UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM 10-Q
(Mark One)
For the quarterly period ended September 30, 2016
OR
For the transition period from to
Commission file number: 001-37471
PIERIS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
255 State Street, 9th Floor
Boston, MA
United States
857-246-8998
(Registrants telephone number, including area code)
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 and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted 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 and post such files). ☒ Yes ☐ No
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See definition of large accelerated filer, accelerated filer and smaller reporting company in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (check one):
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
The number of outstanding shares of the registrants common stock, par value $0.001 per share, as of November 7, 2016 was 43,058,827.
FORM 10-Q QUARTERLY REPORT
FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED September 30, 2016
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART I FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1. Financial Statements
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at September 30, 2016 (unaudited) and December 31, 2015
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (unaudited) for the three and nine months ending September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Loss (unaudited) for the three and nine months ending September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (unaudited) for the nine months ending September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (unaudited)
Item 2. Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
PART II OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Item 5. Other Information
Item 6. Exhibits
SIGNATURES
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Currency Presentation and Currency Translation
Unless otherwise indicated, all references to dollars, $, U.S. $ or U.S. dollars are to the lawful currency of the United States. All references in this Report to euro or are to the currency introduced at the start of the third stage of the European Economic and Monetary Union pursuant to the Treaty establishing the European Community, as amended. We prepare our financial statements in U.S. dollars.
The functional currency for most of our operations is the euro. With respect to our financial statements, the translation from the euro to U.S. Dollars is performed for balance sheet accounts using exchange rates in effect at the balance sheet date and for revenue and expense accounts using a weighted average exchange rate during the period. The resulting translation adjustments are recorded as a component of other comprehensive income.
Where in this Report we refer to amounts in euros, we have for your convenience also in certain cases provided a conversion of those amounts to U.S. Dollars in parentheses. Where the numbers refer to a specific balance sheet account date or financial statement account period, we have used the exchange rate that was used to perform the conversions in connection with the applicable financial statement. In all other instances, unless otherwise indicated, the conversions have been made using the noon buying rate of 1.00 to U.S. $1.12105 based on www.oanda.com as of September 30, 2016.
Forward Looking Statements
This section and other parts of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains forward looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act), that involve risks and uncertainties, principally in the section entitled Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, including statements regarding future events, our future financial performance, expectations for growth and revenues, anticipated timing and amounts of milestone and other payments under collaboration agreements, business strategy and plans, objectives of management for future operations, timing and outcome of legal and other proceedings, and our ability to finance our operations are forward-looking statements. We have attempted to identify forward-looking statements by terminology including anticipates, believes, can, continue, ongoing, could, estimates, expects, intends, may, appears, future, likely, plans, potential, projects, predicts, should, would, or will or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Although we do not make forward-looking statements unless we believe we have a reasonable basis for doing so, we cannot guarantee their accuracy. These statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including the risks outlined under Risk Factors or elsewhere in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, which may cause our or our industrys actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements to differ materially.
Moreover, we operate in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and it is not possible for us to predict all risk factors, nor can we address the impact of all factors on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from our forward-looking statements due to a number of factors, including, without limitation, risks related to: the results of our research and development activities, including uncertainties relating to the discovery of potential drug candidates and the preclinical and ongoing or planned clinical testing of our drug candidates; the early stage of our drug candidates presently under development; our ability to obtain and, if obtained, maintain regulatory approval of our current drug candidates and any of our other future drug candidates; our need for substantial additional funds in order to continue our operations and the uncertainty of whether we will be able to obtain the funding we need; our future financial performance; our ability to retain or hire key scientific or management personnel; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights that are valuable to our business, including patent and other intellectual property rights; our dependence on third-party manufacturers, suppliers, research organizations, testing laboratories and other potential collaborators; our ability to successfully market and sell our drug candidates in the future as needed; the size and growth of the potential markets for any of our approved drug candidates, and the rate and degree of market acceptance of any of our approved drug candidates; competition in our industry; and regulatory developments in the U.S. and foreign countries.
You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statement, each of which applies only as of the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Before you invest in our securities, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in Part I, Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 filed on March 23, 2016 could negatively affect our business, operating results, financial condition and stock price. All forward-looking statements included in this document are based on information available to us on the date hereof, and except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to conform our statements to actual results or changed expectations.
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PART I FINANCIAL INFORMATION
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
Assets
Current assets:
Cash
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
Total current assets
Property and equipment, net
Other non-current assets
Total assets
Liabilities and Stockholders´ Equity
Current liabilities:
Trade accounts payable
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities
Deferred revenues, current portion
Total current liabilities
Deferred revenue, net of current portion
Other long-term liabilities
Total liabilities
Stockholders equity:
Common stock, $0.001 par value per share, 300,000,000 shares authorized and 43,058,827 and 39,833,023 issued and outstanding at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share, 4,963 shares authorized and 4,963 and zero issued and outstanding at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015
Additional paid-in capital
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
Accumulated deficit
Total stockholders equity
Total liabilities and stockholders equity
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
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CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)
Revenue
Operating expenses
Research and development
General and administrative
Total operating expenses
Loss from operations
Interest (expense), net
Other income, net
Loss before income taxes
Provision/(benefit) for income tax
Net Loss
Net loss per share
Basic and diluted
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding
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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS (UNAUDITED)
Net loss
Other comprehensive income/(loss) components:
Foreign currency translation
Total other comprehensive income/(loss)
Comprehensive loss
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CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED)
Operating activities:
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation
Stock-based compensation
Non-cash restricted shares
Non-cash consulting shares
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Trade accounts receivable
Prepaid expenses and other assets
Deferred Revenue
Income taxes
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
Investing activities:
Purchase of property and equipment
Net cash used in investing activities
Financing activities:
Issuance of Common and Preferred Stock, net of issuance costs
Repayment of debt
Net cash used in financing activities
Effect of exchange rate change on cash and cash equivalents
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year
Supplemental cash flow disclosures:
Cash paid for interest
Cash paid for tax
Property and equipment, included in accounts payable
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NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(UNAUDITED)
1. Interim Consolidated Financial Statements
The accompanying unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements of Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Pieris or the Company) were prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U.S. GAAP) for interim financial information. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in the consolidation. Certain information and footnotes normally included in financial statement prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been omitted pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete annual consolidated financial statements. It is recommended that these financial statements be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related footnotes that appear in the Annual Report on Form 10-K of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2015 filed with the SEC on March 23, 2016 (the 2015 Annual Report).
