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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-Q

 

(Mark One)

 

QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended March 31, 2021

 

OR

 

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from _______ to

 

Commission file number: 001-37769

 

VBI VACCINES INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

British Columbia, Canada   N/A
(State or other jurisdiction of   (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization)   Identification No.)

 

222 Third Street, Suite 2241

Cambridge, Massachusetts

  02142
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 617-830-3031

 

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

 

Title of each class   Trading Symbol(s)   Name of each exchange on which registered
         
Common Share, no par value per share   VBIV   Nasdaq Capital Market

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

Yes ☒ No ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).

Yes ☒ No ☐

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

 

Common Shares, no par value per share   254,195,435
(Class)   Outstanding at May 7, 2021

 

 

 

 
 

 

VBI VACCINES INC.

FORM 10-Q FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED March 31, 2021

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

    Page
     
PART I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION 5
     
Item 1. Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements 5
     
  Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets - March 31, 2021 (unaudited) and December 31, 2020 5
     
  Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 (unaudited) 6
     
  Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 (unaudited) 7
     
  Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 (unaudited) 8
     
  Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited) 9
     
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 23
     
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 36
     
Item 4. Controls and Procedures 36
     
PART II - OTHER INFORMATION 37
     
Item 1. Legal Proceedings 37
     
Item 1A. Risk Factors 37
     
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds 37
     
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities 37
     
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosure 37
     
Item 5. Other Information 37
     
Item 6. Exhibits 38
     
Signatures 39

 

  2  
 

 

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND OTHER INFORMATION
CONTAINED IN THIS REPORT

 

This quarterly report on Form 10-Q (this “Form 10-Q”) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and the provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Forward-looking statements give our current expectations or forecasts of future events. You can identify these statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. You can find many (but not all) of these statements by looking for words such as “approximates,” “believes,” “hopes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “will,” “may,” or other similar expressions in this Form 10-Q. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions; prospective products, applications, customers, and technologies; future performance or results of anticipated products; anticipated expenses; and projected financial results. We have based these forward-looking statements largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations, or projections described under the sections in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and in the sections entitled “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our 2020 annual report on the Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 2, 2021. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to:

 

the timing of, and our ability to, obtain and maintain regulatory approvals for our clinical trials, products, and pipeline candidates;
the timing and results of our ongoing and planned clinical trials for products and pipeline candidates;
the amount of funds we require for our prophylactic and therapeutic pipeline candidates;
the potential benefits of strategic partnership agreements and our ability to enter into strategic partnership arrangements;
the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on our clinical studies, research programs, manufacturing, business plan, regulatory review including site inspections, and the global economy;
our ability to effectively execute and deliver our plans related to commercialization, marketing, manufacturing capabilities and strategy;
our ability to maintain a good relationship with our employees;
the suitability and adequacy of our office, manufacturing, and research facilities and our ability to secure term extensions or expansions of leased space;
our ability to manufacture, or to have manufactured, any products we develop at a commercially viable scale to the standards and requirements of regulatory agencies;
the ability of our vendors and suppliers to manufacture and deliver materials that meet regulatory agency and our standards and requirements to meet planned timelines and milestones;
any disruption in the operations of our Rehovot, Israel manufacturing facility where we manufacture all of our clinical and commercial supplies of our 3-antigen prophylactic hepatitis B vaccine and clinical supplies of our hepatitis B immunotherapeutic, VBI-2601;
our compliance with all laws, rules, and regulations applicable to our business and products;
our ability to continue as a going concern;
our history of losses;
our ability to generate revenues and achieve profitability;
emerging competition and rapidly advancing technology in our industry that may outpace our technology;
customer demand for our products and pipeline candidates;
the impact of competitive or alternative products, technologies, and pricing;
general economic conditions and events and the impact they may have on us and our potential customers;
our ability to obtain adequate financing in the future on reasonable terms, as and when we need it;
our ability to implement network systems and controls that are effective at preventing cyber-attacks, malware intrusions, malicious viruses, and ransomware threats;
our ability to secure and maintain protection over our intellectual property;
our ability to maintain our existing licenses with licensors of intellectual property, or obtain new licenses for intellectual property;

 

  3  
 

 

changes to legal and regulatory processes for biosimilar approval and marketing that could reduce the duration of market exclusivity for our products;
our success at managing the risks involved in the foregoing items;
our ability to maintain compliance with the NASDAQ Capital Market’s listing standards; and
other factors discussed in this Form 10-Q.

 

Because forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, some of which cannot be predicted or quantified and some of which are beyond our control, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The events and circumstances reflected in our forward-looking statements may not be achieved or occur and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Moreover, we operate in an evolving environment. New risk factors and uncertainties may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all risk factors and uncertainties. Except as required by applicable law, we do not plan to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of any new information, future events, changed circumstances or otherwise.

 

Unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise requires, the terms “VBI,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Company” refer to VBI Vaccines Inc. and its subsidiaries.

 

Unless indicated otherwise, all references to the U.S. Dollar, Dollar or $ are to the United States Dollar, the legal currency of the United States of America and all references to € mean Euros, the legal currency of the European Union. We may also refer to NIS, which is the New Israeli Shekel, the legal currency of Israel, and the Canadian Dollar or CAD, which is the legal currency of Canada.

 

Except for share and per share amounts or as otherwise specified to be in millions, amounts presented are stated in thousands.

 

  4  
 

 

PART I—FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

Item 1. Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

 

VBI Vaccines Inc. and Subsidiaries

 

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(in thousands, except share amounts)

 

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets   March 31,
2021
    December 31,
2020
 
      (unaudited)          
CURRENT ASSETS                
Cash and cash equivalents   $ 108,226     $ 93,825  
Short-term investments     25,333       25,276  
Accounts receivable, net     172       77  
Inventory, net     2,165       2,152  
Prepaid expenses     1,086       1,569  
Other current assets    

8,577

      9,142  
Total current assets    

145,559

      132,041  
                 
NON-CURRENT ASSETS                
Other long-term assets     782       639  
Property and equipment, net     10,199       10,721  
Right of use assets     1,337       1,554  
Intangible assets, net     62,736       62,156  
Goodwill     2,283       2,261  
Total non-current assets     77,337       77,331  
                 
TOTAL ASSETS   $

222,896

    $ 209,372  
                 
CURRENT LIABILITIES                
Accounts payable   $ 1,668     $ 3,734  
Other current liabilities     20,390       12,415  
Current portion of deferred revenues     882       255  
Current portion of lease liability     885       944  
Total current liabilities     23,825       17,348  
                 
NON-CURRENT LIABILITIES                
Lease liability, net of current portion     462       619  
Long-term debt, net of debt discount     15,940       16,329  
Liabilities for severance pay     542       522  
Deferred revenues, net of current portion     2,118       2,849  
Total non-current liabilities     19,062       20,319  
                 
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (NOTE 14)     -          
                 
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY                
Common shares (unlimited authorized; no par value) (March 31, 2021 - issued and outstanding 254,195,435; December 31, 2020 - issued and outstanding 247,039,010)     427,048       403,528  
Additional paid-in capital     77,618       75,530  
Accumulated other comprehensive income     1,608       1,265  
Accumulated deficit    

(326,265

)     (308,618 )
Total stockholders’ equity    

180,009

      171,705  
                 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY   $ 222,896     $ 209,372  

 

See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

 

  5  
 

 

VBI Vaccines Inc. and Subsidiaries

 

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

    2021     2020  
   

Three Months Ended

March 31

 
    2021     2020  
             
Revenues   $ 301     $ 415  
                 
Operating expenses:                
Cost of revenues     2,412       2,577  
Research and development    

6,839

      3,193  
General and administrative     6,747       4,058  
Total operating expenses    

15,998

      9,828  
                 
Loss from operations    

(15,697

)     (9,413 )
                 
Interest expense, net of interest income (including related party - see Note 9)     (1,812 )     (582 )
Foreign exchange (loss) gain     (138 )     1,637  
Loss before income taxes    

(17,647

)     (8,358 )
                 
Income tax expense     -       -  
                 
NET LOSS   $

(17,647

)   $ (8,358 )
                 
Other comprehensive income (loss)     343       (6,653 )
                 
COMPREHENSIVE LOSS   $

(17,304

)   $ (15,011 )
                 
Net loss per share of common shares, basic and diluted   $ (0.07 )   $ (0.05 )
                 
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding, basic and diluted     251,292,761       178,289,746  

 

See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

 

  6  
 

 

VBI Vaccines Inc. and Subsidiaries

 

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity

(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except share amounts)

 

    Number of
Common
Shares
    Share
Capital
    Additional
Paid-in
Capital
    Accumulated
Other
Comprehensive
Income (Loss)
    Accumulated
Deficit
    Total Stockholders’
Equity
 
                                     
BALANCE AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2020     247,039,010     $ 403,528     $ 75,530     $ 1,265     $ (308,618 )   $ 171,705  
                                                 
Common shares issued in financing transactions, net of share issuance costs     5,752,068       21,417       -       -       -       21,417  
Common shares issued upon exercise of warrants     34,494       52       -       -       -       52  
Common shares issued upon of conversion of long-term debt     1,369,863       2,000       -       -       -      

2,000

 
Stock-based compensation     -       51       2,088       -       -       2,139  
Net loss     -       -       -       -      

(17,647

)    

(17,647

)
Unrealized holding gains on short-term investments     -       -       -       (54 )     -       (54 )
Currency translation adjustments     -       -       -       397       -       397  
BALANCE AS OF MARCH 31, 2021     254,195,435     $ 427,048     $ 77,618     $ 1,608     $

(326,265

)   $

180,009

 
                                                 
BALANCE AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2019     178,257,199     $ 284,965     $ 66,430     $ (752 )   $ (262,388 )   $ 88,255  
                                                 
Stock-based compensation     118,471       131       1,056       -       -       1,187  
Net loss     -       -       -       -       (8,358 )     (8,358 )
Currency translation adjustments     -       -       -       (6,653 )     -       (6,653 )
BALANCE AS OF MARCH 31, 2020     178,375,670     $ 285,096     $ 67,486     $ (7,405 )   $ (270,746 )   $ 74,431  

 

See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

 

  7  
 

 

VBI Vaccines Inc. and Subsidiaries

 

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

(Unaudited)

(in thousands)

 

    2021     2020  
    For the Three Months Ended
March 31
 
    2021     2020  
             
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES                
Net loss   $

(17,647

)   $ (8,358 )
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash and cash equivalents used in operating activities:                
Depreciation and amortization     446       406  
Stock-based compensation     2,139       1,187  
Amortization of debt discount     1,611       239  
Inventory reserve     122     874  
Interest accrued on short-term investments     (111 )     -  
Net change in operating working capital items:                
Change in accounts receivable     (100 )     62  
Change in inventory     (214 )     (468 )
Change in prepaid expenses     486       (30 )
Change in other current assets     616     188  
Change in other long-term assets     (152 )     (4 )
Change in operating right of use assets     270       230  
Change in accounts payable     (2,114 )     227  
Change in deferred revenues     (103 )     (211 )
Change in other current liabilities     8,376       (1,761 )
Payments made on operating lease liabilities     (269 )     (229 )
Net cash flows used in operating activities     (6,644 )     (7,648 )
                 
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES                
Purchase of property and equipment     (556 )     (133 )
Net cash flows used in investing activities     (556 )     (133 )
                 
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES                
Proceeds from issuance of common shares for cash     22,113       -  
Share issuance costs     (541 )     -  
Proceeds from issuance of common shares for cash, upon exercise of warrants     52       -  
Repayment of long-term debt     -       (600 )
Net cash flows provided by (used in) financing activities     21,624       (600 )
                 
Effect of exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents     (23 )     (29 )
                 
CHANGE IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, FOR THE PERIOD     14,401       (8,410 )
                 
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, BEGINNING OF PERIOD     93,825       44,213  
                 
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS, END OF PERIOD   $ 108,226     $ 35,803  
                 
Supplementary information:                
Interest paid   $ 403     $ 475  
Non-cash investing and financing activities:                
Common shares issued upon conversion of debt     2,000       -  
Capital expenditures included in accounts payable and other current liabilities     119       10  
Share issuance costs included in other current liabilities     155       -  
Unrealized holding gains on short term investment     (54 )     -  

 

See accompanying Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

 

  8  
 

 

VBI Vaccines Inc. and Subsidiaries

 

Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except share and per share amounts)

 

1. NATURE OF BUSINESS AND CONTINUATION OF BUSINESS

 

Corporate Overview

 

VBI Vaccines Inc. (the “Company” or “VBI”) was incorporated under the laws of British Columbia, Canada on April 9, 1965.

 

The Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, VBI Vaccines (Delaware) Inc., a Delaware corporation (“VBI DE”); VBI DE’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Variation Biotechnologies (US), Inc., a Delaware corporation (“VBI US”); Variation Biotechnologies, Inc. a Canadian company and the wholly-owned subsidiary of VBI US (“VBI Cda”); and SciVac Ltd. an Israeli company (“SciVac”); SciVac Hong Kong Limited (“SciVac HK”) and VBI Vaccines B.V a Netherlands company (“VBI BV”), are collectively referred to as the “Company”, “we”, “us”, “our”, or “VBI”.

 

The Company’s registered office is located at Suite 1700, Park Place, 666 Burrard Street, Vancouver, BC V6C 2X8 with its principal office located at 222 Third Street, Suite 2241, Cambridge, MA 02142. In addition, the Company has manufacturing facilities located in Rehovot, Israel and research facilities located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

 

Principal Operations

 

VBI is a biopharmaceutical company driven by immunology in the pursuit of powerful prevention and treatment of disease. Through its innovative approach to virus-like particles (“VLPs”), including a proprietary enveloped VLP (“eVLP”) platform technology, VBI develops vaccine candidates that mimic the natural presentation of viruses, designed to elicit the innate power of the human immune system. VBI is committed to targeting and overcoming significant infectious diseases, including hepatitis B, coronaviruses, and cytomegalovirus (“CMV”), as well as aggressive cancers including glioblastoma (“GBM”). VBI is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with research operations in Ottawa, Canada, and a research and manufacturing site in Rehovot, Israel.

 

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has materially negatively affected and continues to affect the global economy, and there is continued severe uncertainty about the duration and intensity of the impacts of the pandemic. As a result, the Company’s business and results of operations have also been adversely affected and could continue to be adversely affected by COVID-19 which has necessitated restricting the number of personnel in the Company’s research laboratories and manufacturing facility at any given point in time, and has slowed recruitment to clinical trials. The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impact our business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. We do not yet know the full extent of potential delays or impacts on our business, our clinical studies, our research programs, the recoverability of our assets, and our manufacturing; however, the COVID-19 pandemic may disrupt or delay our business operations, including with respect to efforts relating to potential business development transactions, and it could disrupt the marketplace which could have an adverse effect on our operations.

 

  9  
 

 

Liquidity and Going Concern

 

The Company has a limited operating history and faces a number of risks, including but not limited to, uncertainties regarding the success of the development and commercialization of its products, demand and market acceptance of the Company’s products, and reliance on major customers. The Company anticipates that it will continue to incur significant operating costs and losses in connection with the development of its products.

 

The Company had an accumulated deficit of $326,265 as of March 31, 2021 and cash outflows from operating activities of $6,644 for the three months ended March 31, 2021.

 

The Company will require significant additional funds to conduct clinical and non-clinical trials, achieve regulatory approvals, and, subject to such approvals, commercially launch its products. The Company plans to finance future operations with existing cash and cash equivalent reserves. Additional financing may be obtained from the issuance of equity securities, the issuance of additional debt, structured asset financings, and/or revenues from potential business development transactions, if any. There is no assurance the Company will manage to obtain these sources of financing, if required. The above conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classifications of liabilities that may result should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.

 

On March 9, 2021, the Company and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (“CEPI”) announced a partnership (“CEPI Funding Agreement”) to develop eVLP vaccine candidates against SARS-COV-2 variants, including the B.1.351 variant, also known as 501Y.V2, first identified in South Africa. CEPI will provide up to $33,018 to support the advancement of VBI-2905, a monovalent eVLP candidate expressing the pre-fusion form of the spike protein from the B.1.351 strain, through Phase I clinical development. This funding will also support preclinical expansion of additional multivalent vaccine candidates designed to evaluate the potential breadth of our eVLP technology. The preclinical expansion is intended to develop clinic-ready vaccine candidates capable of addressing emerging variants. See more information on the CEPI Funding Agreement in Note 12.

 

On July 31, 2020, the Company entered into an Open Market Sale AgreementSM with Jefferies LLC (“Jefferies”), pursuant to which the Company may offer and sell its common shares having an aggregate price of up to $125 million from time to time through Jefferies, acting as agent or principal (the “ATM Program”). Common shares are offered pursuant to a sales agreement prospectus included in the Company’s automatic shelf registration on Form S-3 filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on July 31, 2020. During the three months ended March 31, 2021, the Company issued 5,752,068 common shares under the ATM Program, for total gross proceeds of $22,113 at an average price of $3.84. The Company incurred $696 of share issuance costs related to the common shares issued resulting in net proceeds of $21,417. As of March 31, 2021, $38,202 of common shares remained available for issuance under the ATM Program.

 

Financial instruments recognized in the condensed consolidated balance sheet consist of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable, other current assets, accounts payable, and other current liabilities. The Company believes that the carrying value of its current financial instruments approximates their fair values due to the short-term nature of these instruments. The Company does not hold any derivative financial instruments.

 

The carrying amounts of the Company’s long-term assets approximate their respective fair values.

 

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Basis of Presentation and Consolidation

 

The Company’s fiscal year ends on December 31 of each calendar year. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in U.S. dollars (“USD”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC, for interim reporting. Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in the financial statements prepared in accordance with United States of America generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”), have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. The December 31, 2020 consolidated balance sheet in this document was derived from the audited consolidated financial statements. The condensed consolidated financial statements and notes included in this quarterly report on Form 10-Q (this “Form 10-Q”) does not include all of the disclosures required by U.S. GAAP and should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 (the “2020 10-K”), as filed with the SEC on March 2, 2021.

 

The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries: SciVac, SciVac HK, VBI DE, VBI US, VBI Cda, and VBI BV. Intercompany balances and transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries are eliminated in the condensed consolidated financial statements. Certain items previously reported in specific financial statement captions have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation.

 

In the opinion of management, these condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments and accruals of a normal and recurring nature necessary to fairly state the results of the periods presented. The results for the periods presented are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year or for any future periods.

 

  10  
 

 

Significant Accounting Policies

 

The significant accounting policies used in the preparation of these condensed consolidated financial statements are disclosed in the 2020 10-K, and there have been no changes to the Company’s significant accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2021, other than the polices discussed below.

 

CEPI Funding Agreement

 

Cash received in advance from the CEPI Funding Agreement is included in cash and cash equivalents on the condensed consolidated balance sheet, however, it is restricted as to its use until the relevant expenses are incurred. The cash received is recognized as deferred funding, included in other current liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheet, and recognized as a reduction in the related expense when incurred. As of March 31, 2021 the amount of cash included in cash and cash equivalents on the condensed consolidated balance sheets is $8,107. See more information on CEPI Funding Agreement in Note 12.

 

3. NEW ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

 

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

 

None

 

Recently Issued Accounting Standards, not yet Adopted

 

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”), which will simplify the accounting for certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity, including certain convertible instruments and contracts on an entity’s own equity. Specifically, the new standard will remove the separation models required for convertible debt with cash conversion features and convertible instruments with beneficial conversion features. It will also remove certain settlement conditions that are currently required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception and will simplify the diluted earnings per share calculation for convertible instruments. ASU 2020-06 will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021 and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted but no earlier than fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2020, including interim periods within those fiscal years. This ASU can be applied either through a modified retrospective method of transition or a fully retrospective method of transition. The Company is currently evaluating the impact this new guidance will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

 

  11  
 

 

4. INVENTORY, NET

 

Inventory consists of the following:

 

    March 31,
2021
    December 31,
2020
 
Finished goods   $ -     $ -  
Work-in-process     505       390  
Raw materials     1,660       1,762  
Inventory, net   $ 2,165     $ 2,152  

 

5. OTHER CURRENT ASSETS

 

Other current assets consisted of the following:

 

    March 31,
2021
    December 31,
2020
 
Government receivables   $

6,096

    $ 7,830  
Other current assets     2,481       1,312  
Total other current assets   $ 8,577     $ 9,142  

 

6. INTANGIBLE ASSETS AND GOODWILL

 

      March 31, 2021  
   

Gross

Carrying
Amount

    Accumulated
Amortization
    Cumulative
Impairment
Charge
    Cumulative
Currency
Translation
    Net Book
Value
 
Patents   $ 669     $ (606 )   $ -     $ 39     $ 102  
In Process Research & Development (“IPR&D”) assets     61,500       -       (300 )     1,434       62,634  
    $ 62,169     $ (606 )   $ (300 )   $ 1,473     $ 62,736  

 

          December 31, 2020  
    Gross
Carrying
Amount
    Accumulated
Amortization
    Cumulative
Impairment
Charge
    Cumulative
Currency
Translation
    Net Book
Value
 
Patents   $ 669     $ (590 )   $ -     $ 44     $ 123  
IPR&D assets     61,500       -       (300 )     833       62,033  
    $ 62,169     $ (590 )   $ (300 )   $ 877     $ 62,156  

 

The Company amortizes intangible assets with finite lives on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives.

 

The change in carrying value for IPR&D assets from December 31, 2020 relates to currency translation adjustments which increased by $601 for the three-month period ended March 31, 2021.

 

          March 31, 2021  
   

Gross

Carrying

Amount

   

Cumulative

Impairment
Charge

   

Cumulative
Currency

Translation

    Net Book
Value
 
Goodwill   $ 8,714     $ (6,292 )   $ (139 )   $ 2,283  

 

          December 31, 2020  
    Gross
Carrying
Amount
   

Cumulative

Impairment
Charge

   

Cumulative
Currency

Translation

    Net Book
Value
 
Goodwill   $ 8,714     $ (6,292 )   $ (161 )   $ 2,261  

 

The change in carrying value for goodwill from December 31, 2020 relates to currency translation adjustments which increased by $22 for the three-month period ended March 31, 2021.

 

  12  
 

 

7. OTHER CURRENT LIABILITIES

 

Other current liabilities consisted of the following:

 

    March 31,
2021
    December 31,
2020
 
Accrued research and development expenses (including clinical trial accrued expenses)   $ 6,423     $ 5,842  
Accrued professional fees     2,080       1,547  
Payroll and employee-related costs     1,918       3,844  
Deferred government grants     1,417       825  
Deferred funding     8,107       -  
Other current liabilities     445       357  
Total other current liabilities   $ 20,390     $ 12,415  

 

8. LOSS PER SHARE OF COMMON SHARES

 

Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss applicable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during each period. Diluted loss per share includes the effect, if any, from the potential exercise or conversion of securities, such as warrants, and stock options, which would result in the issuance of incremental shares of common shares unless such effect is anti-dilutive. In computing the basic and diluted net loss per share applicable to common stockholders, the weighted average number of shares remains the same for both calculations due to the fact that when a net loss exists, dilutive shares are not included in the calculation as their effect would be anti-dilutive. These potentially dilutive securities are more fully described in Note 10, Stockholders’ Equity and Additional Paid-in Capital.

 

The following potentially dilutive securities outstanding at March 31, 2021 and 2020 have been excluded from the computation of diluted weighted average shares outstanding, as they would be antidilutive:

 

    March 31,
2021
    March 31,
2020
 
Warrants     3,163,172       2,618,824  
Stock options and restricted stock units     18,139,335       10,894,792  
K2 conversion feature     1,369,863       -  
      22,672,370       13,513,616  

 

  13  
 

 

9. LONG-TERM DEBT

 

As of March 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020, the long-term debt is as follows:

 

    March 31,
2021
    December 31,
2020
 
Long-term debt, net of debt discount of $3,450 ($5,061 at December 31, 2020)   $ 15,940     $ 16,329  
Less: current portion, net of debt discount of $0 ($0 at December 31, 2020)     -       -  
Long-term debt   $ 15,940     $ 16,329  

 

On May 22, 2020, the Company (along with its subsidiary VBI Cda) entered into the Loan Agreement with K2 HealthVentures LLC and any other lender from time to time party thereto (the “Lenders”) pursuant to which we received the first tranche secured term loan of $20 million (the “First Tranche Term Loan”). The Lenders agreed to make available the following additional tranches subject to the following conditions and upon the submission of a loan request by the Company: (1) up to $10 million available between January 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021 upon achievement of certain milestones (the “Second Tranche Term Loan”), (2) $10 million available between the closing date and December 31, 2021, subject to achievement of a certain U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval (the “Third Tranche Term Loan”), and (3) a final tranche of up to $10 million that can be made available any time prior to June 30, 2022, subject to the advance of the Third Tranche Term Loan, satisfactory review by the administrative agent of our financial and operating plan, and approval by the Lenders’ investment committee (the “Fourth Tranche Term Loan”). Pursuant to the Loan Agreement, the Lenders originally had the ability to convert, at the Lenders’ option, up to $4 million of the secured term loan into common shares of the Company at a conversion price of $1.46 per share (“K2 conversion feature”) until the maturity date of June 1, 2024. On February 3, 2021, pursuant to the Loan Agreement, the Lenders, converted $2 million of the secured term loan into 1,369,863 common shares at a conversion price of $1.46. The Lenders have the ability to convert an additional $2 million at the Lenders’ option.

 

The Administrative Agent has determined that sufficient Second Tranche Milestones have been satisfied to enable the Company to request draw down of the Second Tranche Term Loan up to the Second Tranche Maximum Amount (as such terms are defined in the Loan Agreement). The Company and the Lenders are in the process of amending the Loan Agreement to extend the Second Tranche Availability Period.

 

In connection with the Loan Agreement, on May 22, 2020, the Company issued the Lenders a warrant to purchase up to 625,000 common shares (the “K2 Warrant”) at an exercise price of $1.12 (the “Warrant Price”). The number of common shares issuable pursuant to the K2 Warrant, at any given time, is determined by the aggregate original principal amount of the loans advanced at that time pursuant to the Loan Agreement multiplied by 3.5% and divided by the Warrant Price. If the full $50 million available in all K2 tranches is advanced pursuant to the Loan Agreement, up to 1,562,500 common shares will be issuable pursuant to the K2 Warrant. The K2 Warrant may be exercised either for cash or on a cashless “net exercise” basis and expires on May 22, 2030.

