UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

FORM 10-Q

 

 

 

Quarterly Report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2020

OR

 

Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

For the transition period from                      to                     .

Commission File Number: 001-37490

 

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

 

Delaware   20-0138994

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

Sierra Oncology, Inc.

c/o 2150 – 885 West Georgia Street

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 3E8

(Address of principal executive offices and zip code)

(604) 558-6536

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Not Applicable

(Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last report)

 

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of each class

 

Trading

Symbol(s)

 

Name of each exchange

on which registered

Common Stock, $0.001 par value   SRRA   The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days:    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer      Accelerated filer  
Non-accelerated filer      Smaller reporting company  
     Emerging growth company  

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

As of August 3, 2020, there were 10,395,732 shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding.

 

 

 


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page  
Part I. Financial Information

 

Item 1. Condensed Consolidated Financial  Statements (unaudited)

  

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

     2  

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

     3  

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity

     4  

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

     5  

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

     6  

Item  2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

     16  

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

     24  

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

     24  
Part II. Other Information

 

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

     25  

Item 1A. Risk Factors

     25  

Item  2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

     61  

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

     61  

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

     61  

Item 5. Other Information

     61  

Item 6. Exhibits

     61  

Signatures

     62  

 


SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (Quarterly Report) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (Exchange Act), and section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (Securities Act). All statements contained in this Quarterly Report other than statements of historical fact are “forward-looking statements” for purposes of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our current and future nonclinical and clinical development activities, anticipated impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, efficacy and safety profile of our product candidates, expected timing and results of clinical trials, expected timing of the execution of, and expected results from, non-dilutive strategic options, collaborations with third parties, the receipt and timing of potential regulatory designations, approvals and commercialization of product candidates, future results of operations and financial position, business strategy and plans, market size, potential growth opportunities and our objectives for future operations. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “potentially,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “could,” “would,” “project,” “plan” “expect,” and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes are intended to identify forward-looking statements.

We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, short-term and long-term business operations and objectives and financial needs. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described in the “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment, and new risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this report may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee that the future results, levels of activity, performance or events and circumstances reflected in the forward-looking statements will be achieved or occur. We undertake no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations, except as required by law. You should read this Quarterly Report with the understanding that our actual future results, levels of activity, performance and events and circumstances may be materially different from what we expect.

As used in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the terms “Sierra Oncology,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Sierra Oncology, Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries taken as a whole, unless otherwise noted. Sierra Oncology is our registered trademark. The “Sierra Oncology” logo and all product names are our common law trademarks. This Quarterly Report may contain additional trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies, which are the property of their respective owners. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names, trademarks or service marks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, these other companies.

 

1


PART I

 

ITEM 1.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (UNAUDITED)

SIERRA ONCOLOGY, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(unaudited)

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

 

     June 30,
2020
    December 31,
2019
 

ASSETS

    

CURRENT ASSETS:

    

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 123,233     $ 147,528  

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

     1,392       2,369  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current assets

     124,625       149,897  

Property and equipment, net

     97       113  

Operating lease right-of-use asset

     504       589  

Other assets

     667       729  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

TOTAL ASSETS

   $ 125,893     $ 151,328  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

    

CURRENT LIABILITIES:

    

Accrued and other liabilities

   $ 6,698     $ 7,170  

Accounts payable

     1,983       1,019  

Deferred revenue

     300       —    

Warrant liabilities

     —         45,935  

Securities issuance obligation

     —         10,485  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

     8,981       64,609  

Operating lease liability

     261       374  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

TOTAL LIABILITIES

     9,242       64,983  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Commitments and Contingencies (Note 8)

    

STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY:

    

Preferred stock, $0.001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019; nil shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2020 and 103,000 shares of Series A convertible voting preferred stock issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2019

     —         1  

Common stock, $0.001 par value; 500,000,000 shares authorized as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019; 10,395,732 and 1,867,176 shares issued and outstanding as of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019

     10       74  

Additional paid-in capital

     930,702       851,957  

Accumulated deficit

     (814,061     (765,687
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

     116,651       86,345  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

   $ 125,893     $ 151,328  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

2


SIERRA ONCOLOGY, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

(unaudited)

(in thousands, except share and per share data)

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
    Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2020     2019     2020     2019  

Operating expenses:

        

Research and development

   $ 10,189     $ 11,728     $ 21,780     $ 21,865  

General and administrative

     6,260       3,479       10,804       6,844  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     16,449       15,207       32,584       28,709  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss from operations

     (16,449     (15,207     (32,584     (28,709

Other income (expense), net:

        

Changes in fair value of warrant liabilities

     —         —         (16,240     —    

Other income (expense), net

     (24     348       517       673  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total other income (expense), net

     (24     348       (15,723     673  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Loss before provision for (benefit from) income taxes, net

     (16,473     (14,859     (48,307     (28,036

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes, net

     (11     19       67       (126
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss and comprehensive loss

   $ (16,462   $ (14,878   $ (48,374   $ (27,910
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net loss per common share, basic and diluted

   $ (1.58   $ (7.97   $ (4.71   $ (14.97
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Weighted-average shares used in computing net loss per common share, basic and diluted

     10,395,732       1,867,207       10,276,180       1,864,684  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

3


SIERRA ONCOLOGY, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity

(unaudited)

(in thousands, except share data)

 

     Series A Convertible
Voting

Preferred Stock
    Common Stock     Additional
Paid-In
Capital
    Accumulated
Deficit
    Total
Stockholders’
Equity
 
     Shares     Amount     Shares      Amount                    

Balance—December 31, 2019

     103,000     $ 1       1,867,176      $ 74     $ 851,957     $ (765,687   $ 86,345  

Conversion of Series A convertible voting preferred stock to common stock

     (103,000     (1     7,803,273        8       (7     —         —    

Reclassification of warrant liabilities to equity

     —         —         —          —         62,175       —         62,175  

Issuance of common stock in connection with an amendment to the asset purchase agreement

     —         —         725,283        1       8,781       —         8,782  

Issuance of warrant in connection with an amendment to the asset purchase agreement

     —         —         —          —         3,188       —         3,188  

Stock-based compensation

     —         —         —          —         918       —         918  

Reverse stock split adjustment

     —         —         —          (73     73       —         —    

Net loss

     —         —         —          —         —         (31,912     (31,912
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance—March 31, 2020

     —         —         10,395,732        10       927,085       (797,599     129,496  

Stock-based compensation

     —         —         —          —         3,617       —         3,617  

Net loss

     —         —         —          —         —         (16,462     (16,462
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance—June 30, 2020

     —       $ —         10,395,732      $ 10     $ 930,702     $ (814,061   $ 116,651  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

     Common Stock      Additional
Paid-In
Capital
     Accumulated
Deficit
    Total
Stockholders’
Equity
 
     Shares      Amount                      

Balance—December 31, 2018

     1,859,120      $ 74      $ 771,817      $ (677,412   $ 94,479  

Issuance of common stock for exercise of stock options

     8,056        —          445        —         445  

Stock-based compensation

     —          —          1,699        —         1,699  

Net loss

     —          —          —          (13,032     (13,032
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance—March 31, 2019

     1,867,176      $ 74      $ 773,961      $ (690,444   $ 83,591  

Stock-based compensation

     —          —          1,758        —         1,758  

Net loss

     —          —          —          (14,878     (14,878
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance—June 30, 2019

     1,867,176      $ 74      $ 775,719      $ (705,322   $ 70,471  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

4


SIERRA ONCOLOGY, INC.

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(unaudited)

(in thousands)

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2020     2019  

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:

    

Net loss

   $ (48,374   $ (27,910

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:

    

Changes in fair value of warrant liabilities

     16,240       —    

Securities issuance obligation

     1,485       —    

Stock-based compensation

     4,535       3,457  

Depreciation and amortization

     113       126  

Other

     74       (4

Changes in operating assets and liabilities:

    

Prepaid expenses and other assets

     972       (1,071

Accrued, other and operating lease liabilities

     (546     (2,136

Accounts payable

     976       (84

Deferred revenue

     300       —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in operating activities

     (24,225     (27,622
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:

    

Purchase of property and equipment

     (12     (19
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash used in investing activities

     (12     (19
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:

    

Proceeds from exercise of common stock options

     —         445  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Net cash provided by financing activities

     —         445  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Effect of foreign exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

     (58     (19

NET DECREASE IN CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH

     (24,295     (27,215

CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH — Beginning of period

     147,828       106,346  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND RESTRICTED CASH — End of period

   $ 123,533     $ 79,131  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:

    

Cash paid for (refund of) income taxes, net

   $ 14     $ (21
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Cash paid for interest

   $ —       $ 163  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF NON-CASH INVESTING AND FINANCING INFORMATION:

    

Issuance of common stock and common stock warrant in connection with an amendment to the asset purchase agreement

   $ 11,970     $ —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Reclassification of warrant liabilities to equity

   $ 62,175     $ —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Right-of-use asset obtained in exchange for operating lease obligation

   $ —       $ 771  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Unpaid deferred financing costs in accrued and other liabilities

   $ 15     $ —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.

 

5


SIERRA ONCOLOGY, INC.

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(unaudited)

 

1.

The Company and Basis of Presentation

Organization and Description of Business

Sierra Oncology, Inc. (together with its subsidiaries, collectively referred to as the “Company”), a Delaware corporation, is a late stage drug development company focused on advancing its product candidate, momelotinib, a potent, selective and orally-bioavailable JAK1 (Janus kinase 1), JAK2 (Janus kinase 2) and ACVR1 (Activin A receptor type 1) inhibitor with a potentially differentiated therapeutic profile for the treatment of myelofibrosis. Momelotinib has been investigated in two completed Phase 3 clinical trials for the treatment of myelofibrosis and has demonstrated a potentially differentiated therapeutic profile encompassing anemia-related clinical benefits, as well as achieving constitutional symptom control benefits and substantive splenic volume reductions. The Company’s portfolio also includes SRA737, a potent, highly selective, orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1), a promising target for the treatment of cancer which has a key role in the DNA Damage Response (DDR). The Company is currently focusing its resources on the development of momelotinib and exploring options to support any future continued development of SRA737.

The Company’s primary activities since inception have been conducting research and development activities, conducting preclinical and clinical testing, recruiting personnel, performing business and financial planning, identifying and evaluating additional drug candidates for potential in-licensing or acquisition, and raising capital to support development activities.

The Company has not generated any product revenue related to its primary business purpose to date, nor has it generated any net income, and is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, which include dependence on key individuals, the need to identify and successfully develop commercially viable products, the need to obtain regulatory approval for its products and commercialize them, and the need to obtain adequate additional financing to fund the development of momelotinib.

As of June 30, 2020, the Company had $123.2 million of cash and cash equivalents. The Company believes that its balance of cash and cash equivalents as of the date of the issuance of these condensed consolidated financial statements is sufficient to fund its current operational plan for at least the next twelve months though it may pursue raising additional capital through equity financings or other arrangements.

Reverse Stock Split

On January 21, 2020, the Company’s shareholders approved an amendment to the Company’s certificate of incorporation to effect a reverse split of the Company’s common stock (Reverse Stock Split). On January 21, 2020, the Company’s board of directors approved the specific ratio for the Reverse Stock Split, which became effective on January 22, 2020, at 1-for-40. The authorized shares and par value of the common and preferred stock were not adjusted as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. All issued and outstanding common stock, warrants for common stock, options for common stock and per share amounts contained in the condensed consolidated financial statements have been retroactively adjusted to reflect this Reverse Stock Split for all periods presented.

 

2.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding interim financial reporting. Accordingly, they do not include all the information and notes required for complete financial statements and should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, filed with the SEC on March 3, 2020. There were no significant changes to the accounting policies during the six months ended June 30, 2020 from the significant accounting policies described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements in the 2019 Form 10-K. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.

These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosure have been prepared on the same basis as the annual consolidated financial statements and reflect, in the opinion of management, all adjustments of a normal and recurring nature

 

6


that are necessary for the fair presentation of the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements included in this report. The condensed consolidated results of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2020, or for any other future annual or interim period. The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2019 included herein was derived from the audited consolidated financial statements as of that date.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the condensed consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of expense during the reporting period. Significant estimates and assumptions made in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to the fair value of stock options and the warrant issued, fair value of the securities issuance obligation, accruals such as research and development costs, and recoverability of the Company’s net deferred tax assets and related valuation allowance. The Company evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors and adjusts those estimates and assumptions when facts and circumstances dictate. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates.

 

3.

Net Loss Per Share

Basic net loss per share is calculated by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common stock outstanding during the period without consideration for common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of common stock equivalents outstanding for the period determined using the treasury-stock method. For purposes of this calculation, stock options and warrants for common stock are considered to be common stock equivalents and are only included in the calculation of diluted net loss per share when their effect is dilutive.

The following shares of common stock equivalents were excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share for the periods presented because including them would have been antidilutive:

 

     June 30,
2020
     June 30,
2019
 

Series A warrants for common stock

     7,802,241        —    

Series B warrants for common stock

     2,574,727        —    

Options to purchase common stock

     2,351,055        331,469  

Warrants for common stock

     727,122        1,839  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total potential dilutive shares

     13,455,145        333,308  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

4.

Fair Value Measurements

The Company measures and reports its cash equivalents, restricted cash, warrant liabilities and securities issuance obligation at fair value. The following table sets forth the fair value of the Company’s financial assets measured on a recurring basis by level within the fair value hierarchy:

 

     June 30, 2020  
     Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  
     (in thousands)  

Financial Assets

  

Money market funds

   $ 120,977      $ —        $ —        $ 120,977  

Restricted money market funds

     300        —          —          300  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial assets

   $ 121,277      $ —        $ —        $ 121,277  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

7


     December 31, 2019  
     Level 1      Level 2      Level 3      Total  
     (in thousands)  

Financial Assets

  

Money market funds

   $ 146,240      $ —        $ —      $ 146,240  

Restricted money market funds

     300        —          —          300  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial assets

   $ 146,540      $ —        $ —      $ 146,540  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Financial Liabilities

           

Warrant liabilities

   $ —      $ —        $ 45,935      $ 45,935  

Securities issuance obligation

     —          —          10,485      10,485  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total financial liabilities

   $ —        $ —        $ 56,420    $ 56,420  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Money market funds and restricted money market funds are measured at fair value on a recurring basis using quoted prices and are classified as a Level 1 input.

The Company’s warrant liabilities and securities issuance obligation contained unobservable inputs that reflected the Company’s own assumptions in which there was little, if any, market activity at the measurement date. Accordingly, the Company’s warrant liabilities were measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs until such time the warrants were no longer considered derivative instruments. The changes in fair value of warrant liabilities were recognized as a component of other income (expense), net in the accompanying condensed consolidated statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2020. The securities issuance obligation was measured at fair value on a recurring basis using unobservable inputs until the common stock and the common stock warrant were issued. The change in fair value of the securities issuance obligation was recognized as research and development expense in the accompanying condensed consolidated statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2020. The warrant liabilities and the securities issuance obligation were classified as Level 3 inputs.

The assumptions used in calculating the estimated fair values represented the Company’s best estimate. However, inherent uncertainties are involved. If factors or assumptions change, the estimated fair values could be materially different.

At January 22, 2020, Warrant A and Warrant B were no longer considered to be derivative instruments. The Company remeasured the fair value of the warrant liabilities at the time of reclassification to equity using the following assumptions:

 

     Series A Warrant     Series B Warrant  

Expected term (in years)

     5.0       2.1  

Expected volatility

     43     88

Risk-free interest rate

     1.57     1.53

Expected dividend yield

     —       —  

At January 31, 2020, the securities issuance obligation was settled by the issuance of common stock and a common stock warrant. The Company remeasured the fair value of its common stock issuance obligation based on the value of the common stock at the time of issuance. The warrant issuance obligation was remeasured using the following assumptions:

 

     Warrant Issuance
Obligation
 

Expected term (in years)

     5.0  

Expected volatility

     43

Risk-free interest rate

     1.57

Expected dividend yield

     —  

 

8


The following table provides a summary of changes in the estimated fair values of the Company’s Level 3 financial liabilities:

 

     Series A Warrant
Liability
    Series B Warrant
Liability
    Warrant Issuance
Obligation
    Common Stock
Issuance Obligation
    Total  
     (in thousands)  

Balance, December 31, 2019

   $ 32,616     $ 13,319     $ 3,036     $ 7,449     $ 56,420  

Changes in fair value

     11,597       4,643       152       1,333       17,725  

Settlement of financial liabilities by securities issuance

     —         —         (3,188     (8,782     (11,970

Reclassification to equity

     (44,213     (17,962     —         —         (62,175
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Balance, June 30, 2020

   $ —       $ —       $ —       $ —       $ —    
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

There were no transfers between Levels 1, 2 or 3 during the six months ended June 30, 2020.

 

5.

Balance Sheet Components

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents consist of the following:

 

     June 30,
2020
    December 31,
2019
 
     (in thousands)  

Cash

   $ 2,256     $ 1,288  

Cash equivalents:

    

Money market accounts

     120,977       146,240  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Total cash and cash equivalents

   $ 123,233     $ 147,528  
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported in the condensed consolidated balance sheets to the amounts shown in the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows.

 

     June 30,
2020
     June 30,
2019
 
     (in thousands)  

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 123,233      $ 78,831  

Restricted cash included in other assets

     300        300  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows

   $ 123,533      $ 79,131  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets

Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following:

 

     June 30,
2020
     December 31,
2019
 
     (in thousands)  

Prepaid research and development project costs

   $ 420      $ 853  

Prepaid insurance

     233        918  

Other receivables

     228        190  

Other

     511        408  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total prepaid expenses and other current assets

   $ 1,392      $ 2,369  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

9


Property and Equipment, net

Property and equipment, net consists of the following:

 

     June 30,
2020
     December 31,
2019
 
     (in thousands)  

Software

   $ 364      $ 352  

Leasehold improvements

     112        112  

Computer equipment

     89        89  

Furniture and fixtures

     3        3  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Property and equipment, gross

     568        556  

Less: accumulated depreciation

     (471      (443
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total property and equipment, net

   $ 97      $ 113  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Depreciation related to the Company’s property and equipment was $15,000 and $28,000 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and $21,000 and $42,000 for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019.

Accrued and Other Liabilities

Accrued and other liabilities consist of the following:

 

     June 30,
2020
     December 31,
2019
 
     (in thousands)  

Accrued research and development costs

   $ 3,150      $ 2,668  

Accrued employee related costs

     2,442        3,420  

Accrued professional fees

     854        817  

Operating lease liability

     185        187  

Other

     67        78  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total accrued and other liabilities

   $ 6,698      $ 7,170  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

6.

Leases

In June 2017, the Company entered into an operating lease agreement to lease the office space in Vancouver, Canada commencing March 1, 2018. The lease expires on February 28, 2023 and can be extended for an additional term of 5 years.

The components of lease expense and related cash flows for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 were as follows:

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
     Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2020      2019      2020      2019  
     (in thousands)  

Operating lease cost

   $ 50      $ 51      $ 101      $ 102  

Short-term lease cost

     7        29        29        58  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 
     57        80        130        160  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Operating cash flows used for operating leases

   $ 52      $ 52      $ 104      $ 92  

 

10


As of June 30, 2020, the weighted average remaining lease term and discount rate for the operating lease are 2.7 years and 6.5%, respectively.

As of June 30, 2020, maturities of lease liability due under the lease agreement are as follows:

 

Years Ending December 31:

   Operating Leases  
     (in thousands)  

Remainder of 2020

   $ 103  

2021

     210  

2022

     168  
  

 

 

 

Total lease payments

     481  

Less imputed interest

     (35
  

 

 

 

Total

   $ 446  
  

 

 

 

In addition to base rent, the lease requires payment of non-lease and non-component costs. These costs are not included in the table above.

 

7.

Term Loan

In August 2018, the Company entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (Loan Agreement) with Silicon Valley Bank (SVB). Contemporaneously with executing the Loan Agreement, the Company drew down $5.0 million. On December 18, 2019, the Company repaid the $5.0 million term loan and paid the associated prepayment and final payment fees. In connection with the Loan Agreement, the Company issued a warrant to SVB to purchase 1,839 of the Company’s common stock at a price per share of $74.80. The warrant is immediately exercisable, will expire on August 21, 2028, contains a cashless exercise provision and is classified as equity.

During the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, the Company recognized interest expense of $0.1 million and $0.2 million, respectively. No interest expense was recognized for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020.

 

8.

Commitments and Contingencies

Asset Purchase Agreement

In August 2018, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement with Gilead whereby the Company acquired worldwide rights to the pharmaceutical product momelotinib, an investigational orally-bioavailable JAK1, JAK2 and ACVR1 inhibitor together with all related intellectual property rights and certain other related assets. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company made a one-time upfront payment of $3.0 million in August 2018. In October 2019, the Company entered into an amendment to the Asset Purchase Agreement in which the Company agreed to issue, subject to certain conditions, shares of common stock and a warrant to purchase common stock to Gilead in consideration for meaningfully reduced royalty rates and elimination of a near term milestone payment in the Asset Purchase Agreement. Pursuant to the amended agreement, milestone payments of up to an aggregate of $190.0 million may become payable to Gilead upon the achievement of certain regulatory and commercial milestone events and the Company is now required to pay Gilead low double-digit to high-teens percent tiered combined royalties based upon net sales.

In connection with obligations under the amendment, the Company recognized a $10.5 million non-cash research and development expense for the year ended December 31, 2019 based on the fair value of the securities to be issued. On January 31, 2020, the Company fulfilled its obligation to issue securities by entering into a securities purchase agreement with Gilead, pursuant to which the Company issued to Gilead 725,283 shares of the Company’s common stock and a warrant to purchase 725,283 shares of common stock at a price per share of $13.20. The warrant is immediately exercisable, will expire on January 31, 2025 and contains a cash and/or cashless exercise provision. Upon remeasurement of the securities issuance obligation immediately prior to the issuance, an additional $1.5 million of non-cash research and development expense, representing changes in fair value of the securities since December 31, 2019, was recognized in the condensed consolidated statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2020. See Note 4, Fair Value Measurement for further discussions in valuation techniques.

License Agreements

In September 2016, the Company entered into an exclusive license agreement with CRT Pioneer Fund LP (CPF) for worldwide rights, know-how and materials to develop SRA737, a small molecule inhibitor targeting Chk1, a promising therapeutic target to treat cancer.

 

11


Pursuant to the agreement, the Company made a one-time upfront payment of $7.0 million to CPF in October 2016 and paid $2.0 million to CPF in January 2017 for the successful transfer of two ongoing Phase 1 clinical trials. Additional milestone payments of up to an aggregate of $319.5 million may become payable to CPF upon the achievement of certain developmental, regulatory and commercial milestones, including a milestone payment of $7.5 million upon the dosing of the first patient in the first Phase 1 trial of SRA737 in the United States, and a payment of $12.0 million upon the dosing of the first patient of a randomized Phase 2 trial of SRA737. In the event that the milestone payment for Phase 2 becomes due, but no milestone payment for Phase 1 has been paid, then the milestone payment for Phase 1 will become due and payable contemporaneously with the payment for the Phase 2 milestone for an aggregate payment of $19.5 million. These milestones will be accrued once they are considered probable of occurring. In addition, the Company is required to pay CPF, on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, tiered high single-digit to low double-digit royalties on the net sales of any product successfully developed.

In May 2016, the Company entered into an exclusive license agreement (Carna License Agreement) with Carna Biosciences, Inc. (Carna) for worldwide rights to develop and commercialize SRA141, a small molecule kinase inhibitor targeting Cdc7. In exchange for this exclusive right, the Company paid Carna an upfront payment of $0.9 million in June 2016. In June 2020, the Company entered into a collaboration agreement (Carna Collaboration Agreement) with Carna and terminated the Carna License Agreement. Pursuant to the Carna Collaboration Agreement, Carna paid an upfront fee of $0.3 million for the exclusive worldwide rights for SRA141 and other transition services. In addition, the Company will be entitled to single-digit royalties on product sales, on a product-by-product basis, and low to mid-teen profit share on royalty and non-royalty income. The upfront fee of $0.3 million was recorded as deferred revenue as of June 30, 2020 and will be recognized as revenue as performance obligation is satisfied over time.

Legal

From time to time, the Company may become subject to other legal proceedings, claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. In addition, the Company may receive letters alleging infringement of patent or other intellectual property rights. The Company is not currently a party to any other material legal proceedings, nor is it aware of any pending or threatened litigation that, in the Company’s opinion, would have a material adverse effect on the business, operating results, cash flows or financial condition should such litigation be resolved unfavorably.

 

9.

Common Stock Reserved for Issuance

The Company is required to reserve and keep available out of its authorized but unissued shares of common stock a number of shares sufficient to effect the conversion of all outstanding options granted and available for grant under the incentive plans, shares reserved for issuance under the employee stock purchase plan and issued warrants.

 

     June 30,
2020
     December 31,
2019
 

Shares reserved under Series A warrant

     7,802,241        7,802,241  

Shares reserved under Series B warrant

     2,574,727        2,574,727  

Shares reserved for future option grants under equity plans

     2,913,669        51,514  

Outstanding stock options under equity incentive plans

     2,351,055        326,023  

Outstanding warrants

     727,122        1,839  

Shares reserved under the 2015 employee stock purchase plan

     17,500        17,500  

Shares reserved for conversion of Series A Preferred Stock

     —          7,803,273  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total common stock reserved for issuance

     16,386,314        18,577,117  
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

10.

Preferred Stock

As of June 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company had 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock authorized with a par value of $0.001. There were no preferred stock outstanding as of June 30, 2020 and 103,000 shares of Series A convertible voting preferred stock (Series A Preferred Stock) outstanding as of December 31, 2019.

 

12


Series A Convertible Voting Preferred Stock

On November 13, 2019, the Company completed an underwritten public offering whereby it issued 103,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock together with Series A warrants and Series B warrants for a combined purchase price of $1,000. The aggregate proceeds received by the Company was $97.7 million, net of underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses. Each share of Series A Preferred Stock was convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock equal to the stated value of the Series A Preferred Stock of $1,000 divided by the voting conversion price of $13.20. On January 29, 2020, all shares of Series A Preferred Stock converted into 7,803,273 shares of the Company’s common stock.

 

11.

Warrant Liabilities

In connection with the Company’s November 2019 public offering of the Series A Preferred Stock, the Company issued Series A warrants to purchase up to 7,802,241 shares of common stock at an exercise price equal to $13.20, and Series B warrants to purchase up to 2,574,727 shares of common stock at an exercise price equal to $13.20. Both Series A and Series B warrants became exercisable, subject to certain beneficial ownership limitations, on January 22, 2020 following stockholder approval of the Reverse Stock Split which resulted in a sufficient number of authorized common stock to allow for the exercise of the warrants. The Series A warrants will expire five years from the date they first became exercisable or on January 22, 2025 and contain a cash and/or cashless exercise provision. The Series B warrants will expire on the 75th day anniversary following the announcement of top-line data from the Company’s MOMENTUM Phase 3 clinical trial of momelotinib and may only be exercised by paying the exercise price in cash, which would amount to approximately $34.0 million in proceeds to the Company if fully exercised.

The fair values of the Series A and Series B warrants were classified as warrant liabilities until they ceased to be derivative instruments, following stockholder approval of the Reverse Stock split which resulted in a sufficient number of authorized common stock to allow for the exercise of the warrants, at which time they were reclassified to equity. The Company revalued the warrant liabilities until they ceased to be derivative instruments using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The Company recorded a $16.2 million non-cash expense relating to the change in fair value of warrant liabilities in other income (expense), net in the accompanying condensed consolidated statement of operations for the six months ended June 30, 2020 (see Note 4).

 

12.

Stock-Based Compensation

In the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations, the Company recognized stock-based compensation expense for its employees and non-employees as follows:

 

                                                                                   
     Three Months Ended
June  30,
     Six Months Ended
June  30,
 
     2020      2019      2020      2019  
     (in thousands)  

Research and development

   $ 933      $ 1,229      $ 1,479      $ 2,413  

General and administrative

     2,684        529        3,056        1,044  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total stock-based compensation

   $ 3,617      $ 1,758      $ 4,535      $ 3,457  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Determination of Fair Value

The fair values of the Company’s stock-based awards granted during the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 were estimated as of the grant date using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, based on assumptions as follows:

 

                                                                                   
     Three Months Ended
June  30,
    Six Months Ended
June  30,
 
     2020     2019     2020     2019  

Expected term (in years)

     5.3 – 7.0       5.3 – 6.1       5.3 – 7.0       5.3 – 6.9  

Expected volatility

     88 – 90     90 – 92     88 – 90     90 – 94

Risk-free interest rate

     0.4 – 0.5     1.9 – 2.3     0.4 – 1.2     1.9 – 2.6

Expected dividend rate

     —       —       —       —  

 

13


Equity Incentive Plans

2018 Equity Inducement Plan

In September 2018, the Company’s Compensation Committee approved the 2018 Equity Inducement Plan (2018 Plan). The number of shares available for awards under the 2018 Plan was set to 37,500. On June 30, 2020, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an amendment to the 2018 Plan to increase the authorized number of shares available for issuance by 500,000 shares. As of June 30, 2020, 537,500 shares were reserved for issuance under the 2018 Plan. The exercise price of each stock-based award issued under the 2018 Plan is required to be no less than the fair value of the Company’s capital stock. The vesting and exercise provisions of options or restricted awards granted are determined individually with each grant. Stock options have a 10-year life and expire if not exercised within that period or if not exercised within three months of cessation of employment with the Company or such longer period of time as specified in the option agreement.

2015 Plan

The 2015 Equity Incentive Plan (2015 Plan) became effective on July 14, 2015. On January 21, 2020 the Company’s stockholders approved the following amendments to the 2015 Plan: (i) increase to the authorized number of shares available for issuance by 4,312,500 shares and proportionately increase the share limit related to incentive stock options, (ii) provide limits on the total value of compensation that may be granted to any non-employee director in each calendar year, and (iii) eliminate the annual individual grant limit to reflect changes to the tax law in 2017 tax legislation.

As of June 30, 2020, 4,678,379 shares were reserved for issuance under the 2015 Plan. The number of shares reserved for issuance under the 2015 Plan will increase automatically on January 1 of each calendar year 2016 through 2025 by the number of shares equal to 4% of the total outstanding shares of the Company’s common stock as of the immediately preceding December 31. The Company’s Board of Directors or Compensation Committee may reduce the amount of the increase in any particular year. The exercise price of each stock-based award issued under the 2015 Plan is required to be no less than the fair value of the Company’s capital stock. The vesting and exercise provisions of options or restricted awards granted are determined individually with each grant. Stock options have a 10-year life and expire if not exercised within that period or if not exercised within three months of cessation of employment with the Company or such longer period of time as specified in the option agreement, unless modified.

2008 Plan

The Company granted options under the 2008 Stock Plan (2008 Plan) until July 2015 when it was terminated as to future awards, although it continues to govern the terms of options that remain outstanding under the 2008 Plan. The 2008 Plan provided for the granting of Incentive Stock Options (ISO), nonqualified stock options and stock purchase rights. In connection with the Board of Director’s approval of the 2015 Plan, all remaining shares available for future award under the 2008 Plan were transferred to the 2015 Plan, and the 2008 Plan was terminated.

A summary of activity under the 2008 Plan, 2015 Plan and 2018 Plan and related information is as follows:

 

           Options Outstanding  
     Shares
Available
for Grant
    Number
of Shares
Outstanding
    Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price Per
Share
     Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term
(Years)
     Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value of
Outstanding
Options
(in thousands)
 

Outstanding — December 31, 2019

     51,514       326,023     $ 102.56        7.45      $ 11  

Awards authorized

     4,887,187            

Options granted

     (2,055,130     2,055,130       13.51        

Options forfeited/cancelled

     30,098       (30,098     57.08        
  

 

 

   

 

 

         

Outstanding — June 30, 2020

     2,913,669       2,351,055     $ 25.30        7.98      $ 9  
  

 

 

   

 

 

         

Exercisable — June 30, 2020

       358,948     $ 78.02        3.93      $ —    
    

 

 

         

Vested and expected to vest — June 30, 2020

       2,152,111     $ 26.27        8.56      $ 9  
    

 

 

         

The weighted-average grant date fair values of options granted during the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 was $10.14 and $8.69 per share, and $20.80 and $56.00 per share during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019. No options were exercised for

 

14


the three and six months ended June 30, 2020. The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised was insignificant for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019. The total grant date fair value of options vested for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 was $2.2 million and $3.8 million, and $1.7 million and $4.3 million during the three and six months ended June 30, 2019.

In May 2020, the Company entered into a separation agreement with Dr. Glover, the Company’s former President and Chief Executive Officer, in connection with his resignation. Pursuant to the separation agreement, Dr. Glover’s unvested options that would have vested during the one-year period from the date of separation accelerated and vested immediately. The vesting date of all remaining unvested options accelerated by one year, and will vest in accordance with the accelerated vesting schedule as long as Dr. Glover is providing consulting services to the Company. All options that remain unvested following the termination of his consulting services will be cancelled. Furthermore, Dr. Glover received an extension of the expiration date of his vested stock options to 75 days following the Company’s announcement of the top-line data results from its MOMENTUM clinical trial. Compensation costs relating to the vesting acceleration and the modifications to option terms was $2.2 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020.