In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited condensed consolidated financial statements for the year ending December 31, 2015, and all adjustments, including normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary for the fair presentation of the Companys unaudited interim consolidated financial statements have been included. The results of operations for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2016 or any future period.
Use of estimates
The preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the reported amounts of revenues and expenses in the financial statements and disclosures in the accompanying notes. Significant estimates are used for, but are not limited to, revenue recognition, deferred tax assets, liabilities and valuation allowances, fair value of stock options and various accruals. Management evaluates its estimates on an ongoing basis. Actual results and outcomes could differ materially from managements estimates, judgments and assumptions.
2. Critical Accounting Policies
Research and development expenses
Research and development expenses are charged to the statement of operations as incurred. Research and development expenses are comprised of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, including salaries and benefits, facilities costs, pre-clinical and clinical costs, contract services, consulting, depreciation and amortization expense, and other related costs. Costs associated with acquired technology, in the form of upfront fees or milestone payments, are charged to research and development expense as incurred.
3. Revenues
General
Pieris, to date has not generated revenues from product sales. Pieris has generated revenues pursuant to (i) license and collaboration agreements, which include upfront payments for licenses or options to obtain licenses, payments for research and development services and milestone payments, and (ii) government grants.
Multiple element arrangements, such as license and development arrangements are analyzed to determine whether the deliverables, which often include a license and performance obligations such as research and steering committee services, can be separated or whether they must be accounted for as a single unit of accounting in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP. The Company recognizes up-front license payments as revenue upon delivery of the license only if the license has stand-alone value. If the license is considered to not have stand-alone value, the arrangement would then be accounted for as a single unit of accounting and the license payments and payments for performance obligations are recognized as revenue over the estimated period of when the performance obligations are performed.
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If the Company is involved in a steering committee as part of a multiple element arrangement, the Company assesses whether its involvement constitutes a performance obligation or a right to participate. Steering committee services that are determined to be performance obligations are combined with other research services or performance obligations required under an arrangement, if any, in determining the level of effort required in an arrangement and the period over which the Company expects to complete its aggregate performance obligations.
Whenever the Company determines that an arrangement should be accounted for as a single unit of accounting, it must determine the period over which the performance obligations will be performed and revenue will be recognized. Revenue will be recognized using either a relative performance or straight-line method. The Company recognizes revenue using the relative performance method provided that the Company can reasonably estimate the level of effort required to complete its performance obligations under an arrangement and such performance obligations are provided on a best-efforts basis. Full-time equivalents are typically used as the measure of performance.
If the Company cannot reasonably estimate when its performance obligation either ceases or becomes inconsequential and perfunctory, then revenue is deferred until the Company can reasonably estimate when the performance obligation ceases or becomes inconsequential. Revenue is then recognized over the remaining estimated period of performance.
Significant management judgment is required in determining the level of effort required under an arrangement and the period over which the Company is expected to complete its performance obligations under an arrangement.
F.Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd. and Hoffmann- La Roche Inc.
In December 2015, the Company entered into a Research Collaboration and License Agreement (the Roche Agreement) with F.Hoffmann- La Roche Ltd. and Hoffmann- La Roche Inc., (Roche), for the research, development, and commercialization of Anticalin-based drug candidates against a predefined, undisclosed target in cancer immune therapy. The parties will jointly pursue a preclinical research program with respect to the identification and generation of Anticalin proteins that bind to a specific target for an expected period of 20 months, which may be extended by Roche for up to an additional 12 months. Roche has the ability to continue exclusivity rights for up to an additional 5 years. Both Roche and the Company will participate in a joint research committee in connection with this agreement. Following the research program, Roche will be responsible for subsequent pre-clinical and clinical development of any product developed through the research plan and will have worldwide commercialization rights to any such product.
Roche has paid $6.5 million of an upfront payment for the research collaboration. Additionally, Roche will pay Pieris for research services provided by Pieris in conjunction with the research program. Roche will also pay Pieris for certain milestones relating to development, regulatory, and sales milestones as they are achieved.
Pieris recorded $0.8 million and $3.1 million in revenue for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, respectively, related to the recognition of the upfront Roche payment during those periods. Revenue recognized is associated with the portion of the research services performed during the periods as well as the value of research services provided by Pieris in connection with the ongoing research program. No revenues were recorded for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015.
The Company identified the research and commercial licenses, performance of R&D services, and participation in the joint research committee as deliverables under the Roche Agreement. For revenue recognition purposes, management has determined that there are two units of accounting at the inception of the agreement representing (i) the research and commercial licenses and the performance of R&D services which do not have standalone value, and (ii) the participation in the joint research committee.
In addition to the upfront payment, under the Roche Agreement, the Company is eligible to receive research funding, development and regulatory, and sales based milestone payments up to approximately $420.6 million, plus royalties on future sales of any commercial products. The total potential milestones are categorized as follows: development and regulatory milestones$292.0 million; and sales milestones$123.8 million. Management has determined that the development milestones are not substantive because they do not relate solely to past performance of the Company and the Companys involvement in the achievement is limited to progress reports and other updates. Non-substantive milestones will be recognized when achieved to the extent the Company has no remaining performance obligations under the arrangement.