 

The total proceeds attributed to the K2 Warrant was $1,181 based on the relative fair value of the K2 Warrant as compared to the sum of the fair values of the K2 Warrant, K2 conversion feature and debt. The effective conversion price of the K2 conversion feature of $1.52 was determined to be less than the fair value of the underlying common stock at the date of commitment, resulting in a beneficial conversion feature (“BCF”) at that date. The intrinsic value of the BCF was $2,577 and recorded to additional paid-in capital. The K2 warrant and the K2 conversion feature resulted in the debt being issued at a discount. The Company also incurred $1,021 of debt issuance costs and is required to make a final payment equal to 6.95% of the aggregate original secured term loan principal on the maturity date of the term loan, or upon earlier prepayment of the term loans in accordance with the Loan Agreement, resulting in an additional discount of $1,390. The total initial debt discount is $6,169.

 

Upon receipt of additional funds under the Loan Agreement, additional common shares will be issuable pursuant to the K2 Warrant as determined by the principal amount of the additional funds advanced multiplied by 3.5% and divided by the Warrant Price, and the final payment will increase by 6.95% of the funds advanced.

 

The total principal amount of the loan under the Loan Agreement outstanding at March 31, 2021, including the $1,390 final payment discussed above, is $19,390. The principal amount of the loan made under the Loan Agreement accrues interest at an annual rate equal to the greater of (a) 8.25% or (b) prime rate plus 5.00%. The interest rate as of March 31, 2021 was 8.25%. The Company is required to pay only interest until July 1, 2022. If there is no Event of Default (as defined in the Loan Agreement) and a Third Tranche Term Loan of $10 million is made upon the achievement of a certain milestone then the interest only period is extended to January 1, 2023. The effective interest rate on the remaining loan of $18,000, excluding the final payment, is 18.14%.

 

  14  
 

 

Upon the occurrence of an Event of Default, and during the continuance of an Event of Default, the applicable rate of interest, described above, will be increased by 5.00% per annum. The secured term loan maturity date is June 1, 2024, and the Loan Agreement includes both financial and non-financial covenants. The Company was in compliance with these covenants as of March 31, 2021.

 

The obligations under the Loan Agreement are secured on a senior basis by a lien on substantially all of the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries other than intellectual property. The subsidiaries of the Company, other than VBI Cda and SciVac HK, are guarantors of the obligations of the Company and VBI Cda under the Loan Agreement. The Loan Agreement also contains customary events of default.

 

The total initial debt discount related to the Loan Agreement with K2 HealthVentures LLC and the term loan facility with Perceptive Credit Holdings, LP is $6,169 and $4,018, respectively. As of March 31, 2021, and December 31, 2020, the unamortized debt discount was $3,450 and $5,061 respectively. The debt discount is being charged to interest expense, net of interest income in the condensed consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss using the effective interest method over the term of the debt.

 

During the three months ended March 31, 2021, as a result of the conversion of term loan to common shares, $1,161 of additional interest accretion was recognized in interest expense, net of interest income in the condensed consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.

 

At March 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the fair value of our outstanding debt, which is considered level 3 in the fair value hierarchy, is estimated to be $18,921 and $20,117, respectively.

 

Interest expense, net of interest income recorded in the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was as follows:

 

    2021     2020  
   

Three months ended

March 31

 
    2021     2020  
Interest expense   $ 389     $ 475  
Amortization of debt discount     1,611       239  
Interest income     (188 )     (132 )
Total interest expense, net of interest income   $ 1,812     $ 582  

 

Interest expense and amortization of debt discount for the three months ended March 31, 2021 does not include any amounts incurred to a related party. Interest expense and amortization of debt discount for the three months ended March 31, 2020 was fully incurred to a related party.

 

The following table summarizes the future principal payments due under long-term debt:

 

    Principal
payments on
Loan Agreement
and final payment
 
Remaining 2021   $ -  
2022     4,215  
2023     8,980  
2024     6,195  
Total   $ 19,390  

 

  15  
 

 

10. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY AND ADDITIONAL PAID-IN CAPITAL

 

Stock option plans

 

The Company’s stock option plans are approved by and administered by the Board and its Compensation Committee. The Board designates, in connection with recommendations from the Compensation Committee, eligible participants to be included under the plan, and designates the number of options, exercise price and vesting period of the new options.

 

2006 VBI US Stock Option Plan

 

The 2006 VBI US Stock Option Plan (the “2006 Plan”), was approved by and was previously administered by the VBI US board of directors which designated eligible participants to be included under the 2006 Plan, and designated the number of options, exercise price and vesting period of the new options. The 2006 Plan was not approved by the stockholders of VBI US. The 2006 Plan was superseded by the 2014 Plan (as defined below) following the PLCC Merger and no further options will be issued under the 2006 Plan. As of December 31, 2020, there were 989,813 options outstanding under the 2006 Plan.

 

2014 Equity Incentive Plan

 

On May 1, 2014, the VBI DE board of directors adopted the VBI Vaccines Inc. 2014 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2014 Plan”). The 2014 Plan was approved by the VBI DE’s shareholders on July 14, 2014. No further options will be issued under the 2014 Plan. As of March 31, 2021, there were 521,242 options outstanding under the 2014 Plan.

 

2016 VBI Equity Incentive Plan

 

The 2016 Plan is a rolling incentive plan that sets the number of common shares issuable under the 2016 Plan, together with any other security-based compensation arrangement of the Company, at a maximum of 10% of the aggregate common shares issued and outstanding on a non-diluted basis at the time of any grant under the 2016 Plan. The 2016 Plan is an omnibus equity incentive plan pursuant to which the Company may grant equity and equity-linked awards to eligible participants in order to promote the success of the Company by providing a means to offer incentives and to attract, motivate, retain and reward persons eligible to participate in the 2016 Plan. Grants under the 2016 Plan include a grant or right consisting of one or more options, stock appreciation rights (“SARs”), restricted share units (“RSUs”), performance share units (“PSUs”), shares of restricted stock or other such award as may be permitted under the 2016 Plan. As of March 31, 2021, there were 16,523,250 options outstanding and 105,030 RSUs unvested under the 2016 Plan.

 

  16  
 

 

The aggregate number of common shares remaining available for issuance for awards under the 2016 Plan totaled 5,920,455 at March 31, 2021.

 

Activity related to stock options is as follows:

    Number of
Stock
Options
    Weighted
Average
Exercise Price
 
Balance outstanding at December 31, 2020     12,507,541     $ 2.38  
                 
Granted     5,540,000     $ 3.15  
Forfeited     (13,236 )   $ 2.25  
                 
Balance outstanding at March 31, 2021     18,034,305     $ 2.62  
                 
Exercisable at March 31, 2021     7,028,418     $ 2.66  

 

Information relating to RSUs is as follow:

    Number of
Stock Awards
    Weighted
Avg Fair Value
at Grant Date
 
Unvested shares outstanding at December 31, 2020     129,356     $ 1.62  
                 
Vested     (24,326 )   $ 2.03  
                 
Unvested shares outstanding at March 31, 2021     105,030     $ 1.52  

 

In determining the amount of stock-based compensation the Company used the Black-Scholes option pricing model to establish the fair value of options granted by applying the following weighted average assumptions:

 

    2021     2020  
Volatility     97.13 %     90.12 %
Risk free interest rate     0.54 %     1.54 %
Expected term in years     5.85       5.77  
Expected dividend yield     0.00 %     0.00 %
Weighted average fair value per option   $ 2.40     $ 1.04  

 

The fair value of the options is recognized as an expense on a straight-line basis over the vesting period and forfeitures are accounted for when they occur. The total stock-based compensation expense recorded in the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020 was as follows:

   

Three months ended

March 31

 
    2021     2020  
Research and development   $ 428     $ 244  
General and administrative     1,690       933  
Cost of revenues     21       10  
Total stock-based compensation expense   $ 2,139     $ 1,187  

 

  17  
 

 

Warrants

 

Activity related to the warrants is as follows:

    Number of
Warrants
    Weighted
Average
Exercise Price
 
Balance outstanding at December 31, 2020     3,197,666     $ 2.23  
                 
Exercised     (34,494 )   $ 1.50  
                 
Balance outstanding at March 31, 2021     3,163,172     $ 2.24  

 

11. REVENUES AND DEFERRED REVENUE

 

Revenue is comprised of the following:

   

Three months ended

March 31

 
    2021     2020  
Product revenues   $ 167     $ 180  
R&D service revenues     134       235  
Total revenue   $ 301     $ 415  

 

The following table presents revenues expected to be recognized in the future related to performance obligations, based on current estimates, that are unsatisfied at March 31, 2021:

    Total    

Current

portion to

March 31,
2022

   

Remaining

portion

thereafter

 
Product revenues   $ 469     $ -     $ 469  
R&D service revenues     2,531       882       1,649  
Total   $ 3,000     $ 882     $ 2,118  

 

The following table presents changes in the deferred revenue balance for the three months ended March 31, 2021:

 

Balance at December 31, 2020   $ 3,104  
         
Recognition of deferred revenue     (128 )
Currency translation     24  
         
Balance at March 31, 2021   $ 3,000  
         
Short Term   $ 882  
Long Term   $ 2,118  

 

Collaboration and License Agreement – Brii Bio

 

On December 4, 2018, we entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement with Brii Biosciences Limited (“Brii Bio”) (the “Collaboration and License Agreement”), amended on April 8, 2021, whereby:

 

  The Company and Brii Bio agreed to collaborate on the development of a hepatitis B recombinant protein-based immunotherapeutic in the licensed territory, which consists of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau (collectively, the “Licensed Territory”), and to conduct a Phase Ib/IIa collaboration clinical trial for the purpose of comparing VBI-2601 (BRII-179), which is a recombinant protein-based immunotherapeutic developed by VBI for use in treating chronic hepatitis B, with a novel composition developed jointly with Brii Bio (either being the “Licensed Product”); and,
     
  The Company granted Brii Bio an exclusive royalty-bearing license to perform studies, regulatory and other activities, as may be required to obtain and maintain marketing approval of the Licensed Product in the Licensed Territory and to commercialize the Licensed Product for the diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis B in the Licensed Territory.

 

  18  
 

 

Pursuant to the Collaboration and License Agreement, the Company is responsible for the R&D services and Brii Bio is responsible for costs relating to the clinical trials for the Licensed Territory.

 

The initial consideration of the Collaboration and License Agreement consisted of a $11,000 non-refundable upfront payment. As part of the Collaboration and License Agreement, the Company and Brii Bio entered into a stock purchase agreement. Under the terms of the stock purchase agreement, the Company issued to Brii Bio 2,295,082 shares of its common stock valued at $3,626 (based on the Company’s common stock price on December 4, 2018). The remaining $7,374, deemed to be the initial transaction price, was allocated to two performance obligations: i) the VBI-2601 (BRII-179) license, and ii) R&D services. The R&D services were allocated $4,737 of the transaction price using an estimated selling price based on an expected cost plus a margin approach and the remaining transaction price of $2,637 was allocated to the VBI-2601 (BRII-179) license using the residual method.

 

In addition, the Company is also eligible to receive an additional $117,500 in potential regulatory and sales milestone payments, along with royalties on commercial sales in the Licensed Territory. Milestone payments that are not within the control of the Company or the licensee, such as regulatory approvals, are not considered probable of being achieved until those approvals are received. Therefore, no variable consideration was included in the initial transaction price and no such amounts have been recognized to date.

 

The R&D Services will be satisfied over time as services are rendered using the “cost-to-cost” input method as this method represents the most accurate depiction of the transfer of services based on the types of costs expected to be incurred. As of March 31, 2021, R&D services related to Brii Bio that remain unsatisfied are $2,331, out of the $3,000 total deferred revenue.

 

Upon termination of the Collaboration and License Agreement prior to the end of the term, there is no obligation for refund and any amounts in deferred revenue related to unsatisfied performance obligations will be immediately recognized.

 

12. COLLABORATION ARRANGEMENTS

 

GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A. (“GSK”)

 

On September 10, 2019, the Company entered into a Clinical Collaboration Agreement (“Collaboration Agreement”) pursuant to which we will investigate the use of GSK’s proprietary AS01B adjuvant system in our ongoing study of VBI-1901. As a result of the Collaboration Agreement, a second study arm was added to Part B of the ongoing Phase Ib/IIa clinical study to accommodate the AS01B adjuvant.

 

This relationship is considered a collaborative relationship and not a customer relationship and is therefore accounted for outside the scope of ASC Topic 606. Costs associated with the second study arm will be expensed as incurred in Research and Development expenses; costs for the three months ended March 31, 2021 are $256. Costs for the three months ended March 31, 2020 were de-minimis.

 

National Research Council of Canada (“NRC”)

 

On March 31, 2020, the Company announced a collaboration with the NRC, Canada’s largest federal research and development organization, to develop a pan-coronavirus vaccine candidate, targeting COVID-19, SARS, and MERS. The NRC and the Company are collaborating to evaluate and select promising coronavirus vaccine candidates. The collaboration combines the Company’s viral vaccine expertise, eVLP technology platform, and modified coronavirus antigens with the NRC’s proprietary SARS-CoV-2 antigens and assay development capabilities to select the most immunogenic vaccine candidate for further development.

 

On December 21, 2020, we signed an amendment to the collaboration agreement with the NRC to broaden the scope of collaboration to include certain pre-clinical evaluations, bioprocess optimization, technology transfer, and the performance of additional scale up work. The amendment also extended the expiry date of the agreement to March 15, 2022.

 

This relationship is considered a collaborative relationship and not a customer relationship and is therefore accounted for outside the scope of ASC Topic 606. Costs associated with the collaboration will be expensed as incurred in Research and Development expenses; costs for the three months ended March 31, 2021 are $158. Costs for the three months ended March 31, 2020 were $0.

 

CEPI

 

On March 9, 2021, the Company and CEPI announced the CEPI Funding Agreement, to develop eVLP vaccine candidates against SARS-COV-2 variants, including the B.1.351 variant, also known as 501Y.V2, first identified in South Africa. CEPI will provide up to $33,018 to support the advancement of VBI-2905, a monovalent eVLP candidate expressing the pre-fusion form of the spike protein from the B.1.351 strain, through Phase I clinical development. This funding will also support preclinical expansion of additional multivalent vaccine candidates designed to evaluate the potential breadth of our eVLP technology. The preclinical expansion is intended to develop clinic-ready vaccine candidates capable of addressing emerging variants.

 

Under the terms of the CEPI Funding Agreement, among other things, the Company and CEPI agreed on the importance of global equitable access to any vaccines produced pursuant to the CEPI Funding Agreement. Any such vaccines, if approved, are expected to be procured and allocated through global mechanisms under discussion as part of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, an international initiative launched by the World Health Organization (“WHO”), Gavi the Vaccine Alliance, CEPI, and other global non-governmental organizations and governmental leaders in 2021.

 

  19  
 

 

This relationship is considered a collaborative relationship and not a customer relationship and is therefore accounted for outside the scope of ASC Topic 606. Costs associated with the collaboration will be expensed as incurred in Research and Development expenses; costs for the three months ended March 31, 2021 are $157. As of March 31, 2021 the Company received cash of $8,285 and recognized $157 as a reduction in expenses. As of March 31, 2021, the Company had $8,107 recorded as deferred funding, recorded in other current liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheet.

 

Brii Biosciences Limited

 

On December 4, 2018, we entered into a License Agreement with Brii Bio, as described in Note 11.

 

13. GOVERNMENT GRANTS

 

Grants recognized in research and development expenses in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss are as follows:

 

Industrial Research Assistance Program (“IRAP”)

 

On July 3, 2020, the Company and the NRC signed a contribution agreement as represented by its IRAP whereby the NRC agrees to contribute up to CAD $1,000 for the transfer and scale-up of the technical production process for our prophylactic coronavirus vaccine program.

 

For the three months ended March 31, 2021 the Company recognized $0 as a reduction in expenses. As of March 31, 2021, the Company had $396 recorded as deferred government grants, recorded in other current liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheet.

 

Strategic Innovation Fund (“SIF”)

 

On September 16, 2020, the Company and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada as represented by the Minister of Industry (“ISED”) signed a contribution agreement (the “Contribution Agreement”) for a contribution from SIF whereby ISED agrees to contribute up to CAD $55,976 to support the development of the Company’s coronavirus vaccine program, through Phase II clinical studies, for a period commencing on April 15, 2020 and ending in or before the first quarter of 2022.

 

For the three months ended March 31, 2021 the Company recognized $2,688 as a reduction in expenses. As of March 31, 2021, the Company had $1,021 recorded as deferred government grants, recorded in other current liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheet.

 

  20  
 

 

14. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

 

Legal Proceedings

 

From time to time, the Company may be involved in certain claims and litigation arising out of the ordinary course and conduct of business. Management assesses such claims and, if it considers that it is probable that an asset had been impaired or a liability had been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated, provisions for loss are made based on management’s assessment of the most likely outcome.

 

On September 13, 2018, two civil claims were brought in the District Court of the central district in Israel naming our subsidiary SciVac as a defendant. In one claim, two minors, through their parents, allege, among other things: defects in certain batches of our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine discovered in July 2015; that our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine was approved for use in children and infants in Israel without sufficient evidence establishing its safety; that SciVac failed to provide accurate information about our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine to consumers; and that each child suffered side effects from the vaccine. The claim was filed together with a motion seeking approval of a class action on behalf of 428,000 children vaccinated with our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine in Israel from April 2011 and seeking damages in a total amount of NIS 1,879,500,000 (not in thousands) ($563,737). The second claim is a civil action brought by two minors and their parents against SciVac and the Israel Ministry of Health alleging, among other things, that SciVac marketed an experimental, defective, hazardous or harmful vaccine; that our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine was marketed in Israel without sufficient evidence establishing its safety; and that our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine was produced and marketed in Israel without approval of a western regulatory body. The claim seeks damages for past and future losses and expenses as well as punitive damages.

 

SciVac believes these matters to be without merit and intends to defend these claims vigorously.

 

The District Court has accepted SciVac’s motion to suspend reaching a decision on the approval of the class action pending the determination of liability under the civil action. Preliminary hearings for the trial of the civil action began on January 15, 2020, with subsequent preliminary hearings held on May 13, 2020 and December 3, 2020 to discuss document disclosure. The next preliminary hearing is scheduled to be held on September 13, 2021.

 

Operating leases

 

The Company has entered into various non-cancelable lease agreements for its office, lab, and manufacturing facilities, which are classified as operating leases. The office facility lease agreement in the United States expires on April 30, 2023, with no option to extend. Our manufacturing facility lease agreement expires on January 31, 2022, which includes one five-year option to extend until January 31, 2027. The lease agreement for our research facility in Canada, which comprises office and laboratory space, has a term ending on December 31, 2022 with the option to extend the term for one additional period of three years and a term ending April 30, 2023 for the additional space leased during 2020.

 

Options to extend are not recognized as part of the lease liabilities or recognized as right to use assets. There are no residual value guarantees, no variable lease payments, and no restrictions or covenants imposed by leases. The discount rate used in measuring the lease liabilities and right of use assets was determined by reviewing our incremental borrowing rate at the initial measurement date.

 

Lease cost:        
Operating lease costs:        
Three months ended March 31, 2021   $ 343  
Three months ended March 31, 2020     288  

 

Other information:        
Weighted average remaining lease term     1.88 years  
Weighted average discount rate     12 %

 

Operating lease costs are included in general and administrative (“G&A”) expenses in the statement of operation and comprehensive loss.

 

  21  
 

 

The following table summarizes future undiscounted cash payments reconciled to the lease liabilities:

 

Year ending December 31:   2021  
Remaining 2021   $ 802  
2022     523  
2023     125  
Total   $ 1,450  
Effect of discounting     (103 )
Total lease liability   $ 1,347  
Less: current portion     (885 )
Long term lease liability   $ 462  

 

15. SEGMENT INFORMATION

 

The Company’s Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) has been identified as the chief operating decision maker. The CEO evaluates the performance of the Company and allocates resources based on the information provided by the Company’s internal management system at a consolidated level. The Company has determined that it has only one operating segment.

 

Revenues from external customers are attributed to geographic areas based on location of the contracting customers:

 

   

Three Months Ended

March 31,

 
    2021     2020  
Israel   $ 169     $ 132  
China / Hong Kong     128       231  
Europe     4       52  
    $ 301     $ 415  

 

There was no revenue attributed to our country of domicile, Canada, for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020.

 

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

 

You should read the following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes included elsewhere in this Form 10-Q and with our audited consolidated financial statements included in our 2020 10-K as filed with the SEC.

 

Except for share and per share amounts or as otherwise specified to be in millions, amounts presented are stated in thousands.

 

Overview

 

VBI Vaccines Inc. (“VBI”) is a biopharmaceutical company driven by immunology in the pursuit of powerful prevention and treatment of disease. Through its innovative approach to virus-like particles (“VLPs”), including a proprietary enveloped VLP (“eVLP”) platform technology, VBI develops vaccine candidates that mimic the natural presentation of viruses, designed to elicit the innate power of the human immune system. VBI is committed to targeting and overcoming significant infectious diseases, including hepatitis B (“HBV”), coronaviruses, and cytomegalovirus (“CMV”), as well as aggressive cancers including glioblastoma (“GBM”). VBI is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with research operations in Ottawa, Canada, and a research and manufacturing site in Rehovot, Israel.

 

Product Pipeline – Lead Program Candidates

 

VBI’s pipeline is comprised of vaccine and immunotherapeutic candidates developed by virus-like particle technologies to target two distinct, but often related, disease areas – infectious disease and oncology. We prioritize the development of candidates for disease targets that are challenging, underserved, and where the human immune system, when powered and stimulated appropriately, can be a formidable opponent.

 

VLP vaccines are a type of sub-unit vaccine, in which only the portions of viruses critical for eliciting an immune response are presented to the body. Because of their structural similarity to viruses presented in nature, including their particulate nature and repetitive structure, VLPs can stimulate potent immune responses. VLPs can be customized to present any protein antigen, including multiple antibody and T cell targets, making them, we believe, ideal technologies for the development of both prophylactic and therapeutic vaccines. However, only a few antigens self-assemble into VLPs, which limit the number of potential targets. Notably, the HBV envelope antigens are among those that are able to spontaneously form orderly VLP structures. VBI’s proprietary eVLP platform technology expands the list of potentially-viable target indications for VLPs by providing a stable core (Gag Protein) and lipid bilayer (the “envelope”). It is a flexible platform that enables the synthetic manufacture of an “enveloped” VLP, or “eVLP”, which looks structurally and morphologically similar to the virus, with no infectious material.

 

Indication   Program   Technology   Current Status
Prophylactic Candidates            
● Hepatitis B (“HBV”)  

3-antigen Vaccine

(Israel brand name Sci-B-Vac®)

  VLP  

BLA and MAA Accepted;

Approved in Israel

● Cytomegalovirus (“CMV”)   VBI-1501   eVLP   Phase I Completed
● COVID-19   VBI-2902   eVLP   Ongoing Phase I
● COVID-19 (B.1.351 Variant)   VBI-2905   eVLP   Pre-Clinical
● Pan-coronavirus   VBI-2901   eVLP   Pre-Clinical
Therapeutic Candidates            
● Hepatitis B (“HBV”)   VBI-2601   VLP   Ongoing Phase II
● Glioblastoma (“GBM”)   VBI-1901   eVLP   Ongoing Phase I/IIa

 

A summary of these programs and recent developments follows.

 

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Prophylactic Pipeline

 

3-antigen HBV Vaccine Candidate

 

A scientifically-differentiated approach to HBV vaccination, our 3-antigen HBV vaccine candidate expresses all three surface antigens of HBV – pre-S1, pre-S2, and S. Published data demonstrate pre-S1 antigens induce key neutralizing antibodies that block virus receptor binding, and T cell responses to pre-S1 and pre-S2 antigens can further boost responses to the S antigen. Our 3-antigen HBV vaccine is further distinguished from other commercially available HBV vaccines because it is produced in mammalian cells (Chinese hamster ovary “CHO” cells) rather than in yeast.

 

Our 3-antigen HBV vaccine is approved for use and commercially available in Israel, under the brand name Sci-B-Vac®, and successfully completed its pivotal Phase III studies in the United States, Europe, and Canada in January 2020 but is still an investigational candidate in such countries and has not yet been approved for commercialization by the applicable regulatory authorities (e.g., FDA, EMA, MHRA, and Health Canada, each defined below). This Phase III program consisted of two Phase III studies – PROTECT and CONSTANT – designed to assess efficacy and safety of VBI’s 3-antigen HBV vaccine candidate compared with Engerix-B®, a single-antigen HBV vaccine, and lot-to-lot manufacturing consistency of three consecutive lots of VBI’s vaccine candidate. As announced in June 2019 and January 2020, results from these two studies showed VBI’s 3-antigen vaccine candidate achieved: (1) non-inferiority of seroprotection rate (SPR) in all adults age 18 and older (VBI: 91.4% vs. Engerix-B: 76.5%); (2) superiority (as defined in the clinical protocol) of SPR in adults age 45 and older (VBI: 89.4% vs. Engerix-B: 73.1%); (3) higher SPR and anti-HBs titers at all time points across all subgroup populations, regardless of age, diabetic status, and BMI; (4) a safety profile consistent with the known safety profile of the vaccine and comparable to that of Engerix-B; and (5) manufacturing consistency.

 

The completed Phase III studies support the regulatory submissions to the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”); the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”); the United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare products, Regulatory Agency (“MHRA”); and Health Canada. We submitted our Marketing Authorization Application (“MAA”) to the EMA on November 23, 2020, which was accepted for review on December 22, 2020, and the Biologics License Application (“BLA”) to the FDA on November 30, 2020, which was accepted for review on January 29, 2021. As part of the review process, the FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date of November 30, 2021. However, there is no guarantee that FDA will be able to meet these deadlines or that our BLA will be approved in a timely manner, if at all. The submissions to UK and Health Canada are in process and we expect to complete those regulatory filings in 2021.

 

On December 7, 2020, we announced a partnership for the commercialization of our 3-antigen HBV vaccine with Syneos Health (“Syneos”), who was selected for their robust and innovative commercialization experience and deep vaccine expertise, including successful partnerships with leading vaccine manufacturers.

 

VBI-2900: Coronavirus Vaccine Program (VBI-2901, VBI-2902, VBI-2905)

 

In response to the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic, VBI initiated development of a prophylactic coronavirus vaccine program. Coronaviruses are enveloped viruses by nature which we believe make them a prime target for VBI’s flexible enveloped virus-like particle (eVLP) platform technology.

 

On March 31, 2020, we announced a collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada (“NRC”), Canada’s largest federal research and development organization, to develop a coronavirus vaccine candidate. The collaboration combines VBI’s viral vaccine expertise, eVLP technology platform, and coronavirus antigens with the NRC’s uniquely designed SARS-CoV-2 antigens and assay development capabilities to select the most immunogenic vaccine candidate for further development. On December 21, 2020, we signed an amendment to the collaboration agreement with the NRC to broaden the scope of collaboration to include certain pre-clinical evaluations, bioprocess optimization, technology transfer, and the performance of additional scale up work. The amendment also extended the expiry date of the agreement to March 15, 2022.

