UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K

 

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019

or

For the transition period from to

Commission file number 001-35409

 

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (617) 441-1000

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

 

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Preferred Stock Purchase Rights

 

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 Section 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.

 

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

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

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based on the last sale price for such stock on June 28, 2019, was $79,466,932.

As of March 8, 2020, there were 13,380,243 shares of Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share, outstanding.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

The registrant intends to file a definitive proxy statement pursuant to Regulation 14A in connection with its 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Portions of such proxy statement are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

 

 

 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward‑looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including statements regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, are forward‑looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “potential,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “continue” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward‑looking statements, although not all forward‑looking statements contain these identifying words.

The forward‑looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K include, among other things, statements about:

We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. We have included important factors in the cautionary statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, particularly in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors, that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that we make. Our forward-looking statements do not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers, dispositions, joint ventures, collaborations or investments that we may make.

You should read this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the documents that we have filed as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K completely and with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.

NOTE REGARDING TRADEMARKS

ONIVYDE^® is a registered trademark of Ipsen S.A. Any other trademarks, trade names and service marks referred to in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are the property of their respective owners.

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PART I

Item 1. Business

Overview

We are a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that is entitled to receive up to $450.0 million in contingent milestone payments related to our sale of ONIVYDE® to Ipsen S.A., or Ipsen, in April 2017 and up to $54.5 million in contingent milestone payments related to our sale of MM-121 and MM-111 to Elevation Oncology, Inc. (formerly known as 14ner Oncology, Inc.), or Elevation, in July 2019. We do not have any ongoing research or development activities and are seeking potential acquirers for our remaining preclinical and clinical assets. We do not have any employees and instead use external consultants for the operation of our company.

On April 3, 2017, we completed the sale of ONIVYDE and MM-436 (the “commercial business”) to Ipsen (the “Ipsen sale”). At the time of the sale ONIVYDE was approved in the United States for the second line treatment of metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. In connection with the Ipsen sale, we are eligible to receive up to $450.0 million in additional regulatory approval-based milestone payments.

The remaining up to $450.0 million in potential milestone payments resulting from the Ipsen sale consist of:

On May 30, 2019, we announced the completion of our review of strategic alternatives, following which our board of directors implemented a series of measures designed to extend our cash runway into 2027 and preserve our ability to capture the potential milestone payments resulting from the Ipsen sale. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our financial resources sooner than we currently expect. In connection with that announcement, we discontinued the discovery efforts on our remaining preclinical programs: MM-401, an agonistic antibody targeting a novel immuno-oncology target, TNFR2; and MM-201, a highly stabilized agonist-Fc fusion protein targeting death receptors 4 and 5. We are seeking potential acquirers for our remaining preclinical and clinical assets.

The termination of our executive management team and all other employees was substantially completed by June 28, 2019 and fully completed by July 12, 2019. As of July 12, 2019, we do not have any employees. We have engaged external consultants to run our day-to-day operations. We have also entered into consulting agreements with certain former members of our executive management team who are supporting our relationship with current partners, assisting with the potential sale of remaining preclinical and clinical assets, and assisting with certain legal and regulatory matters and the continued wind-down of operations.

On April 15, 2019, we repaid in full all principal, accrued and unpaid interest, fees, costs and expenses under our Loan and Security Agreement, or loan agreement, with Hercules Capital, Inc., or Hercules, in an aggregate amount equal to $16.0 million.

In May 2019, we monetized certain assets to strengthen our cash position. This included the sale of our entire equity position in Silver Creek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Silver Creek, resulting in $7.8 million in cash, and the sale of laboratory equipment from our research and development operations, resulting in approximately $1.4 million in cash.

On July 12, 2019, we completed the sale to Elevation, or the Elevation sale, of our anti-HER3 antibody programs, MM-121 (seribantumab) and MM-111. In connection with the Elevation sale, we received an upfront cash payment of $3.5 million and are eligible to receive up to $54.5 million in additional potential development, regulatory approval and commercial-based milestone payments, consisting of:

 

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On July 25, 2019, our board of directors announced, authorized and declared a special cash dividend of $20.0 million to holders of our common stock. The special dividend was payable on September 5, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 28, 2019. The special dividend resulted in a decrease to additional paid-in capital.

On December 3, 2019, we received the remaining $5.0 million milestone payment from Ipsen pursuant to a license and collaboration agreement, or the Servier agreement, between Ipsen and Les Laboratoires Servier SAS, or Servier (as assignee from Shire plc), triggered by Ipsen’s and Servier’s decision to progress the ongoing multi-part clinical trial evaluating ONIVYDE in patients with small-cell lung cancer into the second randomized portion of the trial focused on efficacy assessment. We entered into the Servier agreement in 2014, and on April 3, 2017, the Servier agreement was assigned to Ipsen in connection with the completion of the Ipsen sale. We have received all $33.0 million in milestone payments to which we were eligible under the Servier agreement.

As a result of the $5.0 million milestone payment from Ipsen, our board of directors announced, authorized and declared a special cash dividend of $6.7 million to holders of our common stock. The special dividend was payable on December 23, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 16, 2019. The special dividend resulted in a decrease to additional paid-in capital.

We previously devoted substantially all our resources to our drug discovery and development efforts, including conducting clinical trials for our product candidates, protecting our intellectual property and providing general and administrative support for these operations. We have financed our operations primarily through private placements of convertible preferred stock, collaborations, public offerings of our securities, secured debt financings, sales of ONIVYDE and the Ipsen sale.

As of December 31, 2019, we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $16.6 million. We expect that our cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2019 will be sufficient to continue our operations into 2027, when we estimate the longest-term potential Ipsen milestone may be achieved.

We have a history of losses from our continuing operations. We do not expect to be profitable from our continuing operations in the future. As of December 31, 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of $540.6 million. Our net loss from our continuing operations was $21.3 million and $60.8 million for years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. We do not expect to have any research and development expenses going forward.

Collaboration and License Agreements

We are party to certain collaboration and license agreements. We consider the following agreements to be material to our business.

Ipsen

On April 3, 2017, we completed the Ipsen sale. Pursuant to the Asset Purchase and Sale Agreement, dated as of January 7, 2017, or the Ipsen sale agreement, between us and Ipsen, Ipsen acquired our right, title and interest in the commercial business. Pursuant to the Ipsen sale agreement, we received $575.0 million in cash, plus a working capital adjustment of $5.7 million, and are eligible to receive up to $450.0 million in additional regulatory approval-based milestone payments. Ipsen has agreed pursuant to the Ipsen sale agreement to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop ONIVYDE in connection with obtaining the regulatory approval by the FDA of ONIVYDE for certain indications. We also retained the right to receive net milestone payments that were payable for the ex-U.S. development and commercialization of ONIVYDE for up to $33.0 million pursuant to the Servier agreement. We have received all $33.0 million in milestone payments to which we were eligible under the Servier agreement. We entered into the Servier agreement in 2014, and on April 3, 2017, the Servier agreement was assigned to Ipsen in connection with the completion of the sale of the commercial business.

In connection with the Ipsen sale, we entered into a sublease agreement with Ipsen under which Ipsen was subleasing approximately 64,550 square feet of our leased space in Cambridge, Massachusetts through the end of our lease term on June 30, 2019.

Intellectual Property

We own or control a limited number of U.S. patents and patent applications and several corresponding foreign patents and patent applications. This intellectual property relates to several early stage programs that we are no longer advancing on our own, but that may be of value to one or more potential buyer or licensees. During 2020, we will continue to evaluate the usefulness of maintaining the current patent portfolio to our business.

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Government Regulation

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, manufacture, including any manufacturing changes, packaging, storage, recordkeeping, labeling, advertising, promotion, distribution, marketing, post-approval monitoring and reporting, import and export of pharmaceutical products, biological products and medical devices.

Data Protection

We are subject to data protection laws and regulations (i.e., laws and regulations that address privacy and data security). The legislative and regulatory landscape for data protection continues to evolve, and in recent years there has been an increasing focus on privacy and data security issues. In the United States, numerous federal and state laws and regulations, including state data breach notification laws, state health information privacy laws and federal and state consumer protection laws govern the collection, use, disclosure and protection of health-related and other personal information. Failure to comply with data protection laws and regulations could result in government enforcement actions (which could include civil or criminal penalties), private litigation and/or adverse publicity and could negatively affect our operating results and business. In addition, we may obtain health information from third parties (e.g., healthcare providers who prescribe our products) that are subject to privacy and security requirements under the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. We could be subject to criminal penalties if we knowingly obtain or disclose individually identifiable health information in a manner that is not authorized or permitted.

Employees

The termination of our executive management team and all other employees was substantially completed by June 28, 2019 and fully completed by July 12, 2019. As of July 12, 2019, we do not have any employees. We have engaged external consultants to run our day-to-day operations. We have also entered into consulting agreements with certain former members of our executive management team who are supporting our relationship with current partners, assisting with the potential sale of remaining preclinical and clinical assets, and assisting with certain legal and regulatory matters and the continued wind-down of operations.

Financial Information

Financial information is provided in our consolidated financial statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K and in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

Information about our dependence on limited amounts of customers is provided in Note 1, “Nature of the Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies – Concentration of Credit Risk” in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.

Our Corporate Information

We were originally incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1993 and reincorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware in October 2010. Our principal executive offices are located at One Broadway, 14^th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02142, and our telephone number is (617) 441-1000.

Information Available on the Internet

We maintain a website with the address www.merrimack.com. We are not including the information contained on our website as a part of, or incorporating it by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and all amendments to those reports, are available to you free of charge through the “SEC Filings” link in the “Investors” section of our website as soon as reasonably practicable after those materials have been electronically filed with, or furnished to, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. We also make available on our website our corporate governance guidelines, the charters for our audit committee, corporate governance and nominating committee, and organization and compensation committee, and our code of business conduct and ethics, which applies to our directors, officers and employees, and such information is available in print and free of charge to any of our stockholders who requests it. In addition, we intend to disclose on our website any amendments to, or waivers from, our code of business conduct and ethics that are required to be publicly disclosed pursuant to rules of the SEC.

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Item 1A. Risk Factors

The following risk factors and other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K should be carefully considered. The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we presently deem less significant may also impair our business operations. Please see page 2 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of some of the forward-looking statements that are qualified by these risk factors. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition, results of operations and future growth prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our Business Strategy

Our business strategy depends substantially upon our ability to receive future contingent milestone payments.

Our business strategy depends substantially upon our ability to receive future milestone payments from Ipsen and Elevation. On May 30, 2019, we announced the completion of our review of strategic alternatives. Following this review, our board of directors implemented a series of measures designed to extend our cash runway into 2027 and preserve our ability to capture the potential milestone payments resulting from the Ipsen sale. We are entitled to receive up to $450.0 million in contingent milestone payments related to our sale of ONIVYDE to Ipsen and up to $54.5 million in contingent milestone payments related to our sale of MM-121 and MM-111 to Elevation. We do not have any ongoing research or development activities. Any failure to achieve such milestones or a perception that the milestones may not be achieved will materially and adversely affect the company and the value of the common stock.

