UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 40-F/A
(Amendment No. 3)
☒ |
Registration statement pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 |
or
☐ |
Annual report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended
Commission File Number
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
British Columbia | 8731 | N/A | ||
(Province or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(Primary Standard Industrial Classification Code Number) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number) |
3204 - 4464 Markham Street
Victoria, British Columbia V8Z 7X8
(250) 483-0308
(Address and telephone number of Registrants principal executive offices)
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies (USA), Ltd.
4837 Amber Valley Parkway Suite 11
Fargo, ND 58104
(701) 353-0022
(Name, address (including zip code) and telephone number (including area code)
of agent for service in the United States)
Securities registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of each class |
Trading Symbol(s) |
Name of each exchange on which registered |
||
Common Shares, no par value | IPA | The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None.
Securities for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act: None
For annual reports, indicate by check mark the information filed with this Form:
☐ Annual information form | ☐ Audited annual financial statements |
Indicate the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuers classes of capital or common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report: N/A
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act 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 an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Emerging growth company ☒
If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, 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. ☐
|
The term new or revised financial accounting standard refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012. |
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its managements assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
EXPLANATORY NOTE
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the Company, the Registrant) is a Canadian issuer eligible to file its registration statement pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), on Form 40-F pursuant to the multi-jurisdictional disclosure system of the Exchange Act. The Company is a foreign private issuer as defined in Rule 3b-4 under the Exchange Act. Equity securities of the Company are accordingly exempt from Sections 14(a), 14(b), 14(c), 14(f) and 16 of the Exchange Act pursuant to Rule 3a12-3. The Company filed a Registration Statement on Form 40-F (the Registration Statement) on September 16, 2020, as amended on October 2, 2020 and November 4, 2020.
The Company is filing this Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement to (i) include additional exhibits, each of which is incorporated by reference in this Registration Statement on Form 40-F and (ii) amend the exhibit references under the heading Forward-Looking Statements and other sections. No other amendment to the Registrants Registration Statement on Form 40-F is being effected hereby.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
The Exhibits incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement of the Registrant contain forward-looking statements that reflect our managements expectations with respect to future events, our financial performance and business prospects. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. The use of the words such as plan, expect, project, intend, believe, anticipate, estimate, may, will, would, could, likely, potential, proposed and other similar words (including negative and grammatical variations), or statements that certain events or conditions may or will occur, and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements. Applicable risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those identified under the heading Risk Factors on page 16 of the Annual Information Form for the year ended April 30, 2020, attached as Exhibit 99.119 to this Registration Statement and incorporated herein by reference, and under the heading Risks and Uncertainties on page 21 of the Registrants Managements Discussion & Analysis for the year ended April 30, 2020, attached as Exhibit 99.83, on page 18 of the Registrants Managements Discussion & Analysis for the three months ended July 31, 2020, attached as Exhibit 99.96, and on page 17 of the Registrants Managements Discussion & Analysis for the six months ended October 31, 2020, attached as Exhibit 99.136 to this Registration Statement and incorporated herein by reference, and in other filings that the Registrant has made and may make with applicable securities authorities in the future. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur, including, without limitation, the Companys beliefs with respect to the potential for its antibodies to be further developed or approved to treat COVID-19 (or SARS-CoV-2) or to complete any transactions with respect to those antibodies. No assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking statements in the Exhibits incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement should not be unduly relied upon. The Registrants forward-looking statements contained in the Exhibits incorporated by reference into this Registration Statement are made as of the respective dates set forth in such Exhibits. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management on the date the statements are made. In preparing this Registration Statement, the Registrant has not updated such forward-looking statements to reflect any change in circumstances or in managements beliefs, expectations or opinions that may have occurred prior to the date hereof. Nor does the Registrant assume any obligation to update such forward-looking statements in the future. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
DIFFERENCES IN UNITED STATES AND CANADIAN REPORTING PRACTICES
The Registrant is permitted, under a multijurisdictional disclosure system adopted by the United States, to prepare this Registration Statement in accordance with Canadian disclosure requirements, which are different from those of the United States. The Registrant has historically prepared its consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards, as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, which differ in certain respects from United States generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP) and from practices prescribed by the SEC. Therefore, the Registrants financial statements filed with this Registration Statement may not be comparable to financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
PRINCIPAL DOCUMENTS
In accordance with General Instruction B.(1) of Form 40-F, the Registrant hereby incorporates by reference Exhibits 99.1 through 99.139, inclusive, as set forth in the Exhibit Index attached hereto.
In accordance with General Instruction D.(9) of Form 40-F, the Registrant has filed the written consent of the experts named in the foregoing Exhibits as Exhibit 99.111, as set forth in the Exhibit Index attached hereto.
TAX MATTERS
Purchasing, holding, or disposing of securities of the Registrant may have tax consequences under the laws of the United States and Canada that are not described in this registration statement on Form 40-F.
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON SHARES
The required disclosure is included under the heading Description of Capital Structure in the Registrants Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2020, attached hereto as Exhibit 99.119.
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
The Registrant has no off-balance sheet arrangements. (as that term is defined in paragraph 11(ii) of General Instruction B to Form 40-F) that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future effect on its financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources that is material to investors.
CURRENCY
Unless otherwise indicated, all dollar amounts in this Registration Statement are in Canadian dollars. The exchange rate of Canadian dollars into United States dollars, on April 30, 2020, based upon the daily average closing rate as quoted by the Bank of Canada, was U.S.$1.00 = Cdn$1.3943. The exchange rate of Canadian dollars into United States dollars, on September 15, 2020, based upon the daily average closing rate as quoted by the Bank of Canada, was US$1.00 = Cdn$1.3176.
CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS
The following table summarizes the contractual obligations of the Registrant as of April 30, 2020:
Payments due by period (in Cdn$) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Contractual Obligations | Total |
Less than 1
year |
1-3 years | 3-5 years |
More than 5
years |
|||||||||||||||
Accounts payable and Accrued Liabilities |
1,766,058 | 1,766,058 | | | | |||||||||||||||
Loans Payable |
312,139 | 121,833 | 190,306 | | | |||||||||||||||
Deferred Acquisition Payments (1) |
2,052,626 | 1,546,088 | 506,538 | | | |||||||||||||||
Leases |
2,082,978 | 849,255 | 1,233,723 | | | |||||||||||||||
Debentures |
2,000,000 | 2,000,000 | | | | |||||||||||||||
Total |
8,213,801 | 6,283,234 | 1,930,567 | | |
(1) |
Cdn$1,016,112 aggregate payments not included in this table are to be settled with issuance of shares. |
NASDAQ CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
A foreign private issuer that follows home country practices in lieu of certain provisions of the listing rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules) must disclose the ways in which its corporate governance practices differ from those followed by domestic companies. As required by Nasdaq Rule 5615(a)(3), the Registrant will disclose on its website, https://www.immunoprecise.com/, as of the listing date, each requirement of the Nasdaq Stock Market Rules that it does not follow and describe the home country practice followed in lieu of such requirements.
UNDERTAKING
The Registrant undertakes to make available, in person or by telephone, representatives to respond to inquiries made by the Commission staff, and to furnish promptly, when requested to do so by the Commission staff, information relating to the securities registered pursuant to Form 40-F or transactions in said securities.
CONSENT TO SERVICE OF PROCESS
The Registrant has concurrently filed a Form F-X in connection with the class of securities to which this Registration Statement relates.
Any change to the name or address of the Registrants agent for service shall be communicated promptly to the Commission by amendment to the Form F-X referencing the file number of the Registrant.
EXHIBIT INDEX
The following documents are being filed with the Commission as Exhibits to this Registration Statement:
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Exchange Act, the Registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form 40-F and has duly caused this Amendment No. 3 to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. | ||||||
By: |
/s/ Jennifer Bath |
|||||
Name: | Jennifer Bath | |||||
Title: | Chief Executive Officer | |||||
Date: December 22, 2020 |
Exhibit 99.112
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies to Complete Share Consolidation in Preparation for Potential Nasdaq Listing
VICTORIA, BC, Nov. 4, 2020 /CNW/ - IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. (the Company or IPA) (TSXV: IPA) (OTCQB: IPATF) (FSE: TQB2), a leader in full-service, therapeutic antibody discovery and development, today announced that it intends to complete a consolidation of its issued and outstanding common shares (Common Shares) on the basis of one (1) new Common Share for every five (5) Common Shares presently issued and outstanding (the Consolidation). Completion of the Consolidation remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV).
Pursuant to the articles of the Company, the Board of Directors (Board) of the Company has approved the Consolidation by way of Board resolutions. The Consolidation is being conducted to meet one of the listing rules of the Nasdaq Capital Market (Nasdaq), which require the Company to maintain a minimum bid price per Common Share, in connection with a potential listing of the Companys Common Shares on Nasdaq. The Board believes the Consolidation and a Nasdaq listing will enable the Company to gain increased liquidity and trading volume and broaden the Companys investor base.
Upon receipt of TSXV approval of the Consolidation, IPA will provide additional details regarding a new CUSIP number for its Common Shares to distinguish between the pre-and post-consolidated Common Shares. IPAs name and trading symbol will remain unchanged. Following the completion of the Consolidation, the Company will have approximately 16,700,000 Common Shares issued and outstanding.
Upon completion of the Consolidation, letters of transmittal describing the details of the Consolidation and the process by which shareholders obtain actual share certificates representing the consolidated Common Shares will be mailed to IPAs registered shareholders. Registered shareholders will also be able to obtain copies of the letter of transmittal by contacting their brokers or other intermediary, or IPAs transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company of Canada.
Shareholders who hold their shares through their broker or other intermediary and do not have actual share certificates registered in their name will not be required to complete and return a letter of transmittal. Any pre-consolidation Common Shares owned by such shareholders will automatically be adjusted as a result of the Consolidation to reflect the applicable number of post-consolidation Common Shares owned by them and no further action is required to be taken by such shareholders. If, as a result of the Consolidation, a shareholder becomes entitled to a fractional share, such fractions will be rounded to the nearest whole Common Share.
About ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
ImmunoPrecise is a global technology platform company with end-to-end solutions empowering companies to discover and develop therapies against any disease. The Companys experience and cutting-edge technologies enable unparalleled support of its partners in their quest to bring innovative treatments to the clinic. ImmunoPrecises full-service capabilities dramatically reduce the time required for, and the inherent risk associated with, conventional multi-vendor product development. For further information, visit www.immunoprecise.com or contact solutions@immunoprecise.com.
Forward-Looking Information and Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition but instead represent only the Companys beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Companys control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, will continue, will occur or will be achieved. Forward-looking information contained in this press release includes information relating to the proposed Consolidation and the listing of the Common Shares on Nasdaq.
By identifying such information and statements in this manner, the Company is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements.
Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to the Companys expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the Companys actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things, obtaining the necessary approvals from the TSXV to effect the Consolidation, the listing of the Common Shares on Nasdaq, and those risks and uncertainties described in the Companys annual management discussion and analysis for the previous quarter ended July 31, 2020 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information and forward looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
|
View original content to download multimedia: |
http://www.newswire.ca/en /releases/archive/November2020/04/c4152 .html
% SEDAR: 00005542E
For further information: For investor relations please contact: Frederic Chabot, Phone: 1-438-863- 7071, Email: frederick@contactfinancial.com, Contact Financial Corp., Suite 810, 609 Granville Street, P.O. Box 10322, Vancouver, B.C., V7Y 1G5, Canada.
CO: ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
CNW 19:08e 04-NOV-20
Exhibit 99.113
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
QUALIFICATION CERTIFICATE
To: | British Columbia Securities Commission | |||
Re: |
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. Preliminary Short Form Base Shelf Prospectus |
|||
In connection with the filing of a preliminary short form base shelf prospectus of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the Issuer) dated as of the date hereof, and in accordance with section 4.1(a)(ii) of National Instrument 44-101 Short Form Prospectus Distributions (NI 44-101) and Section 2.2 of National Instrument 44-102 Shelf Distributions (NI 44-102), the undersigned executive officer of the Issuer hereby certifies on behalf of the Issuer, and not in any personal capacity, that: | ||||
(a) | the Issuer is relying on, and has satisfied, the qualification criteria set out in section 2.2 of NI 44-101 in order to file a prospectus in the form of a short form prospectus; and | |||
(b) | all of the material incorporated by reference in the preliminary short form base shelf prospectus as at the date hereof has been previously filed, or if not previously filed is being filed with the preliminary short form base shelf prospectus. |
DATED November 6, 2020
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. | ||||
By: |
Lisa Helbling |
|||
Name: | Lisa Helbling | |||
Title: | Chief Financial Officer |
Exhibit 99.114
A copy of this preliminary short form base shelf prospectus has been filed with the securities regulatory authorities in each of the provinces of Canada except Québec. but has not yet become final for the purpose of the sale of securities. Information contained in this preliminary short form base shelf prospectus may not be complete and may have to be amended. The securities may not be sold until a receipt for the short form base shelf prospectus is obtained from the securities regulatory authorities.
No securities regulatory authority has expressed an opinion about these securities and it is an offence to claim otherwise.
This short form base shelf prospectus has been filed under legislation in each of the provinces of Canada except Québec. that permits certain information about these securities to be determined after this prospectus has become final and that permits the omission from this prospectus of that information. The legislation requires the delivery to purchasers of a prospectus supplement containing the omitted information within a specified period of time after agreeing to purchase any of these securities.
Information has been incorporated by reference in this prospectus from documents filed with securities commissions or similar authorities in Canada. Copies of the documents incorporated herein by reference may be obtained on request without charge from the Corporate Secretary of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. at 3204-4464 Markham Street, Victoria, BC V8Z 7X8, telephone: (250) 483-0308, and are also available electronically at www.sedar.com.
PRELIMINARY SHORT FORM BASE SHELF PROSPECTUS
New Issue | November 6, 2020 |
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
$150,000,000
Common Shares
Preferred Shares
Debt Securities
Warrants
Units
Subscription Receipts
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the Company) may offer and issue from time to time any (i) common shares in the capital of the Company (the Common Shares) or preferred shares in the capital of the Company (the Preferred Shares and together with the Common Shares, the Equity Securities), (ii) bonds, debentures, notes or other evidences of indebtedness of any kind, nature or description (collectively, Debt Securities), (iii) warrants to purchase Equity Securities and warrants to purchase Debt Securities (collectively, the Warrants), (iv) units comprised of one or more of the other securities described herein (Units), (v) subscription receipts that entitle the holder to receive upon satisfaction of certain release conditions, and for no additional consideration, Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, or Units (Subscription Receipts, and together with the Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants and Units, the Securities) of up to $150,000,000 aggregate initial offering price of Securities (or the equivalent thereof in one or more foreign currencies or composite currencies, including United States dollars) during the 25-month period that this short form base shelf prospectus (the Prospectus), including any amendments thereto, is valid. Securities may be offered separately or together, in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined based on market conditions at the time of sale and set forth in an accompanying shelf prospectus supplement (a Prospectus Supplement).
The specific terms of the Securities with respect to a particular offering will be set out in the applicable Prospectus Supplement and may include, where applicable (i) in the case of Common Shares, the number of Common Shares offered and the offering price; (ii) in the case of Preferred Shares, the designation of the particular class and series, the number of Preferred Shares offered, the offering price, dividend rate, if any, and any other specific terms of the Preferred Shares being offered; (iii) in the case of Debt Securities, the specific designation, aggregate principal amount, the currency or the currency unit for which the Debt Securities may be purchased, the maturity, interest provisions, authorized denominations, the offering price, covenants, events of default, any terms for redemption or retraction, any exchange or conversion terms, whether the debt is senior or subordinated and any other specific terms of the Debt Securities being offered; (iv) in the case of Warrants, the designation, number and terms of the Equity Securities or Debt Securities purchasable upon exercise of the Warrants, any procedures that will result in the adjustment of these numbers, the exercise price, dates and periods of exercise, the currency in which the Warrants are issued and any other specific terms of the Warrants being offered; (v) in the case of Units, the designation and terms of the Units and of the Securities comprising the Units and any other specific terms of the Units being offered; and (vi) in the case of Subscription Receipts, the number of Subscription Receipts, the offering price (or the manner of determination thereof if offered on a non-fixed price basis), the procedures for the exchange of Subscription Receipts, the amount and type of securities that holders thereof will receive upon exchange thereof and any other specific terms of the Subscription Receipts being offered. Where required by statute, regulation or policy, and where Securities are offered in currencies other than Canadian dollars, appropriate disclosure of foreign exchange rates applicable to such Securities will be included in the Prospectus Supplement describing such Securities. See Plan of Distribution.
All information permitted under applicable securities laws to be omitted from this Prospectus will be contained in one or more Prospectus Supplements that will be delivered to purchasers together with this Prospectus. Each Prospectus Supplement will be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Prospectus as of the date of the Prospectus Supplement and only for the purposes of the distribution of the Securities to which the Prospectus Supplement pertains.
For the purpose of calculating the Canadian dollar equivalent of the aggregate principal amount of Securities issued under this Prospectus from time to time, Securities denominated in or issued in, as applicable, a currency (the Securities Currency) other than Canadian dollars will be translated into Canadian dollars using the Bank of Canada daily exchange rate of Canadian dollars with the Securities Currency in effect as of 4:30 p.m. (Toronto time) on the business day before the issue of such Securities.
The Common Shares are listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV) under the trading symbol IPA and on the OTCQB of OTC Markets Platform under the symbol IPATF. On November 5,
2020, being the last trading day prior to the date hereof, the closing price of the Common Shares on the TSXV was $2.07 and on the OTCQB was U.S.$1.58. The Company has applied to list the Common Shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market (the Nasdaq) under the trading symbol IPA. Listing will be subject to the Company fulfilling all of the listing requirements of the Nasdaq. Unless otherwise specified in an applicable Prospectus Supplement, the Debt Securities, Subscription Receipts, Units and Warrants will not be listed on any securities or stock exchange or on any automated dealer quotation system. There is currently no market through which these Securities, other than the Common Shares, may be sold and purchasers may not be able to resell such Securities purchased under this Prospectus and any applicable Prospectus Supplement. This may affect the pricing of any Securities, other than the Common Shares, in the secondary market, the transparency and availability of trading prices, the liquidity of these Securities and the extent of issuer regulation. See Risk Factors.
No underwriter or agent has been involved in the preparation of this Prospectus or performed any review of the contents of this Prospectus.
All applicable information permitted under securities legislation to be omitted from this Prospectus that has been so omitted will be contained in one or more Prospectus Supplements that will be delivered to purchasers together with this Prospectus. Each Prospectus Supplement will be incorporated by reference into this Prospectus for the purposes of securities legislation as of the date of the Prospectus Supplement and only for the purposes of the distribution of the Securities to which the Prospectus Supplement pertains. Prospective investors should read this Prospectus and any
ii
applicable Prospectus Supplement carefully before they invest in any Securities issued pursuant to this Prospectus. The Securities may be sold pursuant to this Prospectus through underwriters or dealers or directly or through agents designated from time to time at amounts and prices and other terms determined by the Company from time to time, or by the Company directly pursuant to applicable statutory exemptions. In connection with any underwritten offering of Securities, the underwriters may over-allot or effect transactions which stabilize or maintain the market price of the Securities offered. Such transactions, if commenced, may discontinue at any time. See Plan of Distribution. A Prospectus Supplement will set out the names of any underwriters, dealers or agents involved in the sale of Securities, the amounts, if any, to be purchased by underwriters, the plan of distribution for such Securities, including the anticipated net proceeds to the Company from the sale of such Securities, the amounts and prices at which such Securities are sold and, if applicable, the compensation of such underwriters, dealers or agents.
Investment in the Securities being offered is highly speculative and involves significant risks that should be considered before purchasing such Securities. Prospective investors should carefully review the risks outlined in this Prospectus (including any Prospectus Supplement) and in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein as well as the information under the heading Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward- Looking Statements and consider such risks and information in connection with an investment in the Securities. See Risk Factors.
The Companys head office is located at 3204 4464 Markham Street, Victoria, British Columbia V8Z 7X8 and its registered and records office is located at 1800 510 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 0M3.
This offering is made by a Canadian issuer that is permitted, under a multijurisdictional disclosure system adopted by the United States, to prepare this Prospectus in accordance with the disclosure requirements of Canada. Prospective investors in the United States should be aware that such requirements are different from those of the United States. The financial statements included or incorporated herein have been prepared using International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and they are subject to Canadian auditing and auditor independence standards. They may not be comparable to financial statements of United States companies.
Prospective investors should be aware that acquisition of the Securities described herein may have tax consequences both in the United States and in Canada. Such consequences for investors who are resident in, or citizens of, the United States may not be described fully herein.
The enforcement by investors of civil liabilities under the United States federal securities laws may be affected adversely by the fact that the Company is incorporated or organized under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, that some or all of its officers and directors may be residents of Canada, that some or all of the underwriters or experts named in this Prospectus and/or in a Prospectus Supplement may be residents of Canada, and that all or a substantial portion of the assets of the Company and said persons may be located outside the United States.
THE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED BY THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR HAS THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION PASSED UPON THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
This Prospectus constitutes a public offering of the Securities only in those jurisdictions where they may be lawfully offered for sale and therein only by persons permitted to sell such Securities. The Company may offer and sell Securities to or through underwriters or dealers and also may offer and sell certain Securities directly to other purchasers or through agents. A Prospectus Supplement relating to each issue of Securities offered thereby will set forth the names of any underwriters, dealers or agents involved in the sale of such Securities and the compensation of any such underwriters, dealers or agents.
Investors should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference into this Prospectus and any applicable Prospectus Supplement. The Company has not authorized anyone to provide investors with any different information. Information contained on the Companys website shall not be deemed to be a part of this Prospectus (including any applicable Prospectus Supplement) or incorporated by reference and should not be relied upon by
iii
prospective investors for the purpose of determining whether to invest in the Securities. The Company will not make an offer of Securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. Investors should not assume that the information contained in this Prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the face page of this Prospectus, the date of any applicable Prospectus Supplement, or the date of any documents incorporated by reference herein.
Each of Jennifer Bath, James Kuo, and Brian Lundstrom, directors of the Company, reside outside of Canada and, accordingly, have appointed BHT Management Inc., 510 West Georgia Street, Suite 1800, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 0M3, Attention: Janet Grove, as agent for service of process. Purchasers are advised that it may not be possible for investors to enforce judgments obtained in Canada against any person who resides outside of Canada, even if the party has appointed an agent for service of process.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page | ||||
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS |
1 | |||
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS |
1 | |||
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE |
3 | |||
REFERENCES TO CURRENCY |
5 | |||
GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS |
5 | |||
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS |
7 | |||
RISK FACTORS |
15 | |||
USE OF PROCEEDS |
25 | |||
CONSOLIDATED CAPITALIZATION |
26 | |||
PRIOR SALES |
26 | |||
TRADING PRICE AND VOLUME |
28 | |||
EARNINGS COVERAGE RATIOS |
29 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON SHARES |
29 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED SHARES |
30 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES |
31 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS |
36 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS |
38 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS |
38 | |||
DENOMINATIONS, REGISTRATION AND TRANSFER |
41 | |||
CERTAIN INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS |
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION |
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LEGAL MATTERS |
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AUDITORS, REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER AGENT |
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WHERE MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND |
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PURCHASERS STATUTORY RIGHTS |
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DOCUMENTS FILED AS PART OF THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT |
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CERTIFICATE OF THE ISSUER |
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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
Prospective investors should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement. The Company has not authorized anyone to provide anyone with any different or additional information. If anyone provides any different or additional information, prospective investors should not rely on it. The Company is not making an offer to sell or seeking an offer to buy the Securities offered pursuant to this Prospectus in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. Prospective investors should assume that the information contained in this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement is accurate only as of the date on the front of those documents and that information contained in any document incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of that document, regardless of the time of delivery of this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement or of any sale of Securities pursuant thereto. The Companys business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
Statistical information and other data relating to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry included in this Prospectus and any applicable Prospectus Supplement are derived from industry reports published by industry analysts, industry associations and/or independent consulting and data compilation organizations. Market data and industry forecasts used throughout this Prospectus and any applicable Prospectus Supplement were obtained from various publicly available sources. Although the Company believes that these independent sources are generally reliable, the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed and has not been independently verified.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Prospectus, together with the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, contains forward-looking statements and information about the Company which reflect managements expectations regarding the Companys future growth, results of operations, operational and financial performance and business prospects and opportunities. In addition, the Company may make or approve certain statements or information in future filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, in news releases, or in oral or written presentations by representatives of the Company that are not statements of historical fact and may also constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. All statements and information, other than statements or information of historical fact, made by the Company that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements and information, including, but not limited to statements and information preceded by, followed by, or that include words such as may, would, could, will, likely, expect, anticipate, believe, intends, plan, forecast, schedule, outlook, or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words.
Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual future performance, achievement or other realities to differ materiality from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements or information and, accordingly, should not be read as guarantees of future performance, achievement or realities. Although the forward-looking statements and information contained in this Prospectus, together with the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, reflect managements current beliefs based upon information currently available to management and based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot be certain that actual results will be consistent with these forward- looking statements and information. A number of risks and factors could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from the results expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and information. Such risks and factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
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the Company operates at a net loss; |
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there can be no assurance that the Company will continue as a going-concern; |
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the financial position of the Company and its potential need for additional liquidity and capital in the future; |
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the success of any of the Companys current or future strategic alliances; |
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the Company may become involved in regulatory or agency proceedings, investigations and audits; |
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the Company may be subject to litigation in the ordinary course of its business; |
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the ability of the Company to obtain, protect and enforce patents on its technology and products; |
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risks associated with applicable regulatory processes; |
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the ability of the Company to achieve publicly announced milestones; |
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the effectiveness of the Companys business development and marketing strategies; |
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the competitive conditions of the industry in which the Company operates; |
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market perception of smaller companies; |
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the Company cannot assure the production of new and innovative processes, procedures or innovative approaches to antibody production or new antibodies; |
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the ability of the Company to manage growth; |
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the Company may lose clients; |
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costs of being a public company in the United States; |
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the Company may fail to meet the delivery and performance requirements set forth in client contracts; |
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the Company may become subject to patent and other intellectual property litigation; |
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the Companys dependence upon key personnel; |
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risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic; |
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the Company may not achieve sufficient brand awareness; |
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the Companys directors and officers may have interests which conflict with those of the Company |
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the Companys products, services and expertise may become obsolete or uneconomical; |
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the effect of global economic conditions; |
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the Company has a limited number of suppliers; |
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the Company may become subject to liability for risks against which it cannot insure; |
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clients may restrict the Companys use of scientific information; |
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the Company may experience failures of its laboratory facilities; |
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prospective investors ability to enforce civil liabilities; |
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the Companys status as a foreign private issuer; |
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foreign exchange rates; |
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the effects of future sales or issuances of Equity Securities or Debt Securities; |
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the market price of the Common Shares may experience volatility; |
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the Company will maintain discretion in the use of proceeds of any offering of Securities; |
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the Company has not declared or paid any dividends on the Common Shares and does not intend to do so in the foreseeable future; |
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a liquid market for the Common Shares may not develop; |
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there is currently no market for any Securities other than Common Shares; and |
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the Company may issue unsecured debt. |
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Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks and factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors and risks that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Further, any forward-looking statements and information contained herein are made as of the date of this Prospectus and, other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all of such factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Companys business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual realities to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements and information contained in this Prospectus, together with the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein. All forward-looking statements and information disclosed in this Prospectus, together with the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, are qualified by this cautionary statement.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Information has been incorporated by reference in this Prospectus from documents filed with the securities commissions or similar authorities in each of the provinces of Canada except Québec.
Copies of the documents incorporated herein by reference may be obtained on request without charge from ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd., at 3204-4464 Markham Street, Victoria, BC V8Z 7X8, telephone: (250) 483-0803 or by accessing the disclosure documents through the internet on the Canadian System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR), at www.sedar.com and on the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov.
The following documents, filed with the securities commissions or similar regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada are specifically incorporated by reference into, and form an integral part of, this Prospectus:
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the annual information form (the AIF) for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2019, dated as of February 14, 2020; |
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the audited annual consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2020 and 2019, together with the notes thereto and the auditors reports thereon; |
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the managements discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2020; |
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the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three-month period ended July 31, 2020; |
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the managements discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations for the three-month period ended July 31, 2020; |
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the management information circular dated October 20, 2020, distributed in connection with the annual general and special meeting of shareholders to be held on November 20, 2020; |
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the material change report dated April 7, 2020 disclosing that the Companys artificial intelligence partner, EVQLV, submitted their first panel of candidate therapeutic optimized antibody sequences to Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) for consideration in the Companys PolyTope mAb Therapy Program; |
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the material change report dated April 7, 2020 disclosing that the Company had extended the maturity date for $2,000,000 of previously issued debentures from March 26, 2020 to September 26, 2020. The Company completed its settlement of $700,000 of previously issued debentures and interest of $46,875 accrued thereon by issuing 1,244,792 Common Shares at a price of $0.60 per share; |
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the material change report dated April 27, 2020 disclosing that the Company planned to complete a non-brokered private placement offering of convertible debentures bearing interest of 10% per annum (the 10% Debentures); |
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the material change report dated May 21, 2020 disclosing that the Company had completed an offering of an aggregate principal amount of $2,592,000 of 10% Debentures; and |
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the material change report dated June 30, 2020 disclosing identification of numerous lead candidate antibodies with highly potent neutralizing activity in vitro, which are being manufactured for further testing and possible inclusion in the Companys PolyTopeTM mAb Therapy Program to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. |
Any documents of the type described in Section 11.1 of Form 44-101F1 Short Form Prospectus Distributions filed by the Company with a securities commission or similar authority in any province of Canada subsequent to the date of this Prospectus and prior to the expiry of this Prospectus, or the completion of the issuance of Securities pursuant hereto, will be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. In addition, to the extent indicated in any report on Form 6-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) or in any report on Form 40-F filed with the SEC, any information included therein shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Prospectus.
A Prospectus Supplement containing the specific terms of any offering of Securities will be delivered to purchasers of Securities together with this Prospectus and will be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Prospectus as of the date of the Prospectus Supplement and only for the purposes of the offering of Securities to which that Prospectus Supplement pertains.
Any statement contained in this Prospectus or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Prospectus to the extent that a statement contained herein, in any Prospectus Supplement hereto or in any other subsequently filed document that also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes such statement. The modifying or superseding statement need not state that it has modified or superseded a prior statement or include any other information set forth in the document that it modifies or supersedes. The making of a modifying or superseding statement is not to be deemed an admission for any purposes that the modified or superseded statement, when made, constituted a misrepresentation, an untrue statement of material fact or an omission to state a material fact that is required to be stated or is necessary to make a statement not misleading in light of the circumstances in which it was made. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Prospectus.
Upon the filing of a new annual information form and the related annual financial statements and managements discussion and analysis with applicable securities regulatory authorities during the duration of this Prospectus, the previous annual information form, the previous annual financial statements and managements discussion and analysis and all interim financial statements, supplemental information, material change reports and information circulars filed prior to the commencement of the financial year in which the new annual information form is filed will be deemed no longer to be incorporated into this Prospectus for purposes of future offers and sales of Securities under this Prospectus. Upon interim consolidated financial statements and the accompanying managements discussion and analysis and material change report being filed by the Company with the applicable securities regulatory authorities during the duration of this Prospectus, all interim consolidated financial statements and the accompanying managements discussion and analysis filed prior to the new interim consolidated financial statements shall be deemed no longer to be incorporated into this Prospectus for purposes of future offers and sales of Securities under this Prospectus.
References to the Companys website in any documents that are incorporated by reference into this Prospectus do not incorporate by reference the information on such website into this Prospectus, and the Company disclaims any such incorporation by reference.
In addition to its continuous disclosure obligations under the securities laws of the provinces of Canada, the Company is subject to the information requirements of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the U.S. Exchange Act), as amended, and in accordance therewith files reports and other information with the SEC. Under the multijurisdictional disclosure system adopted by the United States, such reports and other information may be prepared in accordance with the disclosure requirements of Canada, which requirements are different from those of the United States. Such reports and other information, when filed by the Company in accordance with such requirements, are available to the public on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
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Prospective investors should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement. The Company has not authorized anyone to provide prospective investors with different or additional information. The Company is not making an offer of the Securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted by law. Prospective investors should not assume that the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this Prospectus or the applicable Prospectus Supplement.
Any template version of any marketing materials (as such terms are defined in National Instrument 41-101 General Prospectus Requirements) filed after the date of a Prospectus Supplement and before the termination of the distribution of the Securities offered pursuant to such Prospectus Supplement (together with this Prospectus) is deemed to be incorporated by reference in such Prospectus Supplement.
REFERENCES TO CURRENCY
In this Prospectus and any Prospectus Supplement, unless otherwise indicated, all dollar amounts and references to $ are to Canadian dollars, references to U.S.$ are to United States dollars, and references to are to Euros.
The average daily exchange rate as reported by the Bank of Canada on November 5, 2020, was $1.00 = U.S.$0.7662.
GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS
In this Prospectus, in addition to terms defined elsewhere and unless the context otherwise requires, the following technical terms have the following meanings.
Antibody: | Also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein produced mainly by plasma cells that is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. | |
Antigen: | Any substance (such as an immunogen or a hapten) foreign to the body that evokes an immune response either alone or after forming a complex with a larger molecule (such as a protein) and that is capable of binding with a product (such as an antibody or T cell) of the immune response. | |
Biologics: | A subset of pharmaceuticals that are composed of a mixture of sugars, proteins, nucleic acids or complex compositions and may be made from biological sources. | |
Bispecific antibody: | A bispecific monoclonal antibody (BsAb) is an artificial protein that can simultaneously bind to two different types of antigen specificities. BsAbs can be manufactured in several structural formats. | |
Clinical trial: | An experiment done in clinical research. | |
CDR: | Complementarity-determining regions; part of the variable chains in immunoglobulins (antibodies) and T cell receptors, generated by B-cells and T-cells respectively, where these molecules bind to their specific antigen. A set of CDRs constitutes a paratope. As the most variable parts of the molecules, CDRs are crucial to the diversity of antigen specificities generated by lymphocytes. | |
CMO: | A contract manufacturing organization, sometimes called a contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO), is a company that serves other companies in the pharmaceutical industry on a contract basis to provide comprehensive services from drug development through drug manufacturing. |
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CRO: | Contract Research Organization, a company focused on providing research and development services to companies in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical markets. | |
GMP: | Good Manufacturing Practice, a quality system imposed on pharmaceutical firms to ensure that products produced meet specific requirements for identity, strength, quality and purity, and enforced by public agencies, for example the United States Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency. | |
DNA: | A molecule that carries most of the genetic instructions used in the development, functioning and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses. | |
Drug discovery: | The process through which potential new medicines are identified and may involve a wide range of scientific disciplines, including biology, chemistry and pharmacology. | |
Epitope: | Also known as antigenic determinant; the part of an antigen that is recognized by the immune system, specifically by antibodies, B cells, or T cells. The epitope is the specific piece of the antigen to which an antibody binds. The part of an antibody that binds to the epitope is called a paratope. | |
Heavy chain: | The immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) is the large polypeptide subunit of an antibody (immunoglobulin). | |
in silico: | An expression used in systems biology to mean performed on a computer or via computer simulation. | |
in vitro: | Latin for in glass; studies in vitro are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from the usually biological surroundings, such as microorganisms, cells or biological molecules. | |
Monoclonal antibody: | A monoclonal antibody (mAb) is an antibody made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell (see also polyclonal antibody). | |
Oncology: | The study and treatment of tumors. | |
Pathogen: | A bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease. | |
Peptide: | Small fragments of proteins, composed of amino acids. | |
Phage display: | A laboratory technique that uses bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria); the phage displays the protein of interest on its outside while containing the gene for the protein on its inside. In this way, large libraries of proteins can be screened and amplified in a process called in vitro selection. | |
Polyclonal antibody: | Polyclonal antibodies (pAbs) bind to multiple epitopes and are usually made by several different antibody secreting plasma cell lineages (see also monoclonal antibody). | |
Preclinical: | Of or relating to a stage preceding a clinical stage. | |
Recombinant | Of or reacting to the combination of genetic materials from more than one origin. | |
Recombinant proteins: | Specifically engineered proteins, that are produced from recombinant DNA within living cells, typically bacteria or mammalian cells such as HEK or CHO. |
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scFv: | A single-chain variable fragment (scFv) is not actually a fragment of an antibody, but instead is a fusion protein of the variable regions of the heavy (VH) and light chains (VL) of immunoglobulins, connected with a short linker peptide of ten to about 25 amino acids. | |
Small molecule: | Within the fields of molecular biology and pharmacology a low molecular weight (<900 Da) organic compound that may regulate a biological process, with a size in the order of 1 nm. Many drugs are small molecules. | |
Synthesis: | The production of chemical compounds by reaction from simpler materials. | |
VHH: | A VHH antibody (or nanobody) is the antigen binding fragment of heavy chain only antibodies. | |
VLP: | Virus-like particles are molecules that closely resemble viruses, but are non-infectious because they contain no viral genetic material. They can be naturally occurring or synthesized through the individual expression of viral structural proteins, which can then self assemble into the virus-like structure. | |
VNAR: | Single-domain antibodies found in Cartilaginous fishes, like sharks. |
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
Name, Address and Incorporation
The Company was continued pursuant to the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the BCBCA) on September 2, 2016. The Companys registered and records office is located at 1800 510 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 0M3 and its head office is located at 3204 4464 Markham Street, Victoria, British Columbia V8Z 7X8.
Overview
The Company is a technology platform company that provides its pharmaceutical company clients with streamlined, single-vendor solutions that enable such clients to discover, develop, optimize, engineer and manufacture therapeutic antibodies. The Company believes that its experience, technologies and focus on scientific rigor provide support to its partners in their efforts to bring innovative treatments to the clinic. By utilizing its technologies, integrated project management team and licensed software, along with one-stop service offerings, the Company aims to reduce the time required for, and the inherent risk associated with, conventional multi-vendor product development.
The Company has achieved organic revenue growth through market penetration and service diversification in the biologics, CRO space, as well as accretive growth through strategic expansion of its operations into Europe, by acquiring and integrating innovative technologies, and through investments in research and development (R&D).
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Summary Financial Information
12 Months Ended | 3 Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||||
April 30,
2020 ($) |
April 30,
2019 ($) |
April 30,
2018 ($) |
July 31,
2020 ($) |
July 31,
2019 ($) |
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REVENUE |
14,057,927 | 10,926,268 | 5,441,349 | 3,764,977 | 2,716,099 | |||||||||||||||
YoY/QoQ Growth |
29 | % | 101 | % | 39 | % | ||||||||||||||
COST OF SALES |
6,023,943 | 5,631,634 | 2,990,323 | 1,354,651 | 1,339,693 | |||||||||||||||
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GROSS PROFIT |
8,033,984 | 5,294,634 | 2,451,026 | 2,410,326 | 1,376,406 | |||||||||||||||
YoY/QoQ Growth |
52 | % | 116 | % | 75 | % | ||||||||||||||
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OPERATING EXPENSES |
12,587,382 | 11,817,588 | 7,380,233 | 3,384,152 | 2,852,168 | |||||||||||||||
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE) |
(739,756 | ) | (1,089,725 | ) | (132,181 | ) | 605,515 | (540,491 | ) | |||||||||||
INCOME TAXES |
345,728 | (4,788 | ) | (109,715 | ) | (181,007 | ) | 4,055 | ||||||||||||
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NET INCOME |
(4,947,426 | ) | (7,617,467 | ) | (5,171,103 | ) | (549,318 | ) | (2,012,198 | ) | ||||||||||
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Adjusted EBITDA |
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Net Gain (Loss) |
(4,947,426 | ) | (7,617,467 | ) | (5,171,103 | ) | (549,318 | ) | (2,012,198 | ) | ||||||||||
Income Taxes (recovery) |
(345,728 | ) | 4,788 | 109,715 | 181,007 | (4,055 | ) | |||||||||||||
Amortization and Depreciation |
3,408,347 | 2,263,284 | 458,079 | 911,923 | 702,284 | |||||||||||||||
Accretion |
899,731 | 904,925 | 205,185 | 101,145 | 552,893 | |||||||||||||||
Foreign Exchange Loss (Gain) |
(78,148 | ) | (117,506 | ) | 101,543 | 20,256 | (112,976 | ) | ||||||||||||
Interest Expense |
536,499 | 413,590 | 50,591 | 169,806 | 118,960 | |||||||||||||||
Interest and Other Income |
(272,006 | ) | (30,085 | ) | (73,004 | ) | 624 | (12,402 | ) | |||||||||||
Loss on Settlement |
112,031 | 214,885 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||||||||||||||
Share-Based Payments |
739,011 | 1,114,112 | 1,221,511 | 97,273 | 285,995 | |||||||||||||||
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ADJUSTED EBITDA |
52,311 | (2,849,474 | ) | (3,097,483 | ) | 932,716 | (481,499 | ) | ||||||||||||
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The summary financial information contains non-IFRS measures. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on them and are urged to read all IFRS accounting disclosures present in the audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes for the years ended April 30, 2020, 2019 and 2018, and the condensed interim financial statements and accompanying notes for the three months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019.
The Company uses certain non-IFRS financial measures as supplemental indicators of its financial and operating performance. These non-IFRS financial measures include adjusted operating EBITDA. The Company believes these supplementary financial measures reflect the Companys ongoing business in a manner that allows for meaningful period-to-period comparisons and analysis of trends in its business. These non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.
The Company defines adjusted EBITDA as operating earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization, share-based compensation, and asset impairment charges. Adjusted EBITDA is presented on a basis consistent with the Companys internal management reports. The Company discloses adjusted EBITDA to capture the profitability of its business before the impact of items not considered in managements evaluation of operating unit performance.
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The non-IFRS measures are reconciled to reported IFRS figures in the summary financial information above.
Services
The Companys services include, but are not limited to, custom antigen modeling, design and manufacturing; proprietary B cell sorting, screening and sequencing; custom, immune and naïve phage display production and screening; hybridoma production with multiplexed, high-throughput screening and clone-picking; expertise with transgenic animals and multi-species antibody discovery; antibody characterization studies such as affinity measurements, functional assays, epitope mapping and binning; bi-specific, tri-specific, single domain (such as variable domain of the heavy chain VHH, and variable new antigen receptor VNAR (shark)) antibody manufacturing; DNA synthesis and cloning, protein and antibody downstream processing with purification of protein in gram scale levels including characterization and validation; antibody engineering; transient and stable cell line generation; antibody optimization and humanization; and cryopreservation.
The Companys wholly-owned subsidiaries, IPA (Canada) Ltd. (IPA Canada) and IPA (Europe) B.V. (IPA Europe), have both been designated as approved CROs for leading, transgenic animal platforms producing human antibodies. Through IPA Canada and IPA Europe, the Company has made strategic investments in R&D activities to develop proprietary technologies enabling the application of its B cell Select and DeepDisplay platforms to a broad range of transgenic animal species and strains.
The table below sets out the Companys main lines of service with a description thereof:
Service |
Details |
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B cell Select | In 2018, the Company built on its decade of experience in single B cell interrogation to offer B cell services in both North America and Europe on species agnostic platforms, including the use of transgenic, humanized animals. These services are offered for a broad range of therapeutically relevant protein families, including GPCRs and other challenging, membrane-spanning proteins. The Companys B cell Select platforms enable antibody screening directly from B cells, facilitating the analysis of a more diverse set of antibodies, and for faster, deeper screening compared to traditional technologies. By adding a high throughput, label-free Octet HTX biosensor (under the tradenames FortéBio, Sartorius) at IPA Canada, the Company uses a state-of-the-art high throughput platform that facilitates the rapid characterization and development of lead antibody candidates and addresses the need for increased speed and sample throughput when characterizing large panels of therapeutic antibody candidates, which are generated with its B cell or library-based platforms. | |
Phage Display | The Companys phage display services are based on building custom immune libraries from multiple species, including transgenic animals, or, alternatively, the selection of antigen-specific, recombinant antibody fragments from its proprietary human or llama phage libraries. The proprietary libraries have been made from human auto-immune (diseased) patients and naïve (healthy donors) scFv (single chain fragment variable) repertoires, as well as from naïve llama (VHH) repertoires. Custom immune libraries are prepared from blood, spleen, lymph nodes, and bone marrow of immunized animals and aim to capture the entire immune repertoire for panning, rescue, and identification of unique antibodies with pre-specified characteristics. | |
DeepDisplay | This technology combines Ligands OmniAb® transgenic animal platforms and the Companys custom phage display antibody selection. |
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Service |
Details |
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Abthena Bispecifics | The Companys bispecific Abthena technology complements its diverse discovery process, integrating seamlessly with the Artemis Intelligence Metadata (AIM) capabilities, to enable rapid turnaround on additional algorithmic outputs in therapeutic antibody optimization, stability, affinity, and manufacturability. | |
LucinaTech Humanization | The Company provides humanization services from many animal species (including mice, rats, rabbits, llamas, and chickens) which consistently retain affinity and specificity levels. The approach is based on state-of-the-art in silico antibody modeling to identify essential framework and CDR residues for grafting onto a human antibody framework. | |
Affinity Maturation | Antibody affinity is important in therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The Companys affinity maturation service can improve antibody affinities. The Company applies different strategies to increase the affinity of the antibody, including gene shuffling and random mutagenesis. | |
Immunization, hybridoma, sequencing | The Company offers antibody development services including a variety of immunization methods: Rapid Prime immunization, DNA immunization (NonaVac), cell-based immunization (ModiVacc), electro- fusion and hybridoma generation using semi-solid media and clone picking, as well as high throughput, multiplexed screening methods. With ImmunoProtect, the DNA sequence of the antibody is determined and can be used to express the antibody recombinantly. | |
rPExTM protein manufacturing | The Company provides large-scale production of recombinant mammalian proteins and antibodies for research and preclinical applications. With a track record of successfully producing difficult-to-express proteins and antibodies (e.g. Fc-fusion proteins and bispecific antibodies), the Company offers gram scale production with low endotoxin levels. | |
Cell line development | Using its proprietary vectors, the Company offers stable cell line development services (non-GMP) of target proteins or antibodies adapted to specific growth conditions and media. |
Operations of the Company
The Companys operations are based in Utrecht and Oss, the Netherlands (U-Protein Express (UPE) and IPA Europe, respectively), Victoria, British Columbia, and Fargo, North Dakota.
IPA Canada operates from Victoria, British Columbia, offering custom antibody generation since its inception. Since the acquisitions of UPE and IPA Europe, the Company has redirected most of its focus from the North American diagnostic market to the therapeutic antibody market to bringing an expanded portfolio of products and services to clients in Europe, North America and the rest of the world. The Company has sought to increase its capabilities at its Victoria location by adding equipment for protein purification and measuring protein binding kinetics, enlarging the vivarium, and further developing and improving technologies such as its B cell SelectTM platform.
The Company established its executive headquarters in Fargo, North Dakota in 2018 in an effort to bring key members of management under a streamlined chain of command that is responsible for pipeline selection and oversight, policy establishment, finances and accounting, sales and marketing, communication, contracts, information technology governance and administration. The Fargo site is also the address of IPA (ND) Ltd. and its subsidiary IPA (USA) Ltd. and offers the potential for future growth plans in the United States.
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UPE is situated in the biotechnology hub of Utrecht, the Netherlands and has been operating in the recombinant protein community for close to twenty years, specializing in the manufacture of complex proteins and antibodies in a variety of formats, and from a range of mammalian cell types, using its proprietary expression platform rPEx. UPEs operations have enabled it to successfully support over five thousand different programs for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries as well as leading, academic institutions.
UPEs operations also support the downstream expression and purification of the antibodies originating from the Companys B cell technologies, enabling validation of the platforms outputs and comprehensive deliverables for clients. UPE also has a global, exclusive license from Stanford University for the marketing and sales of the novel protein Wnt surrogate Fc for research purposes, which is used as a growth factor for organoid culture. UPE has also begun offering SARS-CoV-2-specific proteins to the public for use in diagnostic research and vaccine work.
The Company has continued to invest significantly in ROI-generating capacity through UPE, committing to a new laboratory build and equipment purchases in order to support its growth. In January 2020, UPE signed a long-term lease contract for a new multi-tenant building dedicated to the life sciences at the Utrecht Science Park alongside important stakeholders such as Genmab B.V. and Merus N.V. The Company expects UPE to take occupancy at this location in 2022. Furthermore, along with Codex DNA, Inc. (formerly SGI-DNA, Inc.), the Company announced in January 2020 that UPE had integrated Codex DNAs benchtop automated DNA printer, making the Company the first CRO in Europe to integrate the BioXp 3200 System in its workflow. As a result of this achievement, the Company aims to positively impact its manufacturing capacities by reducing the antibody design-synthesis-screening timeline, providing clear advantages to its partners.
Through IPA Europe, the Company has expanded its services portfolio including affinity maturation, humanization, functional assay design and development, naïve and disease human scFv libraries, naïve llama scFv libraries, cell line development, and proprietary methods of immunization against conformational targets (e.g. ModiVaccTM, a lymphoid tumor immunization, and additional DNA immunization technologies). Using the discovery technologies of ModiFuse (hybridoma electrofusion), ModiSelect (B-cell selection) and ModiPhage (phage display), IPA Europe can generate very large panels of monoclonal antibodies from various backgrounds including mouse, rat, rabbit, chicken, llama and human, as well as transgenic animals harboring the human antibody gene repertoire. Adding to its proprietary services, IPA Europe developed and rolled-out the aforementioned DeepDisplay service for the discovery of fully human antibodies using transgenic animal immunization and custom phage display.
Research and Development
CRO services are the main focus of the Companys business activities, though it also continues to develop an intellectual property portfolio of proprietary methods and physical assets through collaborations, acquisitions and in- licensing. The Company has invested strategically in the development and licensing of antibody technologies and related intellectual property assets. These investments have been accompanied by internal discovery programs focused on novel therapeutic antibodies and vaccines in areas such as oncology and COVID-19.
In 2019, the Company established Talem Therapeutics (Talem), based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to support its internal and partnered therapeutic discovery programs, which includes a license for the use of Ligand Pharmaceuticals OmniAb® transgenic animals. OmniAb is a suite of genetically engineered rats, mice and chickens for generation of diverse mono- and bispecific, fully human antibodies. Talem has the right to discover, develop and partner fully human antibodies from these animals. Talems operations are intended to leverage the Companys discovery platforms and end-to-end services in order to successfully generate therapeutic pipelines for the Company and its partners.
In April 2020, Talem entered into a research license agreement with Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen), providing Janssen with exclusive access to a panel of novel, monoclonal antibodies against an undisclosed target. Pursuant to this agreement, Janssen holds an option to acquire all commercial rights to the antibodies.
In October 2020, Talem entered into a collaboration with Twist Bioscience Corporation (Twist) in order to expand its antibody pipeline on a wider range of oncology targets, combining their expertise in a highly collaborative manner to discover novel antibody therapeutics. The Company will contribute targets of interest with relevant background data, and the genetic sequences encoding for lead antibodies against the selected targets. Twist Biopharma, a division
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of Twist, will design synthetic antibody libraries based on the provided antibody repertoire sequences from immunized animals to discover optimized, humanized lead antibody candidates. The companies will then aim to jointly advance the programs through proof-of-concept and preclinical development and will collaborate on any commercial opportunities generated by these joint efforts which may result in milestones based on key preclinical, clinical and commercial milestones as well as royalties for any antibodies resulting from the collaboration.
COVID-19 Therapeutic Research
In February 2020, the Company announced its intention to develop innovative therapeutics and vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus using its proprietary discovery platforms. In March 2020, the Company defined its PolyTope approach, utilizing characterized protein and antibody combinations targeting multiple epitopes and mechanisms of virus evasion. This approach is intended to provide a clinical benefit against both current and future variants and strains of the virus by combining well-defined and fully characterized, protective antibodies (for therapeutics) and epitopes (for vaccines).
The Company confirmed multiple, fully human antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 that efficiently prevented its entry into cells, as judged by a pseudovirus-based neutralization assay that is an accepted surrogate for assessing viral entry into cells under safe, non-replicating conditions. Upon careful combination into two- or three-membered cocktails, the antibodies have been shown to exhibit neutralization synergy, demonstrating that specific combinations of antibodies could potentially enhance neutralization more than the sum of their individual components. Additionally, an antibody cocktail minimizes the risk of mutagenic escape because it achieves broader epitope coverage of the target than that of a single antibody, which can be escaped by a single point mutation in the target. The Company announced a collaboration with the United States National Institutes of Health to determine the structural details of the Companys lead candidate antibodies interacting with the epitopes they bind to on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The Company believes these data will help support the Companys vaccine design, as well as patent and investigational new drug applications. The Company continued to advance lead candidates by utilizing high-throughput binding assays, computational optimization (Artemis), and protein interaction analyses to yield valuable data sets for informed preclinical lead selection.
Using much of this data as supporting material, the Company began obtaining external, non-dilutive, non-debt funding through various granting agencies to support their COVID-19 endeavors and asset generation. This included a grant from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to fund a collaboration between the University of Victoria and IPA Canada to generate an antibody-based saliva diagnostic test that can be conducted at home, with results analyzed using a cell phone application providing real-time, confidential data to health authorities. The Company then received funding through the North Dakota Department of Agricultures Bioscience Innovation Grant Program, to assist with the development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics. In June 2020, the Company was granted funding by TRANSVAC2, a European vaccine network, to cover the costs of a preclinical vaccine study of one of the Companys vaccine candidates in a collaboration with LiteVax B.V. In July 2020, the Company was awarded the Biosciences CARES grant from the Department of Agriculture of the State of North Dakota for the amount of U.S.$1,500,000 to support the discovery, development and testing of SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic candidates. Most recently, the Company has had grants approved in the amount of approximately $55,000 from the Canadian National Research Councils (NRC) Innovation Research Assistance Program, to support collaborative research with the NRC.
Market Position
Market Segments and Geographic Areas
The market worth of therapeutic antibodies in 2018 was U.S.$115 billion. According to a study published in the Journal of Biomedical Science in January 2020. it is estimated that the human therapeutic antibody market will grow to U.S.$300 billion in 2025. Growth drivers in the antibody market are as follows:
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Increasing research and development expenditures in the life science sector and in the therapeutics industry |
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Emergence of innovative, facilitating platforms |
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Growing demand for revolutionary therapies for major diseases as populations age and life expectancies increase |
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Growing emphasis on antibody development at CROs |
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Increasing applications in the environmental sectors |
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Biopharmaceuticals is the fastest growing pharma sector. This market is mainly dominated by large pharmaceutical companies, like Abbvie, Novartis, Roche and Johnson & Johnson. Companies are currently sponsoring clinical studies for more than 570 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Of these, approximately 90% are early- stage studies designed to assess safety (Phase I) or safety and preliminary efficacy (Phase I/II or Phase II) in patient populations. |
The global immunoassay market is estimated to accumulate US $37,987.8 million by the year 2027. According to MarketStudyReport.com, the global immunoassay market was worth US $21,800 million in 2018 and is anticipated to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5% through the year 2027.
In recent years, the number of monoclonal antibody drugs approved for commercialization has proliferated, with 79 approved and available on the market as of December 2019. According to a 2017 report from FiercePharma.com, it is expected that 9 of the 15 best-selling drugs worldwide in 2022 will be monoclonal antibody drugs, the fastest growing segment in the bio-pharmaceutical market.
The protein- and antibody-related service and product market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 6.2% by 2027 to U.S.$5.6 billion, according to GrandViewResearch.com.
Prior to the acquisitions of UPE and IPA Europe, the Company focused on serving primarily the diagnostic antibody market in North America. Since such acquisitions, the Company has redirected most of its focus to the therapeutic antibody market and delivering an expanded portfolio of products and services to customers in Europe, a broader segment of North America and the rest of the world.
Competition
The Company competes primarily against other CROs as well as services provided by in-house R&D departments of biopharmaceutical companies. The Companys major CRO competitors include, but are not limited to, Abveris, Inc., Genovac (formerly part of Aldevron, LLC), Antibody Solutions, Aragen Bioscience Inc., AbCellera Biologics Inc., and Lake Pharma, Inc.
Competitive factors in the industry in which the Company operates include, but are not limited to, experience within specific therapeutic areas, quality of staff and services, reliability, range of provided services, ability to recruit principal investigators into studies expeditiously, location of facilities, speed to completion, price and overall value. The Company believes it competes effectively with its competitors across these factors, particularly due to its full-service operating model, its therapeutic expertise, its single-vendor platform and its experienced and committed management team. However, some of the Companys competitors have greater financial resources and, after years of marketing and operations, an increased brand awareness in the market. Many are also well known for niche specialities such as antibody development against glycosylated peptides or specific chemical modifications, specialties that the Company also houses, but is not yet well known for, which could put the Company at a competitive disadvantage with respect to these competitors.
Many competitors offer custom antibody production services in addition to large catalogues of antibodies available for sale through their websites. In recent years, some competitors have been acquired and merged into larger companies, particularly larger laboratory facilities.
The R&D antibodies market is highly fragmented and served by numerous small suppliers of a similar size and scale to the Company, and no single company appears to hold a dominant share of the market, according to a 2019 report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
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The Company has a long-standing acceptance of its customized antibodies services in the market. The Company believes that the market acceptance of its products will continue as it organically grows its business, optimizes its laboratories, new sales and marketing capacities and production processes to support long-term growth. Further, the Company is one of the few approved CROs for providing multiple transgenic animal models to the market, enabling development of therapeutic antibodies without the need for antibody humanization.
See Risk Factors Risks Related to the Business of the Company Competition.
Strategy and Outlook
The Companys management team places an emphasis on initiatives designed to drive revenue, bolster internal assets and maximize shareholder value. The Company aims to continue to build on revenue and asset generation through internal development and well-informed, strategic acquisitions and joint ventures. The Companys strategy also includes growth through alliances and partnerships, within both its research (Talem) and service sectors, as well as potential new market sectors such as clinical manufacturing.
The Companys objective is to continue growing as a preferred partner for therapeutic antibody researchers. Therefore, the Companys aim is to deliver a comprehensive and integrated continuum of protein and antibody services to its clients and partners and to enable them to bring new and enhanced therapies to the clinic faster. The Company intends to continue focusing on the development and refinement of its integrated end-to-end platform, which, when coupled with strong scientific know-how, can help clients navigate through the process of lead candidate selection. The Company offers customized solutions for antibody discovery while providing details via the project management team to ensure clients have the project data they need, with the security measures required to ensure their peace of mind.
The Company believes its strategy is supported by growing trends in pharma and finance. Large pharmaceutical companies continue to outsource research, with trends showing an increase on the reliance of CROs to improve the efficiency and cost of development, increase turnaround time, and access advanced and integrated expertise. When analyzing pharmaceutical outsourcing trends from July 2019, several major drivers of the CRO industry growth were identified including robust biopharmaceutical funding, accelerated drug approval rates, the growing number of clinical trials, and proliferation of biopharmaceutical companies without own internal research and clinical capabilities.
To streamline, many large pharmaceutical companies are limiting the number of external CRO vendors that can be contracted. This is particularly promising for those CROs that fill multiple niches in the discovery and manufacturing pipeline, as the Company believes it can do.
The key industry participants serving the monoclonal antibodies market are Novartis, Merck & Co., Amgen, AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson, Roche. In 2016, Novartis invested U.S.$9 billion in R&D.
PricewaterhouseCoopers has reported that investments by pharma in antibody R&D are expected to increase given the rising prevalence of cancer, autoimmune disease and other chronic diseases. Antibodies are mainstay in oncology as physicians move away from other types of therapies such as small molecules. In recent years, the success of key pipeline drugs in the immuno-oncology space have been a key component of the record high capital market funding for the biotechnology sector.
See also Summary Description of the Business Research and Development COVID-19 Therapeutic Research and Risk Factors Risks Related to the Business of the Company.
Intellectual Property
The Company has initiated the protection of new innovation in its product pipeline and has trademarked its ImmunoProtect, Rapid Prime and rPExTM technologies. Its intellectual property strategy has been to protect its intellectual property primarily through a combination of trade secrets and copyright. See also Risk Factors.
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Regulatory Environment
The development, testing, manufacturing, labeling, storage and approval of antibody and therapeutic products are subject to regulation by various government authorities in Canada, the United States and Europe. Companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, such as the Companys clients that carry out clinical trials, are subject to stringent regulations. These regulations apply to the Companys clients and are generally applicable to the Company when it is providing services to clients. Consequently, the Company must comply with relevant laws and regulations in the conduct of its business. The Company is in compliance with all Canadian and European regulations regarding the on-going operation of its laboratory facilities and delivery of all its products and services. See also Risk Factors.
RISK FACTORS
Investing in the Securities involves a high degree of risk. In addition to the other information included or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement, investors should carefully consider the risks described below before purchasing Securities. If any of the following risks actually occur, the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations could materially suffer. As a result, the trading price of the Securities, including the Common Shares, could decline, and investors may lose all or part of their investment. The risks set out below are not the only risks the Company faces; risks and uncertainties not currently known to the Company or that it currently deems to be immaterial may also materially and adversely affect the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations. Investors should also refer to the other information set forth or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement, including the Companys AIF and consolidated financial statements and related notes.
Risks Related to the Business of the Company
The Company Operates at a Net Loss
Although the Company earns revenues and operates at a significant margin, the Companys operates, on a consolidated basis, at a net loss. The Companys business operations will be largely dependent upon its ability to increase sales in order to cover its ongoing operating expenses. There is no assurance that the Company will increase its sales resulting in it to operate at a profit.
Going-Concern Risk
The financial statements of the Company have been prepared on a going concern basis under which an entity is considered to be able to realize its assets and satisfy its liabilities in the ordinary course of business. The Companys future operations are dependent upon the achievement of on-going profitable operations. There can be no assurances that the Company will be successful in achieving profitability.
Liquidity and Future Financing Risk
Although the Company is a going concern, the Company does not have cash reserves for funding future growth and expansion and therefore may require additional financing in order to fund future growth in operations and expansion plans. The Companys ability to secure any required financing to sustain its operations will depend in part upon prevailing capital market conditions, as well as the Companys business success. There can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in its efforts to secure any additional financing or additional financing on terms satisfactory to the Companys management. If additional financing is raised by issuing shares of the Company, control of the Company may change, and shareholders may suffer additional dilution. If adequate funds are not available, or are not available on acceptable terms, the Company may be required to scale back its business plan.
Financial Position and Additional Needs for Liquidity and Capital
The Company is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, therapeutic antibodies. Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that a product candidate will fail to prove effective, gain regulatory approval
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or become commercially viable. The Company does not have any products approved by regulatory authorities and has not generated substantial revenues from collaboration and licensing agreements or clinical product sales to date, and has incurred significant research, development and other expenses related to ongoing operations and expects to continue to incur such expenses. As a result, the Company has not been profitable and has incurred operating losses in every reporting period since its inception and has a significant accumulated deficit. Operating costs are expected to increase in the near term as the Company continues product development efforts and expects to continue until such time as any future product sales, royalty payments, licensing fees, and/or milestone payments are sufficient to generate revenues to fund continuing operations. In addition, the Companys operating expenses are expected to increase compared to last year as a result of its U.S. public reporting company status. The Company is unable to predict the extent of any future losses or when this business section will become profitable, if ever. Even if the Company achieves profitability, it may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on an ongoing basis.
Strategic Alliances
The Company currently has, and may in the future enter into, strategic alliances with third parties that the Company believes will complement or augment its existing business. The Companys ability to enter into strategic alliances is dependent upon, and may be limited by, the availability of suitable candidates and capital. In addition, strategic alliances could present unforeseen integration obstacles or costs, may not enhance the Companys business, and may involve risks that could adversely affect the Company, including significant amounts of management time that may be diverted from operations in order to pursue and complete such transactions or maintain such strategic alliances. Future strategic alliances could result in the incurrence of additional debt, costs and contingent liabilities, and there can be no assurance that future strategic alliances will achieve, or that the Companys existing strategic alliances will continue to achieve, the expected benefits to the Companys business or that the Company will be able to consummate future strategic alliances on satisfactory terms, or at all. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on the Companys business, financial condition and results of operation.
Regulatory or Agency Proceedings, Investigations and Audits
The Companys business requires compliance with many laws and regulations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could subject the Company to regulatory or agency proceedings or investigations and could also lead to damage awards, fines and penalties. The Company may become involved in a number of government or agency proceedings, investigations and audits. The outcome of any regulatory or agency proceedings, investigations, audits, and other contingencies could harm the Companys reputation, require the Company to take, or refrain from taking, actions that could harm its operations or require the Company to pay substantial amounts of money, harming its financial condition. There can be no assurance that any pending or future regulatory or agency proceedings, investigations and audits will not result in substantial costs or a diversion of managements attention and resources or have a material adverse impact on the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations.
Litigation Risk
The Company may become party to litigation from time to time in the ordinary course of business which could adversely affect its business. Should any litigation in which the Company becomes involved be decided against the Company, such a decision could adversely affect the Companys ability to continue operating and the value of the Securities and could use significant resources. Even if the Company is involved in litigation and wins, litigation can redirect significant Company resources, including the time and attention of management and available working capital. Litigation may also create a negative perception of the Companys brand.
Intellectual Property Protection
The Companys success will depend on its ability to obtain, protect and enforce patents on its technology and products. Any patents that the Company may own or license in the future may not afford meaningful protection for its technology and products. The Companys efforts to enforce and maintain its intellectual property rights may not be successful and may result in substantial costs and diversion of management time. In addition, others may challenge patents the Company may obtain in the future and, as a result, these patents could be narrowed, invalidated or rendered unenforceable or it may be forced to stop using the technology covered by these patents or to license the technology from third parties. In addition, current and future patent applications on which the Company depends may not result
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in the issuance of patents. Even if the Companys rights are valid, enforceable and broad in scope, competitors may develop products based on similar technology that is not covered by the Companys patents. Further, since there is a substantial backlog of patent applications at the various patent offices, the approval or rejection of the Company and its competitors patent applications may take several years.
In addition to patent protection, the Company also relies on copyright and trademark protection, trade secrets, know-how, continuing technological innovation and licensing opportunities. In an effort to maintain the confidentiality and ownership of the Companys trade secrets and proprietary information, the Company requires its employees, consultants and advisors to execute confidentiality and proprietary information agreements. However, these agreements may not provide the Company with adequate protection against improper use or disclosure of confidential information and there may not be adequate remedies in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure. Furthermore, like many companies in the Companys industry, the Company may from time to time hire scientific personnel formerly employed by other companies involved in one or more areas similar to the activities the Company conducts. In some situations, the Companys confidentiality and proprietary information agreements may conflict with, or be subject to, the rights of third parties with whom its employees, consultants or advisors have prior employment or consulting relationships. Although the Company require its employees and consultants to maintain the confidentiality of all confidential information of previous employers, the Company or these individuals may be subject to allegations of trade secret misappropriation or other similar claims as a result of their prior affiliations. Finally, others may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and techniques, or otherwise gain access to its trade secrets. The Companys failure to protect its proprietary information and techniques may inhibit or limit its ability to exclude certain competitors from the market and execute its business strategies.
Regulatory Approval Processes
The Companys businesses are subject to certain laws, regulations, and guidelines. Although the Company intends to comply with all such laws, regulations, and guidelines there is no guarantee that the governing laws and regulations will not change which will be outside of the Companys control. Numerous statutes and regulations govern the preclinical and clinical development, manufacture and sale, and post-marketing responsibilities for non-therapeutic and human therapeutic products in the United States, European Union, Canada, Australia and other countries that are the intended markets for current and future product candidates. Such legislation and regulation governs the approval of manufacturing facilities, the testing procedures, and controlled research that must be carried out, and the preclinical and clinical data that must be collected prior to marketing approval. The Companys R&D efforts, as well as any future clinical trials, and the manufacturing and marketing of any products the Company may develop, will be subject to and restricted by such extensive regulation.
The process of obtaining necessary regulatory approvals is lengthy, expensive, and uncertain. The Company may fail to obtain the necessary approvals to commence or continue clinical testing or to manufacture or market potential products in reasonable time frames, if at all. In addition, governmental authorities may enact regulatory reforms or restrictions on the development of new therapies that could adversely affect the regulatory environment in which the Company operates or the development of any products the Company may develop.
Completing clinical testing and obtaining required approvals is expected to take several years and to require the expenditure of substantial resources of the Company. There can be no assurance that clinical trials will be completed successfully within any specified period of time, if at all. Furthermore, clinical trials may be delayed or suspended at any time by us or by the various regulatory authorities if it is determined at any time that the subjects or patients are being exposed to unacceptable risks.
Any failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approvals would adversely affect the Companys ability to utilize its technology and would therefore adversely affect its operations. Furthermore, no assurance can be given that the Companys current or future product candidates will prove to be safe and effective in clinical trials or that such product candidates will receive the requisite regulatory approval. Moreover, any regulatory approval of a drug which is eventually obtained may be granted with specific limitations on the indicated uses for which that drug may be marketed. Furthermore, product approvals may be withdrawn if problems occur following initial marketing or if compliance with regulatory standards is not maintained.
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Publicly Announced Milestones
From time to time, the Company may announce the timing of certain events which are expected to occur, such as the anticipated timing of results from clinical trials. These statements are forward-looking and are based on the best estimates of management at the time. However, the actual timing of such events may differ significantly from what has been publicly disclosed. The timing of events such as the initiation or completion of a clinical trial, filing of an application to obtain regulatory approval, or an announcement of additional clinical trials for a product candidate may ultimately vary from what is publicly disclosed. These variations in timing may occur as a result of different events, including the nature of the results obtained during a clinical trial or during a research phase, problems with a CMO or CRO or any other event having the effect of delaying the publicly announced timeline. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. Any variation in the timing of previously announced milestones could have a material adverse effect on the Companys business plan, financial condition or operating results, and the trading price of the Common Shares.
Business Development and Marketing Strategies
The Companys future growth and profitability will depend on the effectiveness and efficiency of its national and international business development and marketing and sales strategy, including the Companys ability to (i) grow brand recognition for its services internationally; (ii) determine appropriate business development, marketing and sales strategies and (iii) maintain acceptable operating margins on such costs. There can be no assurance that business development, marketing and sales costs will result in revenues for the Companys business in the future, or will generate awareness of the Companys products and services. In addition, no assurance can be given that the Company will be able to manage the Companys business development, marketing and sales costs on a cost-effective basis.
Competition
Although the Company believes that there are only a limited number of full-service, biologics, CRO firms, the Company may face intense competition in selling its products and services. Some competitors may have marketing, financial, development and personnel resources which exceed those of the Company. As a result of this competition, the Company may be unable to maintain its operations or develop them as currently proposed on terms it considers acceptable or at all. Increased competition by larger, better-financed competitors with geographic advantages could materially and adversely affect the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations. To remain competitive, the Company believes that it must effectively and economically provide: (i) products and services that satisfy client demands, (ii) superior client service, (iii) high levels of quality and reliability, and (iv) dependable and efficient distribution networks. Increased competition may require the Company to reduce prices or increase spending on sales and marketing and client support, which may have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations. Any decrease in the quality of the Companys products or level of service to clients or any occurrence of a price war among the Companys competitors may adversely affect the business and results of operations. Client reach, service and on-time delivery will continue to be a hallmark of the Companys ability to compete with other market players. Further, the acquisitions translate to spreading the Companys footprint on two continents. In addition, the Company has deployed a sales team tasked with continually sourcing and providing market intelligence as part of its activities.