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4. Net Loss per Common Share
Basic net loss per share was determined by dividing net loss by the weighted average common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net loss per share was determined by dividing net loss by diluted weighted average shares outstanding. Diluted weighted average shares reflect the dilutive effect, if any, of common stock options based on the treasury stock method.
For all financial statement periods presented the number of basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding was the same because any increase in the number of shares of common stock equivalents for any period presented would be antidilutive based on the net loss for the period.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, approximately 7.4 million and 0.9 million weighted average shares subject to stock options and warrants, respectively, as calculated using the treasury stock method, were excluded from the calculation of diluted weighted average common shares outstanding as their effect would have been antidilutive.
5. Fair Value Measurement
ASC Topic 820 Fair Value Measurement defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or be paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Pieris applies the following fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value into three levels and bases the categorization within the hierarchy upon the lowest level of input that is available and significant to the fair value measurement. The standard describes the following fair value hierarchy based on three levels of input, of which the first two are considered observable and the last unobservable, that may be used to measure fair value:
Level 1 inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date.
Level 2 utilizes quoted market prices in markets that are not active, broker or dealer quotations, or alternative pricing sources with reasonable levels of price transparency.
Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs for the asset or liability in which there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability at the measurement date.
For the periods presented in these interim financial statements, Pieris has no cash equivalents and debt instruments as of each balance sheet date presented.
All other current assets and current liabilities on our consolidated balance sheets approximate their respective carrying amounts.
6. Related-Party Transactions
Research and License Agreement with Technische Universität München (TUM)
On July 4, 2003, the Company entered into a research and licensing agreement with TUM, which was subsequently renewed and, on July 26, 2007, superseded and replaced. The agreement established a joint research effort led by Prof. Arne Skerra, Chair of Biological Chemistry of TUM, to optimize Anticalin technologies for use in therapeutic, prophylactic and diagnostic applications and as research reagents, and to gain fundamental insights in lipocalin scaffolds. Prof. Dr. Skerra was a member of the Company´s supervisory board when the parties entered into such agreement and during the period covered by the consolidated financial statements in this report. The Company provided certain funding for TUM research efforts performed under the agreement.
As a result of research efforts to date under the agreement, the Company holds a worldwide exclusive license under its license agreement with TUM to multiple patents and patent applications, including an exclusive license to an issued U.S. patent, which patent will expire in 2027 (subject to a possible term adjustment period). The Company also holds an exclusive license to an issued U.S. patent No. 8,420,051, which patent is expected to expire in 2029. The Company bears the costs of filing, prosecution and maintenance of patents assigned or licensed to the Company under the agreement.
As consideration for the assigned patents and licenses above, the Company is required to pay certain development milestones to TUM. The Company also is obliged to pay low-single-digit royalties, including annual minimum royalties, on sales of such products incorporating patented technologies. If the Company grants licenses or sublicenses to those patents to third parties, the Company will be obliged to pay a percentage of the resulting revenue to TUM. The Companys payment obligations are reduced by the Companys proportionate contribution to a joint invention. Payment obligations terminate on expiration or annulment of the last patent covered by the agreement. The Company can terminate the licenses to any or all licensed patents upon specified advance notice to TUM. TUM may terminate the license provisions of the agreement only for cause. Termination of the agreement does not terminate the rights in patents assigned to the Company.
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Effective as of the fourth quarter of 2015, Pieris no longer deems TUM a related party due to Prof. Dr. Skerra no longer having a supervisory board position in Pieris GmbH or other direct relationship with the Company since its initial public offering in December 2014. Therefore no expenses to TUM as a related party were incurred during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016. The Company incurred expenses related to TUM as a related party of approximately $14,000 and $42,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015.
Consulting Contract between Prof. Dr. Arne Skerra and Pieris AG
In 2001, the Company entered into a Consulting Agreement with Prof. Dr. Arne Skerra, pursuant to which Prof. Dr. Arne Skerra provides advice regarding the use of new proteins, in particular Anticalin proteins and antibodies, for the purpose of research and development. As of the fourth quarter of 2015, Pieris no longer deemed Prof. Dr. Skerra a related party due to Prof. Dr. Skerra no longer having a supervisory board position in Pieris GmbH or other direct relationship with the Company after its initial public offering in December 2014. Therefore no expenses to Prof. Dr. Skerra, as a related party, were incurred during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016. The Company incurred and paid to Prof. Dr. Skerra consulting fees of approximately $6,000 and $17,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015.
7. Accrued expenses
The Company has recorded the following accrued expenses as of September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively:
Accrued expenses
Accrued compensation expense
Accrued audit and tax fees
Accrued professional fees
Accrued R&D fees
Accrued other
Total amount of accrued expenses
8. Stock-based compensation
2014 Stock Plan
Pieris granted 1,157,734 options to employees, consultants, and directors under its 2014 Employee, Director and Consultant Equity Incentive Plan, (the 2014 Plan) during the nine months ended September 30, 2016. Pieris granted 116,027 and 663,262 options to employees, consultants, and directors under the 2014 Employee, Director and Consultant Equity Incentive Plan, (the Plan) during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively.
During the three months ended September 30, 2015 the Company granted an option to purchase 500,000 shares outside of the Plan to a newly-hired executive officer that was an inducement and material to the executive officer entering into employment with the Company. The compensation expense associated with this inducement option was $32,133 and is included in research and development expense for both the three and nine months periods ended September 30, 2015.
The 2014 Plan was terminated on June 28, 2016 when the Company adopted its 2016 Employee, Director and Consultant Equity Incentive Plan, (the 2016 Plan). Therefore no options were granted for the three months ended September 30, 2016 under the 2014 Plan.
