b) | the Supply Price, payable in US Dollars, which shall have accrued hereunder in respect to such Net Sales; |
(c) | withholding taxes, if any, required by law to be deducted in respect of such royalties; and |
(d) | the exchange rates used in determining the amount of US Dollars. |
The Parties acknowledge that Kissei needs to obtain certain information in a certain time-frame from ObsEva for the purpose of financial reporting. The Parties shall discuss and determine such details of information and time-frame prior to the first Marketing Approval in the ObsEva Territory.
Royalty Reports shall be due on the forty-fifth (45th) calendar day following the close of each Royalty Period. In addition, ObsEva shall furnish Kissei with the expected royalty amount estimated based on the information available at the end of each Royalty Period within seven (7) calendar days following the close of each Royalty Period. ObsEva, and its Affiliates and sublicensees shall keep contemporaneous, legible, verifiable and accurate records in sufficient detail to enable the royalties payable hereunder to be determined and substantiated. A final Royalty Report shall be due upon the expiration or termination of this Agreement.
Both Parties shall discuss and determine the detailed mechanism to calculate the payment under Section 5, time-frame to make the payment and other necessary procedure by the first Marketing Approval in the ObsEva Territory.
5.05 Exchange Rates . With respect to the sales of Product invoiced in US Dollars, the Net Sales and royalty payable shall be expressed in US Dollars. With respect to the sales of Product invoiced in a currency other than US Dollars, the Net Sales and royalty payable shall be expressed in such other currency together with the US Dollar equivalent of the royalty payable, which shall be calculated using certain exchange rates, which will be agreed by the first Marketing Approval in the ObsEva Territory.
5.06 Withholding Tax . Any tax paid or required to be withheld by ObsEva on account of the milestones or royalties payable to Kissei under Section 4 and Section 5 shall be deducted from the amount of the milestones or royalties otherwise due. ObsEva shall secure and send to Kissei written proof of any such taxes withheld and incurred by ObsEva, its Affiliates or sublicensees for the benefit of Kissei in a form sufficient to satisfy the taxing agency having authority to tax such transaction. Each Party shall cooperate with the other Party in providing necessary documentation related to and claiming exemptions from such deductions or withholdings under any agreement or treaty, and both Parties shall use reasonable efforts to reduce or minimize any withholding taxes.
5.07 Audit Rights . Kissei shall have the right to have a public accounting firm of its own selection, except one to whom ObsEva or its Affiliates or its sublicensees may have reasonable objection, and at its own expense (except if the result of such audit results in a variation or error exceeding [*] of the payments that were paid to Kissei where ObsEva shall
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
bear the expense), examine the relevant books and records of account of ObsEva and its Affiliates and its sublicensees during reasonable business hours upon reasonable prior written notice to ObsEva and not more often than once each calendar year, for not more than three (3) previous years, for the sole purpose of determining whether appropriate accounting and payment have been made to Kissei hereunder. Kissei may exercise such right until the end of three (3) years after the termination or expiration of this Agreement. ObsEva shall pay to Kissei the full amount of any underpayment without delay, together with interest thereon at the rate of LIBOR plus [*] per year from the date payment was due. Said public accounting firm shall treat as confidential, and shall not disclose to Kissei, any information other than information which shall be given to Kissei pursuant to any provision of this Agreement. Such public accounting firm shall not disclose to Kissei any information other than that which should properly be contained in a report of matters relevant to Net Sales and royalties calculation and payment. ObsEva shall have the right to require said public accounting firm to sign a confidential disclosure agreement before the audit commences.
6 | Development |
6.01 The Joint Development Committee . (a) Promptly after the Effective Date, the Parties shall form a Joint Development Committee (the JDC ) to oversee the development of the Compound and the Product.
The JDC will be comprised of six (6) members, three (3) of which shall be appointed by ObsEva, and three (3) of which shall be appointed by Kissei. All such members will have the ordinary experience, scientific, clinical, regulatory and/or commercial expertise, availability, skill and care required in order to fulfil their obligations as members of the JDC. Both Parties have the right to substitute their JDC members, provided each new member meets the same qualities mentioned herein above. It is the obligation of the Party whose member changed to bring the new member up-to-date on the development. The new members name and contact detail will be communicated by written notice in a timely manner.
Each Party will appoint one (1) contact person within its JDC members. The contact person for each Party will be determined promptly after the Effective Date.
The primary purpose of the JDC shall be to co-ordinate and share information concerning the development efforts of the Parties in their respective Territories, safety and efficacy information, and additional Know-How. Specifically, the JDC will, among others:
a) | provide a forum to share information with respect to the development schedule, plan, strategy and regulatory information for the Compound and the Product which shall give the first priority to obtain the first marketing authorization for the Product for the treatment of endometriosis (ObsEvas development plans GANTT chart as of the Effective Date hereof is attached as Exhibit C hereto); |
b) | review study protocols and study results for the Compound and the Product (it is understood and agreed, however, that the JDC shall not be the exclusive method of reviewing study protocols and study results, and the Parties may review protocols and study results in forums other than the JDC); |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
c) | discuss proposed publications and presentations relating to the Compound and the Product or other arising intellectual property created under this Agreement; |
d) | discuss ObsEvas out-licensing activities including partnering options in each country of the ObsEvas Territory; and |
e) | such other items to be mutually agreed by the Parties, on a case-by-case basis. |
Information exchanged in a timely manner shall be limited to information for the US, EU and Japan. The exchange of information which is generated in any country other than the US, EU or Japan shall be done on a request basis.
Decisions of the JDC shall be based on consensus, and all reasonable efforts will be made to achieve such consensus. Disagreements which, despite such efforts, cannot be resolved at the JDC level, will be addressed by joint discussions between senior management of ObsEva and Kissei. In the event of a disagreement, representatives of the senior management of ObsEva and Kissei will review and discuss the disagreement, and attempt to resolve the matter in good faith. If such resolution efforts fail, each Party will retain the right of final decision with respect to matters concerning its respective Territory. Each Party shall consult with the other Party with respect to the development of the Compound and the Product in the Territory of the other Party in order to determine whether the other Party reasonably believes that the development may have a negative impact on the safety, the efficacy profile or the label of the Compound and the Product in its Territory. The consulting Party shall consider in good faith the other Partys views and suggestions. If the consulting Party decides not to follow the other Partys suggestions, the decision of the consulting Party shall be brought to JDC. If not resolved by JDC, the decision will be referred to the respective heads of R&D for each of ObsEva and Kissei. The respective heads of R&D for each of ObsEva and Kissei shall meet and discuss the matter and shall resolve the matter in good faith. The consulting Party shall have the sole responsibility for final decision.
The JDC shall meet formally at least semi-annually, or with such other frequency, and at such time and location as agreed upon mutually from time to time. Members of the JDC may be represented at any meeting by a designee appointed by such member for such meeting. Each Party may, in its discretion, invite non-member representatives of such Party or representatives of sublicensees in the Major Country to attend meetings of the JDC, provided that the Parties approve such Partys invitees or representatives of sublicensees in advance. If ObsEvas Affiliate or sublicensee is a lead sponsor for clinical studies in the US or EU, ObsEva shall invite representatives of such Affiliate or sublicensee to the JDC. At each meeting of the JDC, each Party will present to the full JDC a summary of the results of such Partys development efforts and update on their development progress with respect to the Compound and the Product during the period of time since the previous JDC meeting.
Each Party shall provide to the other Party the draft protocols or, in case of draft protocols with non-English language, the synopsis of the draft protocols for any non-clinical or clinical studies related to the Compound prior to the commencement of such studies. The Party receiving such draft protocols or the synopsis of the draft protocols will have fourteen (14) calendar days or such other days agreed by the Parties from receipt thereof to review and comment on the draft protocols or the synopsis of the draft protocols. Each Party shall consider in good faith the other Partys views and suggestions regarding the development program for the Product in its respective Territory, but shall develop the Product in its Territory under its
13
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
own responsibility and have the sole final responsibility for all decisions related thereto; provided , however , that each Party shall refrain from suggesting development activities with respect to the development of the Compound in the other Partys Territory which may have a negative impact on the safety or efficacy profile, the label or the commercial potential of the Compound in the other Partys Territory, and provided , further , that the Parties shall discuss in good faith and mutually agree the existence and possibility of such negative impact on the safety or efficacy profile, the label or the commercial potential of the Compound in such other Partys Territory.
6.02 Development Costs . ObsEva shall be responsible for all costs incurred by it in non-clinical and clinical development activities related to Compound and Product in the ObsEva Territory. Kissei shall be responsible for all costs incurred by it in non-clinical and clinical development activities related to Compound and Product in the Kissei Territory. Each Party shall bear all costs incurred by their respective JDC members and invitees, and ObsEvas sublicensees shall bear all costs incurred by them through the JDC. Both Parties equally bear the external cost for non-clinical studies (excluding CMC studies, for clarity) and clinical pharmacology studies which have not been completed on or prior to the Effective Date and are designed to meet regulatory requirements for Marketing Approval of both (i) EU or the US and (ii) Japan, such studies, its protocols and other details will be discussed and determined under JDC, and Kissei will conduct such non-clinical studies by itself or through contract laboratory. For the sake of clarity, each Party has the right to choose not to bear the cost by the initiation of each study, in case that the Party determines that the design of the study no longer meets the regulatory requirements in EU and the US in case of ObsEva or Japan in case of Kissei. ObsEva has the exclusive right, with the right to sublicense, to the results of such studies in the ObsEva Territory and Kissei has the exclusive right, with the right to sublicense, to the results of such studies in the Kissei Territory.
6.03 Commercially Reasonable Efforts . ObsEva shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to develop the Compound and the Product in the Field in the ObsEva Territory.
In particular, ObsEva shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts:
(i) | to prioritize the obtaining of the marketing authorization for the Product for the treatment of endometriosis in certain countries of the Major Countries; |
(ii) | not to terminate or suspend the development of the Product for the treatment of endometriosis; in case ObsEva wishes to terminate or suspend such development, it shall, prior to such termination or suspension, diligently inform Kissei of its scientific, clinical, regulatory and/or commercial reasons and Kissei may submit comments within thirty (30) calendar days following the receipt of such information, which ObsEva shall in good faith take into account; |
(iii) | to perform development activities according to the development plan (of which the GANTT chart is attached hereto in Exhibit C), as amended from time to time, in Major Countries; and |
(iv) | [*]. |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
6.04 Regulatory Filings . In the event ObsEva or its Affiliates or its sublicensees has to file an IND, NDA, or MAA for the Compound or the Product, including any supplements which may have significant impact on development in Kissei Territory, or annual reports thereto, ObsEva shall submit to Kissei an English summary thereof for its prior review and comment and Kissei may give comments thereon, if any, within thirty (30) calendar days from the receipt thereof and ObsEva shall take into account any such comments from Kissei as long as it is scientifically and objectively appropriate and reasonable. ObsEva shall provide Kissei with a copy of all formal correspondences for the Compound or the Product with the FDA and EMA in a timely manner. Similarly, Kissei shall submit to ObsEva an English summary of IND and NDA to be filed in Japan, which should contain the elements relevant for ObsEva product development and registration , as well as for any supplements which may have significant impact on development in the ObsEva Territory, for its prior review and comment and ObsEva may give comments thereon, if any, within thirty (30) calendar days from the receipt thereof and Kissei shall take into account any such comments from ObsEva as long as it is scientifically and objectively appropriate and reasonable. Kissei shall provide ObsEva with an English summary of all formal correspondences for the Compound or the Product with the PMDA in a timely manner. The JDC determines the detailed procedure and contents for the exchange of the documents stipulated in this Section 6.04.
6.05 Development Status Report . Within thirty (30) calendar days following the close of each calendar year during the term of this Agreement, ObsEva shall issue a development status report on its development activities, as well as development activities of its Affiliates and its sublicensees in its Territory during the immediately preceding twelve (12) month period.
6.06 Exchange of Development Data . ObsEva agrees to provide Kissei, from time to time, with ObsEva Development Data relating to the Compound and the Product for the purpose of allowing Kissei to conduct its own development program with respect to the Compound in the Kissei Territory, and to file for regulatory approval in the Kissei Territory. Similarly, Kissei agrees to provide ObsEva, from time to time, with Kissei Development Data relating to the Compound and the Product for the purpose of allowing ObsEva to further its own development program with respect to the Compound in the ObsEva Territory, including filing such Kissei Development Data with regulatory agencies in the ObsEva Territory.
For purpose of this Section 6.06, ObsEva Development Data means all study reports for clinical and non-clinical studies, and other information reasonably requested by Kissei, and Kissei Development Data means all study reports for clinical and non-clinical studies, and other information reasonably requested by ObsEva. The Development Data will be provided to the other Party in English except as otherwise agreed by the Parties.
6.07 Kissei may attend meetings with key opinion leaders and meetings with authorities of EU or the US held by ObsEva, its Affiliates or its sublicensees including but not limited to the End of Phase 2 Meeting. ObsEva, its Affiliates or its sublicensees will give reasonable information to Kissei to assist it in the preparation of its participation. For the sake of clarity, ObsEva will not provide financial assistance.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
7 | Marketing and Commercialization |
7.01 Commercially Reasonable Efforts . ObsEva shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts, at its own expense, to promote, market, distribute and sell the Product in the ObsEva Territory. ObsEva shall consider in good faith Kisseis views and suggestions regarding the marketing of the Product in the ObsEva Territory, but ObsEva shall market the Product in the ObsEva Territory under its own responsibility and shall have the sole final responsibility for decisions in the ObsEva Territory. Kissei shall consider in good faith ObsEvas views and suggestions regarding the marketing of the Product in the Kissei Territory, but Kissei shall market the Product in the Kissei Territory under its own responsibility and have the sole final responsibility for decisions in the Kissei Territory. To the extent the Parties deem appropriate, they may agree to collaborate regarding participation in international medical or scientific conferences as well as pre- and post-launch promotional activities involving the Product which are applicable and beneficial both in the ObsEva Territory and the Kissei Territory.
7.02 Pricing and reimbursement activities; Commercialization . Within ninety (90) days following receipt by ObsEva or its Affiliates or its sublicensees of a Marketing Approval of the Product for a Major Country, ObsEva shall, and shall cause its Affiliates and its sublicensees to, start pricing and reimbursement activities in such Major Country. After such pricing and reimbursement activities have been successfully completed, ObsEva shall start the marketing and sales of the Product in such Major Country using its Commercially Reasonable Efforts at its own expense and use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to promote, market, distribute and sell the Product consistent with accepted pharmaceutical business practice and applicable legal requirements. In case ObsEva or its Affiliates or sublicensees does not start the marketing and sales of the Product in the countries other than the Major Country but still in the ObsEva Territory within two (2) years of a Marketing Approval, the Parties shall discuss and determine the necessary actions for such country for the purpose of maximizing the value of the Product.
7.03 The Joint Marketing Committee . Promptly after filing the first NDA or MAA, the Parties shall form a Joint Marketing Committee (the JMC ) to oversee marketing of the Compound and the Product. The JMC will be comprised of six (6) members, three (3) of which shall be appointed by ObsEva, and three (3) of which shall be appointed by Kissei. The primary purpose of the JMC shall be to co-ordinate and share information concerning the marketing efforts of the Parties in their respective Territories. The JMC shall meet formally at least semi-annually, or with such other frequency, and at such time and location as agreed upon mutually from time to time. Members of the JMC may be represented at any meeting by a designee appointed by such member for such meeting. Each Party may, at its sole discretion, invite non-member representatives of such Party or representatives of sublicensees to attend meetings of the JMC, provided that the Parties shall approve such Partys invitees or representatives of sublicensees in advance subject to the Section 6.01. ObsEva submits to Kissei its three-year sales forecast on a quarterly basis from the quarter where the launch is expected in the ObsEva Territory promptly after the first NDA or MAA. After the first launch, the three-year sales forecast will be updated on a semiannually basis.
7.04 Package Design . The design of the package of the Product for sale in the ObsEva Territory will be decided by ObsEva at its sole discretion. However, ObsEva shall furnish Kissei with copies of all Product packages, package inserts and monographs as well as major promotional materials such as brochures, pamphlets and the like to be used for marketing of the Product in the ObsEva Territory. It is understood and agreed, however, that Kissei shall not use the ObsEva corporate trademarks or ObsEva corporate trade dress, without ObsEvas
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
prior written consent. Unless prohibited by law, regulation, rule, regulatory agency policy or informal regulatory agency guidance in a country in the ObsEva Territory, all of such packages, package inserts, monographs and promotional materials shall properly and clearly indicate in such reasonable shape, size and color so as to render the indication plainly discernible and as specified or approved by Kissei the words, developed and sold by ObsEva (or its designee) under license from Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Matsumoto, Japan or such equivalent wording, to the extent authorized by applicable law, to be agreed by the Parties in a relevant language in each country of the ObsEva Territory.
