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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
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FORM 10-K
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(Mark One)
☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024
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 001-38693
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Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)
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Delaware |
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82-3562771 |
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
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(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) |
210 East Grand Avenue, South San Francisco, California 94080
(Address of principal executive offices including zip code)
Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (650) 457-2700
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Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
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Title of each class |
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Name of each exchange on which registered |
Common Stock, Par Value $0.001 Per Share |
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ALLO |
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The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
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.
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Large accelerated filer |
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Accelerated filer |
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Non-accelerated filer |
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Small reporting company |
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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 has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to § 240.10D-1(b). ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2024 (the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter) was approximately $354 million based on the closing price of the registrant’s common stock on June 28, 2024 of $2.33 per share, as reported by The Nasdaq Global Select Market.
The number of shares of Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of March 7, 2025 was 217,264,738.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the Registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement relating to the 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or before April 30, 2025, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report.
Unless the context requires otherwise, references in this report to “Allogene,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This Annual Report contains forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are contained principally in the sections entitled “Business,” “Risk Factors,” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations”. These statements relate to future events or to our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about:
•the success, cost, timing and potential indications of our product development activities and clinical trials;
•the timing of the initiation, enrollment and completion of planned clinical trials in the United States and foreign countries;
•our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our product candidates in any of the indications for which we plan to develop them, and any related restrictions, limitations, and/or warnings in the label of an approved product candidate;
•our ability to obtain funding for our operations, including funding necessary to complete the clinical trials of any of our product candidates;
•our ability and plans to research, develop, manufacture and commercialize our product candidates;
•our ability to attract and retain collaborators with development, regulatory and commercialization expertise;
•the size of the markets for our product candidates, and our ability to serve those markets;
•our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates;
•the rate and degree of market acceptance of our product candidates;
•our ability to develop and maintain sales and marketing capabilities, whether alone or with potential future collaborators;
•regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries;
•our ability to contract with and the performance of our and our collaborators’ third-party suppliers and manufacturers;
•our ability to develop and successfully operate our own manufacturing facility;
•the success of competing therapies that are or become available;
•our ability to attract and retain key scientific or management personnel;
•the accuracy of our estimates regarding expenses, future revenues, capital requirements and needs for additional financing;
•our use of cash and other resources; and
•our expectations regarding our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our product candidates and our ability to operate our business without infringing on the intellectual property rights of others.
In some cases, you can identify these statements by terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expects,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” or the negative of those terms, and similar expressions that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes. These forward-looking statements reflect our management’s beliefs and views with respect to future events and are based on estimates and assumptions as of the date of this report and are subject to risks and uncertainties. In addition, statements that “we believe” and similar statements reflect our beliefs and opinions on the relevant subject. These statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this Annual Report, and while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information.
These statements are inherently uncertain and investors are cautioned not to unduly rely upon these statements. We discuss many of the risks associated with the forward-looking statements in this Annual Report in greater detail under the heading “Risk Factors.” Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for our management to predict all risks, nor can we assess the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements we may make. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
You should carefully read this Annual Report and the documents that we reference in this Annual Report and have filed as exhibits to this Annual Report completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of the forward-looking statements in this Annual Report by these cautionary statements.
Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Trademarks and Trade names
This Annual Report contains references to our trademarks and to trademarks belonging to other entities. Solely for convenience, trademarks and trade names referred to in this Annual Report, including logos, artwork and other visual displays, may appear without the ® or TM symbols, but such references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that their respective owners will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto. We do not intend our use or display of other companies’ trade names or trademarks to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies.
RISK FACTOR SUMMARY
Below is a summary of the material factors that make an investment in our common stock speculative or risky. This summary does not address all of the risks that we face. Additional discussion of the risks summarized in this risk factor summary, and other risks that we face, can be found below under the heading “Risk Factors” under Item 1A of Part I of this Annual Report, and should be carefully considered, together with other information in this Annual Report before making investment decisions regarding our common stock.
Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Capital Needs
•We have incurred net losses in every period since our inception and anticipate that we will incur substantial net losses in the future.
•We will need substantial additional financing to develop our products and implement our operating plans. If we fail to obtain additional financing, we may be unable to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates.
•We may fail to meet our publicly announced guidance or other expectations about our business, which would cause our stock price to decline.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
•Our product candidates are based on novel technologies, which makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of product candidate development and the likelihood of obtaining regulatory approval.
•Our business is highly dependent on the success of our lead product candidates. If we are unable to advance clinical development, obtain approval of and successfully commercialize our lead product candidates for the treatment of patients in approved indications, our business would be significantly harmed.
•Our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that have halted and could in the future halt their clinical development, prevent their regulatory approval, limit their commercial potential or result in significant negative consequences.
•Our clinical trials may fail to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of any of our product candidates, which would prevent or delay regulatory approval and commercialization.
•No CAR T therapy has been approved as a part of first-line consolidation strategy for the treatment of LBCL patients, which presents significant regulatory, commercial, and operational risks, and there is no assurance of success in this unproven setting.
•We may encounter substantial delays in our clinical trials, or may not be able to conduct our trials on the timelines we expect.
•If we encounter difficulties enrolling patients in our clinical trials, our clinical development activities could be delayed or otherwise adversely affected.
•We may fail to successfully manufacture our product candidates, operate our own manufacturing facility, or obtain regulatory approval to utilize or commercialize from our manufacturing facility or at a CDMO, which could adversely affect our clinical trials and the commercial viability of our product candidates.
•We face significant competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively.
•We are highly dependent on our key personnel, and if we are not successful in attracting and retaining highly qualified personnel, we may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy.
•Changes in funding for the FDA, the SEC and other government agencies including comparable foreign regulatory authorities could hinder their ability to hire and retain key leadership and other personnel, prevent new products and services from being developed or commercialized in a timely manner or otherwise prevent those agencies from performing normal functions on which the operation of our business may rely, which could negatively impact our business.
Risks Related to the Development of Our Product Candidates
•Our engineered allogeneic T cell product candidates represent a novel approach to cancer treatment and treatment of autoimmune diseases, which creates significant challenges for us.
•Gene-editing is a relatively new technology, and if we are unable to use this technology in our intended product candidates, our revenue opportunities will be materially limited.
•We are heavily reliant on our partners, Cellectis and Servier, for access to TALEN gene editing technology for the manufacturing and development of our oncology product candidates.
•We are heavily reliant on our partner, Foresight Diagnostics, for access to their CLARITY™ MRD test for identifying eligible patients for our ALPHA3 trial.
Risks Related to Our Reliance on Third Parties
•We rely and will continue to rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval of or commercialize our product candidates.
Risks Related to Government Regulation
•The FDA and other comparable foreign regulatory approval processes are lengthy and time-consuming, and we may experience significant delays in the clinical development and regulatory approval of our product candidates.
•The FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our regulatory plan and we may fail to obtain regulatory approval of our CAR T cell product candidates.
•If we, or our collaborators, are required by the FDA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, to obtain approval (or clearance, or certification) of a companion diagnostic device in connection with approval of one of our product candidates, and we, or our collaborators, do not obtain, or face delays in obtaining, approval (or clearance, or certification) of a companion diagnostic device, we will not be able to commercialize the product candidate, and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
•We depend on intellectual property licensed from third parties and termination of any of these licenses could result in the loss of significant rights, which would harm our business.
•If our efforts to protect the proprietary nature of the intellectual property related to our technologies are not adequate, we may not be able to compete effectively in our market.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
•The price of our stock has been and may continue to be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
PART I
Item 1. Business
Overview
We are a clinical stage immuno-oncology company pioneering the development of genetically engineered allogeneic T cell product candidates for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. We are developing a pipeline of “off-the-shelf” T cell product candidates that are designed to target and kill cancer cells in patients or eliminate pathogenic autoreactive cells in patients with autoimmune disorders. Our engineered T cells are allogeneic, meaning they are derived from healthy donors for intended use in any patient, rather than from an individual patient for that patient’s use, as in the case of autologous T cells. We believe this key difference will enable us to deliver readily available treatments faster, more reliably, at greater scale, and to more patients.
Last year we executed our 2024 Platform Vision, which we believe will redefine the future of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T therapy by leveraging the unique attributes of allogeneic CAR T products. In furtherance of that vision, we continue to focus on three core programs:
1.Large B-Cell Lymphoma (LBCL): Potentially groundbreaking ALPHA3 Trial that we believe may leapfrog other CAR T’s and embed cemacabtagene ansegedleucel (cema-cel, previously ALLO-501A) in first line (1L) LBCL treatment in community cancer centers where most newly diagnosed patients seek care.
2.Autoimmune Disease (AID): ALLO-329, our next-generation CD19 Dagger® program, focuses on scalability and reduced or chemotherapy-free lymphodepletion, positioning allogeneic CAR T to potentially transform autoimmune management and meet the demand of the market.
3.Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC): TRAVERSE trial with ALLO-316 seeks to advance scientific innovation underlying the Dagger® technology to optimize CAR T cell expansion and persistence, thereby maximizing the potential of allogeneic CAR T in solid tumors while mitigating treatment-associated inflammatory response.
Our allogeneic approach involves engineering healthy donor T cells, which we believe will allow for the creation of an inventory of off-the-shelf products that can be delivered to a larger portion of eligible patients throughout the world. These potential benefits led our Executive Chair, Arie Belldegrun, M.D., who was previously the Chair and Chief Executive Officer at Kite Pharma (Kite, now a Gilead company), and our President and Chief Executive Officer, David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., previously Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development at Kite, to found our company with the driving purpose of accelerating the development of allogeneic CAR T cell therapies.
Although we are currently focusing on our three core development programs noted above, we continue to have a deep pipeline to further the research and development of allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates in both hematological malignancies and solid tumors. We believe our technology platform combined with our management team’s experience in immuno-oncology and specifically in CAR T cell therapy will help drive the rapid development and, if approved, the commercialization of potentially curative therapies for patients with aggressive cancer or who suffer from autoimmune diseases.
Our Approach
Our allogeneic CAR T cell development strategy has four key pillars: (1) engineering product candidates to minimize the risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a condition where allogeneic T cells can recognize the patient’s normal tissue as foreign and cause damage, (2) creating a window of persistence that may enable allogeneic T cells to expand and eradicate cancer cells in patients or pathogenic autoreactive cells in patients, (3) building a leading manufacturing platform to enable consistent and high quality production and (4) leveraging next generation technologies to improve the functionality of allogeneic CAR T cells.
For our oncology programs we use Cellectis, S.A. (Cellectis), TALEN® gene-editing technology to limit the risk of GvHD by engineering T cells to lack functional T cell receptors (TCRs), thereby preventing them from recognizing a patient’s normal tissue as foreign. With the goal of enhancing the expansion and persistence of our engineered allogeneic T cells, we use TALEN® technology to inactivate the CD52 gene in donor T cells and an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody to deplete CD52 expressing T cells in patients while sparing the therapeutic allogeneic T cells. We believe this enables a window of persistence for the infused allogeneic T cells to actively target and destroy cancer cells. We are also developing ALLO-647, our own anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody, which is designed to be used prior to infusing our other product candidates as part of a lymphodepletion regimen.
Our off-the-shelf approach is dependent on state-of-the-art manufacturing processes, and we believe we have built a technical operations organization with fully integrated in-house expertise in clinical and commercial engineered T cell manufacturing.
For our lead autoimmune program, we have a non-exclusive license with Arbor Biotechnologies relating to a CRISPR-based gene-editing technology for the development of allogeneic T cell product candidates directed against various targets, including CD19 and CD70 both of which ALLO-329 targets.
We have built our own current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) manufacturing facility in Newark, California, that we call Cell Forge 1 (CF1). We are currently utilizing CF1 for clinical manufacturing of our product candidates.
Finally, we plan to leverage next generation technologies to develop more potent product candidates and to develop product candidates to overcome premature rejection of allogeneic CAR T cells by the patient’s immune system. We believe next generation technologies will also allow us to further develop allogeneic T cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumors, which to date have been difficult to treat because of, among other factors, the lack of validated targets and tumor microenvironments that can impair the activity of T cells.
Our Pipeline
We are currently developing a pipeline of multiple allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates utilizing protein engineering, gene editing, gene insertion and advanced proprietary T cell manufacturing technologies. Our most advanced product candidate, cemacabtagene ansegedleucel, referred to as cema-cel (previously ALLO-501A), is an engineered allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate that targets CD19, a protein expressed on the cell surface of B cells and a validated target for B cell driven hematological malignancies. We are currently focused on developing cema-cel for LBCL. Our pipeline also includes ALLO-316 and ALLO-329. ALLO-316 is an engineered allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate that targets CD70, which is highly expressed in RCC and is selectively expressed in several other cancers thereby creating the potential for ALLO-316 to be developed across a variety of both hematologic malignancies and solid tumors. We are currently focused on developing ALLO-316 for RCC. ALLO-329, an engineered allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate that targets both CD19 and CD70, is in development for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIM), and systemic sclerosis (SSc). We have additional product candidates, but we have deprioritized these programs to allow us to focus on cema-cel, ALLO-316 and ALLO-329. Our pipeline is represented in the diagram below.
1Phase 2 designed to be registrational
Our lead product candidates include:
•Cemacabtagene ansegedleucel (cema-cel). We are enrolling a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial (ALPHA3) for cema-cel as part of a 1L treatment plan for newly diagnosed and treated LBCL patients who are likely to relapse and need further therapy. The design of the ALPHA3 1L consolidation trial builds upon the results demonstrated in the Phase 1 ALPHA2 trial and leverages an investigational diagnostic test developed by Foresight Diagnostics, Inc. (Foresight Diagnostics) that we believe will identify patients who have achieved remission by standard disease assessment but who have minimal residual disease (MRD) at the completion of 1L chemoimmunotherapy. The ALPHA3 trial is designed to study the impact of treating MRD positive patients with cema-cel. The study will randomize
approximately 240 patients who achieve a complete response or partial response to 1L therapy, but who are MRD positive. Patients will be randomized to receive either consolidation with cema-cel or the current standard of care, which is observation. The study design, which has event free survival (EFS) as its primary endpoint, initially includes two lymphodepletion arms:
–FCA: standard fludarabine and cyclophosphamide plus ALLO-647
–FC: standard fludarabine and cyclophosphamide without ALLO-647
One of these lymphodepletion arms will be discontinued following a planned interim analysis designed to identify the most appropriate regimen for this patient population. An initial safety and futility interim analysis will occur once 12 patients in each arm have been enrolled and followed for MRD conversion. If both treatment arms perform better than the control arm according to the futility criteria, but neither treatment arm shows a trend toward superiority relative to the other in this interim analysis, additional patients may be enrolled and analyzed before we select the final lymphodepletion regimen. The selection of the lymphodepletion regimen is anticipated around mid-2025, depending on the interim analyses results and overall trial progress.
•ALLO-316. We have completed enrollment in a Phase 1 clinical trial (TRAVERSE) of ALLO-316, an allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate targeting CD70, in adult patients with advanced or metastatic RCC. We presented interim results from the TRAVERSE trial at the International Kidney Cancer Symposium (IKCS) and The Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's (SITC) Annual Meeting in November 2024. See “—Product Pipeline and Development Strategy—Anti-CD70 Development Program—Results from the Phase 1 ALLO-316 TRAVERSE Trial” for information regarding the results. In October 2024, we announced that we received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation for ALLO-316 for adult patients with advanced or metastatic RCC. The RMAT designation was based on Phase 1 clinical data from the TRAVERSE trial indicating the potential of ALLO-316 to address the unmet need for patients with difficult-to-treat RCC who have failed multiple standard RCC therapies, including an immune checkpoint inhibitor and a VEGF-targeting therapy. Once we have obtained additional follow-up data on the enrolled patients, we plan to engage with FDA to establish the next steps for this development program.
•ALLO-329. Following the clearance of an IND in January 2025, we plan to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial (the RESOLUTION trial) of ALLO-329, an allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate targeting both CD19 and CD70, in adult patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, including lupus nephritis, idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, and systemic sclerosis in mid-2025. Inclusion of an anti-CD70 CAR in ALLO-329 incorporates the Dagger® technology, which is designed to reduce or eliminate the need for standard chemotherapy by preventing premature rejection while targeting CD19+ B-cells and CD70+ activated T-cells, both of which play a role in autoimmune diseases. The RESOLUTION trial will include two distinct lymphodepletion arms: one using a dose of cyclophosphamide alone which is used by rheumatologists, and another that eliminates lymphodepletion entirely.
•Other Product Candidates: While we have additional programs in our pipeline, our development priorities are focused on cema-cel (1L Consolidation in LBCL), ALLO-316, and ALLO-329. We will explore opportunities to partner with collaborators on product candidates across our pipeline.
Our History and Team
We believe we have established a leadership position in allogeneic CAR T cell therapy. In April 2018, we acquired certain assets from Pfizer Inc. (Pfizer), including strategic license and collaboration agreements and other intellectual property related to the development and administration of allogeneic CAR T cells for the treatment of cancer. We have an Exclusive License and Collaboration Agreement (the Servier Agreement) with Les Laboratoires Servier SAS and Institut de Recherches Internationales Servier SAS (collectively, Servier) to develop and commercialize cema-cel, and certain additional product candidates, and we hold the commercial rights to these product candidates in the United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom. The Servier Agreement gives us access to Cellectis’ TALEN® gene-editing technology for cema-cel. We also have an exclusive worldwide oncology license from Cellectis to use its TALEN® gene-editing technology for the development of allogeneic T cell product candidates directed against 15 different cancer antigens, including CD70 which ALLO-316 targets. We also have a non-exclusive license with Arbor Biotechnologies relating to a CRISPR-based gene-editing technology for the development of allogeneic T cell product candidates in the field of autoimmune diseases directed against various targets, including CD19 and CD70, both of which ALLO-329 targets.
Our world-class management team has significant experience in immuno-oncology and in progressing products from early-stage research to clinical trials, and ultimately to regulatory approval and commercialization. In particular, both Dr. Belldegrun and Dr. Chang led the development and approval of Yescarta® at Kite. Additionally, our Executive Vice President of Research and Development and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Zachary Roberts, was also instrumental in the development and execution of the clinical trials of Yescarta® across multiple indications.
Our Strategy
Our goal is to maintain and build upon our leadership position in allogeneic CAR T cell therapy. We plan to rapidly develop and, if approved, commercialize allogeneic CAR T cell products for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune disease that can be delivered faster, more reliably, and at greater scale than autologous T cell therapies. We believe achieving this goal could result in allogeneic CAR T therapy becoming a standard of care in cancer and autoimmune disease treatments and enable us to make potentially curative products more readily accessible to more patients throughout the world. Key elements of our strategy include:
•Repositioning our allogeneic CAR T product as the only CAR T to be part of a first-line (1L) consolidation approach. We seek to redefine the future of CAR T by potentially repositioning our allogeneic CAR T product as the only CAR T to be part of a first line (1L) treatment plan for newly diagnosed and treated LBCL patients who are likely to relapse and need further therapy. The design of the ALPHA3 1L consolidation trial builds upon the results demonstrated in the Phase 1 ALPHA2 trial and leverages an investigational diagnostic test developed by Foresight Diagnostics to identify patients who have MRD at the completion of 1L chemoimmunotherapy for treatment with cema-cel. The ALPHA3 trial was initiated in June 2024 and now has 40 sites activated and screening for patients with MRD. An interim analysis is anticipated around mid-2025 depending on the analyses and overall trial progress, and based thereon, the lymphodepletion regimen for the remainder of the trial will be selected.
•Expand our allogeneic CAR T platform into the treatment of autoimmune disease (AID). We are currently developing a next-generation product candidate, ALLO-329, which is an engineered allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate that targets CD19 and CD70. ALLO-329 incorporates our Dagger® technology. In January 2025, we announced that the FDA has cleared our IND for a rheumatology basket study of ALLO-329, our RESOLUTION trial. Incorporation of the Dagger® technology into an “off-the-shelf” CD19 product for use in AID is designed to reduce or eliminate the need for standard chemotherapy while targeting CD19+ B-cells and CD70+ activated T-cells, both of which play a role in AID. Initiation of the RESOLUTION trial is targeted for mid-2025 with initial proof-of-concept data available anticipated around year-end 2025.
•Build state-of-the-art gene engineering and cell manufacturing capabilities. Manufacturing allogeneic T cell product candidates involves a series of complex and precise steps. We believe a critical component to our success will be to leverage and expand our proprietary manufacturing know-how, expertise and capacity. For instance, for our lead product candidate, cema-cel, we were able to identify and select a manufacturing process that was associated with robust clinical performance in Phase 1. We believe establishing our own fully integrated manufacturing operations and infrastructure will allow us to continuously improve the manufacturing process, limit our reliance on contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) and more rapidly advance the commercialization of any of our product candidates that receive regulatory approval.
•Expand into solid tumor indications with high unmet need and leverage next generation technologies to advance our platform. We plan to continue to advance the research and development of ALLO-316, which targets CD70, for the treatment of clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) as part of our TRAVERSE trial. We are investigating next-generation technologies incorporated in the design of ALLO-316 which seek to better control rejection of allogeneic CAR T cells by the patient's immune system. Such technologies include our Dagger® technology that utilizes an anti-CD70 CAR to kill alloreactive host T cells. We continually survey the scientific and industry landscape for opportunities to license, partner or acquire technologies that may help us advance current or new cell therapies for the benefit of patients.
Allogeneic CAR T Cell Therapy
Engineered T Cell Therapies
T cells are a type of white blood cell and are involved in both sensing and killing infected or abnormal cells, including cancer cells, as well as coordinating the activation of other cells in an immune response. Engineered T cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy treatment whereby human T cells are removed from the body and engineered to express CARs which, when infused into a patient, may allow the recognition and destruction of cancer cells in a targeted manner.
Chimeric Antigen Receptors (CARs)
CARs are engineered molecules that, when present on the surface of a T cell, enable the T cell to recognize specific proteins or antigens that are present on the surface of other cells. More than one type of CAR can be included in a CAR T cell, imparting multi-antigen targeting capability.
The CAR molecule(s) in our product candidates are comprised of a single chain protein that contains the following elements:
•Target Binding Domain: At one end of the CAR is a target binding domain that is specific to a target antigen. This domain extends out onto the surface of the engineered T cell, where it can recognize the target antigens. The target binding domain consists of a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) of an antibody comprising variable domains of heavy and light chains joined by a short linker.
•Transmembrane Domain and Hinge: This middle portion of the CAR links the scFv target binding domain to the activating elements inside the cell. This transmembrane domain “anchors” the CAR in the cell’s membrane. In addition, the transmembrane domain may also interact with other transmembrane proteins that enhance CAR function. The hinge domain, which extends to the exterior of the cell, connects the transmembrane domain to scFv and provides structural flexibility to facilitate optimal binding of scFv to the target antigen on the cancer cell’s surface.
•Activating Domains: The other end of transmembrane domain, inside the T cell, is connected to one or more signaling domains responsible for activating the T cell when the CAR binds to the target cell. The CD3 zeta domain delivers an essential primary signal within the T cell, and the 41BB domain delivers an additional, co-stimulatory signal. Together, these signals trigger T cell activation, resulting in proliferation of the CAR T cells and killing of the cancer cell. In addition, activated CAR T cells stimulate the local secretion of cytokines and other molecules that can recruit and activate additional immune cells to potentiate killing of the cancer cells.
In addition to the domains described above, in ALLO-316, we have included rituximab recognition domains to potentially serve to identify and/or eliminate ALLO-316 cells using rituximab. The figure below shows the constructs that support our lead product candidates in clinical development: cema-cel, ALLO-316 and ALLO-329.
Allogeneic CAR T Cell Products: The Next Revolution
There are two primary approaches to engineered T cell therapy: autologous and allogeneic. Autologous therapies use engineered T cells derived from the individual patient, while allogeneic products use engineered T cells derived from unrelated healthy donors. While the autologous approach has been revolutionary, demonstrating compelling efficacy in many patients, it is burdened by the following key limitations:
•Lengthy Delivery Time. Due to the individualized manufacturing process, patients may wait weeks to months to be treated with their engineered cells. As a result, in the registrational trials for Yescarta® and Kymriah®, up to 31% of intended patients ultimately did not receive treatment primarily due to complications from the underlying disease prior to delivery of therapy or as a result of manufacturing failures. In addition, certain patients being treated with autologous therapies have sometimes required bridging therapy as they wait for the manufacture of their T cells, however, bridging therapy to control disease may increase some cumulative or synergistic toxicities for the patients. Other rapidly progressing patients may not be considered candidates for autologous CAR T given lengthy waiting times and limited manufacturing slots. Each of these autologous CAR T challenges creates inherent limitations to the uptake of autologous CAR T therapies. As discussed in more detail below, these limitations become increasingly prohibitive in diseases where time is of the essence as is the case in 1L consolidation, making autologous CAR T therapy unsuitable for such use.
•Variable Potency. In some cases, patients may have T cells that have been damaged or weakened due to prior chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem-cell transplant. Compromised T cells may not proliferate well during manufacturing or may produce cells with insufficient potency that cannot be used for patient treatment, resulting in manufacturing failures, or that can show poor expansion and activity in patients. In addition, the individualized nature of autologous manufacturing, together with the variability in patients’ T cells, may lead to variable potency of manufactured T cells, and this variability may cause unpredictable treatment outcomes.
•Manufacturing Failures. Autologous cell manufacturing sometimes encounters production failures. This can mean that a patient never receives treatment, as additional patient starting material may not be available or the patient may no longer be eligible due to advanced disease. Furthermore, retreatment can be difficult due to a limited supply of usable patient starting material.
•Complex Logistics. The delivery of autologous T cell therapy is complicated due to the individualized nature of manufacturing, which allows only one patient to be treated from each manufacturing run and requires dedicated infrastructure to maintain a strict chain of custody and chain of identity of patient-by-patient material collection, manufacturing and delivery. The complex logistics add significant cost to the process and limit the ability to scale. Additionally, the collection of T cells through leukapheresis from each individual patient results in a time consuming and costly step in the autologous process. In part due to these logistics, autologous treatment is currently only available at select centers.
Allogeneic engineered T cells are manufactured in a similar manner as autologous, but our manufacturing has two key differences: (1) our allogeneic T cells are derived from healthy donors, not cancer patients, and (2) our allogeneic T cells are genetically engineered to minimize the risk of GvHD and enable a window of persistence in the patient.
Our approach is designed to provide the same intended curative outcome as autologous therapy, while offering the following potential key advantages:
•Availability and Access. Starting with T cells from a healthy donor, we believe that at scale we can manufacture approximately 100 doses or more of allogeneic CAR T product per manufacturing run that could be used in any eligible patient. Because our allogeneic product candidates are designed to be frozen and available off-the-shelf, they are expected to be readily shipped and administered to patients.
•Speed to Patient. Many patients with aggressive or rapidly progressing cancer may not have multiple weeks to wait for autologous CAR T treatment. Our allogeneic approach has the potential to create off-the-shelf product inventory, which could enable dosing of patients within days of a decision to treat. This would represent a significant reduction in patient wait time, potentially obviating the need for any bridging therapy and allowing the treatment of patients who are either too sick, or their disease progresses too quickly for them to wait for their autologous CAR T cells to be manufactured, thus potentially improving patient outcomes. In addition, as we seek to incorporate our investigational allogeneic CAR T product into a 1L consolidation strategy, the speed to patient becomes even more important. Once it is determined that a patient is MRD positive following standard 1L treatment, published results of front-line chemotherapy outcomes suggest that the patient is very likely to progress, and some patients may do so very quickly (i.e., within a matter of weeks after completing 1L therapy). Furthermore, data suggests that patients who have low burden of disease when they receive CAR T cells tend to have better safety and efficacy outcomes, including lower rates of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and more durable remissions. As a result, we believe that autologous CAR T therapy is far less suitable for treating MRD positive patients as part of a 1L consolidation strategy given the lengthy lead time for the autologous individualized manufacturing process, which would not allow for rapid CAR T treatment before disease progression and while the disease burden remains low.
•Enhanced Cell Consistency and Potency. Our manufacturing process produces therapies from selected, screened and tested healthy donors. Healthy donor T cells are potentially superior for engineered cellular therapy as compared to T cells from patients who have undergone prior chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem-cell transplant, which can damage or weaken T cells. In addition, greater consistency of the product may yield more predictable treatment outcomes.
•Streamlined Manufacturing. We have built an efficient and scalable manufacturing process and organization. The allogeneic CAR T approach utilizes healthy donor T cells which we believe provides enhanced scalability, and an off-the-shelf capability that can potentially reduce the costs to the overall healthcare system as it does not require bridging therapy, leukapheresis and complex logistics.
Manufacturing Allogeneic T Cells
There are similarities as well as key differences between the processes for allogeneic and autologous CAR T cell manufacturing. The three primary steps to creating our engineered allogeneic CAR T cells are: (1) collection and transduction, (2) gene editing, and (3) purification, formulation, and storage. We start with collecting white blood cells from a healthy donor, which are subsequently stimulated to proliferate and transduced with a viral vector to integrate the CAR sequence into the T cell genome. The CAR sequence directs the expression of CAR proteins on the cell surface that allows the transduced T cells to recognize and bind to a target molecule, for example a target that is present on cancer cells or pathogenic autoreactive immune cells. Next, we use gene editing tools to edit the T cell genome to inactivate TCRα, and in the case of our oncology products, to also inactivate CD52. Inactivation of TCRα and CD52 is intended to reduce the risk of GvHD and enable the use of ALLO-647, a proprietary CD52 monoclonal antibody, as part of lymphodepletion to allow the allogeneic T cells to expand and persist in patients, respectively. For oncology products the transduction and genetic editing steps are separate, but for our autoimmune disease product candidate, ALLO-329, the steps are combined and utilize different gene editing technology. Furthermore, ALLO-329 does not incorporate the CD52 knockout utilized in oncology products. Finally, the edited T cells are cultured for several days to increase the cell number, harvested and purified. The purified T cells are formulated in a cryopreservation media and filled into closed, stoppered vials prior to controlled-rate freezing and long-term storage in the vapor phase of liquid nitrogen. This inventory is securely stored and then shipped to treatment facilities, as needed.
Product Pipeline and Development Strategy
Using our proprietary allogeneic CAR T cell platform, we are researching and developing multiple product candidates for the treatment of blood cancers, solid tumors and autoimmune diseases. Our product candidates are allogeneic T cells engineered to be used as off-the-shelf treatments for any patient with a particular cancer type or autoimmune disease. Each product candidate bears specific engineered attributes, and targets a selected antigen expressed on tumor cells or pathogenic autoreactive immune cells.
Our product pipeline is represented in the chart below:
1Phase 2 designed to be registrational
Anti-CD19 Oncology Development Program
CD19 is an antigen expressed on the surface of B cells, including on B cells that are malignant. B cells are considered non-essential tissue, as they are not absolutely required for patient survival. We believe CD19 is a validated target for the treatment of B cell leukemias and lymphomas. Multiple autologous anti-CD19 CAR T therapies have shown promising results and have been approved by the FDA as therapies in multiple blood cancers, including relapsed/refractory (R/R) LBCL, as further described below under "—Competition".
Historically, under our Servier Agreement, we have worked with Servier to develop several CD19 product candidates, including UCART19, ALLO-501 and cema-cel. On September 15, 2022, Servier sent us a notice of discontinuation of its involvement in the development of all CD19 Products pursuant to the Servier Agreement. On May 10, 2024, the we entered into an Amendment and Settlement Agreement (the Servier Amendment) with Servier which restructures our relationship under the Servier Agreement. Under the Servier Amendment the parties agreed that co-development performed by the Company and Servier under the Servier Agreement, including co-development relating to CD19 Products, ceased as of December 15, 2022.
UCART19 was our first CD19 product candidate, and Servier led its manufacturing and clinical development. UCART19 was manufactured to express a CAR that is designed to target CD19 and gene edited to lack TCRα and CD52 to minimize the risk of GvHD and enable use of anti-CD52 monoclonal antibodies to create a window of CAR T cell persistence in the patient. In addition, UCART19 cells were engineered to express a small protein on the cell surface called RQR8, which consists of two rituximab recognition domains. This allowed for recognition and elimination of the CAR T cells by rituximab if silencing of CAR T cell activity is desired. Servier sponsored two Phase 1 clinical trials of UCART19 in patients with R/R CD19 positive B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), both of which were completed in 2020. Patients from both studies are continuing the long-term follow-up as planned.
We have been, and continue to be, responsible for the manufacture and clinical development of ALLO-501 and cema-cel. ALLO-501 is identical to UCART19 in molecular design, however several modifications were introduced by us to the manufacturing process for ALLO-501. These modifications are designed to facilitate more efficient manufacturing scale-up for the larger patient population targeted by ALLO-501. Like UCART19, ALLO-501 also co-expresses a small protein on the cell surface called RQR8, which consists of two rituximab recognition domains. This is intended to allow for destruction of the CAR T by rituximab. Prior treatment with rituximab is typical for patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and, depending on the lag time between the rituximab administration and the CAR T infusion, prior administration of rituximab may interfere with any CAR T that includes RQR8. As a result, we have removed RQR8 in cema-cel, which is illustrated below, to facilitate treatment of patients who were recently treated with rituximab.
Lead Target Indication: Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL)
NHL is a hematologic cancer originating from malignant lymphocytes. It is the most common hematological malignancy in the United States, with 80,620 new cases estimated to be diagnosed and 20,140 deaths estimated in 2024, according to the American Cancer Society. Over 60 NHL subtypes have been identified, and each subtype represents different neoplastic lymphoid cells (T, B or NK cells) that have arrested at different stages of differentiation. According to the American Cancer Society, B-cell lymphomas make up approximately 85% of NHL cases in the United States.
B-cell NHL itself represents a group of different neoplasms that not only differ in pathology, but also response to therapy and prognosis. NHL can be rapidly growing (aggressive), such as LBCLs, or it can be slow growing, or indolent, such as follicular lymphoma (FL).
The R-CHOP chemotherapy combination (rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone) introduced in the early 2000s remains the standard of care for newly diagnosed LBCL, and can yield five-year survival rates of 55-60%. Unfortunately, approximately 30% of LBCL patients relapse or have treatment-refractory disease and require second-line therapy. Subsequent therapy for fit patients is commonly high-dose therapy followed by autologous stem-cell therapy or autologous anti-CD19 CAR T therapy. Two previous randomized controlled trials evaluated anti-CD19 CAR T cell therapies, Yescarta® and Breyanzi® compared to high dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell rescue. Yescarta® and Breyanzi® improved event-free-survival versus stem cell transplant (8.3 months vs. 2.0 months and 10.1 months vs. 2.3 months, respectively). A retrospective analysis of patients with R/R LBCL, who were not treated with autologous CAR T therapy, found that outcomes in this population are poor, with an objective response rate of 26% (complete response (CR): 7%, partial response: 18%) and median overall survival of 6.3 months.
Autologous CAR T therapy has made significant advances in addressing R/R NHL, and has moved to earlier lines of therapy, as further described below under — "Competition".
Results from the Phase 1 ALLO-501 ALPHA Trial and the Phase 1 cema-cel ALPHA2 Trial
On February 13, 2025, we announced long-term follow up data from the Phase 1 ALPHA trial of ALLO-501 and from the Phase 1 ALPHA2 trial of cema-cel in R/R LBCL which was published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The ALPHA/ALPHA2 studies were single-arm, multicenter, open-label, Phase 1 trials. As of the data cutoff date (September 26, 2024), 33 CD19 CAR T-naive patients with R/R LBCL were treated in ALPHA/ALPHA2 with cema-cel/ALLO-501 manufactured with the process selected for use in pivotal studies.
The overall Response Rate (ORR) and Complete Response (CR) rate in the ALPHA/ALPHA2 trials were comparable with those observed in patients with R/R LBCL after two or more lines of systemic therapy who received treatment with approved autologous CD19 CAR T cell products. All treatment regimens studied demonstrated clinical benefit. The selected Phase 2 regimen (fludarabine/cyclophosphamide lymphodepletion with 90 mg of ALLO-647 (FCA90) followed by a single dose of CAR+ cells) yielded the highest ORR and CR of 67% and 58%, respectively. Five of 12 patients in this group achieved CR that lasted at least 6 months.
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Patients Treated with Phase 2 Regimen (n=12) |
Overall Response Rate (ORR), n (%) |
8 (67) |
Complete Response (CR), n (%) |
7 (58) |
6 Month CR Rate, n (%) |
5 (42) |
Patients who achieved a CR had excellent outcomes with a median DOR, PFS (progression free survival) and OS of 23.1 months, 24 months, and not reached, respectively. For patients receiving the selected Phase 2 regimen, median DOR was 23.1 months and median OS was not reached.
The safety profile, including incidence of cytopenias and infections, was manageable and consistent with that of approved autologous CD19 CAR T cell therapies. There were no dose-limiting toxicities, graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), or high-grade cytokine release syndrome (CRS). The most common any-grade treatment emergent adverse events (TEAE) (≥25%) were neutropenia (85%), anemia (67%), thrombocytopenia (58%), infusion-related reactions (IRRs; 58%), fatigue (52%), and pyrexia (49%), nausea (39%), lymphopenia (36%), hypotension (36%), peripheral edema (33%), decreased white blood cell count (30%), CMV reactivation (30%), decreased appetite (30%), chills (30%), and hypoxia (27%).
The median time to start of treatment was two days from study enrollment. In contrast, autologous CAR T cell products require wait times often longer than 1 month despite incremental advancements in manufacturing and supply chains.
A growing body of evidence indicates that treatment with CAR T at times when the disease burden is low leads to improved safety and efficacy outcomes and this study reported similar findings. Among patients with baseline tumor burden <1000 mm² or normal serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), a blood test that indicates disease activity, the CR rate was 100% (6/6) and 82% (9/11), respectively. These CR rates in this subpopulation support cema-cel as a promising therapeutic option in patients with minimum residual disease (MRD), the population currently being studied in the ALPHA3 trial.
These results serve as the foundation for the ongoing ALPHA3 trial, which is evaluating cema-cel as a consolidation therapy in LBCL patients who are in remission following 1L treatment but remain positive for MRD as detected by an ultrasensitive ctDNA based blood test, Foresight Diagnostics’ investigational CLARITY™ , powered by PhasED-Seq™. These patients have extremely low disease burden, a key subgroup who demonstrated excellent disease outcomes in the ALPHA/ALPHA2 trials.
Clinical Development Plan - Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL)
We are the sponsor of the ALPHA trial of ALLO-501 and ALPHA2 trial of cema-cel, each for patients with R/R NHL or CLL. The ALPHA trial is a Phase 1 clinical trial of ALLO-501 in patients with R/R LBCL and R/R FL. We completed accrual in the ALPHA trial in 2021 and are following patients as part of long-term follow-up. The ALPHA2 trial was initiated as a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for cema-cel in the second quarter of 2020. The Phase 1 portion of the ALPHA2 trial was designed to assess the safety and tolerability at increasing dose levels of cema-cel in patients with R/R LBCL. In the fourth quarter of 2022, we proceeded to the Phase 2 portion of the ALPHA2 trial in adult patients with R/R LBCL. We have also sponsored the EXPAND trial of ALLO-647, which was intended to demonstrate the overall contribution of ALLO-647 to the benefit to risk ratio of the lymphodepletion regimen for cema-cel.
In January 2024 we announced that we would deprioritize the ALPHA2 R/R LBCL and EXPAND trials to focus on our ALPHA3 trial, which seeks to embed cema-cel as part of a 1L consolidation strategy. We have deprioritized the ALPHA2 R/R LBCL trial primarily because the ALPHA3 trial, if successful, could significantly impact the need for cell therapy in later lines of treatment, including the third line (3L) patients being studied in our ALPHA2 trial. The ALPHA3 trial is an open-label, Phase 2, multicenter clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of cema-cel in adult patients with LBCL who have completed R-CHOP and have attained a remission, but who test positive for MRD. The ALPHA3 trial will randomize approximately 240 patients who achieve a complete or partial response to 1L therapy, but who test positive for MRD at their end-of-therapy PET/CT assessment. The patients will be randomized to either treatment with cema-cel or the current standard of care, which is observation. The design, with a primary endpoint of EFS, will initially include two lymphodepletion arms (one with standard fludarabine and cyclophosphamide plus ALLO-647 and one without ALLO-647). One lymphodepletion arm will be discontinued following a planned interim analysis around mid-2025 designed to select the most appropriate regimen for this patient population.
The ALPHA3 trial leverages an investigational diagnostic test developed by Foresight Diagnostics to identify patients who have MRD at the completion of 1L chemoimmunotherapy. Although 1L R-CHOP is curative for many with LBCL, as noted above, approximately 30% of patients treated will relapse.
Under the current standard of care, there is no way to determine which patients are at greater risk of relapse after initially responding to 1L treatment, and so the standard of care has been simply to “watch and wait” for the disease to relapse. Foresight Diagnostics, however, has developed a liquid biopsy testing platform for the measurement of MRD. Based on Foresight Diagnostics’ published data, we believe that the Foresight Diagnostics’ assay is highly sensitive and predictive of which patients are likely to relapse. By incorporating the Foresight Diagnostics assay into our ALPHA3 trial design, we believe that we can identify the patient population most at risk for relapse and treat those patients with cema-cel.
ALPHA3 takes advantage of cema-cel as a one-time, off-the-shelf treatment that can be administered immediately upon discovery of MRD following six cycles of R-CHOP, potentially positioning cema-cel to become the standard “7th cycle” of frontline treatment available to all eligible patients with MRD. ALPHA3 builds on our belief that administration of CAR T therapies to patients with low disease burden improves both safety and efficacy outcomes. Cema-cel’s Phase 1 safety profile, with low rates of CRS and immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), already permits its use in the outpatient setting in R/R patients and may further improve in patients with no radiological evidence of disease. The ALPHA3 trial was initiated in 2024 and enrollment is currently ongoing with 40 sites activated in the United States.
Assuming favorable outcomes and subject to FDA discussions, we plan to seek FDA approval of cema-cel, and possibly ALLO-647, based on the ALPHA3 trial. Additionally, assuming favorable outcomes, we anticipate that the ALPHA3 data set could be used to support EU regulatory approval. The EMA has granted Marketing Authorizations for products, even when their clinical development programs did not involve any European sites. These approvals are based on thorough evaluations of the products’ safety, efficacy, and quality. This practice encompasses a wide range of indications and modalities, including those classified as Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products by the EMA. Later this year, we plan to seek scientific advice from the EMA to assist us with finalizing our regulatory strategy for the EU and the UK. Additionally, in February 2025, we entered into an Amended and Restated Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Foresight Diagnostics which expands our collaboration to enable the development of Foresight Diagnostics’ MRD assay as a companion diagnostic in the EU, UK, Canada and Australia in support of Allogene’s clinical development of cema-cel.
Anti-CD70 Oncology Development Program
CD70 is an antigen expressed on several types of cancer cells, with strong expression in RCC and limited off-tumor expression. CD70 is selectively expressed in a portion of other solid tumors and blood cancers. While CD70 can be expressed on activated T cells, ALLO-316 was associated with minimal or no fratricide in preclinical studies, meaning that ALLO-316 cells did not mediate the targeted killing of other ALLO-316 cells. Accordingly, we believe progressing allogeneic CAR T cell products directed against CD70 could be promising in solid tumor indications as well as hematological malignancies.
ALLO-316 is manufactured to express a CAR that is designed to target CD70 and gene edited to lack expression of the TCR and CD52 to both minimize the risk of GvHD and to enable use of CD52 monoclonal antibodies to permit a window of persistence of CAR T cells in the patient. In addition, rituximab and CD34 recognition domains have been incorporated in between the scFv and the linker domain, as illustrated below. The rituximab recognition domains allow targeting of cells with rituximab in the event that silencing of CAR T cell activity is desired. The CD34 domain confers recognition by an anti-CD34 antibody, and may be used as a surface marker to monitor ALLO-316 in patients by flow cytometry.
In the first half of 2021, we initiated Phase 1 TRAVERSE clinical trial of ALLO-316 in adult patients with advanced or metastatic ccRCC.
Lead Target Indication: Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma
ccRCC is the most common subtype of renal cancer. Approximately 81,800 new cases of renal cell carcinoma are estimated to be diagnosed in the United States and 14,890 deaths are estimated in 2023, according to the American Cancer Society. The five-year survival rate for patients with advanced kidney cancer is less than 15%.
Systemic therapy (including immunotherapy and molecularly targeted agents), surgery, and radiation therapy all may have a role in the treatment paradigm depending on the extent of disease, sites of involvement, and patient-specific factors. While vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-directed therapies (e.g. sunitinib) represented a first-line standard for over a decade, these therapies have been quickly supplanted by combination therapies incorporating PD-1 immune-checkpoint inhibition as the backbone.
The combination of VEGF and immune check-point inhibitors, such as axitinib and pembrolizumab, respectively, is often used in the first line setting and has shown a median progression-free survival of 15.1 months with an ORR of 59.3% and CR rate of 5.8%. Patients who progress on immune checkpoint-based combination therapies can be treated with agents including cabozantinib, lenvatinib with everolimus, tivozanib, belzutifan or other therapies.
In October 2024, we announced that we received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation for ALLO-316 for adult patients with advanced or metastatic RCC. The RMAT designation was based on Phase 1 clinical data from the TRAVERSE trial indicating the potential of ALLO-316 to address the unmet need for patients with difficult-to-treat RCC who have failed multiple standard RCC therapies, including an immune checkpoint inhibitor and a VEGF-targeting therapy.
Results from the Phase 1 ALLO-316 TRAVERSE Trial
On November 7, 2024, we announced interim results from the Phase 1 TRAVERSE trial of ALLO-316 in patients with advanced or metastatic RCC who have progressed on or who are intolerant to standard therapies, including an immune checkpoint inhibitor and a VEGF-targeting therapy. Data from dose escalation cohorts and the ongoing Phase 1b expansion cohort were included. The Phase 1b expansion cohort is evaluating safety and efficacy of ALLO-316 at DL2 (80M CAR T cells) following a standard FC500 (fludarabine (30 mg/m2/day) and cyclophosphamide (500 mg/m2/d) for 3 days) lymphodepletion regimen. The interim results provide proof-of-concept demonstrating the promise of an allogeneic CAR T product candidate to treat CD70-expressing RCC with ALLO-316.
As of the data extract date of October 14, 2024, 39 patients had been enrolled in the ongoing Phase 1 trial, of which 26 were confirmed to have CD70 positive RCC and were evaluable for efficacy outcomes. Following a single infusion of ALLO-316 in heavily pretreated patients, the trial demonstrated best Overall Response Rate (ORR) of 50% and Confirmed Response Rate of 33% in those patients with CD70 Tumor Proportion Score (TPS) of ≥50% who received DL2. Patients with a TPS of ≥50% comprise the majority of patients with advanced or metastatic RCC. Of those with a TPS ≥50, 76% (16/21) experienced a reduction in tumor burden. Two of six (33%) patients with high TPS who received the Phase 1b expansion regimen showed durable responses ongoing at ≥4 months.
Response Rates by CD70 Status and Dose
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Patients Evaluable for Disease Outcomesa (N=34) |
CD70 Positive (N=26) |
CD70 Negative or Unknown (N=8) |
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All (N=26) |
FCAb
(N=8)
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FCc
(N=18)
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DL2 FC500 (Phase 1b) (N=8) |
Best overall response,d n/N (%)
High TPS (≥50)
Low TPS (<50)
|
7/26 (27) 7/21 (33) 0/5 (0) |
1/8 (13) 1/6 (17) 0/2 (0) |
6/18 (33) 6/15 (40) 0/3 (0) |
3/8 (38) 3/6 (50) 0/2 (0) |
0/8 (0) NA NA |
Confirmed ORR,e n/N (%)
High TPS (≥50)
Low TPS (<50)
|
5/26 (19) 5/21 (24) 0/5 (0) |
1/8 (13) 1/6 (17) 0/2 (0) |
4/18 (22) 4/15 (27) 0/3 (0) |
2/8 (25) 2/6 (33) 0/2 (0) |
0/8 (0) NA NA |
aPatients evaluable for disease outcome includes those who received ALLO-316 and had at least one tumor assessment.
bStandard fludarabine and cyclophosphamide plus ALLO-647
cIncludes FC300 and FC500
dBest overall response across visits did not require confirmation for CR/PR.
eConfirmed overall response of CR/PR required confirmation at the subsequent visit.
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Regarding safety data, the most common all-grade adverse events were CRS (with only one grade ≥3), fatigue (59%), neutropenia (56%), decreased white blood cell count (54%), anemia (51%) and nausea (51%). ICANS was minimal at 8% and no GvHD occurred.
Most Prevalent Treatment-Emergent Adverse Events (TEAEs) (>40% Any Grade Incidence) and
Adverse Events of Special Interest (AESI)
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Adverse Event, n(%) |
All Patients (N=39) |
DL2 FC500 (N=11) |
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All Grades |
Grade ≥3 |
All Grades |
Grade ≥3 |
Any TEAEa |
39 (100) |
29 (81) |
11 (100) |
8 (73) |
CRS |
24 (62) |
1 (3) |
8 (73) |
0 |
Fatigue |
23 (59) |
1 (3) |
2 (18) |
0 |
Neutropenia |
22 (56) |
20 (51) |
7 (64) |
7 (64) |
White blood cell count decreased |
21/(54) |
19 (49) |
8 (73) |
8 (73) |
Anemia |
20 (51) |
13 (33) |
7 (64) |
5 (46) |
Nausea |
20 (51) |
0 |
3 (27) |
0 |
Thrombocytopenia |
18 (46) |
10 (26) |
7 (64) |
3 (27) |
Pyrexia |
16 (41) |
2 (5) |
4 (36) |
0 |
AEs of Special Interest |
Any Grade |
Grade ≥3 |
Any Grade |
Grade ≥3 |
Infectionb
Viral infections
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24 (62)
13 (33)
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12 (31)
2 (5)
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5 (46)
2 (18)
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2 (18)
0
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Neurotoxicityc
Headache
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17 (44)
8 (21)
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12 (31)
2 (5)
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5 (46)
2 (18)
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2 (18)
0
|
IEC-HSd |
5 (13) |
1 (3) |
2 (18) |
0 |
ICANS |
3 (8) |
0 |
3 (27) |
0 |
Graft-versus-host disease |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
aTEAE included all AEs that started from the first dose date of study drug in each treatment period up to start of another treatment period, death, or the date prior to initiation of another anti-cancer agent, whichever occurred first.
bInfection events (62%) were primarily low grade; the most common was viral infections (33%) with cytomegalovirus infection and COVID-19 (any grade, 18% and 15%; Grade ≥3, 0% and 5%, respectively).
cNeurotoxicity includes system organ class of nerve system disorders and psychiatric disorders with onset date up to Study Day 30 post ALLO-316 infusion.
dIEC-HS includes the preferred terms IEC-HS, HLH, Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, and atypical HLH. Two patients developed an inflammatory syndrome prior to the existence of IEC-HS as a term in MedDRA, which has been updated as of September 2023.
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Two dose-limiting toxicity (DLT) events of autoimmune hepatitis and cardiogenic shock were reported. Each event occurred in two separate participants who received FCA (FC300 plus ALLO-647) lymphodepletion and DL2 of ALLO-316. Three Grade 5 treatment-related adverse events were reported: 1) cardiogenic shock, which was one of the two DLT events; 2) sepsis from multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae in a participant who received DL4 of ALLO-316. This participant had a prior episode of muscle abscess and bacteremia from the same multi-drug resistant Klebsiella and was receiving anakinra and dexamethasone for hyperinflammation; 3) failure to thrive in a participant 16 months after treatment with ALLO-316. This subject had tumor response of stable disease (SD) at month 12 and no interval scans to evaluate disease status prior to death.
Clinical Development Plan
The TRAVERSE trial is an open-label, Phase 1, single arm, multicenter clinical trial evaluating the safety and tolerability of ALLO-316 in adult patients with advanced or metastatic ccRCC. Anti-tumor activity, cell kinetics, pharmacodynamics, and correlation of outcome with tumor CD70 expression are evaluated as secondary objectives.
We have developed an investigational in vitro companion diagnostic (IVD) assay designed for use in determining CD70 expression levels for patient selection in TRAVERSE. The trial is now deploying the IVD assay for the purposes of identifying patients most likely to benefit from ALLO-316.
During the advancement of the TRAVERSE trial with ALLO-316, we have observed allogeneic CAR T cell expansion and persistence driven by CD70 CAR that allows elimination of alloreactive host lymphocytes. This biology has brought the potential for clinical efficacy not often seen in patients with R/R RCC but has also resulted in a hyperinflammatory response in some patients as CD70 CAR T cells expand and persist.
Leveraging recent advances in the management of hyperinflammation following autologous CAR T administration, we have developed a diagnostic and treatment algorithm similar to what our management team previously helped develop for CRS and ICANS associated with autologous CAR T. This algorithm may mitigate the treatment-associated hyperinflammatory response without compromising the CAR T function needed to eradicate solid tumors.
Enrollment in the Phase 1b cohort has been completed and we are now pausing further standard dosing pending durability results for the enrolled patients. Additional data from the Phase 1b expansion cohort is expected to be announced in mid-2025.
Anti-CD19/CD70 Autoimmune Disease Development Program
Autoimmune disease (AID) can affect organs throughout the body. B cells and T cells are two key components of the immune system, each playing distinct roles in the body’s defense against pathogens and in maintaining immune tolerance. Effective collaboration between B cells and T cells results in the sustained production of autoantibodies, which are antibodies that mistakenly target and react with a person’s own tissues or organs resulting in AID. Autoantibodies are critical to the pathogenesis of many AIDs. As a result, we believe that disruption of the B cell-T cell network could lead to an effective treatment of AIDs. As noted above, CD19 is an antigen expressed on the surface of B cells, including pathogenic autoreactive B cells. Activated T cells, which upregulate CD70, induce sustained production of autoantibodies by B cells from patients affected by AID. Moreover, CD70 expression is elevated on T cells of patients in certain AIDs, suggesting a pathogenic role for CD70+ T cells in AID. Accordingly, we believe progressing allogeneic CAR T cell therapies directed against CD19 and CD70 could be promising in AID indications.
ALLO-329 is manufactured to express two independent CARs designed to target CD19 and CD70. As illustrated below, a single transgene encoding both the CD19 CAR and the CD70 CAR is targeted for insertion into the TRAC locus using site-specific integration, resulting in uniform expression of both CARs and the lack of TCR expression. ALLO-329 is designed to mediate the depletion of CD19+ B cells and pathogenic T cells that upregulate CD70 expression. CD70 is also upregulated on activated B cells and alloreactive lymphocytes. Therefore, ALLO-329 can also target pathogenic CD70+ B cells and prevent allorejection by eliminating CD70+ alloreactive lymphocytes in the patients. The anti-rejection features of ALLO-329 may help reduce or eliminate the need for lymphodepletion prior to treatment with ALLO-329.
Lead Target Indications: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE),
Lupus Nephritis, Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies, and Systemic Sclerosis
In January 2025 we announced that the FDA has cleared our IND for a rheumatology basket study of ALLO-329. Our RESOLUTION trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of ALLO-329 across multiple autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (including lupus nephritis), idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, and systemic sclerosis. SLE is a chronic, systemic autoimmune disease where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues, and is characterized by immune dysregulation, autoantibody production, and inflammation affecting multiple organs. Lupus nephritis (LN) is a serious renal complication of SLE. In LN, the immune system targets the kidneys, leading to inflammation, glomerular damage, and potential renal failure. Idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) are a group of rare autoimmune diseases characterized by chronic muscle inflammation and progressive weakness, mainly affecting proximal skeletal muscles. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a chronic autoimmune connective tissue disorder characterized by vascular dysfunction, immune dysregulation, and progressive fibrosis affecting the skin and internal organs (lungs, heart, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract).
Approximately 330,000 cases of SLE (according to Decision Resources Group), 70,000 cases of IIM (according to The Myositis Association), and 100,000 cases of SSc (according to Bergamasco et al, Dove Medical Pres Limited) are estimated to be diagnosed in the United States. These autoimmune diseases generally require targeted immunosuppressive and symptom-specific treatments. SLE is primarily managed with hydroxychloroquine and NSAIDs for mild cases, while severe disease, such as lupus nephritis, necessitates immunosuppressants like mycophenolate mofetil or cyclophosphamide, with biologics such as belimumab and anifrolumab for refractory cases. IIM (including polymyositis and dermatomyositis) is typically treated with high-dose corticosteroids, often combined with methotrexate or azathioprine, while severe or refractory cases may require IVIG or rituximab. SSc management focuses on symptom control, with calcium channel blockers for Raynaud’s phenomenon, mycophenolate mofetil for interstitial lung disease, and vasodilators like sildenafil or bosentan for pulmonary arterial hypertension. Current treatments for SLE, IIM, and SSc have significant limitations, including broad immunosuppression, long-term toxicity, delayed onset of action, disease progression despite therapy, frequent dosing and refractory cases.
Clinical Development Plan
We are developing ALLO-329, an allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate targeting both CD19 and CD70 for the treatment of certain autoimmune diseases. Inclusion of an anti-CD70 CAR in ALLO-329 is designed to reduce or eliminate the need for standard chemotherapy by preventing premature rejection while also targeting CD70+ activated lymphocytes, which may play a direct role in AID pathogenesis. Following the clearance of an IND in January 2025, we plan to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial (the RESOLUTION trial) of ALLO-329 in adult patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (including lupus nephritis), idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, and systemic sclerosis in mid-2025.
Future Opportunities
Currently, we remain focused on our three key programs described above. As we advance those programs, we may seek to utilize our allogeneic platform to pursue additional targets of interest, particularly through strategic partnerships. These include the additional targets currently in our pipeline as well as other targets that might be validated in the future. For example, we have been developing allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) for treatment of multiple myeloma (ALLO-715), FLT3 for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (ALLO-819), DLL3 for the treatment of small cell lung cancer (ALLO-213), and Claudin 18.2 for the treatment of gastric and pancreatic cancer (ALLO-182).
Our Manufacturing Strategy
We have invested resources to optimize our manufacturing process, including the development of improved analytical methods and instrumentation. We plan to continue to invest in process science, product characterization and manufacturing to continuously improve our manufacturing processes, production and supply chain capabilities over time.
Our product candidates are designed and manufactured via platforms comprised of defined unit operations and technologies. Processes are developed from small to larger scales, incorporating compliant procedures to create cGMP conditions. Although we have a platform-based manufacturing model, each product is unique and for each new product candidate, a developmental phase is necessary to individually customize each engineering step and to create a robust procedure that can later be implemented in a cGMP environment to ensure the production of clinical batches. This work is performed in our process development environment to evaluate and assess variability in each step of the process in order to define the most reliable production conditions.
We are currently utilizing Cell Forge 1 (CF1) our state-of-the-art cell therapy manufacturing facility in Newark, California to manufacture our product candidates. We also utilize separate third-party contractors to manufacture cGMP raw materials that are used for the manufacturing of our product candidates, such as viral vectors that are used to deliver the applicable CAR gene into the T cells. We believe all materials and components utilized in the production of the cell line, viral vector and final T cell product are available from qualified suppliers and suitable for pivotal process development in readiness for registration and commercialization.
Although we are utilizing CF1 for clinical manufacturing, we may continue to rely on CDMOs and other third parties for the manufacturing and processing of our product candidates in the future. We also utilize a CDMO in the United States for the manufacture and supply of ALLO-647 and we plan to continue to rely on the CDMO for future production of ALLO-647. We believe the use of contract manufacturing and testing for our first clinical product candidates has allowed us to rapidly prepare for clinical trials in accordance with our development plans. We plan to maintain a robust supply chain with redundant sources of supply comprised of both internal and external infrastructure. We expect CF1 and third-party manufacturers will be capable of providing and processing sufficient quantities of our product candidates to meet anticipated clinical trial demands.
Strategic Agreements
Allogene Overland Biopharm (CY) Limited (Allogene Overland), later renamed Overland Therapeutics Inc. (Overland Therapeutics), was initially established as a joint venture by us and Overland Pharmaceuticals (CY) Inc. (Overland) pursuant to a Share Purchase Agreement (Share Purchase Agreement), dated December 14, 2020. Concurrently, on December 14, 2020, we entered into a License Agreement (License Agreement) with Allogene Overland for the purpose of developing, manufacturing and commercializing certain allogeneic CAR T cell therapies (JV Licensed Products) for patients in greater China, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore (the JV Territory).
On May 24, 2024, we, Overland, and Allogene Overland entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (Share Exchange Agreement) pursuant to which Overland’s cell therapy business merged into Allogene Overland (the Organizational Restructuring). Under a separate agreement between Overland and HH BioPharma Holdings Ltd. (HBP) executed on May 24, 2024, Overland distributed all Series Seed Preferred Shares of Allogene Overland held by Overland to HBP and HBP has assumed all rights and obligations attached to such shares and all rights and obligations of Overland under the Share Exchange Agreement. In connection with the Organizational Restructuring, on May 24, 2024, we and Allogene Overland PRC, entered into a First Amendment to the License Agreement (the License Amendment) to amend and supplement certain provisions of the License Agreement. Under the License Amendment, we continue to grant Allogene Overland PRC an exclusive license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the JV Licensed Products in the JV Territory, with us retaining exclusive rights to the JV Licensed Products outside the JV Territory
We have also entered into multiple additional strategic agreements and collaborations, including an Asset Contribution Agreement with Pfizer (the Pfizer Agreement), a License Agreement with Cellectis (the Cellectis Agreement), the Servier Agreement, a Collaboration and License Agreement (the Notch Agreement) with Notch Therapeutics Inc. (Notch), a License and Collaboration Agreement with Antion, and a Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Foresight Diagnostics.
For additional information regarding our significant agreements, see Note 6 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Intellectual Property
Our commercial success depends in part on our ability to obtain and maintain proprietary protection for our product candidates, as well as novel discoveries, product development technologies, and know-how. Our commercial success also depends in part on our ability to operate without infringing on the proprietary rights of others and to prevent others from infringing our proprietary rights. Our policy is to develop and maintain protection of our proprietary position by, among other methods, filing or in-licensing U.S. and foreign patents and applications related to our technology, inventions, and improvements that are important to the development and implementation of our business.
We also rely on trademarks, trade secrets, know-how, continuing technological innovation, confidentiality agreements, and invention assignment agreements to develop and maintain our proprietary position. The confidentiality agreements are designed to protect our proprietary information and the invention assignment agreements are designed to grant us ownership of technologies that are developed for us by our employees, consultants, or other third parties. We seek to preserve the integrity and confidentiality of our data and trade secrets by maintaining physical security of our premises and physical and electronic security of our information technology systems. While we have confidence in our agreements and security measures, either may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies. In addition, our trade secrets may otherwise become known or independently discovered by competitors.
With respect to both licensed and company-owned intellectual property, we cannot be sure that patents will be granted with respect to any of our pending patent applications or with respect to any patent applications filed by us in the future, nor can we be sure that any of our existing patents or any patents that may be granted to us in the future will be commercially useful in protecting our commercial products and methods of using and manufacturing the same.
We are actively building our intellectual property portfolio around our product candidates and our discovery programs, based on our own intellectual property as well as licensed intellectual property. Following the execution of the Pfizer Agreement, we are the owner of, co-owner of, or the licensee of multiple patents and patent applications in the United States and worldwide. These licensed assets include rights to the Cellectis TALEN® gene-editing technology to engineer T cells that lack functional TCRs and to inactivate the CD52 gene in donor cells. We have exclusive worldwide rights to these patents for certain antigen targets, including BCMA, CD70, FLT3, DLL3 and Claudin 18.2, and have U.S., EU, and UK rights to these patents for CD19. We also have rights to Cellectis intellectual property for technology covering an engineered T cell therapy combining CD52 gene knockout in combination with an anti-CD52 antibody for certain products directed against certain antigen targets. For our lead programs, our patent rights are generally composed of patents and pending patent applications that are solely owned by us, co-owned with Servier, co-owned with Cellectis, co-owned with Pfizer, exclusively licensed from Pfizer, exclusively licensed from Servier, or exclusively licensed from Cellectis.
Our patent portfolio includes protection for our clinical-stage product candidates, ALLO-501, cema-cel, ALLO-316, ALLO-329, ALLO-715, and ALLO-605, as well as our research-stage candidates. With respect to ALLO-501 and cema-cel, we have an exclusive license from Servier to patent rights in the United States covering compositions of matter of and methods of making and using ALLO-501 and cema-cel. With respect to ALLO-715, ALLO-605 and ALLO-316, we have an exclusive license from Pfizer to patent rights covering ALLO-715, ALLO-605, and ALLO-316 in the United States and in foreign jurisdictions. These rights cover compositions of matter of and methods of making and using ALLO-715, ALLO-605 and ALLO-316. We also have patent rights to the TurboCAR™ technology solely owned by us, including technology that covers the TurboCAR™ construct that is part of ALLO-605. More generally, our patent portfolio and filing strategy is designed to provide multiple layers of protection by pursuing claims directed toward, for example: (1) antigen binding domains directed to the targets of our product candidates; (2) CAR constructs used in our product candidates; (3) methods of treatment for therapeutic indications; (4) manufacturing processes, preconditioning methods, and dosing regimens; and (5) immune evasion and other gene and cell engineering technology.
The term of individual patents depends upon the legal term of the patents in the countries in which they are obtained. In most countries in which we file, the patent term, generally, is 20 years from the date of filing of the first non-provisional application to which priority is claimed. In the United States, patent term may be lengthened by patent term adjustment, which compensates a patentee for administrative delays by the United States Patent and Trademark Office in granting a patent, or may be shortened if a patent is terminally disclaimed over an earlier-filed patent. In the United States, the term of a patent that covers an FDA-approved drug may also be eligible for a patent term extension of up to five years under the Hatch-Waxman Act, which is designed to compensate for the patent term lost during the FDA regulatory review process. The length of the patent term extension involves a complex calculation based on the length of time it takes for regulatory review. A patent term extension under the Hatch-Waxman Act cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the date of product approval and only one patent applicable to an approved drug may be extended. Moreover, a patent can only be extended once, and thus, if a single patent is applicable to multiple products, it can only be extended based on one product. Similar provisions are available in Europe and certain other foreign jurisdictions to extend the term of a patent that covers an approved drug.
Competition
Oncology is a highly competitive market for drug development. If successfully developed, our products will compete with therapies that have been developed or are in development at biopharmaceutical companies, academic research institutions, governmental agencies and public and private research institutions. We anticipate increasing competition from existing and new cell-based therapies, including products that are both autologous and allogeneic in nature. We also anticipate competition from other therapeutic modalities, including antibodies, bispecific T cell engagers, antibody drug conjugates, and small molecule therapeutics.
Autologous T cell therapies directed at CD19 have been commercialized by Novartis, Kite/Gilead and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMS) and are witnessing increased adoption in the marketplace. In August 2017, Novartis obtained FDA approval to commercialize Kymriah® for the treatment of children and young adults with B-cell ALL that is refractory or has relapsed at least twice. In May 2018, Kymriah® received FDA approval for adults with certain types of LBCL who have not responded to, or who have relapsed after, at least two other types of systemic treatment (3rd-line LBCL), and in May 2022, Kymriah® received FDA approval for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma (FL) after two or more lines of systemic therapy. In October 2017, Kite/Gilead obtained FDA approval to commercialize Yescarta®, for the treatment of adult patients with 3rd-line LBCL. This was followed by approval of Yescarta® for R/R FL in March 2021 and approval of 2nd-line LBCL in April 2022. Kite has also received FDA approval for a second autologous CD19-directed T cell therapy, Tecartus®, for use in patients with R/R mantle cell lymphoma and adult patients with R/R B-cell ALL. In February 2021, BMS obtained FDA approval for its anti-CD19 autologous T cell therapy, Breyanzi® for the treatment of adults with 3rd-line LBCL. The label of Breyanzi® label was extended to 2nd-line LBCL in June 2022, R/R Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) in March 2024, R/R FL in May 2024, and R/R Mantle Cell Lymphoma (MCL) in May 2024.
Autologous cell therapies directed at BCMA have been commercialized by BMS and Jannsen, a Johnson & Johnson company. In March 2021, BMS and partner 2seventy bio, Inc. received FDA approval of Abecma®, an anti-BCMA autologous T cell therapy, for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior therapies. Jannsen and partner Legend Bio received approval for Carvykti®, an anti-BCMA autologous T cell therapy, for the same indication in February 2022. Both Abecma® and Carvykti® have succeeded in pivotal trials in earlier lines of R/R myeloma and have gained label extensions into this market in 2024.
Autologous T cell therapies are being developed by a number of additional companies, including but not limited to 2seventy bio, Inc., Adaptimmune Therapeutics PLC, Alaunos Therapeutics, Inc., Arcellx, Inc., Arsenal Biosciences, Inc., AstraZeneca plc, Autolus Therapeutics plc, CARGO Therapeutics, Inc. Eureka Therapeutics, Inc., Galapagos NV, Gilead Sciences, Inc., ImmPACT Bio, USA Inc., Instil Bio, Inc., Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc., Legend Biotech Corp., Lyell Immunopharma Inc., Mustang Bio, Inc., Triumvira Immunologics, and TScan Therapeutics, Inc.
Autologous CAR T therapy has made significant advances in addressing R/R NHL, and has moved to earlier lines of therapy, as further described above. We do not, however, believe that autologous CAR T therapy will be a viable option in the 1L consolidation setting because of the lengthy lead time for the individualized manufacturing process for autologous CAR T. Once it is determined that a patient is MRD positive following standard 1L treatment, we believe that the speed at which a patient is treated with CAR T therapy will enhance response rates. Published results of front-line chemotherapy outcomes suggest that MRD positive patients are likely to progress, and some patients may do so very quickly (i.e., within a matter of weeks after completing 1L therapy). Furthermore, data suggests that patients who have low burden of disease when they receive CAR T cells tend to have better safety and efficacy outcomes, including lower rates of CRS and more durable remissions. As a result, we believe that it will be important that patients receive CAR T therapy as soon as possible following an MRD positive diagnosis, which will not allow for the lengthy manufacturing process of autologous CAR T.
Allogeneic T cell products have yet to receive FDA approval though the number of companies developing allogeneic product candidates is substantial. These include AstraZeneca, plc, Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc., Beam Therapeutics, Inc., Caribou Biosciences, Inc., CRISPR Therapeutics AG, Editas Medicine, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Fate Therapeutics, Inc., Gilead Sciences, Inc., Imugene Ltd., Intellia Therapeutics, Inc., Legend Biotech Corp., Precision Biosciences, Inc., and Sana Biotechnology, Inc. Some of the allogeneic T cell candidates under development target the same antigens that are part of our clinical pipeline, such as CD19, BCMA and CD70. Additionally, Cellectis has several fully-owned allogeneic CAR T programs that could compete with programs that fall outside our agreement with Cellectis.
There are also cell therapies under development that are based upon cell types other than the common type of T cells used by us and known as alpha/beta T cells. These include product candidates derived from natural killer cells, natural killer T cells, gamma/delta T cells and macrophage cells. Companies developing such therapies include Adicet Bio, Inc., Artiva Biotherapeutics, Inc., Carisma Therapeutics, Inc., Cytovia Therapeutics, Inc., Celularity, Inc., Century Therapeutics, Inc., Fate Therapeutics, Inc., Gamida Cell Ltd., In8bio, Inc., Lyell Immunopharma, Inc., Nkarta, Inc., Shoreline Bio, Inc., and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited.
Competition may also arise from non-cell based immune oncology platforms. For instance, we may experience competition from companies, such as AbbVie, Inc., Amgen Inc., BMS, Compass Therapeutics, Inc., F. Hoffmann-La Roche AG, Genmab A/S, GlaxoSmithKline plc, Immunocore Holdings plc, Johnson & Johnson, MacroGenics, Inc., Merck & Co.
Inc., Merus N.V., Pfizer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Xencor Inc., that are pursuing bispecific T cell engagers that target both the cancer antigen and T cell receptor, thus bringing both cancer cells and T cells in close proximity to maximize the likelihood of an immune response to the cancer cells. Multiple bi-specific T cell engagers targeting BCMA for myeloma and CD20 for lymphoma are advancing rapidly in development and the first products in each category gained FDA approval in 2022. Additionally, companies, such as ADC Therapeutics SA, Amgen Inc., Daiichi Sankyo Company, Limited, Gilead Sciences, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline plc, ImmunoGen, Inc., Pfizer Inc., and Sutro Biopharma, Inc. are pursuing antibody drug conjugates, which utilize the targeting ability of antibodies to deliver cell-killing agents directly to cancer cells.
In addition to the significant competition noted above in oncology markets, as early data in the use of CAR T cell therapy for the treatment of autoimmune disease has been emerging since 2022, there have been many companies initiating autologous and/or allogeneic cell therapy development programs that would be in direct competition to our autoimmune program. For example, we may experience competition in these markets from companies such as Adicet Bio, Inc., Arcellx, Inc., Atara Biotherapeutics, Inc., Autolus Therapeutics plc, BMS, Cabaletta Bio, Inc., Caribou Biosciences, Inc., Cartesian Therapeutics, Inc., CRISPR Therapeutics AG, Fate Therapeutics, Inc., Gracell Biotechnologies, Inc., ImmPACT Bio USA, Inc., Kyverna Therapeutics, Inc., Nkarta, Inc., Novartis, Sana Biotechology, Inc., and TG Therapeutics Inc.
Many of our competitors, either alone or with their collaboration partners, have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, pre-clinical testing, clinical trials, manufacturing, and marketing than we do. Future collaborations and mergers and acquisitions may result in further resource concentration among a smaller number of competitors.
Our commercial potential could be reduced or eliminated if our competitors develop and commercialize products that are better tolerated, more effective, have fewer or less severe side effects, are more convenient or are less expensive than products that we may develop. Our competitors also may obtain FDA or other regulatory approval for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market or make our development more complicated. The key competitive factors affecting the success of all of our programs are likely to be efficacy, safety, convenience, and cost of manufacturing.
These competitors may also vie for a similar pool of qualified scientific and management talent, sites and patient populations for clinical trials, and investor capital, as well as for technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs.
Government Regulation and Product Approval
As a biopharmaceutical company that operates in the United States, we are subject to extensive regulation. Our cell products will be regulated as biologics. With this classification, commercial production of our products will need to occur in registered facilities in compliance with cGMP for biologics. The FDA categorizes human cell- or tissue-based products as either minimally manipulated or more than minimally manipulated, and has determined that more than minimally manipulated products require clinical trials to demonstrate product safety and efficacy and the submission of a BLA for marketing authorization. Our products are considered more than minimally manipulated and will require evaluation in clinical trials and the submission and approval of a BLA before we can market them.
Government authorities in the United States (at the federal, state and local level) and in other countries extensively regulate, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacturing, quality control, approval, labeling, packaging, storage, record-keeping, promotion, advertising, distribution, post-approval monitoring and reporting, marketing and export and import of biopharmaceutical products such as those we are developing. Our product candidates must be approved by the FDA before they may be legally marketed in the United States and by the appropriate foreign regulatory agency before they may be legally marketed in foreign countries. Generally, our activities in other countries will be subject to regulation that is similar in nature and scope as that imposed in the United States, although there can be important differences. Additionally, some significant aspects of regulation in Europe are addressed in a centralized way, but country-specific regulation remains essential in many respects. The process for obtaining regulatory marketing approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources.
U.S. Product Development Process
In the United States, the FDA regulates pharmaceutical and biological products under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), the Public Health Service Act (PHSA) and their implementing regulations. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources. Failure to comply with the applicable U.S. requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process or after approval, may subject an applicant to administrative or judicial sanctions.
FDA sanctions could include, among other actions, refusal to approve pending applications, withdrawal of an approval, a clinical hold, warning letters, product recalls or withdrawals from the market, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, restitution, disgorgement or civil or criminal penalties. We have been placed on clinical hold previously and any future agency or judicial enforcement action could have a material adverse effect on us. The process required by the FDA before a biological product may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following:
•completion of nonclinical laboratory tests and animal studies according to good laboratory practices (GLPs) and applicable requirements for the humane use of laboratory animals or other applicable regulations;
•submission to the FDA of an IND, which must become effective before human clinical trials may begin;
•approval by an independent Institutional Review Board (IRB) or ethics committee at each clinical site before the trial is commenced;
•performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials according to the FDA’s regulations commonly referred to as good clinical practices (GCPs) and any additional requirements for the protection of human research patients and their health information, to establish the safety and efficacy of the proposed biological product for its intended use;
•submission to the FDA of a BLA for marketing approval that includes substantial evidence of safety, purity, and potency from results of nonclinical testing and clinical trials, and which is validated as complete for review by the FDA;
•satisfactory completion of an FDA Advisory Committee review, if applicable;
•satisfactory completion of an FDA inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities where the biological product is produced to assess compliance with cGMP, to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the biological product’s identity, strength, quality and purity and, if applicable, the FDA’s current good tissue practices (GTPs) for the use of human cellular and tissue products;
•potential FDA audit of the nonclinical study and clinical trial sites that generated the data in support of the BLA; and
•FDA review and approval, or licensure, of the BLA.
Before testing any biological product candidate, including our product candidates, in humans, the product candidate enters the preclinical testing stage. Preclinical tests, also referred to as nonclinical studies, include laboratory evaluations of product chemistry, toxicity and formulation, as well as animal studies to assess the potential safety and activity of the product candidate. The conduct of the preclinical tests must comply with federal regulations and requirements including GLPs. The clinical trial sponsor must submit the results of the preclinical tests, together with manufacturing information, analytical data, any available clinical data or literature and a proposed clinical protocol, to the FDA as part of the IND. Some preclinical testing may continue even after the IND is submitted. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA raises concerns or questions regarding the proposed clinical trials and places the trial on a clinical hold within that 30-day time period. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical trial can begin. The FDA may also impose clinical holds on a biological product candidate at any time before or during clinical trials due to safety concerns or non-compliance. If the FDA imposes a clinical hold, trials may not recommence without FDA authorization and then only under terms authorized by the FDA. Accordingly, we cannot be sure that submission of an IND will result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to begin, or that, once begun, issues will not arise that suspend or terminate such trials.
Clinical trials involve the administration of the biological product candidate to patients under the supervision of qualified investigators, generally physicians not employed by or under the trial sponsor’s control. Clinical trials are conducted under protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the clinical trial, dosing procedures, subject selection and exclusion criteria, and the parameters to be used to monitor subject safety, including stopping rules that assure a clinical trial will be stopped if certain adverse events should occur. Each protocol and any amendments to the protocol must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. Clinical trials must be conducted and monitored in accordance with the FDA’s regulations comprising the GCP requirements, including the requirement that all research patients provide informed consent. Further, each clinical trial must be reviewed and approved by an independent IRB at or servicing each institution at which the clinical trial will be conducted. An IRB is charged with protecting the welfare and rights of trial participants and considers such items as whether the risks to individuals participating in the clinical trials are minimized and are reasonable in relation to anticipated benefits. The IRB also approves the form and content of the informed consent that must be signed by each clinical trial subject or his or her legal representative and must monitor the clinical trial until completed. Certain clinical trials involving human gene transfer research also must be overseen by an Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC), a standing committee to provide peer review of the safety of research plans, procedures, personnel training and environmental risks of work involving recombinant DNA molecules. IBCs are typically assigned certain review responsibilities relating to the use of recombinant DNA molecules, including reviewing potential environmental risks, assessing containment levels, and evaluating the adequacy of facilities, personnel training, and compliance with the National Institutes of Health Guidelines. We may also engage an independent group of qualified experts organized by the clinical study sponsor, known as a data safety monitoring board, to provide authorization for whether or not a study may move forward at designated check points based on access to certain data from the study and may halt the clinical trial if it determines that there is an unacceptable safety risk for subjects or other grounds, such as no demonstration of efficacy. There are also requirements governing the reporting of ongoing clinical studies and clinical study results to public registries.
Human clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap or be combined:
•Phase 1. The biological product is initially introduced into healthy human subjects and tested for safety. In the case of some products for severe or life-threatening diseases, especially when the product may be too inherently toxic to ethically administer to healthy volunteers, the initial human testing is often conducted in patients.
•Phase 2. The biological product is evaluated in a limited patient population to identify possible adverse effects and safety risks, to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy of the product for specific targeted diseases and to determine dosage tolerance, optimal dosage and dosing schedule.
•Phase 3. Clinical trials are undertaken to further evaluate dosage, clinical efficacy, potency, and safety in an expanded patient population at geographically dispersed clinical trial sites. These clinical trials are intended to establish the overall risk to benefit ratio of the product and provide an adequate basis for product labeling.
Long term follow-up for all patients who get marketed product and post-approval clinical trials, sometimes referred to as Phase 4 clinical trials, may be required after initial marketing approval. These clinical trials are used to gain additional experience from the treatment of patients in the intended therapeutic indication, particularly for long-term safety follow-up. During all phases of clinical development, regulatory agencies require extensive monitoring and auditing of all clinical activities, clinical data, and clinical trial investigators. Annual progress reports detailing the results of the clinical trials must be submitted to the FDA. Written IND safety reports must be promptly submitted to the FDA, and the investigators for serious and unexpected adverse events, any findings from other studies, tests in laboratory animals or in vitro testing that suggest a significant risk for human patients, or any clinically important increase in the rate of a serious suspected adverse reaction over that listed in the protocol or investigator brochure. The sponsor must submit an IND safety report within 15 calendar days after the sponsor determines that the information qualifies for reporting. The sponsor also must notify the FDA of any unexpected fatal or life-threatening suspected adverse reaction within seven calendar days after the sponsor’s initial receipt of the information. Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials may not be completed successfully within any specified period, if at all. The FDA or the sponsor or its data safety monitoring board may suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk, including risks inferred from other unrelated immunotherapy trials. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the biological product has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients.
Concurrently with clinical trials, companies usually complete additional studies and must also develop additional information about the physical characteristics of the biological product as well as finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP requirements. To help reduce the risk of the introduction of adventitious agents with use of biological products, the PHSA emphasizes the importance of manufacturing control for products whose attributes cannot be precisely defined. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing quality batches of the product candidate and, among other things, the sponsor must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality, potency and purity of the final biological product. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the biological product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life.
U.S. Review and Approval Processes
After the completion of clinical trials of a biological product, FDA approval of a BLA must be obtained before commercial marketing of the biological product. The BLA submission must include results of product development, laboratory and animal studies, human trials, information on the manufacture and composition of the product, proposed labeling and other relevant information. The testing and approval processes require substantial time and effort and there can be no assurance that the FDA will accept the BLA for filing and, even if filed, that any approval will be granted on a timely basis, if at all.
Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA), as amended, each BLA must be accompanied by a significant user fee. The FDA adjusts the PDUFA user fees on an annual basis. PDUFA also imposes an annual program fee for biological products. Fee waivers or reductions are available in certain circumstances, including a waiver of the application fee for the first application filed by a small business. Additionally, no user fees are assessed on BLAs for products designated as orphan drugs, unless the product also includes a non-orphan indication.
Within 60 or 74 days following submission of the application, the FDA reviews a BLA submitted to determine if it is substantially complete before the agency accepts it for filing. The FDA may refuse to file any BLA that it deems incomplete or not properly reviewable at the time of submission and may request additional information. In this event, the BLA must be resubmitted with the additional information. The resubmitted application also is subject to review before the FDA accepts it for filing. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth substantive review of the BLA. The FDA reviews the BLA to determine, among other things, whether the proposed product is safe, potent, and/or effective for its intended use, and has an acceptable purity profile, and whether the product is being manufactured in accordance with cGMP to assure and preserve the product’s identity, safety, strength, quality, potency and purity.
The FDA may refer applications for novel biological products or biological products that present difficult questions of safety or efficacy to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians and other experts, for review, evaluation and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions. During the biological product approval process, the FDA also will determine whether a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) is necessary to assure the safe use of the biological product. A REMS is a safety strategy to manage a known or potential serious risk associated with a medicine and to enable patients to have continued access to such medicines by managing their safe use, and could include medication guides, physician communication plans, or elements to assure safe use, such as restricted distribution methods, patient registries and other risk minimization tools. If the FDA concludes a REMS is needed, the sponsor of the BLA must submit a proposed REMS. The FDA will not approve a BLA without a REMS, if required.