 

  24  
 

 

On July 3, 2020, we and the NRC as represented by its Industrial Research Assistance Program (“IRAP”) signed a contribution agreement whereby the NRC agreed to contribute up to CAD $1,000 for the transfer and scale-up of the technical production process for our prophylactic coronavirus vaccine program.

 

On August 5, 2020, we announced that VBI Cda had been awarded up to a CAD$55,976 contribution from the Strategic Innovation Fund (“SIF”), established by the Government of Canada, to support the Company’s coronavirus vaccine development program through Phase II clinical studies. This award is governed by the terms of a Contribution Agreement (the “Contribution Agreement”), dated September 16, 2020, with Her Majesty The Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Industry, pursuant to which our subsidiary, Variation Biotechnologies Inc., is obligated to develop a novel, broadly reactive coronavirus vaccine against COVID-19, SARS, and MERS, and/or a monovalent vaccine targeting only COVID-19 through Phase II studies. We agreed to complete such project in or before the first quarter of 2022, which will be conducted exclusively in Canada, except as permitted otherwise under certain circumstances.

 

On August 26, 2020, we announced data from three pre-clinical studies conducted to enable selection of optimized clinical candidates for our coronavirus vaccine program. As a result of these studies, VBI selected two vaccine candidates, with the goal of bringing forward candidates that add meaningful clinical and medical benefit to those already approved – be it as a one-dose administration and/or providing broader protection against known and future mutated strains of COVID-19: (1) VBI-2901, a multivalent pan-coronavirus vaccine candidate expressing the COVID-19, SARS, and MERS spike proteins; and (2) VBI-2902, a monovalent vaccine candidate expressing an optimized “prefusion” form of the COVID-19 spike protein. A Phase I/II study of the first of the two candidates (VBI-2902) initiated in March 2021, with initial data from Phase I of the study expected by the end of the second quarter of 2021. Work is ongoing to further optimize and manufacture VBI-2901, with the anticipation that a Phase I/II study will begin later in 2021. On December 21, 2020, we signed an amendment to the collaboration agreement with the NRC to broaden the scope of collaboration to include certain pre-clinical evaluations, bioprocess optimization, technology transfer, and the performance of additional scale up work. The amendment also extended the expiry date of the agreement to March 15, 2022.

 

Since early in the pandemic SARS-CoV-2 variants started to emerge and certain of these variants have been identified as having a significant public health impact. In December 2020, South Africa reported to WHO a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 named B.1.351, also known as 501Y.V2. The B.1.351 variant is associated with a higher viral load and increased transmissibility, and may be less sensitive to neutralizing antibody responses elicited by currently available COVID-19 vaccines. On March 9, 2021, the Company and CEPI announced a partnership (“CEPI Funding Agreement”) to develop eVLP vaccine candidates against SARS-COV-2 variants, including the B.1.351 variant. CEPI will provide up to $33,018 to support the advancement of VBI-2905, a monovalent eVLP candidate expressing the pre-fusion form of the spike protein from the B.1.351 strain, through Phase I clinical development. This funding will also support preclinical expansion of additional multivalent vaccine candidates designed to evaluate the potential breadth of our eVLP technology. The preclinical expansion is intended to develop clinic-ready vaccine candidates capable of addressing emerging variants.

 

VBI-1501: Prophylactic CMV Vaccine Candidate

 

CMV may cause severe infections in newborn children (congenital CMV) and may also cause serious infections in people with weakened immune systems, such as solid organ or bone marrow transplant recipients. Our prophylactic CMV vaccine candidate uses the eVLP platform to express a modified form of the CMV glycoprotein B (“gB”) antigen and is adjuvanted with alum, an adjuvant used in FDA-approved products.

 

Following the successful completion of the Phase I study in May 2018, and positive discussions with Health Canada, we announced plans for a Phase II clinical study evaluating VBI-1501 on December 20, 2018. We received similarly positive guidance from the FDA in July 2019. The Phase II study is expected to assess the safety and immunogenicity of dosages of VBI-1501 up to 20µg with alum. We are currently evaluating the timing of the Phase II study.

 

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Therapeutic Pipeline

 

VBI-2601: HBV Immunotherapeutic Candidate

 

VBI-2601 (BRII-179) is our novel, recombinant, protein-based immunotherapeutic candidate in development for the treatment of chronic HBV infection, a disease that affects more than 250 million people worldwide. Chronic HBV infection can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, hepatocellular cancer, and other liver disease, making it a life-threatening global health problem. VBI-2601 (BRII-179) is formulated to induce broad immunity against HBV virus, including T-cell immunity which plays an important role in controlling HBV infection.

 

VBI-2601 (BRII-179) is in an ongoing Phase Ib/IIa study in patients with chronic HBV infection, which initiated enrollment in November 2019, and is being conducted by our partner Brii Biosciences Limited (“Brii Bio”) pursuant to a Collaboration and License Agreement (“License Agreement”) announced on December 6, 2018. The Phase Ib/IIa study is a randomized, controlled study designed to assess the safety, tolerability, antiviral and immunological activity of VBI-2601 (BRII-179). The study is designed as a two-part dose-escalation study assessing different dose levels of VBI-2601 (BRII-179) with and without an immunomodulatory adjuvant and enrolled 46 patients. The study is being conducted at multiple study sites in New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong SAR, and China.

 

On November 18, 2020, we announced interim data from the low-dose cohorts, which achieved human proof-of-concept, demonstrating restoration of both antibody and T cell responses in chronically-infected HBV patients. The data showed 1) potent re-stimulation of T cell responses to HBV surface antigens in 67% (n=6/9) and 78% (n=7/9) of evaluable patients in the low-dose VBI-2601 unadjuvanted and adjuvanted study arms, respectively; and 2) antibody responses against HBV surface antigens in 60% of evaluable patients (n=6/10) in the unadjuvanted cohort and in 67% (n=6/9) in the adjuvanted cohort. The low-dose, with and without the adjuvant, was well-tolerated with no safety signals observed.

 

On April 12, 2021, we announced additional data from Phase Ib/IIa clinical study for 33 evaluable patients across all study arms that suggest: 1) VBI-2601 (BRII-179) is well tolerated at all dose levels with and without the adjuvant with no significant adverse events identified; 2) restimulation of T cell responses to HBV surface antigens, including S, Pre-S1 and Pre-S2, in greater than 50% of the evaluable patients from all VBI-2601 (BRII-179) cohorts compared to no detectable response in the control arm; 3) the T cell responses and antibody responses were comparable across the 20µg and 40µg unadjuvanted study arms; and 4) T cell response rates between the adjuvanted and unadjuvanted cohorts were also comparable.

 

Based on the acceptable safety profile and vaccine-induced adaptive immune responses observed to-date, the high dose (40 µg) of VBI-2601 (BRII-179), both with and without IFN-α, was selected to progress into a Phase II combination study of VBI-2601 (BRII-179) and BRII-835 (VIR-2218), a novel small interfering ribonucleic acid (siRNA) therapeutic candidate designed to inhibit expression of HBV proteins. Patient dosing for the study initiated in April 2021. Brii Bio has led the design and implementation of this functional cure proof-of-concept study with the support of VBI and Vir Biotechnology (“VIR”), and is the sponsor of the Phase II study. This study will be conducted at sites in Australia, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China, South Korean, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand.

 

VBI-1901: Glioblastoma

 

Our cancer vaccine immunotherapeutic program, VBI-1901, targets CMV proteins present in tumor cells. CMV is associated with a number of solid tumors including GBM, breast cancer, and pediatric medulloblastoma.

 

In January 2018, we initiated dosing in a two-part, multi-center, open-label Phase I/IIa clinical study of VBI-1901 in 38 patients with recurrent GBM. Phase I (Part A) of the study was a dose-escalation phase that defined the safety, tolerability, and optimal dose level of VBI-1901 adjuvanted with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) in recurrent GBM patients with any number of prior recurrences. In December 2018, this phase completed enrollment of 18 patients across three dose cohorts, the highest of which (10 µg) was selected as the optimal dose level to test in the Phase IIa portion (Part B) of the study. Phase IIa of the study, which initiated enrollment in July 2019, is a subsequent extension of the 10µg dose level cohort. This phase is a two-arm study that enrolled 20 first-recurrent GBM patients to receive 10µg of VBI-1901 in combination with either GM-CSF or GlaxoSmithKline Biologicals S.A. (“GSK”) proprietary adjuvant system, AS01, as immunomodulatory adjuvants. AS01 is provided pursuant to a Clinical Collaboration and Support Study Agreement (“Collaboration Agreement”) we entered into with GSK on September 10, 2019. Enrollment of the 10 patients in the VBI-1901 with GM-CSF arm was completed in March 2020 and enrollment of the 10 patients in the VBI-1901 with AS01 was completed in October 2020.

 

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Data from the ongoing Phase IIa portion of the study was announced throughout 2020, with the latest data presented in November 2020 at the Society for Neuro-Oncology (SNO) 2020 Annual Meeting. This data showed two partial responses (“PRs”) and two stable disease (“SD”) observed in the VBI-1901 plus GM-CSF vaccinated group, resulting in a disease control rate of 40% (n=4/10). A 56% disease control rate was achieved in the group vaccinated with VBI-1901 plus AS01, with 5 stable disease observations (n=5/9). Presumed pseudoprogression was observed in both vaccinated groups, defined as immune infiltration into the tumor which appears initially as tumor growth but later subsides resulting in tumor growth stabilization and/or shrinkage.

 

VBI-1901 continues to be safe and well tolerated at all doses tested, with no safety signals observed.

 

Based on the data seen to-date, VBI is exploring a randomized, controlled, clinical study with registration potential for the next phase of development, which, subject to approval from regulatory bodies, is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2021.

 

In addition to the lead program candidates described above, we may also seek to in-license clinical-stage vaccines or vaccine-related technologies that we believe complement our product and pipeline portfolio, in addition to technologies that may supplement our therapeutic and preventative vaccination efforts in both immuno-oncology and infectious disease.

 

At present, our operations are focused on:

 

preparing for commercialization of our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine candidate in the United States, Europe, and Canada, where we may obtain regulatory approval;
   
conducting the Phase I/IIa clinical study of our GBM vaccine immunotherapeutic candidate, VBI-1901;
   
conducting the Phase I clinical study of our prophylactic COVID-19 vaccine candidate, VBI-2902;
   
continuing our development and scaling-up production processes for our three prophylactic coronavirus vaccine candidates VBI-2901, VBI-2902 and VBI-2905 using a Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (“CDMO”) located in Canada;
   
seeking regulatory approval to conduct clinical trials of VBI-2905;
   
developing VBI-2601 (BRII-179), our protein-based immunotherapeutic candidate for treatment of chronic HBV, in collaboration with Brii Bio;
   
ensuring our recently modernized manufacturing facility in Rehovot, Israel obtains all required regulatory approvals;
   
preparing marketing authorization applications for our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine candidate in the United Kingdom and Canada;
   
preparation for further development of VBI-1501, our preventative CMV vaccine candidate;
   
continuing the research and development (“R&D”) of our pipeline candidates, including the exploration and development of new pipeline candidates;
   
implementing operational, financial, and management information systems, including through third party partners, to support our commercialization activities;
   
maintaining, expanding, and protecting our intellectual property portfolio; and
   
developing our internal systems and processes for regulatory affairs and compliance.

 

VBI’s revenue generating activities have been the sale of our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine in markets where it is approved or available on a named patient basis where it is not approved, though those markets have generated a limited number of sales to-date, various business development transactions, and R&D services generating fees. VBI has incurred significant net losses and negative operating cash flows since inception and expects to continue incurring losses and negative cash flows from operations as we carry out planned clinical, regulatory, R&D, sales, and manufacturing activities with respect to the advancement of our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine and new pipeline candidates. As of March 31, 2021, VBI had an accumulated deficit of approximately $326.3 million and stockholders’ equity of approximately $180.0 million. Our ability to maintain our status as an operating company and to realize our investment in our In Process Research & Development (“IPR&D”) assets, which consist of our CMV and GBM programs, is dependent upon obtaining adequate cash and cash equivalents to finance our clinical development, manufacturing, our administrative overhead and our research and development activities, and ultimately to profitably monetize our IPR&D. We plan to finance near term future operations with existing cash and cash equivalents reserves. We expect that we will need to secure additional financing to finance our business plans, which may be a combination of proceeds from the issuance of equity securities, the issuance of additional debt, structured asset financings, government or non-governments organization grants or subsidies, and revenues from potential business development transactions, if any. There is no assurance we will manage to obtain these sources of financing, if required. These factors raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classifications of liabilities that may result should we be unable to continue as a going concern.

 

  27  
 

 

We have incurred operating losses since inception, have not generated significant product sales revenue and have not achieved profitable operations. We incurred net losses of $17,647 for the three months ended March 31, 2021, and we expect to continue to incur substantial losses in future periods. We anticipate that we will continue to incur substantial operating expenses as we continue our research and development, clinical studies, and as we take steps to commercialize our products. These include expenses related to the focus of our operations highlighted above.

 

In addition, we have incurred and will continue to incur significant expenses as a public company, which subjects us to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the rules and regulations of the NASDAQ Capital Market, and the Canadian securities regulators.

 

Long Term Debt

 

On May 22, 2020, we (along with our subsidiary VBI Cda) entered into a Loan and Guaranty Agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with K2 HealthVentures LLC and any other lender from time-to-time party thereto (the “Lenders”) pursuant to which we received the first tranche secured term loan of $20 million (the “First Tranche Term Loan”). The Lenders agreed to make available the following additional tranches subject to the following conditions and upon the submission of a loan request by us: (1) up to $10 million available between January 1, 2021 and April 30, 2021 upon achievement of certain milestones ( the “Second Tranche Term Loan”), (2) $10 million available between the closing date and December 31, 2021, subject to achievement of a certain U.S. FDA approval, (the “Third Tranche Term Loan”), and (3) a final tranche of up to $10 million that can be made available any time prior to June 30, 2022, subject to the advance of the Third Tranche Term Loan, satisfactory review by the administrative agent of our financial and operating plan, and approval by the Lenders’ investment committee (the “Fourth Tranche Term Loan”). Pursuant to the Loan Agreement, the Lenders originally had the ability to convert, at the Lenders’ option, up to $4 million of the secured term loan into common shares of the Company at a conversion price of $1.46 per share (“K2 conversion feature”). On February 3, 2021, pursuant to the Loan Agreement, the Lenders, converted $2 million of the secured term loan into 1,369,863 common shares at a conversion price of $1.46. The Lenders have the ability to convert an additional $2 million at the Lenders’ option.

 

The Administrative Agent has determined that sufficient Second Tranche Milestones have been satisfied to enable the Company to request draw down of the Second Tranche Term Loan up to the Second Tranche Maximum Amount (as such terms are defined in the Loan Agreement). The Company and the Lenders are in the process of amending the Loan Agreement to extend the Second Tranche Availability Period.

 

In connection with the Loan Agreement, on May 22, 2020, we issued the Lenders a warrant to purchase up to 625,000 common shares (the “K2 Warrant”) at an exercise price of $1.12 (the “Warrant Price”). The number of common shares issuable pursuant to the K2 Warrant, at any given time, is determined by the aggregate original principal amount of the loans advanced at that time pursuant to the Loan Agreement multiplied by 3.5% and divided by the Warrant Price. If the full $50 million available in all K2 tranches is advanced pursuant to the Loan Agreement, up to 1,562,500 common shares will be issuable pursuant to the K2 Warrant. The K2 Warrant may be exercised either for cash or on a cashless “net exercise” basis and expires on May 22, 2030.

 

As a result of the K2 Warrant and K2 conversion feature, the debt was issued at a discount of $3,758. We also incurred $1,021 of debt issuance costs and are required to make a final payment equal to 6.95% of the aggregate original secured term loan principal on the maturity date of the term loan, or upon earlier prepayment of the term loans in accordance with the Loan Agreement, resulting in an additional discount of $1,390. The total initial debt discount is $6,169.

 

The total principal amount of the loan under the Loan Agreement outstanding at March 31, 2021, including the $1,390 final payment discussed above, is $19,390. The principal amount of the loan made under the Loan Agreement accrues interest at an annual rate equal to the greater of (a) 8.25% or (b) prime rate plus 5.00%. The interest rate as of March 31, 2021 was 8.25%. We are required to pay only interest until July 1, 2022. If there is no Event of Default (as defined in the Loan Agreement), and a Third Tranche Term Loan of $10 million is made upon the achievement of a certain milestone, then the interest only period is extended to January 1, 2023.

 

Upon receipt of additional funds under the Loan Agreement, additional common shares will be issuable pursuant to the K2 Warrant as determined by the principal amount of the additional funds advanced multiplied by 3.5% and divided by the Warrant Price, and the final payment will increase by 6.95% of the funds advanced.

 

  28  
 

 

Research and Development Services

 

Pursuant to an agreement with the Israel Innovation Authority (formerly the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel), we are required to make services available for the biotechnology industry in Israel. These services include relevant activities for development and manufacturing of therapeutic proteins according to international standards and Good Manufacturing Practice (“GMP”) quality level suitable for toxicological studies in animals. Service activities include analytics/bio analytics methods for development and process development of therapeutic proteins starting with a candidate clone through manufacturing.

 

These R&D services are primarily marketed to the Israeli research community in academia and Israeli biotechnology companies in the life sciences industry lacking the infrastructure or experience in the development and production of therapeutic proteins to the standards and quality required for clinical trials for human use. During the three months ended March 31, 2021, we provided services to biotechnology companies including analytical development.

 

In addition, pursuant to the License Agreement with Brii Bio we provide R&D services to Brii Bio as part of the development of VBI-2601 (BRII-179).


Modernization and Capacity Increases of Our Manufacturing Facility

 

In 2018, we temporarily closed our manufacturing facility in Rehovot, Israel, for modernization and capacity increase. We re-commenced operations in May 2019 and the review of the modernization and the capacity increase by the Israeli Ministry of Health (“IMoH”) occurred in December of 2019. We received our certificate of GMP compliance from the IMoH on January 27, 2020. In addition to the GMP compliance certification, the IMoH will also need to review and approve the process validation submission, and provide approval for us to sell our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine manufactured at the modernized facility. We increased the capacity of our manufacturing facility to be able to supply commercial quantities of our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine candidate upon FDA, and/or EMA, and/or MHRA, and/or Health Canada approval, and to supply clinical supplies of VBI-2601 (BRII-179).

 

Third Party License and Assignment Agreements

 

We currently are dependent on licenses from third parties for certain of our key technologies, including the license granted pursuant to an agreement between Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc. and SciGen Ltd dated June 2004, as subsequently amended (the “Ferring License Agreement”) and a license from L’Universite Pierre et Marie Curie, now Sorbonne Université (“UPMC”), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale (“INSERM”) and L’école Normale Supérieure de Lyon. Under the Ferring License Agreement, we are committed to pay Ferring royalties equal to 7% of net sales (as defined therein) of HBsAg “Product” (as defined therein). Under an Assignment Agreement between FDS Pharm LLP and SciGen Ltd., dated February 14, 2012 (the “SciGen Assignment Agreement”), we are required to pay royalties to SciGen Ltd. equal to 5% of net sales (as defined in the Ferring License Agreement) of Product. Under the Ferring License Agreement and the SciGen Assignment Agreement, we originally were to pay royalties on a country-by-country basis until the date 10 years after the date of commencement of the first royalty year in respect of such country. In April 2019, we exercised our option to extend the Ferring License Agreement in respect of all the countries that still make up the territory for an additional 7 years by making a one-time payment to Ferring of $100. Royalties under the Ferring License Agreement and SciGen Assignment Agreement will continue to be payable for the duration of the extended license periods. Under our license agreement with UPMC and other licensors relating to eVLP technology, we have an exclusive license to a family of patents that is expected to expire in the United States in 2022 and 2021 in other countries. Under this agreement, we are required to pay UPMC between 0.75% to 1.75% of net sales and certain lump-sum milestone payments. UPMC is also a co-owner of the patent family covering our VBI-1501 CMV vaccine and we are currently negotiating extension of our existing license to cover this patent family. During the three months ended March 31, 2021, we made a milestone payment of €50 and as of March 31, 2021, we are obligated to make another milestone payment of €150; both related to our prophylactic coronavirus vaccine program.

 

  29  
 

 

Financial Overview

 

Overall Performance

 

The Company had net losses of $17,647 and $8,358 for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. We had an accumulated deficit of $326,265 at March 31, 2021. We had $108,226 of cash and cash equivalents and $25,333 of short-term investments and net working capital of $121,734 as of March 31, 2021.

 

Revenues

 

Revenues consist of R&D services revenue recognized as part of the License Agreement with Brii Bio and revenues related to the sale of products and other R&D services.

 

Cost of revenues

 

Cost of revenues consist primarily of costs incurred for manufacturing our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine, which includes cost of materials, consumables, supplies, contractors, and manufacturing salaries.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

R&D expenses, net of government grants and funding arrangements consist primarily of costs incurred for the development of our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine; VBI-1901, our GBM vaccine immunotherapeutic candidate; VBI-1501, our CMV vaccine candidate; VBI-2601 (BRII-179), our hepatitis B immunotherapeutic candidate; and VBI-2900, our coronavirus vaccine program, which include:

 

  the cost of acquiring, developing, and manufacturing clinical study materials, and other consumables and lab supplies used in our pre-clinical studies;
     
  expenses incurred under agreements with contractors or CDMOs or Contract Research Organizations to advance the vaccines into and through completion of clinical studies; and
     
  employee-related expenses, including salaries, benefits, travel, and stock-based compensation expense.

 

We expense R&D costs when we incur them.

 

General and Administrative (“G&A”) Expenses

 

G&A expenses consist principally of salaries and related costs for executive and other administrative personnel and consultants, including stock-based compensation, impairment charges, and travel expenses. Other general and administrative expenses include professional fees for legal, patent protection, consulting and accounting services, commercialization costs, travel and conference fees, board of directors meeting costs, scientific and commercial advisory board meeting costs, rent, maintenance of facilities, depreciation, office supplies, information technology costs and expenses, insurance, and other general expenses. G&A expenses are expensed when incurred.

 

We expect that our general and administrative expenses will increase in the future as a result of adding employees and scaling our operations commensurate with advancing clinical candidates, commercializing products, and continuing to support a public company infrastructure. These increases will likely include increased costs for insurance, hiring of additional personnel, board committees, outside consultants, investor relations, lawyers, and accountants, among other expenses.

 

Interest Expense, net of interest income

 

Interest expense is associated with our long-term debt as discussed in Note 9 of the Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

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Results of Operations

 

Three Months Ended March 31, 2021 Compared to the Three Months Ended March 31, 2020

 

All dollar amounts stated below are in thousands, unless otherwise indicated.

 

    Three months ending
March 31
             
    2021     2020     Change $     Change %  
Revenues   $ 301     $ 415     $ (114 )     (27 )%
                                 
Expenses:                                
Cost of revenues     2,412       2,577       (165 )     (6 )%
Research and development     6,839       3,193       3,646       114 %
General and administration     6,747       4,058       2,689       66 %
Total operating expenses     15,998       9,828       6,170       63 %
                                 
Loss from operations     (15,697 )     (9,413 )     (6,284 )     67 %
                                 
Interest expense, net of interest income     (1,812 )     (582 )     (1,230 )     211 %
Foreign exchange (loss) gain     (138 )     1,637       (1,775 )     (108 )%
Loss before income taxes     (17,647 )     (8,358 )     (9,289 )     111 %
                                 
Income tax expense     -       -       -       - %
                                 
NET LOSS   $

(17,647

)   $ (8,358 )   $ (9,289 )    

111

%

 

Revenues

 

Revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2021 decreased by $114 or 27% due to a decrease in R&D services revenue for VBI-2601, our hepatitis B immunotherapeutic candidate, being developed in collaboration with Brii Bio, as fewer manufacturing and non-clinical research services were required in the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2020.

 

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Revenues by Geographic Region

 

    Three months ending
March 31
             
    2021     2020     $ Change     % Change  
Revenue in Israel   $ 169     $ 132     $ 37       28 %
Revenues in China / Hong Kong     128       231       (103 )     (45 )%
Revenue in Europe     4       52       (48 )     (92 )%
Total Revenues   $ 301     $ 415     $ (114 )     (27 )%

 

Cost of Revenues

 

Cost of revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2021 was $2,412 as compared to $2,577 for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The decrease in the cost of revenues of $165 or 6% is due to a decrease in R&D services as discussed above.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

R&D expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2021 were $6,839 as compared to $3,193 for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The increase in R&D expenses of $3,646 or 114%, is a result of an increase in R&D expenses related to: 1) our prophylactic coronavirus vaccine candidates, as during the three months period ended March 31, 2020, we were in the very early stages of development for these candidates; and 2) regulatory costs related to the BLA submission for the 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine candidate.

 

General and Administrative Expenses

 

G&A expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2021 were $6,747 as compared to $4,058 for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The G&A expense increase of $2,689 or 66%, is a result of the increase in pre-commercial activities as potential regulatory approval approaches, increased insurance costs, and increased labor costs.

 

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Loss from Operations

 

The net loss from operations for the three months ended March 31, 2021 was $15,697 as compared to $9,413 for the three months ended March 31, 2020. The $6,284 increase in the net loss from operations resulted from the items discussed above.

 

Interest Expense, net of interest income

 

The interest expense, net of interest income increased by $1,230 for the three months ended March 31, 2021, compared to the three months ended March 31, 2020, largely resulting from the conversion of $2,000 of the secured term loan to common shares, which resulted in $1,161 of additional interest accretion being recognized in interest expense, net of interest income in the condensed consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. 

 

Foreign Exchange Gain (Loss)

 

The foreign exchange loss of $138 for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and the foreign exchange gain of $1,637 for the three months ended March 31, 2020 are a result of the changes in the foreign currency exchange rates (NIS and CAD) in which the foreign currency transactions were denominated for each of those periods.

 

Net Loss

 

Net loss of $17,647 for the three months ended March 31, 2021 compared to $8,358 for the three months ended March 31, 2020 is a result of the items discussed above.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

    March 31,
2021
    December 31,
2020
    $ Change     % Change  
                         
Cash and cash equivalents   $ 108,226     $ 93,825     $ 14,401       15 %
Current Assets    

145,559

      132,041      

13,518

      10 %
Current Liabilities     23,825       17,348       6,477       37 %
Working Capital     121,734       114,693       7,041       6 %
Accumulated Deficit   $

(326,265

)   $ (308,618 )   $

(17,647

)     6 %

 

As of March 31, 2021, we had cash and cash equivalents of $108,226 as compared to $93,825 as of December 31, 2020. As of March 31, 2021, we had working capital of $121,734 as compared to working capital of $114,693 at December 31, 2020. Working capital is calculated by subtracting current liabilities from current assets.