7.05 Option to Co-Promote . Kissei retains the option to participate in the promotion of the Product in the United States by itself or through its Affiliates, in accordance with the following:
(i) | The Parties shall discuss the plan for commercialization in the United States from time to time during the term of this Agreement. Kissei shall retain the right for co-promotion with ObsEva, its Affiliates or its sublicensees in the United States, which is the right to contribute field force FTEs up to [*] of total per annum at Kisseis costs [*]; such costs and range of field force FTEs shall be commercially reasonable and ObsEva shall have the right to have a public accounting firm review such range and such costs for the purpose of ensuring they are reasonable at its cost; Kissei shall provide such public accounting firm with any relevant information and documents for such purpose. Kissei shall have the right to require said public accounting firm to sign a confidential disclosure agreement before the audit commences and said public accounting firm shall not disclose to ObsEva any information other than that which should properly be contained in a report of matters relevant to such field force FTEs. Kissei shall decide to exercise the right or not, at the latest within ninety (90) days of Kisseis receipt of the notice from ObsEva that the NDA has been filed. Upon Kisseis exercise, the Parties will execute a co-promotion agreement; |
(ii) | ObsEva, its Affiliates or its sublicensees has the casting vote on the plan for commercialization in the US, provided that ObsEva, its Affiliates or its sublicensees will take into account Kisseis comments as far as they are reasonable and that any decision made by ObsEva, its Affiliates or its sublicensees shall be commercially reasonable for the Product and both Parties; |
(iii) | Kisseis co-promotion rights will expire in the event that Kissei becomes an Affiliate of a Third Party due to merger, consolidation, corporation combination or acquisition; |
(iv) | In the event that Kissei exercises its rights to co-promote the Product hereunder, it shall do so in conformity with the commercialization strategy and marketing plan specified by ObsEva; and |
(v) | The Kisseis rights stipulated in this clause shall apply even after ObsEva sublicenses its rights in the United States to any Third Party. |
7.06 Non-Competition . ObsEva shall not develop, market, nor sell GnRH agonists and GnRH antagonists other than the Compound. This non-compete clause will not apply to any ObsEva successor or permitted assignee pursuant to Section 24 to the extent that such
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
ObsEva succession or assign will have no significant negative commercial impact on the Product, provided that such successor or assignee acquirer fully endorses all ObsEvas obligations under this Agreement. Further for the sake of clarity, the Parties have no intention to conflict with any law and regulation such as the competition law of any country and the Parties agree that this clause shall be construed to the extent allowed by applicable laws.
8 | Trademark |
8.01 Choice of Trademark . No later than after the start of phase III, the Parties shall discuss and determine the trademark(s) to be used for the Product in the ObsEva Territory (the Trademark ). In such discussion, the Parties shall seek for a uniform global trademark as the Trademark which will be used in both the Kissei Territory and the ObsEva Territory as long as it is acceptable from a legal and a commercial stand point in each individual country. The details of market research and trademark validation work shall be agreed by the Parties and the cost of such activities in the ObsEva Territory shall be borne equally by the Parties. The final decision for the Trademark in the ObsEva Territory will be made by ObsEva provided that ObsEva shall consider Kisseis reasonable request. The Trademark shall be owned and maintained by Kissei at its own cost.
8.02 Rights on Termination or Expiration . In the event of expiration of the Royalty Term in each countries of the ObsEva Territory, ObsEva and its Affiliates and sublicensees shall have an exclusive license, for the full duration of the Trademark rights, to use the Trademark in such countries of the ObsEva Territory as long as ObsEva purchases from Kissei the full amount of Compound which is necessary to manufacture the Product sold in such countries of the ObsEva Territory. For the avoidance of doubt, the full amount of royalties due by ObsEva to Kissei in consideration of such Trademark exclusive license is provided for in Section 5.01 (v).
9 | Supply |
9.01 Supply of the Compound. Kissei shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to supply to ObsEva in due time, and ObsEva shall purchase exclusively from Kissei all the required amount of Compound for ObsEva, its Affiliates and its sublicensees to make and/or have made the Product for clinical studies and commercialization in the ObsEva Territory during the term of this Agreement. As soon as possible after the Effective Date, the Parties shall enter into a Clinical Supply Agreement and a related Quality Agreement. In addition, prior to the first filing for Marketing Approval, the Parties shall enter into a Commercial Supply Agreement and a related Quality Agreement.
9.02 Supply Price. The supply price [*] as per ICC Incoterms 2010 of the Compound for development stage is [*]. The supply price [*] as per ICC Incoterms 2010 of the Compound for the commercial Product before or during the Royalty Term is [*] of the Net Sales of the Product (the Supply Price ), it being specified that the Supply Price includes all Royalties. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event shall the Supply Price for the Compound be lower than [*] (respectively, the Floor Price ). The supply price of the Compound for sample use and development use after the first Marketing Approval in the US or EU is [*]. If both Parties agree that one Party provides the other Party with some other
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
materials including but not limited to reference standard and excipients, such materials will be supplied [*] as per ICC Incoterms 2010 to the other Party at the Floor Price for reference standard, and manufacturing cost with [*] for excipients and other materials.
9.03 Supply Conditions. Kissei shall deliver the Compound [*] as per ICC Incoterms 2010 for the commercial Product during the Royalty Term and the Compound [*] as per ICC Incoterms 2010 for commercial Product after the Royalty Term, sample use and the development use after the first Marketing Approval. The shipment place shall be determined by the Parties. The details of the terms and conditions for the supply of the Compound shall be stipulated in the separate agreements referred to in Section 9.01, which shall be entered into by the Parties in due course.
9.04 Nonconforming Compound. In the event that any quantity of the Compound supplied by Kissei to ObsEva hereunder does not comply with such specifications referred to in the Quality Agreement referred to in Section 9.01 and if Kissei has confirmed the nonconformance of such quantity of the Compound, ObsEva shall have the right to request the replacement thereof by the quantity of the Compound of the quality specified in such specifications and return to Kissei such nonconforming quantity of the compound in question at Kisseis expenses, provided that ObsEva shall notify Kissei, within a period of forty-five (45) days after receipt of such quantity of the Compound, of such nonconformance and such notification shall be made in any event before ObsEva utilizes such nonconformance quantity of the Compound in production. In the event that the concurrent quality control testing conducted by the Parties is conflicting as to the Compounds conformance to such specifications, the Parties shall endeavor to settle such matter amicably and constructively between themselves. In the event that the Parties fail to settle such matter within thirty (30) days following ObsEvas replacement request, the Parties shall agree to refer such allegedly nonconforming quantity of the Compound to a neutral laboratory as agreed upon between the Parties. The results of the neutral laboratory shall be final and binding upon the Parties. All expenses incurred on such analysis will be borne by the Party whose quality control does not conform to the results of the neutral laboratory. In the event that the neutral laboratory upholds the results of ObsEva relating to the quantity of the Compound being nonconforming, then Kissei shall replace at its cost and expense the entire quantity of the Compound as soon as possible. It is agreed and understood that Kisseis responsibility under this Section shall be limited to prompt replacement of the nonconforming quantity of the Compound and that ObsEva shall store the Compound in accordance with the conditions to be agreed by both parties.
9.05 Purchase Estimate and Order . ObsEva shall submit to Kissei the following:
a) | At least [*] prior to the beginning of each calendar quarter commencing January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1, ObsEva shall submit to Kissei a good faith written estimate of its requirements of the Compound for each of the consecutive [*] commencing from such calendar quarter; |
b) | At least [*] prior to the beginning of each calendar quarter commencing January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1, ObsEva shall submit to Kissei an updated good faith written estimate of its requirements of the Compound for each of the consecutive [*] commencing from such calendar quarter; |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
c) | At least [*] prior to the beginning of each calendar quarter commencing January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1, ObsEva shall provide Kissei with the firm order for the quantities of the Compound of which ObsEva wishes shipments during such calendar quarter. Such quantities of the compound shall in no event be lower than [*] of the quantities of the Compound indicated in the written estimate submitted by ObsEva to Kissei under (b) of this Section 9.05, unless otherwise agreed by the Parties. In the event that the quantities of the Compound ordered by ObsEva in any calendar quarter exceed [*] of the quantities of the Compound in the estimate submitted by ObsEva under (b) of this Section 9.05, Kissei shall not be obliged but shall use its Commercially Reasonable Efforts to supply ObsEva with such quantities of the Compound which exceed [*]. If for any reason (including, without limitation, due to a Force Majeure event) Kissei is unable to supply all of ObsEvas requirements specified in ObsEvas firm order, the available Compound shall be allocated to ObsEva, Kissei and other licensees as a relative percentage of all sales in all territories, in the proportion that the aggregate sales of Product in all territories during the immediately preceding six (6) consecutive months bears to the aggregate worldwide sales of product by Kissei and its licensees for the same period. |
9.06 Buffer stock and sourcing . Kissei shall at all times maintain a buffer stock of at least [*] of the yearly requirements estimate of Compound exclusively for use in the ObsEva Territory. ObsEva also shall at all times maintain a buffer stock of at least [*] of the yearly requirements estimate of Compound or Product for use in the ObsEva Territory. Within one (1) month after the initiation of phase 3 study for endometriosis necessary and sufficient for the NDA or MAA, ObsEva shall provide Kissei with the good faith written estimate of Compound requirements up to two (2) years after the initial commercial sales in the US and EU. Unless such requirements are small enough to exclude the necessity of the back-up supplier based on the pharmaceutical industry standard, Kissei shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to start the process to have a back-up supplier for Compound ready to deliver i) at the first commercial sale in the US or EU, or ii) at full two (2) years after the first commercial sale, provided that, in the case of ii), Kissei shall secure a stock of at least two (2) years of Compound requirements in the purchase estimate submitted by ObsEva to Kissei in accordance with the Section 9.05, in order to comply with Section 9.01.
9.07 Manufacture and Development of the Product . (a) ObsEva shall manufacture and develop by itself or through contract manufacturers finished forms of the Product using the Compound supplied by Kissei for clinical studies and sale under this Agreement in the ObsEva Territory. ObsEva and Kissei shall fully co-operate with respect to establishing the proper manufacturing process and quality control specifications for the Product. Specifically, the Parties agree to freely exchange information concerning formulation, regulatory requirements, quality control, and other information concerning the manufacturing process for the Product. For clarity, Kissei will not make financial assistance for ObsEvas manufacturing and developing of the Product. ObsEva shall reimburse all reasonable out-of-pocket costs incurred by Kissei for technical transfer to ObsEva or its designee. It is acknowledged that Kissei will have the right to manufacture its own Compound and finished forms of the Product for pre-clinical and clinical studies and sale in the Kissei Territory, provided, however, that Kissei shall have the option to be supplied the Product by ObsEva for use in the Kissei Territory. In such case, the Parties shall enter into a Commercial Supply Agreement and a related Quality Agreement, which shall provide that (i) ObsEva shall have priority on any available supply, (ii) ObsEva will sell the Product to Kissei at reasonable terms and conditions, and (iii) ObsEva shall determine a reasonable mark-up on top of the Products price in consideration of its development activities in relation to manufacturing processes.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(b) In no event, shall Kissei, its Affiliates or licensees clinically develop or sell Compound or finished forms of the Product to any Third Party in the ObsEva Territory or to any Third Party which intends to actively sell it in the ObsEva Territory.
(c) In no event, shall ObsEva its Affiliates or sublicensees clinically develop or sell Compound or finished forms of the Product to any Third Party in the Kissei Territory or to any Third Party which intends to actively sell it in the Kissei Territory.
9.08 Abandonment of Supply Right by Kissei. Notwithstanding anything provided in this Agreement, Kissei may abandon the rights to supply Compound to ObsEva stipulated in this Section 9: (i) at its discretion and by giving written notice to ObsEva before the first recruitment of patients in Phase 3 study in the ObsEva Territory or within six (6) months after ObsEva sublicenses to a Third Party for Major Countries or (ii) if Change of Control in ObsEva occurs or (iii) if supplying Compound by Kissei to ObsEva is no longer commercially viable for Kissei. In case Kissei abandons the rights to supply Compound to ObsEva, Kissei will transfer and assign the contract manufacturing agreement with Kisseis contract manufacturer for Compound to ObsEva. In the case that such transfer/assignment is not feasible or ObsEva elects not to accept the transfer/assignment, Kissei shall give a reasonable assistance excluding financial assistance for the technology transfer to ObsEva or a Third Party designated by ObsEva, and Kissei shall continue to supply Compound required by ObsEva, its Affiliates and its sublicensees, until ObsEva or such Third Party is able to manufacture Compound in sufficient quantities and to the extent of complete substitution of the supply and such period of supply shall be reasonable (the Transition Period ). Kissei shall cooperate with ObsEva to find a new supplier and make it be able to manufacture Compound within such Transition Period and/or assist ObsEva, its Affiliates, or sublicensees, as the case may be, to make it be able to manufacture Compound within such Transition Period. Kissei retains the right to directly contract and purchase Compound for Kissei Territory from such new supplier. If Kissei chooses to abandon the rights to supply Compound, the Parties will negotiate the execution of an amendment to this Agreement, but it is understood between the Parties that in such case the percentage of the Royalties shall be reduced (based on the percentage of the Supply Price) in order to take into account (i) ObsEvas reasonable costs during the transition period and (ii) ObsEvas reasonable costs of manufacturing and/or supply of the Compound. Sections 9.01 to 9.06 shall not apply as of the end of the Transition Period.
9.09 Failure of supply . Kissei shall promptly notify ObsEva if Kissei determines that it will be unable to meet the delivery date or quantity specified in any firm order. If more than once during any twelve (12) consecutive month period, (i) Kissei is unable to deliver at least [*] of any firm order placed by ObsEva in accordance with section 9.05, (ii) any firm order is delivered more than fifteen (15) days after the delivery date specified in a firm order or (iii) any Compound supplied by Kissei is determined to be nonconforming subject to section 9.04 and if Kissei is not able to cure such failure of supply within three (3) months from the date ObsEva receives a first written notice by Kissei subject to this Section due to occurrence of such failure (i), (ii) or (iii), ObsEva shall have the right to obtain a second source of supply for the Compound to supplement or replace Kissei as a supplier of the Compound under the conditions of Section 9.08.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
10 | Other Kisseis Activities with ObsEva |
(a) Kissei may dispatch their employees (one at a time) to ObsEva, at Kisseis costs, for training purpose. The details of such training dispatch shall be discussed and determined by both Parties.
(b) Kissei may support the sublicensing activity by referring interested potential sublicensees to ObsEva, without any obligation for ObsEva to enter into sublicenses with such potential sublicensees.
11 | Disclaimer and Warranties |
11.01 Disclaimer . Kissei does not warrant that ObsEva can successfully develop, obtain Marketing Approvals for, or market the Product in the ObsEva Territory by using and relying upon the Kissei Patents and the Kissei Know-How supplied by Kissei hereunder.
11.02 Kissei . Kissei represents and warrants to ObsEva that as of the Effective Date:
(i) | Kissei is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of state or jurisdiction in which it is incorporated. |
(ii) | Kissei has full right and authority to use the Kissei Patents and to enter into this Agreement and to grant the license and all other rights to ObsEva as herein described. |
(iii) | This Agreement has been duly authorized by all requisite corporate actions, and when executed and delivered will become a valid and binding contract of Kissei enforceable against Kissei in accordance with its terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws affecting creditors rights generally from time to time in effect, and to general principles of equity. |
(iv) | The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by Kissei does not conflict with any other agreement, contract, instrument or understanding, oral or written, to which Kissei is a Party, or by which it is bound, nor will it violate any law or regulation of any legislature, court, governmental body, administrative agency or other authority having jurisdiction over Kissei. |
(v) | Attached hereto as Exhibit B-1 is a complete and accurate list of all patents and patent applications included within the Kissei Patents as of the Effective Date; Kissei is the owner of the entire rights, titles and interests in and to the Kissei Patents; Kissei will update Exhibit B-1 on a periodic basis during the term of this Agreement to include additional Kissei Patents that may be filed or issued or become modified in some respect after the Effective Date; to the best knowledge of Kissei, the issued claims included in the Kissei Patents as of the Effective Date are valid and enforceable; the patent applications included in the Kissei Patents as of the Effective Date have been duly and properly filed; however, Kissei does not warrant that the Kissei Patents will not infringe any intellectual property owned by any Third Party in the ObsEva Territory; the patents and patent applications listed on Exhibit B-1 are the only Kissei Patents Controlled by Kissei and its Affiliates as of the Effective Date covering the Compound, and to the best knowledge of Kissei, there are no patents by Third Parties that claim the composition of matter, or the use of, or a method of making, any of the Compound in the Field in the ObsEva Territory. |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(vi) | Kissei has not granted as of the Effective Date, and will not grant during the term of this Agreement, any right to any Third Party relating to the Kissei Patents or the Kissei Know-How in the Field in the ObsEva Territory which would conflict with the rights granted to ObsEva hereunder. |
(vii) | Kissei has taken reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of the Kissei Know-How, and will during the term of this Agreement continue to take reasonable measures to protect the confidentiality of the Kissei Know-How; on occasions where Kissei has granted access to Third Parties to Kissei Know-How, such access has been granted pursuant to an enforceable written confidentiality agreement containing restrictions on the use of such Kissei Know-How with a term of at least [*] years; Kissei has obtained the assignment of all interests and all rights of its employees and Third Parties (including, but not limited to, contractors) with respect to the Kissei Patents in the ObsEva Territory. |
(viii) | Kissei has not been served with any interference action or litigation with respect to the Kissei Patents, and Kissei has not received any communication which expressly threatens interference actions of other litigation before any patent office, court or any other governmental entity in any jurisdiction with respect to the Kissei Patents. |
(ix) | Kissei has provided and will continue to provide ObsEva with all relevant material data and information generated in the course of pre-clinical and clinical testing relating to the Compound, and nothing has come to the attention of Kissei that would indicate the existence of any material side effect, carcinogenicity effect, adverse event, or any instances of deleterious physical effects or reactions resulting from, or alleged to result from the Compound. |
(x) | Kissei will supply the Compound in sufficient quantities to ObsEva in accordance with and conforming to the specifications set forth in Section 9. |
11.03 ObsEva . ObsEva represents and warrants to Kissei that as of the Effective Date:
(i) | ObsEva is a corporation duly organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of state or jurisdiction in which it is incorporated and it has full right and authority to enter into this Agreement and to accept the license granted as herein described. |
(ii) | This Agreement has been duly authorized by all requisite corporate actions, and when executed and delivered will become a valid and binding contract of ObsEva enforceable against ObsEva in accordance with its terms, subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium and other laws affecting creditors rights generally from time to time in effect, and to general principles of equity. |
(iii) | The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement by ObsEva does not conflict with any other agreement, contract, instrument or understanding, oral or written, to which ObsEva is a Party, or by which it is bound, nor will it violate any law or regulation of any legislature, court, governmental body, administrative agency or other authority having jurisdiction over ObsEva. |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(iv) | It has not knowingly performed any acts that are inconsistent with the terms and purposes of this Agreement or that may infringe upon any of the rights of Kissei hereunder. |
(v) | It has thoroughly studied all Know-How provided to ObsEva prior to execution of this Agreement and significant data concerning the Compound and the Product provided to ObsEva prior to execution of this Agreement, including but not limited to their safety and efficacy and risk/benefit, and ObsEva has made its own judgment to enter into this Agreement at its own risk. |
(vi) | ObsEva will provide Kissei with all relevant material data and information generated in the course of pre-clinical and clinical testing relating Compound. |
11.04 Limitation of Warranty . EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED IN THIS AGREEMENT, NEITHER PARTY MAKES ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, AND EACH PARTY HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, WITH RESPECT TO ANY OF THE MATERIALS, INFORMATION, SERVICES OR LICENSES PROVIDED PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT.