Even if some or all of the milestones set forth in the Ipsen sale agreement and Elevation agreement are achieved, it may take significantly longer than we anticipate and could require us to raise additional funding in order to maintain our ability to receive payment for such milestones.

Achievement of the milestones set forth in the Ipsen sale agreement and the Elevation agreement are not guaranteed and there is significant risk that some or all of such milestones will not be achieved when anticipated, if at all. If achievement of the milestones is delayed beyond what we currently anticipate, it could require us to raise additional funds in order to maintain our ability to receive payment for the potential future achievement of such milestones. Sources of funds may not be available or, if available, may not be available on terms satisfactory to us. Raising additional funds could be dilutive or otherwise disadvantageous to our stockholders. Any delay in receipt of the potential benefit to the company or our stockholders resulting from achievement of such milestones, in addition to any additional uncertainty as to whether such milestones will be achieved at all, would materially and adversely affect the company and the value of the common stock.

Time and costs associated with winding down our research and development activities and any return of cash to stockholders may be significant.

There are significant costs associated with winding down our normal historic operations, such as separation of employees, termination of contracts and engagement of external consultants, all of which have and may in the future reduce our cash resources. Additionally, in connection with the special cash dividends paid on September 5, 2019 and December 23, 2019 to our stockholders of record as of August 28, 2019 and December 16, 2019, respectively, we incurred third party costs associated with the distribution of such dividends and may incur such costs with any future distribution of cash, if declared by our board of directors, all of which costs have reduced and would reduce our cash resources.

We rely on external consultants for the execution of our business strategy.

We do not have any employees and instead use a limited number of external consultants for the operation of our company, any of whom may terminate their consultancy with us at any time. The loss of some or all of our consultants could delay or inhibit our ability to run our operations or consummate any divestitures of our remaining assets or could interfere with our ability to receive and distribute any potential milestones from Ipsen or Elevation.

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We may be treated as a "public shell" company which could have negative consequences, including potential Nasdaq delisting of our common stock.

Our common stock is currently listed on the Nasdaq Global Market. We have no current plans to delist our common stock from Nasdaq. However, following our cessation of normal business operations, we may be treated as a “public shell” company under the Nasdaq rules and the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, or the Exchange Act. Although Nasdaq evaluates whether a listed company is a public shell company based on a facts and circumstances determination, a Nasdaq-listed company with no or nominal operations and either no or nominal assets, assets consisting solely of cash and cash equivalents, or assets consisting of any amount of cash and cash equivalents and nominal other assets is generally considered to be a public shell company. Listed companies determined to be public shell companies by Nasdaq may be subject to delisting proceedings or additional and more stringent listing criteria.

If our common stock is delisted from Nasdaq, or if in the future we determine to delist our common stock, we would expect that such securities would qualify for trading over-the-counter, or OTC, in the United States on a market colloquially referred to as the “Pink Sheets.” Securities quoted OTC are generally subject to lesser requirements than securities listed for trading on a U.S. national stock exchange, such as Nasdaq, including reduced corporate governance and public reporting standards.

If Nasdaq should delist our common stock from trading, or if in the future we determine to delist our common stock, a reduction in some or all of the following may occur, each of which could have a material adverse effect on holders of our common stock: the liquidity of our common stock; the market price of the common stock; the number of institutional and general investors that will consider investing in the common stock; the number of investors in general that will consider investing in the common stock; the number of market makers in our common stock; the availability of information concerning the trading prices and volume of the common stock; and the number of broker-dealers willing to execute trades in our common stock. In addition to the foregoing, there are certain consequences under the Securities Act of being a public shell company, including the unavailability of Rule 144 thereunder for the resale of restricted securities and the inability to utilize Form S-8 for the registration of employee benefit plan securities.

We have been, and in the future may be, subject to securities litigation, which is expensive and could divert our attention.

We have been, and may in the future be, subject to securities class action litigation. Securities litigation against us could result in substantial costs and divert our management’s attention, which could seriously harm our business. For instance, a putative stockholder class action suit was filed by a purported stockholder of ours in the Superior Court of Massachusetts for the County of Middlesex against us and our directors. The case was captioned Robert Garfield v. Merrimack Pharmaceuticals Inc., et al., or the Garfield Action. The Garfield Action complaint alleged that our directors breached their fiduciary duties by entering into the Ipsen sale agreement and that the definitive proxy statement relating to the Ipsen sale contained inadequate disclosures and omissions. Although we believed that the Garfield Action was without merit, to avoid the risk of the litigation delaying or adversely affecting the Ipsen sale and to minimize the expense of defending the litigation related to the Ipsen sale, we agreed to make supplemental disclosures related to the Ipsen sale and to pay the plaintiff’s counsel $375,000 in attorney’s fees in connection with the resolution of the Garfield Action. As a result, the plaintiff concluded that the claims in the Garfield Action were mooted, and the Garfield Action was dismissed with prejudice. Nonetheless, there can be no guarantee that we will not be the target of additional securities class action litigation in the future.

Actions of activist stockholders against us could be disruptive and potentially costly and the possibility that activist stockholders may seek changes that contest, or conflict with, our strategic direction could cause uncertainty about the strategic direction of our business.

Activist stockholders may from time to time attempt to effect changes in our strategic direction and, in furtherance thereof, may seek changes in how we are governed. While our board of directors and management strive to maintain constructive, ongoing communications with all of our stockholders, including activist stockholders, and welcomes their views and opinions with the goal of working together constructively to enhance value for all stockholders, activist campaigns that contest, or conflict with, our strategic direction could have an adverse effect on us because:

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In connection with our 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, an activist investor initially proposed its own slate of director candidates. That activist investor ultimately withdrew its slate of director candidates prior to the 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and all of our director nominees were elected at the 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. That activist investor continues to have a Schedule 13D filed with respect to us and it remains a possibility that such activist investor may still, from time to time, attempt to effect changes in our strategic direction and, in furtherance thereof, may seek changes in how we are governed.

Risks Related to the Sale and Divestiture of Assets

There can be no guarantee that Ipsen will comply with its obligation to use commercially reasonable efforts in connection with the development of ONIVYDE or that the milestones set forth in the Ipsen sale agreement will be achieved.

Ipsen has agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop ONIVYDE in connection with obtaining the regulatory approval by the FDA of ONIVYDE for certain indications. There is no guarantee that Ipsen will undertake such development however, or that any of its efforts will lead to the successful approval of ONIVYDE for such additional indications or lead to achievement of the milestones set forth in the Ipsen sale agreement. We also do not have any right to receive updates on the progress of Ipsen’s development of ONIVYDE beyond what Ipsen chooses to disclose publicly. The milestones set forth in the Ipsen sale agreement may not be achieved and we may not receive any future contingent payments.

Our business strategy depends substantially upon our ability to receive future milestone payments from Ipsen. Any failure to achieve such milestones or a perception that the milestones may not be achieved will materially and adversely affect the company and the value of the common stock.

There can be no guarantee that Elevation will comply with its obligation to use commercially reasonable efforts in connection with the development of MM-121 and MM-111 or that the milestones set forth in the asset purchase agreement with Elevation will be achieved.

Elevation has agreed to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop MM-121 and MM-111. However, there is no guarantee that Elevation will take the steps set forth in the Elevation agreement or that any of its efforts will lead to the successful approval of MM-121 or MM-111 by the FDA or other regulatory bodies. The milestones set forth in the Elevation agreement may not be achieved and we may not receive any future contingent payments. Because our business strategy depends substantially upon our ability to receive future milestone payments, including from Elevation, any failure to achieve such milestones or a perception that the milestones may not be achieved will materially and adversely affect the company and the value of the common stock.

Ipsen did not assume any of the excluded liabilities under the Ipsen sale agreement.

Pursuant to the Ipsen sale agreement, Ipsen assumed only certain specified liabilities set forth in the Ipsen sale agreement and did not assume all of the liabilities associated with the commercial business. Certain liabilities remain with us post-closing. While we believe that we have adequately accrued for these liabilities or are adequately insured against certain of the risks associated with such excluded liabilities, we could incur additional expenditures in resolving any such liabilities. If we become subject to liability based upon such contractual obligations or otherwise and we are required to indemnify the counterparties, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial position.

Elevation did not assume any of the excluded liabilities under the Elevation agreement.

Pursuant to the Elevation agreement, Elevation assumed only certain specified liabilities set forth in the Elevation agreement and did not assume all of the liabilities associated with MM-121 or MM-111. Certain liabilities remain with us post-closing. While we believe that we have adequately accrued for these liabilities or are adequately insured against certain of the risks associated with such excluded liabilities, we could incur additional expenditures in resolving any such liabilities. If we become subject to liability based upon such contractual obligations or otherwise and we are required to indemnify the counterparties, it could have a material adverse effect on our financial position.

The Ipsen sale agreement may expose us to contingent liabilities.

We have agreed to indemnify Ipsen for certain breaches of representations, warranties or covenants made by us in the Ipsen sale agreement and for certain specified existing litigation. We have agreed that if we cannot pay our indemnification obligations, Ipsen will have set-off rights against any future contingent payments. Indemnification claims by Ipsen could further materially and adversely affect our financial condition and/or significantly reduce any future contingent payments.

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The Elevation agreement may expose us to contingent liabilities.

We have agreed to indemnify Elevation for certain breaches of representations, warranties or covenants made by us in the Elevation agreement. We have agreed that Elevation will have set-off rights against any future contingent payments. Indemnification claims by Elevation could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and/or significantly reduce any future contingent payments.

Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Need for Additional Capital

We have incurred significant losses since our inception. We expect to incur operating losses for the foreseeable future and may never achieve or maintain profitability.

Since inception, we have incurred significant operating losses. Our net loss from continuing operations was $21.3 million and $68.5 million for the years ended 2019 and 2018, respectively. As of December 31, 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of $540.6 million. To date, we have financed our operations primarily through private placements of convertible preferred stock, collaborations, public offerings of our securities, secured debt financings, sales of ONIVYDE and the Ipsen sale. We had devoted substantially all of our efforts to research and development, including clinical trials and to commercialization of our first product, ONIVYDE, which was sold to Ipsen. We have not completed development of or commercialized any other product candidates or diagnostics other than ONIVYDE.