 

The report of our independent registered public accounting firm on our consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020 contains an explanatory paragraph regarding our ability to continue as a going concern. VBI has incurred significant net losses and negative operating cash flows since inception and expects to continue incurring losses and negative cash flows from operations as we carry out our planned clinical, regulatory, R&D, sales, and manufacturing activities with respect to the advancement of our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine candidate and new pipeline candidates. As of March 31, 2021, VBI had an accumulated deficit of approximately $326.3 million and stockholders’ equity of approximately $180.0 million.

 

During the first quarter of 2021, the Company issued 5,752,068 common shares under the ATM Program, for total gross proceeds of $22,113 at an average price of $3.84. The Company incurred $696 of shares issuance costs related to the common shares issued resulting in net proceeds of $21,417.

 

On February 3, 2021, pursuant to the Loan Agreement, the Lenders, converted $2,000 of the secured term loan into 1,369,863 common shares at a conversion price of $1.46.

 

On March 9, 2021, the Company and CEPI announced a partnership, the CEPI Funding Agreement, to develop eVLP vaccine candidates against SARS-COV-2 variants, including the B.1.351 variant, also known as 501Y.V2, first identified in South Africa. CEPI will provide up to $33,018 to support the advancement of VBI-2905, a monovalent eVLP candidate expressing the pre-fusion form of the spike protein from the B.1.351 strain, through Phase I clinical development. This funding will also support preclinical expansion of additional multivalent vaccine candidates designed to evaluate the potential breadth of our eVLP technology. The preclinical expansion is intended to develop clinic-ready vaccine candidates capable of addressing emerging variants.

 

Our ability to maintain our status as an operating company and to realize our investment in our IPR&D assets is dependent upon obtaining adequate cash and cash equivalents to finance our clinical development, manufacturing, our administrative overhead and our research and development activities. We plan to finance near term future operations with existing cash and cash equivalents reserves. We expect that we will need to secure additional financing to finance our business plans, which may be a combination of proceeds from the issuance of equity securities, the issuance of additional debt, structured asset financings, government grants or subsidies, and revenues from potential business development transactions, if any. There is no assurance we will manage to obtain these sources of financing. The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that we will continue as a going concern; however, the above conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to do so. The financial statements do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classifications of liabilities that may result should we be unable to continue as a going concern. Our long-term success and ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon obtaining sufficient capital to fund the research and development of our products, to bring about their successful commercial release, to generate revenue, and, ultimately, to attain profitable operations, or, alternatively, to advance our products and technology to such a point that they would be attractive candidates for acquisition by others in the industry.

 

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We will require additional funds to conduct clinical and non-clinical trials, achieve regulatory approvals, and, subject to such approvals, commercially launch our products, and will need to secure additional financing in the future to support our operations and to realize our investment in our IPR&D assets. We base this belief on assumptions that are subject to change, and we may be required to use our available cash and cash equivalent resources sooner than we currently expect. Our actual future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including the progress and results of our ongoing clinical trials, the duration and cost of discovery and preclinical development, laboratory testing and clinical trials for our pipeline candidates, the timing and outcome of regulatory review of our products, obtaining regulatory approvals for our recently modernized manufacturing facility in Rehovot, Israel, product sales outside of Israel, the costs involved in preparing, filing, prosecuting, maintaining, defending, and enforcing patent claims and other intellectual property rights, the number and development requirements of other pipeline candidates that we pursue, and the costs of commercialization activities, including product marketing, sales, and distribution.

 

We expect to finance our future cash needs through public or private equity offerings, potential additional proceeds from the long-term debt from the Lenders pursuant to the Loan Agreement, debt financings, government grants or subsidies, structured asset financings, or business development transactions. In addition to the First Tranche Term Loan, the Lenders agreed to make available subject to the conditions discussed above and upon the submission of a loan request by the Company, the Second Tranche Term Loan, the Third Tranche Term Loan, and the Fourth Tranche Term Loan. Pursuant to the Contribution Agreement, we will receive up to CAD $55,976 as a government grant to support the development of the Company’s coronavirus vaccine program, though Phase II clinical studies, and pursuant to the CEPI Funding Agreement, we will receive up to $33,018 in funding to support the development of the Company’s coronavirus vaccine program, specifically SARS-COV-2 variants. We may need to raise additional funds more quickly if one or more of our assumptions prove to be incorrect or if we choose to expand our product development efforts more rapidly than we presently anticipate. We may also decide to raise additional funds even before we need them if the conditions for raising capital are favorable. Additional equity, debt, structured asset financing, government grants or subsidies, or business development transactions may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all. If adequate funds are not available, we may be required to delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate our R&D programs, reduce our planned commercialization efforts or obtain funds through arrangements with collaborators or others that may require us to relinquish rights to certain pipeline candidates that we might otherwise seek to develop or commercialize independently.

 

To the extent we raise additional capital by issuing equity securities or obtaining borrowings convertible into equity, ownership dilution to existing stockholders will result and future investors may be granted rights superior to those of existing stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness or debt financing would result in increased fixed obligations and could also result in covenants that would restrict our operations. Our ability to obtain additional capital may depend on prevailing economic conditions and financial, business, and other factors beyond our control. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unstable economic environment globally. Disruptions in the global financial markets may adversely impact the availability and cost of credit, as well as our ability to raise money in the capital markets. Current economic conditions have been, and continue to be, volatile. Continued instability in these market conditions may limit our ability to access the capital necessary to fund and grow our business.

 

The Company’s long-term success and ability to continue as a going concern is dependent upon obtaining sufficient capital to fund the research and development of its products, to bring about their successful commercial release, to generate revenue and, ultimately, to attain profitable operations or, alternatively, to advance its products and technology to such a point that they would be attractive candidates for acquisition by others in the industry.

 

To date, the Company has been able to obtain financing as and when it was needed; however, there is no assurance that financing will be available in the future, or if it is, that it will be available at acceptable terms.

 

Net cash used in Operating Activities

 

The Company incurred net losses of $17,647 and $8,358 in the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The Company used $6,644 and $7,648 in cash for operating activities during the three months ended March 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively. The decrease in cash outflows is largely a result of the change in operating working capital, notably the cash received in advance from the CEPI Funding Agreement, offset by an increase in net loss.

 

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Net cash used in Investing Activities

 

Cash flows used in investing activities increased from $133 for the three months ended March 31, 2020 to $556 for the three months ended March 31, 2021. The investing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2021 and March 31, 2020 were for routine purchases of property and equipment.

 

Net cash provided by Financing Activities

 

Net cash flows in financing activities increased from cash used of $600 for the three months ended March 31, 2020 to cash provided of $21,624 during the three months ended March 31, 2021. This increase is due to the common shares issued as part of the ATM Program.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

As of March 31, 2021, we have no off-balance sheet transactions, arrangements, obligations (including contingent obligations), or other relationships with unconsolidated entities or other persons that have, or may have, a material effect on our financial condition, changes in financial condition, revenues or expenses, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures, or capital resources.

 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

There have been no changes to our critical accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2021. Critical accounting policies and the significant accounting estimates made in accordance with such policies are regularly discussed with the Audit Committee of the Company’s board of directors. Those policies are discussed under “Critical Accounting Policies” in our “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of the Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included in Item 7 of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, as well as in our consolidated financial statements and the footnotes thereto, included in the Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

Trends, Events and Uncertainties

 

As with other companies that are in the process of commercializing novel pharmaceutical products, we will need to successfully manage normal business and scientific risks. Research and development of new technologies is, by its nature, unpredictable. We cannot assure you that our technology will be adopted, that we will ever earn revenues sufficient to support our operations, or that we will ever be profitable. In addition, the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its resurgence is currently indeterminable and rapidly evolving, and has adversely affected and may continue to adversely affect our operations and the global economy. Furthermore, other than as discussed in this report, we have no committed source of financing and may not be able to raise money as and when we need it to continue our operations. If we cannot raise funds as and when we need them, we may be required to severely curtail, or even to cease, our operations.

 

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Other than as discussed above and elsewhere in this Form 10-Q, we are not aware of any trends, events or uncertainties that are likely to have a material effect on our financial condition.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

See Note 3 of Notes to the Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

 

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Our management has evaluated, under the supervision and with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer (our principal executive officer) and our Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development (our principal financial and accounting officer), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-Q as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) or Rule 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act. Based on that evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development have concluded that, as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-Q, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective in ensuring that information required to be disclosed in our Exchange Act reports is (1) recorded, processed, summarized and reported in a timely manner, and (2) accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by Rule 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) of the Exchange Act that occurred during the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2021, that have materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

  36  
 

 

PART II—OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

 

From time to time, we may be involved in certain claims and litigation arising out of the ordinary course and conduct of business. Management assesses such claims and, if it considers that it is probable that an asset had been impaired or a liability had been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated, provisions for loss are made based on management’s assessment of the most likely outcome.

 

On September 13, 2018, two actions were brought in the District Court of the central district in Israel naming our subsidiary SciVac as a defendant. In one claim, two minors, through their parents, allege among other things, defects in certain batches of our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine discovered in July 2015; that our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine was approved for use in children and infants in Israel without sufficient evidence establishing its safety; that SciVac failed to provide accurate information about our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine to consumers and that each child suffered side effects from the vaccine. The claim was filed together with a motion seeking approval of a class action on behalf of 428,000 children vaccinated with our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine in Israel from April 2011 and seeking damages in a total amount of NIS 1,879,500,000 (not in thousands) ($563,737). The second claim is a civil action brought by two minors and their parents against SciVac and the Israel Ministry of Health alleging, among other things, that SciVac marketed an experimental, defective, hazardous or harmful vaccine; that our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine was marketed in Israel without sufficient evidence establishing its safety; and that our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine was produced and marketed in Israel without approval of a western regulatory body. The claim seeks damages for past and future losses and expenses as well as punitive damages.

 

SciVac believes these matters to be without merit and intends to defend these claims vigorously.

 

The District Court has accepted SciVac’s motion to suspend reaching a decision on the approval of the class action pending the determination of liability under the civil action. Preliminary hearings for the trial of the civil action began on January 15, 2020, with subsequent preliminary hearings held on May 13, 2020 and December 3, 2020 to discuss document disclosure. The next preliminary hearing is scheduled to be held on September 13, 2021.

 

Item 1A. Risk Factors

 

The following description of risk factors includes any material changes to risk factors associated with our business, financial condition and results of operations previously disclosed in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, as filed with the SEC on March 2, 2021. Our business, financial condition and operating results can be affected by a number of factors, whether currently known or unknown, including but not limited to those described below, any one or more of which could, directly or indirectly, cause our actual financial condition and operating results to vary materially from past, or from anticipated future, financial condition and operating results. Any of these factors, in whole or in part, could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results, and stock price.

 

The following discussion of risk factors contains forward-looking statements. These risk factors may be important to understanding other statements in this Form 10-Q. The following information should be read in conjunction with the condensed consolidated financial statements and related notes in Part I, Item 1, “Financial Statements” and Part I, Item 2, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Form 10- Q.

 

Risks Related to Our Product Development

 

The FDA and corresponding foreign regulatory agencies may require additional information, clinical trial data, or manufacturing changes, for our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine candidate before granting regulatory approval, if regulatory approval is granted at all.

 

We submitted the BLA to the FDA and the MAA to the EMA in the fourth quarter of 2020 for our 3-antigen HBV vaccine candidate, which have subsequently been accepted for review by the regulatory authorities. Our registration and commercial timelines for such vaccine candidate depend on further discussions with the FDA and corresponding foreign regulatory agencies. They could have requirements and requests for additional data, beyond what is included in the submissions, completion of additional clinical trials, including a request to increase the size of the safety data set, or changes to the manufacturing process or our manufacturing facility. Any such requirements or requests could:

 

  adversely affect our ability to timely and successfully commercialize or market our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine candidate in the United States, Europe, Canada, and other jurisdictions where our vaccine is not currently approved;
     
  result in significant additional costs;
     
  potentially diminish any competitive advantages for our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine candidate;
     
  potentially limit the markets for our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine candidate;
     
  adversely affect our ability to enter into collaborations or receive milestone payments or royalties from potential collaborators;
     
  cause us to abandon the further development of our 3-antigen prophylactic HBV vaccine candidate or certain of our pipeline candidates to comply with requests by the FDA or other jurisdictions where it is not currently approved; or
     
  limit our ability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms, if at all.

 

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

 

a) Sales of Unregistered Securities

 

There have been no unregistered sales of securities during the period covered by this Form 10-Q that have not been previously reported in a current report on Form 8-K. We have not made any purchases of our own securities during the time period covered by this Form 10-Q.

 

c) Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

 

None.

 

Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities

 

None.

 

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosure

 

Not applicable.

 

Item 5. Other Information

 

None.

 

Item 6. Exhibits

 

See the Exhibit Index following the signature page to this Form 10-Q for a list of exhibits filed or furnished with this Form 10-Q, which Exhibit Index is incorporated herein by reference.

 

  37  
 

 

EXHIBIT INDEX

 

Exhibit
No.
  Description
     
10.1+*   Amendment to Consulting Agreement with F. Diaz-Mitoma Professional Corporation, effective July 1, 2020.
     
10.2*[#]   Funding Agreement, by and between Variation Biotechnologies Inc., a Canadian federal corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of VBI Vaccines Inc., and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, dated as of March 9, 2021.
     
10.3*   Amendment to the Collaboration and License Agreement with Brii Bioscience, effective April 8, 2021.
     
31.1*   Certificate of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
     
31.2*   Certification of Principal Financial and Accounting Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
     
32.1**   Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.
     
32.2**   Certification of Principal Financial and Accounting Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and 18 U.S.C. Section 1350.
     
101.INS*   Inline XBRL Instance Document.
     
101.SCH*   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document.
     
101.CAL*   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document.
     
101.DEF*   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document.
     
101.LAB*   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Labels Linkbase Document.
     
101.PRE*   Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document.
     
104*   Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101).

 

+ Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan.

 

* Filed herewith.

 

** Furnished herewith.

 

# Certain portions of this exhibit have been redacted pursuant to Item 601(b)(10)(iv) of Regulation S-K. The omitted information is (i) not material and (ii) would likely cause competitive harm to the Company if publicly disclosed. The Company agrees to furnish supplementally an unredacted copy of the exhibit to the SEC upon its request.

 

  38  
 

 

SIGNATURES

 

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

 

Date: May 10, 2021 VBI VACCINES INC.
     
  By: /s/ Jeffrey Baxter
   

Jeffrey Baxter

President & Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

     
  By: /s/ Christopher McNulty
    Christopher McNulty
    Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development
    (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

 

  39  

 

 

Exhibit 10.1

 

AMENDMENT TO CONSULTING AGREEMENT

 

This Amendment to Consulting Agreement (the “Amendment”), effective as of July 1, 2020 (the “Effective Date”), is by and between Variation Biotechnologies Inc., a corporation incorporated pursuant to the laws of Canada (the “Company”) having an address of 310 Hunt Club Road East, Ottawa, Ontario K1V 1C1 and F. Diaz-Mitoma Professional Corporation (Ontario corporation number 002356634) having an address of 210 Barrow Crescent, Kanata, Ontario K2L 2C7 (“Consultant”). The Consultant and Company are sometimes referred to as a “Party” and are collectively referred to as the “Parties”.

 

WHEREAS, the Company and Consultant are parties to a certain Consulting Agreement dated July 1, 2016, as amended as of January 1, 2017, January 1, 2018, January 1, 2019 and January 1, 2020 (the “Consulting Agreement”);

 

AND WHEREAS, the Consultant and the Company wish to amend the Consulting Agreement on the terms and conditions set out in this Amendment;

 

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein, the Parties agree as follows:

 

1. Amendment to Appendix C. As of the Effective Date, Appendix C of the Consulting Agreement shall be amended to add the following Paragraph 3:

 

  3. The Company shall cause VBI Vaccines Inc., a British Columbia corporation (the “Parent”) to grant to Francisco Diaz-Mitoma, as designee of Consultant, 167,150 stock options (the “Options”), each Option exercisable for one common share of Parent, to be granted effective as of July 1, 2020 and to be subject to the provisions of the Plan. Conditions regarding the Options and their exercise, including the exercise price, the term of the Options and the timing of vesting shall be set out in an Option Agreement dated July 1, 2020 between the Parent and Francisco Diaz-Mitoma. The common shares issuable upon exercise of the Options shall bear the appropriate legend to indicate such shares are “control securities” as defined in General Instruction C.1(a) of Form S-8.

 

2. Consulting Agreement to Remain in Full Effect. Except as amended by this Amendment, the Consulting Agreement shall continue to be in full force and effect, without amendment, and is hereby ratified and confirmed. The Consulting Agreement shall henceforth be read and construed in conjunction with this Amendment.

 

3. Governing Law. This Amendment shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein.

 

4. Further Assurances. Each Party shall do such further acts and execute such further documents as may be required to give effect to this Amendment and carry out the intent thereof.

 

5. Binding Effect. This Amendment shall be binding on and inure to the benefit of the Parites and their respective successors and assigns.

 

6. Execution and Counterparts. This Amendment may be executed in counterparts, including counterpart signature pages or counterpart facsimile or scanned signature pages (each of which shall be deemed an original), all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

 

 
 

 

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties hereto have caused this Amendment to be duly executed by their respective authorized officers as of the Effective Date.

 

  VARIATION BIOTECHNOLOGIES INC.
     
  /s/ Jeffrey Baxter
  Name: Jeffrey Baxter
  Title: Chief Executive Officer            
     
  F. DIAZ-MITOMA PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION
     
  /s/ Francisco Diaz Mitoma
  Name: Francisco Diaz-Mitoma
  Title: President

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 10.2

 

 

COVID-19 Outbreak Response Agreement (ver 3.1)

Agreement Summary

 

AWARDEE INFORMATION
Name:   Variation Biotechnologies Inc. (“Awardee”)
Mailing Address:    
Project Lead:   David Anderson
Management Contact:   Adam Buckley
Bank Account Details:  

Account Name: USD

Account Number: **

Routing/ABA Number: **

Swift Code: **

Bank: **

Bank Address: **

 

CEPI INFORMATION
Mailing Address:   Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, PO Box 123 Torshov, N-0412 Oslo, Norway
Project Lead:    
Management Contact:    

 

AGREEMENT INFORMATION
Project Name   Development of SA-Variant Monovalent & Multivalent SARS-CoV2 Vaccine Candidates
CEPI Programme Name   Outbreak Response To Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Effective Date   Date of last signature below
Expiry Date   As described in Clause 20.1 of the Terms and Conditions in Annex A.
This Agreement includes and incorporates by reference:  

The agreement (the “Agreement”) means this Agreement Summary together with the following: - Terms and Conditions (Annex A)

- Team Charter (Annex B)

- iPDP for Work Package(s) (Annex C)

- Budget for Work Package(s) (Annex D)

- List of AMC Countries, UMICs and HICs as at the Effective Date (Annex E)

- List of Sub-Contractors (Annex F)

- List of Pre-existing Agreements (Annex G)

 

 
 

 

THIS AGREEMENT (the “Agreement”) is between Awardee and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (“CEPI”) and is effective as of the date of the last signature, below (the “Effective Date”). Each party to this Agreement may be referred to individually as a “Party” and together as the “Parties.” This Agreement sets out the terms and conditions governing the performance and funding of the Project (as defined herein). It also reflects the Parties’ mutual commitment to develop a safe and effective vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, to test and obtain regulatory approval for the vaccine as rapidly as possible, consistent with patient safety and achieving vaccine quality, and to ensure the manufacture and distribution of sufficient quantities of the vaccine to meet global demand at affordable prices in the country of use. As a condition of this funding award, the Parties enter into this Agreement by having their authorised representatives sign below.

 

Signed for and on behalf of:

 

COALITION FOR EPIDEMIC PREPAREDNESS INNOVATIONS  
   
Signature: /s/ Richard Hatchett  
Name: Richard Hatchett  
Title: Chief Executive Officer  
Date. March 9, 2021  

 

VBI Vaccines Inc.  
   
Signature: /s/ Jeffrey Baxter   
Name: Jeffrey Baxter   
Title: Chief Executive Officer  
Date: March 8, 2021   

 

2
 

 

Annex A: Terms and Conditions

 

Definitions:

 

1.1 Additional COVID-19 Candidate” means any of Awardee’s vaccine candidates against SARS-CoV-2 containing antigens from only SARS-CoV-2 and not from any other viruses, other than the Project Vaccine or VBI-2902 (as defined herein), in any form or dosage of pharmaceutical composition or preparation.

 

1.2 Additional COVID-19 Candidate Noticehas the meaning described in Clause 14.1.

 

1.3 Affiliate” means any business entity controlled by, controlling or under common control with, a Party. For clarity, “control” shall exist through the ability to directly or indirectly control the management and/or business of the other entity, whether through ownership of voting stock or the power to appoint a majority of the Party’s governing board.

 

1.4 Agreement Summary” means the signature page that identifies the Parties and to which this Annex A and other annexes are attached.

 

1.5 AMC Countries” means those countries which are eligible to participate in the COVAX AMC from time to time (listed in Annex E as at the Effective Date).

 

1.6 Background Intellectual Property” (or “Background IP”) means any and all Intellectual Property that is owned or controlled by Awardee during the Term of this Agreement, whether existing as of the Effective Date or later developed or acquired independently of the Project. For clarity, Background IP includes commercial freedom-to-operate licences obtained by Awardee.

 

1.7 Budget” means the schedule of funds identified in Annex D to be paid by CEPI to the Awardee for the Project activities in the Work Packages, as may be amended from time to time by the written agreement of both Parties.

 

1.8 Business Days” means any day, other than (a) a Saturday or Sunday; and (b) any public holiday in London England, Oslo Norway or Massachusetts United States.

 

1.9 Canada Agreement” means the agreements between the Strategic Innovation Fund of Canada and Variation Biotechnologies Inc. executed Sept 16th 2020 including any extensions or amendments thereto, provided that any such amendment is consistent with CEPI’s rights hereunder.

 

1.10 CEPI Service Provider” means a third party contracted and funded directly by CEPI, which CEPI, at its discretion, may make available to Awardee to support its activities under the Project.

 

1.11 Commercial Benefits” means any economically quantifiable benefits that arise from the commercial exploitation of the Project Results (including the Project Vaccine).

 

1.12 Commercially Reasonable Efforts” means the carrying out of such obligations or tasks with a level of efforts and resources (including departmental budget resources) consistent with the efforts and resources that Awardee commits to other products at a similar stage of development, life cycle and potential for impacting subject outcomes, taking into account all relevant factors, including issues of safety and efficacy, product profile, difficulty in developing or manufacturing products, the regulatory requirements involved (including the likelihood of receipt of approval by the relevant governmental authorities) and the potential marketability for a product intended to address the global urgent medical need, serious public health issues and economic impact created by the COVID-19 pandemic and potential market demand of the product.

 

3
 

 

1.13 Cost Guidance” means CEPI’s explanatory document regarding eligible direct and indirect costs, non-eligible costs, and valuation of in-kind contributions, as further described in Clause 11.2.

 

1.14 Cost of Goods” (or “COGs”) means the actual costs of manufacturing and supplying the Project Vaccine incurred by Awardee or its designee, the scope of which shall be determined pursuant to Section 15.3 and shall include the following costs to the extent attributable to the manufacture and supply of the Project Vaccine (unless otherwise agreed by the Parties):

 

(a) direct costs of raw materials, intermediates and components, reference materials or standards required for release testing and materials necessary to support stability studies (including methods and consumables);

 

(b) fully loaded direct labour costs;

 

(c) direct costs of drug substance and drug product manufacturing, quality assurance and stability testing, characterisation testing, quality control release testing of drug substance and drug product, quality assurance batch record review and release;

 

(d) costs of interim packaging and labelling;

 

(e) direct costs of insurance, storage and freight and shipping costs;

 

(f) tariffs, sales and excise taxes, customs and duty and charges levied by governmental entities (including export fees) on the Project Vaccine;

 

(g) a fair and reasonable allocation of identifiable internal and indirect costs incurred by Awardee in connection with and attributable to such manufacturing of the Project Vaccine, including, at a minimum, for process development, project management, manufacturing oversight, facilities, depreciation, utilities, insurance, and quality control and assurance, in conformity with relevant U.S. GAAP, IFRS or other local GAAP accounting principles, in each case, calculated by Awardee in a manner consistent with its treatment of such costs (including idle capacity) with respect to other products and without disadvantaging the Project Vaccine on account of the terms of this Agreement or otherwise;

 

(h) royalties, licensing fees, milestone fees and other costs and expenses directly attributable to rights to use the Intellectual Property and technology associated with the Project Vaccines and the Project Materials;

 

(i) costs of compliance with regulatory requirements including reporting, audits and updates;

 

(j) direct costs of product liability insurance, if not otherwise provided; and

 

(k) costs and expenses for pharmacovigilance and medical affairs directly incurred for, or fairly allocable to, the Project Vaccine supplied pursuant to this Agreement.

 

1.15 COVID-19 Global Vaccine Access Facility” or “COVAX” means the global umbrella mechanism developed and managed under the auspices of the Vaccine Task Force, a component of the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator, that shall pool funding commitments and incentivise scale-up of research and development, clinical trial investments, and manufacturing for a portfolio of vaccine candidates.

 

4
 

 

1.16 Enabling Rights” means rights to Background Intellectual Property, Project Intellectual Property and Project Results that could be asserted by Awardee or a Subawardee to block CEPI from exercising the Public Health Licence to make, have made, use, have used, import, sell or otherwise exploit the Project Vaccine. For purposes of this Agreement, Enabling Rights also includes the contractual rights that control the use of such items as, for example, rights to use biological materials covered in material transfer agreements entered into between Awardee and third parties.

 

1.17 Equitable Access” has the meaning given to it in Clause 15.1.

 

1.18 Equitable Access Plan” means the principles of Equitable Access under this Agreement including those set out in Clause 15 and the Equitable Access Policy (as defined in Clause 15.1).

 

1.19 Field” means the public health response to the Outbreak and to other coronaviruses against which a Project Vaccine may be at least partially cross-protective or as otherwise agreed by the Parties from time to time in accordance with Clause 22.6.