11.05 Performance by Affiliates . The Parties recognize that each Party may perform some or all of its obligations under this Agreement through Affiliates; provided , however , that each Party will remain responsible and liable for the performance by its Affiliates and will cause its Affiliates to comply with the provisions of this Agreement in connection with such performance.
12 | Intellectual Property |
12.01 Prosecution and Maintenance . Kissei shall have full responsibility, including financial responsibility for all Kissei Patents applications, prosecution, and maintenance in the Major Countries and will use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to prosecute and maintain all Kissei Patents applications in the other countries of the ObsEva Territory. Subject to the foregoing, Kissei may promptly file patent applications in the ObsEva Territory for patentable Improvements made by Kissei.
If Kissei starts to consider abandoning any part of Kissei Patents or electing not to file, prosecute or maintain a Kissei Patent in the ObsEva Territory, it shall notify ObsEva in writing promptly and at least sixty (60) calendar days before such abandon or any deadline applicable to the filing, prosecution or maintenance of such Kissei Patent, as the case may be, or any other date by which an action must be taken to establish or preserve such Kissei Patent in such country or possession. Within thirty (30) calendar days after the receipt of such notice from Kissei, ObsEva shall notify Kissei whether ObsEva will pursue the filing or the continued prosecution or maintenance of such Kissei Patent in a country in the ObsEva Territory at its costs, under its responsibility and in its name. Kissei shall i) file or continue the prosecution or maintenance of such Kissei Patent in such country at its cost and its name instead of assigning such Kissei Patent to ObsEva, ii) immediately assign such Kissei Patent in such country to
24
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
ObsEva, or iii) in the case the immediate assignment is not feasible due to applicable deadline, file or continue the prosecution or maintenance of such Kissei Patent and then assign such Kissei Patent in such country to ObsEva, and ObsEva shall reimburse any cost incurred by Kissei after ObsEvas notification to Kissei. The Kissei Patent assigned to ObsEva shall become an ObsEva Patent and ObsEva shall thereupon be responsible for all costs of filing, prosecution, and maintenance of such new ObsEva Patent for aforesaid country in the ObsEva Territory. Kissei shall provide to ObsEva and/or execute any and all documents necessary to substantiate such assignment. ObsEva shall reimburse Kisseis cost incurred for the assignment from the time of the notification made by Kissei to ObsEva referred to in this Section 12.01. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Section 12.01, Kissei shall have the right to abandon any of Kissei Relevant Patents, in any country of the ObsEva Territory at its sole discretion. However, Kissei will timely consult with ObsEva prior to any decision.
12.02 Updates . To achieve the purpose of making updates and modifications to Exhibit B-1 on the developed and/or marketed Product by ObsEva, Kissei will periodically send a list of additional patents and patent applications to be included in the Kissei Patents to ObsEva.
12.03 Validity Challenge . In the event that a Third Party attacks the validity of any particular Kissei Patents in any country of the ObsEva Territory, then Kissei shall at its own discretion, but without obligation, promptly take such legal action as is required to defend the validity of such particular Kissei Patents and ObsEva shall give all reasonable assistance (excluding financial assistance) to Kissei. ObsEva may be represented by counsel of its own selection at its own expense in any such legal action but Kissei shall have the right to control the suit and proceeding; provided , however, that Kissei shall not agree to any settlement of the suit without the prior written consent of ObsEva. If Kissei would not take legal action as is required to defend the validity of such particular Kissei Patents, ObsEva may then, at its option, assume control and defense of such claim at its expense. In the event that ObsEva assumes control of the defense, Kissei shall give all reasonable assistance to ObsEva. Kissei may be represented by counsel of its own selection at its own expense in any such legal action, but ObsEva shall have the right to control the suit and proceeding; provided , however , that ObsEva shall not agree to any settlement of the suit without the prior written consent of Kissei. Any amounts recovered by either Party pursuant to this Section will first be used to reimburse the Parties for any out-of-pocket litigation expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees and expenses) and any other legal expenses incurred pursuant to such validity challenge. Any remaining amounts shall be attributed to ObsEva and will be deemed Net Sales subject to a royalty hereunder.
12.04 Patent Term Extension . ObsEva shall cooperate with Kissei in obtaining any extension of the term of the Kissei Patents or any other similar period of exclusivity, which may be available under the laws and regulations in any country of the ObsEva Territory.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
13 | Infringement |
13.01 Notification of Infringement . If either Party (i) learns of any misappropriation or any infringement or threatened infringement by a Third Party of any Kissei Patents and/or Kissei Know-How or (ii) becomes aware of any claim or action by a Third Party against either Party that claims that the Product, or its use, development, manufacture or sale infringes such Third Partys intellectual property rights, then such Party will promptly notify the other Party and will provide such other Party with all available evidence of such misappropriation or infringement.
(i) | ObsEva will have the first right, but not the obligation, to institute, prosecute and control at its own expense, any action or proceeding with respect to infringement in the Field and in the ObsEva Territory of any Kissei Patents or Kissei Know-How in the Field and in the Territory, by counsel of its own choice, and will consult with Kissei on any actions that ObsEva proposes to take in such action or proceeding. Kissei will cooperate with ObsEva in any such action or proceeding defended or brought by ObsEva against a Third Party, and will have the right to consult with ObsEva and to participate in and be represented by independent counsel of its own choice in such litigation at its own expense. |
(ii) | If ObsEva fails to bring an action or proceeding or otherwise take appropriate action in ObsEvas discretion to abate such infringement or misappropriation in the Field and in the ObsEva Territory within a period of ninety (90) days of written notice by Kissei to ObsEva requesting such action, Kissei will have the right, but not the obligation, to bring and control, by counsel of its own choice, at its own expense, any such infringement or misappropriation action or proceeding relating to such Kissei Patents or Kissei Know-How. ObsEva will cooperate with Kissei in any such action or proceeding defended or brought by Kissei against a Third Party, and will have the right to consult with Kissei and to participate in and be represented by independent counsel of its own choice in such litigation at its own expense. |
(iii) | If one Party defends or brings any such action or proceeding under this Section, the other Party agrees, at the request and expense of the first Party, to be joined as a Party plaintiff to the extent necessary to prosecute the action or proceeding and to give the first Party reasonable assistance and authority to defend, file and prosecute the suit. Any amounts recovered by either Party pursuant to this Section will first be used to reimburse the Parties for any out-of-pocket litigation expenses (including reasonable attorneys fees and expenses) and any other legal expenses incurred pursuant to such enforcement. Any remaining amounts shall be attributed to ObsEva, to the extent such amounts are attributable to the ObsEva Territory, and will be deemed Net Sales subject to a royalty hereunder. Any remaining amounts attributable to the Kissei Territory shall be attributed to Kissei. |
13.02 Settlement with a Third Party . The Party that controls the prosecution of a given action under this Section will also have the right to control settlement of an action described above; provided , however , that no settlement will be entered into with respect to a Patent without the written consent of the Party owning such Patent, if such settlement would require the Party to be subject to an injunction or make a monetary payment in excess of [*] or would restrict the claims in or invalidate any of the Patents.
14 | Improvement & Grant-back |
14.01 Kissei Improvements . In the event that any Improvement results from the activities undertaken by Kissei, its Affiliates or licensees pursuant to this Agreement, patentable and non-patentable inventions shall be owned by Kissei, its Affiliates or licensees. Any Improvement patents shall be included in the definition of Kissei Patents as defined in Section 1.17.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
14.02 ObsEva Improvements . In the event that any Improvement results from the activities undertaken by ObsEva or its Affiliates or sublicensees pursuant to this Agreement, patentable and non-patentable inventions shall be owned by ObsEva, its Affiliates or sublicensees; ObsEva shall have the right to file, prosecute and maintain patents on all such inventions and patentable Improvements (including such Improvements, the ObsEva Patents ), in ObsEva Territory and Kissei Territory, at its own costs. If ObsEva starts to consider abandoning any part of ObsEvas Patents or electing not to file, prosecute or maintain an ObsEva Patent in the Kissei Territory, it shall notify Kissei in writing promptly and at least sixty (60) calendar days before such abandon or any deadline applicable to the filing, prosecution or maintenance of such ObsEva Patent, as the case may be, or any other date by which an action must be taken to establish or preserve such ObsEva Patent in such country or possession. Within thirty (30) calendar days after the receipt of such notice from ObsEva, Kissei shall notify ObsEva whether Kissei will pursue the filing or the continued prosecution or maintenance of such ObsEva Patent in a country in the Kissei Territory at its costs, under its responsibility and in its name. ObsEva shall (i) file or continue the prosecution or maintenance of such ObsEva Patent in such country at its cost and its name instead of assigning such ObsEva Patent to Kissei, (ii) immediately assign such ObsEva Patent in such country to Kissei, or (iii) in the case the immediate assignment is not feasible due to applicable deadline, file or continue the prosecution or maintenance of such ObsEva Patent and then assign such ObsEva Patent in such country to Kissei, and Kissei shall reimburse any cost incurred by ObsEva after Kisseis notification to ObsEva. The ObsEva Patent assigned to Kissei shall become a Kissei Patent and Kissei shall thereupon be responsible for all costs of filing, prosecution, and maintenance of such new Kissei Patent for aforesaid country in the Kissei Territory. ObsEva shall provide to Kissei and/or execute any and all documents necessary to substantiate such assignment. Kissei shall reimburse ObsEvas cost incurred for the assignment from the time of the notification made by ObsEva to Kissei referred to in this Section 14.02.
14.03 Grant Back . ObsEva hereby grants to Kissei an exclusive (or non-exclusive, to the extent required to be non-exclusive by applicable law), royalty-free paid-up and perpetual license, with the right to sublicense, on ObsEva Patents and ObsEva Know-How, for the purpose of manufacture, development, filing the new drug application, obtaining the registration of the Compound and the Product and marketing and selling the Compound and the Product in the Kissei Territory.
15 | Confidentiality |
15.01 Kissei Confidential Information . Subject to any other provisions of this Agreement, ObsEva, for itself and its Affiliates and its sublicensees agrees that it shall, during the term of this Agreement and for a period of [*] years thereafter or [*] years from the Effective Date, whichever is longer, hold in confidence the Kissei Know-How defined as Kissei Confidential Information hereunder and shall not disclose such Kissei Confidential Information to any Third Party nor use such Kissei Confidential Information for any commercial purpose other than the purpose of this Agreement, without first obtaining the written consent of Kissei. The term Kissei Confidential Information means any and all Kissei Know-How including confidential information disclosed to ObsEva under the Letter Agreement, except as follows:
(i) | such Kissei Know-How is a part of the public domain prior to the disclosure by Kissei to ObsEva hereunder; or |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(ii) | such Kissei Know-How becomes a part of the public domain after the disclosure by Kissei to ObsEva hereunder without any breach by ObsEva of this Agreement; or |
(iii) | such Kissei Know-How which ObsEva can demonstrate that it had independently developed prior to the disclosure by Kissei to ObsEva hereunder; or |
(iv) | such Kissei Know-How is disclosed to ObsEva by Third Party who has the right to make such disclosure. |
Nothing contained herein shall prevent ObsEva and its Affiliates and its sublicensees from disclosing any of such Kissei Confidential Information to the extent that (a) such Kissei Confidential Information is disclosed in connection with the securing of the necessary governmental authorizations for the marketing of the Product in the ObsEva Territory, or (b) such Kissei Confidential Information is required to be disclosed by law or for the purpose of complying with governmental law, rules or regulations, or (c) such Kissei Confidential Information is disclosed under an appropriate secrecy agreement to outside research institutions performing experiments and tests on the Compound and/or the Product on behalf of ObsEva so as to perform the purpose of this Agreement or sublicensing activities in the ObsEva Territory in accordance with this Agreement, or (d) such Kissei Confidential Information is disclosed for due performance of this Agreement.
15.02 Publication . Each Party shall submit to the other Party for the other Partys written consent any publication, presentation or abstract of information related to any results of clinical, non-clinical or other studies conducted by the Party or its Affiliates or its sublicensees hereunder for review and approval at least twenty-one (21) calendar days prior to submission. In case the other Party does not object (on reasonable grounds) to said proposed publication, presentation or abstract within said twenty-one (21) calendar day deadline, the other Party shall be deemed to have approved said publication, presentation or abstract.
15.03 Ownership of Know-How . All Kissei Know-How disclosed by Kissei to ObsEva shall remain the intellectual property of Kissei, but exclusively licensed to ObsEva for the ObsEva Territory pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. In the event a court or other legal or administrative tribunal, directly or through an appointed master, trustee or receiver, assumes partial or complete control over the assets of ObsEva based on the insolvency or bankruptcy of ObsEva, ObsEva shall promptly notify the court or other tribunal (a) that the Kissei Know-How received from Kissei remains the property of Kissei and (b) of the confidentiality obligations under this Agreement. In addition, ObsEva shall, to the extent authorized under applicable law, take all steps necessary or desirable to maintain the confidentiality of the Kissei Know-How and to insure that the court, other tribunal or appointee maintains such information in confidence in accordance with the terms of this Agreement. All ObsEva Know-How disclosed by ObsEva to Kissei shall remain the intellectual property of ObsEva, but exclusively licensed to Kissei for the Kissei Territory pursuant to the terms of this Agreement. In the event that a court or other legal or administrative tribunal, directly or through an appointed master, trustee or receiver, assumes partial or complete control over the
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
assets of Kissei based on the insolvency or bankruptcy of Kissei, Kissei shall promptly notify the court or other tribunal (a) that the ObsEva Know-How received from ObsEva remains the property of ObsEva (b) of the confidentiality obligations under this Agreement. In addition, Kissei shall, to the extent authorized under applicable law, take all steps necessary or desirable to maintain the confidentiality of the ObsEva Know-How and to insure that the court, other tribunal or appointee maintains such information in confidence in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
15.04 ObsEva Confidential Information . Subject to any other provisions of this Agreement, Kissei, for itself and its Affiliates and its sublicensees agrees that it shall, during the term of this Agreement and for a period of [*] years thereafter or [*] years from the Effective Date, whichever is longer, hold in confidence the ObsEva Know-How defined as ObsEva Confidential Information hereunder and shall not disclose such ObsEva Confidential Information to any Third Party nor use such ObsEva Confidential Information for any commercial purpose other than the purpose of this Agreement, without first obtaining the written consent of ObsEva. The term ObsEva Confidential Information means any and all ObsEva Know-How, except as follows:
(i) | such ObsEva Know-How is a part of the public domain prior to the disclosure by ObsEva to Kissei hereunder; or |
(ii) | such ObsEva Know-How becomes a part of the public domain after the disclosure by ObsEva to Kissei hereunder without any breach by Kissei of this Agreement; or |
(iii) | such ObsEva Know-How which Kissei can demonstrate that it had independently developed prior to the disclosure by ObsEva to Kissei hereunder; or |
(iv) | such ObsEva Know-How is disclosed to Kissei by Third Party who has the right to make such disclosure. |
Nothing contained herein shall prevent Kissei, its Affiliates or its licensees, if any, from disclosing any of such ObsEva Confidential Information to the extent that (a) such ObsEva Confidential Information is disclosed in connection with the securing of necessary governmental authorizations for the marketing of the Product in the Kissei Territory, or (b) such ObsEva Confidential Information is required to be disclosed by law or for the purpose of complying with governmental law, rules or regulations, or (c) such ObsEva Confidential Information is disclosed under an appropriate secrecy agreement to outside research institutions performing experiments and tests on the Compound and/or the Product on behalf of Kissei so as to perform the purpose of this Agreement or licensing activities in the Kissei Territory in accordance with this Agreement, or (d) such ObsEva Confidential Information is disclosed for due performance of this Agreement.