Before approving a BLA, the FDA will inspect the facilities at which the product is manufactured. The FDA will not approve the product unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. For immunotherapy products, the FDA also will not approve the product if the manufacturer is not in compliance with the GTPs, to the extent applicable. These are FDA regulations and guidance documents that govern the methods used in, and the facilities and controls used for, the manufacture of human cells, tissue, and cellular and tissue-based products (HCT/Ps), which are human cells or tissue intended for implantation, transplant, infusion, or transfer into a human recipient. The primary intent of the GTP requirements is to ensure that cell and tissue-based products are manufactured in a manner designed to prevent the introduction, transmission and spread of communicable disease. FDA regulations also require tissue establishments to register and list their HCT/Ps with the FDA and, when applicable, to evaluate donors through screening and testing. Additionally, before approving a BLA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure that the clinical trials were conducted in compliance with IND trial requirements and GCP requirements. To assure cGMP, GTP and GCP compliance, an applicant must incur significant expenditure of time, money and effort in the areas of training, record keeping, production, and quality control.
Notwithstanding the submission of relevant data and information, the FDA may ultimately decide that the BLA does not satisfy its regulatory criteria for approval and deny approval. Data obtained from clinical trials are not always conclusive and the FDA may interpret data differently than we interpret the same data. If the agency decides not to approve the BLA in its present form, the FDA will issue a complete response letter that describes all of the specific deficiencies in the BLA identified by the FDA. The deficiencies identified may be minor, for example, requiring labeling changes, or major, for example, requiring additional clinical trials. Additionally, the complete response letter may include recommended actions that the applicant might take to place the application in a condition for approval. If a complete response letter is issued, the applicant may either resubmit the BLA, addressing all of the deficiencies identified in the letter, or withdraw the application.
If a product receives regulatory approval, the approval may be limited to specific diseases and dosages or the indications for use may otherwise be limited, which could restrict the commercial value of the product. Further, the FDA may require that certain contraindications, warnings or precautions be included in the product labeling. The FDA may impose restrictions and conditions on product distribution, prescribing, or dispensing in the form of a risk management plan, or otherwise limit the scope of any approval. In addition, the FDA may require post marketing clinical trials, sometimes referred to as Phase 4 clinical trials, designed to further assess a biological product’s safety and effectiveness, and testing and surveillance programs to monitor the safety of approved products that have been commercialized.
In addition, under the Pediatric Research Equity Act (PREA), a BLA or supplement to a BLA must contain data to assess the safety and effectiveness of the product for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations and to support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the product is safe and effective. The FDA may grant deferrals for submission of data or full or partial waivers.
Orphan Drug Designation
Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan designation to a drug or biologic intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, or more than 200,000 individuals in the United States and for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making available in the United States a drug or biologic for this type of disease or condition will be recovered from sales in the United States for that drug or biologic. Orphan drug designation must be requested before submitting a BLA. After the FDA grants orphan drug designation, the generic identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. The orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review or approval process.
If a product that has orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for the disease for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity, which means that the FDA may not approve any other applications, including a full BLA, to market the same biologic for the same indication for seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan drug exclusivity.
Orphan drug exclusivity does not prevent FDA from approving a different drug or biologic for the same disease or condition, or the same drug or biologic for a different disease or condition. Among the other benefits of orphan drug designation are tax credits for certain research and a waiver of the BLA application user fee.
A designated orphan drug may not receive orphan drug exclusivity if it is approved for a use that is broader than the indication for which it received orphan designation. In addition, exclusive marketing rights in the United States may be lost if the FDA later determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantities of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition.
Expedited Development and Review Programs
The FDA has a fast track program that is intended to expedite or facilitate the process for reviewing new products that meet certain criteria. Specifically, new products are eligible for fast track designation if they are intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for the disease or condition. Fast track designation applies to the combination of the product and the specific indication for which it is being studied. Unique to a fast track product, the FDA may consider for review sections of the BLA on a rolling basis before the complete application is submitted, if the sponsor provides a schedule for the submission of the sections of the BLA, the FDA agrees to accept sections of the BLA and determines that the schedule is acceptable, and the sponsor pays any required user fees upon submission of the first section of the BLA.
Any product submitted to the FDA for approval, including a product with a fast track designation, may also be eligible for other types of FDA programs intended to expedite development and review, such as priority review and accelerated approval. A product is eligible for priority review if it has the potential to provide safe and effective therapy where no satisfactory alternative therapy exists or a significant improvement in the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of a disease compared to marketed products. The FDA will attempt to direct additional resources to the evaluation of an application for a new product designated for priority review in an effort to facilitate the review. Additionally, a product may be eligible for accelerated approval. Products studied for their safety and effectiveness in treating serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions may receive accelerated approval upon a determination that the product has an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit, or on a clinical endpoint that can be measured earlier than irreversible morbidity or mortality, that is reasonably likely to predict an effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical benefit, taking into account the severity, rarity, or prevalence of the condition and the availability or lack of alternative treatments. As a condition of approval, the FDA may require that a sponsor of a drug or biological product receiving accelerated approval perform adequate and well-controlled post-marketing clinical studies. In addition, the FDA currently requires as a condition for accelerated approval pre-approval of promotional materials, which could adversely impact the timing of the commercial launch of the product.
Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation was established by FDA to facilitate an efficient development program for, and expedite review of, any drug that meets the following criteria: (1) it qualifies as a RMAT, which is defined as a cell therapy, therapeutic tissue engineering product, human cell and tissue product, or any combination product using such therapies or products, with limited exceptions; (2) it is intended to treat, modify, reverse, or cure a serious or life-threatening disease or condition; and (3) preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug has the potential to address unmet medical needs for such a disease or condition. RMAT designation provides potential benefits that include more frequent meetings with FDA to discuss the development plan for the product candidate and eligibility for rolling review and priority review. Products granted RMAT designation may also be eligible for accelerated approval on the basis of a surrogate or intermediate endpoint reasonably likely to predict long-term clinical benefit, or reliance upon data obtained from a meaningful number of sites, including through expansion to additional sites. Once approved, when appropriate, the FDA can permit fulfillment of post-approval requirements under accelerated approval through the submission of clinical evidence, clinical studies, patient registries, or other sources of real world evidence such as electronic health records; through the collection of larger confirmatory datasets; or through post-approval monitoring of all patients treated with the therapy prior to approval.
Breakthrough therapy designation is also intended to expedite the development and review of products that treat serious or life-threatening conditions. The designation by FDA requires preliminary clinical evidence that a product candidate, alone or in combination with other drugs and biologics, demonstrates substantial improvement over currently available therapy on one or more clinically significant endpoints, such as substantial treatment effects observed early in clinical development. Breakthrough therapy designation comes with all of the benefits of fast track designation, which means that the sponsor may file sections of the BLA for review on a rolling basis if certain conditions are satisfied, including an agreement with FDA on the proposed schedule for submission of portions of the application and the payment of applicable user fees before the FDA may initiate a review.
Fast track designation, priority review, RMAT and Breakthrough therapy designation do not change the standards for approval but may expedite the development or approval process.
Post-Approval Requirements
Any products for which we receive FDA approvals are subject to continuing regulation by the FDA, including, among other things, record-keeping requirements, reporting of adverse experiences with the product, providing the FDA with updated safety and efficacy information, product sampling and distribution requirements, and complying with FDA promotion and advertising requirements, which include, among others, standards for direct-to-consumer advertising, restrictions on promoting products for uses or in patient populations that are not described in the product’s approved uses (known as “off-label use”), limitations on industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities, and requirements for promotional activities involving the internet. Although a physician may prescribe a legally available product for an off-label use, if the physician deems such product to be appropriate in his/her professional medical judgment, a manufacturer may not market or promote off-label uses. However, it is permissible to share in certain circumstances truthful and not misleading information that is consistent with the product’s approved labeling.
In addition, quality control and manufacturing procedures must continue to conform to applicable manufacturing requirements after approval to ensure the long-term stability of the product. cGMP regulations require among other things, quality control and quality assurance as well as the corresponding maintenance of records and documentation and the obligation to investigate and correct any deviations from cGMP. Manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved products are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and certain state agencies for compliance with cGMP and other laws. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain cGMP compliance. Discovery of problems with a product after approval may result in restrictions on a product, manufacturer, or holder of an approved BLA, including, among other things, recall or withdrawal of the product from the market. In addition, changes to the manufacturing process are strictly regulated, and depending on the significance of the change, may require prior FDA approval before being implemented. Other types of changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications and claims, are also subject to further FDA review and approval.
The FDA also may require post-marketing testing, known as Phase 4 testing, and surveillance to monitor the effects of an approved product. Discovery of previously unknown problems with a product or the failure to comply with applicable FDA requirements can have negative consequences, including adverse publicity, judicial or administrative enforcement, warning letters from the FDA, mandated corrective advertising or communications with doctors, and civil or criminal penalties, among others. Newly discovered or developed safety or effectiveness data may require changes to a product’s approved labeling, including the addition of new warnings and contraindications, and also may require the implementation of other risk management measures. Also, new government requirements, including those resulting from new legislation, may be established, or the FDA’s policies may change, which could delay or prevent regulatory approval of our products under development.
U.S. Marketing Exclusivity
The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act (BPCIA) amended the PHSA to authorize the FDA to approve similar versions of innovative biologics, commonly known as biosimilars. A competitor seeking approval of a biosimilar must file an application to establish its molecule as highly similar to an approved innovator biologic, among other requirements. The BPCIA, however, bars the FDA from approving biosimilar applications for 12 years after an innovator biological product receives initial marketing approval. This 12-year period of data exclusivity may be extended by six months, for a total of 12.5 years, if the FDA requests that the innovator company conduct pediatric clinical investigations of the product.
Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of the FDA approval of the use of our product candidates, some of our U.S. patents, if granted, may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984, commonly referred to as the Hatch-Waxman Act. The Hatch-Waxman Act permits a patent restoration term of up to five years, as compensation for patent term lost during product development and the FDA regulatory review process. However, patent term restoration cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the product’s approval date. The patent term restoration period is generally one-half the time between the effective date of an IND and the submission date of a BLA plus the time between the submission date of a BLA and the approval of that application. Only one patent applicable to an approved product is eligible for the extension and the application for the extension must be submitted prior to the expiration of the patent. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, in consultation with the FDA, reviews and approves the application for any patent term extension or restoration. In the future, we may intend to apply for restoration of patent term for one of our currently owned or licensed patents to add patent life beyond its current expiration date, depending on the expected length of the clinical trials and other factors involved in the filing of the relevant BLA.
Pediatric exclusivity is another type of regulatory market exclusivity in the United States. Pediatric exclusivity, if granted, adds six months to existing exclusivity periods and patent terms. This six-month exclusivity, which runs from the end of other exclusivity protection or patent term, may be granted based on the voluntary completion of a pediatric trial in
accordance with an FDA-issued “Written Request” for such a trial.
FDA Approval and Regulation of Medical Devices and Companion Diagnostics
If safe and effective use of a therapeutic depends on an in vitro diagnostic, then the FDA generally will require approval or clearance of that diagnostic, known as a companion diagnostic, at the same time that the FDA approves the therapeutic product. In August 2014, the FDA issued final guidance clarifying the requirements that apply to approval of therapeutic products and in vitro companion diagnostics. According to the guidance, if the FDA determines that a companion diagnostic device is essential to the safe and effective use of a novel therapeutic product or indication, the FDA generally will not approve the therapeutic product or new therapeutic product indication if the companion diagnostic device is not approved or cleared for that indication. Approval or clearance of the companion diagnostic device will ensure that the device has been adequately evaluated and has adequate performance characteristics in the intended population. The review of in vitro companion diagnostics in conjunction with the review of our product candidates in development for cancer will, therefore, likely involve coordination of review by the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research and the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health.
Under the FDCA, in vitro diagnostics, including companion diagnostics, are regulated as medical devices. In the U.S., the FDCA and its implementing regulations, and other federal and state statutes and regulations govern, among other things, medical device design and development, preclinical and clinical testing, premarket clearance or approval, registration and listing, manufacturing, labeling, storage, advertising and promotion, sales and distribution, export and import, and post-market surveillance. Unless an exemption applies, medical devices, including companion diagnostic tests, require marketing clearance or approval from the FDA prior to commercial distribution.
The two primary types of FDA marketing authorization applicable to a medical device are premarket notification (“510(k) clearance”) and premarket approval (“PMA”). To obtain 510(k) clearance, a manufacturer must submit to the FDA a premarket notification submission demonstrating that the proposed device is “substantially equivalent” to a legally marketed predicate device. The FDA’s 510(k) clearance process usually takes from three to twelve months but may take longer. The FDA may require additional information, including clinical data, to make a determination regarding substantial equivalence. If the FDA agrees that the device is substantially equivalent to a predicate device currently on the market, it will grant 510(k) clearance to commercially market the device. If the FDA determines that the device is “not substantially equivalent” to a previously cleared device, the device is automatically designated as a Class III (i.e., high-risk) device. The device sponsor must then fulfill more rigorous PMA requirements or can request a risk-based classification determination for the device in accordance with the “de novo” process, which is a route to market for novel medical devices that are low to moderate risk and are not substantially equivalent to a predicate device.
After a device receives 510(k) clearance, any modification that could significantly affect its safety or effectiveness, or that would constitute a major change or modification in its intended use, will require a new 510(k) clearance or depending on the modification, approval of a PMA application or de novo classification. The FDA requires each manufacturer to determine whether the proposed change requires submission of a 510(k), de novo classification or a PMA in the first instance, but the FDA can review any such decision and disagree with a manufacturer’s determination. If the FDA disagrees with a manufacturer’s determination, the FDA can require the manufacturer to cease marketing and/or request the recall of the modified device until it receives 510(k) clearance, approval of a PMA application, or issuance of a de novo classification. Also, in these circumstances, the manufacturer may be subject to significant regulatory fines or penalties.
The PMA process, including the gathering of clinical and preclinical data and the submission to and review by the FDA, can take several years or longer. It involves a rigorous premarket review during which the applicant must prepare and provide the FDA with reasonable assurance of the device’s safety and effectiveness and information about the device and its components regarding, among other things, device design, manufacturing and labeling. PMA applications are subject to an application fee. In addition, PMAs for certain devices must generally include the results from extensive preclinical and adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to establish the safety and effectiveness of the device for each indication for which FDA approval is sought. In particular, for a diagnostic, a PMA application typically requires data regarding analytical and clinical validation studies. As part of the PMA review, the FDA will typically inspect the manufacturer’s facilities for compliance with the QSR which imposes elaborate testing, control, documentation and other quality assurance requirements.
Approval of a PMA is not guaranteed, and the FDA may ultimately respond to a PMA submission with a not approvable determination based on deficiencies in the application and require additional clinical trial or other data that may be expensive and time-consuming to generate and that can substantially delay approval.
If the FDA’s evaluation of the PMA application is favorable, the FDA typically issues an approvable letter requiring the applicant’s agreement to specific conditions, such as changes in labeling, or specific additional information, such as submission of final labeling, in order to secure final approval of the PMA. If the FDA’s evaluation of the PMA or manufacturing facilities is not favorable, the FDA will deny approval of the PMA or issue a not approvable letter. A not approvable letter will outline the deficiencies in the application and, where practical, will identify what is necessary to make the PMA approvable. The FDA may also determine that additional clinical trials are necessary, in which case the PMA may be delayed for several months or years while the trials are conducted and then the data submitted in an amendment to the PMA. If the FDA concludes that the applicable criteria have been met, the FDA will issue a PMA for the approved indications, which can be more limited than those originally sought by the applicant. The PMA can include post-approval conditions that the FDA believes necessary to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the device, including, among other things, restrictions on labeling, promotion, sale and distribution. Once granted, approval may be withdrawn by the FDA if compliance with post approval requirements, conditions of approval or other regulatory standards are not maintained, or problems are identified following initial marketing.
After a device is placed on the market, it remains subject to significant regulatory requirements. Medical devices may be marketed only for the uses and indications for which they are cleared or approved. Device manufacturers must also establish registration and device listings with the FDA. A medical device manufacturer’s manufacturing processes and those of its suppliers are required to comply with the applicable portions of the QSR, which cover the methods and documentation of the design, testing, production, processes, controls, quality assurance, labeling, packaging and shipping of medical devices. Domestic facility records and manufacturing processes are subject to periodic unscheduled inspections by the FDA. The FDA also may inspect foreign facilities that export products to the U.S.
Other U.S. Healthcare Laws and Compliance Requirements
In the United States, our activities are potentially subject to regulation by various federal, state and local authorities in addition to the FDA, including but not limited to, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), other divisions of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (e.g., the Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and individual U.S. Attorney offices within the DOJ, and state and local governments). For example, our business practices, including any of our research and future sales, marketing and scientific/educational grant programs may be required to comply with the anti-fraud and abuse provisions of the Social Security Act, the false claims laws, the patient data privacy and security provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), transparency requirements, and similar state, local and foreign laws, each as amended.
The federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits, among other things, any person or entity, from knowingly and willfully offering, paying, soliciting or receiving any remuneration, directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce or in return for purchasing, leasing, ordering or arranging for the purchase, lease or order of any item, good, facility or service reimbursable under Medicare, Medicaid or other federal healthcare programs. The term remuneration has been interpreted broadly to include anything of value. The federal Anti-Kickback Statute has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers on one hand and prescribers, purchasers, formulary managers, and other individuals and entities on the other. There are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting some common activities from prosecution. The exceptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly and require strict compliance in order to offer protection. Practices that involve remuneration that may be alleged to be intended to induce prescribing, purchasing or recommending may be subject to scrutiny if they do not qualify for an exception or safe harbor. Failure to meet all of the requirements of a particular applicable statutory exception or regulatory safe harbor does not make the conduct per se illegal under the Anti-Kickback Statute. Instead, the legality of the arrangement will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis based on a cumulative review of all of its facts and circumstances. Our practices may not in all cases meet all of the criteria for protection under a statutory exception or regulatory safe harbor.
Additionally, the intent standard under the federal Anti-Kickback Statute was amended by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, the Affordable Care Act), to a stricter standard such that a person or entity no longer needs to have actual knowledge of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation. Rather, if “one purpose” of the remuneration is to induce referrals, the federal Anti-Kickback Statute is violated. In addition, the Affordable Care Act codified case law that a claim that includes items or services resulting from a violation of the federal Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal civil False Claims Act (discussed below).
The civil monetary penalties statute imposes penalties against any person or entity who, among other things, is determined to have presented or caused to be presented a claim to, among others, a federal healthcare program that the person knows or should know is for a medical or other item or service that was not provided as claimed or is false or fraudulent.
The federal civil False Claims Act prohibits, among other things, any person or entity from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false claim for payment to, or approval by, the federal government or knowingly making, using, or causing to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim to the federal government. As a result of a modification made by the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act of 2009, a claim includes “any request or demand” for money or property presented to the U.S. government.
For example, pharmaceutical and other healthcare companies have been, and continue to be, investigated or prosecuted under these laws for allegedly providing free product to customers with the expectation that the customers would bill federal programs for the product and for causing false claims to be submitted because of the companies’ marketing of the product for unapproved, and thus non-reimbursable, uses.
HIPAA created additional federal criminal statutes that prohibit knowingly and willfully executing, or attempting to execute, a scheme to defraud or to obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations or promises, any money or property owned by, or under the control or custody of, any healthcare benefit program, including private third-party payors and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up by trick, scheme or device, a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services.
Also, many states have similar fraud and abuse statutes or regulations that apply to items and services reimbursed under Medicaid and other state programs, or, in several states, apply regardless of the payor.
We may be subject to data privacy and security regulations by both the federal government and the states in which we conduct our business. HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) and their implementing regulations, imposes requirements on certain types of individuals and entities relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information. Among other things, HITECH makes HIPAA’s privacy and security standards directly applicable to business associates that are independent contractors or agents of covered entities that receive or obtain protected health information in connection with providing a service on behalf of a covered entity as well as their covered subcontractors. HITECH also created four new tiers of civil monetary penalties, amended HIPAA to make civil and criminal penalties directly applicable to business associates, and gave state attorneys general new authority to file civil actions for damages or injunctions in federal courts to enforce the federal HIPAA laws and seek attorneys’ fees and costs associated with pursuing federal civil actions. In addition, state laws govern the privacy and security of health information in specified circumstances, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and may not have the same effect, thus complicating compliance efforts.
Additionally, the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act within the Affordable Care Act, and its implementing regulations, require that certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biological and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (with certain exceptions) annually report information to CMS related to certain payments or other transfers of value made or distributed to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists and chiropractors), other healthcare professionals (such as physicians assistants and nurse practitioners) and teaching hospitals, or to entities or individuals at the request of, or designated on behalf of, physicians and teaching hospitals and certain ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members.
In order to distribute products commercially, we must comply with state laws that require the registration of manufacturers and wholesale distributors of drug and biological products in a state, including, in certain states, manufacturers and distributors who ship products into the state even if such manufacturers or distributors have no place of business within the state. Some states also impose requirements on manufacturers and distributors to establish the pedigree of product in the chain of distribution, including some states that require manufacturers and others to adopt new technology capable of tracking and tracing product as it moves through the distribution chain. Several states have enacted legislation requiring pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to establish marketing compliance programs, file periodic reports with the state, make periodic public disclosures on sales, marketing, pricing, clinical trials and other activities, and/or register their sales representatives, as well as to prohibit pharmacies and other healthcare entities from providing certain physician prescribing data to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for use in sales and marketing, and to prohibit certain other sales and marketing practices. All of our activities are potentially subject to federal and state consumer protection and unfair competition laws.
If our operations are found to be in violation of any of the federal and state healthcare laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to us, we may be subject to significant penalties, including without limitation, civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, imprisonment, exclusion from participation in government programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, refusal to allow us to enter into government contracts, contractual damages, reputational harm, administrative burdens, diminished profits and future earnings, additional reporting requirements and/or oversight if we become subject to a corporate integrity agreement or similar agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws, and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations, any of which could adversely affect our ability to operate our business and our results of operations.
Coverage, Pricing and Reimbursement
Significant uncertainty exists as to the coverage and reimbursement status of any product candidates for which we obtain regulatory approval. In the United States and markets in other countries, sales of any products for which we receive regulatory approval for commercial sale will depend, in part, on the extent to which third-party payors provide coverage, and establish adequate reimbursement levels for such products. In the United States, third-party payors include federal and state healthcare programs, private managed care providers, health insurers and other organizations.
The process for determining whether a third-party payor will provide coverage for a product may be separate from the process for setting the price of a product or for establishing the reimbursement rate that such a payor will pay for the product. Third-party payors may limit coverage to specific products on an approved list, or also known as a formulary, which might not include all of the FDA-approved products for a particular indication. Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the price, examining the medical necessity and reviewing the cost-effectiveness of medical products, therapies and services, in addition to questioning their safety and efficacy. We may need to conduct expensive pharmaco-economic studies in order to demonstrate the medical necessity and cost-effectiveness of our products, in addition to the costs required to obtain the FDA approvals. Our product candidates may not be considered medically necessary or cost-effective. A payor’s decision to provide coverage for a product does not imply that an adequate reimbursement rate will be approved. Further, one payor’s determination to provide coverage for a product does not assure that other payors will also provide coverage for the product. Adequate third-party reimbursement may not be available to enable us to maintain price levels sufficient to realize an appropriate return on our investment in product development.
Different pricing and reimbursement schemes exist in other countries. In the EU, governments influence the price of pharmaceutical products through their pricing and reimbursement rules and control of national health care systems that fund a large part of the cost of those products to consumers. Some jurisdictions operate positive and negative list systems under which products may only be marketed once a reimbursement price has been agreed. To obtain reimbursement or pricing approval, some of these countries may require the completion of clinical trials that compare the cost-effectiveness of a particular product candidate to currently available therapies. Other member states allow companies to fix their own prices for medicines, but monitor and control company profits. The downward pressure on health care costs has become very intense. As a result, increasingly high barriers are being erected to the entry of new products. In addition, in some countries, cross-border imports from low-priced markets exert a commercial pressure on pricing within a country.
The marketability of any product candidates for which we receive regulatory approval for commercial sale may suffer if the government and third-party payors fail to provide adequate coverage and reimbursement. In addition, emphasis on managed care in the United States has increased and we expect will continue to increase the pressure on healthcare pricing. Coverage policies and third-party reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained for one or more products for which we receive regulatory approval, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.
Healthcare Reform
In the United States and some foreign jurisdictions, there have been, and continue to be, several legislative and regulatory changes and proposed changes regarding the healthcare system that could prevent or delay marketing approval of product candidates, restrict or regulate post-approval activities, and affect the ability to profitably sell product candidates for which marketing approval is obtained. Among policy makers and payors in the United States and elsewhere, there is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, improving quality and/or expanding access. In the United States, the pharmaceutical industry has been a particular focus of these efforts and has been significantly affected by major legislative initiatives.
For example, the Affordable Care Act has substantially changed healthcare financing and delivery by both governmental and private insurers.
There have been legal and political challenges and amendments to certain aspects of the Affordable Care Act. For example, on August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) was signed into law, which among other things, extends enhanced subsidies for individuals purchasing health insurance coverage in Affordable Care Act marketplaces through plan year 2025. The IRA also eliminates the "donut hole" under the Medicare Part D program beginning in 2025 by significantly lowering the beneficiary maximum out-of-pocket cost and creating a new manufacturer discount program. It is possible that the Affordable Care Act will be subject to judicial or Congressional challenges in the future. It is unclear how such challenges and any additional healthcare reform measures will impact the Affordable Care Act.
Further legislation or regulation could be passed that could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations. Other legislative changes have been proposed and adopted since the Affordable Care Act was enacted. For example, in August 2011, the Budget Control Act of 2011 was signed into law, which, among other things, created the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction to recommend to Congress proposals in spending reductions. The Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction did not achieve a targeted deficit reduction of at least $1.2 trillion for fiscal years 2012 through 2021, triggering the legislation’s automatic reduction to several government programs. This includes aggregate reductions to Medicare payments to providers of up to 2% per fiscal year, which went into effect beginning on April 1, 2013 and will stay in effect until 2032 unless additional Congressional action is taken. Additionally, on March 11, 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed into law, which eliminated the statutory Medicaid drug rebate cap, previously set at 100% of a drug’s average manufacturer price, for single source and innovator multiple source drugs, effective January 1, 2024.
Additionally, there has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to specialty drug pricing practices. Specifically, there have been several recent U.S. Congressional inquiries and federal and state legislative activity designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs, and reform government program reimbursement methodologies for drugs. For example, the IRA, among other things (i) directs HHS to negotiate the price of certain high-expenditure, single-source biologics that have been on the market for at least 11 years covered under Medicare (the “Medicare Price Negotiation Program”) and (ii) imposes rebates under Medicare Part B and Medicare Part D to penalize price increases that outpace inflation. These provisions began to take effect progressively in fiscal year 2023. On August 15, 2024, HHS announced the agreed-upon price of the first ten drugs that were subject to price negotiations, although the Medicare drug price negotiation program is currently subject to legal challenges. On January 17, 2025, HHS selected fifteen additional products covered under Part D for price negotiation in 2025. Each year thereafter more Part B and Part D products will become subject to the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program. On December 8, 2023, the National Institute of Standards and Technology published for comment a Draft Interagency Guidance Framework for Considering the Exercise of March-In Rights which for the first time includes the price of a product as one factor an agency can use when deciding to exercise march-in rights. While march-in rights have not previously been exercised, it is uncertain if that will continue under the new framework.
The current administration is pursuing policies to reduce regulations and expenditures across government including at HHS, the FDA, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and related agencies. These actions, presently directed by executive orders or memoranda from the Office of Management and Budget, may propose policy changes that create additional uncertainty for our business. These actions may, for example, include directives to reduce agency workforce, rescinding a previous executive order tasking the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (“CMMI”) to consider new payment and healthcare models to limit drug spending and eliminating a previous executive order that directed HHS to establishing an AI task force and developing a strategic plan. Additionally, in its June 2024 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo (“Loper Bright”), the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the longstanding Chevron doctrine, under which courts were required to give deference to regulatory agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous federal statutes. The Loper Bright decision could result in additional legal challenges to current regulations and guidance issued by federal agencies applicable to our operations, including those issued by the FDA. Congress may introduce and ultimately pass health care related legislation that could impact the drug approval process and make changes to the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program created under the IRA.
Individual states in the United States have also become increasingly active in passing legislation and implementing regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing.
We anticipate that these and other healthcare reform efforts will continue to result in additional downward pressure on coverage and the price that we receive for any approved product, and could seriously harm our business. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare and other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability, or commercialize our products. Such reforms could have an adverse effect on anticipated revenue from product candidates that we may successfully develop and for which we may obtain regulatory approval and may affect our overall financial condition and ability to develop product candidates.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
The FCPA prohibits any U.S. individual or business from paying, offering, or authorizing payment or offering of anything of value, directly or indirectly, to any foreign official, political party or candidate for the purpose of influencing any act or decision of the foreign entity in order to assist the individual or business in obtaining or retaining business. The FCPA also obligates companies whose securities are listed in the United States to comply with accounting provisions requiring the company to maintain books and records that accurately and fairly reflect all transactions of the corporation, including international subsidiaries, and to devise and maintain an adequate system of internal accounting controls for international operations.
Additional Regulation
In addition to the foregoing, state and federal laws regarding environmental protection and hazardous substances, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Resource Conservancy and Recovery Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act, affect our business. These and other laws govern our use, handling and disposal of various biological, chemical and radioactive substances used in, and wastes generated by, our operations. If our operations result in contamination of the environment or expose individuals to hazardous substances, we could be liable for damages and governmental fines. We believe that we are in material compliance with applicable environmental laws and that continued compliance therewith will not have a material adverse effect on our business.
We cannot predict, however, how changes in these laws may affect our future operations.
Europe / Rest of World Government Regulation
In addition to regulations in the United States, we will be subject to a variety of regulations in other jurisdictions governing, among other things, clinical trials and any commercial sales and distribution of our products. Whether or not we obtain FDA or ex-US approval of a product, we must obtain the requisite approvals from regulatory authorities in foreign countries prior to the commencement of clinical trials or marketing of the product in those countries. Certain countries outside of the United States have a similar process that requires the submission of a clinical trial application much like the IND prior to the commencement of human clinical trials. In the EU, for example, all cell therapy products are considered advanced therapeutic medicinal products (ATMPs) and a clinical trial application must be submitted centrally in accordance with EU clinical trial regulations (CTR) for review by a rapporteur appointed by a member state within the EU region. In addition, an independent ethics committee is needed in each country, much like the IRB, in the US. Once the clinical trial application is approved in accordance with a country’s requirements, clinical trial development may proceed. Because biologically sourced raw materials are subject to unique contamination risks, their use may be restricted in some countries.
The requirements and process governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary from country to country. In all cases, the clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with GCP and the applicable regulatory requirements and the ethical principles that have their origin in the Declaration of Helsinki.
To obtain regulatory approval of an investigational drug or biological product under EU regulatory systems, we must submit an MAA. The application used to file the BLA in the United States is similar to that required in the EU, with the exception of, among other things, country-specific document requirements.
For other countries outside of the EU, such as countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America or Asia, the requirements governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary from country to country. In all cases, again, the clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with GCP and the applicable regulatory requirements and the ethical principles that have their origin in the Declaration of Helsinki.
If we or our potential collaborators fail to comply with applicable foreign regulatory requirements, we may be subject to, among other things, fines, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecution.
Privacy Laws and Regulations
In the ordinary course of our business, we and the third parties with whom we work process personal and sensitive data. Accordingly, we are, and may in the future become, subject to numerous data privacy and security obligations, including federal, state, local, and foreign laws, regulations, guidance, and industry standards related to data privacy, security, and protection.
For example, in addition to EU regulations related to the approval and commercialization of our products, our activities in the EU subject us to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR). The EU GDPR imposes stringent requirements for controllers and processors of personal data of persons in the EU, including, for example, more robust disclosures to individuals and a strengthened individual data rights regime, shortened timelines for data breach notifications, limitations on retention of information, increased requirements pertaining to special categories of data, such as health data, and additional obligations when we contract with third-party processors in connection with the processing of the personal data. The EU GDPR also imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data out of the European Union to the United States and other third countries. In addition, the EU GDPR provides that EU member states may make their own further laws and regulations limiting the processing of personal data, including genetic, biometric or health data.
The EU GDPR applies extraterritorially, and we are subject to the EU GDPR because of our data processing activities that involve the personal data of individuals located in the European Union, such as in connection with our EU clinical trials. Failure to comply with the requirements of the EU GDPR and the applicable national data protection laws of the EU member states may result in fines of up to €20,000,000 or up to 4% of the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher, private litigation related to processing of personal data brought by classes of data subjects or consumer protection organizations authorized at law to represent their interests, and other administrative penalties. The EU GDPR regulations may impose additional responsibility and liability in relation to the personal data that we process and we may be required to put in place additional mechanisms to ensure compliance with the new data protection rules.
Additionally, numerous US states have passed comprehensive privacy laws. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) creates new individual privacy rights for consumers (as that word is broadly defined in the law) and places increased privacy and security obligations on entities handling personal data of consumers or households. The CCPA requires covered companies to provide new disclosures to California consumers, affords California residents certain rights related to their personal data, including the right to opt-out of certain sales of personal data. The CCPA provides for fines and allows private litigants affected by certain data breaches to recover significant statutory damages. As our business progresses, the CCPA may become applicable and impact (possibly significantly) our business activities and exemplifies the vulnerability of our business to the evolving regulatory environment related to personal data and protected health information. Many other US states have passed similar comprehensive privacy laws, and more are likely to do so in the future.
See the section titled “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Our Business and Industry” and “Risk Factors – Risks Related to Government Regulation” for additional information about the laws and regulations to which we may become subject and about the risks to our business associated with such laws and regulations.
Human Capital
As of March 1, 2025, we had 229 total employees, of which 226 are full-time. Of our full-time employees, 48 hold Ph.D. and/or M.D. degrees, and 186 are engaged in research, development and technical operations. Most of our employees are located in South San Francisco and Newark, California. Our employees are not represented by labor unions or covered by collective bargaining agreements. We believe that our employee morale is healthy and consider our relationship with our employees to be good.
We believe our workforce is key to Allogene’s success and we actively focus on the following core elements of human capital: (1) our “One Allogene” culture, (2) belonging, fairness and representation and (3) recruitment, development and retention. We have also strived to create a safe working environment and have increased onsite presence since the end of the pandemic.
One Allogene Culture
We express our culture under the framework of “One Allogene”:
One Allogene
We only succeed as a team.
We accomplish more together than as individuals when we unite as one Allogene community.
We are resilient, because we strive to save the lives of people with cancer and improve the lives of people with autoimmune disorders.
We come together with purpose, courage and flexibility despite challenges or uncertainty because every potential patient is someone’s partner, parent, child, sibling or friend.
We aim for excellence and give it our all.
We pursue scientific innovation with a focus on quality and integrity in everything we do to forever change how cancer is treated.
We take ownership and get things done.
We are leaders who embrace urgency, initiative and follow through, with the humility to know each one of us is vital to making AlloCAR T™ therapy a reality.
We are good to one another.
We value distinct perspectives, backgrounds and expertise, we earn each other’s trust, and assume good intention as we collaborate to help patients.
We are creating a scientific revolution.
We are One Allogene
These core elements of our culture are meant to define how and why we do business. In addition, our core values of collaboration, leadership, innovation and focus help drive our culture and behaviors and are layered into our performance reviews so that we can keep ourselves and our employees accountable.
Belonging, Fairness and Representation
We are committed to cultivating, fostering, and preserving a culture of belonging, fairness and representation where we foster a supportive, empowering and positive environment through respect, collaboration, and open communication. We embrace and encourage differences across all demographics that make our employees unique. We also embrace differences in experience and background, and welcome different opinions and unique perspectives when making decisions. We believe that in cultivating this environment, our staff feel that they are able to contribute to their full potential. As of March 1, 2025, the general demographic makeup of our workforce remains generally consistent with past years.
We are proud of our efforts to attract the best talent from the broadest pool of talent and we continue to focus on broadening our outreach to extend to all groups by posting our open positions on a variety of top job boards to seek a wide range of qualified candidates. We have and will continue to conduct training for interviewers and hiring managers to ensure they are making decisions based solely on facts, not assumptions, or irrelevant information. Our recruiters and hiring managers have active talent recruitment strategies to ensure that we are reaching the best talent available and giving qualified job applicants the opportunity to compete for positions.
Our initiatives embrace and complement our One Allogene culture by ensuring that our Company and its employees are taking responsibility for ensuring a supportive, empowering and positive work environment where employees feel valued, engaged and fully committed to our mission to serve patients. These initiatives are applicable to our practices and policies, such as those on recruitment, compensation and professional development. We are also progressing the ongoing development of an supportive work environment grounded in psychological safety that encourages:
•Respectful communication and cooperation between all employees.
•Valuing and soliciting input, feedback and opinions from relevant staff.
•Teamwork and employee participation, permitting the representation of employee perspectives.
•Employer and employee contributions to the communities we serve to promote a greater understanding and respect for others.
To champion our efforts in this area, we established a governance structure and formed a cross-functional committee (Committee) comprised of employees of various levels, departments and backgrounds to help advance and promote our commitment to maintaining the culture described above, and the responsibility of our employees to treat others with dignity and respect at all times regardless of our differences. All employees are also encouraged to attend and complete annual awareness training to enhance their knowledge to fulfill this responsibility. The Committee continually works to respond to feedback provided by peers, and present suggestions on our practices and policies to encourage and enforce an environment in which all employees feel that they are part of our team and empowered to achieve their best.
We believe in equal pay for equal work. We establish components and ranges of compensation based on market and benchmark data. Within this context, we strive to pay all employees fairly within a reasonable range, taking into consideration factors such as role; market data; internal consistency; job location; relevant experience; and individual, department and company performance. We also regularly review our compensation practices and analyze our compensation decisions for individual employees and our workforce as a whole on at least an annual basis. Since 2020, we have conducted a pay analysis annually which we believe demonstrates that our compensation practices and structure are fair.
Recruitment, Development and Retention
Successful execution of our strategy is dependent on attracting, developing and retaining our employees. We have and believe we will continue to face significant competition for life science talent. We believe, however, that our leadership in the field of allogeneic cell therapy and our culture have allowed us to recruit a talented workforce. In 2024, we recruited over 34 new employees. Our average time to hire was less than 48 days and over 85% of candidates accepted our offers.
We believe our total compensation package also helps recruit and retain our employees. We strive to provide pay, benefits, and services that are competitive to market and create incentives to attract and retain employees. Our compensation package includes market-competitive pay, broad-based stock grants, health care and 401(k) plan benefits, paid time off and family leave, among others. We also provide annual incentive bonus opportunities that are tied to both company performance as well as individual performance to foster a pay-for-performance culture.
Developing our employees is important, and we focus on providing training opportunities and promotional opportunities. Learning and development, training and other resources are an integral part of retaining our employees and creating a culture of learning and leadership within Allogene. Our training offerings provide staff with a variety of opportunities to learn, enhance and practice fundamental leadership skills to enable them to be more effective in their roles and develop their skills for further growth. We also train relevant members of our team on important environmental health and safety topics to help ensure we protect our people and our environment as we operate our business. We encourage our employees to participate and take advantage of a variety of learning and development resources, including online business skills courses, professional development events, and external training programs based on individual needs.
We also actively review employee performance and business needs every six months that lead to promotional opportunities for employees across departments and levels.
Employee Safety
One key aspect of our One Allogene culture is the principle that “We Aim for Excellence and Give it Our All,” and that includes prioritizing safety. Ingrained in that concept is the tenet to follow all health and safety policies and procedures and prioritize the safety of our team.
To maintain a safe and healthy workplace, we have a comprehensive Environment, Health and Safety program that focuses on key risk mitigation programs that identify, assess, and correct hazards. We also have a task-based safety training program that is designed for staff to be assigned the appropriate training to understand how to safely perform their duties.
Corporate Information
We were incorporated in Delaware in November 2017. Our principal executive offices are located at 210 East Grand Avenue, South San Francisco, California 94080, and our telephone number is (650) 457-2700. Our corporate website address is www.allogene.com. We make available, free of charge on our website our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and any amendments to those reports, as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Alternatively, you may access these reports at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Information contained on or accessible through our website is not a part of this report, and the inclusion of our website address in this report is an inactive textual reference only.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
RISK FACTORS
An investment in shares of our common stock involves a high degree of risk. We have identified the following material factors that make an investment in our common stock speculative or risky. You should carefully consider the following risk factors, as well as the other information in this Annual Report. The occurrence of any of the following risks could harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects or cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements we have made in this Annual Report and those we may make from time to time. The risks described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations.
Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Capital Needs
We have incurred net losses in every period since our inception and anticipate that we will incur substantial net losses in the future.
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company and investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that any potential product candidate will fail to demonstrate adequate efficacy or an acceptable safety profile, gain regulatory approval and become commercially viable. We are advancing an allogeneic CAR T platform of primarily early-stage product candidates and have no products approved for commercial sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales to date, and we will continue to incur significant research and development and other expenses related to our ongoing operations. To date, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, securing related intellectual property rights, building our product manufacturing infrastructure, including a dedicated good manufacturing practices (GMP) manufacturing facility, manufacturing our clinical product candidates and conducting discovery, research and development activities for our programs. As a result, we are not profitable and have incurred net losses in each period since our inception. For the year ended December 31, 2024, we reported a net loss of $257.6 million. As of December 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $1.8 billion.
We expect to incur significant expenditures for the foreseeable future, and we expect these expenditures to increase as we continue our research and development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, product candidates based on our engineered allogeneic T cell platform. Because our allogeneic T cell product candidates are based on new technologies and will require the creation of inventory of mass-produced, off-the-shelf product, they will require extensive research and development and have substantial manufacturing and processing costs. In addition, costs to treat patients with relapsed or refractory cancer and to treat potential side effects that may result from our product candidates can be significant.
We may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our business. For instance, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) placed our clinical trials on hold in October 2021, which suspended our clinical programs prior to resolution of the hold in January 2022. Even if we succeed in advancing our clinical trials and commercializing one or more of our product candidates, we will continue to incur substantial research and development and other expenditures to develop and market additional product candidates. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenue. Our prior losses and expected future losses have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital.
We will need substantial additional financing to develop our products and implement our operating plans. If we fail to obtain additional financing, we may be unable to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates.
We expect to spend a substantial amount of capital in the development and manufacture of our product candidates. We will need substantial additional financing to develop our products and implement our operating plans. In particular, we will require substantial additional financing to enable commercial production of our products and initiate and complete registrational trials for multiple products in multiple regions. Further, if approved, we will require significant additional capital in order to launch and commercialize our product candidates.
As of December 31, 2024, we had $373.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and investments. Changing circumstances may cause us to consume capital significantly faster than we currently anticipate, and we may need to spend more money than currently expected because of circumstances beyond our control.
We may also need to raise additional capital sooner than we currently anticipate if we choose to expand more rapidly than we presently plan. In any event, we will require additional capital for the further development and commercialization of our product candidates, including funding our internal manufacturing capabilities.
We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. We have no committed source of additional capital and our stock price has faced extreme volatility and has declined. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities or to the extent that we may issue equity securities in connection with a strategic transaction, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted. If we are unable to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may have to significantly delay, scale back or discontinue the development or commercialization of our product candidates or other research and development initiatives. Our license agreements may also be terminated if we are unable to meet the payment obligations under the agreements. We could be required to seek collaborators for our product candidates at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable or on terms that are less favorable than might otherwise be available or relinquish or license on unfavorable terms our rights to our product candidates in markets where we otherwise would seek to pursue development or commercialization ourselves.
Any of the above events could significantly harm our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations and cause the price of our common stock to decline.
We may fail to meet our publicly announced guidance or other expectations about our business, which would cause our stock price to decline.
We may provide guidance regarding our expected financial and business performance, such as projections regarding our cash runway and projected clinical development and/or regulatory milestones. Correctly identifying key factors affecting business conditions and predicting future events is an inherently uncertain process and our guidance may not ultimately be accurate. Our guidance is based on certain assumptions relating to our expenses which may fluctuate based on how quickly we are able to execute on our operational initiatives, such as the timing of initiation of clinical trials and the rate of enrollment in such trials, and the timing of certain milestone payments, manufacturing expenses, employee expenses, facility expenses, and potential modifications of existing or the establishment of new partnership agreements. If our assumptions are not met or are impacted as a result of various risks and uncertainties, we may have to raise additional capital sooner than we currently expect and the market value of our common stock could decline significantly.
Business disruptions could seriously harm our future revenue and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.
Our operations, and those of our CDMOs, contract research organizations (CROs), clinical trial sites and other contractors and consultants, could be subject to business disruptions, including those caused by earthquakes, power shortages, telecommunications failures, cybersecurity attacks, water shortages, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, typhoons, fires, extreme weather conditions, medical epidemics or pandemics, wars and other geopolitical conflicts (such as Russia's military action against Ukraine and the Israel–Hamas conflict), bank failures, adverse legislative actions and other natural or man-made disasters or business interruptions, for which we are predominantly self-insured. The occurrence of any of these business disruptions could seriously harm our operations and financial condition and increase our costs and expenses.
Our ability to manufacture our product candidates could be disrupted if our operations or those of our suppliers are affected by a man-made or natural disaster or other business interruption. Our corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility are located in California near major earthquake faults and fire and flood zones. The ultimate impact on us, our significant suppliers and our general infrastructure of being located near major earthquake faults and fire and flood zones and being consolidated in certain geographical areas is unknown, but our operations and financial condition could suffer in the event of a major earthquake, fire, flood or other natural disaster.
Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry could adversely affect our current and projected business operations and our financial condition and results of operations.
Adverse developments that affect financial institutions, such as events involving liquidity that are rumored or actual, have in the past and may in the future lead to bank failures and market-wide liquidity problems. For example, on March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. Similarly, on March 12, 2023, Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital Corp. were each swept into receivership. In addition, on May 1, 2023, the FDIC seized First Republic Bank and sold its assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. It is uncertain whether the U.S. Department of Treasury, FDIC and Federal Reserve Board will provide access to uninsured funds in the future in the event of the closure of other banks or financial institutions, or that they would do so in a timely fashion.
We maintain the majority of our cash and cash equivalents in accounts at banking institutions in the United States that we believe are of high quality. Cash held in these accounts often exceed the FDIC insurance limits. If such banking institutions were to fail, we could lose all or a portion of amounts held in excess of such insurance limitations. In the event of failure of any of the financial institutions where we maintain our cash and cash equivalents, there can be no assurance that we would be able to access uninsured funds in a timely manner or at all. Any inability to access or delay in accessing these funds could adversely affect our business and financial position.
Although we assess our banking relationships as we believe necessary or appropriate, our access to cash in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize our current and projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect the financial institutions with which we have banking relationships. These factors could include, among others, events such as liquidity constraints or failures, the ability to perform obligations under various types of financial, credit or liquidity agreements or arrangements, disruptions or instability in the financial services industry or financial markets, or concerns or negative expectations about the prospects for companies in the financial services industry. These factors could also include factors involving financial markets or the financial services industry generally. The results of events or concerns that involve one or more of these factors could include a variety of material and adverse impacts on our current and projected business operations and our financial condition and results of operations. These could include, but may not be limited to, delayed access to deposits or other financial assets or the uninsured loss of deposits or other financial assets; or termination of cash management arrangements and/or delays in accessing or actual loss of funds subject to cash management arrangements.
In addition, widespread investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on acceptable terms or at all. Any decline in available funding or access to our cash and liquidity resources could, among other risks, adversely impact our ability to meet our operating expenses, financial obligations or fulfill our other obligations, result in breaches of our financial and/or contractual obligations or result in violations of federal or state wage and hour laws. Any of these impacts, or any other impacts resulting from the factors described above or other related or similar factors not described above, could have material adverse impacts on our liquidity and our current and/or projected business operations and financial condition and results of operations.
Our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards and certain other tax attributes may be limited.
U.S. federal net operating losses incurred in tax years beginning after December 31, 2017, may be carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such federal net operating loss carryforwards in a taxable year is limited to 80% of taxable income in such year. Under Sections 382 and 383 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and corresponding provisions of state law, if a corporation undergoes an “ownership change” (generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in the equity ownership of certain stockholders over a rolling three-year period), the corporation’s ability to use its pre-change net operating loss carryforwards and other pre-change tax attributes to offset its post-change income or taxes may be limited. As a result of our initial public offering (IPO) in October 2018 and private placements and other transactions that have occurred since our incorporation, we may have experienced an “ownership change”. We may also experience ownership changes in the future as a result of subsequent shifts in our stock ownership. We anticipate incurring significant additional net losses for the foreseeable future, and our ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards associated with any such losses to offset future taxable income may be limited to the extent we incur future ownership changes. In addition, at the state level, there may be periods during which the use of net operating loss carryforwards is suspended or otherwise limited, which could accelerate or permanently increase state taxes owed. For example, California imposed limits on the usability of California state net operating losses to offset taxable income in tax years beginning after 2023 and before 2027. As a result, we may be unable to use all or a material portion of our net operating loss carryforwards and other tax attributes, which could adversely affect our future cash flows.
Risks Related to Our Business and Industry
Our product candidates are based on novel technologies, which makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of product candidate development and the likelihood of obtaining regulatory approval.
We have concentrated our research, development and manufacturing efforts on our engineered allogeneic T cell therapy and our future success depends on the successful development of this therapeutic approach. We are in the early stages of developing our platform and we have experienced significant development challenges, such as with the prior clinical hold by the FDA, and there can be no assurance that any development problems we have now or experience in the future will not cause significant delays or unanticipated costs, or that such development problems can be overcome.
We may also experience delays in developing a sustainable, reproducible and scalable manufacturing process or transferring that process to commercial facilities or partners, which may prevent us from completing our clinical studies or commercializing our products on a timely or profitable basis, if at all.
In addition, since we are in the early stages of clinical development, we do not know all the doses to be evaluated in pivotal trials or, if approved, commercially. Finding a suitable dose for our cell therapy product candidates as well as ALLO-647 may delay our anticipated clinical development timelines. These unknowns and other emerging findings from our clinical trials may result in protocol amendments, which may result in additional costs and may also delay our anticipated clinical development timelines. In addition, our expectations with regard to our scalability and costs of manufacturing may vary significantly as we develop our product candidates and understand these critical factors.
We are also advancing product candidates against unexplored targets and with new technology. For example, we are advancing ALLO-316 against the CD70 target, and ALLO-329 against CD19 and CD70 targets. ALLO-316 may have limited efficacy, even accounting for the selection of patients with CD70 positive tumors, or have off-target toxicities. As a dual-targeting CAR T product candidate, ALLO-329 may demonstrate limited ability to target and eliminate cells, including both B and T lymphocytes, that express one or both targets. Additionally, there may be unexpected toxicity, such as severe or prolonged immunosuppression or hyperinflammation, arising from targeting both CD19 and CD70 simultaneously. Since CD70 is found on activated T and other immune cells, ALLO-316 and ALLO-329 may also cause fratricide resulting in the loss of ALLO-316 or ALLO-329 cells, either during the manufacturing process or after the cells are administered to patients, or may deplete host T or other immune cells.
CAR T administration and/or the lymphodepletion that is required before administration of CAR T cells, may increase the risk of prolonged blood cell count suppression (cytopenia) or other adverse events including infections or inflammatory conditions such as cytokine release syndrome (CRS), immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), and/or immune effector cell-associated hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis-like syndrome (IEC-HS), which can be life-threatening and results in death. These events have been observed in our clinical trials and have resulted in pausing enrollment or requiring protocol amendments. For example, in our ongoing ALLO-316 TRAVERSE trial, we implemented risk mitigation measures for IEC-HS, which delayed and increased the cost of conducting the clinical trial.
In our ALPHA3 trial, we are advancing cema-cel for the treatment of patients with LBCL who have completed R-CHOP and have attained a remission, but who still test positive for minimal residual disease (MRD). As part of this trial, under Investigational Device Exemption (IDE), we are using an investigational assay developed by Foresight Diagnostics to determine if a patient is MRD positive. The MRD assay represents a novel approach to detecting the presence of minimal disease and the design of our trial is based on certain assumptions regarding the performance of the MRD assay, including assumptions regarding the anticipated MRD+ rate being consistent with published data. There is a risk that the assay may not function as intended and that the assay may not be sufficiently sensitive to detect the presence of low levels of MRD or sufficiently specific to avoid unacceptable rates of false positives. There is also a risk that the MRD+ rate observed in ALPHA3 may be lower than the previously reported rates as a result of the patient population screened, availability of sufficient patient test material, the performance of the test, and other factors that differ from previously reported rates. In addition, there are logistical risks with collecting and sending patient samples to Foresight Diagnostics for testing, and there is a risk that the MRD assay will not be timely performed on the patient samples. If the MRD assay does not function as intended (e.g., false negatives/positives, or the MRD+ rate is lower than expected), or if the MRD assay is not timely performed on patient samples, it could negatively impact the rate of enrollment, the clinical results of, or the feasibility of the ALPHA3 trial, or negatively impact the market opportunity for cema-cel. In addition, we are reliant on Foresight Diagnostics to perform MRD testing. A delay or failure by Foresight Diagnostics to perform MRD testing may negatively impact our ability to conduct ALPHA3 trial as planned, or prevent us from conducting ALPHA3 trial.
The clinical study requirements of the FDA, European Medicines Agency (EMA) and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities and the criteria these regulators use to determine the safety and efficacy of a product candidate are determined according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended use and market of the potential products. The regulatory approval process for novel product candidates such as ours can be more complex and consequently more expensive and take longer than for other, better known or extensively studied pharmaceutical or other product candidates. For example, the regulatory approval process for cema-cel based on our ALPHA3 trial is more complex because it pairs the approval of cema-cel with a companion diagnostic test. We also face additional challenges in obtaining regulatory approval for ALLO-647, which we use as part of our lymphodepletion regimen, and for which we would seek to obtain approval concurrently with approval of a CAR T cell product candidate. Approvals by the European Commission and FDA for existing autologous CAR T therapies, such as Kymriah® and Yescarta®, may not be indicative of what these regulators may require for approval of our therapies.
Also, the use of healthy donor material in our allogeneic CAR T product candidates may create product variability challenges for us, and we do not yet fully understand the impact of donor variability on clinical outcomes.
More generally, approvals by any regulatory agency may not be indicative of what any other regulatory agency may require for approval or what such regulatory agencies may require for approval in connection with new product candidates. Moreover, our product candidates may not perform successfully in clinical trials or may be associated with adverse events that distinguish them from the autologous CAR T therapies that have previously been approved. For instance, allogeneic product candidates may result in graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) or chromosomal abnormalities not experienced with autologous products. Additionally, any Phase 2 trial results, such as in the ALPHA3 trial, may not be representative of Phase 1 results, which were based on limited patients and a patient population in an advanced stage or LBCL, and such Phase 2 trial results may not be accepted by the FDA as pivotal and sufficient for cema-cel approval, and additional trials may be required to establish that cema-cel is safe and effective. Even if we collect promising initial clinical data of our product candidates, longer-term data may reveal new adverse events or responses that are not durable. Unexpected clinical outcomes would significantly impact our business.
Our business is highly dependent on the success of our lead product candidates. If we are unable to advance clinical development, obtain approval of and successfully commercialize our lead product candidates for the treatment of patients in approved indications, our business would be significantly harmed.
Our business and future success depends on our ability to advance clinical development, obtain regulatory approval of, and then successfully commercialize, our lead product candidates. Because cema-cel, ALLO-316, ALLO-715 and ALLO-605, products designed for use in patients with cancer, and ALLO-329, designed for use in patients with autoimmune disease, are or will be among the first allogeneic products to be evaluated in the clinic, the failure of any such product candidates, or the failure of other allogeneic T cell therapies, including for reasons due to safety, efficacy or durability, may impede our ability to develop our product candidates, and significantly influence physicians’ and regulators’ opinions in regard to the viability of our entire pipeline of allogeneic T cell therapies. For instance, all of our clinical trials were previously put on clinical hold due to an observation in the phase 1 portion of the ALPHA2 trial. While the clinical hold has been resolved, we could be subject to a clinical hold in the future due to unexpected observations, adverse patient outcomes or other issues.
All of our product candidates, including our lead product candidates, will require additional clinical and non-clinical development, regulatory review and approval in multiple jurisdictions, substantial investment, access to sufficient commercial manufacturing capacity and significant marketing efforts before we can generate any revenue from product sales. In addition, because our other product candidates are based on similar technology as our lead product candidates, if any of the lead product candidates encounters additional safety issues, efficacy problems, manufacturing problems, developmental delays, regulatory issues or other problems, our development plans and business would be significantly harmed.
We cannot predict the likelihood, nature or extent of government regulation that may arise from future legislation or administrative action, either in the U.S. or abroad. The policies of the FDA, the competent authorities of the European Union Member States (EU Member States), the EMA, the European Commission and other comparable regulatory authorities responsible for clinical trials may change and additional government regulations may be enacted. For instance, the regulatory landscape related to clinical trials in the European Union recently evolved. The European Union Clinical Trials Regulation (CTR), which was adopted in April 2014 and repeals the European Union Clinical Trials Directive, became applicable on January 31, 2022. The CTR allows sponsors to make a single submission to both the competent authority and an ethics committee in each EU Member State, leading to a single decision for each EU Member State. The assessment procedure for the authorization of clinical trials has been harmonized as well, including a joint assessment by all EU Member States concerned, and a separate assessment by each EU Member State with respect to specific requirements related to its own territory, including ethics rules. Each EU Member State’s decision is communicated to the sponsor via the centralized European Union portal. Once the clinical trial is approved, clinical study development may proceed. The CTR foresees a three-year transition period. The extent to which ongoing and new clinical trials will be governed by the CTR varies. The CTR will apply to clinical trials from an earlier date if the related clinical trial application was made on the basis of the CTR or if the clinical trial has already transitioned to the CTR framework before January 31, 2025. Compliance with the CTR requirements by us and our third-party service providers, such as CROs, may impact our developments plans.
Our product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that have halted and could in the future halt their clinical development, prevent their regulatory approval, limit their commercial potential or result in significant negative consequences.
Future undesirable or unacceptable side effects caused by our product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of regulatory approval by the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities.
Results of our clinical trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects or unexpected characteristics. Approved autologous CAR T therapies and those under development have shown frequent rates of CRS, neurotoxicity including immune effector cell-associated neurotoxicity syndrome (ICANS), serious infections, prolonged cytopenia and hypogammaglobulinemia, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis/macrophage activation syndrome (HLH/MAS), immune effector cell-associated HLH-like syndrome (IEC-HS) and adverse events have resulted in the death of patients. We have observed certain of these adverse events for our allogeneic CAR T product candidates. Other adverse events could also emerge in autologous CAR T therapies over time. For instance, patients who received an autologous anti-BCMA CAR T cell therapy have experienced neurocognitive and hypokinetic movement disorder with features of Parkinson's disease that emerged months after treatment and may have been due to BCMA expression within the brain. Our anti-BCMA product candidates have the risk of causing similar adverse events.
In January 2024 the FDA sent letters to all companies with approved autologous CAR T therapies requesting them to add a black box warning on the label of their autologous CAR T therapies. The FDA is requiring label updates to include a black box warning that T-cell malignancies may occur following treatment with BCMA- and CD19-directed genetically modified autologous T-cell immunotherapies. The required warnings are specific to autologous therapies. Such T-cell malignancies have been observed in approximately 1 patient for every 1,000 patients treated with autologous therapies. Because our allogeneic therapies are based on similar technology, until we have treated more patients, there is a risk that we may find similar T-cell malignancies following treatment with our allogeneic CAR T product candidates. If such malignancies are observed, regulatory authorities, such as the FDA, may require a similar black box warning or other safety-related labeling statements on our products’ label, if approved, which could prevent us from achieving or maintaining market acceptance and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Our allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates may also cause unique adverse events related to the differences between the donor and patients, such as GvHD or infusion reactions. In addition, we utilize a lymphodepletion regimen, which generally includes combinations of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and ALLO-647, that may cause serious adverse events. For instance, because some regimens are expected to cause a deep and sometimes prolonged immune suppression, patients will have an increased risk of infection that may be unable to be cleared by the patient and ultimately lead to other serious adverse events or death. Our lymphodepletion regimen has caused such adverse events and may also cause prolonged cytopenia and aplastic anemia. We are also exploring various dosing strategies for lymphodepletion in our clinical trials, such as including varying doses of the chemotherapy agents and/or ALLO-647 or eliminating one or more of the agents, which may alter the risk of serious adverse events or have other undesirable outcomes such as a reduction of the efficacy of treatment.
In our and Servier's clinical trials of allogeneic CAR T product candidates, the most common severe or life-threatening adverse events resulted from CRS, serious infections, febrile neutropenia, prolonged cytopenia including prolonged pancytopenia, haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, hypokalemia, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, neutropenic sepsis and aplastic anemia. As reported, patients have died from adverse events and future patients may also experience toxicity resulting in death. For additional safety data, please see the section entitled "Business—Product Pipeline and Development Strategy" included in this Annual Report.
As we treat and re-treat more patients with our product candidates in our clinical trials, new less common side effects may also emerge or increased incidence of previously observed side effects may occur. There is a risk that the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may not agree that sufficient mitigating procedures are included in our protocols to address such side effects, and FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may impose a clinical hold as it evaluates risks associated with such side effects and/or as we work with the agency to implement protocol amendments to appropriately manage such side effects. For instance, we observed a chromosomal abnormality that led to a previous clinical hold on our clinical trials. While our investigation concluded that the chromosomal abnormality had no clinical significance and was unrelated to our manufacturing process, our manufacturing processes include gene engineering by using viral vectors and genomic nucleases that may in the future cause insertion, deletion, or chromosomal translocation that may result in allogeneic CAR T cells to proliferate uncontrollably and adverse events.
We may also combine the use of our product candidates with other investigational or approved therapies that may cause separate adverse events or events related to the combination.
If unacceptable toxicities arise in the development of our product candidates, we could suspend or terminate our trials or the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease clinical trials or deny approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Any data safety monitoring board may also suspend or terminate a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk, including risks inferred from other unrelated immunotherapy trials. Treatment-related side effects could also affect patient recruitment or the ability of enrolled subjects to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims.
In addition, these side effects may not be appropriately recognized or managed by the treating medical staff, as toxicities resulting from T cell therapy are not normally encountered in the general patient population and by medical personnel. We have trained and expect to have to train medical personnel using CAR T cell product candidates to understand the side effect profile of our product candidates for both our clinical trials and upon any commercialization of any of our product candidates. Inadequate training in recognizing or managing the potential side effects of our product candidates could result in patient deaths. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly.
Our clinical trials may fail to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of any of our product candidates, which would prevent or delay regulatory approval and commercialization.
Before obtaining regulatory approvals for the commercial sale of our product candidates, we must demonstrate through lengthy, complex and expensive preclinical testing and clinical trials that our product candidates are both safe and effective for use in each target indication. Clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain. Failure can occur at any time during the clinical trial process. The results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials of our product candidates may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials, including in any post-approval studies.
There is typically an extremely high rate of attrition from the failure of product candidates proceeding through clinical trials. Product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired safety and efficacy profile despite having progressed through preclinical studies and initial clinical trials. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in advanced clinical trials due to lack of efficacy, insufficient durability of efficacy or unacceptable safety issues, notwithstanding promising results in earlier trials. Most product candidates that commence clinical trials are never approved as products.
In addition, for any trials that may be completed, we cannot guarantee that the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities will interpret the results as we do, and more trials could be required before we submit our product candidates for approval. For example, FDA may determine that results from our Phase 2 ALPHA3 trial are not sufficient to establish that cema-cel is safe and effective, and FDA may require additional trials. Additionally, although the EMA has previously approved CAR T products based on US clinical trial data which did not include any European sites, the regulatory landscape for CAR T products continues to evolve, and the EMA may require us to conduct clinical trials in the EU in order to obtain approval. To the extent that the results of the trials are not satisfactory to the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities for support of a marketing application, approval of our product candidates may be significantly delayed, or we may be required to expend significant additional resources, which may not be available to us, to conduct additional trials in support of potential approval of our product candidates.
No CAR T therapy has been approved as part of a first-line consolidation strategy for the treatment of LBCL patients, which presents significant regulatory, commercial, and operational risks, and there is no assurance of success in this unproven setting.
To date, no CAR T therapy has been approved for use as part of a first-line consolidation treatment for patients with LBCL, and the regulatory and commercial landscape remains uncertain. Because there is no precedent for regulatory approval of a CAR T therapy in this treatment paradigm, we may face unexpected challenges in generating sufficient clinical data to support an approval, and regulatory authorities may impose additional requirements or take longer than anticipated to evaluate our data.
Additionally, the standard of care for first-line treatment in LBCL is well-established, and physicians and patients may be reluctant to adopt CAR T therapy in this setting due to concerns over safety, efficacy, cost, or logistical challenges associated administration. If our product candidate does not demonstrate compelling clinical benefit over existing treatments or fails to gain market acceptance, we may not achieve the commercial success necessary to sustain our business.
Furthermore, payers and reimbursement authorities may be unwilling to provide coverage for CAR T therapy as a first-line consolidation treatment, particularly if they perceive it as too costly compared to existing alternatives. Even if we obtain regulatory approval, lack of adequate reimbursement could limit patient access and materially impact our ability to generate revenue.
The success of our clinical trial and potential approval in this setting is also dependent on factors outside of our control, such as evolving treatment paradigms, competitive developments, and changes in clinical practice. If we are unable to successfully develop, obtain approval for, and commercialize our CAR T therapy in this novel setting, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected.
The time required for regulatory approval of the CLARITY assay in jurisdictions outside the U.S. may be protracted, which presents regulatory, operational, and commercialization risks.
In certain foreign jurisdictions, such as European Union (EU), we anticipate that the CLARITY assay will be regulated as an in vitro diagnostic medical device. The timeline for this approval of CLARITY in jurisdictions outside the US may be protracted due to the evolving regulatory landscape for medical devices, particularly in the EU, the complexity of demonstrating clinical utility for novel MRD assays, and potential resourcing constraints, such as within EU regulatory bodies.
Further, we do not own or control the CLARITY assay or its regulatory approval process. As a result, we are dependent on others to complete the necessary regulatory filings, respond to inquiries from regulators, and obtain regulatory approvals, such as EU CTA approval, in a timely manner. If they experience delays, fail to meet regulatory requirements, or prioritize other programs over the CLARITY assay, our clinical development efforts outside the US could be significantly delayed. We may have limited visibility into the approval timeline and decision-making process, which could hinder our ability to accurately forecast any trial initiation and enrollment.
Any delay in regulatory approvals of the CLARITY assay, such as a delay in a CTA approval in the EU, could slow patient recruitment and impact the overall timeline of our cema-cel clinical development program. If regulatory challenges prevent the assay from being approved in a reasonable timeframe, we may be forced to identify and validate an alternative MRD assay, which could require additional clinical studies, regulatory interactions, and investment of resources, further delaying our program. Furthermore, an alternative MRD assay with sufficient sensitivity may not exist.
Additionally, if the CLARITY assay is required for commercial use alongside cema-cel, its approval and reimbursement as a medical device could impact the market adoption of cema-cel. Since we do not control the approval or commercialization strategy of the assay, our ability to ensure its availability, pricing, and regulatory compliance will be limited. If Foresight encounters regulatory setbacks or is unable to secure timely approval, our ability to commercialize cema-cel may be adversely affected.
If the approval of the CLARITY assay in any country or region is delayed, denied, or subject to additional regulatory requirements, our cema-cel clinical development timeline, regulatory approval prospects, and potential commercial success in such country or region could be materially impacted, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and future growth.
Phase 1 data from our clinical trials is limited and may change as more patient data becomes available or may not be validated in any future or advanced clinical trial.
Data from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as patient enrollment continues and more patient data becomes available. Phase 1 results are preliminary in nature and should not be viewed as predictive of ultimate success. It is possible that such results will not continue or may not be repeated in any clinical trial of our product candidates. For instance, our Phase 2 ALPHA3 trial design is based in part on Phase 1 data from a limited number of patients treated with various doses of ALLO-501 or cema-cel manufactured using the Alloy process, and the larger Phase 2 ALPHA3 trial, which we anticipate will only include cema-cel manufactured internally at CF1, but may ultimately also include cema-cel manufactured at a contract manufacturer, may not be consistent with the Phase 1 results. Furthermore, because ALPHA3 will include a different patient population versus our Phase 1 ALPHA2 trial, i.e., patients having MRD after front-line treatment versus patients with radiographically measurable disease after a minimum of two prior lines of treatment, it is possible that cema-cel may behave differently in terms of expansion, persistence and the ability to eradicate residual disease. In addition, our experience with our CD19 and BCMA programs indicates that manufacturing can impact clinical outcomes. The manufacturing runs we have completed and tested in the clinic are limited across our product candidates and any manufacturing variability that impacts clinical outcomes would significantly harm our business and prospects. We may also fail to develop any optimized manufacturing processes for any of our programs. Ultimately, if we cannot manufacture our product candidates with consistent and reproducible product characteristics, our ability to develop and commercialize any product candidate would be significantly impacted.
Phase 1 trials of novel products also commonly include a dose exploration phase during which adverse effects of treatment may emerge at higher doses that are new, unexpected, or occur at higher-than-expected frequencies or severity and may limit our ability to develop such products in one or more target indications or patient populations. Similarly, in dose expansion phase, we may discover that adverse effects, either known or novel, may negatively impact the emerging overall benefit-risk profile of our product candidates and may lead to the discontinuation or other significant alteration to the development plan.
Preliminary data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, initial, interim and preliminary data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. Adverse differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects.
We may not be able to submit INDs or equivalent foreign applications to commence additional clinical trials on the timelines we expect, and even if we are able to, the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may not permit us to proceed.
We plan to submit INDs or IND amendments and equivalent foreign applications for additional product candidates or indications in the future. We cannot be sure that submission of an IND or IND amendment or an equivalent foreign application will result in the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities allowing testing and clinical trials to begin, or that, once begun, issues will not arise that suspend or terminate such clinical trials. The manufacturing of allogeneic CAR T cell therapy remains an emerging and evolving field. Accordingly, we expect Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC) related topics, including product specification, will be a focus of IND reviews, which may delay the clearance of INDs or IND amendments. For instance, if we introduce changes to the manufacturing of our product candidates, regulatory authorities may require additional studies or clinical data to support the changes, which could delay our clinical trial timelines. Additionally, even if such regulatory authorities agree with the design and implementation of the clinical trials set forth in an IND, IND amendment or clinical trial application, we cannot guarantee that such regulatory authorities will not change their requirements in the future.
In addition, we have an open IND for ALLO-647, which is being used as part of lymphodepletion in certain of our clinical trials. Any regulatory issues related to ALLO-647 or to the development of ALLO-647, if it is used as part of a lymphodepletion regimen in a clinical study, could delay such study and delay the development of our allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates and significantly affect our business.
We may encounter substantial delays in our clinical trials, or may not be able to conduct our trials on the timelines we expect.
Clinical testing is expensive, time consuming and subject to uncertainty. We cannot guarantee that any clinical studies will be conducted as planned or completed on schedule, if at all. Even if our trials begin as planned, issues may arise that could suspend or terminate such clinical trials. A failure of one or more clinical studies can occur at any stage of testing, and our future clinical studies may not be successful. Events that may prevent successful or timely completion of clinical development include:
•inability to generate sufficient preclinical, toxicology or other in vivo or in vitro data to support the initiation of clinical studies;
•delays in sufficiently developing, characterizing, controlling or optimizing a manufacturing process suitable for clinical trials, including the validation and deployment of release assays;
•difficulty sourcing healthy donor material of sufficient quality and in sufficient quantity to meet our development needs;
•delays in developing, obtaining regulatory approval for, or implementing suitable assays for screening patients for eligibility for trials with respect to certain product candidates;
•the number of patients who consent to be screened for the ALPHA3 trial may be lower than we expect given the current well-established medical practice of frontline therapy for LBCL and the history of slow patient recruitment in other frontline LBCL trials
•the screen failure rate for clinical trials of our product candidates may be higher than we anticipate, requiring us to screen larger numbers of patients than originally planned. For example, the number of patients who have MRD at the end of front-line treatment in ALPHA3 may be lower than we expect, requiring more patients to be screened;
•delays in reaching a consensus with regulatory agencies on study design;
•delays in reaching agreement on acceptable terms with prospective CROs and clinical study sites, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and clinical study sites;
•delays in obtaining required IRB approval or approval of other ancillary regulatory committees at each clinical study site;
•imposition of a temporary or permanent clinical hold by regulatory agencies for a number of reasons, including after review of an IND application or amendment, or equivalent application or amendment; as a result of a new safety finding that presents uncertain or unreasonable risk to clinical trial participants; a negative finding from an inspection of our or our collaborator’s clinical study operations or our study sites; developments on trials conducted by competitors for related technology that raises FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authority concerns about risk to patients of the technology broadly; or if the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities find that the investigational protocol or plan is clearly deficient to meet its stated objectives;
•delays in recruiting suitable patients to participate in our clinical studies;
•difficulty collaborating with patient groups and investigators;
•failure by our CROs, other third parties or us to adhere to clinical study requirements;
•failure to perform in accordance with the FDA’s good clinical practices (GCP) requirements or equivalent regulatory guidelines in other countries;
•delays or failures in the transfer of manufacturing processes to any CDMO or our own manufacturing facility or any other development or commercialization partner for the manufacture of product candidates;
•delays in having patients complete participation in a study or return for post-treatment follow-up;
•patients dropping out of a study;
•occurrence of adverse events associated with the product candidate that are viewed to outweigh its potential benefits;
•changes in regulatory requirements and guidance that require amending or submitting new clinical protocols;
•changes in the standard of care on which a clinical development plan was based, which may require new or additional trials;
•the cost of clinical studies of our product candidates being greater than we anticipate;
•clinical studies of our product candidates producing negative or inconclusive results, which may result in our deciding, or regulators requiring us, to conduct additional clinical studies or abandon product development programs;
•delays or failure to secure supply agreements with suitable raw material suppliers, or any failures by suppliers to meet our quantity or quality requirements for necessary raw materials;
•shortage, interruption, or failure to secure commercially available and/or investigational drug products that are required to conduct clinical trials with our allogeneic CAR T product candidates; and
•delays in manufacturing, testing, releasing, validating, or importing/exporting sufficient stable quantities of our product candidates for use in clinical studies or the inability to do any of the foregoing.
A pandemic or epidemic may also increase the risk of certain of the events described above and delay our development timelines. Any inability to successfully complete preclinical and clinical development could result in additional costs to us or impair our ability to generate revenue. In addition, if we make manufacturing or formulation changes to our product candidates, we will be required to meet certain regulatory conditions, such as establishing comparability with the product candidates manufactured prior to such changes, and our inability to meet such conditions would result in investment of additional resources, a delay in our manufacturing of such product candidate and an extension of our clinical trial timelines. Clinical study delays could also shorten any periods during which our products have patent protection and may allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do, which could impair our ability to successfully commercialize our product candidates and may harm our business and results of operations.
Our clinical trials may also be delayed because of the availability of drugs required to be used under our protocols. For example, in some of our clinical trials, the study participants receive commercially available drugs for lymphodepletion before our allogeneic CAR T product candidates are administered, and receive other drugs to prevent infections and manage the treatment emergent adverse events. Shortage or lack of availability of these commercially available drugs that are necessary to conduct our clinical trials may cause delays in our clinical trials.
Monitoring and managing toxicities in patients receiving our product candidates is challenging, which could adversely affect our ability to obtain regulatory approval and commercialize.
For our clinical trials of our product candidates, we contract or will contract with academic medical centers and hospitals experienced in the assessment and management of toxicities arising during clinical trials. Nonetheless, these centers and hospitals may have difficulty observing patients and treating toxicities, which may be more challenging due to personnel changes, inexperience, shift changes, house staff coverage or related issues.
This could lead to more severe or prolonged toxicities or even patient deaths, which could result in us or the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities delaying, suspending, varying, or terminating one or more of our clinical trials, and which could jeopardize regulatory approval. We also expect the centers using our product candidates, if approved, on a commercial basis could have similar difficulty in managing adverse events. Medicines used at centers to help manage adverse side effects of our product candidates may not adequately control the side effects and/or may have a detrimental impact on the efficacy of the treatment. Challenges associated with the use of these medicines may increase with new physicians and centers administering our product candidates.
If we encounter difficulties enrolling patients in our clinical trials, our clinical development activities could be delayed or otherwise adversely affected.
We may experience difficulties in patient enrollment in our clinical trials for a variety of reasons. For example, as we progress the ALPHA3, TRAVERSE and RESOLUTION trials, we may face enrollment challenges, including an unwillingness of sites or patients to participate, the exclusion of patients with certain disease characteristics or the ineligibility of patients that have received prior autologous CAR T therapies, which continue to gain adoption. The timely completion of clinical trials in accordance with their protocols depends, among other things, on our ability to enroll a sufficient number of patients. Because we anticipate a minority of the 1L patients we will test for MRD as part of screening for the ALPHA3 trial will be MRD positive, we will likely experience a very high screen failure rate, which will require screening a large number of patients to complete enrollment in the study. Because of the anticipated high screen failure rate, certain clinical trial sites may decline to participate in ALPHA3 or completion of enrollment may be significantly delayed. Future epidemics or pandemics may result in reduced enrollment and challenges to related clinical trial activities. The enrollment of patients may be more difficult, such as due to the perceptions of the safety of our product candidates, and will depend on many factors, including:
•the patient eligibility criteria defined in the protocol;
•the prevalence of any biomarker required for enrollment, such as MRD or CD70 expression;
•the performance of the diagnostic tests used to determine eligibility for enrollment (e.g., MRD or CD70);
•the size of the patient population required for analysis of the trial’s primary endpoints;
•the proximity of patients to study sites;
•the design of the trial;
•our ability to recruit clinical trial investigators with the appropriate competencies and experience;
•our ability to obtain and maintain patient consents;
•the competition from approved products in the same or other lines of therapy and and/or disease indications and from product candidates in other clinical trials; and
•the risk that patients enrolled in clinical trials will drop out of the trials before the infusion of our product candidates or trial completion.
Since we only need to conduct a limited number of manufacturing runs to generate clinical supply, the diversity of our supply is limited during clinical trials. As a result, some patients may have antibodies to certain donor specific antigens at titers that could negatively impact the activity of our product candidates and which would render the patients ineligible for treatment. Furthermore, cellular mechanisms of allogeneic tissue rejection may limit the efficacy of our products. In addition, we have introduced an in vitro companion diagnostic (IVD) assay in the TRAVERSE trial to screen for patients with CD70+ tumors and are utilizing an MRD assay in the ALPHA3 trial to screen for patients who are MRD positive, both of which are restricting the number of patients eligible for the trials.
Development and research use of an experimental diagnostic assay or test, such as that we are using to determine CD70 expression on tumor tissue of potential participants in the TRAVERSE trial or to identify MRD positive patients in the ALPHA3 trial, may influence results of the study in expected or unexpected ways. For example, emerging safety and efficacy outcomes could lead us to impose, tighten or expand “cutoff” values of CD70 expression to determine enrollment eligibility for TRAVERSE. Assay performance or necessary changes we or our partners make to the assay(s) during development may reduce the pace of enrollment or may lead to alterations in the expected benefit risk profile as compared to results collected prior to the change. The diagnostic assay itself may not perform as expected due to identifiable or obscure factors. It is also possible that we may not be aware of such underperformance of the assay which could lead to incorrect conclusions. This could, in turn, impact enrollment and interpretation of the clinical trial results.
Our clinical trials will also compete with other clinical trials for product candidates that are in the same therapeutic areas as our product candidates, and this competition will reduce the number and types of patients available to us because some patients who might have opted to enroll in our trials may instead opt to enroll in a trial being conducted by one of our competitors. For example, our collaboration with Foresight Diagnostics is nonexclusive.
As a result, there is a risk that Foresight Diagnostics might work with our competitors to enable a competing clinical trial involving the same MRD positive patient population that we plan to enroll in ALPHA3, which would reduce the number of patients who are available to participate in ALPHA3, and potentially delay completion of ALPHA3. Since the number of qualified clinical investigators is limited, some of our clinical trial sites are also being used by some of our competitors, which may reduce the number of patients who are available for our clinical trials in that clinical trial site.
As our clinical trials require conditioning patients with chemotherapy, including agents such as cyclophosphamide and fludarabine, and physicians use other drugs prophylactically or to manage adverse events, our ability to enroll may be impacted by the shortage of such agents or drugs. For instance, the FDA has reported a shortage of fludarabine and any failure or delays by us or by our clinical trial sites to obtain sufficient quantities of fludarabine may delay our ability to enroll and treat patients in our clinical trials.
Moreover, because our product candidates represent a departure from more commonly used methods for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases, potential patients and their doctors may be inclined to use conventional therapies, such as chemotherapy, monoclonal antibodies, hematopoietic cell transplantation as well as autologous CAR T cell therapies for treating cancer or hydroxychloroquine, NSAIDs, immunosuppressants, corticosteroids, or other biologics for treating autoimmune diseases, rather than enroll patients in our clinical trial, including if our product candidates have or are perceived to have additional safety or efficacy risks or if using our product candidates may affect insurance coverage of conventional therapies. For instance, the development of autologous CAR T cell therapies continues to rapidly advance, including into earlier lines of treatment of LBCL and treatment of relapsed/refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma, as described under the section entitled "Business—Competition" included in this Annual Report. We also may experience risks associated with a new class of therapies, bispecific antibodies, which have been approved for multiple myeloma and LBCL. The compelling results and related approvals may impact our ability to enroll patients in our clinical trials. Moreover, patients eligible for allogeneic CAR T cell therapies but ineligible for autologous CAR T cell therapies due to aggressive cancer and inability to wait for autologous CAR T cell therapies may be at greater risk for complications and death from therapy or may experience a reduction in efficacy as compared to patients who are well enough and whose disease is sufficiently slow growing as to be eligible for autologous CAR T cell therapy.
Delays in patient enrollment may result in increased costs or may affect the timing or outcome of our clinical trials, which could prevent completion of these trials and adversely affect our ability to advance the development of our product candidates.
The market opportunities for certain of our product candidates may be limited to those patients who are ineligible for or have failed prior treatments and may be small.
The FDA often approves new therapies initially only for use in patients with R/R metastatic disease. We may initially seek approval of certain of our product candidates in this setting. Subsequently, for those products that prove to be sufficiently beneficial, if any, we would expect to seek further approval in earlier lines of treatment, and for cema-cel we expect to initially seek approval in the first line consolidation setting. There is no guarantee that our product candidates, even if approved, would be approved for earlier lines of therapy, and, prior to any such approvals, we will have to conduct additional clinical trials, including potentially comparative trials against the then-current standard of care, which in some cases may include comparative trials against approved therapies. We may also target a similar patient population as autologous CAR T product candidates, including approved autologous CAR T products. Our therapies may not be as safe and effective as autologous CAR T therapies and may only be approved for patients who are ineligible for autologous CAR T therapy.
Our projections of both the number of patients who have the cancers or autoimmune diseases we are targeting, as well as the subset of patients with these cancers or autoimmune diseases who have the potential to benefit from treatment with our product candidates, are based on our beliefs and estimates. These estimates have been derived from a variety of sources, including scientific literature, surveys of clinics, patient foundations, or market research and may prove to be incorrect. Further, new studies or therapies may change the estimated incidence or prevalence of these cancers and autoimmune diseases. The number of patients may turn out to be lower than expected. Additionally, the potentially addressable patient population for our product candidates may be limited, such as due to the eligibility criteria of our trials (e.g., MRD+ rates lower than expected), or may not be amenable to treatment with our product candidates, all of which may negatively impact the potential market opportunity for our other product candidates, if approved.
We may fail to successfully manufacture our product candidates, operate our own manufacturing facility, or obtain regulatory approval to utilize or commercialize from our manufacturing facility or at a CDMO, which could adversely affect our clinical trials and the commercial viability of our product candidates.
We may not be able to achieve clinical or commercial manufacturing of our products on our own or at a CDMO, including the inability to satisfy demands for any of our product candidates. We have limited experience in managing the allogeneic T cell engineering process, and our allogeneic processes may be more difficult or more expensive than the approaches taken by our competitors. Until we complete our clinical trials, we cannot be sure that the manufacturing processes employed by us or the technologies that we incorporate for manufacturing will result in consistent T cell production that will be safe and effective.