Smaller Companies
Market perception of smaller companies may change, potentially affecting the value of investors holdings and the ability of the Company to raise further funds through the issue of further Common Shares or otherwise. The share price of publicly traded smaller companies can be highly volatile. The value of the Common Shares may go down as well as up and, in particular, the share price may be subject to sudden and large falls in value given the restricted marketability of the Common Shares, results of operations, changes in earnings estimates or changes in general market, economic and political conditions.
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Research and Development and Product Development
The Company is a life science company that makes customized antibodies and is engaged in the research and product development of new antibodies, processes, procedures and innovative approaches to the antibody production. The Company has been engaged in such research and development activities for over 30 years and has had significant success. Continued investment in retaining key scientific staff, as well as an ongoing commitment in research and development activities, will continue to be a cornerstone in the Companys development of new services, processes, and competitive advantages such as Rapid Prime, B cell Select, DeepDisplay and its methods for the production of human antibodies. The Company realizes that such research and product development activities endeavour, but cannot assure, the production of new and innovative processes, procedures or innovative approaches to antibody production or new antibodies. Furthermore, if it does not achieve sufficient market acceptance of its expansion of its commercialization of its products and services, it will be difficult for the Company to achieve consistent profitability. The Companys marketing and sales approach and external sales personnel continues to introduce a steady stream of new clients.
Management of Growth
The Company may be subject to growth-related risks including pressure on its internal systems and controls. The Company ability to manage its growth effectively will require it to continue to implement and improve its operational and financial systems and to expand, train and manage its employee base. The inability of the Company to deal with this growth could have a material adverse impact on its business, operations and prospects. The Company may experience growth in the number of its employees and the scope of its operating and financial systems, resulting in increased responsibilities for the Companys personnel, the hiring of additional personnel and, in general, higher levels of operating expenses. In order to manage its current operations and any future growth effectively, the Company will also need to continue to implement and improve its operational, financial and management information systems and to hire, train, motivate, manage and retain its employees. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to manage such growth effectively, that its management, personnel or systems will be adequate to support the Companys operations or that the Company will be able to achieve the increased levels of revenue commensurate with the increased levels of operating expenses associated with this growth.
Loss of Clients
The Companys clients may terminate their contracts with it upon 30 to 90 days notice for a number of reasons or, in some cases, for no reason. Although the Companys clients are currently comprised of a number of small and larger pharma entities, the Company is making a strategic shift to increase the number of larger pharma and biotech clients, including the size of each service contract. If any one of the Companys major clients cancels its contract with the Company, its revenue may decrease.
Public Company in the United States
As a public company in the United States, the Company will incur additional legal, accounting, reporting and other expenses that it did not incur as a public company in Canada. The additional demands associated with being a U.S. public company may disrupt regular operations of business by diverting the attention of some of the Companys senior management team away from revenue-producing activities to additional management and administrative oversight, adversely affecting the Companys ability to attract and complete business opportunities and increasing the difficulty in both retaining professionals and managing and growing its business. Any of these effects could harm the Companys business, results of operations and financial condition. In general, the United States tends to be more litigious than Canada and being a public company in the United States may make it more likely that the Company is subjected, from time to time, to the types of lawsuits that affect public companies in the United States.
Delivery and Performance Requirements in Client Contracts
In order to maintain its current client relationships and to meet the performance and delivery requirements in its client contracts, the Company must be able to provide products and services at appropriate levels and with acceptable quality and at an acceptable cost. The Companys ability to deliver the products and provide the services it offers to its clients
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is limited by many factors, including the difficulty of the processes associated with its products and services, the lack of predictability in the scientific process and the shortage of qualified scientific personnel. In particular, a large portion of the Companys revenue depends on producing biologics and the current rate at which the Company is producing them. Some of the Companys clients can influence when it will deliver products and perform services under their contracts. If the Company is unable to meet its contractual commitments, it may delay or lose revenue, lose clients or fail to expand its existing relationships.
Patent and Other Intellectual Property Litigation
The drug research and development industry has a history of patent and other intellectual property litigation and these lawsuits will likely continue. Because the Company produces and provides many different products and services in this industry, it faces potential patent infringement suits by companies that control patents for similar products and services. In order to protect or enforce the Companys intellectual property rights, it may have to initiate legal proceedings against third parties. In addition, others may sue the Company for infringing their intellectual property rights or the Company may initiate a lawsuit seeking a declaration from a court that it does not infringe the proprietary rights of others. The patent positions of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and drug discovery companies are generally uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. No consistent policy has emerged from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or the courts regarding the breadth of claims allowed or the degree of protection afforded under patents like those for which the Company has applied. Legal proceedings relating to intellectual property would be expensive, take significant time and divert managements attention from other business concerns, whether the Company wins or loses. The cost of such litigation could affect the Companys profitability.
Further, if the Company does not prevail in an infringement lawsuit brought against it, the Company might have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages, and it could be required to stop the infringing activity or obtain a license to use the patented technology. Any required license may not be available to the Company on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, some licenses may be nonexclusive, and therefore, the Companys competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to the Company. If the Company fails to obtain a required license or are unable to design around a patent, it may be unable to sell some of its products or services.
Key Personnel Risk
The Companys success will depend on its directors and officers ability to develop the Companys business and manage its operations, and on the Companys ability to attract and retain the Chief Executive Officer, management team and other key technical, sales, public relations and marketing staff or consultants to operate and grow the business. The loss of any key person or the inability to find and retain new key persons could have a material adverse effect on the Companys business. Competition for experienced scientists is intense. The Company competes with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including its clients and collaborators, medicinal chemistry outsourcing companies, contract research companies, and academic and research institutions to recruit scientists. The Companys inability to hire additional qualified personnel may also require an increase in the workload for both existing and new personnel. The Company may not be successful in attracting new scientists or management or in retaining or motivating its existing personnel. The shortage of experienced scientists, and other factors, may lead to increased recruiting, relocation and compensation costs for such scientists, which may exceed the Companys expectations. These increased costs may reduce the Companys profit margins or make hiring new scientists impracticable.
Pandemic Risk
The Company is currently unable to determine whether the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will have a negative effect on the Companys results in the remainder of 2020 or beyond, and the future course and duration of the outbreak remain unknown. There has been minimal impact on the Companys operations and results to date, and the Company has not experienced negative impact on client sales or the supply chain. The Companys sales, operations and financial performance could suffer given a potential rapidly spreading virus. Internally, the virus may infect its employees resulting in operating at lower productivity levels or even a complete laboratory shutdown. The Companys business is dependent on its laboratories to produce its products and services which if not operating will impact the financial performance of the company and its ability to meet its obligations. The Company has diversified geographic locations with the ability to perform similar services at other sites. In addition, certain roles have the ability to work remotely and the Company has business interruption insurance which may aid in the recovery of lost profits. External factors may also contribute to this risk, such as the impact of a pandemic on the Companys clients and suppliers. See also Summary Description of the Business Research and Development COVID-19 Therapeutic Research.
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Brand Awareness
The Companys expansion of its products and services depends on increasing brand awareness with respect to its products and services. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to achieve sufficient brand awareness. In addition, the Company must successfully develop a larger market for its services in order to increase the sales of its services. If the Company is not able to successfully develop a market for its services, then such failure will have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition and operating results of the Company.
Conflicts of Interest Risk
Certain of the Companys directors and officers are also involved as advisors for other companies. Situations may arise in connection with potential acquisitions or opportunities where the other interests of these directors and officers conflict with or diverge from the Companys interests. In accordance with the BCBCA, directors who have a material interest in any person who is a party to a material contract or a proposed material contract are required, subject to certain exceptions, to disclose that interest and generally abstain from voting on any resolution to approve the contract.
In addition, the directors and the officers are required to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the Companys best interests. However, in conflict of interest situations, the Companys directors and officers may owe the same duty to another company and will need to balance their competing interests with their duties to the Company. Circumstances (including with respect to future corporate opportunities) may arise that may be resolved in a manner that is unfavourable to the Company.
Competition and Obsolescence
The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are characterized by rapid and continuous technological innovation. The Company competes with companies around the world that are engaged in the development and production of products and services, including pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and contract research companies. Academic institutions, governmental agencies and other research organizations also are conducting research and developing technologies in areas in which the Company provides services, either on its own or through collaborative efforts. The Companys pharmaceutical and biotechnology company clients have internal departments that provide products and services that directly compete with the Companys products and services. Many of the Companys competitors offer a broader range of products and services and have greater access to financial, technical, scientific, business development, recruiting and other resources than the Company does, and some of its competitors may also operate with a lower cost structure. The Company anticipates that it will face increased competition in the future as it expands its operations and its products and services and as new companies enter the market and advanced technologies become available. The Companys products, services and expertise may become obsolete or uneconomical due to technological advances or entirely different approaches developed by the Company, its clients or one or more of its competitors. For example, advances in databases and molecular modeling tools that predict how effectively compounds will treat a targeted disease may render some of its technologies obsolete. While the Company plans to develop technologies that will give it a competitive advantage, it may not be able to develop the technologies necessary for it to successfully compete in the future. Additionally, the existing approaches of the Companys competitors or new approaches or technologies developed by its competitors may be more effective than those it develops. The Company may not be able to compete successfully with existing or future competitors.
Global Economic Conditions
Current global economic conditions could have a negative effect on the Companys business and results of operations. Market disruptions have included extreme volatility in securities prices, as well as severely diminished liquidity and credit availability. The economic crisis may adversely affect the Company in a variety of ways. Access to lines of credit or the capital markets may be severely restricted, which may preclude the Company from raising funds required for operations and to fund continued development. It may be more difficult for the Company to complete strategic transactions with third parties. The financial and credit market turmoil could also negatively impact suppliers, clients
21
and banks with whom the Company does business. Such developments could decrease the Companys ability to source, produce and distribute its products or obtain financing and could expose it to risk that one of its suppliers, clients or banks will be unable to meet their obligations under agreements with the Company.
Limited Number of Suppliers
The Company currently purchases animals and certain key components of biological and chemical materials that it uses in its products and services from a limited number of outside sources. The Companys reliance on its suppliers exposes it to risks, including: (i) the possibility that one or more of its suppliers could terminate their services at any time without penalty; (ii) the potential inability of its suppliers to obtain required materials; (iii) the potential delays and expenses of seeking alternative sources of supply; and (iv) reduced control over pricing, quality and timely delivery due to the difficulties in switching to alternative suppliers.
Consequently, if materials from the Companys suppliers are delayed or interrupted for any reason, the Company may not be able to deliver its products and perform its services on a timely basis or in a cost-efficient manner.
Uninsured or Uninsurable Risk
The Company may become subject to liability for risks against which it cannot insure or against which the Company may elect not to insure due to the high cost of insurance premiums or other factors. The payment of any such liabilities would reduce the funds available for the Companys usual business activities. Payment of liabilities for which the Company does not carry insurance may have a material adverse effect on the Companys financial position and operations.
Restricted Use of Scientific Information
The Companys ability to improve the efficiency of the CRO services it provides by, among other things, developing an effective database designed to predict how chemical compounds interact with a targeted disease-related protein, depends in part on the Companys generation and use of information that is not proprietary to its clients and that it derives from performing these services. However, the Companys clients may not allow it to use this information with other clients, such as the general interaction between types of chemistries and types of drug targets that the Company generates when performing drug discovery services for its clients. Without the ability to use this information, the Company may not be able to develop a database, which may limit its ability to improve the efficiency of the drug discovery services it provides.
Failure of Laboratory Facilities
The Companys operations could suffer as a result of a failure of its laboratory facilities. The Companys business will be dependent upon a laboratory infrastructure to produce products and services. These systems and operations are vulnerable to damage and interruption from fires, earthquakes, telecommunications failures, and other events. Any such errors or inadequacies in the software that may be encountered could adversely affect operations, and such errors may be expensive or difficult to correct in a timely manner.
The production of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies requires state of the art laboratory facilities and the success of these laboratory services depends on the recruitment and retention of highly qualified technical staff to maintain the level and quality of standard of the Companys products and services expected from clients. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to expand and operate such state of the art laboratory services and recruit and retain qualified staff.
The Company produces and supplies antibodies and there is no guarantee that such production will be successful and produce the desired results. As a result, the Company continues to be exposed to potential liability that may exceed any insurance coverage that the Company may obtain in the future. As a result, the Company may incur significant liability exposure, which may exceed any insurance coverage that the Company may obtain in the future. Even if the Company elects to purchase such insurance in the future, the Company may not be able to maintain adequate levels of insurance at reasonable cost and/or reasonable terms. Excessive insurance costs or uninsured claims may increase the Companys operating loss and affect its financial condition.
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Enforcement of Civil Liabilities
The Company is organized under the laws of the Province of British Columbia with its registered place of business in Canada, some of its directors and officers reside outside the United States and the majority of the Companys assets and the all or a substantial portion of the assets of these persons may be located outside the United States. Consequently, it may be difficult for investors who reside in the United States to effect service of process in the United States upon the Company or upon such persons who are not residents of the United States, or to realize upon judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws.
Foreign Private Issuer
The Company is a foreign private issuer as such term is defined in Rule 405 under the United States Securities Act of 1933, and is permitted, under a multijurisdictional disclosure system adopted by the United States and Canada, to prepare its disclosure documents filed under the U.S. Exchange Act in accordance with Canadian disclosure requirements. Under the U.S. Exchange Act, the Company is subject to reporting obligations that, in certain respects, are less detailed and less frequent than those of U.S. domestic reporting companies. As a result, the Company will not file the same reports that a U.S. domestic issuer would file with the SEC, although it will be required to file or furnish to the SEC the continuous disclosure documents that it is required to file in Canada under Canadian securities laws. In addition, the officers, directors, and principal shareholders of the Company are exempt from the reporting and short swing profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the U.S. Exchange Act. Therefore, the Companys shareholders may not know on as timely a basis when the officers, directors and principal shareholders of the Company purchase or sell shares, as the reporting deadlines under the corresponding Canadian insider reporting requirements are longer.
As a foreign private issuer, the Company is exempt from the rules and regulations under the U.S. Exchange Act related to the furnishing and content of proxy statements. It is also exempt from Regulation FD, which prohibits issuers from making selective disclosures of material non-public information. While the Company expects to comply with the corresponding requirements relating to proxy statements and disclosure of material non-public information under Canadian securities laws, these requirements differ from those under the U.S. Exchange Act and Regulation FD and shareholders should not expect to receive in every case the same information at the same time as such information is provided by U.S. domestic companies. In addition, as a foreign private issuer, the Company has the option to follow certain Canadian corporate governance practices, provided that the Company discloses the requirements that are not being followed and describes the Canadian practices being followed instead. The Company plans to rely on this exemption. As a result, the Companys shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of U.S. domestic companies that are subject to all U.S. corporate governance requirements.
Foreign Exchange Rates
The Company may conduct business with clients, distributors, suppliers, other service providers and affiliates in currencies other than Canadian Dollars. Therefore, the Companys business could be adversely affected by fluctuations in domestic or foreign currencies.
Risks Related to the Securities of the Company
Effects of Future sales or issuances of Equity Securities or Debt Securities
The Company may sell additional Equity Securities in subsequent offerings (including through the sale of securities convertible into Equity Securities) and may issue additional Equity Securities to finance operations, acquisitions or other projects. The Company cannot predict the size of future issuances of Equity Securities or the size and terms of future issuances of debt instruments or other securities convertible into Equity Securities or the effect, if any, that future issuances and sales of Securities will have on the market price of the Common Shares. Any transaction involving the issuance of previously authorized but unissued Common Shares, or securities convertible into Common Shares, would result in dilution, possibly substantial, to securityholders. Exercises of presently outstanding share options may also result in dilution to securityholders.
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The Companys board of directors (the Board) has the authority to authorize certain offers and sales of additional securities without the vote of, or prior notice to, shareholders. Based on the need for additional capital to fund expected expenditures and growth, the Company expects that it will issue additional securities to provide such capital. Such additional issuances may involve the issuance of a significant number of Common Shares at prices less than the current market price for the Common Shares.
Sales of substantial amounts of Securities, or the availability of such Securities for sale, could adversely affect the prevailing market prices for Securities and dilute investors earnings per share. A decline in the market prices of the Securities could impair the Companys ability to raise additional capital through the sale of Securities should the Company desire to do so. Sales of Common Shares by shareholders might also make it more difficult for the Company to sell Equity Securities at a time and price that it may deem to be appropriate.
Common Share Price Volatility
An investment in the Companys Securities is highly speculative. The market prices for the securities of pharmaceutical companies, including the Companys, have historically been highly volatile. The market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the financial performance or prospects of any particular company. In addition, because of the nature of the Companys business, certain factors such as announcements, competition from new therapeutic products or technological innovations, governmental regulations, fluctuations in operating results, results of clinical trials, public concern regarding the safety of drugs generally, general market conductions, developments in patent and proprietary rights, the Companys financial condition or results of operations as reflected in its quarterly and annual financial statements, operating performance and the performance of competitors and other similar companies, changes in earnings estimates or recommendations by research analysts who track the Companys securities or securities of other companies in the life sciences sector, general market conditions, announcements relating to litigation, the arrival or departure of key personnel and the factors listed under the heading Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements can have an adverse impact on the market price of the Common Shares.
Any negative change in the publics perception of the Companys prospects could cause the price of the Securities, including the price of the Common Shares, to decrease dramatically. Furthermore, any negative change in the publics perception of the prospects of life sciences companies in general could depress the price of the Securities, including the price of the Common Shares, regardless of the Companys financial and operating results. In the past, following declines in the market price of a companys securities, securities class-action litigation often has been instituted against said company. Litigation of this type, if instituted, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of the Companys managements attention and resources.
Discretion in Use of Proceeds
While detailed information regarding the use of proceeds from the sale of Securities will be described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, the Company will have broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from an offering by the Company of its securities. Because of the number and variability of factors that will determine the Companys use of such proceeds, the Companys ultimate use might vary substantially from its planned use. Investors and securityholders may not agree with how the Company allocates or spends the proceeds from an offering of Securities. The Company may pursue acquisitions, collaborations or other opportunities that do not result in an increase in the market value of its Securities, including the market value of the Common Shares, and that may increase its losses.
Dividend Policy
No dividends on the Common Shares have been paid by the Company to date. The Company does not intend to declare or pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Payment of any future dividends will be at the discretion of the Board, after taking into account a multitude of factors appropriate in the circumstances, including the Companys operating results, financial condition and current and anticipated cash needs.
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Liquid Market for Common Shares
Shareholders of the Company may be unable to sell significant quantities of Common Shares into the public trading markets without a significant reduction in the price of their Common Shares, or at all. There can be no assurance that there will be sufficient liquidity of the Companys Common Shares on the trading market, and that the Company will continue to meet the listing requirements of the TSXV or achieve listing on any other public listing exchange.
The Company has applied to list the Common Shares on the Nasdaq. The Common Shares are not currently listed on a national stock exchange in the United States. If an active trading market does not develop in the United States, investors may have difficulty selling any of the Common Shares that they buy over a U.S. exchange. The Company cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in the Company will lead to the development of an active trading market on the Nasdaq or otherwise, or how liquid that market might become. The price of the Common Shares in any offering that may be completed pursuant to a Prospectus Supplement may not be indicative of prices that will prevail in the United States trading market or otherwise following such offering. Listing of the Common Shares on the Nasdaq in addition to the TSXV may increase price volatility on the TSXV and also result in volatility of the trading price on the Nasdaq because trading will be in two markets, which may result in less liquidity on both exchanges. In addition, different liquidity levels, volumes of trading, currencies and market conditions on the two exchanges may result in different prevailing trading prices.
Lack of Market for Securities other than Common Shares
There is currently no market through which any of the Securities, other than the Common Shares, may be sold and, unless otherwise specified in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, Debt Securities, Subscription Receipts, Units or Warrants will not be listed on any securities or stock exchange or any automated dealer quotation system. As a consequence, purchasers may not be able to resell Debt Securities, Subscription Receipts, Units or Warrants purchased under this Prospectus. This may affect the pricing of the Securities, other than the Common Shares, in the secondary market, the transparency and availability of trading prices, the liquidity of these securities and the extent of issuer regulation. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Securities, other than the Common Shares, will develop or, if developed, that any such market, including for the Common Shares, will be sustained.
Unsecured Debt
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, the Debt Securities will be unsecured and will rank equally in right of payment with all of the Companys other existing and future unsecured debt. The Debt Securities will be effectively subordinated to all of the Companys existing and future secured debt to the extent of the assets securing such debt. If the Company is involved in any bankruptcy, dissolution, liquidation or reorganization, the secured debt holders would, to the extent of the value of the assets securing the secured debt, be paid before the holders of unsecured Debt Securities, including the Debt Securities. In that event, a holder of Debt Securities may not be able to recover any principal or interest due to it under the Debt Securities. See Description of Debt Securities.
USE OF PROCEEDS
Use of Proceeds
Unless otherwise indicated in a Prospectus Supplement relating to a particular offering, the Company currently intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of Securities for working capital requirements, general corporate purposes and the advancement of its business objectives outlined below.
In order to raise additional funds to finance future growth opportunities, the Company may, from time to time, issue Securities. More detailed information regarding the use of proceeds from the sale of Securities, including any determinable milestones at the applicable time, will be described in a Prospectus Supplement. The Company may also, from time to time, issue securities otherwise than pursuant to a Prospectus Supplement to this Prospectus.
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Business Objectives
Over the next twelve months, the Companys growth strategy includes the following:
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Continued growth of therapeutic antibody client network by offering broad access to platforms for use with multiple, transgenic animal species and strains and many services related to the discovery, characterization, manufacturing, optimization and engineering of antibodies and protein services. |
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Expansion of sales team as well as sales and marketing initiatives. |
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Progression of existing, and establishment of new, collaborations in the field of artificial intelligence for drug discovery. |
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Enhancement of existing technologies, and/or access to technologies, for bi- and multi-specific antibody generation and manufacturing. |
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Addition of VLP generation for immunization and screening. |
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Addition of a new human library to offer a broader diversity in lead candidates in future campaigns. |
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Implementation of next-generation of B cell selection and screening technology. |
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Expansion of the vivarium at IPA Canada to answer the increasing demand for rodent immunizations, both wild-type and transgenic animals, as well as to expand opportunities for pre-clinical animal trials. |
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Increase automation and throughput in protein manufacturing to increase capacity. |
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Intensification of collaborations with third-party transgenic animal companies, offering streamlined transgenic animal access for clients. |
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Support and intensification of collaborative partnerships and internal therapeutic antibody discovery to design, develop, select and test novel, therapeutic antibodies against a variety of disease indications, including, but not limited to, immuno-oncology and COVID-19. |
CONSOLIDATED CAPITALIZATION
Since July 31, 2020, the date of the Companys financial statements for the most recently completed financial period, there have been no material changes in the Companys consolidated share and loan capital.
PRIOR SALES
During the 12-month period before the date of this Prospectus, the Company completed the following issuances of Securities:
Common Shares
Date of Sale or Grant |
Issue or Exercise Price | Number of Common Shares | ||||||
October 27, 2020 |
$ | 0.85 | 58,822 | |||||
October 23, 2020 |
$ | 1.01 | 15,500 | |||||
October 22, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 126,000 | |||||
October 21, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 761,000 | |||||
October 20, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 125,000 | |||||
October 9, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 26,000 | |||||
October 6, 2020 |
$ | 0.85 | 223,529 | |||||
October 5, 2020 |
$ | 1.01 | 22,500 | |||||
October 5, 2020 |
$ | 0.85 | 58,823 | |||||
October 2, 2020 |
$ | 1.01 | 5,000 | |||||
September 25, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 87,500 |
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Date of Sale or Grant |
Issue or Exercise Price | Number of Common Shares | ||||||
September 24, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 127,500 | |||||
September 23, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 492,346 | |||||
September 23, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 50,000 | |||||
September 22, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 3,425,000 | |||||
September 21, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 800,000 | |||||
September 21, 2020 |
$ | 0.85 | 76,470 | |||||
September 18, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 223,500 | |||||
September 18, 2020 |
$ | 0.30 | 250,000 | |||||
September 17, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 494,000 | |||||
September 16, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 359,000 | |||||
September 14, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 228,000 | |||||
September 11, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 235,000 | |||||
September 11, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 25,000 | |||||
September 10, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 117,000 | |||||
September 10, 2020 |
$ | 0.30 | 5,000 | |||||
September 9, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 291,000 | |||||
September 9, 2020 |
$ | 1.01 | 15,000 | |||||
September 8, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 78,654 | |||||
September 4,2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 40,000 | |||||
September 2, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 202,500 | |||||
September 1, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 165,000 | |||||
August 31, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 83,000 | |||||
August 28, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 65,000 | |||||
August 27, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 91,500 | |||||
August 25, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 10,000 | |||||
August 24, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 17,500 | |||||
August 18, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 25,000 | |||||
August 18, 2020 |
$ | 1.01 | 5,000 | |||||
August 17, 2020 |
$ | 0.30 | 25,000 | |||||
August 7, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 35,000 | |||||
August 5, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 25,000 | |||||
August 5,2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 20,000 | |||||
August 4, 2020 |
$ | 0.80 | 121,600 | |||||
July 28, 2020 |
$ | 1.01 | 5,000 | |||||
July 16, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 50,000 | |||||
July 16, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 30,000 | |||||
July 15, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 35,000 | |||||
July 13, 2020 |
$ | 0.80 | 78,400 | |||||
July 10, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 30,000 | |||||
July 10, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 20,000 | |||||
July 8, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 10,000 | |||||
July 7, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 15,000 | |||||
July 3, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 295,000 | |||||
July 3, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 60,500 | |||||
July 2, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 10,000 | |||||
June 30, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 15,000 | |||||
June 29, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 255,000 | |||||
June 26, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 125,000 | |||||
June 25, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 8,500 | |||||
June 25, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 10,000 | |||||
June 24, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 50,000 | |||||
June 22, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 40,000 | |||||
June 19, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 250,000 | |||||
June 18, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 35,000 | |||||
June 18, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 30,000 |
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Date of Sale or Grant |
Issue or Exercise Price | Number of Common Shares | ||||||
June 17, 2020 |
$ | 1.01 | 5,000 | |||||
June 17, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 12,500 | |||||
June 17, 2020 |
$ | 0.30 | 5,000 | |||||
June 16, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 30,000 | |||||
June 16, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 145,500 | |||||
June 16, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 39,500 | |||||
June 16, 2020 |
$ | 0.30 | 15,000 | |||||
June 15, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 12,500 | |||||
June 15, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 10,000 | |||||
June 12, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 120,000 | |||||
June 11, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 30,000 | |||||
June 11, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 63,750 | |||||
June 10, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 27,000 | |||||
June 10, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 67,000 | |||||
June 9, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 340,000 | |||||
June 9, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 23,750 | |||||
June 9, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 75,000 | |||||
June 8, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 22,500 | |||||
June 8, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 31,250 | |||||
June 5, 2020 |
$ | 0.30 | 5,000 | |||||
June 4, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 192,500 | |||||
June 4, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 70,250 | |||||
June 1, 2020 |
$ | 1.01 | 52,5000 | |||||
June 1, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 20,000 | |||||
June 1, 2020 |
$ | 0.30 | 15,000 | |||||
May 29, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 23,500 | |||||
May 28, 2020 |
$ | 1.25 | 50,000 | |||||
May 28, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 25,000 | |||||
May 27, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 100,000 | |||||
May 26, 2020 |
$ | 1.00 | 25,000 | |||||
May 22, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 275,000 | |||||
May 8, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 100,000 | |||||
May 1, 2020 |
$ | 0.77 | 664,163 | |||||
April 16, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 5,971 | |||||
April 15, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 300,000 | |||||
April 14, 2020 |
$ | 0.70 | 375,000 | |||||
March 26, 2020 |
$ | 0.60 | 1,244,792 |
Debt Securities
On May 15, 2020, the Company completed an offering of an aggregate principal amount of $2,592,000 of 10% Debentures which are due and payable on May 15, 2022. On May 22, 2020 the Company completed an offering of an additional aggregate principal amount of $35,000 of 10% Debentures which are due and payable on May 22, 2022. The principal amount of the 10% Debentures may be converted at the option of the holders thereof into Common Shares at a price of $0.85 per Common Share .
TRADING PRICE AND VOLUME
The Companys Common Shares are listed and posted for trading on the TSXV under the symbol IPA and the OTC Markets Platform under the symbol IPATF. The following table sets forth the reported high and low closing sale
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prices and the aggregate volume of trading of the Common Shares on the TSXV during the 12 months preceding the date of this Prospectus:
Price Range | ||||||||||||
High | Low | Volume | ||||||||||
2020 |
||||||||||||
November 1 to 5 |
$ | 2.26 | $ | 2.00 | 1,494,022 | |||||||
October |
$ | 2.92 | $ | 2.12 | 6,991,605 | |||||||
September |
$ | 3.14 | $ | 1.55 | 11,699,880 | |||||||
August |
$ | 1.83 | $ | 1.32 | 4,522,290 | |||||||
July |
$ | 1.73 | $ | 1.10 | 7,185,754 | |||||||
June |
$ | 2.06 | $ | 1.37 | 11,176,932 | |||||||
May |
$ | 1.50 | $ | 0.77 | 6,810,034 | |||||||
April |
$ | 0.90 | $ | 0.70 | 4,075,807 | |||||||
March |
$ | 0.80 | $ | 0.62 | 4,307,828 | |||||||
February |
$ | 0.78 | $ | 0.55 | 1,745,656 | |||||||
January |
$ | 0.67 | $ | 0.51 | 1,096,141 | |||||||
2019 |
||||||||||||
December |
$ | 0.65 | $ | 0.50 | 1,028,900 | |||||||
November |
$ | 0.65 | $ | 0.52 | 1,197,777 |
EARNINGS COVERAGE RATIOS
If the Company offers Debt Securities having a term to maturity in excess of one year or Preferred Shares under this Prospectus and any applicable Prospectus Supplement, the applicable Prospectus Supplement will include earnings coverage ratios giving effect to the issuance of such securities.
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON SHARES
Each Common Share entitles the holder thereof to one vote at any meeting of shareholders. The holders of Common Shares are entitled to receive if, as and when declared by the Board, dividends in such amounts as shall be determined by the Board. The holders of Common Shares have the right to receive the Companys remaining property and assets in the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, whether voluntary or involuntary. The Common Shares do not carry any pre-emptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights, nor do they contain any sinking or purchase fund provisions.
As of the date of this Prospectus, the authorized capital of the Company consisted of an unlimited number of Common Shares without par value. As of the date of this Prospectus, 83,809,015 Common Shares are issued and outstanding.
Deferred Share Issuances
In accordance with the terms of a share purchase agreement dated March 15, 2018, pursuant to which the Company acquired IPA Europe (then Modiquest Research B.V.) from Immusys B.V., as consideration for the transactions contemplated therein, on or before December 31, 2020, the Company is required to pay Immusys B.V. (i) 333,556 in cash, and (ii) the equivalent of 333,556 in Common Shares, based on a price per Common Share of the greater of (A) $0.57, and (B) the closing price of the Common Shares on May 1, 2021, converted into Euros using the Bank of Canadas 10-day average exchange rate as of the day prior to the date such Common Shares are issued. For reference, in the event the Company were to issue such Common Shares as of the date of this Prospectus, 249,941 Common Shares would be issuable to Immusys B.V, based on a closing price of $2.07 on the TSXV on November 5, 2020 and the Bank of Canadas 10-day average exchange rate as of November 5, 2020 of 1.00 = $1.5511.
In accordance with the terms of a share exchange agreement dated August 10, 2017, pursuant to which the Company acquired UPE from certain former shareholders of UPE, as consideration for the transactions contemplated therein, on December 31, 2020, the Company is required to pay the equivalent of 682,544 in cash or issuance of Common Shares at the sole discretion of the former shareholder to the former shareholders of UPE, based on a per Common Share price of $1.00 converted into Euros using the bank of Canada exchange rate on the day prior to the date such Common Shares are issued. For reference, if the Company were to issue such Common Shares as of the date of this Prospectus, an aggregate of 442,434 Common Shares would be issuable to the former shareholders of UPE, based on the Bank of Canada exchange rate of $1.00 = 0.6482.
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Shareholder Rights Plan
The Company adopted a shareholder rights plan on October 17, 2019 which was ratified by the shareholders on November 22, 2019 (the Rights Plan). Under the Rights Plan, the Company issued one right (a Right) in respect of each Common Share or other security which entitles the holder to vote generally in the election of directors (Voting Share) outstanding on October 17, 2019, and will issue one Right for each additional Voting Share issued after October 17, 2019 but prior to the separation time or the expiry of the Rights. The Rights Plan has an indefinite term but must be reconfirmed by the shareholders every three years to remain in effect. The Rights will separate from the Voting Shares and will generally only be exercisable ten trading days after a person has acquired, or commences to acquire, 20% or more of the Voting Shares, other than by acquisition pursuant to: a voting share reduction (generally, a repurchase or redemption of shares by the Company which has the effect of increasing the persons or companys percentage ownership of the Company); a takeover bid permitted by the Rights Plan (a Permitted Bid or a Competing Permitted Bid); an exempt acquisition (an acquisition in respect of which the Board has waived the application of the Rights Plan or an acquisition made pursuant to a shareholder-approved transaction such as an amalgamation or arrangement or an acquisition made as an intermediate step in a larger transaction where the acquiring party has then distributed the shares out to its security holders); and a pro rata acquisition (generally, the acquisition of shares pursuant to a rights offering, public offering or private placement to the extent necessary to prevent dilution of the persons or companys shareholding). The acquisition by any person (an Acquiring Person) of more than 20% of the Voting Shares, other than by way of a voting share reduction, a Permitted Bid, a Competing Permitted Bid, an exempt acquisition, and a pro rata acquisition is referred to as a Flip-in Event. Any Rights held by an Acquiring Person will become void upon the occurrence of a Flip-in Event. Ten trading days after the occurrence of the Flip-in Event, each Right (other than those held by the Acquiring Person), will permit the purchase of shares at a 50% discount in accordance with the terms of the Rights Plan.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED SHARES
The Company is not currently authorized to issue Preferred Shares. Subject to obtaining all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals and amending the Notice of Articles of the Company to authorize the creation and issuance of Preferred Shares, in one or more classes or series, in accordance with the provisions of the BCBCA, the Board may fix from time to time before each issuance of a class or series of Preferred Shares, the number of Preferred Shares comprising each class or series and the designation, rights, privileges, restrictions and conditions attaching to each class or series of Preferred Shares including, any voting rights, the rate or amount of dividends or the method of calculating dividends, the dates of payment thereof, the terms and conditions of redemption, purchase and conversion, if any, and any sinking fund or other provisions. Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, all Preferred Shares to be issued from time to time under this Prospectus will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The particular terms and provisions of the Preferred Shares as may be offered pursuant to this Prospectus will be set forth in the applicable Prospectus Supplement pertaining to such offering of Preferred Shares, and the extent to which the general terms and provisions described below may apply to such Preferred Shares will be described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. Preferred Shares may be offered separately or together with other Securities, as the case may be.
The Preferred Shares of each class or series will be entitled, with respect to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets or return of capital in the event of liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company, or any other return of capital or distribution, to a preference over the Common Shares and over any other shares of the Company ranking by their terms junior to the Preferred Shares of that class or series. The Prospectus Supplement relating to the Preferred Shares offered will contain a description of the specific terms of that class or series of Preferred Shares as fixed by the Board, including, as applicable:
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the number of Preferred Shares offered and the offering price of the Preferred Shares; |
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the designation and any stated value of the Preferred Shares; |
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the dividend rate(s), period(s) and/or payment date(s) or method(s) of calculation of such rates, periods or dates applicable to the Preferred Shares; |
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the date from which dividends on the Preferred Shares will accumulate, if applicable; |
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the liquidation rights of the Preferred Shares; |
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the procedures for auction and remarketing, if any, of the Preferred Shares; |
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the sinking fund provisions, if applicable, for the Preferred Shares; |
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the redemption provisions, if applicable, for the Preferred Shares; |
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whether the Preferred Shares will be convertible into or exchangeable for other securities and, if so, the terms and conditions of the conversion or exchange, including the conversion price or exchange ratio and the conversion or exchange period (or the method of determining the same); |
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whether the Preferred Shares will have voting rights and the terms of any voting rights; |
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whether the Preferred Shares will be listed on any securities or stock exchange or on any automated dealer quotation system; |
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whether the Preferred Shares will be issued with any other securities and, if so, the amount and terms of these securities; and |
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any other specific terms, preferences or rights of, or limitations or restrictions on, the Preferred Shares. |
The applicable Prospectus Supplement will also contain a discussion of any material Canadian income tax considerations relevant to the purchase and ownership of the Preferred Shares offered by the Prospectus Supplement.
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
The following description of the terms of Debt Securities sets forth certain general terms and provisions of Debt Securities in respect of which a Prospectus Supplement may be filed. The particular terms and provisions of Debt Securities offered by any Prospectus Supplement, and the extent to which the general terms and provisions described below may apply thereto, will be described in the Prospectus Supplement filed in respect of such Debt Securities. Prospective investors should rely on information in the applicable Prospectus Supplement if it is different from the following information.
Debt Securities may be offered separately or in combination with one or more other securities of the Company. The Company may, from time to time, issue Debt Securities and incur additional indebtedness other than through the issue of Debt Securities pursuant to this Prospectus.
The Debt Securities will be issued under one or more indentures (each, a Trust Indenture), in each case between the Company and a financial institution or trust company organized under the laws of Canada or any province thereof and authorized to carry on business as a trustee (each, a Trustee).
The following description sets forth certain general terms and provisions of the Debt Securities and is not intended to be complete. The particular terms and provisions of the Debt Securities and a description of how the general terms and provisions described below may apply to the Debt Securities will be included in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. The following description is subject to the detailed provisions of the applicable Trust Indenture. Accordingly, reference should also be made to the applicable Trust Indenture, a copy of which will be filed by the Company with the securities commissions or similar regulatory authorities in applicable Canadian offering jurisdictions, after it has been entered into, and will be available electronically at www.sedar.com.
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General
The applicable Trust Indenture will not limit the aggregate principal amount of Debt Securities that may be issued under such Trust Indenture and will not limit the amount of other indebtedness that the Company may incur. The applicable Trust Indenture will provide that the Company may issue Debt Securities from time to time in one or more series and may be denominated and payable in U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars or any foreign currency. Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, the Debt Securities will be unsecured obligations of the Company.
The Company may specify a maximum aggregate principal amount for the Debt Securities of any series and, unless otherwise provided in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, a series of Debt Securities may be reopened for issuance of additional Debt Securities of such series. The applicable Trust Indenture will also permit the Company to increase the principal amount of any series of the Debt Securities previously issued and to issue that increased principal amount.
Any Prospectus Supplement for Debt Securities supplementing this Prospectus will contain the specific terms and other information with respect to the Debt Securities being offered thereby, including, but not limited to, the following:
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the designation, aggregate principal amount and authorized denominations of such Debt Securities; |
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the percentage of principal amount at which the Debt Securities will be issued; |
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whether payment on the Debt Securities will be senior or subordinated to other liabilities or obligations of the Company; |
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whether the payment of the Debt Securities will be guaranteed by any other person; |
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the date or dates, or the methods by which such dates will be determined or extended, on which the Company may issue the Debt Securities and the date or dates, or the methods by which such dates will be determined or extended, on which the Company will pay the principal and any premium on the Debt Securities and the portion (if less than the principal amount) of Debt Securities to be payable upon a declaration of acceleration of maturity; |
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whether the Debt Securities will bear interest, the interest rate (whether fixed or variable) or the method of determining the interest rate, the date from which interest will accrue, the dates on which the Company will pay interest and the record dates for interest payments, or the methods by which such dates will be determined or extended; |
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the place or places the Company will pay principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, and the place or places where Debt Securities can be presented for registration of transfer or exchange; |
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whether and under what circumstances the Company will be required to pay any additional amounts for withholding or deduction for Canadian taxes with respect to the Debt Securities, and whether and on what terms the Company will have the option to redeem the Debt Securities rather than pay the additional amounts; |
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whether the Company will be obligated to redeem or repurchase the Debt Securities pursuant to any sinking or purchase fund or other provisions, or at the option of a holder, and the terms and conditions of such redemption; |
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whether the Company may redeem the Debt Securities at its option and the terms and conditions of any such redemption; |
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the denominations in which the Company will issue any registered and unregistered Debt Securities; |
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the currency or currency units for which Debt Securities may be purchased and the currency or currency units in which the principal and any interest is payable (in either case, if other than Canadian dollars) or if payments on the Debt Securities will be made by delivery of Common Shares or other property; |
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whether payments on the Debt Securities will be payable with reference to any index or formula; |
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if applicable, the ability of the Company to satisfy all or a portion of any redemption of the Debt Securities, any payment of any interest on such Debt Securities or any repayment of the principal owing upon the maturity of such Debt Securities through the issuance of securities of the Company or of any other entity, and any restriction(s) on the persons to whom such securities may be issued; |
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whether the Debt Securities will be issued as Global Securities (as defined below) and, if so, the identity of the depositary for the Global Securities; |
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whether the Debt Securities will be issued as unregistered securities (with or without coupons), registered securities or both; |
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the periods within which and the terms and conditions, if any, upon which the Company may redeem the Debt Securities prior to maturity and the price or prices of which, and the currency or currency units in which, the Debt Securities are payable; |
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any events of default or covenants applicable to the Debt Securities; |
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any terms under which Debt Securities may be decreased, whether at or prior to maturity; |
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whether the holders of any series of Debt Securities have special rights if specified events occur; |
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any mandatory or optional redemption or sinking fund or analogous provisions; |
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the terms, if any, for any conversion or exchange of the Debt Securities for any other securities; |
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rights, if any, on a change of control; |
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provisions as to modification, amendment or variation of any rights or terms attaching to the Debt Securities; |
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the Trustee under the Trust Indenture pursuant to which the Debt Securities are to be issued; |
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whether the Company will undertake to list the Debt Securities of the series on any securities exchange or automated interdealer quotation system; and |
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any other terms, conditions, rights and preferences (or limitations on such rights and preferences) including covenants and events of default which apply solely to a particular series of the Debt Securities being offered which do not apply generally to other Debt Securities, or any covenants or events of default generally applicable to the Debt Securities which do not apply to a particular series of the Debt Securities. |
The Company reserves the right to include in a Prospectus Supplement specific terms pertaining to the Debt Securities which are not within the options and parameters set forth in this Prospectus. In addition, to the extent that any particular terms of the Debt Securities described in a Prospectus Supplement differ from any of the terms described in this Prospectus, the description of such terms set forth in this Prospectus shall be deemed to have been superseded by the description of such differing terms set forth in such Prospectus Supplement with respect to such Debt Securities.
Unless stated otherwise in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, no holder of Debt Securities will have the right to require the Company to repurchase the Debt Securities and there will be no increase in the interest rate if the Company becomes involved in a highly leveraged transaction or has a change of control.
The Company may issue Debt Securities bearing no interest or interest at a rate below the prevailing market rate at the time of issuance and offer and sell these securities at a discount below their stated principal amount. The Company may also sell any of the Debt Securities for a foreign currency or currency unit, and payments on the Debt Securities may be payable in a foreign currency or currency unit. In any of these cases, the Company will describe certain Canadian federal income tax consequences and other special considerations in the applicable Prospectus Supplement.
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, the Company may issue Debt Securities with terms different from those of Debt Securities previously issued and, without the consent of the holders thereof, reopen a previous issue of a series of Debt Securities and issue additional Debt Securities of such series.
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Ranking and Other Indebtedness
Unless otherwise indicated in an applicable Prospectus Supplement, the Debt Securities will be direct unsecured obligations of the Company. The Debt Securities will be senior or subordinated indebtedness of the Company as described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. If the Debt Securities are senior indebtedness, they will rank equally and rateably with all other unsecured indebtedness of the Company from time to time issued and outstanding which is not subordinated. If the Debt Securities are subordinated indebtedness, they will be subordinated to senior indebtedness of the Company as described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, and they will rank equally and rateably with other subordinated indebtedness of the Company from time to time issued and outstanding as described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. The Company reserves the right to specify in a Prospectus Supplement whether a particular series of subordinated Debt Securities is subordinated to any other series of subordinated Debt Securities.
The Board may establish the extent and manner, if any, to which payment on or in respect of a series of Debt Securities will be senior or will be subordinated to the prior payment of the Companys other liabilities and obligations and whether the payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, will be guaranteed by any other person and the nature and priority of any security.
Registration of Debt Securities
Debt Securities in Book Entry Form
Unless otherwise indicated in an applicable Prospectus Supplement, Debt Securities of any series may be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more global securities (Global Securities) registered in the name of a designated clearing agency (a Depositary) or its nominee and held by or on behalf of the Depositary in accordance with the terms of the applicable Trust Indenture. The specific terms of the depositary arrangement with respect to any portion of a series of Debt Securities to be represented by a Global Security will, to the extent not described herein, be described in the Prospectus Supplement relating to such series. The Company anticipates that the provisions described in this section will apply to all depositary arrangements.
Upon the issuance of a Global Security, the Depositary or its nominee will credit, in its book-entry and registration system, the respective principal amounts of the Debt Securities represented by the Global Security to the accounts of such participants that have accounts with the Depositary or its nominee (Participants). Such accounts are typically designated by the underwriters, dealers or agents participating in the distribution of the Debt Securities or by the Company if such Debt Securities are offered and sold directly by the Company. Ownership of beneficial interests in a Global Security will be limited to Participants or persons that may hold beneficial interests through Participants. With respect to the interests of Participants, ownership of beneficial interests in a Global Security will be shown on, and the transfer of that ownership will be effected only through records maintained by the Depositary or its nominee. With respect to the interests of persons other than Participants, ownership of beneficial interests in a Global Security will be shown on, and the transfer of that ownership will be effected only through records maintained by Participants or persons that hold through Participants.
So long as the Depositary for a Global Security, or its nominee, is the registered owner of such Global Security, such Depositary or such nominee, as the case may be, will be considered the sole owner or holder of the Debt Securities represented by such Global Security for all purposes under the applicable Trust Indenture and payments of principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, on the Debt Securities represented by a Global Security will be made by the Company to the Depositary or its nominee. The Company expects that the Depositary or its nominee, upon receipt of any payment of principal, premium, if any, or interest, if any, will credit Participants accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in the principal amount of the Global Security as shown on the records of such Depositary or its nominee. The Company also expects that payments by Participants to owners of beneficial interests in a Global Security held through such Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices and will be the responsibility of such Participants. Conveyance of notices and other communications by the Depositary to direct Participants, by direct Participants to indirect Participants and by direct and indirect Participants to beneficial owners will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in effect from time to time. Beneficial owners of Debt Securities may wish to take certain steps to augment transmission to them of notices of significant events with respect to the Debt Securities, such as redemptions, tenders, defaults and proposed amendments to the Trust Indenture.
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Owners of beneficial interests in a Global Security will not be entitled to have the Debt Securities represented by such Global Security registered in their names, will not receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of such Debt Securities in certificated non-book-entry form, and will not be considered the owners or holders thereof under the applicable Trust Indenture, and the ability of a holder to pledge a debt security or otherwise take action with respect to such holders interest in a debt security (other than through a Participant) may be limited due to the lack of a physical certificate.
No Global Security may be exchanged in whole or in part for Debt Securities registered, and no transfer of a Global Security in whole or in part may be registered, in the name of any person other than the Depositary for such Global Security or any nominee of such Depositary unless: (i) the Depositary is no longer willing or able to discharge properly its responsibilities as depositary and the Company is unable to locate a qualified successor; (ii) the Company at its option elects, or is required by law, to terminate the book-entry system through the Depositary or the book-entry system ceases to exist; or (iii) if provided for in the Trust Indenture, after the occurrence of an event of default thereunder (provided the Trustee has not waived the event of default in accordance with the terms of the Trust Indenture), Participants acting on behalf of beneficial holders representing, in aggregate, a threshold percentage of the aggregate principal amount of the Debt Securities then outstanding advise the Depositary in writing that the continuation of a book-entry system through the Depositary is no longer in their best interest.
If one of the foregoing events occurs, such Global Security shall be exchanged for certificated non-book-entry Debt Securities of the same series in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal amount of such Global Security and registered in such names and denominations as the Depositary may direct.
The Company, any underwriters, dealers or agents and any Trustee identified in an accompanying Prospectus Supplement, as applicable, will not have any liability or responsibility for (i) records maintained by the Depositary relating to beneficial ownership interests in the Debt Securities held by the Depositary or the book-entry accounts maintained by the Depositary, (ii) maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to any such beneficial ownership interests, or (iii) any advice or representation made by or with respect to the Depositary and contained in this Prospectus or in any Prospectus Supplement or Trust Indenture with respect to the rules and regulations of the Depositary or at the direction of Depositary Participants.
Unless otherwise stated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc. or its successor will act as Depositary for any Debt Securities represented by a Global Security.
Debt Securities in Certificated Form
A series of the Debt Securities may be issued in definitive form, solely as registered securities, solely as unregistered securities or as both registered securities and unregistered securities. Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, unregistered securities will have interest coupons attached.
In the event that the Debt Securities are issued in certificated non-book-entry form, and unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, on the Debt Securities (other than a Global Security) will be made at the office or agency of the Trustee or, at the option of the Company, by the Company by way of cheque mailed or delivered to the address of the person entitled at the address appearing in the security register of the Trustee or electronic funds wire or other transmission to an account of the person entitled to receive such payments. Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, payment of interest, if any, will be made to the persons in whose name the Debt Securities are registered at the close of business on the day or days specified by the Company.
At the option of the holder of Debt Securities, registered securities of any series will be exchangeable for other registered securities of the same series, of any authorized denomination and of a like aggregate principal amount and tenor. If, but only if, provided in an applicable Prospectus Supplement, unregistered securities (with all unmatured coupons, except as provided below, and all matured coupons in default) of any series may be exchanged for registered
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securities of the same series, of any authorized denominations and of a like aggregate principal amount and tenor. In such event, unregistered securities surrendered in a permitted exchange for registered securities between a regular record date or a special record date and the relevant date for payment of interest shall be surrendered without the coupon relating to such date for payment of interest, and interest will not be payable on such date for payment of interest in respect of the registered security issued in exchange for such unregistered security, but will be payable only to the holder of such coupon when due in accordance with the terms of the Trust Indenture. Unless otherwise specified in an applicable Prospectus Supplement, unregistered securities will not be issued in exchange for registered securities.
The applicable Prospectus Supplement may indicate the places to register a transfer of the Debt Securities in definitive form. Except for certain restrictions to be set forth in the Trust Indenture, no service charge will be payable by the holder for any registration of transfer or exchange of the Debt Securities in definitive form, but the Company may, in certain instances, require a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charges payable in connection with these transactions.
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS
General
This section describes the general terms that will apply to any Warrants for the purchase of Equity Securities (Equity Warrants) or for the purchase of Debt Securities (Debt Warrants).
Warrants may be issued independently or together with other securities, and Warrants sold with other securities may be attached to or separate from the other securities. Warrants will be issued under one or more warrant agency agreements to be entered into by the Company and with one or more financial institutions or trust companies acting as warrant agent. The applicable Prospectus Supplement relating to any Warrants that the Company offers will describe the particular terms of those Warrants and include specific terms relating to the offering.
The statements made in this Prospectus relating to any warrant agreement and Warrants to be issued under this Prospectus are summaries of certain anticipated provisions thereof and do not purport to be complete and are subject to, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, all provisions of the applicable warrant agreement. Prospective investors should refer to the warrant indenture or warrant agency agreement relating to the specific Warrants being offered for the complete terms of the Warrants. A copy of any warrant indenture or warrant agency agreement relating to an offering or Warrants will be filed by the Company with the securities commissions or similar regulatory authorities in applicable Canadian offering jurisdictions, after it has been entered into, and will be available electronically at www.sedar.com.
Original purchasers of Warrants (if offered separately) will have a contractual right of rescission against the Company in respect of the exercise of such warrant. The contractual right of rescission will entitle such original purchasers to receive, upon surrender of the underlying securities acquired upon exercise of the warrant, the total of the amount paid on original purchase of the warrant and the amount paid upon exercise, in the event that this Prospectus (as supplemented or amended) contains a misrepresentation, provided that: (i) the exercise takes place within 180 days of the date of the purchase of the warrant under the applicable Prospectus Supplement; and (ii) the right of rescission is exercised within 180 days of the date of purchase of the warrant under the applicable Prospectus Supplement. This contractual right of rescission will be consistent with the statutory right of rescission described under section 131 of the Securities Act (British Columbia) (the BC Securities Act), and is in addition to any other right or remedy available to original purchasers under section 131 of the BC Securities Act or otherwise at law.
In an offering of Warrants, or other convertible securities, original purchasers are cautioned that the statutory right of action for damages for a misrepresentation contained in the prospectus is limited, in certain provincial and territorial securities legislation, to the price at which the Warrants, or other convertible securities, are offered to the public under the prospectus offering. This means that, under the securities legislation of certain provinces, if the purchaser pays additional amounts upon conversion, exchange or exercise of such securities, those amounts may not be recoverable under the statutory right of action for damages that applies in those provinces. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchasers province for the particulars of these rights, or consult with a legal advisor.
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Equity Warrants
The particular terms of each issue of equity Warrants will be described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. This description will include, where applicable:
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the designation and aggregate number of Equity Warrants; |
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the price at which the Equity Warrants will be offered; |
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the currency or currencies in which the Equity Warrants will be offered; |
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the date on which the right to exercise the Equity Warrants will commence and the date on which the right will expire; |
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the number of Equity Securities that may be purchased upon exercise of each equity warrant and the price at which and currency or currencies in which the Equity Securities may be purchased upon exercise of each Equity Warrant; |
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the terms of any provisions allowing or providing for adjustments in (i) the number and/or class of Equity Securities that may be purchased, (ii) the exercise price per Common Share or (iii) the expiry of the Equity Warrants; |
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whether the Company will issue fractional shares; |
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whether the Company has applied to list the Equity Warrants or the underlying shares on a securities exchange or automated interdealer quotation system; |
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the designation and terms of any securities with which the Equity Warrants will be offered, if any, and the number of the Equity Warrants that will be offered with each Security; |
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the date or dates, if any, on or after which the Equity Warrants and the related securities will be transferable separately; |
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whether the Equity Warrants will be subject to redemption or call and, if so, the terms of such redemption or call provisions; |
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material Canadian federal income tax consequences of owning the Equity Warrants; and |
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any other material terms or conditions of the Equity Warrants. |
Debt Warrants
The particular terms of each issue of debt Warrants will be described in the related Prospectus Supplement. This description will include, where applicable:
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the designation and aggregate number of Debt Warrants; |
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the price at which the Debt Warrants will be offered; |
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the currency or currencies in which the Debt Warrants will be offered; |
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the designation and terms of any securities with which the Debt Warrants are being offered, if any, and the number of the Debt Warrants that will be offered with each Security; |
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the date or dates, if any, on or after which the Debt Warrants and the related securities will be transferable separately; |
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the principal amount of Debt Securities that may be purchased upon exercise of each Debt Warrant and the price at which and currency or currencies in which that principal amount of Debt Securities may be purchased upon exercise of each Debt Warrant; |
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the date on which the right to exercise the Debt Warrants will commence and the date on which the right will expire; |
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the minimum or maximum amount of Debt Warrants that may be exercised at any one time; |
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whether the Debt Warrants will be subject to redemption or call, and, if so, the terms of such redemption or call provisions; |
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material Canadian federal income tax consequences of owning the Debt Warrants; and |
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any other material terms or conditions of the Debt Warrants. Prior to the exercise of their Warrants, holders of Warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of the securities subject to the Warrants. |
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS
The Corporation may issue Units, separately or together, with other Securities. The applicable Prospectus Supplement will include details of the Units being offered thereunder.
Each Unit will be issued so that the holder of the Unit is also the holder of each Security comprising the Unit. Thus, the holder of a Unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each Security. The following describes the general terms that will apply to any Units that may be offered by the Corporation pursuant to this Prospectus. The terms and provisions of any Units offered under a Prospectus Supplement may differ from the terms described below, and may not be subject to or contain any or all of the terms described below.
The particular terms and provisions of the Units offered under any Prospectus Supplement, and the extent to which the general terms of the Units described in this Prospectus apply to those Units, will be set out in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. This description will include, where applicable: (i) the number of Units offered; (ii) the price or prices, if any, at which the Units will be offered; (iii) the manner of determining the offering price(s) (in the event that the offering is not a fixed price distribution); (iv) the currency in which the Units will be offered; (v) the Securities comprising the Units; (vi) whether the Units will be issued with any other securities and, if so, the amount and terms of such securities; (vii) any minimum or maximum subscription amount; (viii) whether the Units and the Securities comprising the Units are to be issued in registered form, book-entry only form, non-certificated inventory system form, bearer form or in the form of temporary or permanent Global Securities and the basis of exchange, transfer and ownership thereof; (ix) whether the Company will apply to list the Units on a securities exchange or automated interdealer quotation system; (x) any other rights, privileges, restrictions and conditions attaching to the Units or the Securities comprising the Units; and (xi) any other material terms or conditions of the Units or the Securities comprising the Units, including whether and under what circumstances the Securities comprising the Units may be held or transferred separately.
DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS
The Company may issue Subscription Receipts separately or in combination with one or more other Securities. The Subscription Receipts will entitle holders thereof to receive, upon satisfaction of certain release conditions and for no additional consideration, Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units or any combination thereof. Subscription receipts will be issued pursuant to one or more subscription receipt agreements (each, a Subscription Receipt Agreement), each to be entered into between the Company and an escrow agent (the Escrow Agent) that will be named in the relevant Prospectus Supplement. Each Escrow Agent will be a financial institution organized under the laws of Canada or a province thereof and authorized to carry on business as a trustee. If underwriters or agents are used in the sale of any Subscription Receipts, one or more of such underwriters or agents may also be a party to the Subscription Receipt Agreement governing the Subscription Receipts sold to or through such underwriter or agent.
The following description sets forth certain general terms and provisions of Subscription Receipts that may be issued hereunder and is not intended to be complete. The statements made in this Prospectus relating to any Subscription Receipt Agreement and Subscription Receipts to be issued thereunder are summaries of certain anticipated provisions thereof and are subject to, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, all provisions of the applicable Subscription Receipt Agreement. Prospective investors should refer to the Subscription Receipt Agreement relating to the specific Subscription Receipts being offered for the complete terms of the Subscription Receipts. The Company will file a copy of any Subscription Receipt Agreement relating to an offering of Subscription Receipts with the securities commissions or similar regulatory authorities in applicable Canadian offering jurisdictions, after it has been entered into, and such Subscription Receipt Agreement will be available electronically at www.sedar.com.
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General
The Prospectus Supplement and the Subscription Receipt Agreement for any Subscription Receipts that the Company may offer will describe the specific terms of the Subscription Receipts offered. This description may include, but may not be limited to, any of the following, if applicable:
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the designation and aggregate number of Subscription Receipts being offered; |
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the price at which the Subscription Receipts will be offered; |
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the designation, number and terms of the Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Unites or any combination thereof to be received by the holders of Subscription Receipts upon satisfaction of the release conditions, and any procedures that will result in the adjustment of those numbers; |
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the conditions (the Release Conditions) that must be met in order for holders of Subscription Receipts to receive, for no additional consideration, the Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Unites or any combination thereof; |
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the procedures for the issuance and delivery of the Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Unites or any combination thereof to holders of Subscription Receipts upon satisfaction of the Release Conditions; |
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whether any payments will be made to holders of Subscription Receipts upon delivery of the Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Unites or any combination thereof upon satisfaction of the Release Conditions; |
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the identity of the Escrow Agent; |
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the terms and conditions under which the Escrow Agent will hold all or a portion of the gross proceeds from the sale of Subscription Receipts, together with interest and income earned thereon (collectively, the Escrowed Funds), pending satisfaction of the Release Conditions; |
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the terms and conditions pursuant to which the Escrow Agent will hold Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units or any combination thereof pending satisfaction of the Release Conditions; |
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the terms and conditions under which the Escrow Agent will release all or a portion of the Escrowed Funds to the Company upon satisfaction of the Release Conditions; |
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if the Subscription Receipts are sold to or through underwriters or agents, the terms and conditions under which the Escrow Agent will release a portion of the Escrowed Funds to such underwriters or agents in payment of all or a portion of their fees or commissions in connection with the sale of the Subscription Receipts; |
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procedures for the refund by the Escrow Agent to holders of Subscription Receipts of all or a portion of the subscription price of their Subscription Receipts, plus any pro rata entitlement to interest earned or income generated on such amount, if the Release Conditions are not satisfied; |
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any contractual right of rescission to be granted to initial purchasers of Subscription Receipts in the event that this Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement under which Subscription Receipts are issued or any amendment hereto or thereto contains a misrepresentation; |
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any entitlement of the Company to purchase the Subscription Receipts in the open market by private agreement or otherwise; |
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whether the Company will issue the Subscription Receipts as Global Securities and, if so, the identity of the depository for the Global Securities; |
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whether the Company will issue the Subscription Receipts as bearer securities, as registered securities or both; |
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provisions as to modification, amendment or variation of the Subscription Receipt Agreement or any rights or terms of the Subscription Receipts, including upon any subdivision, consolidation, reclassification or other material change of the Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants or other the Company securities, any other reorganization, amalgamation, merger or sale of all or substantially all of the Companys assets or any distribution of property or rights to all or substantially all of the holders of Common Shares; |
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whether the Company will apply to list the Subscription Receipts on a securities exchange or automated interdealer quotation system; |
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material Canadian federal income tax consequences of owning the Subscription Receipts; and |
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any other material terms or conditions of the Subscription Receipts. |
Original purchasers of Subscription Receipts will have a contractual right of rescission against the Company in respect of the conversion of the subscription receipt. The contractual right of rescission will entitle such original purchasers to receive the amount paid on original purchase of the subscription receipt upon surrender of the underlying securities gained thereby, in the event that this Prospectus (as supplemented or amended) contains a misrepresentation, provided that: (i) the conversion takes place within 180 days of the date of the purchase of the subscription receipt under this Prospectus; and (ii) the right of rescission is exercised within 180 days of the date of purchase of the subscription receipt under this Prospectus. This contractual right of rescission will be consistent with the statutory right of rescission described under section 131 of the BC Securities Act, and is in addition to any other right or remedy available to original purchasers under section 131 of the BC Securities Act or otherwise at law.
Rights of Holders of Subscription Receipts Prior to Satisfaction of Release Conditions
The holders of Subscription Receipts will not be, and will not have the rights of, shareholders of the Company. Holders of Subscription Receipts are entitled only to receive Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units or any combination thereof on exchange of their Subscription Receipts, plus any cash payments, all as provided for under the Subscription Receipt Agreement and only once the Release Conditions have been satisfied. If the Release Conditions are not satisfied, holders of Subscription Receipts shall be entitled to a refund of all or a portion of the subscription price thereof and all or a portion of the pro rata share of interest earned or income generated thereon, as provided in the Subscription Receipt Agreement.
Escrow
The Subscription Receipt Agreement will provide that the Escrowed Funds will be held in escrow by the Escrow Agent, and such Escrowed Funds will be released to the Company (and, if the Subscription Receipts are sold to or through underwriters or agents, a portion of the Escrowed Funds may be released to such underwriters or agents in payment of all or a portion of their fees in connection with the sale of the Subscription Receipts) at the time and under the terms specified by the Subscription Receipt Agreement. If the Release Conditions are not satisfied, holders of Subscription Receipts will receive a refund of all or a portion of the subscription price for their Subscription Receipts, plus their pro rata entitlement to interest earned or income generated on such amount, if provided for in the Subscription Receipt Agreement, in accordance with the terms of the Subscription Receipt Agreement. Common Shares or Warrants may be held in escrow by the Escrow Agent and will be released to the holders of Subscription Receipts following satisfaction of the Release Conditions at the time and under the terms specified in the Subscription Receipt Agreement.
Modifications
The Subscription Receipt Agreement will specify the terms upon which modifications and alterations to the Subscription Receipts issued thereunder may be made by way of a resolution of holders of Subscription Receipts at a meeting of such holders or consent in writing from such holders. The number of holders of Subscription Receipts required to pass such a resolution or execute such a written consent will be specified in the Subscription Receipt Agreement.
40
The Subscription Receipt Agreement will also specify that the Company may amend any Subscription Receipt Agreement and the Subscription Receipts, without the consent of the holders of the Subscription Receipts, to cure any ambiguity, to cure, correct or supplement any defective or inconsistent provision, or in any other manner that will not materially and adversely affect the interests of the holders of outstanding Subscription Receipts or as otherwise specified in the Subscription Receipt Agreement.
The foregoing summary of certain of the principal provisions of the Securities is a summary of anticipated terms and conditions only and is qualified in its entirety by the description in the applicable Prospectus Supplement under which any Securities are being offered.
DENOMINATIONS, REGISTRATION AND TRANSFER
The Securities will be issued in fully registered form without coupons attached in either global or definitive form and in denominations and integral multiples as set out in the applicable Prospectus Supplement (unless otherwise provided with respect to a particular series of Debt Securities pursuant to the provisions of the applicable Trust Indenture, as supplemented by a supplemental indenture). Other than in the case of book-entry only securities, Securities may be presented for registration of transfer (with the form of transfer endorsed thereon duly executed) in the city specified for such purpose at the office of the registrar or transfer agent designated by the Company for such purpose with respect to any issue of Securities referred to in the Prospectus Supplement. No service charge will be made for any transfer, conversion or exchange of the Securities but the Company may require payment of a sum to cover any transfer tax or other governmental charge payable in connection therewith. Such transfer, conversion or exchange will be effected upon such registrar or transfer agent being satisfied with the documents of title and the identity of the Person making the request. If a Prospectus Supplement refers to any registrar or transfer agent designated by the Company with respect to any issue of Securities, the Company may at any time rescind the designation of any such registrar or transfer agent and appoint another in its place or approve any change in the location through which such registrar or transfer agent acts.
In the case of book-entry only securities, a global certificate or certificates representing the Securities will be held by a designated depository for its participants. The Securities must be purchased or transferred through such participants, which includes securities brokers and dealers, banks and trust companies. The depository will establish and maintain book-entry accounts for its participants acting on behalf of holders of the Securities. The interests of such holders of Securities will be represented by entries in the records maintained by the participants. Holders of Securities issued in book-entry only form will not be entitled to receive a certificate or other instrument evidencing their ownership thereof, except in limited circumstances. Each holder will receive a customer confirmation of purchase from the participants from which the Securities are purchased in accordance with the practices and procedures of that participant.
CERTAIN INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The applicable Prospectus Supplement may describe certain Canadian federal income tax consequences to an investor who is a non-resident of Canada or to an investor who is a resident of Canada of acquiring, owning and disposing of any of the Securities offered thereunder. The applicable Prospectus Supplement may also describe certain U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of any Securities offered thereunder by an initial investor who is a U.S. person (within the meaning of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986), including, to the extent applicable, such consequences relating to Debt Securities payable in a currency other than the U.S. dollar, issued at an original issue discount for U.S. federal income tax purposes or containing early redemption provisions or other special items. Investors should read the tax discussion in any Prospectus Supplement with respect to a particular offering and consult their own tax advisors with respect to their own particular circumstances.
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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
The Company may sell the Securities to or through underwriters or dealers, and also may sell Securities to one or more other purchasers directly or through agents. Each Prospectus Supplement will set forth the terms of the offering, including the name or names of any underwriters or agents, the purchase price or prices of the Securities and the proceeds to the Company from the sale of the Securities. The sale of Common Shares may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions at non-fixed prices pursuant to transactions that are deemed to be at the market distributions, as defined in National Instrument 44-102 Shelf Distributions, including sales made directly on the TSX or other existing trading markets for the Common Shares, and as set forth in a Prospectus Supplement for such purpose.
The Securities may be sold, from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed price or prices which may be changed or at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices.
Underwriters, dealers and agents who participate in the distribution of the Securities may be entitled under agreements to be entered into with the Company to indemnification by the Company against certain liabilities, including liabilities under securities legislation, or to contribution with respect to payments which such underwriters, dealers or agents may be required to make in respect thereof. Such underwriters, dealers and agents may be customers of, engage in transactions with, or perform services for, the Company in the ordinary course of business.
In connection with any offering of Securities, except in connection with an at the market distribution (as defined under applicable Canadian securities legislation) or as otherwise set out in a Prospectus Supplement relating to a particular offering of Securities, the underwriters or agents may, subject to applicable law, over-allot or effect transactions which stabilize or maintain the market price of the Securities offered at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. Such transactions, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time. No underwriter or dealer involved in an at the market distribution under this Prospectus, no affiliate of such underwriter or dealer will over-allot Securities in connection with such distribution or effect any other transactions that are intended to stabilize or maintain the market price of the Securities.
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters related to the Securities offered by this Prospectus will be passed upon on the Companys behalf by Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, with respect to matters of Canadian law. The partners and associates of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP beneficially own, directly or indirectly, collectively, less than 1% of the outstanding securities of the Company.
AUDITORS, REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER AGENT
The auditors of the Company are Crowe Mackay LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, at its offices located at 1100 1177 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 4T5. Crowe MacKay LLP is independent from the Company within the meaning of the rules of professional conduct of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia and within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the applicable rules and regulations thereunder adopted by the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).
The transfer agent and registrar for the Common Shares in Canada is Computershare Trust Company of Canada at its principal offices in Vancouver, British Columbia.
WHERE MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND
The Company is required to file with the securities commission or regulatory authority in each jurisdiction of Canada in which it is a reporting issuer, annual and quarterly reports, material change reports and other information. Prospective investors may access any document that the Company files with or furnishes to such securities commissions and regulatory authorities through SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
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PURCHASERS STATUTORY RIGHTS
Securities legislation in certain of the provinces of Canada provides purchasers with the right to withdraw from an agreement to purchase securities. This right may be exercised within two business days after receipt or deemed receipt of a prospectus and any amendment, irrespective of the determination at a later date of the purchase price of the securities distributed. In several of the provinces, the securities legislation further provides a purchaser with remedies for rescission or, in some jurisdictions, damages, if the prospectus and any amendment contains a misrepresentation or is not delivered to the purchaser, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchasers province. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchasers province for the particulars of these rights or consult with a legal adviser. Rights and remedies also may be available to purchasers under U.S. law and purchasers may wish to consult with a U.S. lawyer for particulars of these rights.
In an offering of Securities which are convertible, exchangeable or exercisable securities, investors are cautioned that the statutory right of action for damages for a misrepresentation contained in the prospectus is limited, in certain provincial securities legislation, to the price at which the convertible, exchangeable or exercisable securities is offered to the public under the prospectus offering. This means that, under the securities legislation of certain provinces, if the purchaser pays additional amounts upon conversion, exchange or exercise of the security, those amounts may not be recoverable under the statutory right of action for damages that applies in those provinces. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchasers province for the particulars of this right of action for damages or consult with a legal adviser.
Original purchasers of Securities which are convertible, exchangeable or exercisable securities will have a contractual right of rescission against the Company following the conversion of such convertible or exchangeable such Securities. The contractual right of rescission will entitle such original purchasers to receive, in addition to the amount paid on original purchase of the Warrants, Units, or Subscription Receipts, as the case may be, the amount paid, if any, upon conversion, exchange or exercise, upon surrender of the underlying securities gained thereby, in the event that this Prospectus, the applicable Prospectus Supplement or an amendment thereto contains a misrepresentation, provided that: (i) the conversion, exchange or exercise takes place within 180 days of the date of the purchase of the convertible, exchangeable or exercisable security under this Prospectus; and (ii) the right of rescission is exercised within 180 days of the date of the purchase of the convertible, exchangeable or exercisable security under this Prospectus. This contractual right of rescission will be consistent with the statutory right of rescission described under section 131 of the BC Securities Act, and is in addition to any other right or remedy available to original purchasers under section 131 of the BC Securities Act or otherwise at law.