16 | Safety Information |
16.01 Safety Data Exchange . Kissei and ObsEva shall each promptly inform the other in writing with respect to any significant information it comes to know of (from any source) relating in any way to the safety of the Compound or Product including possible adverse drug reactions during the development stage and the commercial stage. The details of such reporting shall be stipulated in separate agreements, consistent with regulatory requirements of the ObsEva Territory and Kissei Territory, to be entered into by the Parties in due course.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
17 | Term and Termination |
17.01 This Agreement shall become effective on the Effective Date. Unless sooner terminated by any other provision of this Agreement, this Agreement shall expire with respect to each Product on a country-by-country basis upon the completion of the Royalty Term, provided, however, that in the case where ObsEva continues to purchase the Compound in accordance with Section 8.02, this Agreement shall survive and continue under the general conditions described in Section 5.01 (v) and Section 9.03 with necessary amendment by the Parties.
17.02 Notwithstanding the stipulation in Section 17.01 hereof, each Party shall have the right to terminate this Agreement upon the occurrence of any of the following itemized events:
(i) | Either Party notifies the other Party of the fact of default or breach of any provision in this Agreement by the notified Party, which shall contain a list of proposed corrective measures, and the notified Party fails to take corrective measures to mitigate or cure such default or breach within ninety (90) days from the date of notification, provided that notice of termination is given to the notified Party upon or subsequent to the expiration of such ninety (90) day period and prior to the notified Partys correction of such default or breach; for the avoidance of doubt, instead of terminating this Agreement in case of failure to take corrective measures to mitigate or cure a breach of Section 6.03 in accordance with this Section 17.02(i), Kissei shall have an option to make the license granted to ObsEva under Section 2.01 non-exclusive by giving a written notice to ObsEva, provided further that Kissei shall have the right to terminate this Agreement immediately in the case of ObsEvas breach of Section 4.01(i) except any case of reasonable administrative delay; or |
(ii) | Either Party files in any court or agency pursuant to any statute or regulation pertaining to bankruptcy, solvency, or payment of debts, of any state or country, a petition in bankruptcy or insolvency or for reorganization or for an arrangement or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee of the Party or of its assets, or if the other Party proposes a written agreement of composition or extension of its debts, or if the other Party shall be served with an involuntary petition against it, filed in any insolvency proceeding, and such petition shall not be dismissed within sixty (60) days after the filing thereof, or if the other Party shall propose or be a Party to any dissolution or liquidation, or if the other Party shall make an assignment for the benefit of creditors. |
17.03 ObsEva may, at its discretion, terminate this Agreement for scientific, commercial, strategic or intellectual property reasons, upon (i) sixty (60) days prior written notice to Kissei, if a Product has not been launched in any country of the ObsEva Territory, or (ii) six (6) months prior written notice to Kissei, if a Product has been launched in any country of the ObsEva Territory. In the notice of termination, ObsEva shall briefly state the nature of its reason for termination.
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
17.04 Kissei may forthwith terminate this Agreement in case that
(i) | ObsEva does not purchase the Compound for use at the development stage for any consecutive forth-eight (48) month period subject practically to the development plan in the Exhibit C to be updated by both Parties from time to time and in accordance with the provisions of Section 9 of this Agreement; or |
(ii) | no or substantially no development, regulatory or marketing activities of the Product are performed for more than twelve (12) months as a result of any Change of Control occurs in ObsEva; provided that Change of Control in this paragraph means any transaction in which ObsEva (i) sells, conveys or otherwise disposes of all or substantially all of its assets or (ii) merges, consolidates thereto, in the aggregate, no longer own more than fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding securities or capital stock of the surviving party following the merger, consolidation or other transaction. |
17.05 Upon the termination of this Agreement for ObsEva breach, ObsEva bankruptcy, if ObsEva terminates the Agreement pursuant to Section 17.03, or if Kissei terminates the Agreement pursuant to Section 17.04:
(i) | ObsEva shall cease to use Kissei Patent and Kissei Know How and shall return to Kissei any and all documents and electronic data that embodies the Kissei Know-How; |
(ii) | ObsEva shall transfer free-of-charge to Kissei the ObsEva Patent and ObsEva Know-How to the extent authorized under applicable law; |
(iii) | ObsEva shall notify Kissei of the amount of Compound and Product ObsEva and its Affiliates and its sublicensees, if any, then have on hand, and ObsEva and its Affiliates and its sublicensees, if any, shall either destroy or transfer such Compound and Product upon Kisseis instruction; |
(iv) | Kissei has the right to receive all payments of the royalties accrued under Section 5 hereof; |
(v) | Kissei may exercise its audit rights pursuant to Section 5.07; |
(vi) | Sub-licensing agreements between ObsEva and its sublicensees based on this Agreement shall be automatically assigned to Kissei. For the avoidance of doubt, upon completion of the assignment, Kissei shall be entitled to terminate the sublicensing agreements in compliance with the terms governing termination set out in said sublicensing agreements which shall as a matter of principle reflect this Section 17. |
(vii) |
ObsEva shall, and shall cause its Affiliates and its sublicensees (if applicable) to, provide Kissei and/or its Affiliates and/or any Third Party appointed by Kissei (hereinafter referred to as Transferee ) with reasonable assistance in the transfer, to the extent authorized under applicable laws or regulations of the ObsEva Territory, to the Transferee of the Marketing Approvals or any other authorization, approval or license which ObsEva or its Affiliates and its sublicensees (if applicable) has with |
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[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
respect to the Compound or the Product in each country of the ObsEva Territory which is not covered by a sublicense that is transferred to Kissei pursuant to Section 17.05 (vi). Such assistance shall include, among others, an authorization by ObsEva or its Affiliates and its sublicensees (if applicable) given to the Transferee to access to the Regulatory Filings and Marketing Approval filed by ObsEva or its Affiliates and its sublicensees (if applicable) with the competent health authorities with respect to the Compound and/or the Product in the relevant countries of the ObsEva Territory, the provision by ObsEva, if necessary, to the Transferee of the ObsEva Know-How and such other acts which the Transferee may reasonably request ObsEva in order to transfer the Regulatory Filings and Marketing Approval with respect to the Compound and the Product in the relevant countries of the ObsEva Territory. |
17.06 Upon the termination of this Agreement for Kissei breach or Kissei bankruptcy:
(i) | Kissei shall cease to use ObsEva Patents and ObsEva Know-How and shall return to ObsEva any documents and electronic data that embodies the ObsEva Know-How, provided that Kisseis licensees shall have the right to continue to use ObsEva Patent and ObsEva Know-How. |
(ii) | In case that ObsEva terminates this Agreement for Kissei material breach under Section 17.02 (i), Kissei shall grant an exclusive, royalty-free paid-up and perpetual license right under the Kissei Patent and Kissei Know How to ObsEva in the ObsEva Territory to the extent authorized under applicable law; and |
(iii) | In case that ObsEva terminates this Agreement for Kissei bankruptcy, the license granted under Section 2.01, Section 4, Section 5 and practical conditions thereof shall survive the termination and all sublicenses granted under Section 2.02 shall survive on the same manner. In the case ObsEva wishes to continue this Agreement but Kisseis administrator wishes to exercise its statutory power to terminate this Agreement, ObsEva shall have the exclusive option, only to override such power, to be assigned all or part of the Kissei Patents in the ObsEva Territory for free (or if it is not allowed by applicable law, based on reasonable compensation). If ObsEva exercises such options, Kissei shall duly cooperate with ObsEva for the assignment of the Kissei Patents to ObsEva. |
18 | Announcement |
No public announcement or other disclosure to Third Parties concerning the existence of or terms or provisions of this Agreement or Compound shall be made, either directly or indirectly, by any Party to this Agreement, except as may be legally required or as may be required for recording purposes, without first obtaining the written approval of the other Party and agreement upon the nature and text of such announcement or disclosure, provided that the Parties shall use reasonable efforts to provide the draft announcement or other disclosure in advance even if such announcement or other disclosure is legally required or required for recording purposes.
Subject to legally required disclosure or announcement which has to be made in a shorter deadline, the Party desiring to make any such public announcement or other disclosure
32
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
will inform the other Party of the proposed announcement or disclosure at least seven (7) calendar days prior to public release or such other period to be agreed by the Parties, and will provide the other Party with a written copy of a draft text for such public release, in order to allow such other Party to review, comment upon and approve announcement or disclosure. Such approval shall not be unreasonably withheld and shall be provided within the abovementioned seven (7) calendar day period or such other period to be agreed by the Parties, failing which the announcement or disclosure shall be deemed approved.
19 | Governing Law |
This Agreement shall be governed by the Law of Japan.
20 | Dispute Resolution |
20.01 Organization Resolution . The Parties will try to settle their differences amicably between themselves. In the event of any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to any provision of this Agreement or the performance or alleged non-performance of a Party of its obligations under this Agreement ( Dispute ), a Party may notify the other Party in writing of such Dispute. If the Parties are unable to resolve the Dispute within sixty (60) days of receipt of the written notice by the other Party, such Dispute will be referred to the appropriate officers of the Parties who shall attempt for an additional thirty (30) days to resolve such Dispute in good faith. If Dispute is not resolved by such officers of each Party within such thirty (30) day period, such Dispute will be referred to the Chief Executive Officers or Chief Operating Officer of each of the Parties who will use their good faith efforts to resolve the Dispute within thirty (30) days after it was referred to the Chief Executive Officers or Chief Operating Officer.
20.02 Arbitration. Any Dispute that is not resolved as provided in Section 20.01, whether before or after termination of this Agreement, shall be referred to and finally determined by arbitration in accordance with the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The arbitration proceedings will be held in Tokyo in English language if ObsEva is the Party seeking arbitration and in Geneva in English language if Kissei is the Party seeking arbitration. The arbitration will be conducted by three (3) arbitrators according to the ICC Arbitration Rules.
20.03 Binding Decision . The decision by the arbitrators will be binding and conclusive upon the Parties, their successors and permitted assigns and the Parties will comply with such decision in good faith. The Parties agree that any damages awarded pursuant to any Dispute submitted to arbitration hereunder will be limited to compensatory damages and that the arbitrators will in no event have authority to award any special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages. Whether a claim, Dispute or other matter in question would be barred by the applicable statute of limitations, which statute of limitations will apply to any claim or Dispute, will also be determined by binding arbitration pursuant to this Section 20.
33
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
21 | Notices |
21.01 Any notice required to be given under this Agreement shall be given in the English language by sending such notices by postage-prepaid registered airmail or an internationally recognized overnight courier service if formal and by e-mail or facsimile if informal addressed to the other Party at the address listed below:
For Kissei: | Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | |
1-8-9 Nihonbashi, Muromachi | ||
Chuo-Ku, Tokyo 103-0022, Japan | ||
Attention: Senior Director of Business Development and Licensing | ||
Telephone: [*] | ||
Facsimile: [*] | ||
E-mail: To be informed by Kissei to ObsEva from time to time | ||
For ObsEva: | ObsEva SA | |
Chemin des Aulx, 12, | ||
1228 Plan-les-Ouates, Switzerland | ||
Attention: Chief Executive Officer | ||
Telephone: [*] | ||
Facsimile: [*] | ||
E-mail: To be informed by ObsEva to Kissei from time to time |
Either Party may notify the other Party of a different address to receive the other Partys notices in accordance with the manner described in this Section 21.01.
21.02 In the case where any notice is sent by airmail, such notice shall be sent return receipt requested and is deemed to be received by the other Party upon endorsement, by an employee or agent of the other Party of such receipt.
22 | Force Majeure |
22.01 Neither Party shall be liable for any failure to perform as required by this Agreement by reason of Force Majeure, to the extent such failure to perform is due to circumstances reasonably beyond the control of such Party, including but not limited to requisition or interference by any government, state or local authorities, war, riots, civil disturbances, strikes or other labor disputes, accidents, failure to secure required governmental approval, civil disorders or acts of aggression, acts of God, energy or other conservation shortages, diseases, or other such occurrences.
22.02 If and when any Party is hindered in its performance of its obligations under this Agreement by reason of Force Majeure, the performance shall be suspended during, but not longer than, the continuance of such circumstances.
22.03 Either Party hereto whose performance of obligations has been hindered by reason of Force Majeure shall, to the extent possible, inform the other Party immediately, and shall use reasonable efforts to overcome the effect of the Force Majeure.
34
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
23 | Indemnification |
23.01 Indemnification by Kissei . Kissei shall defend, indemnify and hold ObsEva and its Affiliates and sublicensees and all the officers, directors, and employees thereof harmless from and against all suits, claims, liabilities (including, for the avoidance of doubt, product liability claims), costs, damages, judgements and other expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable legal fees and expenses) arising from:
a) | Kisseis material breach of any term of this Agreement, |
b) | the negligence, recklessness or willful misconduct or fraud on the part of Kissei or any of its Affiliates or licensees or any of its or their officers, directors or employees with respect to the Compound produced by Kissei or in the performance of this Agreement, or |
c) | any claims made by Third Party against ObsEva relating to the Compound or Product produced, manufactured, supplied, used, tested, sold or distributed by or on behalf of Kissei or its Affiliates or licensees into the Kissei Territory at any time; provided , however , that Kissei shall not be required to indemnify ObsEva to the extent that any such claims arose out of or resulted from the negligence, recklessness or willful misconduct or fraud of ObsEva or any of its Affiliates or sublicensees. |
23.02 Indemnification by ObsEva. ObsEva shall defend, indemnify and hold Kissei and its Affiliates and licensees and all the officers, directors, and employees thereof harmless from and against all suits, claims, liabilities (including, for the avoidance of doubt, product liability claims), costs, damages, judgements and other expenses (including, but not limited to, reasonable legal fees and expenses) arising from:
a) | ObsEvas material breach of any term of this Agreement, |
b) | the negligence, recklessness or willful misconduct or fraud on the part of ObsEva or any of its Affiliates or sublicensees or any of its or their officers, directors or employees with respect to the Product produced by ObsEva or in the performance of this Agreement, or |
c) | any claims made by Third Party against Kissei relating to the Compound or the Products produced, manufactured, supplied, used, tested, by ObsEva or its Affiliates or sublicensees and sold as a Product into the ObsEva Territory at any time after the Letter Agreement; |
provided , however , that ObsEva shall not be required to indemnify Kissei to the extent that any such claims arose out of or resulted from the negligence, recklessness or willful misconduct or fraud of Kissei or any of its Affiliates or licensees.
23.03 Indemnification Procedures . A Party which intends to claim indemnification under Section 23.01 or 23.02 hereof (the Indemnitee ) will promptly notify the other Party (the Indemnitor ) in writing of any claim, lawsuit or other action in respect of which the Indemnitee or any of its directors, officers, employees, and Affiliates and licensees or sublicensees (as the case may be) intend to claim such indemnification within a reasonable period of time after the assertion of such claim; provided , however , that the failure to provide written notice of such claim within a reasonable period of time will not relieve the Indemnitor of any of its obligations hereunder, except to the extent that the Indemnitor is materially prejudiced by such failure to provide prompt notice. The Indemnitor will have the right to assume the complete control of the defense, compromise or settlement of any such claim ( provided that no settlement of any claim will include any admission of wrongdoing on the part of an Indemnitee, without the prior written consent of such Indemnitee, which such consent
35
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
will not be unreasonably withheld). The Indemnitor may, at its own expense, employ of legal counsel to defend the claim at issue. The Indemnitee may, in its sole discretion and at its own expense, employ legal counsel to represent it (in addition to the legal counsel employed by the Indemnitor) in any such matter, and in such event legal counsel selected by the Indemnitee will be required to confer and cooperate with such counsel of the Indemnitor in such defense, compromise or settlement for the purpose of informing and sharing information with the Indemnitor. The Indemnitee will, at its own expense, make available to Indemnitor those employees, officers and directors or Indemnitee whose assistance, testimony or presence is necessary, useful or appropriate to assist the Indemnitor in evaluating, defending or settling any such claim; provided , however , that any such access will be conducted in such a manner as not to interfere unreasonably with the operations of the businesses of Indemnitee; and will otherwise fully cooperate with the Indemnitor and its legal counsel in the investigation and defense of such claim.
24 | Non-assignability |
This Agreement is personal to the Parties hereto and shall not be assignable to any Third Party by either Party without the prior written consent of the other Party, which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed, provided that any Party may assign this Agreement to any entity with which such Party may merge or consolidate (or engage in some other form of corporate combination), or to which it may transfer all or substantially all of its assets to which this Agreement relates, on condition that all successors and permitted assignees of a Party shall be subject to, and will be bound, by all the terms and conditions of this Agreement. Any attempted assignment made contrary to the provisions hereof will be void. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Kisseis co-promotion rights pursuant to Section 7.05 shall not be assigned to any Third Party.