2016 Stock Plan
In June 2016, the Company adopted the 2016 Plan which provides for the grant of stock options, restricted and unrestricted stock awards, and other stock-based awards to employees of the Company, non-employee directors of the Company, and certain other consultants performing services for the Company as designated by the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors or the Board of Directors.
The vesting periods of equity incentives issued under the 2016 Plan are determined by the Compensation Committee of the Companys Board of Directors, with stock options generally vesting over a four-year period. In September 2015, a stock option to purchase 450,000 shares of the Companys common stock, par value $0.001 (the Common Stock), was granted to a newlyhired executive officer subject to certain restrictions on exercise that required the Companys shareholders to approve an increase in the
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number of shares authorized under the 2014 Plan. Upon the Companys adoption of the 2016 Plan, this stock option was amended and issued under the 2016 Plan; the total shares available under the 2016 Plan reflects the issuance of this option. The Company granted 114,378 options to employees and directors under the 2016 Plan during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016. No options were granted under the 2016 Plan during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015. As of September 30, 2016, there were 3,275,622 shares available for future grant under the 2016 Plan. The shares available for future grant under the 2016 Plan include 90,000 shares which were forfeited during the three months ended September 30, 2016 under the 2014 Plan. These forfeited shares were added to the 2016 Plan.
Stock-based compensation expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 was $0.4 million and $1.4 million, respectively, and was $0.3 million and $0.8 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, respectively.
Total stock-based compensation expense was recorded to operating expenses based upon the functional responsibilities of the individuals holding the respective options as follows:
Research and Development
Total stock-option expense
There were no options exercised during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the estimated fair value for stock-based awards. Option-pricing models require the input of various subjective assumptions, including the options expected life, expected dividend yield, price volatility, risk free interest rate, and forfeitures of the underlying stock. Accordingly, the weighted-average fair value of the options granted during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 was $1.05 and $1.01, respectively. The weighted-average fair value of the options granted during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 was $1.95 and $1.94, respectively. The calculation was based on the following assumptions:
Dividend yield
Expected volatility
Weighted average risk-free interest rate
Expected term
Option-pricing models require the input of various subjective assumptions, including the option´s expected life and the price volatility of the underlying stock. Pieris estimated expected stock price volatility is based on the average volatilities of other guideline companies in the same industry. Pieris expected term of options granted during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively was derived using the SECs simplified method. The risk-free rate for the expected term of the option is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant.
The Companys stock options have a maximum term of ten years from the date of grant. Stock options granted under the 2016 Plan may be either incentive stock options (ISOs), or nonqualified stock options. The exercise price of stock options granted under the 2016 Plan must be at least equal to the fair market value of the common stock on the date of grant.
9. Consulting Shares
Del Mar Consulting Group & Alex Partners
In March 2015, the Company entered into an independent consulting agreement (the Consulting Agreement) with the Del Mar Consulting Group, Inc. and Alex Partners, LLC (the Consultants), pursuant to which the Company issued 150,000 shares of common stock, to the Consultants (the Consulting Shares). The Company agreed to retain the Consultants to provide investor relations consulting to the Company for a period commencing on March 6, 2015 (the Commencement Date) and ending thirteen months after the Commencement Date (such period, the Term). The shares issued in connection with the Consulting Agreement were deemed to be exempt from registration in reliance upon Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act as a transaction by an issuer not involving any public offering.
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The Company recognized expenses in connection with the issuance of the Consulting Shares of $0.1 million and $0.4 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 in general and administrative expenses. No expenses were recognized during the 2016 period as the remaining shares vested on September 2, 2015 and the remaining expense was recorded based on the fair value of the shares on that date.
Aquilo Partners
In September 2015, the Company entered into a Letter agreement (the Letter Agreement) with Aquilo Partners, L.P. (Aquilo Partners) pursuant to which the Company recorded a cash retainer fee of $0.1 million and issued 27,272 shares of the Company´s common stock at a price of $2.75 per share.
10. Public Offering
In July 2015, the Company closed a public offering of an aggregate of 9,090,909 shares of the Company´s common stock at a purchase price of $2.75 per share. All shares of common stock were offered by the Company. On July 24, 2015 the underwriters exercised their over-allotment option to purchase 1,211,827 additional shares of the Company´s common stock at the public offering price of $2.75, the sale of which closed on July 28, 2015.
Gross proceeds raised by the Company in the offering, including the exercise of the over-allotment option, were $28.3 million and net of equity issuance costs were $25.8 million.
11. Private Placement
In June 2016, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement (the Securities Purchase Agreement) for a private placement of the Companys securities with a select group of institutional investors (the 2016 PIPE). The 2016 PIPE sale transaction, by the Company, consisted of 8,188,804 units at a price of $2.015 per unit for gross proceeds, to the Company, of approximately $16.5 million. After deducting for placement agent fees and offering expenses, the aggregate net proceeds from the private placement was approximately $15.3 million.
Each unit consisted of (i) one share of the Companys Common Stock or non-voting series A convertible preferred stock (the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock) which are convertible into one share of common stock, (ii) one warrant to purchase 0.4 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $2.00 per share and (iii) one warrant to purchase 0.2 shares of Common Stock at an exercise price of $3.00 per share. The warrants will be exercisable for a period of five years from the date of issuance. Each share of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock was issued at a price of $2.015 per share, and is convertible into 1,000 shares of common stock, provided the holder and/or its affiliates do not own greater than 9.99% of the total number of Pieris common stock then outstanding. The Series A Convertible Preferred Stock has no registration or voting rights. In event of a true liquidation or winding down of the business, holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock will be paid prior to the holders of Common Stock. In connection with the 2016 PIPE, the Company issued 3,225,804 shares of Common Stock and 4,963 shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock to the 2016 PIPE investors.