DOCUMENTS FILED AS PART OF THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
The following documents have been or will be filed with the SEC as part of the Registration Statement of which this Prospectus forms a part: (i) the documents referred to under Documents Incorporated by Reference in this Prospectus; (ii) the consent of the Companys auditors Crowe Mackay LLP; (iii) the consent of the Companys Canadian counsel Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP; (iv) powers of attorney from directors and officers of the Company; and (iv) a form of indenture relating to the Debt Securities.
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CERTIFICATE OF THE ISSUER
Dated: November 6, 2020
This short form prospectus, together with the documents incorporated by reference, constitutes full, true and plain disclosure of all material facts relating to the securities offered by this short form prospectus as required by the securities legislation of each of the provinces of Canada except Québec.
(signed) Jennifer Bath | (signed) Lisa Helbling | |||
President and Chief Executive Officer | Chief Financial Officer |
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
(signed) James Kuo | (signed) Greg Smith | |||
Director | Director |
C-1
Exhibit 99.115
RECEIPT
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
This is the receipt of the British Columbia Securities Commission for the Preliminary Short Form Base Shelf Prospectus of the above Issuer dated November 6, 2020 (the preliminary prospectus).
This receipt also evidences that the Ontario Securities Commission has issued a receipt for the preliminary prospectus.
The preliminary prospectus has been filed under Multilateral Instrument 11-102 Passport System in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador. A receipt for the preliminary prospectus is deemed to be issued by the regulator in each of those jurisdictions, if the conditions of the Instrument have been satisfied.
November 6, 2020
Allan Lim
Allan Lim, CPA, CA
Manager, Corporate Finance
SEDAR Project Number 3131953
Tel: 604 899-6500 Fax: 604 899-6506 Toll Free: 1 800-373-6393 www.bcsc.bc.ca
P.O. Box 10142, Pacific Centre, 701 West Georgia Street Vancouver, BC, Canada V7Y 1L2
Exhibit 99.116
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Files Preliminary Base Shelf Prospectus and Registration Statement
VICTORIA, BC, Nov. 9, 2020 /CNW/ - IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. (the Company or IPA) (TSXV: IPA) (OTCQB: IPATF) (FSE: TQB2), a leader in full-service, therapeutic antibody discovery and development, today announced that it has filed a preliminary short form base shelf prospectus (the Preliminary Shelf Prospectus) with the securities commissions in each of the provinces of Canada, excluding Quebec, and a corresponding registration statement on Form F-10 (the Registration Statement) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) under the U.S./Canada Multijurisdictional Disclosure System.
When made final or effective, the Preliminary Shelf Prospectus and corresponding Registration Statement will allow the Company to undertake offerings of common shares, preferred shares, debt securities, warrants, units and subscription receipts (collectively, the Securities), or any combination thereof, up to an aggregate total of CAD$150 million from time to time during the 25-month period that the final short form base shelf prospectus remains effective. The Securities may be offered in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined at the time of sale and, subject to applicable regulations, may include at-the-market transactions, public offerings or strategic investments. The specific terms of any offering of Securities, including the use of proceeds from any offering, will be set forth in one or more shelf prospectus supplement(s) to be filed with applicable securities regulators.
A copy of the Preliminary Shelf Prospectus, and copies of the final short form base shelf prospectus and any shelf prospectus supplements that may be filed in the future, can be found under the Companys SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com and on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved the contents of this news release. The Registration Statement filed today with the SEC has not yet become effective. No Securities may be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the Preliminary Shelf Prospectus and Registration Statement become effective. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of the Company in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.
About ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
ImmunoPrecise is a global technology platform company with end-to-end solutions empowering companies to discover and develop therapies against any disease. The Companys experience and cutting-edge technologies enable unparalleled support of its partners in their quest to bring innovative treatments to the clinic. ImmunoPrecises full-service capabilities dramatically reduce the time required for, and the inherent risk associated with, conventional multi-vendor product development. For further information, visit www.immunoprecise.com or contact solutions@immunoprecise.com.
Forward-Looking Information and Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition but instead represent only the Companys beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are
inherently uncertain and outside of the Companys control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, will continue, will occur or will be achieved. Forward-looking information contained in this press release includes information relating to the (i) the filing and effectiveness of the final base shelf prospectus and corresponding Registration Statement; (ii) the filing and effectiveness of any potential prospectus supplement; and (iii) the amount and terms of any Securities to be offered.
By identifying such information and statements in this manner, the Company is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements.
Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to the Companys expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the Companys actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things, the timing and filing of the final base shelf prospectus and corresponding Registration Statement; the potential offering of any Securities by the Company; uncertainty with respect to the completion of any future offering; the ability to obtain applicable regulatory approval for any contemplated offerings; the ability of the Company to negotiate and complete future funding transactions; and those risks and uncertainties described in the Companys annual management discussion and analysis for the previous quarter ended July 31, 2020 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information and forward looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
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View original content to download multimedia: |
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2020/09/c3894.html
%SEDAR: 00005542E
For further information: For investor relations please contact: Frédéric Chabot, Phone: 1-438-863-7071, Email: frederick@contactfinancial.com, Contact Financial Corp., Suite 810, 609 Granville Street, P.O. Box 10322, Vancouver, B.C., V7Y 1G5, Canada.
CO: ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
CNW 09:11e 09-NOV-20
Exhibit 99.117
Form 52-109F1 AIF
Certification of annual filings in connection with voluntarily filed AIF
This certificate is being filed on the same date that ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the issuer) has voluntarily filed an AIF.
I, Lisa Helbling, Chief Financial Officer of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd., certify the following:
1. |
Review: I have reviewed the AIF, annual financial statements and annual MD&A, including for greater certainty all documents and information that are incorporated by reference in the AIF (together, the annual filings) of the issuer for the financial year ended April 30, 2020. |
2. |
No misrepresentations: Based on my knowledge, having exercised reasonable diligence, the annual filings do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated or that is necessary to make a statement not misleading in light of the circumstances under which it was made, for the period covered by the annual filings. |
3. |
Fair presentation: Based on my knowledge, having exercised reasonable diligence, the annual financial statements together with the other financial information included in the annual filings fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, financial performance and cash flows of the issuer, as of the date of and for the periods presented in the annual filings. |
Date: November 16, 2020 | ||
Lisa Helbling |
||
Name: | Lisa Helbling | |
Title: | Chief Financial Officer |
Exhibit 99.118
Form 52-109F1 AIF
Certification of annual filings in connection with voluntarily filed AIF
This certificate is being filed on the same date that ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the issuer) has voluntarily filed an AIF.
I, Jennifer Bath, Chief Executive Officer of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd., certify the following:
1. |
Review: I have reviewed the AIF, annual financial statements and annual MD&A, including for greater certainty all documents and information that are incorporated by reference in the AIF (together, the annual filings) of the issuer for the financial year ended April 30, 2020. |
2. |
No misrepresentations: Based on my knowledge, having exercised reasonable diligence, the annual filings do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated or that is necessary to make a statement not misleading in light of the circumstances under which it was made, for the period covered by the annual filings. |
3. |
Fair presentation: Based on my knowledge, having exercised reasonable diligence, the annual financial statements together with the other financial information included in the annual filings fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, financial performance and cash flows of the issuer, as of the date of and for the periods presented in the annual filings. |
Date: November 16, 2020 | ||
Jennifer Bath |
||
Name: | Jennifer Bath | |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
Exhibit 99.119
ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM
OF
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
November 16, 2020
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTORY NOTES |
1 | |||
CORPORATE STRUCTURE |
3 | |||
GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUSINESS |
3 | |||
BUSINESS |
10 | |||
RISK FACTORS |
16 | |||
DIVIDENDS |
29 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE |
29 | |||
MARKET FOR SECURITIES |
29 | |||
PRIOR SALES |
30 | |||
ESCROWED SECURITIES |
31 | |||
DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS |
31 | |||
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AND REGULATORY ACTIONS |
36 | |||
INTEREST OF MANAGEMENT AND OTHERS IN MATERIAL TRANSACTIONS |
36 | |||
TRANSFER AGENT AND REGISTRAR |
36 | |||
MATERIAL CONTRACTS |
36 | |||
INTERESTS OF EXPERTS |
37 | |||
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION |
37 |
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM
INTRODUCTORY NOTES
Date of Information
In this annual information form (Annual Information Form), ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, as the context requires, is referred to as IPA or the Company. All information contained in this Annual Information Form is as at April 30, 2020, unless otherwise stated, being the date of the most recently completed financial year of the Company, and the use of the present tense and of the words is, are, current, currently, presently, now and similar expressions in this Annual Information Form is to be construed as referring to information given as of that date.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements and Information
This Annual Information Form contains forward -looking statements and information about the Company which reflect managements expectations regarding the Companys future growth, results of operations, operational and financial performance and business prospects and opportunities. In addition, the Company may make or approve certain statements or information in future filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, in news releases, or in oral or written presentations by representatives of the Company that are not statements of historical fact and may also constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. All statements and information, other than statements or information of historical fact, made by the Company that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements and information, including, but not limited to statements and information preceded by, followed by, or that include words such as may, would, could, will, likely, expect, anticipate, believe, intends, plan, forecast, budget, schedule, project, estimate, outlook, or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words.
Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual future performance, achievement or other realities to differ materiality from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements or information and, accordingly, should not be read as guarantees of future performance, achievement or realities. Although the forward looking statements and information contained in this Annual Information Form reflect managements current beliefs based upon information currently available to management and based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot be certain that actual results will be consistent with these forward- looking statements and information. A number of risks and factors could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from the results expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and information. Such risks and factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
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negative operating cash flow and going concern; |
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the financial position of the Company and its potential need for additional liquidity and capital in the future; |
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the success of any of the Companys current or future strategic alliances; |
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the Company may become involved in regulatory or agency proceedings, investigations and audits; |
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the Company may be subject to litigation in the ordinary course of its business; |
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the ability of the Company to obtain, protect and enforce patents on its technology and products; |
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risks associated with applicable regulatory processes; |
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the ability of the Company to achieve publicly announced milestones; |
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the effectiveness of the Companys business development and marketing strategies; |
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the competitive conditions of the industry in which the Company operates; |
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market perception of smaller companies; |
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the Company cannot assure the production of new and innovative processes, procedures or innovative approaches to antibody production or new antibodies; |
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the ability of the Company to manage growth; |
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the selection and integration of acquired businesses and technologies; |
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the Company may lose clients; |
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any reduction in demand; |
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any reduction or delay in government funding of R&D; |
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costs of being a public company in the United States; |
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the Company may fail to meet the delivery and performance requirements set forth in client contracts; |
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the Company may become subject to patent and other intellectual property litigation; |
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the Companys dependence upon key personnel; |
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risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic; |
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the Company may not achieve sufficient brand awareness; |
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the Companys directors and officers may have interests which conflict with those of the Company |
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the outsourcing trend in non-clinical discovery stages of drug discovery; |
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the Companys products, services and expertise may become obsolete or uneconomical; |
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the effect of global economic conditions; |
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the Company has a limited number of suppliers; |
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the Company may become subject to liability for risks against which it cannot insure; |
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clients may restrict the Companys use of scientific information; |
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the Company may experience failures of its laboratory facilities; |
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any contamination in animal populations; |
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any unauthorized access into information systems; |
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prospective investors ability to enforce civil liabilities; |
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the Companys status as a foreign private issuer; |
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exposure to foreign exchange rates; |
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the market price of the Common Shares may experience volatility; |
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the Company has not declared or paid any dividends on the Common Shares and does not intend to do so in the foreseeable future; and |
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a liquid market for the Common Shares may not develop. |
For further details, see the Risk Factors section of this Annual Information Form.
Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks and factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors and risks that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Further, any forwardlooking statements and information contained herein are made as of the date of this Annual Information Form and, other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all of such factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Companys business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual realities to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements and information contained in this Annual Information Form and the documents incorporated by reference herein. All forward-looking statements and information disclosed in this Annual Information Form are qualified by this cautionary statement.
Currency and Exchange Rate Information
The financial statements included herein are reported in Canadian dollars. References in this Annual Information Form to $ are to the lawful currency of Canada, references to are to the lawful currency of the European Union, and references to US$ are to the lawful currency of the United States.
On November 13, 2020, the Bank of Canada noon rate of exchange for one Canadian dollar in United States dollars was $1.00 = US $0.7606 and for one Canadian dollar in Euros was $1.00 = 0.6432.
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CORPORATE STRUCTURE
The Company was continued on September 2, 2016 under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). On December 21, 2016, the Company changed its name to ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. The address of the Companys corporate office is 3204 4464 Markham Street, Victoria, BC V8Z 7X8. The registered and records office of the Company is located at 1800 510 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 0M3.
The following sets out the Companys intercorporate relationship with its subsidiaries:
GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUSINESS
Overview
The Company has emerged as a recognized, full-service, biologics Contract Research and Organization (CRO) with a presence in Canada, the US and the Netherlands. The Company is innovation-driven and positioned geographically and scientifically to provide industry-leading human therapeutic antibody discovery and development services for its customers and partners. The Company offers a cohesive and extensive portfolio in the protein and antibody research, manufacturing and validation continuum. The Company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange) as a Tier 2 life science issuer under the trading symbol IPA. The Companys OTC Market symbol is IPATF.
Three Year History
Over the last three years, the Company has focused on growing its product offering and revenues through organic growth and mergers and acquisition as set out below.
Fiscal Year Ended 2018
Revenue Growth
The Company achieved record annual revenue of $5,441,349 in fiscal 2018 compared to $2,630,515 in fiscal 2017. This represents a 106% increase in revenue as a result of its acquisitions of U-Protein Express B.V. (UPE) and ImmunoPrecise Europe B.V. (IPA Europe), and its ability to grow its core business and expand into higher revenue service offerings in therapeutic antibody discovery.
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Acquisition of IPA Europe (formerly, ModiQuest Research B.V.)
Pursuant to a share purchase agreement dated March 15, 2018, among the Company, ImmunoPrecise Netherlands B.V., Modiquest Research B.V., Immulease B.V. and Immusys B.V. (the ModiQuest Share Purchase Agreement), the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of ModiQuest Research B.V. (now referred to as IPA Europe) located in Oss, The Netherlands.
IPA Europe specializes in the generation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against difficult target antigens. IPA Europe applies proprietary technologies to all aspects of the antibody discovery process in research and development, diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Using its proprietary ModiFuse (hybridoma electrofusion), ModiSelect (B cell selection) and ModiPhage (phage display) technologies, IPA Europe can generate very large panels of monoclonal antibodies from various backgrounds including mouse, rat, rabbit, chicken, llama and human, as well as transgenic animals harboring the human antibody gene repertoire.
Under the terms of the transaction, which was completed on April 5, 2018, the Company acquired IPA Europe and its sister entity, Immulease B.V. (Immulease), for an aggregate purchase price of 7,000,000 ($11,200,000) (the Purchase Price). Immulease is a holding company owning research equipment used in IPA Europes operations. 5,000,000 ($8,000,000) of the Purchase Price was paid on closing, consisting of 2,500,000 ($4,000,000) in cash and 6,600,399 common shares of the Company (valued at a price of 0.38 ($0.57) per share). The remaining 2,000,000 ($3,200,000) of the Purchase Price will be paid in three annual installments of consisting of equal parts cash and equity. The first deferred payment of 666,666 ($1,014,503), consisting of cash of 333,333 ($507,000) and 714,793 shares of the Company was made during the financial year ended April 30, 2019.
Acquisition of UPE
On August 22, 2017, the Company acquired all the issued and outstanding shares in UPE pursuant to the terms and conditions of a securities purchase agreement among the Company, UPE and the shareholders of UPE (the U-Protein Agreement). UPE is a company based in Utrecht, The Netherlands and holds the rights to proprietary expression technology used in antibody production. UPE is a CRO that offers fast and large-scale production of (mammalian) recombinant proteins and antibodies for research and pre-clinical applications.
Under the terms of the U-Protein Agreement, the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of UPE for 6,830,000 ($10,108,400) (the Purchase Price), of which (A) 2,734,732 ($4,047,390) was paid in cash on closing, (B) a total of 3,030,503 common shares of the Company were issued on closing, and (C) 2,047,634 ($3,030,498) in deferred payments over a three (3) year period (the Deferred Payments). The Deferred Payments may be made, at the election of the UPE shareholder, in cash or by the issuance of up to 3,030,498 common shares over a three-year period. As of the date of this Annual Report, the Company has satisfied the Deferred Payments in 2018 and 2019. The final Deferred Payment is due in December 2020. If the final Deferred Payment is not satisfied by the Company, the shareholders of UPE will be permitted to repurchase the shares of UPE from the Company at a fair market price.
As part of the U-Protein Agreement, the shareholders of UPE were issued a dividend of any cash in UPE above 500,000. In accordance with the U-Protein Agreement, the three principal shareholders of UPE executed on-going management and employment contracts, which include non-solicitation and non-competition clauses as well as performance incentives based on the net profits of UPE.
Establishes a New Full-Service B Cell Facility
In April 2018, the Company launched its new, innovative full-service B cell offering, located in Victoria, British Columbia, offering B cell screening, sorting and sequencing on a broad range of therapeutic-relevant protein families including GPCRs (G-protein coupled receptors) and other multi-membrane spanning proteins. A B cell facility permits the Company to increase the speed of antibody discovery platforms, maintains native antibody paring and provides antibodies of higher sensitivity and specificity.
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Strengthened Management Team
In February 2018, the Company announced the appointment of Jennifer L. Bath as the new Chief Executive Officer and President. Dr. Baths appointment added significant senior leadership and scientific depth to the Companys leadership team. Previously, Dr. Bath served in an executive role at Aldevron, LLC, as the Global Director, where she held both strategic and technical roles. She headed the global sales and client relations teams, and defined business strategies by applying knowledge based on science, technology and the market. In addition, Dr. Bath served as a key technical specialist, particularly for therapeutic antibody discovery, and was responsible for growth and retention of clients.
As part of the expansion of the Companys senior leadership team, the Company also appointed Charles (Chip) Wheelock as the global Chief Technology Officer and Kari Graber as the Director of Global Client Services and Project Management.
Private Placement Financings
On August 22, 2017, as part of the acquisition of UPE, the Company completed a private placement, issuing 5,250,000 common shares at $1.00 per share for gross proceeds of $5,250,000. The Company also issued 281,100 common shares as finders fees.
On March 26, 2018, the Company completed a non-convertible debenture (the Debentures) financing in the principal amount of $4,002,000 (the Offering). The Debentures are unsecured, bear interest at a rate of 10% per annum, payable semi-annually, and were original due on September 26, 2019 (which have now been extended to March 26, 2020). Under the Offering, a holder of a Debenture received 37,500 detachable share purchase warrants (the Warrants) for every $25,000 of Debentures subscribed for by the holder. The Warrants are exercisable at $0.70 per share for a period of four years from the date of issue. The proceeds of the Offering were used to satisfy the closing cash payment to acquire IPA Europe and Immulease. In fiscal 2019, the Company settled $1,377,000 of previously issued debentures by issuing 1,377,000 Units at a price of $1.00 per Unit. Each Unit consisted of one common share and one share purchase warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to purchase an additional share at a price of $1.25 for a period of two years from the date of issue.
Fiscal Year Ended 2019
Revenue Growth
The Company achieved record annual revenue of $10,926,268 in fiscal 2019 compared to $5,441,349 in fiscal 2018. This represents a 100% increase in revenue as a result of its completed acquisitions of IPA Europe and the Companys ability to grow its core business and expand into higher revenue service offerings in therapeutic discovery.
Asset Building and New Service Offerings
While CRO services remain the mainstay of the Company, the Company has worked continuously on building an intellectual property estate and portfolio of proprietary methods and physical assets through collaborations, joint ventures, acquisitions and in-licensing. The onboarding of existing assets with regard to equipment, technologies, IP and licenses within the Companys European operations has been compounded by active research and development at all operational sites this year.
The Company also added the following key new service offerings in fiscal 2019:
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Phage-Display Antibody Platforms. Allows the Company to generate monoclonal antibodies in a diverse range of species against complex protein structures. |
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Genetic Immunization Platform. The Companys advanced genetic immunization strategies are applicable in multiple species, including transgenics, and across all discovery platforms. Through the Companys in-house developed vectors, its protocol produces native protein with appropriate post-transcriptional modifications in vivo. |
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DeepDisplayTM. DeepDisplay is a service offering in therapeutic discovery to select rare, fully human antibodies. The combination of transgenic animal immunization with phage display antibody selection delivers the most therapeutically relevant antibodies in a shorter time period with the highest probability of success compared to conventional technologies. |
Talem Therapeutics
The Company formed Talem Therapeutics, LLC (Talem), based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to create, advance and partner therapeutic antibodies, discovery programs. Talem is structured to secure assets during their discovery and development stage and seek out strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies, where it will aid in the out-licensing or sale of the therapeutics. The ability for investors to support individual assets or portfolios in Talem generates an asymmetrical opportunity for investments, while avoiding the Company shareholders dilution. The depth and speed of the Companys offerings enables Talem to customize each program and leverages the Companys expertise and technologies in antibody discovery.
Immusys B.V. Amendment, Termination and Settlement Agreement
On March 14, 2019, the Company entered into an amendment, termination and settlement agreement among the Company, ImmunoPrecise Netherlands B.V., Immusys B.V., Modiquest Research B.V., Immulease B.V. and Mr. Jozef Maria Raats (the Amendment, Termination and Settlement Agreement) pursuant to which (i) the management agreement that had been entered into between ModiQuest Research B.V. and Immusys B.V. was terminated with an effective termination date of March 1, 2019; and (ii) Immusys resigned as a managing director of ModiQuest Research B.V. and Mr. Raats, Immusys B.V.s sole shareholder, resigned as the managing director of UPE. Under the terms of the Amendment, Termination and Settlement Agreement, the Company paid Immusys a cash settlement amount of 1,000,000 to be paid out in three separate instalments: (i) 333,333 on March 20, 2019; (ii) 335,555 on May 1, 2020; and (iii) 333,556 on May 1, 2021 as well as a share settlement amount equal to 1,000,000 to be paid out in Common Shares (calculated as the greater of (a) $0.57 per Common Shares or (b) a 10 day closing price as quoted on the TSXV) in three separate instalments: (i) 335,555 on March 31, 2019; (ii) 335,555 after April 30, 2020 but no later than May 15, 2020; and (iii) 335,556 after April 30, 2021 but no later than May 15, 2021.
New Headquarters and Species Agnostic B Cell Offerings
In May 2018, the Company opened its U.S. headquarters in Fargo, North Dakota. The opening of a U.S. headquarters in Fargo, North Dakota allows the Company to take advantage of a U.S. location that has a significant and diverse economy with a strong history of supporting global life science companies.
In July 2018, the Company launched its European B cell expansion at IPA Europe. Similar to the Companys existing B cell facility in Victoria, British Columbia, a European B cell service allows the Company to accelerate international growth and meet the international demand of its CRO services.
Key Additions to the Management Team
In February 2019, the Company appointed Lisa Helbling as Chief Financial Officer. Ms. Helbling has brought over 30 years of experience in accounting, financing, and business development within the public markets and has a demonstrated ability to manage financial and operational challenges while governing a dynamic and growing business.
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Private Placement Financings
On June 18, 2018, the Company completed a non-brokered private placement financing of 875,000 units at a price of $0.80 per unit for gross proceeds of $700,000. Each unit consisted of one share and one share purchase warrant, with each warrant exercisable at $1.00 per share for a period of one year from the date of issue.
On September 27, 2018, the Company completed a non-brokered private placement financing by issuing a total of 9,102,500 units (Units) of the Company at a price of $1.00 per Unit for gross proceeds of $9,102,500. Each Unit sold in the financing consisted of one common share and one share purchase warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to purchase an additional share at a price of $1.25 for a period of two years from the date of issue. The Company will have the right to accelerate the expiry date of the warrants provided that the Companys volume weighted average price trades at a price equal to or greater than $1.75 for a period of 20 consecutive days. In the event of acceleration, the expiry date will be accelerated to a date that is 30 days after the Company issues a news release announcing that it has elected to exercise this acceleration right.
Fiscal Year Ended 2020
The Company achieved revenues of $14,057,927 during the year ended April 30, 2020, compared to revenues of $10,926,268 in the 2019 fiscal year. This represents a 29% increase in revenue for the year. The increasing revenue trend is due to increases in both volume and financial values of client contracts as a result of continued focus on expanding the breadth and depth of services offered, new client onboarding including top pharma companies, and growing its core existing client business.
Commitments
The Company entered into an operating lease for a piece of equipment for its Victoria, BC, Canada laboratory space on April 29, 2020. The lease commenced on May 15, 2020 with a 36-month term. The monthly lease payment is US$15,829. The Company has a right to purchase the equipment at fair market value at the end of the lease term.
SARS-CoV-2 Therapeutic Research
In February 2020, IPA announced its commitment to developing innovative vaccines and therapeutics against the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, using their proprietary discovery platforms in an exceptionally broad, global campaign. The Companys objective was further clarified in March, when IPA defined their PolyTopeTM approach, utilizing highly characterized protein and antibody combinations targeting multiple epitopes and mechanisms of virus evasion. This approach is designed to provide maximum clinical benefit against both current and future variants and strains of the virus by combining well-defined and fully characterized, protective antibodies (for therapeutics) and epitopes (for vaccines). The Companys use of high-throughput binding assays, computational optimization (Artemis), and protein interaction analyses has yielded valuable data sets for informed preclinical lead selection.
Talem Therapeutics
In April 2020, Talem entered into a research license agreement with Janssen Research & Development. The agreement, which provided Janssen exclusive access to a panel of novel, monoclonal antibodies, is anticipated to be the first of many out-licensing deals. The financial details of the transaction were not disclosed at the request of Janssen. The aggressive advancement of Talems pipeline is a key priority for IPA, and the Company expects to complete multiple commercial deals in Talem in the fiscal year 2021.
Private Placement Financing
On May 15, 2020, the Company closed a non-brokered private placement financing by issuing 10% convertible debentures (New Debentures) for total proceeds of $2,592,000. On May 27, 2020, the Company issued an additional $35,000 of the 10% New Debentures. In total, the Company issued
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$2,627,000 of the New Debentures. The New Debentures are unsecured, bear interest at a rate of 10% per year and payable annually. The maturity date is May 15, 2022 for $2,592,000 of the New Debentures and May 22, 2022 for $35,000 of the New Debentures. The principal amount of the New Debentures may be convertible, at the option of the holder, into units of the Company at a conversion price of $0.85 per share. The Company may force convert the principal amount of the New Debentures at $0.85 per share if the average closing price is equal to or greater than $1.50 for 20 trading days. The Company paid finders cash commissions totaling $44,750.
New Laboratory Build and Manufacturing Capabilities
The Company has continued to invest significantly in ROI-generating capacity through UPE, committing to a new laboratory build and equipment purchases in order to support its growth. In January 2020, UPE signed a long-term lease contract for a new multi-tenant building dedicated to the life sciences at the Utrecht Science Park alongside important stakeholders such as Genmab B.V. and Merus N.V. The Company expects UPE to take occupancy at this location in 2022.
Furthermore, along with Codex DNA, Inc. (formerly SGI-DNA, Inc.), the Company announced in January 2020 that UPE had integrated Codex DNAs benchtop automated DNA printer, making the Company the first CRO in Europe to integrate the BioXp 3200 System in its workflow. As a result of this achievement, the Company aims to positively impact its manufacturing capacities by reducing the antibody design-synthesis-screening timeline, providing clear advantages to its partners.
Research License Agreement
In April 2020, Talem entered into a research license agreement with Janssen Research & Development, LLC, providing Janssen with exclusive access to a panel of novel, monoclonal antibodies against an undisclosed target. Pursuant to this agreement, Janssen holds an option to acquire all commercial rights to the antibodies.
New Service Offerings
Subsequent to the fiscal year ended April 30, 2019, the Company has continued to focus advanced service offerings for therapeutic discovery as set out below:
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Abthena bispecific antibody platform. Abthena bispecifics have the ability to bind two different molecules with a single antibody, increasing the therapeutic effectiveness of targeting infectious diseases, payload delivery and functional activity toward challenging targets. |
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Integrating SGI-DNAs benchtop automated DNA printer. The Company has integrated SGI- DNAs benchtop automated DNA printer, BioXp 3200, to accelerate antibody discovery and manufacturing services at its European facilities. |
Key Additions to the Board and Management Team
In October 2019, the Company appointed Dr. Stefan Lang as Chief Business Officer. Dr. Lang has more than 20 years of experience as a senior executive in the biotechnology industry. He has an impressive breadth of leadership within the biotech industry, including experience working at the organizational level and as a globally-recognized and respected leader in antibody business development. In his most recent role, Dr. Lang worked in an executive role at Aldevron LLC, as the Vice President of Business Development, with his main focus on corporate strategy, R&D innovation, sales and business development. Prior to Aldevron, he worked at GENOVAC, a pioneer in genetic immunization for antibody generation. In this newly created role, Dr. Lang be responsible for corporate and business development initiatives, as well as corporate and product strategic planning.
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Also, in October 2019, the Company appointed Brian Lundstrom as a member of the Board of Directors. Mr. Lundstrom has over 30 years protein and antibody therapeutic business experience and was appointed to work actively with management to further strengthen the Companys strategic and commercial growth commitment to industry-leading therapeutic antibody discovery for both its clients and the companys emerging internal pipeline.
In April 2020, the Company appointed Dr. Yasmina Abdiche as Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Abdiche was previously CSO at Carterra, where she helped to transition the LSA antibody screening technology to global commercialization. Prior to that, she had a twelve-year career at Rinat, Pfizers biotherapeutic site, where she led a core team of analytical scientists performing antibody characterization on label-free biosensors. Dr. Abdiche holds over twelve issued patents in the antibody space and is co-inventor of a PD-1 inhibitor (Sasanlimab, PF06801591, RN888) currently in clinical trials for various cancer types and of a market-approved anti-CGRP antibody for migraine, Ajovy. Dr. Abdiche will be responsible for leading the Companys research and development programs and services, including its on-going COVID-19 asset development.
Subsequent to Fiscal Year Ended 2020
Funding
In April 2020, the company was awarded US$75,000 in grant funds from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture through the states Bioscience Innovation Grant program to assist with expenses related to its PolyTope SARS-CoV-2 programs and was reimbursed in July after demonstrating a total spend in excess of $100,000 to satisfy the minimum 25% required match.
In June 2020, the Company was granted funding by TRANSVAC2, a European vaccine network, to cover the costs of a preclinical vaccine study of one of the Companys vaccine candidates in a collaboration with LiteVax B.V.
In July 2020, the Company was awarded the Biosciences CARES grant from the Department of Agriculture of the State of North Dakota for the amount of US$1,500,000 to support the discovery, development and testing of SARS-CoV-2 therapeutic candidates. The total grant project cost is US$2,000,000 for which the Subgrantees must contribute an amount not less than 25% of the grant project cost or US$500,000. The amount earned for the year ended April 30, 2020 of approximately US$158,000 has been accrued and recorded in other income.
Most recently, the Company has had grants approved in the amount of approximately $55,000 in the form of reduced costs of services performed from the Canadian National Research Councils (NRC) Innovation Research Assistance Program, to support collaborative research with the NRC.
The total grant project cost is US$2,000,000 for which the Subgrantees must contribute an amount not less than 25% of the grant project cost or USD$500,000. The amount earned for the year ended April 30, 2020 of approximately USD$158,000 has been accrued and recorded in other income.
Deferred Settlement Payments
Subsequent to April 30, 2020, the Company made the second deferred payment pursuant to the Amendment, Termination and Settlement Agreement, by making a cash payment of 335,555 (CAD$518,533) and issuing 664,163 common shares of the Company with a fair value of $511,406.
Issuance of Stock Options
Subsequent to April 30, 2020 and on August 13, 2020, the Company granted 250,000 stock options, exercisable at $1.50 per option. The options are subject to vesting conditions and 25% of the stock options vest every three months. The options have an expiration date of August 13, 2023.
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Collaboration Agreement
In October 2020, Talem entered into a collaboration with Twist Bioscience Corporation (Twist) in order to expand its antibody pipeline on a wider range of oncology targets, combining their expertise in a highly collaborative manner to discover novel antibody therapeutics. The Company will contribute targets of interest with relevant background data, and the genetic sequences encoding for lead antibodies against the selected targets. Twist Biopharma, a division of Twist, will design synthetic antibody libraries based on the provided antibody repertoire sequences from immunized animals to discover optimized, humanized lead antibody candidates.
Nasdaq Listing
On September 10, 2020, the Company announced that it had commenced the application process to list the Common Shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Listing of the Companys Common Shares on Nasdaq remains subject to satisfaction of all applicable listing requirements.
Common Share Consolidation
On November 4, 2020, the Company announced that it intended to complete a consolidation of its issued and outstanding Common Shares on the basis of one (1) new Common Share for every five (5) issued and outstanding Common Shares (the Consolidation). Completion of the Consolidation remains subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV).
Base Shelf Prospectus Filing
On November 6, 2020, the Company filed a preliminary base shelf prospectus (the Preliminary Shelf Prospectus) with the securities commissions each of the provinces of Canada except Quebec and a and a corresponding registration statement on Form F-10 (the Registration Statement) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) under the U.S./Canada Multijurisdictional Disclosure System.
When made final or effective, the Preliminary Shelf Prospectus and corresponding Registration Statement will allow the Company to undertake offerings of Common Shares, preferred shares, debt securities, warrants, units and subscription receipts, or any combination thereof, up to an aggregate total of $150,000,000 from time to time during the 25-month period that the final short form base shelf prospectus remains effective. Once the Preliminary Base Shelf is made final or effective, the securities qualified thereunder may be offered in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined at the time of sale and, subject to applicable regulations, may include at-the-market transactions, public offerings or strategic investments. The specific terms of any offering of the Companys securities, including the use of proceeds from any offering, will be set forth in one or more shelf prospectus supplement(s) to be filed with applicable securities regulators.
BUSINESS
Overview
The Company has emerged as a recognized, full-service, biologics contract research organisation (CRO) with global operations. A CRO is a company that provides support to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries in the form of research services outsourced to them on a contract basis. The Company is innovation-driven and is strategically positioned - both geographically and scientifically - to provide highly customized, human, therapeutic antibodies. The Company offers a cohesive and extensive portfolio in the protein and antibody research, manufacturing and validation continuum. The Companys full-service package allows it to assist clients from the moment they identify a therapeutic target to the time they are preparing to apply for investigational review of the clinical product.
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Products and Services
CRO Services
The Companys CRO services include, but are not limited to, proprietary B cell sorting, screening and sequencing; custom, immune and naïve phage display production and screening; expertise with transgenic animals and multi-species antibody discovery; bi-specific, tri-specific, VHH, and VNAR (shark) antibody manufacturing; DNA cloning, protein and antibody downstream processing, purification in gram scale levels, characterization and validation; antibody engineering; transient and stable cell line generation; antibody optimization and humanization; hybridoma production with multiplexed, high-throughput screening and clone-picking; cryopreservation; and custom antigen modeling, design and manufacturing.
Moreover, in the past 18 months, the Company has gained increasing recognition as a rising leader in the biologics, CRO space, with a focus on organic growth through market penetration and service diversification, as well as strategic expansion with platform and process integration. Furthermore, end-to-end services have been leveraged through acquisition, enabling a steady foundation for future growth.
IPA Canada and IPA Europe have both been designated as approved CROs for the worlds leading, transgenic animal platform producing human antibodies, and exercised an advantage in optimizing services for various transgenic animal vendors. The Company made strategic investments in R&D activities to develop proprietary technologies enabling the application of their B cell Select and DeepDisplay platforms to address a range of transgenic animal species and strains.
The Companys key CRO services are set forth in detail below:
Service |
Details |
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B cell SelectTM | In 2018, the Company built on its decade of experience in single B cell interrogation to offer B cell services in both North America and Europe on species agnostic platforms, including the use of transgenic, humanized animals. These services are offered for a broad range of therapeutically relevant protein families, including GPCRs and other challenging, membrane-spanning proteins. The Companys B cell Select platforms enable antibody screening directly from B cells, facilitating the analysis of a more diverse set of antibodies, and for faster, deeper screening compared to traditional technologies. By adding a high throughput, label-free Octet HTX biosensor (under the tradenames FortéBio, Sartorius) at IPA Canada, the Company uses a state-of-the-art high throughput platform that facilitates the rapid characterization and development of lead antibody candidates and addresses the need for increased speed and sample throughput when characterizing large panels of therapeutic antibody candidates, which are generated with its B cell or library-based platforms. | |
Phage Display | The Companys phage display services are based on building custom immune libraries from multiple species, including transgenic animals, or, alternatively, the selection of antigen-specific, recombinant antibody fragments from its proprietary human or llama phage libraries. The proprietary libraries have been made from human auto-immune (diseased) patients and naïve (healthy donors) scFv (single chain fragment variable) repertoires, as well as from naïve llama (VHH) repertoires. Custom immune libraries are prepared from blood, spleen, lymph nodes, and bone marrow of immunized animals and aim to capture the entire immune repertoire for panning, rescue, and identification of unique antibodies with pre-specified characteristics. |
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Service |
Details |
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DeepDisplay | A powerful new technology utilizing a combination of Ligands OmniAb® transgenic animal platform and ImmunoPrecise Antibodies custom phage display antibody selection. | |
Abthena Bispecifics | The Companys bispecific Abthena technology complements its diverse discovery process, integrating seamlessly with the Artemis Intelligence Metadata (AIM) capabilities, to enable rapid turnaround on additional algorithmic outputs in therapeutic antibody optimization, stability, affinity, and manufacturability. | |
LucinaTechTM Humanization | The Company provides a robust and efficient antibody humanization service, which consistently retains affinity and specificity levels. The approach is based on state-of-the-art in silico antibody modeling to identify essential framework and CDR residues for grafting onto a human antibody framework. | |
Affinity Maturation | Antibody affinity is important in therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The Companys affinity maturation service can improve antibody affinities. The Company applies different strategies to increase the affinity of the antibody, including gene shuffling and random mutagenesis. | |
Immunization, hybridoma, sequencing | The Company offers antibody development services including a variety of immunization methods: Rapid Prime immunization, DNA immunization (NonaVac), cell-based immunization (ModiVacc), electro- fusion and hybridoma generation using semi-solid media and clone picking, as well as high throughput, multiplexed screening methods. With ImmunoProtect, the DNA sequence of the antibody is determined and can be used to express the antibody recombinantly. | |
rPEx protein manufacturing | The Company provides large-scale production of recombinant mammalian proteins and antibodies for research and preclinical applications. With a track record of successfully producing difficult-to-express proteins and antibodies (e.g. Fc-fusion proteins and bispecific antibodies), the Company offers gram scale production with low endotoxin levels. | |
Cell line development |
Using its proprietary vectors, the Company offers stable cell line development services (non GMP) of
target proteins or antibodies adapted to specific growth conditions and media. |
In fiscal 2020, the Companys CRO services accounted for 96% (2019: 95%) of the revenue of the Company.
Therapeutic Discovery Program
While CRO services are the mainstay of the Company, ImmunoPrecise has worked continuously on building an intellectual property estate and portfolio of proprietary methods and physical assets through collaborations, joint ventures, acquisitions and in-licensing. The Company has invested strategically invested in the development and licensing of antibody discovery platforms and related intellectual property assets. The onboarding of existing assets with regard to equipment, technologies, IP and licenses within the Companys EU operations has been compounded by active research and development at all operational sites this year, including the on-going development of new service offerings to be rolled out in the fiscal year 2020, but more notably, internal discovery programs focused on novel, therapeutic antibodies, primarily in the field of immuno-oncology.
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The Company formed Talem Therapeutics (Talem), based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to support its internal and partnered therapeutic, discovery programs. Talem offers strategic partnerships with pharma and biotech companies and is the only company to offer these services as a partnership in OmniAb transgenic animals using their own license. The ability for investors to support individual assets or portfolios generates an asymmetrical opportunity for investments, while avoiding ImmunoPrecise shareholder dilution. The depth and speed of IPAs offerings enables Talem to customize each program and leverages the Companys expertise and technologies in the antibody discovery.
Production of Services
The Companys operations are carried out globally in three separate facilities: Victoria British, Columbia (IPA Canada) and Utrecht and Oss, the Netherlands (UPE and IPA Europe).
IPA Canadas new laboratory in Victoria is located at a fully operational antibody production facility that effectively doubles its revenue generating capacity. To drive the execution of its strategic and growth initiatives, the Company continues to focus on the recruitment of scientific and technical staff, development of new technical training programs and a commitment to integrate continuous improvement and quality management methodologies.
UPE, situated in the Dutch biotechnology hub of Utrecht, The Netherlands, has been a staple in the recombinant protein community, operating for over 17 years, and specializing in the manufacture of complex proteins and antibodies in a variety of formats, and from a range of mammalian cell types. Their streamlined and efficient operations have enabled them to successfully support over 6,000 different programs, with over a 90% success rate, for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries as well as leading, academic institutions. In a seamless coordination, their operations also support the downstream expression and purification of the antibodies originating from the B cell Select programs, enabling validation of the platforms outputs and comprehensive deliverables for clients. The site also has a global, exclusive license from Stanford University for the marketing and sales of the novel protein, Wnt surrogate Fc, which they co-developed.
IPA Europes contribution in services and intellectual property to the Company after its acquisition have been substantial. The integration of IPA Europe significantly expanded the Companys services portfolio including affinity maturation, humanization, functional assay design and development, naïve and disease human scFv libraries, naïve llama scFv libraries, and proprietary methods of immunization against conformational targets (e.g. ModiVacc mouse lymphoid tumor immunization and DNA immunization technologies). Adding to their proprietary services, IPA Europe developed and rolled-out the aforementioned DeepDisplay service for the discovery of fully human antibodies using transgenic animal immunization and custom phage display.
Intellectual Property
The Company has initiated the protection of new innovation in its product pipeline and has trademarked its ImmunoProtect, Rapid Prime and rPExTM technologies. Currently, the Company has applied for one patent application and is in the process of applying for additional patent applications relating to its proprietary technology. Its intellectual property strategy has been to protect its intellectual property primarily through a combination of trade secrets and copyright. See also Risk Factors.
The Company continues to develop new products such as synthetic estrogen receptor modulator tracker; quantitative self, biomarkers and screening methodologies, production of specific antibodies; screening services and data mining methodologies which will provide expansion and new commercial opportunities for the Company.
Specialized Skill and Knowledge
The Companys qualified staff of research and development scientists with experience in biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector, academic research and government. The Company brings 30 years of experience in the production of antibodies and has a strong reputation for the delivery of a high standard of quality and professional antibody services and products.
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Further, the Company has an in-house research staff, including a number of research scientists with MSc and cadre technical staff, innovating proprietary Rapid Prime immunization, single step cloning using semi-solid media for HAT selection of hybridomas, and B cell selection and screening.
Competitive Conditions
The Company competes primarily against other full-service CROs as well as services provided by in-house research and development, or R&D, departments of biopharmaceutical companies. The Companys major CRO competitors include Abveris Inc., Genovac GmbH (formerly part of Aldevron LLC), Antibody Solutions, Genscript Biotech Corp, Lake Pharma Inc., and several specialty and regional CROs.
Competitive factors in the industry in which the Company operates include, but are not limited to, experience within specific therapeutic areas, quality of staff and services, reliability, range of provided services, ability to recruit principal investigators and patients into studies expeditiously, ability to organize and manage large-scale, global clinical trials, global presence with strategically located facilities, speed to completion, price and overall value. The Company believes it competes effectively with its competitors across these factors, particularly due to its full-service operating model, its therapeutic expertise, its global platform and its experienced and committed management team. However, some of the Companys competitors have greater financial resources and a wider range of service offerings over a greater geographic area than we do, which could put us at a competitive disadvantage with respect to these competitors. Many are also well known for niche specialities such as antibody development against glycosylated peptides or specific chemical modifications, specialties that the Company also houses, but is not yet well known for, which could put the Company at a competitive disadvantage with respect to these competitors.
Many competitors offer custom antibody production services in addition to large catalogues of antibodies available for sale through their websites. Over the years a number of competitors have been acquired and merged into larger companies, particularly larger laboratory facilities.
The R&D Antibodies market is highly fragmented and served by numerous small suppliers of a similar size and scale to the Company, and no single company appears to dominate the market.
Regulatory Environment
The development, testing, manufacturing, labeling, storage and approval of antibody and therapeutic products are subject to regulation by various government authorities in Canada and Europe. Companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, such as the Companys clients, that carry out clinical trials are subject to stringent regulations. These regulations apply to the Companys clients and are generally applicable to us when we are providing services to our clients. Consequently, the Company must comply with relevant laws and regulations in the conduct of its business. The Company is in compliance with all Canadian and European regulations regarding the on-going operation of its laboratory facilities and delivery of all its products and services.
Seasonality
Sales of the Companys products and services are not subject to seasonality fluctuations.
Changes to Contracts
The Company uses a standard Master Services Agreement (MSA) with all customers for custom monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies and peptide protection and does not anticipate any changes in its MSA. The Company has a standard form of contract for its other services and anticipates development of a standard license agreement to take advantage of new licensing opportunities.
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Foreign Operations
The Company currently conducts operations in Canada and Europe and distributes and offers its products and services globally. As such, it does not anticipate any risks associated with foreign operations.
Market for Products
Market Segment and Geographic Areas
The market worth of therapeutic antibodies in 2018 was U.S.$115 billion. According to a study published in the Journal of Biomedical Science in January 2020. it is estimated that the human therapeutic antibody market will grow to U.S.$300 billion in 2025. Growth drivers in the antibody market are as follows:
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Increasing research and development expenditures in the life science sector and in the therapeutics industry |
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Emergence of innovative, facilitating platforms |
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Growing demand for revolutionary therapies for major diseases as populations age and life expectancies increase |
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Growing emphasis on antibody development at CROs |
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Increasing applications in the environmental sectors |
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Biopharmaceuticals is the fastest growing pharma sector. This market is mainly dominated by large pharmaceutical companies, like Abbvie, Novartis, Roche and Johnson & Johnson. Companies are currently sponsoring clinical studies for more than 570 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Of these, approximately 90% are early-stage studies designed to assess safety (Phase I) or safety and preliminary efficacy (Phase I/II or Phase II) in patient populations. |
The global immunoassay market is estimated to accumulate US$37,987.8 million by the year 2027. According to MarketStudyReport.com, the global immunoassay market was worth US$21,800 million in 2018 and is anticipated to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5% through the year 2027.
In recent years, the number of monoclonal antibody drugs approved for commercialization has proliferated, with 79 approved and available on the market as of December 2019. According to a 2017 report from FiercePharma.com, it is expected that 9 of the 15 best-selling drugs worldwide in 2022 will be monoclonal antibody drugs, the fastest growing segment in the bio-pharmaceutical market.
The protein- and antibody-related service and product market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 6.2% by 2027 to U.S.$5.6 billion, according to GrandViewResearch.com.
Prior to the acquisitions of UPE and IPA Europe, the Company focused on serving primarily the diagnostic antibody market in North America. Since such acquisitions, the Company has redirected most of its focus to the therapeutic antibody market and delivering an expanded portfolio of products and services to customers in Europe, a broader segment of North America and the rest of the world.
Marketing Plan and Strategies
Market Acceptance
The Company has a long-standing acceptance of its customized antibodies and peptide production services in the market. The Company believes that the market acceptance of its products will continue as it
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organically grows its business, optimizes its laboratory, new sales and marketing capacity and production process to support long-term growth. Further, the Company is one of the few approved CROs for multiple transgenic animal providers on the market, enabling the faster development of therapeutic antibodies. Among 28 human antibodies approved by the FDA between 2002 and 2019, 19 were animal derived and only 9 generated by phage display.
Bankruptcy and Similar Procedures
The Company does not have any bankruptcy, receivership or similar proceedings or any voluntary bankruptcy, receivership or similar proceedings within the three most recently completed financial years or completed during or proposed for the current financial year.
RISK FACTORS
There are numerous and varied risks, known and unknown, that may prevent the Company from achieving its goals. The risks described below are not the only ones the Company will face. If any of these risks actually occurs, the Company business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of the Companys securities could decline and investors in such securities could lose all or part of their investment.
Negative Operating Cash Flow and Going Concern
The Company has negative cash flow from operating activities and has historically incurred net losses. There is no assurance that the Company will generate sufficient revenues in the near future. To the extent that the Company has negative operating cash flows in future periods, it may need to deploy a portion of its existing working capital to fund such negative cash flows. The Company expects to need to raise additional funds through issuances of securities or through loan financing. There is no assurance that additional capital or other types of financing will be available if needed or that these financings will be on terms at least as favourable to the Company as those previously obtained, or at all. The independent auditors report on the Companys consolidated financial statements draws attention to the material uncertainty that may cast doubt on the Companys ability to continue as a going concern. Importantly, the inclusion in the Companys financial statements of a going concern opinion may negatively impact the Companys ability to raise future financing. If the Company is unable to obtain additional financing from outside sources and eventually generate enough revenues, the Company may be forced to sell a portion or all of the Companys assets, or curtail or discontinue the Companys operations. If any of these events happen, investors may lose all or part of their investment.
Liquidity and Future Financing Risk
Although the Company is a going concern, the Company does not have cash reserves for funding future growth and expansion and therefore may require additional financing in order to fund future growth in operations and expansion plans. The Companys ability to secure any required financing to sustain its operations will depend in part upon prevailing capital market conditions, as well as the Companys business success. There can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in its efforts to secure any additional financing or additional financing on terms satisfactory to the Companys management. If additional financing is raised by issuing shares of the Company, control of the Company may change, and shareholders may suffer additional dilution. If adequate funds are not available, or are not available on acceptable terms, the Company may be required to scale back its business plan.
Financial Position and Additional Needs for Liquidity and Capital
The Company is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, therapeutic antibodies. Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that a product candidate will fail to prove effective, gain regulatory approval or become commercially viable. The Company does not have any products approved by regulatory authorities and has not generated substantial revenues from collaboration and licensing agreements or clinical product sales to date, and has incurred significant research,
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development and other expenses related to ongoing operations and expects to continue to incur such expenses. As a result, the Company has not been profitable and has incurred operating losses in every reporting period since its inception and has a significant accumulated deficit. Operating costs are expected to increase in the near term as the Company continues product development efforts and expects to continue until such time as any future product sales, royalty payments, licensing fees, and/or milestone payments are sufficient to generate revenues to fund continuing operations. In addition, the Companys operating expenses are expected to increase compared to last year as a result of its U.S. public reporting company status. The Company is unable to predict the extent of any future losses or when this business section will become profitable, if ever. Even if the Company achieves profitability, it may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on an ongoing basis.
Strategic Alliances
The Company currently has, and may in the future enter into, strategic alliances with third parties that the Company believes will complement or augment its existing business. The Companys ability to enter into strategic alliances is dependent upon, and may be limited by, the availability of suitable candidates and capital. In addition, strategic alliances could present unforeseen integration obstacles or costs, may not enhance the Companys business, and may involve risks that could adversely affect the Company, including significant amounts of management time that may be diverted from operations in order to pursue and complete such transactions or maintain such strategic alliances. Future strategic alliances could result in the incurrence of additional debt, costs and contingent liabilities, and there can be no assurance that future strategic alliances will achieve, or that the Companys existing strategic alliances will continue to achieve, the expected benefits to the Companys business or that the Company will be able to consummate future strategic alliances on satisfactory terms, or at all. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on the Companys business, financial condition and results of operation.
The Company may not be able to enter into collaboration agreements on terms favorable to the Company or at all. Furthermore, some of those agreements may give substantial responsibility over the Companys drug candidates to the collaborator.
If the Company enters into collaboration agreements for one or more of its drug candidates, the success of such drug candidates will depend in great part upon the Companys and its collaborators success in promoting them as superior to other treatment alternatives. The Company believes that its drug candidates may be proven to offer disease treatment with notable advantages over other drugs. However, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to prove these advantages or that the advantages will be sufficient to support the successful commercialization of its drug candidates.
Regulatory or Agency Proceedings, Investigations and Audits
The Companys business requires compliance with many laws and regulations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could subject the Company to regulatory or agency proceedings or investigations and could also lead to damage awards, fines and penalties. The Company may become involved in a number of government or agency proceedings, investigations and audits. The outcome of any regulatory or agency proceedings, investigations, audits, and other contingencies could harm the Companys reputation, require the Company to take, or refrain from taking, actions that could harm its operations or require the Company to pay substantial amounts of money, harming its financial condition. There can be no assurance that any pending or future regulatory or agency proceedings, investigations and audits will not result in substantial costs or a diversion of managements attention and resources or have a material adverse impact on the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations.
Litigation Risk
The Company may become party to litigation from time to time in the ordinary course of business which could adversely affect its business. Should any litigation in which the Company becomes involved be decided against the Company, such a decision could adversely affect the Companys ability to continue operating and the value of the Companys securities and could use significant resources. Even if the Company is involved in litigation and wins, litigation can redirect significant Company resources, including the time and attention of management and available working capital. Litigation may also create a negative perception of the Companys brand.
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Intellectual Property Protection
The Companys success will depend on its ability to obtain, protect and enforce patents on its technology and products. Any patents that the Company may own or license in the future may not afford meaningful protection for its technology and products. The Companys efforts to enforce and maintain its intellectual property rights may not be successful and may result in substantial costs and diversion of management time. In addition, others may challenge patents the Company may obtain in the future and, as a result, these patents could be narrowed, invalidated or rendered unenforceable or it may be forced to stop using the technology covered by these patents or to license the technology from third parties. In addition, current and future patent applications on which the Company depends may not result in the issuance of patents. Even if the Companys rights are valid, enforceable and broad in scope, competitors may develop products based on similar technology that is not covered by the Companys patents. Further, since there is a substantial backlog of patent applications at the various patent offices, the approval or rejection of the Company and its competitors patent applications may take several years.
In addition to patent protection, the Company also relies on copyright and trademark protection, trade secrets, know-how, continuing technological innovation and licensing opportunities. In an effort to maintain the confidentiality and ownership of the Companys trade secrets and proprietary information, the Company requires its employees, consultants and advisors to execute confidentiality and proprietary information agreements. However, these agreements may not provide the Company with adequate protection against improper use or disclosure of confidential information and there may not be adequate remedies in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure. Furthermore, like many companies in the Companys industry, the Company may from time to time hire scientific personnel formerly employed by other companies involved in one or more areas similar to the activities the Company conducts. In some situations, the Companys confidentiality and proprietary information agreements may conflict with, or be subject to, the rights of third parties with whom its employees, consultants or advisors have prior employment or consulting relationships. Although the Company require its employees and consultants to maintain the confidentiality of all confidential information of previous employers, the Company or these individuals may be subject to allegations of trade secret misappropriation or other similar claims as a result of their prior affiliations. Finally, others may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and techniques, or otherwise gain access to its trade secrets. The Companys failure to protect its proprietary information and techniques may inhibit or limit its ability to exclude certain competitors from the market and execute its business strategies.
Regulatory Approval Processes
The Companys businesses are subject to certain laws, regulations, and guidelines. Although the Company intends to comply with all such laws, regulations, and guidelines there is no guarantee that the governing laws and regulations will not change which will be outside of the Companys control. Numerous statutes and regulations govern the preclinical and clinical development, manufacture and sale, and post-marketing responsibilities for non-therapeutic and human therapeutic products in the United States, European Union, Canada, Australia and other countries that are the intended markets for current and future product candidates. Such legislation and regulation governs the approval of manufacturing facilities, the testing procedures, and controlled research that must be carried out, and the preclinical and clinical data that must be collected prior to marketing approval. The Companys R&D efforts, as well as any future clinical trials, and the manufacturing and marketing of any products the Company may develop, will be subject to and restricted by such extensive regulation.
The process of obtaining necessary regulatory approvals is lengthy, expensive, and uncertain. The Company may fail to obtain the necessary approvals to commence or continue clinical testing or to manufacture or market potential products in reasonable time frames, if at all. In addition, governmental authorities may enact regulatory reforms or restrictions on the development of new therapies that could adversely affect the regulatory environment in which the Company operates or the development of any products the Company may develop.
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Completing clinical testing and obtaining required approvals is expected to take several years and to require the expenditure of substantial resources of the Company. There can be no assurance that clinical trials will be completed successfully within any specified period of time, if at all. Furthermore, clinical trials may be delayed or suspended at any time by the Company or by the various regulatory authorities if it is determined at any time that the subjects or patients are being exposed to unacceptable risks.
Any failure or delay in obtaining regulatory approvals would adversely affect the Companys ability to utilize its technology and would therefore adversely affect its operations. Furthermore, no assurance can be given that the Companys current or future product candidates will prove to be safe and effective in clinical trials or that such product candidates will receive the requisite regulatory approval. Moreover, any regulatory approval of a drug which is eventually obtained may be granted with specific limitations on the indicated uses for which that drug may be marketed. Furthermore, product approvals may be withdrawn if problems occur following initial marketing or if compliance with regulatory standards is not maintained.
Publicly Announced Milestones
From time to time, the Company may announce the timing of certain events which are expected to occur, such as the anticipated timing of results from clinical trials. These statements are forward-looking and are based on the best estimates of management at the time. However, the actual timing of such events may differ significantly from what has been publicly disclosed. The timing of events such as the initiation or completion of a clinical trial, filing of an application to obtain regulatory approval, or an announcement of additional clinical trials for a product candidate may ultimately vary from what is publicly disclosed. These variations in timing may occur as a result of different events, including the nature of the results obtained during a clinical trial or during a research phase, problems with a CMO or CRO or any other event having the effect of delaying the publicly announced timeline. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. Any variation in the timing of previously announced milestones could have a material adverse effect on the Companys business plan, financial condition or operating results, and the trading price of the Common Shares.
Business Development and Marketing Strategies
The Companys future growth and profitability will depend on the effectiveness and efficiency of its national and international business development and marketing and sales strategy, including the Companys ability to (i) grow brand recognition for its services internationally; (ii) determine appropriate business development, marketing and sales strategies and (iii) maintain acceptable operating margins on such costs. There can be no assurance that business development, marketing and sales costs will result in revenues for the Companys business in the future, or will generate awareness of the Companys products and services. In addition, no assurance can be given that the Company will be able to manage the Companys business development, marketing and sales costs on a cost-effective basis.
Competition
Although the Company believes that there are only a limited number of full-service, biologics, CRO firms, the Company may face intense competition in selling its products and services. Some competitors may have marketing, financial, development and personnel resources which exceed those of the Company. As a result of this competition, the Company may be unable to maintain its operations or develop them as currently proposed on terms it considers acceptable or at all. Increased competition by larger, better-financed competitors with geographic advantages could materially and adversely affect the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations. To remain competitive, the Company believes that it must effectively and economically provide: (i) products and services that satisfy client demands, (ii) superior client service, (iii) high levels of quality and reliability, and (iv) dependable and efficient distribution networks. Increased competition may require the Company to reduce prices or increase spending on sales and marketing and client support, which may have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations. Any decrease in the quality of the Companys products or level of service to clients or any occurrence of a price war among the Companys competitors may adversely affect the business and results of operations. Client reach, service and on-time delivery will continue to be a hallmark of the
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Companys ability to compete with other market players. Further, the acquisitions translate to spreading the Companys footprint on two continents. In addition, the Company has deployed a sales team tasked with continually sourcing and providing market intelligence as part of its activities.
Market Perception of Smaller Companies
Market perception of smaller companies may change, potentially affecting the value of investors holdings and the ability of the Company to raise further funds through the issue of further Common Shares or otherwise. The share price of publicly traded smaller companies can be highly volatile. The value of the Common Shares may go down as well as up and, in particular, the share price may be subject to sudden and large falls in value given the restricted marketability of the Common Shares, results of operations, changes in earnings estimates or changes in general market, economic and political conditions.
Research and Development and Product Development
The Company is a life science company that makes customized antibodies and is engaged in the research and product development of new antibodies, processes, procedures and innovative approaches to the antibody production. The Company has been engaged in such research and development activities for over 30 years and has had significant success. Continued investment in retaining key scientific staff, as well as an ongoing commitment in research and development activities, will continue to be a cornerstone in the Companys development of new services, processes, and competitive advantages such as Rapid Prime, B cell Select, DeepDisplay and its methods for the production of human antibodies. The Company realizes that such research and product development activities endeavour, but cannot assure, the production of new and innovative processes, procedures or innovative approaches to antibody production or new antibodies. Furthermore, if it does not achieve sufficient market acceptance of its expansion of its commercialization of its products and services, it will be difficult for the Company to achieve consistent profitability. The Companys marketing and sales approach and external sales personnel continues to introduce a steady stream of new clients.
Management of Growth
The Company may be subject to growth-related risks including pressure on its internal systems and controls. The Company ability to manage its growth effectively will require it to continue to implement and improve its operational and financial systems and to expand, train and manage its employee base. The inability of the Company to deal with this growth could have a material adverse impact on its business, operations and prospects. The Company may experience growth in the number of its employees and the scope of its operating and financial systems, resulting in increased responsibilities for the Companys personnel, the hiring of additional personnel and, in general, higher levels of operating expenses. In order to manage its current operations and any future growth effectively, the Company will also need to continue to implement and improve its operational, financial and management information systems and to hire, train, motivate, manage and retain its employees. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to manage such growth effectively, that its management, personnel or systems will be adequate to support the Companys operations or that the Company will be able to achieve the increased levels of revenue commensurate with the increased levels of operating expenses associated with this growth.
Selection and Integration of Acquired Businesses and Technologies
The Company has expanded its business through acquisitions. The Company may plan to continue to acquire businesses and technologies and form strategic alliances. However, businesses and technologies may not be available on terms and conditions the Company finds acceptable. The Company risks spending time and money investigating and negotiating with potential acquisition or alliance partners, but not completing transactions.
Acquisitions and alliances involve numerous risks which may include:
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difficulties in achieving business and financial success; |
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difficulties and expenses incurred in assimilating and integrating operations, services, products, technologies or pre-existing relationships with the Companys clients, distributors and suppliers; |
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challenges with developing and operating new businesses, including those that are materially different from the Companys existing businesses and that may require the development or acquisition of new internal capabilities and expertise; |
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potential losses resulting from undiscovered liabilities of acquired companies that are not covered by the indemnification the Companys may obtain from the seller or the insurance acquired in connection with the transaction; |
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loss of key employees; |
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the presence or absence of adequate internal controls and/or significant fraud in the financial systems of acquired companies; |
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diversion of managements attention from other business concerns; |
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a more expansive regulatory environment; |
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acquisitions could be dilutive to earnings, or in the event of acquisitions made through the issuance of the Companys common stock to the shareholders of the acquired company, dilutive to the percentage of ownership of the Companys existing shareholders; |
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differences in foreign business practices, customs and importation regulations, language and other cultural barriers in connection with the acquisition of foreign companies; |
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new technologies and products may be developed that cause businesses or assets the Companys acquires to become less valuable; and |
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disagreements or disputes with prior owners of an acquired business, technology, service or product that may result in litigation expenses and diversion of the Companys managements attention. |
If an acquired business, technology or an alliance does not meet the Companys expectations, its results of operations may be adversely affected.
Some of the same risks exist when the Company decides to sell a business, site or product line. In addition, divestitures could involve additional risks, including the following:
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difficulties in the separation of operations, services, products, and personnel;· |
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diversion of managements attention from other business concerns; and |
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the need to agree to retain or assume certain current or future liabilities in order to complete the divestiture. |
The Companys continually evaluates the performance and strategic fit of its businesses (including specific product lines and service offerings) to determine whether any divestitures are appropriate. Any divestitures may result in significant write-offs, including those related to goodwill and other intangible assets and which could have an adverse effect on the Companys results of operations and financial condition. In addition, the Company may encounter difficulty in finding buyers or alternative exit strategies at acceptable prices and terms, and in a timely manner. The Company may not be successful in managing these or any other significant risks that it encounters in divesting a business, site or product line or service offering and, as a result, may not achieve some or all of the expected benefits of the divestiture.
Loss of Clients
The Companys clients may terminate their contracts with it upon 30 to 90 days notice for a number of reasons or, in some cases, for no reason. Although the Companys clients are currently comprised of a number of small and larger pharma entities, the Company is making a strategic shift to increase the number of larger pharma and biotech clients, including the size of each service contract. If any one of the Companys major clients cancels its contract with the Company, its revenue may decrease.
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Reduction in Demand
The Companys business could be adversely affected by any significant decrease in drug R&D expenditures by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as by academic institutions, government laboratories or private foundations. Similarly, economic factors and industry trends that affect the Companys clients in these industries also affect their R&D budgets and, consequentially, the Companys business as well.
The Companys clients include researchers at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The Companys ability to continue to grow and win new business is dependent in large part upon the ability and willingness of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to continue to spend on molecules in the non-clinical phases of R&D and to outsource the products and services the Company provides. Furthermore, the Companys clients (particularly larger biopharmaceutical companies) continue to search for ways to maximize the return on their investments with a focus on lowering R&D costs per drug candidate. Fluctuations in the expenditure amounts in each phase of the R&D budgets of these researchers and their organizations could have a significant effect on the demand for the Companys products and services. R&D budgets fluctuate due to changes in available resources, mergers of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, spending priorities, general economic conditions, institutional budgetary policies and the impact of government regulations, including potential drug pricing legislation. Available funding for biotechnology clients in particular may be affected by the capital markets, investment objectives of venture capital investors and priorities of biopharmaceutical industry sponsors.
Reduction or Delay in Government Funding of R&D
A small portion of revenue is derived from clients at academic institutions and research laboratories whose funding is partially dependent on both the level and timing of funding from government sources in Canada, such as NRC, and the United States, such as the NIH, and international agencies, which can be difficult to forecast. Government funding of R&D is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable. The Companys revenue may be adversely affected if its clients delay purchases as a result of uncertainties surrounding the approval of government budget proposals, included reduced allocations to government agencies that fund R&D activities. Government proposals to reduce or eliminate budgetary deficits have sometimes included reduced allocations to government agencies that fund R&D activities, or such funding may not be directed towards projects and studies that require the use of the Companys products and services, both of which could adversely affect the Companys business and financial results.
Public Company in the United States
As a public company in the United States, the Company will incur additional legal, accounting, reporting and other expenses that it did not incur as a public company in Canada. The additional demands associated with being a U.S. public company may disrupt regular operations of business by diverting the attention of some of the Companys senior management team away from revenue-producing activities to additional management and administrative oversight, adversely affecting the Companys ability to attract and complete business opportunities and increasing the difficulty in both retaining professionals and managing and growing its business. Any of these effects could harm the Companys business, results of operations and financial condition. In general, the United States tends to be more litigious than Canada and being a public company in the United States may make it more likely that the Company is subjected, from time to time, to the types of lawsuits that affect public companies in the United States.
Delivery and Performance Requirements in Client Contracts
In order to maintain its current client relationships and to meet the performance and delivery requirements in its client contracts, the Company must be able to provide products and services at appropriate levels and with acceptable quality and at an acceptable cost. The Companys ability to deliver the products and provide the services it offers to its clients is limited by many factors, including the difficulty of the processes
22
associated with its products and services, the lack of predictability in the scientific process and the shortage of qualified scientific personnel. In particular, a large portion of the Companys revenue depends on producing biologics and the current rate at which the Company is producing them. Some of the Companys clients can influence when it will deliver products and perform services under their contracts. If the Company is unable to meet its contractual commitments, it may delay or lose revenue, lose clients or fail to expand its existing relationships.
Patent and Other Intellectual Property Litigation
The drug research and development industry has a history of patent and other intellectual property litigation and these lawsuits will likely continue. Because the Company produces and provides many different products and services in this industry, it faces potential patent infringement suits by companies that control patents for similar products and services. In order to protect or enforce the Companys intellectual property rights, it may have to initiate legal proceedings against third parties. In addition, others may sue the Company for infringing their intellectual property rights or the Company may initiate a lawsuit seeking a declaration from a court that it does not infringe the proprietary rights of others. The patent positions of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and drug discovery companies are generally uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. No consistent policy has emerged from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or the courts regarding the breadth of claims allowed or the degree of protection afforded under patents like those for which the Company has applied. Legal proceedings relating to intellectual property would be expensive, take significant time and divert managements attention from other business concerns, whether the Company wins or loses. The cost of such litigation could affect the Companys profitability.
Further, if the Company does not prevail in an infringement lawsuit brought against it, the Company might have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages, and it could be required to stop the infringing activity or obtain a license to use the patented technology. Any required license may not be available to the Company on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, some licenses may be nonexclusive, and therefore, the Companys competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to the Company. If the Company fails to obtain a required license or are unable to design around a patent, it may be unable to sell some of its products or services.
Key Personnel Risk
The Companys success will depend on its directors and officers ability to develop the Companys business and manage its operations, and on the Companys ability to attract and retain the Chief Executive Officer, management team and other key technical, sales, public relations and marketing staff or consultants to operate and grow the business. The loss of any key person or the inability to find and retain new key persons could have a material adverse effect on the Companys business. Competition for experienced scientists is intense. The Company competes with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including its clients and collaborators, medicinal chemistry outsourcing companies, contract research companies, and academic and research institutions to recruit scientists. The Companys inability to hire additional qualified personnel may also require an increase in the workload for both existing and new personnel. The Company may not be successful in attracting new scientists or management or in retaining or motivating its existing personnel. The shortage of experienced scientists, and other factors, may lead to increased recruiting, relocation and compensation costs for such scientists, which may exceed the Companys expectations. These increased costs may reduce the Companys profit margins or make hiring new scientists impracticable.
Pandemic Risk
The Company is currently unable to determine whether the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will have a negative effect on the Companys results in the remainder of 2020 or beyond, and the future course and duration of the outbreak remain unknown. There has been minimal impact on the Companys operations and results to date, and the Company has not experienced negative impact on client sales or the supply chain. The Companys sales, operations and financial performance could suffer given a potential rapidly spreading virus. Internally, the virus may infect its employees resulting in operating at lower productivity levels or even a complete laboratory shutdown. The Companys business is dependent on its laboratories
23
to produce its products and services which if not operating will impact the financial performance of the company and its ability to meet its obligations. The Company has diversified geographic locations with the ability to perform similar services at other sites. In addition, certain roles have the ability to work remotely and the Company has business interruption insurance which may aid in the recovery of lost profits. External factors may also contribute to this risk, such as the impact of a pandemic on the Companys clients and suppliers. See also Summary Description of the Business Research and Development COVID-19 Therapeutic Research.
Brand Awareness
The Companys expansion of its products and services depends on increasing brand awareness with respect to its products and services. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to achieve sufficient brand awareness. In addition, the Company must successfully develop a larger market for its services in order to increase the sales of its services. If the Company is not able to successfully develop a market for its services, then such failure will have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition and operating results of the Company.
Conflicts of Interest Risk
Certain of the Companys directors and officers are also involved as advisors for other companies. Situations may arise in connection with potential acquisitions or opportunities where the other interests of these directors and officers conflict with or diverge from the Companys interests. In accordance with the BCBCA, directors who have a material interest in any person who is a party to a material contract or a proposed material contract are required, subject to certain exceptions, to disclose that interest and generally abstain from voting on any resolution to approve the contract.
In addition, the directors and the officers are required to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the Companys best interests. However, in conflict of interest situations, the Companys directors and officers may owe the same duty to another company and will need to balance their competing interests with their duties to the Company. Circumstances (including with respect to future corporate opportunities) may arise that may be resolved in a manner that is unfavourable to the Company.