25 | Original Text |
The text of this Agreement in the English language shall be the original text, and any text in another language, even if such a text is made by translation of the text in English language or prepared by any of the Parties hereto for the purpose of its own convenience, shall have no meaning for any purpose between the Parties hereto.
26 | Entire Agreement |
This Agreement, together with the respective Exhibits attached to this Agreement, shall constitute the entire agreement between the Parties hereto concerning the subject matter hereof and shall supersede any other agreements, whether oral or written, express or implied, including the Confidential Disclosure Agreement dated September 4, 2014 and the Letter Agreement dated August 5, 2015, by and between the Parties, and may not be changed or modified or revised except as specifically agreed upon by the Parties in writing.
36
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
27 | Severability |
27.01 In the event any portion of this Agreement shall be held illegal, void or ineffective, the remaining portions hereof shall remain in full force and effect.
27.02 If any of the terms or provisions of this Agreement are in conflict with any applicable statute or rule or law, then such terms or provisions shall be deemed inoperative to the extent that they may conflict therewith and shall be deemed to be modified to conform with such statute or rule or law.
28 | Independent Contractors; No Partnership |
The Parties hereto are independent contractors. In making and performing this Agreement, the Parties are acting, and intend to be treated, as independent entities performing a contract, and nothing contained in this Agreement is to be construed or implied or deemed to create an agency, partnership, joint venture or an employee/employer relationship between ObsEva and Kissei. This Agreement is not, and will not be deemed to be, a partnership agreement or joint venture agreement, expressly or by implication. Employees of each Party remain employees of said Party and will be considered at no time agents of or owing a fiduciary duty to the other Party. Neither Party hereto will have any implied right or authority to assume or create any obligations on behalf of or in the name of the other Party or to bind the other Party to any other contract, agreement or undertaking with any Third Party.
29 | Amendment |
The Parties hereto may amend, modify or alter any of the provisions of this Agreement, but such amendment, modification or alteration shall be valid and binding on either Party only if memorialized by a written instrument that explicitly refers to this Agreement and is duly executed by both Parties hereto.
30 | United Nations Convention |
THE PARTIES EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM AND EXCLUDE THE APPLICATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON CONTRACTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SALES OF GOODS.
31 | Counterparts |
This Agreement may be executed by the Parties in one or more identical counterparts, all of which together will constitute this Agreement. If this Agreement is executed in counterparts, no signatory hereto will be bound until both Parties have duly executed a counterpart of this Agreement.
32 | Communications |
All communications, whether written or oral, between the Parties under this Agreement (including without limitation the disclosure of Know-How, notices, reports, documents submitted to the JDC) shall be made in English unless otherwise set forth herein.
37
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed in duplicate counterparts by their duly authorized representatives, each fully executed copy hereof to be deemed as original, as of the Effective Date.
Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. | ||||
By: |
/s/ Mutsuo Kanzawa |
|||
Mr. Mutsuo Kanzawa Chairman and CEO Kissei Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. |
||||
ObsEva SA | ||||
By: |
/s/ Ernest Loumaye |
|||
Mr. Ernest Loumaye, MD, PhD CEO ObsEva SA |
||||
/s/ Fabien De Ladonchamps |
||||
Mr. Fabien De Ladonchamps Finance Director ObsEva SA |
38
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Exhibit A
[*]
39
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Exhibit B-1
Kissei Patents
[*]
40
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Exhibit B-2
Kissei Relevant Patents
[*]
41
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Exhibit C
ObsEvas Development Plans GANTT chart
[*]
42
[*] = Certain confidential information contained in this document, marked by brackets, has been omitted and filed separately with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to Rule 406 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
Exhibit 10.4
RENTAL LEASE (indexed)
COMMERCIAL PREMISES
818-57-02
Specific conditions
Lessor | : | ELDISTA GmbH | ||
Owner of the property | : | ELDISTA GmbH, C/O INTEREXPERTS SA, Rue Pierres-du-Niton, 1201 Geneva | ||
Represented by | : | ImmoDreiL AG, Sonnenbergstrasse 67, 8800 Thalwil ZH | ||
Tenant | : | ObsEva SA, currently domiciled at Chemin de Planta 29, 1223 Cologny | ||
Lease property | : | 536 m2 on the 2 nd floor of CTN 12, Chemin des Aulx, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates | ||
(according to the attached plan). | ||||
Purpose of the premises | : | Administrative spaces intended for research, development, production, registration, promotion and marketing of bio-technical and pharmaceutical products | ||
Duration of the lease | : | 5 year(s) | ||
Start of the lease | : | 1 July 2013 | ||
End of the lease | : | 30 June 2018 |
1) | The rent is set in the following manner |
Indexing according to the Swiss consumer price index
a. | The annual rent of CHF 160,800.00 (CHF 13,400.00 per month ) is considered to be adjusted to the official Swiss consumer price index which will be established on 30 November 2012 at 99.1 points (December 2010 base = 100). |
b. | The rent can be modified during the lease in proportion to the change in the official Swiss consumer price index, with at least one months written notice. However, the rent can be adjusted only once per period of twelve months. |
c. | The rent can be indexed only if the reference is the Swiss consumer price index and the duration of the lease or of its current renewal is five years or more. |
Value-added tax
The rent is meant excluding VAT. At the signing of the lease, the lease property is subject to VAT.
The tenant accepts to pay the VAT in addition to the rent.
2) | Renewal/Termination |
At least nine months before the end of the lease, the parties must inform each other in writing of their intention to terminate or renew it; their silence in this regard is considered acceptance to continue it for a period of five years, with all conditions of this lease remaining in force, and so forth, from one five-year period to the next .
3) | Heating/hot water/air-conditioning |
To cover the expenses of heating, hot water and air-conditioning (Article 38 point 2 of the Specific Conditions), the tenant undertakes to pay an annual amount, divisible and payable under the same terms and conditions as the rent, as:
Provisional advance payment: CHF 18.00/m2 (plus VAT), i.e., CHF 9,648.00/year (plus the VAT), i.e., CHF 804.00/month (plus VAT).
4) | Other incidental expenses |
To cover the maintenance expenses listed in Article 38 points 3 of the Specific Conditions, the tenant undertakes to pay an annual amount, divisible and payable under the same terms and conditions as the rent, as:
Provisional advance payments: CHF 40.00/m2 (plus VAT), i.e., CHF 21,440.00/year (plus the VAT), i.e., CHF 1,786.70/month (plus VAT).
5) | Rent guarantee |
To guarantee the performance of the obligations that it accepts under this lease and its renewals, the tenant provides to the lessor, at the signing of the lease, a bank guarantee for CHF 80,400.00 , in accordance with Article 2 of the General Conditions for commercial premises.
6) | Specific Terms |
| See additional terms that are an integral part of this lease. |
The parties declare to know and accept the General Conditions for commercial premises, the Lease-related Rules and Usages applied in the Canton of Geneva as well as the additional terms which are an integral part of this lease.
Executed in Thalwil, in duplicate, on 21 June 2013
The tenant
Represented by the person of (surname and first names) |
/s/ Ernest Loumaye |
Ernest Loumaye |
ObsEva SA |
Signed in PLAN-LES-OUATES, in duplicate, on 28/06/2013 |
The lessor |
Represented by the person of (surname and first names) |
/s/ Thomas Erdin |
Thomas Erdin |
Eldista GmbH c/o ImmoDreiL AG |
Signed in Thalwil, in duplicate, on |
Annex(s) | : - General Conditions for commercial premises | |
- Additional terms which are an integral part of the lease | ||
- Lease-related Rules and Usages in the Canton of Geneva | ||
- Plan(s) |
GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR COMMERCIAL PREMISES
PREAMBLE
The specific conditions of the lease, namely: duration of the lease - rent - renewal and termination - provisional or lump-sum advance payments for incidental expenses - guarantee - as well as any other specific clause are governed, for each lease, by a document entitled Commercial Premises - Rental Lease for properties of the private sector and Rental Lease Agreement for Commercial Premises - Specific Conditions for properties under Government control, and these general terms and conditions are an integral part thereof.
These general conditions are published by CGI Conseils, which holds the copyrights thereto. Any modification and/or reproduction, even partial, is prohibited.
I. | USE - SUBLEASING - TRANSFER | |||
Art. 1 | ||||
Utilization | ||||
1. | The tenant declares to be fully familiar with the leased premises and annexes presently placed at its disposal and not to request any more thorough designation thereof. It accepts them in the condition in which it receives them and undertakes not to modify the layout thereof, nor to make any use thereof other than the use for which they are leased. The specific provisions concerning the exclusivity clauses are reserved. | |||
Unless otherwise expressly agreed, the rent will not be modified if the actual surface area of the premises is different (less or more) than the surface area indicated in the lease. | ||||
The tenant must use the aforementioned premises personally for the duration of the lease and the renewals thereof. | ||||
The tenant must request the lessors express prior authorisation if it intends to operate a terrace on the public domain adjacent to the leased premises. The lessor is free to refuse. The tenant undertakes to compensate the lessor for any damage that it might sustain in connection with the operation of the terrace. | ||||
Domicile for payment | ||||
2. | The rent and the provisions or lump-sum payments for the incidental expenses are payable to the domicile of the lessor or to its postal checking or bank account. | |||
3. | The first payment of the rent is payable at the signing of the lease. | |||
Method of payment | ||||
4. | The rent and the provisions or lump-sum payments for the incidental expenses are payable monthly in advance. When the tenant is more than ten days late making a monthly payment, and was the subject of a written formal notice granting it a payment period of at least ten days, which notice was ineffective, the lessor may demand that the rent and the provisions or lump-sum payments for the incidental expenses be settled each quarter in advance, as of the month after the expiration of the period set in the formal notice or demand that the security interests or security interests supplementing the guarantee provided at the signing of the lease be provided to it in an amount equal to six months of rent. | |||
Reminder expenses | ||||
5. | For any justified reminder, the lessor is authorised to receive reminder expenses from the tenant in the amount of at least CHF 20.00 excl. tax. | |||
Compensation for | ||||
Illegal occupancy | ||||
6. | When it continues to occupy the premises after expiration of the lease, the tenant owes the lessor compensation corresponding to at least the amount of the rent. All additional damages remain reserved. | |||
Enforcement | ||||
7. | The lease is valid as acknowledgement of debt in the meaning of the Swiss federal law on debt enforcement and bankruptcy (LP) and allows the lessor to request provisional release against the tenant. |
Viewing of the premises | ||||
8. | The tenant is obligated to let the premises be viewed as of termination of the lease. The parties will agree, with twenty-four hours notice, on the times and days when the viewing will take place. | |||
Art. 2 | ||||
Rent guarantee | ||||
1. | The guarantee that the tenant provides to the lessor at the signing of the agreement, constituted in the form of a bank deposit, bank guarantee or other guarantee expressly accepted by the lessor, cannot be allocated by the tenant to the contractual payment of the rent and/or payment of the charges for incidental expenses. | |||
Right of withdrawal | ||||
2. | In addition, the tenant undertakes to keep the leased premises stocked with furniture, objects or goods belonging to it, with sufficient value to guarantee the exercise of the lessors right of withdrawal stipulated by the law for the rent for the year just passed and the current half-year as well as all accessory services. | |||
Art. 3 | ||||
Subleasing: | ||||
Principle | ||||
1. | When the tenant wants to sublet all or part of the property, it must first request the lessors written consent, informing the lessor of the conditions of the sublease and providing it with the information that the lessor is entitled to request pursuant to Art. 262 of the Code of Obligations (CO). | |||
Restrictions | ||||
2. | Unless otherwise agreed in writing by the parties, the subtenant must conduct the same activity with the same level and the same quality of brand as the tenant. | |||
Time limit | ||||
3. | As soon as it has all useful information, the lessor has a time limit of thirty days to decide. | |||
Art. 4 | ||||
Transfer of the lease: | ||||
Principle | ||||
1. | When the tenant wants to transfer its lease to a third party, it must first request the lessors written consent. | |||
Information | ||||
2. | In order to decide, the lessor may demand to know the conditions of the transfer of the lease and to obtain precise information concerning the person of the beneficiary of the transfer and the activity that the beneficiary intends to organise in the leased premises. | |||
Decision and time limit | ||||
3. | As soon as the lessor has all information, it has a time limit of sixty days to accept or refuse the transfer or to take the place of the beneficiary of the transfer under the conditions agreed by the latter with the tenant. If the lessor fails to decide within the aforementioned time limit, it is presumed to accept the transfer of the lease. | |||
Reasons for opposition |
||||
4. | The lessor can oppose the transfer only for just reasons in the meaning of Article 263 of the Code of Obligations. The following cases in particular constitute just reasons: | |||
a) | the beneficiary of the transfer is conducting a different type of activity or the same activity but with a different level and/or quality of brand than that stipulated by the lease; | |||
b) | the beneficiary of the transfer is conducting an activity likely to cause increased nuisance or create a situation of direct competition with another tenant in the building; | |||
c) | the beneficiary of the transfer does not have the moral or professional capacities necessary or sufficient for the planned operation; | |||
d) | the beneficiary of the transfer does not have the financial capacities allowing to assume the obligations resulting from this lease; |
e) | the amount of the transfer is abusive, in particular when it is set according to the capitalisation of the current difference between the rent of the transferor and the market rent for a similar property or if the infrastructure or facilities taken over are taken over for an unjustified amount; | |||
f) | the transferor or the beneficiary does not provide to the lessor the information making it possible to assess the conditions of the transfer. | |||
Consequences | ||||
5. | The beneficiary of the transfer takes over the tenants obligations. It is in particular obligated to provide a new guarantee for the same amount as the one formed previously by the transferor. Depending on the circumstances, the lessor may require a guarantee for a larger amount but for a maximum of twelve months rent, and to have insurance policies in accordance with Article 26 of these general conditions taken out on behalf of the beneficiary of the transfer. | |||
The transfer gives rise to the collection of a remuneration corresponding to 1 % of the amount of the annual rent but at least CHF 50.00, from the transferring tenant. | ||||
Joint and several liability | ||||
6. | The tenant is jointly and severally liable with the beneficiary of the transfer, towards the lessor, until the contractual expiration of the lease but at the most for the two-year period after the transfer. The tenants liability concerns the debts having arisen by the transfer and those having arisen during the two-year period, even if they become due only after said expiration. | |||
Art. 5 | ||||
Utilization of annexes and facilities | ||||
1. | Insofar as the lease allows it to utilise the shared annexes and facilities, the tenant cannot make any use thereof other than the use for which they are intended nor let people outside of the property benefit from them. | |||
Necessity | ||||
2. | If necessary, the lessor may modify the assignment of the shared annexes at any time. | |||
II. | INCIDENTALS EXPENSES: HEATING HOT WATER OTHER SERVICES | |||
A. | GENERAL PROVISIONS | |||
Art. 6 | ||||
Principle | ||||
Utilisation of and payment for the services of heating, hot water and possible other incidental services, when there are any in the building, are an integral part of the rights and obligations resulting from the lease. | ||||
The tenant must pay fees, set according to the agreed terms, as soon as any of those services are made available to it, even if, for personal reasons, it does not use the service. | ||||
Control of the services corresponding to the incidental expenses s is the lessors responsibility. | ||||
Art. 7 | ||||
Annual account | ||||
Subject to the lump-sum payment, the lessor draws up an annual account of the incidental expenses, in particular for heating, hot water and any other services, separate from the buildings operating accounts. This account is drawn up once per year on the date set by the lessor. | ||||
It is specified that the lump-sum payment is not applicable to buildings subject to the General Law on Lodging and Tenant Protection of 4 December 1977 (LGL). | ||||
Art. 8 | ||||
Illegal occupancy | ||||
Payment for the services is owed in any case, even in the case of illegal occupancy of the premises. |
In accordance with Article 6 OBLF and subject to Article 6a OBLF, the expenses for repair and renovation as well as the service of the interest and amortisation of the installations are not part of the accounts. | ||||
The tenant also bears the costs of the cold water necessary to operate the heating installation and supply the domestic hot water boiler. | ||||
Art. 11 | ||||
Absence of the tenant | ||||
In case of absence, the tenant is obligated to take all measures necessary to avoid excessive heating of the premises and to assure their regular aeration. | ||||
B. | ACCOUNTS, STATEMENTS AND INVOICING | |||
1. | Provisional advance payment | |||
Art. 12 | ||||
Distribution key | ||||
The distribution of the incidental expenses (heating, hot water, possible other services) is effected according to the distribution key established by the lessor in proportion to the volumes heated or the surface areas heated, or according to any other recognised technical standard. | ||||
If the property includes artisanal, commercial or industrial premises, this is taken into account when dividing up the expenses. If such premises are occupied by large users of heating or domestic hot water, an individual meter can be installed, at the lessors request and the tenants expense. | ||||
Art. 13 | ||||
Individual metres | ||||
If the leased premises are equipped with individual meters measuring the utilisation of heating and/or hot water, the statement is established based on the readings and calculations effected by a specialised firm or by the lessor. |
The tenant undertakes to allow unrestricted access to the persons in charge of the metre readings and maintenance of the installations. It will take any measure necessary, in particular at the points in time scheduled for the readings, to allow this unrestricted access in its absence and will immediately inform the lessor or its representative of this. | ||||||
If, for any reason whatsoever, the statement appears obviously erroneous, if it is disputed or if the readings could not be obtained, a provisional statement is prepared based on the distribution key provided for in Art. 12 above and the lessor will inform the tenant of the situation, | ||||||
If there is no legal contestation by the tenant within thirty days of receipt of that notice, said statement becomes definitive. If legal action is brought, the payments will be made based on the provisional statement. Any balance owed by either of the parties at the end of the proceeding will be paid as soon as a court settlement is reached or the judgement has become enforceable and definitive. | ||||||
The tenant is obligated not to falsify, by any means whatsoever, the results measured by the meters. Where applicable, the tenant will be liable toward the other tenants. | ||||||
Art. 14 | ||||||
Change in tenant | ||||||
In case of a change in tenant, the incidental expenses will be shared proportionally. | ||||||
Art. 15 | ||||||
Statement | ||||||
The tenant must be informed of the portion of the expenses falling to it no later than four months after the date of closing of the annual accounts, by a statement citing the total amount of the incidental expenses, its portions and the amount of the advance payments made. | ||||||
The lessor will send the tenant a copy of the general account upon request. | ||||||
It must allow the tenant or its duly authorised representative to freely examine, at the domicile of the management or the lessor, all original documents in proof of the expenses entered in the account, as well as the general account and the buildings distribution table, and to receive the useful explanations verbally or in writing. | ||||||
The tenant or its representative is authorised to verify, at any time, the status of the stocks and the deliveries of fuel. For this purpose, they may appoint a representative and request that he be informed forty-eight hours before any fuel delivery. | ||||||
Art. 16 | ||||||
Balance | ||||||
The balance in favour of the lessor is payable within one month of the sending of the statement. The balance in favour of the tenant is, at its option, credited to its account or is repaid to it within the same period. | ||||||
Art. 17 | ||||||
Adjustment of the advance payments | ||||||
No statement or reimbursement takes place before the annual statement. | ||||||
If it emerges that the advance payments stipulated will not cover the incidental expenses, the lessor can adjust them at any time, with thirty days notice, respecting the formalities stipulated, where applicable, by the law. | ||||||
2. | Lump-sum | |||||
Art. 18 | ||||||
Principle | ||||||
In particular when the property is not restricted to the individual statement of the heating and hot water charges, the parties can have recourse to the lump-sum payment solution, without annual statement sent to the tenant.