We operate CF1, a manufacturing facility located in Newark, California, that is designed to support our clinical trials and potential commercial production and worldwide distribution of allogeneic CAR T cell products for blood cancers, solid tumors and autoimmune diseases. Introducing any product manufactured at our manufacturing facility into an ongoing clinical trial would be subject to FDA review, and may result in increased costs and delays in conducting such trial, submitting a biologics license application (BLA) and/or gaining FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authority approval. Similar conditions may apply if we make process changes to our product candidates, as we plan to do for our BCMA program. In addition, any process or raw material change could introduce unacceptable product variability and impact our ability to manufacture on a consistent and reproducible basis. Ultimately, any failure or delays in manufacturing and qualification of our product candidates at our CDMO or at our own manufacturing facility could delay our clinical trials.
We do not yet have sufficient information to reliably estimate the cost of the commercial manufacturing of our product candidates, and the actual cost to manufacture our product candidates could materially and adversely affect the commercial viability of our product candidates. The commercial dose and treatment regimen may affect our ability to scale and will affect our cost per dose. For instance, because our anti-BCMA product candidates may require a higher dose than cema-cel, it is possible that it may be more difficult to scale production of our anti-BCMA product candidates to meet demand. As a result, we may never be able to develop a commercially viable product. Our manufacturing facility will also require FDA approval, and possibly similar approval from comparable foreign regulatory authorities before it can be used for commercial production, which we may never obtain. Even if approved, we would be subject to ongoing periodic unannounced inspection by the FDA, EMA, the Drug Enforcement Administration and corresponding state agencies to ensure strict compliance with current good manufacturing practices (cGMP), and other government regulations.
The manufacture of biopharmaceutical products is complex and requires significant expertise, including the development of advanced manufacturing techniques and process controls. Manufacturers of cell therapy products often encounter difficulties in production, particularly in validating initial production and ensuring the absence of contamination. Other problems can include difficulties with production costs and yields, quality control, including stability of the product, operator error, shortages of qualified personnel, as well as compliance with strictly enforced federal, state and foreign regulations. The application of new regulatory guidelines or parameters, such as those related to release testing, may also adversely affect our ability to manufacture our product candidates. Furthermore, if contaminants are discovered in our supply of product candidates or in the manufacturing facilities, such supply may have to be discarded and our manufacturing facility may need to be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the contamination. We cannot assure you that any stability or other issues relating to the manufacture of our product candidates will not occur in the future.
We or any of our vendors may fail to manage the logistics of storing and shipping our raw materials and product candidates. Storage failures and shipment delays and problems caused by us, our vendors or other factors not in our control, such as weather, could result in the inability to manufacture product, the loss of usable product or prevent or delay the delivery of product candidates to patients.
We may also experience manufacturing difficulties due to resource constraints or as a result of labor disruptions, such as due to a future pandemic, epidemic or disputes. If we were to encounter any of these difficulties, our ability to provide our product candidates to patients would be jeopardized.
As a company, we have no experience in marketing products. If we are unable to establish marketing and sales capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our product candidates, we may not be able to generate product revenue.
As a company, we have no experience in marketing products. We intend to develop an in-house marketing organization and sales force, which will require significant capital expenditures, management resources and time. We will have to compete with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to recruit, hire, train and retain marketing and sales personnel.
If we are unable or decide not to establish internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, we will pursue collaborative arrangements regarding the sales and marketing of our products; however, there can be no assurance that we will be able to establish or maintain such collaborative arrangements, or if we are able to do so, that they will have effective sales forces or be on favorable terms.
Any revenue we receive will depend upon the efforts of such third parties, which may not be successful. We may have little or no control over the marketing and sales efforts of such third parties and our revenue from product sales may be lower than if we had commercialized our product candidates ourselves. We also face competition in our search for third parties to assist us with the sales and marketing efforts of our product candidates.
There can be no assurance that we will be able to develop in-house sales and distribution capabilities or establish or maintain relationships with third-party collaborators to commercialize any product that receives regulatory approval in the United States or in other markets.
A variety of risks associated with conducting research and clinical trials abroad and marketing our product candidates internationally could materially adversely affect our business.
We plan to globally develop our product candidates. Accordingly, we expect that we will be subject to additional risks related to operating in foreign countries, including:
•differing regulatory requirements in foreign countries;
•unexpected changes in tariffs, trade barriers, price and exchange controls and other regulatory requirements, including recently imposed tariffs which may impact certain of our key raw materials that we import, and which could impact our cost of goods for our product candidates;
•differing standards and privacy requirements for the conduct of clinical trials;
•geographic variations in genetics, comorbidities, environmental factors, treatment patterns, and healthcare practices may impact the safety profile or efficacy of our product candidates;
•increased difficulties in managing the logistics and transportation of storing and shipping product candidates produced in the United States, shipping the product candidate to the patient abroad, and shipping patient samples to the United States for screening tests;
•import and export requirements and restrictions;
•economic weakness, including inflation, or political instability in particular foreign economies and markets;
•compliance with tax, employment, immigration and labor laws for employees living or traveling abroad;
•foreign taxes, including withholding of payroll taxes;
•foreign currency fluctuations, which could result in increased operating expenses and reduced revenue, and other obligations incident to doing business in another country;
•difficulties staffing and managing foreign operations;
•workforce uncertainty in countries where labor unrest is more common than in the United States;
•differing payor reimbursement regimes, governmental payors or patient self-pay systems, and price controls;
•potential liability under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 or comparable foreign regulations;
•challenges enforcing our contractual and intellectual property rights, especially in those foreign countries that do not respect and protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as the United States;
•production shortages resulting from any events affecting raw material supply or manufacturing capabilities abroad;
•challenges with obtaining any local supply of drugs or agents used with our product candidates, which are required by certain local clinical trial sites before conducting any study; and
•business interruptions resulting from future health epidemics or pandemics, or natural or man-made disasters, including earthquakes, tsunamis, fires or other medical epidemics, or geo-political actions, including war and terrorism.
These and other risks associated with our collaborations with Servier and Cellectis, each based in France, our collaboration with Notch, based in Canada, and our joint venture for China, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore with HBP, may materially adversely affect our ability to attain or maintain profitable operations.
We face significant competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, and our operating results will suffer if we fail to compete effectively.
The biopharmaceutical industry, and the immuno-oncology industry specifically, is characterized by intense competition and rapid innovation. Our competitors may be able to develop other compounds or drugs that are able to achieve similar or better results.
Our potential competitors include major multinational pharmaceutical companies, established biotechnology companies, specialty pharmaceutical companies and universities and other research institutions. Many of our competitors have substantially greater financial, technical and other resources, such as larger research and development staff and experienced marketing and manufacturing organizations and well-established sales forces. Smaller or early-stage companies may also prove to be significant competitors, particularly through collaborative arrangements with large, established companies. Mergers and acquisitions in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries may result in even more resources being concentrated in our competitors. Competition may increase further as a result of advances in the commercial applicability of technologies and greater availability of capital for investment in these industries. Our competitors, either alone or with collaborative partners, may succeed in developing, acquiring or licensing on an exclusive basis drug or biologic products that are more effective, safer, more easily commercialized or less costly than our product candidates or may develop proprietary technologies or secure patent protection that we may need for the development of our technologies and products.
Specifically, engineered T cells face significant competition from multiple companies. Success of other therapies could impact our regulatory strategy and delay or prevent regulatory approval of our product candidates. Even if we obtain regulatory approval of our product candidates, the availability and price of our competitors’ products could limit the demand and the price we are able to charge for our product candidates. We may not be able to implement our business plan if the acceptance of our product candidates is inhibited by price competition or the reluctance of physicians to switch from existing methods of treatment to our product candidates, or if physicians switch to other new drug or biologic products or choose to reserve our product candidates for use in limited circumstances. For additional information regarding our competition, see the section entitled “Business—Competition” included in this Annual Report.
We are highly dependent on our key personnel, and if we are not successful in attracting and retaining highly qualified personnel, we may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy.
Our ability to compete in the highly competitive biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries depends upon our ability to attract and retain highly qualified managerial, scientific, medical and other personnel. We are highly dependent on our management, including our Executive Chair, our President and Chief Executive Officer, our Executive Vice President, Research & Development and Chief Medical Officer, our Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer, our Chief Financial Officer, and our General Counsel. The loss of the services of any of our executive officers, other key employees, and other scientific and medical advisors, and our inability to find suitable replacements could result in delays in product development and harm our business.
We conduct substantially all of our operations at our facilities in the San Francisco Bay area. This region is headquarters to many other biopharmaceutical companies and many academic and research institutions. Competition for skilled personnel in our market is intense and may limit our ability to hire and retain highly qualified personnel on acceptable terms or at all. Attrition may lead to higher costs for hiring and retention, diversion of management time to address retention matters and disrupt the business.
To induce valuable employees to remain at our company, in addition to salary and cash incentives, we have provided stock options and restricted stock unit (RSU) awards that vest over time or upon the achievement of certain key strategic goals. The value to employees of stock options and RSU awards that vest over time or upon achieving goals have been significantly affected by movements in our stock price that are beyond our control and may at any time be insufficient to counteract more lucrative offers from other companies. We completed an option exchange program in July 2022 to alleviate the significant number of employee options that were underwater at that time. Our stock price has significantly declined since the option exchange program and a significant number of our employee options remain underwater and may not provide the intended incentive for employees to remain at our company. Despite our efforts to retain valuable employees, members of our management, scientific and development teams may terminate their employment with us on short notice. Although we have employment agreements with our key employees, these employment agreements provide for at-will employment, which means that any of our employees could leave our employment at any time, with or without notice. We do not maintain “key person” insurance policies on the lives of these individuals or the lives of any of our other employees. Our success also depends on our ability to continue to attract, retain and motivate highly skilled junior, mid-level and senior managers as well as junior, mid-level and senior scientific and medical personnel.
The size of our workforce has fluctuated and we will need to manage the size of our organization as we continue to advance our product candidates.
As our development, manufacturing and commercialization plans and strategies develop, we have grown our employee base and allocated resources to multiple new functions, but in January 2024 we implemented a 22% reduction in force, and we will need to continue to manage the size of our organization to ensure that we can successfully execute our strategic plans.
As our product candidates advance toward commercialization, we expect to hire employees in areas that include sales and marketing. Future growth imposes significant added responsibilities on members of management, including:
•identifying, recruiting, integrating, maintaining and motivating additional employees;
•managing our internal development efforts effectively, including the clinical and FDA review process for our product candidates, while complying with our contractual obligations to contractors and other third parties; and
•improving our operational, financial and management controls, reporting systems and procedures.
Our future financial performance and our ability to commercialize our product candidates will depend, in part, on our ability to effectively manage our growth, and our management may also have to divert a disproportionate amount of its attention away from day-to-day activities in order to devote a substantial amount of time to managing these growth activities.
We currently rely, and for the foreseeable future will continue to rely, in substantial part on certain independent organizations, advisors and consultants. There can be no assurance that the services of independent organizations, advisors and consultants will continue to be available to us on a timely basis when needed, or that we can find qualified replacements. We may also be subject to penalties or other liabilities if we mis-classify employees as consultants. In addition, if we are unable to effectively manage our outsourced activities or if the quality or accuracy of the services provided by consultants is compromised for any reason, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated, and we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval of our product candidates or otherwise advance our business. There can be no assurance that we will be able to manage our existing consultants or find other competent outside contractors and consultants on economically reasonable terms, or at all.
If we are not able to effectively expand our organization by hiring and retaining employees and expanding our groups of consultants and contractors, we may not be able to successfully implement the tasks necessary to further develop, manufacture and commercialize our product candidates and, accordingly, may not achieve our research, development, manufacturing and commercialization goals. Conversely, if we expand ahead of our business progress, we may take on unnecessary costs.
We may form or seek additional strategic alliances or enter into additional licensing arrangements in the future, and we may not realize the benefits of such alliances or licensing arrangements.
We may form or seek additional strategic alliances, create joint ventures or collaborations or enter into additional licensing arrangements with third parties that we believe will complement or augment our development and commercialization efforts with respect to our product candidates and any future product candidates that we may develop. Any of these relationships may require us to incur non-recurring and other charges, increase our near and long-term expenditures, issue securities that dilute our existing stockholders or disrupt our management and business. In addition, we face significant competition in seeking appropriate strategic partners and the negotiation process is time-consuming and complex. Moreover, we may not be successful in our efforts to establish a strategic partnership or other alternative arrangements for our product candidates because they may be deemed to be at too early of a stage of development for collaborative effort and third parties may not view our product candidates as having the requisite potential to demonstrate safety and efficacy. Any delays in entering into new strategic partnership agreements related to our product candidates could delay the development and commercialization of our product candidates in certain geographies for certain indications, which would harm our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
If we license products or new technologies or acquire businesses, we may not be able to realize the benefit of such transactions if we are unable to successfully integrate them with our existing operations and company culture. For instance, our agreements with Cellectis, Servier, Notch, Antion, and Foresight Diagnostics require significant research and development that may not result in the development and commercialization of product candidates. We cannot be certain that, following a strategic transaction or license, we will achieve the results, revenue or specific net income that justifies such transaction.
We may not realize the benefits of acquired assets or other strategic transactions.
We actively evaluate various strategic transactions on an ongoing basis. We may acquire other businesses, products or technologies as well as pursue joint ventures or investments in complementary businesses. The success of our strategic transactions, including our acquisition of CAR T cell assets from Pfizer, licenses with Cellectis, Servier, Notch, Antion, our strategic collaboration with Foresight Diagnostics, and our joint venture with HBP and any future strategic transactions depends on the risks and uncertainties involved including:
•technical difficulties associated with advancing partnered programs;
•unanticipated liabilities related to acquired companies or joint ventures;
•difficulties integrating acquired personnel, technologies and operations into our existing business;
•retention of key employees;
•managerial challenges associated with the oversight of partnered programs;
•disagreements regarding each party’s contractual rights and obligations under our partnership agreements;
•costs and uncertainties related to managing disputes with any strategic partners;
•increases in our expenses and reductions in our cash available for operations and other uses;
•inability of our strategic partners to access suitable capital;
•disruption in or termination of our relationships with collaborators or suppliers as a result of such a transaction; and
•possible write-offs or impairment charges relating to acquired businesses or joint ventures.
If any of these risks or uncertainties occur, we may not realize the anticipated benefit of any acquisition or strategic transaction.
Additionally, foreign acquisitions and joint ventures are subject to additional risks, including those related to integration of operations across different cultures and languages, currency risks, potentially adverse tax consequences of overseas operations and the particular economic, political and regulatory risks associated with specific countries. For instance, our joint venture with HBP has faced challenges relating to the regulatory and competitive environment in China for allogeneic CAR T products, as well as challenges within the capital markets for financing allogeneic CAR T development. Our joint venture may face manufacturing difficulties, such as from changes in raw materials or processes due to local regulations, or delivering our licensed product candidates in China, Taiwan, South Korea or Singapore, which could prevent any development or commercialization of our licensed product candidates in the region. The joint venture will also require significant operational and financial support in the future by us or third parties, and any future financing of the joint venture would increase our expenses or dilute our ownership in the joint venture. We may also face unknown liabilities due to supporting our joint venture, such as due to any misuse of materials supplied to our joint venture.
Future acquisitions or dispositions could result in potentially dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities or amortization expenses or write-offs of goodwill, any of which could harm our financial condition.
If our security measures, or those of our CROs, CDMOs, collaborators, contractors, consultants or other third parties with whom we work, are or were compromised or the security, confidentiality, integrity or availability of our information technology, software, services, networks, communications or data is compromised, limited or fails, we could experience a material adverse impact.
In the ordinary course of our business, we and the third parties with whom we work collect, process, receive, store, use, generate, transfer, disclose, make accessible, protect, secure, dispose of, transmit, and share (collectively, process) proprietary, confidential and sensitive information, including personal data (including health information), intellectual property, trade secrets, information we collect about patients in connection with clinical trials, and proprietary business information owned or controlled by ourselves or other parties (collectively, sensitive information).
Cyberattacks, malicious internet-based activity, online and offline fraud and other similar activities threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of our sensitive information and information technology systems, and those of the third parties with whom we work. Such threats are prevalent and are increasing in their frequency, sophistication and intensity, and have become increasingly difficult to detect. These threats come from a variety of sources, including traditional computer “hackers,” “hacktivists,” organized criminal threat actors, threat actors, personnel (such as through theft or misuse), sophisticated nation-states, and nation-state-supported actors. Some actors now engage and are expected to continue to engage in cyber-attacks, including without limitation nation-state actors for geopolitical reasons and in conjunction with military conflicts and defense activities. During times of war and other major conflicts, we, and the third parties with whom we work, may be vulnerable to a heightened risk of these attacks, including retaliatory cyber-attacks, that could materially disrupt our systems and operations, supply chain, and ability to produce and distribute our product candidates. We and the third parties with whom we work are subject to a variety of evolving threats, including but not limited to social-engineering attacks (including through deep fakes, which may be increasingly more difficult to identify as fake, and phishing attacks), malicious code (such as viruses and worms), malware (including as a result of advanced persistent threat intrusions), denial-of-service credential stuffing attacks, credential harvesting, adware, ransomware, supply chain attacks, personnel misconduct or error, attacks enhanced or facilitated by AI, and other similar threats.
Our information technology systems and data, and those of the third parties with whom we work, may also be subject to failure or disruption from software bugs, server malfunction, software or hardware failures, loss of data or other information technology assets, telecommunications failures, natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires, and floods, and other similar issues.
In particular, severe ransomware attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent and severe and can lead to significant interruptions, delays, or outages in our operations, disruptions to our clinical trials, loss of data (including data related to clinical trials), significant expense to restore data or systems, reputational loss and the diversion of funds. Extortion payments may alleviate the negative impact of a ransomware attack, but we may be unwilling or unable to make such payments due to, for example, applicable laws or regulations prohibiting such payments. In addition, our reliance on third parties could introduce new cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, including supply-chain attacks, and other threats to our business operations. Such supply chain attacks have increased in frequency and severity, and we cannot guarantee that third parties’ infrastructure in our supply chain have not been compromised or that they do not contain exploitable defects or bugs that could result in a breach to our information technology systems or those of the third parties with whom we work. Additionally, future or past business transactions (such as acquisitions or integrations) could expose us to additional cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities, as our systems could be negatively affected by vulnerabilities present in acquired or integrated entities’ systems and technologies. Furthermore, we may discover security issues that were not found during due diligence of such acquired or integrated entities, and it may be difficult to integrate companies into our information technology environment and security program.
We work with certain third parties, such as CROs and CDMOs, to operate critical business systems and process our proprietary, confidential and sensitive information. We also share or receive sensitive information with our CROs, CDMOs, or other third parties. Our ability to monitor these third parties’ information security practices is limited, and these third parties may not have adequate information security measures in place. If the third parties with whom we work experience a security incident or are perceived to have experienced a security incident, we could experience adverse consequences. While we may be entitled to damages if the third parties with whom we work fail to satisfy their privacy or security-related obligations to us, any award may be insufficient to cover our damages, or we may be unable to recover such award.
Although we have implemented security measures designed to protect against, mitigate, and remediate security incidents, there can be no assurance that these measures will be effective.
We take steps designed to detect, mitigate, and remediate vulnerabilities in our information systems (such as our hardware and/or software, including that of third parties with whom we work). We have not and may not in the future, however, detect and remediate all such vulnerabilities in our information technology systems, including on a timely basis, because such threats and techniques change frequently, are often sophisticated in nature, and may not be detected until after a security incident has occurred. Unremediated high risk or critical vulnerabilities pose material risks to our business that may be exploited and could result in a security incident. Further, we have experienced and may in the future experience delays in developing and deploying remedial measures designed to address any such identified vulnerabilities. We also face heightened physical and information technology risks due to our sharing office space with other tenants at certain of our sites. Any failure to prevent or mitigate security incidents or improper access to, use of, or disclosure of our clinical data or patients’ personal data could result in significant liability under state, federal, and international law and may cause a material adverse impact to our reputation, affect our ability to conduct our clinical trials and potentially disrupt our business. In addition, as many of our employees work from home at least part of the time and utilize network connections outside our premises, including while at home, or in transit, this poses increased risks to our information technology systems and data.
Certain of the previously identified or similar threats have in the past, and any of the identified or similar threats may in the future, cause a security incident or other interruption that could result in unauthorized, unlawful, or accidental acquisition, modification, destruction, loss, alteration, encryption, disclosure of, or access to our sensitive information. For example, we have been the target of unsuccessful phishing attempts in the past, and expect such attempts will continue in the future. In addition, from time to time, our vendors inform us of security incidents. For example, in November 2024, one of our vendors notified us that they had detected suspicious activity on their network that compromised several email accounts the vendor used to communicate with us. We took appropriate remedial measures, and based on our investigation, we concluded that the incident did not compromise our systems. To date, we have not determined that such incidents as reported to us were material. However, we may not have all information related to such incidents and future incidents could have an adverse impact on our business. A security incident or other interruption could disrupt our ability (and that of third parties with whom we work) to manufacture or deliver our product candidates.
We may expend significant resources (including financial), or modify our business activities and operations, including our clinical trial activities, in an effort to protect against security incidents or to detect, investigate, mitigate, contain and remediate a security incident. Certain data privacy and security obligations may require us to implement and maintain specific security measures or use industry-standard or reasonable security measures to protect our information technology systems and sensitive information.
Applicable data protection laws, privacy policies, data protection obligations and public company disclosure obligations may require us, or we may voluntarily choose, to notify relevant stakeholders, including affected individuals, regulators and investors, of certain security incidents, or to implement other requirements, such as providing credit monitoring. Such disclosures and compliance with such requirements are costly, and the disclosures or the failure to comply with such applicable requirements could lead to adverse consequences. A security incident, whether perceived or actual, experienced by us or a third party with whom we work, may cause us to experience adverse consequences. These consequences may include: government enforcement actions (for example, investigations, fines, penalties, audits, and inspections); additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; restrictions on processing sensitive information (including personal data); litigation (including class claims) and mass arbitration; indemnification obligations; negative publicity; reputational harm; monetary fund diversions; interruptions in our operations (including availability of data); financial loss; and other similar harms. Whether a cybersecurity incident is reportable to our investors may not be straightforward, may take considerable time to determine, and may be subject to change as the investigation of the incident progresses, including changes that may significantly alter any initial disclosure that we provide. Moreover, experiencing a material cybersecurity incident and any mandatory disclosures could lead to negative publicity, loss of investor or partner confidence in the effectiveness of our cybersecurity measures, diversion of management’s attention, governmental investigations, lawsuits, and the expenditure of significant capital and other resources.
Our contracts may not contain limitations of liability, and even where they do, there can be no assurance that the limitations of liability in our contracts are sufficient to protect us from liabilities, damages, or claims related to our data privacy and security obligations.
We cannot be sure that our insurance coverage will be adequate or sufficient to protect us from or adequately mitigate liabilities arising out of our privacy and security practices, or that such coverage will continue to be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or that such coverage will pay future claims.
In addition to experiencing a security incident, third parties may gather, collect, or infer sensitive information about us from public sources, data brokers, or other means that reveals competitively sensitive details about our organization and could be used to undermine our competitive advantage or market position. Additionally, sensitive information could be leaked, disclosed, or revealed as a result of or in connection with the use of generative artificial intelligence technologies by our employees, personnel, or vendors.
Changes in funding for the FDA, the SEC and other government agencies including comparable foreign regulatory authorities could hinder their ability to hire and retain key leadership and other personnel, prevent new products and services from being developed or commercialized in a timely manner or otherwise prevent those agencies from performing normal functions on which the operation of our business may rely, which could negatively impact our business.
The ability of the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities to review and approve new products can be affected by a variety of factors, including government budget and funding levels, ability to hire and retain key personnel and accept payment of user fees, statutory, regulatory and policy changes, and business disruptions, such as those caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Average review times at the agency and comparable foreign regulatory authorities have fluctuated in recent years as a result. In addition, government funding of the SEC and other government agencies on which our operations may rely, including those that fund research and development activities is subject to the political process, which is inherently fluid and unpredictable.
Disruptions at the FDA and other agencies or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may also slow the time necessary for new drugs to be reviewed and/or approved by necessary government agencies, which would adversely affect our business. For example, over the last several years, the U.S. government has shut down several times and certain regulatory agencies, such as the FDA and the SEC, have had to furlough critical FDA, SEC and other government employees and stop critical activities. In addition, there have recently been terminations of large numbers of federal employees at various federal agencies. If a prolonged government shutdown occurs, it and/or employee terminations or resignations could significantly impact the ability of the FDA or other federal agencies to timely review and process our regulatory submissions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business. Further, future government shutdowns and/or employee terminations or resignations or could impact our ability to access the public markets and obtain necessary capital in order to properly capitalize and continue our operations, or to timely obtain patent protection in the U.S. to protect our technology.
Our relationships with customers, physicians, and third-party payors are subject, directly or indirectly, to federal, state, local and foreign healthcare fraud and abuse laws, false claims laws, health information privacy and security laws, and other healthcare laws and regulations. If we or our employees, independent contractors, consultants, commercial partners and vendors violate these laws, we could face substantial penalties.
These laws may impact, among other things, our clinical research program, as well as our proposed and future sales, marketing and education programs. In particular, the promotion, sales and marketing of healthcare items and services is subject to extensive laws and regulations designed to prevent fraud, kickbacks, self-dealing and other abusive practices. These laws and regulations may restrict or prohibit a wide range of pricing, discounting, marketing and promotion, sales commission, customer incentive and other business arrangements. We may also be subject to federal, state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of identifiable patient information, price reporting, false claims and provider transparency. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of these laws that apply to us, we may be subject to significant civil, criminal and administrative penalties.
We and the third parties with whom we work are subject to stringent and evolving U.S. and foreign laws, regulations, rules, and industry standards, as well as policies, contracts and other obligations related to data privacy and security. Our (or the third parties with whom we work) actual or perceived failure to comply with such obligations could lead to enforcement or litigation (including class claims) and mass arbitration demands, fines or penalties, a disruption of clinical trials or commercialization of products, reputational harm, or other adverse business effects.
In the ordinary course of business, we process sensitive information. Accordingly, we are, and may in the future become, subject to numerous data privacy and security obligations, such as various federal, state, local and foreign data privacy and security laws, regulations, guidance, and industry standards as well as external and internal privacy and security policies, contracts and other obligations that apply to data privacy and security and our processing of personal data and the processing of personal data on our behalf.
In the United States, federal, state, and local governments have enacted numerous data privacy and security laws, including data breach notification laws, personal data privacy laws, consumer protection laws (e.g., Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act) and other similar laws (e.g., wiretapping laws). For example, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), and their respective implementing regulations, imposes requirements relating to the privacy, security and transmission of individually identifiable health information. Among other things, HITECH, through its implementing regulations, makes certain of HIPAA’s privacy and security standards directly applicable to business associates, defined as a person or organization, other than a member of a covered entity’s workforce, that creates, receives, maintains or transmits protected health information for or on behalf of a covered entity for a function or activity regulated by HIPAA as well as their covered subcontractors.
In the past few years, numerous U.S. states have enacted comprehensive privacy laws that impose certain obligations on covered businesses, including providing specific disclosures in privacy notices and affording residents with certain rights concerning their personal data. As applicable, such rights may include the right to access, correct, or delete certain personal data, and to opt-out of certain data processing activities, such as targeted advertising, profiling, and automated decision-making. The exercise of these rights may impact our business and ability to provide our products and services. Certain states also impose stricter requirements for processing certain personal data, including sensitive information, such as conducting data privacy impact assessments. These state laws allow for statutory fines for noncompliance. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), applies to personal data of consumers, business representatives, and employees who are California residents, and requires covered companies to provide specific disclosures in privacy notices and honor requests of such individuals to exercise certain privacy rights. The CCPA provides for fines and allows private litigants affected by certain data breaches to recover significant statutory damages. The CCPA and other comprehensive U.S. state privacy laws exempt some data processed in the context of clinical trials, but these developments may further complicate compliance efforts, and increase legal risk and compliance costs for us and the third parties with whom we work. Such laws, if they become applicable to us in the future, may significantly impact our business activities, exemplifying the vulnerability of our business to evolving regulatory environment related to personal data and protected health information. Similar laws are being considered in other states, as well as at the federal and local levels, and we expect more states to pass similar laws in the future.
Outside the United States, an increasing number of laws, regulations and industry standards govern privacy, data protection, information security and cross-border personal data transfers. For example, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR), the United Kingdom’s GDPR (UK GDPR) (collectively, GDPR), and Australia’s Privacy Act, China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), and Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) (and various related provincial laws) and Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) impose strict requirements for processing personal data.
For example, under the GDPR, companies may face temporary or definitive bans on data processing and other corrective actions; fines of up to €20,000,000 under the EU GDPR / 17.5 million pounds sterling under the UK GDPR, or up to 4% annual total revenue, in each case, whichever is greater; or private litigation related to processing of personal data brought by classes of data subjects or consumer protection organizations authorized at law to represent their interests.
In the ordinary course of business, we transfer personal data from Europe and other jurisdictions to the United States or other countries. Europe and other jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring data to be localized or limiting the transfer of personal data to other countries. In particular, the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom (UK) have significantly restricted the transfer of personal data to the United States and other countries whose privacy laws it generally believes are inadequate. Some jurisdictions have adopted, and others may in the future adopt, similarly stringent data localization and cross-border data transfer laws. Although there are currently various mechanisms that may be used to transfer personal data from the EEA and UK to the United States in compliance with law, such as the EEA and UK’s standard contractual clauses, the UK’s International Data Transfer Agreement / Addendum, and the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the UK extension thereto (which allows for transfers for relevant U.S.-based organizations who self-certify compliance and participate in the Framework), these mechanisms are subject to legal challenges, and there is no assurance that we can satisfy or rely on these measures to lawfully transfer personal data to the United States. If there is no lawful manner for us to transfer personal data from the EEA, UK, or other jurisdictions to the United States, or if the requirements for a legally-compliant transfer are too onerous, we may face significant adverse consequences, including the interruption or degradation of our operations (such as by limiting our ability to conduct clinical trial activities in Europe and elsewhere), the need to relocate part of or all of our business or data processing activities to other jurisdictions (such as Europe) at significant expense, the inability to transfer data and work with partners, vendors and other third parties, increased exposure to regulatory actions, substantial fines, and injunctions against processing personal data necessary to operate our business. Additionally, companies that transfer personal data out of the EEA and UK to other jurisdictions, particularly to the United States, are subject to increased scrutiny from regulators, individual litigants, and activist groups. Some European regulators have also ordered certain companies to suspend or permanently cease certain transfers out of Europe for allegedly violating the GDPR’s cross-border data transfer limitations. Regulators in the United States such as the Department of Justice are also increasingly scrutinizing certain personal data transfers and have proposed and may enact certain data localization requirements, for example, the executive order from the previous federal administration Preventing Access to Americans' Bulk Sensitive Personal Data and United States Government-Related Data by Countries of Concern.
In addition, privacy advocates and industry groups have proposed, and may in the future propose, standards with which we are legally or contractually bound to comply. We are also bound by contractual obligations related to data privacy and security, and our efforts to comply with such obligations may not be successful. We publish privacy notices and other statements regarding data privacy and security. Regulators in the United States are increasingly scrutinizing these statements, and if any of our privacy notices or related materials or statements are found to be deficient, lacking in transparency, deceptive, unfair, misleading, or misrepresentative of our practices, we may be subject to investigation, enforcement actions by regulators or other adverse consequences. Furthermore, our employees and personnel may use generative artificial intelligence technologies to perform their work, and the disclosure and use of personal data in such technologies is subject to various privacy laws and other privacy obligations. Governments have passed and are likely to pass additional laws regulating generative AI. Our use of this technology could result in additional compliance costs, regulatory investigations and actions, and lawsuits.
Obligations related to data privacy and security (including consumers’ data privacy expectations) are quickly changing, becoming increasingly stringent, and creating uncertainty. Additionally, these obligations may be subject to differing applications and interpretations, which may be inconsistent or conflict among jurisdictions. As a result, preparing for and complying with these obligations requires significant resources and may necessitate changes to our information technologies, systems and practices, as well as those of any third parties that process personal data on our behalf.
Although we endeavor to comply with our applicable privacy and security obligations, we may at times fail (or be perceived to have failed) to do so. Moreover, despite our efforts, we may not be successful in achieving compliance if our employees, third-party collaborators, service providers, contractors or consultants fail to comply with such obligations, which could negatively impact our business operations and compliance posture. If we or the third parties with whom we work fail, or are perceived to have failed, to address or comply with applicable obligations related to data privacy and security, we could face significant consequences including, but not limited to, government enforcement actions (e.g., investigations, fines, penalties, audits and inspections, and similar); litigation (including class-related claims) and mass arbitration demands; additional reporting requirements and/or oversight; temporary or permanent bans or restrictions on all or some processing of personal data; orders to destroy or not use personal data; and imprisonment of company officials.
In particular, plaintiffs have become increasingly more active in bringing privacy-related claims against companies, including class claims and mass arbitration demands. Some of these claims allow for the recovery of statutory damages on a per violation basis, and, if viable, carry the potential for monumental statutory damages, depending on the volume of data and the number of violations. Any of these events could have a material adverse effect on our reputation, business, or financial condition, including but not limited to: interruptions or stoppages in our business operations (including clinical trials); inability to process personal data or to operate in certain jurisdictions; limited ability to develop or commercialize our products; expenditure of time and resources to defend any claim or inquiry; adverse publicity; or substantial changes to our business model or operations.
If product liability lawsuits are brought against us, we may incur substantial liabilities and may be required to limit commercialization of our product candidates.
We face an inherent risk of product liability as a result of the clinical testing of our product candidates and will face an even greater risk if we commercialize any products. For example, we may be sued if our product candidates cause or are perceived to cause injury or are found to be otherwise unsuitable during clinical testing, manufacturing, marketing or sale. Any such product liability claims may include allegations of defects in manufacturing, defects in design, a failure to warn of dangers inherent in the product, negligence, strict liability or a breach of warranties. Claims could also be asserted under state consumer protection acts. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against product liability claims, we may incur substantial liabilities or be required to limit commercialization of our product candidates. Even successful defense would require significant financial and management resources. Regardless of the merits or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:
•decreased demand for our product candidates;
•injury to our reputation;
•withdrawal of clinical trial participants;
•initiation of investigations by regulators;
•costs to defend the related litigation;
•a diversion of management’s time and our resources;
•substantial monetary awards to trial participants or patients;
•product recalls, withdrawals or labeling, marketing or promotional restrictions;
•loss of revenue;
•exhaustion of any available insurance and our capital resources;
•the inability to commercialize any product candidate; and
•a decline in our share price.
Our inability to obtain sufficient product liability insurance at an acceptable cost to protect against potential product liability claims could prevent or inhibit the commercialization of products we develop, alone or with corporate collaborators. Our insurance policies may also have various exclusions, and we may be subject to a product liability claim for which we have no coverage. While we have obtained and expect to obtain clinical trial insurance for our clinical trials, we may have to pay amounts awarded by a court or negotiated in a settlement that exceed our coverage limitations or that are not covered by our insurance, and we may not have, or be able to obtain, sufficient capital to pay such amounts. Even if our agreements with any future corporate collaborators entitle us to indemnification against losses, such indemnification may not be available or adequate should any claim arise.
Risks Related to the Development of Our Product Candidates
Our engineered allogeneic T cell product candidates represent a novel approach to cancer treatment and treatment of autoimmune diseases, which creates significant challenges for us.
We are developing a pipeline of allogeneic T cell product candidates that are engineered from healthy donor T cells to express CARs and are intended for use in any eligible patient with certain cancers or autoimmune diseases. Advancing these novel product candidates creates significant challenges for us, including:
•manufacturing our product candidates to our or regulatory specifications and in a timely manner to support our clinical trials, and, if approved, commercialization;
•sourcing clinical and, if approved, commercial supplies for the raw materials used to manufacture our product candidates;
•understanding and addressing variability in the quality of a donor’s T cells, which could ultimately affect our ability to produce product in a reliable and consistent manner and treat certain patients;
•educating medical personnel regarding the potential side effect profile of our product candidates, if approved, such as the potential adverse side effects related to CRS, neurotoxicity, GvHD, IEC-HS, prolonged cytopenia, aplastic anemia and neutropenic sepsis;
•using medicines to preempt or manage adverse side effects of our product candidates and such medicines may be difficult to source or costly or may not adequately control the side effects and/or may have other safety risks or a detrimental impact on the efficacy of the treatment;
•conditioning patients with chemotherapy and ALLO-647 or other lymphodepletion agents in advance of administering our product candidates, which may be difficult to source, costly or increase the risk of infections and other adverse side effects;
•obtaining regulatory approval, as the FDA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities have limited experience with development of allogeneic T cell therapies for cancer or autoimmune diseases; and
•establishing sales and marketing capabilities upon obtaining any regulatory approval to gain market acceptance of a novel therapy.
Gene-editing is a relatively new technology, and if we are unable to use this technology in our intended product candidates, our revenue opportunities will be materially limited.
Cellectis’ TALEN technology, which we use in our oncology programs, and Arbor’s CRISPR technology, which we use in our AID program, both involve relatively new approaches to gene editing, using sequence-specific DNA-cutting enzymes, or nucleases, to perform precise and stable modifications in the DNA of living-cells and organisms, and we have very little experience with Arbor’s CRISPR technology. Cellectis and Arbor have not created nucleases for all gene sequences that we may seek to target, and they may not agree to or have difficulty creating nucleases for other gene sequences that we may seek to target, which could limit the usefulness of this technology. Cellectis and Arbor are our sole sources for this technology, including for certain tools such as nucleases and vectors. If Cellectis or Arbor were to be unwilling or unable to supply these tools, our ability to develop gene-edited product candidates could be materially and adversely impacted, leading to delays in our development programs and potential failure to commercialize certain product candidates.
This technology may also not be shown to be effective in clinical studies that Cellectis, we or other licensees of Cellectis technology or Arbor’s CRISPR technology may conduct, or may be associated with safety issues that may negatively affect our development programs. For instance, gene-editing may create unintended changes to the DNA such as a non-target site gene-editing, a large deletion, or a DNA translocation, any of which could lead to oncogenesis. In our ALPHA2 trial, we observed a chromosomal abnormality, and the FDA placed our clinical trials on hold following this observation. While our investigation concluded that gene editing was not responsible for the chromosomal abnormality and the hold was resolved, we may discover future abnormalities caused by gene editing or other factors that would impact our development plans. The gene editing of our product candidates may also not be successful in limiting the risk of GvHD or premature rejection by the patient.
In addition, the gene-editing industry is rapidly developing, and our competitors may introduce new technologies that render our technology obsolete or less attractive. New technology could emerge at any point in the development cycle of our product candidates. As competitors use or develop new technologies, any failures of such technology could adversely impact our program. We also may be placed at a competitive disadvantage, and competitive pressures may force us to implement new technologies at a substantial cost, and which would delay our development programs. In addition, our competitors may have greater financial, technical and personnel resources that allow them to enjoy technological advantages and may in the future allow them to implement new technologies before we can. We cannot be certain that we will be able to implement technologies on a timely basis or at a cost that is acceptable to us. If we are unable to maintain technological advancements consistent with industry standards, our operations and financial condition may be adversely affected.
We are heavily reliant on our partners, Cellectis and Servier, for access to TALEN gene editing technology for the manufacturing and development of our oncology product candidates.
A critical aspect to manufacturing allogeneic T cell product candidates involves gene editing the healthy donor T cells in an effort to avoid GvHD and to limit the patient’s immune system from attacking the allogeneic T cells. GvHD results when allogeneic T cells start recognizing the patient’s normal tissue as foreign. For our oncology product candidates, we use Cellectis’ TALEN gene-editing technology to inactivate a gene coding for TCRα, a key component of the natural antigen receptor of T cells, to cause the engineered T cells to be incapable of recognizing foreign antigens. Accordingly, when injected into a patient, the intent is for the engineered T cell not to recognize the tissue of the patient as foreign and thus avoid attacking the patient’s tissue.
In addition, we use TALEN gene editing in our oncology product candidates to inactivate the CD52 gene in donor T cells, which codes for the target of an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody. Anti-CD52 monoclonal antibodies deplete CD52 expressing T cells in patients while sparing therapeutic allogeneic T cells lacking CD52. By administering an anti-CD52 antibody prior to infusing our oncology product candidates, we believe we have the potential to reduce the likelihood of a patient’s immune system from rejecting the engineered allogeneic T cells for a sufficient period of time to enable a window of persistence during which the engineered allogeneic T cells can actively target and destroy the cancer cells. However, the antibody may not have the benefits that we anticipate and could have adverse effects.
We rely on an agreement with Cellectis for exclusive rights to use TALEN technology for 15 select cancer targets, including BCMA, FLT3, CD70, DLL3, Claudin 18.2 and other targets included in our pipeline. We also rely on Cellectis, through our agreement with Servier, for exclusive rights to UCART19, ALLO-501 and cema-cel. Any other gene-editing technology used to research and develop product candidates directed at targets not covered by our existing agreements with Cellectis and Servier will require significant investment and time for advancement. In addition, the Cellectis gene-editing technology may fail to produce viable product candidates. Moreover, both Servier and Cellectis may terminate our respective agreements in the event of a material breach of the agreements, or upon certain insolvency events. Cellectis has challenged and may in the future challenge certain performance by Servier, such as its development of products licensed under the Cellectis-Servier Agreement in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and any failure by those parties to resolve such matters may have an adverse impact on us. If our agreements were terminated, we would be required to seek other gene editing technology or abandon our cema-cel and ALLO-316 programs, both of which could materially impact our business and financial position. Further, alternative gene editing technology may not be available to us on reasonable terms, or at all, and advancing other gene editing technology would require significant resources.
We are heavily reliant on our partner, Foresight Diagnostics, for access to their CLARITY™ MRD test for identifying eligible patients for our ALPHA3 trial.
Our ALPHA3 trial design requires the use of Foresight Diagnostics’ CLARITY™ MRD test for patient selection. Foresight Diagnostics is a private company founded in 2020. Although Foresight Diagnostics has successfully executed its role in our ALPHA3 trial, it has limited resources and limited experience with its MRD assay and in executing clinical trials or supporting a commercial product. In the future, Foresight Diagnostics may not be able to successfully and timely conduct the ALPHA3 MRD tests, obtain regulatory approval of CLARITY or successfully support commercialization of cema-cel, if approved. If we need to transition to an alternative MRD test in the future, it could result in additional costs, delays, and diversion of resources, any of which would negatively impact our cema-cel development program. Further, we may be unable to identify an alternative approved effective MRD test, which could have a material adverse impact on our business.
Our reliance on specific vendors named in our INDs subject us to risks if these vendors are unable or unwilling to fulfill their obligations or if we need to change vendors, which could delay or prevent the development of our product candidates and commercialization, if approved.
Our investigational new drug (IND) applications name specific third-party vendors to supply certain raw materials, components, technology, and services that are essential to manufacturing our product candidates. We do not have the ability to rapidly secure alternative sources for these materials or services. In addition, because these vendors are specified in our INDs, any change to a new vendor would require additional regulatory submissions and approvals, which could significantly delay or complicate our product development efforts. If any of these vendors becomes unable or unwilling to supply the products or services we require on acceptable terms, in sufficient quantities, or in compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, we may experience:
•Delays in our preclinical studies or clinical trials due to the need to qualify and obtain regulatory approval for an alternate supplier;
•Higher costs associated with the need to qualify and validate a new manufacturing facility and supply chain;
•Difficulty ensuring quality and compliance with cGMP or other regulatory standards at a new vendor site, potentially leading to regulatory enforcement actions against us or significant delays in regulatory approvals or commercialization; and
•Disruption to our development timeline and commercialization efforts, which could materially harm our business, financial condition, and operating results.
Moreover, our reliance on these third parties reduces our control over manufacturing and quality assurance processes. Any performance failure or compliance breach by our named vendors—such as failing to meet regulatory standards or encountering financial or operational difficulties—could adversely affect the ongoing development and potential commercialization of our product candidates.
If we are forced to seek alternative vendors, we may be required to conduct bridging studies or other additional testing to demonstrate comparability of a product candidate when manufactured by a different supplier. Such a process can be time-consuming, expensive, and could delay or limit our ability to obtain regulatory approval or achieve market acceptance of our product candidates. If any of these events occur, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be materially harmed.
Servier’s discontinuation of its involvement in the development of CD19 Products and Servier's disputes with Cellectis, or future disputes with us, may have adverse consequences.
On September 15, 2022, Servier sent a notice of discontinuation (Discontinuation) of its involvement in the development of CD19, including the CD19 Products pursuant to the Original Servier Agreement. Under the Servier Agreement, Servier sublicenses to us certain rights it has licensed from Cellectis relating to Cellectis’ TALEN gene editing technology pursuant to the Servier-Cellectis Agreement.
In May 2024 we entered into the Servier Amendment which made various amendments to the Original Servier Agreement, and expanded our licensed territory thereunder to include the European Union and the United Kingdom, and also granted us an option, under certain circumstances, to expand the territory further to include China (including Hong Kong) and Japan. Although we believe that we and Servier are both in full compliance of our respective obligations under the Servier Agreement, there can be no assurance that we will not have future disputes with Servier regarding our respective rights and obligations under our agreements and any future dispute could jeopardize our CD19 Products license, the loss of which would have a significant adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and prospects.
In April 2024 Cellectis filed a Form 20-F with the SEC, stating that Cellectis does not believe that: (1) the Servier-Cellectis Agreement permits Servier to grant a world-wide sub-license to us; and (2) Servier has not complied with its performance obligations under the Servier-Cellectis Agreement, which Cellectis believes may involve material breaches thereof. Cellectis has initiated an arbitration proceeding against Servier through the Centre de Médiation et d'Arbitrage de Paris, wherein Cellectis is seeking a decision terminating the Servier-Cellectis Agreement, and seeking certain compensation. Cellectis has asserted that a favorable determination by the arbitral tribunal, if achieved, would return development and commercialization rights for the licensed products back to Cellectis. Although Servier has advised us that they believe Cellectis’ claims are without merit, there is a risk that Cellectis may prevail in the arbitration and terminate the Servier-Cellectis Agreement. Additionally, although we believe the Servier-Cellectis Agreement grants Servier the right to grant sublicenses without further consent from Cellectis, there is a risk that Cellectis may challenge the expansion of our territory under the Servier Agreement to regions outside the US. The Servier Agreement provides us with certain rights to obtain a direct license with Cellectis in the event the Servier-Cellectis Agreement is terminated, however, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain such a direct license. Additionally, although the Servier-Cellectis Agreement grants Servier the right to grant sublicenses without further consent from Cellectis, there is a risk that Cellectis could seek to challenge the expansion of our rights under the Servier Agreement to include the European Union and the United Kingdom. The termination of the Servier-Cellectis Agreement, our failure to obtain a direct license with Cellectis after such termination, or a successful challenge to the territorial expansion of our rights under the Servier Agreement would have a significant adverse impact on our business, financial condition, and prospects.
Our oncology development strategy relies on incorporating an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody as part of the lymphodepletion preconditioning regimen prior to infusing allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates.
Certain of our oncology product candidates utilize an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody as part of a lymphodepletion regimen to be infused prior to infusing our product candidates. The anti-CD52 antibody may reduce the likelihood of a patient’s immune system rejecting the engineered allogeneic T cells for a sufficient period of time to enable a window of persistence during which such engineered allogeneic T cells can actively target and destroy cancer cells. However, the antibody may not have the benefits that we anticipate and could have adverse effects. For instance, our lymphodepletion regimen, including using an anti-CD52 antibody, will cause immune suppression that can be of unpredictable depth and duration and that may be associated with an increased risk of infection, such as to common viral or bacterial or opportunistic pathogens, that may be unable to be cleared and ultimately lead to other serious adverse events or death.
In the prior CALM and PALL trials, a commercially available monoclonal antibody, alemtuzumab, that binds CD52 was used. Alemtuzumab is known to have risk of causing certain adverse events. In 2020, within the context of a procedure based on Article 20 of Regulation 726/2204 (EMA Regulation), the EMA completed a pharmacovigilance review of alemtuzumab in the context of the treatment of multiple sclerosis following reports of immune-mediated conditions and problems affecting the heart and blood vessels, including fatal cases. The EMA recommended that alemtuzumab should not be used in patients with certain heart, circulation or bleeding disorders or in patients who have autoimmune disorders other than multiple sclerosis.
The EMA also recommended that alemtuzumab only be given in a hospital with ready access to intensive care facilities and specialists who can manage serious adverse reactions. The use of our anti-CD52 antibody may result in the same or similar adverse events as alemtuzumab, and we have chosen to administer our product candidates at trial centers experienced at managing patients with advanced malignancies as well as toxicities associated with immunomodulatory therapies, which significantly limits the sites that are eligible to participate in our clinical trials. If the EMA or other regulatory agencies further limit the use of alemtuzumab or anti-CD52 antibodies, our clinical program would be adversely affected.
To secure our own readily available source of anti-CD52 antibody, we are developing our own monoclonal anti-CD52 antibody, ALLO-647, which we use in certain of our clinical trials. ALLO-647 may cause serious adverse events that alemtuzumab may cause, including fatal adverse events, infusion related reactions, immune thrombocytopenia, glomerular nephropathies, thyroid disorders, autoimmune cytopenias, autoimmune hepatitis, hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis, acquired hemophilia, infections, stroke, and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. In addition, we are exploring various dosing strategies for lymphodepletion in our clinical trials, such as including varying doses of the chemotherapy agents and/or ALLO-647 or eliminating one or more of the agents, which may alter the risk of serious adverse events or have other undesirable outcomes such as a reduction of the efficacy of treatment. Additionally, our experimental lymphodepletion regimens may show different safety profiles when paired with different allogeneic CAR T product candidates such that regimens deemed safe with one CAR T product candidate may be determined to be associated with unacceptable toxicity when combined with another CAR T candidate or with the same candidate in a different patient population. If observed, these differences may require additional clinical exploration and may cause delays in the execution or termination of development campaigns. See the section entitled "Business—Product Pipeline and Development Strategy" included in this Annual Report for information on safety events.
If we are unable to successfully develop and manufacture ALLO-647 in the timeframe we anticipate, or at all, such as if regulatory authorities do not agree with our selected dose or approve of the use of ALLO-647 in combination with our allogeneic T cell product candidates, our clinical trial timelines and ability to commercialize certain of our oncology product candidates would be significantly delayed.
Risks Related to Our Reliance on Third Parties
We rely and will continue to rely on third parties to conduct our clinical trials. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines, we may not be able to obtain regulatory approval of or commercialize our product candidates.
We depend and will continue to depend upon independent investigators and collaborators, such as universities, medical institutions, CROs and strategic partners to conduct our preclinical and clinical trials under agreements with us.
We negotiate budgets and contracts with CROs and study sites, which may result in delays to our development timelines and increased costs. We will rely heavily on these third parties over the course of our clinical trials, and we control only certain aspects of their activities. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our studies is conducted in accordance with applicable protocol, legal, regulatory and scientific standards, and our reliance on third parties does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We and these third parties are required to comply with GCPs, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for product candidates in clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce these GCPs through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites. If we or any of these third parties fail to comply with applicable GCP regulations, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our marketing applications. We cannot assure you that, upon inspection, such regulatory authorities will determine that any of our clinical trials comply with the GCP regulations. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with biologic product produced under cGMPs and will require a large number of test patients. Our failure or any failure by these third parties to comply with these regulations or to recruit a sufficient number of patients may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the regulatory approval process. Moreover, our business may be implicated if any of these third parties violates federal or state fraud and abuse or false claims laws and regulations or healthcare privacy and security laws.
Any third parties conducting our clinical trials are not and will not be our employees and, except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such third parties, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our ongoing preclinical, clinical and nonclinical programs. These third parties may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical studies or other drug development activities, which could affect their performance on our behalf.
If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated and we may not be able to complete development of, obtain regulatory approval of or successfully commercialize our product candidates. As a result, our financial results and the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed.
If any of our relationships with trial sites, or any CRO that we may use in the future, terminates, we may not be able to enter into arrangements with alternative trial sites or CROs or do so on commercially reasonable terms. Switching or adding third parties to conduct our clinical trials involves substantial cost and requires extensive management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new third party commences work. As a result, delays occur, which can materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines.
We rely on third parties to manufacture and store our clinical product supplies, and we may have to rely on third parties to produce and process our product candidates, if approved.
While we utilize CF1 for clinical manufacturing of our CAR T product candidates, we will continue to use CDMOs to manufacture ALLO-647 and several core reagents, and for distribution logistics. There can be no assurance that we will not experience supply or manufacturing issues related to our product candidates or core reagents in the future.
We do not have long-term agreements in place with CDMOs for the manufacture of our cell therapies or of ALLO-647. If we are unable to contract with CDMOs on acceptable terms or at all, our clinical development program would be delayed and our business would be significantly harmed. For example, in December 2024 Novo Holdings completed its acquisition of Catalent, Inc., and shortly thereafter Novo Nordisk acquired three Catalent fill-finish sites and related assets from Novo Holdings. ALLO-647 is manufactured at one of these sites, and we have been advised by Novo Nordisk that we will need to transfer such manufacturing to a different site. Although we believe that we currently have sufficient ALLO-647 inventory for our near-term requirements, the transfer to a new manufacturing site will be time consuming, costly, and subject to uncertainty. In addition, the transfer will require regulatory approval. We may be unable to complete the manufacturing site transfer in a timely manner, if at all, which could significantly delay our clinical development timelines. If we are unable to establish an alternative manufacturing site or unable to do so in a timely manner, if at all, it could significantly delay our clinical development timelines.
We have built CF1 and have transitioned the manufacturing of certain product candidates to our manufacturing facility, and we are reliant on CF1 as our sole manufacturing site for certain of our product candidates. Manufacturing product candidates in our own facility requires that we meet certain regulatory conditions, which may delay or extend our clinical trial timelines. If, for any reason, we are unable to continue manufacturing our product candidates at CF1, there is a risk that we may need to re-engage our CDMO to manufacture material, which would be costly and there is a risk that the CDMO may be unavailable or may fail in manufacturing, such as due to the CDMO having to retrain its personnel, or train new personnel, to manufacture our material. Any disruptions to CF1's operations, whether due to regulatory non-compliance, supply chain constraints, equipment failures, natural disasters, or other unforeseen circumstances, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to manufacture our products and meet clinical or commercial demand. If CF1 becomes unavailable for any reason, our ability to continue product development and commercialization could be significantly impaired, leading to delays, increased costs, and potential loss of revenue.
We have not yet caused our product candidates to be manufactured or processed on a commercial scale and may not be able to achieve manufacturing and processing and may be unable to create an inventory of mass-produced, off-the-shelf product to satisfy demands for any of our product candidates. Our clinical supply is also limited to small quantities and any latent defects discovered in our supply could significantly delay our development timelines.
In addition, our actual and potential future reliance on a limited number of third-party manufacturers exposes us to the following risks:
•We may be unable to identify manufacturers on acceptable terms or at all because the number of potential manufacturers is limited and the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may have questions regarding any replacement contractor. This may require new testing and regulatory interactions. In addition, a new manufacturer would have to be educated in, or develop substantially equivalent processes for, production of our products after receipt of FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities questions, if any.
•Our third-party manufacturers might be unable to timely formulate and manufacture our product or core reagents or produce the quantity and quality required to meet our clinical and commercial needs, if any.
•Contract manufacturers may not be able to execute our manufacturing procedures appropriately.
•Contract manufacturers may be subject to adverse legislative actions.
•Manufacturers are subject to ongoing periodic unannounced inspection by the FDA, the Drug Enforcement Administration and corresponding state agencies or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities to ensure strict compliance with cGMP and other government regulations and corresponding foreign standards. We do not have control over third-party manufacturers’ compliance with these regulations and standards.
•We may not own, or may have to share, the intellectual property rights to any improvements made by our third-party manufacturers in the manufacturing process for our products.
•Our future contract manufacturers may not perform as agreed or may not remain in the contract manufacturing business for the time required to supply our clinical trials or to successfully produce, store and distribute our products or core reagents.
•Our third-party manufacturers could breach or terminate their agreement with us.
Our contract manufacturers would also be subject to the same risks we face in developing our own manufacturing capabilities, as described above. Our current and potential future CDMOs may also be required to shut down in response to health epidemics or pandemics, or they may prioritize manufacturing for therapies or vaccines for other diseases. In addition, our CDMOs have certain responsibilities for storage of raw materials and in the past have lost or failed to adequately store our raw materials. We also rely on third parties to store our released product candidates, and any failure to adequately store our product candidates could result in significant delay to our development timelines. Any additional or future damage or loss of raw materials or product candidates could materially impact our ability to manufacture and supply our product candidates. Each of these risks could delay our clinical trials, the approval, if any, of our product candidates by the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities or the commercialization of our product candidates or result in higher costs or deprive us of potential product revenue.
In addition, we rely on third parties to perform release tests on our product candidates prior to delivery to patients. If these tests are not appropriately done and test data are not reliable, patients could be put at risk of serious harm.
We rely on T cells from healthy donors to manufacture our product candidates, and if we do not obtain an adequate supply of T cells from qualified donors, development of those product candidates, or commercialization, if approved, may be adversely impacted.
Unlike autologous CAR T companies, we are reliant on receiving healthy donor material to manufacture our product candidates. Healthy donor T cells vary in type and quality, and this variation makes producing standardized product candidates more difficult and makes the development and commercialization pathway of those product candidates more uncertain. We have developed a screening process designed to enhance the quality and consistency of T cells used in the manufacture of our CAR T cell product candidates, but the manufacturing runs we have completed and tested in the clinic are limited across our product candidates. As we gain experience, we may find that our screening process fails to identify suitable donor material and we may discover unacceptable variability with the material after production. We may also have to update our specifications for new risks that may emerge, such as to screen for new viruses or chromosomal abnormalities.
We have strict specifications for donor material, which include specifications required by regulatory authorities. If we are unable to identify and obtain donor material that satisfy specifications, agree with regulatory authorities on appropriate specifications, or address variability in donor T cells, there may be inconsistencies in the product candidates we produce or we may be unable to initiate or continue clinical trials on the timelines we expect, which could harm our reputation and adversely impact our business and prospects.
In addition, vendors face challenges in obtaining donor material. While we have donor material on hand, if our vendors are unable to secure donor material, we may no longer have sufficient donor material to manufacture our product candidates.
Cell-based therapies rely on the availability of specialty raw materials, which may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all.
Our product candidates require many specialty raw materials, including viral vectors that deliver the CAR sequence and electroporation technology, some of which are manufactured by small companies with limited resources and experience to support a commercial product, and the suppliers may not be able to deliver raw materials to our specifications.
We do not have contracts with many of the suppliers, and we may not be able to contract with them on acceptable terms, or at all. As a result of logistical challenges and recent inflation, we may experience higher costs or delays in receiving, or fail to secure entirely, key raw materials to support clinical or commercial manufacturing. Certain raw materials also require third-party testing, and some of the testing service companies may not have capacity or be able to conduct the testing that we request.
In addition, many of our suppliers normally support blood-based hospital businesses and generally do not have the capacity to support commercial products manufactured under cGMP by biopharmaceutical firms. The suppliers may be ill-equipped to support our needs, including generating data required for a BLA and in non-routine circumstances like an FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities inspection or medical crisis, such as widespread contamination.
We also face competition for supplies from other cell therapy companies. Such competition may make it difficult for us to secure raw materials or the testing of such materials on commercially reasonable terms or in a timely manner.
Some raw materials are currently available from a single supplier, or a small number of suppliers. We cannot be sure that these suppliers will remain in business or that they will not be purchased by one of our competitors or another company that is not interested in continuing to produce these materials for our intended purpose. In addition, the lead time needed to establish a relationship with a new supplier can be lengthy, and we may experience delays in meeting demand in the event we must switch to a new supplier. For example, for certain raw materials we previously had to find an alternative supplier, which required qualifying the new supplier, which required meeting regulatory requirements for such qualification. If we need to transition to an alternative supplier in the future, it could result in additional costs, delays, diversion of resources or reduced manufacturing yields, any of which would negatively impact our operating results. Further, we may be unable to enter into agreements with a new supplier on commercially reasonable terms, which could have a material adverse impact on our business.
If we or our third-party suppliers use hazardous, non-hazardous, biological or other materials in a manner that causes injury or violates applicable law, we may be liable for damages.
Our research and development activities involve the controlled use of potentially hazardous substances, including chemical and biological materials. We and our suppliers are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations in the United States governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal of medical and hazardous materials, and there is a risk of contamination or injury resulting from medical or hazardous materials. For instance, we have had and may continue to have environmental notice of violations at our manufacturing facility. As a result of any such contamination or injury, we may incur liability or local, city, state or federal authorities may curtail the use of these materials and interrupt our business operations. In the event of an accident, we could be held liable for damages or penalized with fines, and the liability could exceed our resources. We do not have any insurance for liabilities arising from medical or hazardous materials. In addition, we have previously shipped certain materials to Allogene Overland PRC in China and may do so in the future to its successor entity. Any violation by our joint venture in the use, manufacture, storage, handling and disposal under foreign law may subject us to additional liability.
Compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations is expensive, and current or future environmental regulations may impair our research, development and production efforts, which could harm our business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations.
Risks Related to Government Regulation
The FDA and other comparable foreign regulatory approval processes are lengthy and time-consuming, and we may experience significant delays in the clinical development and regulatory approval of our product candidates.
The research, testing, manufacturing, labeling, approval, selling, import, export, marketing, and distribution of drug products, including biologics, are subject to extensive regulation by the FDA and other regulatory authorities in the United States and comparable foreign regulatory authorities. We are not permitted to market any biological drug product in the United States or elsewhere until we receive approval of a BLA from the FDA or equivalent approvals from other comparable foreign regulatory authorities. We have not previously submitted a BLA to the FDA, or similar approval filings to comparable foreign regulatory authorities. A BLA or equivalent foreign application must include extensive preclinical and clinical data and supporting information to establish the product candidate’s safety and effectiveness for each desired indication. The BLA or equivalent foreign application must also include significant information regarding CMC matters for the product, and any delay or failure in generating such data to meet the evolving CMC regulatory requirements would delay any BLA filing or equivalent foreign application.
We expect the novel nature of our product candidates to create further challenges in obtaining regulatory approval. For example, the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities have limited experience with commercial development of allogeneic T cell therapies for cancer. We may also request clinical trial initiation or regulatory approval of future CAR-based product candidates by target, regardless of cancer type or origin, which the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may have difficulty accepting. The FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may also require a panel of experts, referred to as an Advisory Committee, to deliberate on the adequacy of the safety and efficacy data to support licensure. The opinion of the Advisory Committee, although not binding, may have a significant impact on our ability to obtain licensure of the product candidates based on the completed clinical trials, as the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities often adheres to the Advisory Committee’s recommendations. Accordingly, the regulatory approval pathway for our product candidates may be uncertain, complex, expensive and lengthy, and approval may not be obtained.
We have previously experienced a delay in our clinical trials due to a clinical hold, and may experience future delays in completing planned clinical trials for a variety of reasons, including delays related to:
•obtaining regulatory authorization to begin a trial, if applicable, including regulatory approval of any companion diagnostic, if applicable;
•the availability of financial resources to commence and complete the planned trials;
•reaching agreement on acceptable terms with prospective CROs and clinical trial sites, the terms of which can be subject to extensive negotiation and may vary significantly among different CROs and trial sites;
•developing and implementing processes and procedures with collaborators relating to the collection and transfer of patient samples and the timely performance of a companion diagnostic on such samples;
•obtaining approval at each clinical trial site by an independent IRB or a positive opinion from an Ethics Committee;
•obtaining regulatory and other approvals to modify the conduct of a clinical trial;
•recruiting suitable patients to participate in a trial;
•delays by a collaboration partner in running a companion diagnostic on patient samples;
•having patients complete a trial, including having patients enrolled in clinical trials dropping out of the trial prior to treatment, or return for post-treatment follow-up;
•clinical trial sites deviating from trial protocol or dropping out of a trial;
•addressing any patient safety concerns that arise during the course of a trial;
•adding new clinical trial sites; or
•manufacturing sufficient quantities of qualified materials under cGMPs, releasing product in accordance with specifications, and delivering product candidates for use in clinical trials.
We could also encounter future delays if physicians encounter unresolved ethical issues associated with enrolling patients in clinical trials of our product candidates in lieu of prescribing existing treatments that have established safety and efficacy profiles, or with respect to the ALPHA3 trial, in lieu of observation alone. Further, a clinical trial may be suspended or terminated by us, the Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) or Ethics Committees for the institutions in which such trials are being conducted or by the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities due to a number of factors, including failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical protocols, inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold, safety issues or adverse side effects, failure to demonstrate a benefit from using a product candidate, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions, lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial, or based on a recommendation by any Data Safety Monitoring Committee. The FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities’ review of our data of our clinical trials may, depending on the data, also result in the delay, suspension or termination of one or more of our clinical trials, which would also delay or prevent the initiation of our other planned clinical trials. If we experience termination of, or delays in the completion of, any clinical trial of our product candidates, the commercial prospects for our product candidates will be harmed, and our ability to generate product revenue will be delayed. In addition, any delays in completing our clinical trials will increase our costs, slow down our product development and approval process and jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenue.
Many of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may ultimately lead to the denial of regulatory approval of our product candidates.
The regulatory landscape that will govern our product candidates is uncertain; regulations relating to more established gene therapy and cell therapy products are still developing, and changes in regulatory requirements could result in delays or discontinuation of development of our product candidates or unexpected costs in obtaining or maintaining any regulatory approval.
Because we are developing novel CAR T cell immunotherapy product candidates that are unique biological entities, the regulatory requirements that we will be subject to are not entirely clear. Even with respect to more established products that fit into the categories of gene therapies or cell therapies, the regulatory landscape is still developing and guidance from regulatory authorities may continue to change in the future.
Moreover, there is substantial, and sometimes uncoordinated, overlap in those responsible for regulation of existing gene therapy products and cell therapy products. For example, in the United States, the FDA has established the Office of Tissues and Advanced Therapies (OTAT), formerly known as the Office of Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies (OCTGT), within its Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) to consolidate the review of gene therapy and related products, and the Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee to advise CBER on its review. Gene therapy clinical trials are also subject to review and oversight by an institutional biosafety committee (IBC), a local institutional committee that reviews and oversees basic and clinical research conducted at the institution participating in the clinical trial. Although the FDA decides whether individual gene therapy protocols may proceed, review process and determinations of other reviewing bodies can impede or delay the initiation of a clinical study, even if the FDA has reviewed the study and approved its initiation. Conversely, the FDA can place an IND application on clinical hold even if such other entities have provided a favorable review. Furthermore, each clinical trial must be reviewed and approved by an independent IRB at or servicing each institution at which a clinical trial will be conducted. In addition, adverse developments in clinical trials of gene therapy products conducted by others may cause the FDA or other regulatory bodies to change the requirements for approval of any of our product candidates.
Complex regulatory environments exist in other jurisdictions in which we might consider seeking regulatory approvals for our product candidates, further complicating the regulatory landscape. For example, in the European Union a special committee called the Committee for Advanced Therapies (CAT) was established within the EMA in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 1394/2007 on advanced-therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) to assess the quality, safety and efficacy of ATMPs, and to follow scientific developments in the field. ATMPs include gene therapy products as well as somatic cell therapy products and tissue engineered products. In this regard, on May 28, 2014, the EMA issued a recommendation that UCART19 be considered a gene therapy product under Regulation (EC) No 1394/2007 on ATMPs. We cannot conclude that our product candidates will receive a similar recommendation.
These various regulatory review committees and advisory groups and new or revised guidelines that they promulgate from time to time may lengthen the regulatory review process, require us to perform additional studies, increase our development costs, lead to changes in regulatory positions and interpretations, delay or prevent approval and commercialization of our product candidates or lead to significant post-approval limitations or restrictions. Because the regulatory landscape for our CAR T cell immunotherapy product candidates is new, we may face even more cumbersome and complex regulations than those emerging for gene therapy products and cell therapy products. Furthermore, even if our product candidates obtain required regulatory approvals, such approvals may later be withdrawn as a result of changes in regulations or the interpretation of regulations by applicable regulatory agencies.
Delay or failure to obtain, or unexpected costs in obtaining, the regulatory approval necessary to bring a potential product to market could decrease our ability to generate sufficient product revenue to maintain our business.
The FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our regulatory plan and we may fail to obtain regulatory approval of our CAR T cell product candidates.
The general approach for FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities approval of a new biologic or drug is for the sponsor to provide dispositive data from two well-controlled, Phase 3 clinical studies of the relevant biologic or drug in the relevant patient population. Phase 3 clinical studies typically involve hundreds of patients, have significant costs and take years to complete. We expect ongoing FDA, EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities feedback on our trials, some of which may lead to changes in the trials, which could cause future delays to our trials. In addition, even if we believe the results are sufficiently compelling, such as for the ALPHA3 trial, the FDA, EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could ultimately require longer-term follow-up results, additional data from our clinical trials or additional trials that could delay or prevent our first BLA submission. The FDA, EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require that we conduct a comparative trial against an approved therapy including potentially an approved autologous T cell therapy, which would significantly delay our development timelines and require substantially more resources.
In addition, the FDA, EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may only allow us to evaluate patients that have failed or who are ineligible for autologous therapy, which are extremely difficult patients to treat and patients with advanced and aggressive cancer, and our product candidates may fail to improve outcomes for such patients.
If the FDA or European Commission grant accelerated approval for our product candidates, as a condition for accelerated approval, the FDA or the European Commission may require us to perform post-marketing studies to verify and describe the predicted effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical endpoint, and the drug or biologic may be subject to withdrawal procedures by the FDA that are more accelerated than those available for regular approvals. The FDA or European Commission may ultimately refuse to grant accelerated approval for our product candidates and require a Phase 3 clinical trial prior to approval, particularly since our product candidates represent a novel treatment. In addition, the standard of care may change with the approval of new products in the same indications that we are studying. This may result in the FDA, the European Commission, or other regulatory agencies requesting additional studies to show that our product candidate is superior to the new products.
Our clinical trial results may also not support approval. In addition, our product candidates could be delayed in receiving approval or fail to receive regulatory approval for many reasons, including the following:
•the inability to resolve any future clinical hold;
•the FDA, EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with the design or implementation of our clinical trials;
•we may be unable to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA, EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities that our product candidates are safe and effective for any of their proposed indications;
•the results of clinical trials may not meet the level of statistical significance required by the FDA, EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities for approval, including due to the heterogeneity of patient populations;
•we may be unable to demonstrate that our product candidates’ clinical and other benefits outweigh their safety risks;
•the FDA, EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with our interpretation of data from preclinical studies or clinical trials;
•the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates may not be sufficient to the satisfaction of the FDA, EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities to support the submission of a BLA or other comparable submission in foreign jurisdictions or to obtain regulatory approval in the United States or elsewhere;
•the FDA, EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities will review extensive CMC data, our manufacturing process and inspect the relevant commercial manufacturing facility and may not approve our manufacturing process or facility;
•the approval policies or regulations of the FDA, EU, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval; and
•we may be unable to agree on any required pediatric investigation plan with regulatory authorities prior to any BLA filing.
We may be unable to obtain regulatory approval for ALLO-647 in a timely manner or at all, which could delay any approval or commercialization of our allogeneic T cell product candidates.
As we are concurrently developing ALLO-647 to be used as part of the lymphodepletion regimen for certain of our allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates, mapping a co-development path for dual approval of ALLO-647 and any of our CAR T cell product candidates and coordinating concurrent review with different divisions of competent regulatory authorities create additional regulatory uncertainty for us and may delay the development of our product candidates. As an example, coordinating concurrent review with the divisions of the FDA creates such regulatory uncertainty and may delay the development of our product candidates. We expect the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research division of the FDA to exercise authority over the regulatory approval of ALLO-647 while the CBER division will oversee the regulatory approval of our allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates.
In addition, the FDA is requiring us to demonstrate the overall contribution of ALLO-647 to the benefit to risk ratio of the lymphodepletion regimen for cema-cel. We plan to assess ALLO-647 through part one of the ALPHA3 trial. Some clinical trial sites may elect not to participate, and we cannot be certain when or whether we will be able to successfully enroll the ALPHA3 trial in a timely manner or that the outcome of this study will support FDA approval of both cema-cel and ALLO-647.
Any delays to ALLO-647 approval could delay any approval or commercialization of our allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates. We anticipate that the EMA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities will impose equivalent obligations as part of the marketing authorization process in their territory.
If we, or our collaborators, are required by the FDA, or comparable foreign regulatory authorities, to obtain approval (or clearance, or certification) of a companion diagnostic device in connection with approval of one of our product candidates, and we, or our collaborators, do not obtain, or face delays in obtaining, approval (or clearance, or certification) of a companion diagnostic device, we will not be able to commercialize the product candidate, and our ability to generate revenue will be materially impaired.
According to FDA guidance, if the FDA determines that a companion diagnostic device is essential to the safe and effective use of a novel therapeutic product or indication, the FDA generally will not approve the therapeutic product or new therapeutic product indication if the companion diagnostic is not also approved or cleared for that indication. If a satisfactory companion diagnostic is not commercially available, we may be required to create or obtain one that would be subject to regulatory approval requirements. For example, we are collaborating with Foresight Diagnostics as part of our clinical trial enrollment process for ALPHA3 to identify patients with MRD that we believe may be most likely to benefit from treatment with cema-cel. The process of validating such diagnostic can be time consuming and costly.
Companion diagnostics are developed in conjunction with clinical programs for the associated product and are subject to regulation as medical devices by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities, and, to date, the FDA has generally required premarket approval of companion diagnostics for cancer therapies. Generally, when a companion diagnostic is essential to the safe and effective use of a therapeutic product, the FDA requires that the companion diagnostic be approved concurrent with approval of the therapeutic product and before a product can be commercialized. In the EEA, companion diagnostics are deemed to be in vitro diagnostic medical devices (IVDs) and are governed by Regulation 2017/746 (IVDR). IVDs, including companion diagnostics, must conform with the general safety and performance requirements (GSPR) of the IVDR by December 2028.
If the FDA, or a comparable foreign regulatory authority, requires approval (or certification or clearance) of a companion diagnostic for any of our product candidates, whether before or after the product candidate obtains marketing approval, we and/or third-party collaborators may encounter difficulties in developing and obtaining approval (or clearance, or certification) for these companion diagnostics. Any delay or failure by us or third-party collaborators to develop or obtain regulatory approval (or clearance, or certification) of a companion diagnostic could delay or prevent approval or continued marketing of our related product candidates. We, or our collaborators, may also experience delays in developing a sustainable, reproducible, and scalable manufacturing process for the companion diagnostic or in transferring that process to commercial partners or negotiating insurance reimbursement plans, all of which may prevent us from completing our clinical trials or commercializing our product candidates, if approved, on a timely or profitable basis, if at all.
Our ALPHA3 trial design requires the use of Foresight Diagnostics’ PhasED-Seq™ Circulating Tumor DNA Platform as a companion diagnostic for cema-cel. Although the Foresight CLARITY™ Investigational Use Only (IUO) MRD test, powered by PhasED-Seq, has received IDE approval from the FDA allowing PhasEd-Seq to be used as part of the ALPHA3 trial, there can be no assurance that Foresight Diagnostic will be able to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals to support ALPHA3 clinical trial sites outside the US, or that we would be able to manage logistical challenges associated with timely international shipment of patient samples to Foresight’s US facility for testing, all of which could delay the expansion of our ALPHA3 trial to trial sites outside the US.
Furthermore, in order to commercialize cema-cel based on the outcome of our ALPHA3 trial, the Foresight Diagnostics’ MRD assay must be approved by regulatory agencies, and in some jurisdictions approved as a companion diagnostic test. A delay or failure by Foresight Diagnostics to obtain regulatory approval may delay the commercialization of cema-cel, if approved based on the outcome of our ALPHA3 trial.
Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy designation and fast track designation may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process and it does not increase the likelihood that our product candidates will receive marketing approval.
We have received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation for cema-cel, ALLO-316, and ALLO-715 and fast track designation for ALLO-605, ALLO-316, and ALLO-647. There is no assurance that we will be able to obtain RMAT designation or fast track designation for any of our additional product candidates. RMAT designation and fast track designation do not change the FDA’s standards for product approval, and there is no assurance that such designation will result in expedited review or approval or that the approved indication will not be narrower than the indication covered by the designation.
Additionally, RMAT designation and fast track designation can be revoked if the criteria for eligibility cease to be met as clinical data emerges.
We plan to seek orphan drug designation for some or all of our product candidates across various indications, but we may be unable to obtain such designations or to maintain the benefits associated with orphan drug designation, including market exclusivity, which may cause our revenue, if any, to be reduced.
Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may grant orphan designation to a drug or biologic intended to treat a rare disease or condition, defined as a disease or condition with a patient population of fewer than 200,000 in the United States, or a patient population greater than 200,000 in the United States when there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making available the drug or biologic in the United States will be recovered from sales in the United States for that drug or biologic. In order to obtain orphan drug designation, the request must be made before submitting a BLA. In the United States, orphan drug designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages, and user-fee waivers. After the FDA grants orphan drug designation, the generic identity of the drug and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. Orphan drug designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process.
If a product that has orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval of that particular product for the disease for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity, which means that the FDA may not approve any other applications, including a BLA, to market the same biologic (meaning, a product with the same principal molecular structural features) for the same indication for seven years, except in limited circumstances such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan drug exclusivity or if FDA finds that the holder of the orphan drug exclusivity has not shown that it can assure the availability of sufficient quantities of the orphan drug to meet the needs of patients with the disease or condition for which the drug was designated. As a result, even if one of our product candidates receives orphan exclusivity, the FDA can still approve other biologics that do not have the same principal molecular structural features for use in treating the same indication or disease or the same biologic for a different indication or disease during the exclusivity period. Furthermore, the FDA can waive orphan exclusivity if we are unable to manufacture sufficient supply of our product or if a subsequent applicant demonstrates clinical superiority over our product.
The FDA granted orphan drug designation to ALLO-605 and ALLO-715 for the treatment of multiple myeloma. We plan to seek orphan drug designation for additional product candidates in specific orphan indications in which there is a medically plausible basis for the use of these products, but may never receive such designations. Some of our product candidates target indications that are not orphan indications. In addition, even with orphan drug designation, exclusive marketing rights in the United States may be limited if we seek approval for an indication broader than the orphan designated indication and may be lost if the FDA later determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if we are unable to assure sufficient quantities of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition, or if a subsequent applicant demonstrates clinical superiority over our products, if approved.
Negative public opinion and increased regulatory scrutiny of genetic research and therapies involving gene editing may damage public perception of our product candidates or adversely affect our ability to conduct our business or obtain regulatory approvals for our product candidates.
The gene-editing technologies that we use are novel. Public perception may be influenced by claims that gene editing is unsafe, and products incorporating gene editing may not gain the acceptance of the public or the medical community. Given the previous clinical hold involved a chromosomal abnormality, our manufacturing or gene editing may be further scrutinized or may be viewed as unsafe, even though our investigation found that the abnormality was not related to our manufacturing or gene editing. In particular, our success will depend upon physicians specializing in our targeted diseases prescribing our product candidates as treatments in lieu of, or in addition to, existing, more familiar, treatments for which greater clinical data may be available. Any increase in negative perceptions of gene editing may result in fewer physicians prescribing our treatments or may reduce the willingness of patients to utilize our treatments or participate in clinical trials for our product candidates.
In addition, given the novel nature of gene-editing and cell therapy technologies, governments may place import, export or other restrictions in order to retain control or limit the use of the technologies. For instance, any limits on exporting certain of our technology to China may adversely affect Overland Therapeutics, a joint venture between us and HBP. Increased negative public opinion or more restrictive government regulations either in the United States or internationally, would have a negative effect on our business or financial condition and may delay or impair the development and commercialization of our product candidates or demand for such product candidates.
We expect the product candidates we develop will be regulated as biological products, or biologics, and therefore they may be subject to competition sooner than anticipated.
The Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 (BPCIA) was enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (collectively, the Affordable Care Act) to establish an abbreviated pathway for the approval of biosimilar and interchangeable biological products. The regulatory pathway establishes legal authority for the FDA to review and approve biosimilar biologics, including the possible designation of a biosimilar as “interchangeable” based on its similarity to an approved biologic. Under the BPCIA, an application for a biosimilar product cannot be approved by the FDA until 12 years after the reference product was approved under a BLA. The law is complex and is still being interpreted and implemented by the FDA. As a result, its ultimate impact, implementation, and meaning are subject to uncertainty and could have a material adverse effect on the future commercial prospects for our biological products.
We believe that any of the product candidates we develop that is approved in the United States as a biological product under a BLA should qualify for the 12-year period of exclusivity. However, there is a risk that this exclusivity could be shortened due to congressional action or otherwise, or that the FDA will not consider the subject product candidates to be reference products for competing products, potentially creating the opportunity for generic competition sooner than anticipated. Moreover, the extent to which a biosimilar, once approved, will be substituted for any one of the reference products in a way that is similar to traditional generic substitution for non-biological products is not yet clear, and will depend on a number of marketplace and regulatory factors that are still developing.
The European Union provides opportunities for data and market exclusivity for innovative medicinal products in relation to which marketing authorization is granted. Upon grant of marketing authorization, innovative medicinal products are generally entitled to benefit from eight years of data exclusivity and 10 years of market exclusivity. Data exclusivity, if granted, prevents regulatory authorities in the European Union from referencing the innovator’s data to assess an application for marketing authorization for a generic or a biosimilar for eight years from the date of authorization of the innovative product, after which an application may be made for authorization of a generic or biosimilar, and the innovator’s data may be referenced. The market exclusivity period prevents a successful generic or biosimilar applicant from commercializing its product in the European Union until 10 years have elapsed from the initial marketing authorization of the reference product in the EU. The overall ten-year period may, occasionally, be extended for a further year to a maximum of 11 years if, during the first eight years of those ten years, the marketing authorization holder obtains an authorization for one or more new therapeutic indications which, during the scientific evaluation prior to their authorization, are held to bring a significant clinical benefit in comparison with existing therapies. However, there is no guarantee that a product will be considered by the EU’s regulatory authorities to be a new chemical/biological entity, and products may not qualify for data exclusivity.
Even if we obtain regulatory approval of our product candidates, the products may not gain market acceptance among physicians, patients, hospitals, cancer treatment centers and others in the medical community.
The use of engineered T cells as a potential cancer treatment is a recent development and may not become broadly accepted by physicians, patients, hospitals, cancer treatment centers and others in the medical community. We expect physicians in the large bone marrow transplant centers to be particularly important to the market acceptance of our products and we may not be able to educate them on the benefits of using our product candidates for many reasons. For example, certain of the product candidates that we will be developing target a cell surface marker that may be present on cancer cells as well as non-cancerous cells. It is possible that our product candidates may kill these non-cancerous cells, which may result in unacceptable side effects, including death. Additional factors will influence whether our product candidates are accepted in the market, including:
•the clinical indications for which our product candidates are approved;
•physicians, hospitals, cancer treatment centers and patients considering our product candidates as a safe and effective treatment;
•the potential and perceived advantages of our product candidates over alternative treatments;
•the prevalence and severity of any side effects;
•product labeling or product insert requirements of the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities;
•limitations or warnings contained in the labeling approved by the FDA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities;
•the timing of market introduction of our product candidates as well as competitive products;
•the cost of treatment in relation to alternative treatments;
•the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors and government authorities;
•the willingness of patients to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of coverage and adequate reimbursement by third-party payors and government authorities;
•relative convenience and ease of administration, including as compared to alternative treatments and competitive therapies; and
•the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts.
If our product candidates are approved but fail to achieve market acceptance among physicians, patients, hospitals, cancer treatment centers or others in the medical community, we will not be able to generate significant revenue. Even if our products achieve market acceptance, we may not be able to maintain that market acceptance over time if new products or technologies are introduced that are more favorably received than our products, are more cost effective or render our products obsolete.
Coverage and reimbursement may be limited or unavailable in certain market segments for our product candidates, which could make it difficult for us to sell our product candidates, if approved, profitably.