Outsourcing Trend in Non-Clinical Discovery Stages of Drug Discovery
Over the past decade, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have generally increased their outsourcing of non-clinical research support activities, such as antibody discovery. While many industry analysts expect the outsourcing trend to continue to increase for the next several years (although with different growth rates for different phases of drug discovery and development), decreases in such outsourcing may result in a diminished growth rate in the sales of any one or more of the Companys service lines and may adversely affect the Companys financial condition and results of operations.
Competition and Obsolescence
The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are characterized by rapid and continuous technological innovation. The Company competes with companies around the world that are engaged in the development and production of products and services, including pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and contract research companies. Academic institutions, governmental agencies and other research organizations also are conducting research and developing technologies in areas in which the Company provides services, either on its own or through collaborative efforts. The Companys pharmaceutical and biotechnology company clients have internal departments that provide products and services that directly compete with the Companys products and services. Many of the Companys competitors offer a broader range of products and services and have greater access to financial, technical, scientific, business development, recruiting and other resources than the Company does, and some of its competitors may also operate with a lower cost structure. The Company anticipates that it will face increased competition in the future as it expands its operations and its products and services and as new companies enter the market and advanced technologies become available. The Companys products, services and expertise may become obsolete or uneconomical due to technological advances or entirely different approaches
24
developed by the Company, its clients or one or more of its competitors. For example, advances in databases and molecular modeling tools that predict how effectively compounds will treat a targeted disease may render some of its technologies obsolete. While the Company plans to develop technologies that will give it a competitive advantage, it may not be able to develop the technologies necessary for it to successfully compete in the future. Additionally, the existing approaches of the Companys competitors or new approaches or technologies developed by its competitors may be more effective than those it develops. The Company may not be able to compete successfully with existing or future competitors.
Other competitive factors could force the Company to lower prices or could result in reduced sales. In addition, new products developed by others could emerge as competitors to the Companys drug candidates. If the Company is not able to compete effectively against current and future competitors, its business will not grow and its financial condition and operations will suffer.
Global Economic Conditions
Current global economic conditions could have a negative effect on the Companys business and results of operations. Market disruptions have included extreme volatility in securities prices, as well as severely diminished liquidity and credit availability. The economic crisis may adversely affect the Company in a variety of ways. Access to lines of credit or the capital markets may be severely restricted, which may preclude the Company from raising funds required for operations and to fund continued development. It may be more difficult for the Company to complete strategic transactions with third parties. The financial and credit market turmoil could also negatively impact suppliers, clients and banks with whom the Company does business. Such developments could decrease the Companys ability to source, produce and distribute its products or obtain financing and could expose it to risk that one of its suppliers, clients or banks will be unable to meet their obligations under agreements with the Company.
Limited Number of Suppliers
The Company currently purchases animals and certain key components of biological and chemical materials that it uses in its products and services from a limited number of outside sources. The Companys reliance on its suppliers exposes it to risks, including: (i) the possibility that one or more of its suppliers could terminate their services at any time without penalty; (ii) the potential inability of its suppliers to obtain required materials; (iii) the potential delays and expenses of seeking alternative sources of supply; and (iv) reduced control over pricing, quality and timely delivery due to the difficulties in switching to alternative suppliers.
Consequently, if materials from the Companys suppliers are delayed or interrupted for any reason, the Company may not be able to deliver its products and perform its services on a timely basis or in a cost-efficient manner.
Uninsured or Uninsurable Risk
The Company may become subject to liability for risks against which it cannot insure or against which the Company may elect not to insure due to the high cost of insurance premiums or other factors. The payment of any such liabilities would reduce the funds available for the Companys usual business activities. Payment of liabilities for which the Company does not carry insurance may have a material adverse effect on the Companys financial position and operations.
Restricted Use of Scientific Information
The Companys ability to improve the efficiency of the CRO services it provides by, among other things, developing an effective database designed to predict how chemical compounds interact with a targeted disease-related protein, depends in part on the Companys generation and use of information that is not proprietary to its clients and that it derives from performing these services. However, the Companys clients may not allow it to use this information with other clients, such as the general interaction between types of chemistries and types of drug targets that the Company generates when performing drug discovery services for its clients. Without the ability to use this information, the Company may not be able to develop a database, which may limit its ability to improve the efficiency of the drug discovery services it provides.
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Failure of Laboratory Facilities
The Companys operations could suffer as a result of a failure of its laboratory facilities. The Companys business will be dependent upon a laboratory infrastructure to produce products and services. These systems and operations are vulnerable to damage and interruption from fires, earthquakes, telecommunications failures, and other events. Any such errors or inadequacies in the software that may be encountered could adversely affect operations, and such errors may be expensive or difficult to correct in a timely manner.
Further, many of the Companys operations are comprised of complex mechanical systems that are subject to periodic failure, including aging fatigue. Such failures are unpredictable, and while the Company has made significant capital expenditures designed to create redundancy within these mechanical systems, strengthened biosecurity, improved operating procedures to protect against such contaminations, and replaced impaired systems and equipment in advance of such events, failures and/or contaminations may still occur.
The production of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies requires state of the art laboratory facilities and the success of these laboratory services depends on the recruitment and retention of highly qualified technical staff to maintain the level and quality of standard of the Companys products and services expected from clients. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to expand and operate such state of the art laboratory services and recruit and retain qualified staff.
The Company produces and supplies antibodies and there is no guarantee that such production will be successful and produce the desired results. As a result, the Company continues to be exposed to potential liability that may exceed any insurance coverage that the Company may obtain in the future. As a result, the Company may incur significant liability exposure, which may exceed any insurance coverage that the Company may obtain in the future. Even if the Company elects to purchase such insurance in the future, the Company may not be able to maintain adequate levels of insurance at reasonable cost and/or reasonable terms. Excessive insurance costs or uninsured claims may increase the Companys operating loss and affect its financial condition.
Contaminations in Animal Populations
Animals that the Company uses must be free of certain infectious agents, such as certain viruses and bacteria, because the presence of these contaminants can distort or compromise the quality of research results and could adversely impact animal health. The presence of these infectious agents in the Companys animal facility and certain service operations could disrupt the Companys animal service businesses, harm the Companys reputation and result in decreased sales.
Contaminations are unanticipated and difficult to predict and could adversely impact the Companys financial results. If they occur, contaminations typically require cleaning up, renovating, disinfecting, retesting and restarting production or services. Such clean-ups result in inventory loss, clean-up and start-up costs, and reduced sales as a result of lost client orders and potentially credits for prior shipments. Contaminations also expose the Company to risks that clients will request compensation for damages in excess of the Companys contractual indemnification requirements.
Unauthorized Access into Information Systems
The Company operates large and complex information systems that contain significant amounts of client data. As a routine element of the Companys business, the Company collects, analyzes and retains substantial amounts of data pertaining to the non-clinical research it conducts for its clients. Unauthorized third parties could attempt to gain entry to such information systems to steal data or disrupt the systems. The Company has taken measures to protect them from intrusion.
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The Companys contracts with its clients typically contain provisions that require the Company to keep confidential the information generated from the research conducted. In the event the confidentiality of such information is compromised, whether by unauthorized access or other breaches, the Company could be exposed to significant harm, including termination of customer contracts, damage to its customer relationships, damage to its reputation and potential legal claims from customers, employees and other parties. In addition, the Company may face investigations by government regulators and agencies as a result of a breach.
Further, the Company is required to comply with the data privacy and security laws in many jurisdictions. For example, the Company required to comply with the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which became effective on May 25, 2018 and imposes heightened obligations and enhanced penalties for noncompliance (including up to four percent (4%) of global revenue). The cost of compliance, and the potential for fines and penalties for non-compliance, with GDPR may have a significant adverse effect on the Companys business and operations. Also, the California legislature passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which became effective January 1, 2020. The CCPA creates new transparency requirements and grants California residents several new rights with regard their personal information. Failure to comply with the CCPA may result in, among other things, significant civil penalties and injunctive relief, or potential statutory or actual damages. The Company has made changes to, and investments in, its business practices and will continue to monitor developments and make appropriate changes to help attain compliance with these evolving and complex regulations.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities
The Company is organized under the laws of the Province of British Columbia with its registered place of business in Canada, some of its directors and officers reside outside the United States and the majority of the Companys assets and the all or a substantial portion of the assets of these persons may be located outside the United States. Consequently, it may be difficult for investors who reside in the United States to effect service of process in the United States upon the Company or upon such persons who are not residents of the United States, or to realize upon judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws.
Foreign Private Issuer
The Company is a foreign private issuer as such term is defined in Rule 405 under the United States Securities Act of 1933, and is permitted, under a multijurisdictional disclosure system adopted by the United States and Canada, to prepare its disclosure documents filed under the U.S. Exchange Act in accordance with Canadian disclosure requirements. Under the U.S. Exchange Act, the Company is subject to reporting obligations that, in certain respects, are less detailed and less frequent than those of U.S. domestic reporting companies. As a result, the Company will not file the same reports that a U.S. domestic issuer would file with the SEC, although it will be required to file or furnish to the SEC the continuous disclosure documents that it is required to file in Canada under Canadian securities laws. In addition, the officers, directors, and principal shareholders of the Company are exempt from the reporting and short swing profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the U.S. Exchange Act. Therefore, the Companys shareholders may not know on as timely a basis when the officers, directors and principal shareholders of the Company purchase or sell shares, as the reporting deadlines under the corresponding Canadian insider reporting requirements are longer.
As a foreign private issuer, the Company is exempt from the rules and regulations under the U.S. Exchange Act related to the furnishing and content of proxy statements. It is also exempt from Regulation FD, which prohibits issuers from making selective disclosures of material non-public information. While the Company expects to comply with the corresponding requirements relating to proxy statements and disclosure of material non-public information under Canadian securities laws, these requirements differ from those under the U.S. Exchange Act and Regulation FD and shareholders should not expect to receive in every case the same information at the same time as such information is provided by U.S. domestic companies. In addition, as a foreign private issuer, the Company has the option to follow certain Canadian corporate governance practices, provided that the Company discloses the requirements that are not being followed and describes the Canadian practices being followed instead. The Company plans to rely on this exemption. As a result, the Companys shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of U.S. domestic companies that are subject to all U.S. corporate governance requirements.
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Foreign Exchange Rates
The Company may conduct business with clients, distributors, suppliers, other service providers and affiliates in currencies other than Canadian Dollars. Therefore, the Companys business could be adversely affected by fluctuations in domestic or foreign currencies.
Common Share Price Volatility
An investment in the Companys securities is highly speculative. The market prices for the securities of pharmaceutical companies, including the Companys, have historically been highly volatile. The market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the financial performance or prospects of any particular company. In addition, because of the nature of the Companys business, certain factors such as announcements, competition from new therapeutic products or technological innovations, governmental regulations, fluctuations in operating results, results of clinical trials, public concern regarding the safety of drugs generally, general market conductions, developments in patent and proprietary rights, the Companys financial condition or results of operations as reflected in its quarterly and annual financial statements, operating performance and the performance of competitors and other similar companies, changes in earnings estimates or recommendations by research analysts who track the Companys securities or securities of other companies in the life sciences sector, general market conditions, announcements relating to litigation, the arrival or departure of key personnel and the factors listed under the heading Risk Factors can have an adverse impact on the market price of the Common Shares.
Any negative change in the publics perception of the Companys prospects could cause the price of the Companys securities, including the price of the Common Shares, to decrease dramatically. Furthermore, any negative change in the publics perception of the prospects of life sciences companies in general could depress the price of the Companys securities, including the price of the Common Shares, regardless of the Companys financial and operating results. In the past, following declines in the market price of a companys securities, securities class-action litigation often has been instituted against said company. Litigation of this type, if instituted, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of the Companys managements attention and resources.
Dividend Policy
No dividends on the Common Shares have been paid by the Company to date. The Company does not intend to declare or pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Payment of any future dividends will be at the discretion of the Board, after taking into account a multitude of factors appropriate in the circumstances, including the Companys operating results, financial condition and current and anticipated cash needs.
Liquid Market for Common Shares
Shareholders of the Company may be unable to sell significant quantities of Common Shares into the public trading markets without a significant reduction in the price of their Common Shares, or at all. There can be no assurance that there will be sufficient liquidity of the Companys Common Shares on the trading market, and that the Company will continue to meet the listing requirements of the TSXV or achieve listing on any other public listing exchange.
The Company has applied to list the Common Shares on the Nasdaq. The Common Shares are not currently listed on a national stock exchange in the United States. If an active trading market does not develop in the United States, investors may have difficulty selling any of the Common Shares that they buy over a U.S. exchange. The Company cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in the Company will lead to the development of an active trading market on the Nasdaq or otherwise, or how liquid that market might become. The price of the Common Shares in any offering that may be completed pursuant to
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a Prospectus Supplement may not be indicative of prices that will prevail in the United States trading market or otherwise following such offering. Listing of the Common Shares on the Nasdaq in addition to the TSXV may increase price volatility on the TSXV and also result in volatility of the trading price on the Nasdaq because trading will be in two markets, which may result in less liquidity on both exchanges. In addition, different liquidity levels, volumes of trading, currencies and market conditions on the two exchanges may result in different prevailing trading prices.
DIVIDENDS
The Company has not paid any dividends. The Company intends to retain its earnings, if any, to finance the future growth and development of its business and does not expect to pay dividends or to make any other distributions in the foreseeable future. Payment of dividends in the future is dependent upon the earnings and financial condition of the Company and other factors which the Board may deem appropriate at the time.
There are no restrictions in the constating documents of the Company, and it is not currently expected that there will exist such restriction elsewhere, which could prevent the Company from paying dividends.
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE
Common Shares
The Companys authorized share capital consists of an unlimited number of Common Shares. As at the date of this Annual Information Form, 83,809,015 Common Shares are issued and outstanding.
Registered holders of Common Shares are entitled to receive notice of and attend all meetings of shareholders of the Company, and are entitled to one vote for each Common Share held at a meeting of shareholders other than meetings at which only the holders of any other class or series of shares of the Company may be issued or outstanding from time to time or are entitled to vote as a separate class or series. In addition, holders of Common Shares are entitled to receive on a pro rata basis dividends if, as and when declared by the board of directors and, upon liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company, are entitled to receive on a pro rata basis the net assets of the Company after payment of debts and other liabilities, in each case subject to the rights, privileges, restrictions and conditions attaching to any other series or class of shares, including preferred shares, ranking in priority to, or equal with, the holders of the Common Shares.
MARKET FOR SECURITIES
Trading Price and Volume
The Common Shares of the Company are listed for trading on the TSXV under the symbol IPA. The following table sets out the market price range and trading volumes of the Common Shares on the TSXV for the periods indicated.
TSXV Price Range ($)
Month and Year |
High ($) | Low ($) |
Volume
(number of shares) |
|||||||||
May 2019 |
0.800 | 0.670 | 1,360,000 | |||||||||
June 2019 |
0.770 | 0.670 | 1,010,000 | |||||||||
July 2019 |
0.720 | 0.530 | 1,020,000 | |||||||||
August 2019 |
0.670 | 0.550 | 1,070,000 | |||||||||
September 2019 |
0.630 | 0.470 | 1,410,000 | |||||||||
October 2019 |
0.620 | 0.445 | 1,870,000 | |||||||||
November 2019 |
0.650 | 0.520 | 1,200,000 | |||||||||
December 2019 |
0.650 | 0.500 | 1,030,400 | |||||||||
January 2020 |
0.670 | 0.510 | 1,096,600 | |||||||||
February 2020 |
0.780 | 0.550 | 1,745,656 | |||||||||
March 2020 |
0.800 | 0.620 | 4,307,828 | |||||||||
April 2020 |
0.900 | 0.700 | 4,075,807 |
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PRIOR SALES
The following table summarizes the issuance of unlisted securities of the Company during the 12-month period preceding April 30, 2020.
Date Issued |
Type of Security
Issued |
Number of Securities
Issued |
Issuance / Exercise Price
Per Security |
|||||||
May 13, 2019(1) |
Common Shares | 50,000 | $ | 0.30 | ||||||
August 22, 2019(2) |
Common Shares | 5,000 | $ | 0.30 | ||||||
October 3, 2019 |
Options | 250,000 | $ | 0.475 | ||||||
October 3, 2019 |
Options | 200,000 | $ | 1.00 | ||||||
October 3, 2019 |
Options | 150,000 | $ | 0.50 | ||||||
October 3, 2019 |
Options | 65,000 | $ | 1.01 | ||||||
March 3, 2020 |
Options | 55,000 | $ | 1.01 | ||||||
March 26, 2020(3) |
Common Shares | 1,244,792 | $ | 0.60 | ||||||
April 14, 2020(4) |
Common Shares | 375,000 | $ | 0.70 | ||||||
April 15, 2020(5) |
Common Shares | 300,000 | $ | 0.70 | ||||||
April 16, 2020(6) |
Common Shares | 5,971 | $ | 0.70 | ||||||
April 29, 2020 |
Options | 250,000 | $ | 0.76 |
Notes:
(1) |
On March 13, 2019, 50,000 common shares were issued for options exercised |
(2) |
On August 22, 2020, 5,000 common shares were issued for options exercised. |
(3) |
On March 26, 2020, 1,244,792 common shares were issued in exchange for debentures converted. |
(4) |
On April 14, 2020, 375,000 common shares were issued for warrants exercised. |
(5) |
On April 15, 2020, 300,000 common shares were issued for warrants exercised. |
(6) |
On April 16, 2020, 5,971 common shares were issued for warrants exercised. |
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ESCROWED SECURITIES
No securities of the Company are currently held in escrow or are subject to contractual restrictions on transfer.
DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS
Directors
The directors of the Company are set forth below:
Name and Municipality of Residence |
Principal Occupation During Past Five Years |
Director Since |
Number of
Voting
|
Percent of
Voting
|
||||
Jennifer Bath(3)(4)
North Dakota, USA |
CEO, President of the Company since February 2018; Global Director of Aldevron, LLC from July 2015 to February 2018; Associate Professor at Concordia College from May 2005 to August 2015 | May 2018 | 47,169 (Direct) | * | ||||
James Kuo(2)(4)
California, USA |
Managing Director at Athena Bioventures, Chairman of the Company since December 2016. | December 2016 | Nil | Nil | ||||
Greg Smith(2)(3)(4)
British Columbia, Canada |
President & Owner of Broadway Refrigeration; Chairman of Lite Access Technologies (TSXV:LTE); Director of Atlas Engineered Products Inc. (TSXV: AEP) | September 2016 | 95,000(6) (Direct and Indirect) | * | ||||
Robert Burke(4)(5)
British Columbia, Canada |
Professor at the University of Victoria. | December 2017 | 83,000(7) (Direct and Indirect) | * | ||||
Paul Andreola(3)(4)
Vancouver, Canada |
CEO and Director of NameSilo Technologies Corp. (TSXV: URL); Director of Ironwood Capital Corp. (TSXV: IRN.P) | November 2018 | 6,183,000(7) (Direct and Indirect) | 7.38% | ||||
Brian Lundstrom
Nevada, USA |
CBO and VP of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ: LGND) | October 2019 | Nil | Nil |
Notes:
* |
Denotes less than 1% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares. |
(1) |
The information as to the nature of Common Shares beneficially owned, or controlled or directed, directly or indirectly, by the directors, not being within the knowledge of the Company, has been furnished by such directors. |
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(2) |
Member of the Audit Committee. |
(3) |
Member of the Compensation Committee. |
(4) |
Member of the Finance Committee. |
(5) |
Member of the Nomination Committee. |
(6) |
Of the 95,000 shares, 50,000 shares are held by Mr. Smith and 45,000 shares are held by the spouse of Mr. Smith. |
(7) |
Of the 83,000 shares, 40,000 shares are held by Mr. Burke and 43,000 shares are held by the spouse of Mr. Burke. |
(8) |
Of the 6,183,000 shares, 2,146,800 shares are held by Mr. Andreola, 1,236,200 shares are held by the spouse of Mr. Andreola and 2,800,000 shares are held by Brisio Innovations, a company controlled by Mr. Andreola. |
Executive Officers
The executive officers of the Company are set forth below:
Name and Municipality of Residence |
Principal Occupation During Past Five Years |
Officer Since |
Number of Voting Securities(1) |
Percent of Voting Securities |
||||
Jennifer Bath
North Dakota, USA |
As Above. | February 2018 | As Above | As Above | ||||
Lisa Helbling
North Dakota, USA |
Chief Financial Officer of the Company since January 2019; CFO of Anchor Ingredients from January to August 2018; and CFO and Treasurer of TMI Hospitality from December 2011 to December 2017 | January 2019 | 10,000 (Direct) | * | ||||
Stefan Lang
Freiburg, Germany |
Chief Business Officer of the Company since October 2019; Vice President of Business Development of Aldevron LLC | October 2019 | 10,000 (Direct) | * | ||||
Yasmina Abdiche
North Dakota, USA |
Chief Scientific Officer of the Company since April 2020; Chief Scientific Officer of Carterra from October 2016 to January 2020; and Research Fellow at Rinat from March 2004 to October 2016. | April 2020 | Nil | N/A |
Note:
* |
Denotes less than 1% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares. |
(1) |
The information as to the nature of Common Shares beneficially owned, or controlled or directed, directly or indirectly, by the executive officers, not being within the knowledge of the Company, has been furnished by such officers. |
Shareholdings of Directors and Executive Officers
As at the date of this Annual Information Form, the directors and executive officers of the Company, as a group, beneficially owned, or controlled or directed, directly or indirectly, 6,428,169 Common Shares, representing approximately 7.67% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of the Company.
32
Biographical Information
The following is a brief description of each of the executive officers and directors of the Company (including details with regard to their principal occupations for the last five years).
Jennifer Bath, Chief Executive Officer, President and Director
Dr. Jennifer Bath has twenty years experience in biopharma industry, previously serving on the executive team at Aldevron, LLC. Prior, she was the executive director of the Global Vaccine Institute and has served as an international advisor with an experienced and proven leader in strategic planning and corporate growth as well as converting pharma companies scientific challenges into operational solutions. Dr. Bath specializes in strategic growth, business operations alignment, and value creation. She holds a Ph.D. in Cellular and Molecular biology from North Dakota State University.
James Kuo, Chairman and Director
Dr. James Kuo, MD, MBA currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of OncoTracker, Inc. in West Hollywood, CA. James Kuo is an experienced biotech industry executive and investor, who brings business and management experience to the company. During his career, he has held executive positions in private as well as listed biotech companies in the US. He previously served as CEO of BioMicro Systems, Inc. and Synthetic Biologics, Inc. Prior to that, he was CEO of Discovery Laboratories, Inc. after having worked as Associate Director in Corporate Licensing and Development at Pfizer Inc. Dr. Kuo is presently Managing Director at Athena Bioventures in La Jolla, CA. A physician by training, James Kuo obtained his MBA at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Greg Smith, Director
Mr. Greg Smith is a seasoned capital markets veteran who held senior positions in investment banking before recently transitioning to private equity with the acquisition of one of the largest HVAC companies in Western Canada. Mr. Smith also held the position of Portfolio Manager for Phillips, Hagar & North & Executive Director, Canadian Securitization Group, CIBC World Markets in Toronto for close to ten years. Mr. Smith currently serves as President & Director of Broadway Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Co. Ltd. and Omega Mechanical Ltd., who collectively have over 150 employees. Mr. Smith earned an MBA from Dalhousie University, is a Chartered Financial Analyst and has served in advisory and board positions to multiple private and public ventures.
Robert Burke, Director
Dr. Robert D. Burke is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Victoria, where he was a faculty member for over 35 years. He has a longstanding research interest in the molecular basis of cellular signaling in early embryonic development. His research involves production and characterization of antibodies and he employs them extensively with high-resolution optical imaging methods. Dr. Burke has published over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has supervised numerous trainees. He was Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology for 8 years, was on the University of Victoria Senate for 12 years, and served on numerous advisory and management committees nationally and internationally. Dr. Burke completed a BSc (Honours) and a PhD at the University of Alberta.
Paul Andreola, Director
Mr. Andreola has over 20 years of business development and financial markets experience including senior management, marketing, and communications roles for early stage companies. Mr. Andreola is the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of NameSilo Technologies Corp. Previously in his career, Mr. Andreola was a licensed investment advisor for over 10 years and has facilitated multiple early stage private and public companies in the resource and technology sectors. Mr. Andreola has served on the board of, and in advisory positions to, several public and private companies
33
Brian Lundstrom, Director
Mr. Lundstrom is trained in immunology and international business and has over 30 years experience. Mr. Lundstrom started his career with product and clinical development for Novo Nordisk and subsequently held increasingly executive roles, including with SangStat, now a division of Sanofi Genzyme. During the past eight years, Mr. Lundstrom established the global business for the industrys most diverse and partnered transgenic animal platforms for antibody discovery, which was sold to Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated in 2016. Mr. Lundstrom is presently an executive with Ligand and CEO of Abvivo LLC.
Lisa Helbling, Chief Financial Officer
Ms. Lisa Helbling has 35 years experience in finance and accounting gained from diverse industries and roles. For the past 9 years, she served in the role of CFO, most recently for the Company. Prior to being a CFO, she was the VP of Internal Audit and Business Risk Management for Otter Tail Corporation (NASDQ: OTTR) a diversified electric utility and Controller for Clarica Life Insurance Company-U.S., a subsidiary of a Clarica Life Insurance Co., then listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. She began her career in public accounting. As the Companys CFO Ms. Helbling provides strategic vision and leadership to create and execute finance strategy to support the Companys global sites, management of debt and equity, financial planning, budgeting and cash management. Ms. Helbling also develops and oversees the accounting, financial reporting, financial internal controls, risk management, information technology and compliance activities. Ms Helbling currently serves on the Board of Directors for Healthy Dakota Mutual Holdings and is Chair of the Audit and Compliance Committee and serves on the Board of Directors for Border States Industries, Inc. and is Chair of the Audit Committee. Ms. Helbling is a Certified Public Accountant and has a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.
Stefan Lang, Chief Business Officer
Dr. Lang previously served as the Vice President of Business Development at Aldevron LLC. Dr. Lang brings extensive background knowledge in the therapeutic antibody sector including corporate strategy, R&D innovation, sales and business development. He has an impressive breadth of leadership within the biotech industry, including experience working at the organizational level and as a globally recognized and respected leader in antibody business development. Dr. Lang holds a Dr. rer. nat. in biology from the Technical University of Karlsruhe, Germany a diploma in biology from the University of Kassel, Germany. He started his career as a technical consultant and moved into the biotech industry in 2000.
Yasmina Abdiche, Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Yasmina Abdiche joined ImmunoPrecise Antibodies in April 2020 as Chief Scientific Officer and leads the companys global research and development team. She was previously CSO at Carterra, where she helped to transition the LSA antibody screening technology from concept to global commercialization. Prior to that, she had a twelve-year career at Rinat, Pfizers biotherapeutic site, where she led a core team of analytical scientists performing antibody characterization on label-free biosensors. As a Research Fellow, she also served on Rinats Leadership Team and on the Governing Committee for Pfizers Post-doctoral Program. She holds over twelve issued patents in the antibody space and is co-inventor of a PD-1 inhibitor (Sasanlimab, PF06801591, RN888) currently in clinical trials for various cancer types and of a market-approved anti-CGRP antibody for migraine, Ajovy. Dr. Abdiche graduated from Oxford University in the UK with a Masters degree in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry. She has co-authored over 45 peer-reviewed publications in the application of label-free biosensors to drug discovery and has given numerous invited presentations at conferences worldwide.
Cease Trade Orders or Bankruptcies
To the knowledge of the Company:
(a) |
no director or executive officer of the Company is, as at the date of this Annual Information Form, or was within 10 years before the date of this Annual Information Form, a director, chief executive officer or chief financial officer of any company (including IPA), that: |
(i) |
was subject to an order that was issued while the director or executive officer was acting in the capacity as director, chief executive officer or chief financial officer; or |
34
(ii) |
was subject to an order that was issued after the director or executive officer ceased to be a director, chief executive officer or chief financial officer and which resulted from an event that occurred while that person was acting in the capacity as director, chief executive officer or chief financial officer. |
For the purposes of this subsection (a), order means a cease trade order, an order similar to a cease trade order or an order that denied the relevant company access to any exemption under securities legislation, and in each case that was in effect for a period of more than 30 consecutive days.
(b) |
no director or executive officer of the Company, or a shareholder holding a sufficient number of securities of the Company to affect materially control of the Company: |
(i) |
is, as at the date of this Annual Information Form, or has been within the 10 years before the date of this Annual Information Form, a director, chief executive officer or chief financial officer of any company (including IPA) that, while that person was acting in that capacity, or within a year of that person ceasing to act in that capacity, become bankrupt, made a proposal under any legislation relating to bankruptcy or insolvency or was subject to or instituted any proceedings, arrangement or compromise with creditors or had a receiver, receiver manager or trustee appointed to hold its assets; or |
(ii) |
has, within the 10 years before the date of this Annual Information Form, become bankrupt, made a proposal under any legislation relating to bankruptcy or insolvency, or was subject to or instituted any proceedings, arrangement or compromise with creditors, or had a receiver, receiver manager or trustee appointed to hold the assets of the director, executive officer or shareholder. |
The foregoing information, not being within the knowledge of the Company, has been furnished by the respective directors, officers and shareholders holding a sufficient number of securities of the Company to affect materially control of the Company.
Penalties or Sanctions
No director or executive officer of the Company, or a shareholder holding a sufficient number of securities of the Company to affect materially the control of the Company, has been subject to:
(a) |
any penalties or sanctions imposed by a court relating to securities legislation or by a securities regulatory authority or has entered into a settlement agreement with a securities regulatory authority; or |
(b) |
any other penalties or sanctions imposed by a court or regulatory body that would likely be considered important to a reasonable investor in making an investment decision regarding the Company. |
The foregoing information, not being within the knowledge of the Company, has been furnished by the respective directors, officers and shareholders holding a sufficient number of securities of the Company to affect materially control of the Company.
Conflicts of Interest
The Companys directors and officers may serve as directors or officers of other companies or have significant shareholdings in other resource companies and, to the extent that such other companies may participate in ventures in which the Company may participate, the directors of the Company may have a
35
conflict of interest in negotiating and concluding terms respecting the extent of such participation. In the event that such conflict of interest arises at a meeting of the Companys board of directors, a director who has such a conflict will abstain from voting for or against the approval of such participation or such terms. In accordance with the BCBCA, the directors of the Company are required to act honestly, in good faith and in the best interests of the Company. In determining whether or not the Company will participate in a particular program and the interest therein to be acquired by it, the directors will primarily consider the degree of risk to which the Company may be exposed and its financial position at that time.
The directors and officers of the Company are aware of the existence of laws governing the accountability of directors and officers for corporate opportunity and requiring disclosures by the directors of conflicts of interest and the Company will rely upon such laws in respect of any directors and officers conflicts of interest or in respect of any breaches of duty by any of its directors and officers. All such conflicts will be disclosed by such directors or officers in accordance with the BCBCA and they will govern themselves in respect thereof to the best of their ability in accordance with the obligations imposed upon them by law. See Risk Factors. The directors and officers of the Company are not aware of any such conflicts of interests.
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AND REGULATORY ACTIONS
The Company is not aware of: (a) any legal proceedings to which it is a party, or by which any of its property is subject, which would be material to it and are not aware of any such proceedings being contemplated, (b) any penalties or sanctions imposed by a court relating to securities legislation, or other penalties or sanctions imposed by a court or regulatory body against it that would likely be considered important to a reasonable investor making an investment decision and (c) any settlement agreements that we have entered into before a court relating to securities legislation or with a securities regulatory authority.
INTEREST OF MANAGEMENT AND OTHERS IN MATERIAL TRANSACTIONS
No director, executive officer or shareholder holding on record or beneficially, directly or indirectly, more than 10% of the issued shares of the Company, or any of their respective associates or affiliates has any material interest, direct or indirect, in any transaction in which the Company has participated prior to the date of this Annual Information Form, which has materially affected or is reasonably expected to materially affect the Company.
TRANSFER AGENT AND REGISTRAR
The transfer agent and registrar for the Common Shares is Computershare Investor Services Inc. at 3rd Floor, 510 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia.
MATERIAL CONTRACTS
Except for contracts entered into in the ordinary course of business, the only material contracts that the Company has entered in the financial year ended April 30, 2020, or before the last financial year but still in effect, are as follows:
1. |
U-Protein Agreement; |
2. |
ModiQuest Share Purchase Agreement; and |
3. |
Amendment, Termination and Settlement Agreement. |
Copies of the above material contracts are available for inspection at the registered office of the Company located at c/o 1800 510 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 0M3.
36
INTERESTS OF EXPERTS
Crowe MacKay LLP, Chartered Accountants, provided an auditors report in respect to the Companys financial statements for the year ended April 30, 2020. Crowe MacKay LLP is independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the Rules of Professional Conduct of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional financial information is provided in the Companys comparative financial statements and managements discussion and analysis for the year ended April 30, 2020, which will be available under the Companys profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.
Copies of all materials incorporated by reference herein and additional information relating to the Company are available under the Companys profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.
Dated November 16, 2020.
BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Jennifer Bath
Jennifer Bath
President and Chief Executive Officer
37
Exhibit 99.120
UNDERTAKING
TO: | Autorité des marchés financiers | |
FROM: | ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the Company) | |
RE: | Preliminary short form base shelf prospectus filed on November 6, 2020 (the Prospectus) relating to the issue and sale from time to time of common shares, preferred shares, debt securities, warrants, units and subscription receipts (collectively, the Securities) |
In connection with the filing by the Company of the Prospectus, the Company hereby undertakes not to distribute Securities in Canada by way of an at-the-market distribution (as contemplated in Part 9 of National Instrument 44-102) (ATM) under the Prospectus unless the Company has filed an amendment to the Prospectus adding Québec as a jurisdiction in which the Securities will be distributed or otherwise obtained exemptive relief therefrom.
DATED as of November 17, 2020.
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
By: |
(signed) Lisa Helbling |
|
Name: Lisa Helbling | ||
Title: Chief Financial Officer |
Exhibit 99.121
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Confirms Effective Date of Share Consolidation
VICTORIA, BC, Nov. 17, 2020 /CNW/ - IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. (the Company or ImmunoPrecise) (TSXV: IPA) (OTCQB: IPATF) (FSE: TQB2), a leader in full-service, therapeutic antibody discovery and development, today announced that, further to a news release issued on November 4, 2020, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, the consolidation of the Companys issued and outstanding common shares (the Common Shares) on the basis of five (5) pre-consolidation Common Shares for one (1) post-consolidation Common Share (the Consolidation) will be effective as of market open on November 23, 2020. The Companys stock symbol will remain unchanged. The ISIN and CUSIP numbers for the Common Shares will be CA45257F2008 and 45257F200, respectively.
The Consolidation will result in the number of issued and outstanding Common Shares being reduced from 83,809,015 to 16,761,803, and each shareholder will hold the same percentage of Common Shares outstanding immediately after the Consolidation as such shareholder held immediately prior to the Consolidation.
Registered shareholders that hold physical share certificates will receive a letter of transmittal from Computershare Trust Company of Canada, the transfer agent for the Common Shares, describing the process by which such shareholders may obtain new share certificates representing their post-Consolidation Common Shares.
About ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
ImmunoPrecise is a global technology platform company with end-to-end solutions empowering companies to discover and develop therapies against any disease. The Companys experience and cutting-edge technologies enable unparalleled support of its partners in their quest to bring innovative treatments to the clinic. ImmunoPrecises full-service capabilities dramatically reduce the time required for, and the inherent risk associated with, conventional multi-vendor product development. For further information, visit www.immunoprecise.com or contact solutions@immunoprecise.com.
Forward-Looking Information and Statements
This press release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking information and forward-looking statements are not representative of historical facts or information or current condition but instead represent only the Companys beliefs regarding future events, plans or objectives, many of which, by their nature, are inherently uncertain and outside of the Companys control. Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects or does not expect, is expected, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates or does not anticipate, or believes, or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, will continue, will occur or will be achieved. Forward-looking information contained in this press release includes information relating to intention of the Company to complete the Consolidation as well as the terms of the Consolidation.
By identifying such information and statements in this manner, the Company is alerting the reader that such information and statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such information and statements.
Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by the Company in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to the Companys expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the Companys actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things, those risks and uncertainties described in the Companys annual information form dated November 16, 2020 and its management discussion and analysis for the three months ended July 31, 2020 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking information and forward looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date of this press release, and the Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information and/or forward-looking statements that are contained or referenced herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
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%SEDAR: 00005542E
For further information: For investor relations please contact: Frederic Chabot, Phone: 1-438-863-7071, Email: frederick@contactfinancial.com, Contact Financial Corp., Suite 810, 609 Granville Street, P.O. Box 10322, Vancouver, B.C., V7Y 1G5, Canada.
CO: ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
CNW 20:01e 17-NOV-20
Exhibit 99.122
ImmunoPrecise and Genmab Enter into a Technology Partnership Targeting Infectious Disease
VICTORIA, BC, Nov. 19, 2020 /CNW/ - IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. (the Company or IPA) (TSXV: IPA) (OTCQB: IPATF) (FSE: TQB2), a leader in full-service, therapeutic antibody discovery and development, today announced that it has entered into a research agreement with Genmab A/S (Nasdaq: GMAB), an international biotechnology company specializing in the creation and development of differentiated antibody therapeutics for the treatment of cancer. IPA will generate novel bispecific antibody combinations using Genmabs proprietary DuoBody® platform and IPAs proprietary antibodies in the field of infectious disease. The development of IPAs proprietary antibodies into DuoBody constructs enables additional, novel formulations as the Company investigates a series of combinations in parallel.
Partnering with Genmab aligns with IPAs mission to develop safe and effective therapies for patients, in this case, specifically pertaining to the growing demand in infectious disease, said Dr. Jennifer Bath, Chief Executive Officer of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies. This agreement further complements our strategy to ensure that the full potential of our infectious disease programs is realized, which includes establishing productive partnerships to increase opportunities for ideal formulations with the highest safety and efficacy profiles.
The DuoBody technology is a proprietary platform of Genmab applied in the discovery and development of bispecific antibodies across several therapeutic areas including cancer, hemophilia, autoimmune, infectious, and central nervous system diseases. DuoBody technology has been successfully used in many Genmab internal or partnered investigational clinical therapies.
As a part of the partnership, Genmab and IPA will negotiate in good faith an agreement for the commercial use of resulting DuoBody products.
About ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
ImmunoPrecise is a global technology platform company with end-to-end solutions empowering companies to discover and develop therapies against any disease. The Companys experience and cutting-edge technologies enable unparalleled support of its partners in their quest to bring innovative treatments to the clinic. ImmunoPrecises full-service capabilities dramatically reduce the time required for, and the inherent risk associated with, conventional multi-vendor product development. For further information, visit www.immunoprecise.com or contact solutions@immunoprecise.com.
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The Company uses words such as may, would, could, will, likely, expect, believe, intend, should and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by ImmunoPrecise in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to ImmunoPrecises expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause ImmunoPrecises actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things, actual revenues and earnings for IPA being lower than anticipated, and those risks and uncertainties described in ImmunoPrecises annual management discussion and analysis for the previous quarter ended July 31, 2020 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless required by applicable law, ImmunoPrecise undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies
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SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
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%SEDAR: 00005542E
For further information: For investor relations please contact: Frederick Chabot, Phone: 1-438-863-7071, Email: frederick@contactfinancial.com, Contact Financial Corp., Suite 810, 609 Granville Street, P.O. Box 10322, Vancouver, B.C., V7Y 1G5, Canada.
CO: ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
CNW 07:00e 19-NOV-20
Exhibit 99.123
IPA Selects Polytope Formulations for Pre-Clinical Studies
VICTORIA, BC, Nov. 23, 2020 /CNW/ - IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. (the Company or IPA) (TSX VENTURE: IPA) (OTCQB: IPATF) (FSE: TQB2), a leader in full-service, therapeutic antibody discovery and development, today announced that it has selected more than ten, unique monoclonal antibodies for further preclinical development.
The Polytope antibodies can be combined to create up to twelve unique cocktail therapies containing mixtures of two, three or four antibodies, each of which has been shown to work synergistically to prevent viral entry into cells in vitro. The Company announced today that it has nominated the first cocktail consisting of four, human, synergistic antibodies to enter pre-clinical testing. The upcoming pre-clinical trial will examine the safety, tolerability and efficacy of the proposed therapeutic cocktail in the well-defined, SARS-CoV-2, Syrian hamster model.
We are excited to reach this milestone in what has been a very comprehensive Covid-19 therapeutic study aimed at treating disease caused by all Coronavirus variants, not to be thwarted by the ongoing mutations of the rapidly circulating virus, said ImmunoPrecise CEO, Dr. Jennifer Bath. Our scientific team chose a path of rigorous investigation to arrive at a diverse set of functional and meaningful candidates to combine into what we believe will be an effective therapy against both current and future strains of SARS-CoV-2. We did not sacrifice quality and we believe our approach is the suitable and effectual path.
Antibodies not only cure diseased individuals, they may provide immediate protection with a single injection to exposed individuals or asymptomatic carriers, something a vaccine cannot do, enabling containment of new outbreaks. ImmunoPrecises Polytope therapy was designed to provide additional potential benefits as a means of long-term weaponry, a cocktail therapy designed with the goal of protecting against disease that could potentially be caused by novel mutations of the virus not covered by current vaccines and therapies.
The Company believes their approach using a well-characterized, monoclonal antibody cocktail to treat Covid-19 patients has high potential for fighting not only the most prevalent strains of SARS-CoV-2, but also the many alternate forms circulating today, as well as potential new variants of the virus in the future.
IPAs curated antibody mixtures or cocktails have been shown to bind to multiple regions of the spike protein of the virus, including novel variations of the virus, caused by mutations, that have been identified and published in literature. The Companys antibodies provide a clear boost in neutralization potency beyond what can be achieved with individual monoclonal antibodies alone, suggesting a synergy that may allow for lower dosing. Furthermore, engaging multiple antibodies in the fight against the virus has the potential to stimulate different mechanisms from the immune response to help clear infection, thereby enhancing overall clearance of the virus and aiding in recovery.
Antibody cocktails that achieve full neutralization are advantageous over monotherapies because a single antibody is vulnerable to being escaped by even one mutation in the virus, depending on where that mutation occurs, states Dr. Yasmina Abdiche, CSO of ImmunoPrecise. In contrast, our cocktail engages multiple antibodies at once, broadening what we refer to as the epitope footprint, or the regions on the virus where the antibodies bind. This provides insurance that the mutating virus cannot evade the treatment, which is a continuous threat as pathogens evolve, added Dr. Abdiche.
The Companies antibody cocktails were designed specifically with the intent to address the high mutation rates found in RNA viruses (such as SARS-CoV-2), which mutate up to a million times faster than human DNAand which have the possibility of correlating with an increased ability to cause disease. These higher mutation rates increase the chance of introducing traits which are considered advantageous to the virus.
In fact, as anticipated, there are hundreds of documented mutations in the binding domain of the virus spike protein, which also happens to be the region most companies are targeting. A few of these mutations are now emerging as significant, stated Dr. Ilse Roodink, IPAs Coronavirus global Program Lead. This creates a moving target situation, underpinning the importance of deploying numerous antibodies to attack the virus in concert, and building insurance into our cocktail therapy that it will remain effective as the virus continues to evolve.
Pre-clinical manufacturing of the fully human lead, 4-mAb candidates is underway, with the pre-clinical studies scheduled to launch in early January in the Netherlands. The Company is also producing pre-clinical batches of additional, validated candidates to provide a panel of alternate options to modify the coverage of therapeutic cocktails if ever needed, to continue to combat future and/or seasonal variants of the virus.
About ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
ImmunoPrecise is a global technology platform company with end-to-end solutions empowering companies to discover and develop therapies against any disease. The Companys experience and cutting-edge technologies enable unparalleled support of its partners in their quest to bring innovative treatments to the clinic. For further information, visit www.immunoprecise.com or contact solutions@immunoprecise.com.
About IPAs SARS Polytope Therapies
Monoclonal antibodies were derived from several animal species, including humans, llama, rabbits and transgenic OmniAb® (humanized) animals to access a broad epitope coverage. IPA exploits multiple antibody formats, valency, and size to select antibodies against multiple/rare epitopes. In a global effort involving its scientists in North America and Europe, IPA has now developed a rich and diverse discovery portfolio of SARS-CoV-2 candidate antibodies yielding epitope and functional diversity.
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The Company uses words such as may, would, could, will, likely, expect, believe, intend, should and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements and include the Companys beliefs with respect to the potential for its antibodies to be further developed or approved to treat COVID-19 (or SARS-CoV-2) or to complete any transactions with respect to those antibodies. Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by ImmunoPrecise in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to ImmunoPrecises expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause ImmunoPrecises actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things, actual revenues and earnings for IPA being lower than anticipated, and those risks and uncertainties described in ImmunoPrecises annual management discussion and analysis for the previous quarter ended July 31st, 2020 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless required by applicable law, ImmunoPrecise undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies
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%SEDAR: 00005542E
For further information: For investor relations please contact: Frédéric Chabot, Phone: 1-438-863-7071, Email: frederick@contactfinancial.com, Contact Financial Corp., 204 - 998 Harbourside Dr., North Vancouver, B.C., Canada,V7P 3T2
CO: ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
CNW 07:00e 23-NOV-20
Exhibit 99.124
FORM 51-102F3
Material Change Report
Item 1: | Name and Address of Company | |
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the Company) | ||
3204 4464 Markham Street | ||
Victoria, BC V8Z 7X8 | ||
Item 2: | Date of Material Change | |
November 23, 2020 | ||
Item 3: | News Release | |
The news release with respect to the material change referred to in this report was disseminated on November 17, 2020. A copy of the news release is available on the Companys profile at www.sedar.com. | ||
Item 4: | Summary of Material Change | |
On November 17, 2020, the Company announced that the consolidation of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company (Common Shares) on the basis of five (5) pre-consolidation Common Shares for one (1) post-consolidation Common Share would be effective as of market open on November 23, 2020 (the Consolidation). | ||
Item 5: | Full Description of Material Change | |
The Consolidation resulted in the number of issued and outstanding Common Shares being reduced from 83,809,015 to 16,761,779. Each shareholder of Common Shares held the same percentage of Common Shares outstanding immediately after the Consolidation as such shareholder held immediately prior to the Consolidation. As a result of the Consolidation, the Companys stock symbol remained unchanged and the ISIN and CUSIP numbers for the Common Stock became CA45257F2008 and 45257F200, respectively. | ||
Item 6: | Reliance on subsection 7.1(2) of National Instrument 51-102 | |
Not applicable. | ||
Item 7: | Omitted Information | |
Not applicable. | ||
Item 8: | Executive Officer | |
For further information please contact: | ||
Jennifer Bath | ||
Chief Executive Officer | ||
(250) 483-0308 | ||
Item 9: | Date of Report | |
November 24, 2020 |
Exhibit 99.125
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ranked Number 240 Fastest-Growing Company in North America on Deloittes 2020 Technology Fast 500
VICTORIA, BC, Nov. 25, 2020 /CNW/ - IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. (the Company or IPA) (TSXV: IPA) (OTCQB: IPATF) (FSE: TQB2), a leader in full-service, therapeutic antibody discovery and development, today announced it ranked 240 on Deloittes Technology Fast 500, a ranking of the 500 fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America now in its 26th year. ImmunoPrecise grew 475% during this period.
ImmunoPrecises chief executive officer, Dr. Jennifer Bath, credits the onboarding of new clients and larger contract sizes with the companys 475 percent revenue growth. We continue to rapidly grow our customer base, stated Dr. Bath. With hundreds of clients, including well over half of the worlds top 20 pharma, many continue to expand both the number of programs outsourced to IPA as well as the scope of each program, selecting from a diverse set of powerful discovery technologies.
For more than 25 years, weve been honoring companies that define the cutting edge and this years Technology Fast 500 list is proof positive that technology from software and digital media platforms, to biotech truly does permeate so many facets of our lives, said Paul Silverglate, vice chairman, Deloitte LLP and U.S. technology sector leader. We congratulate this years winners, especially during a time when innovation is needed more than ever to address the monumental challenges posed by the pandemic.
Each year the Technology Fast 500 listing validates how important technology innovation is to our daily lives. It was interesting to see this year that while software companies continued to dominate, biotech companies rose to the top of the winners list for the first time, demonstrating that new categories of innovation are accelerating in the pursuit of making life easier, safer and more productive, said Mohana Dissanayake, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP, and industry leader for technology, media and telecommunications, within Deloittes audit and assurance practice. We extend sincere congratulations to these well-deserved winners who all embody a spirit of curiosity, and a never-ending commitment to making technology advancements possible.
Overall, 2020 Technology Fast 500 companies achieved revenue growth ranging from 175% to 106,508% from 2016 to 2019, with median growth of 450%.
About Deloittes 2020 Technology Fast 500
Now in its 26th year, Deloittes Technology Fast 500 provides a ranking of the fastest-growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies both public and private in North America. Technology Fast 500 award winners are selected based on percentage fiscal year revenue growth from 2016 to 2019.
In order to be eligible for Technology Fast 500 recognition, companies must own proprietary intellectual property or technology that is sold to customers in products that contribute to a majority of the companys operating revenues. Companies must have base-year operating revenues of at least $US50,000, and current-year operating revenues of at least $US5 million. Additionally, companies must be in business for a minimum of four years and be headquartered within North America.
About ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
ImmunoPrecise is a global technology platform company with end-to-end solutions empowering companies to discover and develop therapies against any disease. The Companys experience and cutting-edge technologies enable unparalleled support of its partners in their quest to bring innovative treatments to the clinic. ImmunoPrecises full-service capabilities dramatically reduce the time required for, and the inherent risk associated with, conventional multi-vendor product development. For further information, visit www.immunoprecise.com or contact solutions@immunoprecise.com.
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The Company uses words such as may, would, could, will, likely, expect, believe, intend, should and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by ImmunoPrecise in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to ImmunoPrecises expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause ImmunoPrecises actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things, actual revenues and earnings for IPA being lower than anticipated, and those risks and uncertainties described in ImmunoPrecises annual management discussion and analysis for the previous quarter ended July 31st, 2020 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless required by applicable law, ImmunoPrecise undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies
SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2020/25/c4170.html
%SEDAR: 00005542E
For further information: For investor relations please contact: Frédéric Chabot, Phone: 1-438-863-7071, Email: frederick@contactfinancial.com, Contact Financial Corp., Suite 810, 609 Granville Street, P.O. Box 10322, Vancouver, B.C., V7Y 1G5, Canada.
CO: ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
CNW 13:46e 25-NOV-20
Exhibit 99.126
ImmunoPrecise Collaboration Enables Preclinical Manufacturing of Lead Antibodies Targeting SARS-CoV-2
VICTORIA, BC, Dec. 11, 2020 /CNW/ - IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. (the Company or IPA) (TSXV: IPA) (OTCQB: IPATD) (FSE: TQB2), a leader in full-service, therapeutic antibody discovery and development, today announced that it has entered into a research collaboration with the National Research Council of Canadas (NRC) Human Health Therapeutics (HHT) Research Centre to develop its neutralizing PolyTope antibodies against SARS-CoV-2.
IPA is also considering acquiring a license for the NRC CHO cell-based rapid expression platform to be used in pre-clinical and clinical manufacturing of their lead monoclonal antibodies. Researchers from the NRCs HHT Research Centre will deploy the CHO-based expression platform to accelerate the identification and development of IPAs lead antibody candidates.
The NRC is supporting this research through the Pandemic Response Challenge Program (PRCP) and the Industrial Research Assistance Program (IRAP). The project is also in collaboration with Zymeworks Inc. (NYSE: ZYME) for the design and development of IPAs lead antibody candidates. ImmunoPrecise identified antibodies directed against the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein during the summer of 2020 by screening tens of thousands of antibodies from multiple sources and converging upon a panel of candidates that showed in vitro functional activity and synergistic effects in pseudovirus-based neutralization assays. Top neutralizing antibodies have been progressed for preclinical testing in the PolyTope Therapy program.
IPA considers the NRC to be a partner of choice to develop and manufacture their antibody therapeutics, as the NRC is uniquely positioned in Canada to address the various facets of this project having integrated, multi-disciplinary biologics research facilities based in Montréal and Ottawa.
IPA is pleased to contribute to this Canadian endeavor with the NRC and Zymeworks, stated Jennifer Bath, CEO of ImmunoPrecise. IPA is proud to embark on its first collaboration with the NRC, as we continue to establish ourselves as a key player in the Canadian life science ecosystem and in the current pandemic. We believe this partnership between the NRC (HHT, PRCP and IRAP) and Zymeworks to have tremendous potential to generate best-in-class SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics within this expert and motivated team environment in Canada.
About ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
ImmunoPrecise is a global technology platform company with end-to-end solutions empowering companies to discover and develop therapies against any disease. The Companys experience and cutting-edge technologies enable unparalleled support of its partners in their quest to bring innovative treatments to the clinic. ImmunoPrecises full-service capabilities dramatically reduce the time required for, and the inherent risk associated with, conventional multi-vendor product development. For further information, visit www.immunoprecise.com or contact solutions@immunoprecise.com.
About IPAs SARS Polytope Therapies
Monoclonal antibodies were derived from several animal species, including humans, llama, rabbits and transgenic OmniAb® (humanized) animals to access a broad epitope coverage. IPA exploits multiple antibody formats, valency, and size to select antibodies against multiple/rare epitopes. In a global effort involving its scientists in North America and Europe, IPA has now developed a rich and diverse discovery portfolio of SARS-CoV-2 candidate antibodies yielding epitope and functional diversity.
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The Company uses words such as may, would, could, will, likely, expect, believe, intend, should and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements and include the Companys beliefs with respect to the potential for its antibodies or vaccines to be further developed or approved to treat or protect against COVID-19 (or SARS-CoV-2) or to complete any transactions with respect to those antibodies. Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by ImmunoPrecise in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to ImmunoPrecises expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause ImmunoPrecises actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things, actual revenues and earnings for IPA being lower than anticipated, and those risks and uncertainties described in ImmunoPrecises annual management discussion and analysis for the previous quarter ended July31st, 2020 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless required by applicable law, ImmunoPrecise undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies
View original content to download multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/immunoprecise-collaboration-enables-preclinical- manufacturing-of-lead-antibodies-targeting-sars-cov-2-301191080.html
SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2020/11/c8992.html
%SEDAR: 00005542E
For further information: For investor relations please contact: Frédéric Chabot, Phone: 1-438-863-7071, Email: frederick@contactfinancial.com, Contact Financial Corp., 204 - 998 Harbourside Dr., North Vancouver, B.C. (British Columbia) (British Columbia), Canada, V7P 3T2.
CO: ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
CNW 07:45e 11-DEC-20
Exhibit 99.127
APPENDIX C TO NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 41-101
GENERAL PROSPECTUS REQUIREMENTS
NON-ISSUER FORM OF SUBMISSION TO
JURISDICTION AND APPOINTMENT OF
AGENT FOR SERVICE OF PROCESS
1. |
Name of issuer (the Issuer): |
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
2. |
Jurisdiction of incorporation, or equivalent, of Issuer: |
British Columbia
3. |
Address of principal place of business of Issuer: |
1800 510 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6B 0M3
4. |
Description of securities (the Securities): |
Common Shares, Preferred Shares, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units and Subscription Receipts
5. |
Date of the prospectus (the Prospectus) under which the Securities are offered: |
December 11, 2020
6. |
Name of person filing this form (the Filing Person): |
James Kuo
7. |
Filing Persons relationship to Issuer: |
Director
8. |
Jurisdiction of incorporation, or equivalent, of Filing Person, if applicable, or jurisdiction of residence of Filing Person: |
California, USA
9. |
Address of principal place of business of Filing Person: |
7660 Fay Avenue, Suite H-819, La Jolla, California, USA 92037
10. |
Name of agent for service of process (the Agent): |
BHT Management Inc.
11. |
Address for service of process of Agent in Canada (the address may be anywhere in Canada): |
510 West Georgia Street, Suite 1800, Vancouver, BC V6B 0M3
12. |
The Filing Person designates and appoints the Agent at the address of the Agent stated above as its agent upon whom may be served any notice, pleading, subpoena, summons or other process in any action, investigation or administrative, criminal, quasi-criminal, penal or other proceeding (the Proceeding) arising out of, relating to or concerning the distribution of the Securities made or purported to be made under the Prospectus, and irrevocably waives any right to raise as a defence in any such Proceeding any alleged lack of jurisdiction to bring the Proceeding. |
13. |
The Filing Person irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of |
(a) |
the judicial, quasi-judicial and administrative tribunals of each of the provinces of Canada (except Quebec) in which the securities are distributed under the Prospectus; and |
(b) |
any administrative proceeding in any such province, |
in any Proceeding arising out of or related to or concerning the distribution of the Securities made or purported to be made under the Prospectus.
14. |
Until six years after completion of the distribution of the Securities made under the Prospectus, the Filing Person shall file a new submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process in this form at least 30 days before termination of this submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process. |
15. |
Until six years after completion of the distribution of the Securities under the Prospectus, the Filing Person shall file an amended submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process at least 30 days before a change in the name or above address of the Agent. |
16. |
This submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of British Columbia. |
Dated: December 11, 2020 |
James Kuo |
|
Signature of Filing Person | ||
James Kuo |
||
Print name of person signing and, if the Filing Person is not an individual, the title of the person |
AGENT
The undersigned accepts the appointment as agent for service of process of James Kuo under the terms and conditions of the appointment of agent for service of process stated above.
Dated: December 11, 2020 |
David Hunter |
|
Signature of Agent | ||
David Hunter, Authorized Signatory |
||
Print name of person signing and, if Agent is not an individual, the title of the person |
-2-
Exhibit 99.128
APPENDIX C TO NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 41-101
GENERAL PROSPECTUS REQUIREMENTS
NON-ISSUER FORM OF SUBMISSION TO
JURISDICTION AND APPOINTMENT OF
AGENT FOR SERVICE OF PROCESS
1. |
Name of issuer (the Issuer): |
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
2. |
Jurisdiction of incorporation, or equivalent, of Issuer: |
British Columbia
3. |
Address of principal place of business of Issuer: |
1800 510 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6B 0M3
4. |
Description of securities (the Securities): |
Common Shares, Preferred Shares, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units and Subscription Receipts
5. |
Date of the prospectus (the Prospectus) under which the Securities are offered: |
December 11, 2020
6. |
Name of person filing this form (the Filing Person): |
Lisa Helbling
7. |
Filing Persons relationship to Issuer: |
Chief Financial Officer
8. |
Jurisdiction of incorporation, or equivalent, of Filing Person, if applicable, or jurisdiction of residence of Filing Person: |
North Dakota, USA
9. |
Address of principal place of business of Filing Person: |
4837 Amber Valley Parkway, Suite 11, Fargo, Nevada, USA 58104
10. |
Name of agent for service of process (the Agent): |
BHT Management Inc.
11. |
Address for service of process of Agent in Canada (the address may be anywhere in Canada): |
510 West Georgia Street, Suite 1800, Vancouver, BC V6B 0M3
12. |
The Filing Person designates and appoints the Agent at the address of the Agent stated above as its agent upon whom may be served any notice, pleading, subpoena, summons or other process in any action, investigation or administrative, criminal, quasi-criminal, penal or other proceeding (the Proceeding) arising out of, relating to or concerning the distribution of the Securities made or purported to be made under the Prospectus, and irrevocably waives any right to raise as a defence in any such Proceeding any alleged lack of jurisdiction to bring the Proceeding. |
13. |
The Filing Person irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of |
(a) |
the judicial, quasi-judicial and administrative tribunals of each of the provinces of Canada (except Quebec) in which the securities are distributed under the Prospectus; and |
(b) |
any administrative proceeding in any such province, |
in any Proceeding arising out of or related to or concerning the distribution of the Securities made or purported to be made under the Prospectus.
14. |
Until six years after completion of the distribution of the Securities made under the Prospectus, the Filing Person shall file a new submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process in this form at least 30 days before termination of this submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process. |
15. |
Until six years after completion of the distribution of the Securities under the Prospectus, the Filing Person shall file an amended submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process at least 30 days before a change in the name or above address of the Agent. |
16. |
This submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of British Columbia. |
Dated: December 11, 2020 |
Lisa Helbling |
|
Signature of Filing Person | ||
Lisa Helbling |
||
Print name of person signing and, if the Filing Person is not an individual, the title of the person |
AGENT
The undersigned accepts the appointment as agent for service of process of Lisa Helbling under the terms and conditions of the appointment of agent for service of process stated above.
Dated: December 11, 2020 |
David Hunter |
|
Signature of Agent | ||
David Hunter, Authorized Signatory |
||
Print name of person signing and, if Agent is not an individual, the title of the person |
-2-
Exhibit 99.129
APPENDIX C TO NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 41-101
GENERAL PROSPECTUS REQUIREMENTS
NON-ISSUER FORM OF SUBMISSION TO
JURISDICTION AND APPOINTMENT OF
AGENT FOR SERVICE OF PROCESS
1. |
Name of issuer (the Issuer): |
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
2. |
Jurisdiction of incorporation, or equivalent, of Issuer: |
British Columbia
3. |
Address of principal place of business of Issuer: |
1800 510 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6B 0M3
4. |
Description of securities (the Securities): |
Common Shares, Preferred Shares, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units and Subscription Receipts
5. |
Date of the prospectus (the Prospectus) under which the Securities are offered: |
December 11, 2020
6. |
Name of person filing this form (the Filing Person): |
Jennifer Bath
7. |
Filing Persons relationship to Issuer: |
Chief Executive Officer
8. |
Jurisdiction of incorporation, or equivalent, of Filing Person, if applicable, or jurisdiction of residence of Filing Person: |
Minnesota, USA
9. |
Address of principal place of business of Filing Person: |
4837 Amber Valley Parkway, Suite 11, Fargo, Nevada, USA 58104
10. |
Name of agent for service of process (the Agent): |
BHT Management Inc.
11. |
Address for service of process of Agent in Canada (the address may be anywhere in Canada): |
510 West Georgia Street, Suite 1800, Vancouver, BC V6B 0M3
12. |
The Filing Person designates and appoints the Agent at the address of the Agent stated above as its agent upon whom may be served any notice, pleading, subpoena, summons or other process in any action, investigation or administrative, criminal, quasi-criminal, penal or other proceeding (the Proceeding) arising out of, relating to or concerning the distribution of the Securities made or purported to be made under the Prospectus, and irrevocably waives any right to raise as a defence in any such Proceeding any alleged lack of jurisdiction to bring the Proceeding. |
13. |
The Filing Person irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of |
(a) |
the judicial, quasi-judicial and administrative tribunals of each of the provinces of Canada (except Quebec) in which the securities are distributed under the Prospectus; and |
(b) |
any administrative proceeding in any such province, |
in any Proceeding arising out of or related to or concerning the distribution of the Securities made or purported to be made under the Prospectus.
14. |
Until six years after completion of the distribution of the Securities made under the Prospectus, the Filing Person shall file a new submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process in this form at least 30 days before termination of this submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process. |
15. |
Until six years after completion of the distribution of the Securities under the Prospectus, the Filing Person shall file an amended submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process at least 30 days before a change in the name or above address of the Agent. |
16. |
This submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of British Columbia. |
Dated: December 11, 2020 |
Jennifer Bath |
|
Signature of Filing Person | ||
Jennifer Bath |
||
Print name of person signing and, if the Filing Person is not an individual, the title of the person |
AGENT
The undersigned accepts the appointment as agent for service of process of Jennifer Bath under the terms and conditions of the appointment of agent for service of process stated above.
Dated: December 11, 2020 |
David Hunter |
|
Signature of Agent | ||
David Hunter, Authorized Signatory |
||
Print name of person signing and, if Agent is not an individual, the title of the person |
-2-
Exhibit 99.130
APPENDIX C TO NATIONAL INSTRUMENT 41-101
GENERAL PROSPECTUS REQUIREMENTS
NON-ISSUER FORM OF SUBMISSION TO
JURISDICTION AND APPOINTMENT OF
AGENT FOR SERVICE OF PROCESS
1. |
Name of issuer (the Issuer): |
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
2. |
Jurisdiction of incorporation, or equivalent, of Issuer: |
British Columbia
3. |
Address of principal place of business of Issuer: |
1800 510 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6B 0M3
4. |
Description of securities (the Securities): |
Common Shares, Preferred Shares, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units and Subscription Receipts
5. |
Date of the prospectus (the Prospectus) under which the Securities are offered: |
December 11, 2020
6. |
Name of person filing this form (the Filing Person): |
Brian Lundstrom
7. |
Filing Persons relationship to Issuer: |
Director
8. |
Jurisdiction of incorporation, or equivalent, of Filing Person, if applicable, or jurisdiction of residence of Filing Person: |
Nevada, USA
9. |
Address of principal place of business of Filing Person: |
1480 Rancho Ridge Drive, Henderson, Nevada, USA 89012
10. |
Name of agent for service of process (the Agent): |
BHT Management Inc.
11. |
Address for service of process of Agent in Canada (the address may be anywhere in Canada): |
510 West Georgia Street, Suite 1800, Vancouver, BC V6B 0M3
12. |
The Filing Person designates and appoints the Agent at the address of the Agent stated above as its agent upon whom may be served any notice, pleading, subpoena, summons or other process in any action, investigation or administrative, criminal, quasi-criminal, penal or other proceeding (the Proceeding) arising out of, relating to or concerning the distribution of the Securities made or purported to be made under the Prospectus, and irrevocably waives any right to raise as a defence in any such Proceeding any alleged lack of jurisdiction to bring the Proceeding. |
13. |
The Filing Person irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of |
(a) |
the judicial, quasi-judicial and administrative tribunals of each of the provinces of Canada (except Quebec) in which the securities are distributed under the Prospectus; and |
(b) |
any administrative proceeding in any such province, |
in any Proceeding arising out of or related to or concerning the distribution of the Securities made or purported to be made under the Prospectus.
14. |
Until six years after completion of the distribution of the Securities made under the Prospectus, the Filing Person shall file a new submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process in this form at least 30 days before termination of this submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process. |
15. |
Until six years after completion of the distribution of the Securities under the Prospectus, the Filing Person shall file an amended submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process at least 30 days before a change in the name or above address of the Agent. |
16. |
This submission to jurisdiction and appointment of agent for service of process shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of British Columbia. |
Dated: December 11, 2020 |
Brian Lundstrom |
|
Signature of Filing Person | ||
Brian Lundstrom |
||
Print name of person signing and, if the Filing Person is not an individual, the title of the person |
AGENT
The undersigned accepts the appointment as agent for service of process of Brian Lundstrom under the terms and conditions of the appointment of agent for service of process stated above.
Dated: December 11, 2020 |
David Hunter |
|
Signature of Agent | ||
David Hunter, Authorized Signatory |
||
Print name of person signing and, if Agent is not an individual, the title of the person |
-2-
Exhibit 99.131
|
Crowe MacKay LLP Member Crowe Horwath International 1100 - 1177 West Hastings Street Vancouver, BC V6E 4T5 +1.604.687.4511 Tel +1.604.687.5805 Fax +1.800.351.0426 Toll Free www.crowemackay.ca |
December 11, 2020
HARD COPY ON FILE - FILED BY SEDAR
British Columbia Securities Commission
Alberta Securities Commission
Financial and Consumer Affairs Authority, Saskatchewan
Manitoba Securities Commission
Ontario Securities Commission
Nova Scotia Securities Commission
Nova Scotia Securities Commission
Newfoundland and Labrador Office of the Superintendent of Securities
Prince Edward Island Office of the Superintendent of Securities
Dear Sirs/Mesdames:
Re: |
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. |
We refer to the Short Form Base Shelf Prospectus of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the Company) dated December 11, 2020 (the Prospectus) relating to the offering of $150,000,000 of securities.
We consent to being named and to the use, through incorporation by reference in the Prospectus of our report dated August 28, 2020 to the shareholders of the Company on the following consolidated financial statements:
consolidated statements of financial position as at April 30, 2020 and April 30, 2019;
consolidated statements of loss and comprehensive income, changes in shareholders equity and cash flows for the years ended April 30, 2020 and April 30, 2019, and a summary of significant accounting policies and explanatory information.
We report that we have read the Prospectus and all information specifically incorporated by reference therein and have no reason to believe that there are any misrepresentations in the information contained therein that are derived from the consolidated financial statements upon which we have reported or that are within our knowledge as a result of our audit of such consolidated financial statements. We have complied with Canadian generally accepted standards for an auditors consent to the use of a report of the auditor included in an offering document, which does not constitute an audit or review of the Prospectus as these terms are described in the CICA Handbook Assurance.
Crowe MacKay LLP
Chartered Accountants
Vancouver, British Columbia
Exhibit 99.132
ImmunoPrecise and LiteVax Advance SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Candidate
VICTORIA, BC, Dec. 14, 2020 /CNW/ - IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. (IPA) (TSXV: IPA) (IPATD: IPA) (FSE: TQB), a leader in full-service, therapeutic antibody discovery and development and LiteVax BV (Oss, the Netherlands), today announced the nomination of a lead vaccine for further (pre-) clinical evaluation and development based on results from their collaborative preclinical immunogenicity study. IPA and LiteVax selected the vaccine candidate following an assessment of the immunogenicity profiles of multiple SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidates, each having an empirically designed, single SARS-CoV-2 spike protein segment, in non-rodent species. Using IPAs extensive data sets, candidates were screened and optimized to maximize the inclusion of functional, antigenic, epitopes while simultaneously minimizing the total foreign epitope exposure, thereby potentially reducing long-term, negative side effects.
Immunization of swine with a low dose of the selected candidate resulted in significant serum reactivities towards the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein segment. Furthermore, select formulations were adjuvanted with LiteVaxs novel class of carbohydrate derivative-based adjuvant to evaluate the potential benefit of co-formulation. When compared to non-adjuvant formulations, the combination with LiteVaxs adjuvant induced substantially higher immune responses. No adverse effects were observed for any of the treatment groups. This study was held at IRTA, (Catalonia, Spain) and supported by TRANSVAC2, a vaccine research and development (R&D) infrastructure that aims to accelerate the development of safe, effective and affordable vaccines (EC-funded project, grant agreement N° 730964).
We are inspired by the positive results from our initial preclinical studies evaluating the potential of PolyTope therapies as single-low-dose vaccines for diseases such as SARS-Cov-2. In these studies, our newly selected vaccine formulation demonstrated significant antibody responses towards the full SARS-Cov-2 spike timer following a single injection, an effect that was enhanced through co-formulation with LiteVaxs adjuvant, stated Ilse Roodink, Global Project Lead for the Companys Coronavirus programs. By leveraging a data-driven approach to the design of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, we are able to minimize unnecessary exposure while optimizing efficacy and are confident that we are nominating the best possible candidate from this study for continued development. We look forward to progressing this partnership and to continuing to learn about the potential of this unique collaboration to provide a safe, effective, vaccine for at-need patients.
Viral neutralization potency screening of the induced immune responses is scheduled for January. IPA and LiteVax also anticipate initiating additional, parallel preclinical studies to evaluate the durability and efficacy of immune responses in large non-rodents in more detail, as well as in a SARS-CoV-2 Syrian hamster model.