It is specified that this article does not apply to buildings subject to the LGL [General Law on Lodging and Tenant Protection]. |
The tenant is liable for any damage sustained by the lessor due to a modification of the installation carried out by its efforts that would violate the public law stipulations. It will bear the expenses of the inspections required by the provisions of the OIBT for the electrical installations that it ordered and/or for the modifications or renovations that it had carried out. | ||||||
The tenant is obligated to maintain the electrical installation according to recognised technical rules and to report any defects without delay and to make sure that they are corrected. | ||||||
Art. 21 | ||||||
Work performed by the lessor | ||||||
1. | Maintenance work: When the lessor intends to perform work intended to correct the defects of the property, to repair it or to prevent damage, it must announce such work to the tenant in a timely manner and take the tenants interests into account when the work is carried out. | |||||
Renovation or modification work: The lessor cannot undertake renovation or modification work unless it can reasonably be required of the tenant and the lease has not been terminated. | ||||||
Unrestricted access | ||||||
2. | The tenant cannot oppose the study and the performance of such work; for this purpose, it must allow unrestricted access to its premises. In that case, the lessor will make haste so that the premises can be utilised quickly in accordance with their purpose. | |||||
Rent increase | ||||||
3. | When the lease is entered into for a period of five years or more, the lessor is entitled, if it performs work that increases the value of the leased premises, to increase the rent in accordance with the law at any time, with six months notice as of completion of the work. | |||||
Art. 22 | ||||||
Neon signs and vending machine: | ||||||
Principle: | ||||||
1. | The placing by the tenant of signs, in particular neon signs, or vending machines, must be authorised beforehand by the lessor, when it is planned for the exterior of the commercial premises. The steps with the competent authorities are the tenants responsibility. | |||||
Fee | ||||||
2. | Utilisation by the tenant of the building facade in order to affix signs or vending machines gives rise, as a general rule, to a fee set on a case by case basis. | |||||
Exceptions | ||||||
3. | In principle, the fee is not owed for signs by which the tenant limits itself to announcing its business to the public, unless such signs extend beyond the positions planned. | |||||
Maintenance cost | ||||||
4. | The tenant bears the cost of the installation, the placing and maintenance of the signs or vending machines, the cost of the protective measures necessary in order not to inconvenience the other tenants of the building, electricity utilisation, and civil liability and fire insurance premiums, official taxes, etc. relating thereto, regardless of the exit date. | |||||
Art. 23 | ||||||
Waste | ||||||
The tenant will take the measures necessary for the removal of its waste and will abide by its obligations resulting from the cantonal law on waste management as well as any other municipal provision, in particular concerning the collection, transport and elimination of its industrial, agricultural, work-site-related or meat-based waste in the meaning of said law, which are its responsibility. |
IV. | LIABILITY INSURANCE | |||
Art. 24 | ||||
Tenants liability : | ||||
principle: | ||||
1. | The tenant is liable for itself, family members, employees, as well as any person permanently or temporarily present in the leased premises, for any damage occurring in the building as a result of misconduct, negligence or misuse, in accordance with and within the limits of the Code of Obligations. | |||
Information | ||||
2. | The tenant must report to the lessor, as soon as it knows of this, and then confirm it in writing, any damage or risk of damage concerning its premises and facilities, such as water or gas leaks, lack of insulation of electrical wiring, suspicious odours coming from stoves, refrigerators, heating, etc. The tenant is liable for any damage resulting from non-fulfilment of this obligation. | |||
Precautions | ||||
3. | The tenant must take the measures necessary not to inconvenience the other tenants of the building due to the exercise of its profession. | |||
Art. 25 | ||||
Lessors liability: | ||||
Principle | ||||
1. | The lessors liability is determined by the law as regards damage originating from a structural flaw or a lack of maintenance of the building. | |||
Exception | ||||
2. | The lessor does not assume any liability for the damage of any kind that may reach the tenant, its family members, employees or any other person permanently or temporarily present in the leased premises or in the building, by acts of third parties or fortuitous events, such as theft, deterioration, fire, flood, explosion, frost, storm, wind, etc. | |||
Obligations | ||||
3. | The lessor must ensure the proper operation of the general services (water, lighting, heating, cooling, lift, etc.) which exist in the building but does not guarantee their regularity. In case of interruption, the lessor undertakes to make every effort to get them working again. | |||
Art. 26 | ||||
Insurance | ||||
1. | Insurance policies taken out by the lessor. The lessor will insure the building with sufficient coverage against fire risk. It will also take out a civil liability insurance policy (property owner). | |||
2. | Insurance policies taken out by the tenant. The tenant undertakes to take out the following insurance policies for the duration of the lease and its renewals, with sufficient coverage: | |||
a) | civil liability insurance covering any damage caused to the property or to third parties in the operation of its business or by its clientele; | |||
b) | insurance covering its equipment, assets, and loss of utilisation, against the risks of fire, explosion, water damage, theft and other insured events, including force majeure; | |||
c) | insurance against glass breakage. If the lessor is the holder of an insurance policy covering the risk, the tenant must reimburse it for the portion of the insurance premium relating to the leased premises. Unless otherwise agreed, the lessors insurance does not cover the costs of restoring the signs and professional inscriptions shown on the windows and facades. | |||
d) | all other insurance policies mandatory by law. |
3. | The tenant is obligated to send the lessor a copy of the policies covering these risks. | |||
The tenant who breaches any of the preceding obligations runs the risk of early termination of the lease. | ||||
V. | EARLY TERMINATION EARLY RESTITUTION | |||
Art. 27 | ||||
Early termination of the lease | ||||
1. | This lease can be terminated by the lessor before its expiration in case of non-fulfilment of any of the terms of the lease, particularly: | |||
a) | in case of non-payment of the rent and/or the provisions for accessory fees (provisions for heating/hot water/air-conditioning/signage/etc.); | |||
b) | when the tenants conduct or that of any other person occupying the leased premises does not correspond to the respect due to the other residents of the building and the neighbours, goes against accepted standards of behaviour or, in a general manner, is likely to harm the orderliness and reputation of the building; | |||
c) | when the tenant has disregarded the lessors justified refusal concerning subleasing or when the lessors consent was not requested; | |||
d) | in case of violation of the obligations stipulated in this lease, in particular the obligation to provide a rent guarantee for an amount agreed by the parties; | |||
e) | if the agreed purpose or any other specific rule of operation is not adhered to. | |||
Formal notice | ||||
2. | A termination based on this provision supposes, as a general rule, a prior written formal notice from the lessor that was ineffective. | |||
Art. 28 | ||||
Early restitution of the property: principle | ||||
1. | When the tenant returns the property without observing the period or date of notice, it must inform the lessor in writing, indicating the date of restitution of the property and it must present at least one solvent tenant who is willing to take over the lease under the same conditions on the date of restitution of the property indicated by the tenant. In such a case, the tenant must give three months notice for the end of the month and send the lessor, within thirty days, a full file on the new tenant. This period of notice does not start running before the lessor is in possession of the new tenants application and the documents making it possible to assess its solvency. If the lessor has justified objections against the applicant, it must indicate the reasons for its refusal to the tenant within sixty days of receiving the file on the new tenant. | |||
Conditions | ||||
2. | The new tenant must take over the tenants obligations and in particular provide a new guarantee for the same amount and take out insurance policies covering the same risks. | |||
Choice of the lessor | ||||
3. | Under no circumstances can the lessor be obligated to accept to sign with the applicant proposed by the tenant. If the applicant fulfils the conditions cited under points 1 and 2, the tenant is then released from the lease for the date when it gave its notice. | |||
VI. | MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS | |||
Art. 29 | ||||
Exit condition report | ||||
1. | At the end of the lease, the tenant must return the premises and their annexes in the condition resulting from a use compliant with the lease agreement, with uses remaining reserved. | |||
2. | The premises must be returned clean. Before moving out, the tenant must repair any damage that it caused or that is not due to normal wear or normal use. |
3. | A condition report, also including the inventory and the statement of accessories, is drawn up in the presence of both parties, who will sign it on site, in two originals; one copy is immediately handed over to each of them. Said condition report is prepared in the empty premises. | |||
Art. 30 | ||||
Communications or notifications by the lessor | ||||
1. | Any communication or notification from the lessor to the tenant concerning the fulfilment and implementation of the lease is validly sent to it at the leased premises, it being the tenants responsibility to assure the delivery of the lessors correspondence under any circumstances, namely in case of absence. | |||
2. | Any communication or notification from the lessor that reaches the tenant at another address is also valid. | |||
By the tenant | ||||
3. | Any communication or notification from the tenant to the lessor concerning the fulfilment and implementation of the lease is validly sent to the domicile of its representative when it has one, or otherwise to the lessors own domicile. | |||
Art. 31 | ||||
Taxes, fees and charges | ||||
1. | Each party bears the stamp fee, for the original of the lease that it holds. | |||
2. | Invoices relating to utilisation of water, gas and electricity, and those related to telephone, fax and Internet use are borne by the tenant. The tenant is obligated to request the suppliers concerned to transfer to its name the subscriptions concerning such services. The installation of the metering equipment is also the tenants responsibility. The same is true for all other taxes, premiums, charges, etc. relating to the operation. | |||
3. | If VAT is introduced, the lessor can decide at any time to pass it on to the tenant as soon as the liability begins. | |||
Art. 32 | ||||
Sale of the building | ||||
If, in selling the building, the lessor obtains the commitment from the buyer to continue this lease until its expiration, the tenant releases it from any liability in its regard in the event that a subsequent buyer terminates the lease pursuant to Article 261 of the Code of Obligations. | ||||
Art. 33 | ||||
General provisions | ||||
The provisions of the Code of Obligations apply insofar as this lease and its annexes do not provide otherwise. |
Annex: 1 condition report
SPECIFIC TERMS
Art. 34 - Condition
The spaces are leased as is and were viewed and accepted as such by the tenant.
It took note of the fact that the lessor will not perform any work for refurbishing or for any other reason whatsoever.
Art. 35 Square metres
The rent was determined independently of the total surface area of the premises, which is provided for information only. Any differences that may result, more or less, in the calculation of the square metres of the premises thus would not give rise to any rent adjustment.
Art. 36 Authorizations
Any structural modification of the leased space shall be approved by the owner and will be borne by the tenant. The tenant will be liable for any application, any processing and receipt of the regulatory authorisations as well as the permits concerning or necessary for the occupancy and utilisation of the premises. The tenant will be obligated to provide proof to the owner that it has sufficient, appropriate insurance coverage.
Art. 37 Payment of rent
The parties agree that the tenant will pay rent each month in advance.
Art. 38 Incidental expenses
1. | The tenant directly assumes all incidental expenses resulting from the operation of its premises, in particular telephone expenses, the contracts on maintenance and upkeep of the technical installations requested by the tenant (additional ventilation, additional cooling, alarm or security system), expenses of cleaning its premises, fees for the cable TV network. It also directly assumes responsibility for the public contributions resulting from the use of its premises, insofar as they can be invoiced to it directly by the authorities; if such charges can be invoiced to it directly, it will indirectly bear the expense thereof in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 3 below. |
2. | The costs of the energy necessary to produce cold and heat in the building (such as in particular heating, hot water and cooled air preparation) are invoiced separately and in accordance with Articles 5 et seq. OBLF [Ordinance on the Lease and Usufructuary Lease of Residential and Business Premises]. These are in particular the expenses for: gas and fuel consumed, electricity utilised for the burners and pumps, cleaning of the heating installation and the chimney, periodic adjustment of the heating installation, handling of the heating, meter reading; maintenance and servicing of the equipment; insurance premiums relating exclusively to the heating installation; administrative work caused by the operation of the heating installation. Administrative expenses relating to the heating and hot water preparation installations (5 % excl. tax of the statement according to Article 5 OBLF). |
3. | The following incidental expenses are also borne by the tenant and are invoiced to it separately: |
(a) | Water: supplying of cold water, leasing of meters, servicing of meters, electricity for the shared sections, fee for filtering of wastewater and sewers; |
(b) | Cleaning of pipes, chutes, drains, etc. |
(c) | Electricity for the shared premises and facilities, including air circulation. |
(d) | Removal of waste, rubbish and removal fees. |
(e) | Cleaning of facades. |
(f) | Maintenance of waste compactor |
(g) | Exterior maintenance, cleaning/clearing of snow and defrosting, including salt/gardening. |
(h) | Maintenance and cleaning of interior and exterior shared sections and access surface areas. |
(i) | Security/alarms (maintenance of installations, contract for maintenance and interventions of security services). |
(j) | Telephone and intercom lines. |
(k) | Periodic maintenance contracts related in particular, for the shared areas of buildings CTN 8-18, to the lifts and freight lifts, automatic doors, locks, exterior shutters, security installations, ventilation and cooling systems, restrooms, fire detection, extinguishers. |
(l) | Management fees: 5 % excl. tax of the entire expenses (financial, lease-related, administrative and technical management, management of incidental expenses). |
(m) | Operating expenses of the building and the public contributions resulting from the use of the leased property (fees and charges for purification and filtering of wastewater, rubbish removal fee, fee for snow removal). |
(n) | Concierge service. The concierge service includes the on-site presence of the site managers during office hours, who can be reached by the tenants; this is the tenants point of contact for problems using the premises, manages technical emergencies, organises and coordinates the tasks of the contractors, management of the contracts for periodic maintenance, receives the contracting companies for estimates or performance of work, handles minor maintenance work for the shared sections, miscellaneous repairs, upkeep, etc. The concierge is the link with the contracting companies and is in charge of ordering the work (in particular CVS climate control, sanitation, electricity, security, communication, transport, cleaning, gardening). The concierge makes regular security rounds at the site of the CTN. |
(o) | Guarding/security service. |
Art. 39 - Additional services
In the event that the lessor provides an additional service in the meaning of Article 14 OBLF (e.g. work providing an increase in value), the lessor will be allowed, at the time of the next rent increase based on the progression of the Swiss consumer price index, to introduce a rent increase higher than the progression of the index, so as to take into account its additional service.
Art. 40 Increase in value at the end of the lease
At the end of the lease, if the leased premises show a considerable increase in value due to renovation or modification work performed by the tenant and accepted by the lessor, the tenant already now undertakes to waive any indemnification or claim of any kind whatsoever against the lessor for the work thus performed and potentially increasing the value of the leased premises.
Art. 41 Notice to the tenant
In case of delay in payment of the rent, the lessor is authorised to invoice the tenant fees of CHF 20.00 per reminder. In addition, the amounts owed by the tenant will bear interest at 5 % per year.
Art. 42 - Competition
The lessor does not assume any obligation due to competition that might be set against the tenants in their professional activity.
Art. 43 Equipment
The tenant takes responsibility for performing the work necessary to block the two accesses to the adjacent Addex areas (bay to be sealed and door to be blocked off according to the attached plan).