Although we are not actively developing product candidates and do not have any current plans to do so, to become and remain profitable, we would need to succeed in developing and commercializing products with significant market potential. This would require us to be successful in a range of challenging activities, including discovering product candidates, completing preclinical testing and clinical trials of our product candidates, obtaining regulatory approval for these product candidates and manufacturing, marketing and selling or partnering those products for which we may in the future seek and receive regulatory approval. We may never undertake or succeed in these activities and may never generate revenues that are significant or large enough to achieve profitability. Even if we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Our failure to become and remain profitable would depress the value of our company and could impair our ability to raise capital, expand our business or diversify our product offerings, to the extent we undertake such activities, or continue our operations. A decline in the value of our company could also cause our stockholders to lose all or part of their investment.

In the event we determine to pursue any future product development efforts, we will need substantial additional funding. In that case, if we are unable to raise capital when needed, we would be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate such product development programs or commercialization efforts.

In the event we determine to pursue any future product development efforts, we will need substantial additional funding. Although we are not currently developing our product candidates and do not have any current plans to do so, we expect that we would incur significant research and development expenses to the extent that we decide to do so. In addition, we may need additional funding to execute our business strategy and maintain our ability to receive payment for some or all of the milestones set forth in the Ipsen sale agreement or the Elevation agreement. If we are unable to raise capital when needed or on attractive terms, we would be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate any such future research and development programs or commercialization efforts and/or we could be forced to revise or abandon our current business strategy.

Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

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Conducting preclinical testing and clinical trials is a time-consuming, expensive and uncertain process that takes years to complete, and we may never generate the necessary data required to obtain regulatory approval and, even if regulatory approval is obtained, achieve product sales of any of our product candidates. In addition, any of our product candidates, even if approved, may not achieve commercial success. If we undertake future development of our product candidates but fail to generate sufficient revenues from collaborations or the commercialization of any of our product candidates, we will need to continue to rely on additional financing to achieve our business objectives.

Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our existing stockholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our revenue streams or product candidates.

We expect that we would finance any future cash needs through a combination of divestitures of our product candidates or other assets, equity offerings and debt financings. There can be no assurance as to the timing, terms or consummation of any divestiture or financing. We do not have any committed external sources of funds. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our stockholders. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our future revenue streams or product candidates.

On December 15, 2017, we filed a registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC to allow the issuance of our securities from time to time in one or more offerings of up to $150,000,000 in aggregate dollar amount. This registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on January 5, 2018. If we are unable to raise additional funds through divestitures or equity or debt financings when needed, we may not have enough funding to execute our business strategy and maintain our ability to receive payment for some or all of the milestones set forth in the Ipsen sale agreement, the Servier agreement or the Elevation agreement.

Future indebtedness may limit cash flow available to invest in the ongoing needs of our business.

We have had in the past, and may in the future have, a significant amount of indebtedness. In July 2013, we issued $125.0 million aggregate principal amount of 4.50% convertible notes due 2020, or convertible notes. In December 2015, we issued $175.0 million aggregate principal amount of 11.50% senior secured notes due 2022, or 2022 notes. In July 2018, we entered into the loan agreement with Hercules, which provided for a term loan advance of $15.0 million. Although we used a portion of the proceeds from the Ipsen sale to fully extinguish the 2022 notes, we have extinguished all but $56,000 of the aggregate remaining principal amount of the convertible notes, and in April 2019, we repaid in full all principal, accrued and unpaid interest, fees, costs and expenses under the loan agreement, we could in the future incur additional indebtedness.

Substantial debt combined with our other financial obligations and contractual commitments could have significant adverse consequences, including:

To the extent we seek funds from external sources in the future, such funds may not be available on acceptable terms, if at all. In addition, a failure to comply with the covenants under any future debt instruments could result in an event of default under those instruments, and such debt instruments could require covenants and pledges of our assets as collateral which could limit our ability to obtain other debt financing.

We might not be able to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards and research and development tax credit carryforwards.

As of December 31, 2019, we had net operating loss carryforwards for federal and state income tax purposes of $204.2 million and $289.8 million, respectively. Our existing federal and state net operating loss carryforwards begin to expire in 2033. We also had available research and development credits for federal and state income tax purposes of approximately $28.8 million and $18.9 million, respectively. The federal and state research and development credits will begin to expire in 2022 and 2025, respectively. These net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards could expire unused or could be unavailable to offset our future income tax liabilities. Under the newly enacted federal income tax law, federal net operating losses incurred in 2018 and in future years may be

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carried forward indefinitely, but the deductibility of such federal net operating losses is limited. It is uncertain how various states will respond to the newly enacted federal tax law. If our ability to use our historical net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards is materially limited, it would harm our future operating results by effectively increasing our future tax obligations. In addition, the Ipsen sale was an installment sale given the potential milestone payments that could be received by us in future years. If we receive milestone payments in future years pursuant to the Ipsen sale, we will be liable for interest to the federal government pursuant to Internal Revenue Code section 453A and state governments pursuant to similar state tax provisions because it was an installment sale. The interest is compounding and is calculated based on the number of years between 2017 and the year the milestone payment is received by us. Any interest charges can not be offset by net operating loss carryforwards.

Our investments are subject to risks that could result in losses.

We have invested and plan to continue to invest our cash in a variety of financial instruments, principally securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies, investment grade corporate bonds, including commercial paper, and money market instruments. All of these investments are subject to credit, liquidity, market and interest rate risk. Such risks, including the failure or severe financial distress of the financial institutions that hold our cash, cash equivalents and investments, may result in a loss of liquidity, impairment to our investments, realization of substantial future losses, or a complete loss of the investments in the long-term, which may have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, liquidity and financial condition. In order to manage the risk to our investments, we maintain an investment policy that, among other things, limits the amount that we may invest in any one issue or any single issuer and requires us to only invest in high credit quality securities, but there can be no guarantee that our investments will not result in losses.

Risks Related to the Development and Commercialization of Our Product Candidates

Although we have in the past depended heavily on the success of our product candidates, we do not have any product candidates currently in active development. Future clinical trials of our product candidates, if any, may not be successful. If we are unable to successfully develop or commercialize our product candidates, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed.

Although we have invested a significant portion of our efforts and financial resources in the development of our product candidates for the treatment of various types of cancer, we are no longer actively developing any of our product candidates. Our ability to generate meaningful product revenues will depend heavily on the successful development of our product candidates, if pursued. To the extent that we pursue development in the future of any of our product candidates, success will depend on several factors, including the following:

If we do not undertake development of any product candidates or achieve one or more of these factors in a timely manner or at all, we could experience significant delays or an inability to successfully develop our product candidates, which would materially harm our business.

For example, on April 4, 2019, we announced that we were discontinuing development of MM-310 as a result of a comprehensive review of available safety data from our Phase 1 clinical trial of MM-310 in patients with solid tumors. Based on emerging data since the amendment of the clinical protocol in late 2018, we concluded that the trial would not be able to reach an optimal therapeutic index for MM-310.

Also, in November 2018, we announced that we were discontinuing development of all ongoing MM-121 programs based on the results of the interim analysis of the SHERLOC clinical trial that were announced on October 19, 2018, including terminating the SHERBOC clinical trial. The decision to terminate the SHERLOC clinical trial was made based on an interim analysis triggered by the occurrence of 75% of events required for trial completion, which demonstrated that the addition of MM-121 to docetaxel did not improve progression free survival over docetaxel alone in this patient population.

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In addition, in September 2018, we announced top-line results from the CARRIE clinical trial, showing that the trial did not meet its primary or secondary efficacy endpoints in patients who received MM-141 in combination with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine, compared to nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine alone. These results were consistent in all subgroups analyzed. Based on these results, we are not devoting additional resources to and have ceased all of our development activities for MM-141.

To the extent that we conduct clinical trials of our product candidates in the future and such trials fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy to the satisfaction of the FDA or similar regulatory authorities outside the United States or do not otherwise produce positive results, we may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development and commercialization of our product candidates.

We may never receive approval to commercialize our product candidates in the United States or other jurisdictions. Before obtaining regulatory approval for the sale of our product candidates, we must conduct extensive clinical trials to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of our product candidates in humans. Clinical testing is expensive, difficult to design and implement, can take many years to complete and is uncertain as to outcome. To the extent that we conduct clinical trials of our product candidates, a failure of one or more of such trials could occur at any stage of testing. The outcome of preclinical testing and early clinical trials may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, and successful interim results of a clinical trial do not necessarily predict successful final results.

We may experience numerous unexpected events during, or as a result of, clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to receive regulatory approval or commercialize our product candidates, including:

For example, on November 7, 2018, we announced an amendment to our Phase 1 clinical trial of MM-310 to extend the dosing interval of MM-310 from every three weeks to every four weeks as a result of emerging cumulative grade 3 peripheral neuropathy following multiple cycles of treatment observed in three patients. On April 4, 2019, we announced that we were discontinuing development of MM-310 as a result of a comprehensive review of available safety data from the Phase 1 clinical trial. Based on emerging data since the amendment of the clinical protocol in late 2018, we concluded that the trial would not be able to reach an optimal therapeutic index for MM-310.

Also, in November 2018, we announced that we were discontinuing development of all ongoing MM-121 programs based on the results of the interim analysis of the SHERLOC clinical trial that were announced on October 19, 2018, including terminating the SHERBOC clinical trial. The decision to terminate the SHERLOC clinical trial was made based on an interim analysis triggered by the occurrence of 75% of events required for trial completion, which demonstrated that the addition of MM-121 to docetaxel did not improve progression free survival over docetaxel alone in this patient population.

In addition, in September 2018, we announced top-line results from the CARRIE clinical trial, showing that the trial did not meet its primary or secondary efficacy endpoints in patients who received MM-141 in combination with nab-paclitaxel and

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gemcitabine, compared to nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine alone. Based on these results, we are not devoting additional resources to and have ceased all of our development activities for MM-141.

Preclinical and clinical data may not be predictive of the success of later clinical trials, and are often susceptible to varying interpretations and analyses. Many companies that have believed their product candidates performed satisfactorily in preclinical studies and clinical trials have nonetheless failed to obtain marketing approval of their products.

If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of our product candidates beyond those that we contemplate, if we are unable to successfully complete clinical trials of our product candidates or other testing, if the results of these trials or tests are not positive or are only modestly positive or if there are safety concerns, we may:

Delays in testing or approvals may result in increases to our product development costs. Significant clinical trial delays also could shorten any periods during which we may have the exclusive right to commercialize our product candidates or allow our competitors to bring products to market before we do and impair our ability to commercialize our product candidates and may harm our business and results of operations.

If serious adverse or undesirable side effects are identified during the development of our product candidates or following their approval and commercialization, we may need to modify or abandon our development or marketing of such product or product candidate.