Successful sales of our product candidates, if approved, depend on the availability of coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors including governmental healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, managed care organizations and commercial payors, among others. Significant uncertainty exists as to the coverage and reimbursement status of any product candidates for which we obtain regulatory approval. In addition, because our product candidates represent new approaches to the treatment of cancer, we cannot accurately estimate the potential revenue from our product candidates.
Patients who are provided medical treatment for their conditions generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with their treatment. Obtaining coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors is critical to new product acceptance.
The marketability of any product candidates for which we receive regulatory approval for commercial sale may suffer if government and other third-party payors fail to provide coverage and adequate reimbursement. We expect downward pressure on pharmaceutical pricing to continue. Further, coverage policies and third-party reimbursement rates may change at any time. Even if favorable coverage and reimbursement status is attained for one or more products for which we receive regulatory approval, less favorable coverage policies and reimbursement rates may be implemented in the future.
The advancement of healthcare reform may negatively impact our ability to sell our product candidates, if approved, profitably.
There have been, and likely will continue to be, legislative and regulatory proposals at the foreign, federal and state levels directed at broadening the availability of healthcare and containing or lowering the cost of healthcare. The implementation of cost containment measures or other healthcare reforms may prevent us from being able to generate revenue, attain profitability, or commercialize our products. Such reforms could have an adverse effect on anticipated revenue from product candidates that we may successfully develop and for which we may obtain regulatory approval and may affect our overall financial condition and ability to develop product candidates. Any reduction in reimbursement from Medicare or other government programs may result in a similar reduction in payments from private payors, which may adversely affect our future profitability.
Our business could be negatively impacted by environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) matters or our reporting of such matters.
There is an increasing focus from certain investors, employees, partners, and other stakeholders concerning ESG matters, and in many cases with conflicting views. While we have had internal efforts directed at ESG matters and preparations for increased future disclosures, we may be perceived by certain stakeholders as not acting responsibly in connection with these matters, which could negatively impact us. Moreover, the SEC recently adopted rules designed to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures, which have been stayed pending judicial review. If these rules or other climate-related disclosures rules become effective, they may significantly increase our compliance and reporting costs and may also result in disclosures that certain investors or other stakeholders deem to negatively impact our reputation or that harm our stock price.
Additionally, the increasing divergent expectations and standards among policymakers, regulators and investors, could make it more difficult to comply with the various federal, state and foreign ESG-related regulations in the jurisdictions in which we may have operations.
Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property
We depend on intellectual property licensed from third parties and termination of any of these licenses could result in the loss of significant rights, which would harm our business.
We are dependent on patents, know-how and proprietary technology, both our own and licensed from others. We depend substantially on our license agreements with Pfizer, Servier and Cellectis. These licenses may be terminated upon certain conditions. Any termination of these licenses could result in the loss of significant rights and could harm our ability to commercialize our product candidates. For example, we are dependent on our license with Cellectis for gene-editing technology that is necessary to produce certain of our engineered T cells. In addition, we are reliant on Servier in-licensing from Cellectis some of the intellectual property rights they are licensing to us, including certain intellectual property rights relating to ALLO-501 and cema-cel. To the extent these licensors fail to meet their obligations under their license agreements, which we are not in control of, we may lose the benefits of our license agreements with these licensors. For instance, Cellectis has challenged and may in the future challenge certain performance by Servier, such as its development of products licensed under the Cellectis-Servier Agreement in ALL, and any failure by those parties to resolve such matters may have an adverse impact on us. In the future, we may also enter into additional license agreements that are material to the development of our product candidates.
Disputes may also arise between us and our licensors regarding intellectual property subject to a license agreement, including those related to:
•the scope of rights granted under the license agreement and other interpretation-related issues;
•whether and the extent to which our technology and processes may infringe on intellectual property of the licensor that is not subject to the licensing agreement;
•our right to sublicense patent and other rights to third parties under collaborative development relationships;
•our diligence obligations with respect to the use of the licensed technology in relation to our development and commercialization of our product candidates, and what activities satisfy those diligence obligations; and
•the ownership of inventions and know-how resulting from the joint creation or use of intellectual property by our licensors and us and our partners.
For example, previously we and Servier had different interpretations regarding the respective parties’ respective rights and obligations under the Original Servier Agreement. In May 2024, we entered into the Servier Amendment which clarified each parties rights and obligations. There can be no assurance that further contract interpretation issues will not arise or that we would be able to amicably resolve such issues. If other issues arise over intellectual property that we have licensed, or license in the future, it could prevent or impair our ability to maintain our current licensing arrangements on acceptable terms, and we may be unable to successfully develop and commercialize the affected product candidates.
We are generally also subject to all of the same risks with respect to protection of intellectual property that we license, as we are for intellectual property that we own, which are described below. If we or our licensors fail to adequately protect this intellectual property, our ability to commercialize products could suffer.
If our efforts to protect the proprietary nature of the intellectual property related to our technologies are not adequate, we may not be able to compete effectively in our market.
We rely upon a combination of patents, trade secret protection and license agreements to protect the intellectual property related to our technologies. Any disclosure to or misappropriation by third parties of our confidential proprietary information could enable competitors to quickly duplicate or surpass our technological achievements, thus eroding our competitive position in our market.
Under the Servier Agreement, we have an exclusive license to develop and commercialize certain anti-CD19 allogeneic T cell product candidates, including cema-cel, and we hold the commercial rights to these product candidates in the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom.
We also have an exclusive worldwide license from Cellectis to its TALEN gene-editing technology for the development of allogeneic T cell product candidates directed against 15 different cancer antigens. The Servier Agreement gives us access to TALEN gene-editing technology for all product candidates under the agreement. Certain intellectual property which is covered by these agreements may have been developed with funding from the U.S. government. If so, our rights in this intellectual property may be subject to certain research and other rights of the government.
Additional patent applications have been filed, and we anticipate additional patent applications will be filed, both in the United States and in other countries, as appropriate. However, we cannot predict:
•if and when patents will issue;
•the degree and range of protection any issued patents will afford us against competitors including whether third parties will find ways to invalidate or otherwise circumvent our patents;
•whether or not others will obtain patents claiming aspects similar to those covered by our patents and patent applications; or
•whether we will need to initiate litigation or administrative proceedings which may be costly whether we win or lose.
Composition of matter patents for biological and pharmaceutical products such as CAR-based product candidates often provide a strong form of intellectual property protection for those types of products, as such patents provide protection without regard to any method of use. We cannot be certain that the claims in our pending patent applications covering compositions of matter of our product candidates will be considered patentable by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) or by patent offices in foreign countries, or that the claims in any of our issued patents will be considered valid and enforceable by courts in the United States or foreign countries. Method of use patents protect the use of a product for the specified method. This type of patent does not prevent a competitor from making and marketing a product that is identical to our product for an indication that is outside the scope of the patented method. Moreover, even if competitors do not actively promote their product for our targeted indications, physicians may prescribe these products “off-label.” Although off-label prescriptions may infringe method of use patents, the practice is common and such infringement is difficult to prevent or prosecute.
The strength of patents in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields involves complex legal and scientific questions and can be uncertain. The patent applications that we own or in-license may fail to result in issued patents with claims that cover our product candidates or uses thereof in the United States or in other foreign countries. Even if the patents do successfully issue, third parties may challenge the patentability, validity, enforceability or scope thereof, for example through inter partes review (IPR), post-grant review or ex parte reexamination before the USPTO, or oppositions and other comparable proceedings in foreign jurisdictions, which may result in such patents being cancelled, narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable. Furthermore, even if they are unchallenged, our patents and patent applications may not adequately protect our intellectual property or prevent others from designing their products to avoid being covered by our claims. If the breadth or strength of protection provided by the patents and patent applications we hold with respect to our product candidates is threatened, it could dissuade companies from collaborating with us to develop, and threaten our ability to commercialize, our product candidates. Further, if we encounter delays in our clinical trials, the period of time during which we could market our product candidates under patent protection would be reduced. United States patent applications containing at any time a claim not entitled to a priority date before March 16, 2013 are subject to the “first to file” system implemented by the America Invents Act (2011).
This first to file system will require us to be cognizant of the time from invention to filing of a patent application. Since patent applications in the United States and most other countries are confidential for a period of time after filing, we cannot be certain that we were the first to file any patent application related to our product candidates. Furthermore, for United States applications in which all claims are entitled to a priority date before March 16, 2013, an interference proceeding can be provoked by a third-party or instituted by the USPTO, to determine who was the first to invent any of the subject matter covered by the patent claims of our applications. For United States applications containing a claim not entitled to priority before March 16, 2013, there is a greater level of uncertainty in the patent law in view of the passage of the America Invents Act, which brought into effect significant changes to the United States patent laws, including new procedures for challenging patent applications and issued patents.
Confidentiality agreements with employees and third parties, including any strategic partners, may not prevent unauthorized disclosure or use of trade secrets and other proprietary information.
In addition to the protection afforded by patents, we seek to rely on trade secret protection and confidentiality agreements to protect proprietary know-how that is not patentable, processes for which patents are difficult to enforce and any other elements of our product discovery and development processes that involve proprietary know-how, information or technology that is not covered by patents.
Trade secrets, however, may be difficult to protect. Although we require all of our employees to assign their inventions to us, and require all of our employees and key consultants who have access to our proprietary know-how, information, or technology to enter into confidentiality agreements, we cannot be certain that our trade secrets and other confidential proprietary information will not be disclosed or inappropriately used, or that competitors will not otherwise gain access to our trade secrets or independently develop substantially equivalent information and techniques. Furthermore, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect proprietary rights to the same extent or in the same manner as the laws of the United States. For example, we have and may continue to transfer technology to Overland Therapeutics or its affiliates in certain developing countries, and we cannot be certain that we or Overland Therapeutics or any of its affiliates will be able to protect or enforce any proprietary rights in these countries. As a result, we may encounter significant problems in protecting and defending our intellectual property both in the United States and abroad. If we are unable to prevent unauthorized material disclosure of our intellectual property to third parties, we will not be able to establish or maintain a competitive advantage in our market, which could materially adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.
Third-party claims of intellectual property infringement may prevent or delay our product discovery and development efforts and our ability to commercialize our product candidates.
Our commercial success depends in part on our avoiding infringement of the patents and proprietary rights of third parties. There is a substantial amount of litigation involving patents and other intellectual property rights in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. Numerous U.S. and foreign issued patents and pending patent applications, which are owned by third parties, exist in the fields in which we are developing our product candidates. As the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries expand and more patents are issued, the risk increases that our product candidates may give rise to claims of infringement of the patent rights of others.
Third parties may assert that we or our collaboration partners infringe their patents or are otherwise employing their proprietary technology without authorization and may sue us and/or our collaboration partners. For example, in July 2024 Roche Molecular Systems, Inc. and Roche Sequencing Solutions, Inc. (collectively, Roche) filed lawsuits in Federal District Courts in California and Delaware against Foresight Diagnostics Inc. (Foresight Diagnostics), who is our collaboration partner, as well as Stanford University and three of Foresight’s founders, alleging misappropriation of trade secrets, unfair competition and breach of contract relating to Foresight Diagnostics’ PhasED-Seq Circulating Tumor DNA Platform which is being used as part of our ALPHA3 clinical trial to identify MRD+ patients. As part of the lawsuit, Roche seeks to obtain ownership of certain Stanford patents covering the PhasED-Seq technology that are licensed to Foresight Diagnostics. Foresight Diagnostics has stated that it believes that Roche’s allegations are meritless and that it intends to vigorously defend against the case, and in October 2024 Foresight Diagnostics and Stanford filed motions seeking to have the lawsuits dismissed. If Roche obtains an injunction or otherwise prevails in its lawsuits, we may be required to seek alternative means for gaining access to the PhasED-Seq MRD assay or find an alternative MRD assay to use in the ALPHA3 trial, either of which may not be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all, and/or could significantly delay or prevent the completion of the trial or our plans to commercialize cema-cel as part of a 1L consolidation strategy, if approved, which could materially adversely affect our business, operating results and financial condition.
In addition, we are aware of several U.S. patents held by third parties that may be considered by those third parties to be relevant to cell-based therapies. Generally, conducting clinical trials and other development activities in the United States is not considered an act of infringement. If and when any of our product candidates is approved by the FDA, third parties may then seek to enforce their patents by filing a patent infringement lawsuit against us or our collaboration partners. Patents issued in the United States by law enjoy a presumption of validity that can be rebutted only with evidence that is “clear and convincing,” a heightened standard of proof. We may not be able to prove in litigation that any patent enforced against us or one of our collaboration partners is invalid.
Additionally, there may be third-party patents of which we are currently unaware with claims to materials, formulations, methods of manufacture or methods for treatment related to the use or manufacture of our product candidates. Because patent applications can take many years to issue, there may be currently pending patent applications which may later result in issued patents that our product candidates may be alleged to infringe. In addition, third parties may obtain patents in the future and claim that use of our technologies infringes upon these patents. If any third-party patents were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover the manufacturing process of our product candidates, constructs or molecules used in or formed during the manufacturing process, or any final product itself, the holders of any such patents may be able to block our ability to commercialize the product candidate unless we obtained a license under the applicable patents, or until such patents expire or they are finally determined to be held not infringed, unpatentable, invalid or unenforceable. Similarly, if any third-party patent were held by a court of competent jurisdiction to cover aspects of our formulations, processes for manufacture or methods of use, including combination therapy or patient selection methods, the holders of any such patent may be able to block our ability to develop and commercialize the product candidate unless we obtained a license or until such patent expires or is finally determined to be held not infringed, unpatentable, invalid or unenforceable.
In either case, such a license may not be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all. If we are unable to obtain a necessary license to a third-party patent on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, our ability to commercialize our product candidates may be impaired or delayed, which could in turn significantly harm our business.
Parties who may make claims against us or our collaboration partners may seek and obtain injunctive or other equitable relief, which could effectively block our ability to further develop and commercialize our product candidates. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business and may impact our reputation. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement, obtain one or more licenses from third parties, pay royalties or redesign any of our alleged infringing products, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure. We cannot predict whether any such license would be available at all or whether it would be available on commercially reasonable terms. Furthermore, even in the absence of litigation, we may need to obtain licenses from third parties to advance our research or allow commercialization of our product candidates. We may fail to obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, if at all. In that event, we would be unable to further develop and commercialize our product candidates, which could harm our business significantly.
We may not be successful in obtaining or maintaining necessary rights to product components and processes for our development pipeline through acquisitions and in-licenses.
Presently we have rights to the intellectual property, through licenses from third parties and under patent applications that we own or will own, that we believe will facilitate the development of our product candidates. Because our programs may involve additional product technology that may require the use of proprietary rights held by third parties, the growth of our business will likely depend in part on our ability to acquire, in-license or use these proprietary rights.
We may be unable to acquire or in-license any compositions, methods of use, processes or other third-party intellectual property rights from third parties that we identify. We may fail to acquire such rights or obtain any of these licenses at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms, which would harm our business. Even if we are able to obtain a license, it may be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. In that event, we may be required to expend significant time and resources to develop or license replacement technology. We may need to cease use of the compositions or methods covered by such third-party intellectual property rights.
The licensing and acquisition of third-party intellectual property rights is a competitive area, and companies, which may be more established, or have greater resources than we do, may also be pursuing strategies to license or acquire third-party intellectual property rights that we may consider necessary or attractive in order to commercialize our product candidates. More established companies may have a competitive advantage over us due to their size, cash resources and greater clinical development and commercialization capabilities.
We may be involved in lawsuits to protect or enforce our patents or the patents of our licensors, which could be expensive, time-consuming and unsuccessful.
Competitors may infringe our patents or the patents of our licensors. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to file infringement claims, which can be expensive and time-consuming. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that one or more of our patents is not valid or is unenforceable or may refuse to stop the other party from using the technology at issue on the grounds that our patents do not cover the technology in question. An adverse result in any litigation or defense proceedings could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated, held unenforceable or interpreted narrowly and could put one or more of our pending patent applications at risk of not issuing. Defense of these claims, regardless of their merit, would involve substantial litigation expense and would be a substantial diversion of employee resources from our business. In the event of a successful claim of infringement against us, we may have to pay substantial damages, including treble damages and attorneys’ fees for willful infringement, obtain one or more licenses from third parties, pay royalties or redesign our infringing products, which may be impossible or require substantial time and monetary expenditure.
Interference proceedings provoked by third parties or brought by the USPTO may be necessary to determine the priority of inventions with respect to our patents or patent applications or those of our licensors. An unfavorable outcome could result in a loss of our current patent rights and could require us to cease using the related technology or to attempt to license rights to it from the prevailing party.
Our business could be harmed if the prevailing party does not offer us a license on commercially reasonable terms. Litigation or interference proceedings may result in a decision adverse to our interests and, even if we are successful, may result in substantial costs and distract our management and other employees. We may not be able to prevent, alone or with our licensors, misappropriation of our trade secrets or confidential information, particularly in countries where the laws may not protect those rights as fully as in the United States.
Furthermore, because of the substantial amount of discovery required in connection with intellectual property litigation, there is a risk that some of our confidential information could be compromised by disclosure during this type of litigation. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments. If securities analysts or investors perceive these results to be negative, it could have a substantial adverse effect on the price of our common stock.
Obtaining and maintaining our patent protection depends on compliance with various procedural, document submission, fee payment and other requirements imposed by governmental patent agencies, and our patent protection could be reduced or eliminated for non-compliance with these requirements.
Periodic maintenance fees on any issued patent are due to be paid to the USPTO and foreign patent agencies in several stages over the lifetime of the patent. The USPTO and various foreign governmental patent agencies require compliance with a number of procedural, documentary, fee payment and other similar provisions during the patent application process. While an inadvertent lapse can in many cases be cured by payment of a late fee or by other means in accordance with the applicable rules, there are situations in which noncompliance can result in abandonment or lapse of the patent or patent application, resulting in partial or complete loss of patent rights in the relevant jurisdiction. Noncompliance events that could result in abandonment or lapse of a patent or patent application include, but are not limited to, failure to respond to official actions within prescribed time limits, non-payment of fees and failure to properly legalize and submit formal documents. In such an event, our competitors might be able to enter the market, which would have a material adverse effect on our business.
The lives of our patents may not be sufficient to effectively protect our products and business.
Patents have a limited lifespan. In the United States, the natural expiration of a patent is generally 20 years after its first effective filing date. Although various extensions may be available, the life of a patent, and the protection it affords, is limited. Even if patents covering our product candidates are obtained, once the patent life has expired for a product, we may be open to competition from biosimilar or generic medications. In addition, although upon issuance in the United States a patent’s life can be increased based on certain delays caused by the USPTO, this increase can be reduced or eliminated based on certain delays caused by the patent applicant during patent prosecution. If we do not have sufficient patent life to protect our products, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.
We or our licensors may be subject to claims challenging the inventorship of our patents and other intellectual property.
We or our licensors may in the future be subject to claims that former employees, collaborators, or other third parties have an interest in our patents or other intellectual property as an inventor or co-inventor. For example, we may have inventorship disputes arise from conflicting obligations of consultants or others who are involved in developing our product candidates. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these and other claims challenging inventorship. If we or our licensors fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights, such as exclusive ownership of, or right to use, valuable intellectual property. Such an outcome could have a material adverse effect on our business. Even if we or our licensors are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management and other employees.
Issued patents covering our product candidates could be found unpatentable, invalid or unenforceable if challenged in court or the USPTO.
If we or one of our licensing partners initiate legal proceedings against a third party to enforce a patent covering one of our product candidates, the defendant could counterclaim that the patent covering our product candidate, as applicable, is invalid and/or unenforceable. In patent litigation in the United States, defendant counterclaims alleging invalidity and/or unenforceability are commonplace, and there are numerous grounds upon which a third party can assert invalidity or unenforceability of a patent. Third parties may also raise similar claims before administrative bodies in the United States or abroad, even outside the context of litigation. Such mechanisms include IPR, ex parte re-examination and post grant review in the United States, and equivalent proceedings in foreign jurisdictions (e.g., opposition proceedings). Such proceedings could result in revocation or amendment to our patents in such a way that they no longer cover and protect our product candidates.
The outcome following legal assertions of unpatentability, invalidity and unenforceability is unpredictable. With respect to the validity question, for example, we cannot be certain that there is no invalidating prior art, of which we, our patent counsel and the patent examiner were unaware during prosecution. If a defendant were to prevail on a legal assertion of unpatentability, invalidity and/or unenforceability, we would lose at least part, and perhaps all, of the patent protection on our product candidates. Such a loss of patent protection could have a material adverse impact on our business.
Changes in U.S. patent law could diminish the value of patents in general, thereby impairing our ability to protect our products.
As is the case with other biopharmaceutical companies, our success is heavily dependent on intellectual property, particularly patents. Obtaining and enforcing patents in the biopharmaceutical industry involve both technological and legal complexity, and is therefore costly, time-consuming and inherently uncertain. Recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings have narrowed the scope of patent protection available in certain circumstances and weakened the rights of patent owners in certain situations. In addition to increasing uncertainty with regard to our ability to obtain patents in the future, this combination of events has created uncertainty with respect to the value of patents, once obtained. Depending on decisions by the U.S. Congress, the federal courts, and the USPTO, the laws and regulations governing patents could change in unpredictable ways that would weaken our ability to obtain new patents or to enforce our existing patents and patents that we might obtain in the future. For example, in the 2013 case, Assoc. for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court held that certain claims to DNA molecules are not patentable. While we do not believe that any of the patents owned or licensed by us will be found invalid based on this decision, we cannot predict how future decisions by the courts, the U.S. Congress or the USPTO may impact the value of our patents.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights throughout the world.
We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights outside the United States. Filing, prosecuting and defending patents on product candidates in all countries throughout the world would be prohibitively expensive, and our intellectual property rights in some countries outside the United States can be less extensive than those in the United States. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries do not protect intellectual property rights to the same extent as federal and state laws in the United States. Consequently, we may not be able to prevent third parties from practicing our inventions in all countries outside the United States, or from selling or importing products made using our inventions in and into the United States or other jurisdictions. Competitors may use our technologies in jurisdictions where we have not obtained patent protection to develop their own products and further, may export otherwise infringing products to territories where we have patent protection, but enforcement is not as strong as that in the United States. These products may compete with our products and our patents or other intellectual property rights may not be effective or sufficient to prevent them from competing.
Many companies have encountered significant problems in protecting and defending intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions. The legal systems of certain countries, particularly certain developing countries where Overland Therapeutics or its affiliates may do business, do not favor the enforcement of patents, trade secrets and other intellectual property protection, particularly those relating to biopharmaceutical products, which could make it difficult for us or Overland Therapeutics or any of its affiliates to stop the infringement of our patents or marketing of competing products in violation of our proprietary rights generally. Proceedings to enforce our patent rights in foreign jurisdictions could result in substantial costs and divert our efforts and attention from other aspects of our business, could put our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly and our patent applications at risk of not issuing and could provoke third parties to assert claims against us. We may not prevail in any lawsuits that we initiate and the damages or other remedies awarded, if any, may not be commercially meaningful. Accordingly, our efforts to enforce our intellectual property rights around the world may be inadequate to obtain a significant commercial advantage from the intellectual property that we develop or license.
We may be subject to claims that our employees, consultants or independent contractors have wrongfully used or disclosed confidential information of third parties.
We have received confidential and proprietary information from third parties. In addition, we employ individuals who were previously employed at other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies. We may be subject to claims that we or our employees, consultants or independent contractors have inadvertently or otherwise used or disclosed confidential information of these third parties or our employees’ former employers. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. Even if we are successful in defending against these claims, litigation could result in substantial cost and be a distraction to our management and employees.
Risks Related to Ownership of Our Common Stock
The price of our stock has been and may continue to be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.
The trading price of our common stock following our IPO in October 2018 has been and is likely to continue to be highly volatile and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control, including limited trading volume. In addition to the factors discussed in this “Risk Factors” section, these factors include:
•the commencement, enrollment or results of our clinical trials of our product candidates or any future clinical trials we may conduct, or changes in the development status of our product candidates;
•our decision to initiate a clinical trial, not to initiate a clinical trial or to terminate an existing clinical trial;
•adverse results or delays in clinical trials;
•any delay in our regulatory filings for our product candidates and any adverse development or perceived adverse development with respect to the applicable regulatory authority’s review of such filings, including without limitation the FDA’s issuance of a “refusal to file” letter or a request for additional information;
•our failure to commercialize our product candidates;
•adverse regulatory decisions;
•changes in laws or regulations applicable to our products, including but not limited to clinical trial requirements for approvals;
•adverse developments concerning the manufacture or supply of our product candidates;
•our inability to obtain adequate product supply for any approved product or inability to do so at acceptable prices;
•our inability to establish collaborations if needed;
•additions or departures of key scientific or management personnel;
•unanticipated serious safety concerns related to immuno-oncology or related to the use of our product candidates or pre-conditioning regimen;
•introduction of new products or services offered by us or our competitors;
•changes in the status of one or more of our license or collaboration agreements, including any material disputes, amendments or terminations;
•announcements of significant acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments by us or our competitors;
•our ability to effectively manage our growth;
•the size and growth of our initial cancer or autoimmune diseases target markets;
•our ability to successfully treat additional types of cancers or at different stages, or to treat autoimmune diseases;
•actual or anticipated variations in quarterly operating results;
•our cash position;
•our failure to meet the estimates and projections of the investment community or that we may otherwise provide to the public;
•publication of research reports about us or our industry, or immunotherapy in particular, or positive or negative recommendations or withdrawal of research coverage by securities analysts;
•changes in the market valuations of similar companies;
•overall performance of the equity markets;
•sales of our common stock by us or our stockholders in the future;
•trading volume of our common stock;
•changes in accounting practices;
•ineffectiveness of our disclosure controls or internal controls;
•disagreements with our auditor or termination of an auditor engagement;
•disputes or other developments relating to proprietary rights, including patents, litigation matters and our ability to obtain patent protection for our technologies;
•changes in the structure of healthcare payment systems;
•significant lawsuits, including patent or stockholder litigation;
•significant business disruptions caused by health epidemics or pandemics, or natural or man-made disasters;
•general political and economic conditions; and
•other events or factors, many of which are beyond our control.
In addition, the stock market in general, and the Nasdaq Global Select Market and biopharmaceutical companies in particular, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance. In the past, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities. This type of litigation, if instituted, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of management’s attention and resources, which would harm our business, operating results or financial condition.
Our failure to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting could result in material misstatements in our financial statements, our failure to meet our reporting obligations and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which in turn could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline.
Maintaining effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting are necessary for us to produce reliable financial statements. We are required, pursuant to Section 404 (Section 404) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (Sarbanes-Oxley Act), to furnish a report by management on, among other things, the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. Complying with Section 404 requires a rigorous compliance program as well as adequate time and resources. We may not be able to complete our internal control evaluation, testing and any required remediation in a timely fashion. Additionally, if we or our auditors identify one or more material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, we will not be able to assert that our internal controls are effective. A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
In 2021, we implemented a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, which required the investment of significant financial and human resources. We plan to continue to implement new ERP modules, which we also expect will require significant resources. Any failure to maintain or implement new or improved internal controls related to our ERP system or otherwise could result in material weaknesses, result in material misstatements in our consolidated financial statements and cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. This could cause us to lose public confidence and could cause the trading price of our common stock to decline.
For so long as we remain a non-accelerated filer, our independent registered public accounting firm will not be required to attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. An independent assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting could detect problems that our management’s assessment might not. Undetected material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting could lead to financial statement restatements and require us to incur the expense of remediation.
In the past, we have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting, and if we are unable to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting in the future, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, and the market price of our common stock may be materially adversely affected.
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Our management is likewise required, on a quarterly basis, to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal controls and to disclose any changes and material weaknesses identified through such evaluation in those internal controls. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.
In the past, we have identified material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. All material weaknesses previously identified were fully remediated in the fourth quarter of 2024.
If, in the future, we have a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting, we may not detect errors on a timely basis and our consolidated financial statements may be materially misstated. We or our independent registered public accounting firm may not be able to conclude on an ongoing basis that we have effective internal control over financial reporting, which could harm our operating results, cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information and cause the trading price of our stock to fall.
In addition, as a public company we are required to file accurate and timely quarterly and annual reports with the SEC under the Exchange Act. Any failure to report our financial results on an accurate and timely basis could result in sanctions, lawsuits, delisting of our shares from the Nasdaq Global Select Market or other adverse consequences that would materially harm our business. In addition, we could become subject to investigations by the stock exchange on which our securities are listed, the SEC, and other regulatory authorities, and become subject to litigation from investors and stockholders, which could harm our reputation and our financial condition, or divert financial and management resources from our core business.
We do not intend to pay dividends on our common stock so any returns will be limited to the value of our stock.
We currently anticipate that we will retain any future cash flow or earnings for the development, operation and expansion of our business and do not anticipate declaring or paying any cash dividends for the foreseeable future. Any return to stockholders will therefore be limited to the appreciation of their stock.
Anti-takeover provisions under our charter documents and Delaware law could delay or prevent a change of control which could limit the market price of our common stock and may prevent or frustrate attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that could delay or prevent a change of control of our company or changes in our board of directors that our stockholders might consider favorable. Some of these provisions include:
•a board of directors divided into three classes serving staggered three-year terms, such that not all members of the board will be elected at one time;
•a prohibition on stockholder action through written consent, which requires that all stockholder actions be taken at a meeting of our stockholders;
•a requirement that special meetings of stockholders be called only by the chair of the board of directors, the chief executive officer, or by a majority of the total number of authorized directors;
•advance notice requirements for stockholder proposals and nominations for election to our board of directors;
•a requirement that no member of our board of directors may be removed from office by our stockholders except for cause and, in addition to any other vote required by law, upon the approval of not less than two-thirds of all outstanding shares of our voting stock then entitled to vote in the election of directors;
•a requirement of approval of not less than two-thirds of all outstanding shares of our voting stock to amend any bylaws by stockholder action or to amend specific provisions of our certificate of incorporation; and
•the authority of the board of directors to issue preferred stock on terms determined by the board of directors without stockholder approval and which preferred stock may include rights superior to the rights of the holders of common stock.
In addition, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporate Law, which may prohibit certain business combinations with stockholders owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock. These anti-takeover provisions and other provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws could make it more difficult for stockholders or potential acquirors to obtain control of our board of directors or initiate actions that are opposed by the then-current board of directors and could also delay or impede a merger, tender offer or proxy contest involving our company. These provisions could also discourage proxy contests and make it more difficult for you and other stockholders to elect directors of your choosing or cause us to take other corporate actions you desire. Any delay or prevention of a change of control transaction or changes in our board of directors could cause the market price of our common stock to decline.
General Risk Factors
Unstable market, economic and geo-political conditions may have serious adverse consequences on our business, financial condition and stock price.
The global credit and financial markets have experienced extreme volatility and disruptions in the past. These disruptions have resulted and may continue to result in severely diminished liquidity and credit availability, high inflation, declines in consumer confidence, disruptions in access to bank deposits or lending commitments due to bank failures and uncertainty about economic stability, declines in economic growth, and uncertainty about economic stability.
There can be no assurance that further deterioration in credit and financial markets and confidence in economic conditions will not occur. Our general business strategy may be adversely affected by any such economic downturn, volatile business environment, higher inflation, or continued unpredictable and unstable market conditions. If the current equity and credit markets deteriorate, it may make any necessary debt or equity financing more difficult, more costly and more dilutive. Our portfolio of corporate and government bonds would also be adversely impacted. Failure to secure any necessary financing in a timely manner and on favorable terms could have a material adverse effect on our operations, growth strategy, financial performance and stock price and could require us to delay or abandon clinical development plans. In addition, there is a risk that one or more of our current service providers, manufacturers and other partners may not survive an economic downturn or rising inflation, which could directly affect our ability to attain our operating goals on schedule and on budget.
Other international and geo-political events could also have a serious adverse impact on our business. For instance, in February 2022, Russia initiated military action against Ukraine, and in October 2023, Hamas attacked Israel. In both cases, ongoing conflicts have ensued. In response to the Russian invasion, the United States and certain other countries imposed significant sanctions and trade actions against Russia and could impose further sanctions, trade restrictions, and other retaliatory actions. While we cannot predict the broader consequences, these conflicts and retaliatory and counter-retaliatory actions could materially adversely affect global trade, currency exchange rates, inflation, regional economies, and the global economy, which in turn may increase our costs, disrupt our supply chain, impair our ability to raise or access additional capital when needed on acceptable terms, if at all, or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock by our existing stockholders in the public market could cause our stock price to fall.
Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market or the perception that these sales might occur, including by any of our directors, officers or larger stockholders, could depress the market price of our common stock and could impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities. We are unable to predict the effect that sales may have on the prevailing market price of our common stock.
If securities or industry analysts issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding our stock, our stock price and trading volume could decline.
The trading market for our common stock could be influenced by the research and reports that industry or securities analysts publish about us or our business. If any of the analysts who cover us issue an adverse or misleading opinion regarding us, our business model, our intellectual property or our stock performance, or if the clinical trials and operating results fail to meet the expectations of analysts, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more analysts cease coverage of us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, we could lose visibility in the financial markets, which in turn could cause our stock price or trading volume to decline.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
Item 1C. Cybersecurity.
Risk management and strategy
We take a risk-based approach in implementing and maintaining various information security processes designed to identify, assess and manage material risks from threats to our critical computer networks, third party hosted services, communications systems, hardware and software, and our critical data, including intellectual property, confidential information that is proprietary, strategic or competitive in nature, and information related to our clinical trials, products in development, and proprietary technologies (“Information Systems and Data”).
Our information security function, supported by members of our IT and Legal departments and our third-party IT service providers, helps identify, assess and manage the Company’s cybersecurity threats and risks. This team helps to identify and assess risks from cybersecurity threats by monitoring and evaluating our threat environment using various methods including, for example: automated tools, subscribing to reports and services that identify cybersecurity threats and analyzing such reports of threats and actors, conducting scans of our threat environment, evaluating threats reported to us, coordinating with law enforcement as appropriate about certain threats, having third parties conduct threat assessments, conducting vulnerability assessments, and working with third parties to conduct certain tests of our environment.
Depending on the environment and systems, we implement and maintain various technical, physical, and organizational measures, processes, standards and policies designed to manage and mitigate material risks from cybersecurity threats to our Information Systems and Data, including, for example: incident detection and response procedures; an incident response policy; a vulnerability management policy; a disaster recovery plan; conducting risk assessments; encrypting certain of our data; maintaining network security controls, segmenting certain data; maintaining access and physical security controls; asset management, tracking, and disposal protocols; systems monitoring; a assessing vendor risk; employee training; penetration testing conducted by third parties; and maintaining cybersecurity insurance.
The cybersecurity risk management and mitigation measures we implement for certain of our Information Assets including for example (1) cybersecurity risk is addressed as a component of the Company’s enterprise risk management assessment processes; (2) the information security function works with senior management to prioritize our risk management processes and mitigate cybersecurity threats that are more likely to lead to a material impact to our business; (3) our senior management evaluates material risks from cybersecurity threats against our overall business objectives and reports to the audit committee of the board of directors on at least a quarterly basis, which evaluates our overall enterprise risk, (4) policies and procedures to manage how Information Systems and Data are collected, maintained and stored, (5) communicating with and training personnel on cybersecurity risks and trends.
We use third-party service providers to assist us from time to time to identify, assess, and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats, including for example: professional services firms, cybersecurity consultants, cybersecurity software providers, managed cybersecurity service providers, and penetration testing firms. We conduct penetration tests and audits of our Information Systems and Data environment with an external cybersecurity firm at least annually.
We use third-party service providers to perform a variety of functions throughout our business, such as application providers, contract research organizations (CROs), contract development and manufacturing organizations (CDMOs) and supply chain resources. We assess vendors using a risk-based approach to manage cybersecurity risks associated with our use of certain of these providers. Through these practices, we may conduct risk assessments of vendors, provide and review security questionnaires, review vendors’ written information security programs and security assessments, and impose contractual obligations related to information security on our vendors. Depending on the nature of the services provided, the sensitivity of the Information Systems and Data at issue, and the identity of the provider, our vendor management process may involve different levels of assessment designed to help identify cybersecurity risks associated with a provider and impose contractual obligations related to cybersecurity on the provider.
For a description of the risks from cybersecurity threats that may materially affect the Company and how they may do so, see our risk factors under Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including “If our security measures, or those of our CROs, CDMOs, collaborators, contractors, consultants or other third parties upon whom we rely, are or were compromised or the security, confidentiality, integrity or availability of our information technology, software, services, networks, communications or data is compromised, limited or fails, we could experience a material adverse impact.”
Governance
Our board of directors addresses the Company’s cybersecurity risk management as part of its general oversight function. The board of directors’ audit committee is responsible for overseeing Company’s cybersecurity risk management processes, including oversight of mitigation of risks from cybersecurity threats. Members of the Audit Committee receive scheduled quarterly updates from senior management.
Our cybersecurity risk assessment and management processes are implemented and maintained by certain Company management, including our Director of IT Security and Vice President of IT. Our Director of IT Security has over 13 years of experience leading IT security and has certifications including CISSP and CCSP. Our Vice President IT has over 20 years of experience in IT, data engineering, and data analytics.
Our Vice President of IT Security is responsible for hiring appropriate personnel, helping to integrate cybersecurity risk considerations into the Company’s overall IT risk management strategy, communicating key priorities to relevant personnel, overseeing cybersecurity operations, and managing the cybersecurity technologies, processes, and projects. Our Vice President of IT is responsible for approving budgets, helping prepare for cybersecurity incidents, approving cybersecurity processes, and conducting regular reviews of security assessments and other security-related reports.
Our cybersecurity incident response and vulnerability management policies are designed to escalate certain cybersecurity incidents to members of management depending on the circumstances, including the Vice President of IT and General Counsel. The Vice President of IT and General Counsel work with the Company’s cross functional incident response team to help the Company mitigate and remediate cybersecurity incidents of which they are notified. In addition, the Company’s incident response and vulnerability management policies and procedures include reporting to the audit committee of the board of directors for certain cybersecurity incidents.
The audit committee receives periodic reports from Data Management, Analytics and Integration and General Counsel concerning the Company’s significant cybersecurity threats and risk and the processes the Company has implemented to address them. The audit committee also receives various reports, summaries or presentations related to cybersecurity threats, risk and mitigation.
Item 2. Properties.
Our corporate headquarters are located in South San Francisco, California, which consists of approximately 68,072 square feet for office and laboratory space. Our lease for our headquarter space commenced on March 1, 2019. On December 10, 2021, we amended our lease for an additional 47,566 square feet of office and laboratory space as part of the same building as our headquarters. The lease relating to the expansion premises commenced on April 1, 2022. The lease for both the existing and expansion premises will expire on March 31, 2032.
We entered into an additional lease in October 2018 for approximately 14,943 square feet of office and laboratory space in South San Francisco near our headquarters. On December 10, 2021, we amended our lease to extend the term of the lease to be co-terminus with our lease for our headquarters.
In February 2019, we entered into a lease for approximately 118,000 square feet to develop a state-of-the-art cell therapy manufacturing facility in Newark, California. The lease commenced in November 2020 and has an initial term of 15 years and eight months.
We believe that our existing facilities and other available properties will be sufficient for our needs for the foreseeable future.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings.
From time to time, we may become involved in litigation or other legal proceedings. We are not currently a party to any litigation or legal proceedings that, in the opinion of our management, are likely to have a material adverse effect on our business. Regardless of outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources and other factors.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “ALLO”.
Holders of Common Stock
As of March 7, 2025, there were approximately 62 holders of record of our common stock.
Stock Performance Graph
This performance graph shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or incorporated by reference into any of our filings under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such filing.
The following graph shows the value of an investment of $100 from December 31, 2019 through December 31, 2024, in our common stock, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (S&P 500), the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, and Nasdaq Composite Index. The historical stock price performance of our common stock shown in the performance graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.
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Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. |
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97.79 |
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57.81 |
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114.57 |
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144.51 |
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175.42 |
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168.31 |
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216.52 |
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Dividend Policy
We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently intend to retain all available funds and any future earnings to support our operations and finance the growth and development of our business. We do not intend to pay cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Any future determination related to our dividend policy will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon, among other factors, our results of operations, financial condition, capital requirements, contractual restrictions, business prospects and other factors our board of directors may deem relevant.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
None.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
None.
Item 6. [Reserved]
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
The following discussion contains management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations and should be read together with the historical consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and beliefs and involve numerous risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those described in the “Risk Factors” section of this Annual Report. Actual results may differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. You should carefully read “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors.”
Overview
We are a clinical stage immuno-oncology company pioneering the development of genetically engineered allogeneic T cell product candidates for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. We are developing a pipeline of “off-the-shelf” T cell product candidates that are designed to target and kill cancer cells in patients or eliminate pathogenic autoreactive cells in patients with autoimmune disorders. Our engineered T cells are allogeneic, meaning they are derived from healthy donors for intended use in any patient, rather than from an individual patient for that patient’s use, as in the case of autologous T cells. We believe this key difference will enable us to deliver readily available treatments faster, more reliably, at greater scale, and to more patients.
We have a deep pipeline of allogeneic chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell product candidates targeting multiple promising antigens in a host of hematological malignancies, solid tumors and autoimmune diseases. Last year we announced our 2024 Platform Vision under which we are now focusing on three core programs.
We are currently focused on developing cemacabtagene ansegedleucel (cema-cel, previously ALLO-501A) in large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL). In June 2024, we initiated a pivotal Phase 2 clinical trial (ALPHA3) for cema-cel as part of a first line (1L) treatment plan for newly diagnosed and treated LBCL patients who are likely to relapse and need further therapy, and we now have 40 sites activated. The design of the ALPHA3 1L consolidation trial builds upon the results demonstrated in the Phase 1 ALPHA2 trial and leverages an investigational diagnostic test developed by Foresight Diagnostics, Inc. that we believe will identify patients who have achieved remission by standard disease assessment but who have minimal residual disease (MRD) at the completion of 1L chemoimmunotherapy. The ALPHA3 trial is designed to study the impact of treating MRD positive patients with cema-cel. The study will randomize approximately 240 patients who achieve a complete response or partial response to 1L therapy, but who are MRD positive. Patients will be randomized to receive either consolidation with cema-cel or the current standard of care, which is observation. The study design, which has event free survival (EFS) as its primary endpoint, initially includes two lymphodepletion arms:
–FCA: standard fludarabine and cyclophosphamide plus ALLO-647
–FC: standard fludarabine and cyclophosphamide without ALLO-647
One of these lymphodepletion arms will be discontinued following a planned interim analysis designed to identify the most appropriate regimen for this patient population. An initial safety and futility interim analysis will occur once 12 patients in each arm have been enrolled and followed for MRD conversion. If both treatment arms perform better than the control arm according to the futility criteria, but neither treatment arm shows a trend toward superiority relative to the other in this interim analysis, additional patients may be enrolled and analyzed before we select the final lymphodepletion regimen. The selection of the lymphodepletion regimen is anticipated around mid-2025, depending on the interim analyses results and overall trial progress. Efficacy analyses are expected to occur in 2026, and will include the Independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (IDSMB) interim EFS analysis in the first half of 2026 and the data readout of the primary EFS analysis is expected around year-end 2026. A biologics license application (BLA) submission is targeted for 2027. In view of the potential of the earlier line ALPHA3 trial, we have deprioritized the third line (3L) LBCL ALPHA2 and EXPAND trials.
We have completed enrollment in an expansion cohort in a Phase 1b clinical trial (TRAVERSE) of ALLO-316, an allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate targeting CD70, in adult patients with advanced or metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC). On October 29, 2024, we announced that we had received Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation for ALLO-316 for adult patients with advanced or metastatic RCC. We have implemented a protocol amendment that incorporates a diagnostic and treatment algorithm into the study design. The algorithm is designed to mitigate the treatment-associated hyperinflammatory response without compromising the CAR T function needed to eradicate solid tumors.
In November 2024, we provided a data update from patients with CD70 positive RCC, and highlighted that the newly implemented diagnostic and management algorithm appears effective in abating IEC-HS while preserving CAR T efficacy. Additional data from dose escalation cohorts, as well as a Phase 1b expansion cohort, was presented at the 2024 International Kidney Cancer Symposium (IKCS, November 8, 2024) and the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer’s (SITC) Annual Meeting (November 9, 2024).
As of the October 14, 2024, data cutoff, 39 patients had been enrolled in the ongoing Phase 1 trial, of which 26 were confirmed to have CD70 positive RCC and were evaluable for efficacy outcomes. The median time from enrollment to the start of therapy was five days. Data from dose escalation cohorts and ongoing Phase 1b expansion cohort are included in the presentations. The Phase 1b expansion cohort is evaluating safety and efficacy of ALLO-316 at DL2 (80M CAR T cells) following a standard FC500 (fludarabine (30 mg/m2/day) and cyclophosphamide (500 mg/m2/d) for three days) lymphodepletion regimen. The Phase 1b expansion cohort has now completed enrollment with 20 patients enrolled. We are now pausing further standard dosing pending durability results for the enrolled patients. Additional data from the Phase 1b expansion cohort is expected to be announced in mid-2025.
We are developing ALLO-329, a next-generation allogeneic CAR T cell product candidate targeting both CD19 and CD70 for the treatment of certain autoimmune diseases (AID). Inclusion of an anti-CD70 CAR in ALLO-329 incorporates the Dagger® technology, which is designed to reduce or eliminate the need for standard chemotherapy by preventing premature rejection while targeting CD19+ B-cells and CD70+ activated T-cells, both of which play a role in AID. In January 2025, we announced that the FDA has cleared our investigational new drug (IND) application for a Phase 1 rheumatology basket study of ALLO-329 (RESOLUTION trial). Our RESOLUTION trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of ALLO-329 across multiple autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (including lupus nephritis), idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, and systemic sclerosis. We expect to initiate the Phase 1 trial with ALLO-329 in mid-2025 and anticipate having proof-of-concept around year-end 2025.
We are developing an anti-CD52 monoclonal antibody, ALLO-647, which is a proprietary component of our oncology lymphodepletion regimen. ALLO-647 may be able to reduce the likelihood of a patient’s immune system rejecting the engineered allogeneic T cells for a sufficient period of time to enable a window of persistence during which our engineered allogeneic T cells can actively target and destroy cancer cells. During Part A of our pivotal ALPHA3 trial, we will be assessing ALLO-647’s contribution to the overall benefit to risk ratio of the lymphodepletion regimen for cema-cel. Patients will be randomized to receive cema-cel and a lymphodepletion regimen with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide either with or without ALLO-647. As described above, one of these lymphodepletion arms will be discontinued following a planned interim analysis designed to identify the most appropriate regimen for this patient population. The selection of the final regimen with which we will complete enrollment in the study (Part B) is anticipated around mid-2025, depending on the interim analyses results and overall trial progress.
While we have additional programs in our pipeline, our clinical development priorities are focused on cema-cel (1L Consolidation), ALLO-316 and ALLO-329. The development of our other product candidates is currently focused on pre-clinical studies, including studies of BCMA and DLL3 CARs with and without our CD70 Dagger® protein, and various manufacturing improvements that may be applicable to such product candidates, we continue to explore opportunities to partner with collaborators on product candidates across our pipeline.
In May 2024, we entered into an Amendment and Settlement Agreement (the Servier Amendment) under which we expanded the geographic territory for our CD19 license to include the European Union and the United Kingdom. The Servier Amendment also grants us an option to further expand the licensed territory to include China and Japan upon the objective showing of sufficient resources to develop licensed products in those countries, which could be met through the Company entering into a strategic partnership covering those countries. Later this year, we plan to seek scientific advice from European and UK regulatory authorities to assist us with finalizing our regulatory strategy for the EU and the UK. Additionally, in February 2025, we entered into an Amended and Restated Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Foresight Diagnostics which expands our collaboration to enable the development of Foresight Diagnostics’ MRD assay as a companion diagnostic in the EU, UK, Canada and Australia in support of Allogene’s clinical development of cema-cel.
Since inception, we have had significant operating losses. Our net loss was $257.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2024. As of December 31, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $1.8 billion. As of December 31, 2024, we had $373.1 million in cash and cash equivalents and investments and we expect our cash runway to fund operations into the second half of 2026. We expect to continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect our research and development expenses and general and administrative expenses will continue to increase.
Our License and Collaboration Agreements
Below is a summary of the key terms for certain of our licenses and collaboration agreements. For a more detailed description of these agreements, see Note 6 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Asset Contribution Agreement with Pfizer
In April 2018, we entered into an Asset Contribution Agreement (the Pfizer Agreement) with Pfizer pursuant to which we acquired certain assets and assumed certain liabilities from Pfizer, including agreements with Cellectis S.A. (Cellectis) and Servier as described below, and other intellectual property for the development and administration of CAR T cells for the treatment of cancer.
Research Collaboration and License Agreement with Cellectis
In June 2014, Pfizer entered into a Research Collaboration and License Agreement with Cellectis. In April 2018, Pfizer assigned the agreement to us pursuant to the Pfizer Agreement. In March 2019, we terminated the agreement with Cellectis and entered into a new license agreement with Cellectis (the Cellectis Agreement). Under the Cellectis Agreement, Cellectis granted us an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing license, on a target-by-target basis, with sublicensing rights under certain conditions, under certain of Cellectis’s intellectual property, including its TALEN and electroporation technology, to make, use, sell, import, and otherwise exploit and commercialize CAR T products directed at certain targets, including BCMA, CD70, Claudin 18.2, DLL3 and FLT3 (the Allogene Targets), for human oncologic therapeutic, diagnostic, prophylactic and prognostic purposes.
Exclusive License Agreement with Servier
In October 2015, Pfizer entered into an Exclusive License Agreement with Servier (the Original Servier Agreement) to develop, manufacture and commercialize certain allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR products, including UCART19, in the United States with the option to obtain the rights over certain additional allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR product candidates and for allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates directed against one additional target. In April 2018, Pfizer assigned the agreement to us pursuant to the Pfizer Agreement. In October 2019, we agreed to waive our rights to the one additional target.
In May 2024, we entered into an Amendment and Settlement Agreement (the Servier Amendment) with Servier under which we: (1) expanded our territory under the Original Servier Agreement to include the European Union and the United Kingdom, and provides for an option to further expand our territory to include China and Japan, (2) waived certain of our rights to elect to convert certain of our license rights to a worldwide license, (3) revised our future milestone payments to coincide with Servier’s milestone payments to Cellectis under the Servier-Cellectis Agreement, (4) agreed to pre-pay a future €20 million milestone payment into an escrow account, and (5) increased the United States tiered royalty rates to a range from the low tens to the mid teen percentages, and agreed to an ex-U.S. royalty rate of 10%. For more information, see “Risk Factors—Servier’s discontinuation of its involvement in the development of CD19 Products and Servier's disputes with Cellectis, or future disputes with us, may have adverse consequences."
Collaboration and License Agreement with Notch
On November 1, 2019, we entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement (the Notch Agreement) with Notch Therapeutics Inc. (Notch), pursuant to which Notch granted us an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing, sublicensable license under certain of Notch’s intellectual property to develop, make, use, sell, import, and otherwise commercialize therapeutic gene-edited T cell and/or natural killer cell products from induced pluripotent stem cells directed at certain CAR targets for initial application in NHL, B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and multiple myeloma.
In addition, Notch has granted us an option to add certain specified targets to our exclusive license in exchange for an agreed upon per-target option fee.
On January 25, 2024, we entered into an Amended and Restated Collaboration and License Agreement (the Amended Notch Agreement) with Notch. The Amended Notch Agreement amends and restates the Notch Agreement. Under the Amended Notch Agreement, we have relinquished our exclusive rights to all original CAR targets (the Released Targets) except for one CAR target, and have agreed to limit our option right to only one additional CAR target. If the option is exercised, we will have a minimum funding commitment for the overall development program. If Notch subsequently out-licenses any of the Released Targets (whether through an out-license, partnership, sale, or other transaction), we will be entitled to receive a percentage of upfront and/or milestone payments associated therewith up to a set cap of $30.0 million, and will be entitled to a low, single-digit royalty on net sales of products containing a Released Target.
In January 2025, Notch announced that securing additional investment and/or additional partners to take their research forward remains challenging, and therefore they significantly reduced their workforce to preserve cash and provide the time to explore alternate paths forward.
Strategic Alliance with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
On October 6, 2020, we entered into a strategic five-year collaboration agreement with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson) for the preclinical and clinical investigation of allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates.
License Agreement with Allogene Overland Biopharm (PRC) Co., Limited
On December 14, 2020, we entered into a License Agreement with Allogene Overland Biopharm (CY) Limited (Allogene Overland) (the License Agreement), a joint venture established by us and Overland Pharmaceuticals (CY) Inc. (Overland), pursuant to a Share Purchase Agreement (Share Purchase Agreement), dated December 14, 2020, for the purpose of developing, manufacturing and commercializing certain allogeneic CAR T cell therapies directed at four targets, BCMA, CD70, FLT3 and DLL3 (Overland Licensed Products) for patients in greater China, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore (the JV Territory). Allogene Overland subsequently assigned the License Agreement to a wholly owned subsidiary, Allogene Overland BioPharm (HK) Limited (Allogene Overland HK). On April 1, 2022, Allogene Overland HK assigned the License Agreement to Allogene Overland Biopharm (PRC) Co., Limited (Allogene Overland PRC).
On May 24, 2024, we, Overland and Allogene Overland entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (Share Exchange Agreement) pursuant to which Overland’s cell therapy business merged into Allogene Overland (the Organizational Restructuring). Under a separate agreement between Overland and HH BioPharma Holdings Ltd. (HBP) executed on May 24, 2024, Overland distributed all Series Seed Preferred Shares of Allogene Overland held by Overland to HBP and HBP has assumed all rights and obligations attached to such shares and all rights and obligations of Overland under the Share Exchange Agreement.
In connection with the Organizational Restructuring, on May 24, 2024, we and Allogene Overland PRC entered into a First Amendment to Exclusive License Agreement (the License Amendment) to amend and supplement certain provisions of the License Agreement. Under the License Amendment, we continue to grant Allogene Overland PRC an exclusive license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the Overland Licensed Products in the Territory, with us retaining exclusive rights to the Overland Licensed Products outside the JV Territory, and the royalty obligations to us were amended to a flat mid single-digit royalty on net sales in the JV Territory that are no longer subject to reductions as previously provided. The License Amendment also provides us with additional rights to terminate the License Agreement in its entirety or with respect to the relevant Overland Licensed Product(s) if Allogene Overland PRC fails to initiate manufacturing technology transfer with respect to an Overland Licensed Product as agreed in the License Amendment, or if HBP commits a funding default or a material breach of its representations, warranties, or covenants under the Share Exchange Agreement. The License Amendment also provides that the License Agreement will terminate automatically if our ownership in Allogene Overland falls below 7.5% (other than due to our sale of the shares of Allogene Overland), unless at that time we and Allogene Overland PRC have mutually agreed on the manufacturing technology transfer plan for the Overland Licensed Product(s) and Allogene Overland PRC elects to continue the license for such Overland Licensed Product(s) with increased milestones and royalties. Under the License Amendment terms such increased milestones and royalties consist of up to $115 million in milestone payments for each Overland Licensed Product and tiered mid single-digit to low double-digit royalties on net sales in the JV Territory.
As part of the Organizational Restructuring, Allogene Overland was renamed to Overland Therapeutics Inc. (Overland Therapeutics).
Collaboration and License Agreement with Antion
On January 5, 2022, we entered into an exclusive collaboration and global license agreement (Antion Collaboration and License Agreement) with Antion Biosciences SA (Antion) for Antion’s miRNA technology (miCAR), to advance multiplex gene silencing as an additional tool to develop next generation allogeneic CAR T products. On July 11, 2023, we entered into an amendment to the Antion Collaboration and License Agreement, which included a $2.0 million investment in Antion’s preferred shares and the acquisition of warrants to purchase an additional $3.0 million of Antion’s preferred shares.
Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Foresight Diagnostics
On January 3, 2024, we entered into a Strategic Collaboration Agreement (the Foresight Agreement) with Foresight Diagnostics, Inc. (Foresight Diagnostics). Pursuant to the Foresight Agreement, the parties have agreed to collaborate on a non-exclusive basis in the development of Foresight Diagnostics’ MRD assay as an in vitro diagnostic to identify the MRD+ patient population to be enrolled in our ALPHA3 trial of cemacabtagene ansegedleucel, or cema-cel (previously known as ALLO-501A) for treatment of large B cell lymphoma (LBCL). Under the Foresight Agreement, we have agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain regulatory approval of cema-cel, and Foresight Diagnostics has agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain regulatory approval of an MRD assay for use as an in vitro diagnostic with cema-cel.
On February 19, 2025, we entered into an Amended and Restated Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Foresight Diagnostics which expands our collaboration to include the development of Foresight Diagnostics’ MRD assay as a companion diagnostic for use with cema-cel as part of a possible EU and/or UK clinical development program, and as part of an expansion of ALPHA3 to Canadian and Australian clinical trial sites in support of our US clinical development program. In total, we have agreed to fund approximately $37.3 million in MRD assay development costs, milestone payments for U.S., and certain international regulatory submissions and assay utilization costs to process clinical samples.
Components of Results of Operations
Revenues
As of December 31, 2024, our revenue has been exclusively generated from the License Agreement with Overland Therapeutics. See Note 6 to our consolidated financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report for more information related to our recognition of revenue and the License Agreement.
In the future, we may generate revenue from a combination of product sales, marketing and distribution arrangements and other collaborations, strategic alliances and licensing arrangements or a combination of these approaches. We expect that any revenue we generate will fluctuate from quarter to quarter as a result of the timing and amount of license fees, milestones and other payments, and the amount and timing of payments that we receive upon the sale of our products, to the extent any are successfully commercialized. If we fail to complete the development of our product candidates in a timely manner or obtain regulatory approval of them, our ability to generate future revenue, and our results of operations and financial position, will be materially adversely affected.
Operating Expenses
Research and Development
To date, our research and development expenses have related primarily to discovery efforts, preclinical and clinical development, and manufacturing of our product candidates. Research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024 included costs associated with our clinical and preclinical stage pipeline candidates and research into newer technologies. The most significant research and development expenses relate to costs incurred for the development of our most advanced product candidates and include:
•expenses incurred under agreements with our collaboration partners and third-party contract organizations, investigative clinical trial sites that conduct research and development activities on our behalf, and consultants;
•costs related to production of clinical materials, including fees paid for raw materials and to contract manufacturers;
•laboratory and vendor expenses related to the execution of preclinical and clinical trials;
•employee-related expenses, which include salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation;
•facilities and other expenses, which include expenses for rent and maintenance of facilities, depreciation and amortization expense and supplies; and
•other significant research and development costs including overhead costs.
We expense all research and development costs in the periods in which they are incurred. We accrue for costs incurred as the services are being provided by monitoring the status of the project and the invoices received from our external service providers. We adjust our accrual as actual costs become known. Where contingent milestone payments are due to third parties under research and development arrangements or license agreements, the milestone payment obligations are expensed when the milestone results are achieved.
Research and development activities are central to our business model. Product candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development, primarily due to the increased size and duration of later-stage clinical trials. We expect our research and development expenses to increase in the future as our clinical programs progress and as we seek to initiate clinical trials of additional product candidates. The cost of advancing our manufacturing process as well as the cost of manufacturing product candidates for clinical trials are included in our research and development expense. We also expect to incur increased research and development expenses as we selectively identify and develop additional product candidates. However, it is difficult to determine with certainty the duration and completion costs of our current or future preclinical programs and clinical trials of our product candidates.
The duration, costs and timing of clinical trials and development of our product candidates will depend on a variety of factors that include, but are not limited to, the following:
•per patient trial costs;
•biomarker analysis costs;
•the cost and timing of manufacturing for the trials;
•the number of patients that participate in the trials;
•the number of sites included in the trials;
•the number of patients we are required to screen with eligibility tests (e.g. MRD assays) in order to reach our enrollment targets;
•the countries in which the trials are conducted;
•the length of time required to enroll eligible patients;
•the total number of cells that patients receive;
•the drop-out or discontinuation rates of patients;
•potential additional safety monitoring or other studies requested by regulatory agencies, including to resolve any future clinical hold;
•the duration of patient follow-up; and
•the efficacy and safety profile of the product candidates.
In addition, the probability of success for each product candidate will depend on numerous factors, including safety, efficacy, competition, manufacturing capability and commercial viability. We will determine which programs to pursue and how much to fund each program in response to the scientific and clinical success of each product candidate, as well as an assessment of each product candidate’s commercial potential.
Because our product candidates are still in clinical and preclinical development and the outcome of these efforts is uncertain, we cannot estimate the actual amounts necessary to successfully complete the development and commercialization of product candidates or whether, or when, we may achieve profitability.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other staff-related costs, including stock-based compensation for options and restricted stock units granted. Other significant costs include costs relating to facilities and overhead costs, legal fees relating to corporate and patent matters, insurance, investor relations costs, fees for accounting and consulting services, information technology, costs and support for our board of directors and board committees, and other general and administrative costs. General and administrative costs are expensed as incurred, and we accrue for services provided by third parties related to the above expenses by monitoring the status of services provided and receiving estimates from our service providers, and adjusting our accruals as actual costs become known.
Other Income (Expense), Net:
Interest and Other Income, Net
Interest and other income, net primarily consists of interest earned on our cash and cash equivalents and investments, as well as investment gains and losses recognized during the period.
Interest Expense
Interest expense related to the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) award is accrued upon cash receipt.
Other Expenses, net
Other expenses, net consist of non-operating income and expenses, including primarily our share of net losses for the period from, and impairment of, our equity method investments and impairment of our equity investments.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Years Ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
The following sets forth our results of operations for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 (dollars in thousands):
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Year Ended December 31, |
Change |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|
$ |
|
% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Collaboration revenue - related party |
$ |
22 |
|
|
$ |
95 |
|
|
$ |
(73) |
|
|
(77) |
% |
Operating expenses: |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
Research and development |
192,299 |
|
|
242,914 |
|
|
(50,615) |
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|
(21) |
% |
General and administrative |
65,205 |
|
|
71,673 |
|
|
(6,468) |
|
|
(9) |
% |
Impairment of long-lived asset |
15,717 |
|
|
13,245 |
|
|
2,472 |
|
|
19 |
% |
Total operating expenses |
273,221 |
|
|
327,832 |
|
|
(54,611) |
|
|
(17) |
% |
Loss from operations |
(273,199) |
|
|
(327,737) |
|
|
54,538 |
|
|
(17) |
% |
Other income (expense), net: |
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|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest and other income, net |
20,153 |
|
|
18,307 |
|
|
1,846 |
|
|
10 |
% |
Interest expense |
(181) |
|
|
— |
|
|
(181) |
|
|
(100) |
% |
Other expenses, net |
(3,920) |
|
|
(17,835) |
|
|
13,915 |
|
|
(78) |
% |
Total other income (expense), net |
16,052 |
|
|
472 |
|
|
15,580 |
|
|
3,301 |
% |
Loss before income taxes |
(257,147) |
|
|
(327,265) |
|
|
70,118 |
|
|
(21) |
% |
Income tax expense |
(443) |
|
|
— |
|
|
(443) |
|
|
(100) |
% |
Net loss |
$ |
(257,590) |
|
|
$ |
(327,265) |
|
|
$ |
69,675 |
|
|
(21) |
% |
Collaboration revenue - related party
Revenue recognized in the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 was mainly due to participation in the joint steering committee performance obligation related to the License Agreement entered into with Overland Therapeutics on December 14, 2020.
Research and Development Expenses
The following table shows the primary components of our research and development expenses for the periods presented:
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Year Ended December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|
Change |
Personnel |
$ |
79,993 |
|
|
$ |
112,457 |
|
|
$ |
(32,464) |
|
Development costs |
62,264 |
|
|
74,644 |
|
|
(12,380) |
|
Facilities and depreciation |
40,941 |
|
|
44,684 |
|
|
(3,743) |
|
Other |
9,101 |
|
|
11,129 |
|
|
(2,028) |
|
Total research and development expenses |
192,299 |
|
|
242,914 |
|
|
(50,615) |
|
Our research and development expenses included $91.1 million of internal expense and $101.2 million of external expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024. Of the $101.2 million of the external expenses for the year ended December 31, 2024, $36.4 million was related to our cema-cel program. Our research and development expenses included $119.0 million of internal expenses and $123.9 million of external expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023. Of the $123.9 million of the external expenses for the year ended December 31, 2023, $43.2 million was related to our cema-cel program.
Research and development expenses were $192.3 million and $242.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The net decrease of $50.6 million was primarily due to a decrease in personnel related costs of $32.5 million, of which $11.5 million was decreased stock-based compensation expense, external costs related to the advancement of our product candidates of $12.4 million due to the timing of process development activities and manufacturing runs and facilities, depreciation, and other expense of $5.8 million.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses were $65.2 million and $71.7 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The net decrease of $6.5 million was primarily due to a decrease in personnel related costs of $5.3 million, of which $2.7 million was decreased stock-based compensation expense, and a decrease in legal and professional services of $1.2 million.
Impairment of long-lived asset
During the year ended December 31, 2024, we recorded impairments as the carrying values of sublet property asset groups were not recoverable due to the market conditions. During the year ended December 31, 2024, we recognized total impairment charge of $15.7 million.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, we recorded impairments as the carrying values of sublet property asset groups were not recoverable due to the change in how this property was being used. During the year ended December 31, 2023 we recognized total impairment charge of $13.2 million.
Interest and Other Income, Net
Interest and other income, net was $20.2 million and $18.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The $1.9 million increase was primarily due to higher yields and a corresponding increase in the interest earned on our cash, cash equivalents and investments.
Interest expense
Interest expense was related to the CIRM award proceeds received for the year ended December 31, 2024. No such interest expense was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2023.
Other expenses, net
Other expenses, net were $3.9 million and $17.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively. The $13.9 million decrease was primarily due to lower share of net losses in our equity method investments of $9.0 million and lower impairment losses of $5.0 million related to our equity method investment and equity investment.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
To date, we have incurred significant net losses and negative cash flows from operations. As of December 31, 2024, we had $373.1 million in cash, cash equivalents and investments. We believe that the aggregate of our current cash, cash equivalents and investments available for operations will be sufficient to fund our operations for at least the next 12 months from the date this Annual Report on Form 10-K is filed with the SEC.
Our operations have been financed primarily by net proceeds from the sale and issuance of our convertible preferred stock, the issuance of convertible promissory notes, net proceeds from our IPO, our at-the-market (ATM) offerings, our June 2020 underwritten public offering, an upfront cash payment of $40.0 million received in December 2020 pursuant to our License Agreement with Overland Therapeutics, and our May 2024 registered offering. In November 2019, we entered into a sales agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC (Cowen), as amended on November 2, 2022 and November 2, 2023, under which we may from time to time issue and sell shares of our common stock through Cowen in ATM offerings. During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, we sold an aggregate of 2,539,134 and 20,894,565 shares of common stock, respectively, in ATM offerings resulting in net proceeds of $6.8 million and $91.1 million, respectively. The specified dollar limit on the amount of common stock that may be sold under the sales agreement was removed pursuant to the November 2, 2023 amendment to the sales agreement. In May 2024, we completed an underwritten offering pursuant to which we issued and sold 37,931,035 shares of our common stock. We received net proceeds of $105.2 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us.
Capital Resources
Our primary use of cash is for operating expenses, which consist primarily of clinical manufacturing and research and development expenditures related to our lead product candidates, other research efforts, and to a lesser extent, general and administrative expenditures. Cash used to fund operating expenses is impacted by the timing of when we pay these expenses, as reflected in the change in our outstanding accounts payable and accrued expenses and other current liabilities.
Our product candidates are still in the early stages of clinical and preclinical development and the outcome of these efforts is uncertain. Accordingly, we cannot estimate the actual amounts necessary to successfully complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates or whether, or when, we may achieve profitability. Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenue, we expect to finance our cash needs through a combination of equity or debt financings and collaboration and license arrangements. If, and when, we do raise additional capital through public or private equity offerings, the ownership interest of our existing stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect our stockholders’ rights. If we raise additional capital through debt financing, we may be subject to covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, we will need to delay, reduce or terminate planned activities to reduce costs. Doing so will likely harm our ability to execute our business plans.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes our cash flows for the periods indicated:
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|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|
|
(in thousands) |
Net cash (used in) provided by: |
|
|
|
|
Operating activities |
$ |
(200,300) |
|
|
$ |
(237,733) |
|
|
Investing activities |
75,688 |
|
|
163,289 |
|
|
Financing activities |
116,675 |
|
|
95,695 |
|
|
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash |
$ |
(7,937) |
|
|
$ |
21,251 |
|
|
Operating Activities
During the year ended December 31, 2024, cash used in operating activities of $200.3 million was attributable to a net loss of $257.6 million, substantially offset by non-cash charges of $82.1 million and a net change of $24.8 million in our net operating assets and liabilities. The non-cash charges consisted primarily of stock-based compensation of $51.7 million, impairment of long-lived assets of $15.7 million, depreciation and amortization of $13.6 million, non-cash rent expense of $5.3 million, impairment of equity investment and equity method investment of $2.0 million, and share of losses from equity method investments of $1.7 million, partially offset by net amortization and accretion on investment securities of $8.3 million. The net change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to deposit placed in escrow related to the Servier Amendment of $20.8 million, decrease in operating lease liabilities of $6.3 million, decrease in accounts payable of $0.5 million, increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets of $0.5 million and decrease in accrued and other current liabilities of $1.3 million, partially offset by decrease in other long-term assets of $4.3 million, and increase in other long-term liabilities of $0.3 million.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, cash used in operating activities of $237.7 million was attributable to a net loss of $327.3 million, substantially offset by non-cash charges of $110.8 million and a net change of $21.3 million in our net operating assets and liabilities. The non-cash charges consisted primarily of stock-based compensation of $66.0 million, depreciation and amortization of $14.2 million, impairment of long-lived assets of $13.2 million, share of losses from equity method investments of $10.7 million, impairment of equity investment and equity method investment of $7.0 million, net amortization and accretion on investment securities of $6.8 million, and non-cash rent expense of $6.6 million. The net change in operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to decrease in accounts payable of $7.5 million, decrease in accrued and other current liabilities of $6.8 million, decrease in operating lease liabilities of $6.0 million, increase in other long-term assets of $1.5 million and decrease in other long-term liabilities of $0.6 million, partially offset by decrease in prepaid expense and other current assets of $1.1 million.
Investing Activities
During the year ended December 31, 2024, net cash provided by investing activities of $75.7 million was related to cash inflows from maturities of investments of $432.5 million and cash provided by investment sales of $5.4 million, partially offset by the purchase of investments of $361.5 million and purchases of property and equipment of $0.7 million.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash provided by investing activities of $163.3 million was related to cash inflows from maturities of investments of $597.8 million and cash provided by investment sales of $5.6 million, partially offset by the purchase of investments of $438.6 million and purchases of property and equipment of $1.5 million.
Financing Activities
During the year ended December 31, 2024, net cash provided by financing activities of $116.7 million was related to net proceeds from the issuance of common stock through our May 2024 registered offering of $105.3 million, net proceeds from the issuance of common stock through ATM transactions of $6.8 million, proceeds from the CIRM award of $2.3 million, proceeds from the sale of common stock through our employee stock purchase plan of $1.5 million, and proceeds from the issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options of $0.8 million.
During the year ended December 31, 2023, net cash provided by financing activities of $95.7 million was related to net proceeds from the issuance of common stock through ATM transactions of $91.1 million, proceeds from the sales of common stock through our employee stock purchase plan of $2.5 million, and proceeds from the issuance of common stock upon the exercise of stock options of $2.1 million.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments
Material Cash Commitments and Requirements
Our commitments primarily consist of obligations under our agreements with Pfizer, Cellectis, Servier, Notch and Foresight. Under these agreements we are required to make milestone payments upon successful completion of certain regulatory and sales milestones on a target-by-target and country-by-country basis. The payment obligations under the license agreements are contingent upon future events such as our achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercial milestones and we will be required to make development milestone payments and royalty payments in connection with the sale of products developed under these agreements. As of December 31, 2024, we were unable to estimate the timing or likelihood of achieving the milestones or making future product sales. For additional information regarding our agreements, see Note 6 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
Our operating lease obligations primarily consist of lease payments on our research, lab and office facilities in South San Francisco, California, as well as lease payments on our cell manufacturing facility in Newark, California. For additional information regarding our lease obligations, see Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.
On October 6, 2020, we announced we entered into a strategic five-year collaboration agreement with MD Anderson for the preclinical and clinical investigation of allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates. We and MD Anderson are collaborating on the design and conduct of preclinical and clinical studies with oversight from a joint steering committee. Under the terms of the agreement, we have committed up to $15.0 million of funding for the duration of the agreement. Payment of this funding is contingent on mutual agreement to study orders in order for any study to be included under the alliance.
We made an upfront payment of $3.0 million to MD Anderson in the year ended December 31, 2020 and made an additional upfront payment of $3.0 million to MD Anderson in October 2023. We are committed to make further payments to MD Anderson each year upon the anniversary of the agreement effective date through the duration of the agreement term, however, if MD Anderson has sufficient funds to continue the agreed-upon research projects, we may defer the additional payment to a later date. The agreement may be terminated by either party for material breach by the other party. Individual studies may be terminated for, among other things, material breach, health and safety concerns or where the institutional review board, the review board at the clinical site with oversight of the clinical study, requests termination of any study. Where any legal or regulatory authorization is finally withdrawn or terminated, the relevant study will also terminate automatically.
In July 2020, we entered into a Solar Power Purchase and Energy Services Agreement for the installation and operation of a solar photovoltaic generating system and battery energy storage system at our manufacturing facility in Newark, California. The agreement has a term of 20 years and commenced in September 2022. We are obligated to pay for electricity generated from the system at an agreed rate for the duration of the agreement term. Termination of the agreement by us will result in a termination payment due of approximately $4.3 million. In connection with the agreement, we maintain a letter of credit for the benefit of the service provider in the amount of $4.3 million.
We also have a Change in Control and Severance Plan that requires the funding of specific payments, if certain events occur, such as a change of control and the termination of employment without cause.
Critical Accounting Policies and Significant Judgments and Estimates
Our management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations is based on our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles. The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements, as well as the reported expenses incurred during the reporting periods. Our estimates are based on our historical experience and on various other factors that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
We believe that the assumptions and estimates associated with accrued research and development expenditures, stock-based compensation and impairment of long-lived assets have the most significant impact on our consolidated financial statements. Therefore, we consider these to be our critical accounting policies and estimates.
Accrued Research and Development Costs
We accrue liabilities for estimated costs of research and development activities conducted by our collaboration partners and third-party service providers, which include the conduct of preclinical and clinical studies, and contract manufacturing activities. We recorded the estimated costs of research and development activities based upon the estimated amount of services provided but not yet invoiced, and includes these costs in the accrued and other current liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets and within research and development expense on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
We accrue for these costs based on factors such as estimates of the work completed in accordance with agreements established with our collaboration partners and third-party service providers. We make estimates in determining the accrued liabilities balance in each reporting period. As actual costs become known, we adjust its accrued liabilities.
Stock-Based Compensation
We recognize compensation costs related to stock-based awards granted to employees and directors, including stock options, based on the estimated fair value of the awards on the date of grant. We estimate the grant date fair value, and the resulting stock-based compensation, using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, the lattice option pricing model or Monte Carlo simulation, whichever provides us the more precise grant fair value based on accounting guidance. The grant date fair value of the stock-based awards is generally recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the respective awards.
For the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023, stock-based compensation was $51.7 million, and $66.0 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, we had $69.2 million and $108.7 million, respectively, of total unrecognized stock-based compensation.
Impairment of Long-lived Assets
Our long-lived assets, including right-of-use assets, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability is measured by comparison of the carrying amount of an asset group to the future net undiscounted cash flows that the assets are expected to generate. The long-lived assets recoverability test is performed at the asset group level, i.e., the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities. If this test indicates that the carrying amount of the asset group is not recoverable, an impairment loss is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of an asset group exceeds its fair value. Any impairment loss is allocated to the long-lived assets of the group on a pro rata basis using the relative carrying amounts of those assets, except that the carrying amount of an individual asset shall not be reduced below its fair value.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Please refer to Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements for a discussion of new accounting standards and updates that may impact us.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk.
Interest Rate Risk
Our cash, cash equivalents and investments of $373.1 million as of December 31, 2024, consist of bank deposits, money market funds and available-for-sale securities. Such interest-earning instruments carry a degree of interest rate risk; however, historical fluctuations in interest income have not been significant for us. A 10% change in the interest rates in effect on December 31, 2024 would not have had a material effect on the fair market value of our cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities.
Foreign Currency Exchange Rate Risk
Our collaboration agreement with Servier requires collaboration payments for shared clinical development costs to be paid in euros, and thus we face foreign exchange risk as a result of entering into transactions denominated in currencies other than U.S. dollars. Due to the uncertain timing of expected payments in foreign currencies, we do not utilize any forward exchange contracts. All foreign transactions settle on the applicable spot exchange basis at the time such payments are made. An adverse movement in foreign exchange rates could have an effect on payments due and made to our collaboration partner as well as other foreign suppliers and for license agreements. A 10% change in the applicable foreign exchange rates during the periods presented would not have had a material effect on our consolidated financial statements. As of December 31, 2024, 2024, we had $20.8 million of deposit placed in escrow. As of December 31, 2024, we had no receivables and $0.1 million of current liabilities denominated in foreign currency.
Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023
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Consolidated Financial Statements: |
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2024, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2024 and 2023, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2024, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the accounts or disclosures to which it relates.
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Impairment of Long-Lived Assets |
Description of the Matter |
As discussed in Note 5 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s long-lived assets are assessed for recoverability whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. When indicators of impairment exist, the Company compares the estimated future undiscounted net cash flows to the carrying amount of the asset group. If the carrying amount of the asset group exceeds the future undiscounted cash flows, an impairment is measured based on the difference between the carrying amount of the asset group and its fair value. Indicators of impairment were identified for the year ended December 31, 2024. As a result the Company recorded an impairment charge of $15.7 million for its right-of-use asset and related leasehold improvements.
Auditing the Company’s impairment model was challenging due to the subjective assumption of market rental rates used as an input in determining the fair value of the right-of-use asset and related leasehold improvements. |
How We Addressed the Matter in Our Audit |
To test the Company’s accounting for the impairment over the right-of-use asset and related leasehold improvements, our audit procedures included, among others, utilizing our valuation specialists to assist in evaluating the reasonableness of the Company’s valuation methodology and the market rental rate assumption, performing an evaluation of market rental rates by benchmarking to other properties of similar type and within the geographic area, and testing the completeness and accuracy of the significant inputs within the model. |
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
We have served as the Company's auditor since 2018.
San Mateo, California
March 13, 2025
ALLOGENE THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)
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December 31, 2024 |
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December 31, 2023 |
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Assets |
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Current assets: |
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Cash and cash equivalents |
$ |
75,218 |
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|
$ |
83,155 |
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Short-term investments |
217,258 |
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|
365,542 |
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Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
10,910 |
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|
10,418 |
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Total current assets |
303,386 |
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|
459,115 |
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Long-term investments |
80,673 |
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|
— |
|
Operating lease right-of-use asset |
45,205 |
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|
63,703 |
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Property and equipment, net |
86,056 |
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|
99,478 |
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Deposit placed in escrow |
20,773 |
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|
— |
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Restricted cash |
10,292 |
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|
10,292 |
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Other long-term assets |
2,325 |
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|
6,604 |
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Equity method investments |
— |
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3,645 |
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Total assets |
$ |
548,710 |
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$ |
642,837 |
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Liabilities and stockholders’ equity |
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Current liabilities: |
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Accounts payable |
$ |
5,394 |
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$ |
5,897 |
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Accrued and other current liabilities |
30,129 |
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31,182 |
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Total current liabilities |
35,523 |
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37,079 |
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Lease liability, noncurrent |
83,247 |
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88,346 |
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Other long-term liabilities |
7,761 |
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|
5,179 |
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Total liabilities |
126,531 |
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130,604 |
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Commitments and Contingencies (Notes 6 and 7) |
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Stockholders’ equity: |
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Preferred stock, $0.001 par value: 10,000,000 authorized as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023; no shares were issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023 |
— |
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— |
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Common stock, $0.001 par value: 400,000,000 shares authorized as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023; and 212,210,597 and 168,642,238 shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively |
212 |
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169 |
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Additional paid-in capital |
2,241,879 |
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2,075,252 |
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Accumulated deficit |
(1,819,823) |
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(1,562,233) |
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Accumulated other comprehensive loss |
(89) |
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(955) |
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Total stockholders’ equity |
422,179 |
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|
512,233 |
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Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity |
$ |
548,710 |
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$ |
642,837 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
ALLOGENE THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss
(In thousands, except share and per share amounts)
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Year Ended December 31, |
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2024 |
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2023 |
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Collaboration revenue - related party |
$ |
22 |
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$ |
95 |
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Operating expenses: |
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Research and development |
192,299 |
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242,914 |
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General and administrative |
65,205 |
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71,673 |
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Impairment of long-lived asset |
15,717 |
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13,245 |
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Total operating expenses |
273,221 |
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|
327,832 |
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Loss from operations |
(273,199) |
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(327,737) |
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Other income (expense), net: |
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Interest and other income, net |
20,153 |
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18,307 |
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Interest expense |
(181) |
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|
— |
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Other expenses, net |
(3,920) |
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(17,835) |
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Total other income (expense), net |
16,052 |
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|
472 |
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Loss before income taxes |
(257,147) |
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|
(327,265) |
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Income tax expense |
(443) |
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|
— |
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Net loss |
(257,590) |
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|
(327,265) |
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Other comprehensive loss: |
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Net unrealized gain on available-for-sale investments |
866 |
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8,971 |
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Net comprehensive loss |
$ |
(256,724) |
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$ |
(318,294) |
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Net loss per share, basic and diluted |
$ |
(1.32) |
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$ |
(2.09) |
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Weighted-average number of shares used in computing net loss per share, basic and diluted |
194,811,756 |
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156,931,778 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
ALLOGENE THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity
(In thousands, except share and per share data)
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Common Stock |
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Additional Paid-in Capital |
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Accumulated Deficit |
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Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) |
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Total Stockholders’ Equity |
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Shares |
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Amount |
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Balance — December 31, 2022 (As Restated) |
144,438,304 |
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|
$ |
144 |
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$ |
1,911,632 |
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$ |
(1,234,968) |
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$ |
(9,926) |
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$ |
666,882 |
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Issuance of common stock from ATM offering, net of commissions and offering costs of $1.7 million |
20,894,565 |
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21 |
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91,091 |
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— |
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|
— |
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|
91,112 |
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Issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options and vesting of RSUs |
2,718,410 |
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3 |
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2,084 |
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|
— |
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|
— |
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|
2,087 |
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Vesting of early exercised common stock |
— |
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— |
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1,999 |
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— |
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— |
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1,999 |
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Stock-based compensation |
— |
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— |
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65,951 |
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— |
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— |
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65,951 |
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Employee stock purchase plan |
590,959 |
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1 |
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2,495 |
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— |
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— |
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2,496 |
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Net loss (As Restated) |
— |
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— |
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— |
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(327,265) |
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— |
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(327,265) |
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Net unrealized gain on available-for-sale investments |
— |
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— |
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|
— |
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|
— |
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|
8,971 |
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|
8,971 |
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Balance — December 31, 2023 |
168,642,238 |
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|
169 |
|
|
2,075,252 |
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(1,562,233) |
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(955) |
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|
512,233 |
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Issuance of common stock from ATM offering, net of commissions and offering costs of $0.1 million |
2,539,134 |
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2 |
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|
6,762 |
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|
— |
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|
— |
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|
6,764 |
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Issuance of common stock from registered offering, net of commissions and offering costs of $4.7 million |
37,931,035 |
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38 |
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105,245 |
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— |
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|
— |
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|
105,283 |
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Issuance of common stock upon exercise of stock options and vesting of RSUs |
2,569,680 |
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2 |
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|
811 |
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— |
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— |
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|
813 |
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Vesting of early exercised common stock |
— |
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— |
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|
532 |
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— |
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— |
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|
532 |
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Stock-based compensation |
— |
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|
— |
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51,743 |
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— |
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— |
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51,743 |
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Employee stock purchase plan |
528,510 |
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1 |
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1,534 |
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— |
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— |
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1,535 |
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Net loss |
— |
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— |
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— |
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(257,590) |
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— |
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(257,590) |
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Net unrealized gain on available-for-sale investments |
— |
|
|
— |
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— |
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— |
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|
866 |
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|
866 |
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Balance — December 31, 2024 |
212,210,597 |
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$ |
212 |
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$ |
2,241,879 |
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$ |
(1,819,823) |
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$ |
(89) |
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$ |
422,179 |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
ALLOGENE THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)
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Year Ended December 31, |
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2024 |
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2023 |
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Cash flows from operating activities: |
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Net loss |
$ |
(257,590) |
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$ |
(327,265) |
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Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
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Stock-based compensation |
51,743 |
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65,951 |
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Depreciation and amortization |
13,639 |
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14,199 |
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Net amortization/accretion on investment securities |
(8,348) |
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(6,809) |
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Impairment of long-lived asset |
15,717 |
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|
13,245 |
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Impairment of equity investment and equity method investment |
1,957 |
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|
7,000 |
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Non-cash rent expense |
5,264 |
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|
6,644 |
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Income tax expense |
443 |
|
|
— |
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Non-cash collaboration revenue - related party |
(14) |
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(63) |
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Share of loss from equity method investments |
1,688 |
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|
10,672 |
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Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
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Deposit placed in escrow |
(20,773) |
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— |
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Prepaid expenses and other current assets |
(492) |
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|
1,086 |
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Other long-term assets |
4,279 |
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(1,455) |
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Accounts payable |
(503) |
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(7,502) |
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Accrued and other current liabilities |
(1,262) |
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|
(6,823) |
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Operating lease liabilities |
(6,307) |
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|
(6,002) |
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Other long-term liabilities |
259 |
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(611) |
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Net cash used in operating activities |
(200,300) |
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(237,733) |
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Cash flows from investing activities: |
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Purchases of property and equipment |
(694) |
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(1,516) |
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Proceeds from sales of investments |
5,398 |
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|
5,623 |
|
Proceeds from maturities of investments |
432,459 |
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|
597,811 |
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Purchase of investments |
(361,475) |
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|
(438,629) |
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Net cash provided by investing activities |
75,688 |
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|
163,289 |
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Cash flows from financing activities: |
|
|
|
Proceeds from issuance of common stock from ATM offering, net of commissions and issuance costs |
6,764 |
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|
91,112 |
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Proceeds from issuance of common stock from public offering, net of commissions and issuance costs |
105,283 |
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|
— |
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Proceeds from issuance of common stock and upon exercise of stock options |
813 |
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|
2,087 |
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Proceeds from issuance of common stock under the employee stock purchase plan |
1,535 |
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|
2,496 |
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Proceeds from CIRM award |
2,280 |
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— |
|
Net cash provided by financing activities |
116,675 |
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|
95,695 |
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Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash |
(7,937) |
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|
21,251 |
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Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash — beginning of period |
93,447 |
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|
72,196 |
|
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash — end of period |
$ |
85,510 |
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$ |
93,447 |
|
Non-cash operating, investing and financing activities: |
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Right-of-use asset obtained in exchange for lease liability |
$ |
2,409 |
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|
$ |
— |
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Property and equipment purchases in accounts payable and accrued and other current liabilities |
$ |
64 |
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|
$ |
— |
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Non-cash deferred revenue and other long-term liabilities |
$ |
3,079 |
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$ |
3,094 |
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Supplemental disclosure: |
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Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities |
$ |
(12,505) |
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|
$ |
(12,049) |
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The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
ALLOGENE THERAPEUTICS, INC.