As of June 30, 2020, total unrecognized stock-based compensation related to unvested stock options was $19.2 million. These costs are expected to be recognized over a remaining weighted-average period of 3.3 years as of June 30, 2020.

 

13.

Income Taxes

The Company did not record a provision for U.S. federal income taxes for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 because it expects to generate a loss for the year ended December 31, 2020. The income tax provision (benefit) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 represented foreign taxes. The Company’s net U.S. deferred tax assets continue to be offset by a full valuation allowance.

 

15


ITEM 2.

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion contains management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations and should be read together with the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in Part I, Item 1 of this Quarterly Report and with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2019, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion and other parts of this Quarterly Report contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, such as our plans, impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, objectives, expectations, intentions and beliefs. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those identified below and those discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this report.

Overview

We are a late stage drug development company focused on advancing our product candidate, momelotinib, a potent, selective and orally-bioavailable JAK1 (Janus kinase 1), JAK2 (Janus kinase 2) and ACVR1 (Activin A receptor type 1) inhibitor with a potentially differentiated therapeutic profile for the treatment of myelofibrosis. We have a highly experienced management team with a proven track record of success in drug development, oriented towards achieving the successful registration and commercialization of momelotinib.

We acquired momelotinib from Gilead Sciences, Inc. (Gilead) in the third quarter of 2018. Momelotinib has been investigated in two completed Phase 3 trials for the treatment of myelofibrosis. Data from these trials indicate a potentially differentiated therapeutic profile encompassing anemia-related clinical benefits, as well as achieving constitutional symptom control benefits and substantive splenic volume reductions. Momelotinib may address significant unmet needs in myelofibrosis, which is characterized by progressive anemia and thrombocytopenia. Currently approved JAK inhibitor therapies, ruxolitinib and fedratinib, can induce or further exacerbate this myelosuppression, limiting their use in first line treatment and resulting in a population of second line patients who are no longer able to benefit from such therapies.

In December 2018, we reported new data for momelotinib collated from the two completed SIMPLIFY Phase 3 clinical trials and a translational biology study in transfusion dependent patients with myelofibrosis. Data from the latter study were also concurrently presented in a poster at the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Diego, California. We reported aggregated transfusion independence responses from more than 150 intermediate and high-risk transfusion dependent myelofibrosis patients demonstrating robust and consistent response rates within and across the clinical studies. More than 44% of these patients became transfusion free for at least 12 weeks and nearly 50% were transfusion independent for at least 8 weeks.

In the second quarter of 2019, we announced that we had obtained regulatory clarity with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning the design of a Phase 3 clinical trial intended to support potential registration of momelotinib. We also announced that the FDA had granted Fast Track designation to momelotinib for the treatment of patients with intermediate/high-risk myelofibrosis who have previously received a JAK inhibitor.

Following receipt of this clarity, we announced the design of the MOMENTUM Phase 3 clinical trial in myelofibrosis, which we subsequently launched in the fourth quarter of 2019. MOMENTUM is a randomized double-blind trial designed to enroll 180 myelofibrosis patients who are symptomatic and anemic and have been treated previously with a JAK inhibitor. The Primary Endpoint of the trial is the Total Symptom Score (TSS) response rate of momelotinib compared to danazol at Week 24 (99% power; p-value < 0.05). Danazol has been selected as an appropriate treatment comparator given its use to ameliorate anemia in myelofibrosis patients, as recommended by National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) guidelines. Patients will be randomized 2:1 to receive either momelotinib or danazol. After 24 weeks of treatment, patients on danazol will be allowed to crossover to receive momelotinib.

During the fourth quarter of 2019, we reported new analyses of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion data from SIMPLIFY-1, a double-blind Phase 3 trial of momelotinib head-to-head versus ruxolitinib in JAK inhibitor naïve patients, which were presented in a poster by Dr. Ruben Mesa, Director of the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, at the 61st American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida. These analyses demonstrated that patients who received momelotinib had significantly decreased transfusion requirements compared to those treated with ruxolitinib, including an odds ratio of nearly 10 for receiving no transfusions during the 24-week study period. Transfusion dependency and moderate to severe anemia are critical negative prognostic factors for overall survival in myelofibrosis.

 

16


During the second quarter of 2020, at the 25th European Hematology Association (EHA) Virtual Congress, we reported favorable Long-Term Safety and Dose Intensity data for momelotinib from more than 550 patients across the two previously conducted SIMPLIFY Phase 3 studies and their subsequent ongoing extended treatment periods. These data were presented in posters by Professor Claire Harrison, Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom, and Dr. Vikas Gupta, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto, Canada. More than 90 SIMPLIFY-1 and SIMPLIFY-2 patients continued to receive momelotinib for 3.5 years or longer. Consistent with prior data, and reflecting momelotinib’s differentiated pharmacological profile, our new long-term safety analyses continue to show a rapid and sustained increase in hemoglobin levels during momelotinib therapy, in contrast to the significant decrease in hemoglobin for patients receiving ruxolitinib. Patients treated with momelotinib also experienced significantly higher mean platelet counts compared to those receiving ruxolitinib. Importantly, patients who switched from ruxolitinib to momelotinib also achieved a sustained improvement in hemoglobin in both studies, and platelets in SIMPLIFY-1. In addition to an absence of significant rates of high-grade hematological toxicities, long-term tolerability was favorable with no new safety signals or evidence of cumulative toxicity. Momelotinib’s safety profile and durable benefits facilitated sustained dose intensity across the continuum of JAK inhibitor naïve and previously JAK inhibitor treated myelofibrosis patients. While the starting doses for ruxolitinib were often attenuated due to low platelets, further reductions in dose intensity were also commonly required for ruxolitinib. In contrast, momelotinib was initiated at full dose for all subjects enrolled to the SIMPLIFY studies and high dose intensity was maintained in the majority over extended durations. Patients who switched from ruxolitinib to momelotinib saw an immediate and sustained improvement in dose intensity. The data from the two interrelated presentation suggest that the favorable effect on hemoglobin and platelets allows momelotinib to be initiated at high dose intensity and maintained at high dose intensity over extended durations while retaining a favorable long-term safety profile. Notably, some patients continue to receive momelotinib 10 years after enrolling in the initial momelotinib Phase 2 trials while 90 Phase 3 SIMPLIFY patients who enrolled into those trials 4 to 6 years ago continue to receive momelotinib suggesting the dosing and safety profile contributes to momelotinib’s potential ability to provide sustained benefits over extended durations.

We anticipate releasing updated analyses comparing symptomatic benefits of momelotinib to ruxolitnib from the SIMLIFY-1 Phase 3 trial in late 2020.

During the second quarter of 2020, we continued to operationalize the MOMENTUM trial on a global basis, and trial enrollment is on track with top-line data currently anticipated in the first half of 2022. Due to the recent global outbreak of COVID-19, our clinical trials have been and may continue to be affected, and we are likely to experience delays in anticipated timelines and milestones, which will be difficult to predict until we have more visibility on the duration and impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential institution of additional public health orders. We have experienced and may continue to experience some delays in planned site initiations and activations and may experience future delays in overall enrollment.

We believe that our current resources will be sufficient to execute on our development strategy for momelotinib into the second half of 2022, subject to the potential impact of COVID-19. We are also starting to explore non-dilutive options that could provide additional capital to support our North American commercialization strategy.

Our portfolio also includes SRA737, a potent, highly selective, orally bioavailable small molecule inhibitor of Checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1), a promising target for the treatment of cancer which has a key role in the DNA Damage Response (DDR). We are currently focusing our resources on the development of momelotinib and have suspended development of SRA737. However, we are exploring options to support potential future continued development of SRA737, if any.

We wholly own momelotinib, subject to future milestone payments and royalties, and retain the global commercialization rights to SRA737.

Since inception, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to research and development activities, including the clinical development of momelotinib, and SRA737, SRA141, and PNT2258 our former lead product candidate, and to provide general and administrative support for these operations. We have never generated revenue and have incurred significant net losses since inception. Our net losses were $16.5 million and $48.4 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 and $14.9 million and $27.9 million for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, respectively. As of June 30, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $814.1 million, of which approximately $428.0 million pertained to the revaluation and conversion of redeemable convertible preferred stock upon our initial public offering in July 2015, $37.2 million related to changes in fair value of our Series A and Series B warrant liabilities until their reclassification to equity in the first quarter of 2020, and $12.0 million pertained to a securities issuance obligation settled during the first quarter of 2020.

The extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our operational and financial performance will depend on certain developments, including the duration and spread of the outbreak, impact on our clinical studies, employee or industry events, and effect on our suppliers and manufacturers, all of which are uncertain and cannot be predicted. The COVID-19 pandemic and its adverse effects have become more prevalent in the locations where we, our CROs, suppliers or third-party business partners conduct business and as a result, we have begun to experience more pronounced disruptions in our operations. We may experience constrained supply of momelotinib or

 

17


comparator drug required for our ongoing Phase 3 trial, or, with respect to our clinical trials, delays in enrollment, site initiation, participant dosing, distribution of clinical trial materials, study monitoring and data analysis that could materially adversely impact our business, results of operations and overall financial performance in future periods. Specifically, we may experience impact from changes in how we and companies worldwide conduct business due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including but not limited to restrictions on travel and in-person meetings, prioritization of hospital resources toward pandemic effort, delays in review by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory agencies, and disruptions in our supply chain for momelotinib. Any such delays to our planned MOMENTUM timeline could also impact the use and sufficiency of our existing cash reserves, and we may be required to raise additional capital earlier than we had previously planned. We may be unable to raise additional capital if and when needed, which may result in further delays or suspension of our development plans. As of the filing date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, the extent to which COVID-19 may impact our financial condition, results of operations or guidance is uncertain. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic will not be fully reflected in our results of operations and overall financial performance until future periods. See the section entitled “Risk Factors” included elsewhere in this report for further discussion of the possible impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business.

We have funded our operations to date primarily from the issuance and sale of our common stock and convertible voting preferred stock through public offerings, and our convertible and redeemable convertible preferred stock in private financings and, to a lesser extent, through exercises of our preferred stock warrants in private financings. As of June 30, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents of $123.2 million.

Components of Statements of Operations

Operating Expenses

Research and Development

Research and development expenses consist primarily of the following:

 

   

fees, milestone payments or other expenses incurred in connection with asset purchase and license agreements and their related amendments;

 

   

personnel-related costs, which include salaries, benefits, stock-based compensation, recruitment fees and travel costs;

 

   

costs associated with research and preclinical studies, clinical trials, regulatory activities and manufacturing activities to support clinical activities;

 

   

fees paid to external service providers that conduct certain research and development, clinical and manufacturing activities on our behalf; and

 

   

facility-related costs, which include direct and allocated expenses for rent and maintenance of facilities, depreciation and amortization expenses and other supplies.

The largest recurring component of our total operating expenses has historically been our investment in research and development activities, including the development of momelotinib. We expect our research and development expenses will increase over the next few years as we advance momelotinib, achieve regulatory milestones that trigger payments due under our Asset Purchase Agreement with Gilead, pursue regulatory approval of momelotinib in the United States and other jurisdictions, expand our portfolio of product candidates and prepare for potential commercialization, which will require a significant investment in areas related to contract manufacturing and inventory buildup.

The process of conducting clinical trials necessary to obtain regulatory approval is costly and time consuming. We may never succeed in achieving marketing approval for momelotinib. The probability of success of our product candidate may be affected by numerous factors, including clinical data, regulatory developments, competition, manufacturing capability and commercial viability. As a result, we are unable to determine the duration and completion costs of our research and development projects or when and to what extent we will generate revenue from the commercialization of momelotinib.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses consist of personnel-related costs, facility-related costs, business insurance, allocated expenses and professional fees for services, including legal, patent prosecution and maintenance, human resources, audit and accounting services. Personnel-related costs consist of salaries, benefits, stock-based compensation, recruitment fees, severance costs and travel costs.

We expect to incur additional expenses associated with supporting our growing research and development activities, preparing for potential commercialization, continuing to operate as a public company and other administration and professional services.

 

18


Other Income (Expense), net

 

Changes in Fair Value of Warrant Liabilities

Our common stock warrants issued in connection with our November 2019 financing were classified as liabilities on our condensed consolidated balance sheets and, as such, were re-measured to fair value until January 2020, when they were no longer considered derivative instruments. Changes in fair value, which were directly attributable to changes in the fair value of the underlying stock and discount for lack of marketability, were recorded as an expense in the condensed consolidated statement of operations.

Other Income (expense), net

Other income (expense), net primarily consists of interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents and foreign currency exchange gains and losses related to transactions and monetary asset and liability balances denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. For the three and six months ended June 30, 2019, it also included interest expense, non-cash amortization of debt issuance costs and the accrual of the final payment fee associated with a term loan. Foreign currency exchange gains and losses may fluctuate in the future due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

Provision for (Benefit from) Income Taxes, net

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes, net consists of federal and state income taxes in the United States, income tax benefit resulting from research and development tax credits in Canada, income taxes in Canada and Australia, as well as deferred income taxes reflecting the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes, and changes in related valuation allowance.

We did not record a provision for U.S. federal income taxes for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 because we expect to generate a loss for the year ended December 31, 2020. Our income tax provision (benefit) for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 represented foreign taxes. Our net U.S. deferred tax assets continue to be offset by a full valuation allowance.

Results of Operations

Three Months Ended June 30, 2020 Compared to Three Months Ended June 30, 2019

 

     Three Months Ended
June 30,
     Change  
     2020      2019      $  
     (in thousands)  

Operating expenses:

  

Research and development

   $ 10,189      $ 11,728      $ (1,539

General and administrative

     6,260        3,479        2,781  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     16,449        15,207        1,242  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Loss from operations

     (16,449      (15,207      (1,242

Other income (expense), net

     (24      348        (372
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Loss before provision for (benefit from) income taxes, net

     (16,473      (14,859      (1,614

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes, net

     (11      19        (30
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net loss

   $ (16,462    $ (14,878    $ (1,584
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Research and Development

Research and development expenses decreased $1.5 million, from $11.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 to $10.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to a $2.1 million decrease in clinical trial, third-party manufacturing, research and preclinical costs for SRA737, a $1.1 million decrease in personnel-related and allocated overhead costs and a $0.9 million decrease in third-party manufacturing costs for momelotinib. These decreases were partially offset by a $2.6 million increase in clinical trial and development costs for momelotinib.

 

19


General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses increased $2.8 million, from $3.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 to $6.3 million for the three months ended June 30, 2020. The increase was primarily due to a non-cash $2.2 million stock-based compensation charge and a $0.6 million severance charge pertaining to an executive resignation.

Other Income (Expense), net

Other income (expense), net decreased from $0.3 million of other income, net for the three months ended June 30, 2019 to $24,000 other expense, net for the three months ended June 30, 2020. The decrease was primarily related to a decrease in interest income due to lower interest rates.

Provision for (Benefit from) Income Taxes, net

The benefit from income taxes of $11,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and the provision for income taxes of $19,000 for the three months ended June 30, 2019 represented foreign taxes.

Six Months Ended June 30, 2020 Compared to Six Months Ended June 30, 2019

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30,
     Change  
     2020      2019      $  
     (in thousands)  

Operating expenses:

  

Research and development

   $ 21,780      $ 21,865      $ (85

General and administrative

     10,804        6,844        3,960  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

     32,584        28,709        3,875  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Loss from operations

     (32,584      (28,709      (3,875

Other income (expense), net:

        

Changes in fair value of warrant liabilities

     (16,240      —          (16,240

Other income, net

     517        673        (156
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total other income (expense), net

     (15,723      673        (16,396
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Loss before benefit from income taxes, net

     (48,307      (28,036      (20,271

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes, net

     67        (126      193  
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net loss

   $ (48,374    $ (27,910    $ (20,464
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Research and Development

Research and development expenses decreased $0.1 million, from $21.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019, to $21.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020. The decrease was primarily due to a $5.2 million decrease in clinical trial, third-party manufacturing, research and preclinical costs for SRA737, a $2.1 million decrease in personnel-related and allocated overhead costs and a $0.6 million decrease in third-party manufacturing costs for momelotinib. These decreases were offset by a $6.3 million increase in clinical trial and development costs for momelotinib, and a non-cash charge of $1.5 million pertaining to the change in fair value of an obligation to issue common stock and a warrant to Gilead, which were issued during the first quarter of 2020.

General and Administrative

General and administrative expenses increased $4.0 million, from $6.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 to $10.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020. The increase was primarily due to a $3.0 million increase in personnel-related and allocated overhead costs, including a non-cash $2.2 million stock-based compensation charge pertaining to the resignation of an executive, and $1.0 million of severance charges, offset by a decrease of $0.2 million in other personnel-related and allocated overhead costs. There was also an increase of $1.0 million in professional fees, including pre-commercial planning costs for momelotinib.

 

20


Changes in Fair Value of Warrant Liabilities

The changes in the fair value of our warrant liabilities were directly attributable to the change in the fair value of the underlying stock and discount for lack of marketability.

Other Income, net

Other income, net decreased from $0.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 to $0.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020. The decrease was primarily attributable to a decrease in interest income due to lower interest rates for the six months ended June 30, 2020, partially offset by interest expense on the term loan for the six months ended June 30, 2019 that was not incurred during the six months ended June 30, 2020.

Provision for (Benefit from) Income Taxes, net

The provision for income taxes of $0.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and the benefit from income taxes of $0.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 represented foreign taxes.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Capital Resources

Since our inception, we have never generated revenue and have incurred significant net losses. We have funded our operations to date primarily from the issuance and sale of our common stock and convertible voting preferred stock through public offerings, our convertible and redeemable convertible preferred stock in private financings and, to a lesser extent, through exercises of our preferred stock warrants issued in private financings. Our net losses for the three and six months ended June 30, 2020 were $16.5 million and $48.4 million and for the three and six months ended June 30, 2019 were $14.9 million and $27.9 million. As of June 30, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $814.1 million, of which approximately $428.0 million pertained to the revaluation and conversion of redeemable convertible preferred stock upon our initial public offering in July 2015, $37.2 million related to changes in fair value of our Series A and Series B warrant liabilities until their reclassification to equity, and $12.0 million pertained to a securities issuance obligation settled in the first quarter of 2020. Our principal sources of liquidity as of June 30, 2020 were cash and cash equivalents of $123.2 million.

In November 2019, we completed an underwritten public offering of an aggregate of (i) 103,000 shares of Series A Preferred Stock, that all converted into 7,803,273 shares of common stock in January 2020, (ii) Series A warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 7,802,241 shares of our common stock at an exercise price equal to $13.20, and (iii) Series B warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 2,574,727 shares of common stock at an exercise price equal to $13.20. Each share of Series A Preferred Stock and the accompanying Series A and Series B warrants were issued at a combined price to the public of $1,000. The aggregate net proceeds received by us from the offering were $97.7 million, net of underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses. The Series A warrants contain a cash and/or cashless exercise provision and the Series B warrants may only be exercised by paying the exercise price in cash.

We expect to incur significant expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially as we:

 

   

invest to further develop momelotinib;

 

   

hire additional clinical, scientific, drug development and management personnel, as well as personnel to support any future commercialization efforts;

 

   

invest in scaling our manufacturing capacity to support development and our global commercialization strategy;

 

   

seek regulatory and marketing approvals for any product candidates that we may develop;

 

   

achieve regulatory milestones that trigger payments due under our Asset Purchase Agreement with Gilead;

 

   

ultimately establish a sales, marketing and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any drugs for which we may obtain marketing approval;

 

21


   

acquire or in-license additional product candidates and technologies;

 

   

develop additional product candidates;

 

   

defend against potential lawsuits or other legal issues;

 

   

maintain, expand and protect our intellectual property portfolio; and

 

   

add operational, financial and management information systems and personnel to continue to operate as a public company.

To fund our current operating plans, we will need to raise additional capital. Our existing cash and cash equivalents will not be sufficient for us to complete development and prepare for commercializing momelotinib. Accordingly, we will continue to require substantial additional capital to continue our clinical development and potential commercialization activities; however, we believe that our existing cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our current operating plans into the second half of 2022, subject to the potential impact of COVID-19. In addition, Series B warrants, if fully exercised, would provide approximately $34.0 million in proceeds to us. We cannot assure you that we will ever be profitable or generate positive cash flow from operating activities. However, our forecast for the period of time through which our financial resources will be adequate to support our operations is a forward-looking statement that involves risks and uncertainties, and actual results could vary materially. The amount and timing of our future funding requirements will depend on many factors, including the pace and results of our preclinical and clinical development efforts, including any potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on our clinical development efforts.

We plan to continue to fund our current operating plans’ needs through equity financings or other arrangements, such as strategic partnerships and alliances or licensing arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through future equity financings, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our existing common stockholders. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of debt securities, these securities could contain covenants that would restrict our operations. If we raise additional funds through strategic partnerships and alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies or momelotinib or grant licenses on terms unfavorable to us. There can be no assurance that such additional financing, if available, can be obtained on terms acceptable to us. If we are unable to obtain such additional financing, we would need to reevaluate our future operating plans. We are exploring options to support the potential continued development of SRA737 in the future. There can be no assurance that we will successfully obtain the funding or support necessary to advance SRA737 or obtain such funding or support on commercially reasonable terms.

Cash Flows

The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods indicated:

 

     Six Months Ended
June 30,
 
     2020      2019  
     (in thousands)  

Cash used in operating activities

   $ (24,225    $ (27,622

Cash used in investing activities

     (12      (19

Cash provided by financing activities

     —          445  

Effect of foreign exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

     (58      (19
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Net decrease in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash

   $ (24,295    $ (27,215
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Cash Flows from Operating Activities

For the six months ended June 30, 2020, cash used in operating activities of $24.2 million was attributable to a net loss of $48.4 million, partially offset by $22.4 million in non-cash charges and a net change of $1.7 million in our net operating assets and liabilities. The non-cash charges consisted primarily of a $16.2 million change in fair value of our warrant liabilities, a $1.5 million non-cash charge relating to the securities issuable to Gilead in connection with the amendment to the Asset Purchase Agreement, and $4.5 million of non-cash stock-based compensation. The change in net operating assets and liabilities was primarily attributable to an increase of $1.0 million in our accounts payable, a $1.0 million increase resulting from changes in prepaid expenses and other assets and a $0.3 million increase in deferred revenue, partially offset by a decrease in our accrued, other and operating lease liabilities of $0.5 million.

 

22


For the six months ended June 30, 2019, cash used in operating activities of $27.6 million was attributable to a net loss of $27.9 million and a net change of $3.3 million in our net operating assets and liabilities, partially offset by $3.6 million in non-cash charges. The non-cash charges consisted primarily of $3.5 million in stock-based compensation. The change in net operating assets and liabilities was primarily attributable to a decrease in our accounts payable, accrued and other liabilities and operating lease liabilities of $2.2 million and an increase in prepaid expenses and other assets of $1.1 million.

Cash Flows from Investing Activities

For the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019, cash used in investing activities was attributable to the purchase of property and equipment.

Cash Flows from Financing Activities

For the six months ended June 30, 2020, no cash was provided by financing activities.

For the six months ended June 30, 2019, cash provided by financing activities of $0.4 million consisted of net proceeds received from the exercise of options to purchase common stock.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not currently engage in off-balance sheet financing arrangements. In addition, we do not have any interest in entities referred to as variable interest entities, which includes special purpose entities and other structure finance entities.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

Our unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, costs and expenses, and related disclosures. These estimates form the basis for judgments we make about the carrying values of our assets and liabilities, which are not readily apparent from other sources. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and assumptions. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

We believe that the assumptions and estimates associated with research and development expenses, stock-based compensation, warrant liabilities and securities issuance obligation have the most significant impact on our condensed consolidated financial statements. Therefore, we consider these to be our critical accounting policies and estimates.

There have been no significant changes in our critical accounting policies and estimates as compared to the critical accounting policies and estimates disclosed in Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Operations included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019.

 

23


ITEM 3.

QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

We are exposed to market risks in the ordinary course of our business. These risks primarily include interest rate sensitivities and foreign currency risk.

Interest Rate Sensitivity

We had cash and cash equivalents of $123.2 million as of June 30, 2020, which consisted primarily of bank deposits and money market funds. Our primary exposure to market risk is interest income sensitivity, which is affected by changes in the general level of U.S. interest rates. While the instruments in our portfolio are of short-term nature and a sudden change in market interest rates would not be expected to have a material impact, a zero-rate environment for an extended period of time could adversely affect our results of operations. A hypothetical 100 basis point increase in interest rate would have resulted in an increase of $0.3 million in our interest income for the three months ended June 30, 2020. We do not believe that our cash or cash equivalents have significant risk of default or illiquidity.

Foreign Currency Risk

Our condensed consolidated results of operations and cash flows are subject to fluctuations due to changes in foreign currency exchange rates. A substantial majority of our expenses are denominated in U.S. Dollars, with the remainder in Canadian Dollars, British Pounds and Australian Dollars. Our consolidated results of operations and cash flow 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 exchange rates. To date, we have not entered into any hedging arrangements with respect to foreign currency risk or other derivative instruments. The effect of a hypothetical 10% change in foreign currency exchanges rates applicable to our business would not have a material impact on our operating loss.

 

ITEM 4.

CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, have performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act, as amended) as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of June 30, 2020 to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the Security and Exchange Commission’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely discussion regarding required disclosures.

Any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objective and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by Rule 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act that occurred during the quarter ended June 30, 2020 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

24


PART II

 

ITEM 1.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

From time to time, we may become subject to other legal proceedings, claims and litigation arising in the ordinary course of business. In addition, we may receive letters alleging infringement of patents or other intellectual property rights. We are not currently a party to any other material legal proceedings, nor are we aware of any pending or threatened litigation that, in the opinion of our management, would have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, cash flows or financial conditions should such litigation be resolved unfavorably. Regardless of outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.

 

ITEM 1A.

RISK FACTORS

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks described below, as well as the other information in this report, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” before deciding whether to invest in our common stock. The occurrence of any of the events or developments described below could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. In such an event, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

We have incurred net losses in every year since our inception and anticipate that we will continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future.

We are a clinical stage hematology and oncology company with a limited operating history. Since inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. Our net losses were $48.4 million and $88.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and the year ended December 31, 2019, respectively. As of June 30, 2020, we had an accumulated deficit of $814.1 million. Investment in hematology and oncology product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that any potential product candidate will fail to demonstrate adequate efficacy or an acceptable safety profile, gain regulatory approval and become commercially viable. For example, in June 2016 we decided to suspend the development of our former lead product candidate PNT2258 after an interim analysis of data from a Phase 2 clinical trial of PNT2258 indicated only modest efficacy. We have also decided to suspend the continued development of our product candidates SRA737 and SRA141 to focus our resources on the development of momelotinib. We have no products approved for commercial sale and have not generated any revenue to date, and we continue to incur significant research and development and other expenses related to our ongoing operations. We expect to continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect these losses to increase as we continue the development of momelotinib, fund research and preclinical studies and clinical trials, seek to identify additional product candidates, in-license additional products or technologies, seek regulatory approval, prepare for potential commercialization which will require a significant investment in areas related to contract manufacturing and inventory buildup and continue to operate as a public company.

Even if we succeed in commercializing momelotinib, or any future product candidates we may acquire or develop, we will continue to incur substantial research and development and other expenditures to develop and market these and other product candidates. We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our business. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenue. Our prior losses and expected future losses have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital.

Our business is highly dependent on the success of momelotinib. If we are unable to successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize momelotinib, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed.

Our business and future success depends on our ability to successfully develop, obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize momelotinib, a potent, selective and orally-bioavailable JAK1, JAK2 and ACVR1 inhibitor. Momelotinib has been investigated in two completed Phase 3 trials for the treatment of myelofibrosis, and we launched our MOMENTUM Phase 3 clinical trial for momelotinib, in the fourth quarter of 2019 after receiving regulatory feedback concerning the design of the trial.

While momelotinib is a late-stage product candidate for which previous Phase 3 clinical trial data suggest the potential to provide promising safety and efficacy in patients who are JAK inhibitor naïve and in patients who have previously received ruxolitinib, it will

 

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require additional clinical testing, including at least one additional adequate and well-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial, before we can seek regulatory approval and begin commercialization, if it all. While the FDA has provided regulatory clarity concerning the design of MOMENTUM, our Phase 3 clinical trial for momelotinib, and even though we launched MOMENTUM in the fourth quarter of 2019, there is no guarantee that we will obtain regulatory approval and be able to begin commercialization. Before we can generate any revenue from sales of momelotinib, we must complete additional development activities, including the submission of marketing applications such as New Drug Applications (NDAs) or foreign equivalents, for regulatory review and approval in multiple jurisdictions, make substantial investments, obtain access to sufficient commercial manufacturing capacity and engage in significant marketing and commercial access efforts.

We cannot commercialize momelotinib in the United States without first obtaining regulatory approval from the FDA. Similarly, we cannot commercialize momelotinib outside of the United States without obtaining regulatory approval from similar regulatory authorities outside of the United States, such as the EMA in Europe and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the United Kingdom. Applications for regulatory approval and regulatory approval of momelotinib could be delayed or be denied for many reasons, including but not limited to the following:

 

   

the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with the number, design or implementation of our clinical trials;

 

   

the population studied in the clinical trial may not be considered sufficiently broad or representative to assure safety in the full population for which we seek approval;

 

   

the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of data from preclinical studies or clinical trials;

 

   

the data collected from clinical trials of momelotinib may not meet the level of statistical or clinical significance required by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities or may otherwise not be sufficient to support the submission of an NDA, marketing authorization application or other submission or to obtain regulatory approval in the United States, the European Union or elsewhere;

 

   

the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may require us to conduct additional preclinical studies and clinical trials;

 

   

we may be unable to demonstrate to the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities that our product candidate’s response rate, duration of response or risk-benefit ratio for its proposed indication is acceptable;

 

   

the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may fail to approve the manufacturing processes, test procedures and specifications applicable to the manufacture of momelotinib, the facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies may fail to maintain a compliance status acceptable to the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities or foreign regulatory authorities may fail to approve facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies;

 

   

we or any third-party service providers may be unable to demonstrate compliance with current good manufacturing practices (cGMPs) and/or good clinical practices (GCPs) to the satisfaction of the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities, which could result in delays in regulatory approval;

 

   

the regulations or policies of the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval;

 

   

political factors surrounding the approval process, such as government shutdowns, political instability or global pandemics such as the outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19; or

 

   

we may be unable to fully enroll or otherwise complete our MOMENTUM Phase 3 clinical trial due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Even if momelotinib were to be approved by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities, any approval might contain significant limitations related to use restrictions for specified age groups, warnings, precautions or contraindications, or may be subject to burdensome post-approval study or risk management requirements. If we are unable to obtain regulatory approval for momelotinib or any future product candidate in one or more jurisdictions, or if any approval contains significant limitations, we may not be able to obtain sufficient funding or generate sufficient revenue to continue the development, marketing or commercialization of momelotinib or any future product candidate. If competitive products developed by third parties show significant benefit in the indications in which we are developing momelotinib, any planned supportive or primary registration trials may be delayed, altered, terminated or not initiated and any future product candidates may never receive regulatory approval. Our clinical development programs for momelotinib or any future product candidates may also not receive regulatory approval if we have inadequate financial or other resources to advance these product candidates through the clinical trial process. Furthermore, even if we obtain regulatory approval for momelotinib or any future product candidates, we will still need to develop sales, marketing and commercialization infrastructure, or collaborate with a third party for the commercialization of such product candidates, establish commercially viable pricing and obtain approval for coverage and adequate reimbursement from third parties, including government payors. If we are unable to successfully commercialize momelotinib or any future product candidate, we may not be able to generate sufficient revenues to continue our business.

 

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If further preclinical development or clinical trials of momelotinib, or any other future product candidates that we may develop or acquire fail to demonstrate acceptable safety and efficacy or do not otherwise produce positive results, we may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of current or future product candidates.

Before obtaining marketing approval from regulatory authorities, including the FDA, for the sale of momelotinib or any future product candidates, we must complete preclinical development and conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of such product candidates in humans.

The outcome of preclinical testing and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later preclinical testing and clinical trials, and interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict final results. Many companies in the biotechnology industry have suffered significant setbacks in later-stage clinical trials after achieving positive results in early-stage development, and there is a high failure rate for product candidates proceeding through clinical trials. Product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy traits despite having progressed through preclinical studies and initial clinical trials. For example, in June 2016, we announced that we decided to suspend the development of our former lead product candidate PNT2258 after an interim analysis of data from a Phase 2 clinical trial of PNT2258 indicated only modest efficacy. We cannot guarantee that we will be successful in obtaining the required efficacy and safety profile from momelotinib, or any future product candidate. A failure of one or more preclinical studies or clinical trials can occur at any stage of testing.