About TRANSVAC
TRANSVAC2 is a European vaccine research and development (R&D) infrastructure that aims to accelerate the development of safe, effective and affordable vaccines that shall be one of the most successful and cost-effective public health tools for disease prevention. However, vaccine development is time-consuming and complex, requiring a combination of specialized skills and technical capacities not readily available within a single organization. In order to facilitate access to these skills and capacities, and to promote collaborations in the European vaccine landscape, TRANSVAC2 offers high quality technical services across four different service platforms: Technology (for process development and GMP production), Immunocorrelates & Systems Biology, Animal models, and support for Clinical Trials.
TRANSVAC2 has received funding from the European Unions Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement N° 730964.
About LiteVax
LiteVax BV is a Dutch biopharmaceutical SME with the mission to impact global health by developing and exploiting novel immunoadjuvants to increase vaccine efficacy. New and more effective vaccines against a wide range of infectious diseases are needed as evidenced by the recent outbreaks. For further information, please contact luukhilgers@litevax.com.
About IRTA
IRTA is a research institute dedicated to agro-alimentary R&D&I within the areas of vegetal and animal production, agri-food industries, environment and global change, and economy. Transfer of IRTA scientific advances contribute to modernity, competitivity and sustainable development within the agrarian, food and fishery sectors, provision of healthy food for consumers and the improvement of human welfare. IRTA is ascribed to the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (DARP) of the Catalan Government. http://www.irta.cat/en/
About ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
ImmunoPrecise is a global technology platform company with end-to-end solutions empowering companies to discover and develop therapies against any disease. The Companys experience and cutting-edge technologies enable unparalleled support of its partners in their quest to bring innovative treatments to the clinic. ImmunoPrecises full-service capabilities dramatically reduce the time required for, and the inherent risk associated with, conventional multi-vendor product development. For further information, visit www.immunoprecise.com or contact solutions@immunoprecise.com.
About IPAs SARS Polytope Therapies
Monoclonal antibodies were derived from several animal species, including humans, llama, rabbits and transgenic OmniAb® (humanized) animals to access a broad epitope coverage. IPA exploits multiple antibody formats, valency, and size to select antibodies against multiple/rare epitopes. In a global effort involving its scientists in North America and Europe, IPA has now developed a rich and diverse discovery portfolio of SARS-CoV-2 candidate antibodies yielding epitope and functional diversity.
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The Company uses words such as may, would, could, will, likely, expect, believe, intend, should and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements and include the Companys beliefs with respect to the potential for its antibodies to be further developed or approved to treat COVID-19 (or SARS-CoV-2) or to complete any transactions with respect to those antibodies. Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by ImmunoPrecise in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to ImmunoPrecises expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties. Many factors could cause ImmunoPrecises actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things, actual revenues and earnings for IPA being lower than anticipated, and those risks and uncertainties described in ImmunoPrecises annual management discussion and analysis for the previous quarter ended July 31st, 2020 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless required by applicable law, ImmunoPrecise undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies
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For further information: For investor relations please contact: Frédéric Chabot, Phone: 1-438-863-7071, Email: frederick@contactfinancial.com, Contact Financial Corp., 204 - 998 Harbourside Dr., North Vancouver, B.C., Canada, V7P 3T2
CO: ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
CNW 07:20e 14-DEC-20
Exhibit 99.133
No securities regulatory authority has expressed an opinion about these securities and it is an offence to claim otherwise.
This short form base shelf prospectus has been filed under legislation in each of the provinces of Canada except Québec that permits certain information about these securities to be determined after this prospectus has become final and that permits the omission from this prospectus of that information. The legislation requires the delivery to purchasers of a prospectus supplement containing the omitted information within a specified period of time after agreeing to purchase any of these securities, except in cases where an exemption from such delivery requirements is available.
Information has been incorporated by reference in this prospectus from documents filed with securities commissions or similar authorities in Canada. Copies of the documents incorporated herein by reference may be obtained on request without charge from the Corporate Secretary of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. at 3204-4464 Markham Street, Victoria, BC V8Z 7X8, telephone: (250) 483-0308, and are also available electronically at www.sedar.com.
SHORT FORM BASE SHELF PROSPECTUS
New Issue | December 11, 2020 |
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
$150,000,000
Common Shares
Preferred Shares
Debt Securities
Warrants
Units
Subscription Receipts
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the Company) may offer and issue from time to time any (i) common shares in the capital of the Company (the Common Shares) or preferred shares in the capital of the Company (the Preferred Shares and together with the Common Shares, the Equity Securities), (ii) bonds, debentures, notes or other evidences of indebtedness of any kind, nature or description (collectively, Debt Securities), (iii) warrants to purchase Equity Securities and warrants to purchase Debt Securities (collectively, the Warrants), (iv) units comprised of one or more of the other securities described herein (Units), (v) subscription receipts that entitle the holder to receive upon satisfaction of certain release conditions, and for no additional consideration, Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, or Units (Subscription Receipts, and together with the Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants and Units, the Securities) of up to $ 150,000,000 aggregate initial offering price of Securities (or the equivalent thereof in one or more foreign currencies or composite currencies, including United States dollars) during the 25-month period that this short form base shelf prospectus (the Prospectus), including any amendments thereto, is valid. Securities may be offered separately or together, in amounts, at prices and on terms to be determined based on market conditions at the time of sale including potentially by way of an at the market distribution (as defined in National Instrument 44-102 Shelf Distributions (NI 44-102), and set forth in an accompanying shelf prospectus supplement (a Prospectus Supplement).
The specific terms of the Securities with respect to a particular offering will be set out in the applicable Prospectus Supplement and may include, where applicable (i) in the case of Common Shares, the number of Common Shares
offered and the offering price; (ii) in the case of Preferred Shares, the designation of the particular class and series, the number of Preferred Shares offered, the offering price, dividend rate, if any, and any other specific terms of the Preferred Shares being offered; (iii) in the case of Debt Securities, the specific designation, aggregate principal amount, the currency or the currency unit for which the Debt Securities may be purchased, the maturity, interest provisions, authorized denominations, the offering price, covenants, events of default, any terms for redemption or retraction, any exchange or conversion terms, whether the debt is senior or subordinated and any other specific terms of the Debt Securities being offered; (iv) in the case of Warrants, the designation, number and terms of the Equity Securities or Debt Securities purchasable upon exercise of the Warrants, any procedures that will result in the adjustment of these numbers, the exercise price, dates and periods of exercise, the currency in which the Warrants are issued and any other specific terms of the Warrants being offered; (v) in the case of Units, the designation and terms of the Units and of the Securities comprising the Units and any other specific terms of the Units being offered; and (vi) in the case of Subscription Receipts, the number of Subscription Receipts, the offering price (or the manner of determination thereof if offered on a non-fixed price basis), the procedures for the exchange of Subscription Receipts, the amount and type of securities that holders thereof will receive upon exchange thereof and any other specific terms of the Subscription Receipts being offered. Where required by statute, regulation or policy, and where Securities are offered in currencies other than Canadian dollars, appropriate disclosure of foreign exchange rates applicable to such Securities will be included in the Prospectus Supplement describing such Securities. See Plan of Distribution.
All information permitted under applicable securities laws to be omitted from this Prospectus will be contained in one or more Prospectus Supplements that will be delivered to purchasers together with this Prospectus. Applicable securities legislation requires the delivery to purchasers of a Prospectus Supplement containing the omitted information within a specified period of time after agreeing to purchase any of these Securities, except in cases where an exemption from such delivery requirement is available. Each Prospectus Supplement will be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Prospectus as of the date of the Prospectus Supplement and only for the purposes of the distribution of the Securities to which the Prospectus Supplement pertains.
For the purpose of calculating the Canadian dollar equivalent of the aggregate principal amount of Securities issued under this Prospectus from time to time, Securities denominated in or issued in, as applicable, a currency (the Securities Currency) other than Canadian dollars will be translated into Canadian dollars using the Bank of Canada daily exchange rate of Canadian dollars with the Securities Currency in effect as of 4:30 p.m. (Toronto time) on the business day before the issue of such Securities.
The Common Shares are listed for trading on the TSX Venture Exchange (the TSXV) under the trading symbol IPA and on the OTCQB of OTC Markets Platform under the symbol IPAT. On December 10, 2020, being the last trading day prior to the date hereof, the closing price of the Common Shares on the TSXV was $9.41 and on the OTCQB was U.S.$7.32. The Company has applied to list the Common Shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market (the Nasdaq) under the trading symbol IPA. Listing will be subject to the Company fulfilling all of the listing requirements of the Nasdaq. Unless otherwise specified in an applicable Prospectus Supplement, the Debt Securities, Subscription Receipts, Units and Warrants will not be listed on any securities or stock exchange or on any automated dealer quotation system. There is currently no market through which these Securities, other than the Common Shares, may be sold and purchasers may not be able to resell such Securities purchased under this Prospectus and any applicable Prospectus Supplement. This may affect the pricing of any Securities, other than the Common Shares, in the secondary market, the transparency and availability of trading prices, the liquidity of these Securities and the extent of issuer regulation. See Risk Factors.
No underwriter or agent has been involved in the preparation of this Prospectus or performed any review of the contents of this Prospectus.
Prospective investors should read this Prospectus and any applicable Prospectus Supplement carefully before they invest in any Securities issued pursuant to this Prospectus. The Securities may be sold pursuant to this Prospectus through underwriters or dealers or directly or through agents designated from time to time at amounts and prices and other terms determined by the Company from time to time, or by the Company directly pursuant to applicable statutory exemptions. In connection with any underwritten offering of Securities, the underwriters may over-allot or effect transactions which stabilize or maintain the market price of the Securities offered. Such transactions, if commenced, may discontinue at any time. See Plan of Distribution. A Prospectus Supplement will set out the names of any
ii
underwriters, dealers or agents involved in the sale of Securities, the amounts, if any, to be purchased by underwriters, the plan of distribution for such Securities, including the anticipated net proceeds to the Company from the sale of such Securities, the amounts and prices at which such Securities are sold and, if applicable, the compensation of such underwriters, dealers or agents.
Investment in the Securities being offered is highly speculative and involves significant risks that should be considered before purchasing such Securities. Prospective investors should carefully review the risks outlined in this Prospectus (including any Prospectus Supplement) and in the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein as well as the information under the heading Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward- Looking Statements and consider such risks and information in connection with an investment in the Securities. See Risk Factors.
The Companys head office is located at 3204 4464 Markham Street, Victoria, British Columbia V8Z 7X8 and its registered and records office is located at 1800 510 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 0M3.
This offering is made by a Canadian issuer that is permitted, under a multijurisdictional disclosure system adopted by the United States, to prepare this Prospectus in accordance with the disclosure requirements of Canada. Prospective investors in the United States should be aware that such requirements are different from those of the United States. The financial statements included or incorporated herein have been prepared using International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and they are subject to Canadian auditing and auditor independence standards. They may not be comparable to financial statements of United States companies.
Prospective investors should be aware that acquisition of the Securities described herein may have tax consequences both in the United States and in Canada. Such consequences for investors who are resident in, or citizens of, the United States may not be described fully herein.
The enforcement by investors of civil liabilities under the United States federal securities laws may be affected adversely by the fact that the Company is incorporated or organized under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, that some or all of its officers and directors may be residents of Canada, that some or all of the underwriters or experts named in this Prospectus and/or in a Prospectus Supplement may be residents of Canada, and that all or a substantial portion of the assets of the Company and said persons may be located outside the United States.
THE SECURITIES HAVE NOT BEEN APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED BY THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION NOR HAS THE UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION PASSED UPON THE ACCURACY OR ADEQUACY OF THIS PROSPECTUS. ANY REPRESENTATION TO THE CONTRARY IS A CRIMINAL OFFENSE.
This Prospectus constitutes a public offering of the Securities only in those jurisdictions where they may be lawfully offered for sale and therein only by persons permitted to sell such Securities. The Company may offer and sell Securities to or through underwriters or dealers and also may offer and sell certain Securities directly to other purchasers or through agents. A Prospectus Supplement relating to each issue of Securities offered thereby will set forth the names of any underwriters, dealers or agents involved in the sale of such Securities and the compensation of any such underwriters, dealers or agents.
Investors should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference into this Prospectus and any applicable Prospectus Supplement. The Company has not authorized anyone to provide investors with any different information. Information contained on the Companys website shall not be deemed to be a part of this Prospectus (including any applicable Prospectus Supplement) or incorporated by reference and should not be relied upon by prospective investors for the purpose of determining whether to invest in the Securities. The Company will not make an offer of Securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. Investors should not assume that the information contained in this Prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the face page of this Prospectus, the date of any applicable Prospectus Supplement, or the date of any documents incorporated by reference herein.
iii
Each of Jennifer Bath, James Kuo, and Brian Lundstrom, directors of the Company, and Lisa Helbling, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, reside outside of Canada and, accordingly, have appointed BHT Management Inc., 510 West Georgia Street, Suite 1800, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 0M3, Attention: Janet Grove, as agent for service of process. Purchasers are advised that it may not be possible for investors to enforce judgments obtained in Canada against any person who resides outside of Canada, even if the party has appointed an agent for service of process.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page | ||||
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS |
1 | |||
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS |
1 | |||
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE |
3 | |||
REFERENCES TO CURRENCY |
5 | |||
GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS |
5 | |||
SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS |
8 | |||
RISK FACTORS |
18 | |||
USE OF PROCEEDS |
32 | |||
CONSOLIDATED CAPITALIZATION |
34 | |||
PRIOR SALES |
35 | |||
TRADING PRICE AND VOLUME |
37 | |||
EARNINGS COVERAGE RATIOS |
37 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON SHARES |
37 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED SHARES |
39 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES |
40 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS |
45 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS |
47 | |||
DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS |
47 | |||
DENOMINATIONS, REGISTRATION AND TRANSFER |
50 | |||
CERTAIN INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS |
50 | |||
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION |
50 | |||
LEGAL MATTERS |
51 | |||
AUDITORS, REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER AGENT |
51 | |||
WHERE MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND |
51 | |||
PURCHASERS STATUTORY RIGHTS |
51 | |||
DOCUMENTS FILED AS PART OF THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT |
52 | |||
CERTIFICATE OF THE ISSUER |
C-1 |
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
Prospective investors should rely only on the information contained or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement. The Company has not authorized anyone to provide anyone with any different or additional information. If anyone provides any different or additional information, prospective investors should not rely on it. The Company is not making an offer to sell or seeking an offer to buy the Securities offered pursuant to this Prospectus in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. Prospective investors should assume that the information contained in this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement is accurate only as of the date on the front of those documents and that information contained in any document incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of that document, regardless of the time of delivery of this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement or of any sale of Securities pursuant thereto. The Companys business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
Statistical information and other data relating to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry included in this Prospectus and any applicable Prospectus Supplement are derived from industry reports published by industry analysts, industry associations and/or independent consulting and data compilation organizations. Market data and industry forecasts used throughout this Prospectus and any applicable Prospectus Supplement were obtained from various publicly available sources. Although the Company believes that these independent sources are generally reliable, the accuracy and completeness of such information is not guaranteed and has not been independently verified.
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Prospectus, together with the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, contains forward-looking statements and information about the Company which reflect managements expectations regarding the Companys future growth, results of operations, operational and financial performance and business prospects and opportunities. In addition, the Company may make or approve certain statements or information in future filings with Canadian securities regulatory authorities, in news releases, or in oral or written presentations by representatives of the Company that are not statements of historical fact and may also constitute forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. All statements and information, other than statements or information of historical fact, made by the Company that address activities, events or developments that the Company expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements and information, including, but not limited to statements and information preceded by, followed by, or that include words such as may, would, could, will, likely, expect, anticipate, believe, intends, plan, forecast, schedule, outlook, or the negative of those words or other similar or comparable words.
Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks, assumptions, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual future performance, achievement or other realities to differ materiality from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements or information and, accordingly, should not be read as guarantees of future performance, achievement or realities. Although the forward-looking statements and information contained in this Prospectus, together with the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, reflect managements current beliefs based upon information currently available to management and based upon what management believes to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot be certain that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements and information. A number of risks and factors could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from the results expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and information. Such risks and factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
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negative operating cash flow and going concern; |
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the financial position of the Company and its potential need for additional liquidity and capital in the future; |
|
the success of any of the Companys current or future strategic alliances; |
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the Company may become involved in regulatory or agency proceedings, investigations and audits; |
1
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the Company may be subject to litigation in the ordinary course of its business, including, but not limited to, in connection with its operations or pursuant to the terms of any of its commercial agreements; |
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the ability of the Company to obtain, protect and enforce patents on its technology and products; |
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risks associated with applicable regulatory processes; |
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the ability of the Company to achieve publicly announced milestones; |
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the effectiveness of the Companys business development and marketing strategies; |
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the competitive conditions of the industry in which the Company operates; |
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market perception of smaller companies; |
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the Company cannot assure the production of new and innovative processes, procedures or innovative approaches to antibody production or new antibodies; |
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the ability of the Company to manage growth; |
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the selection and integration of acquired businesses and technologies; |
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the Company may lose partners; |
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any reduction in demand; |
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any reduction or delay in government funding of R&D; |
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costs of being a public company in the United States; |
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the Company may fail to meet the delivery and performance requirements set forth in partner contracts; |
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the Company may become subject to patent and other intellectual property litigation; |
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the Companys dependence upon key personnel; |
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risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic; |
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the Company may not achieve sufficient brand awareness; |
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the Companys directors and officers may have interests which conflict with those of the Company |
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the outsourcing trend in non-clinical discovery stages of drug discovery; |
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the Companys products, services and expertise may become obsolete or uneconomical; |
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the effect of global economic conditions; |
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the Company has a limited number of suppliers; |
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the Company may become subject to liability for risks against which it cannot insure; |
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partners may restrict the Companys use of scientific information; |
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the Company may experience failures of its laboratory facilities; |
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any contamination in animal populations; |
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any unauthorized access into information systems; |
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prospective investors ability to enforce civil liabilities; |
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the Companys status as a foreign private issuer; |
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exposure to foreign exchange rates; |
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the effects of future sales or issuances of Equity Securities or Debt Securities; |
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the market price of the Common Shares may experience volatility; |
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the Company will maintain discretion in the use of proceeds of any offering of Securities; |
|
the Company has not declared or paid any dividends on the Common Shares and does not intend to do so in the foreseeable future; |
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a liquid market for the Common Shares may not develop; |
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there is currently no market for any Securities other than Common Shares; and |
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the Company may issue unsecured debt. |
Although the Company has attempted to identify important risks and factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements or information, there may be other factors and risks that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Further, any forward-looking statements and information contained herein are made as of the date of this Prospectus and, other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all of such factors and to assess in advance the impact of each such factor on the Companys business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual realities to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement or information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements and information contained in this Prospectus, together with the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein. All forward-looking statements and information disclosed in this Prospectus, together with the documents incorporated by reference herein and therein, are qualified by this cautionary statement.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Information has been incorporated by reference in this Prospectus from documents filed with the securities commissions or similar authorities in each of the provinces of Canada except Québec.
Copies of the documents incorporated herein by reference may be obtained on request without charge from ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd., at 3204-4464 Markham Street, Victoria, BC V8Z 7X8, telephone: (250) 483-0803 or by accessing the disclosure documents through the internet on the Canadian System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR), at www.sedar.com and on the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov.
The following documents, filed with the securities commissions or similar regulatory authorities in certain provinces of Canada are specifically incorporated by reference into, and form an integral part of, this Prospectus:
|
the annual information form (the AIF) for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2020, dated as of November 16, 2020; |
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the audited annual consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years ended April 30, 2020 and 2019, together with the notes thereto and the auditors reports thereon; |
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the managements discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations for the fiscal year ended April 30, 2020; |
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the unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements for the three-month period ended July 31, 2020; |
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the managements discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations for the three-month period ended July 31, 2020; |
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the management information circular dated October 20, 2020, distributed in connection with the annual general and special meeting of shareholders to be held on November 20, 2020; |
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the material change report dated April 7, 2020 disclosing that the Companys artificial intelligence partner, EVQLV, submitted their first panel of candidate therapeutic optimized antibody sequences to Coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) for consideration in the Companys PolyTope mAb Therapy Program; |
3
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the material change report dated April 7, 2020 disclosing that the Company had extended the maturity date for $2,000,000 of previously issued debentures from March 26, 2020 to September 26, 2020. The Company completed its settlement of $700,000 of previously issued debentures and interest of $46,875 accrued thereon by issuing 1,244,792 Common Shares at a price of $0.60 per share; |
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the material change report dated April 27, 2020 disclosing that the Company planned to complete a non-brokered private placement offering of convertible debentures bearing interest of 10% per annum (the 10% Debentures); |
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the material change report dated May 21, 2020 disclosing that the Company had completed an offering of an aggregate principal amount of $2,592,000 of 10% Debentures; |
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the material change report dated June 30, 2020 disclosing identification of numerous lead candidate antibodies with highly potent neutralizing activity in vitro, which are being manufactured for further testing and possible inclusion in the Companys PolyTopeTM mAb Therapy Program to combat the COVID-19 pandemic; and |
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the material change report dated November 24, 2020 regarding the Consolidation (as defined herein) having been effected on November 23, 2020. See Description of Common Shares Consolidation. |
Any documents of the type described in Section 11.1 of Form 44-101F1 Short Form Prospectus Distributions filed by the Company with a securities commission or similar authority in any province of Canada subsequent to the date of this Prospectus and prior to the expiry of this Prospectus, or the completion of the issuance of Securities pursuant hereto, will be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this Prospectus. In addition, to the extent indicated in any report on Form 6-K filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) or in any report on Form 40-F filed with the SEC, any information included therein shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Prospectus.
A Prospectus Supplement containing the specific terms of any offering of Securities will be delivered to purchasers of Securities together with this Prospectus and will be deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Prospectus as of the date of the Prospectus Supplement and only for the purposes of the offering of Securities to which that Prospectus Supplement pertains.
Any statement contained in this Prospectus or in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in this Prospectus will be deemed to be modified or superseded for purposes of this Prospectus to the extent that a statement contained herein, in any Prospectus Supplement hereto or in any other subsequently filed document that also is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference herein, modifies or supersedes such statement. The modifying or superseding statement need not state that it has modified or superseded a prior statement or include any other information set forth in the document that it modifies or supersedes. The making of a modifying or superseding statement is not to be deemed an admission for any purposes that the modified or superseded statement, when made, constituted a misrepresentation, an untrue statement of material fact or an omission to state a material fact that is required to be stated or is necessary to make a statement not misleading in light of the circumstances in which it was made. Any statement so modified or superseded will not be deemed, except as so modified or superseded, to constitute a part of this Prospectus.
Upon the filing of a new annual information form and the related annual financial statements and managements discussion and analysis with and, where required, they are accepted by, the applicable securities regulatory authorities during the time that this Prospectus is valid, the previous annual information form, the previous annual financial statements and related managements discussion and analysis, all interim financial statements and related managements discussion and analysis, material change reports, and information circulars filed prior to the commencement of the financial year in which the new annual information form is filed will be deemed no longer to be incorporated into this Prospectus for purposes of future offers and sales of Securities under this Prospectus. Upon the filing of new interim consolidated financial statements and the accompanying managements discussion and analysis being filed by the Company with the applicable securities regulatory authorities during the time that this
4
Prospectus is valid, all interim consolidated financial statements and the accompanying managements discussion and analysis filed prior to the new interim consolidated financial statements shall be deemed no longer to be incorporated into this Prospectus for purposes of future offers and sales of Securities under this Prospectus.
References to the Companys website in any documents that are incorporated by reference into this Prospectus do not incorporate by reference the information on such website into this Prospectus, and the Company disclaims any such incorporation by reference.
In addition to its continuous disclosure obligations under the securities laws of the provinces of Canada, the Company is subject to the information requirements of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the U.S. Exchange Act), as amended, and in accordance therewith files reports and other information with the SEC. Under the multijurisdictional disclosure system adopted by the United States, such reports and other information may be prepared in accordance with the disclosure requirements of Canada, which requirements are different from those of the United States. Such reports and other information, when filed by the Company in accordance with such requirements, are available to the public on EDGAR at www.sec.gov.
Prospective investors should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement. The Company has not authorized anyone to provide prospective investors with different or additional information. The Company is not making an offer of the Securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted by law. Prospective investors should not assume that the information contained in or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this Prospectus or the applicable Prospectus Supplement.
Any template version of any marketing materials (as such terms are defined in National Instrument 41-101 General Prospectus Requirements) filed after the date of a Prospectus Supplement and before the termination of the distribution of the Securities offered pursuant to such Prospectus Supplement (together with this Prospectus) is deemed to be incorporated by reference in such Prospectus Supplement.
REFERENCES TO CURRENCY
In this Prospectus and any Prospectus Supplement, unless otherwise indicated, all dollar amounts and references to $ are to Canadian dollars, references to U.S.$ are to United States dollars, and references to are to Euros.
The average daily exchange rates, as reported by the Bank of Canada on December 10, 2020, for U.S. dollars and Euros were $1.00 = U.S.$0.7853 and $1.00 = 0.6476, respectively.
GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS
In this Prospectus, in addition to terms defined elsewhere and unless the context otherwise requires, the following technical terms have the following meanings.
Antibody: | Also known as an immunoglobulin (Ig), is a large, Y-shaped protein produced mainly by plasma cells that is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. | |
Antigen: | Any substance (such as an immunogen or a hapten) foreign to the body that evokes an immune response either alone or after forming a complex with a larger molecule (such as a protein) and that is capable of binding with a product (such as an antibody or T cell) of the immune response. | |
Biologics: | A subset of pharmaceuticals that are composed of a mixture of sugars, proteins, nucleic acids or complex compositions and may be made from biological sources. |
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Bispecific antibody: | A bispecific monoclonal antibody (BsAb) is an artificial protein that can simultaneously bind to two different types of antigen specificities. BsAbs can be manufactured in several structural formats. | |
CHO: | Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are an epithelial cell line derived from the ovary of the Chinese hamster, often used in biological and medical research and commercially in the production of therapeutic proteins. They have found wide use in studies of genetics, toxicity screening, nutrition and gene expression, particularly to express recombinant proteins. CHO cells are the most commonly used mammalian hosts for industrial production of recombinant protein therapeutics. | |
Clinical trial: | An experiment done in clinical research. | |
CDR: | Complementarity-determining regions; part of the variable chains in immunoglobulins (antibodies) and T cell receptors, generated by B-cells and T-cells respectively, where these molecules bind to their specific antigen. A set of CDRs constitutes a paratope. As the most variable parts of the molecules, CDRs are crucial to the diversity of antigen specificities generated by lymphocytes. | |
CMO: | A contract manufacturing organization, sometimes called a contract development and manufacturing organization (a CDMO), is a company that serves other companies in the pharmaceutical industry on a contract basis to provide comprehensive services from drug development through drug manufacturing. | |
CRO: | Contract Research Organization, a company focused on providing research and development services to companies in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical markets. | |
GMP: | Good Manufacturing Practice, a quality system imposed on pharmaceutical firms to ensure that products produced meet specific requirements for identity, strength, quality and purity, and enforced by public agencies, for example the United States Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency. | |
DNA: | A molecule that carries most of the genetic instructions used in the development, functioning and reproduction of all known living organisms and many viruses. | |
Drug discovery: | The process through which potential new medicines are identified and may involve a wide range of scientific disciplines, including biology, chemistry and pharmacology. | |
Epitope: | Also known as antigenic determinant; the part of an antigen that is recognized by the immune system, specifically by antibodies, B cells, or T cells. The epitope is the specific piece of the antigen to which an antibody binds. The part of an antibody that binds to the epitope is called a paratope. | |
Heavy chain: | The immunoglobulin heavy chain (IgH) is the large polypeptide subunit of an antibody (immunoglobulin). | |
HEK: | HEK cells are a specific cell line originally derived from human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells grown in tissue culture taken from an aborted female fetus. HEK cells have been widely used in cell biology research for many years, because of their reliable growth and propensity for transfection. They are also used by the biotechnology industry to produce therapeutic proteins and viruses for gene therapy. | |
in silico: | An expression used in systems biology to mean performed on a computer or via computer simulation. |
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in vitro: | Latin for in glass; studies in vitro are conducted using components of an organism that have been isolated from the usually biological surroundings, such as microorganisms, cells or biological molecules. | |
Monoclonal antibody: | A monoclonal antibody (mAb) is an antibody made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell (see also polyclonal antibody). | |
Oncology: | The study and treatment of tumors. | |
Pathogen: | A bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease. | |
Peptide: | Small fragments of proteins, composed of amino acids. | |
Phage display: | A laboratory technique that uses bacteriophages (viruses that infect bacteria); the phage displays the protein of interest on its outside while containing the gene for the protein on its inside. In this way, large libraries of proteins can be screened and amplified in a process called in vitro selection. | |
Polyclonal antibody: | Polyclonal antibodies (pAbs) bind to multiple epitopes and are usually made by several different antibody secreting plasma cell lineages (see also monoclonal antibody). | |
Preclinical: | Of or relating to a stage preceding a clinical stage. | |
Recombinant | Of or reacting to the combination of genetic materials from more than one origin. | |
Recombinant proteins: | Specifically engineered proteins, that are produced from recombinant DNA within living cells, typically bacteria or mammalian cells such as HEK or CHO. | |
scFv: | A single-chain variable fragment is a fusion protein of the variable regions of the heavy (VH) and light chains (VL) of immunoglobulins, connected with a short linker peptide of ten to about 25 amino acids. | |
Small molecule: | Within the fields of molecular biology and pharmacology a low molecular weight (<900 Da) organic compound that may regulate a biological process, with a size in the order of 1 nm. Many drugs are small molecules. | |
Synthesis: | The production of chemical compounds by reaction from simpler materials. | |
VHH: | A VHH antibody (or nanobody) is the antigen binding fragment of heavy chain only antibodies. | |
VLP: | Virus-like particles are molecules that closely resemble viruses, but are non-infectious because they contain no viral genetic material. They can be naturally occurring or synthesized through the individual expression of viral structural proteins, which can then self assemble into the virus-like structure. | |
VNAR: | Single-domain antibodies found in Cartilaginous fishes, like sharks. |
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SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS
Name, Address and Incorporation
The Company was continued pursuant to the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the BCBCA) on September 2, 2016. The Companys registered and records office is located at 1800 510 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 0M3 and its head office is located at 3204 4464 Markham Street, Victoria, British Columbia V8Z 7X8.
Overview
The Company is an innovation-driven, technology platform company that supports its pharmaceutical and biotechnology company partners in their quest to discover and develop novel, therapeutic antibodies against all classes of disease targets. The Company aims to transform the conventional, multi-vendor, product development model by bringing innovative and high-throughput technologies to its partners, incorporating the advantages of diverse antibody repertoires with the Companys therapeutic antibody discovery suite of technologies, to exploit antibodies of broad epitope coverage, multiple antibody formats, valency and size, and to discover antibodies against multiple/rare epitopes.
The Company offers comprehensive support to its partners, starting with customized, computational project design, antigen preparation, an on-site vivarium, immunization services, high-throughput discovery platforms, functional antibody testing, lead candidate selection, antibody optimization, antibody engineering and manufacturing, all under one contract.
The Company believes that its experience, innovation, technologies, scientific rigor, and focus on producing quality products, provide a unique experience in one-stop service offerings, and assist the Company in its aim to reduce the time required for, and the inherent risk associated with, conventional multi-vendor product development.
The Company has achieved organic revenue growth through market penetration and service diversification in the biologics, CRO space, as well as accretive growth through strategic expansion of its operations into Europe, by acquiring and integrating innovative technologies, and through investments in research and development (R&D).
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Summary Financial Information
The summary financial information contains non-IFRS measures. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on them and are urged to read all IFRS accounting disclosures present in the audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes for the years ended April 30, 2020, 2019 and 2018, and the condensed interim financial statements and accompanying notes for the three months ended July 31, 2020 and 2019.
The Company uses certain non-IFRS financial measures as supplemental indicators of its financial and operating performance. These non-IRFS financial measures include adjusted EBITDA. The Company believes these supplementary financial measures reflect the Companys ongoing business in a manner that allows for meaningful period-to-period comparisons and analysis of trends in its business. These non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.
The Company defines adjusted EBITDA as operating earnings before income taxes, amortization and depreciation, accretion, foreign exchange loss, interest expense, interest and other income, loss on settlement and share-based payments. Adjusted EBITDA is presented on a basis consistent with the Companys internal management reports. The Company discloses adjusted EBITDA to capture the profitability of its business before the impact of items not considered in managements evaluation of operating unit performance.
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Adjusted EBITDA is reconciled to reported IFRS figures in the summary financial information above.
Services
The Companys services include, but are not limited to, custom antigen modeling, design and manufacturing; proprietary B cell sorting, screening and sequencing; custom, immune and naïve phage display production and screening; hybridoma production with multiplexed, high-throughput screening and clone-picking; expertise with transgenic animals and multi-species antibody discovery; antibody characterization studies such as affinity measurements, functional assays, epitope mapping and binning; bi-specific, tri-specific, single domain (such as variable domain of the heavy chain VHH, and variable new antigen receptor VNAR (shark)) antibody manufacturing; DNA synthesis and cloning, protein and antibody downstream processing with purification of protein in gram scale levels including characterization and validation; antibody engineering; transient and stable cell line generation; antibody optimization and humanization; and cryopreservation.
The Companys wholly-owned subsidiaries, IPA (Canada) Ltd. (IPA Canada) and IPA (Europe) B.V. (IPA Europe), have both been designated as approved CROs for leading, transgenic animal platforms producing human antibodies. Through IPA Canada and IPA Europe, the Company has made strategic investments in R&D activities to develop proprietary technologies enabling the application of its B cell Select and DeepDisplay platforms to a broad range of transgenic animal species and strains.
The table below sets out the Companys main lines of service with a description thereof:
Service | Details | |
B cell Select | In 2018, the Company built on its decade of experience in single B cell interrogation to offer B cell services in both North America and Europe on species agnostic platforms, including the use of transgenic, humanized animals. These services are offered for a broad range of therapeutically relevant protein families, including GPCRs and other challenging, membrane-spanning proteins. The Companys B cell Select platforms enable antibody screening directly from B cells, facilitating the analysis of a more diverse set of antibodies, and for faster, deeper screening compared to traditional technologies. By adding a high-throughput, label-free Octet HTX biosensor (under the tradenames FortéBio, Sartorius) at IPA Canada, the Company uses a state-of-the-art high-throughput platform that facilitates the rapid characterization and development of lead antibody candidates and addresses the need for increased speed and sample throughput when characterizing large panels of therapeutic antibody candidates, which are generated with its B cell or library-based platforms. | |
Phage Display | The Companys phage display services are based on building custom immune libraries from multiple species, including transgenic animals, or, alternatively, the selection of antigen-specific, recombinant antibody fragments from its proprietary human or llama phage libraries. The proprietary libraries have been made from human auto-immune (diseased) patients and naïve (healthy donors) scFv (single chain fragment variable) repertoires, as well as from naïve llama (VHH) repertoires. Custom immune libraries are prepared from blood, spleen, lymph nodes, and bone marrow of immunized animals and aim to capture the entire immune repertoire for panning, rescue, and identification of unique antibodies with pre-specified characteristics. | |
DeepDisplay | This technology combines Ligands OmniAb® transgenic animal platforms and the Companys custom phage display antibody selection. |
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Service | Details | |
Abthena Bispecifics | The Companys bispecific Abthena technology complements its diverse discovery process, integrating seamlessly with the Artemis Intelligence Metadata (AIM) capabilities, to enable rapid turnaround on additional algorithmic outputs in therapeutic antibody optimization, stability, affinity, and manufacturability. | |
LucinaTech Humanization | The Company provides humanization services from many animal species (including mice, rats, rabbits, llamas, and chickens) which consistently retain affinity and specificity levels. The approach is based on state-of-the-art in silico antibody modeling to identify essential framework and CDR residues for grafting onto a human antibody framework. | |
Affinity Maturation | Antibody affinity is important in therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The Companys affinity maturation service can improve antibody affinities. The Company applies different strategies to increase the affinity of the antibody, including gene shuffling and random mutagenesis. | |
Immunization, hybridoma, sequencing |
The Company offers antibody development services including a variety of immunization methods: Rapid Prime immunization, DNA immunization (NonaVac), cell-based immunization (ModiVacc), electro- fusion and hybridoma generation using semi-solid media and clone picking, as well as high-throughput, multiplexed screening methods. With ImmunoProtect, the DNA sequence of the antibody is determined and can be used to express the antibody recombinantly. | |
rPExTM protein manufacturing | The Company provides large-scale production of recombinant mammalian proteins and antibodies for research and preclinical applications. With a track record of successfully producing difficult-to-express proteins and antibodies (e.g. Fc-fusion proteins and bispecific antibodies), the Company offers gram scale production with low endotoxin levels. | |
Cell line development | Using its proprietary vectors, the Company offers stable cell line development services (non-GMP) of target proteins or antibodies adapted to specific growth conditions and media. |
Operations of the Company
The Companys operations are based in Utrecht and Oss, the Netherlands (U-Protein Express (UPE) and IPA Europe, respectively), Victoria, British Columbia, and Fargo, North Dakota.
IPA Canada operates from Victoria, British Columbia, offering custom antibody generation since its inception. Since the acquisitions of UPE and IPA Europe, the Company has redirected most of its focus from the North American diagnostic market to the therapeutic antibody market to bringing an expanded portfolio of products and services to partners in Europe, North America and the rest of the world. The Company has sought to increase its capabilities at its Victoria location by adding equipment for protein purification and measuring protein binding kinetics, enlarging the vivarium, and further developing and improving technologies such as its B cell SelectTM platform.
The Company established its executive headquarters in Fargo, North Dakota in 2018 in an effort to bring key members of management under a streamlined chain of command that is responsible for pipeline selection and oversight, policy establishment, finances and accounting, sales and marketing, communication, contracts, information technology governance and administration. The Fargo site is also the address of IPA (ND) Ltd. and its subsidiary IPA (USA) Ltd. (IPA USA) and offers the potential for future growth plans in the United States.
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UPE is situated in the biotechnology hub of Utrecht, the Netherlands and has been operating in the recombinant protein community for close to twenty years, specializing in the manufacture of complex proteins and antibodies in a variety of formats, and from a range of mammalian cell types, using its proprietary expression platform rPEx. UPEs operations have enabled it to successfully support over five thousand different programs for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries as well as leading, academic institutions.
UPEs operations also support the downstream expression and purification of the antibodies originating from the Companys B cell technologies, enabling validation of the platforms outputs and comprehensive deliverables for partners. Pursuant to the terms of a license agreement dated April 23, 2019, UPE also has a global, exclusive license from Stanford University for the marketing and sales of the novel protein Wnt surrogate Fc for research purposes, which is used as a growth factor for organoid culture, which has a term of 12 years, pursuant to which UPE paid an initial upfront fee and will pay certain additional amounts on an annual basis for the duration of the term of the license agreement, each of which is of a non-material amount. UPE has also granted Stanford University a single-digit percentage royalty of net sales of the licensed protein. UPE may terminate this license agreement at any time and Stanford University may do so in certain specified circumstances, including breach of its terms or failure to pay any required fees thereunder, on 30 days notice. Termination of the license agreement by Stanford University may have a non-material effect on UPEs revenue and the Company does not view this license agreement as being material to its operations. UPE has also begun offering SARS-CoV-2-specific proteins to the public for use in diagnostic research and vaccine work.
The Company has continued to invest significantly in ROI-generating capacity through UPE, committing to a new laboratory build and equipment purchases in order to support its growth. In January 2020, UPE signed a long-term lease contract for a new multi-tenant building dedicated to the life sciences at the Utrecht Science Park alongside important stakeholders such as Genmab B.V. (Genmab) and Merus N.V. The Company expects UPE to take occupancy at this location in 2022. Furthermore, along with Codex DNA, Inc. (formerly SGI-DNA, Inc.), the Company announced in January 2020 that UPE had integrated Codex DNAs benchtop automated DNA printer, making the Company the first CRO in Europe to integrate the BioXp 3200 System in its workflow. As a result of this achievement, the Company aims to positively impact its manufacturing capacities by reducing the antibody design-synthesis-screening timeline, providing clear advantages to its partners.
Through IPA Europe, the Company has expanded its services portfolio including affinity maturation, humanization, functional assay design and development, naïve and disease human scFv libraries, naïve llama scFv libraries, cell line development, and proprietary methods of immunization against conformational targets (e.g. ModiVaccTM, a lymphoid tumor immunization, and additional DNA immunization technologies). Using the discovery technologies of ModiFuse (hybridoma electrofusion), ModiSelect (B-cell selection) and ModiPhage (phage display), IPA Europe can generate very large panels of monoclonal antibodies from various backgrounds including mouse, rat, rabbit, chicken, llama and human, as well as transgenic animals harboring the human antibody gene repertoire. Adding to its proprietary services, IPA Europe developed and rolled-out the aforementioned DeepDisplay service for the discovery of fully human antibodies using transgenic animal immunization and custom phage display.
Research and Development
CRO services are the main focus of the Companys business activities, though it also continues to develop an intellectual property portfolio of proprietary methods and physical assets through collaborations, acquisitions and in-licensing. The Company has invested strategically in the development and licensing of antibody technologies and related intellectual property assets. These investments have been accompanied by internal discovery programs focused on novel therapeutic antibodies and vaccines in areas such as oncology and COVID-19.
In 2019, the Company established Talem Therapeutics, LLC (Talem), based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to support its internal and partnered therapeutic discovery programs, which includes a license for the use of Ligand Pharmaceuticals OmniAb® transgenic animals pursuant to a commercial platform license and services agreement dated October 30, 2019. OmniAb is a suite of genetically engineered rats, mice and chickens for generation of diverse mono- and bispecific, fully human antibodies. Talem has the right to discover, develop and partner fully human antibodies from these animals. This license agreement is for an indefinite period of time and, pursuant the terms thereof, Talem was required to pay a non-material upfront fee to Ligand and will become obligated to make further payments, the aggregate of which is expected to be in the low single-digit millions (U.S.$), upon the achievement of
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certain clinical milestones. Talem has also granted Ligand a single-digit percentage royalty of net sales of commercial products developed in connection with this license agreement. As of the date of this Prospectus, Talem has made use of animals provided by Ligand on one occasion and intends to seek partners to further develop the generated products and conduct clinical trials. To date, new and existing partners in Talem have expressed a preference for the use of wild-type animals as opposed to transgenic animals. This license agreement does not generate significant amounts of revenue for the Company, and is not expected to do so until a product has been developed and out-licensed to, or partnered with, a third-party. Talem may terminate this license agreement at any time. However, should any products be developed in connection with this license agreement, Talem will continue to owe the aforementioned payments to Ligand following any termination of the license agreement. Termination of this license agreement by Ligand would not be expected to have any material effect on the Companys operations as the Company has alternative technologies to generate human antibodies for its partners. The Company does not view this license agreement as being material to its operations.
On March 10, 2020, Talem entered into a research license agreement with Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen), providing Janssen with exclusive access to a panel of novel, monoclonal antibodies against an undisclosed target. Pursuant to this license agreement, Janssen holds an option to acquire all commercial rights to the antibodies. Under the terms of this license agreement, Janssen engaged the Company for an initial term of six months for aggregate consideration of less than U.S.$500,000. In July 2020, Janssen requested a temporary extension of the license agreement on no-fees basis. In January 2021, Janssen will have the option to decide whether to (i) extend the terms of this license agreement by an additional three months for aggregate consideration of less than U.S.$100,000 or (ii) exercise its option to purchase the assets resulting from the work being conducted by Talem for aggregate consideration of less than U.S.$1,000,000. In the event that Janssen chooses not to exercise its options under this license agreement, the Company would not expect there to be any material effect on its operations. Janssen may terminate this license agreement at any time. As of the date of this Prospectus, the Company has committed few resources to this project and does not view this license agreement as being material to its operations.
On October 8, 2020, Talem entered into a collaboration agreement with Twist Bioscience Corporation (Twist) in order to expand its antibody pipeline on a wider range of oncology targets, combining their expertise in a highly collaborative manner to discover novel antibody therapeutics. Over the one year term of this collaboration agreement, each of Talem and Twist will contribute their own work and research to the project, and each party will be responsible for its own costs. The Company will contribute targets of interest with relevant background data, and the genetic sequences encoding for lead antibodies against the selected targets. Twist Biopharma, a division of Twist, will design synthetic antibody libraries based on the provided antibody repertoire sequences from immunized animals to discover optimized, humanized lead antibody candidates. The parties will then aim to jointly advance the programs through proof-of-concept and preclinical development and will collaborate on any commercial opportunities generated by these joint efforts which may result in milestones based on key preclinical, clinical and commercial milestones as well as royalties for any antibodies resulting from the collaboration. This collaboration agreement does not involve the exchange of any funds between the parties and does not generate significant amounts of revenue for the Company. As of the date of this Prospectus, Talem has begun initial work under the terms of its engagement with Twist. In the event this initial research yields results, the Company expects that candidates for further development will be transferred to Twist in early 2021. Either party may terminate this collaboration agreement at any time for any reason on 60 days notice. In the event that Twist were to terminate this collaboration agreement, the Company would not expect there to be any material effect on its operations. The Company does not view this collaboration agreement as being material to its operations.
On October 15, 2020, IPA Europe entered into a research evaluation agreement with Genmab pursuant to which IPA Europe was granted a research license for the purpose of evaluating Genmabs Duobody platform to be used in connection with the advancement of IPA Europes infectious diseases therapeutic program. This agreement has a term of nine months, during which time the Company will evaluate the use of this platform, and pending the results of such evaluation, the parties may negotiate a commercial license for IPA Europe to make use of the Duobody platform in order to commercialize and exploit the resulting product candidates. The commercial terms of any such agreement have not begun to be negotiated as of the date of this Prospectus. The Company is under no obligation to use the Duobody platform in connection with IPA Europes infectious disease program. Following its evaluation thereof, the Company may choose to continue with the Duobody platform or seek an alternative. Either party may terminate this agreement for any reason on 30 days notice, or immediately in the case of any breach of its terms. The Company does not view this agreement as being material to its operations.
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COVID-19 Therapeutic Research
In February 2020, the Company announced its intention to develop innovative therapeutics and vaccines against the SARS-CoV-2 virus using its proprietary discovery platforms. In March 2020, the Company defined its PolyTope approach, utilizing characterized protein and antibody combinations targeting multiple epitopes and mechanisms of virus evasion. This approach is intended to provide a clinical benefit against both current and future variants and strains of the virus by combining well-defined and fully characterized, protective antibodies (for therapeutics) and epitopes (for vaccines).
The Company confirmed multiple, fully human antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 that efficiently prevented its entry into cells, as judged by a pseudovirus-based neutralization assay that is an accepted surrogate for assessing viral entry into cells under safe, non-replicating conditions. Upon careful combination into two- or three-membered cocktails, the antibodies have been shown to exhibit neutralization synergy, demonstrating that specific combinations of antibodies could potentially enhance neutralization more than the sum of their individual components. Additionally, an antibody cocktail minimizes the risk of mutagenic escape because it achieves broader epitope coverage of the target than that of a single antibody, which can be escaped by a single point mutation in the target. The Company announced a collaboration with the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) to determine the structural details of the Companys lead candidate antibodies interacting with the epitopes they bind to on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The Company believes these data will help support the Companys vaccine design, as well as patent and investigational new drug applications. The Company continued to advance lead candidates by utilizing high-throughput binding assays, computational optimization (Artemis), and protein interaction analyses to yield valuable data sets for informed preclinical lead selection.
Using much of this data as supporting material, the Company began obtaining external, non-dilutive, non-debt funding through various granting agencies to support their COVID-19 endeavors and asset generation. This included a grant from Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to fund a collaboration between the University of Victoria and IPA Canada to generate an antibody-based saliva diagnostic test that can be conducted at home, with results analyzed using a cell phone application providing real-time, confidential data to health authorities. IPA (USA) has received a grant of U.S.$75,000 through the North Dakota Department of Agricultures Bioscience Innovation Grant Program, to assist with the development of anti-SARS-CoV-2 therapeutics.
In June 2020, the Company was granted funding by TRANSVAC2, a European vaccine network, to cover the costs of a preclinical vaccine study of one of the Companys vaccine candidates in a collaboration with LiteVax B.V. (LiteVax). As of the date of this Prospectus, the first preclinical immunogenicity study in large non-rodent species with the Companys protein fragments combined with LiteVaxs adjuvant has been completed. Reactivity screening of the animal sera revealed that, in particular, one immunogen resulted in significant antibody responses after one injection. Antibody responses were substantially higher when this immunogen was combined with LiteVaxs adjuvant compared to two benchmark adjuvants. In addition to funding from TRANSVAC2, the Company has subsequently applied for funding by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to support further pre-clinical studies, GMP manufacturing, and phase I clinical studies. Should funding be granted, the Company would determine authentic virus neutralization potency of the animal sera by a qualified lab in January 2021. Depending on funding, the prioritized immunogen would be included in two additional preclinical studies, an extended immunogenicity study in large non-rodents and a challenge study in Syrian hamsters, which would be run in parallel to accelerate generation of IND-enabling data. Study outcomes are expected by the end of the second quarter of fiscal year 2021. In case of virus- neutralizing antibodies of sufficient level and duration in large non-rodents and sufficient degree of protection in the Syrian hamster COVID-19 infection model, safety studies in non-rodent and rodent species would be initiated in the third quarter of 2021, should funding be granted. Thereafter an IND filing would be finalized.
The Company and LiteVax have aligned potential partners for GMP production of vaccine components in parallel in order to accelerate availability of the proposed one-shot vaccine for clinical evaluation upon approval by the United States Food and Drug Administration. Without the aforementioned funding from CEPI and TRANSVAC2, the Company and LiteVax may discontinue the program or may seek a separate partner or sponsor in connection with the above described work.
In July 2020, IPA USA and Talem (the Subgrantee) were awarded a grant of U.S.$1,500,000 by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture through the CARES Act ND Bioscience Group Program for the development of antibody
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therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2. The total grant project cost is U.S.$2,000,000, for which the Subgrantee must contribute an amount not less than 25% of the grant project cost, or U.S.$500,000. Most recently, the Company has had grants approved in the amount of approximately $55,000 in the form of reduced costs of services performed from the Canadian National Research Councils (NRC) Innovation Research Assistance Program, to support collaborative research with the NRC, including CHO cell manufacturing.
See also Summary Description of the Business Strategy and Outlook COVID-19 R&D and Risk Factors Risks Related to the Business of the Company.
Market Position
Market Segments and Geographic Areas
The market worth of therapeutic antibodies in 2018 was U.S.$115 billion. According to a study published in the Journal of Biomedical Science in January 2020 titled Development of therapeutic antibodies for the treatment of diseases, it is estimated that the human therapeutic antibody market will grow to U.S.$300 billion in 2025. Growth drivers in the antibody market are as follows:
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Increasing research and development expenditures in the life science sector and in the therapeutics industry |
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Emergence of innovative, facilitating platforms |
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Growing demand for revolutionary therapies for major diseases as populations age and life expectancies increase |
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Growing emphasis on antibody development at CROs |
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Increasing applications in the environmental sectors |
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Biopharmaceuticals is the fastest growing pharma sector. This market is mainly dominated by large pharmaceutical companies, like Abbvie, Novartis, Roche and Johnson & Johnson. Companies are currently sponsoring clinical studies for more than 570 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Of these, approximately 90% are early-stage studies designed to assess safety (Phase I) or safety and preliminary efficacy (Phase I/II or Phase II) in patient populations, according to the report Immunoassay Market by Product & Service (Reagents & Kits, Analyzers, Software), Technology (ELISA, Rapid Test), Platform (Radioimmunoassay), Specimen, Application (Infectious Diseases, Oncology, Cardiology), End User (Hospitals) Global Forecast to 2023 published in May 2018 on MarketsandMarkets.com. |
The global immunoassay market is estimated to accumulate U.S.$37,987.8 million by the year 2027. The global immunoassay market was worth U.S.$21,800 million in 2018 and is anticipated to grow with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.5% through the year 2027, according to the report Global Immunoassay Market to surpass U.S.$37,987 Mn by 2027, published in December 2019 on MarketsStudyReport.com.
In recent years, the number of monoclonal antibody drugs approved for commercialization has proliferated, with 79 approved and available on the market as of December 2019. According to the report The top 15 best-selling cancer drugs in 2022 published on January 17, 2017 on FiercePharma.com, it is expected that 9 of the 15 best-selling drugs worldwide in 2022 will be monoclonal antibody drugs, the fastest growing segment in the bio-pharmaceutical market.
The protein- and antibody-related service and product market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 6.2% by 2027 to U.S.$5.6 billion, according to the report Research Antibodies Market Growth & Trends by GrandViewResearch.com, published in February 2020.
Prior to the acquisitions of UPE and IPA Europe, the Company focused on serving primarily the diagnostic antibody market in North America. Since such acquisitions, the Company has redirected most of its focus to the therapeutic antibody market and delivering an expanded portfolio of products and services to customers in Europe, a broader segment of North America and the rest of the world.
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Competition
The Company competes primarily against other CROs as well as services provided by in-house R&D departments of biopharmaceutical companies. The Companys major CRO competitors include, but are not limited to, Abveris, Inc., Genovac GmbH (formerly part of Aldevron, LLC), Antibody Solutions, Aragen Bioscience Inc., AbCellera Biologics Inc., and Lake Pharma, Inc.
Competitive factors in the industry in which the Company operates include, but are not limited to, experience within specific therapeutic areas, quality of staff and services, reliability, range of provided services, ability to recruit principal investigators into studies expeditiously, location of facilities, speed to completion, price and overall value. The Company believes it competes effectively with its competitors across these factors, particularly due to its full-service operating model, its therapeutic expertise, its single-vendor platform and its experienced and committed management team. However, some of the Companys competitors have greater financial resources and, after years of marketing and operations, an increased brand awareness in the market. Many are also well known for niche specialities such as antibody development against glycosylated peptides or specific chemical modifications, specialties that the Company also houses, but is not yet well known for, which could put the Company at a competitive disadvantage with respect to these competitors.
Many competitors offer custom antibody production services in addition to large catalogues of antibodies available for sale through their websites. In recent years, some competitors have been acquired and merged into larger companies, particularly larger laboratory facilities.
According to a 2019 report by Healthcare Life Sciences, the R&D antibodies market is highly fragmented with over 1,000 entities globally, though relatively few of full scale and breadth of service, with the continued opportunity for value-accretive M&A.
The Company has a long-standing acceptance of its customized antibodies services in the market. The Company believes that the market acceptance of its products will continue as it organically grows its business, optimizes its laboratories, new sales and marketing capacities and production processes to support long-term growth. Further, the Company is one of the few approved CROs for providing multiple transgenic animal models to the market, enabling development of therapeutic antibodies without the need for antibody humanization.
See Risk Factors Risks Related to the Business of the Company Competition.
Strategy and Outlook
The Companys management team places an emphasis on initiatives designed to drive revenue, bolster internal assets and maximize shareholder value. The Company aims to continue to build on revenue and asset generation through internal development and well-informed, strategic acquisitions and joint ventures. The Companys strategy also includes growth through alliances and partnerships, within both its research (Talem) and service sectors, as well as potential new market sectors such as pre-clinical and clinical manufacturing.
The Companys objective is to continue growing as a preferred partner for therapeutic antibody researchers. Therefore, the Companys aim is to deliver a comprehensive and integrated continuum of protein and antibody services to its partners to enable them to bring new and enhanced therapies to the clinic faster. The Company intends to continue focusing on the development and refinement of its integrated end-to-end platform, which, when coupled with strong scientific know-how, can help partners navigate through the process of lead candidate selection. The Company offers customized solutions for antibody discovery while providing details via the project management team to ensure partners have the project data they need, with the security measures required to ensure their peace of mind.
The Company believes its strategy is supported by growing trends in pharma and finance. Large pharmaceutical companies continue to outsource research, with trends showing an increase on the reliance of CROs to improve the efficiency and cost of development, increase turnaround time, and access advanced and integrated expertise. A report by Objective Capital Partners dated July 3, 2019 titled CRO Sector Fundamentals Remain Hot for M&A Consolidation identified several major drivers of the CRO industry growth, including robust biopharmaceutical funding, accelerated drug approval rates, the growing number of clinical trials, and proliferation of biopharmaceutical companies without own internal research and clinical capabilities.
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To streamline, many large pharmaceutical companies are limiting the number of external CRO vendors that can be contracted. This is particularly promising for those CROs that fill multiple niches in the discovery and manufacturing pipeline, as the Company believes it can do.
According to a report titled Global and China Monoclonal Antibody Industry Report, 2019-2025 published in April 2019 on ResearchandMarkets.com, the key industry participants serving the monoclonal antibodies market are Novartis, Merck & Co., Amgen, AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson, Roche. In 2016, Novartis invested U.S.$9 billion in R&D, according to its own publication Corporate Responsibility Performance Report 2016.
In May 2020 ResearchandMarkets.com stated in their report Global Antibody Production Market (2020 to 2025) Growth, Trends, and Forecasts that investments by pharma and biotech companies in antibody R&D are expected to increase given the rising prevalence of cancer, autoimmune disease and other chronic diseases. Accordingly a piece on the website for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News titled Antibody Discovery Looks over the Horizon published on February 7, 2019, antibodies are mainstay in oncology as physicians move away from other types of therapies such as small molecules. In recent years, the success of key pipeline drugs in the immuno-oncology space have been a key component of the record high capital market funding for the biotechnology sector, according to Objective Capital Partners report on the CRO sector fundamentals, as noted above.
COVID-19 R&D
There is an ongoing need for therapeutics to protect against Covid-19 even when a vaccine is available, as vaccines do not provide protection for all individuals. This is particularly true for immunocompromised individuals such as the elderly, cancer patients, individuals with HIV or those undergoing bone marrow and organ transplants, whose immune systems are too weak to mount an effective response upon vaccination. Without 100% protection, important segments of higher exposure risk populations will likely be left unprotected namely front line workers and those living in group care.
Therapeutic antibodies are providing breakthrough medicines for cancer, inflammation, autoimmune and infectious diseases due in part to their high on-target affinity and exquisite specificity making them highly efficacious with good safety profiles.
Technological advances in antibody production methods such as B cell sorting now enable the rapid and systematic identification of high-quality fully human antibodies from healthy donors, diseased patients and transgenic animals. Furthermore, when therapeutic antibodies are combined into cocktails, they can provide unique protection against infectious diseases by working as a team synergistically to neutralize pathogens via engaging multiple mechanism of action in concert, boosting potency beyond the sum of their individual components. Single antibodies are vulnerable to mutagenic escape and can be rendered ineffective by a single point mutation in the virus. In contrast, antibody cocktails may protect against mutagenic escape because they cover a larger epitope footprint on the pathogens surface than possible with a single antibody, providing longer-lasting protection against emerging mutations.
The Companys diverse panel of antibodies with therapeutic potential can be curated into synergistic cocktails, providing opportunities for out-licensing and sponsorship deals which the Company believes would enable it to respond quickly to emerging viral mutants as well as formulation into bi- or multi-specifics.
The Company is presently manufacturing a selection of what it believes to the be preliminary lead candidates for monoclonal antibodies in human format for preclinical testing and aim to use the resulting data to support conversations with sponsors, potential partners and funding agencies. The Company anticipates similar cocktail formulations, including its bi-specific, cocktail formulations, to also follow into pre-clinical testing in the near term. As result, the Company anticipates that such developments will provide on-going opportunities for commercialization.
The Company is also testing adjuvanted, protein-based vaccines, based on a well-defined region of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The Company has obtained funding from TRANSVAC2 and applied for additional funding from CEPI,
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and anticipates moving this trial forward to a second pre-clinical study (two animal systems are recommended in the pre-clinical setting) which, following positive results, would be its first vaccine clinical candidate. The Company intends to combine the data obtained from this on-going trial with structural data from electron microscopy imaging of lead therapeutic candidates to inform the final formulation of its Polytope vaccine candidates.
See also Summary Description of the Business Research and Development COVID-19 Therapeutic Research and Risk Factors Risks Related to the Business of the Company.
Intellectual Property
The Company has initiated the protection of new innovation in its product pipeline and has trademarked its ImmunoProtect, Rapid Prime and rPExTM technologies. Its intellectual property strategy has been to protect its intellectual property primarily through a combination of trade secrets and copyright. See also Risk Factors.
Regulatory Environment
The development, testing, manufacturing, labeling, storage and approval of antibody and therapeutic products are subject to regulation by various government authorities in Canada and Europe. Companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, such as the Companys partners and third parties who may license to Companys products and who carry out clinical trials in respect of such products, are subject to stringent regulations. These regulations apply to the Companys partners and are generally applicable to the Company when it is providing services to partners. Consequently, the Company must comply with relevant laws and regulations in the conduct of its business. The Company is in compliance with all Canadian and European regulations regarding the on-going operation of its laboratory facilities and delivery of all its products and services. As the Company does not currently provide any laboratory services to its partners from the United States, it is not currently subject to any regulatory regime in the United States that is equivalent to those in Canada and Europe which govern its laboratory operations. The Company conducts its operations in compliance with all applicable United States laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, corporate, employment and tax laws. See also Risk Factors.
RISK FACTORS
Investing in the Securities involves a high degree of risk. In addition to the other information included or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement, investors should carefully consider the risks described below before purchasing Securities. If any of the following risks actually occur, the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations could materially suffer. As a result, the trading price of the Securities, including the Common Shares, could decline, and investors may lose all or part of their investment. The risks set out below are not the only risks the Company faces; risks and uncertainties not currently known to the Company or that it currently deems to be immaterial may also materially and adversely affect the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations. Investors should also refer to the other information set forth or incorporated by reference in this Prospectus or any applicable Prospectus Supplement, including the Companys AIF and consolidated financial statements and related notes.
Risks Related to the Business of the Company
Negative Operating Cash Flow and Going Concern
The Company has negative cash flow from operating activities and has historically incurred net losses. There is no assurance that the Company will generate sufficient revenues in the near future. To the extent that the Company has negative operating cash flows in future periods, it may need to deploy a portion of its existing working capital to fund such negative cash flows. The Company expects to need to raise additional funds through issuances of securities or through loan financing. There is no assurance that additional capital or other types of financing will be available if needed or that these financings will be on terms at least as favourable to the Company as those previously obtained, or at all. The independent auditors report on the Companys consolidated financial statements draws attention to the material uncertainty that may cast doubt on the Companys ability to continue as a going concern. Importantly, the inclusion in the Companys financial statements of a going concern opinion may negatively impact the Companys
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ability to raise future financing. If the Company is unable to obtain additional financing from outside sources and eventually generate enough revenues, the Company may be forced to sell a portion or all of the Companys assets, or curtail or discontinue the Companys operations. If any of these events happen, investors may lose all or part of their investment.
Liquidity and Future Financing Risk
Although the Company is a going concern, the Company does not have cash reserves for funding future growth and expansion and therefore may require additional financing in order to fund future growth in operations and expansion plans. The Companys ability to secure any required financing to sustain its operations will depend in part upon prevailing capital market conditions, as well as the Companys business success. There can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in its efforts to secure any additional financing or additional financing on terms satisfactory to the Companys management. If additional financing is raised by issuing shares of the Company, control of the Company may change, and shareholders may suffer additional dilution. If adequate funds are not available, or are not available on acceptable terms, the Company may be required to scale back its business plan.
Financial Position and Additional Needs for Liquidity and Capital
The Company is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, therapeutic antibodies. Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that a product candidate will fail to prove effective, gain regulatory approval or become commercially viable. The Company does not have any products approved by regulatory authorities and has not generated substantial revenues from collaboration and licensing agreements or clinical product sales to date, and has incurred significant research, development and other expenses related to ongoing operations and expects to continue to incur such expenses. As a result, the Company has not been profitable and has incurred operating losses in every reporting period since its inception and has a significant accumulated deficit. Operating costs are expected to increase in the near term as the Company continues product development efforts and expects to continue until such time as any future product sales, royalty payments, licensing fees, and/or milestone payments are sufficient to generate revenues to fund continuing operations. In addition, the Companys operating expenses are expected to increase compared to last year as a result of its U.S. public reporting company status. The Company is unable to predict the extent of any future losses or when this business section will become profitable, if ever. Even if the Company achieves profitability, it may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on an ongoing basis.
Strategic Alliances
The Company currently has, and may in the future enter into, strategic alliances with third parties that the Company believes will complement or augment its existing business. The Companys ability to enter into strategic alliances is dependent upon, and may be limited by, the availability of suitable candidates and capital. In addition, strategic alliances could present unforeseen integration obstacles or costs, may not enhance the Companys business, and may involve risks that could adversely affect the Company, including significant amounts of management time that may be diverted from operations in order to pursue and complete such transactions or maintain such strategic alliances. Future strategic alliances could result in the incurrence of additional debt, costs and contingent liabilities, and there can be no assurance that future strategic alliances will achieve, or that the Companys existing strategic alliances will continue to achieve, the expected benefits to the Companys business or that the Company will be able to consummate future strategic alliances on satisfactory terms, or at all. Any of the foregoing could have a material adverse effect on the Companys business, financial condition and results of operation.
The Company may not be able to enter into collaboration agreements on terms favorable to the Company or at all. Furthermore, some of those agreements may give substantial responsibility over the Companys drug candidates to the collaborator.
If the Company enters into collaboration agreements for one or more of its drug candidates, the success of such drug candidates will depend in great part upon the Companys and its collaborators success in promoting them as superior to other treatment alternatives. The Company believes that its drug candidates may be proven to offer disease treatment with notable advantages over other drugs. However, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to prove these advantages or that the advantages will be sufficient to support the successful commercialization of its drug candidates.
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Regulatory or Agency Proceedings, Investigations and Audits
The Companys business requires compliance with many laws and regulations. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations could subject the Company to regulatory or agency proceedings or investigations and could also lead to damage awards, fines and penalties. The Company may become involved in a number of government or agency proceedings, investigations and audits. The outcome of any regulatory or agency proceedings, investigations, audits, and other contingencies could harm the Companys reputation, require the Company to take, or refrain from taking, actions that could harm its operations or require the Company to pay substantial amounts of money, harming its financial condition. There can be no assurance that any pending or future regulatory or agency proceedings, investigations and audits will not result in substantial costs or a diversion of managements attention and resources or have a material adverse impact on the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations.
Litigation Risk
The Company may become party to litigation from time to time in the ordinary course of business, including, but not limited to, in connection with its operations or pursuant to the terms of any of its commercial agreements, which could adversely affect its business. Should any litigation in which the Company becomes involved be decided against the Company, such a decision could adversely affect the Companys ability to continue operating and the value of the Securities and could use significant resources. Even if the Company is involved in litigation and wins, litigation can redirect significant Company resources, including the time and attention of management and available working capital. Litigation may also create a negative perception of the Companys brand.
Intellectual Property Protection
The Companys success will depend on its ability to obtain, protect and enforce patents on its technology and products. Any patents that the Company may own or license in the future may not afford meaningful protection for its technology and products. The Companys efforts to enforce and maintain its intellectual property rights may not be successful and may result in substantial costs and diversion of management time. In addition, others may challenge patents the Company may obtain in the future and, as a result, these patents could be narrowed, invalidated or rendered unenforceable or it may be forced to stop using the technology covered by these patents or to license the technology from third parties. In addition, current and future patent applications on which the Company depends may not result in the issuance of patents. Even if the Companys rights are valid, enforceable and broad in scope, competitors may develop products based on similar technology that is not covered by the Companys patents. Further, since there is a substantial backlog of patent applications at the various patent offices, the approval or rejection of the Company and its competitors patent applications may take several years.
In addition to patent protection, the Company also relies on copyright and trademark protection, trade secrets, know-how, continuing technological innovation and licensing opportunities. In an effort to maintain the confidentiality and ownership of the Companys trade secrets and proprietary information, the Company requires its employees, consultants and advisors to execute confidentiality and proprietary information agreements. However, these agreements may not provide the Company with adequate protection against improper use or disclosure of confidential information and there may not be adequate remedies in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure. Furthermore, like many companies in the Companys industry, the Company may from time to time hire scientific personnel formerly employed by other companies involved in one or more areas similar to the activities the Company conducts. In some situations, the Companys confidentiality and proprietary information agreements may conflict with, or be subject to, the rights of third parties with whom its employees, consultants or advisors have prior employment or consulting relationships. Although the Company require its employees and consultants to maintain the confidentiality of all confidential information of previous employers, the Company or these individuals may be subject to allegations of trade secret misappropriation or other similar claims as a result of their prior affiliations. Finally, others may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and techniques, or otherwise gain access to its trade secrets. The Companys failure to protect its proprietary information and techniques may inhibit or limit its ability to exclude certain competitors from the market and execute its business strategies.
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Regulatory Approval Processes
The Companys businesses are subject to certain laws, regulations, and guidelines. Although the Company intends to comply with all such laws, regulations, and guidelines there is no guarantee that the governing laws and regulations will not change which will be outside of the Companys control. Numerous statutes and regulations govern the preclinical and clinical development, manufacture and sale, and post- marketing responsibilities for non-therapeutic and human therapeutic products in the United States, European Union, Canada, Australia and other countries that are the intended markets for current and future product candidates. Such legislation and regulation governs the approval of manufacturing facilities, the testing procedures, and controlled research that must be carried out, and the preclinical and clinical data that must be collected prior to marketing approval. The Companys R&D efforts and the manufacturing and marketing of any products the Company may develop, will be subject to and restricted by such extensive regulation.
The process of obtaining necessary regulatory approvals is lengthy, expensive, and uncertain. The Company may fail to obtain the necessary approvals to commence or continue manufacturing or marketing potential products in reasonable time frames, if at all. In addition, governmental authorities may enact regulatory reforms or restrictions on the development of new therapies that could adversely affect the regulatory environment in which the Company operates or the development of any products the Company may develop.
Though the Company does not intend to conduct clinical trials itself, the aforementioned regulations may impact the further development of products by its partners or a third party who may license any of the Companys products. Completing clinical testing and obtaining required approvals is expected to take several years and to require the expenditure of substantial resources of the Company and that of its partners and third-parties who may license any of the Companys products. There can be no assurance that clinical trials will be completed successfully within any specified period of time, if at all. Furthermore, clinical trials may be delayed or suspended at any time by the Companys partners or third-parties who may license the Companys products, or by the various regulatory authorities if it is determined at any time that the subjects or patients are being exposed to unacceptable risks.
No assurance can be given that the Companys current or future product candidates will prove to be safe and effective in clinical trials or that such product candidates will receive the requisite regulatory approval. Moreover, any regulatory approval of a drug which is eventually obtained may be granted with specific limitations on the indicated uses for which that drug may be marketed. Furthermore, product approvals may be withdrawn if problems occur following initial marketing or if compliance with regulatory standards is not maintained.
Publicly Announced Milestones
From time to time, the Company may announce the timing of certain events which are expected to occur, such as the anticipated timing of results from its research and manufacturing processes, or of clinical trials that may be conducted in respect of the Companys products by its partners and third-parties who may license such products. These statements are forward-looking and are based on the best estimates of management at the time. However, the timing of events such as the initiation or completion of certain research or manufacturing endeavours, clinical trials, filing of applications to obtain regulatory approval, or announcements of additional research or clinical trials for a product candidate may ultimately vary from what is publicly disclosed. These variations in timing may occur as a result of different events, including the nature of the results obtained during a research phase or clinical trial, problems with a CMO or CRO or any other event having the effect of delaying the publicly announced timeline. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. Any variation in the timing of previously announced milestones could have a material adverse effect on the Companys business plan, financial condition or operating results, and the trading price of the Common Shares.