The Company expects to use the proceeds from the 2016 PIPE towards further development and pre-clinical and clinical work of the Company´s proprietary Anticalin® product portfolio, including the lead candidates, as well as the development of other programs and product candidates, and general corporate purposes.
12. License and Transfer Agreement
On April 18, 2016 the Company entered into a license and transfer agreement (the Original Agreement) with Enumeral Biomedical Holdings, Inc. (Enumeral), pursuant to which the Company acquired a non-exclusive worldwide license to use specified patent rights and know-how owned by Enumeral to research, develop and market fusion protein. As contemplated by the terms of the Original Agreement, the Company entered into a definitive license and transfer agreement (the Definitive Agreement) with Enumeral on June 6, 2016, to expand the scope of the Companys option to license additional antibodies from Enumeral. Under the Definitive Agreement, Enumeral has granted Pieris options to license two additional undisclosed Enumeral antibodies (each, a Subsequent Option); the Subsequent Options expire on May 31, 2017. If Pieris licenses an additional antibody pursuant to a Subsequent Option, Pieris must pay, to Enumeral, an additional undisclosed option exercise payment; any resulting fusion protein products will be subject to royalties and development and sales milestones in the same amounts applicable to the fusion proteins consisting of an Enumerals PD-1 antibody linked to one or more Anticalin® proteins.
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Under the terms of the Original Agreement, the Company agreed to pay Enumeral an upfront license fee of $250,000 upon signing in April 2016 and subsequently elected to pay a $750,000 maintenance fee in May 2016. The terms of the Definitive Agreement, were essentially unchanged from the Original Agreement, the Company has agreed to pay Enumeral development milestones up to an aggregate of $37.8 million and sales milestones up to an aggregate of $67.5 million. Consistent with the terms of the Original Agreement, the Company also agreed to pay Enumeral royalties within a range in the low to lower-middle single digits as a percentage of net sales depending on the amount of net sales in the applicable years. In the event that the Company is required to pay a license fee or royalty to any third party related to the licensed products, the royalty payment due to Enumeral shall be reduced by the amount of such third party fees or payments, up to 50% of the royalty payment for each calendar year due to Enumeral.
The term of the Definitive Agreement ends upon the expiration of the last to expire patent covered under the license. The Definitive Agreement may be terminated by the Company on 30 days notice and by Enumeral upon 60 days notice of a material breach by the Company (or 30 days with respect to a breach of payment obligations by the Company), provided that the Company has not cured such breach and dispute resolution procedures specified in the Agreement have been followed. The Agreement will also automatically terminate if the Company fails to make the maintenance fee payment described above.
All amounts paid related to the Agreement have been expensed as research and development expense as incurred. The Company incurred $0 and $1.0 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016.
13 Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In August 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued ASU No. 2014-15, Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entitys Ability to Continue as a Going Concern which is intended to define managements responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an organizations ability to continue as a going concern and to provide related footnote disclosures. Substantial doubt about an entitys ability to continue as a going concern exists when relevant conditions and events, considered in the aggregate, indicate that it is probable that the entity will be unable to meet its financial obligations as they become due within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued (or are available to be issued). ASU No. 2014-15 provides guidance to an organizations management, with principles and definitions intended to reduce diversity in the timing and content of disclosures commonly provided by organizations in the footnotes of their financial statements. ASU No. 2014-15 is effective for annual reporting periods ending after December 15, 2016, and for annual and interim periods thereafter. Early adoption is permitted. Had this standard been adopted as of September 30, 2016, the Company does not believe it would have been required to make any additional disclosures.
In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). Under the amendments in ASU 2016-02 lessees will be required to recognize (i) a lease liability, which is a lessees obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, measured on a discounted basis; and (ii) a right-of-use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessees right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term for all leases (with the exception of short-term leases) at the commencement date. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact the adoption of this standard will have on its financial statements and related disclosures.
In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-08, Revenues from Contract with Customers (Topic 606): Principal versus Agent Considerations (Reporting Revenue Gross versus Net). The amendments are intended to improve the operability and understandability of the implementation guidance on principal versus agent considerations by amending certain existing illustrative examples and adding additional illustrative examples to assist in the application of the guidance. This guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact the adoption of this standard will have on its financial statements and related disclosures.
In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvement to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting. Under the amendments in ASU 2016-09 several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment award transactions are simplified, including (i) income tax consequences, (ii) classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and (iii) classification on the statement of cash flows. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those annual periods. Early adoption is permitted for any interim or annual period. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact the adoption of this standard will have on its financial statements and related disclosures.
In April 2016, the FASB issued ASU. No. 2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing. The amendments in ASU 2016-10 add further guidance on identifying performance obligations and also to improve the operability and understandability of the licensing implementation guidance. The amendments do not change the core principle of the guidance in Topic 606. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim reporting periods therein. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact the adoption of this standard will have on its financial statements and related disclosures.
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In May 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customer (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients. The amendments in ASU 2016-12 address narrow-scope improvements to the guidance on collectability, noncash consideration, and completed contracts at transition. Additionally, the amendments in this update provide a practical expedient for contract modifications at transition and an accounting policy election related to the presentation of sales taxes and other similar taxes collected from customers. This guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim reporting periods therein. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact the adoption of this standard will have on its financial statements and related disclosures. Pieris has considered other recent accounting pronouncements and concluded that they are either not applicable to the business, or that the effect is not expected to be material to the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements as a result of future adoption.
14. Subsequent Events
Milestone payment
The Company announced, in October 2016, the achievement of a success-based milestone in its R&D collaboration with Daiichi Sankyo. The milestone was triggered by Daiichi Sankyo´s decision to initiate a GLP toxicity study in non-human primates.