We previously acquired from Gilead momelotinib, a potent, selective and orally-bioavailable JAK1, JAK2 and ACVR1 inhibitor. Momelotinib has been investigated in two completed Phase 3 trials for the treatment of myelofibrosis, SIMPLIFY-1 and SIMPLIFY-2. Based on the results of the prespecified analyses, neither trial was considered sufficiently compelling to justify the submission of an application for regulatory approval. Although SIMPLIFY-1 met its primary efficacy endpoint of non-inferior spleen volume reduction, it did not meet its key secondary efficacy endpoint of non-inferior reduction in total symptom score; and although SIMPLIFY-2 did not meet its primary efficacy endpoint of superior reduction in spleen volume, it did meet its key secondary efficacy endpoint of superior reduction in total symptom score. In both SIMPLIFY studies, additional secondary endpoints related to transfusion independence rate, transfusion dependence rate, and rate of red blood cell transfusions all favored momelotinib over control and supported the potential for momelotinib to provide meaningful anemia benefits. Based on post hoc analyses of the data for these trials that we subsequently conducted, we believe the trials showed promising substantive spleen and constitutional symptom control. In addition, we believe momelotinib has the potential to provide a differentiated therapeutic profile encompassing anemia-related benefits. As such, we have determined that there is substantial clinical justification for further development of momelotinib.

The FDA previously provided regulatory feedback concerning the design of our MOMENTUM Phase 3 clinical trial for momelotinib, that we launched in the fourth quarter of 2019. While we believe the safety and efficacy profile of momelotinib in patients with myelofibrosis appears promising based on the prior Phase 3 trial results, the MOMENTUM Phase 3 trial we recently commenced in those patients may not be successful. This could occur for a variety of reasons related to efficacy or safety outcomes observed in the trial or to issues related to study conduct or study feasibility, including, but not limited to the following:

 

   

failure to identify sufficient countries willing to import and sites equipped to handle the active comparator danazol, a controlled substance in some countries;

 

   

delays in initiation and execution of the study in certain countries due to momelotinib and/or controlled substance danazol manufacturing, labeling, shipping and distribution logistical challenges;

 

   

failure to enroll or retain sufficient numbers of subjects because of competing studies, complexity of study design and/or the potential for patients to be randomized to the danazol-comparator arm;

 

   

delays in initiation of the trial due to implementation of privacy and data protection legislation;

 

   

issues with data retention due to lack of adherence to privacy and data protection legislation;

 

   

delays in study initiation due to the collection of the primary endpoint data via patient reported outcomes on an electronic device, which requires questionnaire licensing, language translation and programming to support the global study;

 

   

failure to collect sufficient primary endpoint data for the study given its source of patient reported outcomes, including due to patients not accurately or consistently reporting their primary endpoint data or the device itself experiencing technical issues that result in inadequate primary data collection;

 

   

failure to demonstrate sufficiently improved efficacy over the comparator arm of danazol either because momelotinib’s efficacy in the trial is less robust than expected or because danazol performs better than expected, given danazol’s limited data availability, on the efficacy endpoints; the SIMPLIFY-1 Phase 3 trial, for example, conducted by Gilead in ruxolitinib-naive patients did not demonstrate non-inferiority to its comparator arm of ruxolitinib for the key secondary endpoint of total symptom score; and

 

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failure to observe meaningful anemia benefits in our planned Phase 3 trial, which could reduce the potential future value of momelotinib as we believe an anemia benefit could potentially provide a competitive advantage over existing therapies.

Additionally, the results of MOMENTUM could be altered, or the trial results could be difficult to interpret, if there is inadvertent unblinding of the treatment assignment of subjects prior to the subject being evaluable for the primary efficacy endpoint or if too many subjects drop out of the study or discontinue the randomized study treatment prior to the subject being evaluable for the primary endpoint. Although danazol, the comparator selected for use in this trial, is not approved for the treatment of myelofibrosis, it is recommended by myelofibrosis guidelines as a treatment option for myelofibrosis associated anemia. Danazol’s ability to control myelofibrosis disease manifestations may not be sufficient, and thus subjects randomized to the danazol arm may experience symptomatic deterioration which may increase the risk of inadvertent unblinding, early study discontinuation and/or early discontinuation of randomized treatment. Similarly, momelotinib may also not sufficiently control myelofibrosis disease manifestations in all subjects randomized to the momelotinib arm, and thus subjects in either treatment arm may also be at risk for early discontinuation.

In addition, prior to NDA submission we will need to reach agreement with the FDA regarding pediatric development plans for momelotinib. Under the RACE for Children Act (2017), novel products targeting JAK1, JAK2, or ACVR1 require an agreed Pediatric Study Plan in an oncology indication. The scope of such an agreed plan is currently unknown, but it could include agreement on the conduct of non-clinical and/or clinical studies. In the European Union, we have obtained a waiver for pediatric development of momelotinib in myelofibrosis from the Pediatric Committee (PDCO).

Moreover, preclinical and clinical data are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses, and even if the trials are successfully completed, we cannot guarantee that the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities will interpret the results as we do, and more trials could be required before we submit momelotinib for approval. 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. To the extent that the results of our studies and trials are not satisfactory to the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities for support of a marketing application, approval of momelotinib may be significantly delayed, or we may be required to expend significant additional resources, which may not be available to us, to conduct additional trials in support of potential approval of momelotinib.

We may experience numerous unforeseen events during, or as a result of, preclinical studies and clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing approval or commercialize momelotinib, including, but not limited to:

 

   

undesirable side effects or other unexpected characteristics of momelotinib, causing us or our investigators, regulators or IRBs to suspend or terminate the trials;

 

   

regulators or IRBs may not authorize us or our investigators to initiate a clinical trial, conduct a clinical trial at a prospective trial site, or amend a clinical trial;

 

   

government or regulatory delays and changes in regulatory requirements, policy and guidelines, including as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic;

 

   

delays in reaching or failure to reach agreement on acceptable clinical trial contracts or clinical trial protocols with prospective trial sites and contract research organizations (CROs), or failure by such CROs or trials sites to carry out the clinical trial in accordance with the terms of our agreements with them;

 

   

negative or inconclusive results of preclinical studies or clinical trials;

 

   

decision by us to conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials or abandon product development programs;

 

   

a higher number of patients being required for clinical trials, slower than expected enrollment, greater than expected competition for patients or higher than expected drop out rates;

 

   

clinical sites electing to terminate their participation in one of our clinical trials, which would likely have a detrimental effect on subject enrollment;

 

   

delays or difficulties with respect to our clinical trials as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as delays in clinical site initiations and the enrollment of patients in our clinical trials, including difficulties in recruiting clinical site investigators and clinical site staff;

 

   

failure of third-party contractors to comply with regulatory requirements or meet their contractual obligations to us in a timely manner, or at all;

 

   

inability or unwillingness of patients or medical investigators to follow our clinical trial protocols;

 

   

suspension or termination of clinical trials for various reasons, including unacceptable health risks;

 

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imposition of a clinical hold for safety reasons or following an inspection of our clinical trial operations or site by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities;

 

   

greater than expected cost of clinical trials;

 

   

insufficient supply or quality of momelotinib or other materials, including the comparator (danazol), necessary to conduct clinical trials;

 

   

delays or additional costs as a result of the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union and resulting need to decouple the United Kingdom’s regulatory system from that of the European Union; and

 

   

revision of legal or regulatory requirements for approving momelotinib.

If we are required to conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials or other testing of momelotinib beyond those that we currently contemplate, if we are unable to successfully complete preclinical studies and clinical trials of momelotinib or other testing, or if the results of these studies, trials or tests do not reflect an acceptable safety or efficacy profile, we may:

 

   

be delayed or unable to submit additional CTAs or equivalents in one or more countries;

 

   

not have the permission of the FDA or other health authorities to commence clinical trials, or may have a clinical hold placed on one or more of our clinical trials;

 

   

be delayed in obtaining marketing approval;

 

   

not obtain marketing approval at all;

 

   

obtain marketing approval in some countries and not in others;

 

   

obtain approval for indications or patient populations that are not as broad as intended or desired;

 

   

obtain approval with labeling that includes significant use or distribution restrictions or safety warnings, including boxed warnings;

 

   

be subject to additional post-marketing testing requirements; or

 

   

have the product removed from the market after obtaining marketing approval.

Product development costs will also increase if we experience delays in testing or marketing approvals. We do not know whether any preclinical studies or clinical trials will continue as planned, will need to be restructured or will be completed on schedule, or at all. Significant preclinical studies and clinical trial delays also could allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do and could impair our ability to successfully commercialize momelotinib, any of which may harm our business and results of operations.

The outbreak of COVID-19, or similar public health crises, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations, including the execution of our clinical trials and the use and sufficiency of our existing cash.

The extent to which COVID-19 impacts our business and operating results will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain and cannot be accurately predicted, including new information that may emerge concerning COVID-19 and the actions to contain the virus or treat its impact.

For instance, our MOMENTUM Phase 3 clinical trial for momelotinib has been and may continue to be affected by the pandemic. We launched MOMENTUM in the fourth quarter of 2019 and site initiation, participant recruitment and enrollment, participant dosing, distribution of clinical trial materials, study monitoring and data analysis have been and may be delayed due to changes in hospital or university policies, federal, state or local regulations, prioritization of hospital resources toward pandemic efforts, or other reasons related to the pandemic. Additionally, some participants and clinical investigators may not be able to comply with clinical trial protocols. For example, quarantines or other travel limitations (whether voluntary or required) may impede participant movement, affect sponsor access to study sites, or interrupt healthcare services, and we may be unable to conduct our clinical trial. We have adopted mitigation strategies, but if the global effort to control the spread of COVID-19 and treat COVID-19 patients continues on the current trajectory for an extended period of time, we risk a delay in activating sites and enrolling subjects as previously projected. Any such delays to our planned MOMENTUM timeline could also impact the use and sufficiency of our existing cash reserves, and we may be required to raise additional capital earlier than we had previously planned. We may be unable to raise additional capital if and when needed, which may result in further delays or suspension of our development plans. If we are able to raise additional capital, challenging and uncertain economic conditions can make capital raising costly and dilutive.

We currently utilize third parties to, among other things, manufacture raw materials, momelotinib and danazol (the comparator in the MOMENTUM trial), components, parts, and consumables, perform quality testing and distribute drug product. If either we or any third- party

 

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in the supply chain for materials used in the production of momelotinib or danazol, are adversely impacted by restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, our supply chain may be disrupted, limiting our ability to source drug substance and drug product for our clinical trials.

Further, infections and deaths related to COVID-19 are disrupting certain healthcare and healthcare regulatory systems globally. Such disruptions could divert healthcare resources away from, or materially delay review by, the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory agencies. As a result of the FDA’s updated industry guidance for conducting clinical trials issued on March 18, 2020, we may experience delays in or temporary suspension of the enrollment of patients in our ongoing clinical trials. It is unknown how long these disruptions could continue, were they to occur. Any elongation or de-prioritization of our clinical trial or delay in regulatory review resulting from such disruptions could materially adversely affect the development and study of momelotinib.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have closed our office with our employees continuing their work outside of our office. In the event of a shelter-in-place order or other mandated local travel restrictions, third parties conducting clinical or manufacturing activities may not be able to access laboratory or manufacturing space, and our core activities may be significantly limited or curtailed, possibly for an extended period of time.

The spread of COVID-19, which has caused a broad impact globally, including restrictions on travel and quarantine policies put into place by businesses and governments, may have a material adverse effect on our business. While the potential economic impact brought by and the duration of the pandemic may be difficult to assess or predict, it has already caused, and is likely to result in further, significant disruption of global financial markets and the trading prices for our common stock and other biopharmaceutical companies have been highly volatile as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which may reduce our ability to access capital either at all or on favorable terms. In addition, a recession, depression or other sustained adverse market event resulting from the global effort to control COVID-19 infections could materially and adversely affect our business and the value of our common stock.

The ultimate impact of the current pandemic, or any other health epidemic, is highly uncertain and subject to change. We do not yet know the full extent of potential delays or impacts on our business, our clinical trials, healthcare systems or the global economy as a whole. However, these effects could have a material adverse impact on our operations, and we will continue to monitor the situation closely.

If we encounter difficulties enrolling patients in our clinical trials, our clinical development activities could be delayed or otherwise adversely affected.

We may experience difficulties in patient enrollment in our clinical trials for a variety of reasons. The Phase 3 MOMENTUM trial may be especially difficult to enroll because the trial is blinded and because the comparator arm does not contain a JAK inhibitor. The timely completion of clinical trials in accordance with their protocols depends, among other things, on our ability to enroll a sufficient number of patients who remain in the trial until its conclusion. The enrollment of patients depends on many factors, including, but not limited to:

 

   

the number and size of clinical trials for other product candidates in the same therapeutic area that are currently in clinical development, and our ability to compete with such trials for patients and clinical trial sites;

 

   

the patient eligibility criteria defined in the protocols;

 

   

the size of the specific patient populations such as those whose tumors harbor the applicable genetic mutations, if required or other defined subsets of a larger patient population;

 

   

the risk that disease progression will result in death or clinical deterioration before the patient can enroll in clinical trials or before sufficient data has been collected such that the patient contributes no meaningful information for the clinical trial in which the patient is enrolled;

 

   

the proximity and availability of clinical trial sites for prospective patients;

 

   

the design of the trials, including the inclusion of a placebo or comparator arm in a trial;

 

   

our ability to recruit clinical trial investigators with the appropriate competencies and experience;

 

   

our ability to obtain and maintain patient consents;

 

   

the risk that patients enrolled in clinical trials will drop out of the trials before completion; and

 

   

delays and difficulties in enrollment or patient retention in the trial due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our clinical trials compete with other clinical trials for product candidates that are in the same therapeutic areas as momelotinib. This competition reduces the number and types of patients and qualified clinical investigators available to us, because some patients who

 

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might have opted to enroll in our trials may instead opt to enroll in a trial being conducted by one of our competitors or clinical trial sites may not allow us to conduct our clinical trial at such site if competing trials are already being conducted there. Since the number of qualified clinical investigators is limited, 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. We may also encounter difficulties finding a clinical trial site at which to conduct our trials. Moreover, because momelotinib is experimental, potential patients and their doctors may be inclined to use conventional therapies, such as chemotherapy, radiation and other approved therapies, rather than enroll patients in any one of our clinical trials. Global pandemics, such as COVID-19, could also negatively affect site initiation, as well as recruitment and retention, at sites in a region or city whose health care system becomes overwhelmed due to the pandemic. For example, as a result of COVID-19, several of our clinical trial sites have paused enrollment or are not prioritizing clinical trial activities or allowing enrollment, and of those sites still conducting clinical trial activities, the availability for patients to visit sites and have screening conducted may be limited. We may also experience delays or pauses in the delivery of required site activity equipment.

Delays in patient enrollment may result in increased costs or may affect the timing or outcome of our planned clinical trials, which could prevent completion of these clinical trials and adversely affect our ability to advance the development of momelotinib or any future product candidates we may develop.

We may need to acquire additional capital to complete the development and commercialization of momelotinib and any future product candidates.

We may spend substantial capital to advance momelotinib or any future product candidates, in preclinical and clinical development, seek regulatory approvals for such product candidates, establish a commercial sales force to market and manufacture products, if any, that are approved for commercial sale. We also incur significant additional compliance and administrative costs as a result of operating as a public company.

Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including, but not limited to:

 

   

the progress and results of our MOMENTUM Phase 3 trial and our other planned preclinical studies and clinical trials;

 

   

the scope, progress, results and costs of product candidate discovery, preclinical development, laboratory testing and clinical trials for our future product candidates;

 

   

the costs, timing and outcome of regulatory review of momelotinib and any other future product candidates;

 

   

the costs of medical affairs and pre-commercialization activities, including regulatory and reimbursement analysis and market research;

 

   

the costs of future commercialization activities, including drug sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution, for momelotinib or any future product candidates for which we receive marketing approval, to the extent that such sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution are not the responsibility of any collaborator;

 

   

the extent to which we acquire or in-license other drugs and technologies, or to which we out-license our own products and technologies;

 

   

the extent to which we are able to enter into strategic partnerships and alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties for the commercialization of momelotinib in certain global regions;

 

   

our ability to establish and maintain collaborations on favorable terms, if at all;

 

   

the success of any collaborations that we may enter into with third parties;

 

   

the timing and amount of milestone and royalty payments;

 

   

the amount of revenue, if any, received from commercial sales of momelotinib or any future product candidates, should any such product candidates receive marketing approval; and

 

   

the costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, maintaining and enforcing our intellectual property rights and defending 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 years to complete, and we may never generate the necessary data or results required to obtain marketing approval and achieve drug sales. In addition, momelotinib, if approved, may not achieve commercial success. Our commercial revenues, if any, will be derived from sales of momelotinib, if approved, which we do not expect to be commercially available for many years, if at all. Accordingly, we will need to continue to rely on additional financing to achieve our business objectives.

 

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We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. We have no committed source of additional capital, other than our outstanding warrants, and it may be more difficult to raise the amount of capital needed to support planned development of momelotinib. If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of momelotinib or other research and development initiatives. In particular, we do not have sufficient funds on hand to adequately prepare for future momelotinib commercialization, if approved. We could also be required to seek collaborators for momelotinib, at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable or on terms that are less favorable than might otherwise be available or relinquish or license on unfavorable terms our rights to such product candidates in markets where we otherwise would seek to pursue development or commercialization ourselves. We also may be unable to acquire additional promising product candidates.

We have acquired momelotinib from a third party that had already conducted or was in the process of conducting clinical trials. We may discover that development efforts of the third parties, including but not limited to historical studies and trials conducted by third parties, did not comply with all applicable rules and regulations. Our acquisition of momelotinib has resulted in us being required to take over responsibility for conducting ongoing momelotinib trials. Further development and commercialization of momelotinib will require significant financial and operational resources from us.

Prior to our acquisition of momelotinib, third parties had been responsible for all development activities including, drug process, preclinical and clinical development activities, submission of CTAs and INDs, development of the trial protocols, establishment and management of clinical and safety databases, submission of a pediatric investigation plan (PIP), and other activities. Although we believe the historical development activities were conducted in accordance with applicable rules and regulations in material respects, we cannot assure you that we will not discover inaccuracies or noncompliance in prior development activities that have an adverse effect on the future development of momelotinib. For example, a regulatory authority may choose to inspect an investigational site and/or vendor such as a CRO for a momelotinib study that was previously conducted by Gilead such as the SIMPLIFY-1 or SIMPLIFY-2 studies. Findings from such inspections could have an impact on the review of any future marketing applications by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities.

In connection with our acquisition of momelotinib, we have assumed the responsibility for ongoing clinical studies with momelotinib, including related expenses and manufacturing and regulatory activities, which were previously managed and funded by Gilead. This includes responsibility for the ongoing extended access study, which provides extended access of momelotinib to certain patients previously enrolled in Gilead-sponsored studies, who are currently receiving treatment with momelotinib and have not experienced progression of disease. Further, extended access programs provide supportive safety information for regulatory review. Any adverse events or reactions experienced by subjects in the extended access program may be attributed to momelotinib and may limit our ability to obtain regulatory approval with labeling that we consider desirable, or at all.

From time to time we may amend the clinical protocols for momelotinib to include additional objectives that could yield important scientific information critical to our overall development strategy. The protocol amendment process requires review and approval by several review bodies, including regulatory agencies and scientific, regulatory and ethics boards. These protocol amendments may not be accepted by the review bodies in the form submitted, or at all, which may delay our planned enhancements to the clinical development program and/or limit or change the type of information we may gather from those studies.

While regulatory feedback was obtained concerning the design of our Phase 3 clinical trial for momelotinib from both the United States and European Union regulatory authorities, additional regulatory, scientific, ethics committee, and possibly other reviews will be required during the activation process for the MOMENTUM Phase 3 trial before the protocol is active at any particular site. It is possible that these reviews could require changes to the design of the study. If the FDA, EMA, MHRA, an ethics committee or scientific review board, or another regulatory authority objects to or otherwise does not accept or approve any future protocols or protocol amendments or requires us to further modify trial protocols, our related planned clinical development program may be delayed or suspended and/or we may not be able to gather information we think would be useful to advance development of momelotinib, and our development program may be adversely affected.

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our existing stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or momelotinib.

We may seek additional capital through a combination of public and private equity offerings, debt financings, strategic partnerships and alliances and licensing arrangements. In November 2019 we conducted a public equity offering where we raised net proceeds of approximately $97.7 million in a substantially dilutive transaction to our pre-existing investors. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interests of our stockholders will be further diluted, and the terms may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed payment obligations and could involve certain restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire or license intellectual property rights and other operating restrictions that could

 

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adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. If we raise additional funds through strategic partnerships and alliances and licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies or momelotinib or grant licenses on terms unfavorable to us.

SEC regulations limit the amount of funds we can raise during any 12-month period pursuant to our shelf registration statement on Form S-3.

Under General Instruction I.B.6 to Form S-3, or the Baby Shelf Rule, the amount of funds we can raise through primary public offerings of securities in any 12-month period using our registration statement on Form S-3 is limited to one-third of the aggregate market value of our common stock held by non-affiliates of the Company, or our public float. We are currently limited by the Baby Shelf Rule as of the filing of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, until such time as our public float exceeds $75 million. If we are required to file a new registration statement on another form, we may incur additional costs and be subject to delays due to review by SEC staff.

We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular product candidate, such as momelotinib, and fail to capitalize on product candidates that may later prove to be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success. In addition, we may intentionally halt or terminate programs in order to conserve capital and focus on our remaining program or programs, which may increase our reliance on those programs to be successful.

Because we have limited financial and managerial resources, we focus our research and development efforts on our product candidate, momelotinib. As a result, we may advertently or inadvertently forgo or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates, including SRA737, 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 product candidates. In addition, if we halt or terminate programs in order to conserve capital and focus on our remaining program or programs, it may increase our reliance on the success of such programs and raise our exposure to the risk of failure among any of our programs.

While we have currently suspended development of SRA737, we are exploring options for potential future development of this product candidate, if any. However, there can be no assurance that we will successfully obtain development support or the funding necessary to advance SRA737 on commercially reasonable terms, or at all. If we are unable to obtain such support or funding, we may need to permanently cease development of SRA737.

The manufacture of momelotinib and the comparator, danazol requires outsourced, custom manufacturing and we may encounter difficulties in production, particularly with respect to formulation, process development or scaling up of our manufacturing capabilities. If our third-party manufacturers or suppliers encounter such difficulties, our ability to provide supply of momelotinib for preclinical studies, clinical trials or our products for patients, if approved, or danazol for the MOMENTUM trial could be delayed or stopped, or we may be unable to maintain a commercially viable cost structure.

As product candidates are developed, it is common that various aspects of the development program, such as manufacturing methods, are altered along the way in an effort to optimize processes and results. Such changes carry the risk that they will not achieve these intended objectives, and any of these changes could cause momelotinib to perform differently and affect the results of planned preclinical studies or future clinical trials.

Currently, momelotinib is manufactured using an optimized drug substance process by third-party manufacturers. If either we or any third-party in the supply chain for materials used in the production of momelotinib are adversely impacted by restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, our supply chain may be disrupted, limiting the ability of our third-party manufacturers to manufacture momelotinib for our clinical trials.

Supply chain logistics are complex for the MOMENTUM Phase 3 clinical trial of momelotinib, as it requires the administration of both an active drug (momelotinib) and a comparator (danazol) and there are risks associated with this process throughout the supply chain, from labeling, to distribution, dispensing, and administration. Although we have secured sufficient quantities of drug substance and drug product to supply our current momelotinib program, starting with the MOMENTUM Phase 3 clinical trial of momelotinib, we will need to obtain additional supplies from third-party manufacturers that we have engaged, or expect to engage. We have also secured sufficient quantities of danazol drug product to supply the comparator for the initial subjects who will enroll in the study. However, additional sourcing of danazol will be necessary in the future in order to complete the MOMENTUM Phase 3 clinical trial. Thus, we will need to obtain additional supplies from third-party manufacturers that we have engaged or expect to engage. Given the seemingly reduced use of danazol globally, demands for supply have decreased and therefore the ability to secure the required supply could be challenging and potentially impact the ability to execute and complete MOMENTUM. Furthermore, if third-party manufacturers of danazol, or any third-party in the supply chain, are adversely impacted by restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 outbreak, we may be unable to secure the supply required for our MOMENTUM study. Any potential limitation in supply of either momelotinib or danazol during the conduct

 

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of the MOMENTUM trial could be exacerbated due to the use of several regional depots and the number of sites that are participating in the study. Drug is shipped to sites as they enter a patient into screening. If the rate of screening exceeds expectations, there could be logistic challenges in refilling the supply at the depot. Although additional drug product could be shipped from another regional depot, logistic challenges could delay this as well. If the supply in a regional depot becomes depleted, screening in that region might need to be temporarily suspended until the supply is replenished. In addition, we may need to develop a pediatric formulation for momelotinib in the future. Although we are working to develop commercially viable manufacturing processes, doing so is a difficult and uncertain task, and there are risks associated with scaling to the level required for advanced clinical trials or commercialization, including, among others, cost overruns, potential problems with process scale up or formulation, process reproducibility, stability issues, lot consistency and timely availability of reagents or raw materials.

Any of these challenges could delay completion of preclinical studies or clinical trials, require bridging studies or trials, or the repetition of one or more studies or trials, increase development costs, delay approval of momelotinib , impair commercialization efforts, increase our cost of goods and have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

Our reliance on third-party manufacturing partners or suppliers may cause our supply of research and development, preclinical and clinical development materials to become limited or interrupted or fail to be of satisfactory quantity or quality.

We do not have any manufacturing facilities or personnel. We currently rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties for the manufacture and supply of preclinical study and clinical trial materials in relation to momelotinib, including materials for any combination trials that we may undertake, and any future potential product candidates that we may develop for preclinical and clinical testing, as well as for commercial manufacture if momelotinib receives marketing approval. We have engaged, or expect to engage, third-party manufacturers to obtain materials and consumables necessary for the manufacture of momelotinib.

We may be unable to establish further agreements with third-party manufacturers and suppliers or to do so on acceptable terms. Even if we are able to establish agreements with third-party manufacturers, reliance on third-party manufacturers and suppliers entails additional risks, including, but not limited to:

 

   

reliance on the third party for sufficient quantity and quality;

 

   

the possible breach of the manufacturing or supply agreement by the third party;

 

   

failure to manufacture or supply the product according to our specifications;

 

   

failure to manufacture or supply the product according to our schedule or at all;

 

   

misappropriation of our proprietary information, including our trade secrets and know-how;

 

   

the possible termination or nonrenewal of the agreement by the third party at a time that is costly or inconvenient for us; and

 

   

reliance on the third party for regulatory compliance, quality assurance and safety reporting.

While we require our third-party manufacturers and suppliers to comply with cGMPs in the manufacture of clinical trial materials and commercial supply, should we obtain approval of momelotinib, these third-party manufacturers and suppliers may cease to continue to comply with cGMPs—which are FDA requirements for ensuring product quality control—or similar regulatory requirements outside the United States. Our contract manufacturers and suppliers are subject to continual review and periodic inspections to assess compliance with cGMPs. Accordingly, although we are not involved in the day-to-day operations of our contract manufacturers or suppliers, we are ultimately responsible for ensuring that our products and product candidates, and any other materials that may be used in our preclinical or clinical studies or trials, are manufactured or supplied in accordance with cGMPs. Therefore, we and others with whom we work must continue to expend time, money and effort in all areas of regulatory compliance, including manufacturing, production, quality control and quality assurance. Our failure, or the failure of our third-party manufacturers or suppliers, to comply with applicable regulations could result in momelotinib not being approved or sanctions being imposed on us, including fines, injunctions, civil penalties, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of momelotinib or approved products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could significantly and adversely affect supplies of our medicines and harm our business and results of operations.

Additionally, our third-party manufacturers may experience manufacturing difficulties due to resource constraints or as a result of labor disputes, or unstable political environments, or medical pandemics such as the COVID-19 outbreak. For example, many of our raw materials for manufacture of momelotinib are produced in China which could impact our ability to manufacture and supply material for clinical and commercial supply. If our contract manufacturers were to encounter any manufacturing difficulties or delays due to these factors, our ability to provide momelotinib to patients in clinical trials, or to provide product for treatment of patients once approved, would be jeopardized.

 

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Any performance failure on the part of our existing or future manufacturers or suppliers, any interruption or poor yield or quality of manufactured or supplied materials, or any interruption or delay caused by a third party being subject to governmental regulations or moratoriums could result in additional costs, not having sufficient quantities or sufficient quality and may delay, prevent or impair our development, commercialization or marketing efforts. We do not currently have arrangements in place for redundant supply. If any one of our current contract manufacturers or suppliers cannot perform as agreed, we may be required to replace that manufacturer or supplier. Although we believe that there are several potential alternative manufacturers or suppliers who could manufacture or supply momelotinib or the materials for trials relating to momelotinib, we may incur added costs and delays in identifying and qualifying any such replacement.

If our third-party manufacturers or suppliers use hazardous and biological materials in a manner that causes injury or violates applicable law, we may be liable for damages. Our research and development activities involve the controlled use of potentially hazardous substances, including chemical and biological materials, by our third-party manufacturers or suppliers. Our manufacturers and suppliers are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations in the United States governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of medical and hazardous materials. Although we believe that our manufacturers’ and our suppliers’ procedures for using, handling, storing and disposing of these materials comply with legally prescribed standards, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury resulting from medical or hazardous materials. As a result of any such contamination or injury, we may incur liability or local, city, state or federal authorities may curtail the use of these materials and interrupt our business operations. In the event of an accident, we could be held liable for damages or penalized with fines, and the liability could exceed our resources. We do not have any insurance for liabilities arising from medical or hazardous materials. Compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations is expensive, and current or future environmental regulations may impair our research, development and production efforts, which could harm our business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations.

Thus, our current and anticipated future dependence upon others for the manufacture or supply of momelotinib or related medicines and materials may adversely affect our development timeline, our future profit margins or our ability to commercialize momelotinib or any future product candidates that receive marketing approval on a timely and competitive basis.

Momelotinib may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could halt their development, prevent their regulatory approval, limit their commercial potential or result in significant negative consequences.

It is possible that the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may not agree with any assessment of the safety profile of momelotinib. Undesirable side effects caused by momelotinib could cause us, IRBs, our CROs, the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or discontinue development and could result in a clinical hold on any clinical trial, or the denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities for any or all targeted indications. This, in turn, could prevent us from commercializing momelotinib and generating revenues from their sale. In addition, if any of our products cause serious or unexpected side effects or are associated with other safety risks after receiving marketing approval, a number of potential significant negative consequences could result, including, but not limited to:

 

   

regulatory authorities may withdraw their approval of this product;

 

   

we may be required to recall the product, change the way it is administered, conduct additional clinical trials or change the labeling of the product;

 

   

the product may be rendered less competitive and sales may decrease;

 

   

our reputation may suffer generally both among clinicians and patients;

 

   

we may be exposed to potential lawsuits and associated legal expenses, including costs of resolving claims;

 

   

regulatory authorities may require certain labeling statements, such as warnings or contraindications or limitations on the indications for use, or impose restrictions on distribution in the form of a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) in connection with approval, if any;

 

   

we may be required to change the way the product is administered or conduct additional preclinical studies or clinical trials; or

 

   

we may be required to change or stop other ongoing clinical studies that may negatively impact the development of the agent for other indications.

If preliminary data demonstrate that momelotinib has an unfavorable safety profile and is unlikely to receive regulatory approval or be successfully commercialized, we may voluntarily suspend or terminate future development of momelotinib.

Any one or a combination of these events could prevent us from obtaining approval and achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product or could substantially increase the costs and expenses of commercializing momelotinib, which in turn could delay or prevent us from generating significant revenues from the sale of the product.

 

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We do not have our own laboratory facilities. We rely on third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval of or commercialize momelotinib.

We do not have our own laboratory facilities. We depend upon independent investigators and collaborators, such as universities, medical institutions, CROs and strategic partners to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials. We expect to have to negotiate budgets and contracts with CROs and trial sites, which may result in delays to our development timelines and increased costs. We will rely heavily on these third parties over the course of our preclinical studies and clinical trials, and we control only certain aspects of their activities. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards, and our reliance on third parties does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We and these third parties are required to comply with GCPs and GLPs, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for clinical and non-clinical research intended to support a submission or application to FDA or the comparable foreign authority. Regulatory authorities enforce these requirements through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites. If we or any of these third parties fail to comply with applicable requirements, the data generated in our studies and trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional studies or trials before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure you that, upon inspection, such regulatory authorities will determine that any of our studies or trials comply with the GCP or GLP requirements. In addition, our studies and trials must be conducted with drug product produced under cGMPs. Our failure or any failure by these third parties to comply with these regulations or to recruit a sufficient number of patients may require us to repeat studies or trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process. Moreover, our business may be implicated if any of these third parties violates federal or state fraud and abuse or false claims laws and regulations or healthcare privacy and security laws.

Any third parties conducting our preclinical studies and clinical trials will not be our employees and, except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such third parties, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our ongoing preclinical, clinical and nonclinical programs. These third parties may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical studies or other drug development activities, which could affect their performance on our behalf. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our protocols or regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our studies and trials may be extended, delayed or terminated and we may not be able to complete development of, obtain regulatory approval of or successfully commercialize momelotinib. As a result, our financial results and the commercial prospects for momelotinib would be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed.

We may be required to suspend, repeat or terminate our clinical trials if they are not conducted in accordance with regulatory requirements, the results are negative or inconclusive, or the trials are not well-designed.