Business Development and Marketing Strategies
The Companys future growth and profitability will depend on the effectiveness and efficiency of its national and international business development and marketing and sales strategy, including the Companys ability to (i) grow brand recognition for its services internationally; (ii) determine appropriate business development, marketing and sales strategies and (iii) maintain acceptable operating margins on such costs. There can be no assurance that business
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development, marketing and sales costs will result in revenues for the Companys business in the future, or will generate awareness of the Companys products and services. In addition, no assurance can be given that the Company will be able to manage the Companys business development, marketing and sales costs on a cost-effective basis.
Competition
Although the Company believes that there are only a limited number of full-service, biologics, CRO firms, the Company may face intense competition in selling its products and services. Some competitors may have marketing, financial, development and personnel resources which exceed those of the Company. As a result of this competition, the Company may be unable to maintain its operations or develop them as currently proposed on terms it considers acceptable or at all. Increased competition by larger, better-financed competitors with geographic advantages could materially and adversely affect the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations. To remain competitive, the Company believes that it must effectively and economically provide: (i) products and services that satisfy partner demands, (ii) superior partner service, (iii) high levels of quality and reliability, and (iv) dependable and efficient distribution networks. Increased competition may require the Company to reduce prices or increase spending on sales and marketing and partner support, which may have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations. Any decrease in the quality of the Companys products or level of service to partners or any occurrence of a price war among the Companys competitors may adversely affect the business and results of operations. Partner reach, service and on-time delivery will continue to be a hallmark of the Companys ability to compete with other market players. Further, the acquisitions translate to spreading the Companys footprint on two continents. In addition, the Company has deployed a sales team tasked with continually sourcing and providing market intelligence as part of its activities.
Market Perception of Smaller Companies
Market perception of smaller companies may change, potentially affecting the value of investors holdings and the ability of the Company to raise further funds through the issue of further Common Shares or otherwise. The share price of publicly traded smaller companies can be highly volatile. The value of the Common Shares may go down as well as up and, in particular, the share price may be subject to sudden and large falls in value given the restricted marketability of the Common Shares, results of operations, changes in earnings estimates or changes in general market, economic and political conditions.
Research and Development and Product Development
The Company is a life science company that makes customized antibodies and is engaged in the research and product development of new antibodies, processes, procedures and innovative approaches to the antibody production. The Company has been engaged in such research and development activities for over 30 years and has had significant success. Continued investment in retaining key scientific staff, as well as an ongoing commitment in research and development activities, will continue to be a cornerstone in the Companys development of new services, processes, and competitive advantages such as Rapid Prime , B cell Select, DeepDisplay and its methods for the production of human antibodies. The Company realizes that such research and product development activities endeavour, but cannot assure, the production of new and innovative processes, procedures or innovative approaches to antibody production or new antibodies. Furthermore, if it does not achieve sufficient market acceptance of its expansion of its commercialization of its products and services, it will be difficult for the Company to achieve consistent profitability. The Companys marketing and sales approach and external sales personnel continues to introduce a steady stream of new partners.
Management of Growth
The Company may be subject to growth-related risks including pressure on its internal systems and controls. The Company ability to manage its growth effectively will require it to continue to implement and improve its operational and financial systems and to expand, train and manage its employee base. The inability of the Company to deal with this growth could have a material adverse impact on its business, operations and prospects. The Company may experience growth in the number of its employees and the scope of its operating and financial systems, resulting in increased responsibilities for the Companys personnel, the hiring of additional personnel and, in general, higher levels of operating expenses. In order to manage its current operations and any future growth effectively, the Company will
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also need to continue to implement and improve its operational, financial and management information systems and to hire, train, motivate, manage and retain its employees. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to manage such growth effectively, that its management, personnel or systems will be adequate to support the Companys operations or that the Company will be able to achieve the increased levels of revenue commensurate with the increased levels of operating expenses associated with this growth.
Selection and Integration of Acquired Businesses and Technologies
The Company has expanded its business through acquisitions. The Company may plan to continue to acquire businesses and technologies and form strategic alliances. However, businesses and technologies may not be available on terms and conditions the Company finds acceptable. The Company risks spending time and money investigating and negotiating with potential acquisition or alliance partners, but not completing transactions.
Acquisitions and alliances, including those which have been completed by the Company as of the date of this Prospectus, involve numerous risks which may include:
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difficulties in achieving business and financial success; |
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difficulties and expenses incurred in assimilating and integrating operations, services, products, technologies or pre-existing relationships with the Companys partners, distributors and suppliers; |
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challenges with developing and operating new businesses, including those that are materially different from the Companys existing businesses and that may require the development or acquisition of new internal capabilities and expertise; |
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potential losses resulting from undiscovered liabilities of acquired companies that are not covered by the indemnification the Companys may obtain from the seller or the insurance acquired in connection with the transaction; |
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loss of key employees; |
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the presence or absence of adequate internal controls and/or significant fraud in the financial systems of acquired companies; |
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diversion of managements attention from other business concerns; |
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a more expansive regulatory environment; |
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acquisitions could be dilutive to earnings, or in the event of acquisitions made through the issuance of the Companys common stock to the shareholders of the acquired company, dilutive to the percentage of ownership of the Companys existing shareholders; |
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differences in foreign business practices, customs and importation regulations, language and other cultural barriers in connection with the acquisition of foreign companies; |
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new technologies and products may be developed that cause businesses or assets the Companys acquires to become less valuable; and |
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disagreements or disputes with prior owners of an acquired business, technology, service or product that may result in litigation expenses and diversion of the Companys managements attention. |
If an acquired business, technology or an alliance does not meet the Companys expectations, its results of operations may be adversely affected.
Some of the same risks exist when the Company decides to sell a business, site or product line. In addition, divestitures could involve additional risks, including the following:
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difficulties in the separation of operations, services, products, and personnel; |
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diversion of managements attention from other business concerns; and |
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the need to agree to retain or assume certain current or future liabilities in order to complete the divestiture. |
The Companys continually evaluates the performance and strategic fit of its businesses (including specific product lines and service offerings) to determine whether any divestitures are appropriate. Any divestitures may result in significant write-offs, including those related to goodwill and other intangible assets and which could have an adverse effect on the Companys results of operations and financial condition. In addition, the Company may encounter difficulty in finding buyers or alternative exit strategies at acceptable prices and terms, and in a timely manner. The Company may not be successful in managing these or any other significant risks that it encounters in divesting a business, site or product line or service offering and, as a result, may not achieve some or all of the expected benefits of the divestiture.
Loss of Partners
The Companys partners may terminate their contracts with it upon 30 to 90 days notice for a number of reasons or, in some cases, for no reason. Although the Companys partners are currently comprised of a number of small and larger pharma entities, the Company is making a strategic shift to increase the number of larger pharma and biotech partners, including the size of each service contract. If any one of the Companys major partners cancels its contract with the Company, its revenue may decrease.
Reduction in Demand
The Companys business could be adversely affected by any significant decrease in drug R&D expenditures by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as by academic institutions, government laboratories or private foundations. Similarly, economic factors and industry trends that affect the Companys partners in these industries also affect their R&D budgets and, consequentially, the Companys business as well.
The Companys partners include researchers at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The Companys ability to continue to grow and win new business is dependent in large part upon the ability and willingness of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to continue to spend on molecules in the non-clinical phases of R&D and to outsource the products and services the Company provides. Furthermore, the Companys partners (particularly larger biopharmaceutical companies) continue to search for ways to maximize the return on their investments with a focus on lowering R&D costs per drug candidate. Fluctuations in the expenditure amounts in each phase of the R&D budgets of these researchers and their organizations could have a significant effect on the demand for the Companys products and services. R&D budgets fluctuate due to changes in available resources, mergers of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, spending priorities, general economic conditions, institutional budgetary policies and the impact of government regulations, including potential drug pricing legislation. Available funding for biotechnology partners in particular may be affected by the capital markets, investment objectives of venture capital investors and priorities of biopharmaceutical industry sponsors.
Reduction or Delay in Government Funding of R&D
A small portion of revenue is derived from partners at academic institutions and research laboratories whose funding is partially dependent on both the level and timing of funding from government sources in Canada, such as NRC, and the United States, such as the NIH, and international agencies, which can be difficult to forecast. Government funding of R&D is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable. The Companys revenue may be adversely affected if its partners delay purchases as a result of uncertainties surrounding the approval of government budget proposals, included reduced allocations to government agencies that fund R&D activities. Government proposals to reduce or eliminate budgetary deficits have sometimes included reduced allocations to government agencies that fund R&D activities, or such funding may not be directed towards projects and studies that require the use of the Companys products and services, both of which could adversely affect the Companys business and financial results.
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Public Company in the United States
As a public company in the United States, the Company will incur additional legal, accounting, reporting and other expenses that it did not incur as a public company in Canada. The additional demands associated with being a U.S. public company may disrupt regular operations of business by diverting the attention of some of the Companys senior management team away from revenue-producing activities to additional management and administrative oversight, adversely affecting the Companys ability to attract and complete business opportunities and increasing the difficulty in both retaining professionals and managing and growing its business. Any of these effects could harm the Companys business, results of operations and financial condition. In general, the United States tends to be more litigious than Canada and being a public company in the United States may make it more likely that the Company is subjected, from time to time, to the types of lawsuits that affect public companies in the United States.
Delivery and Performance Requirements in Partner Contracts
In order to maintain its current partner relationships and to meet the performance and delivery requirements in its partner contracts, the Company must be able to provide products and services at appropriate levels and with acceptable quality and at an acceptable cost. The Companys ability to deliver the products and provide the services it offers to its partners is limited by many factors, including the difficulty of the processes associated with its products and services, the lack of predictability in the scientific process and the shortage of qualified scientific personnel. In particular, a large portion of the Companys revenue depends on producing biologics and the current rate at which the Company is producing them. Some of the Companys partners can influence when it will deliver products and perform services under their contracts. If the Company is unable to meet its contractual commitments, it may delay or lose revenue, lose partners or fail to expand its existing relationships.
Patent and Other Intellectual Property Litigation
The drug research and development industry has a history of patent and other intellectual property litigation and these lawsuits will likely continue. Because the Company produces and provides many different products and services in this industry, it faces potential patent infringement suits by companies that control patents for similar products and services. In order to protect or enforce the Companys intellectual property rights, it may have to initiate legal proceedings against third parties. In addition, others may sue the Company for infringing their intellectual property rights or the Company may initiate a lawsuit seeking a declaration from a court that it does not infringe the proprietary rights of others. The patent positions of pharmaceutical, biotechnology and drug discovery companies are generally uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. No consistent policy has emerged from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office or the courts regarding the breadth of claims allowed or the degree of protection afforded under patents like those for which the Company has applied. Legal proceedings relating to intellectual property would be expensive, take significant time and divert managements attention from other business concerns, whether the Company wins or loses. The cost of such litigation could affect the Companys profitability.
Further, if the Company does not prevail in an infringement lawsuit brought against it, the Company might have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages, and it could be required to stop the infringing activity or obtain a license to use the patented technology. Any required license may not be available to the Company on acceptable terms, or at all. In addition, some licenses may be nonexclusive, and therefore, the Companys competitors may have access to the same technology licensed to the Company. If the Company fails to obtain a required license or are unable to design around a patent, it may be unable to sell some of its products or services.
Key Personnel Risk
The Companys success will depend on its directors and officers ability to develop the Companys business and manage its operations, and on the Companys ability to attract and retain the Chief Executive Officer, management team and other key technical, sales, public relations and marketing staff or consultants to operate and grow the business. The loss of any key person or the inability to find and retain new key persons could have a material adverse effect on the Companys business. Competition for experienced scientists is intense. The Company competes with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including its partners and collaborators, medicinal chemistry outsourcing companies, contract research companies, and academic and research institutions to recruit scientists. The Companys inability to hire additional qualified personnel may also require an increase in the workload for both
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existing and new personnel. The Company may not be successful in attracting new scientists or management or in retaining or motivating its existing personnel. The shortage of experienced scientists, and other factors, may lead to increased recruiting, relocation and compensation costs for such scientists, which may exceed the Companys expectations. These increased costs may reduce the Companys profit margins or make hiring new scientists impracticable.
Pandemic Risk
The Company is currently unable to determine whether the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will have a negative effect on the Companys results in the remainder of 2020 or beyond, and the future course and duration of the outbreak remain unknown. There has been minimal impact on the Companys operations and results to date, and the Company has not experienced negative impact on its sales or supply chain. The Companys sales, operations and financial performance could suffer given a potential rapidly spreading virus. Internally, the virus may infect its employees resulting in operating at lower productivity levels or even a complete laboratory shutdown. The Companys business is dependent on its laboratories to produce its products and services which if not operating will impact the financial performance of the company and its ability to meet its obligations. The Company has diversified geographic locations with the ability to perform similar services at other sites. In addition, certain roles have the ability to work remotely and the Company has business interruption insurance which may aid in the recovery of lost profits. External factors may also contribute to this risk, such as the impact of a pandemic on the Companys partners and suppliers. See also Summary Description of the Business Research and Development COVID-19 Therapeutic Research.
Brand Awareness
The Companys expansion of its products and services depends on increasing brand awareness with respect to its products and services. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to achieve sufficient brand awareness. In addition, the Company must successfully develop a larger market for its services in order to increase the sales of its services. If the Company is not able to successfully develop a market for its services, then such failure will have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition and operating results of the Company.
Conflicts of Interest Risk
Certain of the Companys directors and officers are also involved as advisors for other companies. Situations may arise in connection with potential acquisitions or opportunities where the other interests of these directors and officers conflict with or diverge from the Companys interests. In accordance with the BCBCA, directors who have a material interest in any person who is a party to a material contract or a proposed material contract are required, subject to certain exceptions, to disclose that interest and generally abstain from voting on any resolution to approve the contract.
In addition, the directors and the officers are required to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the Companys best interests. However, in conflict of interest situations, the Companys directors and officers may owe the same duty to another company and will need to balance their competing interests with their duties to the Company. Circumstances (including with respect to future corporate opportunities) may arise that may be resolved in a manner that is unfavourable to the Company.
Outsourcing Trend in Non-Clinical Discovery Stages of Drug Discovery
Over the past decade, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies have generally increased their outsourcing of non-clinical research support activities, such as antibody discovery. While many industry analysts expect the outsourcing trend to continue to increase for the next several years (although with different growth rates for different phases of drug discovery and development), decreases in such outsourcing may result in a diminished growth rate in the sales of any one or more of the Companys service lines and may adversely affect the Companys financial condition and results of operations.
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Competition and Obsolescence
The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are characterized by rapid and continuous technological innovation. The Company competes with companies around the world that are engaged in the development and production of products and services, including pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and contract research companies. Academic institutions, governmental agencies and other research organizations also are conducting research and developing technologies in areas in which the Company provides services, either on its own or through collaborative efforts. The Companys pharmaceutical and biotechnology company partners have internal departments that provide products and services that directly compete with the Companys products and services. Many of the Companys competitors offer a broader range of products and services and have greater access to financial, technical, scientific, business development, recruiting and other resources than the Company does, and some of its competitors may also operate with a lower cost structure. The Company anticipates that it will face increased competition in the future as it expands its operations and its products and services and as new companies enter the market and advanced technologies become available. The Companys products, services and expertise may become obsolete or uneconomical due to technological advances or entirely different approaches developed by the Company, its partners or one or more of its competitors. For example, advances in databases and molecular modeling tools that predict how effectively compounds will treat a targeted disease may render some of its technologies obsolete. While the Company plans to develop technologies that will give it a competitive advantage, it may not be able to develop the technologies necessary for it to successfully compete in the future. Additionally, the existing approaches of the Companys competitors or new approaches or technologies developed by its competitors may be more effective than those it develops. The Company may not be able to compete successfully with existing or future competitors.
Other competitive factors could force the Company to lower prices or could result in reduced sales. In addition, new products developed by others could emerge as competitors to the Companys drug candidates. If the Company is not able to compete effectively against current and future competitors, its business will not grow and its financial condition and operations will suffer.
Global Economic Conditions
Current global economic conditions could have a negative effect on the Companys business and results of operations. Market disruptions have included extreme volatility in securities prices, as well as severely diminished liquidity and credit availability. The economic crisis may adversely affect the Company in a variety of ways. Access to lines of credit or the capital markets may be severely restricted, which may preclude the Company from raising funds required for operations and to fund continued development. It may be more difficult for the Company to complete strategic transactions with third parties. The financial and credit market turmoil could also negatively impact suppliers, partners and banks with whom the Company does business. Such developments could decrease the Companys ability to source, produce and distribute its products or obtain financing and could expose it to risk that one of its suppliers, partners or banks will be unable to meet their obligations under agreements with the Company.
Limited Number of Suppliers
The Company currently purchases animals and certain key components of biological and chemical materials that it uses in its products and services from a limited number of outside sources. The Companys reliance on its suppliers exposes it to risks, including: (i) the possibility that one or more of its suppliers could terminate their services at any time without penalty; (ii) the potential inability of its suppliers to obtain required materials; (iii) the potential delays and expenses of seeking alternative sources of supply; and (iv) reduced control over pricing, quality and timely delivery due to the difficulties in switching to alternative suppliers.
Consequently, if materials from the Companys suppliers are delayed or interrupted for any reason, the Company may not be able to deliver its products and perform its services on a timely basis or in a cost-efficient manner.
Uninsured or Uninsurable Risk
The Company may become subject to liability for risks against which it cannot insure or against which the Company may elect not to insure due to the high cost of insurance premiums or other factors. The payment of any such liabilities would reduce the funds available for the Companys usual business activities. Payment of liabilities for which the Company does not carry insurance may have a material adverse effect on the Companys financial position and operations.
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Restricted Use of Scientific Information
The Companys ability to improve the efficiency of the CRO services it provides by, among other things, developing an effective database designed to predict how chemical compounds interact with a targeted disease-related protein, depends in part on the Companys generation and use of information that is not proprietary to its partners and that it derives from performing these services. However, the Companys partners may not allow it to use this information with other partners, such as the general interaction between types of chemistries and types of drug targets that the Company generates when performing drug discovery services for its partners. Without the ability to use this information, the Company may not be able to develop a database, which may limit its ability to improve the efficiency of the drug discovery services it provides.
Failure of Laboratory Facilities
The Companys operations could suffer as a result of a failure of its laboratory facilities. The Companys business will be dependent upon a laboratory infrastructure to produce products and services. These systems and operations are vulnerable to damage and interruption from fires, earthquakes, telecommunications failures, and other events. Any such errors or inadequacies in the software that may be encountered could adversely affect operations, and such errors may be expensive or difficult to correct in a timely manner.
Further, many of the Companys operations are comprised of complex mechanical systems that are subject to periodic failure, including aging fatigue. Such failures are unpredictable, and while the Company has made significant capital expenditures designed to create redundancy within these mechanical systems, strengthened biosecurity, improved operating procedures to protect against such contaminations, and replaced impaired systems and equipment in advance of such events, failures and/or contaminations may still occur.
The production of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies requires state of the art laboratory facilities and the success of these laboratory services depends on the recruitment and retention of highly qualified technical staff to maintain the level and quality of standard of the Companys products and services expected from partners. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to expand and operate such state of the art laboratory services and recruit and retain qualified staff.
The Company produces and supplies antibodies and there is no guarantee that such production will be successful and produce the desired results. As a result, the Company continues to be exposed to potential liability that may exceed any insurance coverage that the Company may obtain in the future. As a result, the Company may incur significant liability exposure, which may exceed any insurance coverage that the Company may obtain in the future. Even if the Company elects to purchase such insurance in the future, the Company may not be able to maintain adequate levels of insurance at reasonable cost and/or reasonable terms. Excessive insurance costs or uninsured claims may increase the Companys operating loss and affect its financial condition.
Contaminations in Animal Populations
Animals that the Company uses must be free of certain infectious agents, such as certain viruses and bacteria, because the presence of these contaminants can distort or compromise the quality of research results and could adversely impact animal health. The presence of these infectious agents in the Companys animal facility and certain service operations could disrupt the Companys animal service businesses, harm the Companys reputation and result in decreased sales.
Contaminations are unanticipated and difficult to predict and could adversely impact the Companys financial results. If they occur, contaminations typically require cleaning up, renovating, disinfecting, retesting and restarting production or services. Such clean-ups result in inventory loss, clean-up and start-up costs, and reduced sales as a result of lost orders and potentially credits for prior shipments. Contaminations also expose the Company to risks that partners will request compensation for damages in excess of the Companys contractual indemnification requirements.
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Unauthorized Access into Information Systems
The Company operates large and complex information systems that contain significant amounts of partner data. As a routine element of the Companys business, the Company collects, analyzes and retains substantial amounts of data pertaining to the non-clinical research it conducts for its partners. Unauthorized third parties could attempt to gain entry to such information systems to steal data or disrupt the systems. The Company has taken measures to protect them from intrusion.
The Companys contracts with its partners typically contain provisions that require the Company to keep confidential the information generated from the research conducted. In the event the confidentiality of such information is compromised, whether by unauthorized access or other breaches, the Company could be exposed to significant harm, including termination of customer contracts, damage to its customer relationships, damage to its reputation and potential legal claims from customers, employees and other parties. In addition, the Company may face investigations by government regulators and agencies as a result of a breach.
Further, the Company is required to comply with the data privacy and security laws in many jurisdictions. For example, the Company required to comply with the European Union General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which became effective on May 25, 2018 and imposes heightened obligations and enhanced penalties for noncompliance (including up to four percent (4%) of global revenue). The cost of compliance, and the potential for fines and penalties for non-compliance, with GDPR may have a significant adverse effect on the Companys business and operations. Also, the California legislature passed the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA ), which became effective January 1, 2020. The CCPA creates new transparency requirements and grants California residents several new rights with regard their personal information. Failure to comply with the CCPA may result in, among other things, significant civil penalties and injunctive relief, or potential statutory or actual damages. The Company has made changes to, and investments in, its business practices and will continue to monitor developments and make appropriate changes to help attain compliance with these evolving and complex regulations.
Enforcement of Civil Liabilities
The Company is organized under the laws of the Province of British Columbia with its registered place of business in Canada, some of its directors and officers reside outside the United States and the majority of the Companys assets and the all or a substantial portion of the assets of these persons may be located outside the United States. Consequently, it may be difficult for investors who reside in the United States to effect service of process in the United States upon the Company or upon such persons who are not residents of the United States, or to realize upon judgments of courts of the United States predicated upon the civil liability provisions of the U.S. federal securities laws.
Foreign Private Issuer
The Company is a foreign private issuer as such term is defined in Rule 405 under the United States Securities Act of 1933, and is permitted, under a multijurisdictional disclosure system adopted by the United States and Canada, to prepare its disclosure documents filed under the U.S. Exchange Act in accordance with Canadian disclosure requirements. Under the U.S. Exchange Act, the Company is subject to reporting obligations that, in certain respects, are less detailed and less frequent than those of U.S. domestic reporting companies. As a result, the Company will not file the same reports that a U.S. domestic issuer would file with the SEC, although it will be required to file or furnish to the SEC the continuous disclosure documents that it is required to file in Canada under Canadian securities laws. In addition, the officers, directors, and principal shareholders of the Company are exempt from the reporting and short swing profit recovery provisions of Section 16 of the U.S. Exchange Act. Therefore, the Companys shareholders may not know on as timely a basis when the officers, directors and principal shareholders of the Company purchase or sell shares, as the reporting deadlines under the corresponding Canadian insider reporting requirements are longer.
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As a foreign private issuer, the Company is exempt from the rules and regulations under the U.S. Exchange Act related to the furnishing and content of proxy statements. It is also exempt from Regulation FD, which prohibits issuers from making selective disclosures of material non-public information. While the Company expects to comply with the corresponding requirements relating to proxy statements and disclosure of material non-public information under Canadian securities laws, these requirements differ from those under the U.S. Exchange Act and Regulation FD and shareholders should not expect to receive in every case the same information at the same time as such information is provided by U.S. domestic companies. In addition, as a foreign private issuer, the Company has the option to follow certain Canadian corporate governance practices, provided that the Company discloses the requirements that are not being followed and describes the Canadian practices being followed instead. The Company plans to rely on this exemption. As a result, the Companys shareholders may not have the same protections afforded to shareholders of U.S. domestic companies that are subject to all U.S. corporate governance requirements.
Foreign Exchange Rates
The Company may conduct business with partners, distributors, suppliers, other service providers and affiliates in currencies other than Canadian Dollars. Therefore, the Companys business could be adversely affected by fluctuations in domestic or foreign currencies.
Risks Related to the Securities of the Company
Effects of Future Sales or Issuances of Equity Securities or Debt Securities
The Company may sell additional Equity Securities in subsequent offerings (including through the sale of securities convertible into Equity Securities) and may issue additional Equity Securities to finance operations, acquisitions or other projects. The Company cannot predict the size of future issuances of Equity Securities or the size and terms of future issuances of debt instruments or other securities convertible into Equity Securities or the effect, if any, that future issuances and sales of Securities will have on the market price of the Common Shares. Any transaction involving the issuance of previously authorized but unissued Common Shares, or securities convertible into Common Shares, would result in dilution, possibly substantial, to securityholders. Exercises of presently outstanding share options may also result in dilution to securityholders.
The Companys board of directors (the Board) has the authority to authorize certain offers and sales of additional securities without the vote of, or prior notice to, shareholders. Based on the need for additional capital to fund expected expenditures and growth, the Company expects that it will issue additional securities to provide such capital. Such additional issuances may involve the issuance of a significant number of Common Shares at prices less than the current market price for the Common Shares.
Sales of substantial amounts of Securities, or the availability of such Securities for sale, could adversely affect the prevailing market prices for Securities and dilute investors earnings per share. A decline in the market prices of the Securities could impair the Companys ability to raise additional capital through the sale of Securities should the Company desire to do so. Sales of Common Shares by shareholders might also make it more difficult for the Company to sell Equity Securities at a time and price that it may deem to be appropriate.
Common Share Price Volatility
An investment in the Companys Securities is highly speculative. The market prices for the securities of pharmaceutical companies, including the Companys, have historically been highly volatile. The market has from time to time experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that are unrelated to the financial performance or prospects of any particular company. In addition, because of the nature of the Companys business, certain factors such as announcements, competition from new therapeutic products or technological innovations, governmental regulations, fluctuations in operating results, results of clinical trials that may be conducted by the Companys partners or third parties that may license the Companys products, public concern regarding the safety of drugs generally, general market conductions, developments in patent and proprietary rights, the Companys financial condition or results of operations as reflected in its quarterly and annual financial statements, operating performance and the performance of competitors and other similar companies, changes in earnings estimates or recommendations by
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research analysts who track the Companys securities or securities of other companies in the life sciences sector, general market conditions, announcements relating to litigation, the arrival or departure of key personnel and the factors listed under the heading Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements can have an adverse impact on the market price of the Common Shares.
Any negative change in the publics perception of the Companys prospects could cause the price of the Securities, including the price of the Common Shares, to decrease dramatically. Furthermore, any negative change in the publics perception of the prospects of life sciences companies in general could depress the price of the Securities, including the price of the Common Shares, regardless of the Companys financial and operating results. In the past, following declines in the market price of a companys securities, securities class-action litigation often has been instituted against said company. Litigation of this type, if instituted, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of the Companys managements attention and resources.
Discretion in Use of Proceeds
While detailed information regarding the use of proceeds from the sale of Securities will be described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, the Company will have broad discretion over the use of the net proceeds from an offering by the Company of its securities. Because of the number and variability of factors that will determine the Companys use of such proceeds, the Companys ultimate use might vary substantially from its planned use. Investors and securityholders may not agree with how the Company allocates or spends the proceeds from an offering of Securities. The Company may pursue acquisitions, collaborations or other opportunities that do not result in an increase in the market value of its Securities, including the market value of the Common Shares, and that may increase its losses.
Dividend Policy
No dividends on the Common Shares have been paid by the Company to date. The Company does not intend to declare or pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Payment of any future dividends will be at the discretion of the Board, after taking into account a multitude of factors appropriate in the circumstances, including the Companys operating results, financial condition and current and anticipated cash needs.
Liquid Market for Common Shares
Shareholders of the Company may be unable to sell significant quantities of Common Shares into the public trading markets without a significant reduction in the price of their Common Shares, or at all. There can be no assurance that there will be sufficient liquidity of the Companys Common Shares on the trading market, and that the Company will continue to meet the listing requirements of the TSXV or achieve listing on any other public listing exchange.
The Company has applied to list the Common Shares on the Nasdaq. The Common Shares are not currently listed on a national stock exchange in the United States. If an active trading market does not develop in the United States, investors may have difficulty selling any of the Common Shares that they buy over a U.S. exchange. The Company cannot predict the extent to which investor interest in the Company will lead to the development of an active trading market on the Nasdaq or otherwise, or how liquid that market might become. The price of the Common Shares in any offering that may be completed pursuant to a Prospectus Supplement may not be indicative of prices that will prevail in the United States trading market or otherwise following such offering. Listing of the Common Shares on the Nasdaq in addition to the TSXV may increase price volatility on the TSXV and also result in volatility of the trading price on the Nasdaq because trading will be in two markets, which may result in less liquidity on both exchanges. In addition, different liquidity levels, volumes of trading, currencies and market conditions on the two exchanges may result in different prevailing trading prices.
Lack of Market for Securities other than Common Shares
There is currently no market through which any of the Securities, other than the Common Shares, may be sold and, unless otherwise specified in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, Debt Securities, Subscription Receipts, Units or Warrants will not be listed on any securities or stock exchange or any automated dealer quotation system. As a consequence, purchasers may not be able to resell Debt Securities, Subscription Receipts, Units or Warrants purchased
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under this Prospectus. This may affect the pricing of the Securities, other than the Common Shares, in the secondary market, the transparency and availability of trading prices, the liquidity of these securities and the extent of issuer regulation. There can be no assurance that an active trading market for the Securities, other than the Common Shares, will develop or, if developed, that any such market, including for the Common Shares, will be sustained.
Unsecured Debt
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, the Debt Securities will be unsecured and will rank equally in right of payment with all of the Companys other existing and future unsecured debt. The Debt Securities will be effectively subordinated to all of the Companys existing and future secured debt to the extent of the assets securing such debt. If the Company is involved in any bankruptcy, dissolution, liquidation or reorganization, the secured debt holders would, to the extent of the value of the assets securing the secured debt, be paid before the holders of unsecured Debt Securities, including the Debt Securities. In that event, a holder of Debt Securities may not be able to recover any principal or interest due to it under the Debt Securities. See Description of Debt Securities.
USE OF PROCEEDS
Use of Proceeds
Unless otherwise indicated in a Prospectus Supplement relating to a particular offering, the Company currently intends to use the net proceeds from the sale of Securities for working capital requirements, general corporate purposes and the advancement of its business objectives outlined below.
In order to raise additional funds to finance future growth opportunities, the Company may, from time to time, issue Securities. More detailed information regarding the use of proceeds from the sale of Securities, including any determinable milestones at the applicable time, will be described in a Prospectus Supplement. The Company may also, from time to time, issue securities otherwise than pursuant to a Prospectus Supplement to this Prospectus. See also Risk Factors Negative Operating Cash Flow and Going Concern.
Business Objectives
Over the next twelve months, the Companys growth strategy includes the following:
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Continued growth of therapeutic antibody partner network by offering broad access to platforms for use with multiple, transgenic animal species and strains and many services related to the discovery, characterization, manufacturing, optimization and engineering of antibodies and protein services. |
|
Expansion of sales team as well as sales and marketing initiatives. |
|
Progression of existing, and establishment of new, collaborations in the field of artificial intelligence for drug discovery. |
|
Enhancement of existing technologies, and/or access to technologies, for bi- and multi-specific antibody generation and manufacturing. |
|
Addition of VLP generation for immunization and screening. |
|
Addition of a new human library to offer a broader diversity in lead candidates in future campaigns. |
|
Implementation of next-generation of B cell selection and screening technology. |
|
Expansion of the vivarium at IPA Canada to answer the increasing demand for rodent immunizations, both wild-type and transgenic animals, as well as to expand opportunities for pre-clinical animal trials. |
|
Increase automation and throughput in protein manufacturing to increase capacity. |
|
Intensification of collaborations with third-party transgenic animal companies, offering streamlined transgenic animal access for partners. |
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|
Support and intensification of collaborative partnerships and internal therapeutic antibody discovery to design, develop, select and test novel, therapeutic antibodies against a variety of disease indications, including, but not limited to, immuno-oncology and COVID-19. |
In connection with the Companys business objectives, it is anticipated that the proceeds of any issuance of Securities in the time that this Prospectus, and any Prospectus Supplement, is valid, and thereafter, will be used as follows:
Business Objective |
Anticipated Expenditures |
|
Completion of a new GMP facility for the manufacture of proteins and antibodies for the Companys partners, and to support pre-clinical manufacturing as needed for the Companys internal pipeline. In connection with the development of such facility, the Company anticipates incurring costs related to new hires and the set-up and regulatory validation of equipment. |
Approximately U.S.$55,900,000, excluding land purchase, if any.
Approximately U.S.$2,200,000 for new hires.
Approximately U.S.$1,500,000 for set-up and regulatory validation of equipment. |
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Such expenses are anticipated to be incurred over a period of 29 months. | ||
Acquisition of a CRO company with complementary, but novel, technologies to that of the Company. | Approximately U.S.$55,500,000. | |
Acquisition of a technology company to support partner services downstream of antibody discovery. | Approximately U.S.$25,000,000. | |
Further development of COVID therapeutic and vaccine assets. | Approximately U.S.$5,500,000. | |
Further automation and increased throughput and capacity in manufacturing at its operational sites in order to broaden the scope of its offerings. | Approximately U.S.$1,400,000. | |
Growth of internal asset portfolio through Talem, as well as funding to support research partnerships that may result in the sale or licensing of the Companys assets. | Approximately U.S.$2,860,000. | |
Additional investments in the Companys people, including members of its research and development, business development, and marketing and sale staff. | Approximately U.S.$1,475,000, in the aggregate, per year. | |
Expansion of vivarium (including remodelling of space, air quality HVAC system, biosafety cabinets, etc.) | Approximately U.S.$490,000. | |
Ongoing investments in human display library. | ||
Ongoing R&D to further broaden immunogen generation and routes of administration. | ||
Enhancement of existing technologies with new analytical equipment to expand our internal capabilities, | U.S.$515,000 | |
Additional automation for equipment used in cell separation processes to further automate multiple, current laboratory activities, | 600,000 | |
New hires and expansion in next generation sequencing, artificial intelligence, and as support for existing and ongoing programs. | U.S.$720,000 |
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CONSOLIDATED CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth the consolidated capitalization of the Company as at July 31, 2020, the date of the Companys most recently filed interim financial statements. This table should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of the Company and the related notes and managements discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations in respect of those statements that are incorporated by reference in this Prospectus.
As of July 31, 2020 |
As of the date of
this Prospectus(1) |
|||||||
Total Common Shares Outstanding |
74,070,771 | 16,761,779 | ||||||
Total Warrants Outstanding |
14,161,971 | 1,062,195 | ||||||
Total Options Outstanding |
5,134,100 | 1,252,900 | ||||||
Convertible Debenture Payable |
$ | 2,341,765 | $ | 2,111,459 |
Notes
(1) |
On November 23, 2020 the Company effected the Consolidation (as defined below). All references to Common Shares, including those issuable on the exercise of convertible securities, in the table above as of the date of this Prospectus are disclosed on a post-Consolidation basis. See Description of Common Shares Consolidation. |
There have been no material changes to the Companys share and loan capitalization on a consolidated basis since July 31st, 2020, except as follows:
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the issuance of 8,851,000 Common Shares (1,770,200 Common Shares on a post-Consolidation basis) upon the exercise of 8,851,000 warrants; |
|
the issuance of 469,600 Common Shares (93,920 Common Shares on a post-Consolidation basis) upon the exercise of 469,600 options; |
|
the issuance of 417,644 Common Shares (83,529 Common Shares on a post-Consolidation basis) upon the conversion of debentures; and |
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a grant of an aggregate of 1,600,000 options to consultants, officers and employees (such options being exercisable for an aggregate of 320,000 Common Shares on a post-Consolidation basis). |
The applicable Prospectus Supplement will describe any material change, and the effect of such material change, on the share and loan capitalization of the Company that will result from the issuance of Securities pursuant to such Prospectus Supplement.
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PRIOR SALES
During the 12-month period before the date of this Prospectus, the Company completed the following issuances of Securities:
Common Shares
Date of Sale or Grant |
Issue or Exercise Price | Number of Common Shares(1) | ||||
October 27, 2020(2) |
$ | 0.85 | 58,822 | |||
October 23, 2020(3) |
$ | 1.01 | 15,500 | |||
October 22, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 126,000 | |||
October 21, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 761,000 | |||
October 20, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 125,000 | |||
October 9, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 26,000 | |||
October 6, 2020(2) |
$ | 0.85 | 223,529 | |||
October 5, 2020(3) |
$ | 1.01 | 22,500 | |||
October 5, 2020(2) |
$ | 0.85 | 58,823 | |||
October 2, 2020(3) |
$ | 1.01 | 5,000 | |||
September 25, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 87,500 | |||
September 24, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 127,500 | |||
September 23, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 492,346 | |||
September 23, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 50,000 | |||
September 22, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 3,425,000 | |||
September 21, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 800,000 | |||
September 21, 2020(2) |
$ | 0.85 | 76,470 | |||
September 18, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 223,500 | |||
September 18, 2020(3) |
$ | 0.30 | 250,000 | |||
September 17, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 494,000 | |||
September 16, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 359,000 | |||
September 14, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 228,000 | |||
September 11, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 235,000 | |||
September 11, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 25,000 | |||
September 10, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 117,000 | |||
September 10, 2020(3) |
$ | 0.30 | 5,000 | |||
September 9, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 291,000 | |||
September 9, 2020(3) |
$ | 1.01 | 15,000 | |||
September 8, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 78,654 | |||
September 4,2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 40,000 | |||
September 2, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 202,500 | |||
September 1, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 165,000 | |||
August 31, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 83,000 | |||
August 28, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 65,000 | |||
August 27, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 91,500 | |||
August 25, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 10,000 | |||
August 24, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 17,500 | |||
August 18, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 25,000 | |||
August 18, 2020(3) |
$ | 1.01 | 5,000 | |||
August 17, 2020(3) |
$ | 0.30 | 25,000 | |||
August 7, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 35,000 | |||
August 5, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 25,000 | |||
August 5,2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 20,000 | |||
August 4, 2020(3) |
$ | 0.80 | 121,600 | |||
July 28, 2020(3) |
$ | 1.01 | 5,000 | |||
July 16, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 50,000 | |||
July 16, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 30,000 | |||
July 15, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 35,000 | |||
July 13, 2020(3) |
$ | 0.80 | 78,400 | |||
July 10, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 30,000 | |||
July 10, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 20,000 | |||
July 8, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 10,000 | |||
July 7, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 15,000 | |||
July 3, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 295,000 | |||
July 3, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 60,500 | |||
July 2, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 10,000 | |||
June 30, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 15,000 |
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Date of Sale or Grant |
Issue or Exercise Price | Number of Common Shares(1) | ||||
June 29, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 255,000 | |||
June 26, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 125,000 | |||
June 25, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 8,500 | |||
June 25, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 10,000 | |||
June 24, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 50,000 | |||
June 22, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 40,000 | |||
June 19, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 250,000 | |||
June 18, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 35,000 | |||
June 18, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 30,000 | |||
June 17, 2020(3) |
$ | 1.01 | 5,000 | |||
June 17, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 12,500 | |||
June 17, 2020(3) |
$ | 0.30 | 5,000 | |||
June 16, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 30,000 | |||
June 16, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 145,500 | |||
June 16, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 39,500 | |||
June 16, 2020(3) |
$ | 0.30 | 15,000 | |||
June 15, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 12,500 | |||
June 15, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 10,000 | |||
June 12, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 120,000 | |||
June 11, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 30,000 | |||
June 11, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 63,750 | |||
June 10, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 27,000 | |||
June 10, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 67,000 | |||
June 9, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 340,000 | |||
June 9, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 23,750 | |||
June 9, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 75,000 | |||
June 8, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 22,500 | |||
June 8, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 31,250 | |||
June 5, 2020(3) |
$ | 0.30 | 5,000 | |||
June 4, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 192,500 | |||
June 4, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 70,250 | |||
June 1, 2020(3) |
$ | 1.01 | 52,5000 | |||
June 1, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 20,000 | |||
June 1, 2020(3) |
$ | 0.30 | 15,000 | |||
May 29, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 23,500 | |||
May 28, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.25 | 50,000 | |||
May 28, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 25,000 | |||
May 27, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 100,000 | |||
May 26, 2020(4) |
$ | 1.00 | 25,000 | |||
May 22, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 275,000 | |||
May 8, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 100,000 | |||
May 1, 2020(5) |
$ | 0.77 | 664,163 | |||
April 16, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 5,971 | |||
April 15, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 300,000 | |||
April 14, 2020(4) |
$ | 0.70 | 375,000 | |||
March 26, 2020(2) |
$ | 0.60 | 1,244,792 |
Notes
(1) |
On November 23, 2020 the Company effected the Consolidation (as defined below). All issuances of Common Shares listed in the table above dated prior to November 23, 2020 are disclosed on a pre-Consolidation basis. See Description of Common Shares Consolidation. |
(2) |
Common Shares issued upon conversion of debentures. |
(3) |
Common Shares issued upon exercise of options. |
(4) |
Common Shares issued upon exercise of warrants. |
(5) |
Common Shares issued in connection with deferred payment obligation. See Description of Common Shares Deferred Share Issuances. |
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On September 1, 2020, the Company announced that, pursuant to the Companys stock option plan, the Board had approved the granting of an aggregate of 1,350,000 stock options each exercisable for one pre-Consolidation Common Share at an exercise price of $1.70 per Common Share, with such stock options having a term of five years and being subject to certain vesting requirements. After giving effect to the Consolidation, such options are exercisable for an aggregate of 270,000 post-Consolidation Common Shares. See also Description of Common Shares Consolidation.
Debt Securities
On May 15, 2020, the Company completed an offering of an aggregate principal amount of $2,592,000 of 10% Debentures which are due and payable on May 15, 2022. On May 22, 2020 the Company completed an offering of an additional aggregate principal amount of $35,000 of 10% Debentures which are due and payable on May 22, 2022. The principal amount of the 10% Debentures may be converted at the option of the holders thereof into Common Shares at a price of $0.85 per Common Share. The Company may force convert the principal amount of the 10% Debentures into Common Shares at a price of $0.85 per Common Share if the average closing price of the Common Shares on the TSXV is equal to or greater than $1.50 for 20 trading days.
TRADING PRICE AND VOLUME
The Companys Common Shares are listed and posted for trading on the TSXV under the symbol IPA and the OTC Markets Platform under the symbol IPAT. The following table sets forth the reported high and low closing sale prices and the aggregate volume of trading of the Common Shares on the TSXV during the 12 months preceding the date of this Prospectus:
Price Range | ||||||||||||
High | Low | Volume | ||||||||||
2020 |
||||||||||||
December 1-10 |
$ | 10.52 | $ | 9.13 | 381,800 | |||||||
November 23-30 (1) |
$ | 11.60 | $ | 8.71 | 318,829 | |||||||
November 1-20 |
$ | 2.26 | $ | 1.51 | 6,604,205 | |||||||
October |
$ | 2.92 | $ | 2.12 | 6,991,605 | |||||||
September |
$ | 3.14 | $ | 1.55 | 11,699,880 | |||||||
August |
$ | 1.83 | $ | 1.32 | 4,522,290 | |||||||
July |
$ | 1.73 | $ | 1.10 | 7,185,754 | |||||||
June |
$ | 2.06 | $ | 1.37 | 11,176,932 | |||||||
May |
$ | 1.50 | $ | 0.77 | 6,810,034 | |||||||
April |
$ | 0.90 | $ | 0.70 | 4,075,807 | |||||||
March |
$ | 0.80 | $ | 0.62 | 4,307,828 | |||||||
February |
$ | 0.78 | $ | 0.55 | 1,745,656 | |||||||
January |
$ | 0.67 | $ | 0.51 | 1,096,141 | |||||||
2019 |
||||||||||||
December |
$ | 0.65 | $ | 0.50 | 1,028,900 |
Notes
(1) |
The Company effected the Consolidation on November 23, 2020 and the Common Shares commenced trading on the TSXV on a post-Consolidation basis effective at the opening of trading on that day. See Description of Common Shares Consolidation. |
EARNINGS COVERAGE RATIOS
If the Company offers Debt Securities having a term to maturity in excess of one year or Preferred Shares under this Prospectus and any applicable Prospectus Supplement, the applicable Prospectus Supplement will include earnings coverage ratios giving effect to the issuance of such securities.
DESCRIPTION OF COMMON SHARES
Each Common Share entitles the holder thereof to one vote at any meeting of shareholders. The holders of Common Shares are entitled to receive if, as and when declared by the Board, dividends in such amounts as shall be determined
37
by the Board. The holders of Common Shares have the right to receive the Companys remaining property and assets in the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding-up, whether voluntary or involuntary. The Common Shares do not carry any pre-emptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights, nor do they contain any sinking or purchase fund provisions.
Consolidation
On November 4, 2020, in connection with its proposed listing on Nasdaq, the Company announced that the Board had approved the consolidation of its Common Shares on the basis of one (1) post-Consolidation Common Share for every five (5) issued and outstanding Common Shares (the Consolidation). The Consolidation was effected on November 23, 2020 and the post-Consolidation Common Shares began trading on the TSXV that day. The ISIN and CUSIP numbers for the post-Consolidation Common Shares are CA45257F2008 and 45257F200, respectively.
All references to our Common Shares and securities issuable into Common Shares such as options and warrants in documents dated prior to November 23, 2020 that are incorporated by reference in this Prospectus, reflect pre-Consolidation amounts.
As of the date of this Prospectus, the authorized capital of the Company consisted of an unlimited number of Common Shares without par value. As of the date of this Prospectus, after giving effect to the Consolidation, 16,761,779 Common Shares are issued and outstanding.
Deferred Share Issuances
In accordance with the terms of a share purchase agreement dated March 15, 2018, pursuant to which the Company acquired IPA Europe (then Modiquest Research B.V.) from Immusys B.V., as consideration for the transactions contemplated therein, on or before December 31, 2020, the Company is required to pay Immusys B.V. (i) 333,556 in cash, and (ii) the equivalent of 333,556 in Common Shares, based on a price per Common Share of the greater of (A) $0.57, and (B) the closing price of the Common Shares on May 1, 2021, converted into Euros using the Bank of Canadas 10-day average exchange rate as of the day prior to the date such Common Shares are issued. For reference, in the event the Company were to issue such Common Shares as of the date of this Prospectus, 55,042 Common Shares would be issuable to Immusys B.V, based on a closing price of $9.41 for the Common Shares on the TSXV on December 10, 2020 and the Bank of Canadas 10-day average exchange rate as of December 10, 2020 of $1.00 = 0.6435.
In accordance with the terms of a share exchange agreement dated August 10, 2017, pursuant to which the Company acquired UPE from certain former shareholders of UPE, as consideration for the transactions contemplated therein, on December 31, 2020, the Company is required to pay the former shareholders of UPE, at such shareholders election, either an aggregate of 682,544 in cash or an aggregate of approximately 202,033 Common Shares. Such amount of Common Shares was determined in accordance with the terms of the share exchange agreement and by converting the amount of cash owed to each applicable shareholder into Common Shares at a per Common Share price of $1.00 as converted into Euros using the bank of Canada exchange rate on August 16, 2017, the day that the transactions contemplated by the share exchange agreement were completed, and after giving effect to the Consolidation. See also Description of Common Shares Consolidation.
Shareholder Rights Plan
The Company adopted a shareholder rights plan on October 17, 2019 which was ratified by the shareholders on November 22, 2019 (the Rights Plan). Under the Rights Plan, the Company issued one right (a Right) in respect of each Common Share or other security which entitles the holder to vote generally in the election of directors (Voting Share) outstanding on October 17, 2019, and will issue one Right for each additional Voting Share issued after October 17, 2019 but prior to the separation time or the expiry of the Rights. The Rights Plan has an indefinite term but must be reconfirmed by the shareholders every three years to remain in effect. The Rights will separate from the Voting Shares and will generally only be exercisable ten trading days after a person has acquired, or commences to acquire, 20% or more of the Voting Shares, other than by acquisition pursuant to: a voting share reduction (generally, a repurchase or redemption of shares by the Company which has the effect of increasing the persons or companys
38
percentage ownership of the Company); a takeover bid permitted by the Rights Plan (a Permitted Bid or a Competing Permitted Bid); an exempt acquisition (an acquisition in respect of which the Board has waived the application of the Rights Plan or an acquisition made pursuant to a shareholder-approved transaction such as an amalgamation or arrangement or an acquisition made as an intermediate step in a larger transaction where the acquiring party has then distributed the shares out to its security holders); and a pro rata acquisition (generally, the acquisition of shares pursuant to a rights offering, public offering or private placement to the extent necessary to prevent dilution of the persons or companys shareholding). The acquisition by any person (an Acquiring Person) of more than 20% of the Voting Shares, other than by way of a voting share reduction, a Permitted Bid, a Competing Permitted Bid, an exempt acquisition, and a pro rata acquisition is referred to as a Flip-in Event. Any Rights held by an Acquiring Person will become void upon the occurrence of a Flip-in Event. Ten trading days after the occurrence of the Flip-in Event, each Right (other than those held by the Acquiring Person), will permit the purchase of shares at a 50% discount in accordance with the terms of the Rights Plan.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED SHARES
The Company is not currently authorized to issue Preferred Shares. Subject to obtaining all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals and amending the Notice of Articles of the Company to authorize the creation and issuance of Preferred Shares, in one or more classes or series, in accordance with the provisions of the BCBCA, the Board may fix from time to time before each issuance of a class or series of Preferred Shares, the number of Preferred Shares comprising each class or series and the designation, rights, privileges, restrictions and conditions attaching to each class or series of Preferred Shares including, any voting rights, the rate or amount of dividends or the method of calculating dividends, the dates of payment thereof, the terms and conditions of redemption, purchase and conversion, if any, and any sinking fund or other provisions. Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, all Preferred Shares to be issued from time to time under this Prospectus will be fully paid and non-assessable.
The particular terms and provisions of the Preferred Shares as may be offered pursuant to this Prospectus will be set forth in the applicable Prospectus Supplement pertaining to such offering of Preferred Shares, and the extent to which the general terms and provisions described below may apply to such Preferred Shares will be described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. Preferred Shares may be offered separately or together with other Securities, as the case may be.
The Preferred Shares of each class or series will be entitled, with respect to the payment of dividends and the distribution of assets or return of capital in the event of liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company, or any other return of capital or distribution, to a preference over the Common Shares and over any other shares of the Company ranking by their terms junior to the Preferred Shares of that class or series. The Prospectus Supplement relating to the Preferred Shares offered will contain a description of the specific terms of that class or series of Preferred Shares as fixed by the Board, including, as applicable:
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the number of Preferred Shares offered and the offering price of the Preferred Shares; |
|
the designation and any stated value of the Preferred Shares; |
|
the dividend rate(s), period(s) and/or payment date(s) or method(s) of calculation of such rates, periods or dates applicable to the Preferred Shares; |
|
the date from which dividends on the Preferred Shares will accumulate, if applicable; |
|
the liquidation rights of the Preferred Shares; |
|
the procedures for auction and remarketing, if any, of the Preferred Shares; |
|
the sinking fund provisions, if applicable, for the Preferred Shares; |
|
the redemption provisions, if applicable, for the Preferred Shares; |
|
whether the Preferred Shares will be convertible into or exchangeable for other securities and, if so, the terms and conditions of the conversion or exchange, including the conversion price or exchange ratio and the conversion or exchange period (or the method of determining the same); |
39
|
whether the Preferred Shares will have voting rights and the terms of any voting rights; |
|
whether the Preferred Shares will be listed on any securities or stock exchange or on any automated dealer quotation system; |
|
whether the Preferred Shares will be issued with any other securities and, if so, the amount and terms of these securities; and |
|
any other specific terms, preferences or rights of, or limitations or restrictions on, the Preferred Shares. |
The applicable Prospectus Supplement will also contain a discussion of any material Canadian income tax considerations relevant to the purchase and ownership of the Preferred Shares offered by the Prospectus Supplement.
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
The following description of the terms of Debt Securities sets forth certain general terms and provisions of Debt Securities in respect of which a Prospectus Supplement may be filed. The particular terms and provisions of Debt Securities offered by any Prospectus Supplement, and the extent to which the general terms and provisions described below may apply thereto, will be described in the Prospectus Supplement filed in respect of such Debt Securities. Prospective investors should rely on information in the applicable Prospectus Supplement if it is different from the following information.
Debt Securities may be offered separately or in combination with one or more other securities of the Company. The Company may, from time to time, issue Debt Securities and incur additional indebtedness other than through the issue of Debt Securities pursuant to this Prospectus.
The Debt Securities will be issued under one or more indentures (each, a Trust Indenture), in each case between the Company and a financial institution or trust company organized under the laws of Canada or any province thereof and authorized to carry on business as a trustee (each, a Trustee).
The following description sets forth certain general terms and provisions of the Debt Securities and is not intended to be complete. The particular terms and provisions of the Debt Securities and a description of how the general terms and provisions described below may apply to the Debt Securities will be included in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. The following description is subject to the detailed provisions of the applicable Trust Indenture. Accordingly, reference should also be made to the applicable Trust Indenture, a copy of which will be filed by the Company with the securities commissions or similar regulatory authorities in applicable Canadian offering jurisdictions, after it has been entered into, and will be available electronically at www.sedar.com.
General
The applicable Trust Indenture will not limit the aggregate principal amount of Debt Securities that may be issued under such Trust Indenture and will not limit the amount of other indebtedness that the Company may incur. The applicable Trust Indenture will provide that the Company may issue Debt Securities from time to time in one or more series and may be denominated and payable in U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars or any foreign currency. Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, the Debt Securities will be unsecured obligations of the Company.
The Company may specify a maximum aggregate principal amount for the Debt Securities of any series and, unless otherwise provided in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, a series of Debt Securities may be reopened for issuance of additional Debt Securities of such series. The applicable Trust Indenture will also permit the Company to increase the principal amount of any series of the Debt Securities previously issued and to issue that increased principal amount.
Any Prospectus Supplement for Debt Securities supplementing this Prospectus will contain the specific terms and other information with respect to the Debt Securities being offered thereby, including, but not limited to, the following:
|
the designation, aggregate principal amount and authorized denominations of such Debt Securities; |
40
|
the percentage of principal amount at which the Debt Securities will be issued; |
|
whether payment on the Debt Securities will be senior or subordinated to other liabilities or obligations of the Company; |
|
whether the payment of the Debt Securities will be guaranteed by any other person; |
|
the date or dates, or the methods by which such dates will be determined or extended, on which the Company may issue the Debt Securities and the date or dates, or the methods by which such dates will be determined or extended, on which the Company will pay the principal and any premium on the Debt Securities and the portion (if less than the principal amount) of Debt Securities to be payable upon a declaration of acceleration of maturity; |
|
whether the Debt Securities will bear interest, the interest rate (whether fixed or variable) or the method of determining the interest rate, the date from which interest will accrue, the dates on which the Company will pay interest and the record dates for interest payments, or the methods by which such dates will be determined or extended; |
|
the place or places the Company will pay principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, and the place or places where Debt Securities can be presented for registration of transfer or exchange; |
|
whether and under what circumstances the Company will be required to pay any additional amounts for withholding or deduction for Canadian taxes with respect to the Debt Securities, and whether and on what terms the Company will have the option to redeem the Debt Securities rather than pay the additional amounts; |
|
whether the Company will be obligated to redeem or repurchase the Debt Securities pursuant to any sinking or purchase fund or other provisions, or at the option of a holder, and the terms and conditions of such redemption; |
|
whether the Company may redeem the Debt Securities at its option and the terms and conditions of any such redemption; |
|
the denominations in which the Company will issue any registered and unregistered Debt Securities; |
|
the currency or currency units for which Debt Securities may be purchased and the currency or currency units in which the principal and any interest is payable (in either case, if other than Canadian dollars) or if payments on the Debt Securities will be made by delivery of Common Shares or other property; |
|
whether payments on the Debt Securities will be payable with reference to any index or formula; |
|
if applicable, the ability of the Company to satisfy all or a portion of any redemption of the Debt Securities, any payment of any interest on such Debt Securities or any repayment of the principal owing upon the maturity of such Debt Securities through the issuance of securities of the Company or of any other entity, and any restriction(s) on the persons to whom such securities may be issued; |
|
whether the Debt Securities will be issued as Global Securities (as defined below) and, if so, the identity of the depositary for the Global Securities; |
|
whether the Debt Securities will be issued as unregistered securities (with or without coupons), registered securities or both; |
|
the periods within which and the terms and conditions, if any, upon which the Company may redeem the Debt Securities prior to maturity and the price or prices of which, and the currency or currency units in which, the Debt Securities are payable; |
|
any events of default or covenants applicable to the Debt Securities; |
|
any terms under which Debt Securities may be decreased, whether at or prior to maturity; |
|
whether the holders of any series of Debt Securities have special rights if specified events occur; |
41
|
any mandatory or optional redemption or sinking fund or analogous provisions; |
|
the terms, if any, for any conversion or exchange of the Debt Securities for any other securities; |
|
rights, if any, on a change of control; |
|
provisions as to modification, amendment or variation of any rights or terms attaching to the Debt Securities; |
|
the Trustee under the Trust Indenture pursuant to which the Debt Securities are to be issued; |
|
whether the Company will undertake to list the Debt Securities of the series on any securities exchange or automated interdealer quotation system; and |
|
any other terms, conditions, rights and preferences (or limitations on such rights and preferences) including covenants and events of default which apply solely to a particular series of the Debt Securities being offered which do not apply generally to other Debt Securities, or any covenants or events of default generally applicable to the Debt Securities which do not apply to a particular series of the Debt Securities. |
The Company reserves the right to include in a Prospectus Supplement specific terms pertaining to the Debt Securities which are not within the options and parameters set forth in this Prospectus. In addition, to the extent that any particular terms of the Debt Securities described in a Prospectus Supplement differ from any of the terms described in this Prospectus, the description of such terms set forth in this Prospectus shall be deemed to have been superseded by the description of such differing terms set forth in such Prospectus Supplement with respect to such Debt Securities.
Unless stated otherwise in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, no holder of Debt Securities will have the right to require the Company to repurchase the Debt Securities and there will be no increase in the interest rate if the Company becomes involved in a highly leveraged transaction or has a change of control.
The Company may issue Debt Securities bearing no interest or interest at a rate below the prevailing market rate at the time of issuance and offer and sell these securities at a discount below their stated principal amount. The Company may also sell any of the Debt Securities for a foreign currency or currency unit, and payments on the Debt Securities may be payable in a foreign currency or currency unit. In any of these cases, the Company will describe certain Canadian federal income tax consequences and other special considerations in the applicable Prospectus Supplement.
Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, the Company may issue Debt Securities with terms different from those of Debt Securities previously issued and, without the consent of the holders thereof, reopen a previous issue of a series of Debt Securities and issue additional Debt Securities of such series.
Ranking and Other Indebtedness
Unless otherwise indicated in an applicable Prospectus Supplement, the Debt Securities will be direct unsecured obligations of the Company. The Debt Securities will be senior or subordinated indebtedness of the Company as described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. If the Debt Securities are senior indebtedness, they will rank equally and rateably with all other unsecured indebtedness of the Company from time to time issued and outstanding which is not subordinated. If the Debt Securities are subordinated indebtedness, they will be subordinated to senior indebtedness of the Company as described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, and they will rank equally and rateably with other subordinated indebtedness of the Company from time to time issued and outstanding as described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. The Company reserves the right to specify in a Prospectus Supplement whether a particular series of subordinated Debt Securities is subordinated to any other series of subordinated Debt Securities.
The Board may establish the extent and manner, if any, to which payment on or in respect of a series of Debt Securities will be senior or will be subordinated to the prior payment of the Companys other liabilities and obligations and whether the payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, will be guaranteed by any other person and the nature and priority of any security.
42
Registration of Debt Securities
Debt Securities in Book Entry Form
Unless otherwise indicated in an applicable Prospectus Supplement, Debt Securities of any series may be issued in whole or in part in the form of one or more global securities (Global Securities) registered in the name of a designated clearing agency (a Depositary) or its nominee and held by or on behalf of the Depositary in accordance with the terms of the applicable Trust Indenture. The specific terms of the depositary arrangement with respect to any portion of a series of Debt Securities to be represented by a Global Security will, to the extent not described herein, be described in the Prospectus Supplement relating to such series. The Company anticipates that the provisions described in this section will apply to all depositary arrangements.
Upon the issuance of a Global Security, the Depositary or its nominee will credit, in its book-entry and registration system, the respective principal amounts of the Debt Securities represented by the Global Security to the accounts of such participants that have accounts with the Depositary or its nominee (Participants). Such accounts are typically designated by the underwriters, dealers or agents participating in the distribution of the Debt Securities or by the Company if such Debt Securities are offered and sold directly by the Company. Ownership of beneficial interests in a Global Security will be limited to Participants or persons that may hold beneficial interests through Participants. With respect to the interests of Participants, ownership of beneficial interests in a Global Security will be shown on, and the transfer of that ownership will be effected only through records maintained by the Depositary or its nominee. With respect to the interests of persons other than Participants, ownership of beneficial interests in a Global Security will be shown on, and the transfer of that ownership will be effected only through records maintained by Participants or persons that hold through Participants.
So long as the Depositary for a Global Security, or its nominee, is the registered owner of such Global Security, such Depositary or such nominee, as the case may be, will be considered the sole owner or holder of the Debt Securities represented by such Global Security for all purposes under the applicable Trust Indenture and payments of principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, on the Debt Securities represented by a Global Security will be made by the Company to the Depositary or its nominee. The Company expects that the Depositary or its nominee, upon receipt of any payment of principal, premium, if any, or interest, if any, will credit Participants accounts with payments in amounts proportionate to their respective beneficial interests in the principal amount of the Global Security as shown on the records of such Depositary or its nominee. The Company also expects that payments by Participants to owners of beneficial interests in a Global Security held through such Participants will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices and will be the responsibility of such Participants. Conveyance of notices and other communications by the Depositary to direct Participants, by direct Participants to indirect Participants and by direct and indirect Participants to beneficial owners will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in effect from time to time. Beneficial owners of Debt Securities may wish to take certain steps to augment transmission to them of notices of significant events with respect to the Debt Securities, such as redemptions, tenders, defaults and proposed amendments to the Trust Indenture.
Owners of beneficial interests in a Global Security will not be entitled to have the Debt Securities represented by such Global Security registered in their names, will not receive or be entitled to receive physical delivery of such Debt Securities in certificated non-book-entry form, and will not be considered the owners or holders thereof under the applicable Trust Indenture, and the ability of a holder to pledge a debt security or otherwise take action with respect to such holders interest in a debt security (other than through a Participant) may be limited due to the lack of a physical certificate.
No Global Security may be exchanged in whole or in part for Debt Securities registered, and no transfer of a Global Security in whole or in part may be registered, in the name of any person other than the Depositary for such Global Security or any nominee of such Depositary unless: (i) the Depositary is no longer willing or able to discharge properly its responsibilities as depositary and the Company is unable to locate a qualified successor; (ii) the Company at its option elects, or is required by law, to terminate the book-entry system through the Depositary or the book-entry system ceases to exist; or (iii) if provided for in the Trust Indenture, after the occurrence of an event of default thereunder (provided the Trustee has not waived the event of default in accordance with the terms of the Trust Indenture), Participants acting on behalf of beneficial holders representing, in aggregate, a threshold percentage of the aggregate principal amount of the Debt Securities then outstanding advise the Depositary in writing that the continuation of a book-entry system through the Depositary is no longer in their best interest.
43
If one of the foregoing events occurs, such Global Security shall be exchanged for certificated non-book-entry Debt Securities of the same series in an aggregate principal amount equal to the principal amount of such Global Security and registered in such names and denominations as the Depositary may direct.
The Company, any underwriters, dealers or agents and any Trustee identified in an accompanying Prospectus Supplement, as applicable, will not have any liability or responsibility for (i) records maintained by the Depositary relating to beneficial ownership interests in the Debt Securities held by the Depositary or the book-entry accounts maintained by the Depositary, (ii) maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records relating to any such beneficial ownership interests, or (iii) any advice or representation made by or with respect to the Depositary and contained in this Prospectus or in any Prospectus Supplement or Trust Indenture with respect to the rules and regulations of the Depositary or at the direction of Depositary Participants.
Unless otherwise stated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc. or its successor will act as Depositary for any Debt Securities represented by a Global Security.
Debt Securities in Certificated Form
A series of the Debt Securities may be issued in definitive form, solely as registered securities, solely as unregistered securities or as both registered securities and unregistered securities. Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, unregistered securities will have interest coupons attached.
In the event that the Debt Securities are issued in certificated non-book-entry form, and unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, on the Debt Securities (other than a Global Security) will be made at the office or agency of the Trustee or, at the option of the Company, by the Company by way of cheque mailed or delivered to the address of the person entitled at the address appearing in the security register of the Trustee or electronic funds wire or other transmission to an account of the person entitled to receive such payments. Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable Prospectus Supplement, payment of interest, if any, will be made to the persons in whose name the Debt Securities are registered at the close of business on the day or days specified by the Company.
At the option of the holder of Debt Securities, registered securities of any series will be exchangeable for other registered securities of the same series, of any authorized denomination and of a like aggregate principal amount and tenor. If, but only if, provided in an applicable Prospectus Supplement, unregistered securities (with all unmatured coupons, except as provided below, and all matured coupons in default) of any series may be exchanged for registered securities of the same series, of any authorized denominations and of a like aggregate principal amount and tenor. In such event, unregistered securities surrendered in a permitted exchange for registered securities between a regular record date or a special record date and the relevant date for payment of interest shall be surrendered without the coupon relating to such date for payment of interest, and interest will not be payable on such date for payment of interest in respect of the registered security issued in exchange for such unregistered security, but will be payable only to the holder of such coupon when due in accordance with the terms of the Trust Indenture. Unless otherwise specified in an applicable Prospectus Supplement, unregistered securities will not be issued in exchange for registered securities.
The applicable Prospectus Supplement may indicate the places to register a transfer of the Debt Securities in definitive form. Except for certain restrictions to be set forth in the Trust Indenture, no service charge will be payable by the holder for any registration of transfer or exchange of the Debt Securities in definitive form, but the Company may, in certain instances, require a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charges payable in connection with these transactions.
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DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS
General
This section describes the general terms that will apply to any Warrants for the purchase of Equity Securities (Equity Warrants) or for the purchase of Debt Securities (Debt Warrants).
Warrants may be issued independently or together with other securities, and Warrants sold with other securities may be attached to or separate from the other securities. Warrants will be issued under one or more warrant agency agreements to be entered into by the Company and with one or more financial institutions or trust companies acting as warrant agent. The applicable Prospectus Supplement relating to any Warrants that the Company offers will describe the particular terms of those Warrants and include specific terms relating to the offering.
The statements made in this Prospectus relating to any warrant agreement and Warrants to be issued under this Prospectus are summaries of certain anticipated provisions thereof and do not purport to be complete and are subject to, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, all provisions of the applicable warrant agreement. Prospective investors should refer to the warrant indenture or warrant agency agreement relating to the specific Warrants being offered for the complete terms of the Warrants. A copy of any warrant indenture or warrant agency agreement relating to an offering or Warrants will be filed by the Company with the securities commissions or similar regulatory authorities in applicable Canadian offering jurisdictions, after it has been entered into, and will be available electronically at www.sedar.com.
Original purchasers of Warrants (if offered separately) will have a contractual right of rescission against the Company in respect of the exercise of such warrant. The contractual right of rescission will entitle such original purchasers to receive, upon surrender of the underlying securities acquired upon exercise of the warrant, the total of the amount paid on original purchase of the warrant and the amount paid upon exercise, in the event that this Prospectus (as supplemented or amended) contains a misrepresentation, provided that: (i) the exercise takes place within 180 days of the date of the purchase of the warrant under the applicable Prospectus Supplement; and (ii) the right of rescission is exercised within 180 days of the date of purchase of the warrant under the applicable Prospectus Supplement. This contractual right of rescission will be consistent with the statutory right of rescission described under section 131 of the Securities Act (British Columbia) (the BC Securities Act), and is in addition to any other right or remedy available to original purchasers under section 131 of the BC Securities Act or otherwise at law.
In an offering of Warrants, or other convertible securities, original purchasers are cautioned that the statutory right of action for damages for a misrepresentation contained in the prospectus is limited, in certain provincial and territorial securities legislation, to the price at which the Warrants, or other convertible securities, are offered to the public under the prospectus offering. This means that, under the securities legislation of certain provinces, if the purchaser pays additional amounts upon conversion, exchange or exercise of such securities, those amounts may not be recoverable under the statutory right of action for damages that applies in those provinces. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchasers province for the particulars of these rights, or consult with a legal advisor.
Equity Warrants
The particular terms of each issue of equity Warrants will be described in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. This description will include, where applicable:
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the designation and aggregate number of Equity Warrants; |
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the price at which the Equity Warrants will be offered; |
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the currency or currencies in which the Equity Warrants will be offered; |
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the date on which the right to exercise the Equity Warrants will commence and the date on which the right will expire; |
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the number of Equity Securities that may be purchased upon exercise of each equity warrant and the price at which and currency or currencies in which the Equity Securities may be purchased upon exercise of each Equity Warrant; |
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the terms of any provisions allowing or providing for adjustments in (i) the number and/or class of Equity Securities that may be purchased, (ii) the exercise price per Common Share or (iii) the expiry of the Equity Warrants; |
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whether the Company will issue fractional shares; |
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whether the Company has applied to list the Equity Warrants or the underlying shares on a securities exchange or automated interdealer quotation system; |
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the designation and terms of any securities with which the Equity Warrants will be offered, if any, and the number of the Equity Warrants that will be offered with each Security; |
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the date or dates, if any, on or after which the Equity Warrants and the related securities will be transferable separately; |
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whether the Equity Warrants will be subject to redemption or call and, if so, the terms of such redemption or call provisions; |
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material Canadian federal income tax consequences of owning the Equity Warrants; and |
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any other material terms or conditions of the Equity Warrants. |
Debt Warrants
The particular terms of each issue of debt Warrants will be described in the related Prospectus Supplement. This description will include, where applicable:
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the designation and aggregate number of Debt Warrants; |
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the price at which the Debt Warrants will be offered; |
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the currency or currencies in which the Debt Warrants will be offered; |
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the designation and terms of any securities with which the Debt Warrants are being offered, if any, and the number of the Debt Warrants that will be offered with each Security; |
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the date or dates, if any, on or after which the Debt Warrants and the related securities will be transferable separately; |
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the principal amount of Debt Securities that may be purchased upon exercise of each Debt Warrant and the price at which and currency or currencies in which that principal amount of Debt Securities may be purchased upon exercise of each Debt Warrant; |
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the date on which the right to exercise the Debt Warrants will commence and the date on which the right will expire; |
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the minimum or maximum amount of Debt Warrants that may be exercised at any one time; |
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whether the Debt Warrants will be subject to redemption or call, and, if so, the terms of such redemption or call provisions; |
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material Canadian federal income tax consequences of owning the Debt Warrants; and |
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any other material terms or conditions of the Debt Warrants. Prior to the exercise of their Warrants, holders of Warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of the securities subject to the Warrants. |
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DESCRIPTION OF UNITS
The Company may issue Units, separately or together, with other Securities. The applicable Prospectus Supplement will include details of the Units being offered thereunder.