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Note 1. Description of Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (the Company or Allogene) was incorporated on November 30, 2017 in the State of Delaware and is headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Allogene is a clinical stage immuno-oncology company pioneering the development of genetically engineered allogeneic T cell product candidates for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The Company is developing a pipeline of “off-the-shelf” T cell product candidates that are designed to target and kill cancer cells in patients or eliminate pathogenic autoreactive cells in patients with autoimmune disorders. The Company’s engineered T cells are allogeneic, meaning they are derived from healthy donors for intended use in any patient, rather than from an individual patient for that patient’s use, as in the case of autologous T cells. The Company believes this key difference will enable it to deliver readily available treatments faster, more reliably, at greater scale, and to more patients.
Public Offerings
In November 2019, the Company entered into a sales agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC (Cowen), as amended on November 2, 2022 and November 2, 2023, under which the Company may from time to time issue and sell shares of its common stock through Cowen in at-the-market (ATM) offerings. The aggregate compensation payable to Cowen as the Company's sales agent equals up to 3.0% of the gross sales price of the shares sold through Cowen pursuant to the sales agreement. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company sold an aggregate of 20,894,565 shares of common stock in ATM offerings resulting in net proceeds of $91.1 million. The specified dollar limit on the amount of common stock that may be sold under the sales agreement was removed pursuant to the November 2, 2023 amendment to the sales agreement. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company sold an aggregate of 2,539,134 shares of common stock in ATM offerings resulting in net proceeds of $6.8 million.
Registered Offering
On May 13, 2024, the Company entered into (i) an underwriting agreement (Underwriting Agreement) with Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (Underwriter) and (ii) a Securities Purchase Agreement (Securities Purchase Agreement) with certain members of the Company’s Board of Directors and executive officers or their respective affiliates (Purchasers), pursuant to which the Company sold and issued to the Underwriter and the Purchasers an aggregate of 37,931,035 shares of common stock of the Company at a purchase price of $2.90 per share, in a registered offering transaction (Registered Offering) for aggregate gross proceeds of $110.0 million, before deducting the underwriting discount and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company. The Registered Offering closed on May 16, 2024. The aggregate fee payable by the Company to the Underwriter was $4.7 million, plus the reimbursement of certain expenses. The Purchasers purchased an aggregate of 1,034,484 shares of common stock of the Company in the Registered Offering.
Need for Additional Capital
The Company has sustained operating losses and expects to continue to generate operating losses for the foreseeable future. The Company’s ultimate success depends on the outcome of its research and development activities as well as the ability to commercialize the Company’s product candidates. The Company had cash, cash equivalents and investments of $373.1 million as of December 31, 2024. Since inception through December 31, 2024, the Company has incurred cumulative net losses of $1,819.8 million. Management expects to incur additional losses in the future to fund its operations and conduct product research and development and recognizes the need to raise additional capital to fully implement its business plan.
The Company intends to raise additional capital through the issuance of equity securities, debt financings or other sources in order to further implement its business plan. However, if such financing is not available at adequate levels, the Company will need to reevaluate its operating plan and may be required to delay the development of its product candidates. The Company expects that its cash and cash equivalents and investments will be sufficient to fund its operations for at least the next 12 months from the date the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP).
In June 2020, the Company formed a wholly-owned, Netherlands-based subsidiary, Allogene Therapeutics, B.V., to help prepare for and assist with the Company's activities in Europe. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Allogene Therapeutics, B.V. All material intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated during consolidation. The subsidiary was dissolved on January 3, 2024.
Reclassification of Prior Period Balances
The deferred revenue was reclassified to be included in the accrued and other current liabilities in the balance sheet as of December 31, 2023 to conform to the consolidated balance sheet presentation at December 31, 2024. The presentation of non-cash rent expense and operating lease liabilities in the consolidated statement of cash flow for the year ended December 31, 2023 were reclassified to conform with the consolidated statement of cash flow presentation for the year ended December 31, 2024. These reclassifications have no effect on the reported net income for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates and assumptions made in the accompanying consolidated financial statements include but are not limited to the fair value of common stock, the fair value of stock options, the fair value of investments, income tax uncertainties, the CIRM award liability and certain accruals. The Company evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis using historical experience and other factors and adjusts those estimates and assumptions when facts and circumstances change. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Concentration of Credit and other Risks and Uncertainties
Financial instruments, which potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk, consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents and investments. The primary objectives for the Company’s investment portfolio are the preservation of capital and the maintenance of liquidity. The Company does not enter into any investment transaction for trading or speculative purposes.
The Company’s investment policy limits investments to certain types of instruments such as certificates of deposit, commercial paper, money market instruments, asset-backed securities, obligations issued by the U.S. government and U.S. government agencies as well as corporate debt securities, and places restrictions on maturities and concentration by type and issuer. The Company maintains cash balances in excess of amounts insured by the FDIC and concentrated within a limited number of financial institutions. The accounts are monitored by management and management believes that the financial institutions are financially sound, and, accordingly, minimal credit risk exists with respect to these financial institutions. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company has not experienced any significant credit losses in such accounts or investments.
The Company is subject to a number of risks common for early-stage biopharmaceutical companies including, but not limited to, the ability to achieve any clinical or commercial success of its product candidates, ability to obtain regulatory approval of its product candidates, the need for substantial additional financing to achieve its goals, uncertainty of broad adoption of its approved products, if any, by physicians and patients, significant competition, dependency on the Company's contract manufacturing organization, and ability to manufacture.
Segments
Operating segments are defined as components of an entity for which separate financial information is available and that is regularly reviewed by the Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM) in deciding how to allocate resources to an individual segment and in assessing performance. The Company’s CODM is its Chief Executive Officer. The Company has determined it operates in a single operating segment and has one reportable segment. The Company’s method for measuring profitability on a reportable segment basis is net profit or loss. The Company's CODM does not evaluate operating segments using asset or liability information. Additional significant segment expenses are provided on a quarterly basis to the CODM to support the CODM’s decision making process. Refer to Note 15 for additional information.
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash
The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with original maturities of three months or less from the purchase date to be cash equivalents. Cash equivalents consist primarily of amounts invested in bank money market accounts and money market mutual funds.
The Company has issued letters of credit under separate lease and other agreements which have been collateralized by restricted cash. This cash is classified as long-term restricted cash on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets based on the terms of the underlying agreements.
Investments
Investments are available-for-sale and are carried at estimated fair value. The Company’s valuations of marketable securities are generally derived from independent pricing services based upon quoted prices in active markets for similar securities, with prices adjusted for yield and number of days to maturity, or based on industry models using data inputs, such as interest rates and prices that can be directly observed or corroborated in active markets. Management determines the appropriate classification of its investments in debt securities at the time of purchase and at the end of each reporting period. Investments with original maturities of less than three months at the date of purchase are classified as cash and cash equivalents. Investments with original maturities beyond three months at the date of purchase and which mature at, or less than twelve months from the consolidated balance sheet date are classified as current.
Unrealized gains and losses are excluded from earnings and are reported as a component of other comprehensive income. The Company periodically evaluates whether declines in fair values of its available-for-sale securities below their book value are other-than-temporary. This evaluation consists of several qualitative and quantitative factors regarding the severity and duration of the unrealized loss as well as the Company’s ability and intent to hold the available-for-sale security until a forecasted recovery occurs. Additionally, the Company assesses whether it has plans to sell the security or it is more likely than not it will be required to sell any available-for-sale securities before recovery of its amortized cost basis. Realized gains and losses and declines in fair value considered to be other than temporary, if any, on available-for-sale securities are included in interest and other income, net. The cost of investments sold is based on the specific-identification method. Interest income on investments is included in interest and other income, net.
Fair Value Measurement
Assets and liabilities recorded at fair value on a recurring basis in the consolidated balance sheets are categorized based upon the level of judgment associated with the inputs used to measure their fair values. Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or an exit price that would be paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The authoritative guidance on fair value measurements establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements as follows:
Level 1—Observable inputs such as unadjusted, quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities at the measurement date.
Level 2—Inputs (other than quoted prices included in Level 1) are either directly or indirectly observable for the asset or liability. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets and quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.
Level 3— Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.
Property and Equipment, Net
Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation is computed on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the related assets, generally three to seven years. Maintenance and repairs are charged to operations as incurred. Upon sale or retirement of assets, the cost and related accumulated depreciation are removed from the consolidated balance sheets and the resulting gain or loss is reflected in other expense.
The Company has determined the estimated life of assets to be as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
Laboratory equipment |
5 years |
Computer equipment and purchased software |
3 - 5 years |
Fixtures and furniture |
7 years |
Leasehold improvements |
Shorter of lease term or useful life |
The Company capitalizes implementation costs associated with internal use cloud computing arrangements in alignment with ASC 350-40 internal-use software. Costs incurred in preliminary project stage and post implementation stage are expensed as incurred. Costs incurred during the application development stage of implementation are capitalized in other long-term assets on the consolidated balance sheets. Capitalized implementation costs from cloud computing arrangements are amortized over the term of the cloud-based service arrangement.
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Award
Accounting for the CIRM award does not fall under ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts and Customers, as CIRM does not meet the definition of a customer. No income associated with the CIRM award will be recognized until it is confirmed with CIRM that the award does not require repayment. Until then such award will be recognized, along with any interest, as a long-term liability upon cash receipt. Any estimated interest accrued for the CIRM award received is recognized as interest expense in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company will not recognize a receivable of future awards until it is approved by CIRM. See Note 5 below for more details.
Leases
For its long-term operating leases, the Company recognizes a right-of-use asset and a lease liability on its consolidated balance sheets. The lease liability is determined as the present value of future lease payments using an estimated rate of interest that the Company would pay to borrow equivalent funds on a collateralized basis at the lease commencement date. The right-of-use asset is based on the liability adjusted for any prepaid or deferred rent. The lease term at the commencement date is determined by considering whether renewal options and termination options are reasonably assured of exercise.
Rent expense for the operating lease is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term and is included in operating expenses on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. Variable lease payments include lease operating expenses.
The Company elected to exclude from its consolidated balance sheets recognition of leases having a term of 12 months or less (short-term leases) and elected to not separate lease components and non-lease components for its long-term real-estate leases.
Equity Method Investments
The Company uses the equity method of accounting for equity investments in companies if the investment provides the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, over operating and financial policies of the investee. The Company's proportionate share of the net income or loss of these companies is included in other expenses, net in the consolidated statement of operations. Judgment regarding the level of influence over each equity method investment includes considering key factors such as our ownership interest, representation on the board of directors, participation in policy-making decisions and material purchase and sale transactions.
The Company evaluates equity method investments for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the investment might not be recoverable. Factors considered when reviewing an equity method investment for impairment include the length of time (duration) and the extent (severity) to which the fair value of the equity method investment has been less than cost, the investee’s financial condition and near-term prospects and the intent and ability to hold the investment for a period of time sufficient to allow for anticipated recovery. An impairment that is other-than-temporary is recognized in the period identified.
Variable Interest Entities
For entities in which the Company has variable interests, the Company focuses on identifying if one of the entities is the primary beneficiary through having the power to direct the activities that most significantly impact the variable interest entity’s economic performance and having the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits from the variable interest entity.
If the Company is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity, the assets, liabilities, and results of operations of the variable interest entity will be included in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. The Company did not consolidate any variable interest entities in any of the periods presented because the Company determined that it was not the primary beneficiary.
Accrued Research and Development Costs
The Company records accrued liabilities for estimated costs of research and development activities conducted by collaboration partners and third-party service providers, which include the conduct of preclinical studies and clinical trials, and contract manufacturing activities. The Company records the estimated costs of research and development activities based upon the estimated amount of services provided but not yet invoiced and includes these costs in accrued and other current liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets and within research and development expenses on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
The Company accrues for these costs based on factors such as estimates of the work completed and in accordance with agreements established with its collaboration partners and third-party service providers. The Company makes significant judgments and estimates in determining the accrued liabilities balance at the end of each reporting period. As actual costs become known, the Company adjusts its accrued liabilities.
Income Taxes
Income taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to affect taxable income. Management makes an assessment of the likelihood that the resulting deferred tax assets will be realized. A valuation allowance is provided when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of a deferred tax asset will not be realized. Due to the Company’s historical operating performance and net losses, the net deferred tax assets have been fully offset by a valuation allowance.
The Company recognizes uncertain income tax positions at the largest amount that is more likely than not to be sustained upon audit by the relevant taxing authority. An uncertain income tax position will not be recognized if it has less than a 50% likelihood of being sustained. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected in the period in which judgment occurs. The Company’s policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to the underpayment of income taxes as a component of the provision for income taxes.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company measures its stock-based awards granted to employees, consultants and directors based on the estimated fair values of the awards and recognizes the compensation over the requisite service period. The Company uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, the lattice option pricing model or Monte Carlo simulation to estimate the fair value of its stock-based awards. Stock-based compensation is recognized using the straight-line method. As the stock compensation expense is based on awards ultimately expected to vest, it is reduced by forfeitures. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur.
Net Loss Per Share
Basic net loss per share is calculated by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period, without consideration for potential dilutive shares of common stock. Since the Company was in a loss position for all periods presented, basic net loss per share is the same as diluted net loss per share since the effects of potentially dilutive securities are antidilutive. Shares of common stock subject to repurchase are excluded from the weighted-average shares.
Comprehensive Loss
Comprehensive loss includes net loss and certain changes in stockholders’ equity that are excluded from net loss. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, this was comprised of unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, on the Company’s investments.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability is measured by comparison of the carrying amount of an asset group to the future net undiscounted cash flows that the assets are expected to generate. The long-lived assets recoverability test is performed at the asset group level, i.e., the lowest level for which identifiable cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other assets and liabilities. If this test indicates that the carrying amount of the asset group is not recoverable, an impairment loss is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of an asset group exceeds its fair value. Any impairment loss is allocated to the long-lived assets of the group on a pro rata basis using the relative carrying amounts of those assets, except that the carrying amount of an individual asset shall not be reduced below its fair value. The Company recorded long-lived assets impairment losses of $15.7 million and $13.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively (see Note 5).
Revenue Recognition
The Company’s revenue has been generated through collaboration research and license agreements. The terms of these agreements may contain multiple deliverables which may include (i) grant of licenses, (ii) transfer of know-how, (iii) research and development activities, (iii) clinical manufacturing, and (iv) product supply. The payment terms of these agreements may include nonrefundable upfront fees, payments for research and development activities, payments based upon the achievement of certain milestones, royalty payments based on product sales derived from the collaboration, and payments for supplying product.
The Company analyzes its collaboration arrangements to assess whether they are within the scope of ASC 808, Collaborative Arrangements (ASC 808) to determine whether such arrangements involve joint operating activities performed by parties that are both active participants in the activities and exposed to significant risks and rewards dependent on the commercial success of such activities. This assessment is performed throughout the life of the arrangement based on changes in the responsibilities of all parties in the arrangement. For collaboration arrangements within the scope of ASC 808 that contain multiple elements, the Company first determines which elements of the collaboration are deemed to be within the scope of ASC 808 and those that are more reflective of a vendor-customer relationship and, therefore, within the scope of Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606). For elements of collaboration arrangements that are accounted for pursuant to ASC 808, an appropriate recognition method is determined and applied consistently, generally by analogy to Topic 606.
For elements of those arrangements that the Company determines should be accounted for under ASC 606, the Company assesses which activities in the collaboration agreements are performance obligations that should be accounted for separately and determines the transaction price of the arrangement, which includes the assessment of the probability of achievement of future milestones and other potential consideration. A performance obligation represents a promise in a contract to transfer a distinct good or service to a customer, which represents a unit of accounting in accordance with ASC 606. A performance obligation is considered distinct from other obligations in a contract when it provides a benefit to the customer either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer and is separately identified in the contract. The Company considers a performance obligation satisfied once the Company has transferred control of a good or service to the customer, meaning the customer has the ability to use and obtain the benefit of the good or service. A portion of the consideration should be allocated to each distinct performance obligation. The total consideration which the Company expects to collect in exchange for the Company’s products is an estimate and may be fixed or variable. The Company constrains the estimated variable consideration when it assesses it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized may occur in future periods. The transaction price is re-evaluated, including the estimated variable consideration included in the transaction price and all constrained amounts, in each reporting period and as uncertain events are resolved or other changes in circumstances occur. The allocation of the transaction price is performed based on standalone selling prices, which are based on estimated amounts that the Company would charge for a performance obligation if it were sold separately. Revenue is recognized when, or as, performance obligations in the contracts are satisfied, in the amount reflecting the expected consideration to be received from the goods or services transferred to the customers. Funds received in advance are recorded as deferred revenue and are recognized as the related performance obligation is satisfied.
Research and Development Expenses
Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and consist of salaries and benefits, including associated stock-based compensation, and laboratory supplies and facility costs, as well as fees paid to other entities that conduct certain research and development activities on the Company’s behalf. Research and development expenses also include costs incurred for internal and sponsored collaborative research and development activities. Costs associated with co-development activities performed under the various license and collaboration agreements are included in research and development expenses.
Nonrefundable advance payments for goods or services to be received in the future for use in research and development activities are capitalized and then expensed as the related goods are delivered or the services are performed.
Note 2. Recent Accounting Guidance
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standard Update (ASU) 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (ASU 2023-07), which requires all public entities, including public entities with a single reportable segment, to provide in interim and annual periods one or more measures of segment profit or loss used by the chief operating decision maker to allocate resources and assess performance. Additionally, the standard requires disclosures of significant segment expenses and other segment items as well as incremental qualitative disclosures. The Company adopted this standard effective January 1, 2024 and applied the disclosure requirements retrospectively to all prior periods presented in the consolidated financial statements. Adoption of the new guidance had no significant impact on the Company's consolidated financial statements.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted
In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income taxes (Topic 740), Improvement to income tax disclosures, which enhances the disclosures required for income taxes in the Company’s annual financial statements. This standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not plan to adopt this standard early. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.
In November 2024, the FASB issued ASU 2024-03, Income Statement—Reporting Comprehensive Income—Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40), which requires new disclosures to disaggregate prescribed natural expenses underlying any income statement caption. ASU 2024-03 is effective for annual periods in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2026, and interim periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. ASU 2024-03 applies on a prospective basis for periods beginning after the effective date. However, retrospective application to any or all prior periods presented is permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact ASU 2024-03 will have on the consolidated financial statements and disclosures.
Note 3. Fair Value Measurements
The Company follows authoritative accounting guidance, which among other things, defines fair value, establishes a consistent framework for measuring fair value and expands disclosure for each major asset and liability category measured at fair value on either a recurring or nonrecurring basis. Fair value is an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability.
The Company measures and reports its cash equivalents, restricted cash, and investments at fair value.
Money market funds are measured at fair value on a recurring basis using quoted prices and are classified as Level 1. Investments are measured at fair value based on inputs other than quoted prices that are derived from observable market data and are classified as Level 2 inputs, except for investments in U.S. treasury securities which are classified as Level 1.
There were no Level 3 assets or liabilities as of December 31, 2024 or 2023.
Financial assets subject to fair value measurements on a recurring basis and the level of inputs used in such measurements by major security type as of December 31, 2024 are presented in the following table:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, 2024 |
|
Level 1 |
|
Level 2 |
|
Level 3 |
|
Fair Value |
|
(in thousands) |
Financial Assets: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Money market funds ¹ |
$ |
65,780 |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
65,780 |
|
Commercial Paper |
— |
|
|
66,255 |
|
|
— |
|
|
66,255 |
|
Corporate bonds |
— |
|
|
82,725 |
|
|
— |
|
|
82,725 |
|
U.S. treasury securities |
85,728 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
85,728 |
|
U.S. agency securities |
— |
|
|
58,514 |
|
|
— |
|
|
58,514 |
|
Asset-backed securities |
— |
|
|
9,700 |
|
|
— |
|
|
9,700 |
|
Total financial assets |
$ |
151,508 |
|
|
$ |
217,194 |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
368,702 |
|
¹ Included within cash and cash equivalents on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets
Financial assets subject to fair value measurements on a recurring basis and the level of inputs used in such measurements by major security type as of December 31, 2023 are presented in the following table:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, 2023 |
|
Level 1 |
|
Level 2 |
|
Level 3 |
|
Fair Value |
|
(in thousands) |
Financial Assets: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Money market funds ¹ |
$ |
78,536 |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
78,536 |
|
Corporate bonds |
— |
|
|
97,166 |
|
|
— |
|
|
97,166 |
|
U.S. treasury securities |
229,516 |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
229,516 |
|
U.S. agency securities |
— |
|
|
38,860 |
|
|
— |
|
|
38,860 |
|
Total financial assets |
$ |
308,052 |
|
|
$ |
136,026 |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
444,078 |
|
¹ Included within cash and cash equivalents on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets
The carrying amounts of accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate their fair values due to their short-term maturities. The Company’s Level 2 securities are valued using third-party pricing sources. The pricing services utilize industry standard valuation models, including both income and market-based approaches, for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly.
There were no transfers of assets between the fair value measurement levels during the years ended December 31, 2024 or 2023.
Note 4. Investments
The fair value and amortized cost of cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities by major security type as of December 31, 2024 are presented in the following tables:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, 2024 |
|
Amortized Cost |
|
Unrealized Gains |
|
Unrealized Losses |
|
Fair Value |
|
(in thousands) |
Money market funds |
$ |
65,780 |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
65,780 |
|
Commercial paper |
66,269 |
|
|
19 |
|
|
(34) |
|
|
66,254 |
|
Corporate bonds |
82,716 |
|
|
53 |
|
|
(45) |
|
|
82,724 |
|
U.S. treasury securities |
85,765 |
|
|
54 |
|
|
(91) |
|
|
85,728 |
|
U.S. agency securities |
58,566 |
|
|
20 |
|
|
(70) |
|
|
58,516 |
|
Asset-backed securities |
9,695 |
|
|
5 |
|
|
— |
|
|
9,700 |
|
Total cash equivalents and investments |
$ |
368,791 |
|
|
$ |
151 |
|
|
$ |
(240) |
|
|
$ |
368,702 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Classified as: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash equivalents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
70,771 |
|
Short-term investments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
217,258 |
|
Long-term investments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
80,673 |
|
Total cash equivalents, and investments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
368,702 |
|
The fair value and amortized cost of cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities by major security type as of December 31, 2023 are presented in the following tables:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, 2023 |
|
Amortized Cost |
|
Unrealized Gains |
|
Unrealized Losses |
|
Fair Value |
|
(in thousands) |
Money market funds |
$ |
78,536 |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
78,536 |
|
Corporate bonds |
97,265 |
|
|
113 |
|
|
(212) |
|
|
97,166 |
|
U.S. treasury securities |
229,563 |
|
|
132 |
|
|
(179) |
|
|
229,516 |
|
U.S. agency securities |
39,225 |
|
|
— |
|
|
(365) |
|
|
38,860 |
|
Total cash equivalents and investments |
$ |
444,589 |
|
|
$ |
245 |
|
|
$ |
(756) |
|
|
$ |
444,078 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Classified as: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash equivalents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
78,536 |
|
Short-term investments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
365,542 |
|
Long-term investments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
— |
|
Total cash equivalents, and investments |
|
|
|
|
|
|
$ |
444,078 |
|
The fair values of available-for-sale debt investments by contractual maturity as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 were as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|
(in thousands) |
Due in 1 year or less |
$ |
222,250 |
|
|
$ |
365,542 |
|
Due in 1 - 2 years |
70,972 |
|
|
— |
|
Due in 3 years |
9,700 |
|
|
— |
|
Instruments not due at a single maturity date |
65,780 |
|
|
78,536 |
|
Total cash equivalents and investments |
$ |
368,702 |
|
|
$ |
444,078 |
|
There were no significant realized losses on available-for-sale securities for the year ended December 31, 2024. Realized losses on available-for-sale securities for the year ended December 31, 2023 were $1.0 million. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, unrealized losses on available-for-sale securities are not attributed to credit risk. The Company believes that it is more likely than not that investments in an unrealized loss position will be held until maturity and all interest and principal will be received. The Company does not intend to sell these investments and it is more likely than not that the Company will not be required to sell the investment before recovery of its amortized cost basis. The Company believes that an allowance for credit losses is unnecessary because the unrealized losses on certain of the Company’s available-for-sale securities are due to market factors. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, securities with a fair value of zero and $48.4 million, respectively, were in a continuous net unrealized loss position for more than 12 months. To date, the Company has not recorded any impairment charges on available-for-sale securities.
The Company has made an accounting policy election not to recognize an allowance for credit losses for accrued interest receivable on available-for-sale securities. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recognized $1.9 million and $1.7 million, respectively, of accrued interest receivable from available-for-sale securities within prepaid expenses and other current assets on the consolidated balance sheets.
Note 5. Balance Sheet Components
Property and Equipment, Net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|
(in thousands) |
Leasehold improvements |
$ |
108,127 |
|
|
$ |
108,621 |
|
Laboratory equipment |
31,595 |
|
|
33,157 |
|
Computer equipment and purchased software |
4,658 |
|
|
4,663 |
|
Furniture and fixtures |
4,214 |
|
|
4,121 |
|
Total |
148,594 |
|
|
150,562 |
|
Less: accumulated depreciation |
(62,538) |
|
|
(51,084) |
|
Total property and equipment, net |
$ |
86,056 |
|
|
$ |
99,478 |
|
Depreciation expense for the years ended December 31, 2024, and 2023 was $13.6 million, and $14.2 million, respectively. Disposals of property and equipment were $0.3 million and less than $0.1 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
The Company reviews for indicators of impairment on a quarterly basis which includes the change in how its property is being used. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company made a decision to sublease one of its leased buildings in South San Francisco. The Company vacated and ceased occupancy of this building and currently the Company is actively marketing the leased building for sublease. The Company determined that the change in how this building is being used was an indicator of impairment. The Company identified this to-be-sublet property as a separate asset group. The Company concluded that the carrying value of this to-be-sublet property asset group was not recoverable and the estimated fair value of this asset group was below its carrying value. The decrease in the fair value of this asset group was mainly due to the lower estimated sublease income based on current commercial rental market conditions compared to the lease payments in accordance with the initial operating lease agreement. The Company performed discounted cash flow analysis to estimate the fair value of its right-of-use asset and leasehold improvements. The key inputs to this valuation were expected sublease rental income of $1.9 million through March 2032 and the risk-adjusted annual discount rate of 9.5%. Based on this analysis, the Company concluded the fair value of the right-of-use asset and leasehold improvements of $1.2 million was lower than its net book value of $7.5 million. The Company recognized an aggregate long-lived asset impairment charge of $6.2 million on the right-of-use asset and leasehold improvements for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Previously, in December 2023, the Company made a decision to sublease one of its other leased buildings in South San Francisco. The Company had vacated and ceased occupancy of this building in December 2023 and in January 2025, the Company executed two subleases for the majority of the leased building. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized long-lived asset impairment charge of $13.2 million on the right-of-use asset by applying a discounted cash flow method to estimate fair value of its right-of-use asset. The key inputs to this valuation were expected sublease rental income of $22.7 million through March 31, 2032 and annual discount rate of 9.0%. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company revised its valuation based on terms with a subtenant for a portion of the building and new market data. The expected sublease rental income based on the revised valuation was $4.7 million through March 31, 2032 and the annual discount rate did not change.
The Company concluded the fair value of the right-of-use asset of $3.1 million was lower than its book value of $12.6 million and recognized an additional long-lived asset impairment charge of $9.5 million on the right-of-use asset for the year ended December 31, 2024.
Accrued Liabilities
Accrued liabilities consist of the following:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|
(in thousands) |
Accrued compensation and related benefits |
$ |
12,146 |
|
|
$ |
12,665 |
|
Accrued research and development expenses |
9,402 |
|
|
9,315 |
|
Accrued lease liability |
7,509 |
|
|
6,775 |
|
Unvested shares liability |
— |
|
|
532 |
|
Other |
1,072 |
|
|
1,809 |
|
Total accrued and other current liabilities |
$ |
30,129 |
|
|
$ |
31,096 |
|
Accrued and Other Current Liabilities
On January 4, 2024, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a reduction in the Company’s workforce of approximately 22% of the Company’s employees in connection with the Company’s pipeline prioritization and clinical development strategy. The reduction in workforce was completed by June 30, 2024. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company paid approximately $3.0 million for severance and other employee benefits. As of December 31, 2024, less than $0.1 million of the severance and other employee benefits accrual was included in accrued and other current liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets.
CIRM Award
On April 26, 2024, the Company was awarded up to $15.0 million from CIRM to support the clinical development of ALLO-316, an AlloCAR TTM investigational product targeting CD70 in development for the treatment of advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Pursuant to terms of the award, the disbursements are tied to the achievement of specified operational milestones. In addition, the terms of the award include a co-funding requirement pursuant to which the Company is required to spend up to approximately $25.9 million of its own capital to fund the CIRM funded research project. The award was made in accordance with the CIRM Grants Administration Policy for Clinical Stage Projects which may require the award to be repaid by the Company. Under the terms of the CIRM award, the Company is obligated to pay royalties based on a low single digit royalty percentage on net sales of CIRM-funded product candidate. The maximum royalty that the Company may be required to pay to CIRM is equal to nine times the total amount awarded and paid to the Company.
After completing the CIRM funded research project and at any time after the award period end date (but no later than the ten-year anniversary of the date of the award), the Company has the right, upon its election, to convert the award into a loan. The terms of conversion into a loan will be determined based on various factors and could result in 80% to 100% plus interest at 10% per annum plus the Secured Overnight Financing Rate of the total award dependent upon the phase of clinical development of the product candidate at the time of the Company's election to be repaid to CIRM.
No income associated with the CIRM award will be recognized until it is confirmed with CIRM that the award does not require repayment. Upon cash receipt, the CIRM award and accrued interest will be recognized as other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. The Company will not recognize a receivable of future awards until it is approved by CIRM.
The Company received $2.3 million from CIRM through December 31, 2024 and accounted for the proceeds as a liability within other long-term liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets. During the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recorded interest expense of $0.2 million. As of December 31, 2024, $0.2 million of accrued interest was included in other long-term liabilities.
In February 2025, the Company met an additional operational milestone and received an additional award of $3.4 million from CIRM.
Note 6. License and Collaboration Agreements
Asset Contribution Agreement with Pfizer
In April 2018, the Company entered into an Asset Contribution Agreement (the Pfizer Agreement) with Pfizer pursuant to which the Company acquired certain assets, including certain contracts and intellectual property for the development and administration of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells for the treatment of cancer. The Company is required to make milestone payments upon successful completion of regulatory and sales milestones on a target-by-target basis for the targets including CD19 and B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA), covered by the Pfizer Agreement. The aggregate potential milestone payments upon successful completion of various regulatory milestones in the United States and the European Union are $30.0 million or $60.0 million, depending on the target, with aggregate potential regulatory and development milestones of up to $840.0 million. The aggregate potential milestone payments upon reaching certain annual net sales thresholds in North America, Europe, Asia, Australia and Oceania (the Territory) for a certain number of targets covered by the Pfizer Agreement are $325.0 million per target. The sales milestones in the foregoing sentence are payable on a country-by-country basis until the last to expire of any Pfizer Royalty Term, as described below, for any product in such country in the Territory. In October 2019, the Territory was expanded to all countries in the world. No milestone or royalty payments were made in the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023.
Pfizer is also eligible to receive, on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, royalties in single-digit percentages on annual net sales for products covered by the Pfizer Agreement. The Company’s royalty obligation with respect to a given product in a given country begins upon the first sale of such product in such country and ends on the later of (i) expiration of the last claim of any applicable patent or (ii) 12 years from the first sale of such product in such country.
Research Collaboration and License Agreement with Cellectis
As part of the Pfizer Agreement, Pfizer assigned to the Company a Research Collaboration and License Agreement (the Original Cellectis Agreement) with Cellectis S.A. (Cellectis). On March 8, 2019, the Company entered into a License Agreement (the Cellectis Agreement) with Cellectis. In connection with the execution of the Cellectis Agreement, on March 8, 2019, the Company and Cellectis also entered into a letter agreement (the Letter Agreement), pursuant to which the Company and Cellectis agreed to terminate the Original Cellectis Agreement. The Original Cellectis Agreement included a research collaboration to conduct discovery and pre-clinical development activities to generate CAR T cells directed at targets selected by each party, which was completed in June 2018.
Pursuant to the Cellectis Agreement, Cellectis granted to the Company an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing license, on a target-by-target basis, with sublicensing rights under certain conditions, under certain of Cellectis’s intellectual property, including its TALEN and electroporation technology, to make, use, sell, import, and otherwise exploit and commercialize CAR T products directed at certain targets, including BCMA, CD70, Claudin 18.2, DLL3 and FLT3 (the Allogene Targets), for human oncologic therapeutic, diagnostic, prophylactic and prognostic purposes. In addition, certain Cellectis intellectual property rights granted by Cellectis to the Company and to Servier pursuant to the Exclusive License and Collaboration Agreement by and between Servier and Pfizer, dated October 30, 2016, which Pfizer assigned to the Company in April 2018, will survive the termination of the Original Cellectis Agreement.
Pursuant to the Cellectis Agreement, the Company granted Cellectis a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual and irrevocable license, with sublicensing rights under certain conditions, under certain of the Company's intellectual property, to make, use, sell, import and otherwise commercialize CAR T products directed at certain targets (the Cellectis Targets).
The Cellectis Agreement provides for development and sales milestone payments by the Company of up to $185.0 million per product that is directed against an Allogene Target, with aggregate potential development and sales milestone payments totaling up to $2.8 billion. Cellectis is also eligible to receive tiered royalties on annual worldwide net sales of any products that are commercialized by the Company that contain or incorporate, are made using or are claimed or covered by, Cellectis intellectual property licensed to the Company under the Cellectis Agreement (the Allogene Products), at rates in the high single-digit percentages. Such royalties may be reduced, on a licensed product-by-licensed product and country-by-country basis, for generic entry and for payments due under licenses of third-party patents. Pursuant to the Cellectis Agreement, and subject to certain exceptions, the Company is required to indemnify Cellectis against all third-party claims related to the development, manufacturing, commercialization or use of any Allogene Product or arising out of the Company’s material breach of the representations, warranties or covenants set forth in the Cellectis Agreement, and Cellectis is required, subject to certain exceptions, to indemnify the Company against all third party claims related to the development, manufacturing, commercialization or use of CAR T products directed at Cellectis Targets or arising out of Cellectis’ material breach of the representations, warranties or covenants set forth in the Cellectis Agreement.
The royalties are payable, on a licensed product-by-licensed product and country-by-country basis, until the later of (i) the expiration of the last to expire of the licensed patents covering such product; (ii) the loss of regulatory exclusivity afforded such product in such country, and (iii) the tenth anniversary of the date of the first commercial sale of such product in such country; however, in no event shall such royalties be payable, with respect to a particular licensed product, past the twentieth anniversary of the first commercial sale for such product.
Depending on the Cellectis Target, the Company has a right of first refusal or right of first negotiation to purchase or license from Cellectis rights to develop and commercialize products against such Cellectis Targets.
Under the Cellectis Agreement, the Company has certain diligence obligations to progress the development of CAR T product candidates and to commercialize one CAR T product per Allogene Target in one major market country where the Company has received regulatory approval. If the Company materially breaches any of its diligence obligations and fails to cure within 90 days, then with respect to certain targets, such target will cease to be an Allogene Target and instead will become a Cellectis Target.
Unless earlier terminated in accordance with its terms, the Cellectis Agreement will expire on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, upon expiration of all royalty payment obligations with respect to such licensed product in such country. The Company has the right to terminate the Cellectis Agreement at will upon 60 days’ prior written notice, either in its entirety or on a target-by-target basis. Either party may terminate the Cellectis Agreement, in its entirety or on a target-by-target basis, upon 90 days’ prior written notice in the event of the other party’s uncured material breach. The Cellectis Agreement may also be terminated by the Company upon written notice at any time in the event that Cellectis becomes bankrupt or insolvent or upon written notice within 60 days of a consummation of a change of control of Cellectis.
All costs the Company incurred in connection with this agreement were recognized as research and development expenses in the consolidated statement of operations. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, no clinical development milestones were achieved.
Exclusive License Agreement with Servier
As part of the Pfizer Agreement, Pfizer assigned to the Company an Exclusive License Agreement (the Original Servier Agreement), with Les Laboratoires Servier SAS and Institut de Recherches Internationales Servier SAS (collectively, Servier) to develop, manufacture and commercialize certain allogeneic anti-CD19 CAR T cell product candidates, including UCART19, in the United States with the option to obtain the rights over additional anti-CD19 product candidates and for allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates directed against one additional target. In October 2019, the Company agreed to waive its rights to the one additional target.
Under the Original Servier Agreement, the Company has an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize licensed products directed against CD19, including UCART19, ALLO-501 and cemacabtagene ansegedleucel (cema-cel, previously ALLO-501A) (collectively, CD19 Products) in the field of anti-tumor adoptive immunotherapy in the United States, with an exclusive option to obtain the same rights for additional product candidates in the United States and, if Servier does not elect to pursue development or commercialization of those product candidates in certain markets outside of the United States pursuant to its license, outside of the United States as well. The Company is not required to make any additional payments to Servier to exercise an option. If the Company opts-in to another product candidate, Servier has the right to obtain rights to such product candidate outside the United States and to share development costs for such product candidate.
On May 10, 2024, the Company and Servier entered into an Amendment and Settlement Agreement (the Servier Amendment) which restructured the parties’ relationship under the Original Servier Agreement (as amended, the Servier Agreement). The Company’s licensed territory was expanded to include the European Union and the United Kingdom. The Company was also granted an option to further extend its licensed territory to include China and Japan upon the objective showing of sufficient resources to develop licensed products in those countries, which could be met through the Company entering into a strategic partnership covering those countries. Additionally, the Company agreed to waive certain of its rights under the Original Servier Agreement to elect a conversion of its license to the CD19 Products to a worldwide license. Under the Servier Agreement, the Company is required to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop, manufacture and commercialize a CD19 Product.
Under the Servier Agreement, Servier sublicenses to the Company certain rights which Servier licenses from Cellectis pursuant to a License, Development and Commercialization Agreement by and between Cellectis and Servier, dated February 7, 2014, as amended by Amendment No. 1 to the License, Development and Commercialization Agreement, dated March 4, 2020 (as amended, the Servier-Cellectis Agreement).
As amended by the Servier Amendment, all of the Company’s future milestone payments (regulatory and sales) under the Original Servier Agreement were modified to be the same as, and to coincide with, Servier’s milestone payments to Cellectis that are required under the Servier-Cellectis Agreement. The Servier Agreement provides for aggregate potential milestone payments by the Company to Servier of up to €75.0 million upon successful completion of various regulatory milestones and first commercial sale milestones in the United States, European Union and the United Kingdom for the initial indication of each licensed product, of which €60.0 million remains for the initial indication for cema-cel, with additional payments of €55.0 million, due for each subsequent indication, of which €50.0 million remains for the first subsequent indication for cema-cel, and aggregate potential payments by the Company to Servier of up to €80.0 million upon achievement of certain net sales milestones for each licensed product. Should Servier’s rights and obligations under the Servier-Cellectis Agreement be assigned to the Company, these milestone payments would terminate, and the Company would assume Servier’s milestone payment obligations to Cellectis. In the absence of any such assignment, Servier will remain responsible for making milestone payments that may be due to Cellectis under the Servier-Cellectis Agreement.
The Company transferred €20.0 million into an escrow account in connection with a potential future milestone payment, which is included in the remaining €60.0 million in milestone payments referenced above for the initial indication for cema-cel. Such milestone payment will be triggered, if at all, upon the occurrence of one of these events: (1) the Company doses the first subject in its first phase 3 clinical study for a CD19 CAR T product that is a licensed product under the Servier Agreement, (2) the Company submits a phase 2 clinical study for a licensed product to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the European Medicines Agency, and such phase 2 clinical study is accepted for regulatory approval as a pivotal study, or (3) a final and definitive decision of a tribunal or court finding that under the Servier-Cellectis Agreement the milestone has occurred and the €20.0 million payment is due to Cellectis. As of December 31, 2024, the Company recorded €20.0 million as deposit placed in escrow in the consolidated balance sheets.
The Company is obligated to pay to Servier royalties on annual net sales of any licensed products that are commercialized by the Company that are directed at CD19. Such royalties include tiered royalties on annual net sales in the United States and a flat royalty on annual net sales in territories outside the United States. The United States royalty rates are in a range from the low tens to the mid teen percentages, and the ex-U.S. royalty rate is 10%. Such royalties may be reduced for interchangeable drug entry, expiration of patent rights and amounts paid pursuant to licenses of third-party patents. This royalty obligation begins upon the first commercial sale of such product in a given country and ends after the later of a defined number of years or the expiration of the last to expire licensed patent covering the product in such country. The net effect of the Servier Amendment is that the Company’s royalty rate in the United States for the first half of the first tier of net sales was increased by a low single digit percentage as compared to the Original Servier Agreement. Should Servier’s rights and obligations under the Servier-Cellectis Agreement be assigned to the Company, each tier of royalty rates in the United States to Servier would be reduced by 10%, the ex-U.S. royalties to Servier would terminate, and the Company would assume Servier’s royalty obligations to Cellectis. In the absence of any such assignment, Servier will remain responsible for making royalty payments that may be due to Cellectis under the Servier-Cellectis Agreement.
The parties agreed that co-development performed by the Company and Servier under the Servier Agreement, including all development performed by Servier and for product candidates that the Company was co-developing with Servier (for which specified development costs were split under the Original Servier Agreement with the Company responsible for 60% and Servier responsible for 40%), including the CD19 Products, ceased as of December 15, 2022, and that all development costs incurred by either party after that date shall be borne solely by such party.
The parties agreed to waive any and all outstanding claims that were asserted relating to alleged violations of the Original Servier Agreement, including all claims that such party was entitled to various payments or refunds from the other party under the Original Servier Agreement, and any and all claims that either party now has or may have in the future related to such outstanding claims, and mutual releases with respect to such claims were granted.
The Company will recognize expense related to the revised milestones and royalties when payments become probable. There was no gain or loss related to the expanded license territories and ceased Servier co-development. For the year ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded $5.4 million and zero in research and development expenses upon achievement of a regulatory milestone, respectively.
Research Collaboration and License Agreement with Notch Therapeutics
On November 1, 2019, the Company entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement (the Notch Agreement) with Notch Therapeutics Inc. (Notch), pursuant to which Notch granted to Allogene an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing, sublicensable license under certain of Notch’s intellectual property to develop, make, use, sell, import, and otherwise commercialize therapeutic gene-edited T cell and/or natural killer (NK) cell products from induced pluripotent stem cells directed at certain CAR targets for initial application in non-Hodgkin lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and multiple myeloma.
In addition, Notch has granted Allogene an option to add certain specified targets to its exclusive license in exchange for an agreed per-target option fee.
The Notch Agreement includes a research collaboration to conduct research and pre-clinical development activities to generate engineered cells directed to Allogene’s exclusive targets, which will be conducted in accordance with an agreed research plan and budget under the oversight of a joint development committee. Allogene will reimburse Notch’s costs incurred in accordance with such plan and budget. Currently, there is no outstanding research plan or budget under the Notch Agreement. The term of the research collaboration will expire upon the earlier of (i) the fifth anniversary of the date of the Notch Agreement, (ii) at Allogene’s election, following the joint development committee’s determination that for each exclusive target, Notch has met certain success criteria, or (iii) the joint development committee’s determination that the research collaboration cannot be reasonably pursued against any exclusive target due to technical infeasibility or safety issues.
In connection with the execution of the Notch Agreement, Allogene made an upfront payment to Notch of $10.0 million in return for a license to access Notch's technology in order to conduct research pursuant to the Notch Agreement. In addition, Allogene made a $5.0 million investment in Notch’s series seed convertible preferred stock, resulting in Allogene having a 25% ownership interest in Notch’s outstanding capital stock on a fully diluted basis immediately following the investment. In connection with this investment, an Allogene representative served on the Notch Board of Directors. In February 2021, the Company made an additional $15.9 million investment in Notch's Series A preferred stock. In October 2021, the Company made an additional $1.8 million investment in Notch's common stock. Immediately following this transaction, the Company's share in Notch was 23% on a voting interest basis. On May 17, 2024, Notch closed a Series B preferred stock financing with a combination of new and existing investors (Notch Series B Financing). The Company did not participate in the Notch Series B Financing but received Series B preferred stock as part of its anti-dilution rights. Immediately following this transaction, the Company’s share in Notch was 13%. In connection with the Notch Series B Financing, the Company waived its right to appoint one member of the Notch board of directors, but retained board observation rights. The Company no longer has any significant influence over Notch and as a result of the decrease in ownership and influence, accounted for its investment in Notch as an equity investment measured at cost less any impairment effective May 17, 2024.
Under the Notch Agreement, Notch will be eligible to receive up to $7.3 million upon achieving certain agreed research milestones, up to $4.0 million per exclusive target upon achieving certain pre-clinical development milestones, and up to $283.0 million per exclusive target and cell type (i.e., T cell or NK cell) upon achieving certain clinical, regulatory and commercial milestones. Notch is also entitled to receive tiered royalties in the mid to high single digit range on Allogene’s sales of licensed products, subject to certain reductions, for a term, on a country-by-country and product-by-product basis, commencing on first commercial sale of such product in such country and continuing until the latest of (i) the date upon which there is no valid claim of the licensed patents in such country of sale that covers such product, (ii) the expiration of applicable data or other regulatory exclusivity in such country of sale or (iii) a defined period from the first commercial sale of such product in such country.
The terms of the Notch Agreement will continue on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis until Allogene’s payment obligations with respect to such product in such country have expired. Following such expiration, Allogene’s license with respect to such product and country shall be perpetual, irrevocable, fully paid up and royalty-free. Allogene may terminate the Collaboration Agreement in whole or on a product-by-product basis upon ninety days’ prior written notice to Notch. Either party may also terminate the Collaboration Agreement with written notice upon material breach by the other party, if such breach has not been cured within a defined period of receiving such notice, or in the event of the other party’s insolvency.
On January 25, 2024, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Collaboration and License Agreement (the Amended Notch Agreement) with Notch. The Amended Notch Agreement amends and restates the Notch Agreement. Under the Amended Notch Agreement, the Company has relinquished its exclusive rights to all original CAR targets (the Released Targets) except for one CAR target, and has agreed to limit its option right to only one additional CAR target. If the option is exercised, the Company will have a minimum funding commitment for the overall development program. If Notch subsequently out-licenses any of the Released Targets (whether through an out-license, partnership, sale, or other transaction), the Company will be entitled to receive a percentage of upfront and/or milestone payments associated therewith up to a set cap of $30.0 million, and will be entitled to a low, single-digit royalty on net sales of products containing a Released Target. In addition, with respect to the Company’s previous equity investment in Notch, the Amended Notch Agreement grants the Company certain anti-dilution protections up to certain limits for certain pre-IPO equity financings. As of December 31, 2024, no Released Targets were out-licensed by Notch. On May 17, 2024, in connection with the Notch Series B Financing the Company waived certain of its anti-dilution rights in exchange for a low single digit percentage reduction in the royalty rate for the royalties the Company is obliged to pay to Notch under our Notch intellectual property license should the Company commercialize a licensed product.
In January 2025, Notch announced that securing additional investment and/or additional partners to take their research forward remains challenging, and therefore they significantly reduced their workforce to preserve cash and provide the time to explore alternate paths forward.
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded zero and $1.8 million, respectively, in collaboration costs as research and development expenses. No milestones were achieved for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recorded $2.0 million in other expenses, net as impairment loss on its equity investment in Notch. For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recorded $3.0 million in other expenses, net as impairment loss on its equity method investment in Notch.
Strategic Alliance with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
On October 6, 2020, the Company entered into a strategic five-year collaboration agreement with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center (MD Anderson) for the preclinical and clinical investigation of allogeneic CAR T cell product candidates. The Company and MD Anderson are collaborating on the design and conduct of preclinical and clinical studies with oversight from a joint steering committee.
Under the terms of the agreement, the Company has committed up to $15.0 million of funding for the duration of the agreement. Payment of this funding is contingent on mutual agreement to study orders in order for any study to be included under the alliance. The Company made an upfront payment of $3.0 million to MD Anderson in the year ended December 31, 2020 and made an additional upfront payment of $3.0 million to MD Anderson in the year ended December 31, 2023. The Company is committed to make further payments to MD Anderson each year upon the anniversary of the agreement effective date through the duration of the agreement term, however, if MD Anderson has sufficient funds to continue the agreed-upon research projects, the Company may defer the additional payment to a later date. These costs are expensed to research and development as MD Anderson renders the services under the strategic alliance.
The agreement may be terminated by either party for material breach by the other party. Individual studies may be terminated for, among other things, material breach, health and safety concerns or where the institutional review board, the review board at the clinical site with oversight of the clinical study, requests termination of any study. Where any legal or regulatory authorization is finally withdrawn or terminated, the relevant study will also terminate automatically.
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded $1.6 million and $0.9 million, respectively, in collaboration costs under this agreement as research and development expenses.
Investment in and License Agreement with Overland Therapeutics, Inc.
Allogene Overland, later renamed Overland Therapeutics Inc. (Overland Therapeutics), was initially established as a joint venture by the Company and Overland Pharmaceuticals (CY) Inc. (Overland) pursuant to a Share Purchase Agreement (Share Purchase Agreement), dated December 14, 2020. Concurrently, on December 14, 2020, the Company entered into a License Agreement (License Agreement) with Allogene Overland for the purpose of developing, manufacturing and commercializing certain allogeneic CAR T cell therapies for patients in greater China, Taiwan, South Korea and Singapore (the JV Territory).
Pursuant to the Share Purchase Agreement, the Company acquired Seed Preferred Shares in Allogene Overland representing 49% of Allogene Overland's outstanding stock as partial consideration for the License Agreement, and Overland acquired Seed Preferred Shares representing 51% of Allogene Overland's outstanding stock for $117.0 million in upfront and certain quarterly cash payments, to support operations of Allogene Overland. The Company received $40.0 million from Allogene Overland as partial consideration for the License Agreement. Until the Organizational Restructuring (as defined below), the Company and Overland were the sole equity holders in Allogene Overland.
Pursuant to the License Agreement, the Company granted Allogene Overland an exclusive license to develop, manufacture and commercialize certain allogeneic CAR T cell candidates directed at four targets, BCMA, CD70, FLT3, and DLL3 (Overland Licensed Products), in the JV Territory. As consideration, the Company would also be entitled to additional regulatory milestone payments of up to $40.0 million and, subject to certain conditions, tiered low-to-mid single-digit sales royalties. Subsequent to entering into the License Agreement, Allogene Overland assigned the License Agreement to a wholly-owned subsidiary, Allogene Overland BioPharm (HK) Limited (Allogene Overland HK).
On April 1, 2022, Allogene Overland HK assigned the License Agreement to Allogene Overland Biopharm (PRC) Co., Limited (Allogene Overland PRC).
On May 24, 2024, the Company, Overland, and Allogene Overland entered into a Share Exchange Agreement (Share Exchange Agreement) pursuant to which Overland’s cell therapy business merged into Allogene Overland (the Organizational Restructuring).
Under the Share Exchange Agreement, Allogene Overland acquired from Overland a 100% equity interest in Overland Pharmaceuticals (US) Inc. (Overland US). Overland US includes certain research and development, clinical, and general and administrative staff, as well as select cell therapy assets, including its lead program, OL-101, an autologous GPRC5D-BCMA bispecific dual targeting CAR T for refractory multiple myeloma. Upon completion of the closing of the share exchange, Overland US became a wholly owned subsidiary of Allogene Overland, Overland’s ownership increased to 82% and the Company’s ownership decreased to 18%. Under a separate agreement between Overland and HH BioPharma Holdings Ltd. (HBP) executed on May 24, 2024, Overland distributed all Series Seed Preferred Shares of Allogene Overland held by Overland to HBP and HBP has assumed all rights and obligations attached to such shares and all rights and obligations of Overland under the Share Exchange Agreement.
In connection with the Organizational Restructuring, on May 24, 2024, the Company and Allogene Overland PRC, entered into a First Amendment to the License Agreement (the License Amendment) to amend and supplement certain provisions of the License Agreement. Under the License Amendment, the Company continues to grant Allogene Overland PRC an exclusive license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize the Licensed Products in the JV Territory, with the Company retaining exclusive rights to the Licensed Products outside the JV Territory, and the royalty obligations to the Company were amended to a flat mid single-digit royalty on net sales in the JV Territory that are no longer subject to reductions. The License Amendment also provides the Company with additional rights to terminate the License Agreement in its entirety or with respect to the relevant Overland Licensed Products if Allogene Overland PRC fails to initiate manufacturing technology transfer with respect to an Overland Licensed Product as agreed in the License Amendment, or if HBP commits a funding default or a material breach of its representations, warranties, or covenants under the Share Exchange Agreement. The License Amendment also provides that the License Agreement will terminate automatically if the Company’s ownership in Allogene Overland falls below 7.5% (other than due to the Company’s sale of the shares of Allogene Overland), unless at that time Allogene Overland PRC and the Company have mutually agreed on the manufacturing technology transfer plan for the Overland Licensed Products and Allogene Overland PRC elects to continue the license for such Overland Licensed Products with increased milestones and royalties. Under the License Amendment terms such increased milestones and royalties consist of up to $115.0 million in milestone payments for each Overland Licensed Product and tiered mid single-digit to low double-digit royalties on net sales in the JV Territory.
As part of the Organizational Restructuring, Allogene Overland was renamed Overland Therapeutics Inc. (Overland Therapeutics).
Based on the License Agreement, promises that the Company concluded were distinct performance obligations included: (1) the license of intellectual property and delivery of know-how, (2) the manufacturing license, related know-how and support, (3) know-how developed in future periods, and (4) participation in the joint steering committee.
In order to determine the transaction price, the Company evaluated all the consideration to be received over the duration of the contract. Fixed consideration exists in the form of the upfront payment and Seed Preferred Shares in Overland Therapeutics. Regulatory milestones and royalties were considered variable consideration. The Company constrains the estimated variable consideration when it assesses it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized may occur in future periods. Milestone fees were constrained and not included in the transaction price due to the uncertainties of research and development. The Company re-evaluates the transaction price, including the estimated variable consideration included in the transaction price and all constrained amounts, in each reporting period and as uncertain events are resolved or other changes in circumstances occur.
The Company estimated the fair value of the shares of Seed Preferred Stock at $79.0 million, using probability adjusted future cash infusions based on the upfront and certain quarterly cash payments of $117.0 million committed by Overland. The probability for the future quarterly cash payments of 65% was developed based on consideration of the Company's expectations for future cash infusions from Overland and was applied on a cumulative basis for each quarterly payment. The present value of the future quarterly cash payments was estimated using 11.9% annual discount rate. The fair value measurement is based on significant inputs not observable in the market and, therefore, represents a Level 3 measurement.
The Company determined that the initial transaction price consists of the upfront payment of $40.0 million and noncash consideration of $79.0 million received in the form of the shares of Seed Preferred Stock. The allocation of the transaction price is performed based on standalone selling prices, which are based on estimated amounts that the Company would charge for a performance obligation if it were sold separately. The initial transaction price of $119.0 million was allocated as follows: (i) $114.0 million to the license of intellectual property and know-how, which was recognized upon grant of license and delivery of know-how in the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 when the know-how was delivered; (ii) $2.3 million to the manufacturing license, related know-how and support, which will be recognized as services are delivered; (iii) $2.1 million to the know-how developed in future periods, which will be recognized as services are delivered, and (iv) $0.6 million to participation in the joint steering committee, which will be recognized over time as the services are delivered. Funds received in advance are recorded as deferred revenue and will be recognized as the performance obligations are satisfied.
Based on the License Amendment, the Company determined that the remaining transaction price was $4.6 million and it was allocated as follows: (i) $1.9 million to the manufacturing license, related know-how and support, which will be recognized as services are delivered and (ii) $2.7 million to the know-how developed in future periods, which will be recognized as services are delivered. As of December 31, 2024, $4.6 million of deferred revenue was recorded in other long-term liabilities.
The Company determined that Overland Therapeutics is a variable interest entity as of December 31, 2024 and 2023. The Company does not have the power to direct the activities which most significantly affect Overland Therapeutics’ economic performance. Accordingly, the Company did not consolidate Overland Therapeutics because the Company determined that it was not the primary beneficiary. After the Organizational Restructuring, the Company has 20% voting rights of Overland Therapeutics’ board of directors. The Company concluded that it has significant influence over Overland Therapeutics and continued to account for its investment in Overland Therapeutics as an equity method investment. In connection with the Organizational Restructuring, the Company recorded an increase in its equity method investment in Overland Therapeutics and corresponding gain of $1.1 million. The Company’s total equity investment in Overland Therapeutics was zero as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 (see Note 8). For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recognized less than $0.1 million of collaboration revenue.
Collaboration and License Agreement with Antion
On January 5, 2022, the Company entered into an exclusive collaboration and global license agreement (Antion Collaboration and License Agreement) with Antion Biosciences SA (Antion) for Antion’s miRNA technology (miCAR), to advance multiplex gene silencing as an additional tool to develop next generation allogeneic CAR T products. Pursuant to the agreement, Antion will exclusively collaborate with the Company on oncology products for a defined period. The Company will also have exclusive worldwide rights to commercialize products incorporating Antion technology developed during the collaboration.
The Antion Collaboration and License Agreement includes an exclusive research collaboration to conduct research and development of the use of Antion’s proprietary technologies to produce certain products for a defined period, which will be conducted in accordance with an agreed research plan and budget under the oversight of a joint steering committee. The Company will reimburse Antion's costs incurred in accordance with such plan and budget.
In connection with the execution of the Antion Collaboration and License Agreement, the Company made an upfront payment to Antion of $3.5 million in return for a license to access Antion's technology in order to conduct research pursuant to the agreement. The upfront payment was fully recognized as research and development expense as the license had no foreseeable alternative future use. In addition, the Company made a $3.0 million investment in Antion's preferred stock. The Company accounts for its investment in Antion's preferred stock as an equity investment measured at cost less any impairment. In connection with this investment, a Company representative was appointed to Antion’s Board of Directors.
In July 2023, the Company and Antion entered into an amendment to the Antion Collaboration and License Agreement. Under the terms of this amendment, Antion's exclusivity obligation relating to the collaboration was terminated; however, Antion agreed to certain restrictions on its ability to pursue products directed against specific targets. Also, in lieu of the Company's prior obligation to make a $3.0 million investment in Antion following the completion of certain milestones, the Company agreed to make a $2.0 million investment in Antion's preferred stock and acquired warrants to purchase an additional $3.0 million of Antion's preferred stock.
Under the Antion Collaboration and License Agreement, Antion will be eligible to receive up to $35.3 million for four products upon achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones. For each additional product, Antion will be eligible to receive $2.0 million upon achievement of a regulatory milestone.
Antion is also entitled to receive a low single-digit royalty on the Company’s sales of licensed products, subject to certain reductions.
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded zero and $1.8 million, respectively, in research and development expenses related to the upfront payment and collaboration costs. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded zero and $0.4 million, respectively, in research and development expenses related to the achievement of a milestone under the Antion Collaboration and License Agreement. For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recorded zero and $4.0 million, respectively, in other expenses, net as impairment loss on its equity investment in Antion.
Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Foresight Diagnostics
On January 3, 2024, the Company entered into a Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Foresight Diagnostics, Inc. (Foresight Diagnostics) (the Foresight Agreement). Pursuant to the Foresight Agreement, the parties have agreed to collaborate on a non-exclusive basis in the development of Foresight Diagnostics’ minimal residual disease (MRD) assay based on their PhasED-Seq Circulating Tumor DNA Platform as an in vitro diagnostic to identify the MRD+ patient population to be enrolled in the Company’s ALPHA3 trial of cema-cel, for treatment of large B cell lymphoma. Under the Foresight Agreement, the Company has agreed to use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain regulatory approval of cema-cel, and Foresight Diagnostics has agreed to use its commercially reasonable efforts to obtain regulatory approval of its MRD assay for use as an in vitro diagnostic with cema-cel. Under the Foresight Agreement, the Company has agreed to fund approximately $26.2 million in MRD assay development costs, milestone payments for regulatory submissions and assay utilization to process clinical samples.
On February 19, 2025, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Foresight Diagnostics which expands our collaboration to include the development of Foresight Diagnostics’ MRD assay as a companion diagnostic for use with cema-cel as part of a possible EU and/or UK clinical development program, and as part of an expansion of ALPHA3 to Canadian and Australian clinical trial sites in support of our US clinical development program. In total, we have agreed to fund approximately $37.3 million in MRD assay development costs, milestone payments for U.S., and certain international regulatory submissions and assay utilization costs to process clinical samples, all in addition to the financial commitments under the Foresight Agreement.
For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recorded $3.5 million of research and development expenses related to clinical trials start readiness milestones.
Note 7. Commitments and Contingencies
Leases
In August 2018, the Company entered into an operating lease agreement (HQ Lease) for office and laboratory space which consists of approximately 68,000 square feet located in South San Francisco, California. The lease term was 127 months beginning August 2018 through February 2029 with an option to extend the term for seven years which was not reasonably assured of exercise. The Company has made certain tenant improvements, including the addition of laboratory space, and has received $5.0 million of tenant improvement allowances through December 31, 2020. The rent payments began on March 1, 2019 after an abatement period. In December 2021, the Company amended its lease agreement to lease an additional 47,566 square feet of office and laboratory space in South San Francisco, California, as part of the same building as the Company’s current headquarters. The lease term commenced in April 2022 and is for a period of 120 months. The rent payments for the expansion premises began in August 2022 after an abatement period. The lease term for the existing premises was also extended and the lease for both the existing and expansion premises will expire on March 31, 2032 with an option to extend the term for eight years which is not reasonably assured of exercise.
In October 2018, the Company entered into an operating lease agreement for office and laboratory space which consists of 14,943 square feet located in South San Francisco, California. The lease term was 124 months beginning November 2018 through February 2029, with an option to extend the term for another seven years which was not reasonably assured of exercise. The Company has made certain tenant improvements, including the upgrading of current office and laboratory space with a lease incentive allowance of $0.8 million. Rent payments began in November 2018. In December 2021, the Company amended its lease agreement to extend the term of the lease to be co-terminus with the HQ Lease. The lease term will expire on March 31, 2032 with an option to extend the term for eight years which is not reasonably assured of exercise.
In February 2019, the Company entered into a lease agreement for approximately 118,000 square feet of space to develop a cell therapy manufacturing facility in Newark, California. The lease term is 188 months and began in November 2020. Upon certain conditions, the Company has two ten-year options to extend the lease, both of which are not reasonably assured of exercise. The Company has received $3.0 million of tenant improvement allowances for costs related to the design and construction of certain Company improvements.
In February 2023, the Company entered into a sublease with Bellco Capital Advisors Inc. (Bellco) for 2,218 square feet of office space in Los Angeles, California. The sublease term is 115 months, subject to certain early termination rights. The sublease commenced on January 1, 2024.
The Company maintains letters of credit for the benefit of landlords which is disclosed as restricted cash in the consolidated balance sheets. Restricted cash related to letters of credit due to landlords was $6.0 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023.
The balance sheet classification of our lease liabilities were as follows (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, 2024 |
|
December 31, 2023 |
Operating lease liabilities |
|
|
|
|
Current portion included in accrued and other current liabilities |
|
$ |
7,509 |
|
|
$ |
6,775 |
|
Long-term portion of lease liabilities |
|
83,247 |
|
|
88,346 |
|
Total operating lease liabilities |
|
$ |
90,756 |
|
|
$ |
95,121 |
|
The components of lease costs for operating leases, which were recognized in operating expenses, were as follows (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
Operating lease cost |
|
$ |
11,468 |
|
|
$ |
12,711 |
|
Variable lease cost |
|
3,105 |
|
|
3,102 |
|
Total lease costs |
|
$ |
14,573 |
|
|
$ |
15,813 |
|
Cash paid for amounts included in the measurement of lease liabilities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $12.5 million and was included in net cash used in operating activities in the Company's consolidated statements of cash flows.
The undiscounted future non-cancellable lease payments under the Company's operating leases as of December 31, 2024 is as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year ending December 31: |
|
(in thousands) |
2025 |
|
$ |
12,921 |
|
2026 |
|
13,164 |
|
2027 |
|
13,613 |
|
2028 |
|
14,078 |
|
2029 and thereafter |
|
65,390 |
|
Total undiscounted lease payments |
|
119,166 |
|
Less: Present value adjustment |
|
(28,410) |
|
Total |
|
$ |
90,756 |
|
Operating lease liabilities are based on the net present value of the remaining lease payments over the remaining lease term. In determining the present value of lease payments, the Company uses its estimated incremental borrowing rate. The weighted average discount rate used to determine the operating lease liability was 6.26%. As of December 31, 2024, the weighted average remaining lease term for our operating leases is 8.11 years.
The Company did not incur any significant rent expense for short-term leases for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Certain lease agreements require the Company to return designated areas of leased space to its original condition upon termination of the lease agreement. At the inception of such leases, the Company records an asset retirement obligation and a corresponding capital asset in an amount equal to the estimated fair value of the obligation.
To determine the fair value of the obligation, the Company estimates the cost for a third-party to perform the restoration work. In subsequent periods, for each asset retirement obligation, the Company records interest expense to accrete the asset retirement obligation liability to full value and depreciate each capitalized asset retirement obligation asset, both over the term of the associated lease agreement. Asset retirement obligations were $0.7 million and $0.6 million as of December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Other Commitments
Solar Power Purchase and Energy Services Agreement
In July 2020, the Company entered into a Solar Power Purchase and Energy Services Agreement for the installation and operation of a solar photovoltaic generating system and battery energy storage system at the Company's cell therapy manufacturing facility in Newark, California. The agreement has a term of 20 years and commenced in September 2022. The Company is obligated to pay for electricity generated from the system at an agreed rate for the duration of the agreement term. Termination of the agreement by the Company will result in a termination payment due of approximately $4.3 million. In connection with the agreement, the Company maintains a letter of credit for the benefit of the service provider in the amount of $4.3 million which is recorded as restricted cash in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2024 and 2023.
License Agreements for Intellectual Property
The Company has entered into certain license agreements for intellectual property which is used as part of its development and manufacturing processes. Each of these respective agreements are generally cancellable by the Company. These agreements require payment of annual license fees and may include conditional milestone payments for achievement of specific research, clinical and commercial events, and royalty payments. The timing and likelihood of any significant conditional milestone payments or royalty payments becoming due was not probable as of December 31, 2024.
Contingencies
In the normal course of business, the Company enters into contracts and agreements that contain a variety of representations and warranties and provide for general indemnifications. The Company’s exposure under these agreements is unknown, because it involves claims that may be made against the Company in the future, but have not yet been made. The Company accrues a liability for such matters when it is probable that future expenditures will be made and such expenditures can be reasonably estimated.
Indemnification
In accordance with the Company’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws, the Company has indemnification obligations to its officers and directors for certain events or occurrences, subject to certain limits, while they are serving in such capacity. There have been no claims to date, and the Company has a directors and officers liability insurance policy that may enable it to recover a portion of any amounts paid for future claims.
Note 8. Equity Investments and Equity Method Investments
Notch Therapeutics
In conjunction with the execution of the Notch Agreement (see Note 6), the Company also entered into a Share Purchase Agreement with the Company acquiring shares of Notch’s Series Seed convertible preferred stock for a total investment cost of $5.1 million which includes transaction costs of $0.1 million, resulting in a 25% ownership interest in Notch. In February 2021, the Company made a $15.9 million investment in Notch's Series A preferred stock. Immediately following this transaction, the Company's share in Notch was 20.7% on a voting interest basis. In October 2021, the Company made an additional $1.8 million investment in Notch's common stock. Immediately following this transaction, the Company's share in Notch was 23.0% on a voting interest basis. On May 17, 2024, Notch closed the Notch Series B Financing which caused the Company’s share in Notch to decrease to 13% immediately following this transaction.
Accordingly, effective May 17, 2024, the Company started to account for its investment in Notch as an equity investment measured at cost less impairment. The Company’s total equity investment in Notch as of December 31, 2024 was zero . The Company’s total equity investment in Notch as of December 31, 2023 was $3.6 million and the Company accounted for the investment using the equity method of accounting. For the year to date period through May 17, 2024, the Company recognized its share of Notch’s net loss of $1.7 million under the other expenses, net caption within the consolidated statements of operations.
For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized its share of Notch’s net loss of $6.2 million under the other expenses, net caption within the consolidated statements of operations. As of December 31, 2024, the Company's equity investment in Notch was categorized as Level 3 within the fair value hierarchy. During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company recognized $2.0 million and $3.0 million, respectively, of impairment loss under the other expenses, net caption within the consolidated statements of operations.
Overland Therapeutics, Inc.
In conjunction with the execution of the License Agreement with Allogene Overland (see Note 6), the Company also entered into the Share Purchase Agreement and a Shareholders’ Agreement with the joint venture company acquiring shares of Allogene Overland’s Seed Preferred Shares representing a 49% ownership interest in exchange for entering into a License Agreement. Upon completion of the Organizational Restructuring, Overland’s ownership in Allogene Overland increased to 82% and the Company’s ownership decreased to 18%. As part of the Organizational Restructuring, Overland distributed all Series Seed Preferred Shares of Allogene Overland held by Overland to HBP and Allogene Overland was renamed to Overland Therapeutics.
The Company's total equity investment in Overland Therapeutics as of December 31, 2024 and 2023 was zero and the Company accounted for the investment using the equity method of accounting. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recognized its gain from the Organizational Restructuring of $1.1 million which was offset by its share of Overland Therapeutics' net loss of $1.1 million under the other expenses, net caption within the consolidated statement of operations. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized its share of Overland Therapeutics' net loss of $4.5 million under the other expenses, net caption within the consolidated statement of operations.
Note 9. Stockholders’ Equity
Preferred Stock
Pursuant to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation filed on October 15, 2018, as amended, the Company is authorized to issue a total of 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, of which no shares were issued and outstanding at December 31, 2024 and 2023.
Common Stock
Pursuant to the Certificate of Amendment of Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation filed on June 17, 2022, the Company is authorized to issue a total of 400,000,000 shares of common stock, of which 212,210,597 and 168,642,238 shares were issued and outstanding at December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Common stockholders are entitled to dividends if and when declared by the Company’s Board of Directors subject to the prior rights of the preferred stockholders. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, no dividends on common stock had been declared by the Company’s Board of Directors.
Note 10. Stock-Based Compensation
2018 Equity Incentive Plan
In June 2018, the Company adopted its 2018 Equity Incentive Plan (Prior 2018 Plan). The Prior 2018 Plan provided for the Company to sell or issue common stock or restricted common stock, or to grant incentive stock options or nonqualified stock options for the purchase of common stock, to employees, members of the Company’s Board of Directors and consultants of the Company under terms and provisions established by the Company’s Board of Directors. In September 2018, the Board of Directors adopted a new amended and restated 2018 Equity Incentive Plan as a successor to and continuation of the Prior 2018 Plan, which became effective in October 2018 (the 2018 Plan), which authorized additional shares for issuance and provided for an automatic annual increase to the number of shares issuable under the 2018 Plan by an amount equal to 5% of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding on December 31st of the preceding calendar year. The term of any stock option granted under the 2018 Plan cannot exceed 10 years. The Company generally grants stock-based awards with service conditions only. Options granted typically vest over a four-year period but may be granted with different vesting terms. Restricted Stock Units granted typically vest annually over a four-year period but may be granted with different vesting terms. Options shall not have an exercise price less than 100% of the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the grant date. If the individual possesses more than 10% of the combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company, the exercise price shall not be less than 110% of the fair market value of a common share of stock on the date of grant.
This requirement is applicable to incentive stock options only.
As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there were 8,838,676 and 6,468,650 shares reserved by the Company under the 2018 Plan for the future issuance of equity awards.
Stock Option Exchange Program
On June 21, 2022, the Company commenced an offer to exchange certain eligible options held by eligible employees of the Company for new options (the Exchange Offer). The Exchange Offer expired on July 19, 2022. Pursuant to the Exchange Offer, 199 eligible holders elected to exchange, and the Company accepted for cancellation, eligible options to purchase an aggregate of 3,666,600 shares of the Company’s common stock, representing approximately 93.5% of the total shares of common stock underlying the eligible options. On July 19, 2022, immediately following the expiration of the Exchange Offer, the Company granted new options to purchase 3,666,600 shares of common stock, pursuant to the terms of the Exchange Offer and the 2018 Plan. The exercise price of the new options granted pursuant to the Exchange Offer was $13.31 per share, which was the closing price of the common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the grant date of the new options. The new options are subject to a new three-year vesting schedule, vesting in equal annual installments over the vesting term. Each new option has a maximum term of seven years.
The exchange of stock options was treated as a modification for accounting purposes. The incremental expense of $5.2 million for the modified options was calculated using a lattice option pricing model. The incremental expense and the unamortized expense remaining on the exchanged options as of the modification date are being recognized over the new three-year service period.
Stock Option Activity
The following summarizes option activity under the 2018 Plan:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding Options |
|
Number of
Options
|
|
Weighted-
Average
Exercise Price
|
|
Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contract
Term
|
|
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in years) |
|
(in thousands) |
Balance, December 31, 2023 |
21,812,946 |
|
|
$ |
9.93 |
|
|
7.53 |
|
$ |
662 |
|
Options granted |
6,211,389 |
|
|
3.08 |
|
|
8.69 |
|
|
Options exercised |
(357,993) |
|
|
2.27 |
|
|
|
|
$ |
597 |
|
Options forfeited |
(3,481,458) |
|
|
10.93 |
|
|
|
|
|
Balance, December 31, 2024 |
24,184,884 |
|
|
$ |
8.14 |
|
|
7.53 |
|
$ |
1 |
|
Exercisable, December 31, 2024 |
17,673,060 |
|
|
$ |
9.63 |
|
|
7.11 |
|
$ |
— |
|
Vested and expected to vest, December 31, 2024 |
24,184,884 |
|
|
$ |
8.14 |
|
|
7.53 |
|
$ |
— |
|
The aggregate intrinsic values of options exercised, outstanding, exercisable, vested and expected to vest were calculated as the difference between the exercise price of the options and the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on December 31, 2024. The aggregate intrinsic value of options exercised during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023 was $0.6 million and $2.3 million, respectively. During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, the estimated weighted-average grant-date fair value of employee options granted was $2.05 per share and $3.33 per share, respectively. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was $35.5 million and $58.1 million, respectively, of unrecognized stock-based compensation related to unvested stock options, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.85 years and 2.42 years, respectively.
The fair value of employee, consultant and director stock option awards was estimated at the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
Fair value of common stock |
$1.40 - $3.32 |
|
$2.72 - $7.23 |
Expected term in years |
5.02 - 6.25 |
|
5.27 - 6.08 |
Expected volatility |
72.85% - 74.09% |
|
73.18% - 74.10% |
Expected risk-free interest rate |
3.42% - 4.32% |
|
3.45% - 4.61% |
Expected dividend |
0% |
|
0% |
The Black-Scholes option-pricing model and the lattice option pricing model require the use of subjective assumptions which determine the fair value of stock-based awards. These assumptions include:
Fair value of common stock— For all grants subsequent to the Company’s IPO in October 2018, the fair value of common stock was determined by taking the closing price per share of common stock per Nasdaq.
Expected term— The expected term represents the period that stock-based awards are expected to be outstanding. The expected term for option grants is determined using the simplified method. The simplified method deems the term to be the average of the time-to-vesting and the contractual life of the stock-based awards.
Expected volatility— Prior to November 2024, the Company used an average historical stock price volatility of comparable public companies within the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry that were deemed to be representative of future stock price trends as the Company does not have sufficient trading history for its common stock. For grants subsequent to October 2024, the Company uses an average historical stock price volatility of its common stock as it accumulated sufficient historical stock price data.
Risk-free interest rate—The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury zero coupon issues in effect at the time of grant for periods corresponding with the expected term of option.
Expected dividend—The Company has never paid dividends on its common stock and has no plans to pay dividends on its common stock. Therefore, the Company used an expected dividend yield of zero.
Expected exercise barrier - The modified options are assumed to be exercised upon vesting and when the ratio of stock market price to exercise price reaches 2.57, or expiration, whichever is earlier.
Restricted Stock Unit Activity
The following summarizes restricted stock unit activity under the 2018 Plan:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding Restricted Stock Units |
|
Restricted Stock Units |
|
Weighted- Average Grant Date Fair Value per Share |
|
Weighted Average Remaining Vesting Life |
|
Aggregate Intrinsic Value |
|
|
|
|
|
(in years) |
|
(in thousands) |
Unvested December 31, 2023 |
12,180,471 |
|
|
$ |
6.68 |
|
|
2.00 |
|
$ |
39,099 |
|
Granted |
5,625,325 |
|
|
3.94 |
|
|
1.24 |
|
|
Vested |
(2,168,832) |
|
|
9.48 |
|
|
|
|
|
Forfeited |
(2,293,171) |
|
|
7.82 |
|
|
|
|
|
Unvested December 31, 2024 |
13,343,793 |
|
|
$ |
4.87 |
|
|
1.58 |
|
$ |
28,422 |
|
Vested and expected to vest, December 31, 2024 |
13,343,793 |
|
|
$ |
4.87 |
|
|
1.58 |
|
$ |
28,422 |
|
For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company granted 35,000 performance-based restricted stock units to certain executive officers and other employees pursuant to the 2018 Plan. These awards are subject to the holders' continuous service to the Company through each applicable vesting event.
Through December 31, 2024, the Company believes that the achievement of the requisite performance conditions for these awards are not probable. As a result, no compensation expense has been recognized related to the performance-based restricted stock units in the year ended December 31, 2024. The Company recognized $2.4 million and $2.2 million in stock-based compensation expense related to the restricted units with a market condition for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, total fair value of vested restricted stock units, performance based restricted stock units and restricted stock units with a market condition as of their grant dates was $20.6 million, and $33.3 million, respectively. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was $33.7 million and $50.7 million, respectively, of unrecognized stock-based compensation which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.10 years and 2.36 years, respectively.
Employee Stock Purchase Plan
In October 2018, the stockholders approved the 2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP), which initially reserved 1,160,000 shares of the Company's common stock for employee purchases under terms and provisions established by the Board of Directors. Effective January 1, 2024 and 2023, the number of shares authorized under the ESPP for employee purchases increased by 1,686,422 and 1,444,383 shares, respectively. The ESPP is intended to qualify as an "employee stock purchase plan" under Section 423 of the Internal Revenue Code. Under the current offering adopted pursuant to the ESPP, each offering period is approximately 24 months, which is generally divided into four purchase periods of approximately six months.
Employees are eligible to participate if they are employed by the Company. Under the ESPP, employees may purchase common stock through payroll deductions at a price equal to 85% of the lower of the fair market value of common stock on the first trading day of each offering period or on the purchase date. The ESPP provides for consecutive, overlapping 24-month offering periods. The offering periods are scheduled to start on the first trading day on or after March 16 or September 16 of each year, except for the first offering period which commenced on October 11, 2018, the first trading day after the effective date of the Company’s registration statement. Contributions under the ESPP are limited to a maximum of 15% of an employee’s eligible compensation.
The fair values of the rights granted under the ESPP were calculated using the following assumptions:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year ended December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
Expected term (in years) |
0.50 – 2.00 |
|
0.50 – 2.00 |
Volatility |
76.16% – 88.69% |
|
67.32% – 85.05% |
Risk-free interest rate |
3.49% – 5.25% |
|
4.05% – 5.35% |
Dividend yield |
0% |
|
0% |
Stock-based compensation expense
The following table presents stock-based compensation expense by award type that was recorded as research development and general and administrative expense in its consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
Stock options |
|
$ |
27,817 |
|
|
$ |
34,350 |
|
Restricted stock units, performance based restricted stock units and restricted stock units with a market condition |
|
21,997 |
|
|
28,497 |
|
Employee stock purchase plan |
|
1,929 |
|
|
3,104 |
|
Total stock-based compensation expense |
|
$ |
51,743 |
|
|
$ |
65,951 |
|
Note 11. Related Party Transactions
Collaboration Revenue and Equity Method Investment
In December 2020, the Company entered into the License Agreement with Overland Therapeutics, a corporate joint venture entity and related party (see Note 6). The License Agreement was subsequently assigned to a wholly owned subsidiary of Allogene Overland, Allogene Overland HK. On April 1, 2022, Allogene Overland HK assigned the License Agreement to Allogene Overland Biopharm (PRC) Co., Limited. On May 24, 2024, the License Agreement was amended.
Consulting Agreements
In June 2018, the Company entered into a services agreement with Two River Consulting LLC (Two River) a firm affiliated with the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer, the Company’s Executive Chair of the board of directors, and a director of the Company to provide various managerial, clinical development, administrative, accounting and financial services to the Company. In December 2023, the service agreement between the Company and Two River was terminated. The cost incurred for services provided under this agreement was $0.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2023.