Regulatory agencies, IRBs or data safety monitoring boards may at any time recommend the temporary or permanent discontinuation of our clinical trials or request that we cease using investigators in the clinical trials if they believe that the clinical trials are not being conducted in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements, or that they present an unacceptable safety risk to participants. Clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with GCPs, or other applicable foreign regulatory authority guidelines. Clinical trials are subject to oversight by the FDA, foreign regulatory authorities and IRBs at the study sites where the clinical trials are conducted. In addition, clinical trials must be conducted with product candidates produced in accordance with applicable cGMPs. Clinical trial data may be rejected by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities or clinical trials may be suspended by the FDA, foreign regulatory authorities, or us for various reasons, including, but not limited to:

 

   

deficiencies in the conduct of the clinical trials, including failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or clinical protocols or to obtain or maintain clinical trial data in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements;

 

   

deficiencies in the clinical trial operations or trial sites;

 

   

the product candidate may have unforeseen adverse side effects;

 

   

deficiencies in the trial designs necessary to demonstrate efficacy;

 

   

fatalities or other adverse events (AEs) arising during a clinical trial due to medical problems that may or may not be related to clinical trial treatments;

 

   

the product candidates may not appear to be more effective than current therapies;

 

   

the quality or stability of the product candidates may fall below acceptable standards; or

 

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failure to adequately demonstrate study conduct oversight, ensure data integrity, and that clinical study sites complied with the principles of GCPs.

Although we have never been asked by a regulatory agency, IRB or data safety monitoring board to temporarily or permanently discontinue a clinical trial, if we elect or are forced to suspend or terminate a clinical trial of momelotinib or any future product candidates, the commercial prospects for that product will be harmed and our ability to generate product revenue from that product may be delayed or eliminated. For example, in June 2016 we decided to suspend the development of our former lead product candidate PNT2258 after an interim analysis of data from a Phase 2 clinical trial on PNT2258 indicated only modest efficacy. Furthermore, any of these events could prevent us or our partners from achieving or maintaining market acceptance of the affected product and could substantially increase the costs of commercializing momelotinib and impair our ability to generate revenue from the commercialization of these products either by us or by our collaboration partners.

Even if we receive regulatory approval to market momelotinib, the market may not be receptive to our product.

Even if we obtain regulatory approval for momelotinib, it may not gain market acceptance among physicians, patients, healthcare payors and/or the medical community. We believe that the degree of market acceptance will depend on a number of factors, including, but not limited to:

 

   

timing of market introduction of momelotinib and competitive product;

 

   

safety and efficacy of our product;

 

   

prevalence and severity of any side effects;

 

   

potential advantages or disadvantages over alternative treatments;

 

   

strength of marketing and distribution support;

 

   

price of our products, both in absolute terms and relative to alternative treatments;

 

   

availability of coverage and reimbursement from government and other third-party payors; and

 

   

sequencing of available products.

If momelotinib is approved for commercial sale and fails to achieve market acceptance, we may not be able to generate significant revenue or achieve or sustain profitability.

We may be subject to requests for access to momelotinib. Demand for compassionate use of our unapproved therapies could strain our resources, delay our drug development activities, negatively impact our regulatory approval or commercial activities, and result in losses.

We are developing momelotinib to treat a life-threatening illness for which there are currently limited therapeutic options. Other companies in our field have been the target of campaigns requesting access to unapproved drugs. If we experience similar request for access campaigns, we may experience significant disruption to our business which could result in losses. We are a small company with limited resources, and any unanticipated trials or access programs resulting from requests for access could deplete our drug supply, increase our capital expenditures, reduce the availability of potentially eligible clinical trial participants, and otherwise divert our resources from our primary goals.

In addition, legislation referred to as “Right to Try” laws have been introduced at the local and national levels, which are intended to give patients access to unapproved therapies. New and emerging legislation regarding expanded access to unapproved drugs for life-threatening illnesses could negatively impact our business in the future. Either activism or legislation related to requests for access may require us to initiate an unanticipated expanded access program or to make momelotinib more widely available sooner than anticipated.

Patients who receive access to unapproved drugs through compassionate use or expanded access programs have life-threatening illnesses and generally have exhausted all other available therapies. The risk for serious adverse events, including those which may be unrelated to momelotinib, in this patient population is high and could have a negative impact on the safety profile of momelotinib, which could cause significant delays or an inability to successfully commercialize momelotinib and could materially harm our business. In addition, in order to perform the controlled clinical trials required for regulatory approval and successful commercialization of momelotinib, we may receive adverse publicity or experience other disruptions if we do not provide compassionate use access or expanded access programs in response to requests for access from patients in the US or elsewhere in the world. Should we agree to provide compassionate use access or decide to initiate an expanded access program, we could experience adverse publicity or other disruptions related to current or potential participants in such programs. Similarly, we could experience adverse publicity or other disruptions if we were to restructure or pause any compassionate use and/or expanded access program after initiating such a program or after the provision of our product through compassionate access to an individual patient or patients.

 

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We do not have our own laboratory facilities or the ability to discover product candidates. We rely on licensing, acquisition and other forms of strategic relationship to grow our pipeline. Our efforts to acquire additional product candidates and grow our pipeline may be unsuccessful.

We do not have our own laboratory facilities or the ability to discover product candidates. We rely on licensing, acquisition and other forms of strategic relationship to grow our pipeline. We may acquire, or enter into strategic relationships to identify, license and develop, one or more additional product candidates to grow our pipeline. In addition, we may desire to renegotiate our currently existing licensing or asset purchase agreements for any of our product candidates. The identification, evaluation, development and potential acquisition or licensing of additional product candidates is expensive and time-consuming, and our efforts may not lead to the acquisition or licensing of any additional product candidates, that can be successfully developed and commercialized. Competition for viable product candidates is intense, and the acquisition or licensing of product candidates may be more expensive than we are able to afford or may require us to seek additional financing. If our efforts do not lead to the acquisition or successful identification, development and licensing of suitable product candidates, we may be unable to grow our pipeline. In addition, if our efforts to grow our pipeline require us to pursue additional dilutive capital or debt financing strategies, we may experience harm to our financial position and stability.

Even if we are successful in continuing to build our pipeline, the potential product candidates that we identify may not be suitable for clinical development. For example, they may be 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. If we do not successfully develop and commercialize product candidates based upon our approach, we will not be able to obtain product revenue in future periods, which likely would result in significant harm to our financial position and adversely affect our stock price.

We face significant competition from other hematology and oncology companies, and our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively.

The hematology and oncology industries are characterized by rapidly advancing technologies, intense competition and a strong emphasis on proprietary products. We may face potential competition from many different sources, including major pharmaceutical, specialty pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions and governmental agencies and public and private research institutions. Any product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize will compete with existing therapies that are available for the indication or indications for which they are approved and new therapies that may become available in the future.

To our knowledge, there are currently two approved myelofibrosis drugs that specifically rely on JAK inhibition, ruxolitinib, marketed by Incyte Corporation as Jakafi® in the United States and by Novartis as Jakavi in rest of the world and fedratinib, marketed by Celgene Corporation as Inrebic® in the United States. In addition, there is one additional JAK inhibitor competitor in clinical development, at a similar state of development or more advanced than us. CTI Biopharma Corporation is developing pacritinib, for myelofibrosis patients with platelet counts less than 50,000/uL and has recently announced enrollment for their Phase 3 PACIFICA study. However, to our knowledge, there are no drugs that target JAK1, JAK2 and ACVR1 on the market, nor in development. Other competitors developing myelofibrosis therapeutics include Acceleron, Constellation Pharma and AbbVie. Celgene and Acceleron are developing luspatercept in a Phase 3 clinical trial for myelofibrosis. Constellation Pharma is developing CPI-0610, a BET inhibitor with recent corporate disclosure suggesting future clinical development will include a Phase 3 clinical trial in combination with ruxolitinib. AbbVie recently announced two Phase 3 clinical trials in combination with ruxolitinib for JAKi naïve and previously JAKi treated patients. Several additional companies are advancing assets in the early stages of development potentially for the myelofibrosis market. If momelotinib is approved, it will compete with existing therapies for the indication or indications for which it is approved. While we believe that momelotinib may have the ability to provide an anemia benefit in addition to treating the other manifestations of myelofibrosis, which we believe is unique within the JAK inhibitor class of agents, the market for momelotinib is competitive, and physicians and other prescribers may not recommend or prescribe momelotinib over other competing products.

Many of the companies against which we may compete have significantly greater financial and other resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, conducting clinical trials, obtaining regulatory approvals and marketing approved products than we do. Mergers and acquisitions in the hematology and oncology industries may result in even more resources being concentrated among a smaller 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 competitors also compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and patient registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or that may be necessary for, our momelotinib program. Development efforts and clinical results of other companies may be unsuccessful or terminated, which could result in a negative perception of momelotinib, decreases in our stock price and adverse regulatory impacts, which could have a material and adverse effect on our ongoing development programs and our business.

 

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Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if any 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 any drugs that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or foreign regulatory approval for their product candidates more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. In addition, our ability to compete may be affected in many cases by insurers or other third-party payors who may place restrictions on patient access to our drugs in seeking to encourage the use of generic or cheaper drugs. If we fail to complete effectively, our business and operating results would be harmed.

We are dependent on our key personnel, and if we are not successful in attracting and retaining highly qualified personnel, we may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy.

Our ability to compete in the highly competitive oncology industry depends upon our ability to attract and retain highly qualified managerial, scientific and medical personnel. We have in the past and may in the future continue to experience changes in our executive management team resulting from the departure of executives or subsequent hiring of new executives, which may be disruptive to our business. For example, in June 2020, upon the departure of Dr. Nick Glover, Dr. Stephen Dilly assumed the role of President, Chief Executive Officer and director. We anticipate that we will experience a transitional period as Dr. Dilly becomes fully integrated into his new role, and such transition may have a disruptive impact on our ability to implement our business strategy and continue to advance momelotinib. Any changes in business strategies can create uncertainty, may negatively impact our ability to execute our business strategy and advance development, and may ultimately be unsuccessful. The impact of hiring new executives may not be immediately realized. We are also substantially dependent on the continued service of our existing management, scientific and medical personnel, including Dr. Barbara Klencke, our Chief Development Officer, and Dr. Mark Kowalski, our Chief Medical Officer, because of their familiarity with momelotinib and our development efforts. The loss of the services of any of our executive officers, other key employees and other scientific and medical advisors, including due to illness resulting from COVID-19, and our inability to find suitable replacements, could result in delays in product development and harm our business.

Our operations are conducted in regions where significant competition exists for key personnel and employees. Many other oncology companies and academic and research institutions are located in these regions. Competition for skilled personnel in these markets is intense and may limit our ability to hire and retain highly qualified personnel on acceptable terms or at all.

To induce valuable employees to remain at our company, in addition to salary and cash incentives, we have provided stock options that vest over time. The value to employees of stock options that vest over time may be significantly affected by movements in our stock price that are beyond our control and may at any time be insufficient to counteract more lucrative offers from other companies. Despite our efforts to retain valuable employees, members of our management, scientific and development teams may terminate their employment with us on short notice. Although we have employment agreements with our key employees, these employment agreements provide for at-will employment, which means that any of our employees could leave our employment at any time, with or without notice. We do not maintain “key man” insurance policies on the lives of these individuals or the lives of any of our other employees.

Should momelotinib receive marketing approval in the United States, Canada, or elsewhere in the world, we would need to hire a substantial number of specialized personnel, including field-based personnel, unless we were to collaborate with a third party to commercialize momelotinib. If we are responsible for commercializing momelotinib, we would need to increase our administrative headcount to support such expanded development and commercialization operations with respect to momelotinib. Our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future is subject to intense competition for qualified personnel among biotechnology, pharmaceutical and other businesses and our current financial position. The loss of the services of any of our senior management could delay or prevent the development and commercialization of momelotinib or have other adverse effects on our business for an indefinite term. In particular, if we lose any members of our current senior management team, we may not be able to find suitable replacements in a timely fashion, if at all, and our business may be harmed as a result.

We may encounter difficulties in managing our expected growth and in expanding our operations successfully.

Prior to acquiring momelotinib, our most advanced product candidate was in Phase 1/2 development. Advancing momelotinib, through Phase 3 development, will require us to develop or expand our development, regulatory, manufacturing, medical affairs, marketing and sales capabilities or contract with third parties to provide these capabilities for us. We must also successfully integrate the employees and operations related to the development of momelotinib. Maintaining additional relationships and managing our future growth will impose significant added responsibilities on members of our management. We must be able to manage our development efforts effectively, manage our clinical trials effectively, hire, train and integrate additional management, development, medical affairs, administrative and sales and marketing personnel, improve our managerial, development, operational and finance systems, and expand our facilities, all of which may impose a strain on our administrative and operational infrastructure. Our future financial performance will depend, in part, on our ability to manage this growth effectively. We may not be able to accomplish these tasks, failure of which could prevent us from successfully developing momelotinib

 

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We may form or seek strategic alliances, licensing arrangements or other collaborations in the future. We may be unable to form or enter into such alliances or arrangements, and we may not realize the expected benefits of any such transaction.

We may form or seek strategic alliances or licensing arrangements, or create joint ventures or collaborations with third parties that we believe will complement or augment our development and commercialization efforts with respect to momelotinib and any future product candidates that we may acquire or develop, or that may provide for other economic value. For example, in June 2020, we licensed SRA141 back to Carna Biosciences, the original licensor. We will be entitled to certain profit share on royalty and non-royalty income and royalties on product sales. If Carna Biosciences or its collaborators fail to successfully develop and commercialize SRA141, we will receive limited to no value from this transaction. This or any future strategic transactions and relationships may require us to incur non-recurring and other charges, increase our near and long-term expenditures, issue securities that dilute our existing stockholders, disrupt our management and business, forego potential future economic value or result in the loss of strategic value. These transactions and relationships also may result in a delay in the development of momelotinib or any future product candidates if we become dependent upon the other party and such other party does not prioritize the development of such product candidates relative to its other development activities.

In addition, we face significant competition in seeking appropriate strategic partners and the negotiation process is time-consuming and complex. Moreover, we may not be successful in our efforts to establish a strategic partnership or other alternative arrangements for momelotinib because it may be deemed to be at too early of a stage of development for collaborative effort or third parties may not view momelotinib as having the requisite potential to demonstrate safety and efficacy. We cannot be certain that, following a strategic transaction or license, we will achieve the revenue or specific net income that would justify such transaction.

Past and future acquisitions could disrupt our business and harm our financial condition and operating results.

We may acquire additional businesses or product candidates from third parties that we believe will complement or augment our existing momelotinib program. Even if the assets we acquire have promising markets or technologies, we may not be able to realize the benefit of acquiring such assets if we are unable to successfully integrate them with our existing operations and company culture. We may encounter numerous difficulties in developing, manufacturing and marketing any new product candidates resulting from an acquisition, including momelotinib, which may delay or prevent us from realizing their expected benefits or enhancing our business. We cannot assure you that, following any such acquisition, we will achieve the expected synergies or benefits from the asset to justify the transaction. The risks we face in connection with acquisitions, including our acquisition of momelotinib, include, but are not limited to:

 

   

diversion of management time and focus from operating our business to addressing acquisition integration challenges;

 

   

integration of research and development efforts;

 

   

hiring or training of key employees with knowledge regarding the acquired asset;

 

   

changes in relationships with strategic partners as a result of product acquisitions or strategic positioning resulting from the acquisition;

 

   

cultural challenges associated with integrating employees, knowledge and processes related to the acquired asset into our organization;

 

   

unanticipated write-offs or charges; and

 

   

litigation or other claims in connection with the acquired asset.

Our failure to address these risks or other problems encountered in connection with acquisitions could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of these transactions, cause us to incur unanticipated liabilities and harm the business generally. There is also a risk that future acquisitions will result in the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses or incremental operating expenses, any of which could harm our financial condition or operating results.

If we are unable to adequately prepare the market for the potential future commercialization of a product, we may not be able to generate product revenue once marketing authorization is obtained. We currently have no marketing and sales organization and have no experience in marketing products. If we are unable to establish marketing and sales capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell momelotinib or any future product candidates, we may not be able to generate product revenue.

We have not yet begun to prepare for potential future commercialization, and currently have limited commercialization expertise, including no sales, marketing or distribution capabilities and no experience in marketing products. Advancing momelotinib through Phase 3 development and closer to potential approval will require us to begin commercialization preparation activities and incur related expenses before we obtain final trial results and know whether MOMENTUM will support regulatory approval. These activities will include, among other things, the development of an in-house marketing organization and sales force, which will require significant

 

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capital expenditures, management resources and time. We will have to compete with other companies to recruit, hire, train and retain qualified marketing and sales personnel. If we are unable to adequately prepare the market for the potential future commercialization of a product, we may not be able to generate product revenue once marketing authorization is obtained.

Additionally, if we are unable or decide not to establish internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, we will pursue collaborative arrangements regarding the sales and marketing of our products, however, there can be no assurance that we will be able to establish or maintain such collaborative arrangements on commercially reasonable terms, or if we are able to do so, that they will have effective sales forces. Any revenue we receive will depend upon the efforts of such third parties, which may not be successful. We may have little or no control over the marketing and sales efforts of such third parties and our revenue from product sales may be lower than if we had commercialized momelotinib or any future product candidates ourselves. We also face competition in our search for third parties to assist us with the sales and marketing efforts of momelotinib.

We cannot guarantee that we will be able to develop in-house commercialization expertise, including sales and distribution capabilities, or establish or maintain relationships with third-party collaborators to commercialize any product in the United States or overseas.

We depend on our information technology and infrastructure.

We rely on the efficient and uninterrupted operation of information technology systems, including mobile technologies, to manage our operations, to process, transmit and store electronic and financial information, and to comply with regulatory, legal and tax requirements. We also depend on our information technology infrastructure for communications among our personnel, contractors, consultants and vendors. System failures or outages, including any potential disruptions due to significantly increased global demand on certain cloud based systems during the COVID-19 situation, could compromise our ability to perform these functions in a timely manner, which could harm our ability to conduct business or delay our financial reporting. Such failures could materially adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

In addition, we depend on third parties to operate and support our information technology systems. These third parties vary from multi-disciplined to boutique providers, and they may or could have access to our computer networks, mobile networks, and our confidential information. Many of these third parties subcontract or outsource some of their responsibilities to other third parties. As a result, our information technology systems, including those functions that are performed by third parties who are involved with or have access to those systems, are very large and complex. Failure by any of these third-party providers to adequately deliver the contracted services, or maintain confidentiality, could have an adverse effect on our business, which in turn may materially adversely affect our operating results and financial condition. All information technology systems, despite implementation of security measures, may be vulnerable to disability, failures or unauthorized access. If our information technology systems were to fail or be breached, such failure or breach could materially adversely affect our ability to perform critical business functions and sensitive and confidential data could be compromised.

Our internal information technology systems, or those used by our CROs or other contractors or consultants, may fail or suffer security breaches.

Despite the implementation of what we believe are appropriate security measures on internal information technology systems, our internal information technology systems and those of our CROs and other contractors and consultants may become vulnerable to damage from security breaches and/or unauthorized access. The prevalent use of mobile devices also increases the risk of data security incidents. In the ordinary course of our business, we collect, store, process and transmit large amounts of sensitive information, including intellectual property, proprietary business information, personal information and other confidential information. It is critical that we do so in a secure manner in order to ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of such sensitive information. We have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, a security breach. Any material system failure or security breach could cause interruptions in our operations and could result in a material disruption of our development programs and our business operations. For example, the loss of data from completed or future preclinical studies or clinical trials could result in significant delays in our regulatory approval efforts and significantly increase our costs to recover or reproduce the data. Likewise, we rely on other third parties for the manufacture of momelotinib and to conduct studies and trials, and similar events relating to their information technology systems could also have a material adverse effect on our business. To the extent that any disruption or security breach were to result in a loss of, or damage to, our data or applications, or inappropriate disclosure of confidential or proprietary information, we could incur liability and the further development and commercialization of momelotinib could be significantly delayed.

We may be unable to adequately protect our information technology systems from cyberattacks, which could result in the disclosure of confidential information, damage our reputation, and subject us to significant financial and legal exposure.

Cyberattacks are frequent and may be sophisticated and intense to the point that they are difficult to detect. Cyberattacks could include wrongful conduct by hostile foreign governments, industrial espionage, the deployment of harmful malware, denial-of-service, and/or

 

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other means to threaten data confidentiality, integrity and availability. A successful cyberattack could cause serious negative consequences for us, including, without limitation, the disruption of operations, the misappropriation of confidential business information and trade secrets, and the disclosure of corporate strategic plans. We have in the past experienced, and may in the future experience, a compromise of our data or information technology systems that results in one or more third parties obtaining access to confidential information about our company. Although we devote resources to protect our information technology systems and continue to assess and, as necessitated, enhance our cybersecurity protection, we realize that cyberattacks are a threat, and there can be no assurance that our efforts will prevent information security breaches that would result in business, legal or reputational harm to us, or would have a material adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition. Confidential information obtained by third parties in connection with past or future attacks could be used in ways that adversely affect our company or our stockholders.

Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.

Our operations, and those of our CROs and other contractors and consultants, could be subject to earthquakes, power shortages, telecommunications failures, water shortages, floods, hurricanes, typhoons, fires, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemic, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and other natural or man-made disasters or business interruptions, for which we may not have insurance coverage. The occurrence of any of these business disruptions could seriously harm our operations and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses. In particular, the potential effects on our business due to the COVID-19 pandemic may be significant and could materially harm our business, operating results and financial condition. We rely on third-party manufacturers to produce and process momelotinib. Our ability to obtain supplies of momelotinib could be disrupted if the operations of these suppliers are affected by a man-made or natural disaster or other business interruption. Our corporate headquarters are located in Vancouver, British Columbia, which is near a major earthquake fault. Our operations and financial condition could suffer in the event of a major earthquake or other natural disaster near any of our locations.

Unstable or unfavorable global market and economic conditions may have adverse consequences on our business, financial condition and stock price.

Our results of operations could be adversely affected by general conditions in the global economy and in the global financial markets. Global credit and financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and disruptions in the past several years, including severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, declines in consumer confidence, declines in economic growth, increases in unemployment rates and uncertainty about economic stability. We cannot assure you that further deterioration in credit and financial markets and confidence in economic conditions will not occur. Our general business strategy and stock price may be adversely affected by any such economic downturn, volatile business environment or large-scale unpredictable or unstable market conditions, including a prolonged government shutdown or as a result of a global pandemic such as the COVID-19 pandemic. While the potential economic impact brought by and the duration of the pandemic may be difficult to assess or predict, it has already caused, and is likely to result in further, significant disruption of global financial markets, which may reduce our ability to access capital either at all or on favorable terms. In addition, a recession, depression or other sustained adverse market event resulting from the spread of COVID-19 could materially and adversely affect our business and the value of our common stock.

If the current equity and credit markets deteriorate, it may make any necessary debt or equity financing more difficult, more costly and more dilutive. Failure to secure any necessary financing in a timely manner and on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our growth strategy, financial performance and stock price and could require us to delay or abandon development plans. In addition, there is a risk that one or more of our current service providers, manufacturers and other partners may not survive these difficult economic times, which could directly affect our ability to attain our operating goals on schedule and on budget.

Our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial partners and vendors may engage in misconduct or other improper activities, including noncompliance with regulatory standards and requirements.

We are exposed to the risk of fraud or other illegal activity by our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial partners and vendors. Misconduct by such individuals could include intentional failures to comply with FDA or international regulations, provide accurate information to the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities, comply with manufacturing standards, comply with federal and state healthcare fraud and abuse laws and regulations, report financial information or data timely, completely and accurately or disclose unauthorized activities to us. In particular, sales, marketing and business arrangements in the healthcare industry are subject to extensive laws and regulations intended to prevent fraud, 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 third parties could also involve the improper use of information obtained in the course of clinical trials.

We have adopted a code of business conduct and ethics, but it is not always possible to identify and deter employee misconduct, and the precautions we take to detect and prevent inappropriate conduct may not be effective in controlling unknown or unmanaged risks or

 

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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. Efforts to ensure that our business arrangements will comply with applicable healthcare laws may involve substantial costs. It is possible that governmental and enforcement authorities will conclude that our business practices may not comply with current or future statutes, regulations or case law interpreting applicable fraud and abuse or other healthcare laws and regulations. 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 civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, disgorgement, monetary fines, possible exclusion from participation in Medicare, Medicaid and other federal healthcare programs, contractual damages, reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings and curtailment of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations. In addition, the approval and commercialization of momelotinib outside the United States will also likely subject us to foreign equivalents of the healthcare laws mentioned above, among other foreign laws.

If product liability lawsuits are brought against us, we may incur substantial liabilities and may be required to limit commercialization of momelotinib.

We face an inherent risk of product liability as a result of the testing of momelotinib and will face an even greater risk if we commercialize any products. For example, we may be sued if momelotinib causes or is perceived to cause injury or is found to be otherwise unsuitable during testing, manufacturing, marketing or sale. Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product, negligence, strict liability or a breach of warranties. Claims could also be asserted under state consumer protection acts. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of momelotinib. Even successful defense would require significant financial and management resources. Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in, but are not limited to:

 

   

decreased demand for momelotinib;

 

   

injury to our reputation;

 

   

withdrawal of clinical trial participants;

 

   

initiation of investigations by regulators;

 

   

costs to defend the related litigation;

 

   

a diversion of management’s time and our resources;

 

   

substantial monetary awards to trial participants or patients;

 

   

product recalls, withdrawals or labeling, marketing or promotional restrictions;

 

   

loss of revenue;

 

   

exhaustion of any available insurance and our capital resources;

 

   

the inability to commercialize momelotinib; and

 

   

a decline in our stock price.

We currently hold liability insurance coverage, but that coverage may not be adequate to cover any and all liabilities that we may incur. We would need to increase our insurance coverage when we begin the commercialization of momelotinib, if ever. Insurance coverage is increasingly expensive. 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.

Our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be significantly limited, or entirely restricted.

As of December 31, 2019, we had gross U.S. federal net tax operating loss carryforwards of $1.2 million, which are eligible for indefinite carryforwards, and gross state operating loss carryforwards of $50.7 million expiring in years ranging from 2022 to 2039. We also had U.S. net tax credit carryforwards of $0.1 million which begin to expire in 2039 and net tax credit carryforwards in a foreign jurisdiction of $0.4 million which begin to expire in 2038.

Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change,” the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes, such as research tax credits, to offset its post-change income and taxes may be limited. In general, an “ownership change” generally occurs if there is a cumulative change in our ownership by “5% stockholders” that exceeds 50 percentage points over a rolling three-year period. Similar

 

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rules may apply under state tax laws. An ownership change under Section 382 was deemed to have occurred in 2019 and in 2017. As such, certain tax attributes existing as of the date of the ownership changes are not available for future use. The loss of these attributes did not have any impact on the financial statements since our net U.S. deferred tax assets are offset by a full valuation allowance.

We have experienced ownership changes in the past and may experience ownership changes in the future as a result of future transactions in our stock, some of which may be outside our control. As a result, if we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change net operating loss carryforwards, or other pre-change tax attributes, to offset U.S. federal and state taxable income and taxes may be subject to limitations.

We are a U.S.-based multinational company subject to tax in certain U.S. and foreign tax jurisdictions. United States federal, state and local, as well as international tax laws and regulations are extremely complex and subject to varying interpretations. Although we believe that our tax estimates and tax positions are reasonable, there can be no assurance that our tax positions will not be challenged by relevant tax authorities or that we would be successful in any such challenge. If we are unsuccessful in such a challenge, the relevant tax authorities may assess additional taxes, which could result in adjustments to, or impact the timing or amount of, taxable income, deductions or other tax allocations, which may adversely affect our results of operations and financial position.

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly, which may cause our stock price to fluctuate or decline.

We expect our operating results to be subject to quarterly fluctuations. Our net loss and other operating results will be affected by numerous factors, including, but not limited to:

 

   

variations in the level of expense related to momelotinib or future development programs;

 

   

results of preclinical studies and clinical trials, or the addition or termination of preclinical studies, clinical trials or funding support;

 

   

the timing of the release of results from any preclinical studies and clinical trials;

 

   

the timing and amount of milestone and royalty payments;

 

   

changes in the competitive landscape or market opportunity for momelotinib;

 

   

our execution of any new collaboration, licensing or similar arrangement, and the timing of payments we may make or receive under such existing or future arrangements or the termination or modification of any such existing or future arrangements;

 

   

any intellectual property infringement lawsuit or opposition, interference or cancellation proceeding in which we may become involved;

 

   

any securities or other litigation in which we may become involved;

 

   

additions and departures of key personnel;

 

   

strategic decisions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions, divestitures, spin-offs, joint ventures,

 

   

strategic investments or changes in business strategy;

 

   

the receipt of regulatory approval for momelotinib, and market acceptance and demand for momelotinib;

 

   

regulatory developments affecting momelotinib or those of our competitors; and

 

   

changes in general market and economic conditions, including global pandemics such as COVID-19.

If our quarterly operating results or expected results from development of momelotinib fall outside the expectations of investors or securities analysts, the price of our common stock could decline substantially. Furthermore, any quarterly fluctuations in our operating results may, in turn, cause the price of our stock to fluctuate substantially. We believe that quarterly comparisons of our financial results are not necessarily meaningful and should not be relied upon as an indication of our future performance.

We face risks related to securities litigation that could result in significant legal expenses and settlement or damage awards.

We have in the past and may in the future become subject to claims and litigation alleging violations of the securities laws or other related claims, which could harm our business and require us to incur significant costs. Any future litigation may require significant attention from management and could result in significant legal expenses, settlement costs or damage awards that could have a material impact on our financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

 

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Risks Related to Government Regulation

We may be unable to obtain U.S. or foreign regulatory approval of momelotinib, and, as a result, we may be unable to commercialize momelotinib.

Momelotinib is, and any future product candidates that we may develop will be, subject to extensive governmental regulations relating to, among other things, research, testing, development, manufacturing, safety, efficacy, approval, recordkeeping, import, export, reporting, labeling, storage, packaging, advertising and promotion, pricing, marketing, distribution, import and export of drugs. Rigorous preclinical testing and clinical trials and an extensive regulatory approval process are required to be successfully completed before a new drug can be marketed in the United States and in many foreign jurisdictions. Satisfaction of these and other regulatory requirements is costly, time-consuming, uncertain and subject to unanticipated delays. It is possible that none of the product candidates we may develop will obtain the regulatory approvals necessary for us or our collaborators to begin selling them.

As a company, we have very limited experience in conducting and managing the clinical trials necessary to obtain regulatory approvals, including approval by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities, and, as a company, we have no experience in obtaining approval of any product candidates. The time required to obtain FDA and other approvals is unpredictable but typically takes many years following the initiation of clinical trials, depending upon the type, complexity and novelty of the product candidate. We may encounter delays or rejections during any stage of the regulatory review and approval process based upon the failure of clinical or laboratory data to demonstrate compliance with, or upon the failure of the product candidates to meet, the FDA’s or foreign regulatory authorities’ requirements for safety, efficacy and quality.

The standards that the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities use when regulating us are not always applied predictably or uniformly and can change. Because the product candidates we are developing or may develop may represent a new class of drug, the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities have not yet established any definitive policies, practices or guidelines in relation to these drugs. The lack of policies, practices or guidelines may hinder or slow review by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities of any regulatory filings that we may submit. Moreover, the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may respond to these submissions by defining requirements we may not have anticipated. Such responses could lead to significant delays in the development of momelotinib or any future product candidates.

Any analysis we perform of data from preclinical and clinical activities is subject to confirmation and interpretation by regulatory authorities, which could delay, limit or prevent regulatory approval. We may also encounter unexpected delays or increased costs due to new government regulations, for example, from future legislation or administrative action, or from changes in FDA or foreign regulatory authority policy during the period of product development, clinical trials and regulatory review. It is impossible to predict whether legislative changes will be enacted, or whether FDA or foreign regulatory authority, guidance or interpretations will be changed, or what the impact of such changes, if any, may be.

In addition, the FDA and/or foreign regulatory authorities may delay, limit, or deny approval of a product candidate for many reasons, including, but not limited to:

 

   

the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with the design or implementation of our clinical trials;

 

   

we may be unable to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities that a product candidate is safe and effective for any indication;

 

   

we may be unable to demonstrate that a product candidate’s clinical and other benefits outweigh its safety risks;

 

   

the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of data from preclinical studies or clinical trials;

 

   

the results of our clinical trials may not demonstrate the safety or efficacy required by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities for approval;

 

   

we may be unable to demonstrate the integrity of the clinical trial data to the satisfaction of the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities;

 

   

we may be unable to demonstrate the proper conduct of the clinical trial at all clinical trial sites, by our vendors, and by the Sponsor to the satisfaction of the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities;

 

   

the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may not approve our companion diagnostic, if a companion diagnostic is required;

 

   

we may encounter difficulties coming to agreement with the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities on a pediatric investigation or study plan or may encounter difficulties meeting the terms of the plan, once agreed;

 

   

the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may find deficiencies in our manufacturing processes or facilities; and

 

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the FDA’s or foreign regulatory authorities’ approval policies or regulations may significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval.