Although we are not actively developing any of our product candidates, to the extent that we do decide to undertake development, the risk of failure is high. It is impossible to predict when or if any of our product candidates will prove effective or safe in humans or will receive regulatory approval, and it is impossible to ensure that safety or efficacy issues will not arise following regulatory approval. Currently marketed therapies for solid tumors are generally limited to some extent by their toxicity. Use of our product candidates as monotherapies in clinical trials also has resulted in adverse events consistent in nature with other marketed therapies. When used in combination with other marketed or investigational therapies, our product candidates may exacerbate adverse events associated with the other therapy. If our products or product candidates, either alone or in combination with other therapies, result in undesirable side effects or have characteristics that are unexpected, we may need to modify or abandon any such future development or marketing.

For example, on November 7, 2018, we announced an amendment to our Phase 1 clinical trial of MM-310 to extend the dosing interval of MM-310 from every three weeks to every four weeks as a result of emerging cumulative grade 3 peripheral neuropathy following multiple cycles of treatment observed in three patients. On April 4, 2019, we announced that we were discontinuing development of MM-310 as a result of a comprehensive review of available safety data from the Phase 1 clinical trial. Based on emerging data since the amendment of the clinical protocol in late 2018, we concluded that the trial would not be able to reach an optimal therapeutic index for MM-310.

Product liability lawsuits against us could cause us to incur substantial liabilities and to limit commercialization of any products that we may develop.

We face an inherent risk of product liability exposure related to the testing of our product candidates in human clinical trials and an even greater risk related to the commercial sale of any products that we may develop. If we cannot successfully defend ourselves against claims that any of our product candidates caused injuries, we will incur substantial liabilities. Regardless of merit or eventual outcome, liability claims may result in:

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We currently hold $5.0 million in product liability insurance coverage, which may not be adequate to cover all liabilities that we may incur. Insurance coverage is increasingly expensive. We may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in an amount adequate to satisfy any or every liability that may arise.

Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property

If we fail to fulfill our obligations under our intellectual property licenses with third parties, we could lose license rights that are important to our business.

We are a party to intellectual property license agreements with third parties and may enter into additional license agreements in the future. Our existing license agreements impose, and we expect that our future license agreements will impose, various diligence, milestone payment, royalty, insurance and other obligations on us. If we fail to comply with these obligations, our licensors may have the right to terminate these agreements, in which event we might not be able to develop and market any product that is covered by these agreements. Termination of these licenses or reduction or elimination of our licensed rights may result in our having to negotiate new or reinstated licenses with less favorable terms. The occurrence of such events could materially harm our business.

If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for our technology and products, or if our licensors are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for the technology or products that we license from them, our competitors could develop and commercialize technology and products similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize our technology and products may be adversely affected.

Our product development strategy depends in large part on our licensors’ ability to obtain and maintain patent protection in the United States and other countries with respect to our proprietary technology and products. In some circumstances, we may not have the right to control the preparation, filing and prosecution of patent applications, or to maintain the patents, covering technology or products that we license from third parties. Therefore, we cannot be certain that these patents and applications will be prosecuted and enforced in a manner consistent with the best interests of our business. In addition, if third parties who license patents to us fail to maintain such patents, or lose rights to those patents, the rights we have licensed may be reduced or eliminated.

We have sought to protect our proprietary position by filing patent applications in the United States and abroad related to our novel technologies and products that are important to our business. This process is expensive and time-consuming, and we may not be able to file and prosecute all necessary or desirable patent applications at a reasonable cost or in a timely manner. It is also possible that we will fail to identify patentable aspects of our research and development output before it is too late to obtain patent protection.

The patent position of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies generally is highly uncertain, involves complex legal and factual questions and has in recent years been the subject of much litigation. As a result, the issuance, scope, validity, enforceability and commercial value of our licensors’ patent rights are highly uncertain. Our licensors’ pending and future patent applications may not result in patents being issued that protect our technology or products or that effectively prevent others from commercializing competitive technologies and products. Changes in either the patent laws or interpretation of the patent laws in the United States and other countries may diminish the value of our patents or narrow the scope of our patent protection. The laws of foreign countries may not protect our rights to the same extent as the laws of the United States. Publications of discoveries in the scientific literature often lag behind the actual discoveries, and patent applications in the United States and other jurisdictions are typically not published until 18 months after filing, or in some cases not at all. Therefore, we cannot be certain that we or our licensors were the first to make the inventions claimed in our owned and licensed patents or pending patent applications, or that we or our licensors were the first to file for patent protection of such inventions. Assuming the other requirements for patentability are met, the first to file a patent application is entitled to the patent. Under the America Invents Act enacted in 2011, the United States moved to this first to file system in 2013 from the previous system under which the first to make the claimed invention was entitled to the patent. We may become involved in opposition, interference or derivation proceedings challenging our patent rights or the patent rights of others. An adverse determination in any such proceeding could reduce the scope of, or invalidate, our patent rights, allow third parties to commercialize our technology or products and compete directly with us, without payment to us, or result in our inability to manufacture or commercialize products without infringing third-party patent rights.

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Even if our owned and licensed patent applications issue as patents, they may not issue in a form that will provide us with any meaningful protection, prevent competitors from competing with us or otherwise provide us with any competitive advantage. Our competitors may be able to circumvent our owned or licensed patents by developing similar or alternative technologies or products in a non-infringing manner. The issuance of a patent is not conclusive as to its scope, validity or enforceability, and our owned and licensed patents may be challenged in the courts or patent offices in the United States and abroad. Such challenges may result in patent claims being narrowed, invalidated or held unenforceable, which could limit our ability to stop or prevent us from stopping others from using or commercializing similar or identical technology and products, or limit the duration of the patent protection of our technology and products. Given the amount of time required for the development, testing and regulatory review of new product candidates, patents protecting such candidates might expire before or shortly after such candidates are commercialized. As a result, our owned and licensed patent portfolio may not provide us with sufficient rights to exclude others from commercializing products similar or identical to ours.

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

Competitors may infringe our patents. To counter infringement or unauthorized use, we may be required to initiate infringement lawsuits, which can be expensive and time-consuming. In addition, in an infringement proceeding, a court may decide that a patent of ours is invalid or 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 proceeding could put one or more of our patents at risk of being invalidated or interpreted narrowly. 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.

Third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing their intellectual property rights, the outcome of which would be uncertain and could have a material adverse effect on the success of our business.

Our commercial success depends upon our ability and the ability of our collaborators to develop, manufacture, market and sell our products and product candidates and use our proprietary technologies without infringing the enforceable proprietary rights of third parties. We may become party to, or threatened with, future adversarial proceedings or litigation regarding intellectual property rights with respect to our products and technology, including interference or derivation proceedings before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Third parties may assert infringement claims against us based on existing patents or patents that may be granted in the future. If we are found to infringe a third party’s intellectual property rights, we could be required to obtain a license from such third party to continue developing and marketing our products and technology. However, we may not be able to obtain any required license on commercially reasonable terms or at all. Even if we were able to obtain a license, it could be non-exclusive, thereby giving our competitors access to the same technologies licensed to us. We could be forced, including by court order, to cease commercializing the infringing technology or product. In addition, we could be found liable for monetary damages. A finding of infringement could prevent us from commercializing our product candidates, prevent us from divesting certain assets or force us to cease some of our business operations, which could materially harm our business. Claims that we have misappropriated the confidential information or trade secrets of third parties can have a similar negative impact on our business.

We may be subject to claims that our employees have wrongfully used or disclosed alleged trade secrets of their former employers.

Many of our former employees were previously employed at universities or other biotechnology or pharmaceutical companies, including our competitors or potential competitors. Although we try to ensure that our employees do not use the proprietary information or know-how of others in their work for us, we may be subject to claims that we or these employees have used or disclosed intellectual property, including trade secrets or other proprietary information, of any such employee’s former employer. Litigation may be necessary to defend against these claims. If we fail in defending any such claims, in addition to paying monetary damages, we may lose valuable intellectual property rights or personnel. Even if we are successful in defending against such claims, litigation could result in substantial costs and be a distraction to management.

Intellectual property litigation could cause us to spend substantial resources and distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities.

Even if resolved in our favor, litigation or other legal proceedings relating to intellectual property claims may cause us to incur significant expenses, and could distract our personnel from their normal responsibilities. In addition, there could be public announcements of the results of hearings, motions or other interim proceedings or developments and 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. Such litigation or proceedings could substantially increase our operating losses and reduce our resources available for development or other activities. We may not have sufficient financial or other resources to adequately conduct such litigation or proceedings. Some of our competitors

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may be able to sustain the costs of such litigation or proceedings more effectively than we can because of their substantially greater financial resources. Uncertainties resulting from the initiation and continuation of patent litigation or other proceedings could have a material adverse effect on our ability to compete in the marketplace and operate our business.

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

In addition to our patented technology and products, we rely on trade secrets, including unpatented know-how, technology and other proprietary information, to maintain our competitive position. We seek to protect these trade secrets, in part, by entering into non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements with parties that have access to them, such as our employees, corporate collaborators, outside scientific collaborators, sponsored researchers, contract manufacturers, consultants, advisors and other third parties. We have entered into confidentiality and invention or patent assignment agreements with our employees and consultants. Any of these parties may breach these agreements and disclose our proprietary information, and we may not be able to obtain adequate remedies for such breaches. Enforcing a claim that a party illegally disclosed or misappropriated a trade secret is difficult, expensive and time-consuming, and the outcome is unpredictable. In addition, some courts inside and outside the United States are less willing or unwilling to protect trade secrets. If any of our trade secrets were to be lawfully obtained or independently developed by a competitor, we would have no right to prevent them from using that technology or information to compete with us. If any of our trade secrets were to be disclosed to or independently developed by a competitor, our competitive position would be harmed.

Risks Related to Data Protection and Cybersecurity

Our failure to comply with data protection laws and regulations could lead to government enforcement actions, private litigation and/or adverse publicity and could negatively affect our operating results and business.

We are subject to data protection laws and regulations that address privacy and data security. The legislative and regulatory landscape for data protection continues to evolve, and in recent years there has been an increasing focus on privacy and data security issues. In the United States, numerous federal and state laws and regulations, including state data breach notification laws, state health information privacy laws and federal and state consumer protection laws govern the collection, use, disclosure and protection of health-related and other personal information. Failure to comply with data protection laws and regulations could result in government enforcement actions, which could include civil or criminal penalties, private litigation and/or adverse publicity and could negatively affect our operating results and business. In addition, we may obtain health information from third parties (e.g., healthcare providers who prescribe our products) that are subject to privacy and security requirements under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. We could be subject to criminal penalties if we knowingly obtain or disclose individually identifiable health information in a manner that is not authorized or permitted.

The collection and use of personal health data in the European Union is governed by the provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which came into effect in May 2018. This regulation imposes several requirements relating to the consent of the individuals to whom the personal data relates, the information provided to the individuals, notification of data processing obligations to the competent national data protection authorities and the security and confidentiality of the personal data. The GDPR also imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data out of the European Union to the United States. Failure to comply with the requirements of the GDPR and the related national data protection laws of the European Union Member States may result in significant fines and other administrative penalties.