Sales Agreement
In October 2016, the Company entered into a Sales Agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC (the Sales Agreement) to establish an at-the-market equity offering program (ATM) pursuant to which it may elect to offer and sell up to an aggregate of $35 million of its Common Stock at prevailing market prices from time to time. To date the Company has not sold any shares of its Common Stock in the ATM offering.
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The interim financial statements and this Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2015, and the related Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, both of which are contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015, filed with the SEC on March 23, 2016. In addition to historical information, this discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors, including but not limited to those set forth under the caption Risk Factors in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015.
As used in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, unless the context indicates or otherwise requires, our Company, the Company, Pieris, we, us, and our refer to Pieris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a Nevada corporation, and its consolidated subsidiaries.
We have registered trademarks for Pieris®, Anticalin® and Pocket Binding®. All other trademarks, trade names and service marks included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q are the property of their respective owners. Use or display by us of other parties trademarks, trade dress or products is not intended to and does not imply a relationship with, or endorsements or sponsorship of, us by the trademark or trade dress owner.
Company Overview
We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that discovers and develops Anticalin® protein-based drugs to target validated disease pathways in a unique and transformative way. Our pipeline includes immune-oncology multi-specifics tailored for the tumor micro-environment, an inhaled Anticalin to treat uncontrolled asthma and a half-life-optimized Anticalin to treat anemia. Proprietary to Pieris, Anticalin proteins are a novel class of low molecular-weight therapeutic proteins derived from lipocalins, which are naturally occurring low-molecular weight human proteins typically found in blood plasma and other bodily fluids.
Each of our development programs focus on the following:
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Our programs are in varying stages:
Our core Anticalin® technology and platform was developed in Germany, and we have partnership arrangements with major multi-national pharmaceutical companies headquartered in the U.S., Europe and Japan and with regional pharmaceutical companies headquartered in India. These include existing agreements with Daiichi Sankyo Company Limited, (Daiichi Sankyo), and Sanofi Group, (Sanofi), pursuant to which our Anticalin platform has consistently achieved its development milestones. Furthermore, we established a collaboration with F.Hoffman La Roche Ltd. and Hoffmann La Roche Inc., (Roche) in December 2015. We have discovery and preclinical collaboration and service agreements with both academic institutions and private firms in Australia.
Since inception, we have devoted nearly all of our efforts and resources to our research and development activities. We have incurred significant net losses since inception. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 we reported a net loss of $6.2 million and $16.2 million, respectively. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015 we reported a net loss of $3.9 million and $11.2 million, respectively. As of September 30, 2016, we had an accumulated deficit of $96.1 million.
We expect to continue incurring substantial losses for the next several years as we continue to develop our clinical and preclinical drug candidates and programs. Our operating expenses are comprised of research and development expenses and general and administrative expenses.
We have not generated any revenues from product sales to date, and we do not expect to generate revenues from product sales for at least the next several years. Our revenues for the periods presented were primarily from license and collaboration agreements with our partners, and, to a lesser extent, from grants from government agencies.
A significant portion of our operations are conducted in countries other than the United States. Since we conduct our business in U.S. dollars, our main exposure, if any, results from changes in the exchange rates between the euro and the U.S. dollar. All assets and liabilities denominated in euros are translated into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate on the balance sheet date. Revenues and expenses are translated at the average rate during the period. Equity transactions are translated using historical exchange rates. Adjustments resulting from translating foreign currency financial statements into U.S. dollars are included in accumulated other comprehensive loss. We may incur negative foreign currency translation changes as a result of changes in currency exchange rates.
Financial Operations Overview
The following discussion summarizes the key factors our management believes are necessary for an understanding of our consolidated financial statements.
Revenues
We have not generated any revenues from product sales to date, and we do not expect to generate revenues from product sales for the foreseeable future. Our revenues for the last two years have been primarily from the license and collaboration agreements with Sanofi, Daiichi Sankyo, Roche, and to a much lesser extent, grants from government agencies.
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The revenues from Sanofi, Daiichi Sankyo and Roche have been comprised primarily of upfront payments, research and development services and, to a lesser extent, milestone payments. We recognized revenues from upfront payments under these agreements based on multiple-element arrangement guidance as we have determined that the licenses to which the payments related did not have standalone value. Research service revenue is recognized when the costs are incurred and the services have been performed. Revenue from milestone payments is recognized when all of the following conditions are met: (1) the milestone payments are non-refundable, (2) the probability of the achievement of the milestone is near certain , (3) substantive effort on our part is involved in achieving the milestone, (4) the amount of the milestone payment is reasonable in relation to the effort expended or the risk associated with achievement of the milestone, and (5) a reasonable amount of time passes between the up-front license payment and the first milestone payment.
We expect our revenues for the next several years to consist of upfront payments, research funding and milestone payments from strategic collaborations we currently have or may establish in the future.
Research and Development Expenses
The process of researching and developing drugs for human use is lengthy, unpredictable and subject to many risks. We expect to continue incurring substantial expenses for the next several years as we continue to develop our clinical and preclinical drug candidates and programs. We are unable with any certainty to estimate either the costs or the timelines in which those costs will be incurred. Our current development plans focus on three lead drug programs: PRS-080, PRS-060 and 300-series. These programs consume a large proportion of our current, as well as projected, resources.
Our research and development costs include costs that are directly attributable to the creation of certain of our Anticalin® drug candidates and are comprised of:
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative expenses consist primarily of payroll, employee benefits, equity compensation, and other personnel-related costs associated with executive, administrative and other support staff. Other significant general and administrative expenses include the costs associated with professional fees for accounting, auditing, insurance costs, consulting, and legal services.