ObsEva SA becomes the owner and manager of the following equipment:
| the office and reception furniture, |
| the air-conditioning equipment Fujitsu AOY12ESAL gas R407C installed in the central meeting room, |
| the air extraction system with three extractors LHG KANALFLAKT AB type KVK 200 with outlets on the roof, |
| the IT cabinets, |
| the equipped cafeteria, |
| the switches situated in the IT room and |
| the safes |
The owner is released from responsibility for maintenance, replacement and repair of the equipment.
Art. 44 - Delay in finishing the work
It is specified that payment of the rent cannot be postponed in case of delay in finishing any fittings and fixtures work ordered by the tenant.
Art. 45 Glass breakage insurance
The tenant is obligated to take out a glass breakage insurance policy to cover the panes, signs as well as the inscriptions shown on the windows of the premises that it leases.
Art. 46 Signs
The signs of the company or advertising, if installed by the tenant, can be installed only with the prior consent of the lessor. The costs inherent in the installation, maintenance and consumption of energy, whatever they are and without limitation, will be borne by the tenant. The tenants signs shall not cause any nuisance for the other tenants and other users of the building.
Art. 47 - Garden
It is specified that the green spaces around the property are not part of the leased area. Consequently, the tenant is prohibited from making any use of them. In addition, the tenant is prohibited from using them for purposes of storage.
Executed and signed in duplicate in Thalwil, on
The lessor: | The tenant: | |||||||
/s/ Thomas Erdin |
/s/ Ernest Loumaye |
|||||||
Eldista GmbH, represented by ImmoDreiL AG | ObsEva SA | |||||||
Ernest Loumaye | ||||||||
CEO | ||||||||
Thalwil, 21 June 2013 |
LEASE-RELATED RULES AND USAGE
applied in the Canton of Geneva
I. TENANTS ENTRY
Entry condition report | ||
Art. 1 | The tenant declares to be fully familiar with the leased premises and annexes presently placed at its disposal and not to request any more thorough designation thereof; it accepts them for the duration of the lease in the condition in which it receives them and undertakes not to make any use thereof other than the use for which they are leased nor to modify the layout thereof. | |
At the entry of the tenant, a condition report, also including the inventory and the statement of accessories and furniture, is drawn up in two originals, in the presence of the parties, who sign it on site; one original is immediately handed over to each of them. | ||
It is an integral part of the lease. | ||
At the request of the tenant, the lessor gives it a copy of the condition report of the previous tenant. | ||
The lessor must inform the tenant of any defects that it knows of. | ||
Entry voucher | ||
Art. 2 | The tenant cannot move in before having paid the first month of rent and without having received the lessors written authorisation (entry voucher). | |
Meters | ||
Art. 3 | Consumption of electricity, gas and telephone costs being borne by the tenant, it requests, at its expense, the competent public utilities to put the facilities into operation, subject to the provisions applicable to furnished premises. | |
II. INSPECTION AND VIEWING OF THE PROPERTY | ||
Viewing | ||
Art. 4 | The tenant must authorise the lessor to inspect the property insofar as such examination is necessary for maintenance, sale or subsequent leasing. | |
Unless there is an emergency, when the owner must view or have the leased premises viewed, it will give the tenant five days notice and takes the tenants interests into account. | ||
That period is reduced to twenty-four hours in case of early restitution. | ||
The viewings can take place every day, except for Sundays and holidays. | ||
III. TENANTS DEPARTURE | ||
Exit condition report | ||
Art. 5 | At the end of the lease, the tenant must return the property in the condition resulting from a use compliant with the lease agreement, with uses remaining reserved. | |
On the day of expiration, the tenant returns the premises and their annexes. | ||
The premises must be returned clean. Before moving out, the tenant must repair any damage that it caused or that is not due to normal wear or normal use. | ||
A condition report, also including the inventory and the statement of accessories and furniture, is drawn up in the presence of both parties, who will sign it on site, in two originals: a copy is immediately handed over to each of them. Said condition report is drawn up in the empty premises if possible. | ||
IV. UTILISATION AND MAINTENANCE OF THE LEASED PROPERTY | ||
A. lessors obligations | ||
Delivery of the leased property | ||
Art. 6 | The lessor is obligated to deliver the property on the agreed date , in an appropriate condition, for which it was leased. | |
Expenses borne by the lessor | ||
Art. 7 | The lessor bears the expenses for: | |
a) | drafting of the lease and its amendments; | |
b) | repairs or refurbishing originating from normal wear of the property, subject to Articles 11 and 12 below; | |
c) | maintenance of the drainpipe, and removal of household waste disposed of in the shared receptacles provided for this purpose, it being specified that the removal of waste resulting from a commercial activity will be settled by mutual agreement; | |
d) | maintenance and drive of the lift; | |
e) | lighting of the stairwells, shared premises and approaches to the building; | |
f) | concierge service, if the building is provided with such a service; | |
g) | water used by the tenants (except for the water used for professional purposes) and treatment stations operation contribution. |
Operation of general services | ||||
Art. 8 | The lessor must ensure the proper operation of general services (water, lighting, heating, cooling, etc.) which exist in the building. In case of interruption, the lessor undertakes to make every effort to get them working again. | |||
Lessors liability | ||||
Art. 9 | The lessors liability is determined by the law as regards damage originating from a structural flaw or a lack of maintenance of the building. | |||
Work performed by the lessor | ||||
Art. 10 | Repairs | |||
After having been informed in writing by the lessor, the tenant cannot oppose the study and performance of any major or minor repairs that must be carried out in these premises or in the building, and any work or installations decided by the lessor. For this purpose, it must allow unrestricted access to the premises leased by it. | ||||
Renovation | ||||
When the lessor wants to renovate the property, it must inform the tenant sufficiently in advance and as soon as possible, unless there is an emergency, and give the tenant the opportunity to express its opinion and/or to request additional information. | ||||
B. Tenants obligations | ||||
Maintenance of the leased premises | ||||
Art. 11 | Once the tenant is in possession of the premises, the tenant is obligated to use them carefully and keep them clean and in good condition. The minor work for maintenance, cleaning and repair demanded by the normal utilisation of the leased property, falling to the tenant in accordance with the law, is the following in particular: | |||
a) | installing and removing the storm windows; | |||
b) | replacing broken or damaged panes; | |||
c) | maintaining the woodwork and floors (mechanical sanding is prohibited without the written consent of the lessor); the damage caused by stiletto heels, burns, scratches and substantial spots are not equated with normal wear; | |||
d) | replacing worn washers of faucets, tap swirls, hoses, worn switches, sockets and fuses, bulbs and fluorescent tubes; | |||
e) | changing the worn cords and drawstrings of roll shutters and blinds, even if they were worn when taking possession of the premises; | |||
f) | lowering the roll shutters in case of bad weather; | |||
g) | oiling the locks, hinges, doorjambs, windows, shutters, tent frames, etc.; | |||
h) | on-going maintenance of the plumbing installations , stoves, kitchen ranges, refrigerators, washing machines, electrical sockets and cords, etc. owned by the lessor; | |||
i) | unblocking ducts, pipes, drains up to the collective pipe; | |||
j) | keeping clean and removing snow or ice on balconies, glass canopies, verandas or sidewalks dependent on the leased premises; | |||
k) | reporting to the lessor the emergence of parasites or rodents such as bugs, cockroaches, mice, rats. The lessor will take all measures to exterminate them, at the expense of the tenant at fault, if necessary; the tenant cannot oppose the disinfecting of its premises when it is carried out in the general interest of the building; | |||
l) | have the sitting room chimneys and flue stacks swept, in accordance with legal stipulations; | |||
m) | maintain the paint in clean condition, washing and cleaning the kitchens, WCs and bathrooms on a regular basis; | |||
n) | for furnished lodging, keep in good condition the furniture, utensils and other objects placed at the tenants disposal. | |||
Art. 12 | A. Repairs | |||
Work performed by the tenant | ||||
The following are the tenants responsibility: all work to repair the leased property that the tenant ordered without the lessors written authorisation; the tenant must consequently pay the invoices. | ||||
The following remain reserved : | ||||
a) | cases of force majeure that are extremely urgent (fire, flood); | |||
b) | work intended to remedy a defect limiting without considerably impeding it the use of the leased property when the lessor has not eliminated said defect within a suitable period of time; | |||
c) | work that is the lessors responsibility, ordered by the judge. |
B. Renovations or modifications | ||||
When the tenant wants to renovate or modify the leased property, it must first request the lessors written consent while submitting the transformation plans and projects to the lessor. | ||||
The lessor must decide within thirty days | ||||
The lessor may request to be provided with a guarantee for the payment of the work planned. | ||||
The modifications, improvements or repairs cannot compromise the safety, cleanliness, aesthetics or the value of the building. | ||||
In addition, they must be compliant with the official regulatory or administrative stipulations. | ||||
Whatever work is carried out by the tenant, all fixed installations that result from it (gas pipes, water pipes, electrical conduits, pipes, wires, nameplates, frame strips, wallpaper, ringing units, locks, etc.) will remain in the building unless the lessor has reserved the right to demand the restoration of the premises to their prior condition. | ||||
Absence of the tenant | ||||
Art. 13 | In case of absence, the tenant will take all measures useful to prevent the occurrence, by its fault or negligence, in the leased premises or part of the building, of damage (in particular frost, water or gas leaks, fire, explosion, obstruction of pipes, chutes or rubbish chutes, falling of objects placed on windows or balconies, etc.). | |||
Access to the premises in an emergency | ||||
Art. 14 | If access to the leased premises is indispensable for the security of the building and the occupants, the lessor is authorised to enter it. In such a case, the tenant must be informed as soon as possible and the lessor is liable for any loss sustained by the tenant. | |||
The tenant will ensure that its premises are accessible in an emergency namely by leaving a key with the concierge or a neighbour. The tenant will inform the lessor of the measures taken. | ||||
Tenants liability | ||||
Art. 15 | The tenant is liable for itself, family members, employees, as well as any person permanently or temporarily present in the leased premises, for any damage occurring in the building as a result of misconduct, negligence or misuse. | |||
The tenant must report to the lessor without delay any defects that it is not obligated to correct by itself. | ||||
The tenant is liable for any damage resulting from failing to inform the lessor. | ||||
Civil protection | ||||
Art. 16. | The tenants must make use of the basements located in the civil protection shelters so that they can be assigned to civil protection at any time and as soon as possible. The installations such as special doors and ventilation equipment shall not under any circumstances be taken down or dismantled. If civil protection requests the evacuation of the basements, the tenant undertakes to remove without compensation the objects that are there. The lessor is not obligated to provide substitute premises, but undertakes to place the premises at the tenants disposal again as soon as their use by civil protection ends. | |||
C. Insurance | ||||
Civil liability | ||||
Art. 17. | The lessor and the tenant are obligated to take out an insurance policy covering the civil liability that they assume due to the lease. | |||
Fire and water damage | ||||
Art. 18 | The tenant will insure at its expense and for their value, against the risks of fire, explosion and water damage, the furnishings, cash, securities and merchandise, medals, jewellery and precious stones, collections, paintings and works of art, etc. that are in the leased premises or in the building. | |||
The tenant will solely bear the consequences of any non-fulfilment of this obligation, completely releasing the lessor. | ||||
V. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS | ||||
Cleanliness, security and tranquillity of the building |
||||
Art. 19 | In the interest of all of the tenants, it is prohibited to: | |||
a) | inconvenience the neighbours in any manner whatsoever, between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., any music and any noise likely to be perceived outside of the premises are prohibited; | |||
b) | make excessive use of noisy equipment, audio equipment (radio, TV, etc.) and musical instruments; use electric equipment without static elimination; | |||
c) | do laundry or hang clothes to dry (except for small linen) elsewhere besides in the premises intended for this use; such premises are reserved exclusively for the building tenants; | |||
d) | harm the attractiveness of the building by exposing laundry, bedclothes, furniture or any other object at the windows or balconies; | |||
e) | store hazardous goods or objects harmful to the building or that may inconvenience the neighbours; |
f) | store objects (motorbikes, bicycles, strollers, flower containers , furniture, etc.) in stairwells or outside of the locations reserved for this purpose. | |||
g) | feed pigeons, seagulls and other animals that may soil and damage the building; | |||
h) | throw anything out the windows or the balconies, shaking rugs, mats, brushes, brooms, dusters, etc., in the stairways and landings, at the windows or off the balconies; | |||
i) | remove sweepings or household rubbish elsewhere besides in the rubbish chutes, bins and other containers provided for this purpose; | |||
j) | use, in the annexes, basements, attics, etc. In addition to the existing fixed installation, means of lighting other than flashlights; | |||
k) | carry out noisy, soiling or dangerous work in the basements, stairways, accesses or approaches to the leased premises or the annexes to the building; | |||
l) | use excessive cold or hot water. | |||
Professional activities | ||||
Art. 20 | In leased as in residential premises, professional activities, even partial professional activities, are prohibited, unless otherwise agreed between the lessor and the tenant and subject to the necessary administrative authorisations. The tenant will then ensure that they do not harm the other tenants, neighbourhood or the building itself. | |||
Animals | ||||
Art. 21 | Keeping pets is well tolerated, on condition that they do not disturb the other tenants and do not harm the tranquillity and cleanliness of the building. | |||
Antennas and TV network | ||||
Art. 22 | The installation of outdoor antennas (radio, TV) must be authorised beforehand in writing by the lessor. | |||
If there is a collective antenna or a TV network installation, the tenant is obligated, at its expense, to connect its equipment to it in accordance with good practice. | ||||
The intervention expenses caused by a faulty connection are exclusively borne by the tenant at fault. | ||||
Lift | ||||
Art. 23 | The lift is reserved for transporting people, excluding unaccompanied children. Deterioration caused by any other use is borne by the person at fault. | |||
Rubbish chute | ||||
Art. 24 | Any object thrown into a chute must be carefully wrapped. It is prohibited to throw liquids, boxes, bottles, hot ashes, etc. | |||
The tenant must dispose of boxes and newspapers, bottles and flowers, etc. And, generally speaking, all objects that may obstruct the rubbish chute, in the appropriate location. | ||||
Laundry | ||||
Art. 25 | The tenant will use the laundry room and the driers on fixed days; it must comply with the regulations displayed. The energy utilised by all equipment, the maintenance, the usual amortisation, as well as the hot water used are borne by the tenant, unless otherwise agreed. | |||
Cleaning of the building | ||||
Art. 26 | If there is no concierge service, the tenants are obligated to carefully and regularly clean the passages, stairways, courtyards, corridors and shared annexes and to provide for the removal of household and other waste. | |||
Dirtiness due to the tenant | ||||
Art. 27 | Even if there is a concierge service, the tenant will clean and restore the passage, the stairway, the lift and shared premises, as well as their accesses, when they have been soiled or worsened by the tenant or its suppliers (supplies, transport, moving in, moving out, etc.) or by pets that it keeps. | |||
Plants and flowers | ||||
Art. 28 | It is prohibited to place containers containing plants or flowers on the outside of the balconies or the facade. Tenants who decorate the inside of their balconies or windows with plants or flowers are obligated to take all measures to avoid inconveniencing the other tenants, deteriorating the facade or causing accidents. | |||
Address plates | ||||
Art. 29 | Address plates of doorbells, letter boxes or auxiliary boxes, etc., according to the model and colour determined by the lessor are the tenants responsibility. | |||
Regulations | ||||
Art. 30 | Tenants must obey the regulations that may be displayed in the building. | |||
Tents | ||||
Art. 31 | The installation, maintenance and replacement of tents are the responsibility of the tenants, who must adhere to the model and colour chosen by the lessor. However, the lessor cannot obligate the tenant to install them. | |||
For aesthetic reasons, the lessor may require the elimination of damaged canvasses.
|
The collective French-Swiss provisions, declared mandatory as of 1 December 2001, are shown in italics in these general conditions and lease-related rules and usages. |
GARAGE RENTAL LEASE AGREEMENT
Contractual references: 818-57-04
I. SPECIFIC CONDITIONS
Property | : | Chemin des Aulx 8 18, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates | ||||||||
Lessor |
: | Eldista GmbH | ||||||||
Represented by |
: | ImmoDreiL AG, Sonnenbergstrasse 67, 8800 Thalwil | ||||||||
Tenant |
: | ObsEva SA, currently domiciled at Chemin des Aulx 12, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates | ||||||||
Object of the lease |
: | Two indoor parking spaces on the second sublevel of | ||||||||
CTN 14 and Rue Centrale | ||||||||||
Number |
: | 531, 532 | ||||||||
Duration of the lease |
: | Indefinite, with three months notice from the two parties | ||||||||
Start of the lease |
: | 1 August 2014 | ||||||||
Renewal |
: | None | ||||||||
Period/notice of termination |
: | Three months | ||||||||
Rent (CHF) unit price |
: | CHF 200.00 (per month) | ||||||||
Rent (CHF) for two spaces |
: | Annual | Quarterly | Monthly | ||||||
4,800.00 | 1,200.00 | 400.00 |
Subject to VAT which will be borne by the tenant |
The rent is set in the following manner:
a. | The annual rent of CHF 4,800.00 (CHF 200.00/space/per month) is considered to be adjusted to the official Swiss consumer price index which will be established in June 2014 at 99.4 points (December 2010 base = 100) . |
b. | The tenant is exempt from rent from 1 August until 31 October 2014. As of 1 November 2014 the above-indicated rent is due. |
(The General Conditions are on page 2 and the subsequent pages)
II. GENERAL CONDITIONS
Art. 1 Object of the lease
The lessor lets to the tenant, which accepts, under the conditions stipulated in this lease, the space (lock-up, compartment):
The space is intended for parking a motor vehicle to the exclusion of any other purpose.