Even if we comply with all of the regulatory requirements of the FDA and foreign regulatory authorities, we may not obtain regulatory approval for momelotinib. If we fail to obtain regulatory approval for momelotinib, we will have no commercialized products and correspondingly no revenue.

In addition, because there may be approved treatments for some of the diseases for which we may seek approval, in order to receive regulatory approval, we may need to demonstrate through clinical trials that the product candidates we develop to treat these diseases, if any, are not only safe and effective, but safer or more effective than existing products. Furthermore, in recent years, there has been increased public and political pressure on the FDA with respect to the approval process for new drugs, and the FDA’s standards, especially regarding drug safety, appear to have become more stringent.

Any delay or failure in obtaining required approvals could have a material adverse effect on our ability to generate revenues from the particular product candidate for which we are seeking approval. Furthermore, any regulatory approval to market a product may be subject to limitations on the approved uses for which we may market the product or the labeling or other restrictions. In addition, the FDA has the authority to require a REMS plan as part of or after approval, which may impose further requirements or restrictions on the distribution or use of an approved product, such as limiting prescribing to certain physicians or medical centers that have undergone specialized training, limiting treatment to patients who meet certain safe-use criteria and requiring treated patients to enroll in a registry. These limitations and restrictions may limit the size of the market for the product and affect reimbursement by third-party payors.

We are also subject to numerous foreign regulatory requirements governing, among other things, the conduct of clinical trials, manufacturing and marketing authorization, pricing and third-party reimbursement. The foreign regulatory approval process varies among countries and may include all of the risks associated with FDA approval described above as well as risks attributable to the satisfaction of local regulations in foreign jurisdictions. Moreover, the time required to obtain approval may differ from that required to obtain FDA approval. Approval by the FDA does not ensure approval by regulatory authorities outside the United States and vice versa.

In Europe, the implementation of a new clinical trial regulation that harmonizes the assessment and supervision of clinical trials throughout Europe via a revised European Union clinical trial portal and database has been delayed until late 2020. In December 2019, the EMA management board endorsed the decision to commence the audit of the clinical trial information system (CTIS) in December 2020. The new clinical trial portal and database will be maintained by the EMA in collaboration with the European Commission and the European Union Member States. The objectives of the new regulation include consistent rules for conducting trials throughout the European Union, consistent data standards and adverse events listing, and consistent information on the authorization status. Information on the conduct and results of each clinical trial carried out in the European Union will be made publicly available.

In addition, a new pan-European clinical trial data information database has been created that will be complementary to the database established for pharmacovigilance (Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 with respect to European Union authorized medicinal products). In addition, Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 520/2012 outlines the practical implications for marketing authorization holders, national competent authorities, and the EMA. Also, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 357/2014 on post-authorization efficacy studies specifies the situations in which such studies may be required. Post-authorization efficacy studies may be required where concerns relating to some aspects of efficacy of the medicinal product are identified and can be resolved only after the medicinal product has been marketed, or where the understanding of the disease, the clinical methodology or the use of the medicinal product under real-life conditions indicate that previous efficacy evaluations might have to be revised significantly.

Brexit is also expected to disrupt the operation of pre- and post-authorization clinical trial infrastructure, as discussed below.

If we or any collaborators, manufacturers or service providers fail to comply with applicable federal, state or foreign laws or regulations, we could be subject to enforcement actions, which could affect our ability to develop, market and sell our products successfully and could harm our reputation and lead to reduced acceptance of our products by the market. These enforcement actions include, among others:

 

   

adverse regulatory inspection findings;

 

   

warning letters;

 

   

voluntary or mandatory product recalls or public notification or medical product safety alerts to healthcare professionals;

 

   

restrictions on, or prohibitions against, marketing our products;

 

   

restrictions on, or prohibitions against, importation or exportation of our products;

 

   

suspension of review or refusal to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications;

 

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exclusion from participation in government-funded healthcare programs;

 

   

exclusion from eligibility for the award of government contracts for our products;

 

   

suspension or withdrawal of product approvals;

 

   

product seizures;

 

   

injunctions; and

 

   

civil and criminal penalties and fines.

Furthermore, negotiations around Brexit have caused uncertainty in the current regulatory framework in Europe. Brexit has resulted in the EMA moving from the United Kingdom to the Netherlands. In the United Kingdom, this transition may cause disruption in the administrative and medical scientific links between the EMA and MHRA. Although the government of the United Kingdom has stated its intent to comply with legislation regarding the authorization of medical products as it leaves the European Union, the EMA and the United Kingdom are drawing up contingency plans should a “no deal” exit occur. A “no deal” exit would lead to disruption in the execution of international multi-center clinical trials, the monitoring of adverse events in through pharmacovigilance programs, the evaluation of the benefit-risk profiles of new medicinal products, and determination of marketing authorization. There would also be disruption to the supply and distribution as well as the import/export both of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and finished product. Such a disruption would create supply difficulties for ongoing clinical trials and may damage the integrity of the pharmacovigilance database for the safety of new products.

After Brexit, the United Kingdom will no longer automatically comply with the standards of clinical efficacy, safety and chemistry control, and manufacture as applied by the European Medicines Directive. Applications submitted for marketing authorization under the centralized EMA procedure will no longer be automatically validated for authorization in the United Kingdom, and the benefit-risk assessments conducted by the United Kingdom may not be consistent with the EMA conclusions.

The cumulative effects of the disruption to the regulatory framework may add considerably to the development lead time to marketing authorization and commercialization of products in the European Union and/or the United Kingdom. In view of the current lack of detail and resolution with regard to the Brexit implementation, we are unable to confidently predict the effects of such disruption to the regulatory framework in Europe.

Even if we receive regulatory approval of any product candidates, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or experience unanticipated problems with our product candidates.

Any regulatory approvals that we receive for any product candidates we may develop will require surveillance to monitor the safety and efficacy of the product candidate, and may require us to conduct post-approval clinical studies. The FDA may also require a REMS in order to approve momelotinib or any future product candidates, which could entail 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. In addition, if the FDA or a foreign regulatory authority approves momelotinib, the manufacturing processes, labeling, packaging, distribution, AE reporting, storage, advertising, promotion, import, export and recordkeeping for momelotinib will be subject to extensive and ongoing regulatory requirements. These requirements include submissions of safety and other post-marketing information and reports, registration, as well as continued compliance with cGMPs and GCPs for any clinical trials that we conduct post-approval.

Moreover, if we obtain regulatory approval for momelotinib, we will only be permitted to market our products for the indication approved by FDA or foreign regulatory authority, and such approval may involve limitations on the indicated uses or promotional claims we may make for our products, or otherwise not permit labeling that sufficiently differentiates momelotinib from competitive products with comparable therapeutic profiles. For example, we will not be able to claim that our products have fewer side effects, or improve compliance or efficacy unless we can demonstrate those attributes to FDA or foreign regulatory authority in comparative clinical trials. Communications that occur prior to obtaining regulatory approval for momelotinib could also be considered promotional and thus may also be subject to certain FDA or foreign regulatory authority requirements.

Later discovery of previously unknown problems with momelotinib, including adverse effects of unanticipated severity or frequency, or with our third-party manufacturers or manufacturing processes, or failure to comply with regulatory requirements, may result in, among other things:

 

   

restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of momelotinib, withdrawal of the product from the market, or voluntary or mandatory product recalls;

 

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fines, warning letters, or untitled letters;

 

   

holds on clinical trials;

 

   

refusal by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities to approve pending applications or supplements to approved applications filed by us or suspension or revocation of license approvals;

 

   

product seizure or detention, or refusal to permit the import or export of momelotinib; and

 

   

injunctions, the imposition of civil penalties or criminal prosecution.

The FDA’s and foreign 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.

A Fast Track Designation by the FDA, even if granted for momelotinib or any future product candidates, may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process, and does not increase the likelihood that such product candidates will receive marketing approval.

If a drug is intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition and the drug demonstrates the potential to address unmet medical needs for this condition, the drug sponsor may apply for FDA Fast Track Designation for a particular indication. Marketing applications filed by sponsors of products in Fast Track development may qualify for priority review under the policies and procedures offered by the FDA, but the Fast Track Designation does not assure any such qualification or ultimate marketing approval by the FDA. We previously announced that the FDA had granted Fast Track designation to momelotinib for the treatment of patients with intermediate/high-risk myelofibrosis who have previously received a JAK inhibitor. Receipt of Fast Track Designation may not result in a faster development process, review or approval compared to drugs considered for approval under conventional FDA procedures. In addition, the FDA may withdraw any Fast Track Designation at any time if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development program. We may seek Fast Track Designation for any future product candidates, but there is no assurance that the FDA will grant this status to any future proposed product candidates.

If we or any of our independent contractors, consultants, collaborators, manufacturers, vendors or service providers fail to comply with healthcare and data privacy laws and regulations, we or they could be subject to enforcement actions, which could result in penalties and affect our ability to develop, market and sell momelotinib or any future product candidates and may harm our reputation.

We are or may in the future be subject to federal, state, and foreign healthcare and data privacy laws and regulations pertaining to, among other things, fraud and abuse and patients’ rights. These laws and regulations include:

 

   

the U.S. federal Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons and entities from soliciting, receiving or providing remuneration, directly or indirectly, to induce either the referral of an individual for a healthcare item or service, or the purchasing or ordering of an item or service, for which payment may be made under a federal healthcare program such as Medicare or Medicaid;

 

   

the U.S. federal false claims and civil monetary penalties laws, including the federal civil False Claims Act, which prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting or causing to be presented, claims for payment by government funded programs such as Medicare or Medicaid that are false or fraudulent, and which may apply to us by virtue of statements and representations made to customers or third parties;

 

   

the U.S. federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which created additional federal criminal statutes that prohibit, among other things, knowingly and willfully executing or attempting to execute a scheme to defraud healthcare programs;

 

   

HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), which imposes requirements on certain types of people and entities relating to the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information, and requires notification to affected individuals and regulatory authorities of certain breaches of security of individually identifiable health information;

 

   

the federal Physician Payment Sunshine Act, which requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, to report annually to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians, other healthcare providers and teaching hospitals, and ownership and investment interests held by physicians and

 

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other healthcare providers and their immediate family members, which is published in a searchable form on an annual basis; effective January 1, 2022, we will also be required to report on transfers of value to physician assistants, nurse practitioners or clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and certified nurse-midwives;

 

   

state laws comparable to each of the above federal laws, such as, for example, anti-kickback and false claims laws that may be broader in scope and also apply to commercial insurers and other non-federal payors, requirements for mandatory corporate regulatory compliance programs, and laws relating to patient data privacy and security. Other state laws require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government; require drug manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures; and state and foreign laws govern the privacy and security of health information in some circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus complicating compliance efforts.

In the European Union, the GDPR was adopted in May 2016 and took effect on May 25, 2018. The GDPR is intended to harmonize data protection requirements across the European Union Member States by establishing new and expanded operational requirements for entities that process, or control personal data generated in the European Union, including consent requirements for disclosing the way personal information will be used, information retention requirements, notification requirements in the event of a data breach, and other requirements. The United Kingdom enacted the Data Protection Act 2018 to directly enforce the GDPR. The government of the United Kingdom has also stated that the United Kingdom will still abide with the provisions of the GDPR after Brexit. However, in the event of a “no deal” Brexit, it is uncertain whether this commitment will still be met. In the case of a “no deal” Brexit, it is also uncertain whether clinical trial data and pharmacovigilance adverse event data originating from the United Kingdom will be compliant with European Union privacy legislation and whether the data will be incorporated by EMA in the assessment of the ongoing benefit-risk profile and hence continued support of European Union marketing authorizations. The government of the United Kingdom has issued guidance as to how data protection will work in the event of a “no deal” Brexit. The European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 will ensure that the fundamental principles, obligations, and rights of GDPR that apply to organizations and data subjects will stay the same after Brexit. New regulations will preserve European Union GDPR standards in domestic law and will:

 

   

Transitionally recognize all EEA countries (including European Union Member States) and Gibraltar as “adequate” to allow data transfers from the United Kingdom to Europe to continue;

 

   

Preserve the effect of existing European Union adequacy decisions on a transitional basis;

 

   

Recognize European Union Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) in United Kingdom law and give the ICO the power to issue new clauses;

 

   

Recognize Binding Corporate Rules (BCRs) authorised before Exit day;

 

   

Maintain the extraterritorial scope of the United Kingdom data protection framework; and

 

   

Oblige non-United Kingdom controllers who are subject to the United Kingdom data protection framework to appoint representatives in the United Kingdom if they are processing United Kingdom data on a large scale.

We have certified under the European Union-U.S. Privacy Shield and the Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield with respect to our transfer of certain personal data from the European Union (EU) to the U.S. On July 16, 2020, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) invalidated the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield as a mechanism for managing personal data transfers between the EU and the U.S. and onward to other countries. While the ECJ upheld the adequacy of EU-specified standard contractual clauses (SCCs), a form of contract approved by the EU commission as an adequate data transfer mechanism, it made clear that reliance on them alone may not necessarily be sufficient in all circumstances and that their use must be assessed on a case-by-case basis taking into account the surveillance laws and right of individuals in the U.S and other onward countries. The ECJ went on to state that, if the competent supervisory authority in an EU country believes that the SCCs cannot be complied with in the recipient country and the required level of protection cannot be secured by other means, such supervisory authority is under an obligation to suspend or prohibit that transfer unless the data exporter has already done so itself. We will need to evaluate the mechanisms we currently use to transfer personal data from the EU to the U.S., and any additional mechanisms that may be required to maintain adequate safeguards for personal data transfer. As a result, we may be unsuccessful in maintaining appropriate compliance mechanisms for our transfer and receipt of personal data from the EU to the U.S. and may be at risk of experiencing reluctance or refusal of European or multi-national partners, clinical trial sites or other third parties with whom we do business and incurring potential regulatory penalties, which may have an adverse effect on our business.

If our operations are found to be in violation of any such health care laws and regulations, we may be subject to penalties, including administrative, civil and criminal penalties, monetary damages, disgorgement, imprisonment, the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, loss of eligibility to obtain approvals from the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities, or exclusion from participation in government contracting, healthcare reimbursement or other government programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, any of which could adversely impact our financial results. Although effective compliance programs can mitigate the risk of investigation and

 

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prosecution for violations of these laws, these risks cannot be entirely eliminated. Any action against us for an alleged or suspected violation could cause us to incur significant legal expenses and could divert our management’s attention from the operation of our business, even if our defense is successful. In addition, achieving and sustaining compliance with applicable laws and regulations may be costly to us in terms of money, time and resources.

Any products we develop may become subject to unfavorable pricing regulations, third-party coverage and reimbursement practices or healthcare reform initiatives, thereby harming our business.

The regulations that govern marketing approvals, pricing, coverage and reimbursement for new drugs vary widely from country to country. Many countries require approval of the sale price of a drug before it can be marketed. The pricing review period begins after marketing or product licensing approval is granted in most cases. In some foreign markets, prescription pharmaceutical pricing remains subject to continuing governmental control even after initial approval is granted. Although we intend to monitor these regulations, our momelotinib program is currently in development and we will not be able to assess the impact of price regulations for a few years. As a result, we might obtain regulatory approval for a product in a particular country, but then be subject to price regulations that delay our commercial launch of the product and negatively impact the revenues we are able to generate from the sale of the product in that country.

Our ability to commercialize any products successfully also will depend in part on the extent to which coverage and adequate reimbursement for these products and related treatments will be available from government health administration authorities, private health insurers and other third-party payors. In many jurisdictions, a product candidate must be approved for reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that jurisdiction. Obtaining coverage and reimbursement approval of a product from a government or other third-party payor is a time-consuming and costly process that could require us to provide to the payor supporting scientific, clinical and cost-effectiveness data for the use of our products. If we are not currently capturing the scientific and clinical data that will be required for reimbursement approval, we may be required to conduct additional trials, which may delay or suspend reimbursement approval. Additionally, in the United States, no uniform policy of coverage and reimbursement for products exists among third-party payors. 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 momelotinib to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be obtained.

Even if we succeed in bringing one or more products to the market, these products may not be considered cost-effective, and the amount reimbursed for any products may be insufficient to allow us to sell our products on a competitive basis. Because our programs are in the early stages of development, we are unable at this time to determine their cost effectiveness or the likely level or method of reimbursement. Increasingly, the third-party payors, such as government and private insurance plans, who reimburse patients or healthcare providers, are requiring that drug companies provide them with predetermined discounts from list prices, and are seeking to reduce the prices charged or the amounts reimbursed for pharmaceutical products. If the coverage provided for any products we develop is inadequate in light of our development and other costs, our return on investment could be adversely affected.

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA), established the Medicare Part D program to provide a voluntary prescription drug benefit to patients with disabilities and seniors. Under Part D, Medicare beneficiaries may enroll in prescription drug plans offered by private entities that will provide coverage of outpatient prescription drugs, such as momelotinib, if approved. Medicare Part D coverage is not standardized. Part D prescription drug plan sponsors are not required to pay for all covered Part D drugs, and each drug plan can develop its own drug formulary that identifies which drugs it will cover and at what tier or level. However, Part D prescription drug formularies must include drugs within each therapeutic category and class of covered Part D drugs, though not necessarily all the drugs in each category or class. Any formulary used by a Part D prescription drug plan must be developed and reviewed by a pharmacy and therapeutic committee. Government payment for some of the costs of prescription drugs may increase demand for products for which we receive regulatory approval. However, any negotiated prices for our products covered by a Part D prescription drug plan will likely be lower than the prices we might otherwise obtain. Moreover, while the MMA applies only to drug benefits for Medicare beneficiaries, private payers often follow Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own payment rates. Any reduction in payment that results from the MMA may result in a similar reduction in payments from non-government payers.

Historically, Medicare Part D enrollees have had a partial gap in their coverage (known as the “coverage gap” or “donut hole”) wherein their coinsurance increases from 25% to a higher percentage (35% for brand drugs in 2018) after they reach an initial coverage limit, and remains at that level until they reach a catastrophic coverage threshold where the coinsurance is considerably reduced. However, beginning in 2019, Medicare Part D enrollees will continue to pay a 25% coinsurance during this interval – the same percentage that they were responsible for before they reached the initial coverage limit – thereby closing the coverage gap. The cost of closing the coverage gap is being borne by innovator companies and the government through subsidies. Beginning in 2011, each manufacturer of a drug approved under an NDA was required to enter into a Medicare Part D coverage gap discount agreement and provide a 50% discount on those drugs dispensed to Medicare Part D enrollees in the coverage gap, in order for its drugs to be reimbursed by Medicare Part D. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 increased the manufacturer’s subsidy under this program from 50% to 70% of the negotiated price, beginning in 2019.

 

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Certain products we develop, such as momelotinib, if approved, may need to be administered under the supervision of a physician on an outpatient basis. Under applicable U.S. law, certain drugs that are not usually self-administered (including certain injectable drugs) may be eligible for coverage under the Medicare Part B program if:

 

   

they are incident to a physician’s services;

 

   

they are reasonable and necessary for the diagnosis or treatment of the illness or injury for which they are administered according to accepted standards of medical practice; and

 

   

they have been approved by the FDA and meet other requirements of the statute.

There may be significant delays in obtaining coverage for newly-approved products, and coverage may be more limited than the purposes for which the drug is approved by the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities. Moreover, eligibility for coverage does not imply that any drug will be reimbursed in all cases or at a rate that covers our costs, including research, development, manufacture, sale and distribution. Interim payments for new drugs, if applicable, may also not be sufficient to cover our costs and may not be made permanent.

Reimbursement may be based on payments allowed for lower-cost products that are already reimbursed, may be incorporated into existing payments for other services and may reflect budgetary constraints or imperfections in Medicare data. Net prices for products may be reduced by mandatory discounts or rebates required by government healthcare programs or private payors and by any future relaxation of laws that presently restrict imports of products from countries where they may be sold at lower prices than in the United States. Third-party payors often rely upon Medicare Part D coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement rates. However, no uniform policy requirement 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. Our inability to promptly obtain coverage and adequate reimbursement rates from both government-funded and private payors for new drugs that we develop and for which we obtain regulatory approval could have a material adverse effect on our operating results, our ability to raise capital needed to commercialize products and our financial condition.

We believe that the efforts of governments and third-party payors to contain or reduce the cost of healthcare and legislative and regulatory proposals to broaden the availability of healthcare will continue to affect the business and financial condition of oncology companies. A number of legislative and regulatory changes in the healthcare system in the United States and other major healthcare markets have been proposed in recent years, and such efforts have expanded substantially in recent years. These developments have included prescription drug benefit legislation that was enacted and took effect in January 2006, healthcare reform legislation enacted by certain states, and major healthcare reform legislation that was passed by Congress and enacted into law in the United States in 2010. The U.S. Congress and the Trump administration have similarly expressed concerns over the pricing of pharmaceutical products and there can be no assurance as to how this scrutiny will impact future pricing of pharmaceutical products generally. To date, there have been several recent U.S. congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted state and federal legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, reduce the costs of drugs under Medicare and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drug products. While these and any proposed measures will require authorization through additional legislation to become effective, Congress and the Trump administration have each indicated that it will continue to seek new legislative and/or administrative measures to control drug costs. For example, in May 2018 the Trump administration published the American Patients First Blueprint to Lower Drug Prices and Reduce Out-of-Pocket Costs intended to lower prescription drug prices, which the Department of Health and Human Services is beginning to roll out. Future developments could, directly or indirectly, affect our ability to sell our products, if approved, at a favorable price.

At the state level, individual states are increasingly aggressive in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical 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 health care 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 health care programs. These measures could reduce the ultimate demand for our products, once approved, or put pressure on our product pricing. We expect that additional state and federal healthcare reform measures will be adopted in the future, any of which could limit the amounts that federal and state governments will pay for healthcare products and services, which could result in reduced demand for momelotinib or additional pricing pressures.

 

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For example, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (PPACA), contains provisions that affect companies in the pharmaceutical industry and other healthcare related industries by imposing additional costs and changes to business practices. Provisions affecting pharmaceutical companies include the following.

 

   

mandatory rebates for drugs sold into the Medicaid program were increased, and the rebate requirement was extended to drugs used in risk-based Medicaid managed care plans;

 

   

the 340B Drug Pricing Program under the Public Health Services Act was extended to require mandatory discounts for drug products sold to certain critical access hospitals, cancer hospitals and other covered entities;

 

   

expansion of eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs;

 

   

expansion of 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;

 

   

pharmaceutical companies are required to offer discounts on brand-name drugs to patients who fall within the Medicare Part D coverage gap, commonly referred to as the “donut hole”; the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 increased the manufacturer’s subsidy under this program from 50% to 70% of the negotiated price, beginning in 2019; and

 

   

pharmaceutical companies are required to pay an annual non-tax-deductible fee to the federal government based on each company’s market share of prior year total sales of branded products to certain federal healthcare programs, such as Medicare, Medicaid, Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense. Since we expect our branded pharmaceutical sales, if any of our products are approved, to constitute a small portion of the total federal health program pharmaceutical market, we do not expect this annual assessment to have a material impact on our financial condition.

There have been judicial and Congressional challenges and amendments to certain aspects of the PPACA. President Trump has suggested that he plans to seek repeal of all or portions of the PPACA and indicated that Congress should replace the PPACA with new legislation, and in 2017, President Trump issued the Executive Order Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition, directing certain federal agencies to modify their implementation of the PPACA. We expect there will be additional challenges, amendments and modifications to the PPACA in the future, including potential repeal of PPACA in full or in part. The full effect of the U.S. healthcare reform legislation on our business activities is unknown. The financial impact of the U.S. healthcare reform legislation will depend on a number of factors, including but not limited to, the policies reflected in implementing regulations and guidance and changes in sales volumes for products affected by the new system of rebates, discounts and fees. The legislation may also have a positive impact on our future net sales, if any, by increasing the aggregate number of persons with healthcare coverage in the United States. Further, new litigation is currently pending before the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate certain provisions of the PPACA.

Moreover, we cannot predict what healthcare reform initiatives may be adopted in the future. Further federal and state legislative and regulatory developments are likely, and we expect ongoing initiatives in the United States to increase pressure on drug pricing. Such reforms could have an adverse effect on anticipated revenues from product candidates that we may successfully develop and for which we may obtain regulatory approval and may affect our overall financial condition and ability to develop product candidates.

Our ability to obtain services, reimbursement or funding may be impacted by possible reductions in federal spending in the United States as well as globally.

U.S. federal government agencies currently face potentially significant spending reductions. Under the Budget Control Act of 2011, the failure of Congress to enact deficit reduction measures of at least $1.2 trillion for the years 2013 through 2021 triggered automatic cuts to most federal programs. These cuts would include aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to two percent per fiscal year, which went into effect beginning on April 1, 2013 and will stay in effect through 2025 unless additional Congressional action is taken. The American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, which was enacted on January 1, 2013, among other things, reduced Medicare payments to several providers, including hospitals and imaging centers. The full impact on our business of these automatic cuts is uncertain. Additionally, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act enacted in 2020 may result in future spending reductions and cuts to federal programs.

If government spending is reduced, anticipated budgetary shortfalls may also impact the ability of relevant agencies, such as the FDA or the National Institutes of Health to continue to function at current levels. Amounts allocated to federal grants and contracts may be reduced or eliminated. These reductions may also impact the ability of relevant agencies to timely review and approve drug research and development, manufacturing, and marketing activities, which may delay our ability to develop, market and sell any products we may develop. Any reductions in government spending in countries outside the United States may also impact us negatively, such as by limiting the functioning of international regulatory agencies in countries outside the United States or by eliminating programs on which we may rely.

 

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Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval for momelotinib or any future product candidates in one jurisdiction does not mean that we will be successful in obtaining regulatory approval of any of our product candidates in other jurisdictions.

Obtaining and maintaining regulatory approval for momelotinib or any future product candidates in one jurisdiction does not guarantee that we will be able to obtain or maintain regulatory approval in any other jurisdiction, while a failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approval in one jurisdiction may have a negative effect on the regulatory approval process in others. For example, even if the FDA grants marketing approval for a product candidate, comparable regulatory authorities in foreign jurisdictions must also approve the manufacturing, marketing and promotion of the product candidate in those countries. Approval procedures vary among jurisdictions and can involve requirements and administrative review periods different from, and greater than, those in the United States, including additional preclinical studies or clinical trials as clinical studies conducted in one jurisdiction may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions. In many jurisdictions outside the United States, a product candidate must be approved for reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that jurisdiction. In some cases, the price that we intend to charge for our products is also subject to approval.

We may also submit marketing applications in other countries. Regulatory authorities in jurisdictions outside of the United States have requirements for approval of product candidates with which we must comply prior to marketing in those jurisdictions. Obtaining foreign regulatory approvals and compliance with foreign regulatory requirements could result in significant delays, difficulties and costs for us and could delay or prevent the introduction of our products in certain countries. If we fail to comply with the regulatory requirements in international markets or receive applicable marketing approvals, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of momelotinib or any future product candidates will be harmed.

If we or our third-party manufacturers fail to comply with environmental, health and safety laws and regulations, we could become subject to fines or penalties or incur costs that could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.

Our research and development activities involve the controlled use of potentially hazardous substances, including chemical and biological materials, by ourselves and our third-party manufacturers. Our manufacturers are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations in the United States and abroad governing laboratory procedures and the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of medical and hazardous materials. Although we believe that our manufacturers’ procedures for using, handling, storing and disposing of these materials comply with legally prescribed standards, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury resulting from medical or hazardous materials. As a result of any such contamination or injury, we may incur liability or local, city, state or federal authorities may curtail the use of these materials and interrupt our business operations. In the event of an accident, we could be held liable for damages or penalized with fines, and the liability could exceed our resources. We do not have any insurance for liabilities arising from medical or hazardous materials. Compliance with applicable environmental, health and safety laws and regulations is expensive, and current or future environmental regulations may impair our research, development and production efforts, which could harm our business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations.

Although we maintain workers’ compensation insurance to cover us for costs and expenses, we may incur due to injuries to our employees resulting from the use of hazardous materials, this insurance may not provide adequate coverage against potential liabilities. We do not maintain insurance for environmental liability or toxic tort claims that may be asserted against us in connection with our storage or disposal of biological, hazardous or radioactive materials.

In addition, we may incur substantial costs in order to comply with current or future environmental, health and safety laws and regulations. These current or future laws and regulations may impair our research, development or production efforts. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations also may result in substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could increase our tax burden and adversely affect our business and financial condition.

In December 2017, the U.S. government enacted comprehensive tax legislation referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Tax Act) that includes significant changes to the taxation of business entities. These changes include, among others, (i) a permanent reduction to the corporate income tax rate, (ii) revisions to uses and limitations of net operating loss carryforwards (iii) a partial limitation on the deductibility of business interest expense, (iv) a shift of the U.S. taxation of multinational corporations from a tax on worldwide income to a participation exemption system (along with certain rules designed to prevent erosion of the U.S. income tax base) and (v) a one-time tax on accumulated offshore earnings held in cash and illiquid assets, with the latter taxed at a lower rate.

In addition, beginning in 2022, the tax legislation will require U.S. research and experimental expenditures to be capitalized and amortized ratably over a five-year period. Any such expenditures attributable to research conducted outside the U.S. must be capitalized and amortized over a 15-year period. Further, the Tax Act, among other things, reduces the orphan drug credit from 50% to 25% of qualifying expenditures. When and if we become profitable, this amortization of research and experimental expenditures and reduction in orphan drug tax credits may result in an increased federal income tax burden, as it may cause us to pay federal income taxes earlier under the revised tax law than under the prior law and, despite being partially off-set by a reduction in the corporate tax rate from a top marginal rate of 35% to a flat rate of 21%, may increase our total federal tax liability.

 

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Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we are not able to obtain and enforce patent protection for our technologies or momelotinib, development and commercialization of our product candidates may be adversely affected.

Our success depends in part on our ability to obtain and maintain patents and other forms of intellectual property rights, methods used to manufacture momelotinib and methods for treating patients using momelotinib, as well as our ability to preserve our trade secrets, to prevent third parties from infringing upon our proprietary rights and to operate without infringing upon the proprietary rights of others.

We and our future licensors and licensees may not be able to apply for or prosecute patents on certain aspects of momelotinib or our technologies at a reasonable cost in a timely fashion or at all. It is also possible that we or our current licensors, or any future licensors or licensees, will fail to identify patentable aspects of inventions made in the course of development and commercialization activities before it is too late to obtain patent protection on them. Therefore, our patents and applications may not be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. It is possible that defects of form in the preparation or filing of our patents or patent applications may exist, or may arise in the future, such as with respect to proper priority claims, inventorship, claim scope or patent term adjustments. If our current licensors, or any future licensors or licensees, are not fully cooperative or disagree with us as to the prosecution, maintenance or enforcement of any patent rights, such patent rights could be compromised and we might not be able to prevent third parties from making, using, and selling competing products. If there are material defects in the form or preparation of our patents or patent applications, such patents or applications may be invalid and unenforceable. Moreover, our competitors may independently develop equivalent knowledge, methods, and know-how. Any of these outcomes could impair our ability to prevent competition from third parties, which may have an adverse impact on our business, financial condition and operating results.

There is no guarantee that any of our pending patent applications will result in issued or granted patents, that any of our issued or granted patents will not later be found to be invalid or unenforceable or that any issued or granted patents will include claims that are sufficiently broad to cover momelotinib or our technologies or to provide meaningful protection from our competitors. Moreover, the patent position of oncology companies can be highly uncertain because it involves complex legal and factual questions. We will be able to protect our proprietary rights from unauthorized use by third parties only to the extent that our current and future proprietary technology and momelotinib are covered by valid and enforceable patents or are effectively maintained as trade secrets. If third parties disclose or misappropriate our proprietary rights, it may materially and adversely impact our position in the market.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other provisions during the patent process. There are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. In such an event, competitors might be able to enter the market earlier than would otherwise have been the case. The standards applied by the USPTO and foreign patent offices in granting patents are not always applied uniformly or predictably. For example, there is no uniform worldwide policy regarding patentable subject matter or the scope of claims allowable in oncology patents. Moreover, changes in either the patent laws or in the interpretations of patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our intellectual property. As such, we do not know the degree of future protection that we will have on our proprietary products and technology. While we will endeavor to try to protect momelotinib with intellectual property rights such as patents, as appropriate, the process of obtaining patents is time-consuming, expensive and sometimes unpredictable.

Further, patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years after it is filed (or 20 years after the filing date of the first non-provisional US patent application to which it claims priority). Various extensions may be available; however, the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Without patent protection for momelotinib, we may be open to competition from generic versions of momelotinib. Further, the extensive period of time between patent filing and regulatory approval for a product candidate limits the time during which we can market a product candidate under patent protection, which may particularly affect the profitability of momelotinib.

If we are unable to protect the confidentiality of our trade secrets our business and competitive position would be harmed.

In addition to seeking patent protection for certain aspects of momelotinib and our technologies, we also consider trade secrets, including confidential and unpatented know-how important to the maintenance of our competitive position. We protect trade secrets and confidential and unpatented know-how, in part, by entering into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties who have access to such knowledge, such as our employees, outside scientific collaborators, CROs, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors and other third parties. We also enter into confidentiality and invention or patent assignment agreements with our employees and consultants that obligate them to maintain confidentiality and assign their inventions to us.