 

1.20 Financial Report” has the meaning described in Clause 3.9.

 

1.21 Further Funding Notice” has the meaning described in Clause 4.1.

 

1.22 Gavi” means the Gavi Vaccine Alliance, an independent non-profit foundation within the meaning of Articles 80 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code with a registered address at Chemin du Pommier 40, 1218 Le Grand-Saconnex, Geneva, Switzerland and any procurement agent that may be appointed by Gavi from time to time.

 

1.23 HICs” or “Higher Income Countries” means the countries identified in Annex E.

 

1.24 Integrated Product Development Plan” (or “iPDP”) means the document setting out details of one or more Work Packages that collectively describe the various activities, deliverables, milestones, phases, risks and timelines associated with the Project, as may be amended from time to time by the written agreement of both Parties. The initial iPDP is set forth as Annex C.

 

1.25 Intellectual Property” or “IP” means (a) inventions, patents, utility models, and rights in the foregoing; (b) trade marks, trade names, geographical indications and appellations of origin, rights under the law of passing off, unfair competition and equivalents; (c) copyright, rights in software, rights in performances and in recordings, moral rights, and database rights; (d) designs, design patents, registered and unregistered designs and design rights; (e) confidential information consisting of trade secrets and rights under the law of breach of confidence and equivalents; and all other intellectual property rights of any kind however designated that may subsist anywhere in the world whether arising by operation of law, treaty, contract, conduct or otherwise, together with all registrations, applications, rights to priority, renewals, extensions, continuations, divisions or reissues thereof and all rights to bring action for infringement past, present and future.

 

1.26 Joint Monitoring and Advisory Group” or “JMAG” has the meaning described in Clause 2.3.

 

1.27 LMICs” or “Low and Middle Income Countries” means the countries identified by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (or “OECD”) as having low-income or middle-income economies, as may be updated from time-to-time by the OECD.

 

5
 

 

1.28 Lowest Tier Countries” means in the case of any matter relating to COVID-19, the AMC Countries and in the case of all other diseases, the Low and Middle Income Countries.

 

1.29 NRC Agreement” means the Collaboration Agreement with the NRC dated March 30, 2020 and the first Amendment dated December 21, 2020, as may be amended from time to time provided that any such amendment is consistent with CEPI’s rights hereunder.

 

1.30 Outbreak” means the COVID-19 outbreak caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus or any strain, mutations and related recurrences of such virus.

 

1.31 Pandemic Period” means the period of time beginning on 30 January 2020, when the World Health Organization (or “WHO”) declared COVID-19 to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (or “PHEIC”), and ending on the earlier of (1) the date on which WHO declares that the COVID-19 PHEIC is over or (2) the date determined by CEPI, in its reasonable discretion in consultation with the Awardee and based on epidemiological data published by WHO, including.

 

1.32 Pre-existing Agreements” means the agreements entered into by the Awardee prior to the Effective Date details of which are set out in Exhibit H.

 

1.33 Project” means the activities under this Agreement, as are described in the Team Charter, iPDP and Budget, to be performed by or on behalf of the Awardee and/or any Subawardee.

 

1.34 Project Continuity Planhas the meaning described in Clause 13.2.

 

1.35 Project Data” has the meaning described in Clause 9.1.

 

1.36 Project Intellectual Property” (or “Project IP”) means the Intellectual Property discovered or made by or on behalf of the Awardee and/or any Subawardee in the performance of the Project.

 

1.37 Project Materials” has the meaning described in Clause 9.2.

 

1.38 Project Results” means all of the tangible materials and other results that are made or developed by or on behalf of Awardee and/or any Subawardee under the Project, including the Project Vaccine and assays developed by or on behalf of the Awardee or any Subawardee that are necessary for Project Vaccine production, whether in whole or in components, serum samples collected, protocols used in clinical or non-clinical evaluation of the Project Vaccine, Project Data, and Project Materials.

 

1.39 Project Vaccine” means one or more of Awardee’s vaccine candidates ***  (as described in the iPDP) and any other of the Awardee’s vaccine candidates expressly identified in the iPDP, in any form or dosage of pharmaceutical composition or preparation (including any ***  candidate vaccines of any of the foregoing which are included in the iPDP and Budget from time to time).

 

1.40 Public Health Licence” means a grant by Awardee to CEPI of all relevant Enabling Rights for use in the Field by CEPI as described in Clause 13.4.

 

1.41 Ready Reserve of Clinical Trial Material” has the meaning described in Clause 12.1.

 

1.42 Stage Gate” means a mutually agreed “go/no go” decision point to continue a given Work Package or to commence activities in another Work Package, as set out in the iPDP.

 

6
 

 

1.43 Stage Gate Review Committee” has the meaning described in Clause 2.5.

 

1.44 Subawardee” means a third party that is contracted by and receives CEPI funds from Awardee to perform activities or provide support under the Project. For clarity, Subawardees include both “Sub-Grantees” and “Sub-Contractors” described in Clauses 3.3 and 3.2, respectively.

 

1.45 “Sub-Contractor” has the meaning described in Clause 3.2.

 

1.46 Team Charter” has the meaning described in Clause 2.1.

 

1.47 Technical Report(s)” has the meaning described in Clause 2.4.

 

1.48 Term” has the meaning described in Clause 20.1.

 

1.49 Third Party Code” (or “Code”) means the periodically updated, consolidated statement of CEPI’s values and of the policies, practices and principles described in Clause 11.2.

 

1.50 Trusted Collaborator” is a component of the Project Continuity Plan and has the meaning described in Clause 13.2.

 

1.51 Trusted Manufacturer” is a component of the Project Continuity Plan and has the meaning described in Clause 13.2.

 

1.52 UMICs” or “Upper and Middle Income Countries” means the countries identified in Annex E.

 

1.53 “VBI-2902” means Awardee’s clinical stage monovalent vaccine against the L-strain of reference for SARS-COV2.

 

1.54 “Volume Commitment Percentage” means the relevant percentage of the Awardee’s capacity to produce Project Vaccine together with Trusted Manufacturer, where the relevant percentage shall be calculated as follows: **% for any Project Vaccine for which CEPI provides preclinical funding, **% for any Project Vaccine for which CEPI funds through Phase 1 clinical study, **% for any Project Vaccine for which CEPI funds through Phase 2 clinical study, **% for any Project Vaccine for which CEPI funds through Phase 3 clinical study, and **% for any Project Vaccine for which CEPI funds through to (i) approval and registration as set out in the iPDP; (ii) WHO pre-qualification or emergency use listing; and (ii) reasonably sufficient commercial manufacturing capabilities as required to meet Awardee’s obligations hereunder. In the event that CEPI co-funds with a third party organization, VBI, CEPI and the third party organization will negotiate an appropriate Volume Commitment Percentage commensurate with the respective interests of the party, funding contributions and stage of investment (provided always that such Volume Commitment Percentage shall be no lower than the Volume Commitment Percentage applicable to the funding stage immediately prior to the latest stage to which CEPI has provided funding).

 

1.55 Work Package(s)” means a discrete set of Project activities described in the iPDP.

 

2 Project Organisation and Management:

 

2.1 Team Charter. The Project shall be managed by the Parties as described in the Team Charter in Annex B.

 

7
 

 

2.2 iPDP and Work Packages. Awardee shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to undertake the Project as described in the iPDP, including achieving the milestones and timelines of each Work Package and achieving each Stage Gate within the agreed timeframe, it being understood that neither Party can assure a positive technical outcome for any Work Package. The Project is organised into one or more Work Packages and each Work Package has an associated budget as set out in the Budget. The Work Packages shall be pursued and performed by Awardee in accordance with the Budget and the iPDP. CEPI will pay the Awardee in accordance with the Budget and the iPDP and, where applicable, upon completion of a Stage Gate (as determined pursuant to Clause 2.5). Additional Work Package(s) may be agreed in writing by the Parties after the Effective Date, which, upon execution by both Parties, shall be annexed to and become a part of this Agreement. Work Packages may also be modified or extended with the mutual written consent of both Parties in accordance with Clause 22.6.

 

2.3 Joint Monitoring and Advisory Group. Promptly following the Effective Date, the Parties will establish a joint monitoring and advisory group (“JMAG”) that shall meet regularly as specified in the Team Charter to monitor progress of and advance the Project. The JMAG shall coordinate the efforts of CEPI and Awardee to:

 

(a) facilitate communications between the Parties;

 

(b) review the progress of the Project;

 

(c) discuss substantial proposed changes in the scope or conduct of applicable clinical and animal studies;

 

(d) discuss clinical trial protocols, publications and regulatory submissions;

 

(e) coordinate the sharing of any Project Results identified in a Work Package as intended for use by other CEPI awardees;

 

(f) review and update the Project Continuity Plan;

 

(g) review and update the Equitable Access Plan; and

 

(h) discuss plans, as appropriate, for the development of manufacturing and its scale-up and scale-out.

 

2.4 Technical Reports and Access to Project Results. Awardee shall disclose all Project Results to CEPI’s Project Lead, at meetings of the JMAG and shall provide written reports of progress made under the iPDP using a template provided by CEPI (“Technical Reports”), within twenty (20) Business Days of the end of each calendar quarter during the term of the Project as set out in the iPDP. In addition, the Awardee shall make Project Results available to CEPI as described in the iPDP or otherwise as may reasonably be requested from time to time by CEPI.

 

2.5 Stage Gate Review. Unless otherwise addressed in a Work Package for a given Stage Gate, when Awardee believes that a Stage Gate in a Work Package will be achieved in the near term, Awardee shall notify the JMAG promptly and provide relevant information (including the completion of a form provided by CEPI) and request a meeting of CEPI’s committee authorised to assess whether Stage Gates have been completed (the “Stage Gate Review Committee”). Awardee’s Project Manager shall coordinate with CEPI’s Project Manager to schedule a Stage Gate Review Committee meeting as early as possible, but no later than fifteen (15) Business Days before the planned meeting date. CEPI shall notify Awardee of the Stage Gate Review Committee’s decision as soon as possible, but no later than twenty (20) Business Days after the meeting date.. If the Stage Gate Review Committee determines that the Stage Gate was not completed, CEPI shall promptly discuss with Awardee potential actions to be taken in order to complete such Stage Gate.

 

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2.6 Subawardees. Project activities may be undertaken by Subawardees that are identified in a Work Package and associated Budget as of the Effective Date or are proposed by Awardee and reasonably approved by CEPI in writing after the Effective Date.

 

2.7 CEPI Service Providers. CEPI has entered into certain service agreements with CEPI Service Providers that have agreed to provide preferential charging to CEPI awardees. CEPI shall make available various laboratory services or other support to Awardee provided by a CEPI Service Provider, for example, by providing testing of clinical serum samples, evaluation of immunity of Project Vaccine in animal models and various analytical services. Awardee agrees to make Commercially Reasonable Efforts to utilise any CEPI Service Provider for the provision of services as may be specified in a Work Package and agreed in writing between the Parties. Awardee and the CEPI Service Provider may, at their own discretion, enter directly into an appropriate agreement between themselves setting out the terms on which the services will be provided. CEPI shall, through the JMAG or otherwise, discuss with Awardee protocols and data management related to any services provided by any CEPI Service Provider.

 

3 Use of Funds; Procurement; Project Records:

 

3.1 Use and Management of Funds. The Budget sets out the total funding to be provided by CEPI to Awardee for each Work Package. Awardee shall use this funding only in accordance with a Work Package unless otherwise agreed in writing by CEPI in advance. Awardee shall manage all funds received by Awardee for the Project (whether CEPI funds or funds provided by a third party) with financial controls and practices consistent with U.S. GAAP, IFRS or local GAAP, and further in compliance with applicable CEPI policies and procedures as described in Clause 11.2 of this Agreement.

 

3.2 Use of Sub-Contractors.

 

(a) Awardee may use sub-contractors to undertake work pursuant to the Work Packages on its behalf provided that such sub-contractors are listed in Annex F or they have been approved by CEPI in advance in writing (“Sub-Contractors”). Such Sub-Contractors may be retained without a tender process.

 

(b) The use of any Sub-Contractors that are not included in the iPDP and Budget as of the Effective Date must be approved in advance in writing by CEPI and managed by Awardee in compliance with Clause 11.2. Awardee’s selection and use of Sub-Contractors must be undertaken in compliance with Section 14 of the Third Party Code and Cost Guidance.

 

(c) If Awardee is using a Sub-Contractor to undertake work pursuant to a Work Package, the funding allocated for the Sub-Contractor will be determined based on costs pre-approved in writing by CEPI, which may include a modest profit.

 

(d) Awardee shall ensure that each Sub-Contractor is subject to all of the obligations, as between the Awardee and the Sub-Contractor, applicable to Awardee under this Agreement, including the obligations relating to auditing, inspection, record keeping, use of funds, compliance obligations analogous to those in the Third Party Code and Cost Guidance, and all other compliance obligations as are applicable to Awardee under this Agreement. Awardee shall be responsible for the acts and omissions of its Sub-Contractors that participate in the Project as if such acts and omissions were those of the Awardee itself.

 

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(e) Awardee shall ensure that each Sub-Contractor (i) assigns or grants a licence in respect of all Enabling Rights to the Awardee in order to enable the grant of the Public Health License to CEPI pursuant to Clause 13.4 of this Agreement; or (ii) directly grants the Public Health License to CEPI pursuant to Clause 13.4 of this Agreement.

 

(f) Awardee shall notify CEPI promptly in writing if any Sub-Contractor is not in compliance with the representations and warranties in Clause 17 or any other terms of this Agreement.

 

3.3 Use of Sub-Grantees.

 

(a) Subawardees that are “Sub-Grantees” will be identified as such in the iPDP and will be funded using the same grant structure as the grant received by Awardee under this Agreement.

 

(b) Awardee shall ensure that Sub-Grantees only appoint Sub-Contractors in accordance with the provisions of Clause 3.2.

 

(c) The funding allocted to a Sub-Grantee will be based on actual costs incurred in line with a budget approved by CEPI in writing and determined on a without-profit basis.

 

(d) The use of any Sub-Grantees that are not included in the iPDP and Budget as of the Effective Date must be approved in writing in advance by CEPI and managed by Awardee in accordance with Clause 11.2 of this Agreement, Section 15 of the Third Party Code, and Cost Guidance.

 

(e) Awardee shall ensure that each Sub-Grantee agrees in writing to be subject to all of the obligations applicable to Awardee under this Agreement, including the obligations relating to auditing, inspection, record keeping, use of funds, compliance with the Third Party Code and Cost Guidance, and all other compliance obligations as are applicable to Awardee under this Agreement. Awardee shall be responsible for the acts and omissions of its Sub-Grantees that participate in the Project as if such acts and omissions were those of the Awardee itself.

 

(f) Awardee shall ensure that each Sub-Grantee (i) assigns or grants a licence in respect of all Enabling Rights to the Awardee in order to enable the grant of the Public Health License to CEPI pursuant to Clause 13.4 of this Agreement; or (ii) directly grants the Public Health License to CEPI pursuant to Clause 13.4 of this Agreement.

 

(g) Awardee shall notify CEPI promptly in writing if any Sub-Grantee is not in compliance with the representations and warranties in Clause 17 or any other terms of this Agreement.

 

3.4 Payments. Payments to Awardee under this Agreement shall be made in U.S. dollars (US$) to Awardee’s bank account identified on the Agreement Summary. CEPI shall make payments in tranches covering six (6) month periods as set out in the Budget. Awardee shall be entitled to submit a payment request form to CEPI upon execution of this Agreement and thereafter at the same time as the semiannual financial reporting. Tranches of funding for each payment request submitted under this Agreement in accordance with the Budget shall be paid by CEPI within twenty (20) Business Days after receipt and approval by CEPI of all of the following: (i) payment request by Awardee; (ii) any quarterly Technical Report due at the time of the payment request; and (iii) any quarterly Financial Report due at the time of the payment request; each to be submitted using templates provided by CEPI. Payments may be adjusted by CEPI to reflect any underspend as well as any interest earned on unutilised funds as noted in the Financial Report.

 

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3.5 Delayed Payments. CEPI may delay or condition a payment if:

 

(a) Awardee has not achieved a material milestone in accordance with the iPDP by the agreed time, unless such delay has been approved in writing by the JMAG in accordance with the Team Charter or otherwise by CEPI;

 

(b) The Awardee or any Subawardees are no longer in compliance with the representations and warranties in Clause 17 at the time the payment tranche is requested; or

 

(c) Awardee has not reasonably completed the payment request form or submitted reasonably satisfactory Technical Reports and Financial Reports.

 

3.6 Hold on Payment During a Material Breach. CEPI is not obliged to pay any tranches of funding for any Work Package for so long as Awardee is in breach of a material obligation under this Agreement.

 

3.7 Retained Final Payment. CEPI shall retain ten percent (10%) of the payment tranche in respect of the final 6 months’ of the term of the Project and release it within twenty (20) Business Days after approving Awardee’s final Technical Report and Financial Report for the final Work Package.

 

3.8 Financial Reports. Awardee shall provide reports of its expenditure under the Budget with supporting documentation and using a template provided by CEPI (“Financial Reports”) within thirty (30) Business Days of the end of each calendar quarter during the term of the Project or such other date(s) as may be identified in the Budget. Awardee shall submit a final Financial Report for a Work Package within sixty (60) days after the completion of any Work Package.

 

3.9 Project Records. Awardee shall keep accurate records of its Project activities and expenditure under each Work Package and retain them for a period of five (5) years from the end of the term of the applicable Project.

 

3.10 Access to Financial Records. During the Term and for a period of five (5) years after expiration or termination of this Agreement, CEPI, or its designee (which shall be an internationally recognised certified public accounting firm, not engaged on a contingent basis), and at CEPI’s reasonable cost, shall have on-site access to inspect Awardee’s Project-related financial records once annually upon at least fifteen (15) Business Days’ advance written notice. Such inspections shall be conducted during normal operating hours in a manner to minimise disruption to Awardee’s and/or Sub-Grantee’s business. For clarity, access to such records also shall be provided to records related to Cost of Goods as described in Clause 15.

 

3.11 Project Financial Audits. During the Term and for a period of five (5) years after expiration or termination of this Agreement, if requested by CEPI, and at CEPI’s reasonable cost, once annually upon at least fifteen (15) Business Days’ notice, Awardee’s external auditors shall conduct a Project audit in accordance with ISA800 and/or ISA805 and like standards and provide CEPI with audited statements. Such inspections shall be conducted during normal operating hours in a manner to minimise disruption to Awardee’s business.

 

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4 Further Funding:

 

4.1 First Right to Fund. Where practicable CEPI likes to continue to participate in its programmes throughout their life cycle. In the event that (a) Awardee reasonably requires any funding for the development, manufacture and/or deployment of a Project Vaccine in addition to the funding to be provided by CEPI pursuant to the Budget; or (b) Awardee receives any offer or indication of interest from a third party to provide funding support for the development, manufacture and/or deployment of a Project Vaccine; Awardee shall provide prompt written notice to CEPI, including a summary of the amount of funding required or offered and the terms (if any) offered by any potential third party funder (each a “Further Funding Notice”). CEPI shall have the first right (but not the obligation), at CEPI’s sole discretion, to provide such further funding support to the Awardee for the development, manufacture and deployment of the Project Vaccine and shall provide written notice to the Awardee of any such election within thirty (30) days of receipt by CEPI of a Further Funding Notice. The Awardee shall not accept any third party funding support in respect of the development, manufacture and/or deployment of a Project Vaccine unless and until the earlier of (i) CEPI has provided written notice that it does not wish to provide such further funding; or (ii) Awardee has not received an election from CEPI to provide such further funding within thirty (30) days of receipt by CEPI of a Further Funding Notice.

 

4.2 Participation By Other Funders. Each Party acknowledges that additional third party funding support for the Project may become available to either Party. For example, other funders may offer to fund certain activities under a Work Package or the scale-up and scale-out of Project Vaccine production. Subject to Clause 4.1 and Awardee’s representations in Clause 17.2, the Parties shall, in good faith, use reasonable endeavours to facilitate such participation and make appropriate revisions to relevant Work Packages and the Budget, as well as managing any potentially conflicting commitments.

 

5 Ownership of Project Results; Intellectual Property:

 

5.1 Awardee’s Background IP. Awardee shall retain ownership of its Background IP. Nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to assign any ownership interest in such Background IP to CEPI, without prejudice to the licence rights of CEPI expressly set out in this Agreement.

 

5.2 Ownership of Project Intellectual Property. Awardee shall own any Intellectual Property invented by either Party and arising under the Project, subject to the rights of CEPI to use Project Intellectual Property expressly set out in this Agreement. Awardee shall have the right, but not the obligation, to seek IP protection in respect of any Project Intellectual Property at its own cost. Upon request, but no less than annually, Awardee shall provide a written update to CEPI regarding the status of Project Intellectual Property rights sought and obtained.

 

5.3 Ownership of Project Results. Awardee shall own the Project Results, subject to the rights of CEPI to use Project Results expressly set out in this Agreement.

 

5.4 Third Party IP. The Parties shall notify each other promptly regarding any third party IP they become aware of that might impact Awardee’s ability to perform its obligations under this Agreement and activities contemplated under the Project Continuity Plan and Equitable Access Plan. The Parties shall cooperate in good faith to resolve any such matters.

 

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6 Clinical Trials:

 

6.1 Clinical Trials. Awardee shall undertake the clinical trials as described in the clinical development plan in the iPDP (the “Project Clinical Trials”), in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including requirements related to use of clinical data outside of the country in which a given Project Clinical Trial is conducted. Awardee shall ensure that all Project Clinical Trials comply with CEPI’s Clinical Trial Policy referred to in Clause 11.2.

 

6.2 Clinical Trial Protocols: Preparation. Awardee shall be responsible for the preparation of clinical trial protocols for the Project Clinical Trials. Awardee shall provide CEPI and/or CEPI’s designee with a draft of each clinical trial protocol for the Project Clinical Trials and shall consult with and consider any reasonable suggestions made by CEPI and/or its designee regarding the clinical trial protocols reasonably in advance of finalising the relevant clinical trial protocol and submitting it to the institutional review boards, ethics committees, and/or regulatory authorities.

 

6.3 Clinical Trial Protocols: Reporting of Submitted Versions. Awardee shall provide to CEPI a copy of all clinical trial protocols as submitted to institutional review boards, ethics committees and regulatory authorities in respect of the Project Clinical Trials.

 

6.4 Clinical Data. Informed consent shall be obtained from each clinical trial subject to allow, to the extent permitted by law:

 

(a) the transfer of anonymised or pseudonymised data to CEPI and/or CEPI’s designee; and

 

(b) the collection and use of biological samples and the use of data (duly anonymised or pseudonymised (at CEPI’s discretion) and, at CEPI’s request, blinded) derived from such samples by CEPI or its designated Assessors (as defined herein) for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

6.5 Sponsorship and Management of Clinical Trials.

 

(a) Awardee shall be the sponsor of any clinical trial (unless CEPI and Awardee otherwise agree in writing), and shall be responsible for obtaining and maintaining all regulatory and ethical committee approvals necessary or reasonably useful for the conduct of the Project Clinical Trials.

 

(b) In respect of each Project Clinical Trial, Awardee shall establish an internal Trial Steering Committee (“TSC”) and either a Safety Monitoring Committee or Data Safety Monitoring Board, as applicable (each, a “DSMB”). CEPI shall be entitled to appoint, and Awardee shall permit, a CEPI representative or designee to attend all meetings of each Project Clinical Trial’s TSC and/or DSMB as an observer (either in person or by telephone, video or other electronic means). Subject to Clause 6.5(c) below, Awardee shall provide a copy to CEPI of all papers that a member of the TSC and/or DSMB would be entitled to receive at the same time as any such papers are provided to the members of the TSC and/or DSMB (as applicable).

 

(c) In the event that CEPI’s attendance at a meeting of the TSC and/or DSMB or receipt of papers would, in the Awardee’s reasonable discretion acting in good faith, jeopardise the integrity/blinded nature of an ongoing Project Clinical Trial, the Awardee shall promptly notify CEPI of such fact and CEPI shall not be entitled to, and Awardee shall not be required to permit CEPI to, attend such meeting or receive such papers at that time. During an ongoing Project Clinical Trial, Awardee will continue to provide CEPI with all open session DSMB documents, DSMB recommendation forms and other “open” documents identified by both Parties in the iPDP and/or protocol for such Project Clinical Trial. After a Project Clinical Trial l is unblinded, Awardee shall provide a copy of all papers that were provided to the members of the TSC and/or DSMB and/or that a member of the TSC and/or DSMB would be entitled to receive.

 

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6.6 Safety Notifications. Awardee shall notify the JMAG in writing promptly following any single safety event of concern or a series of safety events considered by the DSMB as relevant in relation to the Project Vaccine and within 48 hours from the time when such event or series of events becomes known to Awardee.

 

6.7 Records and Reporting. Awardee shall ensure that all data in relation to the Project Clinical Trials and any other clinical trials undertaken by or on behalf of Awardee or Subawardee with respect to the Project Vaccine are appropriately recorded and that all such records are kept up to date and maintained in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. Awardee will ensure that CEPI is able to review and verify all anonymised or pseudonymised data at the end of the relevant Project Clinical Trial or other clinical trial and will promptly following the end of such Project Clinical Trial or such other clinical trial provide a copy of, or access to, such anonymised or pseudonymised data to CEPI in such form as CEPI may reasonably require.

 

6.8 Priority for Clinical Trials. Awardee acknowledges that the pool of subjects available in areas of Outbreak to participate in a clinical trial to test the Project Vaccine may be limited. Accordingly, if WHO, CEPI or a regulatory authority in the area where the clinical trial is to be conducted determines that a product other than a Project Vaccine has substantially greater potential and should be prioritised instead for a particular clinical trial, Awardee shall not unreasonably proceed with a clinical trial of such Project Vaccine unless required to do so by a relevant regulatory authority or a Pre-existing Agreement. Awardee shall be reimbursed for its reasonable, non-cancellable costs incurred resulting from such determination to not proceed.

 

6.9 Potential WHO Clinical Trials.

 

(a) Awardee shall not unreasonably decline to participate in a Phase IIb or III clinical trial as requested and funded by WHO and/or CEPI to compare the Project Vaccine with other COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

 

(b) In the event of such participation by Awardee, Awardee will, promptly following the end of such clinical trial, provide a copy of the final study report to CEPI.

 

7 Regulatory Activities:

 

7.1 Regulatory Activities. Awardee shall pursue the regulatory activities described in the iPDP.

 

7.2 Meetings with Regulatory Authorities. Awardee shall notify CEPI in writing of any material meetings with regulatory authorities at least five (5) Business Days in advance of such meetings, or if Awardee itself receives less than five (5) Business Days notice of such a meeting, as soon as practicable. CEPI or its designee may, at CEPI’s option, observe all material interactions between Awardee and regulatory authorities relating to the Project Vaccine. At CEPI’s reasonable request, Awardee shall request a meeting with regulatory authorities to address any significant unresolved issues.