The tenant declares to be fully familiar with the leased space and not to request any more thorough designation thereof. It accepts it as is and undertakes not to make any use thereof other than the use for which it was leased.
Art. 2. Method of payment of the rent
The rent is payable each month in advance to the domicile of the lessor or to its postal or bank account.
When the tenant is more than ten days late making a monthly payment, and was the subject of a written formal notice which was ineffective, the lessor may demand that the rent be settled each quarter in advance, as of the month after the expiration of the period set in the formal notice. For any justified reminder, the lessor is authorised to collect reminder expenses of CHF 20.00 excl. tax from the tenant.
Art. 3. Applicable provisions
This agreement is subject to the provisions of the Code of Obligations (Art. 253 et seq.).
For the rest, the General Conditions and lease-related rules and usages applied in the Canton of Geneva (standard rental lease for apartments, 2010 edition) and the General Conditions for commercial premises (2010 edition) are applicable, subject to the exceptions below.
Art. 4. Duration of the lease, termination, renewal, modification
At least one month before the expiration of the lease, the parties will inform each other in writing of their intentions concerning its termination.
The duration is indefinite and without renewal.
Art. 5. Form of termination
Termination of the lease must take place, for the tenant as for the lessor, in writing.
If the garage is leased jointly with residential or commercial premises, the lessor must notify the termination using the official form approved by the Canton and stipulated by the law.
Art. 6. Increase in the rent or modification of the agreement
If the lessor intends to increase the rent or to modify the agreement at the expiration of the lease, it must inform the tenant in writing. However, if the lease is entered into jointly together with residential or commercial premises, it must use the official form approved by the canton and stipulated by the law.
Art. 7. Early termination or restitution by the tenant
a) Garage leased independently of residential or commercial premises:
When the tenant returns the property without observing the period or date of notice, it must inform the lessor in writing, indicating the date of return of the property and introduce to the lessor at least one solvent tenant who is willing to take over the lease under the current conditions on the date of return indicated by the tenant. It must give written notice of at least thirty days for the end of the month. If the lessor has justified objections against the applicant, it must indicate the reasons for its refusal to the tenant without delay.
The lessor cannot be obligated to sign with the person proposed by the tenant, it being specified that the tenant is nevertheless released from the obligations resulting from its lease on the date for which it gave notice in compliance with the above-defined requirements.
The tenant cannot transfer this right to third parties and is obligated to comply with the rules on using the facility.
b) Garage leased together with residential or commercial premises:
Termination takes place independently of the termination of the primary premises lease.
Art. 8. Just causes for early termination
This lease can be terminated before its expiration:
By the lessor
a) In case of non-payment of the rent due:
If the garage is leased independently, the lessor gives the tenant a period of ten days, informing it that failing payment within this period, it will terminate the lease with a period of ten days for the end of a month;
If the garage is leased together with residential or commercial premises, the lessor will proceed in the same way as above but adhering to the periods established in the standard lease for residential or commercial premises, depending on the type of property with which it is leased.
b) When the conduct of the tenant or a person living with that person gives rise to justified complaints:
If the garage is leased independently, the lessor may terminate the lease, after prior written notice, effective immediately;
If the garage is leased together with residential or commercial premises, the lessor may terminate the lease, after prior written notice, giving thirty days notice for the end of the month. If the tenant voluntarily causes serious harm to the leased property, the notice can be given effective immediately.
By the tenant
Under the same conditions as those cited in the standard lease for residential premises, if it is leased independently or in connection with residential premises;
Under the conditions set out in the standard lease for commercial leases, if it is leased with this type of property.
Art. 9. Sublease
The tenant cannot sublet the property without the prior written consent of the lessor, indicating the conditions of the sublease and the information required by the lessor in accordance with Article 262 of the Code of Obligations.
The lessor must decide within thirty days.
Art. 10. Transfer of the lease
The tenant can only transfer the lease with the lessors written consent.
Art. 11. Maintenance of the leased premises
Once in possession of the garage or the parking space, the tenant is obligated to use it carefully and keep it in clean condition.
Any repair resulting from misuse of the space leased is borne by the tenant.
In addition, the tenant is prohibited from:
a) storing in the leased space fuel or any other substance spreading odour or vapours that are flammable or hazardous;
b) inconveniencing the neighbours by noise or any other cause;
c) using the current for heating, charging the battery, etc., if the space is provided with electrical lighting;
d) parking on the access-ways leading to the various spaces;
e) using the garage or the parking space for purposes other than parking a vehicle.
Washing and servicing of vehicles are authorised only insofar as a parking space is fitted out for this purpose; the tenant cannot transfer this right to third parties and is obligated to comply with the regulations for using the facility.
Art. 12. Fire and water damage
The tenant will insure at its expense and for their value, against the risks of fire, explosion, water damage and theft with break-in, the vehicle and its accessories located in the leased space.
The tenant will solely bear the consequences of any breach of this obligation, fully releasing the lessor.
Art. 13. Inapplicable provisions
The following provisions of the General Conditions and Lease-related Rules and Usages applied in the Canton of Geneva for apartments (2010 edition) are not applicable to this lease: Articles 23 to 26; 29; 32 let. b, c, e, f and g; 43 let. c, d, f, g, h and m; 45; 46; 48; 49; 52; 53; 55.
If a garage is leased together with commercial premises, the following provisions of the General Conditions for commercial premises (2010 edition) are not applicable to this lease: Art. 1 para. 8; 2 para. 2; 6 to 18.
Art. 14. Jurisdiction
Regardless of the current or future domicile of the parties, they declare, for themselves and for their heirs or legal beneficiaries, to acknowledge without reservation the exclusive jurisdiction of the Geneva courts and the Swiss Federal Court to decide any legal dispute concerning this lease.
If the garage is leased independently or together with commercial premises, the parties declare, regardless of their present or future domicile, for themselves and for their heirs or legal beneficiaries, to acknowledge without reservation, to decide any legal dispute concerning this lease, the jurisdiction:
(Tick the box corresponding to the parties intention)
* | of the Leases and Rents Mediation Commission; the Geneva courts and the Swiss Federal Court. |
* | the Mediator in accordance with the regulations on Mediation and the CONSTRUCTION + REAL ESTATE arbitral tribunal published by the Geneva real estate associations (2007 edition). |
* | the Geneva CONSTRUCTION + REAL ESTATE arbitral tribunal in accordance with the Regulations on Mediation and the CONSTRUCTION + REAL ESTATE arbitral tribunal (2007 edition) published by the Geneva real estate associations, to the exclusion of the ordinary courts. |
* | the Mediator, and then the Arbitral Tribunal, if Mediation fails, in accordance with the Regulations on Mediation and the CONSTRUCTION + REAL ESTATE arbitral tribunal (2007 edition) published by the Geneva real estate associations, to the exclusion of the ordinary courts. |
It is specified that the option to submit the legal dispute to the method of mediation and/or arbitration does not apply, as regards rents, to buildings subject to the LGL (General Law on Lodging and Tenant Protection).
It is specified that ad-hoc official forms must be used depending on whether the option to submit the legal dispute to the method of mediation and/or arbitration was chosen.
Annexes:
* | Plan of the parking spaces. |
The tenant | ||||
Represented by the person of (surnames and first names) | ||||
/s/ Ernest LOUMAYE, CEO |
/s/ Fabien De Ladonchamps |
|||
Ernest Loumaye | Fabien De Ladonchamps | |||
Director France |
ObsEva SA
Signed in Geneva, in duplicate, on 21 July 2014
The lessor
Represented by the person of (surnames and first names)
[illegible signature] 28/07/2014
Eldista GmbH c/o ImmoDreiL AG
Signed in Geneva, in duplicate, on [illegible]
Sortie de secours = emergency exit
2 nouveaux groupes production de froid =
2 new cooling plants
CTN 14
2 nd sublevel
Parking spaces
27 February 2013
Scale:1 / 200 °
Amendment 2
to lease 818-57-02 of 28 June 2013
between | ||
Eldista GmbH | Lessor | |
c/o Interexperts SA | ||
Rue des Pierres-du-Niton 17 | ||
1201 Geneva |
represented by ImmoDreiL AG, Sonnenbergerstrasse 67, 8800 Thalwil
and | ||
ObsEva SA | Tenant | |
Chemin des Aulx 12 | ||
1228 Plan-les-Ouates |
represented by Messrs Ernest Loumaye and De Ladonchamps
concerning
61 m2 on the second floor, Chemin des Aulx 12, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates.
1 December 2014
Amendment 2
to Rental Lease 818-57-02 of 28 June 2013
Table of Contents
1. |
Foreword |
1 | ||||
2. |
Object of lease |
1 | ||||
3. |
Rent-free period |
2 | ||||
4. |
Start/duration of lease, guarantee, renewal and termination |
2 | ||||
5. |
Additional clauses |
2 | ||||
6. |
Plan |
3 |
Amendment 2
to Rental Lease 818-57-02 of 28 June 2013
1. | Foreword |
ObsEva SA is among the tenants of CTN, Chemin des Aulx 8-18, 1228 Plan-les-Ouates.
Through this amendment, the parties agree to settle the following points:
| Object of lease |
| Start/duration of lease, guarantee, renewal and termination |
| Additional clauses |
The other provisions of the lease remain unchanged. The verbal agreements are excluded. All (possible) additional adaptations or modifications of this agreement must be in writing.
2. | Subject of lease |
Ref. No. |
Location
CTN 12 |
Purpose of
lease |
m2/pp No. |
Net initial and current rent,
expenses and incidentals |
||||||||||||
CHF/month |
Total CHF/
per year |
|||||||||||||||
818-57-02 | 2 nd floor | Office | 61 | 1,525.00 | 18,300.00 | |||||||||||
818-57-02 | 1 st sublevel | Parking space | 531 | 200.00 | 2,400.00 | |||||||||||
Net total rent / year | 20,700.00 | |||||||||||||||
Charge for heating/hot water - provisional advance payment | 91.50 | 1,098.00 | ||||||||||||||
Other expenses and incidentals - provisional advance payment | 203.33 | 2,440.00 | ||||||||||||||
Gross total rent (excluding VAT)/year | 24,238.00 |
1
Amendment 2
to Rental Lease 818-57-02 of 28 June 2013
3. | Rent-free period |
The tenant is given six months rent-free (excluding parking spaces and charges)
i.e., CHF 9,150.00 rebate.
4. | Start/duration of lease, guarantee, renewal and termination |
The lease starts on 1 January 2015.
At least six months before the end of the lease, the parties must inform each other in writing of their intention to terminate or renew it; their silence in this regard is considered acceptance to continue it for a period of five years, with all conditions of this lease remaining in force, and so forth, from one five year period to the next as of the end of the first period of the agreement from 1 July 2018.
To guarantee the performance of the obligations that it accepts under this lease and its renewals, the tenant provides to the lessor, at the signing of the lease agreement, a bank guarantee for CHF 10,350, which corresponds to six months of rent.
5 | Additional clauses |
The tenant assumes responsibility for the fittings and fixtures work related to its needs.
The spaces are leased as is and were viewed and accepted as such by the tenant. Any structural modification of the leased space must be approved by the owner and will be the tenants responsibility.
All equipment currently present in the premises (electrical appliances, AC, etc.) are transferred amicably by the departing tenant. The owner is not responsible for maintaining and repairing them. At the end of the lease, if said equipment no longer functions or no longer exists, the tenant cannot be held liable since the tenant is the owner of this equipment.
The tenant will be obligated to provide the owner with proof that it has sufficient, appropriate insurance coverage.
2
Amendment 2
to Rental Lease 818-57-02 of 28 June 2013
6. | Plan |
Passerelle = walkway
Bureau = office
Reunion = meeting
Serveur = server
3
Amendment 2
to Rental Lease 818-57-02 of 28 June 2013
Place, date
Eldista GmbH c/o Interexperts SA
ImmoDreiL AG | Signature | |||
Place, date |
[illegible] 18/12/2014 |
ObsEva SA |
/s/ Fabien De Ladonchamps |
Mr Fabien De Ladonchamps |
/s/ Ernest Loumaye |
Mr Ernest Loumaye |
4
Exhibit 21.1
ObsEva SA
List of Subsidiaries
Subsidiary |
Jurisdiction | |
ObsEva USA, Inc. | Delaware | |
ObsEva Ireland Limited | Ireland |
Exhibit 23.1
CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
We hereby consent to the use in this Registration Statement on Form F-1 of ObsEva SA of our report dated December 27, 2016 relating to the consolidated financial statements, which appears in such Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to us under the headings Experts in such Registration Statement.
PricewaterhouseCoopers SA
/s/ Michael Foley | /s/ Corinne Pointet Chambettaz | |
Michael Foley | Corinne Pointet Chambettaz |
Geneva, Switzerland
December 30, 2016
PricewaterhouseCoopers SA, avenue Giuseppe-Motta 50, Case postale, CH-1211 Genève 2, Switzerland Telephone: +41 58 792 91 00, Facsimile: +41 58 792 91 10, www.pwc.ch |
||
PricewaterhouseCoopers SA is a member of the global PricewaterhouseCoopers network of firms, each of which is a separate and independent legal entity. |
Divakar Gupta (212) 479-6474 dgupta@cooley.com |
Exhibit 99.1
VIA EDGAR |
December 5, 2016
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
Division of Corporation Finance
100 F Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20549
Attn: | Ms. Suzanne Hayes |
Ms. Mary Beth Breslin
Mr. Scot Foley
Re: | ObsEva SA |
Confidential Draft Registration Statement on Form F-1
Submitted December 5, 2016
CIK No. 0001685316
Ladies and Gentlemen:
On behalf of our client, ObsEva SA (the Company ), and in connection with a proposed initial public offering ( IPO ) of the Companys common shares, we hereby respectfully request that the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission ) waive the requirement of Item 8.A.4 of Form 20-F, which states that in the case of a companys IPO, the Registration Statement on Form F-1 must contain audited financial statements of a date not older than 12 months from the date of the offering unless a waiver is obtained. See also Division of Corporation Finance, Financial Reporting Manual , Section 6220.3.
At the time of the submission of the Companys revised draft Registration Statement on December 5, 2016 (the Amended DRS ), the Amended DRS satisfies Item 8.A.4 of Form 20-F, which is applicable to the Amended DRS pursuant to Item 4(a) of Form F-1, because it contains audited financial statements for the two years ended December 31, 2014 and 2015 and unaudited financial statements for the nine months ended September 30, 2015 and 2016, in each case prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board. However, the Company anticipates filing amendments to the Amended DRS after December 31, 2016 containing the same financial statements as those that are contained in the Amended DRS because its audited financial statements will not be available at the anticipated time of such filings.
The Company is submitting this waiver request pursuant to Instruction 2 to Item 8.A.4 of Form 20-F, which provides that the Commission will waive the 12-month age of financial statements requirement in cases where the company is able to represent adequately to us that it is not required to comply with this requirement in any other jurisdiction outside the United States and that complying with this requirement is impracticable or involves undue hardship. See also the 2004 release entitled International Reporting and Disclosure Issues in the Division of Corporation Finance (available on the Commissions website at:
December 5, 2016
Page 2
http://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/internatl/cfirdissues1104.htm) at Section III.B.c, in which the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance notes that:
the instruction indicates that the staff will waive the 12-month requirement where it is not applicable in the registrants other filing jurisdictions and is impracticable or involves undue hardship. As a result, we expect that the vast majority of IPOs will be subject only to the 15-month rule. The only times that we anticipate audited financial statements will be filed under the 12-month rule are when the registrant must comply with the rule in another jurisdiction, or when those audited financial statements are otherwise readily available. (emphasis added)
In connection with this request, we, as counsel to the Company, represent to the Commission that:
1. The Company is not currently a public reporting company in any other jurisdiction.
2. The Company is not required by any jurisdiction outside the United States to prepare, and has not prepared, financial statements audited under any generally accepted auditing standards for any interim period.
3. Compliance with Item 8.A.4 is impracticable and involves undue hardship for the Company.
4. The Company does not anticipate that its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2016 will be available until March 2017.
5. In no event will the Company seek effectiveness of the Registration Statement on Form F-1 if its audited financial statements are older than 15 months at the time of the offering.
The Company is filing this letter as an exhibit to the Amended DRS pursuant to Instruction 2 to Item 8.A.4 of Form 20-F.
* * * *
Please direct any questions concerning this letter to either the undersigned at (212) 479-6474, Nicole Brookshire at (617) 937-2357 or Charles S. Kim at (858) 550-6049.
Very truly yours,
/s/ Divakar Gupta
Divakar Gupta
cc: | Ernest Loumaye, ObsEva SA |
Nicole Brookshire, Cooley LLP
Charles S. Kim, Cooley LLP