 

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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 in the United States and certain foreign jurisdictions are less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent them from using that technology or information to compete with us. If any of our trade secrets were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor, our competitive position would be harmed.

Changes in patent law could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect momelotinib.

Numerous recent changes to the patent laws and proposed changes to the rules of the USPTO may have a significant impact on our ability to protect our technology and enforce our intellectual property rights. For example, the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) enacted in 2011 involves significant changes in patent legislation. 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 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.

Further, the Supreme Court has ruled on several patent cases in recent years, some of which cases either narrow the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances or weaken the rights of patent owners in certain situations. These changes have led to increasing uncertainty with regard to the scope and value of our issued patents and to our ability to obtain patents in the future.

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 United States federal court 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.

Depending on decisions by the U.S. Congress, the U.S. federal courts, the USPTO or similar authorities in foreign jurisdictions, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that may weaken our and our licensors’ ability to obtain new patents or to enforce existing patents we and our licensors or partners may obtain in the future.

Once granted, patents may remain open to opposition, interference, re-examination, post-grant review, inter partes review, nullification derivation and opposition proceedings in court or before patent offices or similar proceedings for a given period after allowance or grant, during which time third parties can raise objections against such initial 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.

We or any future strategic partners may become subject to third-party claims or litigation alleging infringement of patents or other proprietary rights or seeking to invalidate patents or other proprietary rights.

We or any future strategic partners may be subject to third-party claims for infringement or misappropriation of patent or other proprietary rights that prevent us from developing and commercializing our products. If we, our licensors or any future strategic partners are found to infringe a third-party patent or other intellectual property rights, we could be required to pay substantial damages, potentially including treble damages and attorneys’ fees, if we are found to have willfully infringed. In addition, we or any future strategic partners may choose to seek, or be required to seek, a license from a third party, which may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all. Even if a license can be obtained on acceptable terms, the rights may be non-exclusive, which could give our competitors access to the same technology or intellectual property rights licensed to us. If we fail to obtain a required license, we may be unable to effectively market product candidates, which could limit our ability to generate revenue or achieve profitability and possibly prevent us from generating revenue sufficient to sustain our operations. Alternatively, we may need to redesign our infringing products, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure. In addition, we may find it necessary to pursue claims or initiate lawsuits to protect or enforce our patent or other intellectual property rights. The cost to us in defending or initiating any litigation or other proceeding relating to patent or other proprietary rights, even if resolved in our favor, could be substantial, and litigation would divert our management’s attention. Some of our competitors may be able to sustain the costs of complex patent litigation more effectively than we can because they have substantially greater resources. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could delay our research and development efforts and limit our ability to continue our operations.

 

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We may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful.

Competitors may infringe our patents or the patents of our licensors. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. If we were to initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering one of our products or our technology, the defendant could counterclaim that our patent is invalid or unenforceable. 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, for example, lack of novelty, obviousness or non-enablement. Grounds for an unenforceability assertion could be an allegation that someone connected with prosecution of the patent withheld relevant information from the USPTO, or made a misleading statement, during prosecution. The outcome following legal assertions of invalidity and unenforceability during patent litigation is unpredictable. With respect to the validity question, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art, of which we and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of invalidity or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on one or more of our products or certain aspects of our platform technology. Such a loss of patent protection could have a material adverse impact on our business. Patents and other intellectual property rights also will not protect our technology if competitors design around our protected technology without legally infringing our patents or other intellectual property rights.

In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court 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, held unenforceable, or interpreted narrowly and could put our patent applications at risk of not issuing. 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.

Interference proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by the USPTO may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications or those of our licensors. An unfavorable outcome could result in a loss of our current patent rights and could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party. Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms. Litigation or interference proceedings may result in a decision adverse to our interests and, even if we are successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees. We may not be able to prevent, alone or with our licensors, misappropriation of our 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 stock.

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.

We have limited foreign intellectual property rights and may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.

We have limited intellectual property rights outside the United States. Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on 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. 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 further, may export otherwise 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 products 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 oncology 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 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

 

56


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.

If we fail to comply with our obligations under our purchase agreement with Gilead, we may be required to pay damages.

In connection with our acquisition of momelotinib from Gilead, we are required to make aggregate milestone payments of up to $190.0 million to Gilead upon the achievement of certain regulatory and commercial milestones, as well as low double-digit to high-teens percent tiered combined royalties based upon net sales and additional tiered milestone payments upon reaching certain sales milestones. If we breach any of these obligations, we may be required to indemnify the Seller, subject to certain limitations set forth in the momelotinib purchase.

We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.

We have received confidential and proprietary information from third parties. In addition, we employ individuals who were previously employed at other oncology companies. We may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed confidential information of these third parties or our employees’ former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial cost and be a distraction to our management and employees.

Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock

The market price of our common stock has been and may continue to be volatile, and you may be unable to sell your shares at or above the price at which you purchased them.

The market price of our common stock has been and may continue to be subject to wide fluctuations. For example, we experienced a significant decrease in our stock price after we announced the suspension of the development of our former lead product candidate PNT2258 and the DNAi platform in June 2016 and after we announced the preliminary clinical data from our two Phase 1/2 studies of SRA737 in June 2019. In addition, the trading prices for our common stock and other biopharmaceutical companies have been highly volatile as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Factors affecting the market price of our common stock include, but are not limited to:

 

   

the timing and results of development activities related to momelotinib;

 

   

our capital requirements, anticipated financings and the related dilution;

 

   

the commencement, enrollment or results of future clinical trials we may conduct, or changes in the development status of momelotinib;

 

   

any delay in our regulatory filings for momelotinib and any adverse development or perceived adverse development with respect to the applicable regulatory authority’s review of such filings;

 

   

disputes with Gilead regarding our acquisition of momelotinib and assumption of the related clinical trials;

 

   

our ability to acquire or in-license new product candidates to grow our pipeline;

 

   

adverse results or delays in preclinical studies or clinical trials;

 

   

changes in laws or regulations applicable to momelotinib, including but not limited to clinical trial requirements for approvals;

 

   

adverse developments concerning our manufacturers;

 

   

our inability to obtain adequate product supply for any approved product or inability to do so at acceptable prices;

 

   

our inability to establish collaborations if needed, or to out-license momelotinib or technologies on favorable terms or at all;

 

   

our failure to commercialize momelotinib;

 

   

additions or departures of key scientific or management personnel;

 

   

unanticipated serious safety concerns related to the use of momelotinib;

 

   

announcements of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by us or our competitors;

 

   

the size and growth of our initial target markets;

 

57


   

our ability to successfully treat additional types of cancers or at different stages;

 

   

actual or anticipated variations in quarterly operating results;

 

   

our failure to meet the estimates and projections of the investment community or that we may otherwise provide to the public;

 

   

publication of research reports about us or our industry, or immunotherapy in particular, or positive or negative recommendations or withdrawal of research coverage by securities analysts;

 

   

changes in the market valuations of similar companies;

 

   

overall performance of the equity markets;

 

   

sales of our common stock by us or our stockholders in the future;

 

   

the low trading volume and limited public market for our common stock;

 

   

disputes or other developments relating to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain patent protection for our technologies;

 

   

significant lawsuits, including patent or stockholder litigation;

 

   

actions instituted by activist shareholders or others;

 

   

general political and economic conditions, including global pandemics such as COVID-19; and

 

   

other events or factors, many of which are beyond our control.

In addition, the stock market in general, and oncology companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. Securities class action litigation is often instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities. For example, we have previously vigorously defended purported securities class action lawsuits against us and certain of our executive officers. This type of litigation could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which could harm our business, operating results or financial condition.

Market volatility arising from the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to increased shareholder activism if we experience a market valuation that they believe are not reflective of their intrinsic value. Activist campaigns that contest or conflict with our strategic direction or seek changes in the composition of our board of directors could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.

We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock so any returns will be limited to the value of our stock.

We currently anticipate that we will retain future earnings for the development, operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any return to stockholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their stock.

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 stock less attractive to investors.

We are an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) enacted in April 2012. 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 (Section 404) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (Sarbanes-Oxley Act), reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements and exemptions from the requirements of holding nonbinding advisory stockholder votes on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we may rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (i) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which requires the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates to exceed $700 million as of the prior June 30th, whichever is earliest; and (ii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.

 

58


Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can also delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting standards and, therefore, are subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. As a result, changes in rules of U.S. generally accepted accounting principles or their interpretation, the adoption of new guidance or the application of existing guidance to changes in our business could significantly affect our financial position and results of operations.

We incur significantly increased costs and devote substantial management time as a result of operating as a public company.

As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of the stock exchange upon which our common stock is listed and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies, including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time-consuming and costly. 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.

Pursuant to Section 404, we are required to furnish a report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting. However, while we remain an emerging growth company or a non-accelerated filer, we will not be required to include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with Section 404 within the prescribed period, we are engaged in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting, which is both costly and challenging. In this regard, we will need to continue to dedicate internal resources, potentially engage outside consultants and adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a risk that we will not be able to conclude, within the prescribed timeframe or at all, that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404.

Additionally, we have in the past and may in the future identify material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting. Under standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a deficiency in internal control over financial reporting exists when the design or operation of a control does not allow management or personnel, in the normal course of performing their assigned functions, to prevent or detect misstatements on a timely basis. A material weakness is a deficiency or combination of deficiencies in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected and corrected on a timely basis. We cannot assure you that there will not be additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies that our independent registered public accounting firm or we will identify. If we identify such issues or if we are unable to produce accurate and timely financial statements, our stock price may be adversely affected and we may be unable to maintain compliance with the Nasdaq Stock Market listing requirements.

Provisions in our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws and Delaware law might discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company or changes in our management and, therefore, depress the market price of our common stock.

Our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws contain provisions that could depress the market price of our common stock by acting to discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company or changes in our management that the stockholders of our company may deem advantageous. These provisions, among other things:

 

   

establish a classified board of directors so that not all members of our board are elected at one time;

 

   

permit only the board of directors to establish the number of directors and fill vacancies on the board;

 

   

provide that directors may only be removed “for cause” and only with the approval of two-thirds of our stockholders;

 

   

require super-majority voting to amend some provisions in our restated certificate of incorporation and restated bylaws;

 

   

authorize the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that our board could use to implement a stockholder rights plan (also known as a “poison pill”);

 

   

eliminate the ability of our stockholders to call special meetings of stockholders;

 

59


   

prohibit stockholder action by written consent, which requires all stockholder actions to be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;

 

   

prohibit cumulative voting; and

 

   

establish advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our board or for proposing matters that can be acted upon by stockholders at annual stockholder meetings.

In addition, Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law may discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company. Section 203 imposes certain restrictions on mergers, business combinations and other transactions between us and holders of 15% or more of our common stock.

Section 22 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. In April 2020, we amended and restated our restated bylaws to provide that the federal district courts of the United States of America will, to the fullest extent permitted by law, be the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act (a Federal Forum Provision). Our decision to adopt a Federal Forum Provision followed a decision by the Supreme Court of the State of Delaware holding that such provisions are facially valid under Delaware law. While there can be no assurance that federal or state courts will follow the holding of the Delaware Supreme Court or determine that the Federal Forum Provision should be enforced in a particular case, application of the Federal Forum Provision means that suits brought by our stockholders to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act must be brought in federal court and cannot be brought in state court.

Section 27 of the Exchange Act creates exclusive federal jurisdiction over all claims brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. In addition, neither the exclusive forum provision nor the Federal Forum Provision applies to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act. Accordingly, actions by our stockholders to enforce any duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or the rules and regulations thereunder must be brought in federal court.

Our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring or holding any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to our exclusive forum provisions, including the Federal Forum Provision. These provisions may limit a stockholders’ ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum of their choosing for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees, which may discourage lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, and other employees.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research, or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research, about our business, our stock price and trading volume could decline.

The trading market for our common stock depends in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. If one or more of the securities or industry analysts who publish research about us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable evaluations of our company or our stock, the price of our stock could decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our company, our stock may lose visibility in the market, which in turn could cause our stock price to decline.

Certain of our 5% stockholders hold a majority of the voting power and may be able to exert significant control over matters subject to stockholder approval.

As of January 31, 2020, our executive officers, directors and 5% stockholders beneficially owned a majority of our outstanding voting shares. Further, four of our current directors are affiliates of certain 5% stockholders. Therefore, these holders may have the ability to influence us through their ownership position and through representation on our board of directors as they hold half of the board seats. These holders may be able to determine all matters requiring stockholder approval. For example, these holders may be able to control the vote with respect to elections of directors, amendments of our organizational documents, or approval of any merger, sale of assets, or other major corporate transaction. This may prevent or discourage unsolicited acquisition proposals or offers for our common stock.

The issuance or sale of shares of our common stock, or rights to acquire shares of our common stock could depress the trading price of our common stock.

We may conduct future offerings of our common stock, preferred stock or other securities that are convertible into or exercisable for our common stock to finance our operations or fund acquisitions, or for other purposes. If we issue additional shares of our common stock or rights to acquire shares of our common stock, if any of our existing stockholders sells a substantial amount of our common stock, or if the market perceives that such issuances or sales may occur, then the trading price of our common stock, and, accordingly, the trading price of our common stock may significantly decrease. In addition, our issuance of additional shares of common stock, including upon exercise of our outstanding warrants, will dilute the ownership interests of our existing common stockholders.

 

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ITEM 2.

UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS

None.

 

ITEM 3.

DEFAULTS UPON SENIOR SECURITIES

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 4.

MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

 

ITEM 5.

OTHER INFORMATION

None.

 

ITEM 6.

EXHIBITS

The exhibits filed or furnished as part of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are set forth below. Where so indicated, exhibits that were previously filed are incorporated by reference. For exhibits incorporated by reference, the location of the exhibit in the previous filing is indicated.

 

                 Incorporated by Reference       

Exhibit
Number

  

Exhibit Description

  

Form

    

File No.

    

Exhibit
No.

    

Exhibit
Filing Date

    

Filed/
Furnished

Herewith

    3.1    Amended and Restated Bylaws      8-K        001-37490        3.1        April 16, 2020     
  10.1†*    Form of Employment Agreement between the Registrant and Stephen G. Dilly                X
  10.2†*    Separation Agreement dated May 28, 2020 between the Registrant and Nick Glover                X
  10.3    2018 Equity Inducement Plan, as amended, and forms of award agreements thereunder.                X
  31.1    Certification of Principal Executive Officer, pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section  302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.                X
  31.2    Certification of Principal Financial Officer, pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section  302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.                X
  32.1**    Certification of Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.                X
  32.2**    Certification of Chief Financial Officer, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.                X
101.INS    XBRL Instance Document.                X
101.SCH    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.                X
101.CAL    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.                X
101.DEF    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.                X
101.LAB    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document.                X
101.PRE    XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.                X

 

Schedules and exhibits have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(2) of Regulation S-K. The Registrant agrees to furnish supplementally a copy of any omitted schedule or exhibit to the SEC upon request.

*

Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement in which directors or executive officers are eligible to participate.

**

This certification is deemed not filed for purpose of section 18 of the Exchange Act or otherwise subject to the liability of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference into any filing under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act.

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

    SIERRA ONCOLOGY, INC.
Date:    August 6, 2020     By:  

/s/ Stephen G. Dilly

      Dr. Stephen G. Dilly
      President and Chief Executive Officer
      (Principal Executive Officer)
Date:    August 6, 2020     By:  

/s/ Sukhi Jagpal

      Sukhi Jagpal
      Chief Financial Officer
      (Principal Financial Officer)

 

62

Exhibit 10.1

 

LOGO

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

Dear Stephen Dilly:

This Employment Agreement (this “Agreement”) memorializes your employment terms with Sierra Oncology Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), effective as of your start date with the Company, expected to be June 1, 2020, or on such different date as mutually agreed upon by you and the Company (the date of your actual start date, the “Effective Date”), on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.

1.    DUTIES; REPORTING RELATIONSHIP; OFFICE LOCATION.

(a)    In the position of President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, you serve in an executive capacity and are required to perform the duties commonly associated with this position as also may be assigned to you by the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”) from time to time. Subject to Sections 7(a) and 8(c), the Company may make changes to your roles, responsibilities and reporting from time to time without advance notice to accommodate its business interest and this Agreement will continue to apply after such changes.

(b)    Effective on the Effective Date, you will be appointed to the Board.

(c)    You will report to the Board and work primarily from San Francisco, California.

(d)    The Company’s corporate headquarters are currently located in Vancouver, British Columbia. In providing certain services to the Company, you may be required to travel to and work from the Company’s office in Vancouver.

2.    COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS.

(a)    Base Salary. Effective from the Effective Date, your starting base salary is $600,000 USD per annum, subject to payroll deductions and all required withholdings. Your salary will be paid in semi-monthly installments in accordance with our standard payroll procedures. During your employment with the Company, your annual base salary will be reviewed at least annually by the Compensation Committee of the Board (the “Compensation Committee”) and any subsequent salary increases will be subject to the approval of the Compensation Committee.

(b)    Performance Bonus. In addition to the above base salary, you will be eligible to earn an annual discretionary performance bonus (the “Performance Bonus”) with a target value equal to 50% of your fiscal year end annual base salary, and the final amount to be paid based on the satisfaction of certain individual and/or Company criteria established by mutual agreement between you and the Compensation Committee and subject to and paid in accordance with the terms of any annual bonus plan established by the Compensation Committee. You will

 

46701 Commerce Center Drive, Plymouth Michigan 48170

T. 734.233.3966


be eligible to receive a pro-rata portion of your annual bonus for fiscal year 2020. You must be employed with the Company in good standing on the last date of the applicable Performance Bonus period to earn and be eligible to receive a Performance Bonus. The Performance Bonus will be paid no later than 212 months following the completion of the performance period applicable to such Performance Bonus. The Compensation Committee will determine in its sole discretion whether you have earned the Performance Bonus and the amount of any Performance Bonus.

(c)    Equity Awards.

(i)    Time-Based Option Grant. As soon as reasonably practicable following the Effective Date, you will be granted an option under the Company’s 2015 Equity Incentive Plan or the Company’s 2018 Equity Inducement Plan, in each case, as amended (the “Plans”) to purchase 520,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, subject to the terms and conditions of a Stock Option Agreement (the “Time- Based Options”). The exercise price of the Time-Based Options shall be the fair market value of the Company’s common stock as of the date of grant, as determined by the Board or a committee thereof. The Time-Based Options will vest over a four-year period subject to your continued service to or employment with the Company, with the first twenty-five percent (25%) of such shares vesting on the one-year anniversary of the Effective Date, and the remaining shares vesting in equal monthly installments over the following thirty-six (36) months, as detailed further in the Stock Option Agreement. The Time-Based Options will be granted in accordance with and be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the applicable Plan.

(ii)    Performance-Based Option Grant. As soon as reasonably practicable following the Effective Date, but in no event later than December 31, 2020, you will be granted an option under a Plan to purchase 260,000 shares of the Company’s common stock, subject to the terms of a Stock Option Agreement (the “ Performance-Based Options”). The exercise price of the Performance-Based Options shall be the fair market value of the Company’s common stock as of the date of grant, as determined by the Board or a committee thereof. The Performance-Based Options shall be subject to a time-based vesting schedule and a performance-based vesting schedule determined by the Compensation Committee in consultation with you.

In the event of a Change of Control (as defined below), the Time-Based Options and any time-based portion of any Performance-Based Options and any subsequent equity compensation award issued to you by the Company (collectively, the “Options”) will be subject to accelerated vesting such that one hundred percent (100%) of the total unvested shares subject to such Options (if any) will vest, immediately prior to the effective date of the consummation of the Change of Control.

(d)    Expenses and Housing. The Company will, in accordance with applicable Company policies and guidelines, reimburse you for all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred by you in connection with your performance of services on behalf of the Company, including travel to the Company’s headquarters in Vancouver, and the Company will arrange, or reimburse you for, an apartment or hotel in Vancouver for no more than $3,000 per month in the aggregate.

(e)    Employee Benefits. You will be eligible to participate in the general employee benefit programs and arrangements of the Company that we make available to our employees from time to time for which you are eligible under the terms of those plans. The Company may modify your benefits from time to time in its discretion, but, at a minimum, will

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc. Offer Letter - 2


provide you with family health benefits that are at least on par with the other senior executives of the Company based in the United States. In addition, the Company will pay any expenses under the U.S. Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (or pay you the equivalent monthly cash payment) that may arise during a period of up to 18 months following the Effective Date, as a result of members of your family losing health care coverage under the Company’s medical or dental plans. You will accrue paid vacation at the rate of five (5) weeks per year, subject to the Company’s policies and practices.

3.    CONFIDENTIALITY AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION OBLIGATIONS.

(a)    Company Policies. As a condition of your employment, you agree to abide by all Company policies, Code of Conduct, rules and regulations, including but not limited to the policies contained in the employee handbook adopted by the Company, in each case as provided to you in writing (including on any online system of the Company to which you have access).

(b)    Third Party Information. In your work for the Company, you are expected not to use or disclose any confidential information, including trade secrets, of any former employer or other third party to whom you have an obligation of confidentiality. Rather, you are expected to use only that information which is generally known and used by persons with training and experience comparable to your own, which is common knowledge in the industry or otherwise legally in the public domain, or which is otherwise provided or developed by the Company and its affiliates (the “Company Group”). You agree that you have not and will not bring onto the Company Group premises or use in your work for the Company Group, any unpublished documents or property (including but not limited to proprietary information) belonging to any former employer or other third party that you are not authorized to use or disclose. By entering into this Agreement, you represent that you have been performing and are able to perform your job duties within these guidelines.

(c)    Exclusive Property. Subject to the provisions of Section 3(d), you agree that all business procured by you and all related business opportunities and plans made known to you while you are employed by or provide services to the Company Group shall remain the permanent and exclusive property of the Company Group.

(d)    Adverse or Outside Business Activities. Throughout your employment with or service to the Company Group, you may engage in civic, academic teaching and lectures, and not-for-profit activities so long as in each case such activities do not materially interfere with the performance of your duties hereunder or present a conflict of interest with the Company Group. You may not engage in other employment or undertake any other commercial business activities unless you obtain the prior written consent of the Board. The Board may deny or rescind its consent to your service as a director of all other corporations or participation in other business or public activities if the Board, in its sole good faith discretion, determines that such activities compromise or threaten to compromise the Company’s business interests or conflict with your duties to the Company Group. Notwithstanding any other term of this Agreement, the Company Group consents to the activities set forth on Exhibit A and acknowledges that such activities do not presently constitute a conflict with your duties to the Company Group. The Board will, from time to time, reassess whether such activities compromise or threaten to compromise the Company’s business interests or conflict with your duties to the Company, and the Board may rescind its consent to such service at any time.

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc. Offer Letter - 3


4.    NO CONFLICTS. By signing this Agreement you hereby represent to the Company that, except as previously disclosed to the Company: (a) your employment with or service to the Company Group is not prohibited under any debarment order or other government or administrative agency order or adjudication, employment agreement, or other contractual arrangement; and (b) you do not know of any conflicts of interest with your duties under this Agreement which would restrict your service with the Company Group. You hereby represent that you have disclosed to the Company any contract you have signed that may restrict your activities on behalf of the Company Group, and that you are presently in compliance with such contracts, if any.

5.    NONINTERFERENCE. While employed by the Company and for one (1) year immediately following the termination of your employment for any reason, you agree not to interfere with the business of the Company Group by: (a) soliciting, attempting to solicit, inducing, or otherwise knowingly causing any employee or consultant of the Company Group to terminate any employment or consulting relationship with the Company Group for any reason including in order to become an employee, consultant or independent contractor to or for any other person or entity; or (b) directly or indirectly soliciting the business of any customer or prospective customer of the Company Group which at the time of your employment termination, or during the year immediately prior thereto, was listed on the Company Group’s customer or prospective customer list.

6.    AT WILL EMPLOYMENT. Your employment with the Company is an “at-will” arrangement and this Agreement does not constitute a guarantee of employment for any specific period of time. This means that either you or the Company may terminate your employment at any time, with or without Cause, and with or without advance notice, but subject to your receipt of the termination payments and benefits contemplated by this Agreement. This “at-will” employment relationship cannot be changed except in a written agreement approved by the Board and signed by you and a duly authorized member of the Board.

7.    SEVERANCE BENEFITS.

(a)    Entitlement to Severance Benefits. If, at any time, the Company (or any successor entity) terminates your employment without Cause, other than by reason of your Disability, or if you resign your employment for Good Reason, or if the Company revokes this Agreement prior to the date that you commence employment (unless such revocation is result of your failure to satisfy Section 10(g), (h) or (i)), you will be eligible to receive, as your sole severance benefits (the “Severance Benefits”):

(i) severance pay in one lump sum payment of your base salary (the “Base Salary”) in effect as of the employment termination date for twelve (12) months (the “Severance Period”); provided, however, that if your employment termination date occurs within the twelve (12)-month period following the consummation of a Change of Control: (A) your annual Base Salary for purposes of this Section 7(a)(i) shall be deemed to be the sum of (x) your Base Salary in effect as of your employment termination date and (y) the average of your actual Performance Bonuses paid for the two (2) most recently-completed fiscal years prior to the date of your termination of employment (or: (I) if you have been employed for only the most recently completed fiscal year, the Performance Bonus paid for the most recently-completed fiscal year or (II) if you have not been employed throughout the most-recently completed fiscal year and through the Performance Bonus payment date with respect to such fiscal year, your

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc. Offer Letter - 4


target Performance Bonus for the year in which your date of termination occurs) and (B) the length of the Severance Period shall be increased to eighteen (18) months.

(ii) cash consideration in the form of monthly payments in the amount equal to your monthly cost to maintain your personal health benefit plan coverage at the same level in effect as of your employment termination date (including dependent coverage, if elected prior to your employment termination) through the earlier of the end of the Severance Period or the date that you become eligible for group health insurance coverage through a new employer, with any such cash payments to be subject to applicable deductions and withholdings. You agree to provide prompt written notice to the Company if you become eligible for group health insurance coverage through a new employer during the Severance Period.

The severance described in Sections 7(a)(i) and (ii) shall be paid on or commencing no later than the first business day following the sixtieth (60th) day following your termination of employment, and the first payment will include the payments due and owing prior to that payment date but for the application of this sentence.

(iii) any Time-Based Options or other solely time-based stock awards that would otherwise vest over the following twelve (12) month period following such termination of employment notwithstanding such termination, will be subject to accelerated vesting and vest in full as of the date of such termination of employment; provided, however that if your employment termination date occurs within the twelve (12)-month period following the consummation of a Change of Control, notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the applicable equity incentive plans or award agreements, full vesting of all outstanding equity or equity-based awards on the date of such termination; provided however that any equity or equity-based awards that vest based on the achievement of performance criteria shall vest in accordance with the Change of Control provisions in the award agreements applicable to such equity or equity-based awards, if any, and if there are no such Change in Control provisions in any such award agreements, such equity and equity-based awards shall fully vest on the date of such termination.

(iv) You will not be eligible for the Severance Benefits if your employment is terminated for Cause, or due to your death or Disability, or if you voluntarily resign for any reason that does not qualify as Good Reason.

(v) Notwithstanding the foregoing, in order to be eligible for the Severance Benefits, you must meet the Release Requirements as set forth in Section 9.

(b)    Deferred Compensation.

(i)    To the extent (i) any payments to which you become entitled under this letter agreement, or any agreement or plan referenced herein, in connection with your termination of employment with the Company constitute deferred compensation subject to Section 409A

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc. Offer Letter - 5


of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) and (ii) you are deemed at the time of such termination of employment to be a “specified” employee under Section 409A of the Code, then such payment or payments shall not be made or commence until the earlier of (i) the expiration of the six (6)-month period measured from the date of your “separation from service” (as such term is at the time defined in regulations under Section 409A of the Code) with the Company; or (ii) the date of your death following such separation from service; provided, however, that such deferral shall only be effected to the extent required to avoid adverse tax treatment to you, including (without limitation) the additional twenty percent (20%) tax for which you would otherwise be liable under Section 409A(a)(1)(B) of the Code in the absence of such deferral. The first payment thereof will include a catch-up payment covering the amount that would have otherwise been paid during the period between your termination of employment and the first payment date but for the application of this provision, and the balance of the installments (if any) will be payable in accordance with their original schedule.

(ii)    For purposes of this letter agreement or any agreement or plan referenced herein, and notwithstanding any other provision herein, with respect to any payment that is subject to (and not exempt from) Section 409A of the Code, no payment shall be made upon disability or terminal illness unless and until such condition qualifies as a “Disability” within the meaning of Section 409A of the Code and Section 1.409A-3(i)(4) of the regulations thereunder.

(iii)    Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, to the extent any expense reimbursement or the provision of any in-kind benefit under this letter agreement (or otherwise referenced herein) is determined to be subject to (and not exempt from) Section 409A of the Code, the amount of any such expenses eligible for reimbursement, or the provision of any in-kind benefit, in one calendar year shall not affect the expenses eligible for reimbursement or in kind benefits to be provided in any other calendar year, in no event shall any expenses be reimbursed after the last day of the calendar year following the calendar year in which you incurred such expenses, and in no event shall any right to reimbursement or the provision of any in-kind benefit be subject to liquidation or exchange for another benefit.

(iv)    To the extent that any provision of this letter agreement is ambiguous as to its exemption or compliance with Section 409A, the provision will be read in such a manner so that all payments hereunder are exempt from Section 409A to the maximum permissible extent, and for any payments where such construction is not tenable, that those payments comply with Section 409A to the maximum permissible extent. To the extent any payment under this offer letter may be classified as a “short-term deferral” within the meaning of Section 409A, such payment shall be deemed a short-term deferral, even if it may also qualify for an exemption from Section 409A under another provision of Section 409A.

(v)    Payments pursuant to this letter agreement (or referenced in this letter agreement) are intended to constitute separate payments for purposes of Section 1.409A-2(b)(2) of the regulations under Section 409A of the Code.

(vi)    For all purposes under Section 7 and any cross references to the benefits therein, your termination of your employment shall only mean a termination that constitutes a “separation from service” and will be determined consistent with the rules relating to a “separation from service” as such term is defined in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1. You will only be eligible to receive the benefits described in Section 7 if your termination of employment constitutes a separation from service as defined in Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-1.

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc. Offer Letter - 6


(c)     Excise Tax.

(i)    Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, if any payment or benefit that you would receive pursuant to this Agreement or otherwise (“Payment”) would (1) constitute a “parachute payment” within the meaning of Section 280G of the Code, and (2) but for this sentence, be subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Code (the “Excise Tax”), then such Payment shall be equal to the Reduced Amount (defined below). The “Reduced Amount” shall be either: (y) the largest portion of the Payment that would result in no portion of the Payment (after reduction) being subject to the Excise Tax, or (z) the entire Payment, whichever amount after taking into account all applicable federal, state and local employment taxes, income taxes, and the Excise Tax (all computed at the highest applicable marginal rate, net of the maximum reduction in federal income taxes which could be obtained from a deduction of such state and local taxes), results in your receipt, on an after-tax basis, of the greatest amount of the Payment to you.

(ii)    If a reduction in the Payment is to be made, the reduction in payments and/or benefits shall occur in the following order unless you elect in writing a different order (provided, however, that such election shall be subject to Company approval if made on or after the date on which the event that triggers the Payment occurs): (1) reduction of cash payments; (2) cancellation of accelerated vesting of equity awards other than stock options; (3) cancellation of accelerated vesting of stock options; and (4) reduction of other benefits paid to you. In the event that acceleration of compensation from your equity awards is to be reduced, such acceleration of vesting shall be canceled in the reverse order of the date of grant unless you elect in writing a different order for cancellation. The Company shall reasonably determine the procedures and manner of making the calculation required above.

8.    DEFINITIONS.

(a)    Definition of Cause. “Cause” for the Company (or any acquirer or successor in interest thereto) to terminate your employment shall exist if any of the following occurs:

(i)    your conviction (including a guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere) of any felony or any other crime involving fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude;

(ii)    your commission or attempted commission of or participation in a fraud or act of dishonesty or misrepresentation against the Company Group that results (or could reasonably be expected to result) in material harm or injury to the business or reputation of the Company or the Company Group;

(iii)    your material violation of any material contract or agreement between you and the Company Group, or of any Company Group policy or Company Code of Conduct, or of any statutory duty you owe to the Company Group (where you fail to cure such violation within thirty (30) business days after being notified in writing by the Company of such violation); or

(iv)    your conduct that constitutes gross insubordination, incompetence or habitual neglect of the specific lawful directives of the Board which are consistent with the scope of your duties and responsibilities hereunder and that results in material harm to the business or reputation of the Company or the Company Group provided, however, that the action or conduct described in this clauses (iii) or (iv) will constitute “Cause” only if such action or

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc. Offer Letter - 7


conduct continues after the Board has provided you with written notice thereof and 30 days’ opportunity to cure the same, except that the Board is not obligated to provide such written notice and opportunity to cure if the action or conduct is not susceptible to cure.

The determination that a termination is for Cause shall be made in good faith by the Board in its sole discretion.