Significant disruptions of information technology systems or security breaches could adversely affect our business.

We are increasingly dependent upon information technology systems, infrastructure and data to operate our business. In the ordinary course of business, we collect, store and transmit large amounts of confidential information (including, among other things, trade secrets or other intellectual property, proprietary business information and personal information). It is critical that we do so in a secure manner to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of such confidential information. We also have outsourced significant elements of our operations to third parties, and as a result we manage a number of third-party vendors who have or could have access to our confidential information. Our information technology systems, and those of third-party vendors with whom we contract, and the large amounts of confidential information stored on those systems, make such systems vulnerable to service interruptions or to security breaches from inadvertent or intentional actions by our consultants, third-party vendors, and/or business partners, or from cyber-attacks by malicious third parties. Because we outsource our information technology systems, we are subject to risks that the activities of our third-party vendors may adversely affect our business even if an attack or breach does not directly target our systems. Cyber-attacks are increasing in their frequency, sophistication and intensity, and have become increasingly difficult to detect. Cyber-attacks could include the deployment of harmful malware, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks, social engineering and other means to affect service reliability and threaten the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information. Cyber-attacks could also include phishing attempts or e-mail fraud to cause payments or information to be transmitted to an unintended recipient.

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Significant disruptions of our information technology systems, or those of our third-party vendors, or security breaches could adversely affect our business operations and/or result in the loss, misappropriation and/or unauthorized access, use or disclosure of, or the prevention of access to, confidential information, including, among other things, trade secrets or other intellectual property, proprietary business information and personal information, and could result in financial, legal, business and reputational harm to us. For example, any such event that leads to unauthorized access, use or disclosure of personal information, including personal information regarding our patients or employees, could harm our reputation, require us to comply with federal and/or state breach notification laws and foreign law equivalents, and otherwise subject us to liability under laws and regulations that protect the privacy and security of personal information. Security breaches and other inappropriate access can be difficult to detect, and any delay in identifying them may lead to increased harm of the type described above. While we have implemented security measures to protect our information technology systems and infrastructure, there can be no assurance that such measures will prevent service interruptions or security breaches that could adversely affect our business.

Risks Related to Personnel Matters

Our future success depends on our ability to retain qualified personnel.

We do not have any employees and instead use a limited number of external consultants for the operation of our company, any of whom may terminate their consultancy with us at any time. We may not be able to attract and retain consultants on acceptable terms given the competition among numerous pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for similar personnel. Our consultants and advisors may be employed by employers other than us and may have commitments under consulting or advisory contracts with other entities that may limit their availability to us. We do not maintain “key person” insurance.

Our corporate restructuring and the associated headcount reduction may not result in anticipated savings, could result in total costs and expenses that are greater than expected and could disrupt our business.

We announced on November 7, 2018, April 4, 2019 and May 30, 2019 a series of reductions in headcount as part of a corporate restructuring as we close out clinical and development activities. We may not realize, in full or in part, the anticipated benefits, savings and improvements in our cost structure from our restructuring efforts due to unforeseen difficulties, delays or unexpected costs. If we are unable to realize the expected operational efficiencies and cost savings from the restructuring, our operating results and financial condition would be adversely affected. Furthermore, our restructuring plan may be disruptive to our operations. For example, our headcount reductions could yield unanticipated consequences, such as increase difficulties in implementing our business strategy.

We have entered into and may continue to enter into or seek to enter into business combinations, acquisitions or divestitures which may be difficult to consummate, disrupt our business, divert management attention or dilute stockholder value.

As part of our business strategy, we may enter into business combinations, acquisitions or divestitures. Although we consummated the Ipsen sale in April 2017 and the sale to Elevation of MM-121 and MM-111 in July 2019, we have limited experience in making acquisitions and divestitures. In addition, acquisitions and divestitures are typically accompanied by a number of risks, including:

If we are not successful in completing acquisitions or divestitures that we may pursue in the future, we would be required to reevaluate our business strategy and we may have incurred substantial expenses and devoted significant management time and resources in seeking to complete the acquisitions or divestitures. In addition, with future acquisitions, if pursued, we could use substantial portions of our available cash as all or a portion of the purchase price or could issue additional securities as consideration for these acquisitions, which could cause our stockholders to suffer significant dilution.

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Our corporate compliance efforts cannot guarantee that we are in compliance with all potentially applicable regulations.

We are subject to extensive regulation by federal, state and other authorities within the United States and numerous entities outside of the United States. We cannot provide any assurance that governmental authorities will find that our business practices comply with current or future administrative or judicial interpretations of potentially applicable laws and regulations. If we fail to comply with any of these laws and regulations, we could be subject to a range of regulatory actions, including suspension or termination of clinical trials, the failure to approve a product candidate, restrictions on our products or manufacturing processes, withdrawal of products from the market, significant fines, disqualification or debarment from participation in federally-funded healthcare programs or other sanctions or litigation, any of which events may have a significant adverse impact on our business.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

Our directors and principal stockholders maintain the ability to significantly influence all matters submitted to stockholders for approval.

Our directors and stockholders who own more than 5% of our outstanding common stock, in the aggregate, beneficially own a large portion of our capital stock. As a result, if these stockholders were to choose to act together, they would be able to significantly influence all matters submitted to our stockholders for approval, as well as our management and affairs. For example, these persons, if they choose to act together, would significantly influence the election of directors and approval of any merger, consolidation or sale of all or substantially all of our assets. This concentration of voting power could discourage, delay or prevent an acquisition of our company on terms that other stockholders may desire.

Provisions in our corporate charter documents and under Delaware law could make an acquisition of us, which may be beneficial to our stockholders, more difficult and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management.

Provisions in our corporate charter and our bylaws may discourage, delay or prevent a merger, acquisition or other change in control of us that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which our stockholders might otherwise receive a premium for their shares. These provisions could also limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock, thereby depressing the market price of our common stock. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace members of our board of directors. Because our board of directors is responsible for appointing the members of our management team, these provisions could in turn affect any attempt by our stockholders to replace current members of our management team. Among others, these provisions:

Moreover, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibits a person who owns in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person acquired in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination is approved in a prescribed manner.

 

We have entered into a Section 382 Rights Agreement, and if the share purchase rights issued pursuant to such agreement are exercised, it could materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

We entered into a Section 382 Rights Agreement, or the Rights Agreement, on December 3, 2019, with Computershare Trust Company, N.A., a federally chartered trust company, as Rights Agent. The Rights Agreement is intended to discourage acquisitions of our common stock which could result in a cumulative “ownership change” as defined under Section 382, thereby preserving our

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current ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards to offset future income tax obligations, which would become subject to limitations if we were to experience an “ownership change,” as defined under Section 382. While this Rights Agreement is intended to preserve our current ability to utilize net operating loss carryforwards, it effectively deters current and future purchasers from accumulating 4.9% or more of our common stock, which could delay or discourage takeover attempts that our stockholders may consider favorable. In addition, if the share purchase rights issued pursuant to the Rights Agreement are exercised, it could materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

Our stock price has been and may in the future be volatile, which could cause holders of our common stock to incur substantial losses.

Our stock price has been and in the future may be subject to substantial price volatility. The stock market in general and the market for biotechnology companies in particular have experienced extreme volatility that has often been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. As a result of this volatility, our stockholders could incur substantial losses. The market price for our common stock may be influenced by many factors, including:

Because we do not anticipate paying regular cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future, capital appreciation, if any, will be the sole source of gain for holders of our common stock.

We have not historically declared or paid regular cash dividends on our common stock. Although our board of directors declared special cash dividends of $6.7 million, $20.0 million and $140.0 million, which were payable on December 23, 2019, September 5, 2019 and May 26, 2017, respectively, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 16, 2019, August 28, 2019 and May 17, 2017, respectively, we do not currently intend to pay any regular cash dividends in the foreseeable future. In addition, the terms of any future debt agreements may in the future preclude us from paying dividends. As a result, capital appreciation, if any, of our common stock will be the sole source of gain for holders of our common stock for the foreseeable future.

Future sales of shares of our common stock, including by us or our directors, or shares issued upon the exercise of currently outstanding options could cause the market price of our common stock to drop significantly, even if our business is doing well.

A substantial portion of our outstanding common stock can be traded without restriction at any time. In addition, a portion of our outstanding common stock is currently restricted as a result of federal securities laws, but can be sold at any time subject to applicable volume limitations. As such, sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market could occur at any time. These sales, or the perception in the market that the holders of a large number of shares intend to sell shares, by us or others, could reduce the market price of our common stock. In addition, we have a significant number of shares that are subject to outstanding options. The exercise of these options and the subsequent sale of the underlying common stock could cause a further decline in our stock price. For instance, in April 2016, we issued an aggregate of 1,236,766 shares of our common stock to certain holders of our convertible notes who had agreed to convert an aggregate of $64.2 million of convertible notes. Any such sales also might make it difficult for us to sell equity securities in the future at a time and at a price that we deem appropriate. We cannot predict the size of future issuances or the effect, if any, that any future issuances may have on the market price for our common stock.

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Furthermore, on December 15, 2017, we filed a registration statement on Form S-3 with the SEC to allow the issuance of our securities from time to time in one or more offerings of up to $150,000,000 in aggregate dollar amount. This registration statement was declared effective by the SEC on January 5, 2018. Any sale of additional shares of our common stock or other securities could reduce the market price of our common stock.

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2. Properties

We do not currently own or lease any facilities or property that are material to our business.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

We are not currently a party to any material legal proceedings.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

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PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Our common stock is publicly traded on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “MACK”.

 

Holders

As of February 29, 2020, there were approximately 106 holders of record of our common stock. This number does not include beneficial owners whose shares are held by nominees in street name.

Dividends

Our board of directors declared special cash dividends of $20.0 million and $6.7 million, which were payable on September 5, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 28, 2019 and December 23, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 16, 2019, respectively. We do not currently intend to pay any regular cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

 

Item 6. Selected Financial Data

Not Applicable.

 

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Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

The following discussion of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and the notes to those financial statements appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. This discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve significant risks and uncertainties. As a result of many factors, such as those set forth in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, which are incorporated herein by reference, our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements.

Overview

We are a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that is entitled to receive up to $450.0 million in contingent milestone payments related to our sale of ONIVYDE^® to Ipsen S.A., or Ipsen, in April 2017 and up to $54.5 million in contingent milestone payments related to our sale of MM-121 and MM-111 to Elevation Oncology, Inc. (formerly known as 14ner Oncology, Inc.), or Elevation, in July 2019. We do not have any ongoing research or development activities and are seeking potential acquirers for our remaining preclinical and clinical assets. We do not have any employees and instead use external consultants for the operation of our company.