Each Unit will be issued so that the holder of the Unit is also the holder of each Security comprising the Unit. Thus, the holder of a Unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each Security. The following describes the general terms that will apply to any Units that may be offered by the Company pursuant to this Prospectus. The terms and provisions of any Units offered under a Prospectus Supplement may differ from the terms described below, and may not be subject to or contain any or all of the terms described below.
The particular terms and provisions of the Units offered under any Prospectus Supplement, and the extent to which the general terms of the Units described in this Prospectus apply to those Units, will be set out in the applicable Prospectus Supplement. This description will include, where applicable: (i) the number of Units offered; (ii) the price or prices, if any, at which the Units will be offered; (iii) the manner of determining the offering price(s) (in the event that the offering is not a fixed price distribution); (iv) the currency in which the Units will be offered; (v) the Securities comprising the Units; (vi) whether the Units will be issued with any other securities and, if so, the amount and terms of such securities; (vii) any minimum or maximum subscription amount; (viii) whether the Units and the Securities comprising the Units are to be issued in registered form, book-entry only form, non-certificated inventory system form, bearer form or in the form of temporary or permanent Global Securities and the basis of exchange, transfer and ownership thereof; (ix) whether the Company will apply to list the Units on a securities exchange or automated interdealer quotation system; (x) any other rights, privileges, restrictions and conditions attaching to the Units or the Securities comprising the Units; and (xi) any other material terms or conditions of the Units or the Securities comprising the Units, including whether and under what circumstances the Securities comprising the Units may be held or transferred separately.
DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RECEIPTS
The Company may issue Subscription Receipts separately or in combination with one or more other Securities. The Subscription Receipts will entitle holders thereof to receive, upon satisfaction of certain release conditions and for no additional consideration, Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units or any combination thereof. Subscription receipts will be issued pursuant to one or more subscription receipt agreements (each, a Subscription Receipt Agreement), each to be entered into between the Company and an escrow agent (the Escrow Agent) that will be named in the relevant Prospectus Supplement. Each Escrow Agent will be a financial institution organized under the laws of Canada or a province thereof and authorized to carry on business as a trustee. If underwriters or agents are used in the sale of any Subscription Receipts, one or more of such underwriters or agents may also be a party to the Subscription Receipt Agreement governing the Subscription Receipts sold to or through such underwriter or agent.
The following description sets forth certain general terms and provisions of Subscription Receipts that may be issued hereunder and is not intended to be complete. The statements made in this Prospectus relating to any Subscription Receipt Agreement and Subscription Receipts to be issued thereunder are summaries of certain anticipated provisions thereof and are subject to, and are qualified in their entirety by reference to, all provisions of the applicable Subscription Receipt Agreement. Prospective investors should refer to the Subscription Receipt Agreement relating to the specific Subscription Receipts being offered for the complete terms of the Subscription Receipts. The Company will file a copy of any Subscription Receipt Agreement relating to an offering of Subscription Receipts with the securities commissions or similar regulatory authorities in applicable Canadian offering jurisdictions, after it has been entered into, and such Subscription Receipt Agreement will be available electronically at www.sedar.com.
General
The Prospectus Supplement and the Subscription Receipt Agreement for any Subscription Receipts that the Company may offer will describe the specific terms of the Subscription Receipts offered. This description may include, but may not be limited to, any of the following, if applicable:
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the designation and aggregate number of Subscription Receipts being offered; |
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the price at which the Subscription Receipts will be offered; |
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the designation, number and terms of the Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Unites or any combination thereof to be received by the holders of Subscription Receipts upon satisfaction of the release conditions, and any procedures that will result in the adjustment of those numbers; |
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the conditions (the Release Conditions) that must be met in order for holders of Subscription Receipts to receive, for no additional consideration, the Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Unites or any combination thereof; |
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the procedures for the issuance and delivery of the Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Unites or any combination thereof to holders of Subscription Receipts upon satisfaction of the Release Conditions; |
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whether any payments will be made to holders of Subscription Receipts upon delivery of the Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Unites or any combination thereof upon satisfaction of the Release Conditions; |
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the identity of the Escrow Agent; |
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the terms and conditions under which the Escrow Agent will hold all or a portion of the gross proceeds from the sale of Subscription Receipts, together with interest and income earned thereon (collectively, the Escrowed Funds), pending satisfaction of the Release Conditions; |
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the terms and conditions pursuant to which the Escrow Agent will hold Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units or any combination thereof pending satisfaction of the Release Conditions; |
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the terms and conditions under which the Escrow Agent will release all or a portion of the Escrowed Funds to the Company upon satisfaction of the Release Conditions; |
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if the Subscription Receipts are sold to or through underwriters or agents, the terms and conditions under which the Escrow Agent will release a portion of the Escrowed Funds to such underwriters or agents in payment of all or a portion of their fees or commissions in connection with the sale of the Subscription Receipts; |
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procedures for the refund by the Escrow Agent to holders of Subscription Receipts of all or a portion of the subscription price of their Subscription Receipts, plus any pro rata entitlement to interest earned or income generated on such amount, if the Release Conditions are not satisfied; |
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any contractual right of rescission to be granted to initial purchasers of Subscription Receipts in the event that this Prospectus, the Prospectus Supplement under which Subscription Receipts are issued or any amendment hereto or thereto contains a misrepresentation; |
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any entitlement of the Company to purchase the Subscription Receipts in the open market by private agreement or otherwise; |
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whether the Company will issue the Subscription Receipts as Global Securities and, if so, the identity of the depository for the Global Securities; |
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whether the Company will issue the Subscription Receipts as bearer securities, as registered securities or both; |
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provisions as to modification, amendment or variation of the Subscription Receipt Agreement or any rights or terms of the Subscription Receipts, including upon any subdivision, consolidation, reclassification or other material change of the Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants or other the Company securities, any other reorganization, amalgamation, merger or sale of all or substantially all of the Companys assets or any distribution of property or rights to all or substantially all of the holders of Common Shares; |
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whether the Company will apply to list the Subscription Receipts on a securities exchange or automated interdealer quotation system; |
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material Canadian federal income tax consequences of owning the Subscription Receipts; and |
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any other material terms or conditions of the Subscription Receipts. |
Original purchasers of Subscription Receipts will have a contractual right of rescission against the Company in respect of the conversion of the subscription receipt. The contractual right of rescission will entitle such original purchasers to receive the amount paid on original purchase of the subscription receipt upon surrender of the underlying securities gained thereby, in the event that this Prospectus (as supplemented or amended) contains a misrepresentation, provided that: (i) the conversion takes place within 180 days of the date of the purchase of the subscription receipt under this Prospectus; and (ii) the right of rescission is exercised within 180 days of the date of purchase of the subscription receipt under this Prospectus. This contractual right of rescission will be consistent with the statutory right of rescission described under section 131 of the BC Securities Act, and is in addition to any other right or remedy available to original purchasers under section 131 of the BC Securities Act or otherwise at law.
Rights of Holders of Subscription Receipts Prior to Satisfaction of Release Conditions
The holders of Subscription Receipts will not be, and will not have the rights of, shareholders of the Company. Holders of Subscription Receipts are entitled only to receive Equity Securities, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units or any combination thereof on exchange of their Subscription Receipts, plus any cash payments, all as provided for under the Subscription Receipt Agreement and only once the Release Conditions have been satisfied. If the Release Conditions are not satisfied, holders of Subscription Receipts shall be entitled to a refund of all or a portion of the subscription price thereof and all or a portion of the pro rata share of interest earned or income generated thereon, as provided in the Subscription Receipt Agreement.
Escrow
The Subscription Receipt Agreement will provide that the Escrowed Funds will be held in escrow by the Escrow Agent, and such Escrowed Funds will be released to the Company (and, if the Subscription Receipts are sold to or through underwriters or agents, a portion of the Escrowed Funds may be released to such underwriters or agents in payment of all or a portion of their fees in connection with the sale of the Subscription Receipts) at the time and under the terms specified by the Subscription Receipt Agreement. If the Release Conditions are not satisfied, holders of Subscription Receipts will receive a refund of all or a portion of the subscription price for their Subscription Receipts, plus their pro rata entitlement to interest earned or income generated on such amount, if provided for in the Subscription Receipt Agreement, in accordance with the terms of the Subscription Receipt Agreement. Common Shares or Warrants may be held in escrow by the Escrow Agent and will be released to the holders of Subscription Receipts following satisfaction of the Release Conditions at the time and under the terms specified in the Subscription Receipt Agreement.
Modifications
The Subscription Receipt Agreement will specify the terms upon which modifications and alterations to the Subscription Receipts issued thereunder may be made by way of a resolution of holders of Subscription Receipts at a meeting of such holders or consent in writing from such holders. The number of holders of Subscription Receipts required to pass such a resolution or execute such a written consent will be specified in the Subscription Receipt Agreement.
The Subscription Receipt Agreement will also specify that the Company may amend any Subscription Receipt Agreement and the Subscription Receipts, without the consent of the holders of the Subscription Receipts, to cure any ambiguity, to cure, correct or supplement any defective or inconsistent provision, or in any other manner that will not materially and adversely affect the interests of the holders of outstanding Subscription Receipts or as otherwise specified in the Subscription Receipt Agreement.
The foregoing summary of certain of the principal provisions of the Securities is a summary of anticipated terms and conditions only and is qualified in its entirety by the description in the applicable Prospectus Supplement under which any Securities are being offered.
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DENOMINATIONS, REGISTRATION AND TRANSFER
The Securities will be issued in fully registered form without coupons attached in either global or definitive form and in denominations and integral multiples as set out in the applicable Prospectus Supplement (unless otherwise provided with respect to a particular series of Debt Securities pursuant to the provisions of the applicable Trust Indenture, as supplemented by a supplemental indenture). Other than in the case of book-entry only securities, Securities may be presented for registration of transfer (with the form of transfer endorsed thereon duly executed) in the city specified for such purpose at the office of the registrar or transfer agent designated by the Company for such purpose with respect to any issue of Securities referred to in the Prospectus Supplement. No service charge will be made for any transfer, conversion or exchange of the Securities but the Company may require payment of a sum to cover any transfer tax or other governmental charge payable in connection therewith. Such transfer, conversion or exchange will be effected upon such registrar or transfer agent being satisfied with the documents of title and the identity of the Person making the request. If a Prospectus Supplement refers to any registrar or transfer agent designated by the Company with respect to any issue of Securities, the Company may at any time rescind the designation of any such registrar or transfer agent and appoint another in its place or approve any change in the location through which such registrar or transfer agent acts.
In the case of book-entry only securities, a global certificate or certificates representing the Securities will be held by a designated depository for its participants. The Securities must be purchased or transferred through such participants, which includes securities brokers and dealers, banks and trust companies. The depository will establish and maintain book-entry accounts for its participants acting on behalf of holders of the Securities. The interests of such holders of Securities will be represented by entries in the records maintained by the participants. Holders of Securities issued in book-entry only form will not be entitled to receive a certificate or other instrument evidencing their ownership thereof, except in limited circumstances. Each holder will receive a customer confirmation of purchase from the participants from which the Securities are purchased in accordance with the practices and procedures of that participant.
CERTAIN INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The applicable Prospectus Supplement may describe certain Canadian federal income tax consequences to an investor who is a non-resident of Canada or to an investor who is a resident of Canada of acquiring, owning and disposing of any of the Securities offered thereunder. The applicable Prospectus Supplement may also describe certain U.S. federal income tax consequences of the acquisition, ownership and disposition of any Securities offered thereunder by an initial investor who is a U.S. person (within the meaning of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986), including, to the extent applicable, such consequences relating to Debt Securities payable in a currency other than the U.S. dollar, issued at an original issue discount for U.S. federal income tax purposes or containing early redemption provisions or other special items. Investors should read the tax discussion in any Prospectus Supplement with respect to a particular offering and consult their own tax advisors with respect to their own particular circumstances.
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
The Company may sell the Securities to or through underwriters or dealers, and also may sell Securities to one or more other purchasers directly or through agents. Each Prospectus Supplement will set forth the terms of the offering, including the name or names of any underwriters or agents, the purchase price or prices of the Securities and the proceeds to the Company from the sale of the Securities. The sale of Common Shares may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions at non-fixed prices pursuant to transactions that are deemed to be at the market distributions, as defined in NI 44-102, including sales made directly on the TSX or other existing trading markets for the Common Shares, and as set forth in a Prospectus Supplement for such purpose.
The Securities may be sold, from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed price or prices which may be changed or at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices.
Underwriters, dealers and agents who participate in the distribution of the Securities may be entitled under agreements to be entered into with the Company to indemnification by the Company against certain liabilities, including liabilities under securities legislation, or to contribution with respect to payments which such underwriters, dealers or agents may be required to make in respect thereof. Such underwriters, dealers and agents may be customers of, engage in transactions with, or perform services for, the Company in the ordinary course of business.
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In connection with any offering of Securities, except in connection with an at the market distribution (as defined in NI 44-102) or as otherwise set out in a Prospectus Supplement relating to a particular offering of Securities, the underwriters or agents may, subject to applicable law, over-allot or effect transactions which stabilize or maintain the market price of the Securities offered at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. Such transactions, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time. No underwriter or dealer involved in an at the market distribution under this Prospectus, no affiliate of such underwriter or dealer will over-allot Securities in connection with such distribution or effect any other transactions that are intended to stabilize or maintain the market price of the Securities.
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters related to the Securities offered by this Prospectus will be passed upon on the Companys behalf by Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP, with respect to matters of Canadian law. The partners and associates of Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP beneficially own, directly or indirectly, collectively, less than 1% of the outstanding securities of the Company.
AUDITORS, REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER AGENT
The auditors of the Company are Crowe Mackay LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants, at its offices located at 1100 1177 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 4T5. Crowe MacKay LLP is independent from the Company within the meaning of the rules of professional conduct of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia and within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the applicable rules and regulations thereunder adopted by the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States).
The transfer agent and registrar for the Common Shares in Canada is Computershare Trust Company of Canada at its principal offices in Vancouver, British Columbia.
WHERE MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND
The Company is required to file with the securities commission or regulatory authority in each jurisdiction of Canada in which it is a reporting issuer, annual and quarterly reports, material change reports and other information. Prospective investors may access any document that the Company files with or furnishes to such securities commissions and regulatory authorities through SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
PURCHASERS STATUTORY RIGHTS
Securities legislation in certain of the provinces of Canada provides purchasers with the right to withdraw from an agreement to purchase securities. This right may be exercised within two business days after receipt or deemed receipt of a prospectus and any amendment, irrespective of the determination at a later date of the purchase price of the securities distributed. In several of the provinces, the securities legislation further provides a purchaser with remedies for rescission or, in some jurisdictions, damages, if the prospectus and any amendment contains a misrepresentation or is not delivered to the purchaser, provided that the remedies for rescission or damages are exercised by the purchaser within the time limit prescribed by the securities legislation of the purchasers province. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchasers province for the particulars of these rights or consult with a legal adviser. Rights and remedies also may be available to purchasers under U.S. law and purchasers may wish to consult with a U.S. lawyer for particulars of these rights.
In an offering of Securities which are convertible, exchangeable or exercisable securities, investors are cautioned that the statutory right of action for damages for a misrepresentation contained in the prospectus is limited, in certain provincial securities legislation, to the price at which the convertible, exchangeable or exercisable securities is offered to the public under the prospectus offering. This means that, under the securities legislation of certain provinces, if the purchaser pays additional amounts upon conversion, exchange or exercise of the security, those amounts may not be
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recoverable under the statutory right of action for damages that applies in those provinces. The purchaser should refer to any applicable provisions of the securities legislation of the purchasers province for the particulars of this right of action for damages or consult with a legal adviser.
Original purchasers of Securities which are convertible, exchangeable or exercisable securities will have a contractual right of rescission against the Company following the conversion of such convertible or exchangeable such Securities. The contractual right of rescission will entitle such original purchasers to receive, in addition to the amount paid on original purchase of the Warrants, Units, or Subscription Receipts, as the case may be, the amount paid, if any, upon conversion, exchange or exercise, upon surrender of the underlying securities gained thereby, in the event that this Prospectus, the applicable Prospectus Supplement or an amendment thereto contains a misrepresentation, provided that: (i) the conversion, exchange or exercise takes place within 180 days of the date of the purchase of the convertible, exchangeable or exercisable security under this Prospectus; and (ii) the right of rescission is exercised within 180 days of the date of the purchase of the convertible, exchangeable or exercisable security under this Prospectus. This contractual right of rescission will be consistent with the statutory right of rescission described under section 131 of the BC Securities Act, and is in addition to any other right or remedy available to original purchasers under section 131 of the BC Securities Act or otherwise at law.
DOCUMENTS FILED AS PART OF THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT
The following documents have been or will be filed with the SEC as part of the Registration Statement of which this Prospectus forms a part: (i) the documents referred to under Documents Incorporated by Reference in this Prospectus; (ii) the consent of the Companys auditors Crowe Mackay LLP; (iii) the consent of the Companys Canadian counsel Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP; (iv) powers of attorney from directors and officers of the Company; and (iv) a form of indenture relating to the Debt Securities.
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CERTIFICATE OF THE ISSUER
Dated: December 11, 2020
This short form prospectus, together with the documents incorporated in this prospectus by reference, will, as of the date of a particular distribution of securities under the prospectus, constitute full, true and plain disclosure of all material facts relating to the securities offered by this prospectus and the supplement as required by the securities legislation of each of the provinces of Canada except Québec.
(signed) Jennifer Bath | (signed) Lisa Helbling | |
President and Chief Executive Officer | Chief Financial Officer |
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
(signed) James Kuo | (signed) Greg Smith | |
Director | Director |
C-1
Exhibit 99.134
RECEIPT
ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
This is the receipt of the British Columbia Securities Commission for the Short Form Base Shelf Prospectus of the above Issuer dated December 11, 2020 (the prospectus).
This receipt also evidences that the Ontario Securities Commission has issued a receipt for the prospectus.
The prospectus has been filed under Multilateral Instrument 11-102 Passport System in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. A receipt for the prospectus is deemed to be issued by the regulator in each of those jurisdictions, if the conditions of the Instrument have been satisfied.
December 14, 2020
Maggie Zhang
Maggie Zhang, CPA, CA
Senior Securities Analyst, Corporate Finance
SEDAR Project Number 3131953
Tel: 604 899-6500 Fax: 604 899-6506 Toll Free: 1 800-373-6393 www.bcsc.bc.ca
P.O. Box 10142, Pacific Centre, 701 West Georgia Street Vancouver, BC, Canada V7Y 1L2
Exhibit 99.135
ImmunoPrecise Reports Financial Results and Recent Business Highlights for Second Quarter of 2021 Fiscal Year
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Record Quarterly Revenue of $4,754,545 and Adjusted EBITDA of $795,159 |
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Announced Strategic Partnership with Mila to Expand AI Capabilities and Functionality of Antibody Development Platform |
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Advanced Lead Candidates for COVID-19 PolyTope Cocktail Therapy, Preclinical Trials Scheduled to Launch in January 2021 |
VICTORIA, BC, Dec. 21, 2020 /CNW/ - IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD. (the Company or IPA) (TSXV: IPA) (OTCQB: IPATF) today announced financial results for the second quarter of its 2021 fiscal year ended October 31, 2020.
Q2 Fiscal 2021 Financial Highlights:
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Revenue was $4.8 million for the quarter ended October 31, 2020, an increase of $1.6 million, or 50%, compared to $3.2 million in the same quarter last year. |
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Adjusted EBITDA was $795,159 for the quarter ended October 31, 2020, an increase of $858,577 compared to ($63,418) in the same quarter last year. |
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Current cash balance is $16.8 million as of October 31, 2020 compared to $2.6 million as of the fiscal year end April 30, 2020. |
Financial Results
Revenue: The Companys revenues were $4,754,545 for the three-months ended October 31, 2020 compared to revenues of $3,162,365 for the same period last year, a 50% increase. This was a result of the Companys increased contract volume, which is due to ongoing emphasis on generating diversified discovery programs utilizing distinctive animal repertoires and multiple technologies with unique advantages.
Research and Development: The Company has invested $1,358,529 in research and has recorded $2,154,577 in grant income and subsidies through October 31, 2020. The Company has been expanding its commitment to research and development initiatives aimed at introducing new services through both internal development as well as through partnerships. The company has also undertaken research and development projects related to COVID-19 and has been awarded government grants and subsidies to support those efforts.
Net Loss. The Company recorded a net loss of $463,583 during the three-months ended October 31, 2020, a decrease of $899,962 from the net loss of $1,363,545 for the three months ended October 31, 2019. The improvement is a result of the Companys increase in revenue, higher gross profit and grant and subsidy income offset by higher research and development expenses and other operating expenses.
Non-IFRS Measures. *Adjusted EBITDA for the three-months ended October 31, 2020 was $795,159, an increase of $858,577 from the Adjusted EBITDA of ($63,418) for the three months ended October 31, 2019. The increase is a result of the increase in revenue, higher gross profit and grant and subsidy income offset by higher research and development expenses and other operating expenses compared to the prior period.
Dr. Jennifer Bath, CEO of ImmunoPrecise, stated, We have again achieved accelerated revenue growth in the second quarter of Fiscal Year 2021 as we continued to gain market share across different business units. We are anticipating additional commercial opportunities that will bolster our CRO revenues going forward, including within our partnered programs in our subsidiary, Talem Therapeutics.
Dr. Bath concluded, The Companys financial position is strong, providing support for our strategic growth plans in geographical expansion and digital transformations within AI at the intersection of genomics and immunology. We are grateful for the dedication of our employees and partners and remain committed to working with them to enable scientific innovation worldwide. Looking ahead, we will continue to invest in new capabilities that help our partners across the globe progress in their research and bring groundbreaking medicines and treatments to patients in need.
Recent Business Highlights
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Selected Lead Formulation for Preclinical PolyTope Antibody Cocktail Therapy: In November 2020, ImmunoPrecise announced the nomination the first anti-SARS-CoV-2 cocktail therapy consisting of four, human, synergistic antibodies for preclinical testing. The preclinical trial will examine the safety, tolerability and efficacy of the proposed therapeutic cocktail in the well-defined, SARS-CoV-2, Syrian hamster model. |
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Entered into Technology Partnership with Genmab Targeting Infectious Disease: In November 2020, ImmunoPrecise entered into a research agreement with Genmab A/S, to generate novel bispecific antibody combinations using Genmabs proprietary DuoBody® platform and IPAs proprietary antibodies in the field of infectious disease. |
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Announced Strategic AI Partnership with Mila: In November 2020, ImmunoPrecise announced a partnership with Mila, a world-renowned artificial intelligence (AI) research institute, to research and develop novel therapeutics. Through the partnership, the companies will access previously unexplored datasets generated by ImmunoPrecise to explore how to better design new therapeutics against life-threatening disease. |
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Announced Collaboration with Twist Biosciences for the Creation of Novel, Therapeutic Antibody Products: In October 2020, ImmunoPrecise announced a collaboration with Twist Biosciences to leverage Twists silicon DNA platform to enhance its antibody therapeutics and expand its early-stage pipeline into a wider range of oncology targets. Following initial discovery work, the companies will then aim to jointly advance the programs through proof-of-concept and preclinical, and eventually clinical, development. |
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Initiated Preclinical Trials for SARS-CoV-2 Vaccines in Collaboration with LiteVax: In September 2020, ImmunoPrecise, in partnership with LiteVax, initiated preclinical trials for a set of vaccine candidates being developed against SARS-CoV-2. The formulations were designed using ImmunoPrecises extensive data sources and co-formulated with LiteVaxs novel class of synthetic carbohydrate derivates designed to act as a vaccine adjuvant. |
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Released Second-Generation B Cell Select: In September 2020, IPA Europe, a subsidiary of ImmunoPrecise, announced the release of a second-generation B-Cell Select platform. The new technology will accelerate antibody identification and discovery capabilities by allowing for increased automation of their selection technology and subsequent single cell cloning. |
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Announced Multi-Specific SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Collaboration with Zymeworks: In September 2020, ImmunoPrecise announced a research collaboration with Zymeworks to utilize their Azymetric and EFECT platforms for the development of antibody candidates against COVID-19. Candidates obtained from this collaboration will undergo thorough testing using spike proteins provided by the National Research Council Canada and if effective, will proceed to further animal testing. |
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Commenced Application Process to Dual Listing on NASDAQ: In September 2020, ImmunoPrecise announced its application to list on the Capital Market NASDAQ exchange. NASDAQ is the worlds pre-eminent exchange for biotech and pharma companies and will expand the Companys exposure and access to U.S. and international investors. |
IPA periodically provides information for investors on its corporate website, ImmunoPrecise.com. This includes press releases and other information on financial performance, reports filed or furnished with the TSX, information on corporate governance and details related to its annual meeting of shareholders. Reports filed or furnished with the TSX can be found at sedar.com.
About ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
ImmunoPrecise is a global technology platform company with end-to-end solutions empowering companies to discover and develop therapies against any disease. The Companys experience and cutting-edge technologies enable unparalleled support of its partners in their quest to bring innovative treatments to the clinic. ImmunoPrecises full-service capabilities dramatically reduce the time required for, and the inherent risk associated with conventional multi-vendor product development. For further information, visit www.immunoprecise.com or contact solutions@immunoprecise.com.
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains statements that, to the extent they are not recitations of historical fact, may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The Company uses words such as may, would, could, will, likely, expect, believe, intend, should and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements and include the Companys beliefs with respect to the potential for its antibodies to be further developed or approved to treat COVID-19 (or SARS-CoV-2) or to complete any transactions with respect to those antibodies. Any such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and analyses made by ImmunoPrecise in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. However, whether actual results and developments will conform to ImmunoPrecises expectations and predictions is subject to any number of risks, assumptions, and uncertainties. Many factors could cause ImmunoPrecises actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Such factors include, among other things, actual revenues and earnings for IPA being lower than anticipated, and those risks and uncertainties described in ImmunoPrecises annual management discussion and analysis for the fiscal period ended October 31, 2020 which can be accessed at www.sedar.com. The forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release and, unless required by applicable law, ImmunoPrecise undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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Non-IFRS Financial Measure |
Readers are cautioned that Adjusted EBITDA is a measure not recognized under IFRS. Adjusted EBITDA is defined as earnings before interest income, taxes, depreciation and amortization, share-based compensation, restructuring costs, impairment charges and other non-recurring gains or losses. Management believes Adjusted EBITDA is a useful measure that facilitates period-to-period operating comparisons. Readers are cautioned that Adjusted EBITDA is not an alternative to measures determined in accordance with IFRS and should not, on its own, be construed as an indicator of performance, cash flow or profitability.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
SOURCE ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
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http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/December2020/21/c3851.html
%SEDAR: 00005542E
For further information: For investor relations please contact: Frédéric Chabot, Phone: 1-438-863-7071, Email: frederick@contactfinancial.com; Contact Financial Corp., Suite 810, 609 Granville Street, P.O. Box 10322, Vancouver, B.C., V7Y 1G5.
CO: ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd.
CNW 08:12e 21-DEC-20
Exhibit 99.136
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
The following Managements Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), prepared as of December 18, 2020, should be read in conjunction with the unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the Company, ImmunoPrecise or IPA) for the three and six months ended October 31, 2020, together with the audited financial statements and accompanying MD&A of the Company for the year ended April 30, 2020. This MD&A is the responsibility of management and has been reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors of IPA.
The referenced financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board and as applicable to the preparation of interim financial statements, including IAS 34, Interim Financial Reporting. Except as otherwise noted, all dollar figures in this MD&A are stated in Canadian dollars, which is the Companys reporting currency.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This MD&A may contain certain statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of National Instrument 51-102, Continuous Disclosure Obligations of the Canadian Securities Administrators.
Forward-looking statements often, but not always, are identified by the use of words such as seek, anticipate, believe, plan, estimate, expect, targeting and intend and statements that an event or result may, will, should, could, or might occur or be achieved and other similar expressions.
In this MD&A, forward-looking statements include the Companys future plans and expenditures, the satisfaction of rights and performance of obligations under agreements to which the Company is a part, the ability of the Company to hire and retain employees and consultants and estimated administrative assessment and other expenses. The forward-looking statements that are contained in this MD&A involve a number of risks and uncertainties. As a consequence, actual results might differ materially from results forecast or suggested in these forward-looking statements. Some of these risks and uncertainties are identified under the heading RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES in this MD&A.
Furthermore, forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this MD&A and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.
GENERAL
The Company was incorporated under the laws of Alberta on November 22, 1983 and is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange) as a Tier 2 life science issuer under the trading symbol IPA. The Companys OTC symbol is IPATD. The address of the Companys head office is 3204 4464 Markham Street, Victoria, BC V8Z 7X8.
On November 23, 2020, the Company consolidated its issued and outstanding common shares on the basis of five pre-consolidation shares for one post-consolidation share (the Consolidation). All references to share and per share amounts in this MD&A have been retroactively restated to reflect the Consolidation.
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IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
OVERVIEW
The Company is an innovation-driven, technology platform company that supports its pharmaceutical and biotechnology company partners in their quest to discover and develop novel, therapeutic antibodies against all classes of disease targets. The Company aims to transform the conventional, multi-vendor, product development model by bringing innovative and high-throughput, data-driven technologies to its partners, incorporating the advantages of diverse antibody repertoires with the Companys therapeutic antibody discovery suite of technologies, to exploit antibodies of broad epitope coverage, multiple antibody formats, valency and size, and to discover antibodies against multiple/rare epitopes.
The Company offers comprehensive support to its partners, starting with customized, computational project design, antigen preparation, an on-site vivarium, proprietary immunization services, high-throughput discovery platforms, functional antibody testing, lead candidate selection, antibody optimization, antibody engineering and manufacturing, all under one contract.
The Company believes that its experience, innovation, technologies, scientific rigor, and focus on producing quality products, provide a unique experience in one-stop service offerings, and assist the Company in its aim to reduce the time required for, and the inherent risk associated with, conventional multi-vendor product development.
The Company has achieved organic revenue growth through market penetration and service diversification in the biologics, CRO space, as well as accretive growth through strategic expansion of its operations into Europe, by acquiring and integrating innovative technologies, and through investments in research and development (R&D).
Services
The Companys services include, but are not limited to, custom antigen modeling, design and manufacturing; proprietary B cell sorting, screening and sequencing; custom, immune and naïve phage display production and screening; hybridoma production with multiplexed, high-throughput screening and clone-picking; expertise with transgenic animals and multi-species antibody discovery; antibody characterization studies such as affinity measurements, functional assays, epitope mapping and binning; bi-specific, tri-specific, single domain (such as variable domain of the heavy chain VHH, and variable new antigen receptor VNAR (shark)) antibody manufacturing; DNA synthesis and cloning, protein and antibody downstream processing with purification of protein in gram scale levels including characterization and validation; antibody engineering; transient and stable cell line generation; antibody optimization and humanization; and cryopreservation.
The Companys wholly owned subsidiaries, ImmunoPrecise Antibodies (Canada) Ltd . (IPA Canada) and ImmunoPrecise Antibodies (Europe) B.V. (IPA Europe, formerly ModiQuest Research B.V.) (IPA Europe), have both been designated as approved CROs for leading, transgenic animal platforms producing human antibodies. Through IPA Canada and IPA Europe, the Company has made strategic investments in R&D activities to develop proprietary technologies enabling the application of its B cell Select and DeepDisplay platforms to a broad range of transgenic animal species and strains.
Operations of the Company
The Companys operations are based in Utrecht and Oss, the Netherlands (U-Protein Express (UPE) and IPA Europe, respectively), Victoria, British Columbia, and Fargo, North Dakota.
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IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
IPA Canada operates from Victoria, British Columbia, offering custom antibody generation since its inception. Since the acquisitions of UPE and IPA Europe, the Company has redirected most of its focus from the North American diagnostic market to the therapeutic antibody market, bringing an expanded portfolio of products and services to clients in Europe, North America and the rest of the world. The Company has sought to increase its capabilities at its Victoria location by adding equipment for protein purification and measuring protein binding kinetics, enlarging the vivarium, and further developing and improving technologies such as its B cell SelectTM platform.
The Company established its executive headquarters in Fargo, North Dakota in 2018 in an effort to bring key members of management under a streamlined chain of command that is responsible for pipeline selection and oversight, policy establishment, finances and accounting, sales and marketing, communication, contracts, information technology governance and administration. The Fargo site is also the address of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies (N.D.). and ImmunoPrecise Antibodies (USA) Ltd. (IPA USA) and offers the potential for future growth plans in the United States.
UPE is situated in the biotechnology hub of Utrecht, the Netherlands and has been operating in the recombinant protein community for close to twenty years, specializing in the manufacture of complex proteins and antibodies in a variety of formats, and from a range of mammalian cell types, using its proprietary expression platform rPEx. UPEs operations have enabled it to successfully support over five thousand different programs for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries as well as leading, academic institutions.
Research, Development and Therapeutic Discovery Program
CRO services are the main focus of the Companys business activities, though it also continues to develop an intellectual property portfolio of proprietary methods and physical assets through collaborations, acquisitions and in-licensing. The Company has invested strategically in the development and licensing of antibody technologies and related intellectual property assets. These investments have been accompanied by internal discovery programs focused on novel therapeutic antibodies and vaccines in areas such as oncology and COVID-19, and further enable companies to enter into non fee-for-service partnership models of drug discovery, as well as in-license or purchase later-stage programs.
In 2019, the Company formed Talem Therapeutics LLC (Talem), based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to support its internal and partnered therapeutic discovery programs, which includes a license for the use of Ligand Pharmaceuticals OmniAb® transgenic animals pursuant to a commercial platform license and services agreement dated October 30, 2019. Talem has the right to discover, develop and partner fully human antibodies from these animals. Talem offers strategic partnerships with pharma and biotech companies and is the only company to offer these services as a partnership in OmniAb transgenic animals. The ability for investors to support individual assets or portfolios generates an asymmetrical opportunity for investments, while avoiding ImmunoPrecise shareholder dilution. The depth and speed of IPAs offerings enables Talem to customize each program and leverages the Companys expertise and technologies in the antibody discovery.
STRATEGY AND OUTLOOK
The Companys management team places an emphasis on initiatives designed to drive revenue, bolster internal assets and maximize shareholder value. The Company aims to continue to build on revenue and asset generation through internal development and well-informed, strategic acquisitions and joint ventures. The Companys strategy also includes growth through alliances and partnerships, within both its research (Talem) and service sectors, as well as potential new market sectors such as pre-clinical and clinical manufacturing.
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IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
The Companys objective is to continue growing as a preferred partner for therapeutic antibody researchers. Therefore, the Companys aim is to deliver a comprehensive and integrated continuum of technologically advanced and high-throughput, data-driven protein and antibody services to its clients and partners to enable them to bring novel therapies to the clinic faster. The Company intends to continue focusing on the development and refinement of its integrated end-to-end platform, which, when coupled with strong scientific know-how, can help clients navigate through the process of lead candidate advancement. The Company offers customized solutions for antibody discovery while providing details via the project management team to ensure clients have the project data they need, with the security measures required to ensure their peace of mind.
The Company believes its strategy is supported by growing trends in pharma and finance. Large pharmaceutical companies continue to outsource research, with trends showing an increase on the reliance of CROs to improve the efficiency and cost of development, increase turnaround time, and access advanced and integrated expertise. A report by Objective Capital Partners dated July 3, 2019 titled CRO Sector Fundamentals Remain Hot for M&A Consolidation identified several major drivers of the CRO industry growth, including robust biopharmaceutical funding, accelerated drug approval rates, the growing number of clinical trials, and proliferation of biopharmaceutical companies without own internal research and clinical capabilities.
To streamline, many large pharmaceutical companies are limiting the number of external CRO vendors that can be contracted. This is particularly promising for those CROs that fill multiple niches in the discovery and manufacturing pipeline, as the Company believes it can do.
According to a report titled Global and China Monoclonal Antibody Industry Report, 2019-2025 published in April 2019 on ResearchandMarkets.com, the key industry participants serving the monoclonal antibodies market are Novartis, Merck & Co., Amgen, AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson and Roche. In 2016, Novartis invested U.S.$9 billion in R&D, according to its own publication Corporate Responsibility Performance Report 2016.
In May 2020 ResearchandMarkets.com stated in their report Global Antibody Production Market (2020 to 2025) Growth, Trends, and Forecasts that investments by pharma and biotech companies in antibody R&D are expected to increase given the rising prevalence of cancer, autoimmune disease and other chronic diseases. Accordingly, a piece on the website for Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News titled Antibody Discovery Looks over the Horizon published on February 7, 2019, antibodies are mainstay in oncology as physicians move away from other types of therapies such as small molecules. In recent years, the success of key pipeline drugs in the immuno-oncology space have been a key component of the record high capital market funding for the biotechnology sector, according to Objective Capital Partners report on the CRO sector fundamentals, as noted above.
COVID-19 R&D
There is an ongoing need for therapeutics to protect against Covid-19 even when a vaccine is available, as vaccines do not provide protection for all individuals. This is particularly true for immunocompromised individuals such as the elderly, cancer patients, individuals with HIV or those undergoing bone marrow and organ transplants, whose immune systems are too weak to mount an effective response upon vaccination. Without 100% protection, important segments of higher exposure risk populations will likely be left unprotected namely frontline workers and those living in group care.
Therapeutic antibodies are providing breakthrough medicines for cancer, inflammation, autoimmune and infectious diseases due in part to their high on-target affinity and exquisite specificity making them highly efficacious with good safety profiles.
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IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
Technological advances in antibody discovery methods such as B cell sorting now enable the rapid and systematic identification of high-quality fully human antibodies from healthy donors, diseased patients and transgenic animals. Furthermore, when therapeutic antibodies are combined into cocktails, they can provide unique protection against infectious diseases by working synergistically to neutralize pathogens via engaging multiple mechanism of action in concert, boosting potency beyond the sum of their individual components. Single antibodies are vulnerable to mutagenic escape and can be rendered ineffective by a single point mutation in the virus. In contrast, antibody cocktails may protect against mutagenic escape because they cover a larger epitope footprint on the pathogens surface than possible with a single antibody, providing longer-lasting protection against emerging mutations.
The Companys diverse panel of antibodies with therapeutic potential can be curated into synergistic cocktails, providing opportunities for out-licensing and sponsorship deals which the Company believes would enable it to respond quickly to emerging viral mutants as well as formulation into bi- or multi-specifics.
The Company is presently manufacturing a selection of preliminary lead candidates of monoclonal antibodies in human format for preclinical testing and aim to use the resulting data to support conversations with sponsors, potential partners and funding agencies. The Company anticipates similar cocktail formulations, including its bi-specific, cocktail formulations, to also follow into pre-clinical testing in the near-term. As result, the Company anticipates that such developments will provide on-going opportunities for commercialization.
The Company is also testing adjuvanted, protein-based vaccines, based on a well-defined region of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The Company anticipates moving this trial forward to a second pre-clinical study (two animal systems are recommended in the pre-clinical setting) which, following positive results, would be its first vaccine clinical candidate. The Company intends to combine the data obtained from this on-going trial with structural data from electron microscopy imaging of lead therapeutic candidates to inform the final formulation of its Polytope vaccine candidates.
OVERALL PERFORMANCE AND LIQUIDITY
The Company continued to emphasize the value of diversified discovery programs utilizing distinctive animal repertoires and multiple technologies with unique advantages, while continuing to take on a larger volume of contracts in general. As a result, revenues of $4,754,545 were achieve for the three months ended October 31, 2020 compared to revenues of $3,162,365 in 2019, a 50% increase and revenues of $8,519,522 were achieved during the six months ended October 31, 2020 compared to revenues of $5,878,464 in 2019, a 45% increase in revenue for the period.
Revenue outlook remains positive for the third quarter of the 2021 fiscal year.
The Company has been expanding its commitment to research and development initiatives aimed at introducing new services through both internal development as well as through partnerships. The Company has also undertaken research and development projects related to COVID-19 and has been awarded government grants and subsidies to support those efforts. The Company has invested $1,358,529 in research and has recorded $2,154,577 in grant income and subsidies through October 31, 2020.
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IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
To support management and the Board of Directors in exercising oversight, the Company has implemented information systems for marketing and sales automation and customer relationship management, as well as accounting and financial reporting, resource planning and project management. Comprehensive operational and management reporting capabilities are being implemented with a view to effectively support a geographically dispersed organization allowing managers access to company data globally. These continued efforts support the Companys preparation for its uplist to Nasdaq, and during the quarter and six months ended October 31, 2020 the Company spent $155,313 on its Nasdaq readiness efforts.
Adjusted EBITDA for the three and six months ending October 31, 2020 was $688,267 and $1,727,875, respectively. This is a significant improvement from the adjusted EBITDA of ($63,418) and ($699,360) for the 2019 fiscal periods. The improvement is a result of the increase in revenue, higher gross profit and grant and subsidy income compared to the prior period. Adjusted EBITDA is a non-IFRS measure which is fully defined on page ten of this document.
During the three months ended October 31, 2020 the Company increased its cash on hand to $16,840,908 from $2,605,706 as a result of exercised warrants, and exercised stock options. Accordingly, management modified Footnote 1 Nature of Operations in its notes to the condensed interim consolidated financial statements. The Companys forecast indicates the cash on hand will sustain its existing operations, support its Nasdaq uplist cost and satisfy its obligations through at least 2022. The Company may need to raise additional capital to fund its strategic goals and there can be no assurances that sufficient funding, including adequate financing, will be available. The ability of the Company to arrange additional financing in the future depends in part, on the prevailing capital market conditions and profitability of its operations.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Comparison of Three months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
Revenue
The Company achieved revenues of $4,754,545 during the three months ended October 31, 2020, compared to revenues of $3,162,365 in 2019. This represents a 50% increase in revenue for the period. The increasing revenue trend is due to increases in both volume and financial values of client contracts as a result of continued focus on expanding the breadth and depth of services offered, new client onboarding including top pharma companies, and growing its core existing client business.
Gross Profit
During the three months ended October 31, 2020, the Company achieved a gross profit of $2,788,669, compared to $2,490,015 in 2019. The Companys gross margin was 59% in the three months ended October 31, 2020 and 79% in 2019. The current periods gross margin is in line with managements expectations where in 2019 gross margin was high as a result of IPA Europe reclassifying certain research and development costs previously recorded in cost of sales.
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IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
Expenses
Noteworthy expense variances include:
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Advertising and promotion fees of $255,599 in 2020 (2019 - $60,950) increased compared to 2019 as a result of engaging additional investor relations advisors in preparation for Nasdaq and an increase in press releases and other promotional expenses to increase brand awareness. |
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Consulting fees of $156,559 in 2020 (2019 - $43,005) increased compared to 2019 as a result of costs incurred to achieve Nasdaq readiness, costs of a feasibility study for a monoclonal antibody GMP facility, and charges related to COVID research work. |
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Office and general expenses decreased to $208,197 from $386,172 in 2019. The expenses were lower in 2020 as a result of reducing the information technology systems after implementing one enterprise resource planning system to support its multinational operations and rent expense decreased due to implementation of IFRS 16, lease accounting. Refer to Footnote 3 in the Companys Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information. |
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Professional Fees of $233,245 in 2020 compared to $365,560 in 2019 are lower due to 2019 expenditures incurred to support the integration of acquisitions. |
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Research and development increased to $1,049,316 from $445,842 in 2019, due to the extensive R&D the Company is undertaking on projects related to COVID-19. See Other Income (Expenses) for related Grant Income and Subsidies. |
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Salaries and benefits expense increased to $1,499,772 from $997,473 in 2019. Key leaders and technical employees were added to the team during FY20 to aid in executing the Companys strategies. The increase in salaries and benefits is due to the fully staffed salaries and benefits in addition to routine salary adjustments and incentive compensation. |
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The Company recorded share-based payments expense of $476,571 in 2020 (2019 - $214,120), the increase in expense relates to additional options being granted that are expensed over the vesting period. The option plan is aimed to align staff to the future company growth plans. |
Other Income (Expenses)
The Company recorded other income of $1,855,076 during the three months ended October 31, 2020 compared to other expense of ($170,668) in 2019. The increase is primarily related to 2020 government grant income of $1,312,472 and subsidies of $134,821, primarily related to COVID-19. See Footnote 16 in the Companys Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on government grants.
Net Loss
The Company recorded a net loss of $463,583 during the three months ended October 31, 2020, compared to net loss of $1,363,545 for the three months ended October 31, 2019, primarily due to higher gross profit and an increase in Other Income as a result of being awarded research grants offset by higher expenses.
Comparison of the Six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
Revenue
The Company achieved revenues of $8,519,522 during the six months ended October 31, 2020, compared to revenues of $5,878,464 in 2019. This represents a 45% increase in revenue for the period. The increasing revenue trend is due to increases in both volume and financial values of client contracts as a result of continued focus on expanding the breadth and depth of services offered, new client onboarding including top pharma companies, and growing its core existing client business.
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IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
Gross Profit
During the six months ended October 31, 2020, the Company achieved a gross profit of $5,198,995, compared to $3,866,421 in 2019. In percentage terms, the Companys gross profit decreased to 61% in the six months ended October 31, 2020 from 66% in 2019. In 2019 gross margin was high as a result of IPA Europe reclassifying certain research and development costs previously recorded in cost of sales.
Expenses
Variances of note in the Companys expenses include:
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Advertising and promotion fees of $288,905 in 2020 (2019 - $178,150) increased compared to 2019 as a result of engaging additional investor relations advisors in preparation for Nasdaq, including public relations as well as an increased number of press releases. |
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Consulting fees of $193,980 in 2020 (2019 - $65,345) increased compared to 2019 as a result of costs incurred to achieve NASDAQ readiness, costs of a feasibility study for a monoclonal antibody GMP facility, and charges related to COVID research work. |
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$204,825 of the management fees were attributed to accruing an estimate of profit-sharing to the former shareholders of U-Protein, as part of the acquisition agreement. The profit-sharing payout is a three- year, annual obligation, with declining percentage of profit sharing. Beginning August 24, 2020, the profit- sharing payout for U-Protein will cease and the Company will be under no further obligations to share profits with the former shareholders of U-Protein. An accrual of estimated profit sharing was not made as of October 31, 2019. |
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Office and general expenses decreased to $356,357 from $609,507 in 2019. The expenses were lower in 2020 as a result of reducing the number of accounting systems after implementing one enterprise resource planning system to support its multinational operations and rent expense decreased due to implementation of IFRS 16, lease accounting. Refer to Footnote 3 in the Companys Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information. |
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Repairs and maintenance increased to $155,145 from $32,133 in 2019, due to increased maintenance on equipment through all 3 labs. |
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Research and development increased to $1,358,529 from $613,102 in 2019, due to the extensive R&D the Company is undertaking on projects related to COVID-19. |
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Salaries and benefits expense increased to $2,851,004 from $2,093,717 in 2019. Key leaders and technical employees were added to the team during FY20 to aid in executing the Companys strategies. The increase in salaries and benefits is due to the fully staffed salaries and benefits in addition to routine salary adjustments and incentive compensation. |
Other Income (Expenses)
The Company recorded other income of $2,460,591 during the six months ended October 31, 2020 compared to other expense of ($711,159) in 2019. The increase is primarily related to 2020 government grant income of $1,880,607 and subsidies of $273,970, primarily related to COVID-19 and a $556,839 reduction in accretion expense related to its obligations.
Net Loss
The Company recorded a net loss of $1,012,901 during the six months ended October 31, 2020, compared to net loss of $3,375,743 for the six months ended October 31, 2019, primarily due to higher gross profit and an increase in Other Income as a result of being awarded research grants offset by higher expenses.
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IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
SUMMARY OF QUARTERLY RESULTS
The following table sets out financial information for the past eight quarters:
Three Months Ended ($) | ||||||||||||||||
October 31,
2020 |
July 31,
2020 |
April 30,
2020 |
January 31,
2020 |
|||||||||||||
Total revenue |
4,754,545 | 3,764,977 | 4,145,023 | 4,034,440 | ||||||||||||
Net loss |
(463,583 | ) | (549,318 | ) | (945,846 | ) | (625,837 | ) | ||||||||
Basic and diluted loss per share* |
(.03 | ) | (0.05 | ) | (0.05 | ) | (0.05 | ) | ||||||||
Three Months Ended ($) | ||||||||||||||||
October 31,
2019 |
July 31,
2019 |
April 30,
2019 |
January 31,
2019 |
|||||||||||||
Total revenue |
3,162,365 | 2,716,099 | 2,641,109 | 2,695,583 | ||||||||||||
Net (loss) |
(1,363,545 | ) | (2,012,198 | ) | (3,842,317 | ) | (1,187,056 | ) | ||||||||
Basic and diluted loss per share* |
(0.10 | ) | (0.15 | ) | (0.30 | ) | (0.10 | ) |
* |
The basic and fully diluted calculations result in the same value due to the anti-dilutive effect of outstanding stock options and warrants. |
The Company achieved revenues of $4,754,545 during the three months ended October 31, 2020, which was higher compared to revenues earned during the past seven quarters. The increasing revenue trend is due to increases in both volume and financial values of client contracts as a result of continued focus on expanding the breadth and depth of services offered, new client onboarding including top pharma companies, and growing its core existing client business.
The Company recorded a net loss of $463,583 during the three months ended October 31, 2020 and $549,318 during the three months ended July 31, 2020, which were lower compared to the net losses during the quarters ended April 30, 2020 and January 31, 2020. This trend is due to higher revenue, higher gross profit, and grant and subsidy income, partially offset by higher operating expenses.
The loss of $2,012,198 for the quarter ended July 31, 2019 was also higher compared to the other quarters, primarily as a result of higher non-cash expenses: amortization of acquired companies intangible assets, depreciation of leased assets as a result of implementing IFRS 16, Leases, and the accretion expense on deferred acquisition payments. In addition, the Company continued to invest in research and development in pursuit of its goal of broadening the breadth and value of its intellectual property assets in techniques inherent in the production of human antibodies through new working partnerships with several companies with leading transgenic platforms.
The loss of $3,842,317 for the quarter ended April 30, 2019 was greater than other quarters, as the Company invested heavily in growth enabling initiatives during the quarter and also due to the catch-up amortization recorded of intangible assets which were acquired as a result of the acquisitions of U-Protein and IPA Europe.
9
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
NON-IFRS MEASURES
The following are non-IFRS measures and investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on them and are urged to read all IFRS accounting disclosures present in the condensed interim consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes for the three and six months ended October 31, 2020.
The Company uses certain non-IFRS financial measures as supplemental indicators of its financial and operating performance. These non-IFRS financial measures include adjusted operating EBITDA and adjusted operating expenses. The Company believes these supplementary financial measures reflect the Companys ongoing business in a manner that allows for meaningful period-to-period comparisons and analysis of trends in its business. These non-IFRS measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed under IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.
The Company defines adjusted operating EBITDA as operating earnings before interest, accretion, taxes, depreciation, amortization, share-based compensation, foreign exchange gain/loss, and asset impairment charges. Adjusted operating EBITDA is presented on a basis consistent with the Companys internal management reports. The Company discloses adjusted operating EBITDA to capture the profitability of its business before the impact of items not considered in managements evaluation of operating unit performance.
The Company defines adjusted operating expenses as operating expenses before taxes, interest, share-based compensation, depreciation, amortization, accretion, foreign exchange loss (gain), and asset impairment charges. Adjusted operating expenses are presented on a basis consistent with the Companys internal management reports. The non-IFRS measures are reconciled to reported IFRS figures in the tables below:
Three months ended | Six months ended | |||||||||||||||
October 31, | October 31, | |||||||||||||||
2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||
$ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||
Net loss |
(463,583 | ) | (1,363,545 | ) | (1,012,901 | ) | (3,375,743 | ) | ||||||||
Income taxes |
53,446 | 58,339 | 234,453 | 54,284 | ||||||||||||
Amortization expense |
973,737 | 746,543 | 1,885,660 | 1,294,384 | ||||||||||||
Accretion |
107,876 | 212,967 | 209,021 | 765,860 | ||||||||||||
Foreign exchange loss (gain) |
25,547 | (4,331 | ) | 45,803 | (117,307 | ) | ||||||||||
Interest expense |
137,224 | 114,788 | 307,030 | 233,748 | ||||||||||||
Interest and other income |
(515,659 | ) | (42,299 | ) | (515,035 | ) | (54,701 | ) | ||||||||
Share-based payments |
476,571 | 214,120 | 573,844 | 500,115 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Adjusted EBITDA |
795,159 | (63,418 | ) | 1,727,875 | (699,360 | ) | ||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Three months ended | Six months ended | |||||||||||||||
October 31, | October 31, | |||||||||||||||
2020 | 2019 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||||||||
$ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||
Operating expenses |
(5,053,882 | ) | (3,624,553 | ) | (8,438,034 | ) | (6,476,721 | ) | ||||||||
Amortization expense |
715,857 | 746,543 | 1,393,744 | 1,294,384 | ||||||||||||
Foreign exchange loss (gain) |
25,547 | (4,331 | ) | 45,803 | (117,307 | ) | ||||||||||
Interest expense |
137,224 | 114,788 | 307,030 | 233,748 | ||||||||||||
Share-based payments |
476,571 | 214,120 | 573,844 | 500,115 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Adjusted Operating Expenses |
(3,698,683 | ) | (2,553,433 | ) | (6,117,613 | ) | (4,565,781 | ) | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
10
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
FINANCING ACTIVITIES
On September 26, 2019, the Company modified the terms of $2,750,000 debentures to extend the due date by 6 months to March 26, 2020, with the ability to pay earlier with no penalty, and increased the interest rate to 12.5%. The remaining debentures of $125,000 were paid on maturity.
On March 26, 2020, the Company settled $700,000 of the $2,750,000 debentures plus accrued interest of $46,875 by issuing 248,959 common shares. The fair value of the 248,959 common shares issued was determined to be $858,906. The settlement resulted in a loss of $112,031. $50,000 of the Debentures were paid on maturity. The maturity date of the remaining debentures of $2,000,000 was extended to September 26, 2020. The Company repaid the remaining balance of $2,000,000 plus interest during the three months ended October 31, 2020.
On April 15, 2020, the Company was approved for a US$209,000 loan under the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The loan accrued interest at 1% per annum and was to be repayable in monthly installments of US$11,761 starting in November 2020 until April 2022. The PPP is a US$349 billion loan program that originated from the U.S. Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The PPP loan had a term of two years, was unsecured, and was guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The loan is forgiven if the proceeds are used by the Company to cover payroll costs (including benefits), with up to 25% allowed for rent and utilities, during the eight-week period following the loan origination date. The Company applied for lender forgiveness and expects to meet the requirements for full loan forgiveness. Accordingly, the principal balance plus accrued interest ($275,669) has been recognized as government grant / subsidy in other income.
During the year ended April 30, 2020, the Company issued 11,000 common shares pursuant to exercise of stock options for total gross proceeds of $16,500.
During the year ended April 30, 2020, the Company issued 136,194 common shares pursuant to exercise of warrants for total gross proceeds of $476,679.
On May 1, 2020, the Company issued 132,833 common shares pursuant to the second deferred payment for the acquisition of IPA Europe. The common shares were valued at $511,405.
On May 15, 2020, the Company closed a non-brokered private placement financing by issuing 10% convertible debentures (New Debentures) for total proceeds of $2,592,000. On May 27, 2020, the Company issued an additional $35,000 of the 10% New Debentures. In total, the Company issued $2,627,000 of the New Debentures. The New Debentures are unsecured, bear interest at a rate of 10% per year and payable at maturity. The maturity date is May 15, 2022 for $2,592,000 of the New Debentures and May 22, 2022 for $35,000 of the New Debentures. The principal amount of the New Debentures may be convertible, at the option of the holder, into units of the Company at a conversion price of $4.25 per share. The Company may force convert the principal amount of the New Debentures at $4.25 per share if the average closing price is equal to or greater than $7.50 for 20 trading days. The Company paid finders cash commissions totaling $82,580 and incurred legal and filing fees of $29,331.
During the six months ended October 31, 2020, the Company issued 130,100 common shares pursuant to exercise of stock options for total gross proceeds of $387,805.
During the six months ended October 31, 2020, the Company issued 2,431,300 common shares pursuant to exercise of warrants and finders warrants for total gross proceeds of $14,535,775.
11
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
During the six months ended October 31, 2020, the Company issued 83,528 common shares pursuant to conversion of convertible debentures at a value of $339,315.
Subsequent to October 31, 2020, the Company issued 17,646, common shares pursuant to conversion of convertible debentures at a value of $68,327.
Subsequent to October 31, 2020, the Company issued 29,217 shares related to warrant exercise.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
The Companys objectives when managing capital are to ensure sufficient liquidity for operations and adequate funding for growth and capital expenditures while maintaining an efficient balance between debt and equity. The capital structure of the Company consists of shareholders equity.
The Company adjusts to its capital structure upon approval from its Board of Directors, considering economic conditions and the Companys working capital requirements. There were no changes in the Companys approach to capital management during the year. The Company is not subject to any externally imposed capital requirements.
As at October 31, 2020, the Company held cash of $16,840,908 (April 30, 2020 $2,605,706) and had working capital of $16,152,652 (April 30, 2020 deficiency $230,325). During the six months ended October 31, 2020, the cash provided by operating activities was $848,611. As part of the investing activities, the Company made equipment purchases of $467,827, internally generated development costs of $278,995, and made a deferred acquisition payment of $518,534. As part of the financing activities, the Company received $14,923,580 from exercise of stock options and warrants, received convertible debenture proceeds net of transaction costs of $2,201,821, offset by lease repayments of $563,540, loan repayments of $25,131 and debenture repayments of $2,000,000.
The Company has historically incurred net losses. There is no assurance that sufficient revenues will be generated in the near future. To the extent that the Company has negative operating cash flows in future periods, it may need to deploy a portion of its existing working capital to fund such negative cash flows. The Company may need to raise additional funds through issuances of common shares or through loan financing. There is no assurance that additional capital or other types of financing will be available if needed or that these financings will be on terms at least as favourable to the Company as those previously obtained, or at all. If the Company is unable to obtain additional financing from outside sources and eventually generate enough revenues, the Company may be forced to sell a portion or all of the Companys assets, or curtail or discontinue the Companys operations.
As of October 31, 2020, the Company has commitments of $562,557 for capital expenditures.
CAPITAL EXPENDITURES
The Company made equipment purchases of $467,827 during the six months ended October 31, 2020 (2019 - $190,043). During the six months ended October 31, 2020, the Company also incurred internally generated development costs of $278,995 (2019 incurred costs of $71,817).
12
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Key management personnel are those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the Company. Key management consists of Dr. Jennifer Bath, President and CEO; Lisa Helbling, CFO; Dr. Stefan Lang, CBO; Dr. Yasmina Abdiche, CSO; and Former Employees: Charles Wheelock, CTO; Martin Hessing, Director of U-Protein; and Directors of the Company. During the six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019, the compensation for key management is as follows:
Six months ended | ||||||||
October 31, | ||||||||
2020 | 2019 | |||||||
$ | $ | |||||||
Management fees(1) |
15,737 | 89,479 | ||||||
Salaries and other short-term benefits(2) |
1,242,196 | 771,376 | ||||||
Severance(3) |
135,715 | | ||||||
Share-based payments |
459,239 | 269,870 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
1,852,887 | 1,130,725 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
(1) |
At October 31, 2020, included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities is $785,196 (April 30, 2020 - $412,188) due to related parties. |
These transactions are in the normal course of operations and are measured at the exchange amount, which is the amount of consideration established and agreed to by the related parties, unless otherwise noted.
OUTSTANDING SHARE DATA
The Companys outstanding share information as at December 18, 2020 is as follows:
Security |
Number | Exercise Price | Expiry date | |||||||||
Issued and outstanding common shares |
16,808,642 | NA | NA | |||||||||
Stock options |
40,000 | $ | 5.00 | October 1, 2021 | ||||||||
Stock options |
46,000 | $ | 1.50 | December 20, 2021 | ||||||||
Stock options |
166,900 | $ | 5.05 | September 18, 2022 | ||||||||
Stock options |
50,000 | $ | 3.25 | January 3, 2023 | ||||||||
Stock options |
140,000 | $ | 2.35 | February 7, 2023 | ||||||||
Stock options |
8,000 | $ | 5.05 | April 3, 2023 | ||||||||
Stock Options |
50,000 | $ | 7.50 | August 13, 2023 | ||||||||
Stock options |
19,000 | $ | 4.75 | September 24, 2023 | ||||||||
Stock options |
20,000 | $ | 4.10 | November 7, 2023 | ||||||||
Stock options |
250,000 | $ | 5.00 | December 31, 2023 | ||||||||
Stock options |
60,000 | $ | 5.00 | January 7, 2024 | ||||||||
Stock options |
3,000 | $ | 5.00 | January 11, 2024 | ||||||||
Stock options |
50,000 | $ | 3.80 | April 1, 2024 | ||||||||
Stock options |
50,000 | $ | 2.375 | October 1, 2024 | ||||||||
Stock options |
30,000 | $ | 2.50 | October 3, 2024 | ||||||||
Stock options |
270,000 | $ | 8.50 | September 1, 2025 | ||||||||
Warrants |
1,032,977 | $ | 3.50 | March 26, 2022 | ||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
Total |
19,094,519 |
13
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
The Company does not utilize off-balance sheet transactions.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES AND JUDGMENTS
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with IFRS required estimates and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements. Actual results could differ from these estimates and judgments. Estimates are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognized in the year in which the estimate is revised. Significant areas requiring the use of estimates and judgments are as follows:
Functional currency
The Company has used judgment in determining the currency of the primary economic environment in which the entity operates.
Amounts receivable
The Company monitors the financial stability of its customers and the environment in which they operate to make estimates regarding the likelihood that the individual trade receivable balances will be paid. Credit risks for outstanding customer receivables are regularly assessed and allowances are recorded for estimated losses, if required.
Equipment
The Company has used estimates in the determination of the expected useful lives of equipment and leasehold improvements.
Revenue recognition
The percentage-of-completion method requires the use of estimates to determine the stage of completion which is used to determine the recorded amount of revenue, unbilled revenue and deferred revenue on uncompleted contracts. The determination of anticipated revenues includes the contractually agreed revenue and may also involve estimates of future revenues if such additional revenues can be reliably estimated and it is considered probable that they will be recovered. The determination of anticipated costs for completing a contract is based on estimates that can be affected by a variety of factors, including the cost of materials, labor, and sub-contractors. The determination of estimates is based on the Companys business practices as well as its historical experience.
Impairments
For the purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are separately identifiable cash flows (cash generating units or CGUs). Each asset or CGU is evaluated every reporting period to determine whether there are any indicators of impairment. If any such indicators exist, which is often judgment-based, a formal estimate of recoverable amount is performed, and an impairment charge is recognized to the extent that the carrying amount exceeds the recoverable amount. The recoverable amount of an asset or CGU of assets is measured at the higher of fair value less costs of disposal or value in use. These determinations and their individual assumptions require that management make a decision based on the best available information at each reporting period. The estimates and assumptions are subject to risk and uncertainty; hence, there is the possibility that changes in circumstances will alter these projections, which may impact the recoverable amount of the assets. In such circumstances, some or all the carrying value of the assets may be further impaired or the impairment charge reversed with the impact recorded in profit or loss.
14
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
The Company performs a goodwill impairment test annually and when circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. For the purposes of impairment testing, goodwill acquired through business combinations has been allocated to two different CGUs. The recoverable amount of each CGU was based on value in use, determined by discounting the future cash flows to be generated from the continuing use of the CGU. The cash flows were projected over a five-year period based on past experience and actual operating results.
The Company performed its annual goodwill impairment test in April 2020 and no impairment was indicated for the period tested. The values assigned to the key assumptions represented managements assessment of future trends in the industry and were based on historical data from both internal and external sources. Weighted average costs of capital of 16.33% and 12.26%, respectively, was used in the assessments of the two CGUs.
Determination of segments
An operating segment is a component of the Company that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses. All operating segments results are reviewed by the Companys management in order to make decisions regarding the allocation of resources to the segment. Segment results include items directly attributable to a segment as those that can be allocated on a reasonable basis.
As the Company provides antibody production and related services in one distinct segment.
Life of intangible assets
Intangible assets are amortized based on estimated useful life less their estimated residual value. Significant assumptions are involved in the determination of useful life and residual values and no assurance can be given that actual useful lives and residual values will not differ significantly from current assumptions. Actual useful life and residual values may vary depending on a number of factors including internal technical evaluation, attributes of the assets and experience with similar assets. Changes to these estimates may affect the carrying value of assets, net income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) in future periods.
Purchase price allocation
The acquisition of U-Protein on August 22, 2017 and the acquisition of IPA Europe and Immulease on April 5, 2018 were accounted for as business combinations at fair value in accordance with IFRS 3, Business Combinations. The acquired assets and assumed liabilities were adjusted to their fair values assigned through completion of a purchase price allocation, as described below.
The purchase price allocation process resulting from a business combination requires management to estimate the fair value of identifiable assets acquired including intangible assets and liabilities assumed including the deferred acquisition payment obligations. The Company uses valuation techniques, which are generally based on forecasted future net cash flows discounted to present value and relies on work performed by third-party valuation specialists. These valuations are closely linked to the assumptions used by management on the future performance of the related assets and the discount rates applied.
15
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
ADOPTION OF NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
The Company has adopted the following new standards, along with any consequential amendments, effective May 1, 2019. These changes were made in accordance with the applicable transitional provisions.
The Company adopted all the requirements of IFRS 16, Leases (IFRS 16) as of May 1, 2019. IFRS 16 replaces IAS 17, Leases (IAS 17). IFRS 16 provides a single lessee accounting model, requiring lessees to recognize assets and liabilities for all leases unless the lease term is 12 months or less or the underlying asset has a low value. The Company has adopted IFRS 16 using the modified retrospective application method, where the 2019 comparatives are not restated and a cumulative catch up adjustment is recorded on May 1, 2019 for any differences identified, including adjustments to opening deficit balance.
The Company analyzed its contracts to identify whether they contain a lease arrangement for the application of IFRS 16. The following is the Companys new accounting policy for leases under IFRS 16:
At inception of a contract, the Company assesses whether the contract is, or contains, a lease. A contract is, or contains, a lease if the contract conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration.
Leases of right-of-use assets are recognized at the lease commencement date at the present value of the lease payments that are not paid at that date. The lease payments are discounted using the interest rate implicit in the lease, if that rate can be readily determined, and otherwise at the Companys incremental borrowing rate. At the commencement date, a right-of-use asset is measured at cost, which is comprised of the initial amount of the lease liability adjusted for any lease payments made at or before the commencement date, plus any decommissioning and restoration costs, less any lease incentives received.
Each lease payment is allocated between repayment of the lease principal and interest. Interest on the lease liability in each period during the lease term is allocated to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the lease liability. Except where the costs are included in the carrying amount of another asset, the Company recognizes in profit or loss (a) the interest on a lease liability and (b) variable lease payments not included in the measurement of a lease liability in the period in which the event or condition that triggers those payments occurs. The Company subsequently measures the right-of-use asset at cost less any accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses; and adjusted for any remeasurement of the lease liability. Right-of-use assets are depreciated over the shorter of the assets useful life and the lease term, except where the lease contains a bargain purchase option a right-of-use asset is depreciated over the assets useful life.
On the date of transition, the Company recorded a right-of-use asset of $1,668,533 related to the office rent in property and equipment, and the lease obligation of $1,723,277 was recorded as at May 1, 2019, discounted using the Companys incremental borrowing rate of 8%, and measured at an amount equal to the lease obligation as if IFRS 16 had been applied since the commencement date. The net difference between right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on the date of transition was recognized as a deficit adjustment of $54,744 on May 1, 2019.
16
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
DISCLOSURE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
In connection with National Instrument 52-109 (Certificate of Disclosure in Issuers Annual and Interim Filings) (NI 52-109), the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company have filed a Venture Issuer Basic Certificate with respect to the financial information contained in the unaudited condensed interim consolidated financial statements for the six months ended October 31, 2020 and this accompanying MD&A.
In contrast to the full certificate under NI 52-109, the Venture Issuer Basic Certificate does not include representations relating to the establishment and maintenance of disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, as defined in NI 52-109. For further information the reader should refer to the Venture Issuer Basic Certificates filed by the Company with the Annual Filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
The Companys financial instruments include cash, amounts receivable, restricted cash, investment, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, debentures, convertible debentures, loans payable, leases and deferred acquisition payments. The fair value of investment is determined based on Level 1 inputs which consist of quoted prices in active markets for identical assets. As at October 31, 2020, the Company believes that the carrying values of cash, amounts receivable, restricted cash, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, deferred payments, debentures, convertible debentures, and loans payable approximate their fair values because of their nature and relatively short maturity dates or durations.
RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES
There are numerous and varied risks, known and unknown, that may prevent the Company from achieving its goals. The risks described below are not the only ones the Company will face. If any of these risks actually occurs, the Company business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially and adversely affected. In that case, the trading price of the Companys securities could decline and investors in such securities could lose all or part of their investment.
Financial Position and Additional Needs for Liquidity and Capital
The Company is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel, therapeutic antibodies. Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that a product candidate will fail to prove effective, gain regulatory approval or become commercially viable. The Company does not have any products approved by regulatory authorities and has not generated substantial revenues from collaboration and licensing agreements or clinical product sales to date, and has incurred significant research, development and other expenses related to ongoing operations and expects to continue to incur such expenses. As a result, the Company has not been profitable and has incurred operating losses in every reporting period since its inception and has a significant accumulated deficit. Operating costs are expected to increase in the near term as the Company continues product development efforts and expects to continue until such time as any future product sales, royalty payments, licensing fees, and/or milestone payments are sufficient to generate revenues to fund continuing operations. In addition, the Companys operating expenses are expected to increase compared to last year as a result of its U.S. public reporting company status. The Company is unable to predict the extent of any future losses or when this business section will become profitable, if ever. Even if the Company achieves profitability, it may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on an ongoing basis.
17
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
Research and Development and Product Development
The Company is a life science company that makes customized antibodies and is engaged in the research and product development of new antibodies, processes, procedures and innovative approaches to the antibody production. The Company has been engaged in such research and development activities for over 30 years and has had significant success. Continued investment in retaining key scientific staff, as well as an ongoing commitment in research and development activities, will continue to be a cornerstone in the Companys development of new services, processes, and competitive advantages such as Rapid Prime, B cell Select, DeepDisplay and its methods for the production of human antibodies. The Company realizes that such research and product development activities endeavour, but cannot assure, the production of new and innovative processes, procedures or innovative approaches to antibody production or new antibodies. Furthermore, if it does not achieve sufficient market acceptance of its expansion of its commercialization of its products and services, it will be difficult for the Company to achieve consistent profitability. The Companys marketing and sales approach and external sales personnel continues to introduce a steady stream of new partners.
Competition
Although the Company believes that there are only a limited number of full-service, biologics, CRO firms, the Company may face intense competition in selling its products and services. Some competitors may have marketing, financial, development and personnel resources which exceed those of the Company. As a result of this competition, the Company may be unable to maintain its operations or develop them as currently proposed on terms it considers acceptable or at all. Increased competition by larger, better-financed competitors with geographic advantages could materially and adversely affect the Companys business, financial condition and results of operations. To remain competitive, the Company believes that it must effectively and economically provide: (i) products and services that satisfy partner demands, (ii) superior partner service, (iii) high levels of quality and reliability, and (iv) dependable and efficient distribution networks. Increased competition may require the Company to reduce prices or increase spending on sales and marketing and partner support, which may have a material adverse effect on its financial condition and results of operations. Any decrease in the quality of the Companys products or level of service to partners or any occurrence of a price war among the Companys competitors may adversely affect the business and results of operations. Partner reach, service and on-time delivery will continue to be a hallmark of the Companys ability to compete with other market players. Further, the acquisitions translate to spreading the Companys footprint on two continents. In addition, the Company has deployed a sales team tasked with continually sourcing and providing market intelligence as part of its activities.