In August 2018, the Company entered into a consulting agreement with Bellco Capital LLC (Bellco). Pursuant to the consulting agreement, Bellco provides certain services for the Company, which are performed by Dr. Belldegrun, the Company's executive chair, and include without limitation, providing advice and analysis with respect to the Company’s business, business strategy and potential opportunities in the field of allogeneic CAR T cell therapy and any other aspect of the CAR T cell therapy business as the Company may agree. In consideration for these services, the Company paid Bellco $38,583 per month in arrears commencing January 2021 and $40,217 per month in arrears commencing January 2022. The Company may also, at its discretion, pay Bellco an annual performance award in an amount up to 60% of the aggregate compensation payable to Bellco in a calendar year. The Company also reimburses Bellco for out of pocket expenses incurred in performing the services. The costs incurred for services provided, bonus and out-of-pocket expenses incurred under this consulting agreement were $0.7 million and $0.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
As of both December 31, 2024 and 2023, amount due to Bellco of $0.2 million was recorded in accrued and other current liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.
Sublease Agreements
In December 2018, the Company entered into a sublease with Bellco Capital LLC for 1,293 square feet of office space in Los Angeles, California for a three year term. On April 1, 2020, Bellco assumed all rights, title, interests and obligations under the sublease from Bellco Capital LLC. In November 2021, the sublease was extended to June 30, 2025. The sublease was amended, effective in July 2022, to move to a nearby location, with office space of 737 square feet. The Company’s executive chairman, Arie Belldegrun, M.D., is a trustee of the Belldegrun Family Trust, which controls Bellco. In 2023, the Company exercised its early termination right under the sublease agreement and the sublease was terminated effective December 31, 2023.
In February 2023, the Company entered into a new subleased agreement with Bellco for 2,218 square feet of office space in Los Angeles, California, from Bellco. The sublease term is 115 months, subject to certain early termination rights. The sublease commenced on January 1, 2024. The total right of use asset and associated liability recorded related to this related party lease was $2.2 million and $2.5 million, respectively, as of December 31, 2024. The Company paid approximately $0.2 million towards its share of the security deposit. For the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company recorded $0.3 million of rent expense related to this lease.
Note 12. 401(k) Plan
In April 2018, the Company began to sponsor a 401(k) retirement savings plan for the benefit of its employees. All employees are eligible to participate, provided they meet the requirements of the plan. The Company made contributions to the plan for eligible participants, and recorded contribution expenses of $1.9 million and $2.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Note 13. Income Taxes
The Company has incurred net operating losses for all the periods presented. The Company has not reflected any benefit of such net operating loss carryforwards in the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
The Company has established a full valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets due to the uncertainty surrounding the realization of such assets.
The Company's income tax expense consists of the following:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|
|
|
|
|
(in thousands) |
Current: |
|
|
|
Federal |
— |
|
|
— |
|
State |
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
— |
|
Deferred: |
|
|
|
Federal |
443 |
|
|
— |
|
State |
— |
|
|
— |
|
|
443 |
|
|
— |
|
Provision (benefit) for income taxes |
$ |
443 |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
Reconciliation of the benefit for income taxes calculated at the statutory rate to our benefit for income taxes is as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|
|
|
|
|
(in thousands) |
Tax benefit at federal statutory rate |
$ |
(54,001) |
|
|
$ |
(68,725) |
|
State taxes, net of federal benefit |
1,954 |
|
|
(21,610) |
|
Stock-based compensation |
9,413 |
|
|
11,442 |
|
Research tax credits |
(2,793) |
|
|
(3,873) |
|
Change in valuation allowance |
45,661 |
|
|
82,526 |
|
Other |
209 |
|
|
240 |
|
Benefit for incomes taxes |
$ |
443 |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of (a) temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes, and (b) operating losses and tax credit carryforwards.
Significant components of our deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|
|
|
|
|
(in thousands) |
Deferred tax assets: |
|
|
|
Net operating loss carryforwards |
$ |
243,798 |
|
|
$ |
211,124 |
|
Tax credit carryforwards |
37,108 |
|
|
32,826 |
|
Intangibles |
10,757 |
|
|
14,524 |
|
Accrued expenses |
2,710 |
|
|
3,039 |
|
Lease liabilities |
22,085 |
|
|
26,358 |
|
Stock based compensation |
21,871 |
|
|
25,350 |
|
Investments |
26,009 |
|
|
28,735 |
|
Capitalized R&D |
89,090 |
|
|
73,492 |
|
Other |
2,396 |
|
|
2,189 |
|
Total deferred tax assets |
455,824 |
|
|
417,637 |
|
Deferred tax liabilities: |
|
|
|
Right of use leased assets |
(11,000) |
|
|
(17,652) |
|
Other |
(36) |
|
|
(301) |
|
Total deferred tax liabilities |
(11,036) |
|
|
(17,953) |
|
Net deferred tax assets |
444,788 |
|
|
399,684 |
|
Valuation allowance |
(444,788) |
|
|
(399,684) |
|
Net deferred tax assets |
$ |
— |
|
|
$ |
— |
|
Realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon future earnings, if any, the timing and amount of which are uncertain. Due to the lack of earnings history, the net deferred tax assets have been fully offset by a valuation allowance. The valuation allowance increased by approximately $45.2 million and $80.1 million during the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
The following table sets forth the Company's federal and state NOL carryforwards and federal research and development tax credits as of December 31, 2024:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Amount |
|
Expiration |
|
(in thousands) |
|
|
Net operating losses, federal |
$ |
833,401 |
|
|
Indefinite |
Net operating losses, federal |
$ |
2 |
|
|
2037 |
Net operating losses, state |
$ |
986,041 |
|
|
2037-2044 |
Tax credits, federal |
$ |
31,038 |
|
|
2038-2044 |
Tax credits, state |
$ |
23,999 |
|
|
Indefinite |
California Competes Tax credits, state |
$ |
9,000 |
|
|
2026 -2028 |
Current federal and California tax laws include substantial restrictions on the utilization of NOLs and tax credit carryforwards in the event of an ownership change of a corporation. Accordingly, the Company's ability to utilize NOLs and tax credit carryforwards may be limited as a result of such ownership changes. Such a limitation could result in the expiration of carryforwards before they are utilized.
Effective June 27, 2024 California's Senate Bill 167 (SB 167) introduced pivotal tax changes, including the suspension of NOLs for businesses earning over $1 million and a cap on business tax credits at $5 million. In addition, on June 29, 2024 Senate Bill 175 (SB 175) introduced an allowance for refunds on a range of tax credits—including, for the first time, the R&D credit. SB 167, which contains several tax measures, includes provisions that retroactively suspend California net operating losses (NOL) and limit the use of business tax credits for tax years beginning on and after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2027. SB 175 states that for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2027, taxpayers can receive a refundable credit equal to 20% of the qualified credits that could have been taken if the $5 million limitation under SB 167 had not been imposed.
The Company evaluated the impact of SB 167 and determined that the legislation did not materially impact the Company’s income tax provision for the year ended December 31, 2024.
We apply the provisions of ASC Topic 740 to account for uncertain income tax positions. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits is as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|
(in thousands) |
Balance at beginning of the year: |
$ |
18,895 |
|
|
$ |
14,570 |
|
Additions based on tax positions related to current year |
3,120 |
|
|
4,325 |
|
Additions to tax position of prior year |
— |
|
|
— |
|
Reductions to tax position of prior years |
— |
|
|
— |
|
Lapse of the applicable statute of limitations |
— |
|
|
— |
|
Balance at end of the year |
$ |
22,015 |
|
|
$ |
18,895 |
|
It is the Company’s policy to include penalties and interest expense related to income taxes as a component of interest and other income, net, as necessary. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there were no accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions. The reversal of the uncertain tax benefits would not affect the effective tax rate to the extent that the Company continues to maintain a full valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets. Unrecognized tax benefits may change during the next 12 months for items that arise in the ordinary course of business. We are subject to examination by U.S. federal or state tax authorities for all years since inception.
Note 14. Net Loss and Net Loss Per Share
The following table sets forth the computation of the basic and diluted net loss per share (in thousands, except share and per share data):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
|
|
|
|
Numerator: |
|
|
|
Net loss |
$ |
(257,590) |
|
|
$ |
(327,265) |
|
Denominator: |
|
|
|
Weighted average common shares outstanding |
194,811,756 |
|
|
156,931,778 |
|
Net loss per share, basic and diluted |
$ |
(1.32) |
|
|
$ |
(2.09) |
|
Since the Company was in a loss position for all periods presented, basic net loss per share is the same as diluted net loss per share as the inclusion of all potential dilutive securities would have been anti-dilutive. Potentially dilutive securities that were not included in the diluted per share calculations because they would be anti-dilutive were as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year Ended December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
Stock options to purchase common stock |
24,184,884 |
|
|
21,812,946 |
|
Restricted stock units subject to vesting |
13,343,793 |
|
|
12,180,471 |
|
Expected shares purchased under Employee Stock Purchase Plan |
1,913,748 |
|
|
2,168,264 |
|
Early exercised stock options subject to future vesting |
— |
|
|
29,180 |
|
Total |
39,442,425 |
|
|
36,190,861 |
|
Note 15. Segment Reporting
The Company has one reportable segment related to developing and commercializing genetically engineered allogeneic T cell product candidates for the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. The segment derives its current revenues from research and development collaborations.
The CEO, as the CODM, manages and allocates resources for the Company's operations at a consolidated company basis by assessing how to best deploy available resources across functions and research and development projects. The CEO uses consolidated, single-segment financial information for purposes of evaluating performance, planning and forecasting future period financial results, and allocating resources.
The table below is the summary of the segment profit or loss information, including the significant segment expenses (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Years Ended December 31, |
|
2024 |
|
2023 |
Collaboration revenue - related party |
$ |
22 |
|
|
$ |
95 |
|
Significant operating expenses: |
|
|
|
Cema-cel |
36,369 |
|
|
43,225 |
|
All other development costs |
23,937 |
|
|
24,463 |
|
Payroll |
70,862 |
|
|
87,854 |
|
Facilities & IT-related spend |
31,727 |
|
|
33,674 |
|
Supporting external spend |
27,337 |
|
|
43,248 |
|
Other operating expenses |
82,989 |
|
|
95,368 |
|
Total operating expenses |
273,221 |
|
|
327,832 |
|
Other income (Expense), net |
16,052 |
|
|
472 |
|
Loss before income taxes |
(257,147) |
|
|
(327,265) |
|
Benefit (expense) from income taxes |
(443) |
|
|
— |
|
Net loss |
(257,590) |
|
|
(327,265) |
|
Cema-Cel includes external development and clinical trial costs related to ALPHA3, ALPHA2, CLL, and ALLO-501 programs. All other development costs include external development and clinical trial costs related to ALLO-329, ALLO-316, ALLO-647, BCMA, and other programs. Supporting external spend includes professional services, research and development lab supplies and other supporting activities related to the research and development and other business operations. Other operating expenses is primarily related to non-cash expenses such as stock-based compensation, impairment, and depreciation and amortization. The measure of segment assets is reported on the consolidated balance sheets as total assets. Primarily, all revenue generated and all long-lived assets are maintained in the United States.
Note 16. Subsequent Events
On December 13, 2024, the Company entered into a sublease agreement for approximately 21,793 square feet of office space in one of its leased buildings in South San Francisco. The sublease commenced on January 1, 2025, and the sublease term is 24 months, which will expire on December 31, 2026. The Company will receive approximately $0.7 million in base rent payments over the sublease term.
On January 1, 2025, the Company entered into an additional sublease agreement for approximately 24,218 square feet of office and laboratory space in one of its leased buildings in South San Francisco. The sublease commenced on February 1, 2025, and the sublease term is 24 months, which will expire on January 31, 2027. The Company will receive approximately $1.6 million in base rent payments over the sublease term.
On February 19, 2025, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Strategic Collaboration Agreement with Foresight Diagnostics which expands our collaboration to include the development of Foresight Diagnostics’ MRD assay as a companion diagnostic for use with cema-cel as part of a possible EU and/or UK clinical development program, and as part of an expansion of ALPHA3 to Canadian and Australian clinical trial sites in support of our US clinical development program. As part of this amendment, we have agreed to fund approximately $37.3 million in MRD assay development costs, milestone payments for U.S., and certain international regulatory submissions and assay utilization costs to process clinical samples, all in addition to the financial commitments under the Foresight Agreement.
On February 3, 2025, the Company received an additional award of $3.4 million from CIRM for achieving a specified operational milestone related to the clinical development of ALLO-316.
Subsequent to the year ended December 31, 2024, the Company sold an aggregate of 3,842,282 shares of common stock in ATM offerings resulting in net proceeds of $10.0 million.
Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures.
Conclusions Regarding the Effectiveness of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
As of December 31, 2024, management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, performed an evaluation of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act. Our disclosure controls and procedures are designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms, and that such information is accumulated and communicated to our management, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.
Any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objective and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures.
Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2024, the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at a reasonable assurance level.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rule 13a-15(f). Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of consolidated financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Management has assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting based on the framework set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013 framework). Based on our evaluation, management has concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2024.
Inherent Limitations of Internal Controls
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risks that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Prior Material Weakness
A material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of a company’s annual and interim financial statements will not be detected or prevented on a timely basis.
As described in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (Annual Report), which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 14, 2024, Note 1 of the Consolidated Financial Statements under the paragraph Restatement of Financial Statements, the Company re-evaluated its prior accounting for shares received in the License Agreement and Share Purchase Agreement entered into on December 14, 2020, with Allogene Overland. Upon reassessment, the Company has determined that the 49% of Allogene Overland's Seed Preferred Shares received as a partial consideration for the License Agreement should be initially measured at fair value. The Company identified a material weakness in the operation of internal controls over financial reporting with respect to the technical accounting analysis of significant non-routine transactions.
Remediation Measures
We identified and implemented steps designed to remediate the foregoing material weakness. We finalized the design and operation of our controls related to the technical accounting analysis of significant non-routine transactions which includes hiring personnel in our accounting with an appropriate level of knowledge and experience to effectively perform technical accounting analysis of significant non-routine transactions, in addition to, engaging third-party subject matter experts with significant relevant experience. As of December 31, 2024, we validated the effectiveness of controls with respect to the technical accounting analysis of significant non-routine transactions. The applicable controls have been in operation for a sufficient period of time and management has concluded, through testing, that these controls are operating effectively. Accordingly, the material weakness associated with technical accounting analysis of significant non-routine transactions was remediated as of December 31, 2024.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
We regularly review our system of internal control over financial reporting and make changes to our processes and systems to improve controls and increase efficiency, while ensuring that we maintain an effective internal control environment. Changes may include such activities as implementing new, more efficient systems, consolidating activities, and migrating processes. There were key changes to 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 year ended December 31, 2024 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting. These changes are discussed above in our remediation measures.
Item 9B. Other Information.
None.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections.
None.
PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance.
The information required by this Item and not set forth below will be set forth in the sections headed “Election of Directors” and “Information Regarding the Board of Directors and Corporate Governance” in our definitive proxy statement for our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed with the SEC on or before April 30, 2025 (our Proxy Statement) and is incorporated in this Annual Report by reference.
Our Board of Directors consists of the following members:
Elizabeth Barrett, 62, has served as member of our Board since July 2021. Ms. Barrett is a director and President and Chief Executive Officer of UroGen Pharma Ltd. (“UroGen”), a biotechnology company dedicated to developing and commercializing innovative solutions that treat urothelial and specialty cancers. At UroGen, Ms. Barrett spearheaded the 2020 approval of Jelmyto® for the treatment of low-grade upper tract urothelial carcinoma. Before joining UroGen, Ms. Barrett served as the Chief Executive Officer of Novartis Oncology, where she managed the development and launch of the autologous CAR T therapy Kymriah®, and as a member of the Executive Committee of Novartis Oncology from February 2018 to December 2018. Prior to that, Ms. Barrett served at Pfizer Inc. ("Pfizer") in various capacities, most recently as the Global President of Oncology, and before that as Pfizer’s Regional President of US Oncology Business Unit since March 2009. Prior to Pfizer, she was Vice President and General Manager of the Oncology.
Arie Belldegrun, M.D., 75, is a co-founder of Allogene and has served as Executive Chair of our Board since November 2017. From March 2014 until October 2017, Dr. Belldegrun served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Kite Pharma, Inc. ("Kite") and as a director from June 2009 until October 2017. Dr. Belldegrun has served as Chair of UroGen since December 2012, Chair of Kronos Bio, Inc., since June 2017, and director of Ginkgo Bioworks, Inc., since September 2021. Dr. Belldegrun has also served on the boards of several private companies: Breakthrough Properties LLC and Breakthrough Services LLC since April 2019, ByHeart, Inc., since October 2019, and IconOVir Bio, Inc., since June 2020. Dr. Belldegrun has also served as Chairman of Bellco Capital LLC since 2004, as Chair and Partner of Two River Group since June 2009, and as Senior Managing Director of Vida Ventures, LLC since November 2017. He is certified by the American Board of Urology and is a Fellow of the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons. Dr. Belldegrun is Research Professor, holds the Roy and Carol Doumani Chair in Urologic Oncology, and is Director of the Institute of Urologic Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles (“UCLA”). Prior to joining UCLA in October of 1988, he was a research fellow at NCI/NIH in surgical oncology and immunotherapy from July 1985 to August 1988 under Dr. Steven Rosenberg. Dr. Belldegrun received his M.D. from the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem before completing his post graduate studies in Immunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science and his residency in Urologic Surgery at Harvard Medical School.
David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., 65, is a co-founder of Allogene and has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and as a member of our Board since June 2018. Dr. Chang has served on the boards of two private companies: Chair of the Board of Directors of IconOVir Bio, Inc., since June 2020, and director of 1200 Pharma LLC since June 2021. Dr. Chang served on the Board of Directors of Notch Therapeutics, Inc. (“Notch”), a private research-stage biotechnology company, from November 2019 to March 2022. Prior to joining us, Dr. Chang served as the Chief Medical Officer and Executive Vice President, Research and Development of Kite from June 2014 until March 2018. Dr. Chang previously held senior positions at Amgen Inc. ("Amgen"), a biopharmaceutical company, including Vice President, Global Development from July 2006 to May 2014, Senior Director, Oncology-Therapeutics from July 2005 to June 2006 and Director, Medical Sciences from December 2002 to June 2005. Prior to that, he was an Associate Professor at the UCLA School of Medicine. He has also served as a Venture Partner of Vida Ventures, LLC since November 2017, and Two River, LLC since October 2017. In addition, he serves as a member of the American Association for Cancer Research Oncology Development Fund Investment Advisory Committee, CalTech Cheng Medical Engineering Advisory Council and of the MIT Corporation Biology Visiting Committee. Dr. Chang obtained a B.S. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and an M.D. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.
John DeYoung, 62, has served as a member of our Board since April 2018. Mr. DeYoung is Vice President of Worldwide Business Development for Pfizer’s Oncology Business Unit. He is a member of Pfizer’s Oncology Leadership Team and its Worldwide Business Development Leadership Team. Mr. DeYoung joined Pfizer in 1991 and has held leadership positions in Finance, Marketing, Commercial Development and Business Development. Mr. DeYoung received his bachelor’s degree in business from Michigan State University in 1985 and his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1990.
Franz Humer, Ph.D., 78, has served as a member of our Board since April 2018. Dr. Humer currently serves on the board of directors of LetterOne Holdings S.A. and as Chair of the board of directors of Kallyope, Inc. In addition, Dr. Humer serves on the board of directors of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and is Chair of the Humer Foundation.
Dr. Humer previously served as Chair of the board of directors of Neogene Therapeutics, Inc., a private research-stage biotechnology company, from October 2020 until January 2023 and as a member of the board of directors of Kite from September 2015 until October 2017. He also served as an independent director of Citigroup Inc. from 2012 until 2018, Chugai Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (Japan) from 2002 until 2014, and Arix Bioscience plc from April 2016 to December 2019. He served as Chair of Diageo plc from 2005 to 2017. He served as a member of the board of directors of WISeKey SA, a publicly traded global cybersecurity company, from May 2016 to December 2017. In addition, Dr. Humer served as Head of Pharmaceuticals and then as Chief Operating Officer of F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. from 1996 to 1998, prior to serving as Chief Executive Officer of Roche Group from 1998 to 2001 and later as Chair and Chief Executive Officer from 2001 to 2008. His tenure as Chair of Roche Holding Ltd. extended from 2008 to 2014. Before joining Roche Group, he served on the board of Glaxo Holdings plc and was responsible for research, business development, manufacturing, commercial strategy, and all non-US operations for 13 years. In 1973, Dr. Humer joined Schering Plough Corporation where he held various General Management positions in Latin America and Europe. Dr. Humer attended the University of Innsbruck, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Law, and INSEAD in Fontainebleau, where he obtained an MBA.
Joshua Kazam, 48, has served as a member of our Board since November 2017. Mr. Kazam served as our President from November 2017 until June 2018. He was a founder of Kite and served as a member of Kite’s board of directors from Kite’s inception in June 2009 until October 2017. In June 2009, Mr. Kazam co-founded Two River, LLC, a life-science consulting and investment firm. Mr. Kazam has served on the board of Kronos Bio, Inc. since June 2017 and Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. from May 2005 until May 2019. He has also served on the boards of the following private companies: Vision Path, Inc. (d/b/a Hubble Contacts) since May 2016, ByHeart, Inc. since November 2016, Breakthrough Properties LLC and Breakthrough Services LLC since April 2019, and IconOVir Bio, Inc. since August 2018. Mr. Kazam has also served on the boards of several blank check companies formed for the purpose of effecting a business combination with one or more businesses: Screaming Eagle Acquisition Corp. since January 2022, Tishman Speyer Innovation Corp. II since February 2021, TS Innovation Acquisitions Corp. from November 2020 until June 2021, Soaring Eagle Acquisition Corp. from February 2021 to September 2021, Flying Eagle Acquisition Corp. from February 2020 until December 2020, Diamond Eagle Acquisition Corp. from January 2019 until April 2020, and Platinum Eagle Acquisition Corp. from January 2018 to March 2019. Mr. Kazam has served as the President of Desert Flower Foundation since June 2016. Mr. Kazam received his bachelor’s degree in Entrepreneurial Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is a Member of the Wharton School’s Undergraduate Executive Board.
Stephen Mayo, Ph.D., 63, has served as a member of our Board since July 2022. Since 2021, he has served as a member of the board of directors and as a member of the research and development and audit committees of Sarepta Therapeutics, Inc. Since 2021, Dr. Mayo has served as a member of the board of directors and on the audit and research committees of Merck & Co. In addition, he serves on the scientific advisory boards of Vida Ventures and Evozyne. He co-founded Molecular Simulations Inc. (now Biovia) and Xencor, a public antibody engineering company. Dr. Mayo is currently the Bren Professor of Biology and Chemistry and Merkin Institute Professor at California Institute of Technology (Caltech). He joined the Caltech faculty in 1992, was a Caltech-based Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator from 1994 to 2007, served as Vice Provost for Research from 2007 to 2010 and Chair of the Division of Biology and Biological Engineering from 2010 to 2020. Dr. Mayo was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2004 for his pioneering contributions in the field of protein design. He served as an elected board member for the American Association for the Advancement of Science from 2010 to 2014 and as a presidential appointee on the National Science Foundation’s National Science Board from 2013 to 2018. Dr. Mayo holds a B.S. in Chemistry from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in Chemistry from Caltech. He completed postdoctoral work at both UC Berkeley and Stanford University School of Medicine in chemistry and biochemistry, respectively.
Deborah Messemer, 67, has served as a member of our Board since September 2018. Ms. Messemer has served as director of TPG Inc. since January 2022 and PayPal Holdings, Inc. since January 2019. Ms. Messemer is a certified public accountant and joined KPMG LLP ("KPMG"), the U.S. member firm of KPMG International, in 1982 and was admitted into the partnership in 1995. Most recently, she served as the Managing Partner of KPMG’s Bay Area and Northwest region until her retirement in September 2018. Ms. Messemer spent the majority of her career in KPMG’s audit practice as an audit engagement partner serving public and private clients in a variety of industry sectors. In addition to her operational and audit signing responsibilities, she has significant experience in SEC filings, due diligence, initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, and internal controls over financial reporting. Ms. Messemer received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Texas at Arlington.
Vicki Sato, Ph.D., 76, has served as a member of our Board since July 2021. She was a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School from September 2006 to July 2017 and was a professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at Harvard University from July 2005 until October 2015.
Previously, she served as President of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Vertex"), a publicly-traded biotechnology company, which she joined in 1992. Prior to becoming President of Vertex, she was the Chief Scientific Officer and Senior Vice President of Research and Development. Prior to joining Vertex, Dr. Sato served as Vice President of Research at Biogen Inc. Dr. Sato is a member of the board of directors of the following publicly-traded companies: Denali Therapeutics, Inc. and Vir Biotechnology, Inc. She previously served on the board of directors of Akouos, Inc., Bristol Myers Squibb Company and BorgWarner, Inc., both publicly-traded companies. Dr. Sato received her A.B. in Biology from Radcliffe College and her A.M. and Ph.D. in Biology from Harvard University. She conducted her postdoctoral work at both the University of California, Berkeley and Stanford Medical Center.
Todd Sisitsky, 53, has served as a member of our Board since April 2018. Mr. Sisitsky is a board member and President of TPG, Inc. and Co-Managing Partner of TPG Capital, TPG’s scale private equity business in the U.S. and Europe, and co-leads the firm’s investment activities in the healthcare services, pharmaceuticals and medical device sectors. He also serves on the executive committee of TPG Holdings. He has played leadership roles in connection with TPG’s investment in us, Adare Pharmaceuticals, Aptalis, Biomet, Exactech, Fenwal, Healthscope, IASIS Healthcare, Immucor, IQVIA Holdings, Inc. (and predecessor companies IMS Health and Quintiles), Par Pharmaceutical, and Surgical Care Affiliates. Mr. Sisitsky currently serves as director of the following additional public companies: Convey Health Solutions, Inc., and IQVIA Holdings, Inc. Prior to joining TPG in 2003, Mr. Sisitsky worked at Forstmann Little & Company and Oak Hill Capital Partners. He received an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar, and earned his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, where he graduated summa cum laude. Mr. Sisitsky currently serves as the chair of the Dartmouth Medical School board of advisors, and as a board member of Grassroot Soccer.
Owen Witte, M.D., 75, has served as a member of our Board since April 2018. Dr. Witte previously served as a member of the board of directors of Kite from March 2017 until October 2017. Dr. Witte joined the UCLA faculty in 1980, where he is presently a University Professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, the UCLA David Saxon Presidential Chair in Developmental Immunology and previously served as the director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. Dr. Witte was appointed a University Professor by the University of California Board of Regents, an honor reserved for scholars of the highest international distinction. Dr. Witte is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Witte currently serves on several editorial and advisory boards. He previously served on the board of directors for the American Association for Cancer Research. He was appointed by President Obama to the President’s Cancer Panel. Dr. Witte holds a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University and an M.D. from Stanford University. He completed postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
In addition to Dr. Chang, our executive officers include the following:
Zachary Roberts, M.D., Ph.D., 47, has served as our Chief Medical Officer since April 2023 and as our Executive Vice President, Research and Development, since January 2023. Previously, Dr. Roberts served as Chief Medical Officer for Instil Bio, Inc. (Instil) from March 2020 to November 2022. Prior to joining Instil, he served in various roles for Kite, during his five-year tenure, with his last position as Vice President, Clinical Development from February 2018 to May 2019. Prior to joining Kite, Dr. Roberts served in various roles in Amgen, with his last position as Clinical Research Medical Director for Amgen Oncology from January 2015 to July 2015. Dr. Roberts completed his training in internal medicine and hematology/oncology at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He earned his B.S. in microbiology and immunology from the University of Maryland, College Park and both his Ph.D. in immunology and his M.D. from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.
Geoffrey Parker, 60, has served as our Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer since October 2023. Prior to joining us, Mr. Parker served as Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President of Tricida, Inc. Prior to joining Tricida, Mr. Parker served as Chief Financial Officer of Anacor Pharmaceuticals, and served as a Partner and Managing Director at Goldman Sachs, where he led the West Coast Healthcare Investment Banking group. In addition, Mr. Parker currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Perrigo Company plc. He earned an A.B. with a double major in Economics and Engineering Sciences from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Earl Douglas, 62, has served as our Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Compliance Officer since August 2023 and as our corporate secretary since January 2024. Before joining Allogene, Mr. Douglas served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel of Applied Molecular Transport. Prior to that role, he served in the same capacity for Kiverdi, Inc. He has also served as Vice President, General Counsel at BioMimetic Therapeutics, Spinal Dynamics, and OPX Biotechnologies. He previously served as Counsel with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and earlier in his career practiced as an Associate with Weil, Gotshal & Manges. He earned his B.S. in chemical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and his J.D. from Columbia University School of Law.
Benjamin Beneski, 48, has served as our Senior Vice President and Chief Technical Officer since March 2025. Mr. Beneski joined Allogene in 2019 as our Executive Director and Plant Manager, where he played a pivotal role in the design, construction, and successful startup of Cell Forge 1, our state-of-the-art cell therapy manufacturing facility. Since then, Mr. Beneski has advanced through a series of increasingly senior roles, including Vice President of Manufacturing and Vice President of Product Development and Manufacturing where he led the development of next-generation platforms, effectively managed internal and external manufacturing networks, and drove key initiatives to support IND submissions and ensure commercial readiness. Prior to joining Allogene, Mr. Beneski held senior manufacturing roles at various biotechnology companies, including Vir Biotechnology and Amgen. He earned B.S. in chemical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology and an MBA from Northeastern University.
We have adopted a code of ethics for directors, officers (including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer and principal accounting officer) and employees, known as the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is available on our website at http://www.allogene.com under the Governance section of our Investors page. In addition, we intend to promptly disclose on our website, to the extent required by the rules and regulations of the SEC, (i) the nature of any amendment to the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions, and (ii) the nature of any waiver, including an implicit waiver, from a provision of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that is granted to one of these specified individuals, the name of such person who is granted the waiver and the date of the waiver. Stockholders may request a free copy of the Code of Business Conduct and Ethics from our Compliance Officer, c/o Allogene Therapeutics, Inc., 210 E. Grand Avenue, South San Francisco, CA 94080.
Item 11. Executive Compensation.
The information required by this Item will be set forth in the section headed “Executive Compensation” in our Proxy Statement and is incorporated in this Annual Report by reference.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters.
The information required by this Item will be set forth in the section headed “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” in our Proxy Statement and is incorporated in this Annual Report by reference.
Information regarding our equity compensation plans will be set forth in the section headed “Executive Compensation” in our Proxy Statement and is incorporated in this Annual Report by reference.
Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence.
The information required by this Item will be set forth in the sections headed “Transactions With Related Persons” and “Information Regarding the Board of Directors and Corporate Governance” in our Proxy Statement and is incorporated in this Annual Report by reference.
Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services.
The information required by this Item will be set forth in the section headed “—Ratification of Selection of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” in our Proxy Statement and is incorporated in this Annual Report by reference.
PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules.
(a)(1) Financial Statements.
The response to this portion of Item 15 is set forth under Part II, Item 8 above.
(a)(2) Financial Statement Schedules.
All schedules have been omitted because they are not required or because the required information is given in the Financial Statements or Notes thereto set forth under Item 8 above.
(a)(3) Exhibits.
The exhibits listed in the Exhibit Index below are filed or incorporated by reference as part of this Annual Report.
Exhibit Index
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Exhibit Number |
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Description |
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3.1 |
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3.2 |
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3.3 |
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4.1 |
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Reference is made to Exhibits 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3
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4.2 |
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4.3 |
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10.1+ |
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10.2+ |
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10.3+ |
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10.4+ |
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10.5+ |
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10.6+ |
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10.7+ |
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10.8+ |
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10.9+ |
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10.10+ |
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10.11+ |
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10.12* |
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10.13*‡ |
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10.14* |
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10.15* |
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10.16* |
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10.17 |
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10.18 |
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10.19 |
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10.20 |
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First Amendment, dated December 10, 2021, to the Lease Agreement, dated October 25, 2018, by and between the Registrant and Healthpeak Properties, Inc. (formerly known as HCP, Inc.) (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.20 to the Registrant’s Annual Report on Form 10-K (File No. 001-38693), filed with the SEC on February 23, 2022). |
10.21 |
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10.22 |
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10.23 |
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Second Amendment, dated July 15, 2020, to the Lease Agreement, dated February 19, 2019, by and between the Registrant and Silicon Valley Gateway Technology Center, LLC (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Registrant’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q (File No. 001-38693) for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, filed with the SEC on August 5, 2020). |
10.24*‡ |
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10.25*‡ |
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10.26*‡ |
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10.27* |
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10.28*‡ |
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10.29*‡ |
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19.1 |
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23.1 |
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24.1 |
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31.1 |
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31.2 |
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32.1 |
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32.2 |
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97.1 |
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101.INS |
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Inline XBRL Instance Document |
101.SCH |
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Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document |
101.CAL |
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Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document |
101.DEF |
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Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document |
101.LAB |
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Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document |
101.PRE |
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Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document |
104 |
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The cover page of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K has been formatted in Inline XBRL. |
__________________________
+ Indicates management contract or compensatory plan.
* Certain portions of this exhibit (indicated by “[***]”) have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(10)(iv) of Regulation S-K because it is both not material and is the type of information that the Registrant treats as private or confidential.
‡ Schedules have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(a)(5) of Regulation S-K.
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
None.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in South San Francisco, California, on March 13, 2025.
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Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. |
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By: |
/s/ David Chang, M.D., Ph.D. |
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David Chang, M.D., Ph.D. |
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President, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors |
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(Principal Executive Officer) |
POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints David Chang, M.D., Ph.D. and Geoffrey Parker, and each of them, as his or her true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, each with the full power of substitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place or stead, in any and all capacities, to sign any and all amendments to this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or their or his substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this Report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
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Signature |
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Title |
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Date |
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/s/ David Chang, M.D., Ph.D. |
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President, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors |
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March 13, 2025 |
David Chang, M.D., Ph.D. |
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(Principal Executive Officer) |
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/s/ Geoffrey Parker |
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Chief Financial Officer |
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March 13, 2025 |
Geoffrey Parker |
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(Principal Financial Officer) |
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/s/ Annie Yoshiyama |
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Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller |
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March 13, 2025 |
Annie Yoshiyama |
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(Principal Accounting Officer) |
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/s/ Arie Belldegrun, M.D. |
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Executive Chair of the Board of Directors |
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March 13, 2025 |
Arie Belldegrun, M.D. |
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/s/ Elizabeth Barrett |
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Member of the Board of Directors |
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March 13, 2025 |
Elizabeth Barrett |
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/s/ John DeYoung |
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Member of the Board of Directors |
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March 13, 2025 |
John DeYoung |
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/s/ Franz Humer, Ph.D. |
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Member of the Board of Directors |
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March 13, 2025 |
Franz Humer, Ph.D. |
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/s/ Joshua Kazam |
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Member of the Board of Directors |
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March 13, 2025 |
Joshua Kazam |
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/s/ Stephen Mayo, Ph.D. |
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Member of the Board of Directors |
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March 13, 2025 |
Stephen Mayo, Ph.D. |
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/s/ Deborah Messemer |
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Member of the Board of Directors |
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March 13, 2025 |
Deborah Messemer |
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/s/ Vicki Sato, Ph.D. |
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Member of the Board of Directors |
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March 13, 2025 |
Vicki Sato, Ph.D. |
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/s/ Todd Sisitsky |
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Member of the Board of Directors |
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March 13, 2025 |
Todd Sisitsky |
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/s/ Owen Witte, M.D. |
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Member of the Board of Directors |
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March 13, 2025 |
Owen Witte, M.D. |
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EX-10.13
2
allo-20241231xex1013.htm
EX-10.13
Document
CERTAIN INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS EXHIBIT, MARKED BY [***], HAS BEEN EXCLUDED BECAUSE THE REGISTRANT HAS DETERMINED THE INFORMATION IS BOTH NOT MATERIAL AND IS THE TYPE THAT THE REGISTRANT TREATS AS PRIVATE OR CONFIDENTIAL.
Confidential
Executable version
EXCLUSIVE LICENSE AND COLLABORATION AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
LES LABORATOIRES SERVIER SAS
INSTITUT DE RECHERCHES INTERNATIONALES SERVIER SAS
AND
PFIZER INC.
Exclusive License and Collaboration Agreement
This Exclusive License and Collaboration Agreement is entered into as of the 30 day of October, 2015 (the “Signing Date”) by and between Les Laboratoires Servier, a corporation incorporated under the laws of France having a principal place of business at 50 rue Carnot, 92150 Suresnes, France (“LLS”) and Institut de Recherches Internationales Servier, a corporation incorporated under the laws of France having its principal place of business at 50 rue Carnot, 92150 Suresnes, France (“IRIS”) (LLS and IRIS being together referred to as “Servier”), and Pfizer Inc., a Delaware corporation having its principal place of business at 235 E. 42nd Street, New York, New York 10017 (“Pfizer”). Servier and Pfizer are individually referred to herein as a “Party” and collectively, as the “Parties”.
RECITALS
WHEREAS, Servier entered into a research, product development, option, license and commercialization agreement with Cellectis dated February 17, 2014, as will be amended by its first amendment (the “Servier / Cellectis Amendment”, together the “Servier / Cellectis Agreement”);
WHEREAS, Pfizer entered into a research collaboration and license agreement with Cellectis on June 17, 2014 (the “Pfizer / Cellectis Agreement”, which together with the Servier / Cellectis Agreement shall be referred to as the “Cellectis Agreements”);
WHEREAS, subject to Article 18, Servier will be granted under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement an exclusive worldwide license over the first CD19 Product (as set forth in Exhibit 1.10) and an exclusive option to get an exclusive worldwide license over additional CD19 Products and ROR1 Products (as such products are defined below);
WHEREAS, Pfizer has been granted under the Pfizer / Cellectis Agreement an exclusive worldwide license over the EGFRVIII Product (as such product is defined below);
WHEREAS, Servier and Pfizer desire to combine their respective expertise in the development, manufacture and commercialization of pharmaceutical products in the Field (as defined below) and establish a collaboration for the continued development, manufacture and commercialization of CD19 Product, possibly, ROR1 Product, and EGFRVIII Product, in accordance with the terms and conditions set forth herein;
WHEREAS, in the context of this collaboration, Servier and Pfizer wish to invest sufficient resources in the development of the Licensed Products to jointly complete development of the Licensed Products towards Marketing Approval;
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and mutual covenants herein contained, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, the Parties agree as follows:
ARTICLE 1. DEFINITIONS
Defined Terms. The following capitalized terms or derivatives thereof (verbs, nouns, singular, plural), when used in this Agreement, shall have the following meanings:
1.1 “Accounting Standards” means with respect to Servier, the International Financial Reporting Standards and with respect to Pfizer, the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, and any other internationally recognized accounting standards that may be adopted by either Party.
1.2 “Affiliates” means with respect to a Party, any person or entity, whether de jure or de facto, which directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with such Party. Solely as used in this definition, the term “control” means (i) the ownership, directly or indirectly, beneficially or legally, of at least fifty percent (50%) of the outstanding voting securities or capital stock (or such lesser percentage which is the maximum allowed to be owned by a person or entity in a particular jurisdiction) of such Party or other person or entity, as applicable, or such other comparable ownership interest with respect to any person or entity that is not a corporation; or (ii) the possession, directly or indirectly of the power, whether pursuant to contract, ownership of securities or otherwise, to direct the management and policies of a Party or such other person or entity, as applicable.
1.3 “Agreement” means this Exclusive License and Collaboration Agreement together with the recitals and all exhibits, schedules and attachments hereto.
1.4 “Arbitrable Matter” means any dispute or claim concerning the validity, interpretation or construction of, compliance with, inducement of, or breach of, this Agreement, any dispute with respect to whether either Party is entitled to terminate this Agreement, and excluding only Litigable Matters.
1.5 “Attribute” means a particular genome modification obtained by nucleases or any other methods, including without limitation knock out, knock in and point mutations.
1.6 “Business Day” means a day that is not a Saturday, Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in Paris, France or New York, United States of America, are authorized by applicable Law to remain closed.
1.7 “Calendar Quarter” means each three (3) consecutive calendar months ending on each March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31.
1.8 “Calendar Year” means any period of time commencing on January 1 and ending on the next December 31.
1.9 “CD19” means the Target corresponding to the B lymphocyte antigen Cluster of Differentiation 19.
1.10 “CD19 Product” means any allogeneic anti-tumor adoptive T-cell expressing a single chain Cellectis CAR Targeting CD 19 and shall include as of the Effective Date the CD19 Product set forth in Exhibit 1.10.
1.11 “Cellectis” means Cellectis SA, a company incorporated under the laws of France having a principal place of business at 8, rue de la Croix Jarry, 75013 Paris, France.
1.12 “Cellectis Agreements” has the meaning ascribed to it in the Recitals.
1.13 “Cellectis CAR” means a chimeric antigen receptor expressed from an experimentally validated Cellectis viral construct with specific molecular architecture and signaling domain sequences.
1.14 “Claim” means any charge, complaint, action, suit, proceeding, hearing, investigation, claim or demand, including without limitation any investigation by a Competent Authority.
1.15 “Clinical Studies” means a research study in humans that is (i) conducted in accordance with international ethical and scientific quality standards for designing, conducting, recording and reporting research studies involving investigational medicinal products for human use and that involve the participation of human subjects, which standards are established through Laws, and (ii) designed to generate clinical data and results regarding a chemical compound or biological molecule in support of Marketing Approval, including any translational research studies. Clinical Studies include any Phase 1 Clinical Study, any Phase 2 Clinical Study, any Phase 3 Clinical Study or any Phase 4 Clinical Study.
1.16 “CMC” means chemistry, manufacturing and controls.
1.17 “Collaboration Targets” means CD 19, EGFRVIII, and, in the event Pfizer exercises its Option under Section 2.6, ROR1.
1.18 “Commercialization” means any and all activities of marketing, promoting, distributing, importing, offering for sale, having sold or selling the Licensed Products in the Field in the Pfizer Territory or the Servier Territory, as applicable, including without limitation defining pricing and reimbursement strategy and approval and pre-launch marketing strategy.
1.19 “Commercially Reasonable Efforts” means, with respect to any Party, the application by or on behalf of such Party of a level of resources and efforts to Develop, Manufacture or Commercialize the Pfizer Licensed Products with respect to Servier and the Servier Licensed Products with respect to Pfizer, as would normally be exerted and employed by such Party in pursuing the development, manufacture or commercialization of its other pharmaceutical products of a similar stage of product life, safety, efficacy, intellectual property profile (including the patent situation and the freedom to operate) and commercial potential. For clarity, it is understood that “Commercially Reasonable Efforts” shall be evaluated as a whole based on all relevant factors and may change over time, but shall not take into account: (i) any other pharmaceutical product such Party is then discovering, researching, developing, manufacturing, or commercializing, alone or with one or more collaborators, outside the Agreement; or (ii) the payments required to be made by such Party to the other Party pursuant to this Agreement.
1.20 “Competent Authority” means any court, tribunal, regulatory agency of (i) any national, federal, state, provincial, county, city or other political subdivision government, including the FDA, or (ii) any supranational body (including the EMA).
1.21 “Competing Product” means, [***].
1.22 “Competing Product Opt-In Trigger” means, with respect to a Competing
Product, the occurrence of [***].
1.23 “Confidential Information” means any and all Know-How, information and Data of a confidential nature (including Joint Know-How), whether financial, business, legal, technical or non-technical, oral, written, or in electronic form, including information and data related to the Licensed Product, a Party, or any concepts, discoveries, inventions, data, designs or formulae in relation to this Agreement, that is disclosed, supplied or otherwise made available by one Party or any of its Affiliates or Sublicensees (“Disclosing Party”) to the other Party or any of its Affiliates or Sublicensees (“Receiving Party”). All Confidential Information disclosed by a Party pursuant to the Confidential Agreement between Les Laboratoires Servier and Pfizer dated September 25, 2014 (the “Prior CDA”) shall be deemed to be Confidential Information of such Party pursuant to this Agreement (with the mutual understanding and agreement that any use and disclosure thereof that is authorized under ARTICLE 13 shall not be restricted by, or be deemed a violation of, such Prior CDA).
1.24 “Control”, “Controlled” or “Controlling” means, with respect to a subject item, the ability of a Party, whether arising by ownership, possession or pursuant to a license or sublicense, to grant licenses or sublicenses to another Party with respect to such subject item, as provided in this Agreement, without violating the terms of any agreement or other arrangement with any Third Party.
1.25 “Cover”, “Covered” or “Covering” means, with respect to a Licensed Product, as appropriate, and a Patent Right, that, in the absence of a (sub)license under, or ownership of, such Patent Right, the making, using, offering for sale, selling or importing of such a Licensed Product, as appropriate, with respect to a given country, would infringe a Valid Claim of such Patent Right.
1.26 “Data” means any and all non-aggregated and aggregated research, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, pre-clinical, clinical, commercial, marketing, process development, manufacturing and other data or information, including investigator brochures and reports (both preliminary and final), statistical analyses, expert opinions and reports, and safety data, in each case generated from, or related to, Clinical Studies or non-clinical studies, research or testing specifically related or directed to Licensed Product. For the avoidance of doubt, Data shall be deemed Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party for the purposes of the Agreement.
1.27 “Development” means with respect to a Licensed Product, the activities performed until and including the MAA filing and approval for the relevant Licensed Product in the Field, including without limitation: research, test method development and stability testing, assay development, toxicology, pharmacology, formulation, quality assurance, quality development, technology transfer, statistical analysis, process development, and scale-up, pharmacokinetic studies, data collection and management, Clinical Studies (including research to design Clinical Studies), regulatory affairs (including all necessary steps to Develop the Licensed Product as an orphan drug, obtaining scientific advices), project management, drug safety surveillance activities related to Clinical Studies, validation of methods and tests.
1.28 “Development Costs” means all costs incurred by either Party in accordance with the Global Research and Development Budget after the Effective Date for the Development of the Licensed Products pursuant to any Global Research and Development Plan, or Additional Study, as the context requires, comprising the sum of (i) Out-of-Pocket Costs and (ii) the FTE Costs incurred in relation thereto, provided that with respect to costs incurred for activities between the Effective Date and the IND Enabling Data Package with respect to CD19 and ROR1 Products, only the Parties’ Out-of-Pocket Costs shall be included in the Development Costs, to the exclusion of the Parties’ FTE Costs.
1.29 “Divest” means, with respect to a Competing Product, a divestiture of such Competing Product by or on behalf of a Party to a Third Party by sale, license or otherwise; provided, that, if such divestiture is made by a Party by way of one or more licenses or sublicenses, (i) such Party and its Affiliates shall not hold or retain any rights with respect to such Competing Product other than (a) the right to receive license fees, milestone payments and royalties on sales of products with respect to such Competing Product, (b) the right to defend claims of infringement, (c) the right to assert claims of infringement against persons who may infringe its intellectual property rights with respect to products derived from such Competing Product and (d) the right to otherwise control patent filings and patent term extensions connected with any licensed or sublicensed Patent Rights; and (ii) such Party and its Affiliates are not consulted with respect to, and do not otherwise participate in, any decisions (other than those described in clauses (b), (c) and (d) above), or otherwise collaborate with any Third Party, with respect to (y) the commercialization of products with respect to such Competing Product or (z) the commercial strategy with respect to products derived from such Competing Product.
1.30 “DMF” means a drug master file and all equivalents, and related proprietary dossiers, in any country or jurisdiction for a Licensed Product submitted or to be submitted by a Party to Competent Authorities.
1.31 “Dollars” or “USD” or “$” means U.S. dollars.
1.32 “EGFRVIII” means the Target corresponding to epidermal growth factor receptor VIII.
1.33 “EGFRVIII Product” means an allogeneic anti-tumor adoptive T-cell expressing a single chain Cellectis CAR Targeting EGFRVIII.
1.34 “EMA” means the European Medicines Agency or any successor agency thereto.
1.35 “Environmental Laws” means all applicable Laws relating to (i) safety (including occupational health and safety), conservation, preservation or protection of human health, drinking water, natural resources, biota and the environment; (ii) the introduction of any chemical substances, products or finished articles into the stream of commerce; (iii) the imposition of any discharge levy or other economic instrument to prevent or reduce discharge of pollutants; (iv) the conduct of environmental impact assessment in connection with the design, development and operation of any facility or project; (v) the notification, classifications and labeling of new chemical substances; or (vi) the generation, use, storage, handling, treatment, transportation or disposal of Waste including without limitation any matters related to Releases and threatened Releases of Hazardous Materials.
1.36 “European Union” or “EU” means the European Union, as its membership may be altered from time to time, and any successor thereto.
1.37 “Executive Officer” means the General Manager and President of Oncology of Pfizer and the Vice President of Research and Development or the Vice President of Business Development & Licensing of Servier, or their duly authorized respective designees with equivalent decision-making authority with respect to matters under this Agreement.
1.38 “FDA” means the United States Food and Drug Administration or any successor entity thereto.
1.39 “Field” means anti-tumor adoptive immunotherapy.
1.40 “First Commercial Sale” means the first sale to a Third Party of (i) a Servier Licensed Product by or under the authority of Pfizer or its Affiliates or Sublicensees or (ii) a Pfizer Licensed Product by or under the authority of Servier or its Affiliates or Sublicensees, in a country after receipt of the applicable Marketing Approval as well as any pricing and reimbursement approvals as desirable in such country, from the Competent Authorities in that country.
1.41 “FTE” means a full time equivalent person year of work performing activities hereunder. For clarity, indirect personnel (including support functions such as managerial, legal or business development) shall not constitute FTEs.
1.42 “FTE Costs” for a given period means the product of (i) the total FTEs (proportionately, on a per-FTE basis) dedicated by a Party or its Affiliates in the particular period to the direct performance of the activities allocated to such Party hereunder and (ii) the FTE Rate.
1.43 “FTE Rate” means, unless otherwise agreed between the Parties, a rate per FTE equal to USD [***] per annum (which may be prorated on a daily or hourly basis as necessary). The FTE Rate is “fully burdened” and will cover employee salaries, benefits, travel, and such facilities and equipment and other materials and services including ordinary laboratory and manufacturing consumables procured from distributors of relevant products as they may use. With respect to Clinical Trials, the Parties agree to allocate the internal costs on a basis to be negotiated by the Parties.
1.44 “Good Clinical Practice” or “GCP” means the then-current standards for Clinical Studies for pharmaceuticals, as set forth in the United States Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended, and such standards of good clinical practice as are required by the Competent Authorities and other organizations in countries for which the applicable Licensed Product is intended to be developed.
1.45 “Good Laboratory Practice” or “GLP” means the international quality standard provided by the ICH for the design, conduct, performance, monitoring, auditing, recording, analyses, and reporting of Clinical Studies, which provides assurance that the data and reported results are credible and accurate, and that the rights, integrity, and confidentiality of the Clinical Study subjects are protected and includes any Laws of any Competent Authority which implements ICH GCP or establishes local good clinical practice requirements over and above ICH GCP, including as set forth in the United States Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended or other applicable Law, and such standards of good laboratory practice as are required by the Competent Authorities and other organizations in countries for which the applicable Licensed Product is intended to be developed.
1.46 “Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP)” or “GMP” or “cGMP” means (i) EC Directive 2003/94/EEC as amended from time to time and all the relevant associated detailed guidelines; (ii) the current principles and guidelines of Good Manufacturing Practice for medicinal products for human use as required by, but not limited to, the applicable sections of the US Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, the US Public Health Service Act, the US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Parts 210 (Current Good Manufacturing Practice in Manufacturing, Processing, Packing or Holding of Drugs; General), and relevant US Food and Drug Administration Guidance and Points to Consider for drugs or biotechnology-derived products, as amended from time to time; and (iii) the equivalent current Law in any market.
1.47 “Hazardous Materials” means any and all materials (including without limitation substances, chemicals compounds, mixtures, products, byproducts, biologic agents, infectious agents, living or genetically modified materials, wastes, pollutants and contaminants), that are (i) (a) listed, classified, characterized or regulated pursuant to Environmental Laws; (b) identified or classified as “hazardous”, “dangerous”, “toxic”, “pollutant”, “contaminant”, “waste”, “irritant”, “corrosive”, “flammable”, “radioactive”, “reactive”, “carcinogenic”, “mutagenic”, “bioaccumulative”, or “persistent” in the environment; or (c) in quantity or concentration capable of causing harm or injury to human health, natural resources or the environment, if Released or resulting in human exposure; or (ii) petroleum products and their derivatives, asbestos-containing material, lead-based paint, polychlorinated biphenyls, urea formaldehyde, or viral, bacterial or fungal material.
1.48 “IND” means an Investigational New Drug Application as defined in the FD&C Act and applicable regulations promulgated thereunder by the FDA.
1.49 “IND Enabling Data Package” means the preclinical studies, UCART cells manufacturing and controls, regulatory, quality and any other Data necessary to proceed with an IND filing. An updated list of Patent Rights Controlled by Cellectis and Servier that are associated with such IN D Enabling Data Package shall be included therein.
1.50 “Indication” means a separate and distinct type of disease or medical condition in humans which a Licensed Product or Competing Product, as applicable, is intended to treat, prevent or diagnose. For example, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia will be an Indication, but the treatment in first line or in second line of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia will not be regarded as separate Indications.
1.51 “Interchangeable Drug Competition” means, with respect to Pfizer and any Servier Licensed Product or Servier and any Pfizer Licensed Product, the first sale of Interchangeable Drug of such Licensed Product in any country by one or more Third Parties (other than Sublicensees).
1.52 “Interchangeable Drug” means, with respect to any Licensed Product in any given country, any product which (i) is using chimeric antigen receptor technology and is Targeting the same Collaboration Target as such Licensed Product and (ii) is approved for use pursuant to a regulatory approval process governing approval of generic or interchangeable drugs based on the then-current standards for Regulatory Approval in such country, whether or not such regulatory approval was obtained using an abbreviated, expedited or other process, and references such Licensed Product as its reference product for purposes of such regulatory approval process.
1.53 “Investigator Sponsored Study” means any Clinical Study with respect to a Licensed Product where the sponsor of the study is a physician or group of physicians acting as sponsor-investigator and neither of the Parties nor any of their Affiliates accepts the role of sponsor or co-sponsor of such study.
1.54 “Joint Intellectual Property” or “Joint IP” means all intellectual property rights in Joint Inventions (which for the avoidance of doubt shall include Joint Know-How and Joint Patent Rights).
1.55 “Joint Invention” means an invention arising during the Term, where the Parties are sharing Development Costs pursuant to Section 2.6.4.1(i), 2.6.4.2(i), or 2.6.4.3(i) of this Agreement, that is (i) jointly created by one or more employees, consultants, or contractors of each Party or of any Affiliate or Sublicensee of such Party in the course of performing activities under this Agreement or (ii), created by one or more employees, consultants, or contractors of either Party or of any Affiliate or Sublicensee of such Party (alone or with the other Party or any Affiliate or Sublicensee of such other Party) in the course of performing activities under the Global Research and Development Plan, excluding in each case of (i) and (ii) any Pfizer Improvements.
1.56 “Joint Know-How” means all Know-How arising during the Term, where the Parties are sharing Development Costs pursuant to Section 2.6.4.1(i), 2.6.4.2(i), or2.6.4.3(i) of this Agreement, that is (i) jointly created by one or more employees, consultants, or contractors of each Party or of any Affiliate or Sublicensee of such Party in the course of performing activities under this Agreement or (ii) created by one or more employees, consultants, or contractors of either Party or of any Affiliate or Sublicensee of such Party (alone or with the other Party or any Affiliate or Sublicensee of such other Party) in the course of performing activities under the Global Research and Development Plan, excluding in each case of (i) and (ii) any Pfizer Improvements.
1.57 “Joint Patent Right” means a Patent Right that claims a Joint Invention.
1.58 “Know-How” means all technical information, techniques, Data, database rights, discoveries, inventions, practices, methods, knowledge, skill, experience, test data or information necessary for the discovery, development, manufacture use, sale or commercialization of a Licensed Product.
1.59 “Knowledge” means the actual knowledge of that Party’s officers, after reasonable internal inquiry but without having made any specific external inquiry.
1.60 “Laws” shall mean any applicable national, supranational, federal, state, local or foreign law, statute, ordinance, principle of common law, or any rule, regulation, standard, judgment, order, writ, injunction, decree, arbitration award, agency requirement, license or permit of any Competent Authority, including any rules, regulations, guidelines, directives or other requirements of Competent Authorities, and including all laws pertaining to the pharmaceutical industry or the healthcare industry and all anti-bribery or anti-corruption laws, as applicable.
1.61 “Licensed IP” means the Pfizer IP and the Servier IP.
1.62 “Licensed Patents” means the Pfizer Patent Rights and the Servier Patent Rights.
1.63 “Licensed Party” means Pfizer with respect to the Servier Licensed Products and Servier with respect to the Pfizer Licensed Products.
1.64 “Licensed Products” means the Pfizer Licensed Products and the Servier Licensed Products.
1.65 “Licensing Party” means Servier with respect to the Servier Licensed Products and Pfizer with respect to the Pfizer Licensed Products.
1.66 “Litigable Matter” means any dispute between the Parties concerning the validity, scope, enforceability, inventorship, or ownership of a Patent Right.
1.67 “MAA” means, in relation to any Licensed Product, an application filed or to be filed with the EMA (or equivalent national agency), for authorization to place a medicinal product on the market in the European Union (or any other territory).
1.68 “Manufacture” means with respect to a Licensed Product, any and all processes and activities conducted to manufacture preclinical, clinical and commercial quantities of such, in particular, the production, the manufacture, the processing, the filling, the packaging, the labeling, the inspection, the storage, the warehousing and the shipping of such Licensed Product. Manufacture shall also include the supply of any raw materials or packaging materials with respect thereto, or any intermediate of any of the foregoing, including process and cost optimization, process qualification and validation, commercial manufacture, stability and release testing, quality assurance and quality control. For clarity, “Manufacturing” has a correlative meaning.
1.69 “Manufacturing Costs” means the actual, fully-burdened cost of all Manufacturing activities, including raw materials, transportation, testing, unrecoverable taxes, direct labor and benefits, and the proportionate share (as determined pursuant to the subsequent sentence) of indirect Manufacturing costs, including Third Party Manufacturing costs. For clarity, such fully-burdened cost shall be calculated (i) on a normal full-capacity basis (with reasonable deductions for changeover and maintenance downtime) with the percentage allocable to Manufacturing Costs representing the number of runs of Licensed Product, as applicable, produced or performed as a percentage of the total number of runs, including those of other products, that could be Manufactured in such facility during a Calendar Year and (ii) in accordance with Accounting Standards, consistently applied. Costs that cannot be identified to a specific activity supporting product Manufacturing, such as charges for central corporate overhead that are not controllable by the Manufacturing plant, shall not be included in the determination of Manufacturing Costs. Unless otherwise agreed in writing between the Parties, Manufacturing Costs shall exclude any Development Costs, technology transfer related costs and Third Party License Payments. For the avoidance of doubt, Manufacturing Costs do not include any margin or mark-up relating to inter-company supply between the Manufacturing Party and its Affiliates (or among such Affiliates).
1.70 “Marketing Approval” shall mean all approvals, licenses, registrations or authorizations of the Competent Authorities in a country, necessary for the manufacture, use, storage, import, marketing and sale of the Licensed Product in such country, including the approval of an MAA or an NDA.
1.71 “Mutual Consent Matters” means (i) any matter, including changes, relating to the Global Research and Development Plan or (ii) any change(s) to any Global Research and Development Budget for a given Calendar Year which, alone or together with other changes to the Global Research and Development Budget for such Calendar Year, represent a change of more than [***] percent ([***]%) for such Calendar Year.
1.72 “NDA” means a New Drug Application, including all supplements and amendments thereto, for the approval of the Licensed Product as a new drug by the FDA.
1.73 “NDA Package” means the preclinical studies, Clinical Studies, manufacturing
and controls, regulatory, quality and any other Data necessary to proceed with an NDA filing. An updated list of Patent Rights Controlled by Servier or Pfizer, as applicable, that is associated with such N DA Package shall be included therein.
1.74 “Net Sales” means, in the case of sales by or for the benefit of a Party, its Affiliates, and its Sublicensees (“Seller”) in such Party’s Respective Territory to independent, unrelated persons (“Buyers”) in bona fide arm’s length transactions (except as provided below with respect to clinical trial samples), the gross amount billed or invoiced by Seller with respect to the Servier Licensed Products with respect to Pfizer and the Pfizer Licensed Product with respect to Servier, during the Royalty Term, less the following deductions, in each case to the extent actually paid, granted or accrued by such Seller (each as recognized by either US GAAP or IFRS applied consistently throughout the calculation, as applicable) or allowed and taken by such Buyers and, in each case, not otherwise recovered by or reimbursed to Seller in connection with such Licensed Product (“Permitted Deductions”):
(a) trade, cash, promotional, prompt payment or and quantity discounts;
(b) returns, refunds, allowances, rebates and chargebacks;
(c) Customs or excise duties, excise (including, but not limited to, the amount of any annual branded prescription drug manufacturer and importer fees attributable to the Servier Licensed Products or Pfizer Licensed Products paid by the Seller), sales or use taxes, consumption tax, value added tax or other taxes (except income taxes) or duties relating to sales taxes on sales (such as excise, sales or use taxes or value added tax);
(d) taxes on sales of pharmaceutical specialties reimbursed pursuant to a government health service, health insurance, social insurance or similar social services program;
(e) freight, insurance, packing costs and other transportation charges to the extent added to the sales price;
(f) amounts repaid or credits taken by reason of rejections, defects or returns or because of retroactive price reductions, or due to recalls or Laws requiring rebates;
(g) rebates taken by or fees paid to distributors, wholesalers, group purchasing organizations, pharmacy benefit management companies and management care entities and charge-backs;
(h) rebates and/or discounts on sales of Licensed Products given to health insurance and other types of payers due to specific agreement (“claw-back” type of agreements) involving the Products;
(i) the actual amount of any write-offs for bad debt; provided with respect to such write-off that an amount subsequently recovered or reversed with respect to such write-off will be treated as Net Sales in the quarter in which it is recovered or reversed; and
(j) any other specifically identifiable amounts included in gross amounts invoiced for the Products, to the extent such amounts are customary deductions from net sales calculations in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industries in the applicable country or country for reasons substantially equivalent to those listed above.
“Net Sales” shall not include any consideration received with respect to a sale, use or other disposition of any Licensed Product in a country for Development purposes or as samples or for charitable purposes. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the amounts invoiced by a Party, its Affiliates, or their Sublicensees for the sale of Licensed Product among such Party, its Affiliates or their respective Sublicensees for resale shall not be included in the computation of Net Sales hereunder and Net Sales shall be the gross invoice or contract price charged to the Third Party customer for that Product, less the Permitted Deductions. All of the foregoing elements of Net Sales calculations shall be determined in accordance with Accounting Standards.
1.75 “Non-Originating Party” means, with respect to each Competing Product, the Party that is not the Originating Party with respect to such Competing Product.
1.76 “Originating Party” means, with respect to any Competing Product, the Party that, or that whose Affiliate, owns or Controls such Competing Product.
1.77 “Out-of-Pocket Costs” means all direct project expenses paid or payable to Third Parties after the Effective Date, which are specifically identifiable and incurred for services or materials provided by them directly in their performance of the Development or Manufacture of the Licensed Products in the Servier Territory or the Pfizer Territory, as applicable; such expenses to have been recorded as income statement items in accordance with Accounting Standards and for the avoidance of doubt, not including pre-paid amounts (until expensed in accordance with Accounting Standards). For clarity, Out-of-Pocket Costs do not include capital expenditures, travel expenses or items intended to be covered by FTE costs.
1.78 “Patent Rights” means any and all (i) issued patents, including any extension, registration, confirmation, reissue, continuation, supplementary protection certificate, divisional, continuation-in-part, re-examination or renewal thereof, (ii) pending applications for all of the foregoing, and (iii) foreign counterparts of any of the foregoing; in each case to the extent the same has not been held, by a court of competent jurisdiction, to be invalid or unenforceable in a decision from which no appeal can be taken or from which no appeal was taken within the time permitted for appeal.
1.79 “Pfizer Improvements” means any Patent Right, Know-How or other intellectual property right (i) that is conceived or generated in the course of performing activities under the Global Research and Development Plan by or on behalf of employees, agents or independent contractors of Pfizer or any of its Affiliates, solely or jointly with the employees, agents or independent contractors of Servier or any of its Affiliates, and (ii) that (a) consists of a modification or improvement relating to the Pfizer Platform Technology and (b) is not primarily directed to one or more Licensed Products.
1.80 “Pfizer IP” means any and all Pfizer Patent Rights and Pfizer Know-How. For the avoidance of doubt, Pfizer IP shall include the UCART Technology Controlled by Pfizer solely for the Pfizer Licensed Products pursuant to the Pfizer / Cellectis Agreement and shall also include Pfizer’s interest in the Joint Intellectual Property.
1.81 “Pfizer Know-How” means all Know-How that is developed or Controlled by Pfizer and its Affiliates as of the Effective Date and thereafter during the Term, including Pfizer Improvements and Pfizer Platform Technology, and (i) that is used in connection with the Development, Manufacture or Commercialization of the Licensed Products or (ii) is reasonably necessary or useful for the Development, Manufacture or Commercialization of a Licensed Product.
1.82 “Pfizer Licensed Products” means the EGFRVIII Product.
1.83 “Pfizer Patent Rights” means all Patent Rights that are Controlled by Pfizer and its Affiliates as of the Effective Date and thereafter during the Term, including Pfizer Improvements and Pfizer Platform Technology, and that Cover, or would be reasonably necessary or useful for, the Development, Manufacture or Commercialization of the Licensed Products (including its composition, formulation, combination, product by process, or method of use, manufacture, preparation or administration). Pfizer Patent Rights shall include Pfizer’s interest in Joint Patent Rights that meet the above requirements.
1.84 “Pfizer Platform Technology” means any Patent Rights, Know-How or other intellectual property rights related to Pfizer’s proprietary antibodies, including nucleic acid and protein sequences thereof, protein engineering, antibody and product manufacturing and formulation, animal models, and target identification and validation, that are Controlled by Pfizer or any Affiliate of Pfizer as of the Effective Date or come into the Control of Pfizer or any Affiliate of Pfizer at any time during the Term and that is or was developed outside of this Agreement; provided that Pfizer Platform Technology will exclude UCART Technology.
1.85 “Pfizer Quarter” means each of the four thirteen week periods (i) with respect to the United States, commencing on January 1 of any Pfizer Year and (ii) with respect to any country in the Territory other than the United States, commencing on December 1 of any Pfizer Year.
1.86 “Pfizer Territory” means the United States of America and its territories and possessions for such Servier Licensed Product or, if and to the extent the license conversion provisions in this Agreement apply, in particular under Sections 2.6.4.1, 2.6.4.2, 2.6.4.3, or 2.7, all countries worldwide.
1.87 “Pfizer Year” means the twelve (12) month fiscal periods observed by Pfizer (i) commencing on January 1 with respect to the United States and (ii) commencing on December 1 with respect to any country other than the United States.
1.88 “Pharmaceutical Development” means design and process development and optimization of medicinal products for use in clinical trials and commercialization; including drug substance and drug product manufacturing processes, primary packaging, quality standards, stability testing, pre-First Commercial Sale engineering and conformance, CMC documentation and technology transfer to operations, expression vectors, cell banking systems, drug substance manufacturing and release, drug product formulation and release, purification, characterization and stability.
1.89 “Phase 1 Clinical Study” means a clinical study of a product in human subjects which provides for the first introduction into humans of a product, conducted in healthy volunteers or patients to obtain information on product safety, tolerability, pharmacological activity or pharmacokinetics, as more fully defined in 21 C.F.R. § 312.21(a) (or the non-United States equivalent thereof).
1.90 “Phase 1 Data Package” means the manufacturing and controls, regulatory, quality and any other Data relating to the first Phase 1 Clinical Study (including the reports for such Phase 1 Clinical Study). An updated list of Patent Rights Controlled by Servier or Pfizer, as applicable, that are associated with such Phase 1 Data Package shall be included therein.
1.91 “Phase 2 Clinical Study” means a clinical study of a product that is designed to establish the safety, dose ranging and efficacy of a product, which is prospectively designed to generate sufficient data (if successful) to commence pivotal clinical trials, as further defined in 21 C.F.R. § 312.21(b) (or the non-United States equivalent thereof).
1.92 “Phase 3 Clinical Study” means a pivotal clinical study of a product on sufficient numbers of patients that is designed to establish the efficacy and safety of a product, which is prospectively designed to demonstrate statistically whether such product is effective and safe for use in a particular Indication in a manner sufficient to file an NDA to obtain regulatory approval to market the product, as further defined in 21 C.F.R. § 312.21(c) (or the non-United States equivalent thereof).
1.93 “Phase 4 Clinical Study” means a human clinical study which is conducted on a product after marketing approval of the product has been obtained from an appropriate Competent Authority, and includes (i) trials conducted voluntarily for enhancing marketing or scientific knowledge of an approved indication or (ii) trials conducted after marketing approval due to request or requirement of a Competent Authority or as a condition of a previously granted marketing approval.
1.94 “Pre-Clinical Costs” means, with respect to any Licensed Product, the Out-of-Pocket Costs to be incurred by either Party after the Effective Date and prior to the IND Enabling Data Package.
1.95 “Regulatory Exclusivity Rights” means, with respect to a Licensed Product and a particular country or regulatory jurisdiction, the exclusive legal right granted by the relevant Competent Authority either to market and sell such Licensed Product in that country or regulatory jurisdiction or the exclusive right to the use of or reference to clinical Data in relation to such Licensed Product in that country or regulatory jurisdiction.
1.96 “Regulatory Materials” means regulatory applications, submissions, dossiers, notifications, registrations, case reports forms, trial master file, common technical documents, question and answers with Competent Authorities, Marketing Approvals or other filings or communications made to or with, or other approvals granted by, a Competent Authority that are necessary or reasonably desirable in order to Develop, Manufacture or Commercialize a Licensed Product in a particular country or regulatory jurisdiction.
1.97 “Regulatory Approval” means any and all approvals, licenses, registrations or authorizations by a Competent Authority and necessary for the Development activities (including without limitation any applicable pricing, final labeling and reimbursement approvals of such Competent Authority), and any MAA or equivalent.
1.98 “Release” means any release, spill, emission, leaking, pumping, injection, deposit, disposal, discharge, dispersal, leaching or migration into the indoor or outdoor environment, including the uncontrolled presence or the movement of Hazardous Materials through the ambient air, soil, subsurface water, groundwater, wetlands, lands or subsurface strata.
1.99 “Respective Territory” means with respect to Servier, the Servier Territory, and with respect to Pfizer, the Pfizer Territory.
1.100 “ROR1” means the Target corresponding to Tyrosine-protein kinase transmembrane receptor ROR1, also known as neurotrophic tyrosine kinase, receptor-related 1 (NTRKR1).
1.101 “ROR1 Product” means an allogeneic anti-tumor adoptive T-cell expressing a single chain Cellectis CAR Targeting ROR1.
1.102 “Royalty Term” means (i) with respect to the Royalties payable by Pfizer in the Pfizer Territory, on a country-by-country and Servier Licensed Product-by-Servier Licensed Product basis, the period commencing on the First Commercial Sale of a Servier Licensed Product in the Pfizer Territory and ending on the latest of (a) expiration of the last-to-expire Valid Claim of a Servier Patent Right that Covers such Servier Licensed Product in the Pfizer Territory, (b) the expiration of the Regulatory Exclusivity Rights with respect to such Servier Licensed Product in such country or (c) expiration of [***] from the First Commercial Sale with respect to such Servier Licensed Product in such country and (ii) with respect to the Royalties payable by Servier, on a country-by-country and Pfizer Licensed Product-by-Pfizer Licensed Product basis, the period commencing on the First Commercial Sale of a Pfizer Licensed Product in a country and ending on the latest of (a) expiration of the last-to-expire Valid Claim of a Pfizer Patent Right that Covers such Pfizer Licensed Product in such country, (b) the expiration of the Regulatory Exclusivity Rights with respect to such Pfizer Licensed Product in such country or (c) expiration of [***] years from the First Commercial Sale with respect to such Pfizer Licensed Product in such country.
1.103 “Second Generation CD19 Product” means the first CD19 Product with humanized scFV and altered gene knockout properties (CD52 knockout removed and dCK knockout added) or similar modifications.
1.104 “Servier IP” means any and all Servier Patent Rights and Servier Know-How. For the avoidance of doubt, Servier IP shall include the UCART Technology Controlled by Servier solely for the Servier Licensed Products pursuant to the Servier / Cellectis Agreement and shall also include Servier’s interest in the Joint Intellectual Property.
1.105 “Servier Know-How” means all Know-How that is developed or Controlled by Servier and its Affiliates as of the Effective Date and thereafter during the Term and (i) that is used in connection with the Development, Manufacture, or Commercialization of the Licensed Products or (ii) is reasonably necessary or useful for the Development, Manufacture, or Commercialization of a Licensed Product.
1.106 “Servier Licensed Products” means the first CD 19 Product (as set forth in Exhibit 1.10) and if the Option is exercised, additional CD19 Product(s) and ROR1 Product(s).
1.107 “Servier Patent Right” means all Patent Rights that are Controlled by Servier and its Affiliates as of the Effective Date and thereafter during the Term and that Cover, or would be reasonably necessary or useful for, the Development, Manufacture or Commercialization of the Licensed Products (including its composition, formulation, combination, product by process, or method of use, manufacture, preparation or administration). Servier Patent Rights shall include Servier’s interest in Joint Patent Rights that meet the above requirements.
1.108 “Servier Targeted Markets” means (i) the European Union and (ii) one of the following countries: Japan, China, Russia or Brazil, as selected by Servier in its sole discretion.
1.109 “Servier Territory” means the world other than the Pfizer Territory.
1.110 “Similar Product” means [***].
1.111 “Sublicensees” means a Third Party which is a sublicensee of either Party’s rights hereunder in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement. For sake of clarity, Sublicensees do not include wholesalers, distributors or the like, even if they are granted a limited right to resell a Licensed Product sold to any of them, and, further, Sublicensees do not include such Party’s Affiliates.
1.112 “Target” means (i) a specific biological molecule that is identified by a GenBank accession number or similar information, or by its amino acid or nucleic acid sequence, and (ii) any biological molecule substantially similar in amino acid or nucleic acid sequence that has substantially the same biological function as a molecule disclosed in clause (i), including any naturally occurring mutant or allelic variant of a molecule disclosed in clause (i), including naturally occurring variants, mutants, transcriptional and post-transcriptional isoforms (e.g., alternative splice variants), and post-translational modification variants (e.g., protein processing, maturation and glycosylation variants); and (iii) truncated forms (including fragments thereof) which have a biological function substantially similar to that of any biological molecules disclosed in clause (i) or clause (ii).
1.113 “Targeting” means, when used to describe the relationship between a molecule and a Target, that the molecule (i) binds to the Target (or a portion thereof) and (ii) is designed or being developed to exert its biological effect in whole or in part through binding to such Target (or such portion thereof).
1.114 “Third Party” means any person or entity other than Pfizer, Servier and their respective Affiliates.
1.115 “Third Party License” means the Sole Third Party Licenses and the Joint Third Party Licenses.
1.116 “Third Party License Payments” means all amounts payable in accordance with Section 11.6.4 to a Third Party pursuant to any Third Party License in consideration of any rights (i) to Know-How or Patent Rights licensed by a Party under this Agreement, or (ii) that are otherwise necessary or useful for the Development, Manufacture or Commercialization of a Licensed Product in the Respective Territory of either Party, in each case to the extent such amount is due and payable after the Effective Date and reasonably allocable to a Licensed Product. Third Party License Payments shall include the following payments to the extent such amount is due and payable on or after the Effective Date and reasonably allocable to a Licensed Product: (a) upfront (including any fees paid in installments), annual or other periodic license fees or maintenance fees (including any minimum annual license fee), (b) royalties of any kind, and (c) milestone payments. For clarity, if an agreement with a Third Party is not a Third Party License, then any payment under such agreement shall not be Third Party License Payments hereunder.
1.117 “UCART Technology” means the Patent Rights and Know-How that are licensed separately by Cellectis to the Parties with respect to the Licensed Products pursuant to the Cellectis Agreements.
1.118 “Valid Claim” means a claim of an issued and unexpired patent or of a patent application, which claim has not been revoked or held invalid or unenforceable by a court or other government agency of competent jurisdiction or has not been held or admitted to be invalid or
unenforceable through re-examination or disclaimer, reissue, opposition procedure, nullity suit or otherwise. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a claim of a pending patent application has not issued as a claim of a patent within [***] after the filing date from which such claim takes priority, such claim shall not be a Valid Claim for the purposes of this Agreement, unless and until such claim issues as a claim of any issued patent (from and after which time the same would be deemed a Valid Claim subject to the first sentence of the definition above). With respect to a claim of a pending patent application, the phrase to “infringe a Valid Claim” shall mean to engage in activity that would infringe such claim if it were contained in an issued patent.
Additional Definitions. Each defined term used in this Agreement but not set forth above is defined in the body of this Agreement as indicated below.
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Term |
Section |
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“Accelerated Arbitration Procedure” |
17.2.2 |
“Additional Servier Option Product” |
2.6.4.3 |
“Additional Studies” |
5.7 |
“Alliance Manager” |
3.11 |
“Arbitration” |
17.2.1 |
“Arbitration Request” |
17.2.1 |
“Audited Party” |
11.10.3 |
“Auditing Party” |
11.10.3 |
“Authorized Recipients” |
13.2 |
“Breaching Party” |
16.2.1 |
“Cellectis Pre-Clinical Costs” |
2.5.1 |
“Cellectis Work” |
2.5 |
“Claim Notice” |
15.3.1 |
“Commercialization Plans” |
3.2.2.8 |
“Committee” |
3.7 |
“Corrective Action” |
7.2.1 |
“Dispute” |
17.2.1 |
“Development and/or Commercial Supply Agreement” |
8.3 |
“Effective Date” |
18 |
“Global Research and Development Plan” |
5.2 |
“Global Research and Development Budget” |
5.2 |
“Initial ROR1 Licensed Product” |
2.6.4.2 |
“IPOC” |
3.5 |
“Joint Commercialization Committee” or “JCC” |
3.6.1 |
“Joint Executive Committee” or “JEC” |
3.1 |
“Joint Medical Plan” |
6.2 |
“Joint Research and Development Committee” or “JRDC” |
3.3 |
“Joint Steering Committee” or “JSC” |
3.2 |
“Joint Third Party License” |
11.6.4 |
“Manufacturing Budget” |
3.4.5 |
“Manufacturing Party” |
8.1 |
“Medical Journals” |
13.7.1 |
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“Non-Breaching Party” |
16.2.1 |
“Non-Proposing Party” |
5.7.1 |
“Option” |
2.6 |
“Option Exercise Notice” |
2.6.3 |
“Pfizer Commercialization Plan” |
9.1.3 |
“Pfizer Indemnitee” |
15.2 |
“Pharmacovigilance Agreement” |
7.5 |
“Proposing Party” |
5.7.1 |
“Public Official or Entity” |
17.12 |
“Quality Agreement” |
8.4 |
“Reconciliation Report” |
5.6.2 |
“Restricted Period” |
10.1.1 |
“Royalties” |
11.5 |
“Rules” |
17.2.1 |
“Sales Milestone” |
11.4 |
“SCC” |
3.4 |
“Scientific Meeting” |
13.7.2 |
“Scientific Paper” |
13.7.1 |
“Selling Party” |
11.8.2 |
“Servier Commercialization Plan” |
9.2.3 |
“Servier Indemnitee” |
15.1 |
“Servier Opt-In Exercise Notice” |
2.8.1 |
“Servier Opt-In Right” |
2.8 |
“Servier Option Product” |
2.8 |
“Similar Product Opt-In Exercise Notice” |
10.1.1.4 |
“Similar Product Opt-In Exercise Period” |
10.1.1.4 |
“Similar Product Opt-In Right” |
10.1.1 |
“Sole Third Party License” |
11.6.3 |
“Substances” |
4.2 |
“Term” |
16.1 |
“VAT” |
11.7.5 |
“Working Group” |
3.10 |
ARTICLE 1
ARTICLE 2 LICENSE GRANTS; SUBLICENSING; OPTION TO LICENSE
Section 2.1 License Grants.
2.1.1 License Grant by Servier. During the Term, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Agreement, Servier hereby grants, and shall cause its Affiliates to grant, to Pfizer an exclusive license, with the right to grant sublicenses in accordance with Section 2.3 below, under the Servier IP, excluding UCART Technology Controlled by Servier solely with respect to EGFRVIII Products, solely to (a) Develop, have Developed, Manufacture, have Manufactured and use anywhere in the world solely for Commercialization of the Licensed Products in the Field in the Pfizer Territory and (b) Commercialize the Licensed Products in the Field in the Pfizer Territory. For the avoidance of doubt, the rights and licenses granted under this Section 2.1.1 with respect to ROR1 Products and any additional CD19 Product shall become effective in accordance with Sections 2.6.4.1, 2.6.4.2, 2.6.4.3, or 2.7 below.
2.1.2 License Grant by Pfizer. During the Term, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Agreement, Pfizer hereby grants, and shall cause its Affiliates to grant, to Servier an exclusive license, with the right to grant sublicenses in accordance with Section 2.3below, under the Pfizer IP, excluding UCART Technology Controlled by Pfizer solely with respect to CD19 Products and ROR1 Products, solely to (a) Develop, have Developed, Manufacture, have Manufactured and use anywhere in the world solely for Commercialization of the Licensed Products in the Field in the Servier Territory and (b) Commercialize the Licensed Products in the Field in the Servier Territory,.
Section 2.2 Reciprocal Non-Exclusive Research License for Disclosed Know-How and Confidential Information. Without limiting any other license granted to either Party under this Agreement:
2.2.1 Pfizer hereby grants to Servier a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, fully paid-up, worldwide license, with the right to sublicense to Affiliates of Servier, to use solely for research purposes all Pfizer Know-How or Pfizer Confidential Information that is disclosed to Servier during the Term, but excluding any Pfizer Patent Rights and UCART Technology, provided, however, that Servier shall not have a right under this Section 2.2.1 to use such Pfizer Know-How or Pfizer Confidential Information for the sale or manufacture for sale of any pharmaceutical product or process.
2.2.2 Servier hereby grants to Pfizer a non-exclusive, irrevocable, perpetual, royalty-free, fully paid-up, worldwide license, with the right to sublicense to Affiliates of Pfizer, to use solely for research purposes all Servier Know-How or Servier Confidential Information that is disclosed to Pfizer during the Term, but excluding any Servier Patent Rights and UCART Technology, provided, however, that Pfizer shall not have a right under this Section 2.2.2 to use such Servier Know-How or Servier Confidential Information for the sale or manufacture for sale of any pharmaceutical product or process.
Section 2.3 Sublicensing. During the Term, each Party shall have the right, without the other Party’s prior written consent, to sublicense the rights granted to such Party under this Agreement in its Respective Territory to one or more of its Affiliates (solely for the purposes of exercising the sublicensing Party’s rights or performing the sublicensing Party’s obligations under this Agreement), or to a subcontractor only to the extent necessary to enable such subcontractor to provide subcontracted services in accordance with the Global Research and Development Plan or for the direct benefit of the sublicensing Party in accordance with the terms of this Agreement (e.g. contract research organization or contract manufacturing organization). Except as otherwise provided in the preceding sentence if a Party proposes to sublicense any of its rights, other than rights to Commercialize a Licensed Product, under Section 2.1 to a Third Party for such Third Party’s benefit, it shall first obtain the prior written consent of the other Party, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed.