 

7.3 Regulatory Filings. Awardee shall consult regularly with CEPI regarding regulatory strategy for a Project Vaccine and shall provide advance copies of all material regulatory submissions for review and comment by CEPI no later than ninety-six (96) hours prior to their contemplated submission to a regulatory authority. If a final version is not available by ninety-six (96) hours prior to submission, then a mature draft version may be electronically delivered to CEPI for review at that time. Additionally, Awardee shall upload copies of the following to a confidential electronic archiving service designated by CEPI:

 

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(a) all submissions to regulatory authorities and regulatory filings in respect of a Project Vaccine together with all data included or referenced therein (other than ministerial or routine submissions that do not involve safety or efficacy issues); and

 

(b) material documents and information exchanged between any regulatory authority and the Awardee relating to a Project Vaccine including official meeting minutes.

 

8 Animal Studies:

 

8.1 Animal Studies. Awardee shall pursue studies involving animals as described in the iPDP, in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations and further in compliance with Clause 11.2.

 

9 Dissemination of Project Results; Publication:

 

9.1 Dissemination of Project Data. Awardee shall disseminate pre-clinical and clinical trial data (including any negative results, model animal Project Vaccine-related deaths and any toxicology study issues) produced under the Project (collectively, “Project Data”), as described in the iPDP and this Agreement or as otherwise agreed by the JMAG.

 

9.2 Dissemination of Project Materials. Awardee shall disseminate biological samples, Project Vaccines, and other tangible materials produced under the Project (collectively, “Project Materials”) as described in the iPDP and this Agreement or as otherwise agreed by the JMAG. If Awardee develops animal models under the Project, they shall also be considered Project Materials and disseminated as described in the iPDP and this Agreement or as otherwise agreed by the JMAG.

 

9.3 Publication of Project Data for the Outbreak Research Community. Project Data shall be shared by the Awardee and CEPI openly and rapidly with the broader community to inform the public health response and help save lives. Key principles of this sharing of data have been agreed to by funders, research organisations, government agencies, civil society organisations and for-profit life science enterprises, as described in the Wellcome Trust’s Statement on Sharing Research Data and Findings Relevant to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Outbreak to which CEPI is a signatory. Additional guidance is provided in (i) WHO’s 2016 Guidance for Managing Ethical Issues in Infectious Disease Outbreaks; and (ii) WHO’s 2016 Guidance on Good Participatory Practices in Trials of Interventions Against Emerging Pathogens.

 

9.4 Clinical Trial Registration and Results:

 

(a) Clinical trials must be registered through an easily discoverable existing public route such as clinicaltrials.gov, The EU Clinical Trials Register, and/or the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. The information provided shall follow the current WHO Trial Registration Data Set. The clinical trial ID or registry identifier code/number shall be included in all publications of clinical trials.

 

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(b) Clinical trial results (including negative results) must be disclosed publicly following database lock in as close to real time as is possible. Publication should be made through an easily discoverable existing public route (website or system) that includes a metadata description, where patient privacy is upheld, and the system follows a request-for-information approach (where requests are fulfilled subject to an independent review and approval step). Clinical trial data shall be submitted for publication within four (4) months after each final study report or comparable report is submitted to CEPI. During the same time period, Awardee shall make the results available to the national Ministry of Health or equivalent in the countries where trials are held. Related clinical trial data shall be deposited in an open sharing platform such as ClinicalStudyDataRequest.com, Vivli Center for Global Clinical Research Data, or an equivalent service.

 

9.5 Open Access. CEPI requires “Open Access” for all Project Results. This means that the Awardee must ensure that a copy of the final manuscript of all research publications, journal articles, scholarly monologues and book chapters published under this Clause 9 is deposited into PubMed Central (or Europe PubMed Central) or otherwise made freely available upon acceptance for publication or immediately after the publisher’s official date of final publication. Moreover, Awardee shall ensure that all peer-reviewed published research that is funded, in whole or in part, by CEPI shall be published in accordance with the principles of Plan S (“Accelerating the transition to full and immediate Open Access to scientific publications”), a UK and European data sharing initiative for research funded by public grants. Awardee shall comply with CEPI’s reasonable requests to share information in a preprint service such as bioRxiv.

 

9.6 Statement of Support in Publications. All such publications shall include a statement that the work was “supported, in whole or in part, by funding from CEPI” (or such other words to the same effect) and shall credit, where appropriate, the country in which any clinical trials were performed.

 

10 Independent Assessors:

 

10.1 Independent Assessors. As required in a Work Package or as otherwise reasonably requested by CEPI, Awardee shall cooperate with and provide reasonable assistance to independent third-party laboratories or consultants (“Assessors”) (which may include but is not limited to the Task Force for Global Health and its Safety Platform for Emergency vACcines (SPEAC) Project), retained in confidence and at CEPI’s expense, to consult on development of clinical trial protocols, explore development strategies, and evaluate Project Results, including the Project Vaccine. Awardee acknowledges that such Assessors may provide CEPI with directly comparable evaluations of similar materials developed under CEPI’s portfolio of awarded projects. The results of the testing, analysis, meta-analysis or other assessments by such Assessor(s) shall be subject to the confidentiality obligations of this Agreement. At Awardee’s reasonable request, CEPI shall provide Awardee with access to the results of any evaluation of Project Results by an Assessor solely to the extent such assessment directly relates to the Project Results and Project Vacine. For clarity, CEPI shall not be required to grant access to any information regarding CEPI’s portfolio of other awarded projects.

 

10.2 Awardee and the Assessor(s) may, at their own discretion, enter directly into an appropriate agreement between themselves to the extent necessary to facilitate any Assessor’s activities under Clause 10.1, such as a non-disclosure agreement or material transfer agreement. CEPI shall, through the JMAG or otherwise, discuss with Awardee protocols and data management related to any Assessor’s activities under Clause 10.1.

 

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10.3 Awardee Cooperation. Awardee shall provide reasonable assistance to CEPI and any designated Assessor to facilitate any Assessor’s activities under Clause 10.1, including:

 

(a) ensuring that any samples to be transferred or exported by or on behalf of Awardee from a clinical trial site or sample storage site are transferred and/or exported pursuant to the terms and conditions of a material transfer agreement to be entered into between Awardee and the Assessor in a form reasonably acceptable to CEPI, the Awardee and the Assessor, in addition to any other applicable laws and regulations.

 

(b) cooperating with regard to any data analysis, to the extent relevant under a given Work Package or otherwise reasonably requested by CEPI by:

 

(i) providing data or other information generated under this Agreement to CEPI’s designated Assessor as CEPI may instruct, including data regarding CMC, formulation or the results of any of its pre-clinical or clinical trials (duly anonymised and, upon CEPI’s request, blinded) and other documents and information such as study protocols, case report forms needed to develop standardised approaches and tools for safety data management;

 

(ii) providing CEPI’s designated Assessor with other data (duly anonymised and, upon CEPI’s request, blinded) as CEPI may reasonably request in order to conduct comparative assessments; and

 

(iii) providing CEPI’s designated Assessor with clinical trial data (duly anonymised and, at CEPI’s request, blinded) for the purposes of signal detection or meta-analyses of safety data (including across product candidates).

 

11 Compliance:

 

11.1 Compliance with applicable laws. Awardee shall comply with all laws and regulations that are applicable to its activities, operations and use of CEPI funds under the Project.

 

11.2 CEPI’s Third Party Code and Cost Guidance. The Third Party Code is a statement of CEPI’s values and of the policies, practices and principles applicable to recipients of CEPI funding. CEPI shall notify Awardee of material changes to the Code without undue delay. CEPI’s Cost Guidance provides additional information regarding the treatment of costs.

 

(a) Awardee acknowledges the statement of CEPI’s values in Section 1 of the Code.

 

(b) Awardee shall adhere to business practices, ethical principles and legal requirements that are at least substantially similar to those described in Sections 2 to 10 of the Code.

 

(c) Awardee confirms that it has understood and will comply with the provisions of the ‘Accurate Records and Documentation’ paragraph in Section 10 of the Code, which may entail obtaining records and financial documentation from Sub-Contractors and Sub-Grantees to be provided to CEPI or its designated auditor.

 

(d) Awardee shall comply with the requirements for reporting compliance concerns and misconduct to CEPI subject to applicable law (Sections 4 and 11 of the Code).

 

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(e) Awardee shall cooperate as may be requested by CEPI in the submission of information related to Project activities and expenditures in accordance with the International Aid Transparency Initiative (Section 12 of the Code).

 

(f) Awardee shall comply with CEPI’s Equitable Access Policy, which is further described in Clause 14 of this Agreement.

 

(g) To the extent applicable to the Project, Awardee shall comply with CEPI’s Animals in Research Policy.

 

(h) To the extent applicable to the Project, Awardee may rely upon its own substantially similar policies and principles so as to comply with: (i) CEPI’s Clinical Trials Policy; (ii) CEPI’s Managing Conflicts of Interest Policy; (iii) CEPI’s Scientific Integrity Policy; and (iv) CEPI’s Travel and Expenses Policy.

 

(i) Awardee shall comply with the provisions of the Third Party Code related to Sub-Contracts (Section 14 of the Code) and to Sub-Grants (Section 15 of the Code).

 

11.3 Compliance Audit. During the Term and for a period of five (5) years after expiration or termination of this Agreement, CEPI, or an auditor appointed by CEPI, shall be entitled to audit Awardee’s performance of its compliance obligations under this Agreement, upon reasonable notice. Such audits may include requests for documentation concerning Awardee’s own costs as well as Subawardees’ costs in connection with the Project, and Awardee shall use all reasonable endeavours to provide such documentation to CEPI without undue delay.

 

11.4 Compliance by Sub-Contractors and Sub-Grantees. CEPI’s Third Party Code and Cost Guidance apply to all third parties which receive funds from CEPI, either directly or indirectly. The compliance obligations in this Clause 11 of the Agreement therefore also apply to all Sub-Contractors and Sub-Grantees and Awardee shall ensure that all such Sub-Contractors and Sub-Grantees comply in full with the obligations set out in this Clause 11.

 

12 Ready Reserve of Clinical Trial Material:

 

12.1 Ready Reserve. CEPI may instruct and fund Awardee to undertake the manufacturing and maintenance of a Ready Reserve of Clinical Trial Material through an additional Work Package, which may include doses from consistency batches if so directed by CEPI. For purposes of this Agreement, a “Ready Reserve of Clinical Trial Material” means a quantity of doses for potential use in a clinical trial, which Project Vaccine has not yet received a marketing approval. Such Ready Reserve of Clinical Trial Material may be used for further clinical trials, to advance product development and for emergency use subject to obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals and consents, in each case in emergency situations based on national or international guidance (such as from WHO) or in such other manner, in each case as CEPI may reasonably determine. If required by CEPI, an additional Work Package covering such activities shall be negotiated expeditiously and in good faith by the Parties.

 

12.2 Management of Ready Reserve. The Parties agree that CEPI may delegate the management of the Ready Reserve of Clinical Trial Material to WHO or another CEPI designee, at its discretion.

 

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13 Project Continuity:

 

13.1 Awardee Contingency Plan. Awardee shall prepare and maintain a contingency plan to minimise any potential disruption to the Project, and provide a copy of the plan to CEPI in confidence as it relates to the Project as required under the iPDP.

 

13.2 Project Continuity Plan. Because of the exigent nature of the Outbreak, the iPDP shall include a Project Continuity Plan that, at a minimum, shall address the following items:

 

(a) responsibilities and level of access on the part of other collaborators, Subawardees and consortium members, if any, to Project Results and Enabling Rights;

 

(b) management of key Project Materials through participants in the Project and other entities such as the BioEscrow® deposit service of the American Type Culture Collection;

 

(c) identification of a proposed third party, within a timeframe to be established in the iPDP, such as a Subawardee, under contract to Awardee, which is capable of performing the activities in agreed Work Packages, any additional Work Packages or a Project expansion (“Trusted Collaborator”), in the event that Awardee is unable to continue its activities under this Agreement or declines CEPI’s request to undertake additional Work Packages or a Project expansion. Awardee’s Subawardee agreement(s) with Trusted Collaborator shall expressly permit Awardee to assign the agreement to CEPI if so requested by CEPI pursuant to Clause 13.6; and

 

(d) requirement for the Awardee to use its reasonable endeavours to sign Subawardee agreement(s) with one or more operational manufacturing facilities at one or more geographically dispersed manufacturing sites located in LMICs, within a timeframe to be established in the iPDP, or within such other time period as may be set out in the iPDP from time to time, which Awardee will contract with as described in the iPDP to produce Project Vaccine for use in the Field (“Trusted Manufacturer”). Awardee’s Subawardee agreement(s) with Trusted Manufacturer(s) shall (i) comply with the relevant requirements of this Agreement; (ii) enable Awardee to use the Trusted Manufacturers to produce the Project Vaccine for supply in accordance with Clause 15.5 (Volume Commitment); (iii) shall include a right for CEPI to reserve manufacturing capacity with the Trusted Manufacturer; and (iv) shall expressly permit Awardee to assign the agreement to CEPI if so requested by CEPI pursuant to Clause 13.6. The terms of such Subawardee agreement shall be subject to CEPI’s prior written consent. Awardee shall notify CEPI of the identity of the Trusted Manufacturer(s) and provide a copy of the relevant final Subawardee agreement(s) to CEPI without undue delay after the entry into the Subawardee agreement(s).

 

13.3 Alternative Designations by CEPI. If Awardee does not designate a Trusted Collaborator and/or Trusted Manufacturer, or a designated Trusted Collaborator and/or Trusted Manufacturer notifies Awardee that they are no longer available, then CEPI may propose a Trusted Collaborator or Trusted Manufacturer to Awardee. Neither Party may unreasonably decline to accept the designation of a proposed Trusted Collaborator under Clause 13.2 or this Clause 13.3. Once designated and under contract to pursue Project activities, a Trusted Collaborator and Trusted Manufacturer shall be a Subawardee for the purposes of this Agreement.

 

13.4 Public Health Licence. Subject to the terms of this Agreement, Awardee hereby grants (and shall ensure that each Subawardee grants) a worldwide, non-exclusive, irrevocable, fully paid up, royalty free Public Health Licence to CEPI, on the condition that CEPI may only exercise the rights granted under the Public Health Licence in the event that:

 

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(a) CEPI is not in material breach of its obligations under this Agreement; and

 

(b) one or more of the triggers set out in Clause 13.5 has occurred.

 

CEPI shall be entitled to sublicense Project Results and Enabling Rights included in the Public Health Licence in accordance with this Clause 13. Each sublicence shall be in writing and CEPI shall require that each sublicensee complies with the terms of the Public Health Licence.

 

13.5 Public Health Licence Triggers. Consistent with Clause 13.4, CEPI shall have the right to exercise the Public Health Licence in the event that any one or more of the following events occurs:

 

(a) Awardee declines to participate in an additional Work Package or Project expansion that CEPI has offered to fund, either directly or indirectly through a Subawardee;

 

(b) CEPI and Awardee agree, in good faith, that Awardee shall not be able to perform the activities under an agreed Work Package, either directly or indirectly through a Subawardee;

 

(c) Awardee is in material breach of this Agreement or the Equitable Access Plan and has not cured such breach within thirty (30) Business Days of notification of such breach by CEPI, unless otherwise mutually agreed in writing; or

 

(d) the Agreement is terminated by CEPI pursuant to Clause 20.2(a)-(b) (default or insolvency) or 20.3(c) – (e) (unavailability to perform Project activities, failure to satisfy payment criteria or fraud).

 

For clarity, CEPI shall only have the right to exercise the Public Health Licence in the events set out in Clauses 13.5(a) and (b) during the Term.

 

In the event that CEPI exercises the Public Health Licence, CEPI shall provide prompt written notice of such exercise to VBI and shall use its reasonable endeavours to exploit the rights granted to it under such Public Health Licence. On expiry of the later of (i) the Term; (ii) the date that is five years from the end of the Pandemic Period; or (ii) ten years from the Effective Date; and provided that CEPI has not exercised its rights under the Public Health License in accordance with this Clause 13.5, the Public Health License granted pursuant to Clause 13.4 shall lapse and be of no further force and effect.

 

13.6 Agreement between CEPI and the Trusted Collaborator or Trusted Manufacturer. In the event that the Public Health Licence is exercised, CEPI may request assignment of the relevant Trusted Collaborator or Trusted Manufacturer contracts from Awardee to CEPI or, at CEPI’s discretion, CEPI may endeavour to reach agreement directly with the Trusted Collaborator and/or Trusted Manufacturer, as the case may be, to perform such activities as CEPI may deem necessary. At CEPI’s request, Awardee shall use all reasonable endeavours to facilitate the conclusion of a direct contractual relationship between the Trusted Collaborator or Trusted Manufacturer, as the case may be, and CEPI. If those negotiations do not result in an agreement within twenty (20) Business Days from the initiation of negotiations, then CEPI may grant rights under its Public Health Licence to a third party unilaterally designated by CEPI as a Trusted Collaborator or Trusted Manufacturer, without approval from Awardee.

 

13.7 Effects of Exercise of the Public Health Licence. Upon exercise of the Public Health Licence by CEPI and provision of written notice to Awardee, Awardee shall promptly:

 

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(a) provide CEPI with an up-to-date list of Enabling Rights and applicable Background IP, along with an invoice for any payments due under any licence agreement for Third Party Background IP attributable to the grant of the Public Health Licence to CEPI or a sublicensee;

 

(b) provide CEPI with a good faith schedule of key technology transfer activities and estimated direct costs for the technology transfer in Clause 13.6;

 

(c) promptly and diligently transfer to the Trusted Collaborator and/or Trusted Manufacturer, as the case may be, all Project Results, Project Materials described in Clause 13.2(b), all guidance, information, materials and assistance reasonably required to accomplish the Project activities identified by CEPI. Such transfer shall be (i) in the event the Public Health Licence is exercised by CEPI pursuant to Clause 13.5(a) or (b), at CEPI’s reasonable cost; or (ii) in the event the Public Health Licence is exercised by CEPI pursuant to Clause 13.5(c) or (d), at Awardee’s cost; and

 

(d) and Awardee hereby does undertake not to sue CEPI or its designee for the exercise of the Public Health Licence.

 

14 Further Development Projects:

 

14.1 Additional COVID-19 Candidate. During the Term (including any period of continued funding), CEPI shall have the first right (but not the obligation), at CEPI’s sole discretion, to elect to contribute funding to support the Awardee for the development, manufacture and deployment of any Additional COVID-19 Candidate. In the event that Awardee identifies any Additional COVID-19 Candidate, Awardee shall provide prompt written notice to CEPI of the existence of such Additional COVID-19 Candidate (an “Additional COVID-19 Candidate Notice”) and shall provide to CEPI a summary of all material information and data regarding such Additional COVID-19 Candidate available to Awardee. Awardee shall further provide to CEPI all such information as CEPI may reasonably request regarding such Additional COVID-19 Candidate in order for CEPI to evaluate its interest in providing funding support for the development, manufacture and/or deployment of such Additional COVID-19 Candidate. Within thirty (30) days of receipt by CEPI of any Additional COVID-19 Candidate Notice, CEPI shall provide written notice to Awardee of its desire to provide funding support to Awardee for the development, manufacture and deployment of such Additional COVID-19 Candidate. If CEPI elects to provide such funding support to Awardee, Awardee and CEPI shall discuss and agree, in good faith, a Work Package detailing the rapid development, manufacture and deployment of the Additional COVID-19 Candidate and, following the written agreement of both Parties to the Work Package and updated iPDP, such Additional COVID-19 Candidate shall become a Project Vaccine. If CEPI does not elect to provide funding support in respect of any Additional COVID-19 Candidate within thirty (30) days of receipt by CEPI of any Additional COVID-19 Candidate Notice, then Awardee shall be free to develop and seek funding from any third party for such development of the relevant Additional COVID-19 Candidate.

 

14.2 Disease X Project. During the Term and for a period of five (5) years after expiration or termination of this Agreement, CEPI may provide written notice to the Awardee at any time if it wishes to discuss the funding of a further project to be performed by Awardee for the development, manufacture and/or deployment of a platform technology which could be used in respect of any unknown “disease X” that poses (or has the potential to pose) an increased public health risk due to its epidemic potential, as may be identified by CEPI or listed on the WHO Blueprint from time to time. For a period of five (5) years after expiration or termination of this Agreement, CEPI may also provide written notice to the Awardee at any time if it wishes to discuss the funding of any Additional COVID-19 Candidate. Following receipt of any such written notice by Awardee, CEPI and Awardee shall negotiate expeditiously and in good faith the terms of a new agreement for any such further project, and any funding to be provided by CEPI to Awardee in respect of such project for a period of up to ninety (90) days. Both Parties shall use their reasonable endeavours to agree to terms relating to any such further project within ninety (90) days but neither party shall be obligated to enter into an agreement. For clarity, neither Party shall be deemed to have defaulted under or to be in breach of this Section 14.2 for failure to agree such terms within the ninety (90) day period, provided that the relevant Party has used its commercially reasonable endeavours to do so.

 

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15 Equitable Access:

 

15.1 Commitment to Equitable Access. The Awardee and CEPI each confirm that they are committed to achieving “Equitable Access” to the results of all CEPI-supported programmes whether in an outbreak or pandemic situation in accordance with the “Equitable Access Policy” referenced in CEPI’s Third Party Code and in Clause 11.2. Equitable Access means that a Project Vaccine will be made available first to populations at risk when and where they are needed at affordable prices.

 

15.2 Project Vaccine Registration. Awardee shall cooperate with CEPI or CEPI’s designee to take such actions as are reasonably agreed and funded as agreed between the Parties in the Budget to register Project Vaccines in countries identified as priorities which are set out in the iPDP or as may be mutually agreed by the Parties in an advanced purchase agreement or otherwise. If Awardee is not the licence holder for the purposes of registration in a given country, then Awardee shall be responsible for ensuring that any applicable Subawardee facilitates such registrations as instructed by and funded as agreed between the Parties in the Budget. As soon as practicable, Awardee shall liaise with WHO to apply for WHO pre-qualification or a similar registration system to the extent available and shall implement such systems as soon as they have been approved by WHO.

 

15.3 Global Allocation and Purchase. It is the Parties’ expectation that Gavi, pursuant to COVAX (or a similar purchasing entity as otherwise reasonably directed by CEPI), shall provide funding to purchase the Project Vaccine and be responsible for its allocation. Awardee shall respond promptly to any Gavi or UNICEF or CEPI identified Request for Proposal for a COVID-19 vaccine. Awardee shall negotiate in good faith with Gavi (or as otherwise reasonably directed by CEPI) to sign a purchase commitment or purchase order to supply Project Vaccine as may be required by Gavi, CEPI or any designee of Gavi or CEPI whether during or after a Pandemic Period, in accordance with and subject to the provisions of Clauses 15.5 and 15.7. As part of the good faith negotiation, the Parties shall negotiate and settle the costs, expenses and other factors to be used in the calculation of COGs, such negotiation and settlement to, at all times, be guided by and reflect the principle that Awardee shall not suffer financial losses when supplying Project Vaccine to any market and take into account the amount of funding provided by CEPI and any other grants or public funding received by Awardee or Subawardee from third parties.

 

15.4 Pandemic Period Production Reporting. During the Pandemic Period, Awardee shall:

 

(a) provide the JMAG with a regularly updated quarterly statement of its actual capacity and a forecast of its planned capacity for the following four (4) calendar quarters for the manufacturing of Project Vaccine under this Agreement and otherwise;

 

(b) provide the JMAG with advance notice in writing of all manufacturing runs for the Project Vaccine in accordance with agreed forcasting;

 

(c) discuss in good faith with the JMAG how to achieve its requirements for doses of Project Vaccine, including any potential increase in Awardee’s manufacturing capacity.

 

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15.5 Volume Commitment. Awardee shall:

 

(a) during the Pandemic Period, produce Project Vaccine in quantities which shall be at least equal to the quantities described in the Work Package(s);

 

(b) during the Pandemic Period, subject only to the Awardee’s supply obligations under the Pre-existing Agreements (including Section 6.3.1 of the Canada Agreement) which have been communicated to CEPI as required under the iPDP, offer the Volume Commitment Percentage of the Project Vaccine produced pursuant to Clause 15.5(a) for purchase by Gavi, CEPI or their respective designees pursuant to Clause 15.3 during the Pandemic Period. For clarity, Awardee may not allocate or agree to supply such Project Vaccine doses to other third parties, other than as required pursuant to the Pre-existing Agreements, during the Pandemic Period without the express written permission of Gavi, CEPI or their respective designee;

 

(c) After the Pandemic Period, for a period lasting until the later of (i) five years from the end of the Pandemic Period; or (ii) ten years from the Effective Date; subject to the same limitations as Section 15.5(b), if CEPI determines in its reasonable discretion in consultation with the Awardee that a regional but not a global Outbreak exists, then Awardee shall offer a percent of the total quantity of the Project Vaccine produced for purchase by Gavi, CEPI or their respective designees pursuant to Clause 15.3 equal to the Volume Commitment Percentage multiplied by the percentage of the world population that resides in the region in which the Outbreak exists; save that where a regional Outbreak exists in a relatively small population (as reasonably determined by CEPI), the Parties shall discuss in good faith an increase in the Volume Commitment Percentage in order to adequately address such an Outbreak. For example, if the Volume Commitment Percentage was ** and there was an Outbreak in Africa, then, based on 2020 census data, approximately ** of Project Vaccine would be offered for purchase by Gavi;

 

(d) supply Project Vaccine doses to COVAX in a timely manner that enables COVAX represented economies to receive Project Vaccine in a similar timeframe to other third party customers;

 

(e) consistent with the commitments in Clauses 15.4 to 15.6, subject only to the Awardee’s supply obligations under the Pre-existing Agreements (including Section 6.3.1 of the Canada Agreement) which have been communicated to CEPI as required under the iPDP, sell the Project Vaccine doses to Gavi, CEPI or their respective designees during and after the Pandemic Period pursuant to Clause 15.3; and

 

(f) upon receipt of written request from CEPI, provide reasonable information to CEPI about its production, supply, pricing and sales of Project Vaccine which is sufficient for CEPI to evaluate whether such activities are in accordance with Awardee’s obligations under this Agreement;

 

(g) subject only to the Awardee’s supply obligations under the Pre-existing Agreements (including Section 6.3.1 of the Canada Agreement) which have been communicated to CEPI as required under the iPDP, use its Commercially Reasonable Efforts to provide an amount of doses to be reasonably determined by CEPI based on the Awardee’s worldwide supply capacity and the level and timing of CEPI’s funding contribution to the global initiative “Access to COVID-19 Tools (act) Accelerator” so as to ensure availability for all, subject to the inclusion of satisfactory liability protection (which may include participation in the Gavi no fault compensation programme) and regulatory conditions. This Agreement does not cover specific details with regard to the provision of doses to the COVID-19 Tools (act) Accelerator to be concluded and agreed separately with the relevant parties involved.