Results of Operations
Comparison of the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2015
The following table sets forth our revenues and operating expenses for the periods presented (in thousands):
General and administrative expenses
Non-operating income (expense), net
Provision for income tax
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The following table provides a comparison of revenues for three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively (in thousands):
Upfront payments
Research and development services
Milestone payments
Government Grants
Other
Total Revenue
The following table provides a comparison of revenues for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively (in thousands):
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The following table provides a comparison of the research and development expenses for our drug candidates and projects for the three months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively (in thousands):
PRS-060
PRS-080
PRS-300 series
Other R&D activities
Total
Total research and development expenses were $4.6 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016 as compared to $2.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015.
The $2.6 million increase in total research and development expenses in the three months ended September 30, 2016 compared to the three months ended September 30, 2015 is primarily due to:
The following table provides a comparison of the research and development expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively (in thousands):
Total research and development expenses are $12.8 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 as compared to $5.3 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015.
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The $7.5 million increase in total research and development expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to the nine months ended September 30, 2015 is primarily due to:
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses were $2.3 million for the three months ended September 30, 2016 compared to $2.2 million for the three months ended September 30, 2015. The Company noted an increase of $0.3 million in higher personnel related costs, including stock compensation, and $0.2 million increase for recruiting and rent expenses. These amounts were offset by $0.4 million in lower legal, consulting, and other costs.
General and administrative expenses were $6.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 compared to $6.6 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. General and administrative expenses increased $0.7 million for personnel related costs, including stock compensation, an increase of $0.2 million for investor and recruiting expenses, offset by $0.8 million for lower legal, consulting, and other costs.
Non-operating income (expenses), net
Non-operating other expenses increased to approximately $18,000 for three months ended September 30, 2016 from a loss of approximately $2,000 of non-operating income for the three months ended September 30, 2015. This increase is mainly a result of net foreign currency transaction losses related to the weakness of the Euro against the U.S. dollar in the periods presented.
Non-operating income increased to $0.1 million for nine months ended September 30, 2016 from approximately $3,000 of non-operating expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2015. This increase is mainly a result of net foreign currency transaction gains related to the strengthening of the Euro against the U.S. dollar in the periods presented.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Through September 30, 2016, we have funded our operations with $192.6 million of cash, obtained from the following main sources: $117.9 million from sales of equity; $6.5 million from loans; $14.2 million from government grants; and $54.0 million in total payments received under license and collaboration agreements, including $12.9 million for research and development services costs received from our collaboration partners. We expect reimbursements of our development costs from Daiichi Sankyo and Sanofi will decline going forward, and do not expect such reimbursements to be a significant source of funding in the future.
As of September 30, 2016, we had a total of $36.6 million in cash.
We have experienced operating losses since our inception and had a total accumulated deficit of $96.1 million as of September 30, 2016. We expect to incur additional costs and will require additional future capital. We have incurred losses in nearly every period since inception including the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016. These losses have primarily resulted in significant cash used in operations. Due to the upfront payment received from Roche during the nine months ended September 30, 2016 offset with our net losses for the period, our net cash used in operating activities is $7.6 million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2015, our net cash used in operations was $10.2 million. We have several research and development programs underway in varying stages of development and we expect they will continue to require increasing amounts of cash for development, conducting clinical trials, and testing and manufacturing of product material. As we continue to conduct these activities necessary to pursue FDA approval of our 300-Series, including PRS-343, PRS-342, PRS-332, and PRS-080 and PRS-060, and our other product candidates, we expect the cash necessary to fund operations will increase significantly over the next several years.
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On July 6, 2015 we closed a public offering of an aggregate of 9,090,909 shares of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share at a purchase price of $2.75 per share. On July 28, 2015 the underwriters exercised their option to purchase an additional 1,211,827 shares of common stock at the public offering price of $2.75 per share. Gross proceeds from the public offering, including the over-allotment option, were $28.3 million and net proceeds were approximately $25.8 million. In June 2016, we entered into a securities purchase agreement for a private placement with a select group of institutional investors. The private placement, referred to as the 2016 PIPE, consisted of the sale of 8,188,804 units at a price of $2.015 per unit for gross proceeds to us of approximately $16.5 million. After deducting for placement agent fees and offering expenses, the aggregate net proceeds from the 2016 PIPE was approximately $15.3 million.
Each unit, included in the 2016 private placement transaction, consisted of (i) one share of common stock or non-voting series A convertible preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share, or the series A preferred shares, which are convertible into one share of common stock, (ii) one warrant to purchase 0.4 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $2.00 per share, and (iii) one warrant to purchase 0.2 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $3.00 per share. The 2016 PIPE transaction closed on June 8, 2016.
On August 3, 2016, our shelf registration statement in the amount of $100 million was declared effective by the SEC. This registration allows us to offer for sale various unspecified classes of equity and debt securities. As circumstances warrant, we may issue debt and/or equity securities from time to time on an opportunistic basis, dependent upon market conditions and available pricing. We make no assurance that we can issue and sell such securities on acceptable terms or at all.
In October 2016, the Company entered into a Sales Agreement with Cowen and Company, LLC (the Sales Agreement) to establish an at-the-market equity offering program (ATM), pursuant to which it may elect to offer and sell up to an aggregate of $35 million of its Common Stock at prevailing market prices from time to time. Sales of the ATM shares under the Sales Agreement may be made in transactions that are deemed to be at the market offerings as defined in Rule 415 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, including sales made directly on The NASDAQ Global Market, on any other existing trading market for the Common Stock, or through a market maker. In addition, with our prior written approval, Cowen may also sell shares of Common Stock by any other method permitted by law, including in negotiated transactions. Cowen will act as sales agent using its commercially reasonable efforts consistent with its normal trading and sales practices and applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations and the rules of The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC. There is no arrangement for funds to be received in an escrow, trust or similar arrangement. Cowen will be entitled to compensation at a fixed commission rate up to 3.0% of the gross proceeds per share sold through it as sales agent under the Sales Agreement. We have not made any sales under the ATM.