(b)    Definition of Change of Control. “Change of Control” shall mean the consummation of any one of the following events:

(i)     a sale, lease, exclusive license or other disposition of all of substantially all of the assets of the Company;

(ii)    a consolidation or merger of the Company with or into any other corporation or other entity or person, or any other corporate reorganization, in which the shareholders of the Company immediately prior to such consolidation, merger or reorganization, own less than fifty percent (50%) of the Company’s outstanding voting power of the surviving entity following the consolidation, merger or reorganization; or

(iii)     any transaction (or series of related transactions involving a person or entity, or a group of affiliated persons or entities) in which in excess of fifty percent (50%) of the Company’s then- outstanding voting power is transferred, excluding any consolidation or merger effected exclusively to change the domicile of the Company and excluding any such change of voting power resulting from a bona fide equity financing event or public offering of the stock of the Company.

(c)    Definition of Good Reason. A resignation for “Good Reason” shall mean a resignation of your employment within ninety (90) days after the occurrence of any of the following events which is not corrected within thirty (30) days after the Company (or any successor thereto) receives written notice from you that any of the following events have occurred and that you assert that grounds for a resignation for Good Reason exist as a result of:

(i)    without your written consent, a material diminution of your title, duties, position or responsibilities as indicated herein; provided, however, a mere change in title or reporting relationship following a Change of Control will not by itself constitute “Good Reason” for your resignation”;

(ii)    without your written consent, a reduction by the Company in your base salary or bonus opportunity as in effect immediately prior to such reduction by more than 10% (unless such reduction is made pursuant to an across the board reduction of no more than fifteen percent (15%) applicable to all senior executives of the Company);

(iii)    the Company Group’s material violation of any contract or agreement between you and the Company Group, including, without limitation, the material breach of any provision of this Agreement by the Company; or

(iv)    without your written consent, any relocation of your principal place of employment to a location more than fifty (50) miles from your principal place of employment as of the date hereof.

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc. Offer Letter - 8


(d)    Definition of Disability. Disability shall have the meaning set forth in Section 22(e)(3) of the Code.

9.    RELEASE REQUIREMENTS. To be eligible to receive the Severance Benefits, you must meet the following requirements (the “Release Requirements”): (a) you must first timely execute, make effective, and deliver to the Company a general release of all known and unknown claims, substantially in the form attached hereto as EXHIBIT C (which may, at the Company’s election, be incorporated into a separation agreement) within sixty (60) days following your termination of employment; and (b) you must not be in material breach of any other material agreement or contract between you and the Company Group at the time of the receipt of such benefits (provided you will not be considered in breach unless you have received written notice of such breach and at least thirty (30) days to cure, if curable). In the event that, during such time as you continue to receive any Severance Benefits, you materially breach any other material agreement or contract between you and the Company Group, the Company’s obligation to continue to provide the Severance Benefits will immediately cease in full, and you will not be entitled to receive any additional Severance Benefits as of the date of your breach.

10.    MISCELLANEOUS.

(a)    Entire Agreement. You are required, as a condition to your employment with the Company, to execute and deliver the Company’s standard Employee Proprietary Information, Inventions Assignment and Non-Competition Agreement in the form attached hereto as EXHIBIT B (the “Invention Assignment Agreement”). This Agreement together with the Invention Assignment Agreement shall constitute the complete and exclusive statement of your employment agreement with the Company. The employment terms in this Agreement supersede any other agreements or promises made to you by anyone, whether oral or written, concerning your employment terms. Changes in your employment terms, other than those changes expressly reserved to the Company’s or Board’s discretion in this Agreement, require a written modification approved by the Board and signed by you and a duly authorized member of the Board that explicitly states the intent of both parties hereto to supplement or amend the terms herein.

(b)    Binding Effect; Severability. This Agreement will bind the heirs, personal representatives, successors and assigns of both you and the Company, and inure to the benefit of both you and the Company, their heirs, successors and assigns. If any provision of this Agreement is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, this determination shall not affect any other provision of this Agreement and the provision in question shall be modified so as to be rendered enforceable in a manner consistent with the intent of the parties insofar as possible under applicable law.

(c)    Governing Law. The terms of this Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of California, without regard to its principles of conflicts of laws. By signing this Agreement you irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the State of California for the purpose of any suit, action, proceeding or judgment relating to or arising out of this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby.

(d)    Arbitration. You and the Company agree to submit to mandatory binding arbitration, in Santa Clara County, California, before a single neutral arbitrator, any and all claims arising out of or related to this Agreement and your employment with the Company and the termination thereof, except that each party may, at its or his option, seek injunctive relief in court prior to such arbitration proceeding pursuant to applicable law. YOU AND THE COMPANY HEREBY WAIVE ANY RIGHTS TO TRIAL BY JURY IN REGARD TO SUCH CLAIMS. This

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc. Offer Letter - 9


agreement to arbitrate does not restrict your right to file administrative claims you may bring before any government agency where, as a matter of law, the parties may not restrict your ability to file such claims (including, but not limited to, the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Department of Labor). However, you and the Company agree that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, arbitration shall be the exclusive remedy for the subject matter of such administrative claims. The arbitration shall be conducted through the American Arbitration Association (the “AAA”). The arbitrator shall issue a written decision that contains the essential findings and conclusions on which the decision is based. The arbitration will be conducted in accordance with the AAA employment arbitration rules then in effect. The AAA rules may be found and reviewed at http://www.adr. org. If you are unable to access these rules, please let me know and I will provide you with a hardcopy. The parties acknowledge that they are hereby waiving any rights to trial by jury in any action, proceeding or counterclaim brought by either of the parties against the other in connection with any matter whatsoever arising out of or in any way connected with this Agreement.

(e)    Indemnification. You and the Company will enter into the form of indemnification agreement provided to other similarly-situated officers and directors of the Company. In addition, you will be named as an insured on the director and officer liability insurance policy currently maintained by the Company, or as may be maintained by the Company from time to time.

(f)    Compensation Recoupment. All amounts payable to you hereunder shall be subject to recoupment pursuant to the Company’s then-current compensation recoupment policy, if any, adopted by the Board during the term of your employment with the Company that is applicable generally to executive officers of the Company.

(g)    Employment Eligibility Verification. For purposes of federal immigration law, you will be required to provide to the Company documentary evidence of your identity and eligibility for employment in the United States. Such documentation must be provided to us within three (3) business days of the Effective Date, or your employment relationship with us may be terminated.

(h)    Background Check. You must receive a satisfactory verification of criminal, education and/or employment background, and satisfactory verification of references in the discretion of the Company. This offer and any employment is subject to, and contingent upon, a satisfactory background and/or reference check(s). Furthermore, the Company may rescind or revoke your offer of employment and/or sever any employment relationship that is deemed to exist if, in its discretion, the Company determines that you fail to receive a satisfactory background and/or reference check, or you fail to consent to or complete a request for a background or reference check.

(i)    Absence of Conflicts; Competition with Prior Employer. You represent that your performance of your duties under this Agreement will not breach any other agreement to which you are a party. You agree that you have disclosed to the Company all of your existing employment and/or business relationships, including, but not limited to, any consulting or advising relationships, outside directorships, investments in privately-held companies and any other relationships that may create a conflict of interest, and you represent that you are not and have not been the subject of any claim or investigation involving harassment of any employee, consultant or other service provider of any prior employer. You are not to bring with you to the Company, or use or disclose to any person associated with the Company, any confidential or proprietary information belonging to any former employer or other person or entity with respect to

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc. Offer Letter - 10


which you owe an obligation of confidentiality under any agreement or otherwise. The Company does not need and will not use such information and we will assist you in any way possible to preserve and protect the confidentiality of proprietary information belonging to third parties. Also, we expect you to abide by any obligations to refrain from soliciting any person employed by or otherwise associated with any former employer and suggest that you refrain from having any contact with such persons until such time as any non-solicitation obligations expire.

(j)    Withholding. All sums payable to you hereunder shall be reduced by all federal, state, local and other withholding and similar taxes and payments required by applicable Law.

(k)    Notices. All notices or other communications required or permitted under this Agreement shall be made in writing and shall be deemed given if delivered personally or sent by nationally recognized overnight courier service. Any notice or other communication shall be deemed given on the date of delivery or on the date one (1) business day after it shall have been given to a nationally-recognized overnight courier service. All such notices or communications shall be delivered to the recipient at the addresses indicated below:

To the Company:

Sierra Oncology, Inc.

2150-885 West Georgia Street

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

V6C 3E8

To you:

At your address as it appears in the Company’s books and records or at such other place as you shall have designated by notice as herein provided to the Company.

(l)    Mutual Drafting. Any ambiguity in this Agreement shall not be construed against either party as the drafter. Any waiver of a breach of this Agreement, or rights hereunder, shall be in writing and shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any successive breach or rights hereunder. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts which shall be deemed to be part of one original, and facsimile and .pdf signatures shall be equivalent to original signatures.

SIGNATURES ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc. Offer Letter - 11


We hope that you find the foregoing terms acceptable. You may indicate your agreement with these terms and accept this offer by signing and dating duplicate original copies of this Agreement and returning them to me.

 

Sincerely,
Sierra Oncology, Inc.
By:  

/s/ Robert Pelzer

Robert Pelzer, Chairman of the Board of Directors

I have read and accept this Agreement. By signing this Agreement, I represent and warrant to the Company that I am under no contractual commitments inconsistent with my obligations to the Company.

 

/s/ Stephen Dilly

    Dated:   5/22/2020
Stephen Dilly      

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc. Offer Letter - 12

Exhibit 10.2

[EXECUTION COPY]

May 22, 2020

Dear Nick Glover:

 

Re:

Separation Agreement and Release

This letter confirms the agreement (this “Agreement”) between Sierra Oncology, Inc. and Sierra Oncology Canada ULC (the “Company” and, collectively with Sierra Oncology, Inc. and each of their respective affiliates and subsidiaries, the “Company Group”) and you concerning the terms of your resignation and provides you with separation compensation in exchange for a general release of claims and covenant not to sue.

 

1.

Separation Date: The Company Group accepts your resignation as an employee, officer and member of the board of directors of each applicable entity in the Company Group, effective as of May 22, 2020 (the “Separation Date”). You also agree to resign from all other positions you may hold on any position or committee at each applicable entity in the Company Group.

 

2.

Acknowledgment of Payment of Wages: Within forty-eight (48) hours following the Effective Date (as defined in Section 21 below), we will provide you with one or more final paychecks for all wages, salary, bonuses, accrued, unused vacation balance (if applicable), reimbursable expenses previously submitted by you, and any similar payments due from the Company Group as of the Separation Date. By signing below, you acknowledge that the Company Group does not owe you any other amounts, including any reimbursement for expenses previously submitted. Please promptly submit for reimbursement all final outstanding expenses, if any.

 

3.

Separation Compensation: In exchange for your agreement to the general release and waiver of claims and covenant not to sue set forth in Sections 6 and 7 below (the “Release”) and your other promises herein, subject to the Release becoming effective on the Effective Date, the Company Group agrees to provide you with the following:

 

  a.

Severance: The Company agrees to pay you (i) the following payment pursuant to Section 6(b)(i) and 6(b)(ii) of your Employment Agreement with the Company, effective July 15, 2015 (the “Employment Agreement’): a severance payment in the aggregate gross amount of $841,897 CAD1 (which constitutes twelve (12) months of your current base salary in USD, converted into CAD in accordance with the exchange procedure set forth in the Employment Agreement) payable over the twelve (12)-month period following the Separation Date on the Company’s normal payroll schedule and subject to applicable withholdings and (ii) an amount equal to the Company’s cost of your group health plan coverage at the same level in effect as of your Separation Date (including dependent coverage, if elected prior to your employment termination) through the earlier of the end of the twelve (12) month severance period or the date that you become eligible for group health insurance coverage through a new employer: provided that you agree to provide prompt written notice to the Company if you become eligible for group health insurance coverage through a new employer during the severance period; and provided

 

1 

The amount was converted from $625,987 USD to CAD using the conversion rate of 1.34491111 USD to CAD.

 

 

Page 1


  further that the first payment may be delayed to no later than the first business day following the sixtieth (60th) day following the Separation Date, with such initial payment to include any payments that would have been made prior to such date but for the delay.

 

  b.

Equity Acceleration; Extension of Options. You hold the outstanding stock options set forth on Exhibit A, of which 375,948 will be unvested as of the Separation Date (the “Unvested Options”). On the Effective Date, pursuant to Section 3(a)(ii)(2) of the Employment Agreement, those Unvested Options which, but for the termination of your employment, would have vested during the period commencing on the Separation Date and ending on the one-year anniversary date of the Separation Date (the “Termination Options”) will accelerate and vest as at the Separation Date, as set out in Exhibit A. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Employment Agreement and any other agreement or plan, the vesting dates of all Unvested Options other than the Termination Options, will accelerate by one year from their original vesting date (e.g. if the original vesting date was June 30, 2021, the new vesting date will be June 30, 2020) and following such acceleration will continue to vest in accordance with their new vesting schedule as long as you are actually performing the Consulting Services (defined below) in accordance with Section 10 below. All Unvested Options that remain unvested following the termination of your Consulting Services shall be cancelled as of the termination of such Consulting Services. Exhibit A sets forth the new expiration dates of your stock options (including the Termination Options and any options that vest in connection with the acceleration noted above or during the period in which you provide Consulting Services) (the “Vested Options”), which expiration dates have been extended in connection with this Agreement to seventy-five (75) days following the Company Group’s public announcement, via a publicly-disseminated press release or a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Filing Date”), of the top-line data results from MOMENTUM, its planned Phase 3 clinical trial of momelotinib for patients with myelofibrosis. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event may the Vested Options be exercised later than the original expiration date applicable to such Vested Options. If you do not exercise your Vested Options by the applicable expiration date, you will no longer have a right to exercise the Vested Options as to any shares.

 

4.

Return of Company Group Property: You hereby warrant to the Company Group that you have returned to the Company Group all property or data of the Company Group of any type whatsoever that has been in your possession or control.

 

5.

Proprietary Information: You hereby acknowledge that you are and continue to be bound by the attached Employee Proprietary Information, Inventions Assignment and Non-Competition Agreement (the “PIIA” attached as Exhibit B to the Employment Agreement), and that as a result of your employment with the Company or the Company Group you have had access to the Company’s Proprietary Information (as defined in the PIIA), that you will hold all Proprietary Information in strictest confidence and that you will not make use of such Proprietary Information on behalf of anyone. You further confirm that you have delivered to the Company all documents and data of any nature containing or pertaining to such Proprietary Information and that you have not taken with you any such documents or data or any reproduction thereof.

 

 

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6.

General Release and Waiver of Claims:

 

  a.

The payments and promises set forth in this Agreement are in full satisfaction of all accrued salary, vacation pay, bonus and commission pay, profit-sharing, stock, stock options or other ownership interest in the Company Group, severance, notice, termination benefits or other compensation to which you may be entitled by virtue of your employment with the Company Group or your resignation or separation from the Company Group, including pursuant to the Employment Agreement. To the fullest extent permitted by law, you hereby release and waive any other claims you may have against the Company Group and its owners, agents, officers, shareholders, employees, directors, attorneys, subscribers, subsidiaries, affiliates, successors and assigns (collectively “Releasees”), whether known or not known, including, without limitation, claims under any employment laws, including, but not limited to, claims of unlawful discharge, breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, fraud, violation of public policy, defamation, physical injury, emotional distress, claims for additional compensation or benefits arising out of your employment or your resignation or separation from employment, including pursuant to the Employment Agreement, and any other laws and/or regulations relating to employment or employment discrimination, including, without limitation, claims based on age, disability or otherwise.

 

  b.

You hereby acknowledge that you are aware of the principle that a general release does not extend to claims that the releasor does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, which, if known by him or her, must have materially affected his or her settlement with the releasee. With knowledge of this principle and subject to Section 6(c) herein, you hereby agree to expressly waive any rights you may have to that effect.

 

  c.

You hereby acknowledge that you have been advised to consult with an attorney of your choice prior to executing the Release and you understand that you and the Company Group do not intend to release claims that you may not release as a matter of law, including but not limited to claims for indemnity, or any claims for enforcement of this Agreement. In addition, you do not waive any rights to indemnification you may have under the bylaws of the Company Group or under any indemnification agreements you have entered into with the Company Group. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any dispute regarding the scope of this general release shall be determined by an arbitrator under the procedures set forth in the arbitration clause below.

 

7.

Covenant Not to Sue:

 

  a.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, at no time subsequent to the execution of this Agreement will you pursue, or cause or knowingly permit the prosecution, in any local, provincial, state, federal or foreign court, or before any local, provincial, state, federal or foreign administrative agency, or any other tribunal, of any charge, claim or action of any kind, nature and character whatsoever, known or unknown, (i) which you may now have, have ever had, or may in the future have against Releasees and (ii) which is based in whole or in part on any matter released by this Agreement.

 

 

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  b.

Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit you from filing a charge or complaint with the Securities and Exchange Commission or any other federal, state, province or local government agency or commission (“Government Agencies”). You further understand that this Agreement does not limit your ability to communicate with any Government Agencies or otherwise participate in any investigation or proceeding that may be conducted by any Government Agency, including providing documents or other information, without notice to the Company Group. This Agreement does not limit your right to receive an award for information provided to any Government Agencies.

 

  c.

Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit or impair you from complying with all applicable laws, nor shall this Agreement be construed to obligate you to commit (or aid or abet in the commission of) any unlawful act.

 

8.

Nondisparagement: You agree that you will not disparage Releasees or their products, services, agents, representatives, directors, officers, shareholders, attorneys, employees, vendors, affiliates, successors or assigns, or any person acting by, through, under or in concert with any of them, with any written or oral statement. Nothing in this paragraph shall prohibit you from providing truthful information in response to a subpoena or other legal process.

 

9.

Employee Non-Solicitation: You agree that for the two (2)-year period following the Separation Date, you will not, directly or indirectly:

 

  a.

encourage, solicit, attempt to solicit or otherwise cause any employee of the Company Group to leave the Company Group for any reason or to accept employment or other engagement with any other person or entity. As part of this restriction, you shall not interview or provide any input to any third party to assist in recruitment of any such person during such time period; or

 

  b.

on your own behalf or on behalf of another, retain or hire in any capacity, any person who was employed with the Company Group as of the Separation Date or during the three (3) preceding months, provided, however this restriction will not apply to any such employee whose employment was terminated by any Company Group entity on a without cause basis.

 

10.

Consulting Services: To assist the Company Group with the transition of your responsibilities in the Company and in consideration of the extension of the exercise period for your options as set forth in Section 3(b) above, you will provide consultation to the Company Group on a non-exclusive basis as a consultant on such matters related to the Company Group as the Chief Executive Officer of the Company Group or his designees may reasonably request (the “Consulting Services”), subject to the following terms and conditions:

 

  a.

The period of Consulting Services will commence on the Separation Date and is expected to end on December 31, 2020, but may be terminated at any time by the Company Group by written notice (which notice may be provided electronically) (such period, the “Consulting Period”).

 

 

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  b.

During the Consulting Period, you agree to provide Consulting Services to the Company Group for up to eight (8) hours per week as may be reasonably agreed between the Chief Executive Officer of the Company Group and you. Your obligations during the Consulting Period will not require any travel and will not require you to report to work at the Company, nor to work any definite hours (unless, in each case, as mutually agreed by you and the Company Group).

 

  c.

In consideration of your performance of the Consulting Services, and subject to your satisfactory performance of the Consulting Services throughout the Consulting Period (as reasonably determined by the Company’s Chief Executive Officer), you will be entitled to an hourly rate of $250, plus GST, for each hour of Consulting Service payable on the first day of the month following the performance of such Consulting Services.

 

  d.

The Company Group will reimburse you for all reasonable and documented expenses incurred by you in the performance of the Consulting Services; provided that any expenses greater than $200 per month are subject to prior approval of the Company Group.

 

11.

Arbitration: Except for any claim for injunctive relief arising out of a breach of a party’s obligations to protect the other’s proprietary information, the parties agree to arbitrate any and all disputes or claims arising out of or related to the validity, enforceability, interpretation, performance or breach of this Agreement, whether sounding in tort, contract, statutory violation or otherwise, or involving the construction or application or any of the terms, provisions, or conditions of this Agreement. Any arbitration may be initiated by a written demand to the other party. The arbitrator’s decision shall be final, binding, and conclusive. The parties further agree that this Agreement is intended to be strictly construed to provide for arbitration as the sole and exclusive means for resolution of all disputes hereunder to the fullest extent permitted by law. The parties expressly waive any entitlement to have such controversies decided by a court or a jury.

 

12.

Attorneys’ Fees: If any action is brought to enforce the terms of this Agreement, the prevailing party will be entitled to recover its reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses from the other party, in addition to any other relief to which the prevailing party may be entitled.

 

13.

Confidentiality: The contents, terms and conditions of this Agreement must be kept confidential by you, and may not be disclosed except to your immediate family, to your accountants, financial advisors, or attorneys, or pursuant to subpoena or court order. You agree that, if you are asked for information concerning this Agreement, you will state only that you and the Company Group reached an amicable resolution of any disputes concerning your separation from the Company Group. Any breach of this confidentiality provision shall be deemed a material breach of this Agreement.

 

14.

No Admission of Liability: This Agreement is not and shall not be construed or contended by you to be an admission or evidence of any wrongdoing or liability on the part of Releasees, their representatives, heirs, executors, attorneys, agents, partners, officers, shareholders, directors, employees, subsidiaries, affiliates, divisions, successors or assigns. This Agreement shall be afforded the maximum protection allowable under the Federal Rules of Evidence 408 and/or any other provincial, state or federal provisions of similar effect.

 

 

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15.

Complete and Voluntary Agreement: This Agreement, together with Exhibit A hereto, constitutes the entire agreement between you and Releasees with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior negotiations and agreements, whether written or oral, relating to such subject matter, including the Employment Agreement. You acknowledge that neither Releasees nor their agents or attorneys have made any promise, representation or warranty whatsoever, either express or implied, written or oral, which is not contained in this Agreement for the purpose of inducing you to execute this Agreement, and you acknowledge that you have executed this Agreement in reliance only upon such promises, representations and warranties as are contained herein, and that you are executing this Agreement voluntarily, free of any duress or coercion.

 

16.

Defend Trade Secrets Act. Pursuant to the Defend Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. § 1833(b)), you acknowledge that you understand that you will not be held criminally or civilly liable under any federal or state trade secret law in the United States for the disclosure of a trade secret of the Company Group that (i) is made (A) in confidence to a federal, state, or local government official, either directly or indirectly, or to your attorney and (B) solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law; or (ii) is made in a complaint or other document that is filed under seal in a lawsuit or other proceeding. You further acknowledge that you understand that if you file a lawsuit for retaliation for reporting a suspected violation of law, you may disclose the trade secret to your attorney and use the trade secret information in the court proceeding if you (x) file any document containing the trade secret under seal, and (y) do not disclose the trade secret, except pursuant to court order. Nothing in this Agreement, or any other agreement with or policy of the Company Group, is intended to conflict with 18 U.S.C. § 1833(b) or create liability for disclosures of trade secrets that are expressly allowed by such section. Further, nothing in this Agreement or any other agreement that you have with the Company Group shall prohibit or restrict you from making any voluntary disclosure of information or documents concerning possible violations of law to, or seek a whistleblower award from, any governmental agency or legislative body, or any self-regulatory organization, in each case, and you may do so without notifying the Company Group.

 

17.

Severability: The provisions of this Agreement are severable, and if any part of it is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the other parts shall remain fully valid and enforceable. Specifically, should a court, arbitrator, or government agency conclude that a particular claim may not be released as a matter of law, it is the intention of the parties that the general release, the waiver of unknown claims and the covenant not to sue above shall otherwise remain effective to release any and all other claims.

 

18.

Modification; Counterparts; Facsimile/PDF Signatures: It is expressly agreed that this Agreement may not be altered, amended, modified, or otherwise changed in any respect except by another written agreement that specifically refers to this Agreement, executed by authorized representatives of each of the parties to this Agreement. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall constitute an original and all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Execution of a facsimile or PDF copy shall have the same force and effect as execution of an original, and a copy of a signature will be equally admissible in any legal proceeding as if an original.

 

 

Page 6


19.

Review of Separation Agreement: By signing below, you affirm that you were advised to consult with an attorney prior to signing this Agreement. In no event shall you sign this Agreement before the Separation Date.

 

20.

Withholding: All payments (including with respect to exercise of options and other equity rights) will be subject to all appropriate income tax withholding.

 

21.

Effective Date: This Agreement is effective as of the date you execute this Agreement (the “Effective Date”).

 

22.

Governing Law: This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of British Columbia.

[Signature page follows]

 

 

Page 7


If you agree to abide by the terms outlined in this letter, please sign this letter where indicated below, and return, by email, a copy of that signed document to me. I wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Sincerely,

 

Sierra Oncology, Inc.
By:  

/s/ Robert Pelzer

Robert Pelzer
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Sierra Oncology Canada ULC
By:  

/s/ Sukhi Jagpal

Sukhi Jagpal
Chief Financial Officer

READ, UNDERSTOOD AND AGREED:

 

/s/ Nick Glover

    Date:    5/28/2020
Nick Glover      

 

 

Page 8

Exhibit 10.3

SIERRA ONCOLOGY, INC.

2018 EQUITY INDUCEMENT PLAN

ADOPTED BY THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

SEPTEMBER 2018

AMENDED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: JUNE 2020

1.    PURPOSE. The purpose of this Plan is to provide incentives to attract, retain and motivate eligible persons whose present and potential contributions are important to the success of the Company, and any Parents and Subsidiaries that exist now or in the future, by offering them an opportunity to participate in the Company’s future performance through the grant of Awards. Capitalized terms not defined elsewhere in the text are defined in Section 21.

2.    SHARES SUBJECT TO THE PLAN.

2.1    Number of Shares Available. Subject to Section 2.4 and any other applicable provisions hereof, the total number of Shares reserved and available for grant and issuance pursuant to this Plan is 537,500.

2.2    Lapsed, Returned Awards. Shares subject to Awards, and Shares issued under the Plan under any Award, will again be available for grant and issuance in connection with subsequent Awards under this Plan to the extent such Shares: (a) are subject to issuance upon exercise of an Option granted under this Plan but which cease to be subject to the Option for any reason other than exercise of the Option; (b) are subject to Awards granted under this Plan that are forfeited or are repurchased by the Company at the original issue price or (c) are subject to Awards granted under this Plan that otherwise terminate without such Shares being issued. To the extent an Award under the Plan is paid out in cash rather than Shares, such cash payment will not result in reducing the number of Shares available for issuance under the Plan. Shares used to pay the exercise price of an Award or withheld to satisfy the tax withholding obligations related to an Award will become available for future grant or sale under the Plan.

2.3    Minimum Share Reserve. At all times the Company shall reserve and keep available a sufficient number of Shares as shall be required to satisfy the requirements of all outstanding Awards granted under this Plan.

2.4    Adjustment of Shares. If the number of outstanding Shares is changed by a stock dividend, extraordinary dividends or distributions (whether in cash, shares or other property, other than a regular cash dividend) recapitalization, stock split, reverse stock split, subdivision, combination, reclassification, spin-off or similar change in the capital structure of the Company, without consideration, then (a) the number of Shares reserved for issuance and future grant under the Plan set forth in Section 2.1, (b) the Exercise Prices of and number of Shares subject to outstanding Options and (c) the number of Shares subject to other outstanding Awards, shall be proportionately adjusted, subject to any required action by the Board or the stockholders of the Company and in compliance with applicable securities laws; provided that fractions of a Share will not be issued.

3.    ELIGIBILITY. Awards may be granted only to a person who, at the time of granting of the Award by the Committee: (a) has been hired as an Employee by the Company or any Subsidiary and such Award is a material inducement to such person being hired; (b) has been rehired as an Employee following a bona fide period of interruption of employment with the Company or any Subsidiary; or (c) has become an Employee of the Company or any Subsidiary in connection with a merger or acquisition.


4.    ADMINISTRATION.

4.1    Committee Composition; Authority. This Plan will be administered by the Committee or by the Board acting as the Committee. Subject to the general purposes, terms and conditions of this Plan, and to the direction of the Board, the Committee will have full power to implement and carry out this Plan. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the grant of any Award will not be effective unless: (i) if the grant is made by the Board, then it must be approved by a majority of the Outside Directors on the Board; and (ii) if the grant is made by the Committee, then the Committee must be comprised solely of Outside Directors (except as otherwise permitted under applicable rules). The Committee will have the authority to:

(a)    construe and interpret this Plan, any Award Agreement and any other agreement or document executed pursuant to this Plan;

(b)    prescribe, amend and rescind rules and regulations relating to this Plan or any Award;

(c)    select persons to receive Awards;

(d)    determine the form and terms and conditions, not inconsistent with the terms of the Plan, of any Award granted hereunder. Such terms and conditions include, but are not limited to, the exercise price, the time or times when Awards may vest and be exercised (which may be based on performance criteria) or settled, any vesting acceleration or waiver of forfeiture restrictions, the method to satisfy tax withholding obligations or any other tax liability legally due and any restriction or limitation regarding any Award or the Shares relating thereto, based in each case on such factors as the Committee will determine;

(e)    determine the number of Shares or other consideration subject to Awards;

(f)    determine the Fair Market Value in good faith and interpret the applicable provisions of this Plan and the definition of Fair Market Value in connection with circumstances that impact the Fair Market Value, if necessary;

(g)    determine whether Awards will be granted singly, in combination with, in tandem with, or as alternatives to, other Awards under this Plan or any other incentive or compensation plan of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary of the Company;

(h)    grant waivers of Plan or Award conditions;

(i)    determine the vesting, exercisability and payment of Awards;

(j)    correct any defect, supply any omission or reconcile any inconsistency in this Plan, any Award or any Award Agreement;

(k)    determine whether an Award has been earned;

(l)    reduce or waive any criteria with respect to Performance Factors;

 

2


(m)    adjust Performance Factors to take into account changes in law and accounting or tax rules as the Committee deems necessary or appropriate to reflect the impact of extraordinary or unusual items, events or circumstances to avoid windfalls or hardships;

(n)    adopt terms and conditions, rules and/or procedures (including the adoption of any subplan under this Plan) relating to the operation and administration of the Plan to accommodate requirements of local law and procedures outside of the United States; and

(o)    make all other determinations necessary or advisable for the administration of this Plan.

4.2    Committee Interpretation and Discretion. Any determination made by the Committee with respect to any Award shall be made in its sole discretion at the time of grant of the Award or, unless in contravention of any express term of the Plan or Award, at any later time, and such determination shall be final and binding on the Company and all persons having an interest in any Award under the Plan. Any dispute regarding the interpretation of the Plan or any Award Agreement shall be submitted by the Employee or Company to the Committee for review. The resolution of such a dispute by the Committee shall be final and binding on the Company and the Employee. The Committee may delegate to one or more executive officers the authority to review and resolve disputes with respect to Awards held by Employees who are not Insiders, and such resolution shall be final and binding on the Company and the Employee.

4.3    Section 16 of the Exchange Act. Awards granted to Employees who are subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act must be approved by two or more “non-employee directors” (as defined in the regulations promulgated under Section 16 of the Exchange Act).

4.4    Documentation. The Award Agreement for a given Award, the Plan and any other documents may be delivered to, and accepted by, an Employee or any other person in any manner (including electronic distribution or posting) that meets applicable legal requirements.

4.5    Foreign Award Recipients. Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, in order to comply with the laws and practices in other countries in which the Company and its Subsidiaries operate or have employees eligible for Awards, the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall have the power and authority to: (a) determine which Subsidiaries and Affiliates shall be covered by the Plan; (b) determine which Employees outside the United States are eligible to participate in the Plan; (c) modify the terms and conditions of any Award granted to individuals outside the United States or foreign nationals to comply with applicable foreign laws, policies, customs and practices; (d) establish subplans and modify exercise procedures and other terms and procedures, to the extent the Committee determines such actions to be necessary or advisable (and such subplans and/or modifications shall be attached to this Plan as appendices); provided, however, that no such subplans and/or modifications shall increase the share limitations contained in the Plan; and (e) take any action, before or after an Award is made, that the Committee determines to be necessary or advisable to obtain approval or comply with any local governmental regulatory exemptions or approvals. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Committee may not take any actions hereunder, and no Awards shall be granted, that would violate the Exchange Act or any other applicable United States securities law, the Code, or any other applicable United States governing statute or law.

5.    OPTIONS. An Option is the right but not the obligation to purchase a Share, subject to certain conditions, if applicable. The Committee may grant Options to eligible Employees and will determine the number of Shares subject to the Option, the Exercise Price of the Option, the period during which the Option may vest and be exercised, and all other terms and conditions of the Option, subject to the following terms of this section.

 

3


5.1    Option Grant. Each Option granted under this Plan will be a Nonqualified Stock Option (“NSO”). An Option may be, but need not be, awarded upon satisfaction of such Performance Factors during any Performance Period as are set out in advance in the Employee’s individual Award Agreement. If the Option is being earned upon the satisfaction of Performance Factors, then the Committee will: (a) determine the nature, length and starting date of any Performance Period for each Option; and (b) select from among the Performance Factors to be used to measure the performance, if any. Performance Periods may overlap and Employees may participate simultaneously with respect to Options that are subject to different performance goals and other criteria.

5.2    Date of Grant. The date of grant of an Option will be the date on which the Committee makes the determination to grant such Option, or a specified future date. The Award Agreement and a copy of this Plan will be delivered to the Employee within a reasonable time after the granting of the Option.