Competition and Obsolescence
The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries are characterized by rapid and continuous technological innovation. The Company competes with companies around the world that are engaged in the development and production of products and services, including pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and contract research companies. Academic institutions, governmental agencies and other research organizations also are conducting research and developing technologies in areas in which the Company provides services, either on its own or through collaborative efforts. The Companys pharmaceutical and biotechnology company partners have internal departments that provide products and services that directly compete with the Companys products and services. Many of the Companys competitors offer a broader range of products and services and have greater access to financial, technical, scientific, business development, recruiting and other resources than the Company does, and some of its competitors may also operate with a lower cost structure. The Company anticipates that it will face increased competition in the future as it expands its operations and its products and services and as new companies enter the market and advanced technologies become available. The Companys products, services and expertise may become obsolete or uneconomical due to technological advances or entirely different approaches developed by the Company, its clients or one or more of its competitors. For example, advances in databases and molecular modeling tools that predict how effectively compounds will treat a targeted disease may render some of its technologies obsolete. While the Company plans to develop technologies that will give it a competitive advantage, it may not be able to develop the technologies necessary
18
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
for it to successfully compete in the future. Additionally, the existing approaches of the Companys competitors or new approaches or technologies developed by its competitors may be more effective than those it develops. The Company may not be able to compete successfully with existing or future competitors.
Other competitive factors could force the Company to lower prices or could result in reduced sales. In addition, new products developed by others could emerge as competitors to the Companys drug candidates. If the Company is not able to compete effectively against current and future competitors, its business will not grow and its financial condition and operations will suffer.
Intellectual Property Protection
The Companys success will depend on its ability to obtain, protect and enforce patents on its technology and products. Any patents that the Company may own or license in the future may not afford meaningful protection for its technology and products. The Companys efforts to enforce and maintain its intellectual property rights may not be successful and may result in substantial costs and diversion of management time. In addition, others may challenge patents the Company may obtain in the future and, as a result, these patents could be narrowed, invalidated or rendered unenforceable or it may be forced to stop using the technology covered by these patents or to license the technology from third parties. In addition, current and future patent applications on which the Company depends may not result in the issuance of patents. Even if the Companys rights are valid, enforceable and broad in scope, competitors may develop products based on similar technology that is not covered by the Companys patents. Further, since there is a substantial backlog of patent applications at the various patent offices, the approval or rejection of the Company and its competitors patent applications may take several years.
In addition to patent protection, the Company also relies on copyright and trademark protection, trade secrets, know-how, continuing technological innovation and licensing opportunities. In an effort to maintain the confidentiality and ownership of the Companys trade secrets and proprietary information, the Company requires its employees, consultants and advisors to execute confidentiality and proprietary information agreements. However, these agreements may not provide the Company with adequate protection against improper use or disclosure of confidential information and there may not be adequate remedies in the event of unauthorized use or disclosure. Furthermore, like many companies in the Companys industry, the Company may from time to time hire scientific personnel formerly employed by other companies involved in one or more areas similar to the activities the Company conducts. In some situations, the Companys confidentiality and proprietary information agreements may conflict with, or be subject to, the rights of third parties with whom its employees, consultants or advisors have prior employment or consulting relationships. Although the Company require its employees and consultants to maintain the confidentiality of all confidential information of previous employers, the Company or these individuals may be subject to allegations of trade secret misappropriation or other similar claims as a result of their prior affiliations. Finally, others may independently develop substantially equivalent proprietary information and techniques, or otherwise gain access to its trade secrets. The Companys failure to protect its proprietary information and techniques may inhibit or limit its ability to exclude certain competitors from the market and execute its business strategies.
Failure of Laboratory Facilities
The Companys operations could suffer as a result of a failure of its laboratory facilities. The Companys business will be dependent upon a laboratory infrastructure to produce products and services. These systems and operations are vulnerable to damage and interruption from fires, earthquakes, telecommunications failures, and other events. Any such errors or inadequacies in the software that may be encountered could adversely affect operations, and such errors may be expensive or difficult to correct in a timely manner.
19
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS
FOR THE SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020
Further, many of the Companys operations are comprised of complex mechanical systems that are subject to periodic failure, including aging fatigue. Such failures are unpredictable, and while the Company has made significant capital expenditures designed to create redundancy within these mechanical systems, strengthened biosecurity, improved operating procedures to protect against such contaminations, and replaced impaired systems and equipment in advance of such events, failures and/or contaminations may still occur.
The production of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies requires state of the art laboratory facilities and the success of these laboratory services depends on the recruitment and retention of highly qualified technical staff to maintain the level and quality of standard of the Companys products and services expected from partners. There is no assurance that the Company will be able to expand and operate such state of the art laboratory services and recruit and retain qualified staff.
The Company produces and supplies antibodies and there is no guarantee that such production will be successful and produce the desired results. As a result, the Company continues to be exposed to potential liability that may exceed any insurance coverage that the Company may obtain in the future. As a result, the Company may incur significant liability exposure, which may exceed any insurance coverage that the Company may obtain in the future. Even if the Company elects to purchase such insurance in the future, the Company may not be able to maintain adequate levels of insurance at reasonable cost and/or reasonable terms. Excessive insurance costs or uninsured claims may increase the Companys operating loss and affect its financial condition.
Pandemic Risk
The Company is currently unable to determine whether the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will have a negative effect on the Companys results in the remainder of 2020 or beyond, and the future course and duration of the outbreak remain unknown. There has been minimal impact on the Companys operations and results to date, and the Company has not experienced negative impact on client sales or the supply chain. The Companys sales, operations and financial performance could suffer given a potential rapidly spreading virus. Internally, the virus may infect its employees resulting in operating at lower productivity levels or even a complete laboratory shutdown. The Companys business is dependent on its laboratories to produce its products and services which if not operating will impact the financial performance of the company and its ability to meet its obligations. The Company has diversified geographic locations with the ability to perform similar services at other sites. In addition, certain roles have the ability to work remotely and the Company has business interruption insurance which may aid in the recovery of lost profits. External factors may also contribute to this risk, such as the impact of a pandemic on the Companys partners and suppliers.
Additional information related to the Companys risk disclosures can be found in the Annual Information Form on SEDAR at www.sedar.com
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Additional information relating to the Company can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
20
Exhibit 99.137
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE THREE AND SIX MONTHS ENDED OCTOBER 31, 2020 AND 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
Note |
October 31,
2020 $ |
April 30,
2020 $ |
||||||||
ASSETS |
||||||||||
Current assets |
||||||||||
Cash |
16,840,908 | 2,605,706 | ||||||||
Amounts receivable |
4,096,008 | 2,491,636 | ||||||||
Taxes receivable |
| 88,549 | ||||||||
Inventory |
1,124,521 | 818,643 | ||||||||
Unbilled revenue |
1,357,572 | 1,168,317 | ||||||||
Prepaid expenses |
576,642 | 526,591 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
23,995,651 | 7,699,442 | |||||||||
Restricted cash |
84,010 | 85,129 | ||||||||
Deposit on equipment |
13,963 | 87,847 | ||||||||
Investment |
7 | 115,998 | 118,896 | |||||||
Property and equipment |
8 | 3,605,255 | 3,077,762 | |||||||
Intangible assets |
5, 6, 9 | 7,757,615 | 8,285,392 | |||||||
Goodwill |
5, 6 | 8,129,671 | 7,908,653 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total assets |
43,702,163 | 27,263,121 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
LIABILITIES |
||||||||||
Current liabilities |
||||||||||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities |
15 | 2,174,319 | 1,766,058 | |||||||
Taxes payable |
398,639 | | ||||||||
Deferred revenue |
2,331,208 | 1,474,750 | ||||||||
Debentures |
10 | | 2,000,000 | |||||||
Loans payable |
11 | 7,026 | 121,833 | |||||||
Leases |
13 | 929,931 | 752,306 | |||||||
Deferred acquisition payments |
5, 6 | 2,001,876 | 1,814,820 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
7,842,999 | 7,929,767 | |||||||||
Debenture subscriptions received |
12 | | 313,268 | |||||||
Loans payable |
11 | | 190,306 | |||||||
Convertible debentures liability component |
12 | 2,066,154 | | |||||||
Leases |
13 | 1,263,759 | 1,131,744 | |||||||
Deferred acquisition payments |
5, 6 | | 1,010,620 | |||||||
Deferred income tax liability |
1,451,623 | 1,601,577 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
12,624,535 | 12,177,282 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY |
||||||||||
Share capital |
14 | 50,454,411 | 34,086,942 | |||||||
Convertible debentures equity component |
12 | 176,884 | | |||||||
Contributed surplus |
14 | 3,758,446 | 3,777,771 | |||||||
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) |
179,441 | (300,222 | ) | |||||||
Deficit |
(23,491,553 | ) | (22,478,652 | ) | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
31,077,628 | 15,085,839 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Total liabilities and shareholders equity |
43,702,163 | 27,263,121 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
Nature of operations (Note 1)
Subsequent event (Notes 1, 11 and 14)
Approved and authorized on behalf of the Board of Directors on December 18, 2020
James kuo |
Director |
Greg Smith |
Director |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed interim consolidated financial statements
2
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed interim consolidated financial statements
3
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian dollars, except for share figures)
Number of
Shares |
Share
Capital $ |
Convertible
Debentures Equity Component $ |
Contributed
Surplus $ |
Accumulated
Other Comprehensive (Loss) Income $ |
Deficit
$ |
Total
$ |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2019 |
13,587,865 | (1) | 32,699,425 | | 3,074,192 | (228,060 | ) | (17,476,482 | ) | 18,069,075 | ||||||||||||||||||
Adoption of IFRS 16 (Note 3) |
| | | | | (54,744 | ) | (54,744 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Balance, May 1, 2019 |
13,587,865 | 32,699,425 | | 3,074,192 | (228,060 | ) | (17,531,226 | ) | 18,014,331 | |||||||||||||||||||
Shares issued pursuant to option exercise |
11,000 | 28,990 | | (12,490 | ) | | | 16,500 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based payments |
| | | 500,115 | | | 500,115 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Comprehensive loss for the period |
| | | | (551,692 | ) | (3,375,743 | ) | (3,927,435 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Balance, October 31, 2019 |
13,598,865 | 32,728,415 | | 3,561,817 | (779,752 | ) | (20,906,969 | ) | 14,603,511 | |||||||||||||||||||
Shares issued pursuant to settlement of Debentures and accrued interest |
248,959 | 858,906 | | | | | 858,906 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Shares issued pursuant to warrant exercise |
136,194 | 499,621 | | (22,942 | ) | | | 476,679 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based payments |
| | | 238,896 | | | 238,896 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Comprehensive loss for the period |
| | | | 479,530 | (1,571,683 | ) | (1,092,153 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2020 |
13,984,018 | 34,086,942 | | 3,777,771 | (300,222 | ) | (22,478,652 | ) | 15,085,839 | |||||||||||||||||||
Shares issued pursuant to deferred acquisition payment to IPA Europe |
132,833 | 511,405 | | | | | 511,405 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Shares issued pursuant to option exercise |
130,100 | 661,772 | | (273,967 | ) | | | 387,805 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Shares issued pursuant to warrant exercise |
2,431,300 | 14,854,977 | | (319,202 | ) | | | 14,535,775 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Convertible debentures |
| | 204,523 | | | | 204,523 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Shares issued pursuant to conversion of convertible debentures |
83,528 | 339,315 | (27,639 | ) | | | | 311,676 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Share-based payments |
| | | 573,844 | | | 573,844 | |||||||||||||||||||||
Comprehensive loss for the period |
| | | | 479,663 | (1,012,901 | ) | (533,238 | ) | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Balance, October 31, 2020 |
16,761,779 | 50,454,411 | 176,884 | 3,758,446 | 179,441 | (23,491,553 | ) | 31,077,629 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) |
The balance of shares is reflected on a post-consolidation basis, taking into account rounding for fractional shares. |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed interim consolidated financial statements
4
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
For the six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited- Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
2020
$ |
2019
$ |
|||||||
Operating activities: |
||||||||
Net loss for the period |
(1,012,901 | ) | (3,375,743 | ) | ||||
Items not affecting cash: |
||||||||
Amortization and depreciation |
1,885,660 | 1,365,858 | ||||||
Deferred income taxes |
(194,000 | ) | (76,739 | ) | ||||
Accretion |
209,021 | 765,860 | ||||||
Foreign exchange |
64,618 | (113,493 | ) | |||||
Loan forgiven |
(279,982 | ) | | |||||
Share-based payments |
573,844 | 500,115 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
1,246,260 | (934,142 | ) | ||||||
Changes in non-cash working capital related to operations: |
||||||||
Amounts receivable |
(1,604,372 | ) | (286,946 | ) | ||||
Inventory |
(305,878 | ) | 40,743 | |||||
Unbilled revenue |
(189,255 | ) | (61,088 | ) | ||||
Prepaid expenses |
(50,051 | ) | (138,478 | ) | ||||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities |
408,261 | (510,651 | ) | |||||
Taxes payable and receivable |
487,188 | | ||||||
Deferred revenue |
856,458 | 77,972 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities |
848,611 | (1,812,590 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Investing activities: |
||||||||
Purchase of equipment |
(467,827 | ) | (190,043 | ) | ||||
Internally generated development costs |
(278,995 | ) | (71,817 | ) | ||||
Deferred acquisition payment |
(518,534 | ) | | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net cash used in investing activities |
(1,265,356 | ) | (261,860 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Financing activities: |
||||||||
Proceeds on share issuance |
14,923,580 | 16,500 | ||||||
Repayment of leases |
(563,540 | ) | (203,123 | ) | ||||
Loan repayments |
(25,131 | ) | (49,135 | ) | ||||
Proceeds from convertible debentures, net of transaction costs |
2,201,821 | | ||||||
Repayment of debentures |
(2,000,000 | ) | (125,000 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities |
14,536,730 | (360,758 | ) | |||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Increase (decrease) in cash during the period |
14,119,985 | (2,435,208 | ) | |||||
Foreign exchange |
114,098 | (113,280 | ) | |||||
Cash beginning of the period |
2,690,835 | 5,539,100 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cash end of the period |
16,924,918 | 2,990,612 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cash is comprised of: |
||||||||
Cash |
16,840,908 | 2,964,271 | ||||||
Restricted cash |
84,010 | 26,341 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
16,924,918 | 2,990,612 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Cash paid for interest |
73,396 | 143,750 | ||||||
Cash paid for income tax |
10,088 | 62,433 |
Supplemental cash flow information (Note 18)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed interim consolidated financial statements
5
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
1. |
NATURE OF OPERATIONS |
lmmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the Company or IPA) was incorporated under the laws of Alberta on November 22, 1983. The Company is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange) as a Tier 2 life science issuer under the trading symbol IPA. The Companys OTC symbol is IPATD. The Company is a supplier of custom hybridoma development services. The address of the Companys corporate office is 3204 4464 Markham Street, Victoria, BC, Canada V8Z 7X8.
On November 23, 2020, the Company consolidated its issued and outstanding common shares on the basis of 5 pre-consolidation shares for one post-consolidation share (the Consolidation). All references to share and per share amounts in these condensed interim consolidated financial statements have been retroactively restated to reflect the Consolidation.
The condensed interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the basis of accounting principles applicable to a going concern. This assumes the Company will continue in operation for the foreseeable future and will be able to realize its assets and discharge its obligations in the normal course of operations. The Company has incurred operating losses since inception, including $1,012,901 for the six months ended October 31, 2020 and has accumulated a deficit of $23,491,553 as at October 31, 2020. The Company has $16,840,908 cash on hand as of October 31, 2020 which will sustain its existing operations through at least 2022. The Company may need to raise additional funds in order to funds its strategic goals and there can be no assurances that sufficient funding, including adequate financing, will be available. The ability of the Company to arrange additional financing in the future depends in part, on the prevailing capital market conditions and profitability of its operations.
In March 2020, there was a global pandemic outbreak of COVID-19. The actual and threatened spread of the virus globally has had a material adverse effect on the global economy and specifically, the regional economies in which the Company operates. The pandemic could result in delays in the course of business and could have a negative impact on the Companys ability to raise new capital. It is not possible for the Company to predict the duration or magnitude of the adverse results of the outbreak and its effects on the Companys business or results of operations at this time. To date these material uncertainties have not cast significant doubt on the Companys ability to continue as a going concern. Accordingly, the condensed interim consolidated financial statements do not give effect to adjustments that would be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern and therefore be required to realize its assets and liquidate its liabilities, contingent obligations and commitments other than in the normal course of business and at amounts different from those in the condensed interim consolidated financial statements.
2. |
BASIS OF PRESENTATION |
(a) |
Statement of compliance |
These condensed interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with International Accounting Standard (lAS) 34, Interim Financial Reporting, using the same accounting policies as detailed in the Companys audited annual financial statements for the year ended April 30, 2020. They do not include all the information required for complete annual financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and interpretations of the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) and therefore should be read together with the audited annual financial statements for the year ended April 30, 2020.
These condensed interim consolidated financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors for issue on December 18, 2020.
6
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
(b) |
Basis of measurement |
These condensed interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis. In addition, these condensed interim consolidated financial statements have been prepared using the accrual basis of accounting, except for cashflow information.
(c) |
Basis of consolidation |
These condensed interim consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and the following subsidiaries which are wholly owned and subject to control by the Company:
Name of Subsidiary |
% Equity
Interest - 2020 |
% Equity
Interest - 2019 |
Country of
Incorporation |
|||||||
lmmunoPrecise Antibodies (Canada) Ltd. |
100 | % | 100 | % | Canada | |||||
lmmunoPrecise Antibodies (USA) Ltd. (IPA USA) |
100 | % | 100 | % | USA | |||||
lmmunoPrecise Antibodies (N.D.) Ltd. |
100 | % | 100 | % | USA | |||||
lmmunoPrecise Antibodies (MA) LLC |
100 | % | 100 | % | USA | |||||
Talem Therapeutics LLC (Talem) |
100 | % | 100 | % | USA | |||||
U-Protein Express B.V. (U-Protein) |
100 | % | 100 | % | Netherlands | |||||
lmmunoPrecise Netherlands B.V. |
100 | % | 100 | % | Netherlands | |||||
lmmunoPrecise Antibodies (Europe) B.V. (IPA |
100 | % | 100 | % | Netherlands | |||||
Europe, formerly ModiQuest Research B.V.) lmmulease B.V. (lmmulease) |
100 | % | 100 | % | Netherlands |
Control is achieved when the Company has the power to, directly or indirectly, govern the financial and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities. Subsidiaries are fully consolidated from the date on which control is obtained and continue to be consolidated until the date that such control ceases. Intercompany balances, transactions and unrealized intercompany gains and losses are eliminated upon consolidation.
The Company incorporated a new subsidiary, lmmunoPrecise Antibodies (USA) Ltd., in Delaware, USA on September 11, 2019.
(d) |
Functional and presentation currency |
The functional currency of a company is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the company operates. The presentation currency for a company is the currency in which the company chooses to present its financial statements.
The functional currency of the Company and lmmunoPrecise Antibodies (Canada) Ltd. is the Canadian dollar. The functional currency of IPA USA, lmmunoPrecise Antibodies (N.D.) Ltd., lmmunoPrecise Antibodies (MA) LLC and Talem is the US dollar. The functional currency of U-Protein, lmmunoPrecise Netherlands BV, IPA Europe and lmmulease is the Euro. The presentation currency of the Company is the Canadian dollar.
Entities whose functional currencies differ from the presentation currency are translated into Canadian dollars as follows: assets and liabilities at the closing rate as at the reporting date, and income and expenses at the average rate of the period. All resulting changes are recognized in other comprehensive income as cumulative translation differences.
7
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into the functional currency at exchange rates at the date of the transactions. Foreign currency monetary assets and liabilities are translated at the functional currency exchange rate at the reporting date. Non-monetary items that are measured in terms of historical cost in a foreign currency are translated using exchange rates as at the dates of the initial transactions. Non-monetary items measured at fair value in a foreign currency are translated using the exchange rates at the date when the fair value is determined. All gains and losses on translation of these foreign currency transactions are included in profit or loss.
When the Company disposes of its entire interest in a foreign operation, or loses control, joint control, or significant influence over a foreign operation, the foreign currency gains or losses accumulated in other comprehensive income related to the foreign operation are recognized in profit or loss. If an entity disposes of part of an interest in a foreign operation which remains a subsidiary, a proportionate amount of foreign currency gains or losses accumulated in other comprehensive income related to the subsidiary are reallocated between controlling and non-controlling interests.
3. |
ADOPTION OF NEW ACCOUNTING STANDARDS |
The Company has adopted the following new standards, along with any consequential amendments, effective May 1, 2019. These changes were made in accordance with the applicable transitional provisions.
The Company adopted all of the requirements of IFRS 16, Leases (IFRS 16) as of May 1, 2019. IFRS 16 replaces lAS 17, Leases (lAS 17). IFRS 16 provides a single lessee accounting model, requiring lessees to recognize assets and liabilities for all leases unless the lease term is 12 months or less or the underlying asset has a low value. The Company has adopted IFRS 16 using the modified retrospective application method, where the 2019 comparatives are not restated and a cumulative catch up adjustment is recorded on May 1, 2019 for any differences identified, including adjustments to opening deficit balance.
The Company analyzed its contracts to identify whether they contain a lease arrangement for the application of IFRS 16. The following is the Companys new accounting policy for leases under IFRS 16:
At inception of a contract, the Company assesses whether the contract is, or contains, a lease. A contract is, or contains, a lease if the contract conveys the right to control the use of an identified asset for a period of time in exchange for consideration.
Leases of right-of-use assets are recognized at the lease commencement date at the present value of the lease payments that are not paid at that date. The lease payments are discounted using the interest rate implicit in the lease, if that rate can be readily determined, and otherwise at the Companys incremental borrowing rate. At the commencement date, a right-of-use asset is measured at cost, which is comprised of the initial amount of the lease liability adjusted for any lease payments made at or before the commencement date, plus any decommissioning and restoration costs, less any lease incentives received.
Each lease payment is allocated between repayment of the lease principal and interest. Interest on the lease liability in each period during the lease term is allocated to produce a constant periodic rate of interest on the remaining balance of the lease liability. Except where the costs are included in the carrying amount of another asset, the Company recognizes in profit or loss (a) the interest on a lease liability and (b) variable lease payments not included in the measurement of a lease liability in the period in which the event or condition that triggers those payments occurs. The Company subsequently measures a right-of-use asset at cost less any accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses; and adjusted for any remeasurement of the lease liability. Right-of-use assets are depreciated over the shorter of the assets useful life and the lease term, except where the lease contains a bargain purchase option a right-of-use asset is depreciated over the assets useful life.
8
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
On the date of transition, the Company recorded a right-of-use asset of $1,668,533 related to the office rent in property and equipment, and the lease obligation of $1,723,277 was recorded as at May 1, 2019, discounted using the Companys incremental borrowing rate of 8%, and measured at an amount equal to the lease obligation as if IFRS 16 had been applied since the commencement date. The net difference between right-of-use assets and lease liabilities on the date of transition was recognized as a deficit adjustment of $54,744 on May 1, 2019.
4. |
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING ESTIMATES AND JUDGMENTS |
The preparation of the condensed interim consolidated financial statements in conformity with IFRS required estimates and judgments that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements. Actual results could differ from these estimates and judgments. Estimates are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognized in the year in which the estimate is revised. Significant areas requiring the use of estimates and judgments are as follows:
Functional currency
The Company has used judgment in determining the currency of the primary economic environment in which the entity operates.
Amounts receivable
The Company monitors the financial stability of its customers and the environment in which they operate to make estimates regarding the likelihood that the individual trade receivable balances will be paid. Credit risks for outstanding customer receivables are regularly assessed and allowances are recorded for estimated losses, if required.
Property and equipment
The Company has used estimates in the determination of the expected useful lives of property and equipment.
Revenue recognition
The percentage-of-completion method requires the use of estimates to determine the stage of completion which is used to determine the recorded amount of revenue, unbilled revenue and deferred revenue on uncompleted contracts. The determination of anticipated revenues includes the contractually agreed revenue and may also involve estimates of future revenues if such additional revenues can be reliably estimated and it is considered probable that they will be recovered. The determination of anticipated costs for completing a contract is based on estimates that can be affected by a variety of factors, including the cost of materials, labour, and sub-contractors. The determination of estimates is based on the Companys business practices as well as its historical experience.
Impairments
For the purposes of assessing impairment, assets are grouped at the lowest levels for which there are separately identifiable cash flows (CGUs). Each asset or CGU is evaluated every reporting period to determine whether there are any indicators of impairment. If any such indicators exist, which is often judgment-based, a formal estimate of recoverable amount is performed and an impairment charge is recognized to the extent that the carrying amount exceeds the recoverable amount. The recoverable amount of an asset or CGU of assets is measured at the higher of fair value less costs of disposal or value in use. These determinations and their individual assumptions require that management make a decision based on the best available information at each reporting period. The estimates and assumptions are subject to risk and uncertainty; hence, there is the possibility that changes in circumstances will alter these projections, which may impact the recoverable amount of the assets. In such circumstances, some or all of the carrying value of the assets may be further impaired or the impairment charge reversed with the impact recorded in profit or loss.
9
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
The Company performs a goodwill impairment test annually and when circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. For the purposes of impairment testing, goodwill acquired through business combinations has been allocated to two different CGUs. The recoverable amount of each CGU was based on value in use, determined by discounting the future cash flows to be generated from the continuing use of the CGU. The cash flows were projected over a five-year period based on past experience and actual operating results.
The Company performed its annual goodwill impairment test in April 2020 and no impairment was indicated for the period tested. The values assigned to the key assumptions represented managements assessment of future trends in the industry and were based on historical data from both internal and external sources. Weighted average costs of capital of 16.33% and 12.26%, respectively, was used in the assessments of the two CGUs.
Determination of segments
An operating segment is a component of the Company that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses. All operating segments results are reviewed by the Companys management in order to make decisions regarding the allocation of resources to the segment. Segment results include items directly attributable to a segment as those that can be allocated on a reasonable basis.
As the Company provides antibody production and related services in one distinct segment.
Life of intangible assets
Intangible assets are amortized based on estimated useful life less their estimated residual value. Significant assumptions are involved in the determination of useful life and residual values and no assurance can be given that actual useful lives and residual values will not differ significantly from current assumptions. Actual useful life and residual values may vary depending on a number of factors including internal technical evaluation, attributes of the assets and experience with similar assets. Changes to these estimates may affect the carrying value of assets, net income (loss) and comprehensive income (loss) in future periods.
Purchase price allocation
The acquisition of U-Protein on August 22, 2017 and the acquisition of IPA Europe and lmmulease on April 5, 2018 were accounted for as business combinations at fair value in accordance with IFRS 3, Business Combinations. The acquired assets and assumed liabilities were adjusted to their fair values assigned through completion of a purchase price allocation, as described below.
The purchase price allocation process resulting from a business combination required management to estimate the fair value of identifiable assets acquired including intangible assets and liabilities assumed including the deferred acquisition payment obligations. The Company used valuation techniques, which were based on forecasted future net cash flows discounted to present value, and also relied on work performed by third-party valuation specialists. These valuations were closely linked to the assumptions used by management on the future performance of the related assets and the discount rates applied.
10
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited- Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
5. |
ACQUISITION OF U-PROTEIN |
On August 22, 2017, the Company completed the acquisition of U-Protein whereby the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of U-Protein for 6,830,000 on terms as follows:
|
2,734,732 (CAD$4,062,607) was paid in cash on closing; |
|
606,101 common shares of the Company were issued on closing; and |
|
2,047,634 in deferred payments over a three-year period. The deferred payments can be made in cash or common shares of the Company at the election of U-Protein shareholders. |
The transaction was accounted for as a business combination, as the operations of U-Protein meet the definition of a business. As the transaction was accounted for as a business combination, transaction costs of $17,717 were expensed. The goodwill resulting from the allocation of the purchase price to the total fair value of net assets represented the sales and growth potential of U-Protein. Goodwill recorded is allocated in its entirety to U-Protein. The fair value of the 606,101 common shares issued ($3,022,308) was determined based on the Canadian dollar equivalent of the consideration required of 2,047,634 pursuant to the share purchase agreement. The Company has allocated the purchase price as follows:
$ | ||||
Cash |
4,062,607 | |||
606,101 common shares of the Company |
3,022,308 | |||
Fair value of deferred payments |
2,134,410 | |||
|
|
|||
Fair value of consideration |
9,219,325 | |||
|
|
|||
Cash |
797,276 | |||
Amounts receivable |
370,530 | |||
Unbilled revenue |
112,815 | |||
Inventory |
36,900 | |||
Investment |
90,404 | |||
Equipment, net of accumulated amortization |
216,161 | |||
Intellectual property (not deductible for tax purposes) |
4,064,000 | |||
Goodwill (not deductible for tax purposes) |
4,655,893 | |||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities |
(269,657 | ) | ||
Income taxes payable |
(44, 197 | ) | ||
Deferred income tax liability |
(810,800 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
9,219,325 | ||||
|
|
The deferred payments of 2,047,634 over a three-year period was fair valued on the date of acquisition using a discounted cash flow model. A discount rate of 16.2% was used. The changes in the value of the deferred payments during the six months ended October 31, 2020 and the year ended April 30, 2020 are as follows:
$ | ||||
Balance, April 30, 2019 |
1,562,696 | |||
Accretion expense |
350,137 | |||
Payment |
(1 ,007,435 | ) | ||
Foreign exchange |
26,130 | |||
|
|
|||
Balance, April 30, 2020 |
931,528 | |||
Accretion expense |
75,477 | |||
Foreign exchange |
24,773 | |||
|
|
|||
Balance, October 31, 2020 |
1,031,778 | |||
|
|
Subsequent to October 31,2020, the U-Protein shareholders elected to receive the final deferred payment in common shares of the Company, totalling 203,178 common shares.
11
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
6. |
ACQUISITION OF IPA EUROPE AND IMMULEASE |
On April 5, 2018, the Company acquired all of the issued and outstanding shares of IPA Europe and its sister entity, lmmulease, for an aggregate purchase price of 7,000,000 on terms as follows:
|
2,500,000 (CAD$3,988, 132) was paid in cash on closing; |
|
1,320,080 common shares of the Company were issued on closing; and |
|
2,000,000 in deferred payments over a three-year period. The deferred payments are made in three equal installments of cash and equity totaling 666,666 and prorated if the EBITDA of IPA Europe for the fiscal year preceding the date of payment is less than its average EBITDA over the previous two fiscal years. During the year ended April 30, 2019, the Company and the seller entered into an Amendment, Termination and Settlement Agreement whereby the deferred payments shall no longer be subject to an adjustment and will be paid in equal installments of cash and equity totaling 666,666. |
The transaction was accounted for as a business combination, as the operations of IPA Europe and lmmulease meet the definition of a business. The goodwill resulting from the allocation of the purchase price to the total fair value of net assets represented the sales and growth potential of IPA Europe. Goodwill recorded is allocated in its entirety to IPA Europe. The fair value of the 1,320,080 common shares issued ($4,884,295) was determined to be $3.70 per share based on the fair value of the Companys shares immediately prior to the completion of the acquisition. The Company has allocated the purchase price as follows:
$ | ||||
Cash |
3,988,132 | |||
1,320,080 common shares of the Company |
4,884,295 | |||
Fair value of deferred payments |
2,353,708 | |||
|
|
|||
Fair value of consideration |
11,226,135 | |||
|
|
|||
Cash |
270,339 | |||
Amounts receivable |
572,427 | |||
Unbilled revenue |
90,052 | |||
Inventory |
2,286,995 | |||
Equipment, net of accumulated amortization |
568,221 | |||
Software |
30,974 | |||
Intangible assets (not deductible for tax purposes) |
6,304,863 | |||
Goodwill (not deductible for tax purposes) |
3,640,671 | |||
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities |
(580,339 | ) | ||
Deferred revenue |
(22,897 | ) | ||
Loans |
(298,979 | ) | ||
Deferred income tax liability |
(1,636,192 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
11,226,135 | ||||
|
|
12
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
The deferred payments of 2,000,000 over a three-year period was fair valued on the date of acquisition using a discounted cash flow model. A discount rate of 14% was used. The changes in the value of the deferred payments during the six months ended October 31, 2020 and the year ended April 30, 2020 are as follows:
$ | ||||
Balance, April 30, 2019 |
1,501,285 | |||
Accretion expense |
382,928 | |||
Foreign exchange |
9,699 | |||
|
|
|||
Balance, April 30, 2020 |
1,893,912 | |||
Accretion expense |
66,280 | |||
Repayment |
(1,029,939 | ) | ||
Foreign exchange |
39,845 | |||
|
|
|||
Balance, October 31, 2020 |
970,098 | |||
|
|
7. |
INVESTMENT |
Investment consists of a 29% (2019 29%) interest in QVQ Holding B.V. (QVQ), which is recorded using the equity method, being the best approximation of the investments fair value. Judgment is required as to the extent of influence that the Company has over QVQ. The Company considered the extent of voting power over the entity, the power to participate in financial and operating policy decisions of the entity, representation on the board of directors, material transactions between the entities, interchange of management personnel, and provision of essential technical information. The Company has determined that the Company is not considered to have significant influence over QVQ, as the Company does not have the power to participate in financial and operating policy decisions, does not have representation on the Board of Directors of QVQ, and the majority of the common shares are held by QVQ management.
8. |
PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT |
Computer
Hardware |
Furniture &
Equipment |
Computer
Software |
Building | Automobile |
Leasehold
lmprovements |
Lab
Equipment |
Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
$ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Cost: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2019 |
110,997 | 111,065 | 130,015 | | | 393,421 | 3,369,010 | 4,114,508 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
IFRS 16 transition adjustment |
| | | 1,668,533 | | | | 1,668,533 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Additions |
16,999 | | | 905,225 | 48,997 | 6,495 | 350,260 | 1,327,976 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disposals |
(73,697 | ) | (75,052 | ) | (80,193 | ) | (196,325 | ) | | (49,221 | ) | (633,152 | ) | (1,107,640 | ) | |||||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange |
| | 97 | 6,166 | 972 | | 12,367 | 19,602 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2020 |
54,299 | 36,013 | 49,919 | 2,383,599 | 49,969 | 350,695 | 3,098,485 | 6,022,979 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Additions |
2,221 | | | 90,308 | 47,082 | 2,482 | 1,183,953 | 1,326,046 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange |
(46 | ) | | 836 | 38,057 | 1,396 | | 62,018 | 102,261 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Balance, October 31, 2020 |
56,474 | 36,013 | 50,755 | 2,511,964 | 98,447 | 353,177 | 4,344,456 | 7,451,286 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Accumulated Depreciation: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2019 |
88,135 | 85,636 | 48,789 | | | 205,816 | 2,047,583 | 2,475,959 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Depreciation |
23,016 | 7,194 | 66,198 | 696,948 | 7,145 | 69,273 | 497,409 | 1,367,183 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disposals |
(73,697 | ) | (75,052 | ) | (80,193 | ) | | | (49,221 | ) | (633,152 | ) | (911,315 | ) | ||||||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange |
| | 170 | 3,366 | 142 | | 9,712 | 13,390 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2020 |
37,454 | 17,778 | 34,964 | 700,314 | 7,287 | 225,868 | 1,921,552 | 2,945,217 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Depreciation |
11,649 | 3,654 | 3,847 | 353,945 | 8,382 | 35,069 | 431,712 | 848,258 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange |
| | 415 | 9,601 | 204 | | 42,336 | 52,556 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Balance, October 31, 2020 |
49,103 | 21,432 | 39,226 | 1,063,860 | 15,873 | 260,937 | 2,395,600 | 3,846,031 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
Net Book Value: |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
April 30, 2020 |
16,845 | 18,235 | 14,955 | 1,683,285 | 42,682 | 124,827 | 1,176,933 | 3,077,762 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
October 31, 2020 |
7,371 | 14,581 | 11,529 | 1,448,104 | 82,574 | 92,240 | 1,948,856 | 3,605,255 |
13
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
9. |
INTANGIBLE ASSETS |
The intangible assets were acquired as a result of the acquisitions of U-Protein and IPA Europe and are amortized using the straight-line method over their useful lives. The intellectual property has a useful life of 10 years, and the proprietary processes have a useful life of 5 years. The intermally generated development costs will commence amortizing once the development process is ready to be used. The changes in the value of the intangible assets during the six months ended October 31, 2020 and the year ended April 30, 2020 are as follows:
Internally
Generated Development Costs |
Intellectual
Property |
Proprietary
Processes |
Certifications | Total | ||||||||||||||||
$ | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||
Cost: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2019 |
| 4,145,225 | 7,740,010 | 139,707 | 12,024,942 | |||||||||||||||
Additions |
114,042 | | | | 114,042 | |||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange |
533 | 13,464 | 25,140 | 454 | 39,591 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2020 |
114,575 | 4,158,689 | 7,765,150 | 140,161 | 12,178,575 | |||||||||||||||
Additions |
278,995 | | | | 278,995 | |||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange |
2,284 | 116,220 | 217,007 | 3,917 | 339,428 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Balance, October 31, 2020 |
395,854 | 4,274,909 | 7,982,157 | 144,078 | 12,796,998 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Accumulated Amortization: |
||||||||||||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2019 |
| 635,601 | 1,162,592 | | 1,798,193 | |||||||||||||||
Amortization |
| 406,334 | 1,634,830 | | 2,041,164 | |||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange |
| 11,600 | 42,226 | | 53,826 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2020 |
| 1,053,535 | 2,839,648 | | 3,893,183 | |||||||||||||||
Amortization |
| 213,746 | 823,656 | | 1,037,402 | |||||||||||||||
Foreign exchange |
| 29,441 | 79,357 | | 108,798 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Balance, October 31, 2020 |
| 1,296,722 | 3,742,661 | | 5,039,383 | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
Net Book Value: |
||||||||||||||||||||
April 30, 2020 |
114,575 | 3,105,154 | 4,925,502 | 140,161 | 8,285,392 | |||||||||||||||
October 31, 2020 |
395,854 | 2,978,187 | 4,239,496 | 144,078 | 7,757,615 |
10. |
DEBENTURES |
On April 5, 2018, the Company completed a nonconvertible debenture (the Debentures) financing in the principal amount of $4,252,000 (the Offering). The Debentures were unsecured, bore interest at a rate of 10% per annum, payable semi-annually, and were due eighteen months from the date of issue. Under the Offering, a holder of a Debenture received 7,500 detachable share purchase warrants (the Warrants) for every $25,000 of Debentures subscribed for by the holder. The Warrants are exercisable at $3.50 per share for a period of four years from the date of issue. The fair value of the Debentures at the time of issue was calculated as the discounted cash flows assuming a 15% effective interest rate. The fair value of the Warrants was determined at the time of issue as the difference between the face value and the fair value of the Debentures. On initial recognition, the Company bifurcated $4,003,125 to the carrying value of the Debentures and $248,875 to the Warrants.
14
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited- Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
Under the Offering, the Company paid the following finders fees: $10,300 in cash, 116,064 shares of the Company with a fair value of $383,010, and 83,188 finders warrants valued at $187,627. The fair value of the finders warrants was estimated on the date of issue using the Black-Scholes option valuation model with the following weighted average assumptions: dividend yield of $nil, risk free interest rate of 1.60%, expected life of 4 years and expected volatility based on the historical volatility of similar companies of 100%. The total fair value of the finders fees was allocated pro-rata based on the carrying values of the Debentures and Warrants, with $546,934 allocated to the Debentures and $34,003 allocated to the Warrants.
On October 25,2018, the Company settled $1,377,000 of the Debentures by issuing 275,400 units at a price of $5.00 per unit. Each unit consisted of one common share of the Company and one share purchase warrant, with each warrant entitling the holder to purchase an additional share at $6.25 for two years. The fair value of the 275,400 common shares issued was determined to be $1,115,370. The fair value of the warrants issued was determined to be $283,000 and estimated on the date of issue using the Black-Scholes option valuation model with the following weighted average assumptions: dividend yield of $nil, risk free interest rate of 1.58%, expected life of 2 years and expected volatility based on the historical volatility of similar companies of 68.7%. The settlement resulted in a loss of $189,715.
On September 26, 2019, the Company modified the terms of $2,750,000 Debentures to extend the due date by 6 months to March 26, 2020, with the ability to pay earlier with no penalty, and increased the interest rate to 12.5%. The remaining debentures of $125,000 were paid on maturity.
On March 26, 2020, the Company settled $700,000 of the Debentures plus accrued interest of $46,875 by issuing 248,959 common shares. The fair value of the 248,959 common shares issued was determined to be $858,906. The settlement resulted in a loss of $112,031. $50,000 of the Debentures were paid on maturity. The maturity date of the remaining Debentures of $2,000,000 was extended to September 26, 2020. The Company repaid the remaining balance of $2,000,000 plus interest during the six months ended October 31, 2020.
The changes in the value of the Debentures during the six months ended October 31, 2020 and the year ended April 30, 2020 are as follows:
$ | ||||
Balance, April 30, 2019 |
2,708,334 | |||
Accretion expense |
166,666 | |||
Repayment |
(175,000 | ) | ||
Settlement of debentures |
(700,000 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
Balance, April 30, 2020 |
2,000,000 | |||
Repayment |
(2,000,000 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
Balance, October 31, 2020 |
| |||
|
|
15
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
11. |
LOANS PAYABLE |
On April 5, 2018, the Company assumed loans payable of 60,750 (CAD$94,995) as a result of the acquisition of IPA Europe. On July 7, 2015, IPA Europe entered into a loan agreement in the principal amount of 165,000, maturing on July 31, 2020. The loan was secured by certain equipment, bore an interest rate of 4% per annum and was repayable in monthly installments of 2,250. The interest was owed per month in arrears. The principal outstanding at October 31, 2020 is nil (CAD$nil) (April 30, 2020 4,500 (CAD$6,797)).
On April 5, 2018, the Company assumed loans payable of 56,450 (CAD$88,271) as a result of the acquisition of IPA Europe. On February 1, 2016, IPA Europe entered into a loan agreement in the principal amount of 100,000, maturing on February 28, 2021. The loan is secured by certain equipment, bears an interest rate of 3% per annum and is repayable in monthly installments of 1,675. The interest is owed per month in arrears. The principal outstanding at October 31, 2020 is 4,525 (CAD$7,026) (April 30, 2020 14,575 (CAD$22,014)).
On April 15, 2020, the Company was approved for a US$209,000 loan under the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The loan accrued interest at 1% per annum and was to be repayable in monthly installments of US$11,761 starting in November 2020 until April 2022. The PPP is a US$349 billion loan program that originated from the U.S. Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The PPP loan had a term of two years, was unsecured, and was guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The loan is forgiven if the proceeds are used by the Company to cover payroll costs (including benefits), with up to 25% allowed for rent and utilities, during the eight-week period following the loan origination date. The Company applied for lender forgiveness and expects to meet the requirements for full loan forgiveness. Accordingly, the principal balance plus accrued interest ($275,669) has been recognized as government grant / subsidy in other income.
$ | ||||
Balance, April 30, 2019 |
111,670 | |||
Loan proceeds |
283,328 | |||
Loan repayments and foreign exchange |
(82,859 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
Balance, April 30, 2020 |
312,139 | |||
Loan repayments and foreign exchange |
(25,131 | ) | ||
Loan forgiven |
(279,982 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
Balance, October 31, 2020 |
7,026 | |||
Current portion |
(7,026 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
Non-current portion |
| |||
|
|
12. |
CONVERTIBLE DEBENTURES |
On May 15, 2020, the Company closed a non-brokered private placement financing by issuing 10% convertible debentures (New Debentures) for total proceeds of $2,592,000. On May 27, 2020, the Company issued an additional $35,000 of the 10% New Debentures. In total, the Company issued $2,627,000 of the New Debentures. The New Debentures are unsecured, bear interest at a rate of 10% per year and payable at maturity. The maturity date is May 15, 2022 for $2,592,000 of the New Debentures and May 22, 2022 for $35,000 of the New Debentures. The principal amount of the New Debentures may be convertible, at the option of the holder, into common shares of the Company at a conversion price of $4.25 per share. The Company may force convert the principal amount of the New Debentures at $4.25 per share if the average closing price is equal to or greater than $7.50 for 20 trading days.
16
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
In advance of the closing of the New Debentures, the Company had received $313,268 of the proceeds as at April 30, 2020.
The fair value of the New Debentures at the time of issue was calculated as the discounted cash flows assuming a 15% effective interest rate. The fair value of the equity component was determined at the time of issue as the difference between the face value and the fair value of the New Debentures. On initial recognition, the Company bifurcated $2,413,377 to the carrying value of the New Debentures and $213,623 to the equity component.
Under the financing, the Company paid finders cash commissions totaling $82,580 and incurred legal and filing fees of $29,331. The transaction costs were allocated pro-rata based on the carrying values of the New Debentures and the equity component, with $102,811 allocated to the New Debentures and $9,100 allocated to the equity component.
During the three and six months ended October 31, 2020, the Company recorded accretion expense of $36,065 and $67,264 (2019 $nil and $nil). The changes in the value of the New Debentures during the six months ended October 31, 2020 are as follows:
Liability
Component $ |
Equity
Component $ |
|||||||
Balance, April 30, 2020 |
| | ||||||
Proceeds |
2,413,377 | 213,623 | ||||||
Transaction costs |
(102,811 | ) | (9,100 | ) | ||||
Accretion expense |
67,264 | | ||||||
Conversion to shares |
(311,676 | ) | (27,639 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Balance, October 31, 2020 |
2,066,154 | 176,884 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
Subsequent to October 31, 2020, the Company issued 17,646, common shares pursuant to conversion of convertible debentures at a value of $68,327.
17
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
13. |
LEASES |
The Company entered into certain equipment and automobile leases expiring between 2021 and 2024 with interest rates of between 8% and 17% per annum. The Companys obligations under these finance leases are secured by the lessors title to the leased assets. The Company also entered into office leases in January 2018, May 2018, May 2019 and June 2019. With the adoption of IFRS 16, Leases (see Note 3), the Company recognized a lease obligation with regard to the office leases. The terms and the outstanding balances as at October 31, 2020 and April 30, 2020 are as follows:
October 31,
2020 $ |
April 30,
2020 $ |
|||||||
Equipment under lease in monthly installments of $1,228 with annual interests of between 13% and 17%. Due dates were between May 2021 and March 2023. (1) |
| 71,222 | ||||||
Equipment under lease in monthly installments of $22,309 with annual interest rate of 8% and an end date of May 2023. |
582,616 | | ||||||
Automobile under lease in monthly installments of $1,155 with annual interest rate of 8% and an end date of September 2023. |
38,735 | 43,330 | ||||||
Automobile under lease in monthly installments of $1,108 with annual interest rate of 8% and an end date of August 2024. |
43,801 | | ||||||
Right-of-use asset from office lease repayable in monthly installments of $9,602 and annual interest rate of 8% and an end date of May 2021. The obligation includes an early termination fee of $15,981. |
80,146 | 135,230 | ||||||
Right-of-use asset from office lease repayable in monthly installments of $16,445 and annual interest rate of 8% and an end date of December 2022. |
404,845 | 475,727 | ||||||
Right-of-use asset from office lease repayable in monthly installments of $25,240 and annual interest rate of 8% and an end date of December 2022. |
652,998 | 673,235 | ||||||
Right-of-use asset from office lease repayable in monthly installments of $13,891 and annual interest rate of 8% and an end date of April 2023. |
390,549 | 485,307 | ||||||
Current portion |
(929,931 | ) | (752,306 | ) | ||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
Non-current portion |
1,263,759 | 1,131,744 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
(1) |
This equipment lease was repaid in full during the six months ended October 31, 2020. |
As at October 31, 2020, the Companys lab equipment and automobile include a net carrying amount of $639,506 (April 30, 2020 $77,285) for the leased equipment and $82,574 (April 30, 2020 $42,682) for the leased automobile. The net carrying amount of the right-of-use assets from office lease obligation is $1,448,105 (April 30, 2020 $1,683,285).
18
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
The following is a schedule of the Companys future minimum lease payments related to the equipment under finance lease and the office lease obligation:
$ | ||||
2021 |
547,424 | |||
2022 |
1,012,170 | |||
2023 |
814,069 | |||
2024 |
21,360 | |||
|
|
|||
Total minimum lease payments |
2,395,023 | |||
Less: imputed interest |
(201,333 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
Total present value of minimum lease payments |
2,193,690 | |||
Less: Current portion |
(929,931 | ) | ||
|
|
|||
Non-current portion |
1,263,759 | |||
|
|
14. |
SHARE CAPITAL |
a) |
Authorized: |
Unlimited common shares without par value.
b) |
Consolidation: |
On November 23, 2020, the Company consolidated its issued and outstanding common shares on the basis of 5 pre-Consolidation shares for one post-Consolidation share. All references to share and per share amounts in these condensed interim consolidated financial statements have been retroactively restated to reflect the Consolidation.
c) |
Share capital transactions: |
2020 Transactions
On March 26, 2020, the Company settled $700,000 of the Debentures plus accrued interest of $46,875 by issuing 248,959 common shares (Note 10). The fair value of the 248,959 common shares issued was determined to be $858,906. The settlement resulted in a loss of $112,031.
During the year ended April 30, 2020, the Company issued 11,000 common shares pursuant to exercise of stock options for total gross proceeds of $16,500. A value of $12,490 was transferred from contributed surplus to share capital as a result. The weighted average share price at dates the stock options were exercised was $3.45.
During the year ended April 30, 2020, the Company issued 136,194 common shares pursuant to exercise of warrants and finders warrants for total gross proceeds of $476,679. A value of $22,942 was transferred from contributed surplus to share capital as a result.
19
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
2021 Transactions
On May 1, 2020, the Company issued 132,833 common shares pursuant to the second deferred payment for the acquisition of IPA Europe (Note 6). The common shares were valued at $511,405.
During the six months ended October 31, 2020, the Company issued 130,100 common shares pursuant to exercise of stock options for total gross proceeds of $387,805. A value of $273,967 was transferred from contributed surplus to share capital as a result. The weighted average share price at dates the stock options were exercised was $9.55.
During the six months ended October 31, 2020, the Company issued 2,431,300 common shares pursuant to exercise of warrants and finders warrants for total gross proceeds of $14,535,775. A value of $319,202 was transferred from contributed surplus to share capital as a result.
During the six months ended October 31, 2020, the Company issued 83,528 common shares pursuant to conversion of convertible debentures at a value of $339,315.
d) |
Options |
The Company has an incentive Stock Option Plan (the Plan) under which non-transferable options to purchase common shares of the Company may be granted to directors, officers, employees or service providers of the Company. The terms of the plan provide that the Directors have the right to grant options to acquire common shares of the Company at not less than the closing market price of the shares on the day preceding the grant at terms of up to five years. The maximum number of options outstanding under the Plan shall not result, at any time, in more than 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares.
On October 3 2019, the Company granted 50,000 stock options, exercisable at $2.375 per option, to an officer of the Company. The options are subject to vesting conditions as follows: one-third 6 months after grant date; one-third 12 months after grant date and one-third 18 months after grant date. The fair value of these options was estimated to be $86,395 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the following assumptions: share price on grant date of $2.40, dividend yield of 0%, expected volatility of 100%, a risk-free interest rate of 1.46%, and an expected life of 5 years.
On October 3, 2019, the Company granted 40,000 stock options, exercisable at $5.00 per option, to a consultant of the Company. The options vested immediately upon grant. The fair value of these options was estimated to be $32,096 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the following assumptions: share price on grant date of $2.40, dividend yield of 0%, expected volatility of 100%, a risk-free interest rate of 1.56%, and an expected life of 2 years.
On October 3, 2019, the Company granted 30,000 stock options, exercisable at $2.50 per option, to a director of the Company. The options are subject to vesting conditions as follows: one-third 6 months after grant date; one-third 12 months after grant date and one-third 18 months after grant date. The fair value of these options was estimated to be $53,326 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the following assumptions: share price on grant date of $2.40, dividend yield of 0%, expected volatility of 100%, a risk-free interest rate of 1.46%, and an expected life of 5 years.
On October 3, 2019, the Company granted 13,000 stock options, exercisable at $5.05 per option, to employees of the Company. The options vested immediately upon grant. The fair value of these options was estimated to be $14,627 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the following assumptions: share price on grant date of $2.40, dividend yield of 0%, expected volatility of 100%, a risk-free interest rate of 1.54%, and an expected life of 2.96 years.
20
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
On April 3, 2020, the Company granted 11,000 stock options, exercisable at $5.05 per option, to employees of the Company. The options are subject to vesting conditions as follows: one-third 6 months after grant date; one-third 12 months after grant date and one-third 18 months after grant date. The fair value of these options was estimated to be $20,582 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the following assumptions: share price on grant date of $3.45, dividend yield of 0%, expected volatility of 100%, a risk-free interest rate of 0.75%, and an expected life of 3 years.
On April 29, 2020, the Company granted 50,000 stock options, exercisable at $3.80 per option, to an officer of the Company. The options are subject to vesting conditions as follows: one-third 6 months after grant date; one-third 12 months after grant date and one-third 18 months after grant date. The fair value of these options was estimated to be $129,340 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the following assumptions: share price on grant date of $3.80, dividend yield of 0%, expected volatility of 100%, a risk-free interest rate of 0.38%, and an expected life of 3.93 years.
On August 13, 2020, the Company granted 50,000 stock options, exercisable at $7.50 per option, to a consultant of the Company. The options are subject to vesting conditions as follows: one-quarter 3 months after grant date; one-quarter 6 months after grant date, one-quarter 9 months after grant date and one-quarter 12 months after grant date. The fair value of these options was estimated to be $204,749 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the following assumptions: share price on grant date of $6.85, dividend yield of 0%, expected volatility of 100%, a risk-free interest rate of 0.33%, and an expected life of 3 years.
On September 1, 2020, the Company granted 270,000 stock options, exercisable at $8.50 per option, to officers and an employee of the Company. The options are subject to vesting conditions as follows: one-third 6 months after grant date; one-third 12 months after grant date and one-third 18 months after grant date. The fair value of these options was estimated to be $1,613,117 using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and the following assumptions: share price on grant date of $8.15, dividend yield of 0%, expected volatility of 100%, a risk-free interest rate of 0.31%, and an expected life of 5 years.
Expected volatility was based on the historical volatility of similar companies.
During the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 the Company has recorded $476,571 and $573,844 (2019 $214,120 and $500,115) of share-based payments expense.
The changes in the stock options for the six months ended October 31, 2020 and the year ended April 30, 2020 are as follows:
Number of
options # |
Weighted
average exercise price $ |
Weighted
average life remaining (years) |
||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2019 (outstanding) |
1,060,667 | 3.90 | 3.87 | |||||||||
Granted |
194,000 | 3.65 | | |||||||||
Exercised |
(11,000 | ) | 1.50 | | ||||||||
Forfeited |
(180,667 | ) | 3.65 | | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Balance, April 30, 2020 (outstanding) |
1,063,000 | 3.85 | 3.03 | |||||||||
Granted |
320,000 | 8.35 | | |||||||||
Exercised |
(130,100 | ) | 3.00 | | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Balance, October 31, 2020 (outstanding) |
1,252,900 | 5.15 | 3.10 | |||||||||
Unvested |
(385,333 | ) | 7.50 | 2.55 | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Exercisable, October 31, 2020 |
867,567 | 4.10 | 4.35 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
21
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
Details of the options outstanding as at October 31, 2020 are as follows:
Expiry Date |
Exercise price
$ |
Remaining life
(year) |
Options
outstanding |
Unvested | Vested | |||||||||||||||
October 1, 2021 |
5.00 | 0.92 | 40,000 | | 40,000 | |||||||||||||||
December 20, 2021 |
1.50 | 1.14 | 46,000 | | 46,000 | |||||||||||||||
September 18, 2022 |
5.05 | 1.88 | 166,900 | | 166,900 | |||||||||||||||
January 3, 2023 |
3.25 | 2.18 | 50,000 | | 50,000 | |||||||||||||||
February 7, 2023 |
2.35 | 2.27 | 140,000 | | 140,000 | |||||||||||||||
April 3, 2023 |
5.05 | 2.42 | 8,000 | 5,333 | 2,667 | |||||||||||||||
August 13, 2023 |
7.50 | 2.78 | 50,000 | 50,000 | | |||||||||||||||
September 24, 2023 |
4.75 | 2.90 | 19,000 | | 19,000 | |||||||||||||||
November 7, 2023 |
4.10 | 3.02 | 20,000 | | 20,000 | |||||||||||||||
December 31, 2023 |
5.00 | 3.17 | 250,000 | | 250,000 | |||||||||||||||
January 7, 2024 |
5.00 | 3.19 | 60,000 | | 60,000 | |||||||||||||||
January 11, 2024 |
5.00 | 3.20 | 3,000 | | 3,000 | |||||||||||||||
April 1, 2024 |
3.80 | 3.42 | 50,000 | 33,333 | 16,667 | |||||||||||||||
October 1, 2024 |
2.375 | 3.92 | 50,000 | 16,667 | 33,333 | |||||||||||||||
October 3, 2024 |
2.50 | 3.93 | 30,000 | 10,000 | 20,000 | |||||||||||||||
September 1, 2025 |
8.50 | 4.84 | 270,000 | 270,000 | | |||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||
5.15 | 3.10 | 1,252,900 | 385,333 | 867,567 | ||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
e) |
Warrants |
The changes in the warrants for the six months ended October 31, 2020 and the year ended April 30, 2020 are as follows:
Number of
warrants # |
Weighted average
exercise price $ |
Weighted average life
remaining (years) |
||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2019 |
3,546,500 | 5.20 | 1.90 | |||||||||
Exercised |
(135,000 | ) | 3.50 | | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Balance, April 30, 2020 |
3,411,500 | 5.25 | 0.91 | |||||||||
Exercised |
(2,426,900 | ) | 6.00 | | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Balance, October 31, 2020 |
984,600 | 3.50 | 1.40 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Details of the warrants outstanding as at October 31, 2020 are as follows:
Expiry Date |
Exercise price
$ |
Remaining life
(year) |
Warrants
outstanding |
|||||||||
March 26, 2022 |
3.50 | 1.40 | 984,600 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
(1) |
29,217 of these warrants have been exercised subsequent to October 31, 2020. |
22
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
f) |
Finders Warrants |
The changes in the finders warrants for the six months ended October 31, 2020 and the year ended April 30, 2020 are as follows:
Number of
warrants # |
Weighted average
exercise price $ |
Weighted average life
remaining (years) |
||||||||||
Balance, April 30, 2019 |
83,188 | 3.50 | 2.91 | |||||||||
Exercised |
(1,194 | ) | 3.50 | | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Balance, April 30, 2020 |
81,994 | 3.50 | 1.90 | |||||||||
Exercised |
(4,400 | ) | 3.50 | | ||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Balance, October 31, 2020 |
77,594 | 3.50 | 1.40 | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
As at October 31, 2020, the Company has 77,594 finders warrants outstanding. The warrants have an exercise price of $3.50 per share and expire on March 26, 2022.
15. |
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS |
Key management personnel are those persons having authority and responsibility for planning, directing and controlling the activities of the Company. Key management consists of Dr. Jennifer Bath, President and CEO; Lisa Helbling, CFO; Dr. Stefan Lang, Chief Business Officer; Dr. Yasmina Abdiche, Chief Scientific Officer; Charles Wheelock, former Chief Technology Officer; Martin Hessing, a former Director of U-Protein; and Directors of the Company. During the six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019, the compensation for key management is as follows:
2020
$ |
2019
$ |
|||||||
Management fees |
15,737 | 89,479 | ||||||
Salaries and other short-term benefits |
1,242,196 | 771,376 | ||||||
Severance |
135,715 | |||||||
Share-based payments |
459,239 | 269,870 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
1,852,887 | 1,130,725 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
At October 31, 2020, included in accounts payable and accrued liabilities is $785,196 (April 30, 2020- $412,188) due to related parties.
These transactions are in the normal course of operations and are measured at the exchange amount, which is the amount of consideration established and agreed to by the related parties, unless otherwise noted.
16. |
GRANT AND SUBSIDY INCOME |
In July 2020, IPA USA and Talem (the Subgrantee) were awarded a grant of US$1,500,000 by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture through the CARES Act ND Bioscience Group Program for the development of antibody therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2. The total grant project cost is US$2,000,000, for which the Subgrantee must contribute an amount not less than 25% of the grant project cost, or US$500,000. In addition, the Company has been awarded a US$75,000 grant from the state of North Dakota to fund its PolyTope mAb Therapy platform, which the Company is using to developing treatments for the coronavirus (COVID-19) and other pathogens. The Company has recorded a total of $1,312,472 and $1,779,302 during the three and six months ended related to these grants.
23
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
Most recently, the Company has had grants approved in the amount of approximately $55,000 in the form of reduced costs of services performed from the Canadian National Research Councils (NRC) Innovation Research Assistance Program, to support collaborative research with the NRC, including CHO cell manufacturing.
The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) was put in place by government of Canada to provide a wage subsidy to eligible employers. This initiative was to help get Canadians hired back quickly as provincial and territorial economies began to reopen. The Company recognized $134,821 and $273,970 of CEWS during the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 as subsidy.
17. |
SEGMENTED INFORMATION AND ECONOMIC DEPENDENCE |
At October 31, 2020 and April 30, 2020, the Company has one reportable segment, being antibody production and related services.
During the six months ended October 31, 2020, the Company had sales to nil (2019 - nil) customer who in aggregate accounted for more than 10% (2019 10%) of revenue.
The Companys revenues are allocated to geographic segments for the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019 as follows:
Three months ended | Six months ended | |||||||||||||||
October 31, | October 31, | |||||||||||||||
2020
$ |
2019
$ |
2020
$ |
2019
$ |
|||||||||||||
United States of America |
2,208,436 | 1,379,352 | 3,960,515 | 2,283,729 | ||||||||||||
Canada |
280,398 | 474,654 | 572,348 | 681,477 | ||||||||||||
Europe |
1,877,801 | 1,303,393 | 3,162,004 | 2,809,319 | ||||||||||||
Other |
387,910 | 4,966 | 824,655 | 103,939 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
4,754,545 | 3,162,365 | 8,519,522 | 5,878,464 | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Companys revenues are allocated according to revenue types for the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019 as follows:
Three months ended | Six months ended | |||||||||||||||
October 31, | October 31, | |||||||||||||||
2020
$ |
2019
$ |
2020
$ |
2019
$ |
|||||||||||||
Project revenue |
4,531,782 | 2,964,969 | 8,004,592 | 5,576,837 | ||||||||||||
Product sales revenue |
221,384 | 187,010 | 509,616 | 247,244 | ||||||||||||
Cryo storage revenue |
1,379 | 10,386 | 5,314 | 54,383 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
4,754,545 | 3,162,365 | 8,519,522 | 5,878,464 | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
24
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
The Companys non-current assets are allocated to geographic segments as of October 31, 2020 and April 30, 2020 as follows:
October 31,
2020 $ |
April 30,
2020 $ |
|||||||
North America |
1,993,294 | 1,429,210 | ||||||
Netherlands |
17,713,218 | 18,134,469 | ||||||
|
|
|
|
|||||
19,706,512 | 19,563,679 | |||||||
|
|
|
|
Geographic segmentation of the Companys net income (loss) for the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019 is as follows:
Three months ended | Six months ended | |||||||||||||||
October 31, | October 31, | |||||||||||||||
2020
$ |
2019
$ |
2020
$ |
2019
$ |
|||||||||||||
North America - Corporate |
(1,333,970 | ) | (1,683,246 | ) | (2,573,760 | ) | (3,658,009 | ) | ||||||||
North America |
460,781 | 317,850 | 721,131 | 205,786 | ||||||||||||
Netherlands |
409,606 | 1,851 | 839,728 | 76,480 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
(463,583 | ) | (1,363,545 | ) | (1,012,901 | ) | (3,375,743 | ) | |||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Geographic segmentation of the interest and accretion, and amortization and depreciation for the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019 is as follows:
Three months ended | Six months ended | |||||||||||||||
October 31, | October 31, | |||||||||||||||
Interest and accretion |
2020
$ |
2019
$ |
2020
$ |
2019
$ |
||||||||||||
North America - Corporate |
156,583 | 294,569 | 349,570 | 925,244 | ||||||||||||
North America |
31,973 | 18,645 | 51,441 | 42,620 | ||||||||||||
Netherlands |
56,544 | 14,541 | 115,040 | 31,744 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
245,100 | 327,755 | 516,051 | 999,608 | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
Three months ended | Six months ended | |||||||||||||||
October 31, | October 31, | |||||||||||||||
Amortization and depreciation |
2020
$ |
2019
$ |
2020
$ |
2019
$ |
||||||||||||
North America - Corporate |
1,886 | 20,639 | 8,474 | 41,279 | ||||||||||||
North America |
253,597 | 117,780 | 433,944 | 244,551 | ||||||||||||
Netherlands |
718,254 | 525,155 | 1,443,242 | 1,080,028 | ||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
973,737 | 663,574 | 1,885,660 | 1,365,858 | |||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
25
IMMUNOPRECISE ANTIBODIES LTD.
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED INTERIM CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the three and six months ended October 31, 2020 and 2019
(Unaudited Expressed in Canadian Dollars)
18. |
SUPPLEMENTAL CASH FLOW INFORMATION |
Non-cash investing and financing transactions: |
October 31,
2020 $ |
October 31,
2019 $ |
||||||
Acquisition of building and equipment by capital lease |
784,335 | 1,668,533 | ||||||
Fair value of shares issued pursuant to deferred acquisition payment to IPA Europe |
511,405 | | ||||||
|
|
|
|
The following changes in liabilities arose from financing activities:
Non-cash changes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
April 30,
2020 $ |
Cash Flows
$ |
Acquisition
$ |
Settlement/
Conversion/ Forgiven $ |
Accretion
$ |
Foreign
exchange movements and change in estimates $ |
October 31,
2020 $ |
||||||||||||||||||||||
Deferred acquisition payments |
2,825,440 | (518,534 | ) | | (511,405 | ) | 141,757 | 64,618 | 2,001,876 | |||||||||||||||||||
Debentures |
2,000,000 | (2,000,000 | ) | | | | | | ||||||||||||||||||||
Convertible debentures |
313,268 | 1,997,298 | | (311,676 | ) | 67,264 | | 2,066,154 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Loans payable |
312,139 | (25,131 | ) | | (279,982 | ) | | | 7,026 | |||||||||||||||||||
Leases |
1,884,050 | (563,540 | ) | 784,335 | | | 88,845 | 2,193,690 | ||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||
Total |
7,334,897 | (1,109,907 | ) | 784,335 | (1,1063,063 | ) | 209,021 | 153,463 | 6,268,746 | |||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non-cash changes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
April 30,
2019 $ |
Cash Flows
$ |
Acquisition
$ |
Accretion
$ |
Foreign
exchange movements and change in estimates $ |
October 31,
2019 $ |
|||||||||||||||||||
Deferred acquisition payments |
3,063,981 | | | 599,194 | (113,493 | ) | 3,549,682 | |||||||||||||||||
Debentures |
2,708,334 | (125,000 | ) | | 166,666 | | 2,750,000 | |||||||||||||||||
Loans payable |
111,670 | (49,135 | ) | | | | 62,535 | |||||||||||||||||
Leases |
107,077 | (203,123 | ) | 1,723,277 | | | 1,627,231 | |||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||
Total |
5,991,062 | (377,258 | ) | 1,723,277 | 765,860 | (113,493 | ) | 7,989,448 | ||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
26
Exhibit 99.138
Form 52-109FV2
Certification of Interim Filings
Venture Issuer Basic Certificate
I, Lisa Helbling, the Chief Financial Officer of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd., certify the following:
1. |
Review: I have reviewed the interim financial report and interim MD&A (together, the interim filings) of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the issuer) for the interim period ended October 31, 2020. |
2. |
No misrepresentations: Based on my knowledge, having exercised reasonable diligence, the interim filings do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated or that is necessary to make a statement not misleading in light of the circumstances under which it was made, with respect to the period covered by the interim filings. |
3. |
Fair presentation: Based on my knowledge, having exercised reasonable diligence, the interim financial report together with the other financial information included in the interim filings fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, financial performance and cash flows of the issuer, as of the date of and for the periods presented in the interim filings. |
Date: December 21, 2020 |
Lisa Helbling |
Lisa Helbling |
Chief Financial Officer |
NOTE TO READER
In contrast to the certificate required for non-venture issuers under National Instrument 52-109 Certification of Disclosure in Issuers Annual and Interim Filings (NI 52-109), this Venture Issuer Basic Certificate does not include representations relating to the establishment and maintenance of disclosure controls and procedures (DC&P) and internal control over financial reporting (ICFR), as defined in NI 52-109. In particular, the certifying officers filing this certificate are not making any representations relating to the establishment and maintenance of
i) |
controls and other procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the issuer in its annual filings, interim filings or other reports filed or submitted under securities legislation is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in securities legislation; and |
ii) |
a process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with the issuers GAAP. |
The issuers certifying officers are responsible for ensuring that processes are in place to provide them with sufficient knowledge to support the representations they are making in this certificate. Investors should be aware that inherent limitations on the ability of certifying officers of a venture issuer to design and implement on a cost effective basis DC&P and ICFR as defined in NI 52109 may result in additional risks to the quality, reliability, transparency and timeliness of interim and annual filings and other reports provided under securities legislation.
Exhibit 99.139
Form 52-109FV2
Certification of Interim Filings
Venture Issuer Basic Certificate
I, Jennifer Bath, the Chief Executive Officer of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd., certify the following:
1. |
Review: I have reviewed the interim financial report and interim MD&A (together, the interim filings) of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies Ltd. (the issuer) for the interim period ended October 31, 2020. |
2. |
No misrepresentations: Based on my knowledge, having exercised reasonable diligence, the interim filings do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated or that is necessary to make a statement not misleading in light of the circumstances under which it was made, with respect to the period covered by the interim filings. |
3. |
Fair presentation: Based on my knowledge, having exercised reasonable diligence, the interim financial report together with the other financial information included in the interim filings fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, financial performance and cash flows of the issuer, as of the date of and for the periods presented in the interim filings. |
Date: December 21, 2020 |
Jennifer Bath |
Jennifer Bath |
Chief Executive Officer |
NOTE TO READER
In contrast to the certificate required for non-venture issuers under National Instrument 52-109 Certification of Disclosure in Issuers Annual and Interim Filings (NI 52-109), this Venture Issuer Basic Certificate does not include representations relating to the establishment and maintenance of disclosure controls and procedures (DC&P) and internal control over financial reporting (ICFR), as defined in NI 52-109. In particular, the certifying officers filing this certificate are not making any representations relating to the establishment and maintenance of
i) |
controls and other procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the issuer in its annual filings, interim filings or other reports filed or submitted under securities legislation is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in securities legislation; and |
ii) |
a process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with the issuers GAAP. |
The issuers certifying officers are responsible for ensuring that processes are in place to provide them with sufficient knowledge to support the representations they are making in this certificate. Investors should be aware that inherent limitations on the ability of certifying officers of a venture issuer to design and implement on a cost effective basis DC&P and ICFR as defined in NI 52109 may result in additional risks to the quality, reliability, transparency and timeliness of interim and annual filings and other reports provided under securities legislation.