Except as otherwise provided in this Section 2.3 if a Party proposes to sublicense its Commercialization rights, under Section 2.1 to a Third Party for such Third Party’s benefit, it shall inform the other Party, but the consent of the other Party shall not be necessary. The grant of any sublicense as permitted in this Section 2.3 shall not relieve the sublicensing Party of its obligations under this Agreement. Any such permitted sublicenses shall be consistent with and subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
Section 2.4 Performance by Affiliates. Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, each Party may discharge any obligations and exercise any right hereunder through any of its Affiliates. All applicable terms and provisions of this Agreement shall apply to any such Affiliate to which this Agreement has been extended to the same extent as such terms and provisions apply to the Party granting such extension, which Party shall cause such Affiliate to comply with such applicable terms and provisions. Each Party shall remain primarily liable for any acts or omissions of its Affiliates.
Section 2.5 Pre-Clinical Development. During the Term, for each applicable Collaboration Target, including ROR1, each Party shall have the right to direct the other Party to direct Cellectis, pursuant to the applicable Cellectis Agreement, to complete pre-clinical research and development of Cellectis CARs directed to CD19, ROR1 or EGFRVIII, as applicable. In the event that a Party is interested in having Cellectis complete pre-clinical research and development of Cellectis CARs directed to CD19, ROR1 or EGFRVIII (the “Cellectis Work”) then such Party will notify the JRDC in writing and include in such notification the work which such Party intends to have Cellectis perform. Following receipt of such notification, the JRDC will discuss such proposed Cellectis Work at the next scheduled JRDC meeting, if not sooner, and either agree to include such Cellectis Work in the Global Research and Development Plan or not. If the JRDC agrees to include such Cellectis Work as part of the Global Research and Development Plan then any costs associated with such Cellectis Work will be treated as Development Costs. If the JRDC does not agree to include such Cellectis Work in the Global Research and Development Plan then:
2.5.1 Pfizer shall have the right to complete any such Cellectis Work directed to EGFRVIII pursuant to the Pfizer / Cellectis Agreement and shall have the right to direct Servier to direct Cellectis to complete any such Cellectis Work directed to CD19 or ROR1 pursuant to the Servier / Cellectis Agreement. If Pfizer notifies Servier in writing to direct Cellectis to complete any such Cellectis Work directed to CD19 or ROR1 pursuant to the Servier / Cellectis Agreement then Servier shall enter into good faith negotiations with Cellectis with respect to such Cellectis Work and shall receive written approval from Pfizer prior to finalizing any agreement with Cellectis regarding the scope and cost of such Cellectis Work. In the event that Pfizer agrees in writing to the scope and cost of the Cellectis Work to be performed by Cellectis then Pfizer shall have the obligation to pay Servier any Pre-Clinical Costs that may become due and owing by Servier to Cellectis for such Cellectis Work (the “Cellectis Pre-Clinical Costs”) and Servier shall use reasonable efforts to provide Pfizer the right to directly interact with Cellectis, and receive information, data, materials, know-how and reports directly from Cellectis, solely with respect to such approved Cellectis Work. In the event that Pfizer does not agree in writing to the scope and cost of the Cellectis Work to be performed by Cellectis then Pfizer shall have no obligation to pay Servier any Cellectis Pre-Clinical Costs that may become due and owing by Servier to Cellectis for such Cellectis Work.
2.5.2 Servier shall have the right to complete any such Cellectis Work directed to CD19 and ROR1 pursuant to the Servier / Cellectis Agreement and shall have the right to direct Pfizer to direct Cellectis to complete any such Cellectis Work directed to EGFRVIII pursuant to the Pfizer / Cellectis Agreement. If Servier notifies Pfizer in writing to direct Cellectis to complete any such Cellectis Work directed to EGFRVIII pursuant to the Pfizer / Cellectis Agreement then Pfizer shall enter into good faith negotiations with Cellectis with respect to such Cellectis Work and shall receive written approval from Servier prior to finalizing any agreement with Cellectis regarding the scope and cost of such Cellectis Work. In the event that Servier agrees in writing to the scope and cost of the Cellectis Work to be performed by Cellectis then Servier shall have the obligation to pay Pfizer any Cellectis Pre-Clinical Costs that may become due and owing by Pfizer to Cellectis for such Cellectis Work and Pfizer shall use reasonable efforts to provide Servier the right to directly interact with Cellectis, and receive information, data, materials, know-how and reports directly from Cellectis, solely with respect to such approved Cellectis Work. In the event that Servier does not agree in writing to the scope and cost of the Cellectis Work to be performed by Cellectis then Servier shall have no obligation to pay Pfizer any Cellectis Pre-Clinical Costs that may become due and owing by Pfizer to Cellectis for such Cellectis Work.
Section 2.6 Pfizer Option to License at IND. Servier hereby grants to Pfizer an exclusive option to include ROR1 Products or additional CD19 Products as Servier Licensed Products under this Agreement (each an “Option”). Each such Option shall be exercisable as follows:
2.6.1 Promptly upon, and in no event more than [***] after receipt of the IND Enabling Data Package for each Option, Servier shall provide the IND Enabling Data Package for such Option to Pfizer. Following receipt of the IND Enabling Data Package for each Option by Pfizer pursuant to the preceding sentence, Pfizer shall have [***] days to raise questions to Servier regarding such IND Enabling Data Package and such Option.
2.6.2 After such [***]-day period, Servier shall have [***] days to answer to such questions.
2.6.3 Within [***] days following Servier answering any questions as set forth in Section 2.6.2 above, Pfizer shall notify Servier in writing either that it directs Servier to notify Cellectis in writing that it exercises its Option to include ROR1 Products or additional CD19 Products as Servier Licensed Products under this Agreement (the “Option Exercise Notice”) or it decides not to exercise such Option.
2.6.4 If Pfizer sends such Option Exercise Notice pursuant to Section 2.6.3 above, then:
2.6.4.1 Second Generation CD19 Product.
(i) If Pfizer exercises its Option on the Second Generation CD19 Product and Servier notifies Pfizer in writing, prior to exercising its option with Cellectis, that it intends to pursue the development of such Second Generation CD19 Product in the Servier Targeted Markets in accordance with the Servier / Cellectis Agreement, then: (a) Servier shall pay Pfizer fifty percent (50%) of Pfizer’s Pre-Clinical Costs (including any payments made to Cellectis that are allocable to such Second Generation CD19 Product) actually incurred by Pfizer at the time the notification is made by Servier pursuant to this Section 2.6.4.1 and (b) promptly after the date of such Option Exercise Notice, Servier shall exercise the option on such Second Generation CD19 Product under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement and such Second Generation CD19 Product shall automatically be deemed to be a Servier Licensed Product with no further action required by either of the Parties.
(ii) If Pfizer exercises its Option on the Second Generation CD19 Product and Servier (a) notifies Pfizer in writing, prior to exercising its option with Cellectis, that it does not intend to pursue the development of such Second Generation CD19 Product in accordance with the Servier / Cellectis Agreement or (b) fails to notify Pfizer in writing prior to the notification of Cellectis of the option exercise, then promptly after the date of such Option Exercise Notice, Servier shall exercise the option on such Second Generation CD19 Product under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement and such Second Generation CD19 Product shall automatically be deemed to be a Servier Licensed Product with no further action required by either of the Parties; provided that the license then granted to Pfizer by Servier pursuant to Section 2.1 for such Second Generation CD19 Product will be converted to a worldwide license, without any additional action by either Party, to include both the Servier Territory and the Pfizer Territory, in the event Servier is not pursuing the development of any CD19 Product in accordance with the Servier / Cellectis Agreement. In addition, Pfizer shall thereafter (i) relieve Servier from its development obligations under this Agreement with respect to such Second Generation CD19 Product (including pursuant to Section 5.3), (ii) in the event that milestone payments that become due and owing by Servier to Cellectis for such Second Generation CD19 Product pursuant to the Servier / Cellectis Agreement, make the milestone payments to Servier set forth in Schedule 2.6.4.2 with respect to such Second Generation CD19 Product and (iii) pay to Servier the Royalties on the Net Sales of such Second Generation CD19 Product pursuant to Sections 11.5 and 11.6, provided that Servier shall remain responsible for payment to Cellectis of any milestones and royalty payments related to such Second Generation CD19 Product that may become due and owing to Cellectis under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement.
(iii) If Pfizer fails to deliver the Option Exercise Notice in accordance with the above or if the Option is not exercised by Pfizer with respect to such Second Generation CD19 Product, then such Second Generation CD19 Product shall not be deemed to be a Servier Licensed Product, a Similar Product or a Competing Product pursuant to this Agreement.
2.6.4.2 Initial ROR1 Licensed Products.
(i) If Pfizer exercises its Option on either, or both, of the first two ROR1 Licensed Products, one directed to liquid tumor Indications and one to solid tumor Indications, respectively (each, an “Initial ROR1 Licensed Product”) and Servier notifies Pfizer in writing, prior to exercising its option with Cellectis, that it intends to pursue the development of such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product in the Servier Targeted Markets in accordance with the Servier / Cellectis Agreement, then promptly after the date of such Option Exercise Notice, Servier shall exercise the option on such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement and such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product shall automatically be deemed to be a Servier Licensed Product with no further action required by either of the Parties. If Servier has not contributed to the Cellectis Pre-Clinical Costs for such Additional Servier Option Product in accordance with this Agreement prior to the date of the applicable Option Exercise Notice, then Servier shall pay Pfizer fifty percent (50%) of Pfizer’s Pre-Clinical Costs (including any payments made to Cellectis that are allocable to such Additional Servier Option Product) actually incurred by Pfizer at the time the notification is made by Servier to Pfizer pursuant to this Section 2.6.4.2.
(ii) If Pfizer exercises its Option on either Initial ROR1 Licensed Product and Servier (a) notifies Pfizer in writing, prior to exercising its option with Cellectis, that it does not intend to pursue the development of such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product in accordance with the Servier / Cellectis Agreement or (b) fails to notify Pfizer in writing prior to the notification of Cellectis of the option exercise, then promptly after the date of such Option Exercise Notice, Servier shall exercise the option on such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement and such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product shall automatically be deemed to be a Servier Licensed Product with no further action required by either of the Parties; provided that the license then granted to Pfizer by Servier pursuant to Section 2.1 for such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product will be converted to a worldwide license, without any additional action by either Party, to include both the Servier Territory and the Pfizer Territory. In addition, Pfizer shall thereafter (i) relieve Servier from its development obligations under this Agreement with respect to such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product (including pursuant to Sections 5.3), (ii) in the event that milestone payments become due and owing by Servier to Cellectis for such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product pursuant to the Servier / Cellectis Agreement, make the milestone payments to Servier set forth in Schedule 2.6.4.2 with respect to such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product and (iii) pay to Servier the Royalties on the Net Sales of such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product pursuant to Sections 11.5 and 11.6, provided that Servier shall remain responsible for payment to Cellectis of any milestones and royalty payments related to such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product that may become due and owing to Cellectis under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement.
(iii) If Pfizer fails to deliver the Option Exercise Notice in accordance with the above or if the Option is not exercised by Pfizer with respect to any given Initial ROR1 Licensed Product, then such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product shall not be deemed to be a Servier Licensed Product, a Similar Product or a Competing Product pursuant to this Agreement.
2.6.4.3 Additional Servier Option Products.
(i) If Pfizer exercises its Option on any CD19 Product or ROR1 Product beyond the Second Generation CD 19 Product and the Initial ROR1 Licensed Products (each an “Additional Servier Option Product”) and Servier notifies Pfizer in writing, prior to exercising its option with Cellectis, that it intends to undertake to pursue the development of such Additional Servier Option Product in the Servier Targeted Markets in accordance with the Servier / Cellectis Agreement, then promptly after the date of such Option Exercise Notice, Servier shall exercise the option on such Additional Servier Option Product under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement and such Additional Servier Option Product shall automatically be deemed to be a Servier Licensed Product with no further action required by either of the Parties. If Servier has not contributed to the Cellectis Pre-Clinical Costs for such Additional Servier Option Product in accordance with this Agreement prior to the date of the applicable Option Exercise Notice, then Servier shall pay Pfizer fifty percent (50%) of Pfizer’s Pre-Clinical Costs (including any payments made to Cellectis that are allocable to such Additional Servier Option Product) actually incurred by Pfizer at the time the notification is made by Servier to Pfizer pursuant to this Section 2.6.4.3.
(ii) If Pfizer exercises its Option on any given Additional Servier Option Product and Servier (a) notifies Pfizer in writing, prior to exercising its option with Cellectis, that it does not intend to pursue the development of such Additional Servier Option Product in accordance with the Servier / Cellectis Agreement or (b) fails to notify Pfizer in writing prior to the notification of Cellectis of the option exercise, then promptly after the date of such Option Exercise Notice, Servier shall exercise the option on such Additional Servier Option Product under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement and such Additional Servier Option Product shall automatically be deemed to be a Servier Licensed Product with no further action required by either of the Parties; provided that the license then granted to Pfizer by Servier pursuant to Section 2.1 for such Servier Option Product will be converted, without any additional action by either Party, to a worldwide license to include both the Servier Territory and the Pfizer Territory if the Servier / Cellectis Agreement requires that Servier use commercially reasonable efforts to develop such Additional Servier Option Product in the Servier Targeted Markets. In addition, Pfizer shall thereafter (i) relieve Servier from its development obligations under the Agreement solely with respect to such Additional Servier Option Product (including pursuant to Section 5.3Section 5.5), (ii) in the event that milestone payments become due and owing by Servier to Cellectis for such Additional Servier Option Product pursuant to the Servier / Cellectis Agreement, make the milestone payments to Servier set forth in Schedule 2.6.4.2 with respect to such Additional Servier Option Product and (iii) pay to Servier the Royalties on the Net Sales of such Additional Servier Option Product pursuant to Sections 11.5 and 11.6, provided that Servier shall remain responsible for payment to Cellectis of any milestones and royalty payments related to such Additional Servier Option Product that may become due and owing to Cellectis under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement.
(iii) If Pfizer fails to deliver the Option Exercise Notice in accordance with the above or if the Option is not exercised by Pfizer with respect to any given Additional Servier Option Product, then such Additional Servier Option Product shall not be deemed to be a Servier Licensed Product, a Similar Product or a Competing Product pursuant to this Agreement.
Section 2.7 Collaboration Target Abandonment. In the event that (i) Servier notifies Pfizer in writing that it elects not to Develop or Commercialize any CD19 or ROR1 Product in accordance with the Servier / Cellectis Agreement for the applicable Collaboration Target in the Servier Targeted Markets and (ii) Pfizer is Developing or Commercializing any Servier Licensed Product for such Collaboration Target under this Agreement, then Pfizer, at its sole discretion, may elect to have the license granted by Servier to Pfizer pursuant to Section 2.1 for such Servier Licensed Product converted to a worldwide license to include both the Servier Territory and the Pfizer Territory for such Target. Such conversion to a worldwide license will occur immediately upon Pfizer notifying Servier in writing of its election to convert such license to a worldwide license for such Servier Licensed Product. Servier will thereafter not have the right to Develop, Manufacture or Commercialize any Servier Licensed Product for such Target in the Servier Territory. Upon written notification by Pfizer of such election of a worldwide license, Pfizer shall thereafter (i) relieve Servier from its development obligations under the Agreement solely with respect to such Servier Licensed Product directed to such Collaboration Target (including pursuant to Section 5.3, (ii) in the event that milestone payments become due and owing by Servier to Cellectis for such Servier Licensed Product pursuant to the Servier / Cellectis Agreement, make the milestone payments to Servier set forth in Schedule 2.6.4.2 with respect to such Servier Licensed Product and (iii) pay to Servier the Royalties on the Net Sales of such Servier Licensed Product pursuant to Sections 11.5 and 11.6, provided that Servier shall remain responsible for payment to Cellectis of any milestones and royalty payments related to such Servier Licensed Product that may become due and owing to Cellectis under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement.
Section 2.8 Servier Product Opt-In. In the event that Pfizer exercises its Option with respect to any given CD19 Product or ROR1 Product pursuant to Section 2.6.4.1(ii), 2.6.4.2(ii), or 2.6.4.3(ii), (each, a “Servier Option Product”), then Servier shall have the right (the “Servier Opt-In Right”) for each such Servier Option Product to notify Pfizer in writing in accordance with the procedures set forth below that Servier intends to include such Servier Option Product for itself in the Servier Territory; provided, however, that the Servier Opt-In Right shall not be exercisable for ROR1 Products if Servier did not notify Pfizer pursuant to Section 2.6.4.2(i)
that it intends to pursue the development of at least one Initial ROR1 Licensed Product in the Servier Targeted Markets in accordance with the Servier / Cellectis Agreement. The Servier Opt-In Right shall be exercisable as follows:
2.8.1 Servier shall have [***] days following delivery of the Phase 1 Data Package by Pfizer to Servier to raise questions to Pfizer regarding such Phase 1 Data Package and Servier Option Product. After such [***]-day period, Pfizer shall have [***] days to answer such questions. Within [***] days following Pfizer answering any questions, Servier shall either (i) send Pfizer a notice in writing that Servier exercises its Servier Opt-In Right on such Servier Option Product (each a “Servier Opt-In Exercise Notice”), or (ii) notify Pfizer in writing that Servier decides not to exercise its Servier Opt-In Right on such Servier Option Product at such time. If Servier fails to deliver the Servier Opt-In Exercise Notice in accordance with the above, then such Servier Opt-In Right for such Servier Option Product shall be deemed to have lapsed.
2.8.2 If Servier sends the Servier Opt-In Exercise Notice pursuant to Section 2.8.1 above, then:
2.8.2.1 Servier shall pay Pfizer, at the time Servier provides Pfizer the Servier Opt-In Exercise Notice, sixty percent (60%) of Pfizer’s development costs (including any payments made to Servier that are allocable to such Servier Option Product, if any) actually incurred and as set forth in the Phase 1 Data Package;
2.8.2.2 Servier shall pay Pfizer a non-refundable and non-deductible lump sum payment of [***] Euros (€[***]) to the extent that such Servier Option Product is an Additional Servier Option Product for which Pfizer paid Servier the [***] Euros (€[***]) option fee payment on Schedule 2.6.4.2;
2.8.2.3 Servier shall pay Pfizer a non-refundable and non-deductible lump sum payment of [***] Dollars ($[***]) to the extent that such Servier Option Product is an Initial ROR1 Licensed Product for which Pfizer paid Servier the [***] Dollars ($[***]) option fee payment set forth in Section 11.2;
2.8.2.4 Servier shall thereafter bear all applicable obligations of Servier under the Agreement with respect to such Servier Option Product, and Servier shall remain responsible for all milestones and royalty payments that may become due and owing to Cellectis following the date of such Servier Opt-In Exercise Notice pursuant to the Servier / Cellectis Agreement for such Servier Option Product;
2.8.2.5 such Servier Option Product will be treated as a Servier Licensed Product pursuant to this Agreement following the date of such Servier Opt-In Exercise Notice; and
2.8.2.6 if applicable, the license granted to Pfizer by Servier pursuant to Section 2.6.4.1, 2.6.4.2 or 2.6.4.3 for such Additional Servier Option Product will be converted back to a license for the original Pfizer Territory.
2.8.3 In the event that Pfizer files an NDA for a Servier Option Product for which Pfizer only has rights to Develop and Commercialize in the United States of America and its territories and possessions (the license has not been converted to worldwide pursuant to the terms of this Agreement) then at any time following the filing of such NDA by Pfizer and delivery of the NDA Data Package by Pfizer to Servier for such Servier Option Product, Servier shall have the right to send Pfizer a Servier Opt-In Exercise Notice on such Servier Option Product. If Servier exercises the Servier Opt-In Right pursuant to this Section 2.8.3, then:
2.8.3.1 Servier shall, at the time Servier provides Pfizer the Servier Opt-In Exercise Notice, pay Pfizer [***] percent ([***]%) of Pfizer’s development costs (including any payments made to Servier pursuant to Schedule 2.6.4.2 that are allocable to such Servier Option Product, if any) actually incurred and as set forth in the NDA Package;
2.8.3.2 Servier shall pay Pfizer a non-refundable and non-deductible lump sum payment of [***] Euros (€[***]) to the extent that such Servier Option Product is an Additional Servier Option Product for which Pfizer paid Servier the [***] Euros (€[***])option fee payment on Schedule 2.6.4.2;
2.8.3.3 Servier shall pay Pfizer a non-refundable and non-deductible lump sum payment of [***] Dollars ($[***]) to the extent that such Servier Option Product is an Initial ROR1 Licensed Product for which Pfizer paid Servier the [***] Dollars ($[***]) option fee payment set forth in Section 11.2;
2.8.3.4 Servier shall pay Pfizer a royalty on Net Sales of such Servier Option Product by Servier in the Servier Territory as follows: (i) for that portion of annual Net Sales of such Servier Option Products in the Servier Territory that is equal to or less than [***] Euros (€[***]), the royalty rate shall be [***] percent ([***]%), and (ii) for that portion of annual Net Sales of such Servier Option Products in the Servier Territory that is greater than [***] Euros (€[***]), the royalty rate shall be [***] percent ([***]%);
2.8.3.5 Servier shall thereafter bear all applicable obligations of Servier under the Agreement with respect to such Servier Option Product, and Servier shall remain responsible for all milestones and royalty payment that may become due and owing to Cellectis following the date of such Servier Opt-In Exercise Notice pursuant to the Servier / Cellectis Agreement for such Servier Option Product; and
2.8.3.6 except as set forth above, such Servier Option Product will be treated as a Servier Licensed Product pursuant to this Agreement following the date of such Servier Opt-In Exercise Notice.
Section 2.9 Other Programs. Each Party understands and acknowledges that the other Party may have present or future initiatives or opportunities, including initiatives or opportunities with its Affiliates or Third Parties, involving products, programs, technologies or processes that are similar to, and in some instances may compete with, a Licensed Product, program, technology or process covered by this Agreement.
Subject to ARTICLE 10 (Commercial Covenants), each Party acknowledges and agrees that nothing in this Agreement will be construed as a representation, warranty, covenant or inference that the other Party will not itself develop, manufacture or commercialize or enter into business relationships with one or more of its Affiliates or Third Parties to develop, manufacture or commercialize products, programs, technologies or processes that are similar to or that may compete with any product, program, technology or process covered by this Agreement, provided that, for clarity, neither Party will use Confidential Information of the other Party in connection therewith. For further clarity, Confidential Information of the other Party shall not include Joint IP, except that to the extent Joint IP arising during the Term under this Agreement would be defined as “Joint IP” under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement, the confidential treatment of such IP shall be governed by the terms of the Servier / Cellectis Agreement and any agreement between Pfizer and Cellectis related thereto.
ARTICLE 3 GOVERNANCE
Section 3.1 Joint Executive Committee. Within [***] days following the Effective Date, Pfizer and Servier shall establish a Joint Executive Committee (“Joint Executive Committee” or “JEC”) to manage the overall strategic alliance objectives and resolve any disputed matter as set out in Section 3.9 below.
Section 3.2 Joint Steering Committee.
3.2.1 Establishment. Within [***] days following the Effective Date, Pfizer and Servier shall establish a Joint Steering Committee (“Joint Steering Committee” or “JSC”) to oversee, review and coordinate the activities of the Parties under this Agreement with respect to Licensed Products which both Parties are Developing or Commercializing, including the development of the Licensed Products for registration, and the marketing, commercialization and distribution of the Licensed Products, in the Field in the Servier Territory and the Pfizer Territory, subject to the provisions of this ARTICLE 3 and provided that (i) Servier shall remain responsible for any interactions with Cellectis related to CD19 Product and ROR1 Product and (ii) Pfizer shall remain responsible for any interactions with Cellectis related to EGFRVIII Product. Each Party shall inform the other Party through the JSC as to the progress of the activities conducted under the Cellectis Agreements with respect to any Licensed Products.
3.2.2 Duties. The JSC shall:
3.2.2.1 review and approve the Global Research and Development Budget;
3.2.2.2 review and approve amendments to the Global Research and Development Plan proposed by the JRDC, including the Global Research and Development Budget;
3.2.2.3 review and approve the Manufacturing Budget (including any amendments to the Manufacturing Budget proposed by the SCC);
3.2.2.4 review the recommendations of the JRDC with respect to proposed Additional Studies;
3.2.2.5 review and approve proposed Joint Third Party Licenses pursuant to Section
3.2.2.6 review and approve the regulatory as well as the intellectual property strategies for the Licensed Products in the Servier Territory and the Pfizer Territory (and substantive amendments and updates thereto);
3.2.2.7 review the Pfizer Commercialization Plan and the Servier Commercialization Plan (together the “Commercialization Plans”);
3.2.2.8 provide a forum for the Parties: (i) to discuss material issues pertaining to the Development, Manufacture and Commercialization of the Licensed Products for the Servier Territory and the Pfizer Territory, and matters pertaining to regulatory filings for the Licensed Products in the Servier Territory and the Pfizer Territory; and (ii) to coordinate their respective activities with respect to the foregoing matters;
3.2.2.9 review and appropriately resolve of any issues identified by the JRDC; and
3.2.2.10 perform such other duties as are specifically assigned to the JSC in this Agreement.
Section 3.3 Joint Research and Development Committee.
3.3.1 Establishment. Within [***] days following the Effective Date, Pfizer and Servier shall establish a joint research and development committee (“Joint Research and Development Committee” or “JRDC”) to plan, oversee and coordinate the conduct of the development activities necessary to obtain Marketing Approvals for the Licensed Product in the Servier Territory and the Pfizer Territory, as set forth in and subject to the provisions of this ARTICLE 3
3.3.2 Duties. The JRDC shall:
3.3.2.1 oversee the implementation of the Global Research and Development Plan within the JSC-approved Global Research and Development Budget;
3.3.2.2 review each Party’s execution of its responsibilities under the Global Research and Development Plan;
3.3.2.3 review and approve Clinical Study design and protocols for Clinical Studies included in the Global Research and Development Plan, including Clinical Study endpoints, clinical methodology, monitoring and auditing requirements for such Clinical Studies;
3.3.2.4 review and make recommendations on any proposed
Additional Studies, and provide to the JSC recommendations on the same;
3.3.2.5 review, propose and update the Global Research and Development Plan, including the Global Research and Development Budget set forth therein and the allocation of Development responsibilities between the Parties, as needed, but no less frequently than once each calendar half-year, and, from time to time, present to the JSC for review and approval proposed amendments to the Global Research and Development Plan, including the Global Research and Development Budget;
3.3.2.6 review and discuss safety issues related to the Licensed Products;
3.3.2.7 review, discuss, investigate and remediate, as appropriate, any significant issues related to patient safety or the integrity of the Clinical Study Data or non-compliance with GCP, GLP, GMP, applicable Laws, the Clinical Study protocol, or other applicable study requirements, and develop a process for escalation of any such issues;
3.3.2.8 review and discuss other operational decisions affecting the overall direction of the Clinical Studies; and
3.3.2.9 perform such other duties as are specifically assigned to the JRDC in this Agreement or delegated to the JRDC by the JSC.
Section 3.4 Supply Chain Committee.
3.4.1 Establishment. Within ninety (90) days following the Effective Date, Pfizer and Servier shall establish a supply chain committee (“SCC”) to oversee (i) the clinical and commercial supply of the Licensed Products, (ii) worldwide Manufacturing and sourcing strategies in support of the Development and Commercialization of the Licensed Products and (iii) the Pharmaceutical Development.
3.4.2 Duties. The SCC shall be responsible for the following operational matters with respect to Licensed Products hereunder:
3.4.2.1 reviewing Manufacturing Costs and yields, success rates and other relevant production statistics;
3.4.2.2 preparing a supply plan based on sales forecasts for each Licensed Product to be approved by the JSC; making recommendations to the JSC regarding capacity planning, supply plans and supply continuity planning for each Licensed Product for consistency with the forecasts, including consultation with the JRDC regarding clinical supply Manufacturing;
3.4.2.3 developing, for approval by the JSC, each annual budget for Pharmaceutical Development for the Licensed Products (the “Manufacturing Budget”) and any updates thereto;
3.4.2.4 making recommendations to the JSC regarding using a Third Party to perform Manufacturing of the Licensed Product and reviewing Manufacturing Costs and environmental health and safety issues associated therewith;
3.4.2.5 making recommendations to the JSC regarding Licensed Product enhancements through lifecycle management processes; and
3.4.2.6 performing such other duties as are expressly assigned to the SCC by the JSC.
The SCC shall inform the JRDC regarding supply matters affecting the Development of each Licensed Product. [***] months prior to the planned First Commercial Sale of a Licensed Product the SCC shall also begin informing the JCC and JSC with respect to such supply matters, but shall continue to inform the JRDC, for example, with regard to Pharmaceutical Development matters. The members of the SCC may include representatives from pharmaceutical research and development or commercial operations as applicable to the Licensed Product stage.
Section 3.5 IPOC. Within thirty (30) days following the Effective Date, Pfizer and Servier shall establish an intellectual property committee (“IPOC”). The IPOC shall be
responsible for overseeing all intellectual property matters related to the Licensed Products (including the Parties’ publication of materials regarding the Licensed Products, including with respect to the matters set forth below, and recommending strategies with respect thereto, but the IPOC shall not have any decision-making authority). The IPOC shall report to the JSC and shall attend JSC meetings at the request of the JSC co-chairs. The IPOC’s responsibilities shall include (i) providing guidance with respect to procedural matters regarding the prosecution and maintenance of intellectual property related to the Licensed Products; (ii) making recommendations, including to applicable Committees, regarding strategies for Product exclusivity and for obtaining, maintaining, defending and enforcing patent or trademark protection for Licensed Products, including claiming strategy, country scope for patent filings, trademark filing strategy, country scope for trademark filings, Patent Extensions, enforcement actions, freedom to operate clearances, challenges to Third Party blocking intellectual property and licensing strategies for intellectual property necessary or useful for the manufacture and importation of all Licensed Products; (iii) performing review and clearance of disclosures and publications of intellectual property related to Licensed Products as set forth in Section 13.7; (iv) serving as a forum for the prompt disclosure of all material issues relating to the intellectual property that is the subject of this Agreement; (v) facilitating cooperation between the Parties (including their respective internal and external counsels) on the intellectual property provisions set forth under this Agreement and local applicable Law in the Respective Territory; (vi) updating or reconfirming the anticipated market exclusivity period for each Licensed Product for the United States of America, the European Union and other markets as needed by applicable Committees, including in connection with the Global Research and Development Plan; and (vii) discussing and making recommendations to the JSC regarding Joint Third Party Licenses.
Section 3.6 Joint Commercialization Committee.
3.6.1 Establishment. No later than on the filing date of the NDA for the first Licensed Product, Pfizer and Servier shall establish a joint commercialization committee (“Joint Commercialization Committee” or “JCC”) to oversee commercialization, marketing and promotion activities for the Licensed Products in the Servier Territory and the Pfizer Territory.
3.6.2 Duties. The JCC shall, subject to any applicable Laws:
3.6.2.1 subject to the oversight of the JSC, review the Commercialization Plans developed in accordance with Sections 9.1.3 and 9.2.3;
3.6.2.2 oversee the implementation of the Commercialization
Plans; and
3.6.2.3 perform such other duties as are specifically assigned to the JCC in this Agreement or delegated to the JCC by the JSC.
Section 3.7 Committee Membership. The JEC, JSC, JRDC, SCC, JCC and IPOC (each, a “Committee”) shall each be composed of an equal number of representatives from each of Pfizer and Servier selected by such Party. Unless the Parties otherwise agree, the exact number of representatives for each of Pfizer and Servier shall be: (i) with respect to the JEC, two (2) representatives, each of whom shall be at the Senior Vice-President (or equivalent) level or above; and (ii) with respect to the JSC, JRDC, SCC and JCC, three (3) representatives. Either Party may replace its respective Committee representatives at any time with prior written notice to the other Party; provided that the criteria for composition of each Committee set forth in the preceding sentence continues to be satisfied following any such replacement of a Party’s representative on any such Committee.
Section 3.8 Committee Meetings. The JEC shall meet at least once each Calendar Year, or more as agreed by the Parties or as needed to resolve disputes matters as set out in Section 3.9. The JSC shall meet at least twice each Calendar Year or more or less often as otherwise agreed to by the Parties. The JRDC, SCC, IPOC and JCC shall meet at least once each Calendar Quarter, or as more or less often as otherwise agreed to by the Parties. All Committee meetings may be conducted by telephone, video-conference or in person as determined by the applicable Committee; provided that each Committee shall meet in person at least once each Calendar Year. Unless otherwise agreed by the Parties, all in-person meetings for each Committee shall be held on an alternating basis between Servier’s facilities and Pfizer’s facilities. Each Party shall bear its own personnel and travel costs and expenses relating to Committee meetings. With the consent of the Parties (not to be withheld unreasonably), other employee representatives of the Parties may attend any Committee meeting as non-voting observers.
Section 3.9 Decision-Making. Decisions of each Committee shall be made by unanimous vote, with at least one (1) representative from each Party participating in any vote. In the event the JRDC, SCC, IPOC or JCC fails to reach unanimous agreement with respect to a particular matter within its authority, then upon request by either Party, such matter shall be referred to the JSC for resolution. In the event the JSC fails to reach unanimous agreement with respect to a particular matter within its authority, then upon request by either Party, such matter shall be referred to the JEC for resolution.
In the event that the JEC cannot reach unanimous agreement with respect to a particular matter, then either Party may, by written notice to the other Party, have such matter referred to the Executive Officers of both Parties who shall meet promptly and negotiate in good faith to resolve the dispute. If, despite such good faith efforts, the Executive Officers are unable to resolve such dispute and the matter is an Arbitrable Matter, then the provisions of Section 17.2 shall apply. Without prejudice to the foregoing:
3.9.1 other than with respect to Mutual Consent Matters, Servier shall have the deciding vote with respect to matters as they relate solely to the Development, Manufacture and Commercialization of the Licensed Products for use and sale in the Servier Territory provided the matter is not reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the Development, Manufacture or Commercialization of the Licensed Products in the Pfizer Territory;
3.9.2 other than with respect to Mutual Consent Matters, Pfizer shall have the deciding vote with respect to such matters as they relate solely to the use and sale of Licensed Products in the Pfizer Territory provided the matter is not reasonably expected to have a material adverse effect on the Development, Manufacture or Commercialization of the Licensed Products in the Servier Territory.
3.9.3 Mutual Consent Matters shall be resolved only by unanimous consent of the Executive Officers.
Section 3.10 Working Groups. From time to time, the JSC, JRDC, SCC, IPOC and JCC may establish and delegate duties to sub-committees or teams (each, a “Working Group”) to oversee particular projects or activities within their respective authority. Each Working Group and its activities shall be subject to the oversight, review and approval of, and shall report to, the Committee that established such Working Group. Any Working Group established by a Committee shall be composed of an equal number of representatives from each of Pfizer and Servier, selected by such Party, and the total number of members of each Working Group will be determined by the Committee which establishes such Working Group. Each Working Group shall meet at such times and in such places as directed by the Committee which establishes such Working Group. In no event shall the authority of any Working Group exceed that specified for the Committee under which such Working Group is established, as set forth in this ARTICLE 3.
Section 3.11 Alliance Managers. Within thirty (30) days following the Effective Date, each Party shall appoint a representative (“Alliance Manager”) to facilitate communications between the Parties (including, coordinating the exchange of Data and know-how of each Party as required under this Agreement) and to act as a liaison between the Parties with respect to such other matters as the Parties may mutually agree in order to maximize the efficiency of the collaboration. Each Party may replace its Alliance Manager with an alternative representative at any time with prior written notice to the other Party. The Alliance Managers shall be entitled to attend all Committee meetings. Each Alliance Manager may bring any matter to the attention of the Committees where such Alliance Manager reasonably believes that such matter requires attention of the Committees. Each Alliance Manager shall be responsible with creating and maintaining a collaborative work environment within and among the Committees. Each Alliance Manager will also be responsible for:
3.11.1 coordinating the relevant functional representatives of the Parties in developing and executing key strategies and plans for the Licensed Products in an effort to ensure consistency and efficiency within the Pfizer Territory and the Servier Territory;
3.11.2 providing a primary point of communication responsible for facilitating the flow of information and for seeking consensus both within the respective Party’s organization and together regarding key strategy and plan issues;
3.11.3 ensuring that the governance procedures and the rules set forth herein are complied with;
3.11.4 identifying and raising disputes to the relevant Committee for discussion in a timely manner; and
3.11.5 planning and coordinating internal and external communications in accordance with the terms of this Agreement.
Section 3.12 Scope of Governance. Notwithstanding the creation of the JEC, JSC, JRDC, SCC, IPOC, JCC or any Working Group, each Party shall retain the rights, powers and discretion granted to it hereunder, and no Committee shall be delegated or vested with rights, powers or discretion unless such delegation or vesting is expressly provided herein, or the Parties expressly so agree in writing. No Committee shall have the power to amend or modify this Agreement, and no decision of any Committee shall be in contravention of any terms and conditions of this Agreement. The Alliance Managers shall not have any rights, powers or discretion except as expressly granted to the Alliance Managers hereunder and in no event shall the Alliance Managers have any right or power to modify or amend this Agreement. It is understood and agreed that issues to be formally decided by the JEC, JSC, JRDC, SCC, IPOC and JCC, as applicable, are only those specific issues that are expressly provided in this Agreement to be decided by the JEC, JSC, JRDC, SCC, IPOC and JCC, as applicable.
ARTICLE 4 PROVISION OF DATA, KNOW-HOW AND MATERIAL
Section 4.1 Know-How and Data Transfer. Subject to the restrictions on use set forth in Section 5.7, each Party shall (and shall cause its Affiliates and Sublicensees to) reasonably cooperate with the other Party to promptly share and provide access to (i) all Data generated under any Global Research and Development Plan or under any Additional Study and results within the Joint IP, and (ii) the Servier Know-How or the Pfizer Know-How, as the case may be. The JSC may establish, to the extent mutually agreed to by the Parties, reasonable policies to effectuate such exchange of Data and Know-How between the Parties.
Section 4.2 Materials. In order to facilitate the Global Research and Development Plan, either Party may provide to the other Party products or research materials (collectively, “Substances”) Controlled by the supplying Party for use by the other Party in furtherance of the Global Research and Development Plan. Except as otherwise provided under this Agreement, all such Substances (other than those Substances that constitute Joint Know-How) delivered to the other Party shall remain the sole property of the supplying Party. All Substances provided by one Party to the other shall be used only in furtherance of the Global Research and Development Plan. Upon expiration or termination of the Agreement, each Party shall return to the other Party all Substances received from such other Party, except for such Substances required to perform any obligations or exercise any rights continuing after such expiration or termination.
The Substances supplied under this Section 4.2must be used with prudence and appropriate caution in any experimental work, since not all their characteristics may be known. THE SUBSTANCES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR OF FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, WITHOUT LIMITING THE REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES PROVIDED UNDER ARTICLE 14, ANY WARRANTY THAT THE USE OF THE SUBSTANCES WILL NOT INFRINGE OR VIOLATE ANY PATENT OR OTHER PROPRIETARY RIGHTS OF ANY THIRD PARTY.
Section 4.3 Disclaimer. Other than as expressly set forth in this Agreement, any Data disclosed by a Party to the other Party under this Agreement is provided on an “as is” basis, without any warranty (express or implied) of any kind, and the disclosing Party expressly disclaims all such warranties to the maximum extent permitted under applicable Laws. The receiving Party on behalf of itself and its Affiliates and Sublicensees accepts all risk and liability in relation to the use of the Data received from the disclosing Party under this Agreement, and shall indemnify and hold harmless the disclosing Party from any Third Party’s claim(s) based upon such Data.
ARTICLE 5 DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES
Section 5.1 The Parties will collaborate in the Development of the Licensed Products pursuant to the Global Research and Development Plan. Except as otherwise provided in the Global Research and Development Plan:
5.1.1 as from the Effective Date with respect to the first CD19 Product and EGFRVIII Product(s), and, upon exercise of the Option with respect to additional CD19 Product(s) and ROR1 Product(s), and subject to Section 5.8.1, Pfizer shall be solely responsible for Development activities directed to obtaining and for obtaining Marketing Approvals for Licensed Products in the Pfizer Territory, and
5.1.2 as from the Effective Date with respect to the first CD19 Product and EGFRVIII Product(s), and, upon notification to Pfizer pursuant to ARTICLE II, with respect to additional CD19 Product(s) and ROR1 Product(s), and subject to Section 5.8.1, Servier shall be solely responsible for Development activities directed to obtaining and for obtaining Marketing Approvals for Licensed Products in the Servier Territory.
Section 5.2 Global Research and Development Plan. The research and development activities to be conducted by each Party for each Licensed Product shall be conducted in accordance with one or more written research and development plans to be agreed to in writing by the Parties, which shall set forth the specific activities and the estimated timelines (together, the “Global Research and Development Plan”) and the associated budgets (together, the “Global Research and Development Budget”). The initial Global Research and Development Plan and Global Research and Development Budget are attached hereto as Exhibit 5.2.
Beginning with the first full Calendar Year following the Effective Date, twice a year (no later than respectively June 30th and November 30th), or more often as the JRDC deems appropriate, the JRDC shall review and, as required, prepare an update and amendment to the Global Research and Development Plan and Global Research and Development Budget for approval by the JSC. Each such updated and amended Global Research and Development Plan shall reflect any changes, additions, re-prioritization of Clinical Studies or indications within, or reallocation of resources with respect to, the Development of the Licensed Products. Once approved by the JSC, an amended Global Research and Development Plan and Global Research and Development Budget shall become effective and supersede the previous Global Research and Development Plan and Global Research and Development Budget as of the date of such approval.
Section 5.3 Development Diligence.
5.3.1 Each Party shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to carry out the activities assigned to it under the Global Research and Development Plan within the Global Research and Development Budget.
5.3.2 Without prejudice to ARTICLE 2, Pfizer shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to Develop and obtain and maintain Marketing Approval in the Pfizer Territory in the Field (i) for at least one CD 19 Product, (ii) if the Option is exercised on either or both Initial ROR1 Licensed Product, with respect to such Initial ROR1 Licensed Product(s) and (iii) if the Option is exercised on any Additional Servier Option Product, with respect to such Additional Servier Option Product only to the extent required in accordance with the terms set forth in the Servier / Cellectis Agreement.
5.3.3 Servier shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to Develop and obtain and maintain Marketing Approval in the Servier Targeted Markets in the Field for at least one EGFRVIII Product.
Section 5.4 Responsibilities under the Global Research and Development Plan. The Parties will endeavor, to the extent appropriate, to have Clinical Studies conducted globally with one sponsor per study. To the extent that a Clinical Study is not conducted globally, Pfizer shall be the sponsor of all Clinical Studies conducted in the Pfizer Territory and Servier shall be the sponsor of all Clinical Studies conducted in the Servier Territory, provided that if Clinical Studies pursuant to the Global Research and Development Plan need to be conducted by the same sponsor both in the Pfizer Territory and in the Servier Territory, then the Parties will agree which Party shall be the sponsor.
Section 5.5 Pre-Clinical Costs and Development Costs.
5.5.1 The Pre-Clinical Costs for the Servier Licensed Products incurred by Servier shall be borne at [***] percent ([***]%) by Pfizer to the extent such Pre-Clinical Costs are specific to the Pfizer Territory and shall otherwise be borne at [***] percent ([***]%) by Servier, unless they are included in the Global Research and Development Budget and allocated pursuant to Section 5.5.3 below.
5.5.2 The Pre-Clinical Costs for the Pfizer Licensed Products incurred by Pfizer shall be borne at [***] percent ([***]%) by Servier to the extent such Pre-Clinical Costs are specific to the Servier Territory and shall be otherwise be borne at [***] percent ([***]%) by Pfizer, unless they are included in the Global Research and Development Budget and allocated pursuant to Section 5.5.3 below.
5.5.3 The Development Costs incurred by the Parties pursuant to the Global Research and Development Plan in accordance with the Global Research and Development Budget will be borne at sixty percent (60%) by Pfizer and forty percent (40%) by Servier.
5.5.4 All costs and expenses incurred by the Parties in accordance with the Manufacturing Budget will be borne at sixty percent (60%) by Pfizer and forty percent (40%) by Servier.
Section 5.6 Reconciliation and Reimbursement.
5.6.1 Within sixty (60) days after the end of each Calendar Quarter, each Party shall provide the other Party with a detailed, activity-based statement of the Development Costs incurred pursuant to Section 5.5 in a format to be agreed upon by the Parties. The Parties will work together to establish an optimal inter-Party financial operating structure (including, if necessary, procedures and agreements between the Parties) which is consistent with the economic result contemplated herein and consistent to the extent feasible with each Party’s internal structures and procedures.
5.6.2 Within forty-five (45) days after the end of each Calendar Quarter, Servier shall provide Pfizer with a written report (the “Reconciliation Report”) setting forth, in a format to be agreed-upon by the Parties, the calculations of each Party’s share of such Development Costs for the previous Calendar Quarter. Such Reconciliation Report shall include for such Calendar Quarter (i) the total Development Costs incurred by each Party in accordance with Section 5.5, and each Party’s respective share thereof, and (ii) the net payment due from one Party to the other Party in accordance with this Section 5.6.
5.6.3 Any net payment owed from one Party to the other Party shall be paid within sixty (60) days following delivery of the Reconciliation Report, provided that if a Party disputes an amount provided in such Reconciliation Report then such disputed amount shall be reviewed by the JRDC, and any net payment owed with respect to the undisputed amounts shall be paid within the above set forth timeline. If requested by a Party, any invoices or other supporting documentation for any payments to a Third Party shall be promptly provided.
Section 5.7 Additional Studies.
5.7.1 If a Party (including through its Affiliates or Sublicensees) wishes to conduct or fund one or more additional non-clinical studies or Clinical Studies (beyond what is then included in an applicable Global Research and Development Plan for any Competent Authorities) (“Additional Studies”) in the Field for Development of the Licensed Products, such Party (the “Proposing Party”) shall notify the other Party (the “Non-Proposing Party”) and the JRDC in writing of such proposed Additional Studies and provide the Non-Proposing Party and the JRDC with any Data or publications supporting any such proposed Additional Studies. In such event, the JRDC shall consider such Additional Studies, the supporting Data and information in good faith. If, following review of the proposed Additional Studies and supporting information, the JRDC:
5.7.1.1 agrees to include such Additional Studies as part of the Global Research and Development Plan then, the Proposing Party shall prepare an amendment to the applicable Global Research and Development Plan to include the proposed Additional Studies and related budget for review by JRDC and approval by the JSC;
5.7.1.2 does not agree to include such Additional Studies as part of
the Global Research and Development Plan, other than for the reasons set forth in Section 5.7.1.3 below, the Proposing Party shall have the right to perform and fund the Additional Studies in its Respective Territory. Promptly following completion of any Additional Studies that are not included in the Global Research and Development Plan, the Proposing Party shall deliver a top-line summary of all Data resulting from such Additional Studies to the JRDC and the Non-Proposing Party; or
5.7.1.3 does not agree to include such Additional Studies as part of the Global Research and Development Plan, because of (i) material concerns as to safety of patients resulting from any such proposed Additional Studies or (ii) a reasonable expectation that such proposed Additional Studies would have a material adverse effect on the Non-Proposing Party’s interest in the applicable Licensed Products, then the Proposing Party shall have no right to perform or fund such proposed Additional Studies.
5.7.2 If the Non-Proposing Party wishes to obtain access to and have the right to use the Data resulting from any Additional Study in its Regulatory Materials to support any NDA or MAA filings or extension of a Regulatory Approval or any pricing and reimbursement applications, in its Respective Territory, it may do so by notice in writing to the Proposing Party at any time, provided that upon submission of the Data in the NDA or MAA filings or extension, the Non-Proposing Party shall reimburse the Proposing Party an amount equal to with respect to Pfizer, [***] percent ([***]%) of Servier’s Development Costs for the applicable Additional Study, and with respect to Servier, [***] percent ([***]%) of Pfizer Development Costs for the applicable Additional Study for use in the EU, and [***] for use in countries in the Servier Territory outside the EU.
5.7.3 Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, each Party shall have access to all Data resulting from Additional Studies conducted or funded by or on behalf of the other Party, its Affiliates and its Sublicensees and the right to use such Data at no cost to such Party solely as necessary to comply with safety reporting or other similar regulatory requirements in its Respective Territory, and such Party’s license rights and rights of reference to such Data shall be limited solely to such purpose or to other purposes to the extent that such other purposes are necessary to comply with applicable Laws.
Section 5.8 Studies in the Other Party’s Respective Territory (outside the Global Research and Development Plan).
5.8.1 In the event that, in furtherance of its Development activities for Licensed Product in its Respective Territory, a Party believes it needs to conduct Clinical Studies which include one or more sites in the other Party’s Respective Territory, then the requesting Party shall provide written notice to the JSC of the proposed trial design (including the most current protocol draft), Clinical Study size (estimated number of patients), the list of proposed countries involved in the Clinical Study and the purpose of and need for such Clinical Study, and seek the other Party’s consent, which consent shall not be unreasonably delayed, conditioned, or withheld, to conduct such Clinical Study using sites in such other Party’s Respective Territory; provided that such other Party’s consent shall not be required to the extent such Additional Studies do not compete with or otherwise interfere with any Clinical Studies related to the Licensed Product conducted or to be conducted by such other Party in its Respective Territory in accordance with the Global Research and Development Plan. The requesting Party will give good faith consideration to any comments provided by the other Party’s representatives on the JSC including the choice of the key opinion leaders and Clinical Study sites (such comments to be promptly provided within a reasonable time after receipt of the information relating to the trial design and Clinical Study size).
5.8.2 Neither Party shall provide Licensed Products or monetary support for any Investigator Sponsored Study for Licensed Products that are being Developed or Commercialized by both Parties under the Global Research and Development Plan, without the other Party’s prior written consent.
Section 5.9 Activities of Servier in Pfizer Territory. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Agreement, and further notwithstanding any Data disclosed by Servier under this Agreement, the Parties agree and acknowledge that Servier shall have no involvement whatsoever in, and shall not be obligated to participate in, the Manufacture or Commercialization of Licensed Products in or for the Pfizer Territory other than to the extent expressly set forth in the Global Research and Development Plan and such other obligations as are expressly provided herein or except as agreed by Servier pursuant to Section 5.8.1.
Section 5.10 Reports. Each Party shall provide the other Party and the JRDC with regular reports detailing its Development activities, including any material issues relating to patient safety or Clinical Study Data integrity, compliance with applicable Laws, the Clinical Study protocol, and other applicable Clinical Study requirements, Development Costs under the Global Research and Development Plan and the results of such activities at each regularly scheduled JRDC meeting. Each Party shall also include in the regular reports a forecast of the amount by which the Party is above or below the Global Research and Development Budget, including above or below the amounts allocated for each Calendar Quarter or any given Clinical Study, promptly after the end of each Calendar Quarter. The format of all such reports shall be determined by the JRDC; provided that: (a) all Clinical Study reports shall be in e-CTD ready format; (b) reports for all non-Clinical Studies with a GLP status, shall be in e-CTD ready format; and (c) for non-GLP non-clinical studies, the conversion to the e-CTD ready format will be performed as soon as the Parties agree that: (i) the applicable study will be part of a dossier aiming to obtain a Marketing Approval or (ii) that the applicable study is necessary to support the submission of a clinical trial application or of any other regulatory submission that may ultimately require the study report to be promptly available for submission upon request by a Competent Authority.
Section 5.11 Development Records. Each Party shall (and shall cause its Sublicensees to) maintain complete and accurate records (in the form of technical notebooks or electronic files where appropriate) of all work conducted by it or on its behalf (including by Sublicensees) under the Global Research and Development Plan or in connection with Additional Studies for any Competent Authorities.
Such records, including any electronic files where such Data may also be contained, shall fully and properly reflect all work done and results achieved in sufficient detail and in good scientific manner appropriate for patent and regulatory purposes. Each Party shall have the right to review and receive a copy of such records (including a copy of the databases) maintained by the other Party (including its Sublicensees) at reasonable times, but no more than [***] in any one Calendar Year, and to obtain access to source documents to the extent needed for patent or regulatory purposes or for other legal proceedings. The Parties may agree to set up an electronic data room in order to manage the exchange of information in a secure manner.
Section 5.12 Subcontracts. Each Party may perform any of its obligations under this Agreement through one or more subcontractors and consultants and shall provide information in that regard to the JRDC, provided that:
5.12.1 such Party remains responsible for the work allocated to, and payment to, such subcontractors and consultants as it selects to the same extent it would if it had done such work itself;
5.12.2 such Party ensures that the subcontractor or consultant is appropriately qualified and experienced to perform the relevant services or role;
5.12.3 the subcontractors and consultants undertake in writing obligations of confidentiality and non-use regarding Confidential Information that are substantially the same as those undertaken by the Parties pursuant to ARTICLE 13 hereof or otherwise ensuring adequate protection;
5.12.4 the subcontractors and consultants undertake in writing obligations that comply in all material respects with the material provisions of this Agreement; and
5.12.5 the subcontractors and consultants assigning or granting a license securing adequate rights under all intellectual property developed in the course of performing any such work under the Global Research and Development Plan or in connection with Additional Studies for any Regulatory Authorities in the European Union to the Party retaining such subcontractors or consultants.
Section 5.13 Personnel. Each Party shall cause its employees, agents and its Affiliates conducting activities under this Agreement to, prior to commencing any such activities, have executed an agreement assigning any inventions and related intellectual property rights to the Party by whom they are employed or for whom they are providing services (or its designated Affiliate).
ARTICLE 6 MEDICAL AFFAIRS
Section 6.1 Medical Affairs. Each Party shall carry out medical affairs activities with respect to the Licensed Products in its Respective Territory in compliance with its applicable internal policies and procedures, and pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the then-current and approved Global Research and Development Plan and Global Research and Development Budget and the Joint Medical Plan.
Section 6.2 Joint Medical Plan. An annual joint medical plan (“Joint Medical Plan”) for the Territory shall be prepared by and approved by the JSC. In coordination with the global branding for the Product, each Joint Medical Plan shall include:
6.2.1 Establishing a budget for grants;
6.2.2 Scientific education;
6.2.3 Plans for Phase 4 Clinical Studies;
6.2.4 Medical information and drug safety plans;
6.2.5 Investigator-initiated trial policies and plans;
6.2.6 Risk evaluation and mitigation strategies (if applicable);
6.2.7 Publication planning; and
6.2.8 Plans for collaborating with co-operative groups if not addressed in the Global Research and Development Plan.
ARTICLE 7 REGULATORY MATTERS
Section 7.1 General
7.1.1 Diligence. The Parties shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to prepare and file all necessary Regulatory Materials for the Licensed Products with Competent Authorities in accordance with the respective responsibilities of the Parties as set forth in the Global Research and Development Plan and in this Agreement. Each Party shall reasonably cooperate with the other Party with respect to any and all regulatory matters for which the other Party is responsible.
7.1.2 Territory Responsibilities. Unless otherwise provided in the Global Research and Development Plan, (i) Servier shall be solely responsible and have the final authority with respect to regulatory activities (including preparing and filing all Regulatory Materials) regarding the Licensed Products in the Servier Territory in the Field and (ii) Pfizer shall be solely responsible and have the final authority with respect to all regulatory activities (including preparing and filing all Regulatory Materials) regarding the Licensed Products in the Pfizer Territory in the Field.
7.1.3 Ownership of Regulatory Materials, MAAs, NDAs and Marketing Approvals. Unless otherwise required under applicable Law or otherwise determined by the JRDC, ownership of the right, title and interest in and to any and all Regulatory Materials, MAAs, NDAs and Marketing Approvals directed to a Licensed Product in a country shall be held in the name of Pfizer for the Pfizer Territory and in the name of Servier for the Servier Territory, and the other Party shall execute all documents and take all actions as are reasonably requested by such Party to vest such title in such Party, subject to Section 12.1.
7.1.4 Regulatory Communications and Filings. Each Party shall send to the other Party drafts of all material Regulatory Materials intended to be submitted to the Competent Authorities, with respect to Pfizer, in the Pfizer Territory, and with respect to Servier, those countries in the Servier Territory to be agreed to by the Parties throughout the Term, in draft form and give the other Party at least [***] days, or in the event of urgent filings, any shorter reasonable period of time, to comment on such drafts of Regulatory Materials, such comments to be considered in good faith and included by the Party receiving these comments in its sole discretion. Each Party shall notify the other Party of any material Regulatory Materials submitted to or received from the Competent Authorities, with respect to Pfizer, in the Pfizer Territory, and with respect to Servier, in the those countries in the Servier Territory to be agreed to by the Parties throughout the Term, and shall provide the other Party with copies thereof.
7.1.5 Regulatory Meetings. Each Party shall provide the other Party with reasonable advance notice of all material meetings, conferences, and discussions scheduled with the Competent Authorities, with respect to Pfizer, in the Pfizer Territory, and with respect to Servier, in the those countries in the Servier Territory to be agreed to by the Parties throughout the Term, concerning any Licensed Product, and shall consider in good faith any timely and reasonable input from the other Party in preparing for such meetings, conferences or discussion. Upon the request of the other Party, and to the extent legally permissible and not opposed by the relevant Competent Authority, Pfizer, in the Pfizer Territory, and Servier, in the Servier Territory, shall permit the other Party to attend any and all meetings with the applicable Competent Authority. At the request of the other Party and as acceptable to the Competent Authority, the meeting Party shall request (to the extent such request is appropriate in the good faith assessment of the meeting Party) that the applicable Competent Authority allow at least one (1) representative of the other Party to attend such meetings; provided, that the foregoing shall not apply to informal meetings or unscheduled teleconferences or meetings or teleconferences otherwise intended by the Competent Authority to be between it and the meeting Party’s representatives only. The other Party shall strictly follow the filing Party’s instructions with respect to any meeting which it attends, and shall not discuss the contents of any such meeting with any Competent Authority, except as required by applicable Law or authorized by the filing Party in writing.
7.1.6 Each Party shall, unless prohibited by Law, keep the other Party informed of material regulatory developments relating to each Licensed Product in the Pfizer Territory with respect to Pfizer and respect to Servier in the those countries in the Servier Territory to be agreed to by the Parties throughout the Term, including through regular reports at the JSC meetings.
7.1.7 In addition to the foregoing, Servier shall provide Pfizer and the JSC with semi-annual updates (or more frequently as determined by the JSC in case of material developments) with respect to regulatory activities (including preparing and filing all Regulatory Materials, MAA, and other Marketing Approval applications) regarding the Licensed Product in countries in the Servier Territory.
Section 7.2 Recall
7.2.1 Each Party shall notify the other Party as promptly as practicable following the discovery of any issue regarding any Licensed Product that would be relevant for purposes of determining whether any corrective action (e.g., recall, market withdrawal, or other corrective action) (“Corrective Action”) is required with respect to any Licensed Product. As promptly as possible following the issuance of any such notice the JSC or a crisis committee shall meet and discuss in good faith whether any Corrective Action is required with respect to any Licensed Product. In the event that the JSC or the crisis committee is unable to timely meet or the Parties are unable to timely agree via the JSC on any such recall, market withdrawal, or other Corrective Action:
7.2.1.1 Servier Territory. Servier, in its sole responsibility and discretion, shall be entitled to make all decisions with respect to any such Corrective Action with respect to any Licensed Product in the Servier Territory;
7.2.1.2 Pfizer Territory. Pfizer, in its sole responsibility and discretion, shall be entitled to make all decisions with respect to any such Corrective Action with respect to any Licensed Product in the Pfizer Territory.
7.2.2 Without prejudice to any indemnity provision with respect to the Manufacturing of the Licensed Product, all documented and reasonable costs associated with any Corrective Action shall be (i) borne by Servier, with respect to Corrective Actions in the Servier Territory and (ii) borne by Pfizer, with respect to Corrective Actions in the Pfizer Territory.
Section 7.3 Rights of Reference. Subject to Section 5.7, each Party hereby grants to the other Party a non-exclusive, non-transferable (except in connection with a permitted assignment, sublicense or subcontract under or of this Agreement) “right of reference” (as defined in 21 C.F.R. §314.3(b)) with respect to such Regulatory Materials and Data as such Party may own in accordance with Section 7.1.3 as necessary for the other Party to prepare, submit and maintain Regulatory Materials for which it is responsible hereunder or as otherwise necessary to perform its obligations or exercise its rights hereunder or to comply with applicable Law. Each Party shall, on written request by the other Party, provide to the other Party and to any specified Competent Authority a letter, in the form reasonably required by the other Party, acknowledging that the other Party (or its Affiliates and Sublicensees) has the above right of reference to any such Regulatory Materials. Each Party will provide, and cause its Affiliates to provide, reasonable cooperation to the other Party to effect the foregoing (including permitting such Party or any relevant Competent Authority to inspect any such Regulatory Materials upon reasonable notice). In the event that the Regulatory Materials to be cross-referenced, filed or incorporated by reference include any DMF of a Third Party manufacturer, such rights of cross-reference, filing or incorporation by reference shall be subject to such obligations and restrictions as the Party owning the Regulatory Materials containing such DMF may have to such Third Party manufacturer with respect to the use or disclosure of its DMF.
Section 7.4 Clinical Study Database Format. Before commencement of each Clinical Study pursuant to the Global Research and Development Plan, the Parties shall define the common database format to be used and other related data transfer and database requirements in order to fulfill both FDA and EMA requirements.
Section 7.5 Pharmacovigilance Agreement.
As soon as reasonably practicable after the Effective Date, but not later than the initiation of the first Clinical Study with respect to a Licensed Product in any country, the Parties shall enter into a pharmacovigilance agreement (“Pharmacovigilance Agreement”), setting forth the worldwide pharmacovigilance responsibilities and procedures for (i) collecting, monitoring, evaluating, sharing and reporting to applicable Competent Authorities information regarding patient safety (including adverse drug) experiences that are or may be associated with Licensed Products and (ii) providing regulatory information to and support of the other Party with regard to regulatory obligations, provided, that, the Pharmacovigilance Agreement shall include the following guiding principles: (a) the Party holding the Marketing Approval shall primarily control the regulatory process and regulatory interactions and (b) the Parties shall work together collaboratively to the further purposes of this Agreement. This Pharmacovigilance Agreement shall be in accordance with, and enable both Parties to fulfil all local, national and regional regulatory reporting obligations under applicable Laws. To the extent there is any conflict between the terms and conditions of the Pharmacovigilance Agreement and this Agreement with respect to safety or regulatory matters only, the Pharmacovigilance Agreement shall control. All liability issues arising therefrom shall be subject to the indemnification provisions and the dispute resolution mechanism set forth in ARTICLE 15 and Section 17.2.
Section 7.6 Audits. Each Party shall have the right, at its sole cost and expense, to perform audits of the other Party’s Clinical Study conduct, pharmacovigilance, regulatory, and environmental, health and safety activities, including each Party’s oversight of any Third Party contracted to perform Clinical Study activities, including pharmacovigilance, regulatory or environmental health and safety activities as outlined in this Agreement and in compliance with applicable Laws, which audit right is exercisable at any time during the Term, provided that this audit right shall not be exercised by either Party more than [***] in any twelve (12) month period, or as reasonably necessary based on prior audits or information obtained during the performance of the Development Plan, and shall only be exercised during normal business hours upon reasonable advance written notice to the other Party.
Section 7.7 Safety Database and Safety Reporting. Each Party shall establish and thereafter maintain its own safety database for the Licensed Products for its Respective Territory. Without prejudice to the foregoing, Servier and Pfizer may each respectively establish and maintain a global safety database for the Servier Licensed Products and the Pfizer Licensed Products. With respect to a particular Clinical Study, the sponsor of the Clinical Study shall be responsible for the collection, assessment and safety reporting to Competent Authorities for the Clinical Study for which they are sponsor. Each Party shall be responsible for the preparation and maintenance of the Periodic Safety Update Reports, the Development Safety Update Reports and the Investigator’s Brochure for the Clinical Studies for which it is responsible, and as applicable, of the core safety data sheet, and will provide copies of each such document to the other Party. The Pharmacoviligance Agreement will contain any additional details related to safety data collection as agreed to by the Parties.
Section 7.8 Product Complaints and Returns. The Parties’ rights and obligations with respect to non-conformance and returns of Licensed Products shall be governed by, as and to the extent applicable, the Development and/or Commercial Supply Agreement, the Quality Agreement, or the Pharmacovigilance Agreement.
Section 7.9 Clinical Trial Register. Each Party shall, in accordance with applicable Law and its internal policies, register, and publish the results or summaries of, Clinical Studies relating to each Licensed Product for which it is the Clinical Study sponsor on a clinical trial register maintained by it (or an equivalent register, or as otherwise required by applicable Law or such Party’s policies).
Section 7.10 No Use of Debarred Person. During the Term, each Party agrees that it will not use any employee, agent, consultant, contractor or subcontractor that is debarred by any Competent Authority or, to such Party’s Knowledge, is the subject of debarment proceedings by any Competent Authority. If either Party learns that any employee, agent, consultant, contractor or subcontractor performing on its behalf under this Agreement has been debarred by any Competent Authority, or has become the subject of debarment proceedings by any Competent Authority, it will promptly notify the other Party and will prohibit such employee, agent, consultant, contractor or subcontractor from further performing on its behalf under this Agreement.
Section 7.11 Notice of Investigation or Inquiry. If any Competent Authority (i) contacts a Party with respect to the alleged improper Development, Manufacture or Commercialization of Licensed Products (anywhere in the world), (ii) conducts, or gives notice of its intent to conduct, an inspection at such Party’s facilities, or any Third Party facilities, to the extent related to any Licensed Product (anywhere in the world), or (iii) takes, or gives notice of its intent to take, any other regulatory action with respect to any activity of such Party, or any Third Party, that could reasonably be expected to materially adversely affect any Development, Manufacturing or Commercialization activities with respect to any Licensed Product for use or sale anywhere in the world, then such Party shall promptly notify the other Party of such contact, inspection or notice. The inspected Party shall provide such other Party with copies of all pertinent information and documentation issued by any such Competent Authority as soon as reasonably practicable, and in any event within [***] Business Days after receipt, and the JSC and JRDC shall have the right to review and provide comment in advance, where feasible, of any responses that pertain thereto.
ARTICLE 8 MANUFACTURING AND SUPPLY
Section 8.1 Manufacturing Party. The Parties will use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to agree as to the appropriate Party or Third Party which will manufacture the Licensed Products for Development and Commercialization pursuant to this Agreement (the “Manufacturing Party”) and the Development and/or Commercial Supply Agreement set forth in Section 8.3.
Section 8.2 Manufacture by Cellectis. Servier shall be responsible for the conduct by Cellectis of the Manufacturing-related activities and Pharmaceutical Development for Servier Licensed Products in accordance with the Servier / Cellectis Agreement.
Section 8.3 Development and/or Commercial Supply Agreement. Whenever deemed appropriate by the Parties after the date hereof, the Parties shall determine which Party or Third Party shall be the Manufacturing Party and shall negotiate, in good faith, and enter into a written manufacturing and supply agreement (the “Development and/or Commercial Supply Agreement”) which sets forth the rights and obligations of the Parties in connection with the Manufacturing Party’s Manufacture of the Licensed Products for Development and Commercialization as provided in this Agreement.
Section 8.4 Quality Agreement. In connection with the negotiation and execution of a Development and/or Commercial Supply Agreement, the Parties shall also enter into a separate agreement with the Manufacturing Party or Third Party, as applicable, covering the quality control, quality assurance and validation of any Licensed Product delivered under such Development and/or Commercial Supply Agreement (the “Quality Agreement”). The Quality Agreement may be updated as required, independent of this Agreement. The Quality Agreement shall contain customary terms and conditions that are consistent with this Agreement, and shall set forth the respective requirements, roles and responsibilities of the Parties.
Section 8.5 Pricing. All Licensed Products to be supplied by a Party to the other Party pursuant to any Development and/or Commercial Supply Agreement shall be supplied at a transfer price equal to the supplying Party’s Manufacturing Costs or Out-of-Pocket Costs, as applicable, and any markups to be mutually agreed between the Parties and defined in the applicable Development and/or Commercial Supply Agreement.
Section 8.6 Technology Transfer. All Development and/or Commercial Supply Agreement(s) to be entered into by either Party or between the Parties with respect to a Licensed Product shall contain Manufacturing technology transfer provisions enabling each Party or its designee to Manufacture such Licensed Product, upon request of such Party.
ARTICLE 9 COMMERCIALIZATION
Section 9.1 Pfizer Territory
9.1.1 Exclusivity. Pfizer will have the exclusive right to Commercialize the Licensed Products in the Pfizer Territory and will be solely responsible for all aspects of the Commercialization of the Licensed Products in the Pfizer Territory, including planning and implementation, distribution, booking of sales, pricing, reimbursement and costs.
9.1.2 Commercially Reasonable Efforts. Pfizer shall itself, or through its Affiliates or Sublicensees, use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to Commercialize the Servier Licensed Products in the Pfizer Territory, commencing, on a Licensed Product-by-Licensed Product basis, upon receipt of Marketing Approval for the applicable Servier Licensed Product in the Pfizer Territory and continuing thereafter until the end of the last to expire Royalty Term with respect to such Servier Licensed Product in the Pfizer Territory.
9.1.3 Pfizer Commercialization Plan. Not later than one (1) year prior to the anticipated Marketing Approval of a Servier Licensed Product in the Pfizer Territory, Pfizer shall prepare and send to Servier for comment through the JSC, which comments Pfizer will consider in good faith, a Commercialization Plan for such Servier Licensed Product in the Pfizer Territory (the “Pfizer Commercialization Plan”). Further, on an annual basis (no later than June 30th of each Calendar Year following Marketing Approval of a Servier Licensed Product in the Pfizer Territory until the end of the last to expire Royalty Term in the Pfizer Territory), Pfizer shall prepare and send to Servier for comment through the JCC, which comments Pfizer will consider in good faith, any updates to the Pfizer Commercialization Plan.
Section 9.2 Servier Territory
9.2.1 Exclusivity. Servier shall have the exclusive right to Commercialize the Licensed Products in countries in the Servier Territory and will be solely responsible for all aspects of the Commercialization of the Licensed Products in the Servier Territory, including planning and implementation, distribution, booking of sales, pricing, reimbursement and costs.
9.2.2 Commercially Reasonable Efforts. Servier shall itself, or through its Affiliates or Sublicensees, use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to Commercialize the Pfizer Licensed Products in the Servier Targeted Markets, commencing, on a country-by-country and Licensed Product-by-Licensed Product basis, upon receipt of Marketing Approval for the applicable Pfizer Licensed Product in the applicable country in the Servier Targeted Markets and continuing thereafter until the end of the last to expire Royalty Term with respect to such Pfizer Licensed Product in such country.
9.2.3 Servier Commercialization Plan. Not later than one (1) year prior to the anticipated Marketing Approval of a Pfizer Licensed Product in the Servier Territory, Servier shall prepare and send to Pfizer for comment through the JSC, which comments Servier will consider in good faith, a Commercialization Plan for such Pfizer Licensed Product in the Servier Targeted Markets (the “Servier Commercialization Plan”). Further, on an annual basis (no later than June 30th of each Calendar Year following Marketing Approval of a Pfizer Licensed Product in the Servier Territory until the end of the last to expire Royalty Term in the Servier Territory), Servier shall prepare and send to Servier for comment through the JCC, which comments Servier will consider in good faith, any updates to the Servier Commercialization Plan.
Section 9.3 Termination of Sharing. Neither Party shall have an obligation to share or provide any information that such Party’s counsel has advised the Party would violate applicable Law. Without prejudice to any other remedies, if either Party breaches its respective obligations under Sections 9.1 or 9.2, then the other Party shall have no obligation thereafter to share or provide any Commercialization Plans or to discuss at the JSC or the JCC or any other forum its Commercialization activities.
ARTICLE 10 COMMERCIAL COVENANTS
Section 10.1 Similar Product Opt-In and Competing Products
10.1.1 Similar Product Opt-In. Within [***] days after [***], Servier shall have the option (the “Similar Product Opt-In Right”) for each Similar Product to include such Similar Product as a Pfizer Licensed Product under this Agreement for Servier’s Territory exercisable as set forth below; provided that the Similar Product Opt-In Right shall lapse [***] years after the Effective Date with respect to Similar Products (the “Restricted Period”). Each such Similar Product Opt-In Right shall be exercisable as follows:
10.1.1.1 Pfizer shall promptly provide to Servier [***].
10.1.1.2 At any time upon Servier’s request after [***], Pfizer shall provide to Servier [***]. Servier shall have [***] days to raise questions to Pfizer regarding such [***], and such Similar Product.
10.1.1.3 After such [***]-day period, Pfizer shall have [***] days to answer such questions.
10.1.1.4 Within [***] days following Pfizer answering any questions as set forth in Section 10.1.1.3 above (the “Similar Product Opt-In Exercise Period”), Servier shall notify Pfizer in writing either that (i) it exercises its option on such Similar Product or (ii) it decides not to exercise its option on such Similar Product.
10.1.2 If Servier sends the Similar Product Opt-In Exercise Notice pursuant to Section 10.1.1.4 above, then:
10.1.2.1 Within [***] days following exercise of the Similar Product Opt-In Right and receipt of an invoice by Servier from Pfizer, Servier will pay Pfizer the non-refundable and non-deductible lump sum payment of [***] Dollars (USD [***]) and [***] percent ([***]%) of [***] at the time Servier provides Pfizer the Similar Product Opt-In Exercise Notice;
10.1.2.2 Such Similar Product will be treated as a Pfizer Licensed Product pursuant to this Agreement following the date of such Similar Product Opt-In Exercise Notice (including with respect to milestones and royalties payable to Pfizer pursuant to ARTICLE 11).
10.1.3 Competing Product Opt-In Trigger. Within [***] days after the Competing Product Opt-In Trigger, the Originating Party shall decide either to:
10.1.3.1 terminate all activities with respect to such Competing Product or otherwise Divest such Competing Product;
10.1.3.2 terminate this Agreement with respect to the Licensed Product that is the same as the Competing Product pursuant to and subject to the restrictions set forth in Section 16.2.3 (Termination for Convenience); or
10.1.3.3 propose to the Non-Originating Party good faith modifications to the terms and conditions of this Agreement so as to reflect the consequences related to the development and possible commercialization of the Competing Product by the Originating Party in its Respective Territory. The Non-Originating Party shall then in good faith give due consideration to such modifications and shall notify to the Originating Party whether or not such modifications are acceptable. In the event the Parties are unable to reach agreement on modifications to
the terms and conditions of the Agreement, then the Originating Party shall elect either 10.1.3.1 or 10.1.3.2 above.
In the event the Competing Product Opt-in Trigger occurs before [***], the Parties will enter into good faith negotiations so as to find the best suitable solution for both of them.
Section 10.2 Exportation/Importation of Licensed Products. For the period commencing on the Effective Date and ending on the end of the Royalty Term on a country-by-country basis, where and to the extent permitted under applicable Law (as determined by each Party, its Affiliates and Sublicensees based on the advice of its counsel), each Party, its Affiliates and Sublicensees shall not Commercialize (other than responding to unsolicited orders with respect to the European Economic Area) any Licensed Product in the other Party’s Respective Territory. In addition, each Party shall use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to restrict and prevent the export to any country in the other Party’s Respective Territory, any Licensed Products that have been packaged and sold by such Party, its Affiliates and Sublicensees for use inside its Respective Territory.
ARTICLE 11 PAYMENTS AND MILESTONES
Section 11.1 Upfront Fee. In consideration for the rights granted under this Agreement, Pfizer shall pay Servier the non-refundable and non-deductible lump sum payment of Twenty-Nine Million Dollars ($US 29,000,000), within ten (10) days of the Effective Date and receipt of the corresponding invoice by Pfizer from Servier.
Section 11.2 Option Fee. Following exercise of the Option for the first ROR1 Product and receipt of an invoice by Pfizer from Servier, Pfizer will pay Servier in consideration for the rights granted under this Agreement the non-refundable and non-deductible lump sum payment of [***] Dollars ($[***]).
Section 11.3 Regulatory Milestones. In consideration for the rights granted under this Agreement, as long as the corresponding CD19 Product, ROR1 Product or EGFRVIII Product, as applicable, is a Licensed Product hereunder, Pfizer shall pay to Servier the amounts set forth in the column CD19 and in the column ROR1 if the Option is exercised, and Servier shall pay to Pfizer the amounts set forth in the column EGFRVIII, in each case upon achievement of the applicable milestone by Pfizer or Servier, as applicable, for the first Licensed Product for each Collaboration Target to achieve such milestone, the one-time, non-refundable and non-deductible lump sum payments set forth below.
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Milestone Event |
Milestone Payment (in USD) |
CD19 (Payment to
Servier)
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ROR1 (Payment to Servier)
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EGFRVIII (Payment to Pfizer) |
[***] |
$[***] |
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[***] |
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[***] |
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[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
For the avoidance of doubt and without prejudice to Sections 2.6.4.1(ii), 2.6.4.2(ii), 2.6.4.3(ii), and 2.7, each of the payments set forth in this Section 11.3 shall be payable for the first Licensed Product for each Collaboration Target reaching the applicable milestone. For further avoidance of doubt, milestone #4 in the above table shall be payable either [***].
Section 11.4 Sales Milestones. As partial consideration for the rights granted hereunder, each Party shall make non-refundable, non-creditable, one-time sales milestone payments to the other Party based on annual Net Sales as set forth below (each, a “Sales Milestone”).
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Achievement of Net Sales that equal or exceed (in € for Servier’s Net Sales ) in a Calendar Year |
Milestone payment (in €) |
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EGFRVIII (Payment to Pfizer based on Net Sales of EGFRVIII Products made in the Servier Territory in a Calendar Year) |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
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Achievement of Net Sales that equal or exceed (in $US for Pfizer’s Net Sales) in a Calendar Year |
Milestone payment (in USD) |
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CD19 (Payment to Servier based on Net Sales of CD19 Products made in the Pfizer Territory in a Calendar Year)
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ROR1 (Payment to Servier based on Net Sales of ROR1 Products
made in the Pfizer Territory in a
Calendar Year)
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[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
[***] |
For the avoidance of doubt, each of the Sales Milestones payments set forth above shall be payable no more than once each for each Licensed Product.
Section 11.5 Royalties. As partial consideration for the rights granted hereunder in and to Patent Rights and Know How and for each Party’s contribution to the Development of the Licensed Products, during the applicable Royalty Term, on a Licensed Product-by-Licensed Product and country-by-country basis, each Party shall pay to the other Party royalties equal to the following percentages of Net Sales of the Servier Licensed Product with respect to Pfizer and the Pfizer Licensed Products with respect to Servier, in countries within the paying Party’s Respective Territory, subject to adjustment as set forth in Section 11.6 (“Royalties”), as determined separately for each Calendar Quarter or Pfizer Quarter, as applicable, during the Royalty Term by multiplying the royalty rates below, subject to adjustment as set forth in Section 11.6, by the corresponding amount of the portion of Net Sales achieved by the Paying Party within its Respective Territory within each of the Net Sales tiers during such Calendar Quarter or Pfizer Quarter, as applicable:
11.5.1 For that portion of annual Net Sales of Licensed Products in its
Respective Territory that is less than [***] Euros/[***] Dollars (€[***]/$[***]), the royalty rate shall be [***] percent ([***]%)];
11.5.2 For that portion of annual Net Sales of Licensed Products in its
Respective Territory that is equal to or greater than [***] Euros/[***] Dollars (€[***]/$[***]), but less than [***] Euros/[***] Dollars (€[***]/$[***]), the royalty rate shall be [***] percent ([***]%) ;
11.5.3 For that portion of annual Net Sales of Licensed Products in its
Respective Territory that is equal to or greater than [***] Euros/[***] Dollars (€[***]/$[***]), but less than [***] Euros/[***] Dollars (€[***]/$[***], the royalty rate shall be [***] percent ([***]%); and
11.5.4 For that portion of annual Net Sales of Licensed Products in its
Respective Territory that is equal to or greater than [***] Euros/[***] Dollars (€[***]/$[***]), the royalty rate shall be [***] percent ([***]%).
Section 11.6 Royalty Adjustments.
11.6.1 Interchangeable Drug Competition. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if there are and as soon as there are, in a given country, Interchangeable Drug Competition, the Royalties payable to the Licensing Party for the Licensed Product in such country shall be reduced by [***] percent ([***]%) of the amount otherwise payable hereunder in application of the royalty rates stated in Section 11.5.
11.6.2 Patent Rights Expiry. If the Licensed Product is not Covered by a
granted Valid Claim of the Licensing Party’s Patent Rights in any given country, the Royalties payable to the Licensing Party for the Licensed Product in such country shall be reduced by [***] percent ([***]%) of the amount otherwise payable hereunder in application of the royalty rates stated in Section 11.5.
11.6.3 Sole Third Party Licenses. If it is necessary or desirable for a Party to license one or more Patent Rights from one or more Third Parties in order to Develop, Manufacture, Commercialize or use any Licensed Product, whether directly or through any Affiliate or Sublicensee, in the Field for any country in the Respective Territory of either Party, then such Party may, in its sole discretion, negotiate and obtain a license under such Patent Right(s) (each such Third Party License referred to herein as a “Sole Third Party License”). If a Party, or its Affiliates or any Sublicensee pays royalties to one or more Third Parties pursuant to a Sole Third Party License, then such Party may deduct [***] percent ([***]%) of the amount of such royalties from the Royalties associated to such Licensed Product otherwise payable under Section 11.5, provided however that in a given Calendar Quarter or Pfizer Quarter, as applicable, royalties payable to the other Party pursuant to Section 11.5 shall not be reduced (other than in the case of the other Party’s breach of any representation, warranty or covenant hereunder) by more than [***] percent ([***]%) of the amount otherwise payable hereunder in application of the royalty rates stated in Section 11.5.
11.6.4 Joint Third Party Licenses. In the event that the JSC approves the acquisition, either through licensing, purchase or other means approved by the JSC, from one or more Third Parties of one or more Patent Rights (each a “Joint Third Party License”) (including the terms and conditions of such Joint Third Party License), then (i) any Third Party License Payments allocable to such Licensed Product, other than royalties that become due and owing to such Third Party, under such Joint Third Party License, shall be included in Development Costs shared by the Parties, as applicable, for such Licensed Product, and (ii) [***] percent ([***]%) of the amount of royalties that become due and owing to such Third Party, under such Joint Third Party License, associated to such Licensed Product may be deducted by the relevant Party from the Royalties associated to such Licensed Product payable under Section 11.5.
11.6.5 Excluded Third Party Licenses. The royalty adjustments provided
above shall not apply to any payments made or to be made under any licenses with Third Party entered into by a Party prior to the Effective Date (including pursuant to the Cellectis
Agreements).
11.6.6 Floor. In no event shall the aggregate reduction of Royalties payable to
the relevant Licensing Party for the Licensed Product lead the relevant Licensing Party as a result of applying all applicable adjustments under Sections 11.6.1, 11.6.2 and 11.6.3 to receive less than [***] percent ([***]%) of the amount payable hereunder in application of the royalty rates stated in Section 11.5.
Section 11.7 Payment Terms
11.7.1 Payment. All payments made by the paying Party pursuant to this Article 11 shall be made in immediately available funds by wire transfer to such bank and account of the receiving Party as may be designated from time to time by the receiving Party. No payment due from a Party to the other Party hereunder may be offset against other payments, except with the written agreement of both Parties. All payments under this Agreement shall be made by wire transfer to a bank account designated by the receiving Party to the paying Party, as follows: (i) in US Dollars with respect to the milestone and royalty payments payable by Pfizer hereunder related to the CD19 Product and the ROR1 Product; and (ii) in US Dollars with respect to the regulatory milestone payments and in Euros with respect to the Sales Milestone and royalty payments payable by Servier hereunder related to the EGFRVIII Product. For any payment made from a Party to the other Party, when conversion of payments from any foreign currency is required to be undertaken, the Dollar or Euro equivalent shall be calculated by the paying Party in accordance with Section 11.7.6. All sums due hereunder to either Party will be payable by bank wire transfer in immediately available funds to such bank account as the Parties will designate. Each party will notify the other as to the date and amount of any such wire transfer at least [***] days prior to such transfer.
11.7.2 Terms. Except as otherwise set forth herein, all other payments due hereunder will be paid within [***] days following receipt of an invoice requesting such payment.
11.7.3 Invoices. All invoices provided to a Party hereunder should include the receiving Party’s bank details, the contact name for issue resolution and will be marked for the attention of the Alliance Manager.