On April 3, 2017, we completed the sale of ONIVYDE and MM-436 (the “commercial business”) to Ipsen (the “Ipsen sale”). In connection with the Ipsen sale, we are eligible to receive up to $450.0 million in additional regulatory approval-based milestone payments. We entered into a license and collaboration agreement, or the Servier agreement, between Ipsen and Les Laboratoires Servier SAS, or Servier (as assignee from Shire plc) in 2014, and on April 3, 2017, the Servier agreement was assigned to Ipsen in connection with the completion of the Ipsen sale. We have received all $33.0 million in milestone payments under the Servier agreement.

The remaining up to $450.0 million in potential milestone payments resulting from the Ipsen sale consist of:

Our non-commercial assets, including our clinical and preclinical development programs, were not included in the Ipsen sale and remain assets of ours.

On May 30, 2019, we announced the completion of our review of strategic alternatives, following which our board of directors implemented a series of measures designed to extend our cash runway into 2027 and preserve our ability to capture the potential milestone payments resulting from the Ipsen sale. We have based this estimate on assumptions that may prove to be wrong, and we could use our financial resources sooner than we currently expect. In connection with that announcement, we discontinued the discovery efforts on our remaining preclinical programs: MM-401, an agonistic antibody targeting a novel immuno-oncology target, TNFR2; and MM-201, a highly stabilized agonist-Fc fusion protein targeting death receptors 4 and 5. We are seeking potential acquirers for our remaining preclinical and clinical assets.

The termination of our executive management team and all other employees was substantially completed by June 28, 2019 and fully completed by July 12, 2019. As of July 12, 2019, we do not have any employees. We have engaged external consultants to run our day-to-day operations. We have also entered into consulting agreements with certain former members of our executive management team who are supporting our relationship with current partners, assisting with the potential sale of remaining preclinical and clinical assets, and assisting with certain legal and regulatory matters and the continued wind-down of operations.

On April 15, 2019, we repaid in full all principal, accrued and unpaid interest, fees, costs and expenses under our Loan and Security Agreement, or loan agreement, with Hercules Capital, Inc., or Hercules, in an aggregate amount equal to $16.0 million.

In May 2019, we monetized certain assets to strengthen our cash position. This included the sale of our entire equity position in Silver Creek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., or Silver Creek, resulting in $7.8 million in cash, and the sale of laboratory equipment from our research and development operations, resulting in approximately $1.4 million in cash.

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On July 12, 2019, we completed the sale to Elevation, or the Elevation sale, of our anti-HER3 antibody programs, MM-121 (seribantumab) and MM-111. In connection with the Elevation sale, we received an upfront cash payment of $3.5 million and are eligible to receive up to $54.5 million in additional potential development, regulatory approval and commercial-based milestone payments, consisting of:

On July 25, 2019, our board of directors announced, authorized and declared a special cash dividend of $20.0 million to holders of our common stock. The special dividend was payable on September 5, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 28, 2019. The special dividend resulted in a decrease to additional paid-in capital.

On December 3, 2019, our board of directors announced, authorized and declared a special cash dividend of $6.7 million to holders of our common stock. The special dividend was payable on December 23, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 16, 2019. The special dividend resulted in a decrease to additional paid-in capital.

We previously devoted substantially all of our resources to our drug discovery and development efforts, including conducting clinical trials for our product candidates, protecting our intellectual property and providing general and administrative support for these operations. We have financed our operations primarily through private placements of convertible preferred stock, collaborations, public offerings of our securities, secured debt financings, sales of ONIVYDE and the Ipsen sale.

As of December 31, 2019, we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $16.6 million. We expect that our cash and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2019 will be sufficient to continue our operations into 2027, when we estimate the longest-term potential Ipsen milestone may be achieved.

We have a history of losses from our continuing operations. We do not expect to be profitable from our continuing operations in the future. As of December 31, 2019, we had an accumulated deficit of $540.6 million. Our net loss from our continuing operations was $21.3 million and $60.8 million for years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. We do not expect to have any research and development expenses going forward.

 Strategic Partnerships, Licenses and Collaborations

Servier

On September 23, 2014, we entered into the Servier agreement for the development and commercialization of ONIVYDE outside of the United States and Taiwan, or the licensed territory. As part of the Servier agreement, we granted an exclusive, royalty-bearing right and license under our patent rights and know-how to develop and commercialize ONIVYDE in the licensed territory. On April 3, 2017, the Servier agreement and all other agreements related to the subject collaboration and any associated obligations, including our agreement related to commercial supply of ONIVYDE, were assigned to Ipsen in connection with the completion of the Ipsen sale. We retained the rights to receive net milestone payments that may become payable pursuant to the Servier agreement for the ex-U.S. development and commercialization of ONIVYDE for up to $33.0 million, which is comprised of potential payments of $18.0 million from the sale of ONIVYDE in two additional major European countries, $5.0 million related to the sale of ONIVYDE in the first major non-European, non-Asian country and $10.0 million for the first patient dosed in a pivotal clinical trial in an indication other than pancreatic cancer. In October 2018, we received a payment of $5.0 million from Ipsen against the milestone related to the first patient dosed in a pivotal clinical trial of ONIVYDE in an indication other than pancreatic cancer as a result of the commencement of a multi-part study that Ipsen and Servier are conducting in patients with small-cell lung cancer.

In November 2019, we received the remaining $5.0 million from Ipsen against the milestone related to the decision by Ipsen and Servier to progress to the randomized part of the study focused on efficacy. We have received all of the $33.0 million in milestone payments to which we were eligible under the Servier agreement.

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Silver Creek Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

As of December 31, 2018, we held an equity investment in Silver Creek, which was accounted for as an equity method investment. The carrying value of the investment in Silver Creek was $7.4 million at December 31, 2018. During the year ended December 31, 2018, we recorded a loss associated with Silver Creek of $3.1 million as a component of other (expense) income, net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, representing our proportionate share of Silver Creek’s losses during the year ended December 31, 2018.

As of May 7, 2019, the carrying value of our investment in Silver Creek was $6.4 million. On May 7, 2019, we sold our entire equity position in Silver Creek for $7.8 million. Accordingly, a $1.4 million gain on sale of our equity investment was recognized during the year ended December 31, 2019 within other (expense) income, net in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.

Financial Operations Overview

Research and development expenses

Research and development expenses consisted of the costs associated with our research and discovery activities, conduct of preclinical studies and clinical trials, manufacturing development efforts and activities related to regulatory filings. Our research and development expenses consisted of:

We expensed research and development costs as incurred. As a result of completing the closeout of our SHERLOC, SHERBOC and MM-310 clinical trials, the discontinuation of the discovery efforts for our remaining preclinical programs, MM-401 and MM-201, and the termination of all remaining employees as of July 12, 2019, we no longer have any ongoing research or development activities. Accordingly, no research and development costs were recognized in the second half of 2019 and we do not anticipate incurring any such costs in future periods.

We have historically used our employee and infrastructure resources across multiple research and development programs. We tracked expenses related to our most advanced product candidates on a per project basis. Accordingly, we allocated internal employee-related and infrastructure costs, as well as third-party costs, to each of these programs. We do not allocate to specific development programs either stock-based compensation expense or expenses related to preclinical programs. Costs that were not directly attributable to specific clinical programs, such as wages related to shared laboratory services, travel and employee training and development, are not allocated and are considered general research and discovery expenses.

The following table summarizes our principal product development programs, including the research and development expenses allocated to each clinical product candidate, for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:

 

 

In connection with the Ipsen sale, all expenses related to the commercial business have been reclassified under discontinued operations.

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During the second quarter of 2019, we ceased all research and development activities related to all of our programs listed above and are actively pursuing the sale of any of our remaining program assets.

MM-121 (seribantumab)

In February 2015, we initiated the global, open-label, biomarker-selected, Phase 2 randomized SHERLOC clinical trial evaluating MM-121 in combination with docetaxel, versus docetaxel alone, in patients with heregulin positive non-small cell lung cancer. On October 19, 2018, we announced the termination of the SHERLOC clinical trial based on an interim analysis triggered by the occurrence of 75% of events required for trial completion, which demonstrated that the addition of MM-121 to docetaxel did not improve progression free survival over docetaxel alone in this patient population.

In February 2018, we dosed the first patient in our global, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, biomarker-selected Phase 2 randomized SHERBOC clinical trial evaluating MM-121 in combination with fulvestrant, versus fulvestrant alone, in patients with heregulin positive, hormone receptor positive, ErbB2 (HER2) negative, metastatic breast cancer. On November 7, 2018, we announced that we were discontinuing development of all ongoing MM-121 programs, including terminating the SHERBOC clinical trial based on the results of the interim analysis of the SHERLOC clinical trial. The costs for MM-121 were expensed as incurred, as we believed the costs to maintain the intellectual property for MM-121 increased the likelihood of selling or out-licensing the program.

On July 12, 2019, we completed the Elevation sale of our anti-HER3 antibody programs, MM-121 (seribantumab) and MM-111.

MM-310

In March 2017, we initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of MM-310 to evaluate its safety and preliminary activity in patients with solid tumors and to identify the maximum tolerated dose. On November 7, 2018, we announced an amendment to the clinical trial to extend the dosing interval of MM-310 from every three weeks to every four weeks as a result of emerging cumulative grade 3 peripheral neuropathy following multiple cycles of treatment observed in three patients. On April 4, 2019, we announced that we were discontinuing development of MM-310 as a result of a comprehensive review of available safety data from the Phase 1 clinical trial. Based on emerging data since the amendment of the clinical protocol in late 2018, we concluded that the trial would not be able to reach an optimal therapeutic index for MM-310. The MM-310 program was discontinued, and we do not expect to incur any future costs related to MM-310.

Legacy Programs

In January 2017, we announced the completion of a strategic pipeline review as a result of which many product candidates in our pipeline were put on hold until such time as we determine the conditions are appropriate to invest in them. These molecules include MM-302, MM-151, MM-131 and certain early stage discovery efforts.

In June 2018, we announced top-line results from the global, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, Phase 2 randomized CARRIE clinical trial of MM-141, showing that the trial did not meet its primary or secondary efficacy endpoints in patients who received MM-141 in combination with nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine, compared to nab-paclitaxel and gemcitabine alone. Based on these results, we are not devoting additional resources to and have ceased all of our development activities for MM-141.

General and administrative expenses

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries and other related costs for personnel, including stock-based compensation expenses and benefits, legal, intellectual property, business development, finance, information technology, corporate communications, investor relations and human resources departments. Other general and administrative expenses include costs for employee training and development, board of directors costs, depreciation, insurance expenses, facility-related costs not otherwise included in research and development expenses, legal and professional fees, and accounting and information technology services fees.