 

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15.6 Commercially Reasonable Efforts. With regard to its obligations under this Agreement, Awardee shall use its Commercially Reasonable Efforts to address the urgent medical need created by the COVID-19 pandemic by fulfilling such obligations, including achieving the objectives and timelines of each Work Package (including each Stage Gate in a Work Package) within the agreed timeframe, it being agreed that Awardee does not represent or warrant any particular outcome for any Work Package or any activity described in a Work Package or this Agreement.

 

15.7 Post-Pandemic Period Production and Supply. After the Pandemic Period, for a period lasting until the later of (i) five years from the end of the Pandemic Period; or (ii) ten years from the Effective Date, Awardee shall continue to produce and supply the Project Vaccine for purchase by Gavi, CEPI or their respective designees pursuant to Clause 15.3, as is required by Gavi, CEPI or their respective designees to meet the needs of AMC Countries for so long as there is demand for such supply, which quantity shall be set out in an advanced purchase agreement between the Awardee and Gavi, CEPI or their respective designees. Awardee shall negotiate and agree on the terms of any such advanced purchase agreement with Gavi, CEPI or their respective designees expeditiously and in good faith but Awardee shall not, for greater certainty, be subject to any commitments regarding volume save as otherwise set forth in Clause 15.5(c). Awardee undertakes to continue to sell Project Vaccine after the Pandemic Period for a period lasting until the later of (i) five years from the end of the Pandemic Period; or (ii) ten years from the Effective Date, to AMC Countries and to public sector entities that procure the Project Vaccine for use in AMC Countries (if there is a demand for such supply), at a reasonable price to achieve Equitable Access for populations in need of a Project Vaccine as well as an appropriate return on investment for vaccine manufacturers, and ensuring that on-going supply is commercially sustainable.

 

15.8 Re-emergence of Pandemic: In the event that the Pandemic Period has ended but there is a re-emergent pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, then the Parties shall negotiate in good faith to amend the agreement to address the Parties obligations during that period, in a manner consistent with the principles of Equitable Access applicable to the Pandemic Period set out in this Clause 15 (including in respect of timelines, supply volume and access).

 

15.9 Pricing Objectives. The Parties acknowledge that the price of the Project Vaccine is critical to achieving Equitable Access. Accordingly, Awardee agrees that its pricing shall be as reasonably required to achieve both Equitable Access for populations in need of a Project Vaccine as well as an appropriate return on investment for vaccine manufacturers, and ensuring that on-going supply is commercially sustainable. The Parties acknowledge that the availability of pandemic insurance as described in Clause 18.7 shall be relevant to pricing. For clarity the following shall be considered to have satisfied the Equitable Access Plan for the relevant doses of Project Vaccine:

 

(a) the purchase of Project Vaccine by Gavi, CEPI or their respective designee during the Pandemic Period as described above in this Clause 15;

 

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(b) during the Pandemic Period, and in respect of any region in which an epidemic is determined to exist according to Section 15.5(c), the sale of the Project Vaccine to Gavi, CEPI or their respective designee at no more than (i) **  for allocation to LMICs; (ii) ** for allocation to UMICs and (iii) ** for allocation to HICs; provided always that in each case the sale of the Project Vaccine to Gavi, CEPI or their respective designee shall be at a price that is no higher than the lowest price at which Awardee sells the Project Vaccine to any third party in respect of the relevant country other than as contemplated by the Canada Agreement;

 

(c) after the Pandemic Period for a period ending on the later of (i) five years from the end of the Pandemic Period; or (ii) ten years from the Effective Date, the sale of the Project Vaccine to Gavi, CEPI or their respective designee at no more than ** for allocation to LMICs, provided always that in each case the sale of the Project Vaccine to Gavi, CEPI or their respective designee shall be at a price that is no higher than the lowest price at which Awardee sells the Project Vaccine to any third party in respect of the relevant country; and

 

(d) during the Pandemic Period and after the Pandemic Period for a period ending on the later of (i) five years from the end of the Pandemic Period; or (ii) ten years from the Effective Date, the sale of the Project Vaccine not acquired by Gavi, CEPI or their respective designee at no more than ** for allocation to LMICs.

 

15.10 Costs and Sales. Consistent with the commitments and limitations in Clauses 15.4 to 15.9, Awardee shall:

 

(a) provide written quarterly updates to the JMAG during the Term and to CEPI during any period after the expiry of the Term that Awardee is making sales of Project Vaccine pursuant to Section 15.3 regarding its COGs for Project Vaccines and discuss relevant product development decisions that could affect COGs; and

 

(b) sell the Project Vaccine doses to Gavi, CEPI, or CEPI’s designee during and after the Pandemic Period pursuant to Clause 15.3.

 

15.11 Information about Production, Supply, Pricing and Sales. At any time during the Term, and during any period after expiry of the Term that Awardee is making sales of Project Vaccine pursuant to Section 15.3, upon written request by CEPI, Awardee shall provide reasonable information about its COGs, production, supply, pricing and sales of Project Vaccine sufficient to enable CEPI to evaluate whether such activities meet the Equitable Access Policy.

 

15.12 Audit of Cost of Goods. At any time during the Term, and during any period after expiry of the Term until the date that is five (5) years after the expiry of any pricing obligations pursuant to Clause 15.9, no more than once per twelve (12) month period and at CEPI’s reasonable cost, CEPI shall have the right to review or to designate an external auditor (which shall be an internationally recognised certified public accounting firm, not engaged on a contingent basis) to review Awardee’s financial records relevant to the information provided in Clause 15.9. Such audits will be conducted during normal operating hours in a manner which minimises disruption to Awardee’s business. In the event that the audit concludes that the COGs and production, allocation, supply or pricing of Project Vaccine doses are not substantially in accordance with the pricing obligations in Clause 15, then Awardee shall: (i) reimburse the reasonable costs of the audit; and (ii) take immediate steps, as advised by the auditors, to comply with the requirements of this Clause 5. The provisions of this Clause 15.12 shall also apply to any Subawardees and Trusted Collaborators.

 

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15.13 Equitable Access Plan. The Equitable Access Plan shall be reviewed by JMAG no less than every six (6) months and shall take into account changes in COGs over time, production yield and volume and production economics. The Equitable Access Plan shall be regularly updated during the Term of this Agreement.

 

15.14 Alternative to Purchase by Gavi. In the event that Gavi does not procure Project Vaccine as set out by the Parties in Clause 15.3, or does not continue such activities after the Pandemic Period relevant to this Clause 15, then CEPI, or its designee or their designated purchasing agent(s), shall have the rights accorded to Gavi in this Clause 15.

 

16 Commercial Benefits:

 

16.1 Commercial Benefits. CEPI is required by its own funders to obtain a share of any Awardee’s Commercial Benefits as a contribution to support CEPI’s programme activities. For clarity, examples of Commercial Benefits include the sales of a Project Vaccine at market prices, commercial licensing of Project IP, receipt of government-granted incentives such as Priority Review Vouchers and revenue from the commercialisation of combination, derivative or follow-on products (including antibody products, assays and vaccines) or application of production technology resulting in whole or part from CEPI funding.

 

16.2 Waiver of Commercial Benefits. In consideration for Awardee’s acceptance and compliance with the provisions of Clause 15, CEPI agrees to forgo any share of potential Commercial Benefits otherwise applicable under Sub-Clause 16.1 during the Pandemic Period. Following the Pandemic Period and except during a period of regional Outbreak pursuant to Section 15.5.(c), the Awardee shall promptly notify CEPI of any Commercial Benefits in respect of any sales of a Project Vaccine for which CEPI provides funding through Phase 2 clinical studies (or any Project Vaccine if (i) this Agreement is terminated by CEPI pursuant to Clause 20.2 or Clause 20.3(c) – (e); or (ii) Awardee does not accept further funding from CEPI offered on similar terms to those set out in this Agreement) in any country other than an AMC Country. Following receipt by CEPI of any such notice, Awardee and CEPI shall discuss the sharing of such Commercial Benefits in the Field, commensurate with CEPI’s funding contributions and stage of investment, through an appropriate mechanism agreed in good faith by the Parties within ninety (90) days.

 

17 Representations and Warranties:

 

17.1 Awardee Warranties. Awardee warrants that the following statements are true and correct to its reasonable knowledge and belief in so far as they relate to the Project as of the Effective Date:

 

(a) it has the full power and authority to enter into and assume its obligations under this Agreement;

 

(b) this Agreement has been duly executed and is legally binding and enforceable in accordance with its terms:

 

(c) it is in material compliance with all statutes, regulations, directives and requirements of any governmental entity;

 

(d) it does not infringe, misappropriate or violate the intellectual property, privacy or publicity rights of any third party;

 

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(e) it is not under any obligation, contractual or otherwise, to any person or third party in respect of the Enabling Rights that conflicts with or is inconsistent in any material respect with the terms of this Agreement or that would impede the complete fulfillment of its obligations under this Agreement;

 

(f) it has disclosed in writing to CEPI any actual or contemplated commitments or obligations to third parties for Project Vaccine doses;

 

(g) it has identified Enabling Rights in writing to CEPI;

 

(h) neither Awardee nor agreed Subawardees, if any, nor any officer or employee of the foregoing has been debarred or is subject to debarment by a regulatory authority or funding agency anywhere in the world;

 

(i) all financial and other information submitted to CEPI in relation to this Agreement is true, complete and accurate in all material respects; and

 

(j) to the extent that Awardee relies upon its own processes, procedures and policies to the extent specifically permitted for purposes of compliance with Clause 11.2, such processes, procedures and policies are substantially similar to those of CEPI.

 

17.2 Awardee Representations. During the Term of this Agreement, Awardee shall:

 

(a) notify CEPI promptly in writing in the event that any of the warranties set out in Sub-Clause 17.1 are no longer true and correct, and shall so notify CEPI at least at the time that Awardee requests any disbursement of Project funds;

 

(b) provide written updates to the JMAG regarding Enabling Rights acquired or created during the course of the Project;

 

(c) notify CEPI before accepting third-party funds related to the Project (not including public financings on a stock exchange, receipt of funds pursuant to the Canada Agreement or receipt of funds pursuant to the Loan and Guaranty Agreement dated May 22, 2020 between Variation Biotechnologies Inc., the Awardee and K2 Health Ventures LLC );

 

(d) make no encumbrances over, dispose of, or otherwise deal with the Project Results, Project Intellectual Property and/or Enabling Rights in any way that could be reasonably deemed inconsistent with this Agreement, including the Public Health Licence, or that could impede the complete fulfillment of its obligations under this Agreement, without the express written permission of CEPI; and

 

(e) notify CEPI promptly if it becomes aware that any actions are likely or have already been taken by the government of any country in which Awardee shall conduct Project activities that may adversely affect Awardee’s commitments in this Agreement, including Equitable Access. For clarity, such government actions may relate, for example, to the exercise of eminent domain or sovereign rights over Project Vaccine doses.

 

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17.3 Additional Awardee Representation. In the event that the Public Health Licence becomes exercisable and irrespective of whether the Agreement has expired or been terminated, Awardee shall make no encumbrances over, dispose of, or otherwise deal with the Project Results, Project Intellectual Property and/or Enabling Rights, in any way that may be inconsistent with the Public Health Licence, without the express written permission of CEPI.

 

17.4 CEPI Warranties. CEPI warrants that the following statements are true and correct to its reasonable knowledge and belief, in so far as they relate to the Project:

 

(a) it has the full power and authority to enter into and assume its obligations under this Agreement;

 

(b) it is in material compliance with all statutes, regulations, directives and requirements of any governmental entity; and

 

(c) it has not granted rights to any third party in respect of Project Results (other than in accordance with the terms of this Agreement).

 

17.5 No Other Warranties. EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT, NO PARTY MAKES, AND EACH PARTY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS, ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF DESIGN, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, VALIDITY OF PATENTS, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OF THIRD PARTIES, OR ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING, USAGE OR TRADE PRACTICES.

 

18 Insurance, Liability and Indemnification:

 

18.1 Insurance. Awardee shall maintain insurance sufficient to cover the activities, risks, and potential omissions relevant to the Project, including clinical trial liability insurance cover, in accordance with generally accepted industry standards and as required by law. Awardee shall provide CEPI with a certificate confirming such insurance upon request. In the event that the Public Health Licence becomes exercisable and CEPI exercises such rights, CEPI shall maintain comparable insurance protection.

 

18.2 Indemnification for Third Party Claims. Awardee shall indemnify and defend CEPI, its Affiliates, officers, directors, third party contractors, and employees, from and against any and all damages, and liabilities arising from claims asserted by third parties (including claims for negligence) which arise directly or indirectly out of or in connection with: (i) a breach of Awardee’s, or its Affiliate’s or Subawardee’s obligations under this Agreement; (ii) the research, development, manufacture, promotion or use of any Project Vaccine, Project Results or Enabling Rights (including for clarity, the use of any Project Results in development activities and clinical studies) conducted by Awardee, or its Affiliates or Subawardees; or (iii) any claim that the use of Awardee’s Intellectual Property Rights infringe the intellectual property rights of any third party, except to the extent such claim, damage or liability is caused by CEPI’s negligence or intentional misconduct. In the event that the Public Health Licence becomes exercisable and CEPI exercises such rights, the obligations of this Clause 18.2 shall apply to CEPI mutatis mutandis.

 

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18.3 Conduct of Responses to Third Party Claims. Each Party shall use all reasonable endeavours to inform the other Party promptly of any circumstances that are likely to give rise to a third party claim which may be covered by Clause 18.2 together with copies of all relevant papers and official documents. The indemnified party shall not take any material action in respect of any third party claim which is covered by Clause 18.2 without the consent of the indemnifying party, including any settlement of any such third party claim, provided such consent is not unreasonably conditioned, withheld or delayed. The indemnifying party shall have the right to assume control of defence of the claim and shall keep the indemnified party fully informed of the progress of all relevant third party claims which are covered by Clause 18.2 and shall fully consult with the indemnified party on the nature of any defence to be advanced in advance. The indemnified party may have its counsel participate in (but not control) the defence of a claim, at the indemnified party’s own expense.

 

18.4 Exclusions. Except in the event of a breach of a Party’s confidentiality obligations under Clause 19, neither Party shall be liable to the other Party for any loss of profits or economic loss; or indirect, incidental or consequential damages, whether in contract, warranty, negligence, tort, strict liability or otherwise, arising out of or in connection with any breach of or failure to perform any of the provisions of this Agreement.

 

18.5 Liability Cap. CEPI’s maximum liability in aggregate to Awardee arising out of this Agreement shall not exceed the aggregate of the total Work Package budget unless CEPI has exercised the Public Health Licence in which event CEPI’s maximum liability to Awardee arising out of this Agreement shall not exceed the greater of: (i) the aggregate of the total Work Package budget or (ii) CEPI’s total insurance cover for any clinical trials or provision of Project Vaccine under the Public Health Licence.

 

18.6 Exclusions from Liability Cap. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Agreement shall limit the liability of either Party in respect of: (i) personal injury or death arising out of that Party’s negligence or intentional misconduct; or (ii) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation or intentional misconduct.

 

18.7 Pandemic Insurance. The Parties acknowledge that, as of the Effective Date, WHO is considering an insurance mechanism that would provide insurance cover for the suppliers of investigational products for use in the case of a PHEIC declared by WHO. The Parties agree that, if and when this mechanism is established, they shall discuss in good faith the impact of such arrangements on the Parties’ obligations under this Agreement and how it would apply to the supply of Project Vaccines.

 

19 Confidentiality:

 

19.1 Confidential Information. Confidential Information means non-public information disclosed by one Party to the other and includes, in the case of Awardee, non-public information relating to its products, inventions, clinical trials and data. For avoidance of doubt, for so long as none of the exceptions in Clause 19.2 apply, COGs, production, supply, pricing and sales of Project Vaccine shall be deemed Confidential Information of Awardee, provided however that CEPI shall have the right to use and disclose such Confidential Information in a manner that anonymises Awardee’s identity by aggregating it with similar information from other of CEPI’s awardees or third parties. Each Party undertakes that during the Term of this Agreement as defined in Sub-Clause 20.1 and for five (5) years after its expiry or termination, it shall keep confidential and not disclose the other Party’s Confidential Information to any person other than its employees, agents, consultants, contractors, professional advisers, Subawardees and regulatory authorities and, in the case of CEPI, Gavi, COVAX, its funders and Assessors, who have a need to know and agree to respect its confidentiality. Each Party shall take commercially reasonable precautions to protect against unauthorised disclosure and shall use the other Party’s Confidential Information only for the purposes of carrying out is obligations under, and achieving this objectives of, this Agreement. For clarity, Project Results may be disclosed and utilised by the Parties as set out in and subject to the terms of this Agreement.

 

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19.2 Confidentiality Limitations. Confidential Information shall not include:

 

(a) information already known to the receiving Party or its Affiliates and which is not subject to pre-existing obligations of confidentiality;

 

(b) information that is independently developed by the receiving Party or its Affiliates;

 

(c) information that is or becomes part of the public domain other than by unauthorised disclosure by receiving Party;

 

(d) information properly obtained by the receiving Party or its Affiliates from a source that, to the best knowledge of the receiving Party, is not bound by a confidentiality obligation to the disclosing Party; and

 

(e) information to the limited extent that is required to be disclosed by a competent legal authority; provided that, where it is free to do so, the receiving Party shall give notice of such disclosure requirement to the disclosing Party as soon as reasonably practicable.

 

20 Term and Termination:

 

20.1 Term. This Agreement shall commence on the Effective Date identified in the Agreement Summary and shall continue in full force and effect until the earlier of: (i) five (5) years from the Effective Date; (ii) the time that all activities set out in any active Work Packages, including any additional Work Packages, have been completed including delivery of any payments; and (iii) the termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Clause 20 (the “Term”).

 

20.2 Termination by Either Party for Default or Insolvency. Either Party (the “Terminating Party”) may terminate this Agreement by giving written notice of termination, effective immediately, if the other Party (the “Defaulting Party”):

 

(a) breaches a material obligation in this Agreement and either fails to cure that breach within a cure period of thirty (30) Business Days after notice from the Terminating Party or such longer time if agreed in writing or, if the breach is not reasonably capable of cure within thirty (30) Business Days, fails to take prompt and reasonable steps to cure the breach and maintain such diligent efforts until cure is achieved; or

 

(b) makes any statutory arrangement with its creditors, resolves to or undergoes any insolvency proceeding anywhere in the world (except for the purpose of solvent amalgamation or reconstruction).

 

20.3 Other Termination by CEPI. CEPI shall be entitled, in its sole discretion, to terminate this Agreement by providing written notice of termination to Awardee in the following circumstances:

 

(a) with immediate effect if CEPI notifies Awardee that there are material safety, regulatory, scientific misconduct or ethical issues associated with continuing the Project, as reasonably determined by CEPI and, if such issue is capable of remedy, Awardee has failed to remedy such issue within ten (10) Business Days;

 

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(b) upon thirty (30) Business Days’ prior notice in writing, if CEPI determines that the Project must be materially limited in scope or terminated;

 

(c) CEPI reasonably determines that Awardee is unable to discharge its obligations under this Agreement, for example if key personnel or technology resources required for successful completion of the Project become unavailable to Awardee permanently or for a material period of time, and Awardee does not reasonably alleviate CEPI’s concerns within a cure period of thirty (30) Business Days or such longer time as may be agreed by the Parties in writing;

 

(d) Awardee does not satisfy the criteria in Clause 3.4 required for CEPI to pay funding tranches under a Work Package and fails to satisfy those criteria in full within a cure period of forty (40) Business Days or such longer time as may be agreed by the Parties in writing; or

 

(e) Awardee has committed fraud or a Financial Irregularity. For purposes of this Agreement, Financial Irregularity” includes any and all kinds of corruption, including bribery, nepotism and illegal gratuities; misappropriation of cash, inventory and all other kinds of assets; and making fraudulent financial and non-financial statements to CEPI.

 

20.4 Payments After Certain Terminations by Awardee. If this Agreement is terminated by Awardee pursuant to Clause 20.2(a) - (b) (default or insolvency on the part of CEPI) or terminated by CEPI pursuant to Clause 20.3(a) – (b) (issues precluding continuation of the Project or limiting of Project Scope by CEPI), then CEPI shall reimburse Awardee for all reasonably incurred expenses through termination and any non-cancellable expenses relating to Project activities that were included in the iPDP and/or authorised in writing by CEPI and including those that arise through termination and after the termination date, solely to the extent they are not otherwise covered by CEPI funding and provided always that Awardee uses all reasonable endeavours to minimise and mitigate any such expenses.

 

20.5 Effects of Termination by CEPI under Clause 20.2(a) - (b) or 20.3(c) - (d). If this Agreement is terminated by CEPI pursuant to Clause 20.2(a) - (b) (default or insolvency on the part of Awardee) or 20.3(c) - (d) (inability to proceed or financial issues with Awardee), then CEPI shall reimburse Awardee for all expenses reasonably incurred prior to termination and any non-cancellable expenses relating to the Project activities that were included in the iPDP and/or authorised in writing by CEPI and that arise either before or after the date of termination, provided always that Awardee uses all reasonable endeavours to minimise and mitigate any such expenses. Additionally, Awardee shall use all reasonable endeavours to, and only to the extent required to practice CEPI Public Health License, at CEPI’s expense:

 

(a) make all Project Data publicly available in such manner as CEPI may direct, except to the extent that to do so would result in the public disclosure of Enabling Rights or Awardee Confidential Information or Confidential Information of a third party that would not otherwise reasonably be publicly disclosed;

 

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(b) at CEPI’s sole discretion, either authorize access to or dispatch to CEPI (or its designee) by registered post or reputable courier services all Project Materials within twenty (20) Business Days of CEPI requesting such Project Materials in writing;

 

(c) grant rights to CEPI (or its designee) to any regulatory approvals and applications for regulatory approvals relating to the Project Vaccine;

 

(d) within twenty (20) Business Days of the date of termination, provide CEPI with an up-to-date list of all sublicence, contract manufacturing agreements and other third party agreements and arrangements to which Awardee is a party that solely relate to the development of the Project Vaccine and have deliverables or work outstanding as at the date of termination (the “Contracts”);

 

(e) as requested by CEPI, and to the extent it has the legal right to do so (i) assign the benefit (subject to the assumption of the burden) of one or more Contracts to CEPI (or its designee) and, where consent of a third party is required, seek to obtain such consent; (ii) novate one or more Contracts to CEPI (or its designee); or (iii) terminate one or more Contracts in accordance with its terms at Awardee’s cost;

 

(f) as requested by CEPI, perform technology transfer, on an expedited basis, to a Trusted Collaborator or Trusted Manufacturer, as the case may be; and

 

(g) as requested by CEPI, provide written confirmation or ratification in the event that CEPI exercises the Public Health Licence.

 

20.6 Additional Effects of Termination. Irrespective of the grounds for CEPI’s termination of the Agreement:

 

(a) CEPI shall not be required to make any further payments to Awardee under this Agreement or any Work Package other than as specified in this Clause 20;

 

(b) Awardee shall return any CEPI funds within twenty (20) Business Days from the date of termination that are unspent, if any, after deducting reimbursement to Awardee for all reasonably incurred expenses incurred prior to the termination date and any non-cancellable expenses relating to the Project activities that were included in the iPDP and/or authorised in writing by CEPI and that arise before or after the date of termination, provided always that Awardee uses all reasonable endeavours to minimise and mitigate any such expenses;

 

(c) each Party shall return or destroy, as requested by the other Party, the Confidential Information of the other Party, except that: (i) CEPI may retain the Project Results subject to the obligations of confidentiality set out in Clause 19, (ii) each Party may keep one (1) copy of such Confidential Information for monitoring compliance, and (iii) solely in the event that the Public Health Licence has been exercised, CEPI may retain such other Confidential Information reasonably required by CEPI to exercise and benefit from the Public Health Licence. Neither Party shall be required to delete copies of Confidential Information stored on automatic electronic backup systems;

 

(d) if there is an on-going clinical trial, unless agreed otherwise by the Parties in writing, Awardee shall ensure that no additional trial subjects are enrolled and the Parties shall work together to plan and implement a wind-down of the study in an orderly fashion, with due regard for patient safety and the rights of any participating subjects.

 

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20.7 Repayment of Funds for Financial Irregularity. Where termination is due to any Financial Irregularity or fraudulent or illegal activity by Awardee, Awardee shall repay to CEPI the amount of funds related to such Financial Irregularity or fraudulent or illegal activity within twenty (20) Business Days of the notice of termination.

 

20.8 Survival of Rights and Identified Clauses. Termination of this Agreement shall be without prejudice to the rights and duties of either Party accrued prior to termination or expiry of the Agreement. The following sections shall continue to be enforceable notwithstanding termination or expiry: Clauses 3.8-3.11, 5.1-5.3, 6.7, 6.9(b), 9, 11.2 (solely to the extent applicable to any surviving obligations under this Agreement), 11.3, 11.4, 13.4, 13.5, 13.6, 13.7, 14.2, 15.1, 15.3, 15.4, 15.5, 15.6, 15.7, 15.8, 15.9, 15.10, 15.11, 15.12, 15.14, 16, 17.3, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22.1, 22.2, 22.3, 22.4, 22.5, 22.7, 22.9, 22.10, 22.11, 22.12, 22.14, 22.16, 22.17 as well as any other provision, which by its nature, is intended to survive termination.

 

21 Resolving Differences:

 

21.1 Resolution by the JMAG. Awardee and CEPI shall cooperate in good faith to resolve differences and disputes about the Project (including any disputes under Clause 15.3) at the JMAG.

 

21.2 Escalation to Senior Management of the Parties. Any difference or dispute that cannot be resolved by the JMAG shall be submitted to the Parties’ respective Chief Executive Officers or designees for resolution. If the Parties remain unable to resolve such dispute within sixty (60) days of referral to the Chief Executive Officers or designees for resolution (or such additional time as mutually agreed in writing), then, with the exception of disputes relating to intellectual property, the Parties irrevocably submit to arbitration for its resolution upon referral of such dispute by either Party pursuant to Clause 21.3.

 

21.3 Arbitration. Any disputes to be resolved by binding arbitration (including any question regarding its existence, validity or termination or this Agreement), shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration under the Rules of the London Court of International Arbitration, which Rules are incorporated by reference into this Clause. The number of arbitrators shall be three (3). The seat, or legal place, of arbitration shall be London, England. The language to be used in the arbitral proceedings shall be English. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Party may seek specific performance, interim or final injunctive relief or any other relief of similar nature or effect in any court of competent jurisdiction. This Clause shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law provisions or rules that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction.

 

21.4 Public Health Licence. If CEPI invokes its rights under a Public Health Licence under Clause 13, then the Parties shall pursue an expedited resolution of any differences under Clause 21.2 within fourteen (14) days. However, because of the exigent circumstances in the Outbreak, Awardee agrees that CEPI may proceed under a Public Health Licence and the ultimate resolution of any dispute shall be limited to the recovery of monetary damages by Awardee under Clause 21.3 rather than any injunctive relief except to the extent that the dispute relates to disclosure of Confidential Information or to public safety.

 

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22 Miscellaneous:

 

22.1 Relationship of the Parties. Neither Party shall by reason of this Agreement be empowered to act as agent for the other Party or to pledge the credit of the other Party. Neither Party shall be held liable for or incur liability in respect of the acts or defaults of the other Party.

 

22.2 Announcements and Use of Names. Neither Party shall issue any press release, public statement or public announcement with respect to this Agreement without the prior written consent of the other Party except to the extent required by applicable law or the rules of any public stock exchange. Neither Party shall use the name or trademarks of the other Party or its Affiliates in any press release, public statement or publication without the named Party’s prior express written consent except to the extent required by applicable law or the rules of any public stock exchange. After the initial announcement, or as required by law, either Party may disclose a description of the Project, the names of each Party and its Project Lead, and the amount of the CEPI funding without the prior consent of the other Party.

 

22.3 Assignment. Neither Party shall, without the prior written consent of the other Party, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed, assign its rights or obligations under this Agreement to any third party, except that CEPI may do so to an organisation of equivalent charitable mission and Awardee may do so to an Affiliate or as part of a sale of the entire business consistent with the satisfaction of Awardee’s obligations under this Agreement, provided that in each instance, such permitted assignee assumes all rights and obligations under this Agreement. This Agreement will be binding upon, inure solely to the benefit of and be enforceable by each Party and their respective permitted successors and assigns.

 

22.4 Notice. Any notice to be given pursuant to this Agreement shall be in writing in the English language and shall be delivered by overnight courier, by registered, recorded delivery or certified mail (postage prepaid) to the address of the recipient Party provided in the Agreement Summary or such other address as a Party may from time to time designate by notice in writing. Any notice given pursuant to this Clause shall be deemed to have been received on the day of receipt, provided receipt occurs on a Business Day of the recipient Party or otherwise on the next following Business Day of the recipient.

 

22.5 Entire Agreement. This Agreement, including the Agreement Summary and Annexes, constitutes the entire agreement and understanding between the Parties relating to its subject matter and together they supersede and replace all prior arrangements, whether written or oral, between the Parties relating to the subject matter of this Agreement.

 

22.6 Amendments to this Agreement. No variation, amendment, modification or supplement to this Agreement, including its Annexes, shall be valid unless and until it is made in writing and signed by a duly authorised representative of each Party provided that minor amendments to administrative provisions of this Agreement may be made by exchange of emails between the Parties.

 

22.7 Order of Precedence. If there is any conflict between the provisions of this Agreement, the Third Party Code and any Work Package, then the provisions of this Agreement shall prevail, followed by the provisions of the Third Party Code, and finally by the provisions of the Work Package.

 

22.8 Force Majeure. Neither Party shall be deemed to have defaulted under or to be in breach of this Agreement for failure or delay in fulfilling material obligations when such failure or delay is directly caused by an event outside of their reasonable control which was not reasonably foreseeable on the Effective Date, including but not limited to acts of war, insurrections, acts of terrorism, acts of God or acts, omissions or delays in acting or failure to act by any of CEPI’s funders (collectively a “Force Majeure Event”). Each Party shall inform the other promptly and in writing of any Force Majeure Event and the Parties shall seek to agree on the appropriate course of action under the circumstances. In the case of an Outbreak, the Parties shall be expected to continue to carry out their obligations pursuant to applicable Work Packages with all due health and safety precautions.

 

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22.9 No Rights for Third Parties. A person who is not a Party to this Agreement has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act of 1999 or otherwise to enforce or to enjoy the benefit of any term of this Agreement except that Gavi shall have the right to enforce its rights under Clause 15 and Clause 19.

 

22.10 No Waiver. Neither Party shall be deemed to have waived any of its rights or remedies under this Agreement unless the waiver is expressly made in writing and signed by a duly authorised representative of that Party.

 

22.11 Headings. The captions to the clauses, subclauses and paragraphs are not a part of this Agreement but are merely for convenience to assist in locating and reading this Agreement.

 

22.12 Waiver of Rule of Construction. Each Party has had the opportunity to consult with counsel in connection with the review, drafting and negotiation of this Agreement. Accordingly, the rule of construction that any ambiguity in this Agreement shall be construed against the drafting Party shall not apply.

 

22.13 Business Day Requirements. In the event that any notice or other action or omission is required to be taken by a Party under this Agreement on a day that is not a Business Day then such notice or other action or omission shall be deemed to be required to be taken on the next occurring Business Day.

 

22.14 Further Assurances. Each Party shall duly execute and deliver, or cause to be duly executed and delivered, such further instruments and do and cause to be done such further acts and things, including the filing of such assignments, agreements, documents and instruments, as may be necessary or as the other Party may reasonably request in connection with this Agreement or to carry out more effectively the provisions and purposes hereof or to better assure and confirm unto such other Party its rights and remedies under this Agreement.

 

22.15 Counterparts and Electronic Signing. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Additionally, this Agreement may be signed electronically by exchanging signed PDF versions or by using an electronic signature platform which meets the European Union requirements for valid electronic signatures (such as DocuSign®).

 

22.16 Choice of Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law provisions or rules that would cause the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction.

 

22.17 Interpretation. In this Agreement:

 

(a) any headings in this Agreement shall not affect the interpretation of this Agreement;

 

(b) unless the context otherwise requires, reference to the singular includes the plural and vice versa, any reference to a person includes a body corporate and words importing one gender include both genders;

 

(c) a reference to a statute or statutory provision is (unless otherwise stated) a reference to the applicable UK or other country’s statute as it is in force for the time being, taking account of any amendment, extension, or re-enactment and includes any subordinate legislation for the time being in force made under it, and reference to a policy, procedure or protocol of CEPI is a reference to the version of the policy, procedure or protocol from time to time in force and duly communicated to the Awardee, provided that CEPI has not received any objection to any updated policy, procedure or protocol within ten (10) Business Days of receipt of notice by Awardee. In the event that CEPI receives any objection to any updated policy, procedure or protocol within thirty (30) days of receipt of notice by Awardee, the Parties shall discuss in good faith the reasons for such objection and determine the applicability of any such updates; and

 

(d) where the words “include(s)” or “including” are used in this Agreement, they are deemed to have the words “without limitation” following them, and are illustrative and shall not limit the sense of the words preceding them.

 

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Annex B: Team Charter

 

** 

 

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Annex C: Integrated Product Development Plan

 

** 

 

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Annex D: Budget

 

** 

 

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Annex E: List of AMC Countries, UMICs and HICs as at the Effective Date

 

1. AMC Countries

 

The 92 Gavi COVAX AMC-eligible countries and economies (based on 2018 and 2019 World Bank GNI data) which as at the Effective Date are:

 

Low income: Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Dem. Rep., Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, The Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Korea, Dem. People’s Rep., Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Yemen, Rep.,
     
Lower-middle income: Angola, Algeria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Bolivia, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, Rep. Côte d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Arab Rep., El Salvador, Eswatini, Ghana, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyz Republic Lao PDR, Lesotho, Mauritania, Micronesia, Fed. Sts., Moldova, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, São Tomé and Principe, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Bank and Gaza, Zambia, Zimbabwe
     
Additional IDA eligible: Dominica, Fiji, Grenada, Guyana, Kosovo, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Samoa, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tonga, Tuvalu.

 

2. Upper Middle Income Countries

 

Those countries identified by the OECD as having upper middle income economies, as may be updated from time-to-time by the OECD. As at the Effective Date the list is set out at under the column ‘Upper Middle Income Countries’.

 

http://www.oecd.org/dac/financing-sustainable-development/development-finance-standards/DAC-List-of-ODA-Recipients-for-reporting-2020-flows.pdf

 

3. High Income Countries

 

Those countries identified by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (or “OECD”) as having high income economies, as may be updated from time-to-time by the OECD. As at the Effective Date the list is set out at:

 

http://www.oecd.org/dac/financing-sustainable-development/development-finance-standards/DAC-List-of-ODA-Recipients-for-reporting-2020-flows.pdf

 

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Annex F: Sub-Contractors

 

[To to be updated during the term of the Agreement]

 

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Annex G: Pre-existing Agreements

 

The Canada Agreement

 

The NRC Agreement

 

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Exhibit 10.3

 

AMENDING AGREEMENT

 

This Amending Agreement (the “Agreement”), effective as of April 8, 2021 (the “Effective Date”), is by and between VBI VACCINES INC., a company organized under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada (“VBI”), and having a principal place of business at 310 Hunt Club Road, Suite 201, Ottawa ON K1V 1C1, and Brii Biosciences Limited, an exempted company organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands (“Brii Bio”), having its registered office at Vistra (Cayman) Limited, PO Box 3119, Grand Pavilion Hibiscus Way, 802 West Bay Road Grand Cayman KYI- 1205. VBI and Brii Bio are sometimes referred to as a “Party” and are collectively referred to as the “Parties”. Terms having capital letters which are not defined herein shall have the meanings given thereto in the Collaboration Agreement (as defined below).

 

WHEREAS, VBI and Brii Bio are parties to a certain Collaboration and License Agreement dated December 4, 2018 (the “Collaboration Agreement”);

 

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Collaboration Agreement, VBI and Brii Bio agreed that Brii Bio would conduct a Collaboration Clinical Trial in the Licensed Territory in order to support an application for Marketing Approval in the Licensed Territory;

 

WHEREAS, following execution of the Collaboration Agreement, the Parties decided that it would be preferable to expand the Collaboration Clinical Trial to countries outside the Licensed Territory for the purpose of supporting the application for Marketing Approval in the Licensed Territory;

 

AND WHEREAS, the Parties wish to amend the Collaboration Agreement in accordance with Section 17.4 thereof in order to set out their intention regarding expansion of the Collaboration Clinical Trial on the terms and conditions set out in this Agreement;

 

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants contained herein, the Parties agree as follows:

 

1. Amendment to Article 1 - Definitions. Effective as of the December 4, 2018, Article 1 of the Collaboration Agreement shall be amended as follows:

 

  (a) Section 1.18 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

1.18 Collaboration Clinical Trial” shall mean the Phase II Clinical Trial, to be conducted in accordance with the Development Plan in order to support an application for Marketing Approval in the Licensed Territory for the purpose of comparing VBI-2601 and a Novel Composition across multiple cohorts and dosing regimens.

 

(b) Section 1.93 shall be deleted in its entirety and replace with the following

 

1.93 VBI Know-How” shall mean all Know-How owned or Controlled by VBI (which includes Know-How of its Affiliates) as of the Effective Date or during the Term that is necessary or useful to research, develop, make, have made, distribute, use, sell, offer for sale, have sold, import, export and otherwise commercialize the Licensed Compounds or Licensed Products. For the avoidance of doubt, the “VBI Know-How” shall not include Joint Know-How.

 

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2. Amendment to Section 3.1 (b). Effective as of December 4, 2018, Section 3.1(b) of the Collaboration Agreement shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

(b) perform, or have performed, (i) studies (including Clinical Trials) and (ii) regulatory and other activities, each of (i) and (ii) as may be required to obtain and maintain Marketing Approval of the Licensed Products in the Licensed Territory; and

 

3. Amendment to Article 5. Effective as of December 4, 2018, Article 5 shall be amended as follows:

 

  (a) Section 5.1(a)(v) shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

  (v) technology transfer of immune-monitoring assays to support clinical development in support of an application for Marketing Approval in the Licensed Territory;

 

  (b) Section 5.1(b) shall be deleted in its entirely and replace with the following:

 

(a) Review and Amendment of the Development Plan. From time to time, and no less than once per calendar year, the Joint Steering Committee shall review the Development Plan and determine if any amendments or additions are required in order to advance the objective of obtaining Marketing Approval for a Licensed Product in the Licensed Territory. Any modifications or amendments to the Development Plan shall become effective when reduced to writing and signed by both Parties or when included in minutes of the JSC which are approved by both Parties.

 

  (b) Section 5.3(b) shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

(b) Post-Development Plan Costs. With the exception of costs related to Global Clinical Trials (as applicable), all Clinical Trials conducted for the purpose of supporting an application for Marketing Approval in the Licensed Territory following the conclusion of the Development Plan shall be borne by Brii Bio.

 

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4. Amendment to Article 7. Effective as of December 4, 2018, Article 7 shall be amended as follows:

 

  (a) Section 7.1(a) shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

(a) VBI shall supply quantities of Licensed Product for use by Brii Bio in the conduct of Clinical Trials to support an application for Marketing Approval in the Licensed Territory, either itself or through a Third Party Manufacturer, subject to Section 7.2, in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth on Schedule 7.1(a) hereto, including the deliverables, cost allocation and timeframes set forth therein. For the avoidance of doubt, VBI shall not be required to develop formulation processes for the manufacture of any Licensed Product other than VBI-2601 pursuant to this Section 7.1(a) and any such formulation processes shall be developed by the Parties pursuant to the terms of the Development Plan.

 

  (b) Section 7.2(a) shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

(a) At any time prior to the initiation of the first Phase III Clinical Trial (subject to Brii Bio’s ability to initiate an earlier transfer of Manufacturing Technology as set forth in Schedule 7.1(a) in the event that VBI is delayed by more than six (6) months in meeting its final deliverable obligations set forth therein) for the Licensed Product to support an application for Marketing Approval in the Licensed Territory, Brii Bio may elect to have VBI transfer manufacturing responsibility for clinical supply and commercial supply to a Third Party manufacturer either in the VBI Territory or the Licensed Territory (to the extent permitted by Applicable Law) (the “Third Party Manufacturer”); provided that, VBI shall have no obligation to commence such transfer until after the Collaboration Clinical Trial has been initiated. Once Brii Bio has elected to have VBI initiate such transfer, then VBI will use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to effect a transfer of the Manufacturing Technology in accordance with the requirements set forth in this Section 7.2(a), including the timeframes set forth in the foregoing sentence. The Parties shall mutually agree upon such Third Party Manufacturer through the JSC, provided that the selection of such Third Party Manufacturer shall be subject to Brii Bio’s final-decision making authority in accordance with Section 4.4(a). Once such selection has been made, the Parties shall enter into a three (3)-party Supply Agreement with such Third Party Manufacturer for commercial supply of Licensed Products solely to Brii Bio; provided that, VBI’s rights under such Third Party Manufacturer supply agreement shall be limited to ensuring that such Third Party Manufacturer (i) maintains the confidentiality of VBI’s Confidential Information, including any information related to the VBI Technology, (ii) complies with VBI’s obligations under the Ferring License, and (iii) complies with applicable Licensed Product specifications and Applicable Laws. VBI shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to fully enable such Third Party Manufacturer to manufacture Licensed Products, including through the technology transfer requirements set forth in Section 7.2(b) below.

 

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5. Amendment to Article 11. Effective as of December 4, 2018, Article 11 of the Collaboration Agreement shall be amended as follows:

 

  a) Section 11.1 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

11.1 Confidential Information. Except to the extent expressly authorized by this Agreement or otherwise agreed in writing by the Parties, the Parties agree that the receiving Party (the “Receiving Party”) shall keep confidential and shall not publish or otherwise disclose or use for any purpose other than as provided for in this Agreement any confidential or proprietary information and materials, patentable or otherwise, in any form (written, oral, photographic, electronic, magnetic, or otherwise) which is disclosed to it or to its Affiliates by the other Party or its Affiliates (the “Disclosing Party”) including, but not limited to, all Know How, Inventions and any other technical, regulatory or business information of whatever nature (collectively, “Confidential Information”). For purposes of this Agreement, (a) all VBI Know-How shall be Confidential Information of VBI and (b) all Brii Bio Know-How shall be Confidential Information of Brii Bio.

 

  (a) Section 11.2 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

11.2 Exceptions. Notwithstanding Section 11.1 above, the obligations of confidentiality and non-use shall not apply to Confidential Information that, in each case as demonstrated by competent evidence:

 

(a) was already known to the Receiving Party or any of its Affiliates, other than under an obligation of confidentiality, at the time of disclosure;

 

(b) was generally available to the public or was otherwise part of the public domain at the time of its disclosure to the Receiving Party or any of its Affiliates;

 

(c) became generally available to the public or otherwise part of the public domain after its disclosure by the Disclosing Party or one of its Affiliates and other than through any act or omission of the Receiving Party or any of its Affiliates in breach of this Agreement;

 

(d) was subsequently lawfully disclosed to the Receiving Party or any of its Affiliates by a Person other than the Disclosing Party, and who, to the best knowledge of the Receiving Party, did not directly or indirectly receive such information directly or indirectly from the Disclosing Party or one of its Affiliates under an obligation of confidence; or

 

(e) was independently developed by the Receiving Party or its Affiliate without use of or reference to any information or materials disclosed by the Disclosing Party or one of its Affiliates.

 

  (c) Section 11.3 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

11.3 Permitted Disclosures. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 11.1, each Party may disclose Confidential Information belonging to the other Party or its Affiliates as expressly permitted by this Agreement or if and to the extent such disclosure is reasonably necessary in the following instances:

 

(a) filing or prosecuting Patents as permitted by this Agreement;

 

(b) prosecuting or defending litigation as permitted by this Agreement;

 

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(c) submission to a Regulatory Authority in connection with a Marketing Approval of a Licensed Product;

 

(d) complying with applicable court orders, Applicable Law or governmental regulations including the requirements of any securities exchange;

 

(e) to those of its employees, Affiliates, contractors or agents who have a need to know such Confidential Information in order to enable the Receiving Party to carry out its obligations pursuant to this Agreement provided that such persons are subject to obligations of confidentiality and non-use at least equivalent in scope to the obligations set forth in this Article 11;

 

(f) to existing or potential acquirers or merger candidates; investment bankers; existing or potential investors, venture capital firms or other financial institutions or investors for purposes of obtaining financing, each of whom prior to disclosure must be bound by obligations of confidentiality and non-use at least equivalent in scope to those set forth in this Article 11; and advisors; provided, however, that neither Party shall make such disclosure to a competitor of the other Party, without obtaining the Disclosing Party’s prior consent in writing; and provided further, that each Party will remain responsible for any failure by any of the foregoing individuals to treat such Confidential Information as required under Section 11.1 as if such individuals were parties directly bound to the requirements of this Article 11.

 

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event a Party is required to make a disclosure of the other Party’s Confidential Information (including information belonging to such Party’s Affiliates), it shall, except where impracticable, give reasonable advance notice to the other Party of such disclosure and use efforts to secure confidential treatment of such information at least as diligent as such Party would use to protect its own confidential information, but in no event less than reasonable efforts; provided, that any Confidential Information so disclosed shall still be subject to the restrictions on use set forth in this Article 11. In any event, the Parties agree to take all reasonable action to avoid disclosure of Confidential Information hereunder.

 

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6. Amendment to Article 14. Effective as of December 4, 2018, Article 14 of the Collaboration Agreement shall be amended as follows:

 

  (a) Section 14.1 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

14.1 Indemnification of VBI. Brii Bio shall indemnify and hold harmless VBI and its Affiliates, and its and their directors, officers, employees and agents of such entities (the “VBI Indemnitees”) from and against any and all losses, liabilities, damages, penalties, fines, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and other expenses of litigation) (“Losses”) from any claims, actions, suits or proceedings brought by a Third Party (a “Third Party Claims”) incurred by any VBI Indemnitee, arising from, or occurring as a result of: (a) the development, manufacture, use, handling, storage, sale or other disposition of Licensed Product by Brii Bio or its Affiliates or Sublicensees in the Licensed Territory (which, for greater certainty, includes Clinical Trials conducted by Brii outside the Licensed Territory for the purpose of supporting an application for Market Approval in the Licensed Territory); (b) gross negligence or willful misconduct by or on behalf of Brii Bio or its Affiliates in performing any activities in connection with this Agreement; and (c) any material breach of any representations, warranties or covenants by Brii Bio under this Agreement; except, in each case ((a) – (c)), to the extent such Third Party Claims fall within the scope of the indemnification obligations of VBI set forth in Section 14.2.

 

  (b) Section 14.4 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

14.4 Insurance. Each Party, at its own expense, shall maintain product liability and other appropriate insurance (including D&O insurance) in an amount consistent with industry standards, for a company in a similar position to such Party, during the Term, which shall include, but not be limited to ten million Dollars ($10,000,000). Each Party shall ensure that its product liability insurance policy affords the other Party (and, in the case of VBI, its subsidiary SciVac Limited) the status of additional insured under such policy. Each Party shall provide the other Party with written notice at least thirty (30) days prior to any cancellation, nonrenewal or material change in the insurance described above. Each Party shall provide a certificate of insurance evidencing such coverage to the other Party upon request. If a Party’s insurance certificate for product liability insurance names any additional insured, then such Party shall ensure that the other Party is identified as an additional insured on such certificate. Each Party shall provide a certificate of insurance evidencing its D&O insurance annually. It is understood that such insurance shall not be construed to create a limit of either Party’s liability with respect to its indemnification obligations under this Article 14.

 

7. Amendment to Article 15. Effective as of December 4, 2018, Article 15 shall be amended as follows:

 

  (a) Section 15.3 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

15.3 Other Brii Bio Termination Rights.

 

(a) Voluntary Termination. Brii Bio shall have the right in its sole and absolute discretion, to terminate this Agreement, either with respect to a Region or in its entirety, upon one hundred and eighty (180) days prior written notice to VBI for convenience, without cause, and for any or no reason.

 

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(b) Termination for Safety Reasons. Brii Bio may terminate this Agreement at any time during the Term immediately upon providing written notice to VBI if a Data and Safety Monitoring Board or any Regulatory Authority in the Licensed Territory or in a country where a Clinical Trial is being conducted by Brii for the purpose of supporting an application for Market Approval in the Licensed Territory imposes a clinical hold on any Clinical Trial for a Licensed Product for six (6) consecutive months.

 

(b) Section 15.6 shall be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

 

15.6 Clinical Trials Upon Termination. In the event there are any on-going Clinical Trials of the Licensed Product in the Field for the purpose of supporting an application for Marketing Approval in the Licensed Territory as of the date of termination hereof, the Parties shall negotiate in good faith and adopt a plan to wind-down such Clinical Trials in an orderly fashion or, at VBI’s election, promptly transition such development activities to VBI or its designee, with due regard for patient safety and the rights of any subjects that are participants in any Clinical Trials and take any actions it deems reasonably necessary or appropriate to avoid any human health or safety problems and in compliance with all Applicable Laws.

 

8. Amendment to Schedule 7.1(a). As of the Effective Date, Schedule 7.1(a) shall be amended by the deletion of the second bullet point and its replacement with the following:

 

  VBI will provide clinical supply at VBI’s cost and expense for GMP Batch 0, GMP Batch 1, GMP Batch 2 and the Tox Study in support of 50mcg dose. Such clinical supply shall be transferred to Brii Bio in accordance with a mutually agreed upon material transfer agreement which shall be entered into by the Parties no later than 30 days prior to the first contemplated transfer of such clinical supply. VBI shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to provide additional quantities of clinical supply for Clinical Trials to support an application for Marketing Approval in the Licensed Territory to Brii Bio at VBI’s fully burdened manufacturing costs. Brii Bio will be responsible for any additional costs specifically related to the Brii Bio Adjuvant and required formulation for the Novel Composition.

 

9. Collaboration Agreement to Remain in Full Effect. Except as amended by this Agreement, the Collaboration Agreement shall continue to be in full force and effect, without amendment, and is hereby ratified and confirmed. The Collaboration Agreement shall henceforth be read and construed in conjunction with this Agreement.

 

10. Further Assurances. Each Party agrees to execute, acknowledge and deliver such further instruments, and to perform all such other acts, as may be necessary or appropriate in order to carry out the purposes and intent of this Agreement.

 

11. Execution and Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two (2) counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Executed signature pages of this Agreement may be scanned and delivered electronically and such signatures shall be deemed to bind each Party hereto as if they were original signatures.

 

[Signature Page Follows]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have executed Agreement as of the Effective Date.

 

  VBI VACCINES INC.
     
  By:

/s/ J. Baxter

  Name: J.R. BAXTER
  Title: CEO

 

  BRII BIOSCIENCES LIMITED
     
  By: /s/ Zhi Hong    
  Name: Zhi Hong
  Title: CEO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 31.1

 

CERTIFICATION

 

I, Jeffrey Baxter, certify that:

 

1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of VBI Vaccines Inc.;
   
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
   
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
   
4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15-d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

 

  a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
     
  b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
     
  c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
     
  d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

  a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
     
  b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Date: May 10, 2021  
   
  /s/ Jeffrey Baxter
  Jeffrey Baxter
 

Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 31.2

 

CERTIFICATION

 

I, Christopher McNulty, certify that:

 

1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of VBI Vaccines Inc.;
   
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
   
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
   
4. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15-d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

 

  a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
     
  b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
     
  c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
     
  d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5. The registrant’s other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

  a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
     
  b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Date: May 10, 2021  
   
  /s/ Christopher McNulty
  Christopher McNulty
  Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development
  (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 32.1

 

CERTIFICATION

 

In connection with the quarterly report of VBI Vaccines Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Report”), I, Jeffrey Baxter, Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) of the Company, hereby certify as of the date hereof, solely for purposes of Title 18, Chapter 63, Section 1350 of the United States Code, that to the best of my knowledge:

 

(1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d), as applicable, of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and

 

(2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company at the dates and for the periods indicated.

 

Date: May 10, 2021  
   
  /s/ Jeffrey Baxter
  Jeffrey Baxter
  Chief Executive Officer
  (Principal Executive Officer)

 

 

 

 

Exhibit 32.2

 

CERTIFICATION

 

In connection with the quarterly report of VBI Vaccines Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Report”), I, Christopher McNulty, Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) of the Company, hereby certify as of the date hereof, solely for purposes of Title 18, Chapter 63, Section 1350 of the United States Code, that to the best of my knowledge:

 

(1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d), as applicable, of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and

 

(2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company at the dates and for the periods indicated.

 

Date: May 10, 2021  
   
  /s/ Christopher McNulty
  Christopher McNulty
  Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Development
  (Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)