11.7.4 Late Payment. Interest shall accrue on any late payment of fees owed
to the receiving Party not made on the date such payment is due, at an annual interest rate equal to the lesser of [***], with such interest accruing from the date the payment was originally due to the receiving Party, and any late payment pursuant to this Section 11.7.4 shall be credited first to interest and then to any outstanding fees. This Section 11.7.4 shall in no way limit any other rights and remedies available to the Party to whom payment is owed, whether arising under this Agreement or at law or in equity. Interest shall be calculated on a 365/360 basis.
11.7.5 Taxes and Withholding. It is understood and agreed between the Parties that any payments made under this Agreement are exclusive of any value added or similar tax (“VAT”), which shall be added thereon as applicable. Where VAT is properly added to a payment made under this Agreement, the Party making the payment will pay the amount of VAT only on receipt of a valid tax invoice issued in accordance with the Laws of the country in which the VAT tax is chargeable. In the event any payments made pursuant to this Agreement become subject to withholding taxes under the Laws of any jurisdiction, the Party making such payment shall deduct and withhold the amount of such taxes for the account of the payee to the extent required by applicable Laws and such amounts payable to the payee shall be reduced by the amount of taxes deducted and withheld. Any such withholding taxes required under applicable Laws to be paid or withheld shall be an expense of, and borne solely by, the payee. To the extent that the Party making a payment is required to deduct and withhold taxes on any payments under this Agreement, the Party making such payment shall pay the amounts of such taxes to the proper Governmental Authority in a timely manner and promptly transmit to the payee an official tax certificate or other evidence of such withholding sufficient to enable the payee to claim such payments of taxes. The payee shall provide any tax forms to the Party making such payment that may be reasonably necessary in order for such Party not to withhold tax or to withhold tax at a reduced rate under an applicable bilateral income tax treaty. The payee shall use reasonable efforts to provide any such tax forms to the Party making the payment at least [***] days prior to the due date for any payments for which the payee desires that the Party making the payment apply a reduced withholding rate. Each Party shall provide the other with reasonable assistance to enable the recovery, as permitted by Law, of withholding taxes, VAT, or similar obligations resulting from payments made under this Agreement, such recovery to be for the benefit of the Party bearing such withholding tax or VAT. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, (i) if an action (including but not limited to any assignment or sublicense of its rights or obligations under this Agreement, or any failure to comply with applicable Laws or filing or record retention requirements) by a Party leads to the imposition of withholding tax liability or VAT on the other Party that would not have been imposed in the absence of such action or in an increase in such liability above the liability that would have been imposed in the absence of such action, then the sum payable by that Party (in respect of which such deduction or withholding is required to be made) shall be increased to the extent necessary to ensure that the other Party receives a sum equal to the sum which it would have received had no such action occurred, (ii) otherwise, the sum payable by that Party (in respect of which such deduction or withholding is required to be made) shall be made to the other Party after deduction of the amount required to be so deducted or withheld, which deducted or withheld amount shall be remitted in accordance with applicable Law.
11.7.6 Conversions. With respect to amounts required to be converted into
another currency for calculation of the Net Sales amount, the milestones and the Royalty
payments, such amount shall be converted using a rate of exchange which corresponds to the average monthly rate used for conversion between the relative currencies by whichever Party recorded the relevant receipt or expenditure, for the respective reporting period in its books and records that are maintained in accordance with GAAP or IFRS, as applicable, and used for its external reporting.
Section 11.8 Reports and Audits.
11.8.1 Milestone Payment Reports. On a Licensed Product-by-Licensed
Product basis, each Party shall report each event that triggers a payment to the other Party pursuant to Section 11.3, within [***] business days of the occurrence of such event.
11.8.2 Sales Payment Reports. After the First Commercial Sale by a Party, its Affiliates or its Sublicensees (the “Selling Party”) of a Licensed Product requiring the payments due to the other Party pursuant to Sections 11.4 or 11.5 and ending, on a Licensed
Product-by-Licensed Product basis, following the last to expire Royalty Term with respect to such Licensed Product, the Selling Party shall send to the other Party a written report within [***] days following the beginning of each Calendar Quarter or Pfizer Quarter, as applicable. Such
report shall state, for the previous Calendar Quarter or Pfizer Quarter, as applicable, the
description of each Licensed Product sold, by country, the corresponding Net Sales and the calculation of any milestones and Royalties due. Concurrently with the sending of such reports, the Selling shall pay to the other Party any Royalties or milestones due.
11.8.3 Records; Inspection. Each Party shall keep complete, true and accurate books of account and records for the purpose of determining the royalty amounts or milestone payment amounts payable under this Agreement. Such books and records shall be kept at the principal place of business of each Party, as the case may be, for at least [***] years following the end of the [***] month period to which they pertain. Each Party (the “Audited Party”) shall make such account and records available, on reasonable notice sent by the other Party (the “Auditing Party”), for inspection during business hours, with not less than [***] Business Days’ advance written notice, by an independent auditor nominated by such and reasonably acceptable for the Audited Party, for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of any statement or report given by the Audited Party pursuant to Sections 11.8.1 and 11.8.2, as well as any Development Costs due by a Party to the other Party. Such auditor shall advise the Parties simultaneously promptly upon its completion of its audit whether or not the payments due hereunder (including payments due in connection with the Development Costs, Manufacturing Costs and Net Sales) have been accurately recorded, calculated and reported, and, if not, then the amount of such discrepancy. A Party’s financial records with respect to a given period of time shall only be subject to one (1) audit, except in the case of fraud. The Auditing Party’s right to perform an audit pertaining to any Calendar Year shall expire [***] years after the end of such year. The auditor shall be required to keep confidential all information learnt during any such inspection, and to disclose to the Auditing Party only such details as may be necessary to report the accuracy of the Audited Party’s statement or report. The Auditing Party shall be responsible for the auditor’s costs, unless the auditor certifies that there was a variation or error producing an increase exceeding [***] percent ([***]%) of the royalty amount stated for any period covered by the inspection, then all reasonable costs relating to the inspection for such period and any unpaid amounts that are discovered shall be paid promptly by the Audited Party, together with interest thereon from the date such were due at the lesser of the legal rate fixed by the European Central Bank plus [***] percent ([***]%) or the highest rate permissible by Law, and any amounts payable pursuant to this Section 11.8.3 shall be credited first to interest and then to any outstanding royalties.
11.8.4 No Guarantee of Success. Pfizer and Servier acknowledge and agree
that payments pursuant to Section 11.3, Section 11.4 and Section 11.5: (a) have been included in this Agreement on the basis that they are only payable or otherwise relevant if a Licensed Product achieves certain levels of Development or Commercialization, as applicable, as set forth in this Agreement; (b) are solely intended to allocate amounts that may be realized upon achievement of certain levels of Development or Commercialization of a Licensed Product between Pfizer and Servier as set forth in this Agreement; and (c) will only be triggered, and will only be relevant as provided, in accordance with the terms and conditions of such provisions. Pfizer and Servier further acknowledge and agree that nothing in this Agreement will be construed as representing any estimate or projection of (i) the successful Development or Commercialization of any
Licensed Product under this Agreement, (ii) the number of Licensed Products that will or may achieve certain levels of Development or Commercialization as set forth under this Agreement, or (iii) anticipated sales or the actual value of any Licensed Products that may be successfully Developed or Commercialized under this Agreement. Neither Party makes any representation, warranty or covenant, either express or implied, that (A) it will successfully Develop,
Manufacture, Commercialize or continue to Develop, Manufacture or Commercialize any Licensed Product in any country, or (B) if Commercialized, that any Licensed Product will achieve any particular sales level, whether in any individual country or cumulatively throughout the Respective Territory or (C) that it will devote, or cause to be devoted, any level of diligence or resources to Developing or Commercializing any Licensed Product in any country, or in the Territory in general, other than is expressly set forth in this Agreement.
ARTICLE 12 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PATENT RIGHTS
Section 12.1 Inventions and Ownership of IP
12.1.1 Inventions. Inventorship of inventions (for purposes of determining ownership, where applicable) shall be determined according to United States Patent Law (without reference to any conflict of law principles).
12.1.2 Sole Inventions/Improvements. As between the Parties, each Party
shall own all inventions, Know-How and other intellectual property, whether or not patentable, conceived and made solely by its or its Affiliates’ own employees, agents, or independent contractors in the course of conducting its or its Affiliates’ activities under this Agreement, other than Joint IP. Pfizer shall own all Pfizer Improvements. For clarity, as between the Parties, any and all, inventions, Know-How and other intellectual property arising with respect to any Additional Servier Option Product will be owned by Pfizer following such time, if ever, that Pfizer’s license under Section 2.1.1 is converted to a worldwide license pursuant to this Agreement, provided that in the event Servier exercises its Servier Opt-In Right pursuant to Section 2.8, upon written agreement by Servier to pay all out-of-pocket expenses for recording change-of-ownership and one-half of Pfizer’s out-of-pocket expenses, if any, for past and future prosecution and maintenance of any Patent Rights directed to such inventions, Know-How and other intellectual property, any such inventions, Know-How and other intellectual property
shall be deemed to be Joint IP hereunder, and Pfizer will assign a joint and equal (50/50)
ownership interest in such Joint IP to Servier in accordance with Section 12.1.3.
12.1.3 Joint IP. Pfizer and Servier shall jointly and equally (50/50) own any
Joint Intellectual Property, and the Parties will share (50/50) of the remaining interest in such Joint Intellectual Property. Each Party shall, and does hereby, assign, and shall cause its Affiliates, licensees, contractors and Sublicensees (and its and their employees or agents) to so assign (or, in the case of contractors, licensees and Sublicensees, use Commercially Reasonable Efforts to cause such contractors, licensees and Sublicensees to assign or license), to the other Party, without additional compensation, such right, title and interest in and to any Joint Intellectual Property, as is necessary to fully effect the joint ownership provided for in this Section 12.1.3. Subject to the
grant of licenses under Section 2.1, each Party’s representations, warranties and covenants under ARTICLE 14 and the Parties’ other rights and obligations under this Agreement, each Party shall be free to exploit, either itself or through the grant of licenses to Third Parties (which Third Party licenses may be further sublicensed), Joint IP throughout the world without restriction, without the need to obtain further consent from or provide notice to the other Party and without any duty to account or otherwise make any payment of any compensation to the other Party. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, Pfizer acknowledges and agrees to comply with its obligations to
Cellectis under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement arising from being Servier’s sublicensee under that agreement, (except to any extent relieved in accordance with any agreement between Pfizer and Cellectis related thereto) and obligations to Cellectis with respect to, any and all inventions, Know-How and other intellectual property arising during the Term under this Agreement that would be defined as “Joint IP” under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement shall be governed by the terms of the Servier / Cellectis Agreement, and the Parties’ rights in and each Party’s obligations to the other Party under this Agreement for any such “Joint IP” shall be subject to any applicable terms of the Servier / Cellectis Agreement.
12.1.4 ROR1 Pre-Option Exercise IP. In the event the Parties, acting either alone or together, elect to conduct pre-clinical research and development work on any Cellectis
CARs directed to ROR1 prior to the Option exercise (the “ROR1 Pre-Option Exercise Work”), the Parties acknowledge and agree that pursuant to the Servier / Cellectis Agreement, any and all inventions, Know-How and other intellectual property generated in connection therewith that specifically and solely relate to such Cellectis CARs directed to ROR1 (the “ROR1 Pre-Option Exercise IP”) shall (i) for the purposes of this paragraph, form part of the Servier IP (as such term is defined in the Servier / Cellectis Agreement) to be licensed to Cellectis in the absence of
exercise of the Option to License under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement and (ii) be filed, prosecuted and maintained in accordance with the Servier / Cellectis Agreement. If the ROR1
Pre-Option Exercise Work lead to an improvement of the Platform Patents (as such term is defined in the Servier / Cellectis Agreement), then the Parties shall grant to Cellectis a worldwide, fully paid-up, royalty-free, sublicensable, co-exclusive (together with the Parties for the performance of their obligations under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement and the Agreement) license under such improvement to make, have made, use, have used, sell, have sold, offer for sale, have offered for sale, import, have imported and otherwise exploit and commercialize products and process. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary, Pfizer acknowledges and agrees to comply with its obligations to Cellectis under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement arising from being Servier’s sublicensee under that agreement, (except to any extent relieved in accordance with any agreement between Pfizer and Cellectis related thereto) and obligations to Cellectis with respect to, any and all inventions, Know-How and other intellectual property arising during the Term under this Agreement that would be defined as “ROR1 Pre-Option Exercise IP” under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement shall be governed by the terms of the Servier / Cellectis Agreement, and the Parties’ rights in and each Party’s obligations to the other Party under this Agreement for any such “ROR1 Pre-Option Exercise IP” shall be subject to any applicable terms of the Servier / Cellectis Agreement.
Section 12.2 Patent Right Prosecution.
12.2.1 The UCART Technology shall be prosecuted and maintained in
accordance with the Cellectis Agreements. To the extent permitted under the Cellectis Agreements, the Parties shall inform, cooperate with and assist each other with respect to the prosecution actions (including office actions or official actions from worldwide patent offices) and any required action in connection with the maintenance of the UCART Technology. Such cooperation shall include diligently and timely conferring and coordinating with respect to such matters to ensure compliance with applicable filing deadlines.
12.2.2 Licensed Patents other than within the UCART Technology
12.2.2.1 Pfizer Patent Rights. Pfizer, to the extent permitted under the Cellectis Agreements and at its own expense (except for those Out-of-Pocket Costs solely attributable to the Servier Territory, for which Servier shall be solely responsible at its own expense), will have the sole right in the Pfizer Territory and first right in the Servier Territory (except in the case of any Patent Rights covering other products in addition to Licensed Products, for which Pfizer shall have the sole right worldwide), but not the obligation, to prepare, file, prosecute and maintain, throughout the world, any Patent Rights included in Licensed Patents (other than within the UCART Technology) that it solely owns or has in-licensed from Third Parties. Pfizer will not disclose any Servier Confidential Information (including any UCART Technology provided to Pfizer under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement) in any Patent Rights that it files, or in connection with the prosecution of any such Patent Rights, without Servier’s prior written consent. Pfizer will notify Servier promptly upon filing or otherwise obtaining rights in any Patent Right after the Effective Date that covers or may cover the Development, Manufacture, Commercialization or use of any Servier Licensed Product. In the absence of such prompt notification, any such Patent Rights will be excluded from the Valid Claim definition. Pfizer will keep Servier reasonably informed regarding each Patent Right included in the Licensed Patents that Pfizer or any Third Party licensor is prosecuting and will consider in good faith any recommendations made by Servier in regard to the filing, prosecution or maintenance of any such Patent Right. To the extent that at any time after the publication of a PCT application Pfizer wishes not to file, prosecute or maintain any Pfizer Patent Right that is a Joint Patent Right or that is otherwise directed primarily to a Licensed Product (except if not permitted with respect to any such Patent Right owned or co-owned by a Third Party licensor, including with respect to Cellectis, only to the extent not permitted under the Servier / Cellectis Agreement as of the Effective Date) in a Servier Territory, Pfizer will provide Servier with [***] days prior written notice to such effect, in which event Servier may elect to continue filing, prosecution or maintenance of such Patent Right, and Pfizer, upon Servier’s written request received within such [***] day period, will execute such documents and perform such acts, at Servier’ expense, as may be reasonably necessary to assign to Servier (subject to any existing Third Party rights) Pfizer’s right, title and interest to such Patent Right and to permit Servier to file, prosecute and maintain such Patent Right, provided that Servier shall and does hereby grant to Pfizer (subject to any existing Third Party rights) a non-exclusive, sublicensable, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully paid-up worldwide license to practice and exploit such Patent Right for any and all purposes excluding (x) during the Term, uses for Licensed Products and Competing Products except as authorized under this Agreement, and (y) after the Term, uses for Licensed Products. For avoidance of doubt, “prosecution” as used in this section includes oppositions, nullity or revocation actions, post-grant reviews and other patent office proceedings involving the referenced Patent Rights.
12.2.2.2 Servier Patent Rights. Servier, to the extent permitted under the Cellectis Agreements and at its own expense, (except for those Out-of-Pocket Costs solely attributable to Pfizer Territories, for which Pfizer shall be solely responsible at its own expense) will have (i) the sole right or, if the license granted to Pfizer pursuant to Section 2.1.1 becomes worldwide, the first right in the Servier Territory and (ii) the first right in Pfizer Territory (in each case of (i) and (ii) except in the case of any Patent Rights covering other products in addition to Licensed Products, for which Servier shall have the sole right worldwide), but not the obligation, to prepare, file, prosecute and maintain, throughout the world, any Patent Rights included in the Licensed Patents (other than within the UCART Technology) that it solely owns or has in-licensed from Third Parties. Servier will not disclose any Pfizer Confidential Information (including any UCART Technology provided to Servier under the Pfizer / Cellectis Agreement) in any Patent Rights that it files, or in connection with the prosecution of any such Patent Rights, without Pfizer’s prior written consent. Servier will notify Pfizer promptly upon filing or otherwise obtaining rights in, and promptly upon each Pfizer exercise of an Option under Section 2.6, any Patent Right after the Effective Date that covers or may cover the Development, Manufacture, Commercialization or use of any Pfizer Licensed Product. In the absence of such prompt notification, any such Patent Rights will be excluded from the Valid Claim definition. Servier will keep Pfizer reasonably informed regarding each Patent Right included in the Licensed Patents that Servier or any Third Party licensor is prosecuting and will consider in good faith any recommendations made by Pfizer in regard to the filing, prosecution or maintenance of any such Patent Right. To the extent that at any time after the publication of a PCT application Servier wishes not to file, prosecute or maintain any Servier Patent Right that is a Joint Patent Right or that is otherwise directed primarily to a Licensed Product (except if not permitted with respect to any such Patent Right owned or co-owned by a Third Party licensor , including with respect to Cellectis, only to the extent not permitted under the Pfizer / Cellectis Agreement as of the Effective Date), Servier will provide Pfizer with [***] days prior written notice to such effect, in which event Pfizer may elect to continue filing, prosecution or maintenance of such Patent Right, and Servier, upon Pfizer’s written request received within such [***] day period, will execute such documents and perform such acts, at Pfizer’s expense, as may be reasonably necessary to assign to Pfizer (subject to any existing Third Party rights) Servier’s right, title and interest to such Patent Right and to permit Pfizer to file, prosecute and maintain, at its own discretion, such Patent Right, provided that Pfizer shall and does hereby grant to Servier (subject to any existing Third Party rights) a non-exclusive, sublicensable, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, fully paid-up worldwide license to practice and exploit such Patent Right for any and all purposes excluding (x) during the Term, uses for Licensed Products and Competing Products except as authorized under this Agreement, and (y) after the Term, uses for Licensed Products. For avoidance of doubt, “prosecution” as used in this section includes oppositions, nullity or revocation actions, post-grant reviews and other patent office proceedings involving the referenced Patent Rights.
12.2.2.3 Joint Patent Rights. In the event the Parties conceive or
generate any Joint IP, the Parties will promptly meet to discuss and determine, based on mutual consent and as permitted under the Cellectis Agreements, whether to seek patent protection thereon and if patent applications are to be filed, the parties’ rights and responsibilities regarding filing, prosecution and enforcement.
Section 12.3 Liability. To the extent that a Party is obtaining, prosecuting or
maintaining a Patent Right included in the Licensed Patents or otherwise exercising its rights
under this section, such Party, and its Affiliates, employees, agents or representatives, will not be liable to the other Party in respect of any act, omission, default or neglect on the part of any such Party, or its Affiliates, employees, agents or representatives, in connection with such activities undertaken in good faith.
Section 12.4 Patent Term Extensions. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 12.4, and subject to cooperation with Cellectis under the Cellectis Agreements, Pfizer will have the sole right but not the obligation in the Pfizer Territory (or worldwide if the license granted to Pfizer pursuant to Section 2.1.1 becomes worldwide), and Servier will have the sole right but not the obligation in the Servier Territory, to apply for and obtain any patent term extension, supplementary protection certificates or similar extension of rights, for any Patent Right relating to a relevant Licensed Product (including the choice of which Patent Right(s) to extend), provided that the controlling Party will consult with the other Party before applying for or obtaining any such extensions.
The Parties will provide reasonable assistance to each other in connection with obtaining any such extensions including, to the extent reasonably and legally required in a particular country or region, making available a copy of the necessary documentation to enable the controlling Party to obtain the extension in such country. At the other Party’s request, the controlling Party will seek (or will allow the other Party to seek) to extend an additional Patent Right for a relevant Licensed Product, unless in the controlling Party’s reasonable legal determination such additional Patent Right may not be extended under Law without limiting the controlling Party’s right to extend any other Patent Right in relation to the relevant Licensed Product or to extend the requested additional Patent Right in relation to another Licensed Product.
Section 12.5 Intellectual Property Litigation.
12.5.1 Notice and Cooperation. Each Party shall promptly notify the other, to
the extent such Party becomes aware (i) of any suspected or threatened infringement of any Licensed Intellectual Property (including any “patent certification” filed in the United States under 21 U.S.C. §355(b)(2) or 21 U.S.C. §355(j)(2) or similar provisions in other jurisdictions or of any declaratory judgment, or similar action alleging the invalidity, unenforceability or
non-infringement of any Licensed Intellectual Property or any administrative challenge to any Intellectual Property under Chapters 31 and 32 of Title 35, USC or similar provisions in other jurisdictions alleging the unpatentability of any Intellectual Property), (ii) of any claim that the exercise of the rights granted hereunder under the Licensed Intellectual Property infringes any rights or patents of a Third Party, (iii) of any claims of alleged patent infringement by Pfizer or Servier with respect to the Development, Manufacture or Commercialization of the Licensed Product and (iv) of any suspected or actual misappropriation of Licensed Know-How ((i) and (ii) together, “Collaboration IP Claims,” and (ii) and (iii) together, “Third Party IP Claims”).
12.5.2 Right to Assert Claims/Defend Claims in the Respective Territories.
12.5.2.1 Subject to the Cellectis Agreement, Pfizer may in its sole discretion, but shall not be required to, bring legal action against any Collaboration IP Claims in the Pfizer Territory (or worldwide if the license granted to Pfizer pursuant to Section 2.1.1 becomes worldwide), or defend against any Third Party IP Claims in the Pfizer Territory (or worldwide if the license granted to Pfizer pursuant to Section 2.1.1 becomes worldwide).
12.5.2.2 Subject to the Cellectis Agreement, Servier may in its sole discretion, but shall not be required to, bring legal action against any Collaboration IP Claims in the Servier Territory, or defend against any Third Party IP Claims in the Servier Territory.
12.5.2.3 Prior to bringing or defending a legal action pursuant to this Section 12.5.2, the Party responsible for taking action shall discuss its intention with the other Party and Cellectis to the extent required under the Cellectis Agreements as applicable (subject to the other Party entering into a common interest agreement if requested by the responsible Party, and without disclosing any information that would compromise attorney-client privilege or similar privileges), and shall take commercially reasonable efforts to consider the other Party’s, and Cellectis’ to the extent required under the Cellectis Agreements as applicable, input in good faith. In the event the responsible Party brings or defends against any such action, it shall be at its own cost and expense, and, with respect to a Patent Right solely owned by the other Party, the responsible Party shall not without the other Party’s consent take any action that would be reasonably likely to directly and adversely affect the scope, validity or enforceability of a corresponding Patent Right in the other Party’s Territory. During the pendency of such action, at the other Party’s request, the responsible Party shall provide the other Party, and Cellectis to the extent required under the Cellectis Agreements as applicable, with all information reasonably requested regarding the status of such action (subject to the other Party entering into a common interest agreement if requested by the responsible Party, and without disclosing any information that would compromise attorney-client privilege or similar privileges). All materials provided by the responsible Party to the other Party under this Section 12.5.2 shall be treated as the responsible Party’s Confidential Information. In any action or defense initiated by the responsible Party under this Section 12.5.2, the other Party, and Cellectis to the extent required under the Cellectis Agreements as applicable, shall be entitled to, and if legally required shall, join the action so long as the responsible Party retains at all times the sole right to direct and control the action (including the choice of its own counsel). The other Party is entitled to be independently represented by counsel of its choice, at its expense.
12.5.2.4 If Servier decides that it will not bring legal action or defend under Section 12.5.2.2 with respect to any Pfizer Intellectual Property or Pfizer decides that it will not bring legal action or defend under Section 12.5.2.1 with respect to any Servier Intellectual Property, then it shall promptly notify the other Party, and in any event, said notice shall be provided by the earlier of (A) [***] days from the date notice was provided pursuant to Section 12.5.1 and (B) [***] days before the time limit, if any, set forth in the appropriate Laws for the filing of such actions or defense. Upon receipt of such notice of intent to decline action, the other Party, subject to the Cellectis Agreements as applicable, may, but shall not be required to, bring legal action or defend against any claim identified in, as applicable, Section 12.5.1 or 12.5.2 with respect to Pfizer Intellectual Property in Servier Territory if the other Party is Pfizer, and with respect to Servier Intellectual Property in Pfizer Territory (or worldwide if the license granted to Pfizer pursuant to Section 2.1.1 becomes worldwide) if the other Party is Servier, in which event the other Party shall act in its own name and at its own cost and the provisions of Section 12.5.2.3 shall apply with respect to any such action.
12.5.3 Cooperation. When either Party is bringing or defending an action of the type described in this Section 12.5, then (i) upon request by a Party defending or enforcing any such action, the other Party will assist in the defense against or enforcement of such action at the other Party’s costs, including if required or desirable to bring, maintain or prove damages in such action, furnishing a power of attorney, furnishing documents and information, cooperating in discovery, providing access to witnesses (including inventors) and executing all necessary documents as such Party may request, and (ii) neither Party shall settle, consent to judgment or otherwise voluntarily dispose of the suit or action without the prior written consent of the other Party, which consent shall not be unreasonably delayed, conditioned, or withheld if such settlement, consent to judgment or other voluntary disposition does not impose any liability on the other Party (other than liability that is fully satisfied by the settling Party on behalf of the other Party), does not impose any restrictions on the other Party and does not admit the invalidity or unenforceabil ity of any Patent Right owned or controlled by the other Party, and the consent of Cellectis to the extent required under the Cellectis Agreements as applicable.
12.5.4 Allocation of Proceeds. Except as otherwise provided for under the Cellectis Agreements as applicable, the proceeds recovered from any action described in Section 12.5.2 with respect to the Pfizer Territory (or worldwide if the license granted to Pfizer pursuant to Section 2.1.1 becomes worldwide) with respect to the Servier Intellectual Property or the Joint Intellectual Property or Servier Territory with respect to the Pfizer Intellectual Property or the
Joint Intellectual Property, shall be first allocated to the reimbursement of the reasonable
attorneys’ fees and Out-of-Pocket Costs incurred by each Party in connection with such action pursuant to the Agreement. If such recovery is insufficient to cover all such costs and expenses of both Parties, it shall be shared pro-rata in proportion to the relative amount of such costs and expenses incurred by each Party. The remaining portion of proceeds shall be allocated (i) if the Party having taken the initiative of the action is the Party having the commercial rights in the Respective Territory in which the action is brought, at [***]% to the Party having taken the initiative of the action, and [***]% to the other Party, or (ii) if the Party having taken the initiative of the action is not the Party having the commercial rights in the Respective Territory in which the action is brought, at [***]% to the Party having taken the initiative of the action, and [***]% to the other Party.
ARTICLE 13 CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION
Section 13.1 Confidentiality. Except to the extent expressly authorized by this Agreement or agreed in writing by the Parties, during the Term and for a period of [***] years after its termination or expiration, the Parties agree that the Receiving Party shall: (i) keep the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information confidential; (ii) not disclose, or permit the disclosure of, the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information; and (iii) not use, or permit to be used, the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information for any purpose other than as expressly permitted under the terms of this Agreement.
Section 13.2 Authorized Disclosure. The Receiving Party shall only be entitled to disclose, on a need to know basis for the purpose of the performance of the Agreement, Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party to its directors, employees, Affiliates, consultants, advisors, Sublicensees, licensors or subcontractors (collectively the “Authorized Recipients”); provided that such Authorized Recipients are bound by confidentiality and restricted use obligations or professional standards of confidentiality with respect to such Confidential Information that are at least as stringent as those set forth in this Agreement. The Receiving Party shall be responsible towards the Disclosing Party for any breach by its Authorized Recipients of any such confidentiality and restricted use obligations.
Section 13.3 Disclosure to Third Parties. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions
of Section 13.1, each Party may disclose Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party to the extent such disclosure is reasonably necessary:
13.3.1 to Competent Authorities (i) to the extent desirable to obtain or maintain INDs or Regulatory Approvals for any Licensed Product within its Respective Territory, and (ii) in order to respond to inquiries, requests or investigations relating to Licensed Products or this Agreement;
13.3.2 to a potential investor in the Receiving Party or to a potential acquirer of
all or substantially all of the assets of the business of the Receiving Party to which this Agreement pertains; provided that (i) the Receiving Party has previously informed the Disclosing Party of its intent to communicate Confidential Information to a potential investor or potential acquirer and the Receiving Party retains, upon the Disclosing Party’s written request, a record of the content of such communication, (ii) the Receiving Party considers in good faith the Disclosing Party’s
request to be communicated the name of the potential investor or potential acquirer, and (iii) such potential investor or potential acquirer is bound by confidentiality and restricted use obligations or professional standards of confidentiality with respect to such Confidential Information that are at least as stringent than those set forth in this Agreement;
13.3.3 in connection with filing or prosecuting Patent Rights or trademark
rights, in each case relating to Licensed Products, as permitted by this Agreement;
13.3.4 in connection with prosecuting or defending litigation as permitted by
this Agreement;
13.3.5 subject to the provisions of Section 13.7, in connection with or included
in scientific presentations and publications relating to Licensed Products, including abstracts, posters, journal articles and the like, and posting results of and other information about clinical trials to clincialtrials.gov or similar websites; and
13.3.6 to the extent necessary in order to enforce its rights under this
Agreement.
If a Party deems it reasonably necessary to disclose Confidential Information belonging to the other Party pursuant to this Section 13.3, then the disclosing Party shall to the extent possible give reasonable advance written notice of such disclosure to the other Party and take such
measures to ensure confidential treatment of such information as is reasonably required.
Section 13.4 Excluded Information. Notwithstanding Section 13.1, Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party shall not include information or materials that:
13.4.1 at the time of disclosure to, or acquisition by, the Receiving Party or its Affiliates is generally available to the public, or after the time of disclosure or acquisition is generally available to the public through no wrongful act or omission of the Receiving Party or its Authorized Recipients in breach of this Agreement;
13.4.2 was in the lawful possession and at the free disposal of the Receiving
Party prior to disclosure by the Disclosing Party, as evidenced by written records then in the
possession of the Receiving Party;
13.4.3 is rightfully made available to the Receiving Party by Third Parties not bound by confidentiality or restricted use obligations;
13.4.4 is independently discovered or developed by the Receiving Party
without use of the Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party; or
13.4.5 is disclosed by the Receiving Party in order to comply with the
requirements of applicable L aw, provided that the Receiving Party shall first notify the Disclosing Party of such required disclosure of Confidential Information and shall limit such disclosure to the extent possible under applicable Law.
Section 13.5 Agreement Termination. Upon termination of this Agreement, the Receiving Party will return or destroy all documents or other media containing Confidential Information of the Disclosing Party, provided however that the Receiving Party may retain one (1) copy for archival and compliance purposes, and as required by applicable Law or regulatory requirement.
Section 13.6 Remedies. Money damages may not be an adequate remedy if this
ARTICLE 13 is breached and, therefore, either Party may, in addition to any other legal or equitable remedies, seek an injunction or other equitable relief against such breach or threatened breach without the necessity of posting any bond or surety.
Section 13.7 Scientific Papers, Abstracts and Posters.
13.7.1 Scientific Papers. Each Party through the JSC or its designee shall provide to the other, prior to submission of a draft of any articles and papers, including primary reports of Data, pooled analyses, theses, dissertations and review papers concerning a Licensed Product which have been prepared by or on behalf of such Party (each a “Scientific Paper”) to be published in medical and scientific journals and similar publications (“Medical Journals”). Commencing with the receipt of such draft Scientific Paper, the receiving Party shall have [***] Business Days to notify the sending Party of its observations and suggestions with respect thereto (it being understood that the Party proposing to publish such Scientific Paper shall submit it to the receiving Party at least [***] Business Days prior to the planned submission for publication) and the Parties shall discuss these observations and suggestions. The Party proposing to publish such Scientific Paper shall, in good faith, consider the comments made by the other Party, particularly if disclosure may be prejudicial to the other Party’s opportunity to obtain any Patent Right. Neither Party will publish or present any Confidential Information of the other Party without such other Party’s prior written consent. The sending Party shall provide to the receiving Party copies of any final Scientific Paper accepted by a Medical Journal, not less than [***] Business Days prior to the planned publication thereof (upon availability and distribution of such information assuming that providing such information is acceptable taking into consideration the publishers’ need to comply with any healthcare compliance guidelines). To enable free exchange of copyrighted material between the Parties, each Party agrees that it has or shall (i) obtain and maintain, at its own expense, an Annual Copyright License or equivalent license from the Copyright Clearance Center and (ii) list the other Party as a collaborator in an agreement with the Copyright Clearance Center.
13.7.2 Abstracts and Posters. If a Party intends to present findings with
respect to any Licensed Product at symposia or other meetings of healthcare professionals, or international, national or regional congresses, conferences or meetings organized by a professional society or organization (any such occasion, a “Scientific Meeting”), to the extent permitted by applicable Laws, such Party shall provide to the other, prior to submission or presentation, as the case may be, copies of (i) all abstracts that will be submitted for publication in connection (a) with any international Scientific Meeting, in any Scientific Meeting in the European Union or in the United States and, (b) with respect to Pfizer, any Scientific Meeting in the Servier Territory and any major Scientific Meetings in the Pfizer Territory and (c) with respect to Servier, any Scientific Meeting in the Pfizer Territory and any Scientific Meeting in the Servier Territory (a list of which Scientific Meetings will be established by Servier and reviewed from time to time by the Parties) and (ii) all posters that will be presented at such Scientific Meeting, in each case, concerning any Licensed Product which have been prepared by or on behalf of one of the Parties, for submission or presentation. Commencing with the receipt of any such abstract or poster the receiving Party shall have [***] Business Days to inform the sending Party of its observations and suggestions with respect thereto (it being understood that the Party proposing to publish such abstract or poster shall submit it to the receiving Party at least [***] Business Days prior to the planned submission for publication) and the Parties shall discuss these observations and suggestions. The Party proposing to publish such an abstract or make such a presentation shall, in good faith, consider the comments made by the other Party, particularly if disclosure may be prejudicial to the other Party’s opportunity to obtain any patent rights. A Party will not publish or present any Confidential Information of the other Party without such other Party’s prior written consent. The sending Party shall provide to the receiving Party copies of all final abstracts and all final posters accepted for publication or to be presented [***] Business Days prior to the planned publication or presentation thereof (upon availability and distribution of such information assuming that providing such information is acceptable taking into consideration the publishers’ need to comply with any healthcare compliance guidelines). The Parties shall use good faith and commercially reasonable efforts to provide the other Party with draft slide presentations in accordance with the foregoing time periods.
13.7.3 Presentations at Scientific Meetings. To the extent permitted by applicable Laws, each Party shall provide to the other, prior to submission or presentation, as the case may be, copies of all written materials (other than abstracts and posters) that will be presented (i) at any international Scientific Meeting, in any Scientific Meeting in the European Union or the United States, (ii) with respect to Pfizer, any Scientific Meeting in the Servier Territory and any major Scientific Meetings in the Pfizer Territory and (iii) with respect to Servier, any Scientific Meeting in the Pfizer Territory and any major Scientific Meeting in the Servier Territory (a list of which major Scientific Meetings will be established and reviewed from time to time by the Parties) concerning a Licensed Product which have been prepared by or on behalf of one of the Parties, for submission or presentation. Commencing with the receipt of any such written material the receiving Party shall have [***] Business Days to inform the sending Party of its observations and suggestions with respect thereto (it being understood that, during such [***] Business Day period, no submission or presentation thereof shall take place) and the Parties shall discuss these observations and suggestions. The Party proposing to make such a presentation shall, in good faith, consider the comments made by the other Party, particularly if disclosure may be prejudicial to the other Party’s opportunity to obtain any patent rights. A Party proposing to make such a presentation shall not present any Confidential Information of the other Party without such other Party’s prior written consent. The sending Party shall provide to the receiving Party copies of all written materials accepted to be presented [***] Business Days prior to the planned presentation thereof (upon availability and distribution of such information assuming that providing such information is acceptable taking into consideration the publishers’ need to comply with any healthcare compliance guidelines). The Parties shall use good faith and commercially reasonable efforts to provide the other Party with draft slide presentations in accordance with the foregoing time periods.
13.7.4 Registries. Each Party shall be free to disclose any Clinical Study Data generated by such Party concerning a Licensed Product in clinical trial registries; provided, however, that the Party proposing to make such disclosure shall have provided the other Party at least [***] Business Days prior to such disclosure (to the extent practicable), a detailed description of the proposed disclosure and shall have, in good faith, considered the comments made by the other Party.
13.7.5 Timeline Extension or Deferral of Disclosures. Each Party agrees that
it will not unreasonably withhold, condition or delay its consent to requests for extensions of the above timelines in this ARTICLE 13 in the event that material late breaking Data becomes available. If either Party believes that any proposed press release or other public statement, or any publication, presentation, or other disclosure would be prejudicial to its opportunity to obtain any Patent Right, then the affected Party shall notify the publishing Party within the timeframe provided for in this ARTICLE 13 as applicable, or if not applicable, as soon as practicable after receipt of the proposed press release or other public statement, publication, presentation, or other disclosure, and the publishing Party shall refrain from making such press release, other public statement, publication, presentation or other disclosure for an additional [***] days from the last day of the period otherwise provided for herein to enable the preparation and filing of any necessary patent applications.
Section 13.8 Failure to Object to Disclosure. If the Party proposing any press
release or other public statement, or any publication, presentation, or other disclosure referred to in this ARTICLE 13 (excluding for the avoidance of doubt any promotional materials) receives no objection from the other Party within the timeframes set forth in the corresponding Section, then, the Party proposing such press release, other public statement, publication, presentation, or other disclosure shall be free to proceed with the same without further reference to or agreement from the other Party; provided, however, that any such publication, presentation, or other disclosure shall acknowledge the other Party’s contribution to any Data included therein.
ARTICLE 14 REPRESENTATIONS; WARRANTIES AND COVENANTS
Section 14.1 Representations and Warranties of both Parties. Each Party
represents and warrants to the other Party, at the Effective Date, that:
14.1.1 such Party is duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing
under the Laws of the jurisdiction of its incorporation and has full corporate power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to carry out the provisions hereof;
14.1.2 this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered on behalf of such Party, and constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation, enforceable against it in accordance with the terms hereof, subject to (i) the effect of applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar Laws affecting the rights of creditors and (ii) the effect or availability of rules of Law governing specific performance, injunctive relief or other equitable remedies (regardless of whether any such remedy is considered in a proceeding at law or in equity);
14.1.3 the execution and delivery of this Agreement by such Party do not, and
the performance of this Agreement by such Party, including the grant of rights to the other Party pursuant to this Agreement, will not: (i) conflict with, or result in any violation of or default under, any agreement, instrument or understanding, oral or written, to which it or any Affiliate is a party or by which it or any Affiliate is bound; (ii) conflict with any rights granted by such Party to any other Third Party or breach any obligation that such Party has to any Third Party; or (iii) violate any provision of any applicable Law.
Section 14.2 Representations and Warranties of the Licensing Party The
Licensing Party hereby represents to the Licensed Party that, at the Effective Date:
14.2.1 the Licensing Party has the right to grant the rights granted to the other
Party under this Agreement;
14.2.2 this Agreement is not in violation of any agreement between the
Licensing Party and Cellectis or any other Third Party;
14.2.3 None of the Licensing Party or its Affiliates, or, to the Knowledge of the Licensing Party, any Third Party acting by or on behalf of the Licensing Party or any of its Affiliates in connection with the research, development or manufacture of the Licensed Product has been debarred or is subject to debarment;
14.2.4 the Licensed Patents are, to the Knowledge of the Licensing Party, free
of any liens. The Licensed Patents listed on Exhibit 14.2.4, to the Knowledge of the Licensing Party, constitute a true and complete list of all Patent Rights Controlled by the Licensing Party or its Affiliates in the other Party’s Respective Territory relating to the Licensed Products as they exist as of the Effective Date in the other Party’s Respective Territory;
14.2.5 the Licensing Party has not received any written notice from any Third
Party asserting or alleging that the development, manufacture, use or sale of the Licensed Product infringed rights of such Third Party;
14.2.6 the Licensing Party has received no written notice of any opposition or challenge against any Licensed Patent Right in the Territory;
14.2.7 the Licensing Party has not received any written notice that any
Competent Authority has commenced any investigation or any action to withdraw any regulatory filing with respect to the development or manufacture of the Licensed Product, which the Licensing Party reasonably believes may have a material adverse effect on the Development, Manufacture or Commercialization of the Licensed Product in the other Party’s Respective Territory.
Section 14.3 Covenants.
14.3.1 Servier shall use its Commercially Reasonable Efforts to enter into by December 15, 2015 the Servier / Cellectis Amendment on the exact terms and conditions as such Servier / Cellectis Amendment exists as of the Signing Date, a redacted version which has been provided to Pfizer on the Signing Date. Servier will not agree to any modifications to the Servier/ Cellectis Amendment that would impact Pfizer’s rights or obligations under this Agreement or the Servier / Cellectis Amendment without Pfizer’s consent. Servier will provide any redacted information that is proposed to be changed in the Servier / Cellectis Amendment that would impact Pfizer’s rights or obligations under this Agreement or the Servier / Cellectis Amendment to Pfizer’s outside counsel to confirm such changes. Such outside counsel will not disclose such redacted terms to Pfizer.
14.3.2 The Licensing Party shall use its best efforts to maintain its Cellectis Agreement and any existing agreement with any Third Party relating to the Licensed Products as they exist as of the Effective Date, to the extent the rights and licenses granted to the Licensing Party thereunder are sublicensed to the other Party hereunder, and shall not modify, amend, terminate or breach those Third Party agreements, if such modification, amendment, termination or breach would adversely affect the other Party’s rights under this Agreement (after taking into account any period permitted to cure alleged breaches).
Section 14.4 Mutual Disclaimer of Warranties. Except as expressly provided in this Agreement, neither Party makes any warranty of any kind either express or implied relating to the Patents, Know-How, Licensed Products, processes used in the Development of Licensed Products, including without limitation any warranty regarding their use, safety, efficacy, or performance, any warranty of merchantability or any warranty for fitness for any particular purpose or a
warranty or representation that anything made, used, sold, or otherwise disposed of under the license granted in this Agreement is or will be free from infringement of patents, copyrights, and other rights of Third Parties or any other express or implied legal or contractual warranty.
ARTICLE 15 INDEMNIFICATION; INSURANCE
Section 15.1 Indemnification by Pfizer in the Pfizer Territory. Pfizer shall, at its sole expense, defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Servier, the Affiliates of Servier, and their respective officers, directors, employees successors, and assigns (each, a “Servier Indemnitee”) from and against any and all Third Party Claims that arise in or derive from the Pfizer Territory and are connected or related in any way whatsoever to the Development, Regulatory Material, Regulatory Approval, Manufacturing, or Commercialization of the Licensed Product.
Section 15.2 Indemnification by Servier in the Servier Territory. Servier shall, at
its sole expense, indemnify, and hold harmless Pfizer, the Affiliates of Pfizer, and their respective officers, directors, employees successors, and assigns (each, a “Pfizer Indemnitee”) from and against any and all Third Party Claims that arise in or derive from the Servier Territory and are connected or related in any way whatsoever to the Research, Development, Regulatory Material, Regulatory Approval, Manufacturing, Medical Affairs Activities or Commercialization of the Licensed Product.
Section 15.3 Indemnification and Defense Procedures.
15.3.1 Notice of Claim. All claims for indemnification or defense by a Party as provided herein shall be made solely by the Party seeking indemnification or defense. The Party seeking indemnification or defense of a Third Party Claim or remedies for any Losses shall give written notice of the same to the other Party reasonably promptly after the assertion against the Party of any Third Party Claim or fact in respect of which the Party intends to base a claim for indemnification hereunder (a “Claim Notice”), provided, however, that failure or delay to provide such Claim Notice shall not affect the other Party’s indemnification or defense obligations, except to the extent such failure materially and adversely affects the ability to defend such claim. Each Claim Notice must contain a description of the claim and the nature and amount of any Losses (to the extent that the nature and amount of such Losses is known at such time). The Party seeking indemnification or defense shall furnish promptly to the other Party copies of all notices, papers, correspondence, communications and official documents (including court papers) previously received or sent and thereafter that it continues to receive or send in respect of any such Third Party Claim.
15.3.2 Indemnification Procedures.
15.3.2.1 To the extent permitted by laws, the Indemnifying Party
shall assume the defense and handling of such Third Party Claim, at the Indemnifying Party’s sole expense in accordance to Section 15.3.2.2.
15.3.2.2 In assuming the defense of any Third Party Claim, the Indemnifying Party: (i) shall act diligently and in good faith with respect to all matters relating to the defense, settlement or disposition of such Third Party Claim as the defense, settlement or disposition relates to the Indemnified Party; (ii) may, at its own cost, appoint as counsel in connection with conducting the defense and handling of such Third Party Claim any law firm or counsel reasonably selected by the Indemnifying Party and reasonably acceptable to the Indemnified Party; (iii) keep the Indemnified Party informed of the status of such Third Party Claim; (iv) shall have the right to settle the Claim on any terms the Indemnifying Party chooses, subject to prior notification to the Indemnified Party; provided that the Indemnifying Party shall not settle or otherwise resolve any Third Party Claim which could lead to liability or create any financial or other obligation on the part of the Indemnified Party for which the Indemnified Party is not entitled to indemnification hereunder or which admits any wrongdoing or responsibility for the claim on behalf of the Indemnified Party, without prior written consent of the Indemnified Party, which may not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. The Indemnified Party shall reasonably cooperate with the Indemnifying Party in its defense of any Third Party Claim for which the Indemnifying Party has assumed the defense in accordance with this Section 15.3.2, and shall have the right (at its own expense) to be present in person or through counsel at all legal proceedings giving rise to the right of indemnification.
15.3.2.3 If the Indemnifying Party fails to conduct the defense and handling of any Third Party Claim in good faith or if the Third Party Claim seeks
non-monetary relief, (i) the Indemnified Party may at the Indemnifying Party’s expense, select counsel reasonably acceptable to the Indemnifying Party in connection with conducting the defense and handling of such Third Party Claim and defend against, and consent to the entry of any judgment or enter into any settlement with respect to the Third Party Claim in any manner the Indemnified Party may deem reasonably appropriate (and the Indemnified Party shall regularly inform the Indemnifying Party of the status of such Claim and consult with the Indemnifying Party but shall have no obligation hereunder to obtain any consent from, the Indemnifying Party in connection therewith, except that the Indemnified Party shall not settle such Third Party Claim without the prior written consent of the Indemnifying Party, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed); and (ii) the Indemnifying Party shall remain responsible to indemnify the Indemnified Party as provided in this ARTICLE 15. If the Indemnified Party elects to defend or handle such Third Party Claim in accordance with this Section 15.3.2.3, the Indemnifying Party shall cooperate with the Indemnified Party, at the Indemnified Party’s request but at no expense to the Indemnified Party, and shall be entitled to participate in the defense and handling of such Third Party Claim with its own counsel and at its own expense.
Section 15.4 Insurance. During the Term and thereafter for a period of [***] years, each Party shall procure and maintain adequate insurance coverage with international reputable company or a program of self-insurance (which shall be of types and amounts sufficient to cover the liabilities hereunder, contingent or otherwise of such Party and its Affiliates). It is understood that such insurances shall not be construed to create a limit of either Party’s liability with respect to its indemnification obligations under ARTICLE 15. Each Party shall provide the other Party with written evidence of such insurance upon request. Each Party shall provide the other Party with written notice at
least [***] days prior to the cancellation, non-renewal or material change in such insurance.
Section 15.5 Disclaimer of Liability for Consequential Damages. IN NO EVENT SHALL EITHER PARTY OR ANY OF ITS RESPECTIVE AFFILIATES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS AND EMPLOYEES BE LIABLE UNDER THIS AGREEMENT FOR SPECIAL, INDIRECT, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SUFFERED BY THE OTHER PARTY UNDER THIS AGREEMENT, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, WARRANTY, TORT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE, OTHER THAN IF SUCH DAMAGES ARE PAYABLE TO A THIRD PARTY AND Section 16.1 Term.
INDEMNIFIABLE BY A PARTY PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT. NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, THIS DISCLAIMER DOES NOT APPLY TO STRICT LIABILITY OR DAMAGES CAUSED BY INTENTIONAL ACTS WHEREVER THE RESTRICTION OF LIABILITY IS EXCLUDED UNDER GERMAN LAW.
ARTICLE 16 TERM AND TERMINATION
The term of this Agreement (the “Term”) will commence on the Effective Date and will extend, unless this Agreement is terminated earlier in accordance with Section 16.2, on a Licensed Product-by-Licensed Product and country-by-country basis, until such time as the Royalty Term with respect to the sale of such Licensed Product in such country expires. Upon expiration of the Royalty Term with respect to a Licensed Product and country, the licenses granted by the Licensed Party to the other Party under this Agreement with respect to such Licensed Product shall remain in effect as granted in accordance with this Agreement but become fully paid-up, royalty-free licenses until term or termination of this Agreement.
Section 16.2 Termination. Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement or
elsewhere to the contrary, this Agreement may be terminated as follows:
16.2.1 Material Breach. Either Party (the “Non-Breaching Party”) may,
without prejudice to any other remedies available to it at Law, terminate this Agreement partially or in its entirety in the event the other Party (the “Breaching Party”) will have committed a material breach and such material breach will have continued or remained uncured for ninety (90) days (except in the case of a failure to make any payment due under the terms of this Agreement, in which case such failure to pay must be cured within thirty (30) days), after written notice thereof was provided to the Breaching Party by the Non-Breaching Party. Any such termination will become effective at the end of such ninety (90) day period (or, in the case of a failure to make a payment, at the end of such thirty (30) day period), unless the Breaching Party has cured any such material breach prior to the expiration of such ninety (90) day period or thirty (30) day period, as the case may be or (ii) unless the Breaching Party notifies the other Party within such sixty (60) day period that it disagrees in good faith with such asserted basis for termination, this Agreement shall not terminate unless and until the matter has been finally resolved in accordance with Section 17.2 and the arbitration award rendered specifies that the non-breaching Party shall have the right to terminate this Agreement based on such asserted breach. The right of either Party to terminate this Agreement as provided in this Section 16.2.1 will not be affected in any way by such Party's waiver or failure to take action with respect to any previous default.
16.2.2 Mutual Consent. This Agreement may be terminated by the mutual
written consent of the Parties.
16.2.3 Termination for convenience by the Licensed Party. The Licensed Party shall have the right at its sole discretion to terminate this Agreement on a Licensed Product-by-Licensed Product basis for CD19 Products after the third (3rd) anniversary of the Effective Date, upon ninety (90) days prior written notice to the Licensing Party; provided that if (i) the Servier / Cellectis Amendment that has been provided to Pfizer by Servier as of the Signing Date has not been entered into and become effective by December 15, 2015 or (ii) the initial clinical trial application is not approved by the EU by February 28th, 2017 then, in either (i) or (ii) such restriction on terminating this Agreement will no longer apply. The Licensed Party shall have the right at its sole discretion to terminate this Agreement on a Licensed Product-by-Licensed Product basis for ROR1 Products after the second (2nd) anniversary of the date the first Option Exercise Notice is given for ROR1 Products, upon ninety (90) days prior written notice to the Licensing Party. The Licensed Party shall have the right at its sole discretion to terminate this Agreement on a Licensed Product-by-Licensed Product basis for EGFRVIII Products after the second (2nd) anniversary of the first dosing of the first patient in the first Phase 1 Clinical Trial of the first EGFRVIII Product, upon ninety (90) days prior written notice to the Licensing Party. Pfizer shall not be liable for any damages resulting from termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 16.2.3 (i).
16.2.4 Termination for convenience by the Licensing Party. The Licensing Party shall have the right at its sole discretion to terminate this Agreement if the Servier / Cellectis Amendment that has been provided to Pfizer by Servier as of the Signing Date has not been
entered into and become effective by March 15, 2016. Servier shall not be liable for any damages resulting from termination of this Agreement pursuant to this Section 16.2.4; provided that Servier has met its obligations under Section 14.3.1.
16.2.5 Termination for Safety Reasons by the Licensed Party. The
Licensed Party may terminate this Agreement with respect to any given Licensed Product any time for safety reasons upon a thirty (30) days’ written notice to the Licensing Party after consulting with the Licensing Party with respect to such Safety Reasons. “Safety Reasons” shall mean the Licensed Party’s reasonable belief, based upon scientific data that there are safety and public
health issues relating to the Product such that the medical benefit/risk ratio of such Product is sufficiently unfavorable as to materially compromise the welfare of patients.
16.2.6 Termination for Insolvency. Either Party may terminate this
Agreement if, at any time, the other Party will file in any court or agency pursuant to any statute or regulation of any state or country, a petition in bankruptcy or insolvency or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee of the Party or of substantially all of its assets, or if the other Party proposes a written agreement of composition or extension of substantially all of its debts, or if the other Party will be served with an involuntary petition against it, filed in any insolvency proceeding, and such petition will not be dismissed within ninety (90) days after the filing thereof, or if the other Party will propose or be a party to any dissolution or liquidation, or if the other Party will make an assignment of substantially all of its assets for the benefit of creditors. Upon the bankruptcy of any Party, the non-bankrupt Party will further be entitled to a complete duplicate of, or complete access to, any such intellectual property, and such, if not already in its possession, will be promptly delivered to the non-bankrupt Party, unless the bankrupt Party elects to continue, and continues, to perform all of its obligations under this Agreement.
16.2.7 Termination of the Cellectis Agreement by Cellectis. This
Agreement shall immediately terminate with respect to a given Licensed Product in the event the Servier / Cellectis Agreement is terminated with respect to such Licensed Product by Cellectis pursuant to Section 11.2.1 of the Servier / Cellectis Agreement or the Pfizer / Cellectis Agreement
is terminated with respect to such Licensed Product by Cellectis pursuant to Section 9.4 of the Pfizer / Cellectis Agreement. [***]
[***].
16.2.8 Effects of Termination. In the event of any termination of this
Agreement in its entirety or with respect to any given Licensed Product (i) by the Licensing Party pursuant to Section 16.2.1 for a Material Breach of the Licensed Party, or (ii) by the Licensed Party pursuant to Section 16.2.3:
16.2.8.1 the Licensed Party will return to the Licensing Party or
destroy (and certify such destruction to the Licensing Party) all the Licensing Party’s Confidential Information related to the terminated Licensed Product (provided that the Licensed Party shall be entitled to retain one (1) copy for archival and compliance purposes, and as required by applicable Law or regulatory requirement);
16.2.8.2 the Licensing Party shall have the right to acquire some or
all of the inventory of the terminated Licensed Product, as requested by the Licensing Party, in possession of the Licensed Party and its Affiliates as of the date of such termination and, if the Licensing Party so acquires any or all such inventory, shall reimburse the Licensed Party the cost incurred by the Licensed Party for such inventory;
16.2.8.3 the Parties shall cooperate to promptly transfer ownership of
all regulatory filings and Regulatory Approvals (including any such filings and approvals related to manufacturing) to the extent permitted by applicable Laws, and responsibility for regulatory communication held by the Licensed Party in its Respective Territory to the Licensing Party. Unless otherwise required by any applicable Law or regulation or requested by the Licensing Party, the foregoing assignment (or availability) shall be made within thirty (30) days after the effective date of any termination;
16.2.8.4 all licenses and sublicenses granted by the Licensing Party
to the Licensed Party hereunder shall terminate;
16.2.8.5 to the extent requested by the Licensing Party, the Licensed
Party shall grant the Licensing Party an exclusive, worldwide, royalty bearing license, with the right to sublicense, under the Licensed Party’s Intellectual Property (other than the
Joint Intellectual Property) that is necessary to further Develop, Manufacture and Commercialize the terminated Licensed Products as they exist as of the date of termination in the Field. The Licensing Party shall pay the Licensed Party a royalty on Net Sales of the Licensed Product in the Licensed Party’s Respective Territory for such Licensed Party Intellectual Property equal to 1.5% in the case of termination after completion of the first Phase 1 Clinical Study for such terminated Licensed Product, 2% in the case of termination after completion of the first Phase 2 Clinical Study for such terminated Licensed Product and 2.5% in the case of termination after the filing for Marketing Approval for such terminated Licensed Product. For clarity, no royalty shall be payable in case of termination prior to the completion of a first Phase 1 Clinical Study for such terminated Licensed
Product;
16.2.8.6 the Licensed Party shall promptly provide to the Licensing
Party a copy of all Data and the Licensed Party’s Know-How solely related to the terminated Licensed Product to the extent not previously provided to the Licensing Party; and
16.2.8.7 the Parties will discuss in good faith the wind-down or
transfer to the Licensing Party of any ongoing clinical trials or any ongoing pre-clinical studies or formulation studies (e.g., stability studies) for the terminated Licensed Products conducted by or on behalf of the Licensed Party or its Affiliates; provided that at the Licensing Party’s request the Licensed Party shall either: (i) pursue any such Clinical Studies, pre-clinical studies or formulation studies, or any portion thereof; for a period not exceeding twelve (12) months following the effective date of termination or (ii) promptly transition to the Licensing Party or its designee such Clinical Studies, pre-clinical studies or formulation studies, or portions thereof; in each case, at the Licensed Party’s costs and expense except in case of termination by the Licensed Party for breach of the Licensing Party pursuant to Section 16.2.1.
16.2.9 Transition. The Licensed Party shall use diligent efforts to cooperate
with the Licensing Party or its designee at Licensing Party’s cost (except in case of termination by the Licensing Party for breach of the Licensed Party pursuant to Section 16.2.1) to effect a smooth and orderly transition in the development, sale and ongoing marketing, promotion and Commercialization of the terminated Licensed Product.
Section 16.3 Accrued Payment Pending Termination and Survival.
16.3.1 The termination or expiration of this Agreement shall not affect any payment of any debts or obligations accruing prior to such date of termination or expiration. For the avoidance of doubt, Milestone Payments by the Licensed Party as set forth in Sections 11.3 and 11.4 will be due on Milestone achieved during the period between any notice of termination under Section 16.4 and the effective date of termination, as accrued.
16.3.2 The provisions of Article 1 (Definitions), Sections 7.2 (Recall), 7.5 (Pharmacovigilance Agreement), 11.8.3 (Records; Inspections), 12.2.2.3 (Joint Patent Rights), 13 (Confidentiality), 15 (Indemnification), 16.2.8 (Effects of Termination), 16.2.9 (Transition), 16.3 (Accrued Payment Pending Termination and Survival) and 17 (Miscellaneous) will survive the expiration or any termination of this Agreement for any reason, in accordance with their respective terms and conditions, and for the respective duration stated therein, and where no duration is
stated, will survive indefinitely. In addition, any Section that is referred to in the above listed Sections shall survive solely for the interpretation or enforcement of the latters.
Section 16.4 Discontinuation by the Licensing Party in its Respective Territory
of the Licensed Party’s Licensed Products.
16.4.1 The Licensing Party shall have the right at its sole discretion to terminate its involvement in the Development or Commercialization of all of its Licensed Products directed at any given Collaboration Target (i.e., all CD19 Products or ROR1 Products with respect to
Servier and all EGFRVIII Products with respect to Pfizer): (i) for CD19 Products after the third (3rd) anniversary of the Effective Date, (ii) for ROR1 Products after the second (2nd) anniversary of the date the first Option Exercise Notice is given for ROR1 Products and (iii) for EGFRVIII Products after the after the second (2nd) anniversary of the first dosing of the first patient in the first Phase 1 Clinical Trial of the first EGFRVIII Product, upon ninety (90) days prior written notice to the Licensing Party.
ARTICLE 17 MISCELLANEOUS
Section 17.1 Public Announcements. Except as required by applicable Laws or the
rules of any stock exchange, neither Party will make any public announcement of any information regarding this Agreement or any activities under this Agreement without the prior written approval of the other Party, which approval will not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. Each Party will submit to the other Party any proposed announcements at least thirty (30) days prior to the
intended date of publication of such announcement to permit review and approval. Once any statement is approved for disclosure by the Parties or information is otherwise made public in accordance with the preceding sentence, either Party may make a subsequent public disclosure of the specific contents of such statement without further approval of the other Party.
Section 17.2 Dispute Resolution.
17.2.1 Arbitration. In the event an Arbitrable Matter arises (each, a
“Dispute”), the Alliance Managers will attempt in good faith to resolve such Dispute, failing
which either Party may cause such Dispute to be referred to the Executive Officers for resolution. The Executive Officers shall attempt in good faith to resolve such Dispute by unanimous consent. If the Executive Officers cannot resolve such Dispute within thirty (30) days of the matter being referred to them, then either Party may submit such Dispute to arbitration for final resolution by arbitration request (the “Arbitration Request”) under the Rules of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce (the “Rules”) by three arbitrators appointed in accordance with the said Rules (each such arbitration, an “Arbitration”). Any Arbitration may be initiated by either Party in accordance with the Rules. Each Arbitration will be conducted in English and all foreign language documents shall be submitted in the original language and, if so requested by any arbitrator or Party, shall also be accompanied by a translation into English. The place of arbitration shall be Berlin, Germany, which location cannot be changed and the location for all hearings and meetings in any Arbitration shall be selected by a majority vote of the arbitrators. The arbitrators in any Arbitration shall enforce and not modify the terms of this Agreement. The award of the arbitrators shall be final and binding on each Party and its respective successors and assigns, and judgment may be entered thereupon and enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards or other applicable Law. All costs and expenses of any Arbitration, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses and the administrative and arbitrator fees and expenses, shall be borne by the Parties as determined by the arbitrators. Nothing in this Section 17.2.1 shall be construed as limiting the right of a Party to seek, in a court of competent jurisdiction, an injunction or other equitable relief in aid of Arbitration (including to maintain the status quo or preserve the subject matter of the Arbitration) with respect to any actual or threatened breach of this Agreement or otherwise to prevent or avoid irreparable harm.
17.2.2 Accelerated Arbitration Procedure. In the event of a Dispute between the Parties that is not resolved pursuant to Section 3.9 and that is not resolved pursuant to Section 17.2.1, either Party may submit such Dispute to arbitration for final resolution pursuant to Section 17.2.1, with the following additional condition (the “Accelerated Arbitration Procedure”): the arbitrators shall use their best efforts to enter an award within six (6) months following the submission of such Dispute to Arbitration and the Parties shall use reasonable efforts to comply with the procedures and obligations set forth in Section 17.2.1 so that a final award may be entered within six (6) months following the appointment of the last of the three arbitrators pursuant to the Rules and Section 17.2.1.
17.2.3 Confidentiality. Except to the limited extent necessary to comply with applicable Law, legal process, or a court order or to enforce a final settlement agreement or secure enforcement or vacatur of the arbitrators’ award, the Parties agree that the existence, terms and content of any Arbitration, all information and documents disclosed in any Arbitration or evidencing any arbitration results, award, judgment or settlement, or the performance thereof, and any allegations, statements and admissions made or positions taken by either Party in any Arbitration shall be treated and maintained in confidence and are not intended to be used or disclosed for any other purpose or in any other forum.
17.2.4 Communications with Internal Counsel. In the course of the
negotiation and implementation of this Agreement and the resolution of any disputes, investigations, administrative or other proceedings relating thereto, each Party will call upon the members of its internal legal department to provide advice to such Party and its directors, employees and agents on legal matters. Notwithstanding any rights to the contrary under
applicable procedural or substantive rules of law, each Party agrees not to request, produce or otherwise use any such communications between members of its legal department and directors, employees or agents in connection with any such disputes, investigations, administrative or other proceedings, to the extent such communications, if they had been exchanged between such Party and external attorneys, would have been covered by legal privilege and not discloseable.
17.2.5 Governing Law. This Agreement and any dispute arising from the performance or breach hereof will be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the Laws of Germany, excluding its rules of conflict of laws.
17.2.6 Assignment. This Agreement will not be assignable by either Party to
any Third Party without the written consent of the other Party hereto. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each Party may assign this Agreement, without the consent of the other Party, to an Affiliate. Any assignment in violation of this provision is void and without effect.
Section 17.3 Binding Agreement. This Agreement, and the terms and conditions
hereof, will be binding upon and will inure to the benefit of the Parties and their respective successors, heirs, administrators and permitted assigns.
Section 17.4 Force Majeure. No Party will be held liable or responsible to the other Party nor be deemed to be in default under, or in breach of any provision of, this Agreement for failure or delay in fulfilling or performing any obligation of this Agreement when such failure or delay is due to force majeure, and without the fault or negligence of the Party so failing or delaying.
For purposes of this Agreement, “force majeure” is defined as causes beyond the control of the Party, including, without limitation, acts of God; Laws of any government; war; civil commotion; destruction of production facilities or materials by fire, flood, earthquake, explosion or storm; labor disturbances; epidemic; and failure of public utilities or common carriers. In the event of force majeure, Pfizer or Servier, as the case may be, will immediately notify the other Party of such inability and of the period for which such inability is expected to continue. The Party giving such notice will thereupon be excused from such of its obligations under this Agreement as it is thereby disabled from performing for so long as such Party is so disabled, up to a maximum of ninety (90) days, after which time the Party not affected by the force majeure may terminate this Agreement. To the extent possible, each Party will use reasonable efforts to minimize the duration of any force majeure.
Section 17.5 Notices. Any notice or request required or permitted to be given under or
in connection with this Agreement will be deemed to have been sufficiently given if in writing and personally delivered or sent by certified mail (return receipt requested), facsimile transmission (receipt verified), email or overnight express courier service (signature required), prepaid, to the Party for which such notice is intended, at the address set forth for such Party below:
If to Pfizer:
Pfizer Inc.
235 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017
Attention: President, Pfizer Oncology
With copies to:
Pfizer Inc.
235 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017
Attention: General Counsel
Facsimile No.:
Pfizer Inc.
235 East 42nd Street
New York, NY 10017
Attention: Senior Vice President, Business Development
Facsimile No.:
If to Servier:
Les Laboratoires Servier
50 rue Carnot
92284 Suresnes Cedex
France
Attention : Alliance Management Director & US Licenses or to such other address for such Party as it will have specified by like notice to the other Parties, provided that notices of a change of address will be effective only upon receipt thereof.
Facsimile:
Email:
With a copy to:
Attention: Director Contract Department
Les Laboratoires Servier
50 rue Carnot
92284 Suresnes Cedex
France
If delivered personally or by facsimile transmission, the date of delivery will be deemed to be the date on which such notice or request was given. If sent by overnight express courier service, the date of delivery will be deemed to be the next business day after such notice or request was deposited with such service. If sent by certified mail, the date of delivery will be deemed to be the third (3rd) day after such notice or request was deposited with the postal service. If sent by email, the date of delivery will be deemed to be the day that the Party giving notice receives electronic confirmation of sending from its email provider.
Section 17.6 Waiver. Neither Party may waive or release any of its rights or interests
in this Agreement except in writing. The failure of either Party to assert a right hereunder or to insist upon compliance with any term or condition of this Agreement will not constitute a waiver of that right or excuse a similar subsequent failure to perform any such term or condition. No waiver by either Party of any condition or term in any one or more instances will be construed as a continuing waiver of such condition or term or of another condition or term.
Section 17.7 Severability. If any provision hereof should be held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any jurisdiction, the Parties will negotiate in good faith a valid, legal and enforceable substitute provision that most nearly reflects the original intent of the Parties and all other provisions hereof will remain in full force and effect in such jurisdiction and will be liberally construed in order to carry out the intentions of the Parties hereto as nearly as may be possible. Such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability will not affect the validity, legality or enforceability of such provision in any other jurisdiction.
Section 17.8 Entire Agreement. This Agreement, including the schedules and
exhibits hereto, sets forth all the covenants, promises, agreements, appendices, warranties, representations, conditions and understandings between the Parties hereto and supersedes and terminates all prior agreements and understandings between the Parties relating to the subject
matter hereof. There are no covenants, promises, agreements, warranties, representations, conditions or understandings, either oral or written, between the Parties relating to the subject matter hereof other than as set forth herein and therein. No subsequent alteration, amendment, change or addition to this Agreement will be binding upon the Parties hereto unless reduced to writing and signed by the respective authorized officers of the Parties.
Section 17.9 Independent Contractors. Nothing herein will be construed to create any relationship of employer and employee, agent and principal, partnership or joint venture between the Parties. Each Party is an independent contractor. Neither Party will assume, either directly or indirectly, any liability of or for the other Party.
Neither Party will have the authority to bind or obligate the other Party and neither Party will represent that it has such authority.
Section 17.10 Headings. Headings used herein are for convenience only and will not
in any way affect the construction of or be taken into consideration in interpreting this Agreement.
Section 17.11 Construction of Agreement. The terms and provisions of this
Agreement represent the results of negotiations between the Parties and their representatives, each of which has been represented by counsel of its own choosing, and neither of which has acted under duress or compulsion, whether legal, economic or otherwise. Accordingly, the terms and provisions of this Agreement will be interpreted and construed in accordance with their usual and customary meanings, and each of the Parties hereto hereby waives the application in connection with the interpretation and construction of this Agreement of any rule of Law to the effect that ambiguous or conflicting terms or provisions contained in this Agreement will be interpreted or construed against the Party whose attorney prepared the executed draft or any earlier draft of this Agreement. The definitions of the terms herein shall apply equally to the singular and plural forms of the terms defined. Whenever the context may require, any pronoun shall include the corresponding masculine, feminine and neuter forms. The Parties each acknowledge that they have had the advice of counsel with respect to this Agreement, that this Agreement has been
jointly drafted, and that no rule of strict construction shall be applied in the interpretation hereof. Unless the context requires otherwise: (i) the words “include”, “includes” and “including” shall be deemed to be followed by the phrase “without limitation”; (ii) any reference to any Applicable Law herein shall be construed as referring to such Applicable Law as from time to time enacted, repealed or amended; (iii) any reference herein to any person shall be construed to include the person’s permitted successors and assigns; (iv) the words “herein”, “hereof” and “hereunder”, and words of similar import, shall be construed to refer to this Agreement in its entirety and not to any particular provision hereof; (v) all references herein to Articles, Sections, or Schedules, unless otherwise specifically provided, shall be construed to refer to Articles, Sections or Schedules of this Agreement; (vi) provisions that require that a Party, the Parties or any Committee hereunder “agree”, “consent” or “approve” or the like shall require that such agreement, consent or approval be specific and in writing, whether by written agreement, electronic mail, letter, approved minutes or otherwise (but excluding instant messaging); (vii) the term “or” shall be interpreted in the inclusive sense commonly associated with the term “and/or” and (viii) the words “will” and
“shall” will have the same meaning in this Agreement. This Agreement has been executed in
English, and the English version of this Agreement shall control.
Section 17.12 Anti-Bribery and Anti-Corruption Practices. Subject to applicable Laws, each Party shall not, in connection with the performance of their respective obligations under this Agreement, directly or indirectly through Third Parties, pay, promise or offer to pay, or authorize the payment of, any money or give any promise or offer to give, or authorize the giving of anything of value to a Public Official or Entity for purpose of obtaining or retaining business for or with, or directing business to, either Party (it being understood that such Party, and to its knowledge, its and its Affiliates’ employees, has not directly or indirectly promised, offered or provided any corrupt payment, gratuity, emolument, bribe, kickback, illicit gift or hospitality or other illegal or unethical benefit to a Public Official or Entity in connection with the performance of such Party’s obligations under this Agreement, and shall not, directly or indirectly, engage in any of the foregoing). For the purposes hereof, “Public Official or Entity” shall mean (i) any officer, employee (including physician, hospital administrator, or other healthcare professional), agent, representative, department, agency, de facto official, representative, corporate entity, instrumentality or subdivision of any government, military or international organization, including, but not limited to, any ministry or department of health or any state-owned or affiliated company or hospital, or (ii) any candidate for political office, any political party or any official of a political party.
Section 17.13 Counterparts. This Agreement may be signed in counterparts, each and every one of which will be deemed an original, notwithstanding variations in format or file designation which may result from the electronic transmission, storage and printing of copies of this Agreement from separate computers or printers. Facsimile signatures will be treated as
original signatures.
ARTICLE 18 ENTRY INTO FORCE
This Agreement and any right and obligation hereunder shall enter into force immediately upon the entry into force of the Servier / Cellectis Amendment, a redacted copy of which has been disclosed to Pfizer(the date of such, the “Effective Date”). Notwithstanding the above, Sections 14.3.1, 16.2.3 and 16.2.4 of this Agreement shall enter into force as of the Signing Date.
(signature page follows)
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Parties have caused this Exclusive Collaboration and
License Agreement to be executed by their duly authorized representatives.
For Pfizer, For Les Laboratoires Servier,
By: /s/ G. M. Dolsten By: /s/ Christian Bazantay
Name: CHRISTIAN BAZANTAY
Title: Proxy
By: /s/ Eric Falcand
Name: Eric FALCAND
Title: Proxy
For Institut de Recherche Internationales Servier
By: /s/ Dr. Emmanuel Canet
Name: Dr. Emmanuel CANET
Title: President of R&D
[Signature Page to the Exclusive License and Collaboration Agreement]
Exhibit 1.10
First CD 19 Product
[***]
Schedule 2.6.4.2
[CD19 and ROR1 Products (per each Licensed Product)
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Milestone Events |
Milestone Payments (in EUR) |
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Exhibit 5.2
Global Research and Development Plan and
Global Research and Development Budget
GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS FOR UCART19 and ROR1
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Exhibit 14.2.4
Licensed Patents
SERVIER PATENT RIGHTS**
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PFIZER PATENT RIGHTS**
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PATENT APPLICATIONS IN THE NAME OF CELLECTIS |
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PATENT APPLICATIONS IN THE NAME OF CELLECTIS |
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PATENT APPLICATIONS IN THE NAME OF CELLECTIS |
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EX-19.1
3
allo-20241231xex191.htm
EX-19.1
Document
ALLOGENE THERAPEUTICS, INC.
INSIDER TRADING POLICY
October 10, 2018, as last updated December 12, 2024
PERSONS COVERED
This Insider Trading Policy of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) applies to all directors, officers, other employees and consultants of the Company and any subsidiaries. It also applies to their family members who reside with them, anyone else who lives in their households and any family members who do not live in their households but whose transactions in the Company’s securities are directed by, or subject to, the influence or control of a director, officer, other employee or consultant of the Company.
PURPOSE AND POLICY
The purpose of this Insider Trading Policy is to clarify the circumstances under which trading in the stock of the Company or another publicly-traded company with which the Company has business dealings or which share a close market connection with the Company (each, a “Third Party”) by the Company’s directors, officers, other employees and consultants will result in civil liability and criminal penalties, as well as disciplinary action by the Company.
During the course of your employment or service with the Company, you may receive important information that is not yet publicly available, i.e., not disclosed to the public in a press release or filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Inside Information”), about the Company or a Third Party. Because of your access to this information, you may be in a position to profit financially by buying or selling or in some other way dealing in the Company’s or a Third Party’s stock, or to disclose such information to a third party who does so (known as a “Tippee”).
It is illegal for anyone to use Inside Information to gain personal benefit, or to pass on, or “tip,” the information to someone who does so. There is no de minimis exception to this rule. Use of Inside Information to gain personal benefit and tipping are as illegal with respect to a few shares of stock as they are with respect to a large number of shares. You can be held liable both for your own transactions and for transactions effected by a Tippee, or even a Tippee of a
Tippee. Furthermore it is important that the appearance as well as the act of insider trading in stock be avoided.
EXCEPTIONS
Please note that, generally, transactions directly with the Company, i.e., option exercises or purchases under the Company’s employee stock purchase plan, will not create problems. However, the subsequent sale or other disposition of such stock is fully subject to these restrictions. In addition, purchases or sales pursuant to a written plan that meets the requirements of Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, may be made without restriction provided that the plan was adopted in accordance with Company policies.
INSIDE INFORMATION
As a practical matter, it is sometimes difficult to determine whether you possess Inside Information. The key to determining whether nonpublic information you possess about a public company is Inside Information is whether dissemination of the information would be likely to affect the market price of the company’s stock or would be likely to be considered important by investors who are considering trading in that company’s stock. Certainly, if the information makes you want to trade, it would probably have the same effect on others. Both positive and negative information can be material. If you possess Inside Information about a company, you must refrain from trading in that company’s stock, advising anyone else to do so or communicating the information to anyone else until you know that the information has been disseminated to the public. This means that in some circumstances, you may have to forego a proposed transaction in a company’s securities even if you planned to execute the transaction prior to learning of the inside information and even though you believe you will suffer an economic loss or sacrifice an anticipated profit by waiting. “Trading” includes engaging in short sales, transactions in put or call options, hedging transactions and other inherently speculative transactions.
Additionally, you may not discuss material nonpublic information about the Company with anyone outside the Company. This prohibition covers spouses, family members, friends, business associates, or persons with whom we are doing business (except to the extent that such persons are covered by a non-disclosure agreement and the discussion is necessary to accomplish a business purpose of the Company). You may not participate in Internet forums, message boards, social media sites, “chat rooms” or other Internet discussion forums concerning the activities of the Company or other companies with which the Company does business, even if you do so anonymously.
Although this is by no means an exhaustive list, information about the following items may be considered to be Inside Information until it is publicly disseminated:
(a)clinical developments;
(b)financial results or forecasts;
(c)regulatory developments, including developments with the United States Food and Drug Administration and similar foreign agencies;
(d)major new products or product candidates;
(e)establishment of, or developments in, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or similar collaborations;
(f)communications with government agencies;
(g)strategic plans;
(h)potential mergers, acquisitions, tender offers or the sale of assets of the Company or a subsidiary thereof;
(i)significant write-offs;
(j)potential acquisitions of additional product candidates or technology;
(k)notice of issuance of patents, the acquisition of other material intellectual property rights or other significant intellectual property developments;
(l)significant changes or developments in the biopharmaceutical industry or technological innovations;
(m)new major contracts, orders, suppliers, or finance sources, or the loss thereof;
(n)significant changes or developments in supplies;
(o)significant pricing changes;
(p)events regarding the Company’s securities (e.g., defaults on senior securities, calls of securities for redemption, repurchase plans, stock splits, public or private equity/debt offerings, or changes in Company dividend policies or amounts);
(q)significant changes in control or senior management;
(r)significant changes in compensation policy;
(s)bankruptcies or receiverships;
(t)actual or threatened major litigation, or a major development in or the resolution of such litigation; and
(u)change in auditors or a notification that the Company can no longer rely on an auditor’s report.
PROHIBITION OF SPECULATIVE TRADING
No officer, director, other employee or consultant of the Company may engage in short sales, transactions in put or call options, hedging transactions or other inherently speculative transactions with respect to the Company’s stock at any time. In addition, no officer, director, other employee or consultant of the Company may margin, or make any offer to margin, or otherwise pledge as security, any of the Company’s stock, including without limitation, borrowing against such stock, at any time.
WINDOW PERIOD POLICY
Because the officers, directors and certain other designated employees of the Company are the most visible to the public and are most likely, in the view of the public, to possess Inside Information about the Company, we ask them to do more than refrain from insider trading. Under a separate policy applicable to this group of individuals known as the Company’s Window Period Policy, the Company’s directors, officers and certain other designated employees are required to limit their transactions in the Company’s stock to defined time periods following public dissemination of quarterly and annual financial results, notify one or more designated preclearance individuals prior to engaging in transactions in the Company’s stock and observe other restrictions designed to minimize the risk of apparent or actual insider trading. Other employees of the Company may also be subject to the Window Period Policy from time to time as determined by the Company’s Board of Directors.
APPLICATION
Anyone who effects transactions in the Company’s or a Third Party’s stock (or provides information to enable others to do so) on the basis of Inside Information is subject to both civil liability and criminal penalties, including imprisonment, as well as disciplinary action by the Company, up to and including termination for cause.
This Insider Trading Policy will continue to apply to your transactions in the Company’s or a Third Party’s stock even after your employment or service with the Company has terminated. If you are in possession of material nonpublic information when your employment or service terminates, you may not trade in the Company’s or, if applicable, a Third Party’s, stock until the information has become public or is no longer material.
A director, officer, other employee or consultant who has questions about these matters should speak with his or her own attorney or to the Company’s Chief Financial Officer or General Counsel.
Any director, officer, other employee or consultant of the Company who knows of or suspects a violation of this Insider Trading Policy should report the violation immediately to the Company’s Chief Financial Officer or General Counsel or through the procedures for anonymous reporting outlined in the Company’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. The Company and its subsidiaries will comply with all requests from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. and other agencies for information related to insider trading investigations.
ALLOGENE THERAPEUTICS, INC.
INSIDER TRADING POLICY
CERTIFICATION
To Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.
I, ________________________, have received and read a copy of the Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. Insider Trading Policy. I hereby agree to comply with the specific requirements of the policy in all respects during my employment or other service relationship with Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. I understand that this policy constitutes a material term of my employment or other service relationship with Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. and that my failure to comply in all respects with the policy is a basis for termination for cause.
(Signature)
(Name)
(Date)
EX-23.1
4
allo-20241231xex231.htm
EX-23.1
Document
Exhibit 23.1
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We consent to the incorporation by reference in the following Registration Statements:
(1)Registration Statement (Form S-8 No. 333-227965) pertaining to the Amended and Restated 2018 Equity Incentive Plan (Prior Plan), Amended and Restated 2018 Equity Incentive Plan and 2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.
(2)Registration Statements (Form S-8 Nos. 333-230164, 333-236701, 333-253530, 333-262923, 333-270098 and 333-277954) pertaining to the Amended and Restated 2018 Equity Incentive Plan and 2018 Employee Stock Purchase Plan of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc., and
(3)Registration Statement (Form S-3 No. 333-277951) of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.;
of our report dated March 13, 2025, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. included in this Annual Report (Form 10-K) of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2024.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
San Mateo, California
March 13, 2025
EX-31.1
5
allo-20241231xex311.htm
EX-31.1
Document
Exhibit 31.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
RULES 13a-14(a) AND 15d-14(a) UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I, David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., certify that:
1.I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc.;
2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4.The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
a.Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
b.Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
c.Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
d.Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and
5.The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
(a)All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
(b)Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
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Date: March 13, 2025 |
By: |
/s/ David Chang, M.D., Ph.D. |
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David Chang, M.D., Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer)
|
EX-31.2
6
allo-20241231xex312.htm
EX-31.2
Document
Exhibit 31.2
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
RULES 13a-14(a) AND 15d-14(a) UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
I, Geoffrey Parker, certify that:
1.I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Allogene Therapeutics;
2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4.The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
a.Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
b.Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
c.Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
d.Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and
5.The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):
(a)All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
(b)Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.
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Date: March 13, 2025 |
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/s/ Geoffrey Parker |
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Geoffrey Parker Chief Financial Officer (Principal Financial Officer) |
EX-32.1
7
allo-20241231xex321.htm
EX-32.1
Document
Exhibit 32.1
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350, AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Annual Report of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, to which this Certification is attached as Exhibit 32.1, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, David Chang, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as adopted pursuant to § 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:
(1)The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and
(2)The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.
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Date: March 13, 2025 |
By: |
/s/ David Chang, M.D., Ph.D. |
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David Chang, M.D., Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer)
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This certification accompanies the Form 10-K to which it relates, is not deemed filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (whether made before or after the date of the Form 10-K), irrespective of any general incorporation language contained in such filing.
EX-32.2
8
allo-20241231xex322.htm
EX-32.2
Document
Exhibit 32.2
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350, AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Annual Report of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company”) on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, to which this Certification is attached as Exhibit 32.2, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the “Report”), I, Geoffrey Parker, Chief Financial Officer of the Company, certify, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350, as adopted pursuant to § 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:
(1)The Report fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and
(2)The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Company.
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Date: March 13, 2025 |
By: |
/s/ Geoffrey Parker |
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Geoffrey Parker
Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial Officer)
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This certification accompanies the Form 10-K to which it relates, is not deemed filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is not to be incorporated by reference into any filing of Allogene Therapeutics, Inc. under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (whether made before or after the date of the Form 10-K), irrespective of any general incorporation language contained in such filing.