5.3    Exercise Period. Options may be vested and exercisable within the times or upon the conditions as set forth in the Award Agreement governing such Option; provided, however, that no Option will be exercisable after the expiration of ten (10) years from the date the Option is granted. The Committee also may provide for Options to become vested or exercisable at one time or from time to time, periodically or otherwise, in such number of Shares or percentage of Shares as the Committee determines.

5.4    Exercise Price. The Exercise Price of an Option will be determined by the Committee when the Option is granted; provided that: the Exercise Price of an Option will be not less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the Shares on the date of grant. Payment for the Shares purchased may be made in accordance with Section 7 and the Award Agreement and in accordance with any procedures established by the Company.

5.5    Method of Exercise. Any Option granted hereunder will be vested and exercisable according to the terms of the Plan and at such times and under such conditions as determined by the Committee and set forth in the Award Agreement. An Option may not be exercised for a fraction of a Share. An Option will be deemed exercised when the Company receives: (a) notice of exercise (in such form as the Committee may specify from time to time) from the person entitled to exercise the Option (and/or via electronic execution through the authorized third party administrator), and (b) full payment for the Shares with respect to which the Option is exercised (together with applicable withholding taxes). Full payment may consist of any consideration and method of payment authorized by the Committee and permitted by the Award Agreement and the Plan. Shares issued upon exercise of an Option will be issued in the name of the Employee. Until the Shares are issued (as evidenced by the appropriate entry on the books of the Company or of a duly authorized transfer agent of the Company), no right to vote or receive dividends or any other rights as a stockholder will exist with respect to the Shares, notwithstanding the exercise of the Option. The Company will issue (or cause to be issued) such Shares promptly after the Option is exercised. No adjustment will be made for a dividend or other right for which the record date is prior to the date the Shares are issued, except as provided in Section 2.4 of the Plan. Exercising an Option in any manner will decrease the number of Shares thereafter available, both for purposes of the Plan and for sale under the Option, by the number of Shares as to which the Option is exercised.

5.6    Termination of Service. If the Employee’s Service terminates for any reason except for Cause or the Employee’s death or Disability, then the Employee may exercise such Employee’s Options (only to the extent that such Options are exercisable by the Employee on the date Employee’s Service terminates) during the period ending no later than three (3) months after the date Employee’s Service terminates (or such shorter or longer time period as may be determined by the Committee), but in any event no later than the expiration date of the Options.

 

4


(a)    Death. If the Employee’s Service terminates because of the Employee’s death (or the Employee dies within three (3) months after Employee’s Service terminates other than for Cause or because of the Employee’s Disability), then the Employee’s Options may be exercised only to the extent that such Options would have been exercisable by the Employee on the date Employee’s Service terminates and must be exercised by the Employee’s legal representative, or authorized assignee, no later than twelve (12) months after the date Employee’s Service terminates (or such shorter time period or longer time period as may be determined by the Committee), but in any event no later than the expiration date of the Options.

(b)    Disability. If the Employee’s Service terminates because of the Employee’s Disability, then the Employee’s Options may be exercised only to the extent that such Options would have been exercisable by the Employee on the date Employee’s Service terminates and must be exercised by the Employee (or the Employee’s legal representative or authorized assignee) no later than twelve (12) months after the date Employee’s Service terminates (or such shorter or longer time period as may be determined by the Committee, but in any event no later than the expiration date of the Options.

(c)    Cause. If the Employee is terminated for Cause, then Employee’s Options shall expire on such Employee’s date of termination of Service, or at such later time and on such conditions as are determined by the Committee, but in any event no later than the expiration date of the Options. Unless otherwise provided in the Award Agreement or other agreement between the Company and Employee, Cause shall have the meaning set forth in this Plan.

5.7    Limitations on Exercise. The Committee may specify a minimum number of Shares that may be purchased on any exercise of an Option, provided that such minimum number will not prevent any Employee from exercising the Option for the full number of Shares for which it is then exercisable.

5.8    Modification, Extension or Renewal. The Committee may modify, extend or renew outstanding Options and authorize the grant of new Options in substitution therefor, provided that any such action may not, without the written consent of an Employee, impair any of such Employee’s rights under any Option previously granted.

6.    RESTRICTED STOCK UNITS. A Restricted Stock Unit (“RSU”) is an award to an eligible Employee covering a number of Shares that may be settled in cash, or by issuance of those Shares. All RSUs shall be made pursuant to an Award Agreement.

6.1    Terms of RSUs. The Committee will determine the terms of an RSU including, without limitation: (a) the number of Shares subject to the RSU; (b) the time or times during which the RSU may be settled; (c) the consideration to be distributed on settlement; and (d) the effect of the Employee’s termination of Service on each RSU. An RSU may be awarded upon satisfaction of such performance goals based on Performance Factors during any Performance Period as are set out in advance in the Employee’s Award Agreement. If the RSU is being earned upon satisfaction of Performance Factors, then the Committee will: (x) determine the nature, length and starting date of any Performance Period for the RSU; (y) select from among the Performance Factors to be used to measure the performance, if any; and (z) determine the number of Shares deemed subject to the RSU. Performance Periods may overlap and participants may participate simultaneously with respect to RSUs that are subject to different Performance Periods and different performance goals and other criteria.

6.2    Form and Timing of Settlement. Payment of earned RSUs shall be made as soon as practicable after the date(s) determined by the Committee and set forth in the Award Agreement. The

 

5


Committee, in its sole discretion, may settle earned RSUs in cash, Shares, or a combination of both. The Committee may also permit a Employee to defer payment under an RSU to a date or dates after the RSU is earned provided that the terms of the RSU and any deferral satisfy the requirements of Section 409A of the Code.

6.3     Termination of Service. Except as may be set forth in the Employee’s Award Agreement, vesting ceases on such date Employee’s Service terminates (unless determined otherwise by the Committee).

7.     PAYMENT FOR SHARE PURCHASES. Payment from an Employee for Shares purchased pursuant to this Plan may be made in cash or by check or, where expressly approved for the Employee by the Committee and where permitted by law (and to the extent not otherwise set forth in the applicable Award Agreement):

(a)    by cancellation of indebtedness of the Company to the Employee;

(b)    by surrender of shares of the Company held by the Employee that have a Fair Market Value on the date of surrender equal to the aggregate exercise price of the Shares as to which said Award will be exercised or settled;

(c)    by waiver of compensation due or accrued to the Employee for services rendered or to be rendered to the Company or a Parent or Subsidiary of the Company;

(d)    by consideration received by the Company pursuant to a broker-assisted or other form of cashless exercise program implemented by the Company in connection with the Plan;

(e)    by any combination of the foregoing; or

(f)    by any other method of payment as is permitted by applicable law.

8.    WITHHOLDING TAXES.

8.1    Withholding Generally. Whenever Shares are to be issued in satisfaction of Awards granted under this Plan or the applicable tax event occurs, the Company may require the Employee to remit to the Company, or to the Parent or Subsidiary employing the Employee, an amount sufficient to satisfy applicable U.S. federal, state, local and international withholding tax requirements or any other tax or social insurance liability legally due from the Employee prior to the delivery of Shares pursuant to exercise or settlement of any Award. Whenever payments in satisfaction of Awards granted under this Plan are to be made in cash, such payment will be net of an amount sufficient to satisfy applicable U.S. federal, state, local and international withholding tax or social insurance requirements or any other tax liability legally due from the Employee. The Fair Market Value of the Shares will be determined as of the date that the taxes are required to be withheld and such Shares will be valued based on the value of the actual trade or, if there is none, the Fair Market Value of the Shares as of the previous trading day.

8.2    Stock Withholding. The Committee, in its sole discretion and pursuant to such procedures as it may specify from time to time and to limitations of local law, may require or permit an Employee to satisfy such tax withholding obligation or any other tax liability legally due from the Employee, in whole or in part by (without limitation) (a) paying cash, (b) electing to have the Company withhold otherwise deliverable cash or Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to up to the maximum statutory amount permitted to be withheld, (c) delivering to the Company already-owned Shares having a Fair Market Value equal to up to the maximum statutory amount permitted to be withheld or (d) withholding from the proceeds of the sale of otherwise deliverable Shares acquired pursuant to an Award either through a voluntary sale or through a mandatory sale arranged by the Company.

 

6


9.    TRANSFERABILITY. Unless determined otherwise by the Committee, an Award may not be sold, pledged, assigned, hypothecated, transferred, or disposed of in any manner other than by will or by the laws of descent or distribution. If the Committee makes an Award transferable, including, without limitation, by instrument to an inter vivos or testamentary trust in which the Awards are to be passed to beneficiaries upon the death of the trustor (settlor) or by gift or by domestic relations order to a Permitted Transferee, such Award will contain such additional terms and conditions as the Committee deems appropriate. All Awards shall be exercisable: (a) during the Employee’s lifetime only by (i) the Employee, or (ii) the Employee’s guardian or legal representative; (b) after the Employee’s death, by the legal representative of the Employee’s heirs or legatees; and (c) by a Permitted Transferee

10.    PRIVILEGES OF STOCK OWNERSHIP; RESTRICTIONS ON SHARES.

10.1    Voting and Dividends. No Employee will have any of the rights of a stockholder with respect to any Shares until the Shares are issued to the Employee, except for any Dividend Equivalent Rights permitted by an applicable Award Agreement. Any Dividend Equivalent Rights shall be subject to the same vesting or performance conditions as the underlying Award. In addition, the Committee may provide that any Dividend Equivalent Rights permitted by an applicable Award Agreement shall be deemed to have been reinvested in additional Shares or otherwise reinvested. After Shares are issued to the Employee, the Employee will be a stockholder and have all the rights of a stockholder with respect to such Shares, including the right to vote and receive all dividends or other distributions made or paid with respect to such Shares; provided, that if such Shares are Unvested Shares, then any new, additional or different securities the Employee may become entitled to receive with respect to such Shares by virtue of a stock dividend, stock split or any other change in the corporate or capital structure of the Company will be subject to the same restrictions as the Unvested Shares; provided, further, that the Employee will have no right to retain such stock dividends or stock distributions with respect to Shares that are repurchased at the Employee’s Exercise Price, pursuant to Section 10.2.

10.2    Restrictions on Shares. At the discretion of the Committee, the Company may reserve to itself and/or its assignee(s) a right to repurchase (a “Right of Repurchase”) a portion of any or all Unvested Shares held by an Employee following such Employee’s termination of Service at any time within ninety (90) days (or such longer or shorter time determined by the Committee) after the later of the date Employee’s Service terminates and the date the Employee purchases Shares under this Plan, for cash and/or cancellation of purchase money indebtedness, at the Employee’s Exercise Price.

11.    CERTIFICATES. All Shares or other securities (whether or not certificated) delivered under this Plan will be subject to such stock transfer orders, legends and other restrictions as the Committee may deem necessary or advisable, including restrictions under any applicable U.S. federal, state or foreign securities law, or any rules, regulations and other requirements of the SEC or any stock exchange or automated quotation system upon which the Shares may be listed or quoted and any non-U.S. exchange controls or securities law restrictions to which the Shares are subject.

12.    ESCROW; PLEDGE OF SHARES. To enforce any restrictions on an Employee’s Shares, the Committee may require the Employee to deposit all certificates representing Shares, together with stock powers or other instruments of transfer approved by the Committee, appropriately endorsed in blank, with the Company or an agent designated by the Company to hold in escrow until such restrictions have lapsed or terminated, and the Committee may cause a legend or legends referencing such restrictions to be placed on the certificates. Any Employee who is permitted to execute a promissory note as partial or full consideration for the purchase of Shares under this Plan will be required to pledge and deposit with the

 

7


Company all or part of the Shares so purchased as collateral to secure the payment of the Employee’s obligation to the Company under the promissory note; provided, however, that the Committee may require or accept other or additional forms of collateral to secure the payment of such obligation and, in any event, the Company will have full recourse against the Employee under the promissory note notwithstanding any pledge of the Employee’s Shares or other collateral. In connection with any pledge of the Shares, the Employee will be required to execute and deliver a written pledge agreement in such form as the Committee will from time to time approve. The Shares purchased with the promissory note may be released from the pledge on a pro rata basis as the promissory note is paid.

13.    SECURITIES LAW AND OTHER REGULATORY COMPLIANCE. An Award will not be effective unless such Award is in compliance with all applicable U.S. and foreign federal and state securities and exchange control laws, rules and regulations of any governmental body, and the requirements of any stock exchange or automated quotation system upon which the Shares may then be listed or quoted, as they are in effect on the date of grant of the Award and also on the date of exercise or other issuance. Notwithstanding any other provision in this Plan, the Company will have no obligation to issue or deliver certificates for Shares under this Plan prior to: (a) obtaining any approvals from governmental agencies that the Company determines are necessary or advisable; and/or (b) completion of any registration or other qualification of such Shares under any state or federal or foreign law or ruling of any governmental body that the Company determines to be necessary or advisable. The Company will be under no obligation to register the Shares with the SEC or to effect compliance with the registration, qualification or listing requirements of any foreign or state securities laws, exchange control laws, stock exchange or automated quotation system, and the Company will have no liability for any inability or failure to do so.

14.    NO OBLIGATION TO EMPLOY. The Employee’s participation in the Plan is voluntary. Nothing in this Plan or any Award granted under this Plan will confer or be deemed to confer on any Employee any right to continue in the employ of, or to continue any other relationship with, the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate or limit in any way the right of the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate to terminate Employee’s employment or other relationship at any time.

15.    CORPORATE TRANSACTIONS. In the event of a Corporate Transaction any or all outstanding Awards may be assumed or replaced by the successor corporation, which assumption or replacement shall be binding on all Employees. In the alternative, the successor corporation may substitute equivalent Awards or provide substantially similar consideration to Employees as was provided to stockholders (after taking into account the existing provisions of the Awards). The successor corporation may also issue, in place of outstanding Shares of the Company held by the Employee, substantially similar shares, cash or other property subject to repurchase restrictions no less favorable to the Employee. In the event such successor or acquiring corporation (if any) refuses to assume, convert, replace or substitute Awards, as provided above, pursuant to a Corporate Transaction, then notwithstanding any other provision in this Plan to the contrary, such Awards shall have their vesting accelerate as to all shares subject to such Award (and any applicable rights of repurchase shall fully lapse) immediately prior to the Corporate Transaction. In addition, in the event such successor or acquiring corporation (if any) refuses to assume, convert, replace or substitute Awards, as provided above, pursuant to a Corporate Transaction, the Committee will (i) notify the Employee in writing or electronically that such Award will, if applicable, be exercisable for a period of time determined by the Committee in its sole discretion, and such Award will terminate upon the earlier of the expiration of such period or immediately prior to the Corporate Transaction or (ii) provide that each Award shall be cancelled immediately upon the occurrence of the Corporate Transaction in exchange for a payment in cash or securities in an amount equal to (A) the excess of the consideration paid per Share in the Corporate Transaction over the exercise price or purchase price (if any) per Share subject to the Award multiplied by (B) the number of Shares subject to the Award. Awards need not be treated similarly in a Corporate Transaction

 

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16.    TERM OF PLAN/GOVERNING LAW. Unless earlier terminated as provided herein, this Plan will become effective on the Effective Date and will terminate on the later of ten (10) years from the date this Plan is adopted by the Committee or the date additional Shares are added to the Plan by the Committee. This Plan and all Awards granted hereunder shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware (excluding its conflict of law rules).

17.    AMENDMENT OR TERMINATION OF PLAN. The Board or Committee may at any time terminate or amend this Plan in any respect, including, without limitation, amendment of any form of Award Agreement or instrument to be executed pursuant to this Plan; provided, however, that the Board or Committee will not, without the approval of the stockholders of the Company, amend this Plan in any manner that requires such stockholder approval; provided further, that an Employee’s Award shall be governed by the version of this Plan then in effect at the time such Award was granted.

18.    NONEXCLUSIVITY OF THE PLAN. Neither the adoption of this Plan by the Committee nor any provision of this Plan will be construed as creating any limitations on the power of the Board or the Committee to adopt such additional compensation arrangements as it may deem desirable, including, without limitation, the granting of stock awards and bonuses otherwise than under this Plan, and such arrangements may be either generally applicable or applicable only in specific cases.

19.    INSIDER TRADING POLICY. Each Employee who receives an Award shall comply with any policy adopted by the Company from time to time covering transactions in the Company’s securities by Employees, officers and/or directors of the Company.

20.    ALL AWARDS SUBJECT TO COMPANY CLAWBACK OR RECOUPMENT POLICY. All Awards, subject to applicable law, shall be subject to clawback or recoupment pursuant to any compensation clawback or recoupment policy adopted by the Board or required by law during the term of Employee’s employment or other service with the Company that is applicable to executive officers, employees, directors or other service providers of the Company, and in addition to any other remedies available under such policy and applicable law, may require the cancellation of outstanding Awards and the recoupment of any gains realized with respect to Awards.

21.    DEFINITIONS. As used in this Plan, and except as elsewhere defined herein, the following terms will have the following meanings:

21.1    “Affiliate” means (i) any entity that, directly or indirectly, is controlled by, controls or is under common control with, the Company and (ii) any entity in which the Company has a significant equity interest, in either case as determined by the Committee, whether now or hereafter existing.

21.2 Award” means any award under this Plan, including any Option or Restricted Stock Unit.

21.3    “Award Agreement” means, with respect to each Award, the written or electronic agreement between the Company and the Employee setting forth the terms and conditions of the Award, and country-specific appendix thereto for grants to non-U.S. Employees, which shall be in substantially a form (which need not be the same for each Employee) that the Committee (or in the case of Award agreements that are not used for Insiders, the Committee’s delegate(s)) has from time to time approved, and will comply with and be subject to the terms and conditions of this Plan.

21.4    “Board” means the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

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21.5    “Cause” means (a) Employee’s conviction (including a guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere) of any felony or any other crime involving fraud, dishonesty or moral turpitude; (b) Employee’s commission or attempted commission of or participation in a fraud or act of dishonesty or misrepresentation against the Company that results (or could reasonably be expected to result) in material harm or injury to the business or reputation of the Company; (c) Employee’s material violation of any contract or agreement between Employee and the Company, or of any Company policy, or of any statutory duty Employee owes to the Company; or (d) Employee’s conduct that constitutes gross insubordination, incompetence or habitual neglect of duties and that results in (or could reasonably be expected to have resulted in) material harm to the business or reputation of the Company. The determination as to whether an Employee is being terminated for Cause shall be made in good faith by the Company and shall be final and binding on the Employee. The foregoing definition does not in any way limit the Company’s ability to terminate an Employee’s employment or consulting relationship at any time as provided in Section 14 above, and the term “Company” will be interpreted to include any Subsidiary or Parent, as appropriate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the foregoing definition of “Cause” may, in part or in whole, be modified or replaced in each individual employment agreement or Award Agreement with any Employee, provided that such document supersedes the definition provided in this Section 21.5.

21.6    “Code” means the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

21.7    “Committee” means the Compensation Committee of the Board.

21.8    “Common Stock” means the common stock of the Company.

21.9    “Company” means Sierra Oncology, Inc., or any successor corporation.

21.10    “Corporate Transaction” means the occurrence of any of the following events: (a) any “Person” (as such term is used in Sections 13(d) and 14(d) of the Exchange Act) becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of securities of the Company representing more than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power represented by the Company’s then-outstanding voting securities; provided, however, that for purposes of this subclause (a) the acquisition of additional securities by any one Person who is considered to own more than fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power of the securities of the Company will not be considered a Corporate Transaction; (b) the consummation of the sale or disposition by the Company of all or substantially all of the Company’s assets; (c) the consummation of a merger or consolidation of the Company with any other corporation, other than a merger or consolidation which would result in the voting securities of the Company outstanding immediately prior thereto continuing to represent (either by remaining outstanding or by being converted into voting securities of the surviving entity or its parent) at least fifty percent (50%) of the total voting power represented by the voting securities of the Company or such surviving entity or its parent outstanding immediately after such merger or consolidation; (d) any other transaction which qualifies as a “corporate transaction” under Section 424(a) of the Code wherein the stockholders of the Company give up all of their equity interest in the Company (except for the acquisition, sale or transfer of all or substantially all of the outstanding shares of the Company) or (e) a change in the effective control of the Company that occurs on the date that a majority of members of the Board are replaced during any twelve (12) month period by members of the Board whose appointment or election is not endorsed by as majority of the members of the Board prior to the date of such appointment or election. For purpose of this subclause (e), if any Person is considered to be in effective control of the Company, the acquisition of additional control of the Company by the same Person will not be considered a Corporate Transaction. For purposes of this definition, Persons will be considered to be acting as a group if they are owners of a corporation that enters into a merger, consolidation, purchase or acquisition of stock, or similar business transaction with the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that any amount constituting deferred compensation (as

 

10


defined in Section 409A of the Code) would become payable under this Plan by reason of a Corporate Transaction, such amount shall become payable only if the event constituting a Corporate Transaction would also qualify as a change in ownership or effective control of the Company or a change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets of the Company, each as defined within the meaning of Code Section 409A, as it has been and may be amended from time to time, and any proposed or final Treasury Regulations and IRS guidance that has been promulgated or may be promulgated thereunder from time to time.

21.11     “Director” means a member of the Board.

21.12    “Disability” means in the case of incentive stock options, total and permanent disability as defined in Section 22(e)(3) of the Code and in the case of other Awards, that the Employee is unable to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment that can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.

21.13    “Dividend Equivalent Right” means the right of an Employee, granted at the discretion of the Committee or as otherwise provided by the Plan or an Award Agreement, to receive a credit for the account of such Employee in an amount equal to the cash, stock or other property dividends in amounts equal equivalent to cash, stock or other property dividends for each Share represented by an Award held by such Employee.

21.14     “Effective Date” means September 20, 2018.

21.15    “Employee” means any person, including Officers, providing services as an employee to the Company or any Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate. Neither service as a director nor payment of a director’s fee by the Company will be sufficient to constitute “employment” by the Company.

21.16     “Exchange Act” means the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

21.17    “Exercise Price” means, with respect to an Option, the price at which a holder may purchase the Shares issuable upon exercise of an Option.

21.18    “Fair Market Value” means, as of any date, the value of a share of the Company’s Common Stock determined as follows:

(a)     if such Common Stock is publicly traded and is then listed on a national securities exchange, its closing price on the date of determination on the principal national securities exchange on which the Common Stock is listed or admitted to trading as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Board or the Committee deems reliable;

(b)     if such Common Stock is publicly traded but is neither listed nor admitted to trading on a national securities exchange, the average of the closing bid and asked prices on the date of determination as reported in The Wall Street Journal or such other source as the Board or the Committee deems reliable; or

(c)     if none of the foregoing is applicable, by the Board or the Committee in good faith.

21.19    “Insider” means an officer or director of the Company or any other person whose transactions in the Company’s Common Stock are subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

 

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21.20     “IRS” means the United States Internal Revenue Service.

21.21     “Option” means an award of an option to purchase Shares pursuant to Section 5.

21.22    “Outside Director” means a Director who is not an Employee of the Company or any Parent or Subsidiary and who is an “independent” director under the rules of The Nasdaq Stock Market, as may be amended from time to time.

21.23    “Parent” means any corporation (other than the Company) in an unbroken chain of corporations ending with the Company if each of such corporations other than the Company owns stock possessing fifty percent (50%) or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock in one of the other corporations in such chain.

21.24    “Performance Factors” means the factors selected by the Committee to determine whether performance goals established by the Committee applicable to Awards have been satisfied.

21.25    “Performance Period” means the period of service determined by the Committee during which years of service or performance is to be measured for the Award.

21.26    “Permitted Transferee” means any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, former spouse, sibling, niece, nephew, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law (including adoptive relationships) of the Employee, any person sharing the Employee’s household (other than a tenant or employee), a trust in which these persons (or the Employee) have more than 50% of the beneficial interest, a foundation in which these persons (or the Employee) control the management of assets, and any other entity in which these persons (or the Employee) own more than 50% of the voting interests.

21.27     “Plan” means this Sierra Oncology, Inc. 2018 Equity Inducement Plan.

21.28     “Restricted Stock Unit” means an Award granted pursuant to Section 6 of the Plan.

21.29     “SEC” means the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

21.30     “Securities Act” means the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended.

21.31    “Service” shall mean service as an Employee to the Company or a Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate, subject to such further limitations as may be set forth in the Plan or the applicable Award Agreement. An Employee will not be deemed to have ceased to provide Service in the case of (a) sick leave, (b) military leave, or (c) any other leave of absence approved by the Company; provided, that such leave is for a period of not more than 90 days (x) unless reemployment upon the expiration of such leave is guaranteed by contract or statute, or (y) unless provided otherwise pursuant to formal policy adopted from time to time by the Company and issued and promulgated to employees in writing. In the case of any Employee on an approved leave of absence or a reduction in hours worked (for illustrative purposes only, a change in schedule from that of full-time to part-time), the Committee may make such provisions regarding suspension of or modification of vesting of the Award while on leave from the employ of the Company or a Parent, Subsidiary or Affiliate or during such change in working hours as it may deem appropriate, except that in no event may an Award be exercised after the expiration of the term set forth in the applicable Award Agreement. In the event of military leave, if required by applicable laws, vesting shall continue for the longest period that vesting continues under any other statutory or Company approved leave of absence and, upon a Employee’s returning from military leave (under conditions that would entitle him or her to protection upon such return under the Uniform Services Employment and Reemployment Rights

 

12


Act), he or she shall be given vesting credit with respect to Awards to the same extent as would have applied had the Employee continued to provide services to the Company throughout the leave on the same terms as he or she was providing services immediately prior to such leave. Except as set forth in this Section 28.39, an employee shall have terminated employment as of the date he or she ceases provide services (regardless of whether the termination is in breach of local employment laws or is later found to be invalid) and employment shall not be extended by any notice period or garden leave mandated by local law, provided however, that a change in status from an employee to a consultant or advisor shall not terminate the service provider’s Service, unless determined by the Committee, in its discretion. The Committee will have sole discretion to determine whether a Employee has ceased to provide Services and the effective date on which the Employee ceased to provide Services.

21.32     “Shares” means shares of Common Stock and the common stock of any successor entity.

21.33    “Subsidiary” means any corporation (other than the Company) in an unbroken chain of corporations beginning with the Company if each of the corporations other than the last corporation in the unbroken chain owns stock possessing fifty percent (50%) or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock in one of the other corporations in such chain.

21.34     “Treasury Regulations” means regulations promulgated by the United States Treasury Department.

21.35    “Unvested Shares” means Shares that have not yet vested or are subject to a right of repurchase in favor of the Company (or any successor thereto).

 

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SIERRA ONCOLOGY, INC.

(the “Company”)

2018 EQUITY INDUCEMENT PLAN

(the “Plan”)

ADDENDUM FOR CANADIAN PARTICIPANTS

 

A.

The Company has adopted the Plan, to be effective on the Effective Date.

 

B.

The Company desires to modify certain terms of the Plan in their application for Employees (as those terms are defined in the Plan) who are resident in Canada for purposes of the Income Tax Act (Canada) or otherwise subject to Canadian personal income tax (the “Canadian Employees”).

NOW THEREFORE, the Company does hereby amend certain terms and conditions of the Plan as they apply to the Canadian Employees, as follows.

 

1.

Defined Terms. In this Addendum, all defined terms shall have the respective meanings set forth in the Plan, unless otherwise defined herein.

 

2.

Effective Date. The effective date of this Addendum is the Effective Date.

 

3.

Addendum. The Company hereby amends certain terms and conditions of the Plan pursuant to which the Company may grant Options to any Canadian Eligible Person, if the participation by the Canadian Eligible Person in such distribution of securities is voluntary (as such term is interpreted pursuant to Section 2.23(2) of NI 45-106) and is otherwise permitted under NI 45-106.

 

4.

Options.

 

  (a)

Notwithstanding section 5.2 of the Plan, the grant date of an Option awarded to a Canadian Employee shall be, in all cases, the date the Option is actually granted to the Canadian Employee, as evidenced by the Award Agreement.

 

  (b)

Notwithstanding section 5.1 of the Plan, satisfaction of Performance Factors, if any, will be treated as a condition subsequent to the grant to a Canadian Employee of an Option giving rise to a risk of forfeiture of the Option and not a condition precedent to the grant of the Option.

 

  (c)

For purposes of section 5.9 of the Plan, Options granted to a Canadian Employee will not be modified or altered, or new options granted in substitution therefor, if such modification, alteration or substitution has a material adverse affect on such Canadian Employee’s tax treatment of such Options, except with such Canadian Employee’s consent.

 

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5.

Restricted Stock Units.

Section 6.2 of the Plan shall be modified as it applies to Canadian Employees such that the Company agrees to issue only Shares in payment of RSUs to a Canadian Employee and the Company cannot choose, at its option, to make such payment in cash or a combination of cash and Shares, and section 6.2 shall read as follows:

“6.2. Form and Timing of Settlement to Canadian Employees. Payment of earned RSUs of a Canadian Employee shall be made as soon as practicable after the date(s) determined by the Committee and set forth in the Award Agreement. Such earned RSUs shall be settled solely by the issuance of Shares. The Committee may permit a Canadian Employee to defer settlement and the issuance of Shares in payment of an earned RSU to a date that is acceptable to the Committee, provided that, in the case of a Canadian Eligible Person that is an Employee, the terms of the Award Agreement, the RSUs and any deferral meet the conditions of section 7 of the Income Tax Act (Canada).”

 

6.

Payment for Share Purchases.

Section 7(b) of the Plan shall be modified as at applies to Canadian Employees with respect to the consideration that may be paid by Canadian Employees for Shares purchased pursuant to the Plan. In no circumstances shall a Canadian Employee be permitted to make, and the Committee shall not approve, a payment by the Canadian Employee by the surrender of any Shares that were acquired at any time by the Canadian Employee on the exercise of any Option.

 

7.

Withholding Taxes.

 

  (a)

Section 8.1 of the Plan shall be modified as it applies to Canadian Employees and shall read as follows:

“8.1 Withholding for Canadian Employees. The Company or any Affiliate shall deduct and withhold any taxes and other required source deductions which the Company or Affiliate, as the case may be, is required by law or regulation of any governmental authority whatsoever to deduct, withhold or remit in connection with the grant, exercise or settlement of any Award. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, whenever a settlement or payment is made by the issuance of Shares to a Canadian Employee in satisfaction of Awards granted under this Plan, the Company or Affiliate, as the case may be, may, at its discretion (i) deduct and withhold those amounts it is required to remit from any cash remuneration or other amount payable to the Canadian Employee, whether or not such amount payable is related to the Plan, or the exercise or settlement of any Awards; (ii) permit the Canadian Employee to make a cash payment to the Company or Affiliate, as the case may be, equal to the amount required to be remitted; or (iii) sell, on behalf of the Canadian Employee, that number of Shares to be issued on the exercise or settlement such that the amount of the proceeds of such sale will be sufficient to satisfy any taxes or other source deductions required to be remitted for the account of the Canadian Employee. If the Company or Affiliate, as the case may be, considers that the foregoing steps undertaken in connection with this section 13.1 result in inadequate withholding or a late remittance of taxes or other source deductions, then the delivery of Shares to be issued on the exercise or settlement of Awards may be made conditional upon the Canadian Employee (or other person) reimbursing or compensating the Company or Affiliate or making arrangements satisfactory to the Company or Affiliate for the payment in a timely manner of all taxes and other source deductions required to be remitted.”

 

  (b)

Section 8.2 of the Plan shall not apply to Canadian Employees. For greater certainty, the Committee shall not approve funding by a Canadian Employee of withholding taxes or other source deductions by the withholding of Shares the Canadian Employee is otherwise entitled to receive or the surrender by the Canadian Employee of any Shares that were acquired at any time by the Canadian Employee on the exercise of any Option.

 

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EXHIBIT 31.1

CERTIFICATION OF PERIODIC REPORT UNDER SECTION 302 OF

THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Stephen G. Dilly, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Sierra Oncology, Inc.;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: August 6, 2020

 

/s/ Stephen G. Dilly

Dr. Stephen G. Dilly
Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer)

EXHIBIT 31.2

CERTIFICATION OF PERIODIC REPORT UNDER SECTION 302 OF

THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Sukhi Jagpal, certify that:

1. I have reviewed this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of Sierra Oncology, Inc.;

2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the registrant and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

Date: August 6, 2020

 

/s/ Sukhi Jagpal

Sukhi Jagpal
Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial Officer)

EXHIBIT 32.1

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO

18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 906

OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Stephen G. Dilly, Chief Executive Officer of Sierra Oncology, Inc. (Company), do hereby certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that to the best of my knowledge:

 

   

the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 (Report), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

 

   

the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company for the periods presented therein.

Date: August 6, 2020

 

/s/ Stephen G. Dilly

Dr. Stephen G. Dilly
Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer)

EXHIBIT 32.2

CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO

18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350

AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 906

OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

I, Sukhi Jagpal, Chief Financial Officer of Sierra Oncology, Inc. (Company), do hereby certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that to the best of my knowledge:

 

   

the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q of the Company for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 (Report), as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and

 

   

the information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company for the periods presented therein.

Date: August 6, 2020

 

/s/ Sukhi Jagpal

Sukhi Jagpal
Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial Officer)