Restructuring expenses

As a result of the corporate restructuring activities we announced on November 7, 2018, April 30, 2019 and May 30, 2019, we recognized total restructuring expenses of $4.8 million and $1.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively, related to one-time employee termination benefits comprised of severance, benefits and related costs, all of which are expected to result in cash expenditures. Approximately $5.6 million and $0.4 million of these payments were made during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The remaining $0.1 million as of December 31, 2019 is expected to be paid in the first half of 2020.

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As a result of the restructuring we announced on January 8, 2017, we paid $0.6 million in restructuring expense for the year ended December 31, 2018. There were no restructuring expenses related to the January 2017 restructuring for the year ended December 31, 2018.

Interest income

Interest income consists primarily of interest income associated with our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.

Interest expense

Interest expense for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 consisted primarily of cash and non-cash interest related to the loan agreement with Hercules that we entered into on July 2, 2018, as well as the loss we recorded on the extinguishment of the loan agreement in the second quarter of 2019.

Other (expense) income, net

Other (expense) income, net consists primarily of our proportionate share of losses from our equity method investment in Silver Creek, offset by the gain we recorded upon the sale of the investment in the second quarter of 2019.

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 we have prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. 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 financial statements, as well as the reported expenses during the reporting periods. We evaluate our estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis. We base our estimates on 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. Our actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

 

While our significant accounting policies are more fully described in Note 1, “Nature of the Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements appearing at the end of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we believe that the following accounting policies are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our financial condition and results of operations.

Accrued expenses

As part of the process of preparing financial statements, we are required to estimate accrued expenses. This process involves identifying services that have been performed on our behalf and estimating the level of services performed and the associated costs incurred for such services where we have not yet been invoiced or otherwise notified of actual cost. We record these estimates in our consolidated financial statements as of each balance sheet date. Examples of estimated accrued expenses include:

In accruing service fees, we estimate the time period over which services will be provided and the level of effort in each period. If the actual timing of the provision of services or the level of effort varies from the estimate, we will adjust the accrual accordingly. In the event that we do not identify costs that have been incurred or we under or overestimate the level of services performed or the costs of such services, our actual expenses could differ from such estimates. The date on which some services commence, the level of services performed on or before a given date and the cost of such services are often subjective determinations. We make estimates based on the facts and circumstances known to us at the time and in accordance with GAAP. There have been no material changes in estimates for the periods presented.

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Stock-based compensation expense

We account for our stock-based compensation awards in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation. ASC 718 requires all share-based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options, to be recognized in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based on their grant date fair values. For stock options granted to employees and to members of our board of directors for their service on the board of directors, we estimate the grant date fair value of each option award using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The use of the Black-Scholes option pricing model requires us to make assumptions with respect to the expected term of the option, the expected volatility of our common stock consistent with the expected term of the option, the risk-free interest rate consistent with the expected term of the option and the expected dividend yield of our common stock. Stock-based compensation expense related to employee stock options is measured using the fair value of the award at the grant date and is adjusted quarterly to reflect actual forfeitures. Stock-based compensation expense is then recognized on a straight-line basis over the vesting period, which is also the requisite service period.

Prior to the adoption of Accounting Standards Update, or ASU, No. 2018-07, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting, or ASU 2018-07, as discussed in Note 1 to our consolidated financial statements appearing at the end of this document, the measurement date for non-employee awards was generally the date the services are completed, resulting in financial reporting period adjustments to stock-based compensation during the vesting terms for changes in the fair value of the awards. After the adoption of ASU 2018-07, the measurement date for non-employee awards is the later of the adoption date of ASU 2018-07, or the date of grant, without change in the fair value of the award.

 

Results of Operations

Comparison of the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018

 

 

Research and development expenses

Research and development expenses were $11.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to $50.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, a decrease of $38.9 million, or 78%. This decrease was primarily attributable to:

 

During the year ended December 31, 2019, we ceased all research and development activities and no research and development expenses were recognized in the second half of the year then ended. We do not expect to incur any research and development cost in future periods.

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General and administrative expenses

General and administrative expenses were $16.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to $15.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, an increase of $0.6 million, or 4%. This increase was primarily attributable to legal and other professional fees resulting from the contested proxy process with respect to our 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and an increase in restructuring expenses recognized offset by a decrease in corporate expenses related to reduced headcount levels and stock-based compensation in 2019 compared to 2018. We expect general and administrative costs to decrease in future periods as we look to sell our remaining preclinical and clinical assets and continue to streamline our operations.

Interest income

Interest income was $0.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to $1.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, primarily attributable to the interest income associated with our marketable securities and interest bearing cash and cash equivalents accounts.

Interest expense

Interest expense was $1.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2019, which primarily represents the $1.0 million loss on extinguishment we recorded upon repayment of the loan agreement with Hercules. Interest expense was $1.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2018, primarily attributable to the loan agreement with Hercules, which was paid in full in April 2019. We do not expect to incur interest expense in the future.

Other income (expense), net

Other income was $0.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 compared to $3.2 million of expense for the year ended December 31, 2018. The income of $0.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 represents the $1.4 million gain we recorded on the sale of our equity method investment in Silver Creek offset by our proportionate share of Silver Creek’s losses which we recorded prior to the sale of our investment. The $3.2 million of expense for the year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily attributable to our proportionate share of losses from our equity method investment in Silver Creek.

Income tax benefit

We recognized an income tax benefit of $1.5 million and $7.7 million in continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The 2019 and 2018 income tax benefit relate to the Servier milestones received.

 

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

Sources of liquidity

We have financed our operations through December 31, 2019 primarily through private placements of convertible preferred stock, collaborations, public offerings of our securities, secured debt financings, sales of ONIVYDE and the Ipsen sale. Through December 31, 2019, we have received $580.7 million from the Ipsen sale, $268.2 million from the sale of convertible preferred stock and warrants, $126.7 million of net proceeds from the sale of common stock in our initial public offering and a July 2013 follow-on underwritten public offering, $38.6 million of net proceeds from our 2015 “at the market offering” program, or the ATM offering, $39.6 million of net proceeds from a secured debt financing, $120.6 million of net proceeds from the issuance of the convertible notes in our July 2013 underwritten public offering, $168.5 million of net proceeds from the issuance of the 2022 notes, $492.5 million of upfront license fees, milestone payments, reimbursement of research and development costs and manufacturing services and other payments from our collaborations, $68.9 million of cash receipts related to ONIVYDE sales, $33.0 million in milestone payments related to the development and commercialization of ONIVYDE and $14.7 million in net borrowings pursuant to the loan agreement with Hercules. As of December 31, 2019, we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $16.6 million.

On July 2, 2018, we entered into the loan agreement with Hercules pursuant to which a term loan of up to an aggregate principal amount of $25.0 million was available to us. The loan agreement provided for an initial term loan advance of $15.0 million, which closed on July 2, 2018, and, at our option, two additional term loan advances of $5.0 million each upon the occurrence of certain funding conditions prior to December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2019, respectively. As a result of the decision to terminate the SHERLOC clinical trial, we did not meet the prerequisite funding conditions for drawing the two additional term loan advances under the loan agreement. We received net proceeds totaling $14.7 million.

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On April 15, 2019, we repaid in full all principal, accrued and unpaid interest, fees, costs and expenses under the loan agreement with Hercules in an aggregate amount equal to $16.0 million. We had previously borrowed $15.0 million under the loan agreement. See Note 9, “Borrowings,” in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.

On July 25, 2019, our board of directors announced, authorized and declared a special cash dividend of $20.0 million on our common stock. The special dividend was paid on September 5, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on August 28, 2019.

On December 3, 2019, our board of directors announced, authorized and declared a special cash dividend of $6.7 million on our common stock. The special dividend was paid on December 23, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on December 16, 2019.

 

Cash flows

The following table provides information regarding our cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:

 

 

Operating activities

Cash used in operating activities was $31.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2019. The cash used in operating activities was primarily a result of our $21.3 million net loss from continuing operations and net decrease in assets and liabilities of $8.2 million. The net decrease in operating assets and liabilities during the year ended December 31, 2019 was primarily driven by the decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets and decreases in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other and deferred rent and tax incentives. This decrease was offset by non-cash adjustments including $2.4 million of stock-based compensation expense, $2.2 million in depreciation and amortization, $1.5 million benefit from intraperiod tax allocation, $1.0 million of loss on extinguishment of debt and offset by $3.5 million of gain on sale of in progress research and development asset, $2.0 million of gain on sale of property and equipment, $0.4 million of gain on equity method investment.

Cash used in operating activities was $65.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2018. The cash used in operating activities was primarily a result of our $60.8 million net loss from continuing operations and net decrease in assets and liabilities of $7.0 million. The net decrease in operating assets and liabilities during the year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily driven by the increase in prepaid expenses and other assets and decreases in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other and deferred rent and tax incentives. This decrease was offset by non-cash adjustments including $7.7 million benefit from intraperiod tax allocation, $4.1 million in depreciation and amortization, $3.1 million of stock-based compensation expense, $3.1 million in loss on equity method investment and $0.2 million non-cash activity related to discontinued operations.

Investing activities

Cash provided by investing activities of $69.8 million during the year ended December 31, 2019 was primarily due to proceeds from maturities and sales of marketable securities totaling $51.5 million, proceeds from sale of equity method investment totaling $7.8 million, milestone payments relating to the sale of the commercial business totaling $5.0 million, proceeds on sale of in progress research and development asset totaling $3.5 million and proceeds on sale of equipment totaling $2.0 million.

Cash used in investing activities of $22.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2018 was primarily due to purchases of marketable securities totaling $103.1 million, offset by proceeds from maturities and sales of marketable securities totaling $52.5 million and milestone payments relating to the sale of the commercial business totaling $28.0 million.

Financing activities

Cash used in financing activities of $42.5 million during the year ended December 31, 2019 was due to the cash dividends paid of $26.7 million and repayment of debt of $15.0 million and payment of debt extinguishment costs of approximately $1.0 million. Cash provided by financing activities of $14.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2018 was due to proceeds from the issuance of the note payable related to the loan agreement with Hercules.

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Funding requirements

We have incurred significant expenses and operating losses to date. On May 30, 2019, we announced the completion of our review of strategic alternatives, following which our board of directors implemented a series of measures designed to extend our cash runway into 2027 and preserve our ability to capture the potential milestone payments resulting from the Ipsen sale. In connection with that announcement, we discontinued the discovery efforts on our remaining preclinical programs and implemented a reduction in headcount resulting in the termination of all remaining employees as of July 12, 2019. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including:

We expect that we would finance any future cash needs through a combination of divestitures of our product candidates or other assets, equity offerings and debt financings. There can be no assurance as to the timing, terms or consummation of any divestiture or financing. We do not have any committed external sources of funds. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the ownership interest of our stockholders will be diluted, and the terms of these securities may include liquidation or other preferences that adversely affect the rights of our stockholders. Debt financing, if available, may involve agreements that include covenants limiting or restricting our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures or declaring dividends. If we raise additional funds through arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our future revenue streams or product candidates.