We believe that our effective shelf registration statement and the ATM improve our ability to access capital.
We will need to obtain additional funding in order to continue our operations and pursue our business plans. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on attractive terms, we would be forced to delay, reduce, or eliminate our research and development programs or future commercialization efforts.
We expect that our existing cash and cash equivalents will enable us to fund our operations and capital expenditure requirements for at least the next twelve months. Our requirements for additional capital will depend on many factors, including the following:
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We cannot be sure that future funding will be available to us on acceptable terms, or adequate enough at all. Due to the often volatile nature of the financial markets, equity and debt financing may be difficult to obtain. In addition, any unfavorable development or delay in the progress of our 300-Series programs, including PRS-343, PRS-342, PRS-332 and PRS-080 and PRS-060 could have a material adverse impact on our ability to raise additional capital.
We may seek to raise any necessary additional capital through a combination of private or public equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, strategic alliances, licensing arrangements and other marketing and distribution arrangements. To the extent that we raise additional capital through marketing and distribution arrangements or other collaborations, strategic alliances or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our drug candidates, future revenue streams, research programs or product candidates or to grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we raise additional capital through private or public 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.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
Refer to Part II, Item 7, Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended on December 31, 2015 for a discussion of our critical accounting policies and estimates. There were no significant changes to our Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates for the nine months ended September 30, 2016.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
We review new accounting standards to determine the expected financial impact, if any, that the adoption of each such standard will have. For the recently issued accounting standards that we believe may have an impact on our consolidated financial statements, see Note13Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements in our consolidated financial statements.
Emerging Growth Company and Smaller Reporting Company Status
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, or the JOBS Act, establishes a class of company called an emerging growth company, which generally is a company whose initial public offering was completed after December 8, 2011 and had total annual gross revenues of less than $1 billion during its most recently completed fiscal year. Additionally, Section 12b-2 of the Exchange Act establishes a class of company called a smaller reporting company, which generally is a company with a public float of less than $75 million as of the last business day of its most recently completed second fiscal quarter or, if such public float is $0, had annual revenues of less than $50 million during the most recently completed fiscal year for which audited financial statements are available. We currently qualify as both an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company.
As an emerging growth company and a smaller reporting company, we are eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are not available to public reporting companies that do not qualify for those classifications, including without limitation the following:
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For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company and/or a smaller reporting company, we expect that we will take advantage of the reduced disclosure obligations available to us as a result of those respective classifications. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of (i) December 31, 2019, the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the first sale of our common stock pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act; (ii) the last day of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenues of $1 billion or more; (iii) the date on which we have issued more than $1 billion in nonconvertible debt during the previous three years; or (iv) the date on which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer under applicable SEC rules. We expect that we will remain an emerging growth company for the foreseeable future, but cannot retain our emerging growth company status indefinitely and will no longer qualify as an emerging growth company on or before December 31, 2019. We will remain a smaller reporting company until we have a public float of $75 million or more as of the last business day of our most recently completed second fiscal quarter, and we could retain our smaller reporting company status indefinitely depending on the size of our public float.
Emerging growth companies may elect to take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We have elected to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period. Our financial statements may therefore not be comparable to those of companies that comply with such new or revised accounting standards.
Not applicable.
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, as well as for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as such term is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act. The Companys system of internal controls over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of the consolidated financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.
Because of the inherent limitations surrounding internal controls over financial reporting, our disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Additionally, in designing disclosure controls and procedures, our management necessarily was required to apply its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible disclosure controls and procedures. The design of any disclosure controls and procedures also is based in part upon certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.
Our management, under the supervision of and with the participation of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, assessed the effectiveness of the Companys internal control over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures as of September 30, 2016. In making this assessment, management used the updated criteria set forth in 2013 by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework.
Based on our assessment under the COSO Internal Control-Integrated Framework, management believes that, as of September 30, 2016, our internal control over financial reporting was not effective, as described below.
As previously disclosed in Part 1, Item 4 of the Form 10Q for the three months ended June 30, 2016, in connection with the preparation of our financial statements for the three and six months ended June 30, 2016, we concluded that we had a material weakness relating to the technical accounting for complex transactions. During the period we noted an error in the accounting for our equity transaction. The error was corrected in the financial statements prior to their issuance. We have developed and implemented a remediation plan for this material weakness. We will continue to execute our remediation plan, which includes, among other things, engagement of additional technical expertise, as needed, on complex accounting matters to support the accounting and finance team and the internal control environment.
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Notwithstanding the material weakness, we have concluded that the financial statements and other financial information included in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, fairly represent in all material respects our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows as of, and for, the periods presented.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Except for the material weakness described above, there were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation of such internal control required by Rules 13a-15(d) and 15d-15(d) under the Exchange Act that occurred during the quarter ended September 30, 2016 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
PART II OTHER INFORMATION
Claims and lawsuits are filed against our Company from time to time. Although the results of pending claims are always uncertain, we believe that we have adequate reserves or adequate insurance coverage in respect of these claims, but no assurance can be given as to the sufficiency of such reserves or insurance coverage in the event of any unfavorable outcome resulting from these actions.
There have been no material changes from the risk factors previously disclosed in Part I, Item 1A (Risk Factors) of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.
None.
Item 3. Defaults upon Senior Securities
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EXHIBIT INDEX
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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.
/s/ Stephen S. Yoder
/s/ Darlene Deptula-Hicks
Darlene Deptula-Hicks
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer
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