Certain Contractual Obligations and Commitments

On July 2, 2018, we entered into the loan agreement, as amended, with Hercules pursuant to which a term loan of up to an aggregate principal amount of $25.0 million was available to us. The loan agreement provided for an initial term loan advance of $15.0 million, which closed on July 2, 2018, and, at our option, two additional term loan advances of $5.0 million each upon the occurrence of certain funding conditions prior to December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2019, respectively. As a result of the decision to terminate the SHERLOC clinical trial, we did not meet the prerequisite funding conditions for drawing the two additional term loan advances under the loan agreement. The term loan bore interest at an annual rate equal to the greater of 9.25% and 9.25% plus the prime rate of interest minus 5.25%. The loan agreement provided for interest-only payments for eighteen months and repayment of the aggregate outstanding principal balance of the term loan in monthly installments starting on February 1, 2020 and continuing through August 1, 2021. In addition, we paid a fee of $0.3 million upon closing and were required to pay a fee of 5.55% of the aggregate amount of advances under the loan agreement at maturity. On April 15, 2019, we repaid in full all principal, accrued and unpaid interest, fees, costs and expenses under the loan agreement with Hercules in an aggregate amount equal to $16.0 million. See Note 9, “Borrowings,” in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements. 

In May 2014, the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center, or the MLSC, awarded us an additional $0.6 million of tax incentives under its Life Science Tax Incentive Program, which allows us to monetize approximately $0.6 million of state research and development tax credits. In exchange for these incentives, we pledged to hire an incremental 31 employees and to maintain the additional headcount through at least December 31, 2018. Due to our failure to meet this headcount target as of December 31, 2016 as a result of our October 2016 corporate restructuring activities, we will be required to repay approximately $0.3 million of this award.

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In March 2015, the MLSC awarded us an additional $1.4 million of tax incentives under its Life Science Tax Incentive Program, which allows us to monetize approximately $1.2 million of state research and development tax credits. In exchange for these incentives, we pledged to hire an incremental 75 employees and to maintain the additional headcount through at least December 31, 2019. Due to our failure to meet this headcount target as of December 31, 2016 as a result of our October 2016 corporate restructuring activities, we will be required to repay approximately $1.0 million of this award.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We did not have during the periods presented, and we do not currently have, any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined under SEC rules.

Tax Loss Carryforwards

At December 31, 2019, we had net operating loss carryforwards for federal and state income tax purposes of $204.2 million and $289.8 million, respectively. Our existing federal and state net operating loss carryforwards begin to expire in 2033. We also had available research and development credits for federal and state income tax purposes of approximately $28.8 million and $18.9 million, respectively. The federal and state research and development credits will begin to expire in 2022 and 2025, respectively. As of December 31, 2019, we also had available investment tax credits for state income tax purposes of less than $0.1 million, which began to expire in 2019. We have orphan drug credits of $122.7 million, which begin to expire in 2031.

We have evaluated the positive and negative evidence bearing upon the realizability of our deferred tax assets, which are comprised principally of net operating loss carryforwards and research and development credits. Under the applicable accounting standards, we have considered our history of losses and concluded that it is more likely than not that we will not recognize the benefits of federal and state deferred tax assets. Accordingly, a full valuation allowance has been established against the deferred tax assets.

Utilization of the net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards may be subject to a substantial annual limitation under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Internal Revenue Code, due to ownership change limitations that have occurred previously or that could occur in the future. These ownership changes may limit the amount of net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards that can be utilized annually to offset future taxable income and tax. We completed an evaluation of ownership changes through December 31, 2019 to assess whether utilization of our net operating loss or tax credit carryforwards would be subject to an annual limitation under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. We believe that we can utilize all of our existing tax attributes as a result of the analysis. To the extent an ownership change occurs in the future, the net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards may be subject to limitation.

We have not, as of yet, conducted a study of our domestic research and development credit carryforwards and Orphan Drug Credits. This study may result in an increase or decrease to our credit carryforwards; however, until a study is completed and any adjustment is known, no amounts are being presented as an uncertain tax position. A full valuation allowance has been provided against our credits, and if an adjustment is required, this adjustment would be offset by an adjustment to the valuation allowance. As a result, there would be no impact to the statement of operations and comprehensive loss, balance sheet or cash flows if an adjustment were required.

382 Rights Agreement

On December 3, 2019, we entered into a Section 382 Rights Agreement, or the Rights Agreement, with Computershare Trust Company, N.A., a federally chartered trust company, as Rights Agent. Pursuant to the Rights Agreement, on December 13, 2019, we issued a dividend of one preferred share purchase right, or a Right, for each share of our common stock to the stockholders of record on that date. Each Right entitles the registered holder to purchase from us one one-thousandth of a share of Series Z Junior Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share, or the Preferred Shares, at a price of $18.00 per one one-thousandth of a Preferred Share represented by a Right, subject to adjustment. The description and terms of the Rights are set forth in the Rights Agreement.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

See Note 1, “Nature of the Business and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies,” in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements for a description of recent accounting pronouncements applicable to our business.

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Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

We invest in a variety of financial instruments, principally cash deposits, money market funds, securities issued by the U.S. government and its agencies and corporate debt securities. The goals of our investment policy are preservation of capital, fulfillment of liquidity needs and fiduciary control of cash and investments. We also seek to maximize income from our investments without assuming significant risk.

Our primary exposure to market risk is interest income sensitivity, which is affected by changes in the general level of interest rates, particularly because our investments are in short-term marketable securities. Due to the short-term duration of our investment portfolio and the low risk profile of our investments, an immediate 10% change in interest rates would not have a material effect on the fair market value of our portfolio. We have the ability and intention to hold our investments until maturity, and therefore, we would not expect our operating results or cash flows to be affected to any significant degree by the effect of a sudden change in market interest rates on our investment portfolio.

We do not currently have any auction rate or mortgage-backed securities. We do not believe our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities have significant risk of default or illiquidity, however we cannot provide absolute assurance that in the future our investments will not be subject to adverse changes in market value.

 

Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Our consolidated financial statements, together with the report of our independent registered public accounting firm, appear on pages F-1 through F-23 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

None.

Item 9A. Controls and Procedures

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management, with the participation of our principal executive and financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2019. The term “disclosure controls and procedures,” as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act means controls and other procedures of a company that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by a company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the company’s management, including its principal executive and principal financial officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving their objectives and management necessarily applies its judgment in evaluating the cost-benefit relationship of possible controls and procedures. Based on the evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2019, our principal executive and financial officer concluded that, as of such date, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective at the reasonable assurance level.

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Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting for the company. Internal control over financial reporting is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) or 15d-15(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the company’s principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by the company’s board of directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP and includes those policies and procedures that:

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to financial statement preparation and presentation. 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.

Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013). Based on its assessment, management concluded that, as of December 31, 2019, our internal control over financial reporting is effective based on those criteria.

The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019 has been audited by Marcum LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their report, which appears herein.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

On May 30, 2019, we announced the completion of our review of strategic alternatives, following which our board of directors implemented a series of measures designed to extend our cash runway for several years and preserve our ability to capture the potential milestone payments resulting from the Ipsen sale. In connection with the implementation of these measures, we commenced efforts to terminate our executive management team and all other employees, which was fully completed by July 12, 2019. We do not have any employees. We have engaged external consultants to run our day-to-day operations. We have also entered into consulting agreements with certain former members of our executive management team to assist with this transition.

In connection with the transition of the management of the day-to-day operations of the company to external consultants, we migrated our enterprise resource planning system to a less complex accounting system. Due to the termination of all employees, we have also significantly modified our internal control procedures over financial reporting to reflect the reduction in transaction volume and reliance on external consultants to manage the day-to-day operations of the company. In connection with these significant changes to the business and the control environment, we have updated our risk assessment of internal controls over financial reporting. During the second half of December 31, 2019, we have taken steps to redesign and implement internal controls over the cash disbursements process, information technology general controls and the accounting closing and reporting processes. As of December 31, 2019, we believe the controls are effectively designed to provide reasonable assurance on the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP.

Other than the above, no change in our internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) occurred during the year ended December 31, 2019 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B. Other Information

None.

 

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PART III

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

The information required by this Item 10 will be included in our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC with respect to our 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 11. Executive Compensation

The information required by this Item 11 will be included in our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC with respect to our 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

The information required by this Item 12 will be included in our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC with respect to our 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

The information required by this Item 13 will be included in our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC with respect to our 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services

The information required by this Item 14 will be included in our definitive proxy statement to be filed with the SEC with respect to our 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and is incorporated herein by reference.

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PART IV

Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

Our consolidated financial statements are set forth on pages F-1 through F-23 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and are incorporated herein by reference.

Schedules have been omitted since they are either not required or not applicable or the information is otherwise included herein.

 

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Item 16. Form 10-K Summary

Not applicable.

 

 

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SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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MERRIMACK PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

F-1

 

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2019, the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2019, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2019, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) ("PCAOB"), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, based on the criteria established in Internal Control - Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in 2013 and our report dated March 12, 2020, expressed an unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

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 audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the 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 audit 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. Our audit 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 audit 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 audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

 

/s/ Marcum llp

 

Marcum llp

 

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2019.

 

 

Boston, Massachusetts
March 12, 2020

 

F-2

 

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Opinion on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

We have audited Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.'s (the “Company”) internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

 

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”), the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2019 and the related consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss, stockholders’ equity and cash flows and the related notes for the year ended December 31, 2019 of the Company, and our report dated March 12, 2020 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.

 

Basis for Opinion

 

The Company's management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying “Management Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting”. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company's internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the 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 audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

Definition and Limitations of Internal Control over Financial Reporting

 

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed 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. A company's internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

Because of the 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 degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

 

 

 

 

Marcum llp

Boston, Massachusetts
March 12, 2020

l:\clients\herley industries\2007\letters\2960 rep of ind 101007.doc

 

 

 

F-3

 

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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the consolidated balance sheet of Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2018, and the related consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss, of stockholders’ equity and of cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2018, including 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 as of December 31, 2018, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2018 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

 

Basis for Opinion

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audit. 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 audit of these consolidated financial statements 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 consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud.

 

Our audit included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated 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 consolidated financial statements. Our audit also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Emphasis of Matter

As discussed in Note 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company will require additional financing to fund future operations. Management’s evaluation of the events and conditions and management’s plans to mitigate this matter are also described in Note 1.

 

 

/s/PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Boston, Massachusetts

March 6, 2019

 

 

We served as the Company’s auditor from 2002 to 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

F-4

 

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Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Consolidated Balance Sheets

 

 

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

 

F-5

 

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Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss

 

 

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

 

F-6

 

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Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity

 

 

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

 

F-7

 

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Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows