Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc. 10-K

brns-20231231 Table of Contents UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549 FORM 10-K (Mark One) x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2023 or o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 Commission file number: 001-40367 BARINTHUS BIOTHERAPEUTICS PLC (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) England and Wales Not Applicable (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) Unit 6-10, Zeus Building Rutherford Avenue Harwell, Didcot , OX11 0DF , United Kingdom (Address of principle executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: +44 (0) 1865 818 808 Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Title of each class Trading Symbol(s) Name of each exchange on which registered American Depositary Shares * BRNS The Nasdaq Global Market Ordinary shares, nominal value £0.000025 per share ** * American Depositary Shares may be evidenced by American Depositary Receipts. Each American Depositary Share represents one (1) ordinary share. ** Not for trading, but only in connection with the listing of American Depositary Shares on The Nasdaq Global Market. Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes o No x Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No x 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 x No o 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 x No o Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. Large accelerated filer o Accelerated filer o Non-accelerated filer x Smaller reporting company x Emerging growth company x 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. o Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. o If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. o Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). o Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes o No x As of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s ordinary shares, nominal value £0.000025 per share, in the form of American Depositary Shares, held by non-affiliates was approximately $ 79.4 million. The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s ordinary shares, nominal value £0.000025 per share, as of March 14, 2024: 38,921,212 shares. DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission relative to the registrant’s 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated by reference into Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Table of Contents BARINTHUS BIOTHERAPEUTICS PLC ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2023 TABLE OF CONTENTS PART I Item 1. Business 8 Item 1A. Risk Factors 54 Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 111 Item 1C. Cybersecurity 112 Item 2 . P roperties 112 Item 3. Legal Proceedings 112 Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures 112 PART II Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities 113 Item 6. [Reserved] 116 Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 116 Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 128 Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 129 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements w ith Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 130 Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 130 Item 9B. Other Information 132 Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections 132 PART III Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 133 Item 11. Executive Compensation 133 Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters 133 Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 133 Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services 133 PART IV Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules 134 Item 16. Form 10-K Summary 137 SIGNATURES 138 2 Table of Contents W e own the registered trademark BARINTHUS in the United Kingdom, and we have filed applications at the UK Intellectual Property Office and other intellectual properties to register trademarks for BARINTHUS , SNAP-TI, SNAP-CI and a design logo globally . We also own various trademark registrations and applications, and unregistered trademarks, including the registered trademark VACCITECH, and trademarks relating to the technologies acquired as part of our acquisition of Avidea Technologies, Inc. in December 2021 including the registered trademarks TRAPD, SNAPVAX and SYNTHOLYTIC . All other trade names, trademarks and service marks of other companies appearing in this Annual Report on Form 10-K ("Annual Report") are the property of their respective holders. Solely for convenience, the trademarks and trade names in this Annual Report may be referred to without the ® and ™ symbols, but such references should not be construed as any indicator that their respective owners will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, their rights thereto. We do not intend to use or display other companies’ trademarks and trade names to imply a relationship with, or endorsement or sponsorship of us by, any other companies. From time to time, we may use our website, our X (formerly known as Twitter) account at @Barinthusbio and our LinkedIn account at linkedin.com/company/barinthus-bio to distribute material information. Our financial and other material information is routinely posted to and accessible on the Investors section of our website, available at www.barinthusbio.com. Investors are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website because we may post material information on that site that is not otherwise disseminated by us. Information that is contained in and can be accessed through our website, our X (formerly known as Twitter) posts and our LinkedIn posts are not incorporated into, and does not form a part of, this Annual Report. 3 Table of Contents SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This Annual Report contains express or implied forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the words “may,” “might,” “will,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “objective,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” “ongoing,” or the negative of these terms, or other comparable terminology intended to identify statements about the future. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and opinions contained in this Annual Report are based upon information available to our management as of the date of this Annual Report and, while we believe such information forms a reasonable basis for such statements, such information may be limited or incomplete, and our statements should not be read to indicate that we have conducted an exhaustive inquiry into, or review of, all potentially available relevant information. Forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report include, but are not limited to, statements about: • the success, cost and timing of our product development activities and clinical trials; • the timing, scope or likelihood of regulatory filings and approvals, including timing of Investigational New Drug Application ("IND") and Biological License Application filings for our current and future product candidates, and final U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), European Medicines Agency ("EMA"), United Kingdom Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency ("MHRA") or other foreign regulatory authority approvals relating to our current and future product candidates; • our ability to develop and advance our current and future product candidates and programs into, and successfully complete, clinical trials; • our ability to establish future or maintain current collaborations or strategic relationships; • the rate and degree of market acceptance and clinical utility of our current and future product candidates; • any expectations surrounding the payments we could potentially receive pursuant to our collaborations and license agreements; • the ability and willingness of our third-party collaborators to continue research and development activities relating to our product candidates; • our ability to obtain, maintain, defend and enforce our intellectual property protection for our product candidates, and the scope of such protection; • our manufacturing, commercialization and marketing capabilities and strategy; • future agreements with third parties in connection with the commercialization of our product candidates, if approved, and any other approved products; • regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries; • competitive companies, technologies and our industry and the success of competing therapies that are or may become available; • our ability to attract and retain key scientific or management personnel; • our ability to obtain funding for our operations, including funding necessary to complete further development and commercialization of our product candidates; • the accuracy of our estimates of our annual total addressable markets, future revenue, expenses, capital requirements and needs for additional financing; • our expectations about market trends; • our ability to anticipate and overcome challenges posed to the conduct of our business in the event of a global pandemic, such as COVID-19, or similar event; 4 Table of Contents • the impact of global economic and political developments on our business, including rising or sustained high inflation and capital market disruptions, the conflict in Ukraine, the conflict in Israel and Gaza, disruptions in the banking industry, economic sanctions and economic slowdowns or recessions that may result from such developments; and • our expectations regarding the period during which we qualify as an emerging growth company under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended ("JOBS Act"). You should refer to the section titled “Risk Factors” for a discussion of important factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by our forward-looking statements. As a result of these factors, we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this Annual Report will prove to be accurate. Furthermore, if our forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by us or any other person that we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. You should read this Annual Report and the documents that we reference in this Annual Report with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect. We qualify all of our forward-looking statements in this Annual Report by these cautionary statements. This Annual Report contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Unless the context otherwise requires, reference in this Annual Report to the terms “Barinthus Bio,” “the Company,” “we,” “us,” “our,” and similar designations refer to Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc and, where appropriate, our wholly-owned subsidiaries. As used herein, all references before November 7, 2023 to (i) Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc shall refer to Vaccitech plc, (ii) Barinthus Biotherapeutics (UK) Limited shall refer to Vaccitech (UK) Limited, (iii) Barinthus Biotherapeutics North America, Inc. ("Barinthus Bio NA") shall refer to Vaccitech North America, Inc., (iv) Barinthus Biotherapeutics Switzerland GmbH shall refer to Vaccitech Switzerland GmbH, (v) Barinthus Biotherapeutics S.R.L. shall refer to Vaccitech Italia S.R.L. and (vi) Barinthus Biotherapeutics Pty Limited shall refer to Vaccitech Australia Pty Limited, after which the name change described herein shall have taken effect. 5 Table of Contents SUMMARY OF THE MATERIAL RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR BUSINESS • We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history. We have incurred significant losses since inception. We expect to incur losses for at least the next several years and may never achieve or maintain profitability. • We have not yet generated any material revenue from our product candidates. • If we engage in further acquisitions or future strategic partnerships, this may increase our capital requirements, dilute our shareholders, cause us to incur debt or assume contingent liabilities, and subject us to other risks. • Our limited operating history may make it difficult for you to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our future viability. • Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our shareholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates. • We will need to raise additional funding, which may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed may force us to delay, limit or terminate our product development efforts or other operations. • We may require substantial additional funding in the future. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, we would be compelled to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts. • Actual payments we may receive in connection with certain milestones or net sales under the AstraZeneca License Agreement may differ from those described in this Annual Report, and there can be no assurance that we will receive any such payments at all. • If we are unable to advance our current or future product candidates into and through clinical trials, obtain marketing approval or reimbursement and ultimately commercialize any product candidates we develop, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed. • Clinical development involves a lengthy and expensive process with uncertain outcomes, and results of earlier preclinical studies and clinical trials may not be predictive of future clinical trial results. We may encounter substantial delays in clinical trials, or may not be able to conduct or complete clinical trials on the expected timelines, if at all. If our preclinical studies and clinical trials are not sufficient to support marketing authorization of any of our product candidates, we may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development of such product candidate. • Interim, “topline,” and preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more participant data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data. • Our product candidates are based on a novel approach to the treatment of cancer, which makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of product candidate development. • Our product candidates may cause serious adverse events, serious side effects or have other properties that could halt their clinical development, prevent their marketing authorization, require expansion of the trial size, limit their commercial potential or result in significant negative consequences. • If we are unable to advance our current or future product candidates into and through clinical trials, obtain marketing approval and ultimately commercialize any product candidates we develop, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed. • The market opportunities for certain of our oncology product candidates may be relatively small as it may be limited to those patients who are ineligible for or have failed prior treatments and our estimates of the prevalence of our target patient populations may be inaccurate. 6 Table of Contents • We may form or seek additional collaborations or strategic alliances or enter into additional licensing arrangements in the future, and we may not realize the benefits of such collaborations, alliances or licensing arrangements. • The marketing authorization processes of the FDA, the EMA, MHRA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities are lengthy, time-consuming and inherently unpredictable, and if we are ultimately unable to obtain marketing authorizations for our product candidates, or the marketing authorization is for a narrower indication than we seek, our business will be substantially harmed. • Even if we receive marketing authorization for our product candidates, we will be subject to ongoing regulatory obligations and continued regulatory review, which may result in significant additional expense and we may be subject to penalties if we fail to comply with regulatory requirements or experience unanticipated problems with our product candidates. • If we are unable to obtain and maintain patent protection for any products we develop and for our technology, or if the scope of the patent protection obtained is not sufficiently broad, our competitors could develop and commercialize products and technology similar or identical to ours, and our ability to successfully commercialize any product candidates we may develop and our technology may be adversely affected. • Our rights to develop and commercialize our technology and product candidates are subject, in part, to the terms and conditions of licenses granted to us by others and if we fail to comply with our current or future obligations in any agreements under which we license intellectual property rights from third parties or otherwise experience disruptions to our business relationships with our licensors, we could lose license rights that are important to our business. • We are highly dependent on our key personnel, and if we are not successful in attracting and retaining highly qualified personnel, we may not be able to successfully implement our business strategy. • We will need to grow the size of our organization and we may experience difficulties in managing this growth. • We previously identified material weaknesses in connection with our internal control over financial reporting. Although we have taken steps to remediate these material weaknesses, we may identify other material weaknesses in the future, which could have a significant adverse effect on our business and the trading price of our ADSs. • If we were classified as a passive foreign investment company, it would result in adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. Holders (as defined below). • A variety of risks associated with operating our business internationally could materially adversely affect our business. • The United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU could increase the regulatory burden of product development and authorization in the United Kingdom and European Union. 7 Table of Contents PART I Item 1. Business Overview We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel T cell immunotherapeutic candidates designed to guide the immune system to overcome chronic infectious diseases, autoimmunity and cancer. Helping patients and their families is the guiding principle at the heart of Barinthus Bio. We stand apart through our broad pipeline, built around four proprietary platform technologies; two viral vector platforms, ChAdOx and MVA; and two versions of the synthetic SNAP platform, SNAP-TI (SNAP-Tolerance Immunotherapy) and SNAP-CI (SNAP-Cancer Immunotherapy), previously referred to collectively as SNAPvax TM . These platforms are enabling us to develop antigen-specific immunotherapeutic candidates designed to optimize the disease-fighting capabilities of T cells and guide them towards a healthy balance. Our immunotherapeutic candidates are designed to work by increasing disease-specific CD8+ T cell activity in the case of chronic infectious diseases and cancers, or by dampening autoreactive CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, and increasing regulatory T cells in autoimmunity. Harnessing our range of proprietary platform technologies, we are advancing a pipeline of four product candidates across a diverse range of therapeutic areas, including: VTP-300, a Phase 2 immunotherapeutic candidate designed as a potential component of a functional cure for chronic hepatitis B viral ("HBV") infection; VTP-200, a Phase 2 non-surgical product candidate for persistent high-risk human papillomavirus ("HPV") with near term clinical read-outs; VTP-1000, our first preclinical autoimmune candidate designed to utilize the SNAP-TI platform to treat patients with celiac disease; and VTP-850, a second-generation Phase 2 immunotherapeutic candidate designed to treat recurrent prostate cancer. Alongside these proprietary programs, we have partnerships in place to advance three additional prophylactic and therapeutic product candidates in Middle East Respiratory Syndrome ("MERS"), Zoster and Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). We also co-invented Vaxzevria, a COVID-19 vaccine with the University of Oxford, which has been exclusively licensed worldwide to AstraZeneca UK Limited ("AstraZeneca"). The co-invention of the COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated our ability to navigate a changing environment with speed and efficiency and lead the way in responding to urgent medical needs, as well as providing a strong proof-of-concept for the ChAdOx platform. We believe our proven scientific expertise, diverse portfolio and focus on product candidate development uniquely positions us to navigate towards delivering treatments for patients with infectious diseases, autoimmune disorders and cancers that have a significant impact on their everyday lives. Scientists have successfully harnessed the strengths of the immune system to prevent and treat diseases using a wide range of approaches over hundreds of years. The most widely known application of such approaches is prophylactic vaccines, which aim to create long-lasting immunity largely via the generation of protective antibodies. More recently, approaches targeting the immune system to treat diseases have emerged with many immunotherapeutics aiming to balance the body’s immune response. These immunotherapeutic approaches can broadly fit into two categories: those that are designed to strengthen the immune system to enable clearance of pathogens and infected or cancerous cells, or those that are designed to dampen the immune system to limit inflammation and tissue damage due to autoimmune hyperactivity or uncontrolled inflammation. A key element of the immune system is specialized white blood cells, also called lymphocytes. B cells and T cells are the two main types of lymphocytes. B cells are responsible for generating antibodies while T cells assist in the clearance of acute and chronic infections, such as HBV and HPV, and are involved in killing cells that become cancerous. Although designed to be protective, these immune cells can also be hyperactive and, when targeted against self, they are responsible for tissue-specific damage in many autoimmune conditions. Over the past three decades, hundreds of trials have examined a wide variety of approaches that induce the production of cytotoxic CD8+ T cells against infected and cancerous cells. These trials have demonstrated that different approaches induce different breadths and magnitudes of immune response. While there have been many successes, certain diseases requiring a robust CD8+ T cell response have remained resistant to existing approaches. Infected or cancerous cells are recognized as a “danger” by the immune system through their expression of specific antigens, which elicit a targeted immune response, largely led by T cells, to eliminate the “danger.” Our platforms are designed to stimulate the production of very high levels of functional T cells, in addition to antibodies, against such antigens. Our approach for the treatment of a disease with known target antigens is to attempt to elicit a strong and specific immune response against these antigens using a combination of two proprietary platforms encoded with the target antigens, each administered one month apart. We employ unique antigen design strategies designed to optimize antigen presentation to the 8 Table of Contents immune system and maximize the desired type of immune response we are seeking to induce. This specific combination approach has been shown to provide a very high magnitude and durable CD8+ T cell response induced in humans to date. Our platforms are further differentiated by their flexibility, applicability across diseases, favorable tolerability profile and proven rapid production on a large scale. Autoimmunity develops when the tolerance checkpoints meant to maintain a state of unresponsiveness of our immune system towards self-antigens are lost. It results in abnormal immune reaction against our own tissues, causing tissue damage and disease. Although the past two decades have seen incredible progress in the treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, current therapies still rely heavily on the use of non-specific immunosuppressive agents and supportive therapies. These may efficiently dampen inflammation and compensate organ dysfunction to some degree, but they require lifelong treatment and their lack of specificity for the pathogenic mechanism only can lead to several, sometimes life-threatening, side effects. A far less aggressive approach is to restore immune tolerance to self-antigens, in an antigen-specific manner, enabling to selectively blunt autoinflammation and control the disease without impairing protective immunity to pathogens and cancer. Our SNAP-TI platform is designed to exactly do that: restore immune tolerance to self. The platform is comprised of several self-antigens involved in the target disease associated with a tolerizing immunomodulator, enabling presentation of the disease antigens in a tolerizing context, which will potentially lead to dampening T cell hyperactivity and/or inducing self-antigen-specific regulatory T cells, whose main function is to control immune responses. We believe SNAP-TI is further differentiated from its competitors by its high antigen loading capacity, controlled size, and self-assembling nature for ease of manufacturing. In 2023, we achieved a number of strategic, operational, and financial objectives, which we believe positions us to deliver on our long-term plans: • In January, we announced the appointment of Nadège Pelletier, Ph.D., as Chief Scientific Officer. • In March, we announced favorable topline interim data from the HPV001 Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of VTP-200 in high risk HPV ("hrHPV") infection, and positive topline final data from the HBV002 Phase 1b/2 clinical trial for VTP-300 in chronic HBV. • In April, we presented interim data from the VTP-200 APOLLO (HPV001) Phase 1b/2 clinical trial in hrHPV infection at the 35 th Annual International Papillomavirus Conference ("IPVC"). The interim data showed VTP-200 induced high T cell responses to HPV antigens. VTP-200 was generally well-tolerated with no product-related grade 3 unsolicited events and no product-related SAE s. • In June, we announced the dosing of the first patient in the Phase 1/2 PCA001 clinical trial for VTP-850 in prostate cancer. • In June, we presented positive final data from the Phase 1b/2a HBV002 clinical trial for VTP-300 in chronic Hepatitis B (CHB) at the European Association for the Study of the Liver ("EASL") Congress 2023 – The International Liver Congress TM . The data showed meaningful, durable reductions of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) in all participants with a >0.5 log10 reduction in HBsAg who received VTP-300 alone (Group 2) or in combination with a single administration of low-dose PD-1 inhibitor, nivolumab (Group 3). Two of five patients with baseline HBsAg below 100 IU/mL in Group 3, developed a non-detectable HBsAg level, which continued eight months after last dose. • In June, we completed the move of our U.S. facility to Germantown, Maryland, which houses a state-of-the art wet laboratory and office space. • In November, we announced our renaming as Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc to represent the evolution and expansion of its focus beyond vaccines. As part of the renaming, we announced the ticker on Nasdaq was changed to "BRNS," which became effective on November 7, 2023. • In November, we conducted an oral presentation of interim data from the Phase 2b HBV003 clinical trial for VTP-300 in CHB at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases ("AASLD") – The Liver Meeting ® 2023, which indicated that VTP-300 in combination with nivolumab continued to show sustained HBsAg reductions, particularly in patients with HBsAg levels below or equal to 200 IU/mL at screening. • In November, interim data from the Phase 2a AB-729-202 clinical trial in collaboration with Arbutus Biopharma Corporation in CHB patients were presented via poster presentation at AASLD, showing that imdusiran in combination with VTP-300 demonstrated meaningful and sustained declines in HBsAg levels. • In December, we announced we signed an agreement with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations ("CEPI") and the University of Oxford, aiming to fast-track the development of a vaccine candidate known as 9 Table of Contents VTP-500 for the prevention of MERS. This agreement includes CEPI investing funding of up to $34.8 million with Barinthus Biotherapeutics (UK) Limited in addition to funds previously committed to the University of Oxford to develop and stockpile a ready reserve of emergency MERS vaccine candidate, VTP-500. • In December 2023, we submitted an Australian ethics submission and regulatory notification to the Alfred Research Review Committee for the Phase 1 GLU001 study in Celiac disease. The Key Elements of Our Antigen-Delivery Platforms Our proprietary platforms are comprised of several components that are designed to be either immunostimulatory or tolerizing. When combined, our immunomodulatory platforms (ChAdOx, MVA and SNAP-CI) allow us to develop product candidates designed to induce high and durable levels of antigen-specific polyfunctional T cells and B cells to prevent and treat infectious diseases and cancer. Our tolerizing platform (SNAP-TI) is designed to restore immune tolerance by a mechanism of action that includes the induction of regulatory T cells and/or decrease of T cell activation to specifically restore a beneficial T regulatory to T effector ratio and control autoreactive immune cell hyperactivity, while maintaining the desired tolerability profile. The key elements of our viral vector platforms, which include ChAdOx and MVA, are: • Proprietary simian vectors : ChAdOx1 and ChAdOx2 are modified simian adenoviral vectors which deliver target antigens into cells to generate a specific immune response. These viruses were originally isolated from chimpanzees to avoid pre-existing immunity issues affecting the use of human adenovirus vectors. Researchers at the Jenner Institute modified the ChAdOx viruses to be non-replicating and to have an increased antigen-carrying capacity. To date, we have developed several candidates with the ChAdOx vectors, each carrying antigens that are specific to the targeted pathogens and diseases. Adenoviral vectors have demonstrable safety profiles and have induced the desired immune responses in all age groups evaluated to date. • Well-validated follow-up vector : MVA is a highly attenuated vaccinia virus used to deliver target antigens into cells to generate de novo or amplify an existing immune response. MVA has a large antigen-carrying capacity and generates a particularly strong immune response when used secondarily, in sequential combination, to an alternative viral vector carrying the same antigen load (ChAdOx in this case). MVA is replication-deficient and has a well-documented safety profile in hundreds of thousands of people, and is licensed as a smallpox vaccine in both Europe and the US. • Proprietary promoters and enhancers: Promoters and molecular enhancers are genetic codes that influence antigen expression. For our adenoviral vectors, we use a proprietary promoter that is modified from cytomegalovirus. The use of this modified promoter has been shown to increase both antigen expression and the associated immune response. For our MVA vector, we use a proprietary promoter to control expression of recombinant antigens and thereby further enhance T cell induction levels. We may use molecular adjuvants to enhance the CD8+ T cell response. • Rapid vector generation and manufacturing : We employ manipulation of adenovirus genomes to enable rapid generation of recombinant adenoviral vectors to meet GMP standards. We believe our sequencing techniques have the potential to result in safer, more stable, product candidates. We believe that our adenovirus product candidates can be manufactured quickly and to significant scale, as demonstrated by Vaxzevria, a prophylactic vaccine for the prevention of COVID-19 infection. Vaxzevria, which is based on the ChAdOx1 vector, was designed, constructed and manufactured for human use within three months. Normal GMP production processes typically take six to ten months each for adenovirus and for MVA. The key elements of our synthetic platforms, which include SNAP-TI and SNAP-CI, are: • Synthetic nanoparticle technology: SNAP is a modular immunotherapy platform that is designed to co-deliver multiple targeted peptide antigens and immunomodulators in self-assembling nanoparticles to key immune cell populations for promoting the appropriate T cell immunity. SNAP’s unique design allows for trafficking to lymphoid organs and local tissues to engage with local immunity. The large antigen loading capacity is designed to allow for subcutaneous or intramuscular administration. It can be administered as a monotherapy or in combination with the viral vectors. Its synthetic nature allows for repeated administration. 10 Table of Contents • SNAP-TI : has shown promising data on protection from disease in a mouse model of autoimmunity. We are advancing assets based on the SNAP-TI platform designed to treat autoimmune diseases with known autoantigens. SNAP-TI contains autoantigens and immunomodulators ( e.g. , mTOR inhibitors). Its putative mechanism of action includes both dampening of pathogenic T effector activity and induction of regulatory T cells, crucial to restore immune tolerance to self-antigens and maximize therapeutic benefit. • SNAP-CI : An article in Nature Biotechnology described SNAP as among the most efficient immunotherapy platforms for inducing T cell immunity reported to date. Another article in Nature Biotechnology reported that SNAP enabled repeated intravenous ("IV") administration to maximize clinical effect. SNAP-CI has been observed to induce high magnitude, functional CD8+ T cells, especially when given sequentially with ChAdOx1 in preclinical studies in mice and non-human primates. It contains cancer-specific antigens and immunomodulator ( e.g ., Toll-like receptor agonists). Antigen selection and design across all platforms : We select full-length and/or subunit antigen sequences involved in or associated with targeted infectious diseases, autoimmune diseases, or cancer. We employ unique antigen design strategies to optimize in vivo antigen presentation and maximize the desired type of immune responses while maintaining the desired tolerability profile. For example, some targeted diseases may require a greater CD8+ T cell-mediated response, whereas others may require a more balanced T and B cell response, and others require the induction of regulatory T cells. We use cutting-edge bioinformatics methods to design and optimize our antigen load. For example, to select antigen targets for pathogens, we use databases to rank options based on factors including global distribution of genetic strains, evolutionary competitive advantage, known pathogenicity and sequence upload bias; and design our final antigens to achieve maximal antigen presenting cell processing to elicit CD8+ T cells. We have several product candidates in our pipeline focusing on infectious diseases, oncology and immune tolerance. Our Proprietary Pipeline: The chart below provides key information about our programs. We have worldwide rights for all product candidates. These are estimated timelines only and are subject to change. Our Partnered Pipeline: 11 Table of Contents VTP-300: An Immunotherapeutic Targeting Chronic HBV Infection VTP-300 is composed of two viral vectors (ChAdOx and MVA), both encoding the same antigen sequence based on HBV genotype C antigen sequences that are administered intramuscularly one month apart, with the potential for additional administrations subsequently, depending upon outcome. HBV002 – Completed Phase 1b/2a In March 2023, we announced topline results from the Phase 1b/2a clinical trial, HBV002, to evaluate the safety and reactogenicity of VTP-300 with or without a low-dose (0.3 mg/kg) anti-PD-1 (nivolumab) in CHB patients whose infection has been suppressed with oral antiviral medication. In the HBV002 trial, we enrolled CHB patients in four treatment groups as described in the table below. Since the participants were already infected with HBV, we thought it was possible that natural exposure could eliminate the need for the an initial ChAdOx1 dose. Hence, Group 1 of the HBV002 trial was designed to compare MVA-HBV given twice with the ChAdOx1-HBV plus MVA-HBV combination approach used in Group 2. We expected that the regimen given to Group 2 would be more potent and planned to further explore this specific regimen in Groups 3 and 4 with the addition of PD1 blockade. In the cancer field, the timing of PD-1 blockade has been reported to be critical as its administration prior to immune stimulation has been observed to result in diminished T cell responses as compared to later administration. Hence, Groups 3 and 4 evaluated the impact of the timing of PD1 blockade, administered either with the MVA dose (Group 3) or with both the ChAdOx1 and the MVA doses (Group 4). Nivolumab has been used in earlier immunotherapy trials at 1/10 the licensed dose for oncology indications and has been shown to give full peripheral blood T cell receptor occupancy for up to over one month. The secondary objectives of this study were to evaluate the HBV-specific T cell response and the effect on the levels of hepatitis B markers, including HBsAg, hepatitis B surface antibody seroconversion, HBV DNA and HBeAg. The majority 12 Table of Contents of the patients were recruited in Taiwan and South Korea and these territories were selected due to the high prevalence of HBV genotype C virus in Asia. Patients were also enrolled in the United Kingdom. An interim analysis of HBV002 was conducted in November 2021, after which the protocol was amended to stop enrollment in cohorts 1 and 4 as no meaningful T cell responses nor meaningful reduction of HBsAg were observed with these regimen. Enrollment continued in the cohort receiving VTP-300 as a monotherapy (Group 2) and the cohort receiving VTP-300 with a single low dose of nivolumab administered with the MVA dose (Group 3). EASL Poster to Present Final Analysis of Safety and Efficacy Data from the HBV002 Study In June 2023, we announced final safety and efficacy data from the HBV002 study (NCT04778904), which was presented as a poster at the EASL Congress 2023 – The International Liver Congress TM . In the HBV002 study, 55 participants were randomized into four groups to receive combinations of VTP-300 and low-dose nivolumab, with follow-up for eight months post-final dose. VTP-300 as monotherapy and in combination with low-dose nivolumab was administered with no treatment-related serious adverse events. As reported previously, two out of 55 participants experienced transient transaminase flares. Both incidents occurred in participants with HBsAg declines, but not in any of the participants who cleared HBsAg (<0.05 IU/mL). Group 2 Meaningful, durable reductions of HBsAg were seen in Group 2 (receiving VTP-300 monotherapy, N=18). Three participants had 0.7, 0.7, and 1.4 log10 declines two months post-final dose, with durable responses continuing eight months post-final dose. These participants all had baseline HBsAg <50 IU/mL. A robust T cell response was generated and was highest in this group and there was a relation demonstrated between ELISpot response and HBsAg decline. Group 3 Those in Group 3 received VTP-300 followed by a single low dose of nivolumab together with Modified Vaccinia Ankara (MVA)-HBV (N=18). Two months post-final dose, the mean reduction in HBsAg was 0.76 log10 (p<0.001). This effect persisted with a mean decline of 0.98 log10 at eight months (p<0.001) after the last dose and was most prominent with starting values HBsAg <1,000 IU/mL. Two participants developed non-detectable HBsAg levels, which continued eight months after last dose. Pre-genomic RNA levels were observed to decrease significantly in the majority of participants in this group only, consistent with the decline in HBsAg levels. Groups 1 and 4 No meaningful reductions in HBsAg were observed in Group 1, in which participants received two doses of MVA-HBV without ChAdOx1-HBV, or in Group 4, in which participants received low-dose nivolumab with both doses of VTP-300. These groups were discontinued following interim analysis, as previously announced in June 2022. Importantly, VTP-300, based on HBV genotype C sequences, was observed to lead to a decline in HBsAg in both genotype B- and C-infected CHB patients. Additionally, T cell responses to HBV core protein induced by VTP-300 in healthy subjects were shown to cross-react with other prevalent genotypes (A to E). Together, these results highlighted that T cell responses induced by VTP-300, based on genotype C, were cross-reactive to other common HBV genotypes. 13 Table of Contents HBV003 – Ongoing Phase 2b HBV003 is designed to obtain critical information on treatment dosing regimen with patients receiving VTP-300 and low-dose nivolumab. Our first patient was dosed in October 2022. In the HBV003 trial, we are enrolling CHB patients in three treatment groups as described in the table below. The study design directly builds from HBV002 to evaluate PD-1 inhibition timing, and includes criteria for discontinuation of standard-of-care nucleos(t)ide reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NUC) to obtain information on the durability of the response in the absence of treatment. AASLD Oral Presentation on Interim Data from the HBV003 Study In November 2023, we announced interim data from HBV003 (NCT05343481) as of October 10, 2023, which was presented as an oral presentation at The AASLD – The Liver Meeting® 2023. Seventy-four out of a planned 120 virally suppressed CHB patients on stable NUC therapy had been enrolled in the trial and 57 had reached Day 113. VTP-300 in combination with nivolumab led to HBsAg declines in all treatment groups, particularly in participants with screening HBsAg levels ≤200 IU/mL. >0.5 and >1 log drops were observed in all groups at Day 113 in 23% and 9% of participants, respectively. Participants with an HBsAg level of ≤200 IU/mL at screening were more likely to have >1 log HBsAg reductions (31%) compared to those with HBsAg levels >200 IU/mL at Day 1 (2%). Greater mean HBsAg log reductions were observed in Group 2 (ChAdOx-HBV Day 1; MVA-HBV and nivolumab Day 29 and Day 85) but insufficient data were available for a definitive conclusion. Seven participants had met the criteria for NUC discontinuation; three had discontinued and two had restarted NUC therapy. One remained off NUC therapy at the time of analysis, retaining undetectable HBsAg 16 weeks post-NUC discontinuation. Preliminary safety data suggested that VTP-300 in combination with nivolumab was generally well tolerated, with no treatment-related SAEs observed or reported. Thyroid dysfunction was reported in seven participants attributed to nivolumab administration which had returned to normal in four patients. We observed the highest rate of response in participants with screening HBsAg ≤200 IU/mL in the preliminary data. The HBV003 trial protocol has since been amended to include only participants with screening HBsAg ≤200 IU/mL and people with thyroid autoantibodies, family history of autoimmune thyroiditis, or abnormal thyroid levels have been excluded from trial eligibility to minimize the risk of thyroiditis and improve the overall risk/benefit ratio. 14 Table of Contents AB-729-202 – Ongoing Phase 2a in collaboration with Arbutus Biopharma Corporation AB-729-202 is an ongoing Phase 2a clinical trial in collaboration with Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (NASDAQ: ABUS) to evaluate Arbutus’ RNAi therapeutic candidate, imdusiran or AB-729, in combination with VTP-300 for the treatment of patients with chronic HBV infection. The clinical trial is designed to evaluate whether decreasing HBsAg levels with imdusiran prior to VTP-300 treatment, leads to a more sustained HBsAg reduction over treatment with imdusiran alone for CHB patients. Primary endpoints are evaluating the safety, antiviral activity and immunogenicity of VTP-300 administered after AB-729. The trial is designed to enroll 60 CHB patients as shown in the table below. All patients receive imdusiran (60mg every 8 weeks) plus NUC therapy for 24 weeks. At week 24, treatment with AB-729 stops and patients are randomized to receive either placebo (Group B) or VTP-300 (Groups A & C) at week 26 and 30 (and conditionally at week 38 if they experienced a >0.5log10 decline in HBsAg between week 26 and 34). Group C receives in addition low dose nivolumab together with their MVA dose. At week 48 all participants are evaluated for eligibility to either discontinue or remain on NUC therapy. AASLD Poster Presentation on Interim Data from the AB-729-202 Study On November 9, 2023, we announced interim data from the AB-729-202 trial (ACTRN12622000317796) as of October 13, 2023, which was presented as a late-breaking poster presentation at AASLD. The preliminary data included a subset of patients from groups A and B (28/40 patients) and available follow-up data to week 48 (12/40 patients) and showed that robust reductions of HBsAg were observed during the imdusiran treatment period (-1.86 log10 mean reduction from baseline after 24 weeks of treatment). This decline in HBsAg was comparable to the declines seen with imdusiran in other clinical trials conducted to date. 97% of the imdusiran treated patients (33/34) had HBsAg <100 IU/mL at the time of the first VTP-300/placebo dose. VTP-300 treatment appeared to contribute to the maintenance of low HBsAg levels in the early post-treatment period, as the mean HBsAg levels in the placebo group began to increase starting approximately 12 weeks after the last dose of imdusiran. All VTP-300 treated patients, with available follow-up data to week 48, maintained HBsAg <100 IU/mL through week 48, 60% have maintained HBsAg <10 IU/mL, and all qualified to stop NUC therapy. Preliminary immunology data for those patients through to week 48 for which samples met the quality threshold and were available to be analyzed, suggested HBV-specific T cell IFN-γ production was enhanced in patients receiving imdusiran plus VTP-300 compared to placebo. The preliminary safety data from this trial demonstrated that imdusiran and VTP-300 were both generally well-tolerated. As of October 12, 2023, there were no serious adverse events, Grade 3 or 4 adverse events or treatment discontinuations. 15 Table of Contents We believe that the interim analysis from the HBV003 Phase 2b and the AB-729-202 Phase 2a studies suggest that VTP-300 could become part of a regimen that can attain a functional cure. Future Development We expect to announce interim efficacy data from both the HBV003 study and the AB-729-202 combination study with Arbutus in the second quarter of 2024. VTP-200: Developing a Potential Non-Invasive Treatment for Persistent High-Risk HPV We are developing VTP-200 as a potential curative treatment for persistent hrHPV infection and associated pre-cancerous lesions. An estimated 291 million women worldwide are carriers of HPV DNA, which can progress to pre-cancerous cervical lesions if untreated. Enrollment in our Phase 1b/2 APOLLO (HPV001) clinical trial of VTP-200, (NCT04607850), was completed in December 2022 and the last visit of the final patient to the clinic was in January 2024. VTP-200 is composed of two viral vectors (ChAdOx1 and MVA), both encoding the same HPV antigens ( i.e. ,: E1, E2, E4, E5, E6, E7), designed to elicit an antigen-specific T cell immune response to HPV. Both vectors are administered intramuscularly and sequentially, one month apart. Clinical Development Our Phase 1b/2 APOLLO trial is designed to assess the safety and efficacy of VTP-200 and determine the optimal dosing regimen. We have enrolled a total of 108 healthy women with low grade lesions who had persistent hrHPV for at least six months. Patients with high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions ("HSIL") or early cancer were excluded. The trial was run in the United Kingdom and the European Union. The diagram below provides an overview of the Phase 1b/2 clinical trial design. 16 Table of Contents The primary objective of the trial is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of VTP-200. The secondary objectives of the trial are to determine the optimal dose and to evaluate the efficacy of HPV001 on the clearance of hrHPV infection and on the cervical intraepithelial neoplasia ("CIN"). We announced the topline initial interim safety and immunogenicity data of 58 patients in the main phase of the trial that reached their six-month evaluation timepoint in April 2023, and presented a poster at the 35th IPVC. IPVC Poster Presentation on Interim Data from the APOLLO (HPV001) Trial The poster presentation in April 2023 showed interim data for 42 women at Day 35, 7 days after the MVA dose of VTP-200, split by active treatment versus placebo. VTP-200 was generally well-tolerated and was administered with no product-related grade 3 unsolicited adverse events and no product-related SAEs. While the placebo group showed no antigen-specific T cell responses as measured by IFNg ELISpot, 26 of 29 women receiving varying doses of VTP-200 showed a response. The pooled active groups showed meaningful responses, with the average being greater than 1,000 spot-forming units per million peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Responses were strongest to the E1, E2 and E6 antigens. In addition, intracellular cytokine staining data from the active groups showed both CD4+ and CD8+ responses. Future Development We expect to announce full data from the APOLLO trial at the beginning of the second quarter of 2024. Following the HPV001 Phase 1b/2 clinical trial, if successful, we intend to review options to initiate further clinical trials of VTP-200, whether that is directly funded by the company or through external parties via partnerships, collaborations or grant funding. Our next trials would potentially be a Phase 2/3 trial in healthy women with early grade CIN (squamous intraepithelial lesions ("LSIL")) and additional trials in patients with more advanced CIN, vulval intraepithelial neoplasia, or VIN, and anal intraepithelial neoplasia ("AIN"). VTP-850: Our Next-Generation Immunotherapeutic Candidate for Prostate Cancer We are developing VTP-850, our next-generation prostate cancer product candidate, to improve upon VTP-800. Both VTP-800 and VTP-850 are composed of two viral vectors (ChAdOx1 and MVA, both encoding the same antigen sequences); however, VTP-800 encodes only one antigen, 5T4, while VTP-850 encodes four antigens, PSA, PAP, STEAP1 and 5T4. We designed VTP-850 to induce a broader immune response by encoding multiple antigens to reduce the ability of cancer cells to evade the immune response by mutating or losing expression of any one antigen. The antigens we encode in VTP-850 are expressed in most prostate cancers but have little or no expression on healthy tissues other than prostate. Clinical Development Phase 1 (VANCE) and Phase 2 (ADVANCE) clinical trials of VTP-800 were sponsored and conducted by the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. VTP-800 was generally well tolerated in both studies, with no treatment-related serious adverse events reported in VANCE or ADVANCE. One grade 3 adverse event was reported in ADVANCE (chest infection), which was deemed not related to study drug. There were no grade 4 or 5 treatment-related adverse events. 17 Table of Contents VANCE was a first-in-human, open label, randomized, Phase 1 clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and immunological response of VTP-800 with and without low dose cyclophosphamide in localized prostate cancer. Thirty-nine patients with early stage localized, castration-sensitive prostate cancer were treated. Thirty-three patients received sequential administration of ChAdOx1-5T4 and MVA-5T4, one month apart, while six patients received MVA-5T4 alone. Patients received both regimens alone or with cyclophosphamide preconditioning. VTP-800 was generally well tolerated, with side effects of local injection site pain, fatigue, feverishness, and myalgia, which are consistent with those observed for these vectors in other clinical trials. There were no reported treatment-related serious adverse events. Data showed that 59% of participants had no detectable T cell response at baseline and developed a 5T4-specific T cell response de novo. Two patients had a baseline response, and the frequency of 5T4-specific T cells was observed to increase following administration. T cell infiltration into the resected prostate was also observed. ADVANCE was an open-label, non-randomized Phase 2 clinical trial of VTP-800 in combination with anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor, nivolumab, in 23 patients with metastatic prostate cancer. The primary objectives of the ADVANCE trial were to assess the safety and response rate of VTP-800 when administered in combination with nivolumab. The secondary objectives were to assess the immune responses in peripheral blood and to evaluate radiographic progression-free survival and overall survival. Patients received sequential administration of ChAdOx1-5T4 followed by MVA-5T4 one month later. Nivolumab was administered at months one, two and three. In most patients, VTP-800 was also given at months three and four. All patients received 2.5 x 10˄10 vp of ChAdOx1-5T4, 2.0 x 10˄10 pfu of MVA-5T4 and 480mg of nivolumab. VTP-800 was generally well tolerated. The most common treatment emergent adverse events were bone pain, injection site pain, muscle pain, stomatitis, and constipation, and most were mild and grade 1 or 2. The only grade 3 adverse event was a chest infection, which was not related to study drug. There were no grade 4 or 5 treatment-related adverse events. Data showed that three of eight patients with measurable disease had partial tumor responses. Five of 23, or 22%, of enrolled patients had greater than 50% reduction of prostate specific antigen ("PSA") at any timepoint. PSA Reduction in Patients from ADVANCE Phase 2 Clinical Trial In June 2023, we dosed our first patient with VTP-850 in PCA001, an ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial designed to determine the recommended Phase 2 regimen and evaluate the safety, efficacy, as measured by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response, and induced T cell response of VTP-850 monotherapy in men with rising PSA after definitive local therapy for their disease (i.e., biochemical recurrence). PCA001 builds on the previous promising data from the University of Oxford Phase 1 VANCE and Phase 1/2 ADVANCE clinical trials of VTP-800. The trial involves a Phase 1 lead-in dose finding stage testing 2 doses of ChAdOx-PCA with follow-up MVA-PCA dose administered either intramuscularly or intravenously to determine the Phase 2 recommended dose and route of administration, followed by a two-stage expansion Phase 2 to evaluate immunogenicity and anti-tumor activity of VTP-850. The diagram below provides an overview of the Phase 1/2 clinical trial design for PCA001. 18 Table of Contents The first phase of the trial is enrolling participants in the US. Future Development We expect to announce futility data from the lead-in phase of PCA001 in 2025, which will allow us to determine how we will progress with the PCA001 trial. VTP-1000: Antigen-specific Tolerizing Immunotherapy Candidate for Celiac Disease Patients with celiac disease have an unwanted immune response against gluten proteins and can become severely ill following exposure to gluten found in various cereal grains, especially wheat. VTP-1000 is a tolerizing immunotherapy candidate that is designed to restore tolerance and suppress the unwanted immune response to gluten by restoring a beneficial T regulatory to T effector ratio. It is based on SNAP-TI and comprises multiple gluten antigens (representing the key antigens linked to celiac disease) and an immunomodulator co-delivered in nanoparticles of precise size and composition that are optimized to target the appropriate immune cells. The immunomodulator is a key component of VTP-1000 and is intended to drive Treg expansion and prevent proinflammatory responses. Status and Future Development VTP-1000 is currently in preclinical development. We submitted a filing to an Australian Research Ethics Committee and received approval for the study to proceed in the first quarter of 2024. This application process will now be completed with a Clinical Trial Notification to the Australian Regulatory Authorities. We also intend to file an IND with the FDA, and initiate the Phase 1 clinical trial in the second quarter of 2024. We intend for the trials to be run in Australia and/or the U.S. We plan to include pharmacodynamic analysis as part of the Phase 1 study to provide an indication that the immunotherapy is inducing Tregs and/or decreasing Teffectors. Importantly, we also intend to include a controlled gluten challenge in the Phase 1 study to assess as an early signal whether VTP-1000 suppresses pathological response to gluten ingestion. As VTP-1000 is our first product candidate directed towards the treatment of an inflammatory disease, we believe demonstration of Treg induction and/or suppression of unwanted immune responses to gluten would pave the way for other therapeutic candidates based on SNAP-TI, including those for alternative autoimmune indications. VTP-600: Our Immunotherapeutic Candidate Targeting MAGE-A3 and NY-ESO1 Antigens We are developing VTP-600, our immunotherapy candidate encoding the tumor-associated antigens MAGE-A3 and NY-ESO1, initially as a potential first line treatment of NSCLC in combination with standard of care treatment, chemotherapy and pembrolizumab. Lung cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis and cause of cancer death worldwide, with 85% of cases classified as NSCLC. About 25% to 30% of NSCLC patients have squamous histology and the remainder have non-squamous histology. MAGE-A3 is expressed in 48% of squamous NSCLC and 24% of non- squamous NSCLC. NY-ESO1 has been shown to have an expression rate of 27% across all NSCLC types. We initiated a first-in-human Phase 1/2a trial in the first quarter of 2022, in collaboration with Cancer Research UK ("CRUK"), which is sponsoring and funding this study. 19 Table of Contents VTP-500: A Prophylactic Vaccine Candidate to Prevent MERS We are developing VTP-500 as a vaccine product candidate to prevent infection and subsequent disease caused by the MERS coronavirus. Although human-to-human transmission appears to be rare, MERS coronavirus has the potential to cause epidemics, infecting hundreds of thousands of people and causing significant morbidity and mortality in 34% of infected individuals. Clinical efficacy trials to prevent MERS are challenging to execute due to the sporadic nature of infection, however studies have demonstrated positive Phase 1 safety and immunogenicity data. In November 2021, VTP-500 results from the Saudi Arabia Phase 1 study were published in The Lancet Microbe. The Phase 1 data showed that VTP-500 was generally well tolerated in patients, and further development of the product candidate is planned by our non-exclusive licensee, the University of Oxford. On December 21, 2023, we announced a project with the CEPI and the University of Oxford, aiming to fast-track the development of VTP-500 for the prevention of MERS. The project includes CEPI contributing funding of up to $34.8 million to Barinthus Bio, in addition to funds previously committed to the University of Oxford to develop and stockpile a ready reserve of emergency MERS vaccine candidate, VTP-500. Due to VTP-500’s potential in significantly addressing the unmet need for MERS, the EMA confirmed support for the program through PRIME designation in December 2023. The EMA’s PRIME designation enhances support for the development of medicines that target an unmet medical need, offering early and proactive support to medicine developers to optimize the generation of robust data on a medicine's benefits and risks and enable accelerated assessment of medicines applications. VTP-400: A Prophylactic Vaccine Candidate for Shingles VTP-400 is our vaccine candidate in development to prevent shingles in adults aged 50 years and older. There are an estimated 140 million cases globally of shingles each year, which can result in significant post-infection pain, known as post-herpetic neuralgia, or even death. Our regional partner in China and Southeast Asia, CanSino, initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial of VTP-400 in Canada in November 2023 to evaluate both T cell-mediated and B cell-mediated immune responses resulting from VTP-400. Vaxzevria: A Prophylactic Vaccine for the Prevention of COVID-19 Infection The speed of the development of Vaxzevria (formerly VTP-900 and AZD1222) for the prevention of COVID-19, which entered the clinic within three months from initial antigen design, demonstrated that our ChAdOx platform positions us well to develop future products, if approved, rapidly. We co-invented VTP-900 in partnership with the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute, which we assigned to Oxford University Innovation (OUI) to facilitate the licensing of those rights by OUI to AstraZeneca. As of November 2022, more than 3 billion doses of Vaxzevria have been supplied across 180 countries globally. It has been estimated that over 6 million lives have been saved worldwide, and between 37.7 and 122.4 million hospitalizations were prevented. We are eligible to receive a share of royalties and other revenue received by OUI pursuant to its agreement with AstraZeneca for Vaxzevria. There is no guarantee that further payments will be received pursuant to the agreement in the future and, if such payments are made, that we will be notified of such payments in a timely manner. Our History and Team We were founded in May 2016 as a spin-out from a leading institution in the United Kingdom, the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford, with the aim of developing and commercializing innovative immunotherapeutics and vaccines to treat and prevent infectious diseases and cancer. The ChAdOx1 and MVA platforms use technologies that were developed at the Jenner Institute over 15 years and through clinical trials involving thousands of participants. Our scientific founders, Professor Adrian Hill KBE, FRCP, FRS and Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert DBE, are leaders in the fields of infectious diseases, immunology, vaccine development and viral vectors. Professor Hill is the founding Director of the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford and is also the Lakshmi Mittal and Family Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford. Professor Gilbert is Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford and leads programs on the development of vaccines against multiple emerging viral pathogens as well as research into vaccine manufacturing. She was the Oxford Project Lead for the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine project. Our strategic trajectory has grown with the acquisition of Avidea Technologies, Inc. ("Avidea") and the SNAP platform in 2021, expanding our product candidate pipeline and strengthening our scientific leadership in immunotherapies and the autoimmune space. 20 Table of Contents We have assembled a management team with extensive expertise in building and operating biopharmaceutical organizations that have discovered, developed and delivered innovative medicines to patients. Our management team has broad experience and successful track records in biopharmaceutical drug discovery, clinical development, regulatory affairs, manufacturing and commercialization, as well as in business, operations, and finance. Our management team’s experience was gained at leading institutions that include Agalimmune, Altimmune, Ernst & Young, GenVec, Merck-Serono, Novartis and Roche. Our board of directors has extensive expertise in the fields of science, business, and finance. Our scientific advisory board ("SAB") works with our management team in the planning and development of scientific, clinical, and research and development initiatives and strategies. The SAB is composed of scientific and clinical thought leaders in the fields of immunotherapy, vaccine development, immunology, infectious diseases, immunotolerance and oncology. Our Collaboration and License Agreements 2016 License Agreement with OUI In March 2016, we entered into a license agreement ("the 2016 OUI License Agreement") (as amended in January 2019 and April 2020), with OUI (previously known as Isis Innovation Limited) for the development and commercialization of vaccines for influenza, cancer (including therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines and including cancer associated with viral infections), varicella zoster and MERS. We refer to these areas together as the “Field.” Pursuant to the 2016 OUI License Agreement, OUI granted us a worldwide license under certain patent rights of OUI, including rights related to the use of ChAdOx1, ChAdOx2, adenoviral and MVA promoters and influenza product candidates, among other rights (the "2016 Licensed Technology") to develop, manufacture, use and commercialize licensed products. The rights are exclusive in certain fields and non-exclusive in others. Our license to certain patents and applications relating to certain adenoviral vectors encoding a pathogen or tumor antigen and certain pox virus expression systems is exclusive within the Field, non- exclusive in all other fields, and excludes veterinary applications. Our license to certain patents and applications relating to certain compositions and methods is exclusive in all fields and excludes veterinary applications. Our license for the use of the ChAdOx1 vector under certain patents and applications relating to certain simian adenovirus and hybrid adenoviral vectors is exclusive in the Field, non-exclusive in all other fields, and excludes veterinary applications (apart from MERS) and certain specified indications. Furthermore, our license with respect to the use of the ChAdOx2 vector under certain patents and applications relating to certain adenoviral vectors is exclusive in certain vaccine-related fields, non- exclusive in all other fields, and excludes all veterinary applications (apart from MERS) and certain other specified indications. In addition, we also obtained a license to certain clinical data generated from OUI projects and related confidential know-how to develop, manufacture, use and commercialize licensed products, and such license is exclusive in the Field, other than with respect to know-how related to ChAdOx2, which is licensed non-exclusively. The 2016 Licensed Technology is sublicensable subject to obtaining OUI’s prior written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) and inclusion in any sublicense agreement of restrictions on further sub-licensing, among other terms and conditions. Pursuant to the 2016 OUI License Agreement, all intellectual property rights resulting from improvements made prior to the second anniversary of the agreement (i) to the licensed patent rights by the inventor belong to OUI, and (ii) to the 2016 Licensed Technology by us belong to us. OUI retains the right for the University of Oxford and any person who works or has worked on the 2016 Licensed Technology to use the 2016 Licensed Technology, as well as any improvements that we made to that technology during the first two years of the license, for education, research and limited clinical patient care. Furthermore, the University of Oxford may publish the 2016 Licensed Technology and those improvements without our consent provided that they have first given us advance notice and delayed the publication if necessary for us to obtain patent protection. In addition, OUI retains the right to grant academic and research licenses to any third parties under the 2016 Licensed Technology to encourage basic research for education and limited clinical patient care but may not grant licenses for commercialization of the 2016 Licensed Technology that is exclusively licensed to us, nor for development or marketing or products or services that are produced or supplied using the 2016 Licensed Technology. Upon execution of the 2016 OUI License Agreement, we paid OUI a one-time upfront fee of £100,000. We are obligated to pay OUI a low single-digit royalty (that varies based on the indication) on net sales of any product or process produced by or using the 2016 Licensed Technology. If we sublicense the 2016 Licensed Technology, we will be required to pay OUI a mid-single-digit royalty on any royalties paid to us by the sublicensee and a high single-digit royalty on non-royalty sublicensing income (excluding milestone payment income overlapping with milestone payments paid to OUI and income used to fund research and development). In the event that the royalties (excluding the royalty on sublicensing income) owed to OUI do not amount to a specified minimum ranging from the mid five figures to low six figures based on the 21 Table of Contents license year in each year following March 2020, we must also pay OUI the difference between the royalty paid and the applicable minimum sum payable. In addition, we are required to pay OUI milestone payments of up to an aggregate of £14.8 million upon the achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercial milestones. Unless earlier terminated, the 2016 OUI License Agreement will continue until the later of the expiration of the last claim of a licensed patent or 20 years from the date of the agreement. The last patent under the 2016 OUI License Agreement, if granted, is expected to expire in November 2039, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments. Either party may terminate for the uncured breach of the other party. We may terminate the agreement at any time upon three months’ prior written notice. OUI may terminate the agreement upon us filing for bankruptcy or in the event of liquidation or receivership proceedings, or upon 30 days’ prior written notice upon the occurrence of certain other events. Upon termination of the 2016 OUI License Agreement, we are required to, among other things, grant to OUI an irrevocable, transferable, non-exclusive license to develop, make and use any improvements to the 2016 Licensed Technology which we made prior to the second anniversary of the date of the agreement. 2017 License Agreement with OUI (Barinthus Biotherapeutics (UK) Limited) In September 2017, we entered into a further license agreement with OUI (the "2017 OUI License Agreement") for the development and commercialization of immunotherapies for HBV and HPV. Pursuant to the 2017 OUI License Agreement, we acquired a worldwide license under certain additional patent rights of OUI, including rights related to the use of HBV immunotherapy product candidates, HPV immunotherapy product candidates and shark invariant chain polypeptides, among other rights (the "2017 Licensed Technology"), to develop, manufacture, use and commercialize licensed products. The rights are exclusive in some fields and non-exclusive in others. Our license to certain patents and applications relating to certain HBV and HPV vaccines is exclusive in all fields. Our license to certain patents and applications relating to molecular adjuvants is non-exclusive in the field of HBV. Our license to certain patents and applications relating to certain simian and hybrid adenoviral vectors is exclusive in the fields of HPV associated diseases and HBV. Further, our license to certain patents and applications relating to certain other vectors is exclusive in the field of HBV. Pursuant to the 2017 OUI License Agreement, we also obtained a non-exclusive license under related know- how to develop, manufacture, use and commercialize licensed products in all fields. The 2017 Licensed Technology is sublicensable subject to obtaining OUI’s prior written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) and inclusion in any sublicense agreement of restrictions on further sub-licensing, among other terms. Pursuant to the 2017 OUI License Agreement, all intellectual property rights resulting from improvements made prior to the second anniversary of the agreement (i) to the licensed patent rights by the inventor belong to OUI, and (ii) to the 2017 Licensed Technology by us belong to us. OUI retains the right for the University of Oxford and any person who works or has worked on the 2017 Licensed Technology to use the 2017 Licensed Technology, as well as any improvements that we made to that technology during the first two years of the license, for education, research and limited clinical patient care. Furthermore, the University of Oxford may publish the 2017 Licensed Technology and those improvements without our consent provided that they have first given us advance notice and delayed the publication if necessary for us to obtain patent protection. In addition, OUI retains the right to grant academic and research licenses to any third parties under the 2017 Licensed Technology to encourage basic research for education and limited clinical patient care but may not grant licenses for commercialization of the 2017 Licensed Technology that is exclusively licensed to us, nor for development or marketing or products or services that are produced or supplied using the 2017 Licensed Technology. Upon execution of the 2017 OUI License Agreement, we paid OUI a one-time upfront fee of £50,000. We are obligated to pay OUI a low single-digit royalty (that varies based on the indication) on net sales made by us or our sublicensees of any product or process produced by or using the 2017 Licensed Technology. In the event that such sales royalties owed to OUI do not amount to a specified minimum ranging from the mid five figures to low six figures based on the license year in each year following September 2020, we must also pay OUI the difference between the royalty paid and the applicable minimum sum payable. If we sublicense the 2017 Licensed Technology, we will be required to pay OUI a mid-single-digit royalty on non- royalty sublicensing income (excluding milestone payment income overlapping with milestone payments paid to OUI and income used to fund research and development). In addition, we are required to pay OUI milestone payments of up to an aggregate of £9.85 million upon the achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercial milestones. Unless earlier terminated, the 2017 OUI License Agreement will continue until the later of the expiration of the last claim of a licensed patent or 20 years from the date of the agreement. The last patent under the 2017 OUI License Agreement, if 22 Table of Contents granted, is expected to expire in August 2038, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments. Either party may terminate for the uncured breach of the other party. We may terminate the agreement at any time upon three months’ prior written notice. OUI may terminate the agreement upon us filing for bankruptcy or in the event of liquidation or receivership proceedings, or upon 30 days’ prior written notice upon the occurrence of certain other events. Upon termination of the 2017 OUI License Agreement, we are required to, among other things, grant to OUI an irrevocable, transferable, non-exclusive license to develop, make and use any improvements to the 2017 Licensed Technology which we made prior to the second anniversary of the date of the agreement. 2017 License Agreement with OUI (Barinthus Biotherapeutics North America, Inc.) In March 2017, Avidea entered into a license agreement with OUI (the "March 2017 OUI License Agreement") for the development and commercialization of products comprising thermo-responsive adjuvant scaffolds for use in all indications. All of Avidea’s rights, duties and obligations under this March 2017 OUI License Agreement were assumed by Barinthus Bio NA following the acquisition of Avidea by Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc on December 10, 2021. Pursuant to the March 2017 OUI License Agreement, OUI granted us a worldwide license under certain patent rights of OUI related to the use of thermo-responsive adjuvant scaffolds, among other rights (the "March 2017 Licensed Technology"), to develop, manufacture, use and commercialize licensed products. The license to patent rights are exclusive in all fields, and the license to know how is non-exclusive. The March 2017 Licensed Technology is sublicensable subject to obtaining OUI’s prior written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) and inclusion in any sublicense agreement of restrictions on further sub-licensing, among other terms and conditions. Pursuant to the March 2017 OUI License Agreement, all intellectual property rights resulting from improvements made by us belong to us. OUI retains the right for the University of Oxford, the U.S. National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (“NIAID”), the Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry of the Czech Republic (“IMC”) and any person who works or has worked on the March 2017 Licensed Technology to use the March 2017 Licensed Technology and any licensee improvements for non-commercial use. Furthermore, the University of Oxford, NIAID or IMC may publish the March 2017 Licensed Technology and those improvements without our consent provided that they have first given us advance notice and delayed the publication if necessary for us to obtain patent protection. In addition, OUI retains the right to grant academic and research licenses to any third parties under the March 2017 Licensed Technology to encourage basic research for education and limited clinical patient care but may not grant licenses for commercialization of the March 2017 Licensed Technology that is exclusively licensed to us, nor for development or marketing or products or services that are produced or supplied using the March 2017 Licensed Technology. Upon execution of the March 2017 OUI License Agreement, we paid OUI a one-time upfront fee of £3,000. We are obligated to pay OUI a low single-digit royalty on net sales of any product or process produced by or using the March 2017 Licensed Technology. If we sublicense the March 2017 Licensed Technology, we will be required to pay OUI a mid-single-digit royalty on any non-royalty sublicensing income. As of March 14, 2024, OUI has not been paid any royalties under the 2017 OUI License Agreement. In the event that the royalties (excluding the royalty on sublicensing income) owed to OUI do not amount to a specified minimum ranging from the low to mid five figures based on the license year in each year following March 2020, the licensee must also pay OUI the difference between the royalty paid and the applicable minimum sum payable. For 2023, £55 thousand was paid to OUI, being the difference between royalties paid and the minimum sum payable. In addition, we are required to pay OUI milestone payments of up to an aggregate of £2.43 million upon the achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercial milestones. Unless earlier terminated, the 2017 OUI License Agreement will continue for as long as anything within the definition of the licensed patent remains in effect or 20 years from the date of the agreement. The patent licensed under the March 2017 OUI License Agreement, if granted, is expected to expire in October 2035, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments. Either party may terminate for the uncured breach of the other party. We may terminate the agreement at any time upon six months’ prior written notice. OUI may terminate the agreement upon us filing for bankruptcy or in the event of liquidation or receivership proceedings, or upon 30 days’ prior written notice upon the occurrence of certain other events. Upon termination of the March 2017 OUI License Agreement, we are required to, among other things, grant to OUI an irrevocable, transferable, non-exclusive license to develop, make and use any improvements to the March 2017 Licensed Technology which we made prior to the second anniversary of the date of the agreement. 23 Table of Contents 2017 Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with NIH (Barinthus Biotherapeutics NA) In February 2017, Avidea entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (“CRADA”) with the U.S. National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) to carry out collaborative research for the evaluation of Avidea’s synthetic, polymer-based vaccine technology, “Immunotherapeutic Nanoscaffolds” (IMNs) for infectious disease prevention and cancer treatment in animal models. Under this CRADA Avidea committed to providing scientific staff together with materials for use in experiments to evaluate their performance in various animal models of infectious disease and cancer. Under this CRADA NIH committed to evaluating Avidea materials in animal models and to perform comprehensive immune analysis. No funding was exchanged under this CRADA. In October 2019, the CRADA was amended (“1st CRADA Amendment”) to expand the scope of the collaborative research to evaluate the therapeutic potential of Avidea’s polymer-based vaccine technology, “Immunotherapeutic Nanoscaffolds” (IMNs), including Star polymers and self-assembling nanoparticles based on amphiphilic polymers (SNAP), in preclinical animal models for cancer, infectious and inflammatory diseases. Under this 1st CRADA Amendment Avidea committed to increase its scientific staffing contribution and to provide funding of $22,500 by October 15, 2019 and a further $62,500 by October 15, 2020. In October 2020, the CRADA was further amended (“2nd CRADA Amendment”) to defer payment of Avidea’s October 2020 funding contribution of the 1st CRADA Amendment to April 15, 2021. In May 2021, the CRADA was further amended (“3rd CRADA Amendment”) to extend the term of the CRADA by 2 additional years and to defer payment of Avidea’s April 2021 funding contribution of the 2nd CRADA Amendment to October 31, 2021. In November 2021, the CRADA was further amended (“4th CRADA Amendment”) to expand the scope of the collaborative research to evaluate the therapeutic potential of Avidea’s polymer-based vaccine technology, “Immunotherapeutic Nanoscaffolds” (IMNs), including Star polymers and self-assembling nanoparticles based on amphiphilic polymers (SNAP), in preclinical animal models for cancer, infectious and inflammatory diseases (e.g., induction of suppression and/or tolerance for treating or preventing allergies, autoimmunity, and transplant rejection). In October 2022, the CRADA was further amended (“5th CRADA Amendment”) to acknowledge that all of Avidea’s rights, duties and obligations under the CRADA were assumed by Barinthus Bio NA following the acquisition of Avidea by Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc on December 10, 2021. Under the CRADA as amended we own inventions made solely by our staff, and we have an option to enter an exclusive or nonexclusive license to any inventions made solely by NIH staff or made jointly by our staff and NIH under the CRADA (the "CRADA Licensed Technology"). NIH retains rights on behalf of the U.S. Government in the CRADA Licensed Technology as required by statute and NIH policy. We have an option to exclusively license any further inventions made under the CRADA. Unless earlier terminated, the CRADA will expire on February 23, 2025. The parties may terminate the CRADA by mutual consent, or either party may unilaterally terminate the CRADA at any time upon 60 days’ prior written notice. 2019 License Agreement with NIH (Barinthus Bio NA) In September 2019, Avidea entered into a license agreement with the NIH for the commercial development of products and processes for the prevention and/or treatment of cancer and infectious diseases within the scope of Licensed Patent rights that had been developed under a CRADA entered into by NIH and Avidea in February 2017 and amended in March 2019, December 2020, May 2021, November 2021 and October 2022. We are co-owners of all the Licensed Patents under this agreement, and we have an option to exclusively license NIH rights in all inventions made under this CRADA. All of Avidea’s rights, duties and obligations under the 2019 License Agreement with NIH were assumed by Barinthus Bio NA following the acquisition of Avidea by Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc on December 10, 2021. The 2019 License Agreement with NIH was amended in September 2022 to note Barinthus Bio NA’s rights, duties and obligations and also to include newly filed patents developed under the 2017 CRADA as amended. 24 Table of Contents Pursuant to the 2019 License Agreement with NIH, NIH granted us a worldwide exclusive license under certain patent rights co-owned by us and NIH related to the use of the SNAP platform, among other rights (the "2019 Licensed Technology"), to develop, manufacture, use and commercialize licensed products. The license to patent rights are exclusive in all fields. The 2019 Licensed Technology is sublicensable subject to obtaining NIH’s prior written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld) and inclusion of other customary provisions. NIH retains rights on behalf of the U.S. Government in the 2019 Licensed Technology as required by statute and NIH policy. Upon execution of the 2019 License Agreement with NIH, we paid NIH a one-time upfront fee of $20,000. We are obligated to pay NIH a low single-digit royalty on net sales of any product or process produced by or using the 2019 Licensed Technology. If we sublicense the 2019 Licensed Technology, we will be required to pay NIH a low-single-digit royalty on any non-royalty sublicensing income. As of March 23, 2023, NIH has not been paid any royalties under the 2019 License Agreement with NIH. In the event that the royalties (excluding the royalty on sublicensing income) owed to NIH do not amount to a specified minimum ranging from the low to mid five figures based on the license year in each year following September 2019, the licensee must also pay NIH the difference between the royalty paid and the applicable minimum royalty payment. For 2023, $10 thousand was paid to NIH, being the difference between royalties paid and the minimum sum payable. In addition, we are required to pay NIH milestone payments of up to an aggregate of $3.24 million upon the achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercial milestones for each Licensed Product. Unless earlier terminated, the 2019 License Agreement with NIH will continue until expiry of the last to expire Licensed Patent. 5 patent families licensed under the 2019 License Agreement with NIH that cover the SNAP platform, if granted, are expected to expire in April 2038, in May 2039, in October 2039, in February 2042 and in June 2042, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments. Two patent families licensed under the 2019 License Agreement with NIH that cover the syntholytic platform, if granted, are expected to expire in April 2040 and in October 2041, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments. Either party may terminate for the uncured breach of the other party. We may terminate the agreement at any time upon 60 days’ prior written notice. NIH may terminate the agreement upon the occurrence of certain events. 2017 Research Collaboration Agreement (“RCA”) with Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Prague (Barinthus Biotherapeutics NA) In September 2017, Avidea entered into a RCA with the IMC to carry out collaborative research for the development of polymer-based immunotherapies for cancer treatment, HIV prevention and recombinant protein delivery. Under this RCA Avidea committed to providing bioactive molecules and to developing and deploying animal models for evaluating immunotherapies. Under this RCA IMC committed to synthesizing various polymers and bioactive molecules and to linking such polymers and bioactive molecules for use in experiments to characterize their physicochemical properties. No funding was exchanged under this RCA. All of Avidea’s rights, duties and obligations under the 2017 RCA with IMC were assumed by Barinthus Bio NA following the acquisition of Avidea by Barinthus Biotherapeutics plc on December 10, 2021. Under the RCA we own inventions made solely by our staff, and we have an exclusive option to enter an exclusive or nonexclusive license to any inventions made solely by IMC staff or made jointly by our staff and IMC under the RCA. We have secured exclusive rights in two patent families that we co-own with IMC under the 2022 License Agreement with IMC as described below. We have an exclusive option to exclusively license any further inventions made under the RCA. The RCA expired on September 18, 2022. Our rights in inventions made under the RCA survive expiry of the RCA. 2022 License Agreement with IMC (Barinthus Bio NA) In April 2022, we entered into an exclusive license agreement with the IMC for the exploitation, development and commercialization of technologies and products within the scope of Licensed Patent rights that had been developed under a RCA entered into by IMC and Avidea in September 2017. We are co-owners of all the Licensed Patents under this agreement, and we have an option to exclusively license IMC rights in all inventions made under this RCA. Pursuant to the 2022 License Agreement with IMC, IMC granted us a worldwide, exclusive license under certain patent rights co-owned by us and IMC related to the use of polymer-based immunotherapies, among other rights (the "2022 Licensed Technology"), to develop, manufacture, use and commercialize licensed products. The license to patent rights is exclusive in all fields. The 2022 Licensed Technology is sublicensable. 25 Table of Contents We are obligated to pay IMC a low single-digit royalty on net sales of any product or process produced by or using the 2022 Licensed Technology. If we sublicense the 2022 Licensed Technology, we will be required to pay IMC a low-single-digit royalty on any non-royalty sublicensing income. As of March 14, 2024, IMC has not been paid any royalties under the 2022 License Agreement with IMC. In addition, we are required to pay IMC milestone payments of up to an aggregate of $820,000 upon the achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercial milestones for each Licensed Product. Unless earlier terminated, the 2022 License Agreement with IMC will continue until expiry of the last valid claim of the Licensed Patents. One patent family licensed under the 2022 License Agreement with IMC that covers the SNAP platform, if granted, is expected to expire in September 2041, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments. One patent family licensed under the 2022 License Agreement with IMC that covers the syntholytic platform, if granted, is expected to expire in April 2040, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments. Either party may terminate for the uncured breach or insolvency of the other party. We may terminate the agreement at any time upon 3 months’ prior written notice. 2019 License Agreement with OUI In January 2019, we entered into an additional license agreement with OUI (the "2019 OUI License Agreement"). Pursuant to the 2019 OUI License Agreement, OUI granted us a worldwide, license under an additional patent application of OUI related to the rapid production of recombinant adenovirus constructs, to be used as personalized cancer vaccines or emerging pathogen vaccines, and related confidential know-how (the "2019 OUI Licensed Technology") to develop, manufacture, use and commercialize licensed products. The license is exclusive in the field of personalized cancer vaccines for therapeutic use in humans, non- exclusive in in all other fields and excludes veterinary applications (apart from MERS) and certain other specified indications. The license is sublicensable subject to obtaining OUI’s prior written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed) and inclusion in any sublicense agreement of restrictions on further sub-licensing, among other terms. Pursuant to the 2019 OUI License Agreement, all intellectual property rights resulting from improvements made prior to the second anniversary of the agreement (i) to the licensed patent rights by the inventor belong to OUI, and (ii) to the 2019 OUI Licensed Technology by us belong to us. OUI retains the right for the University of Oxford and any person who works or has worked on the 2019 OUI Licensed Technology to use the 2019 OUI Licensed Technology, as well as any improvements that we make to that technology during the first two years of the license, for education, research and limited clinical patient care. Furthermore, the University of Oxford may publish the 2019 OUI Licensed Technology and those improvements without our consent provided that they have first given us advance notice and delayed the publication if necessary for us to obtain patent protection. In addition, OUI retains the right to grant academic and research licenses to any third parties under the 2019 OUI Licensed Technology to encourage basic research for education and limited clinical patient care but may not grant licenses for commercialization of the 2019 OUI Licensed Technology that is exclusively licensed to us, nor for development or marketing or products or services that are produced or supplied using the 2019 OUI Licensed Technology. Upon execution of the 2019 OUI License Agreement, we paid OUI a nominal upfront fee. We are required to pay OUI a variable low single-digit royalty on net sales of products we develop using the 2019 OUI Licensed Technology, which varies depending on whether the sales are within or outside of the field of personalized cancer vaccines for therapeutic use in humans. While we are continuing to develop the 2019 OUI Licensed Technology, no product candidate that we are currently developing incorporates this technology. If we sublicense the 2019 OUI Licensed Technology, we will be required to pay OUI a 15% or 7% royalty (for licensed products within the field and outside the field respectively) on any royalties paid to us by the sublicensee and 15% or 7.5% of non-royalty sublicensing income (for sublicenses granted before or after three years after the date of the agreement respectively). In the event that the aforementioned royalties (excluding the royalty on non-royalty sublicensing income) owed to OUI do not amount to a specified minimum ranging from the mid five figures to low six figures based on the license year in each year following January 2022, we must also pay to OUI the difference between the royalty paid and the applicable minimum sum payable. In addition, if we develop at least two products in the Field, we are required to pay OUI milestone payments of up to an aggregate of £1.9 million upon the achievement of specified development, regulatory and commercial milestones. Subject to earlier termination, the 2019 OUI License Agreement will continue until the later of the expiration of the last claim of a licensed patent or 20 years from the date of the agreement. The last patent under the 2019 OUI License Agreement, if granted, is expected to expire in August 2039, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments. Either party may terminate for the uncured breach of the other party. At any time after the third anniversary of the agreement, we may terminate the agreement at any time upon three months’ prior written notice. OUI 26 Table of Contents may terminate the agreement upon us filing for bankruptcy or in the event of liquidation or receivership proceedings, or upon 30 days’ prior written notice upon the occurrence of certain other events. Upon termination of the 2019 OUI License Agreement, we are required to, among other things, grant to OUI an irrevocable, transferable, non- exclusive license to develop, make and use any improvements (to the technology embodied by the relevant licensed patent and know-how) which we made prior to the second anniversary of the date of the agreement. 2018 License Agreement with OUI and Oxford In September 2018, we entered into a license agreement (the "2018 License Agreement") with The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford, or Oxford, and OUI. Pursuant to the 2016 OUI License Agreement, OUI had granted us certain exclusive rights related to the Licensed Technology, as defined in the 2016 OUI License Agreement, in the field of diagnosis, prevention and treatment of MERS. The 2018 License Agreement enables Oxford to grant a further sublicense to CEPI in the field of MERS (the "Field") and to enable Oxford to conduct related activities. Pursuant to the 2018 License Agreement, we agreed to grant to Oxford a fully-paid-up, worldwide, non- exclusive license under the Licensed Technology, as defined in the 2016 OUI License Agreement, and developments and improvements to such technology controlled by us during the term of the 2016 OUI License Agreement (the "MERS Technology") in the Field solely for the purpose of enabling Oxford to develop any product or process which uses or is within the scope of the MERS Technology ("Licensed Product"). This license includes the right to generate investigational stockpiles, but excludes any commercial use or sale of Licensed Products and is sublicensable by Oxford solely to its collaborators under the framework agreement entered into on or about the same date as the 2018 License Agreement between Oxford, CEPI and Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V. Furthermore, we agreed that the rights retained by OUI under the 2016 OUI License Agreement include the right to allow Oxford to use the MERS Technology to carry out research activities (including in collaboration with other parties) up to and including the performance of Phase 1/2 clinical trials and related activities, and the generation of Licensed Product for research use (but excluding any commercial use or sale of such Licensed Product). We have been informed by Oxford that Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V. is no longer a party to that framework agreement. In addition, we agreed to grant to Oxford a fully-paid-up, worldwide, non-exclusive license under the MERS Technology in the Field solely for the purpose of enabling Oxford to grant a sublicense to CEPI in order to address (i) circumstances in which CEPI determines there to be a heightened need for the Licensed Product and that steps should be taken to prepare for such need; and/or (ii) material increases in the number of cases of people infected with MERS in particular geographical areas that are declared a public health emergency. Oxford is permitted to grant CEPI a fully-paid-up, worldwide, non-exclusive sublicense under the MERS Technology to develop, manufacture and commercialize the Licensed Product in the Field anywhere in the world, provided that all end users (i) are in a relevant affected territory, or (ii) are healthcare workers going to an affected territory under the direction of one or more governments or recognized not-for-profit organizations, or Public Sector Agencies, in order to help address a public healthcare issue. However, the sublicense must exclude the right for CEPI to (i) apply for or obtain any marketing approval or conduct any post-marketing activities, (ii) sell Licensed Product other than to Public Sector Agencies on a “cost plus” basis, where “cost plus” means the cost of manufacturing and supply plus a margin of 10% percent on such cost, or (iii) further sublicense its rights other than to its affiliates and/or to Public Sector Agencies and their appointees for the sole purpose of accelerating epidemic preparedness for public health applications. Pursuant to the 2018 License Agreement, OUI agreed that, notwithstanding our payment obligations under the 2016 OUI License Agreement, we are not obligated to make any payment to OUI in connection with the 2018 License Agreement. On February 2, 2024, following the entry by Barinthus Biotherapeutics (UK) Limited and Oxford into a funding agreement with CEPI (described below), Oxford, OUI and Barinthus Biotherapeutics (UK) Limited entered into a termination agreement, pursuant to which the 2018 License Agreement was terminated other than obligations that have accrued prior to the termination or were expressly intended to survive, including certain confidentiality obligations. OUI License Agreement Amendment In April 2020, we entered into an amendment, assignment and revenue share agreement (the "OUI License Agreement Amendment") with OUI to amend the 2016 OUI License Agreement. Pursuant to the 2016 OUI License Agreement and among other rights and obligations, OUI granted to us a non-exclusive license to certain patent applications relating to its ChAdOx1 and ChAdOx2 vaccine vectors and the adenovirus long promoter for use in certain fields, or the Field, including 27 Table of Contents SARS-CoV2, which is the virus known to cause COVID 19. The OUI License Agreement Amendment was entered into to enable a single exclusive license agreement for a COVID 19 vaccine co-developed by us and the University of Oxford’s Jenner Institute to be negotiated with a suitable pharmaceutical partner. Under the OUI License Agreement Amendment, we agreed to exclude SARS-CoV2 from the Field and to cease use of the ChAdOx1 vector, ChAdOx2 vector and the adenovirus long promoter in SARS-CoV2. In addition, we assigned to OUI our rights to a jointly owned U.K. patent application relating to the composition of matter related to a ChAdOx1 vector-based or a ChAdOx2 vector-based vaccine to prevent COVID 19 (the "Assigned Patent Application"), as well as certain other intellectual property rights related to any ChAdOx1 vector-based or ChAdOx2 vector-based COVID 19 vaccine covered by the Assigned Patent Application and its manufacture, including rights to the variations, improvements and modifications thereof, whether existing at or arising after the date of the OUI License Agreement Amendment. In consideration of the rights granted by us, OUI agreed to pay us approximately 24% of payments, including royalties and milestones, received by OUI in connection with the commercialization of any ChAdOx1 vector-based or ChAdOx2 vector-based vaccine in the field of SARS-CoV2 covered by or disclosed in the Assigned Patent Application. The last patent under the OUI License Agreement Amendment, which is owned by OUI, if granted, is expected to expire in March 2041, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments. Impact of OUI’s Agreement with AstraZeneca OUI has entered into an exclusive research collaboration and worldwide license agreement (the "AstraZeneca License Agreement") with AstraZeneca. The following description of the impact of AstraZeneca License Agreement with respect to our rights under the OUI License Agreement Amendment is based solely on an extract of the AstraZeneca License Agreement provided by the parties to that agreement. We are not a party to the AstraZeneca License Agreement and do not have access to a copy of that agreement to verify the accuracy of such extract. In addition, no party to the AstraZeneca License Agreement has confirmed that there are no material terms in that agreement that are not included in the description below that could adversely impact the economic and other terms of the AstraZeneca License Agreement described below. Moreover, there can be no assurance that the AstraZeneca License Agreement is an enforceable agreement, that the parties thereto will comply with their obligations under that agreement (including any obligations of AstraZeneca to make milestone or royalty payments to OUI), or that the terms of that agreement (including royalty rates and other economic terms) will not be modified by the parties in the future. The AstraZeneca License Agreement allows AstraZeneca to pursue, among other things, the commercialization of a vaccine product candidate for the prevention of COVID 19 containing one or more of the ChAdOx1 or ChAdOx2 vectors or their derivatives. AstraZeneca announced that as of January 13, 2022, the vaccine had been granted a conditional marketing authorization or emergency use in more than 90 countries. It also has Emergency Use Listing from the World Health Organization, which accelerates the pathway to access in up to 144 countries through the COVAX Facility. Pursuant to the OUI License Agreement Amendment, we received $2.4 million in July 2020 as our share of the upfront fee paid by AstraZeneca. We are also entitled to receive a share of certain regulatory and sales milestones and royalties on net sales of Vaxzevria, as well as a portion of any sublicensing income payable by AstraZeneca. Our share of the royalties on net sales of Vaxzevria is approximately 1.4%. Our understanding is that we were not entitled to receive any royalties or payments from sub-licensees from the commercialization of Vaxzevria until after the pandemic period, which was defined as a period that would end on July 1, 2021 (or such later date when AstraZeneca, in good faith, determines that the COVID-19 pandemic is over). However, our understanding is that we would be entitled to receive our share of any regulatory milestone payments during the pandemic period. The royalty term for net sales of Vaxzevria commenced in 2022 and will continue, on a country-by-country basis, until the later of (i) the date upon which the vaccine is no longer subject to patent protection in such country, (ii) expiration of regulatory exclusivity for the vaccine in such country or (iii) ten years from the first commercial sale of the vaccine in such country. Master Collaboration Agreement with CanSino Biologics Inc. In September 2018, we entered into a master collaboration agreement (the "CanSino Agreement") with CanSino Biologics Inc. ("CanSino"). The CanSino Agreement provides a framework under which we can agree with CanSino (in separate project agreements) the details of one or more collaborative projects for the development and commercialization of certain 28 Table of Contents products, and carry out those projects under the terms of the CanSino Agreement and the respective project agreements in our respective territories. Under the CanSino Agreement, the CanSino Territory includes China (including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao), Malaysia, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam, and the Philippines, while our territory (the "Barinthus Bio Territory") includes the rest of the world. Under the CanSino Agreement, each party grants to the other party a royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use its relevant background intellectual property rights ("Background IPR") solely to perform the project in the other party’s territory, together with a right to sub-license to any agreed-upon subcontractor performing services for and on behalf of the other party. For any collaborative project, each party is obliged to provide to the other party all applicable materials specified in that project agreement and to grant to the other party a non-exclusive license to use such materials solely for the purpose of that project. In addition, each party grants to the other party a non-exclusive license to use its Background IPR and an exclusive license to any new intellectual property created in the course of activities performed by such party in relation to a project or otherwise under the CanSino Agreement ("New IPR") to the extent necessary to commercialize and exploit collaboration products in the other party’s territory. Such commercialization licenses are sublicensable (without further right to sub-license) and subject to the payment of royalties and milestones as set out in the relevant project agreement. CanSino is permitted to commercialize such products only in the CanSino Territory and we are entitled to commercialize such products in the Barinthus Bio Territory. Both parties are under obligations to use commercially reasonable efforts to maximize sales of products that are the subject of collaboration. During the term of any project agreement entered into as contemplated by the CanSino Agreement and for three months thereafter, neither party is permitted to enter into discussions, collaborations or similar arrangements with any third parties regarding matters or products which are materially the same as set forth in the project agreement or related to the project that is the subject of the project agreement, unless such party reasonably believes such an arrangement with such third party would not be detrimental to the relevant project or project arrangement. Furthermore, unless agreed otherwise in a project agreement, for any product which we collaboratively develop, CanSino has the exclusive and sub-licensable right to manufacture and supply all master virus seed and clinical adenoviral material necessary for the development and sale of any products by either party in their respective territories. CanSino will supply any such material to be used by us for the manufacture of products to be sold by us (or our sub-licensees) at the price of 15% to 30% over cost of goods sold ("COGS"). COGS is equal to the reasonable COGS for equivalent material manufactured by CanSino or its subcontractors for sale by CanSino or its sub-licensees. Unless agreed otherwise in a project agreement: (i) any improvements of a party’s Background IPR will be owned by the party with rights to such Background IPR, and will be treated as Background IPR; and (ii) New IPR will be owned by one or both parties in accordance with the respective inventive contribution of each party as determined by the principles of United Kingdom patent law. Where any New IPR is wholly owned by a party, that party is obliged to endeavor to file patent applications to the extent required to provide reasonable protection for the relevant product. Where any New IPR is jointly owned by the parties, we are obliged to endeavor to file patent applications to the extent required to provide reasonable protection for the relevant product, in consultation with CanSino, with costs shared between the parties. Before we abandon a jointly-owned patent claiming any New IPR, we must give CanSino at least three months’ notice, and CanSino can request assignment of our rights on terms to be agreed. We are obliged to discuss with CanSino the enforcement of jointly owned patent rights but are entitled to enforce such patent rights outside the CanSino Territory. Unless earlier terminated, the CanSino Agreement will continue for ten years from the date of the agreement. Either party can terminate by written notice for the uncured material breach or persistent breaches of the other party. Either party may terminate by written notice if the other party cannot pay its debts, takes any step in connection with entering administration, liquidation, or other arrangement with creditors (other than a solvent arrangement), or suspends all or part of its business; or suffers a force majeure event that continues for 60 days. Furthermore, a project agreement entered into pursuant to the CanSino Agreement shall automatically terminate if the 2016 OUI License Agreement or the 2017 OUI License Agreement terminates or expires, Background IPR licensed from OUI is necessary under such project agreement and the parties are unable to agree to a modification of the project or relevant collaboration product that would not require use of such Background IPR. 2018 ChAdOx Zoster Project Agreement (under the CanSino Agreement) Pursuant to the CanSino Agreement, we entered into a project agreement in September 2018 with CanSino (the "ChAdOx Zoster Project Agreement") with the goal of developing a Zoster vaccine to become a competitor to Shingrix. Under the ChAdOx Zoster Project Agreement, we are responsible for funding and undertaking various development tasks, including 29 Table of Contents (subject to availability of funding) conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial in the UK. CanSino was responsible for funding and undertaking various development tasks, including conducting a Phase 1 clinical trial in China. The ChAdOx Zoster Project Agreement was amended on August 31, 2023 following the parties’ agreement that the Phase 1 clinical trial to be conducted by CanSino as Sponsor should be carried out in Canada (rather than China). It was also agreed that the parties would each be responsible for 50% of the budgeted cost of the Phase 1 clinical trial (rather than each being responsible for funding or securing funding for any Phase 1 clinical trial in its respective country). The amendment further expanded the scope of the ChAdOx Zoster Project Agreement to cover potential administration of the product by inhalation. The parties’ rights and responsibilities in relation to Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials are pending, subject to further negotiation. In addition, the parties agreed to use all reasonable efforts to enter into a separate supply agreement pursuant to which CanSino will manufacture all product necessary for clinical trials and commercialization under the project agreement. If the parties cannot agree upon such supply agreement, they must follow a specified dispute resolution process set forth in the CanSino Agreement. For all products manufactured by CanSino under a supply agreement that we wish to sell in the Barinthus Bio Territory, we have agreed to pay the costs incurred by CanSino to manufacture the products plus 20% of such costs. We received an upfront payment of £50,000 under this project agreement. We will also receive milestone payments of up to an aggregate of £1.125 million based on successful conduct of clinical trials and commercialization of the product. We will receive mid-single-digit royalties on the net sales of the product by or on behalf of CanSino or its sub-licensees in the CanSino Territory. If CanSino sublicense their rights in the product to a non-affiliate third party, we are also entitled to receive a mid-teens royalty on the transaction value (excluding royalties). We must pay to CanSino mid-single-digit royalties on the net sales of the product by or on behalf of us or our sub-licensees in the Barinthus Bio Territory. A party will benefit from a reduction of its royalties (in the low single digits) where it requires a license from a third party to sell the product in its territory. Unless earlier terminated, the term of the ChAdOx Zoster Project Agreement will expire upon the later of expiry of all registered patents in the New IP developed under the project, or ten years from first commercial sale of the product. The last patent under the ChAdOx Zoster Project Agreement, if granted, is expected to expire in November 2039, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments. A party may terminate the ChAdOx Zoster Project Agreement by written notice if the other party unreasonably delays the performance of its obligations. Upon the expiration of the term, we agreed to grant CanSino a royalty-free, perpetual, sub-licensable, non-exclusive license to use our Background IPR and our New IPR used to develop, incorporated in, or referenced in any products that are the subject of the project agreement to the extent necessary for CanSino to undertake research, develop, manufacture and commercialize such products in the CanSino Territory. Pursuant to the CanSino Agreement, upon the expiration or earlier termination of the project agreement, except for termination by CanSino for our breach, CanSino agreed to grant us a royalty-free, perpetual, sub-licensable, non-exclusive license to use their Background IPR and New IPR used to develop, incorporated in, or referenced in any products that are the subject of the project agreement to the extent necessary for us to undertake research, develop, manufacture and commercialize such products in the Barinthus Bio Territory. Unless we terminate the project agreement early for CanSino’s breach, upon early termination after completion of a Phase 1 trial, we will continue to pay CanSino a low single-digit royalty on net sales of the product by us or our sub-licensees in the Barinthus Bio Territory, for the remainder of the Term. If such early termination is after completion of a Phase 2 trial, the royalty we must pay rises to mid-single digit. Clinical Trial and Option Agreement with CRUK In December 2019, Vaccitech Oncology Limited ("VOLT"), entered into a clinical trial and option agreement (the "Clinical Trial Agreement") with CRUK and CRUK’s subsidiary, Cancer Research Technology Limited ("CRT"), relating to the conduct of a Phase 1/2a clinical trial of VOLT’s VTP 600 immunotherapy product in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, or the Clinical Trial. The trial opened in the first quarter of 2022 across multiple clinical sites in the UK. VOLT is our oncology focused strategic collaboration with the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, an international non-profit organization that conducts innovative cancer research and is looking to enable the clinical development of new treatments that induce and harness CD8+ T cells of the immune system to fight cancer. VOLT has a license to our proprietary CD8+ T cell induction platform and research by Benoit Van den Eynde’s group at the Ludwig Oxford Branch. Pursuant to the Clinical Trial Agreement, CRUK is responsible for, among other things, designing, preparing, carrying out and sponsoring the Clinical Trial, at its cost, and VOLT has granted to CRUK a license under its intellectual property to enable CRUK to perform such activities. VOLT is responsible for supplying agreed quantities of its VTP 600 30 Table of Contents immunotherapy product. VOLT retains the right to continue the development of the product during the Clinical Trial, provided that the parties have first agreed appropriate terms for sharing of safety data. CRUK owns all results, including all intellectual property therein, generated in the performance of the Clinical Trial. Upon the completion of the Clinical Trial, VOLT has the option to obtain a license to use such results (the "VTP 600 License"). The terms of the VTP 600 License have been pre-agreed and are set out in the Clinical Trial Agreement. If VOLT exercises the option to take the VTP 600 License, CRT agrees to grant VOLT an exclusive license under the results of the Clinical Trial that exclusively relate to the VTP 600 immunotherapy product (the "Exclusive Results") and a non-exclusive license under any results that are not Exclusive Results, in each case, to develop and commercialize any product which makes use of the results of the Clinical Trial in an application for regulatory authorization, contains the relevant active ingredients, or is covered by the patent application PCT/EP2019/070555 (the "Product"). The rights under the VTP 600 License are sublicensable (except to a tobacco company). The exclusive rights granted under the VTP 600 License are subject to the right of certain third-party contributors associated with the Clinical Trial, CRUK and scientists funded or employed by CRUK to use the Exclusive Results for non-commercial scientific or clinical research purposes and to publish the Exclusive Results and the results of non-commercial research performed using the Exclusive Results (subject to the publication process set out in the Clinical Trial Agreement). Upon exercise of the option, VOLT is required to pay a one-time upfront fee of an amount in pounds Sterling in the high six-digits. VOLT is also obligated to make future milestone payments upon the achievement of development, regulatory and commercial milestones, with an aggregate total value of £40.8 million. VOLT is required to pay to CRT a low single-digit royalty on net sales of Products sold by VOLT or its sublicensees. If VOLT sublicenses the right to sell Products, VOLT will also be required to pay to CRT a royalty of between 5% and 20% on non-royalty amounts due to VOLT from a sublicensee, with the precise rate depending on the stage in development at which such sublicense was granted. VOLT is obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to meet certain development, regulatory and commercialization obligations, including commencement of a Phase 2 clinical trial of a Product in an oncology indication before the second anniversary of the date of the VTP 600 License. CRT may terminate the VTP 600 License in respect of any given Product if VOLT is not actively developing it or fails to launch it after receiving marketing authorization. CRT may also terminate the VTP 600 License as a whole if no Product is being actively developed or commercialized. If VOLT does not exercise the option to take the VTP 600 License, or if the VTP 600 License or Clinical Trial Agreement is subsequently terminated by CRUK (as described below) VOLT will enter into a step-in agreement with CRT (the "Step-In Agreement"). Pursuant to the Step-In Agreement, the terms of which have been pre-agreed and are set out in the Clinical Trial Agreement, VOLT will assign to CRT certain know- how and materials owned or controlled by VOLT. In addition, we agreed to grant to CRT an exclusive sub-license to a third-party patent family relating to viral vectors and methods for the prevention or treatment of cancer and non-exclusive sub-licenses to the HEK293 TetR Cell Line as well as certain third party patents and patent applications relating to certain adenovirus vectors and poxvirus expression systems, in each case, to develop and commercialize the Products on a revenue sharing basis. VOLT will receive a share of between 55% and 80% of the net revenue received by CRT for commercialization of the Product, with the precise share depending on the stage in development at which such Step-In Agreement is entered into. The term of the Clinical Trial Agreement continues until it is otherwise terminated by the parties or, if the option is not exercised, upon the execution of the Step-In Agreement. The Clinical Trial Agreement can be terminated by either party upon an insolvency event in respect of the other party, for material breach of the other party, or upon a change of control of the other party (if the new controlling entity generates its revenue from the sale of tobacco products). If the Clinical Trial Agreement is terminated by CRUK for such causes prior to VOLT’s exercise of its option, VOLT will reimburse CRUK for all costs incurred or committed in connection with the Clinical Trial. In addition, CRUK may terminate the Clinical Trial Agreement at any time before the last cycle of treatment under the Clinical Trial is complete, in which case, upon VOLT’s request, CRT will grant the VTP 600 License to VOLT with appropriately reduced payments, to reflect the stage of the Clinical Trial at the date of termination. If the Clinical Trial Agreement is terminated for any reason after VOLT’s exercise of its option, VOLT may for three months following such termination continue to manufacture Products to the extent necessary to satisfy orders for Products accepted before such termination, and sell, use or otherwise dispose of Product inventory. VOLT License Agreement In November 2018, we entered into a license agreement (the "VOLT License Agreement") with VOLT. Pursuant to the VOLT License Agreement, we granted to VOLT a non-exclusive worldwide license under certain patent rights, know-how and materials related to the use of ChAdOx1, ChAdOx2, adenoviral and MVA promoters, and the TR293 Tet-Repressed Cell Line (the "VOLT Licensed Technology"), to manufacture, use and commercialize any product which uses or is within 31 Table of Contents the scope of the VOLT Licensed Technology (the "VOLT Licensed Product"). In part, the rights granted are a sublicense of rights granted to us by OUI under the 2016 OUI License Agreement. The license is sublicensable subject to obtaining OUI’s prior consent with respect to sublicensing of any of the VOLT Licensed Technology licensed to us by OUI (with such consent not to be unreasonably withheld). Pursuant to the VOLT License Agreement, we are required to make available to VOLT such further know- how relating to the manufacture of VOLT Licensed Products as we consider to be reasonably necessary or useful. We are also required to notify VOLT on a confidential basis of any improvements to the VOLT Licensed Technology that we develop or acquire rights in, and such improvements will be included within the scope of the license. Unless earlier terminated, the VOLT License Agreement will continue until the later of the expiration of all patents included in the VOLT Licensed Technology or the know-how included in the VOLT Licensed Technology ceasing to be secret and substantial. The last patent under the VOLT License Agreement, if granted, is expected to expire in July 2039, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments. Either party may terminate for the uncured material breach or insolvency of the other party. In the event of termination of the 2016 OUI License Agreement, we may terminate the VOLT License Agreement in respect of any of the VOLT Licensed Technology that is licensed to us by OUI, and VOLT and OUI shall enter into a direct license containing the same obligations and liabilities as set forth in the VOLT License Agreement. The VOLT License Agreement was subsequently amended in July 2019 by two separate agreements for the research, development, and commercialization of cancer immunotherapy targeting MAGE-A3 and NY-ESO-1 for the treatment of various forms of cancer under the VOLT Licensed Technology. Such amendments further elaborated on the parties’ respective rights and obligations, including with respect to VOLT’s payment obligations to us. 2023 CEPI Funding Agreement On December 20, 2023, we, the Chancellors, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford (“Oxford,” together with us, the “Partners”) and the CEPI entered into a Funding Agreement (the “Funding Agreement”) pursuant to which CEPI will provide funding of up to $34.8 million to us to advance the development of VTP-500, our vaccine candidate against MERS (such development activities, the “Project”). In December 2023, VTP-500 received PRIority MEdicines (“PRIME”) designation by the EMA. Under the Funding Agreement, the Partners have agreed to use reasonable endeavors to achieve the deliverables, milestones and timelines for the vaccine development activities under discrete “Work Packages” mutually agreed to by the parties from time to time. Under the initial Work Package, we have agreed, subject to the achievement of certain milestones, including a successful Phase 2 clinical trial of VTP-500, that it will manufacture or have manufactured an investigational ready reserve of 100,000 doses of VTP-500 to be rapidly deployed for a clinical trial in the event of a substantial outbreak of MERS. During the Term (as defined below), we have also agreed to certain collaboration obligations in the event of a regional or national public health emergency or preparation need for an impending outbreak of MERS. Pursuant to the Funding Agreement, we will retain ownership of its intellectual property owned or controlled throughout the term of the Funding Agreement, subject to the rights of CEPI under the Funding Agreement. We will also own any intellectual property invented by or on behalf of us in connection with the activities contemplated by the Funding Agreement, as well as all tangible materials and results made or developed by or on behalf of us in connection with the Funding Agreement. Any amounts funded by CEPI to the Partners under the Funding Agreement in accordance with each Work Package will be paid in tranches covering six-month periods based on mutually agreed project-based budgets and subject to certain conditions as set forth in the Funding Agreement including the achievement of identified milestones. Pursuant to the Funding Agreement, we have agreed to pay CEPI on a country-by-country basis increasing mid-single digit percentage royalties of net sales and net income with respect to future cash sales of VTP-500, less certain deductions, for a period starting on December 20, 2023 (“Effective Date”) and ending the later of: (i) the expiration of the last valid patent claim included in intellectual property developed under the Project covering VTP-500 in such country, (ii) the expiration of Regulatory Exclusivity (as defined in the Funding Agreement) for VTP-500 in such country, and (iii) the tenth (10th) anniversary of the first commercial sale of VTP-500 (the “Royalty Term”). The Company shall also pay CEPI a mid-double digit percentage of net revenue earned on VTP-500 until CEPI has received payments from us under the Funding Agreement equaling the total amount of funding paid by CEPI to us and a low double-digit percentage of such net revenue thereafter. Sales for the benefit of end users in specified low and middle income countries (“LMICs”) and upper and middle 32 Table of Contents income countries (“UMICs”) are excluded from the calculations of net sales and net revenue. Sales of product for the benefit of end users in LMICs and UMICs are subject to tiered discounted pricing requirements under the Funding Agreement. The Company is further required to pay a mid-double digit percentage of any proceeds earned on any priority review voucher related to VTP-500 during the Royalty Period. The Funding Agreement will commence on the Effective Date and will continue until the fifth (5th) anniversary of the Effective Date, unless the parties agree to extend the Funding Agreement for a period of up to twenty-four (24) months unless all activities under the Funding Agreement have been completed (“Term”). Either Partner or CEPI can terminate the Funding Agreement following an insolvency event or material breach by the other party that is not cured within forty-five (45) business days, in the event of termination by a Partner, or thirty (30) business days, in the event of termination by CEPI. Pursuant to the Funding Agreement, CEPI also has certain discretionary termination rights, including if CEPI determines that we are involved in material safety, regulatory, scientific misconduct, or ethical issues or is no longer able to fulfill its obligations under the Funding Agreement. Neither CEPI, us nor Oxford may assign its rights or obligations under the Funding Agreement without the other parties’ consent; provided that CEPI may do so to an organization of equivalent charitable mission and technical capabilities. Intellectual Property Our success depends, in part, on our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our product candidates, technology and know-how, to defend and enforce our intellectual property rights, in particular, our patent rights, to preserve the confidentiality of our know-how and trade secrets, and to operate without infringing the proprietary rights of others. We seek to protect our product candidates and technologies by, among other methods, filing U.S. and foreign patent applications related to our proprietary technology, inventions and improvements that are important to the development of our business. We also rely on trade secrets, know-how, continuing technological innovation and in-licensing of third-party intellectual property to develop and maintain our proprietary position. We, or our licensors, file patent applications directed to our key product candidates in an effort to establish intellectual property positions to protect our product candidates as well as uses of our product candidates for the prevention and/or treatment of diseases. As of March 14, 2024, we own a patent family relating to our novel regimens that includes one pending U.S. patent application, two pending foreign patent applications and one pending Patent Cooperation Treaty ("PCT") patent application together with one pending U.S. provisional patent application relating to our novel products. In addition, we have in-licensed certain patent families relating to our key technology platforms and product candidates, including ten issued U.S. patents, nine pending U.S. patent applications, at least 20 issued foreign patents and at least 70 pending foreign patent applications. Following the acquisition of Avidea in December 2021 we control a further patent portfolio comprising in-licensed and co-owned patent families, including 10 pending U.S. patent applications, six issued foreign patents, 48 pending foreign patent applications and two pending PCT patent applications. Universal Vector Technology Platforms ChAdOx 1 Expression Vector As of March 14, 2024, with regard to our ChAdOx1 expression vector, we in-license from OUI a patent family that includes three issued U.S. patents with claims directed to the composition of matter of the ChAdOx1 adenovirus vector and methods of using such a vector, and 9 issued foreign patents granted in such jurisdictions as Australia, Canada, China, Europe (validated in 12 countries including Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Great Britain), India, Japan, Singapore and South Africa. A second granted European patent with further claims directed to the composition of matter of ChAdOx adenovirus vector is validated in France, Germany and Great Britain. This patent family also includes a pending U.S. patent application. The granted patents and pending applications, if issued, are expected to expire in 2032, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. Patent term extensions have been granted in Australia until February 16, 2036 and in Japan for an additional 1 year, 1 month and 24 days, based on marketing authorisations received by AstraZeneca for Vaxzevria. 33 Table of Contents Adenoviral Promoter Certain of our ChAdOx1 vectors incorporate a proprietary adenoviral promoter, which is covered by a patent family that we in-license from OUI. As of March 14, 2024, the patent family includes two issued U.S. patents and one granted patent in Europe (validated in 7 countries including France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Great Britain). The patents in this family are expected to expire in 2028, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. MVA-poxvirus Promoter Our MVA vector incorporates a proprietary poxvirus promoter ("MVA-poxvirus promoter") which is covered by a patent family that we in-license from OUI. As of March 14, 2024, the patent family includes two issued U.S. patents and one granted European patent (validated in 9 countries including Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Great Britain) that are expected to expire in 2031, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. Synthetic SNAP platform (SNAP-TI TM and SNAP-CI TM ) Our proprietary synthetic SNAP platform is covered by a patent portfolio that includes one patent family we own, seven patent families that we co-own and one patent family that we in-license from OUI. As of March 14, 2024, we in-license a patent family from OUI that includes one pending U.S. patent application and one pending European patent application that are expected to expire in 2035, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. As of March 14, 2024, we own a patent family that includes four issued foreign patents that are expected to expire in 2030, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. As of March 14, 2024, we co-own a patent family that includes two issued foreign patents, one pending U.S. patent application, one pending European patent application and a at least 10 pending foreign patent applications that are expected to expire in 2038, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. We have exclusively licensed rights in this patent family, which resulted from work carried out under a CRADA with the NIH. As of March 14, 2024, we co-own a patent family that includes one pending U.S. patent application, one pending European patent application and a further 5 pending foreign patent applications that are expected to expire in 2039, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. We have exclusively licensed rights in this patent family, which resulted from work carried out under a CRADA with the NIH. As of March 14, 2024, we co-own a patent family that includes one pending U.S. patent application, one pending European patent application and a further 2 pending foreign patent applications that are expected to expire in 2039, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. We have exclusive rights in this patent family, which resulted from work carried out under a CRADA with the NIH. As of March 14, 2024, we co-own a patent family that includes one pending U.S. patent application, one pending European patent application and a further nine pending foreign patent applications that are expected to expire in 2042, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. We have exclusive rights in this patent family, which resulted from work carried out under a CRADA with the NIH. As of March 14, 2024, we co-own a patent family that includes one pending U.S. patent application, one pending European patent application and a further three pending foreign patent applications that are expected to expire in 2042, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. We have exclusive rights in this patent family, which resulted from work carried out under a CRADA with the NIH. As of March 14, 2024, we co-own a patent family that includes one pending U.S. patent application, one pending foreign patent application and a further two pending foreign patent applications that are expected to expire in 2041, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. We have licensed exclusive rights in this patent family, which resulted from work carried out under a RCA with the IMC. As of March 14, 2024, we co-own a patent family that includes one pending U.S. patent application and one pending international PCT patent application that are expected to expire in 2043, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. We have exclusive rights in this patent family, which resulted from work carried out under a CRADA with the NIH. As of March 14, 2024, we co-own a patent family that includes one pending international PCT patent application that is expected to expire in 2043, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity 34 Table of Contents or other governmental fees. We have exclusive rights in this patent family, which resulted from work carried out under a CRADA with the NIH. Syntholytic Our proprietary Syntholytic technology is covered by a patent portfolio that includes one patent family we own, 2 patent families that we co-own and one patent family that we in-license from OUI. As of March 14, 2024, we in-license a patent family from OUI that includes one pending U.S. patent application and one pending European patent application that are expected to expire in 2035, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. As of March 14, 2024, we own a patent family that includes four issued foreign patents that are expected to expire in 2030, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. As of March 14, 2024, we co-own a patent family that includes one pending U.S. patent application, one pending European patent application and a further 6 pending foreign patent applications that are expected to expire in 2040, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. We have exclusive rights in this patent family, which resulted from work carried out under a CRADA with the NIH, and we have licensed exclusive rights in this patent family, which resulted from work carried out under a RCA with the IMC, Prague. As of March 14, 2024, we co-own a patent family that includes one pending U.S. patent application, one pending European patent application and a further two pending foreign patent applications that are expected to expire in 2041, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions and patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. We have exclusive rights in this patent family, which resulted from work carried out under a CRADA with the NIH. Product Candidates Our VTP-200 product candidate comprises a ChAdOx1HPV vector and a MVA-HPV vector, where each vector incorporates an engineered HPV antigen. We in-license from OUI a patent family directed to the HPV antigen with claims directed to a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide comprising certain peptide sequences based on certain HPV proteins. As of March 14, 2024, the patent family includes one issued U.S. patent, two issued foreign patents, one pending U.S. patent application and eight foreign patent applications pending in jurisdictions including Europe, Australia, Canada, and Japan. If patents were to issue from such patent applications, they would be expected to expire in 2038, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. In addition, we also rely on patent protection afforded by the patent family directed to the ChAdOx1 expression vector, which is expected to expire in 2032, and the patent family directed to our MVA-poxvirus promoter, which is expected to expire in 2031, as discussed above. Our VTP-300 product candidate comprises a ChAdOx1HBV vector and a MVA-HBV vector, where each vector incorporates an engineered HBV antigen. As of March 14, 2024, we in-license from OUI a patent family with claims directed to a multi-HBV immunogen viral vector vaccine that includes two issued foreign patents, one pending U.S. patent application and 15 foreign patent applications pending in jurisdictions including Europe, Australia, Canada and China. If patents were to issue from such patent applications, they would be expected to expire in 2038, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. In addition, we also rely on patent protection afforded by the patent family directed to the ChAdOx1 expression vector, which is expected to expire in 2032, and the patent family directed to our MVA-poxvirus promoter, which is expected to expire in 2031, as discussed above. Our VTP-600 product candidate comprises a ChAdOx1MAGE-NYESO vector, a MVA-MAGE vector, and a MVA-NYESO vector. We in-license from Ludwig Institute a patent family with claims directed to a chimpanzee adenovirus vector encapsulating a nucleic acid molecule encoding a MAGE antigen, a NY- ESO1 antigen or both a MAGE antigen and a NY-ESO1 antigen. As of March 14, 2024, the patent family includes one pending U.S. patent application and at least 8 foreign patent applications pending in jurisdictions including Europe, Australia, Canada, China, and Japan. If a patent were to issue from a patent application claiming the benefit of this PCT application, such a patent would be expected to expire in 2039, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. In addition, we also rely on patent protection afforded by the patent family directed to the ChAdOx1 expression vector, which is expected to expire in 2032, 35 Table of Contents the patent family directed to our adenoviral promotor, which is expected to expire in 2028, and the patent family directed to our MVA-poxvirus promoter, which is expected to expire in 2031, as discussed above. Our VTP-800 and VTP-850 product candidates comprise a ChAdOx15T4 vector and a MVA5T4 vector, where each vector incorporates an engineered 5T4 antigen and in VTP-850 the 5T4 antigen is also in combination with additional antigens. We in-license from OUI a patent family with claims directed to a composition for inducing a T Cell response comprising a MVA vector expressing the 5T4 antigen polypeptide. As of March 14, 2024, the patent family includes one pending U.S. patent application and 11 foreign patent applications pending in jurisdictions including Europe, Australia, Canada, China, and Japan. If a patent were to issue from a patent application claiming the benefit of this PCT application, such a patent would be expected to expire in 2039, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. In addition, we also rely on patent protection afforded by the patent family directed to the ChAdOx1 expression vector, which is expected to expire in 2032, the patent family directed to our adenoviral promotor, which is expected to expire in 2028, and the patent family directed to our MVA-poxvirus promoter, which is expected to expire in 2031, as discussed above. Our VTP-500 product candidate comprises a ChAdOx1MERS vector that incorporates an engineered MERS antigen. We rely on patent protection afforded by the patent family directed to the ChAdOx1 expression vector, which is expected to expire in 2032 and the patent family directed to our adenoviral promotor, which is expected to expire in 2028, as discussed above. Our VTP-400 product candidate comprises a ChAdOx1VZVgE vector that incorporates an engineered VZVgE antigen. We in-license from OUI a patent family with claims directed to an adenoviral vector comprising a nucleic acid encoding the varicella-zoster virus antigen. As of March 14, 2024, the patent family includes one pending U.S. patent application and 13 foreign patent applications pending in jurisdictions including Europe, Australia, Canada, China, and Japan. If a patent were to issue from a patent application claiming the benefit of this PCT application, such a patent would be expected to expire in 2039, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. We also rely on patent protection afforded by the patent family directed to the ChAdOx1 expression vector, which is expected to expire in 2032 and the patent family directed to our adenoviral promotor, which is expected to expire in 2028, as discussed above. Our VTP-1100 product candidate includes SNAP-CI platform technology to target HPV16+ cancers. We co-own a patent family with claims directed to methods of treating cancers using SNAP-CI compositions. As of March 14, 2024, the patent family includes one pending international PCT patent application. If a patent were to issue from a patent application claiming the benefit of this PCT application, such a patent would be expected to expire in 2043, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. We have exclusive rights in this patent family, which resulted from work carried out under a CRADA between Barinthus Bio and the NIH. In addition, we rely on patent protection afforded by the patent families directed to the SNAP technology platforms, which are expected to expire between 2030 and 2042, as discussed above. Our VTP-1000 product candidate includes SNAP-TI platform technology to provide tolerizing immunotherapy for celiac disease. We co-own a patent family with claims directed to compositions and methods for treating celiac disease. As of March 14, 2024, the patent family includes one pending U.S. patent application and one pending international PCT patent application. If a patent were to issue from either of these pending applications or from a patent application claiming the benefit of either of these applications, such a patent would be expected to expire in 2043, without giving effect to any potential patent term extensions or patent term adjustments and assuming payment of all appropriate maintenance, renewal, annuity or other governmental fees. In addition, we rely on patent protection afforded by the patent families directed to the SNAP technology platforms, which are expected to expire between 2030 and 2042, as discussed above. Individual patents have terms for varying periods depending on the date of filing of the patent application or the date of patent issuance and the legal term of patents in the countries in which they are obtained. Generally, utility patents issued for applications filed in the United States are granted a term of 20 years from the earliest effective filing date of a non-provisional patent application. The duration of foreign patents varies in accordance with provisions of applicable local law, but typically is also 20 years from the earliest effective filing date. All taxes, annuities or maintenance fees for a patent, as required by the USPTO and certain foreign jurisdictions, must be timely paid in order for the patent to remain in force during this period of time. The actual protection afforded by a patent may vary on a product by product basis, from country to country and can depend upon many factors, including the type of patent, the scope of its coverage, the availability of regulatory-related extensions and the availability of legal remedies in a particular country and the validity and enforceability of the patent. Our patents 36 Table of Contents and patent applications may be subject to procedural or legal challenges by others. We may be unable to obtain, maintain and protect the intellectual property rights necessary to conduct our business, and we may be subject to claims that we infringe or otherwise violate the intellectual property rights of others, which could materially harm our business. For more information about the risks associated with our efforts to obtain adequate intellectual property protection for our product candidates, and the enforcement of such intellectual property rights, as well as the risks associated with third party intellectual property rights, see the section titled “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Intellectual Property.” With regard to our VTP-300 and VTP-850 product candidates, we are aware of third-party patents in the United States with claims which may be relevant to these product candidates. See “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Intellectual Property — The intellectual property landscape around immunotherapeutics and viral-vector based vaccines is crowded and dynamic, and third parties may initiate legal proceedings alleging that we are infringing, misappropriating or otherwise violating their intellectual property rights and such claims may be costly and time-consuming and may prevent or delay our product discovery and development efforts.” Government Regulation In the United States, biological products are subject to regulation under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (the “FD&C Act”), the Public Health Service Act (the “PHS Act”), and other federal, state, and local statutes and regulations. Both the FD&C Act and the PHS Act and their corresponding regulations govern, among other things, the research, development, testing, manufacturing, quality control, approval, safety, efficacy, labeling, packaging, storage, record keeping, distribution, reporting, marketing, promotion, export and import, advertising, post-approval monitoring, and post-approval reporting involving biological products. The process of obtaining regulatory approvals and the subsequent compliance with appropriate federal, state, local and foreign statutes and regulations, and international guidelines require the expenditure of substantial time and financial resources and we may not be able to obtain the required regulatory approvals. Further, even if we obtain the required regulatory approvals for our products, pharmaceutical companies are subject to myriad federal, state, and foreign healthcare laws, rules, and regulations governing all aspects of our operations, including, but not limited to, our relationships with healthcare professionals, healthcare institutions, distributors of our products, and sales and marketing personnel; governmental and other third-party payor coverage and reimbursement of our products; and data privacy and security. Such laws, rules, and regulations are complex, continuously evolving, and, in many cases, have not been subject to extensive interpretation by applicable regulatory agencies or the courts. We are required to invest significant time and financial resources in policies, procedures, processes, and systems to ensure compliance with these laws, rules, and regulations, and our failure to do so may result in the imposition of substantial monetary or other penalties by federal or state regulatory agencies, give rise to reputational harm, or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition. U.S. Biological Products Development Process In the United States, the FDA is responsible for enforcing the laws in place to protect public health by ensuring the safety, efficacy, and security of biological products. The process required by the FDA before a biological product may be marketed in the United States generally involves the following: • completion of extensive preclinical laboratory tests and animal studies performed in accordance with applicable regulations, including the FDA’s Good Laboratory Practices (GLPs), regulations and standards; • submission to the FDA of an IND, which must become effective before clinical trials may begin; • approval by an independent institutional review board ("IRB") or ethics committee representing each clinical site before the trial is commenced; • performance of adequate and well-controlled human clinical trials in accordance with applicable IND regulations, Good Clinical Practices ("GCPs"), and other clinical trial-related regulations to establish the safety, purity and potency of the proposed biological product candidate for its intended purpose; • preparation of and submission to the FDA of a BLA, which includes not only the results of the clinical trials, but also, detailed information on the chemistry, manufacture and quality controls for the product candidate and proposed labeling; • payment of user fees for FDA review of the BLA (unless a fee waiver applies); • a determination by the FDA within 60 days of its receipt of a BLA to file the application for review; • satisfactory completion of an FDA pre-approval inspection of the manufacturing facility or facilities at which the proposed product is produced to assess compliance with current Good Manufacturing Practice requirements ("cGMPs") and to assure that the facilities, methods and controls are adequate to preserve the biological product’s 37 Table of Contents identity, strength, quality and purity, and of selected clinical trial sites that generated the data in support of the BLA to assess compliance with the FDA’s GCPs; • satisfactory completion of an FDA Advisory Committee review, if applicable; and • FDA review and approval, or licensure, of a BLA to permit commercial marketing of the product for particular indications for use in the United States. Before testing any biological product candidate in humans, the product candidate enters the preclinical development stage. The preclinical development stage generally involves laboratory evaluations of drug chemistry, formulation and stability, as well as studies to evaluate toxicity in animals, which support subsequent clinical testing. The conduct of the preclinical studies must comply with federal regulations, including GLPs. The sponsor must submit the results of the preclinical studies, together with manufacturing information, analytical data, any available clinical data or literature and a proposed clinical protocol, as well as other information, to the FDA as part of the IND. An IND is a request for authorization from the FDA to administer an investigational drug product to humans. The central focus of an IND submission is on the general investigational plan and the protocol(s) for human trials. The IND automatically becomes effective 30 days after receipt by the FDA, unless the FDA raises concerns or questions regarding the proposed clinical trials and places the IND on clinical hold within that 30-day time period. In such a case, the IND sponsor and the FDA must resolve any outstanding concerns before the clinical trial can begin. The FDA may also impose clinical holds on a drug product candidate at any time before or during clinical trials due to safety concerns, non-compliance, or other issues affecting the integrity of the trial. Accordingly, we cannot be sure that submission of an IND will result in the FDA allowing clinical trials to begin, or that, once begun, issues will not arise that could cause the trial to be suspended or terminated. Clinical trials involve the administration of the biological product candidate to healthy volunteers or patients under the supervision of qualified investigators which generally are physicians not employed by, or under the control of, the trial sponsor. Clinical trials are conducted under written trial protocols detailing, among other things, the objectives of the clinical trial, dosing procedures, subject selection (inclusion and exclusion criteria) and the parameters and criteria to be used to monitor subject safety, including stopping rules that assure a clinical trial will be stopped if certain adverse events should occur. Each protocol, and any subsequent amendments to the protocol, must be submitted to the FDA as part of the IND. An IRB representing each institution participating in the clinical trial must review and approve the plan for any clinical trial before it commences at that institution, and the IRB must conduct continuing review and reapprove the trial at least annually. The IRB must review and approve, among other things, the trial protocol and informed consent information to be provided to trial subjects. An IRB must operate in compliance with FDA regulations. An IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution, or an institution it represents, if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the product candidate has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients. Some trials are overseen by an independent group of qualified experts organized by the trial sponsor, known as a data safety monitoring board or committee. This group provides authorization as to whether or not a trial may move forward at designated check points based on access that only the group maintains to available data (if blinded) or to data available also to the sponsor (unblinded) from the trial and may recommend halting the clinical trial if it determines that there is an unacceptable safety risk for subjects or other grounds, such as no demonstration of efficacy. Certain information about certain clinical trials must also be submitted within specific timeframes to the NIH for public dissemination on its ClinicalTrials.gov website. Human clinical trials are typically conducted in three sequential phases that may overlap or be combined: • Phase 1. The investigational product is initially introduced into healthy human volunteers or patients with the target disease or condition. Phase 1 clinical trials are typically designed to test the safety, dosage tolerance, absorption, metabolism and distribution of the investigational product in humans, including any side effects associated with increasing doses, and, if possible, to gain early evidence of effectiveness. • Phase 2. The investigational product is evaluated in a limited patient population to identify possible adverse side effects and safety risks, to preliminarily evaluate the efficacy of the product for specific targeted diseases and to determine dosage tolerance, optimal dosage and dosing schedule. Multiple Phase 2 clinical trials may be conducted to obtain information prior to beginning larger and more expensive Phase 3 clinical trials. • Phase 3. The investigational product is administered to an expanded patient population to further evaluate dosage, to provide substantial evidence of clinical efficacy and to further test for safety, generally at multiple geographically dispersed clinical trial sites. These clinical trials are intended to establish the overall benefit:risk 38 Table of Contents ratio of the investigational product and to provide an adequate basis for physician labeling. Generally, two adequate and well-controlled Phase 3 clinical trials are required by the FDA for approval of a BLA. In some cases, the FDA may require, or companies may voluntarily pursue, post-approval clinical trials, sometimes referred to as Phase 4 clinical trials, after initial marketing approval. These clinical trials are used to gain additional experience from the treatment of patients in the intended therapeutic indication, particularly for long-term safety follow-up. During all phases of clinical development, regulatory agencies require extensive monitoring and auditing of all clinical trial activities, clinical data, and clinical trial investigators. Annual progress reports detailing the results of the clinical trials must be submitted to the FDA. Written IND safety reports must be submitted to the FDA and the investigators fifteen days after the trial sponsor determines the information qualifies for reporting for serious and unexpected suspected adverse events, findings from other studies or animal or in vitro testing that suggest a significant risk for human volunteers and any clinically important increase in the rate of a serious suspected adverse reaction over that listed in the protocol or investigator brochure. The sponsor must submit an IND safety report within seven days of the sponsor’s initial receipt of the information of any unexpected fatal or life-threatening suspected adverse reaction. Phase 1, Phase 2 and Phase 3 clinical trials may not be completed successfully within any specified period, if at all. The FDA or the sponsor, acting on its own or based on a recommendation from the sponsor’s data safety monitoring board may suspend a clinical trial at any time on various grounds, including a finding that the research subjects or patients are being exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Similarly, an IRB can suspend or terminate approval of a clinical trial at its institution if the clinical trial is not being conducted in accordance with the IRB’s requirements or if the biological product has been associated with unexpected serious harm to patients. Concurrent with clinical trials, companies usually complete additional animal studies and also must develop additional information about the chemistry and physical characteristics of the biological product and finalize a process for manufacturing the product in commercial quantities in accordance with cGMP. To help reduce the risk of the introduction of adventitious agents with use of biological products, the PHS Act emphasizes the importance of manufacturing control for products whose attributes cannot be precisely defined. The manufacturing process must be capable of consistently producing high quality batches of the product candidate and, among other things, the sponsor must develop methods for testing the identity, strength, quality, potency, stability, and purity of the final biological product. Additionally, appropriate packaging must be selected and tested and stability studies must be conducted to demonstrate that the biological product candidate does not undergo unacceptable deterioration over its shelf life. U.S. Review and Approval Processes Assuming successful completion of all required testing in accordance with all applicable regulatory requirements, the results of product development, nonclinical studies and clinical trials are submitted to the FDA as part of a BLA requesting approval to market the product for one or more indications. The BLA must include results of product development, laboratory and animal studies, human trials, information on the manufacture and composition of the product, proposed labeling and other relevant information. Within 60 days following submission of the application, the FDA reviews a BLA submitted to determine if it is substantially complete before the FDA accepts it for filing. The FDA may refuse to file any BLA that it deems incomplete or not properly reviewable at the time of submission and may request additional information. In this event, the BLA must be resubmitted with the required additional information. The resubmitted application also is subject to review to determine if it is substantially complete before the FDA accepts it for filing. In most cases, the submission of a BLA is subject to a substantial application user fee, although the fee may be waived under certain circumstances. Under the performance goals and policies implemented by the FDA under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act ("PDUFA") for original BLAs, the FDA targets ten months from the filing date in which to complete its initial review of a standard application and respond to the applicant, and six months from the filing date for an application with priority review. The FDA does not always meet its PDUFA goal dates, and the review process can be significantly extended by FDA requests for additional information or clarification. Once the submission is accepted for filing, the FDA begins an in-depth substantive review of the BLA. The FDA reviews the BLA to determine, among other things, whether the proposed product is safe and effective for its intended use, conducting a benefit-risk assessment based on the information provided as to whether the benefits (with their uncertainties) of the biological product outweigh the risks (with their uncertainties and approaches to managing risks) under the conditions of use described in the proposed product labeling, and whether the product is being manufactured in accordance with cGMP to ensure its continued safety, purity and potency. The FDA may refer applications for novel biological products or biological products that present difficult or novel questions of safety or efficacy to an advisory committee, typically a panel that includes clinicians, patient representatives, and other experts, for review, evaluation and a recommendation as to whether the application should be approved and under what conditions. The FDA is not bound by the recommendations of an advisory committee, but it considers such recommendations carefully when making decisions. During the biological product approval process, the FDA also will determine whether a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation 39 Table of Contents Strategy ("REMS") is necessary to assure the safe use of the biological product. If the FDA concludes a REMS is needed, the sponsor of the BLA must submit a proposed REMS; the FDA will not approve the BLA without a REMS, if required. Before approving a BLA, the FDA typically will inspect the facilities at which the product is manufactured. The FDA will not approve the product unless it determines that the manufacturing processes and facilities are in compliance with cGMP requirements and adequate to assure consistent production of the product within required specifications. To assure cGMP and GCP compliance, an applicant must incur significant expenditure of time, money and effort in the areas of training, record keeping, production and quality control. Additionally, before approving a BLA, the FDA will typically inspect one or more clinical sites to assure that the clinical trials were conducted in compliance with the protocol and following GCP. Under the Pediatric Research Equity Act ("PREA") a BLA or supplement to a BLA for a novel product ( e.g. , new active ingredient, new indication, etc.) must contain data to assess the safety and effectiveness of the biological product for the claimed indications in all relevant pediatric subpopulations and to support dosing and administration for each pediatric subpopulation for which the product is safe and effective. The FDA may grant deferrals for submission of data or full or partial waivers. After the FDA evaluates a BLA and conducts inspections of manufacturing facilities where the drug substance and/or drug product for commercial supply will be produced, the FDA may issue an approval letter or a Complete Response Letter. An approval letter authorizes commercial marketing of the product with specific prescribing information for specific indications. A Complete Response Letter will describe all of the deficiencies that the FDA has identified in the BLA, except that where the FDA determines that the data supporting the application are inadequate to support approval, the FDA may issue the Complete Response Letter without first conducting required inspections, testing submitted product lots, and/or reviewing proposed labeling. In issuing the Complete Response Letter, the FDA may recommend actions that the applicant might take to place the BLA in condition for approval, including requests for additional information or clarification. The FDA may delay or refuse approval of a BLA if applicable regulatory criteria are not satisfied, require additional testing or information and/or require post-marketing testing and surveillance to monitor safety or efficacy of a product. If a product receives regulatory approval, the approval may be significantly limited to specific diseases and dosages or the indications for use may otherwise be limited, including to subpopulations of patients, which could restrict the commercial value of the product. Further, the FDA may require that certain contraindications, warnings, precautions or interactions be included in the product labeling. The FDA may impose restrictions and conditions on product distribution, prescribing, or dispensing in the form of a REMS, or otherwise limit the scope of any approval. The FDA also may condition approval on, among other things, changes to proposed labeling or the development of adequate controls and specifications. Once approved, the FDA may withdraw the product approval if compliance with pre- and post-marketing requirements is not maintained or if problems occur after the product reaches the marketplace. The FDA may require one or more Phase 4 post-market trials and surveillance to further assess and monitor the product’s safety and effectiveness after commercialization, and may limit further marketing of the product based on the results of these post-marketing trials. In addition, new government requirements, including those resulting from new legislation, may be established, or the FDA’s policies may change, which could impact the timeline for regulatory approval or otherwise impact ongoing development programs. Orphan Drug Designation Under section 526 of the FD&C Act, the FDA may grant orphan designation to a drug or biological product intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is defined as a disease or condition that affects fewer than 200,000 individuals in the United States, or 200,000 or more individuals in the United States and for which there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing and making available in the United States a drug or biological product for such disease or condition will be recovered from sales of the product in the United States of such drug. Orphan product designation must be requested before submitting a BLA for the orphan indication. After the FDA grants orphan product designation, the identity of the therapeutic agent and its potential orphan use are disclosed publicly by the FDA. Orphan product designation does not convey any advantage in or shorten the duration of the regulatory review and approval process. If a product that has orphan drug designation subsequently receives the first FDA approval for a particular active ingredient for the disease for which it has such designation, the product is entitled to orphan product exclusivity, which means that the FDA may not approve any other applications to market the same biologic for the same indication for seven years, except in limited circumstances, such as a showing of clinical superiority to the product with orphan drug exclusivity or if the FDA finds that the holder of the orphan drug exclusivity has not shown that it can assure the availability of sufficient quantities of the orphan drug to meet the needs of patients with the disease or condition for which the drug was designated. Orphan drug exclusivity does not prevent the FDA from approving a different drug or biologic for the same disease or condition, or the same drug or biologic for a different disease or condition. Among the other benefits of orphan drug designation are tax credits for qualified clinical testing expenses and a waiver of the BLA application user fee. 40 Table of Contents A designated orphan drug may not receive orphan drug exclusivity if the approved indication for a use is broader than the indication for which it received orphan designation. In addition, orphan drug exclusive marketing rights in the United States may be lost if the FDA later determines that the request for designation was materially defective or, as noted above, if the second applicant demonstrates that its product is clinically superior to the approved product with orphan exclusivity or the manufacturer of the approved product is unable to assure sufficient quantities of the product to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition. Orphan drug designation may also entitle a party to additional financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs. Expedited Development and Review Programs The FDA has various programs, including fast track designation, breakthrough therapy designation, accelerated approval and priority review, that are intended to expedite or simplify the process for the development and FDA review of drugs and biologics that are intended for the treatment of serious or life-threatening diseases or conditions or fulfill an unmet medical need. To be eligible for fast track designation, new drugs and biological product candidates must be intended to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and demonstrate the potential to address unmet medical needs for that disease or condition. Fast track designation applies to the combination of the product and the specific indication for which it is being studied. The sponsor of a new drug or biologic may request the FDA to designate the drug or biologic as a fast track product at any time during the clinical development of the product. One benefit of fast track designation, for example, is that the FDA may consider for review sections of the marketing application on a rolling basis before the complete application is submitted if certain conditions are satisfied, including an agreement with the FDA on the proposed schedule for submission of portions of the application and the payment of applicable user fees before the FDA may initiate a review. However, the review of the BLA does not formally start until the full application has been received by the FDA. Under the FDA’s breakthrough therapy program, a sponsor may seek FDA designation of its product candidate as a breakthrough therapy if the product candidate is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs or biologics, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that it may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, defined as those that measure an effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or on symptoms that represent serious consequences of the disease. Breakthrough therapy designation comes with all of the benefits of fast track designation. The FDA may take other actions appropriate to expedite the development and review of the product candidate, including holding meetings with the sponsor and providing timely advice to, and interactive communication with, the sponsor regarding the development program. A product candidate is eligible for priority review if when approved, it would provide a significant improvement in the safety or effectiveness of the treatment, diagnosis or prevention of a serious disease or condition. The FDA will attempt to direct additional resources to the evaluation of an application for a new drug or biological product designated for priority review in an effort to facilitate the review. Under priority review, the FDA’s goal is to review an application in six months once it is filed, compared to ten months for a standard review. Priority review designation does not change the scientific/medical standard for approval or the quality of evidence necessary to support approval. Additionally, drug or biological products studied for their safety and effectiveness in treating serious or life-threatening illnesses and that provide meaningful therapeutic benefit over existing treatments may be eligible for accelerated approval, which means that they may be approved on the basis of adequate and well-controlled clinical trials establishing that the product has an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict a clinical benefit, or on the basis of an effect on an intermediate clinical endpoint other than survival or irreversible morbidity or mortality, that is reasonably likely to predict irreversible morbidity or mortality or other clinical benefit, taking into account the severity, rarity, or prevalence of the condition and the availability or lack of alternative treatments. As a condition of approval, the FDA generally requires that a sponsor of a drug or biological product receiving accelerated approval perform adequate and well-controlled post-marketing clinical trials to verify the clinical benefit in relationship to the surrogate endpoint or ultimate outcome in relationship to the clinical benefit. Under the Food and Drug Omnibus Reform Act of 2022 ("FDORA") the FDA is now permitted to require, as appropriate, that such trials be underway prior to approval or within a specific time period after the date of approval for a product granted accelerated approval. Sponsors are also required to send updates to the FDA every 180 days on the status of such studies, including progress toward enrollment targets, and the FDA must promptly post this information publicly. Under FDORA, the FDA has increased authority for expedited procedures to withdraw approval of a drug or indication approved under accelerated approval if, for example, the sponsor fails to conduct such studies in a timely manner and send the necessary updates to the FDA, or if a confirmatory trial fails to verify the predicted clinical benefit of the product. In addition, the FDA currently requires sponsors, unless otherwise informed by the agency, to request pre-approval of promotional materials for products receiving accelerated approval, which could adversely impact the timing of the commercial launch of the product. The FDA may withdraw approval of a drug or 41 Table of Contents indication approved under accelerated approval if, for example, the confirmatory trial fails to verify the predicted clinical benefit of the product. Post-approval Requirements Rigorous and extensive FDA regulation of biological products continues after approval, particularly with respect to cGMP requirements, as well as requirements relating to record-keeping, reporting of adverse experiences, periodic reporting, product sampling and distribution, and advertising and promotion of the product. We currently rely, and may continue to rely, on third parties for the production of clinical and commercial quantities of any products that we may commercialize. Manufacturers of our products are required to comply with applicable requirements in the cGMP regulations, including quality control and quality assurance and maintenance of records and documentation. Other post-approval requirements applicable to biological products include reporting of cGMP deviations that may affect the identity, potency, purity and overall safety of a distributed product, record-keeping requirements, reporting of adverse effects, reporting updated safety and efficacy information, and complying with electronic record and signature requirements. As part of the manufacturing process, the manufacturer is required to perform certain tests on each lot of the product before it is released for distribution. After a BLA is approved for a biological product, the product also may be subject to official lot release. If the product is subject to official release by the FDA, the manufacturer submits samples of each lot of product to the FDA together with a release protocol showing a summary of the history of manufacture of the lot and the results of all of the manufacturer’s tests performed on the lot. The FDA also may perform certain confirmatory tests on lots of some products before releasing the lots for distribution by the manufacturer. In addition, the FDA conducts laboratory research related to the regulatory standards on the safety, purity, potency, and effectiveness of biological products. Manufacturers also must comply with the FDA’s advertising and promotion requirements, such as those related to direct-to-consumer advertising, the prohibition on promoting products for uses or in patient populations that are not described in the product’s approved labeling (known as “off-label use”), industry-sponsored scientific and educational activities, and promotional activities involving the internet. Discovery of previously unknown problems or the failure to comply with the applicable regulatory requirements may result in restrictions on the marketing of a product or withdrawal of the product from the market as well as possible civil or criminal sanctions. Failure to comply with the applicable United States requirements at any time during the product development process, approval process, or after approval, may subject an applicant or manufacturer to administrative or judicial civil or criminal sanctions and adverse publicity. FDA sanctions could include refusal to approve pending applications, withdrawal of an approval, clinical holds, warning or untitled letters, product recalls, product seizures, total or partial suspension of production or distribution, product detentions or refusal to permit the import or export of the product, restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of the product, injunctions, fines, refusals of government contracts, mandated corrective advertising or communications with physicians or other stakeholders, debarment, restitution, disgorgement of profits, or civil or criminal penalties. Any agency or judicial enforcement action could have a material adverse effect on us. Biological product manufacturers and other entities involved in the manufacture and distribution of approved biological products are required to register their establishments with the FDA and certain state agencies, and are subject to periodic unannounced inspections by the FDA and certain state agencies for compliance with cGMP and other laws, including applicable tracking and tracing requirements. Accordingly, manufacturers must continue to expend time, money, and effort in the area of production and quality control to maintain cGMP compliance. Discovery of problems with a product after approval may result in restrictions on a product, manufacturer, or holder of an approved BLA, including withdrawal of the product from the market. In addition, changes to the manufacturing process or facility generally require prior FDA approval before being implemented and other types of changes to the approved product, such as adding new indications and additional labeling claims, are also subject to further FDA review and approval. Marketing Exclusivity Depending upon the timing, duration and specifics of the FDA approval of the use of our product candidates, some of our United States patents may be eligible for limited patent term extension under the Drug Price Competition and Patent Term Restoration Act of 1984 (the "Hatch-Waxman Amendments"). The Hatch-Waxman Amendments permit a patent restoration term of up to five years as compensation for patent term lost during product development and the FDA regulatory review process. However, patent term restoration cannot extend the remaining term of a patent beyond a total of 14 years from the product’s approval date. The patent term restoration period is generally one-half the time between the effective date of an IND and the submission date of a BLA plus the time between the submission date of a BLA and the approval of that application. Only one patent applicable to an approved biological product is eligible for the extension and the application for the extension must be submitted prior to the expiration of the patent. In addition, a patent can only be extended once and only for a single product. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (the "USPTO") in consultation with the FDA, reviews and approves the application for any patent term extension or restoration. In the future, we may intend to apply for restoration of patent term for one of our patents, if and as applicable, to add patent life beyond 42 Table of Contents its current expiration date, depending on the expected length of the clinical trials and other factors involved in the filing of the relevant BLA. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act (collectively, the "ACA") includes a subtitle called the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 ("BPCIA"), which created an abbreviated approval pathway for biological products shown to be biosimilar to, or interchangeable with, an FDA-licensed reference biological product. This amendment to the PHS Act attempts to minimize duplicative testing. Biosimilarity, which requires that there be no clinically meaningful differences between the biological product and the reference product in terms of safety, purity, and potency, can be shown through analytical studies, animal studies, and a clinical trial or trials. Interchangeability requires that a product is biosimilar to the reference product and the product must demonstrate that it can be expected to produce the same clinical results as the reference product and, for products administered multiple times, the biologic and the reference biologic may be switched after one has been previously administered without increasing safety risks or risks of diminished efficacy relative to exclusive use of the reference biologic. The FDA will not accept an application for a biosimilar or interchangeable product based on the reference biological product until four years after the date of first licensure of the reference product, and the FDA will not approve an application for a biosimilar or interchangeable product based on the reference biological product until twelve years after the date of first licensure of the reference product. “First licensure” typically means the initial date the particular product at issue was licensed in the United States. Date of first licensure does not include the date of licensure of (and a new period of exclusivity is not available for) a biological product if the licensure is for a supplement for the biological product or for a subsequent application by the same sponsor or manufacturer of the biological product (or licensor, predecessor in interest, or other related entity) for a change (not including a modification to the structure of the biological product) that results in a new indication, route of administration, dosing schedule, dosage form, delivery system, delivery device or strength, or for a modification to the structure of the biological product that does not result in a change in safety, purity, or potency. The BPCIA is complex and continues to be interpreted and implemented by the FDA. In addition, government proposals have sought to reduce the 12 year reference product exclusivity period. Other aspects of the BPCIA, some of which may impact the BPCIA exclusivity provisions, have also been the subject of litigation. As a result, the ultimate implementation and impact of the BPCIA is subject to significant uncertainty. In addition to exclusivity under the BPCIA, a biological product can obtain pediatric market exclusivity in the United States. Pediatric exclusivity, if granted, adds six months to existing exclusivity for all formulations, dosage forms, and indications of the biologic. This six-month exclusivity, which runs from the end of other exclusivity protection, may be granted based on the voluntary completion of a pediatric trial in accordance with an FDA-issued “Written Request” for such a trial, provided that at the time pediatric exclusivity is granted there is not less than nine months of term remaining. Additional Regulation In addition to the foregoing, state and federal laws regarding environmental protection and hazardous substances, including the Occupational Safety and Health Act, the Resource Conservancy and Recovery Act and the Toxic Substances Control Act, affect our business. These and other laws govern our use, handling and disposal of various biological, chemical and radioactive substances used in, and wastes generated by, our operations. If our operations result in contamination of the environment or expose individuals to hazardous substances, we could be liable for damages and governmental fines. We believe that we are in material compliance with applicable environmental laws and that continued compliance therewith will not have a material adverse effect on our business. We cannot predict, however, how changes in these laws may affect our future operations. Government Regulation Outside of the United States In addition to regulations in the United States, we are subject to a variety of regulations in other jurisdictions governing, among other things, research and development, clinical trials, testing, manufacturing, safety, efficacy, labeling, packaging, storage, record keeping, distribution, reporting, advertising and other promotional practices involving biological products as well as authorization and approval of our products. Because biologically sourced raw materials are subject to unique contamination risks, their use may be restricted in some countries. Whether or not we obtain FDA approval for a product, we must obtain the requisite approvals from regulatory authorities in foreign countries prior to the commencement of clinical trials or marketing of the product in those countries. Certain countries outside of the United States have a similar process that requires the submission of a clinical trial application much like the IND prior to the commencement of human clinical trials. In April 2014, the EU adopted the new Clinical Trials Regulation (EU) No 536/2014, which replaced the current Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC on January 31, 2022. The transitory provisions of the new Regulation offer sponsors the possibility to choose between the requirements of the previous Directive and the new Regulation if the request for 43 Table of Contents authorization of a clinical trial is submitted in the year after the new Regulation became applicable. If the sponsor chooses to submit under the previous Directive, the clinical trial continues to be governed by the Directive until three years after the new Regulation became applicable. If a clinical trial continues for more than three years after the Regulation became applicable, the new Regulation will at that time begin to apply to the clinical trial. The new Regulation, which is directly applicable in all EU Member States and those within the European Economic Area ("EEA") (meaning that no national implementing legislation in each EU Member State is required), aims at simplifying and streamlining the approval of clinical trials in the EU. The main characteristics of the new Regulation include: a streamlined application procedure via a single-entry point through the Clinical Trials Information System ("CTIS"); a single set of documents to be prepared and submitted for the application as well as simplified reporting procedures for clinical trial sponsors; and a harmonized procedure for the assessment of applications for clinical trials, which is divided in two parts (Part I contains scientific and medicinal product documentation and Part II contains the national and patient-level documentation). Part I is assessed by a coordinated review by the competent authorities of all European Union Member States in which an application for authorization of a clinical trial has been submitted (Concerned Member States) of a draft report prepared by a Reference Member State. Part II is assessed separately by each Concerned Member State. Strict deadlines have also been established for the assessment of clinical trial applications. The requirements and process governing the conduct of clinical trials, product licensing, pricing and reimbursement vary from country to country. In all cases, the clinical trials must be conducted in accordance with GCP and the applicable regulatory requirements and the ethical principles that have their origin in the Declaration of Helsinki. If we fail to comply with applicable foreign regulatory requirements, we may be subject to, among other things, fines, suspension of clinical trials, suspension or withdrawal of regulatory approvals, product recalls, seizure of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecution. European Union Drug Review and Approval In the European Union, medicinal products, including biological medicinal products, are subject to extensive pre- and post-market regulation by regulatory authorities at both the European Union and national levels. To obtain regulatory approval of a biological medicinal product under the European Union regulatory system, we must submit a marketing authorization application ("MAA") either under a centralized procedure administered by the EMA or one of the procedures administered by competent authorities in the European Union: the decentralized procedure, national procedure, or mutual recognition procedure. A marketing authorization may be granted only to an applicant established in the EEA. The centralized procedure provides for the grant of a single marketing authorization by the European Commission that is valid throughout the entire territory of the EU and the additional Member States of the EEA. Pursuant to Regulation (EC) No. 726/2004, the centralized procedure is compulsory for specific products, including for medicines produced by certain biotechnological processes, products designated as orphan medicinal products, advanced-therapy medicinal products (gene-therapy, somatic-cell therapy and tissue-engineered medicines) and products with a new active substance indicated for the treatment of certain diseases, including products for the treatment of viral diseases, autoimmune and other immune dysfunctions and cancer. For those products for which the use of the centralized procedure is not mandatory, applicants may elect to use the centralized procedure where the product contains a new active substance not yet authorized in the European Union, and where the applicant can show that the product constitutes a significant therapeutic, scientific or technical innovation or for which a centralized process is in the interest of public health at a European Union level. Under the centralized procedure, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (the "CHMP"), established at the EMA is responsible for conducting an initial assessment of whether a product meets the required quality, safety and efficacy requirements, and whether a product has a positive benefit-risk profile. Under the centralized procedure in the European Union, the maximum timeframe for the evaluation of an MAA is 210 days from receipt of a valid MAA, excluding clock stops when additional information or written or oral explanation is to be provided by the applicant in response to questions asked by the CHMP. Clock stops may extend the timeframe of evaluation of an MAA considerably beyond 210 days. Where the CHMP gives a positive opinion, it provides the opinion together with supporting documentation to the European Commission, who make the final decision to grant a marketing authorization, which is issued within 67 days of receipt of the EMA’s recommendation. Accelerated evaluation may be granted by the CHMP in exceptional cases, when a medicinal product is of major interest from the point of view of public health and, in particular, from the viewpoint of therapeutic innovation. If the CHMP accepts such a request, the timeframe of 210 days for assessment will be reduced to 150 days (excluding clock stops), but it is possible that the CHMP may revert to the standard time limit for the centralized procedure if it determines that the application is no longer appropriate to conduct an accelerated assessment. For products not falling within the mandatory scope of the centralized procedure, national marketing authorizations may be obtained, which are issued by the competent authorities of the European Union Member States and only cover their 44 Table of Contents respective territory. Where a product has already been authorized for marketing in an European Union Member State, this national marketing authorization can be recognized in another European Union Member State through the mutual recognition procedure. If the product has not received a national marketing authorization in any Member State at the time of application, it can be approved simultaneously in various European Union Member States through the decentralized procedure. As with the centralized procedure, the competent authorities of the European Union Member States assess the risk-benefit balance of the product on the basis of scientific criteria concerning its quality, safety and efficacy before granting the marketing authorization. The application used to submit the BLA in the United States is similar to that required in the European Union, with certain exceptions. Directive 2001/83/EC and the laws in the Member States transposing this Directive into national law set out the requirements for an MAA. An MAA for a biological medicinal product must contain certain additional requirements to applications for other medicinal products, such as a description of the origin and history of the starting materials used for the product. Data and Marketing Exclusivity The European Union also provides opportunities for market exclusivity. Upon receiving marketing authorization in the European Union, innovative medicinal products, approved on the basis of a complete independent package, generally receive eight years of data exclusivity and an additional two years of market exclusivity. Data exclusivity, if granted, prevents generic or biosimilar applicants from referencing the innovator’s preclinical/nonclinical and clinical trial data contained in the dossier of the reference product when applying for a generic or biosimilar marketing authorization in the European Union for a period of eight years from the date on which the reference product was first authorized in the European Union. During the additional two-year period of market exclusivity, a generic or biosimilar marketing authorization can be submitted, and the innovator’s data may be referenced, but no generic or biosimilar product can be marketed in the European Union until the expiration of the market exclusivity period. The overall ten-year period will be extended to a maximum of eleven years if, during the first eight years of those ten years, the marketing authorization holder obtains an authorization for one or more new therapeutic indications which, during the scientific evaluation prior to their authorization, are held to bring a significant clinical benefit in comparison with currently approved therapies. Even if an innovative medicinal product gains the prescribed period of data exclusivity, another company could nevertheless also market another version of the product if such company obtained a marketing authorization based on an MAA with a complete and independent data package of pharmaceutical tests, nonclinical tests and clinical trials. Orphan Designation and Exclusivity Products with an orphan designation in the European Union can receive ten years of market exclusivity, during which time “no similar medicinal product” for the same indication may be placed on the market. A “similar medicinal product” is defined as a medicinal product containing a similar active substance or substances as contained in an authorized orphan medicinal product, and which is intended for the same therapeutic indication. An orphan medicinal product can also obtain an additional two years of market exclusivity where an agreed pediatric investigation plan for pediatric trials has been complied with. No extension to any supplementary protection certificate ("SPC") can be granted on the basis of pediatric trials for orphan indications. The ten-year market exclusivity may be reduced to six years if, at the end of the fifth year, it is established that the product no longer meets the criteria for orphan designation, for example, if the product is sufficiently profitable not to justify maintenance of market exclusivity. The criteria for designating an “orphan medicinal product” in the European Union are similar in principle to those in the United States. Under Article 3 of Regulation (EC) 141/2000, a medicinal product may be designated as an orphan medicinal product if it meets the following criteria: (i) it is intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of a life-threatening or chronically debilitating condition; (ii) either (a) the prevalence of such condition must not be more than five in 10,000 persons in the European Union when the application is made, or (b) without the benefits derived from orphan status, it must be unlikely that the marketing of the medicine would generate sufficient return in the European Union to justify the investment needed for its development; and (iii) there exists no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention or treatment of such condition, or if such a method exists, the product would be of significant benefit to those affected by the condition, as defined in Regulation (EC) 847/2000. Orphan medicinal products are eligible for financial incentives such as reduction of fees or fee waivers made available by the European Union and its Member States to support research into, and the development and availability of, orphan medicinal products. The application for orphan designation must be submitted before the application for marketing authorization. The applicant will receive a fee reduction for the MAA if the orphan drug designation has been granted, but not if the designation is still pending at the time the marketing authorization is submitted. Orphan designation does not convey any advantage in, or shorten the duration of, the regulatory review and approval process. Orphan medicine marketing exclusivity may be revoked only in very select cases, specifically: 45 Table of Contents • if it is established that a similar medicinal product is safer, more effective or otherwise clinically superior; • with consent from the marketing authorization holder for the authorized orphan product; or • the marketing authorization holder for the authorized orphan product cannot supply enough orphan medicinal product. Pediatric Development In the European Union, companies developing a new medicinal product must agree upon a pediatric investigation plan, or PIP, with the EMA’s Pediatric Committee ("PDCO") and must conduct pediatric clinical trials in accordance with that PIP, unless a waiver applies, (e.g., because the relevant disease or condition occurs only in adults). The PIP sets out the timing and measures proposed to generate data to support a pediatric indication of the product for which marketing authorization is being sought. The PDCO can grant a deferral of the obligation to implement some or all of the measures of the PIP until there are sufficient data to demonstrate the efficacy and safety of the product in adults, in which case the pediatric clinical trials must be completed at a later date. Further, the obligation to provide pediatric clinical trial data can be waived by the PDCO when this data are not needed or appropriate because the product is likely to be ineffective or unsafe in children, the disease or condition for which the product is intended occurs only in adult populations, or when the product does not represent a significant therapeutic benefit over existing treatments for pediatric patients. Products that are granted a marketing authorization with the results of pediatric clinical trials conducted in accordance with the PIP are eligible for a six-month extension of the protection under a SPC, provided an application for such extension is made at the same time as filing the SPC application for the product or at any point up to 2 years before the SPC expires, even where the trial results are negative. In the case of orphan medicinal products, a two-year extension of the orphan market exclusivity may be available. This pediatric reward is subject to specific conditions and is not automatically available when data in compliance with the PIP are developed and submitted. PRIME Designation In March 2016, the EMA, launched an initiative to facilitate development of product candidates in indications, often rare, for which few or no therapies currently exist. The PRIME scheme is intended to encourage product development in areas of unmet medical need (where there is no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention or treatment in the European Union or, if there is, the new medicine will bring a major therapeutic advantage) and provides accelerated assessment of products representing substantial innovation. The PRIME scheme is open to medicines under development and for which the applicant intends to apply for an initial MAA through under the centralized procedure. Applicants will typically be at the exploratory clinical trial phase of development, and will have preliminary clinical evidence in patients to demonstrate the promising activity of the medicine and its potential to address to a significant extent an unmet medical need. In exceptional cases, products from small- and medium-sized enterprises may qualify for earlier entry into the PRIME scheme than larger companies, if compelling non-clinical data in a relevant model provide early evidence of promising activity, and first in human trials indicate adequate exposure for the desired pharmacotherapeutic effects and tolerability. Many benefits accrue to sponsors of product candidates with PRIME designation, including but not limited to, early and proactive regulatory dialogue with the EMA, frequent discussions on clinical trial designs and other development program elements, and accelerated MAA assessment once a dossier has been submitted. Importantly, a dedicated EMA contact and rapporteur from the CHMP or Committee for Advanced Therapies are appointed early in the PRIME scheme facilitating increased understanding of the product at EMA’s Committee level. A kick-off meeting initiates these relationships and includes a team of multidisciplinary experts at the EMA to provide guidance on the overall development and regulatory strategies. Where, during the course of development, a medicine no longer meets the eligibility criteria, support under the PRIME scheme may be withdrawn. VTP‑500, under development for the prevention of MERS caused by the MERS coronavirus, was awarded PRIME designation in December 2023 by the EMA. Post-Approval Controls Following approval, the holder of the marketing authorization is required to comply with a range of requirements applicable to the manufacturing, marketing, promotion and sale of the medicinal product. These include the following: • The holder of a marketing authorization must establish and maintain a pharmacovigilance system and appoint an individual qualified person for pharmacovigilance, who is responsible for oversight of that system. Key obligations include expedited reporting of suspected serious adverse reactions and submission of periodic safety update reports ("PSURs"). • All new MAAs must include a risk management plan ("RMP") describing the risk management system that the company will put in place and documenting measures to prevent or minimize the risks associated with the product. The regulatory authorities may also impose specific obligations as a condition of the marketing authorization. 46 Table of Contents Such risk-minimization measures or post- authorization obligations may include additional safety monitoring, more frequent submission of PSURs, or the conduct of additional clinical trials or post-authorization safety trials. RMPs and PSURs are routinely available to third parties requesting access, subject to limited redactions. • All advertising and promotional activities for the product must be consistent with the approved SmPC and therefore all off-label promotion is prohibited. Direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription medicines is also prohibited in the European Union. Although general requirements for advertising and promotion of medicinal products are established under European Union directives, the details are governed by regulations in each European Union Member State and can differ from one country to another. The aforementioned EU rules are generally applicable in the EEA. Brexit and the Regulatory Framework in the United Kingdom In June 2016, the electorate in the United Kingdom voted in favor of leaving the European Union (commonly referred to as “Brexit”), and the United Kingdom officially withdrew from the European Union on January 31, 2020. Pursuant to the formal withdrawal arrangements agreed between the United Kingdom and the European Union, the United Kingdom was subject to a transition period until December 31, 2020 ("Transition Period"), during which European Union rules continued to apply. However, the European Union and the United Kingdom have concluded a trade and cooperation agreement ("TCA"), which was provisionally applicable since January 1, 2021 and has been formally applicable since May 1, 2021. The TCA includes specific provisions concerning pharmaceuticals, which include the mutual recognition of GMP inspections of manufacturing facilities for medicinal products and GMP documents issued, but does not foresee wholesale mutual recognition of United Kingdom and European Union pharmaceutical regulations. At present, Great Britain has implemented European Union legislation on the marketing, promotion and sale of medicinal products through the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 (as amended) (under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the European Union regulatory framework will continue to apply in Northern Ireland). The regulatory regime in Great Britain therefore largely aligns with current European Union regulations, however it is possible that these regimes will diverge in future now that Great Britain’s regulatory system is independent from the European Union and the TCA does not provide for mutual recognition of United Kingdom and European Union pharmaceutical legislation. For example, the United Kingdom has implemented the now repealed Clinical Trials Directive 2001/20/EC into national law through the Medicines for Human Use (Clinical Trials) Regulations 2004 (as amended). The extent to which the regulation of clinical trials in the United Kingdom will mirror the new Clinical Trials Regulation now that has come into effect is not yet known, however the MHRA has conducted a consultation on a set of proposals designed to improve and strengthen the United Kingdom clinical trials legislation. Great Britain is no longer covered by the European Union’s procedures for the grant of centralized marketing authorizations, however as a result of the Northern Ireland Protocol, Northern Ireland will be covered by the centralized authorization procedure and can be covered as a Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS") under the decentralized or mutual recognition procedures. A separate marketing authorization will therefore be required to market drugs in Great Britain. All medicinal products with a valid centralized marketing authorization on January 1, 2021 were automatically converted into Great Britain marketing authorizations (unless the marketing authorization holder opted out of such a conversion). For two years from 1 January 2021, the United Kingdom’s regulator, MHRA may rely on a decision taking by the European Commission on the approval of a new marketing authorization in the centralized procedure, in order to more quickly grant a new Great Britain marketing authorization. This is known as the EC Decision Reliance Procedure. The MHRA also offers a 150 day assessment timeline for all high quality applications for a UK, Great Britain or Northern Ireland marketing authorization. The 150 day timeline does not, however, include a “clock-off” period which may occur if issues arise or points require clarification following an initial assessment of the application. Such issues should be addressed within a 60 day period, although extensions may be granted in exceptional cases. Since January 1, 2021, a separate process for orphan designation has applied in Great Britain. There is now no pre-marketing authorization orphan designation (as there is in the European Union) in Great Britain and the application for orphan designation will be reviewed by the MHRA at the time of a MAA application for a United Kingdom or Great Britain marketing authorization. The criteria for orphan designation are the same as in the European Union, save that they apply to Great Britain only (e.g., there must be no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention or treatment of the condition concerned in Great Britain, as opposed to the European Union, and the prevalence of the condition must be no more than 5 in 10,000 person in Great Britain). Coverage and Reimbursement Significant uncertainty exists as to the coverage and reimbursement status of any pharmaceutical or biological product for which we may seek regulatory approval. Sales of any product, if approved, depend, in part, on the extent to which such product will be covered by third-party payors, such as federal, state, and foreign government healthcare programs, commercial insurers, and managed healthcare organizations. Decisions regarding whether to cover any of our product candidates, if approved, the extent of coverage, and amount of reimbursement to be provided are made on a plan-by-plan 47 Table of Contents basis. Further, no uniform policy for coverage and reimbursement exists in the United States, and coverage and reimbursement can differ significantly from payor to payor. Moreover, product candidates may not be considered medically necessary or cost-effective. A decision by a third-party payor not to cover any product candidates we may develop could reduce physician utilization of such product candidates once approved and have a material adverse effect on our sales, results of operations, and financial condition. Third-party payors often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment limitations in setting their own reimbursement rates, but also have their own methods and approval process apart from Medicare determinations. As a result, the coverage determination process is often a time- consuming and costly process that will require us to provide scientific and clinical support for the use of our product candidates to each payor separately, with no assurance that coverage and adequate reimbursement will be applied consistently or obtained in the first instance. For products administered under the supervision of a physician, obtaining coverage and adequate reimbursement may be particularly difficult because of the higher prices often associated with such drugs. Additionally, separate reimbursement for the product itself or the treatment or procedure in which the product is used may not be available, which may impact physician utilization of the product. In addition, the United States government and state legislatures have continued implementing cost-containment programs, including price controls, restrictions on coverage and reimbursement, and requirements for substitution of generic products. Third-party payors are increasingly challenging the prices charged for medical products and services; examining the medical necessity of pharmaceutical or biological products; reviewing the cost-effectiveness of such products; and questioning the safety and efficacy of such products. Adoption of new price controls and cost-containment measures, or adoption of more restrictive policies in jurisdictions with existing controls and measures, could further limit sales of any product that receives approval. Furthermore, there is no assurance that a product will be considered medically reasonable and necessary for a specific indication, that it will be considered cost-effective by third-party payors, that an adequate level of reimbursement will be established even if coverage is available, or that the third-party payors’ reimbursement policies will not adversely affect the ability of manufacturers to sell products profitably. Decreases in third-party reimbursement for any product or a decision by a third party not to cover a product could reduce physician usage and patient demand for such product. In international markets, reimbursement and healthcare payment systems vary significantly by country, and many countries have instituted price ceilings on specific products and therapies. For example, the European Union provides options for its Member States to restrict the range of medicinal products for which their national health insurance systems provide reimbursement and to control the prices of medicinal products for human use. A Member State may approve a specific price for the medicinal product, or it may instead adopt a system of direct or indirect controls on the profitability of the company placing the medicinal product on the market. Pharmaceutical products may face competition from lower-priced products in foreign countries that have placed price controls on pharmaceutical products and may also compete with imported foreign products. Other Healthcare Laws and Compliance Requirements Pharmaceutical companies are subject to additional healthcare regulation and enforcement by the federal government and by authorities in the states and foreign jurisdictions in which they conduct their business. Such laws include, without limitation: the United States federal Anti-Kickback Statute ("AKS"); the civil False Claims Act ("FCA"); the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 ("HIPAA"); and similar foreign, federal, and state fraud and abuse, transparency, and privacy laws. The AKS prohibits, among other things, persons and entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering, or paying remuneration to induce, or in return for, either the referral of an individual, or the purchase, lease, ordering, or arranging for or recommending the purchase, lease, or ordering, of any item or service for which payment may be made under any federal healthcare program. The term remuneration has been interpreted broadly to include anything of value, whether given directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind. The AKS has been interpreted to apply to arrangements between pharmaceutical manufacturers on one hand and prescribers, third-party payors, patients, and others on the other hand. There are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors protecting some common activities from prosecution, but they are drawn narrowly, and practices that involve remuneration, such as consulting agreements, that may be alleged to be intended to induce prescribing, purchasing, or recommending may be subject to scrutiny if they do not qualify for an exception or safe harbor. Failure to meet all of the requirements of an applicable statutory exception or regulatory safe harbor does not make the conduct per se illegal under the AKS. Instead, the legality of the arrangement will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis based on a cumulative review of all of its facts and circumstances. Our practices may not in all cases meet all of the criteria for protection under a statutory exception or regulatory safe harbor. A person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it in order to have committed a violation. In addition, a claim submitted to a federal healthcare program that includes items or services resulting from a violation of the AKS constitutes a false or fraudulent claim that may result in civil liability under the FCA. 48 Table of Contents Civil and criminal false claims laws, and civil monetary penalty laws, including the FCA, which can be enforced through civil whistleblower or qui tam actions, prohibit, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, claims for payment to the federal government, including federal healthcare programs, that are false or fraudulent. For example, the FCA prohibits any person or entity from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, a false claim for payment to the federal government or knowingly making, using, or causing to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim to the federal government. A claim includes “any request or demand” for money or property presented to the United States government. Several pharmaceutical companies have been prosecuted under these laws for allegedly providing free product to customers with the expectation that the customers would bill federal healthcare programs for the product, or for subsidizing copays for patients, including indirectly through charitable patient assistance programs, as an inducement for patients to utilize their products. HIPAA created additional federal civil and criminal liability for, among other things, knowingly and willfully executing a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, or obtain, by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, any of the money or property owned by, or under the custody or control of, any healthcare benefit program, regardless of the payor (e.g., public or private) and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing, or covering up by any trick or device a material fact or making any materially false statements in connection with the delivery of, or payment for, healthcare benefits, items, or services relating to healthcare matters. Similar to the AKS, a person or entity can be found guilty of violating HIPAA’s fraud and abuse provisions without actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it. In addition, HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009 ("HITECH") and their respective implementing regulations, impose certain requirements on HIPAA covered entities, which include certain healthcare providers, healthcare clearinghouses, and health plans, and individuals and entities that provide services on their behalf that involve individually identifiable health information, known as business associates, relating to the privacy, security, and transmission of individually identifiable health information. In particular, regulations promulgated pursuant to HIPAA establish privacy and security standards that limit the use and disclosure of protected health information and require the implementation of administrative, physical and technological safeguards to protect the privacy of protected health information and ensure the confidentiality, integrity and availability of electronic protected health information. Determining whether protected health information has been handled in compliance with applicable privacy standards and our contractual obligations can require complex factual and statistical analyses, and may be complicated by the fact that the applicable rules are subject to changing interpretation. HIPAA mandates the reporting of certain breaches of health information to the United States Department of Health and Human Services ("HHS") affected individuals, and if the breach is large enough, the media. In addition to reputational harm, entities that are found to be in violation of HIPAA as the result of a breach of unsecured protected health information, a complaint about privacy practices, or an audit by HHS, may be subject to significant civil, criminal, and administrative fines and penalties and/or additional reporting and oversight obligations if required to enter into a resolution agreement and corrective action plan with HHS to settle allegations of HIPAA non-compliance. HITECH also created new tiers of civil monetary penalties, amended HIPAA to make civil and criminal penalties directly applicable to business associates, and gave state attorneys general new authority to file civil actions for damages or injunctions in federal courts to enforce the federal HIPAA laws and seek attorneys’ fees and costs associated with pursuing civil actions. The U.S. federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act ("Sunshine Act") requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics, and medical supplies for which payment is available under Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, with specific exceptions, to annually report to the CMSs, information related to payments or other transfers of value made to physicians (currently defined to include doctors of medicine or osteopathy, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, and chiropractors), other licensed non-physician health care practitioners, and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members. Additionally, we may be subject to federal government price reporting laws, which require us to calculate and report complex pricing metrics in an accurate and timely manner to government programs and federal consumer protection and unfair competition laws, which broadly regulate marketplace activities and activities that potentially harm consumers. We are also subject to additional similar U.S. state and foreign equivalents of each of the above federal laws, such as anti-kickback and false claims laws which may apply to sales or marketing arrangements and claims involving healthcare items or services reimbursed by non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers, or that apply regardless of payor; state laws which require pharmaceutical companies to comply with the pharmaceutical industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the relevant compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government; state and local laws which require pharmaceutical companies to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures; state laws which require the reporting of information related to drug pricing; state and local laws requiring the registration of pharmaceutical sales representatives; and state and foreign laws governing the privacy and security of health information which, in some cases, differ from each other in significant ways, and may not have the same effect, thus complicating compliance efforts. If our operations are found to be in violation of any of such laws or any other governmental regulations that apply, we or our officers, directors, employees, 49 Table of Contents contractors, or agents may be subject to penalties, including, without limitation, significant civil, criminal, and administrative penalties; damages; fines; exclusion from government-funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid or similar programs in other countries or jurisdictions; entry into a corporate integrity agreement or similar reporting obligations to resolve allegations of non-compliance; disgorgement; imprisonment; contractual damages; reputational harm; diminished profits; and the curtailment or restructuring of our operations. Data Privacy and Security Laws We may also be subject to data privacy and security laws in the United States and various jurisdictions around the world in which we operate or process personally identifiable information (“personal information” or “personal data”). In the United States, even when HIPAA does not apply, according to the Federal Trade Commission (the "FTC") failing to take appropriate steps to keep consumers’ personal information secure constitutes unfair acts or practices in or affecting commerce in violation of Section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (the "FTCA") 15 U.S.C. § 45(a). The FTC’s guidance for appropriately securing consumers’ personal information is similar to what is required by the HIPAA security regulations. In addition, certain states have enacted laws that govern the privacy and security of health information and other personal information in certain circumstances, some of which are more stringent than HIPAA and many of which differ from each other in significant ways and may not have the same effect, thus complicating compliance efforts. Failure to comply with these laws, where applicable, can result in the imposition of significant civil and/or criminal penalties and private litigation as well as reputational harm. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (the "CCPA") as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (the "CPRA") went into effect on January 1, 2023. Also, on January 1, 2023, the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act ("CDPA") became effective. Further, many additional United States state privacy laws will go into effect throughout 2023: the Colorado Privacy Act ("the CPA") (July 1, 2023); the Connecticut Data Privacy Act (the "CTDPA") (July 1, 2023); and the Utah Consumer Privacy Act (the "UCPA") (December 31, 2023). The CDPA, CPA, CTDPA, and UCPA are substantially similar in scope and contain many of the same requirements and exceptions as the CCPA, including a general exemption for clinical trial data and information governed by HIPAA. Any of these laws may broaden their scope in the future, and similar laws have been proposed on both a federal level and in more than half of the states in the United States. In addition, a number of other states have proposed new privacy laws, some of which are similar to the above discussed recently passed laws. Such proposed legislation, if enacted, may add additional complexity, variation in requirements, restrictions and potential legal risk, require additional investment of resources in compliance programs, impact strategies and the availability of previously useful data and could result in increased compliance costs and/or changes in business practices and policies. Outside of the United States, we also face stringent privacy and data protection requirements. For example, in Europe, the collection, use, storage, disclosure, transfer, or other processing of personal data, including personal health data in the EEA and the UK is subject to the EU General Data Protection Regulation ("EU GDPR") (with regards to the EEA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation ("UK GDPR") (with regards to the UK), as well as applicable data protection laws in effect in the Member States of the EEA and in the UK (including the UK Data Protection Act 2018). In this Annual Report, “GDPR” refers to both the EU GDPR and the UK GDPR, unless specified otherwise. The GDPR is wide-ranging in scope and imposes numerous requirements on companies that process personal data, including requirements relating to processing health and other sensitive data, obtaining consent of the individuals to whom the personal data relates, providing information to individuals regarding data processing activities, implementing safeguards to protect the security and confidentiality of personal data, providing notification of data breaches, and taking certain measures when engaging third-party processors. The GDPR also imposes strict rules on the transfer of personal data to countries outside the European Union, including the United States, and permits data protection authorities to impose large penalties for violations of the GDPR, including potential fines of up to €20 million (£17.5 million for the UK GDPR) or 4% of annual global revenues, whichever is greater. The GDPR also confers a private right of action on data subjects and consumer associations to lodge complaints with supervisory authorities, seek judicial remedies, and obtain compensation for damages resulting from violations of the GDPR. Compliance with the GDPR will be a rigorous and time-intensive process that may increase our cost of doing business or require us to change our business practices, and despite those efforts, there is a risk that we may be subject to fines and penalties, litigation, and reputational harm in connection with our European activities. Data protection authorities from the different EU member states may interpret the GDPR and national laws differently and impose additional requirements, which add to the complexity of processing personal data in the EU. In addition, various jurisdictions around the world continue to propose new laws that regulate the privacy and/or security of certain types of personal data. Complying with these laws, if enacted, would require significant resources and leave us vulnerable to possible fines, penalties, litigation, and reputational harm if we are unable to comply. Healthcare Reform and Legislative Changes The United States and some foreign jurisdictions are considering or have enacted a number of reform proposals to change the healthcare system. There is significant interest in promoting changes in healthcare systems with the stated goals of 50 Table of Contents containing healthcare costs, improving quality, or expanding access. In the United States, the pharmaceutical industry has been a particular focus of these efforts and has been significantly affected by federal and state legislative initiatives, including those designed to limit the pricing, coverage, and reimbursement of pharmaceutical and biological products, especially under government-funded healthcare programs, and increased governmental control of drug pricing. The ACA, which was enacted in March 2010, substantially changed the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private insurers in the United States, and significantly affected the pharmaceutical industry. The ACA contains a number of provisions of particular import to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, including, but not limited to, those governing enrollment in federal healthcare programs and expanding enrollment in commercial health plans through new Health Insurance Marketplaces operated by the federal and state governments; a new methodology by which rebates owed by manufacturers under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program are calculated for drugs that are inhaled, infused, instilled, implanted, or injected; and annual fees based on pharmaceutical companies’ share of sales to federal healthcare programs. Since its enactment, there have been judicial, Congressional, and executive branch challenges to certain aspects of the ACA, and we expect there will be additional challenges and amendments to the ACA in the future. For example, Congress has considered legislation that would repeal, or repeal and replace, all or part of the ACA. While Congress has not passed comprehensive repeal legislation, it has enacted laws that modify certain provisions of the ACA such as removing penalties, which started on January 1, 2019, for not complying with the ACA’s individual mandate to carry health insurance, delaying the implementation of certain ACA-mandated fees, and increasing the point-of-sale discount that is owed by pharmaceutical manufacturers who participate in Medicare Part D. On June 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the most recent judicial challenge to the ACA brought by several states without specifically ruling on the constitutionality of the ACA. In addition, President Biden has issued multiple executive orders that have sought to reduce prescription drug costs. It is unclear how other healthcare reform measures of the Biden administration or other efforts, if any, to challenge, repeal or replace the ACA will impact our business. In addition, other legislative and regulatory changes have been proposed and adopted in the United States since the ACA was enacted. For example: • The U.S. Budget Control Act of 2011, among other things, included aggregate reductions of Medicare payments to providers of 2% per fiscal year. These reductions went into effect on April 1, 2013 and, due to subsequent legislative amendments to the statute, will remain in effect through 2031, absent further legislative action. • The U.S. American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 further reduced Medicare payments to several types of providers. • The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, or IRA, includes several provisions that will impact our business to varying degrees, including provisions that require Medicare Part D plans to cover with $0 in cost sharing the cost of adult vaccines recommended by the U.S. Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP. The IRA also includes provisions that reduce the out-of-pocket cap for Medicare Part D beneficiaries to $2,000 starting in 2025; impose new manufacturer financial liability on certain drugs in Medicare Part D, allow the U.S. government to negotiate Medicare Part B and Part D price caps for certain high-cost drugs and biologics without generic or biosimilar competition, require companies to pay rebates to Medicare for certain drug prices that increase faster than inflation, and delay the rebate rule that would limit the fees that pharmacy benefit managers can charge. Further, under the IRA, orphan drugs are exempted from the Medicare drug price negotiation program, but only if they have one rare disease designation and for which the only approved indication is for that disease or condition. If a product receives multiple rare disease designations or has multiple approved indications, it will not qualify for the orphan drug exemption. The effects of the IRA on our business and the healthcare industry in general are not yet known. In addition, there have been several judicial challenges to the 340B drug pricing program, which imposes ceilings on prices that drug manufacturers can charge for medications sold to certain health care facilities. These include challenges to the government’s reimbursement formula on specified covered outpatient drugs and disputes over potential product diversion through the use of “contract pharmacies,” among other issues. It is unclear how these challenges could affect covered hospitals who might purchase our future products and affect the rates we may charge such facilities for our approved products in the future, if any. Additionally, there has been increasing legislative and enforcement interest in the United States with respect to drug pricing practices. Specifically, there has been heightened governmental scrutiny over the manner in which manufacturers set prices for their marketed products, which has resulted in several U.S. Congressional inquiries and proposed and enacted federal 51 Table of Contents and state legislation designed to, among other things, bring more transparency to drug pricing, reduce the cost of prescription drugs under Medicare, and review the relationship between pricing and manufacturer patient programs. For example, FDA released regulations implementing the section 804 Importation Programs in accordance with the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which went into effect on November 30, 2020 and which provide guidance for states to build and submit importation plans for drugs from Canada. In January 2024, FDA issued its first approval to Florida for a state plan on importation of certain drugs. CMS has stated drugs imported by states under this rule will not be eligible for federal rebates under Section 1927 of the Social Security Act and manufacturers would not report these drugs for “best price” or Average Manufacturer Price purposes. Since these drugs are not considered covered outpatient drugs, CMS further stated it will not publish a National Average Drug Acquisition Cost for these drugs. If implemented, importation of drugs from Canada may materially and adversely affect the price we receive for any of our product candidates. On November 30, 2020, HHS published a regulation removing safe harbor protection for price reductions from pharmaceutical manufacturers to plan sponsors under Part D, either directly or through pharmacy benefit managers, unless the price reduction is required by law. The rule also creates a new safe harbor for price reductions reflected at the point-of-sale, as well as a safe harbor for certain fixed fee arrangements between pharmacy benefit managers and manufacturers. Pursuant to court order, the removal and addition of the aforementioned safe harbors were delayed, and the IRA extended the moratorium on implementation until January 1, 2032. Although a number of these and other proposed measures may require authorization through additional legislation to become effective, and the Biden administration may reverse or otherwise change these measures, both the Biden administration and Congress have indicated that they will continue to seek new legislative measures to control drug costs. Although a number of these and other proposed measures may require additional authorization to become effective, Congress and President Biden have each indicated that they will continue to seek new legislative and/or administrative measures to control drug costs. Additional state and federal healthcare reform measures may be adopted in the future. Further, it is possible that additional governmental action is taken in response to COVID-19. At the state level, legislatures have increasingly passed legislation and implemented regulations designed to control pharmaceutical product pricing, including price or patient reimbursement constraints, discounts, restrictions on certain product access and marketing cost disclosure and transparency measures, and, in some cases, designed to encourage importation from other countries and bulk purchasing. Employees and Human Capital Resources As of December 31, 2023, we had 130 full-time and part-time employees, of which 95 were located in the United Kingdom, 34 located in the United States and 1 located in Switzerland. As of December 31, 2023, 62% of our workforce and 54% of our leadership (at Director level and above) were female. In addition, 20% of our workforce were racially or ethnically diverse. Of our full and part-time employees, 31 have Ph.D. or M.D. degrees, and 88 are engaged in research and clinical development activities. A breakdown of the employment statistics as of December 31, 2023 is as follows: Position Male Female Total Executives 3 2 5 Director/Vice President 14 18 32 Managers 9 15 24 Scientists and Support Functions 24 45 69 Total 50 80 130 Demographic Male Female Total Asian 5 10 15 Black, Caribbean, or African 4 3 7 Mixed, other or multiple ethnic groups 1 3 4 White 40 64 104 Total 50 80 130 Our human capital resources objectives include, as applicable, identifying, recruiting, retaining, incentivizing and integrating our existing and new employees, advisors and consultants. We engage with our employees in multiple ways 52 Table of Contents including through company-wide events, social events and team events. We also have a bonus scheme and equity incentive plan in which all employees are entitled to participate. The principal purposes of our equity incentive plans are to attract, retain and reward personnel through the grant of equity-based compensation awards. We believe that attracting and retaining talent increases shareholder value and furthers the success of our company by motivating our employees to perform to the best of their abilities and achieve our objectives. We employ individuals based on their experience and ability, and we are committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in our work environment. We focus on hiring and retaining qualified candidates by promoting a supportive and inclusive working environment for all. We believe that fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion is a key element to discovering, developing, and bringing transformative therapies to patients. The safety of our workforce, including consultants and visitors to our office/laboratory, has and remained of paramount importance to us. We have a Health and Safety Committee that focuses on implementing policies and training programs to enhance workplace safety. As we continue to grow, we also intend to expand our overall environmental, social, and governance, or ESG, efforts. In 2022, we assigned oversight for ESG to the Nominating and Governance Committee who were tasked with performing an assessment of our ESG impacts and establishing initiatives. Following this assessment, we have created specific goals and objectives to monitor and improve specific metrics. These include: 1. Environmental – the impact we have on the environment, including its assessment of carbon footprint and the reporting thereof for new facilities. 2. Social – the impact we have on society, including the impact on external groups through the development of life-saving products, the impact in low- and middle-income countries and clinical trial diversity. For internal groups the focus is on employees and how Barinthus Bio monitors and maintains gender pay parity, expands employee diversity, enhances engagement and morale, and minimizes staff turnover. 3. Corporate Governance – how is the company run, to include diversity and inclusion within the company and the board of directors, board independence and the ratio of executive compensation to employee compensation. Carbon emissions The group has calculated the emissions for the year ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 in tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (“tCO2e”). The carbon footprint for the group for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 are as follows: December 31, 2023 December 31, 2022 Scope tCO2e % Total emissions tCO2e % Total emissions Scope 1 6.54 2% 5.59 5% Scope 2 360.00 98% 107.63 95% Total 366.54 100% 113.22 100% For clarity, scope 1 emissions are direct emissions produced from activities owned or controlled by us. Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions related to the generation of the electricity consumed and purchased by us. We have used the most recent evidence or estimates provided by our energy supply partners to generate our disclosure of emissions for the period. Standard emissions factors from the “UK Government GHG Conversion Factors for Company Reporting (2023)” guidance were applied to estimate emissions. Electricity, heating and cooling usage at our leased facilities in the United States and the United Kingdom are responsible for a significant amount of our greenhouse gas emissions, with the remainder due to operations conducted within our laboratory. The increase in emissions is primarily attributable to the relocation of our U.S laboratory and office facilities which completed in June 2023. The relocation provides approximately 19,700 square foot of state-of-the-art wet laboratory and office facilities in Germantown, Maryland. The group has elected not to include the voluntary disclosure for Scope 3 emissions. 53 Table of Contents For the year ended December 31, 2023, the split of emissions by geography is as follows: Scope Location tCO2e % Total emissions Scope 1 U.K. 1.56 0% 1 U.S. 4.98 1% Scope 2 U.K. 94.21 26% U.S. 265.79 73% Total 366.54 100% 1 Indicates amount less than one percent The group considers that the intensity ratio of tons of carbon dioxide per full-time employee, as a suitable metric for its operations for the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2022 are as follows: December 31, 2023 December 31, 2022 Ratio tCO2e /employee Average employees tCO2e /employee Average employees Intensity ratio 2.98 123 1.26 90 The tons of carbon dioxide per employee has increased year on year, primarily as a result of an increase in the size of our leased facilities in the United States. Additionally, as we have expanded our facilities and increased headcount, more employees have been able to work from the office and therefore consumed more greenhouse gas emissions than in 2022, when many non-laboratory based employees were still working from home due to space limitations at the prior facilities. The directors have established that the Nominations and Corporate Governance Committee are to have oversight of the assessment and strategy on how to reduce our energy consumption and thereby reducing our carbon footprint. Available Information We maintain an internet website at https://www.Barinthusbio.com/ and make available free of charge through our website our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, including exhibits and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act. We make these reports available through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such reports with, or furnish such reports to, the SEC. You can review our electronically filed reports and other information that we file with the SEC on the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov. We also make available, free of charge on our website, the reports filed with the SEC by our executive officers, directors and 10% stockholders pursuant to Section 16 under the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after copies of those filings are provided to us by those persons. In addition, we regularly use our website to post information regarding our business, product development programs and governance, and we encourage investors to use our website, particularly the information in the section entitled “Investors,” as a source of information about us. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report and should not be considered to be a part of this Annual Report. Our website address is included in this Annual Report as an inactive technical reference only. Item 1A. Risk Factors Investing in our American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following risks and uncertainties, together with all other information in this report, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” as well as our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects could also be harmed by risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently do not believe to be material. If any of the risks actually occur, our business, results of operations, financial condition, and prospects could be harmed. In that event, the market price of our ADSs could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. 54 Table of Contents Risks Related to Our Financial Position and Capital Needs We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history. We have incurred significant losses since inception. We expect to incur losses for at least the next several years and may never achieve or maintain profitability. We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a limited operating history, and we are in the early stages of our development efforts. Investment in biopharmaceutical product development is highly speculative because it entails substantial upfront capital expenditures and significant risk that any potential product candidate will fail to demonstrate adequate efficacy or an acceptable safety profile, obtain marketing authorization and become commercially viable. We have no products approved for commercial sale and have not generated any revenue from product sales. To date, we have devoted substantially all of our resources to organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, undertaking preclinical studies and clinical trials of our product candidates, securing related intellectual property rights and conducting discovery, research and development activities for our programs. We have incurred net losses each year since inception through to December 31, 2021. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we generated net income of $5.3 million, primarily as a result of revenues arising from AstraZeneca sales of Vaxzevria and our agreement with OUI. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we incurred net losses of $73.4 million. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of $176.6 million and $103.2 million, respectively, and we do not currently expect profits or positive cash flows from operations in the foreseeable future. We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially if, and as we: • seek marketing authorizations for product candidates that successfully complete clinical trials, if any; • conduct preclinical studies and clinical trials for our current and future product candidates based on our proprietary biologic and synthetic platforms, including the Chimpanzee Adenovirus Oxford ("ChAdOx") and Modified vaccinia Ankara ("MVA"), vectors, SNAP-TI, SNAP-CI and our other technologies; • expand our operational, financial and management systems and increase personnel, including personnel to support our clinical development, manufacturing and commercialization efforts and our operations as a public company; • establish our manufacturing capabilities through third parties or by ourselves and scale-up manufacturing to provide adequate supply for clinical trials and commercialization; • expand, maintain, protect and enforce our intellectual property portfolio; • establish a sales, marketing, medical affairs and distribution infrastructure to commercialize any products for which we may obtain marketing approval and intend to commercialize on our own or jointly; • acquire or in-license other product candidates and technologies; and • incur additional legal, accounting and other expenses in operating our business, including the additional costs associated with operating as a public company. Even if we succeed in commercializing one or more of our product candidates, we will continue to incur substantial research and development costs and other expenditures to develop and market additional product candidates and we may never generate revenue that is significant or large enough to achieve profitability. We may also encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other unknown factors that may adversely affect our business. The size of our future net losses will depend, in part, on the rate of future growth of our expenses and our ability to generate revenue. Our prior losses and expected future losses have had and will continue to have an adverse effect on our stockholders’ equity and working capital. If we do achieve profitability, we may not be able to sustain or increase profitability on a quarterly or annual basis. Accordingly, our failure to become and remain profitable would decrease the value of our company and could impair our ability to raise capital, maintain our research and development efforts, expand our business or continue our operations. A decline in the value of our company also could cause you to lose all or part of your investment. We have not yet generated any material revenue from our product candidates. Our ability to become profitable depends upon our ability to generate revenue. We do not expect to generate significant revenue from our current or future product candidates unless or until we successfully complete clinical development and obtain marketing authorization for, and then successfully commercialize, at least one of our product candidates. Certain of our product candidates are in the preclinical stages of development and will require additional preclinical studies, and all of our product candidates will require additional clinical development, regulatory review and approval, substantial investment, access to sufficient commercial manufacturing capacity and significant marketing efforts before we can generate any revenue from product sales. We have not yet administered certain of our product candidates to humans 55 Table of Contents and, as such, we face significant translational risk as our product candidates advance into and through the clinical stage, as promising results in preclinical studies may not be replicated in subsequent clinical trials, and testing on animals may not accurately predict human experience. Our ability to generate revenue depends on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: • timely completion of our manufacturing, preclinical studies and clinical trials, which may be significantly slower or cost more than we currently anticipate and will depend substantially upon the performance of third-party contractors; • delays out of our control, such as participant willingness to enroll; • our ability to complete IND, enabling trials and successfully submit INDs or comparable applications, for our product candidates; • whether we are required by the FDA, the EMA, or the MHRA or similar foreign regulatory authorities, to conduct additional clinical trials or other studies beyond those planned to support the approval and commercialization of our product candidates or any future product candidates; • our ability to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA and similar foreign regulatory authorities the safety, potency, purity, efficacy and acceptable risk to benefit profile of our product candidates or any future product candidates and such regulatory authorities’ acceptance of our development strategy; • the prevalence, duration and severity of potential side effects or other safety issues experienced with our product candidates or future product candidates, if any; • the timely receipt of necessary marketing approvals from the FDA and similar foreign regulatory authorities; • the willingness of physicians, operators of clinics and patients to utilize or adopt any of our product candidates or future product candidates over alternative or more conventional approaches, including antivirals, immune modulators, siRNA, CRISPR editing, capsid inhibitors, novel entry inhibitors, or other small molecules, RNA, DNA, nanoparticle, VLP, peptide, protein, whole-killed or other vaccine technologies; • the actual and perceived availability, cost, risk profile and side effects and efficacy of our product candidates, if approved, relative to existing and future alternative immunotherapies, therapeutic and prophylactic vaccines and competitive product candidates and technologies; our ability and the ability of third parties with whom we contract to manufacture adequate clinical and commercial supplies of our product candidates or any future product candidates, remain in good standing with regulatory authorities and develop, validate and maintain commercially viable manufacturing processes that are compliant with cGMP; • our ability to successfully develop a commercial strategy and thereafter commercialize our product candidates or any future product candidates in the United States and internationally, if approved for marketing, reimbursement, sale and distribution in such countries and territories, whether alone or in collaboration with others; • patient demand for our product candidates and any future product candidates, if approved; • our ability to establish, maintain, protect and enforce intellectual property rights in and to our product candidates or any future product candidates; • the ability of our licensees and collaborators to develop and commercialize our products effectively; • the risk that some or all of the patients that receive Vaxzevria develop neutralizing antibodies against ChAdOx, which could limit the immunological response from subsequent dosing with one of our product candidates; • the possibility that immunogenicity may not translate into clinical benefit; and • the increased costs and complexities associated with manufacturing and • funding for the development of product candidates contributed by third parties, such as CRUK, CEPI and CanSino, whether spent directly by them or by grant or other funding into our company. Many of the factors listed above are beyond our control and could cause us to experience significant delays or prevent us from obtaining marketing authorizations for, or commercializing, our product candidates. Even if we are able to commercialize our product candidates, we may not achieve profitability soon after generating product sales, if ever. If we are unable to generate sufficient revenue through the sale of our product candidates or any future product candidates, we may be unable to continue operations without continued funding. 56 Table of Contents If we engage in acquisitions or future strategic partnerships, this may increase our capital requirements, dilute our shareholders, cause us to incur debt or assume contingent liabilities, and subject us to other risks. We may evaluate acquisitions and strategic partnerships in the future, including licensing or acquiring complementary product candidates, intellectual property rights, technologies or businesses. Any acquisition or strategic partnership may entail numerous risks, including: • increased operating expenses and cash requirements; • the assumption of indebtedness or contingent liabilities; • the issuance of our equity securities which would result in dilution to our shareholders; • assimilation of operations, intellectual property, products and product candidates of an acquired company, including difficulties associated with integrating new personnel; • the diversion of our management’s attention from our existing product programs and initiatives in pursuing such an acquisition or strategic partnership; • retention of key employees, the loss of key personnel, and uncertainties in our ability to maintain key business relationships; • risks and uncertainties associated with the other party to such a transaction, including the prospects of that party and their existing products or product candidates to achieve marketing authorizations; and • our inability to generate revenue from acquired intellectual property, technology and/or products sufficient to meet our objectives or even to offset the associated transaction and maintenance costs. In addition, we may assume or incur debt obligations, incur large one-time expenses and/or acquire intangible assets that could result in significant future amortization expense. Our limited operating history may make it difficult for you to evaluate the success of our business to date and to assess our future viability. We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with no approved products and a limited operating history. Our operations to date have been limited to organizing and staffing our company, business planning, raising capital, filing patent applications, identifying potential product candidates, undertaking preclinical studies, in-licensing product candidates for development, and establishing arrangements with third parties for the manufacture of initial quantities of our product candidates and component materials, as well as sponsoring and conducting clinical trials up to Phase 2b. We have not yet demonstrated our ability to successfully complete clinical trials beyond Phase 2b, obtain marketing approvals, manufacture a commercial-scale product or arrange for a third party to do so on our behalf, or conduct sales, marketing and distribution activities necessary for successful product commercialization. Consequently, any predictions you make about our future success or viability may not be as accurate as they could be if we had a longer operating history. In addition, as a young business, we may encounter unforeseen expenses, difficulties, complications, delays and other known and unknown factors. We will need to transition at some point from a company with a research and development focus to a company capable of supporting additional commercial activities. We may not be successful in such a transition. We will need to raise additional funding, which may not be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Failure to obtain this necessary capital when needed may force us to delay, limit or terminate our product development efforts or other operations. We are currently advancing current and future product candidates based on our proprietary biologic and synthetic platforms, including the ChAdOx and MVA vectors, SNAP-TI, SNAP-CI and our other technologies through clinical development. Developing and commercializing products for therapeutic indications is expensive, and we do not expect to generate meaningful product revenues in the foreseeable future. As of December 31, 2023, our cash and cash equivalents were $142.1 million. Based on our current business plan, our management believes that we have sufficient cash to support our operations into the fourth quarter of 2025, without additional financing. Our fundraising efforts to raise additional capital may divert our management from their day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our ability to develop our platforms. In addition, we cannot guarantee that financing will be available in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, if at all. Moreover, the terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of our shareholders and the issuance of additional securities, whether equity or debt, by us, or the possibility of such issuance, may cause the market price of our shares to decline. The sale of additional equity or convertible securities would dilute our stockholders. The incurrence of indebtedness would result in increased fixed payment obligations and we may be required to agree to certain restrictive covenants, such as limitations on our ability to incur additional debt, limitations on our ability to acquire, sell or license intellectual property rights and other 57 Table of Contents operating restrictions that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. We could also be required to seek funds through arrangements with collaborative partners or otherwise at an earlier stage than otherwise would be desirable and we may be required to relinquish rights to some of our technologies or product candidates or otherwise agree to terms unfavorable to us, any of which may have a material adverse effect on our business, operating results and prospects. If we are unable to obtain funding on a timely basis, we may be required to revise our business plan and strategy, which may result in us significantly curtailing, delaying or discontinuing one or more of our clinical trials, decreasing headcount or may result in our being unable to expand our operations or otherwise capitalize on our business opportunities. As a result, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially affected. Raising additional capital may cause dilution to our shareholders, restrict our operations or require us to relinquish rights to our technologies or product candidates. We expect our expenses to increase in connection with our planned operations. Unless and until we can generate a substantial amount of revenue from our product candidates, we expect to finance our future cash needs through public or private equity offerings, debt financings, collaborations, licensing arrangements or other sources, or any combination of the foregoing. In addition, we may seek additional capital due to favorable market conditions or strategic considerations, even if we believe that we have sufficient funds for our current or future operating plans. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of ordinary shares, convertible securities or other equity securities, your ownership interest may be diluted, and the terms of these securities could include liquidation or other preferences and anti-dilution protections that could adversely affect your rights as a common shareholder. In addition, debt financing, if available, may result in fixed payment obligations and may involve agreements that include restrictive covenants that limit our ability to take specific actions, such as incurring additional debt, making capital expenditures, creating liens, redeeming shares or declaring dividends, that could adversely impact our ability to conduct our business. In addition, securing financing could require a substantial amount of time and attention from our management and may divert a disproportionate amount of their attention away from day-to-day activities, which may adversely affect our management’s ability to oversee the development of our product candidates. If we raise additional funds through collaborations, strategic alliances, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties, we may have to relinquish valuable rights to our technologies, future revenue streams or product candidates or grant licenses on terms that may not be favorable to us. If we are unable to raise additional funds when needed, we would be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate our product development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market product candidates that we would otherwise prefer to develop and market ourselves. We may require substantial additional funding in the future. If we are unable to raise capital when needed, we would be compelled to delay, reduce or eliminate our product development programs or commercialization efforts. Since our inception, we have invested a significant portion of our efforts and financial resources in research and development activities for our platform and our product candidates developed using our platform. Preclinical studies, clinical trials and additional research and development activities will require substantial funds to complete. We expect our expenses to increase in parallel with our ongoing activities, particularly as we continue our preclinical and clinical development activities to identify new product candidates and conduct clinical trials of, and seek marketing approval for, our product candidates. In addition, if we obtain marketing approval for any of our product candidates, we expect to incur significant commercialization expenses related to product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution. Furthermore, we expect to incur significant additional costs associated with operating as a public company. Accordingly, we will need to obtain substantial additional funding in connection with our continuing operations. However, we have estimated our current additional funding needs based on assumptions that may prove to be wrong. Additionally, changing circumstances may cause us to consume capital significantly faster than we currently anticipate, and we may need to spend more money than currently expected because of circumstances beyond our control. We cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. Until such time, if ever, as we can generate substantial product revenue, we expect to finance our operations through a combination of public or private equity offerings, debt financings, governmental funding, collaborations, strategic partnerships and alliances or marketing, distribution or licensing arrangements with third parties. If we are unable to raise capital or generate revenue when needed or on attractive terms, we would be forced to delay, reduce or eliminate our discovery and preclinical development programs or any future commercialization efforts. We had cash and cash equivalents of $142.1 million as of December 31, 2023. Our future capital requirements will depend on many factors, including: • the scope, progress, results and costs of preclinical development and clinical trials for our product candidates; • the extent to which we enter into additional collaboration arrangements with regard to product candidate development or acquire or in-license products or technologies; • the costs, timing and outcome of regulatory review of our product candidates; 58 Table of Contents • the costs of future commercialization activities, including product sales, marketing, manufacturing and distribution, for any of our product candidates for which we receive marketing approval; • revenue, if any, received from commercial sales of our product candidates, should any of our product candidates receive marketing approval; and • the costs of preparing, filing and prosecuting patent applications, obtaining, maintaining, enforcing and protecting our intellectual property rights and defending intellectual property-related claims including litigation costs and any damages awarded in such litigation. Identifying potential product candidates, manufacturing them and 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 or results required to obtain marketing approval and achieve product sales. In addition, our product candidates, if approved, may not achieve commercial success. Our commercial revenues, if any, will be derived from sales of products that we do not expect to be commercially available for many years, if at all. Accordingly, we will need to continue to rely on additional financing to achieve our business objectives. Adequate additional financing may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. Recent volatility in capital markets and lower market prices for many securities may affect our ability to access new capital through sales of shares of our ordinary shares or issuance of indebtedness, which may harm our liquidity, limit our ability to grow our business, pursue acquisitions or improve our operating infrastructure and restrict our ability to compete in our markets. Our operations consume substantial amounts of cash, and we intend to continue to make significant investments to support our business growth, respond to business challenges or opportunities, develop new product candidates, retain or expand our current levels of personnel, enhance our operating infrastructure, and potentially acquire complementary businesses and technologies. Our future capital requirements may be significantly different from our current estimates and will depend on many factors, including the need to: ● finance unanticipated working capital requirements; ● develop or enhance our technological infrastructure and our existing solutions; ● pursue acquisitions or other strategic relationships; and ● respond to competitive pressures. Accordingly, we may need to pursue equity or debt financings to meet our capital needs. With uncertainty in the capital markets and other factors, such financing may not be available on terms favorable to us or at all. If we raise additional funds through further issuances of equity or convertible debt securities, our existing stockholders could suffer significant dilution, and any new equity securities we issue could have rights, preferences, and privileges superior to those of holders of our ordinary shares. Any debt financing secured by us in the future could involve additional restrictive covenants relating to our capital-raising activities and other financial and operational matters, which may make it more difficult for us to obtain additional capital and to pursue business opportunities, including potential acquisitions. If we are unable to obtain adequate financing or financing on terms satisfactory to us, we could face significant limitations on our ability to invest in our operations and otherwise suffer harm to our business. Adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, such as actual events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults, or non-performance by financial institutions or transactional counterparties, could adversely affect our current and projected business operations and its financial condition and results of operations. Actual events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems. For example, on March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank was closed by the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") as receiver. Similarly, on March 12, 2023, Signature Bank was swept into receivership. Although we assess our banking relationships as we believe necessary or appropriate, our access to funding sources and other credit arrangements in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize our current and projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect us, the financial institutions with which we have financial arrangements directly, or the financial services industry or economy in general. These factors could include, among others, events such as liquidity constraints or failures, the ability to perform obligations under various types of financial, credit or liquidity agreements or arrangements, disruptions or instability in the financial services industry or financial markets, or concerns or negative expectations about the prospects for companies in the financial services industry. These factors could 59 Table of Contents involve financial institutions or financial services industry companies with which we have financial or business relationships, but could also include factors involving financial markets or the financial services industry generally. The results of events or concerns that involve one or more of these factors could include a variety of material and adverse impacts on our current and projected business operations and our financial condition and results of operations. These could include, but may not be limited to, the following: • Delayed access to deposits or other financial assets or the uninsured loss of deposits or other financial assets; • Delays, inability or reductions in our ability to refund, roll over or extend the maturity of, or enter into new credit facilities or other working capital resources; • Potential or actual breach of contractual obligations that require us to maintain letters of credit or other credit support arrangements; or • Termination of cash management arrangements and/or delays in accessing or actual loss of funds subject to cash management arrangements. In addition, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants, or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us to acquire financing on acceptable terms or at all. Any decline in available funding or access to our cash and liquidity resources could, among other risks, adversely impact our ability to meet our operating expenses, financial obligations or fulfill our other obligations, result in breaches of our financial and/or contractual obligations or result in violations of federal or state wage and hour laws. Any of these impacts, or any other impacts resulting from the factors described above or other related or similar factors not described above, could have material adverse impacts on our liquidity and our current and/or projected business operations and financial condition and results of operations. In addition, any further deterioration in the macroeconomic economy or financial services industry could lead to losses or defaults by our third-party manufacturers or suppliers, which in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our current and/or projected business operations and results of operations and financial condition. For example, a third-party manufacturer or supplier may default under their agreements with us, become insolvent or declare bankruptcy, or determine that they will no longer deal with us as a customer. In addition, a third-party manufacturer or supplier could be adversely affected by any of the liquidity or other risks that are described above as factors that could result in material adverse impacts on us, including but not limited to delayed access or loss of access to uninsured deposits or loss of the ability to draw on existing credit facilities involving a troubled or failed financial institution. Any third-party manufacturer or supplier bankruptcy or insolvency, or any breach or default by a third-party manufacturer or supplier, or the loss of any significant third-party manufacturer or supplier relationships, could result in material losses to us and may have a material adverse impact on our business. Actual payments we may receive in connection with certain milestones or net sales under the AstraZeneca License Agreement may differ from those described in this Annual Report, and there can be no assurance that we will receive any such payments at all. We received a share of certain milestones and royalties on net sales of certain vaccines under the research collaboration and exclusive worldwide license agreement (the "AstraZeneca License Agreement"), between Oxford University Innovation Limited ("OUI") and AstraZeneca UK Limited ("AstraZeneca"), through to the second quarter of 2023, however there can be no assurance as to the timing or amount of any such milestones or royalties on future net sales. In particular, we are not party to the AstraZeneca License Agreement, and we do not have any direct claim against AstraZeneca to receive a share of any milestones or net sales, or any other payments under the AstraZeneca License Agreement. Instead, we are party to the amendment, assignment and revenue share agreement, or the OUI License Agreement Amendment, with OUI, to the license agreement we entered into with OUI in March 2016, pursuant to which OUI agreed to pay us approximately 24% of payments, including royalties and milestones, received by OUI in connection with the commercialization of any ChAdOx1 vector-based or ChAdOx2 vector-based vaccine in the field of SARS-CoV2 covered by or disclosed in the assigned patent application. As a result, we will only receive a share of any milestones or royalties paid on net sales of any such vaccine under the AstraZeneca License Agreement if, and to the extent that, OUI receives a share of any such milestones or royalties pursuant to that agreement. 60 Table of Contents Our understanding of the terms of the AstraZeneca License Agreement is based solely on an extract of the agreement provided by the parties to that agreement. We are not a party to the AstraZeneca License Agreement and do not have access to a copy of that agreement to verify such extract. In addition, no party to the AstraZeneca License Agreement has confirmed that there are no material terms in that agreement that could adversely impact the economic and other terms of the AstraZeneca License Agreement. Moreover, there can be no assurance that the AstraZeneca License Agreement is an enforceable agreement, that the parties thereto will comply with their obligations under the agreement (including any obligations of AstraZeneca to make milestone or royalty payments to OUI), that the agreement will not be terminated pursuant to its terms or otherwise, or that the terms of the agreement (including royalty rates and other economic terms) will not be modified by the parties in the future. Accordingly, these and other factors could cause amounts received by OUI pursuant to the AstraZeneca License Agreement, and accordingly any share of the revenue under that agreement that we may receive, to fluctuate. Any such fluctuations could be material. Additionally, our understanding of the terms of the AstraZeneca License Agreement is that AstraZeneca is required to notify OUI of OUI’s shares of milestone and royalty payments within 30 days following the close of a fiscal quarter. OUI is then required to notify us of our share of the payments within 30 days after the end of a quarter when OUI received such milestone or royalty payments from AstraZeneca. If the required notifications are not made in accordance with the terms of the agreements, we may not be able to recognize revenue in the period in which it is earned. In addition, the announcement of adverse events observed in individuals who receive Vaxzevria and any negative impact on the perceptions of Vaxzevria safety may reduce sales of the vaccine and AstraZeneca may decide not to market Vaxzevria, and therefore reduce the potential payments that we would receive from royalties paid on net sales of Vaxzevria. Any association of Vaxzevria with adverse events, or the perception of such association, may otherwise adversely impact the development of, and our ability to commercialize, any of our product candidates. Risks Related to Our Business and Industry and Risks Related to Clinical Development If we are unable to advance our current or future product candidates into and through clinical trials, obtain marketing approval or reimbursement and ultimately commercialize any product candidates we develop, or experience significant delays in doing so, our business will be materially harmed. All of our product candidates are in early stages of development, including our lead product candidates VTP-300 and VTP-200, and as such will require extensive preclinical and clinical testing, as applicable. Product candidates may not meet targeted clinical or safety endpoints during clinical trials such as the MVA-based influenza vaccine candidate, VTP-100, which did not meet defined primary clinical endpoints in two concurrent Phase 2b trials and we subsequently discontinued further development of this program. Our product candidate VTP-1100 in HPV cancer was paused in January 2024 to prioritize the other pipeline candidates already in the clinic, and the advancement of VTP-1100 may depend on our ability to fund or how we prioritize our pipeline. Our ability to generate product revenues, which we do not expect to occur for several years, if ever, will depend heavily on the successful development and eventual commercialization or out-license of the product candidates we develop, which may never occur. Before we are able to generate any revenues from product sales, our current product candidates, and any future product candidates we develop, will require additional preclinical and clinical development, management of preclinical, clinical, and manufacturing activities, marketing approval in the United States and other markets, demonstrating effectiveness to pricing and reimbursement authorities, obtaining sufficient manufacturing supply for both clinical development and commercial production, building of a commercial organization, and substantial investment and significant marketing efforts. The success of our current and future product candidates will depend on several factors, including the following: • successful completion, with sufficient safety and efficacy profiles, of preclinical studies and clinical trials; • sufficiency of our financial and other resources to complete the necessary preclinical studies and clinical trials; • acceptance of INDs or equivalent clinical trial authorizations in other regions for our planned clinical trials or future clinical trials; • successful enrollment and completion of our ongoing and future clinical trials; • sufficient data from our clinical program that support an acceptable risk-benefit profile of our product candidates in the intended populations; • receipt and maintenance of marketing authorizations from applicable regulatory authorities; • scale-up of our manufacturing processes and formulation of our product candidates for later stages of development and commercialization; • establishing our own manufacturing capabilities or agreements with third-party manufacturers for clinical supply for our clinical trials and commercial manufacturing, if our product candidate is approved; • ability to develop product candidate designs and formulations that provide sufficient genetic and thermal stability for long term storage and shipment to meet market requirements; 61 Table of Contents • entry into collaborations, where needed, to further the development of our product candidates; • obtaining and maintaining patent and trade secret protection or regulatory exclusivity for our product candidates; • successfully launching commercial sales of our product candidates, if and when approved; • acceptance of the product candidate’s benefits and uses, if and when approved, by patients, the medical community and third- party payors; • the prevalence and severity of adverse events experienced with our product candidates; • maintaining a continued acceptable benefit/risk profile of the product candidates following authorization; • effectively competing with other therapies, including new therapies that may be developed and approved; • obtaining and maintaining healthcare coverage and adequate reimbursement from third-party payors; • qualifying for, maintaining, enforcing, and defending intellectual property rights and claims; and • the risk that foreign regulatory authorities may not authorize our clinical trial protocols and other clinical trial documentation, including manufacturing documentation, even when previously authorized by the FDA, EMA or MHRA, which could lead to a delay in starting such clinical trials. For example, our HBV002 clinical trial conducted in South Korea experienced delays due to additional regulatory review of our clinical protocol. We have limited experience obtaining such approvals in foreign jurisdictions and therefore may need more time to navigate the regulatory process as a result. We do not have complete control over many of these factors, including certain aspects of clinical development and the regulatory submission process, potential threats to our intellectual property rights and the manufacturing, marketing, distribution and sales efforts of any future collaborator. If we are not successful with respect to one or more of these factors in a timely manner or at all, we could experience significant delays or an inability to successfully commercialize the product candidates we develop, which would materially harm our business. We have no control over third-party use of ChAdOx and MVA technologies outside of our exclusively licensed field under license from OUI, and such third-party use could have a negative impact on our ability to develop current and future product candidates, which would materially harm our business. Clinical development involves a lengthy and expensive process with uncertain outcomes, and results of earlier preclinical studies and clinical trials may not be predictive of future clinical trial results. We may encounter substantial delays in clinical trials, or may not be able to conduct or complete clinical trials on the expected timelines, if at all. If our preclinical studies and clinical trials are not sufficient to support marketing authorization of any of our product candidates, we may incur additional costs or experience delays in completing, or ultimately be unable to complete, the development of such product candidate. We may experience delays in obtaining the FDA’s or other regulatory agencies authorization to initiate clinical trials under future INDs, completing ongoing preclinical studies of our other product candidates, and initiating our planned preclinical studies and clinical trials. Additionally, we cannot be certain that preclinical studies or clinical trials for our product candidates will begin on time, not require redesign, enroll an adequate number of participants on time, or be completed on schedule, if at all. We may experience numerous adverse or unforeseen events during, or as a result of, preclinical studies and clinical trials that could delay or prevent our ability to receive marketing authorization or commercialize our product candidates, including: • we may receive feedback from regulatory authorities that requires us to modify the design of our clinical trials; • new treatments may become standard of care during the process of completing a clinical trial, which may impact the initial clinical trial design or future patient care pathways; • significant changes in relevant regulatory requirements may cause a delay in the start of a clinical trial, due to additional requirements needing to be met; • clinical trials of our product candidates may produce negative or inconclusive results, and we may decide, or regulators may require us, to conduct additional clinical trials or abandon our research efforts for our other product candidates; • clinical trials of our product candidates may not produce differentiated or clinically significant results across infectious diseases, cancers and autoimmune diseases; 62 Table of Contents • the number of participants required for clinical trials of our product candidates may be larger than we anticipate, enrollment in these clinical trials may be slower than we anticipate or participants may drop out of our clinical trials at a higher rate than we anticipate; • our third-party contractors may fail to comply with regulatory requirements, fail to maintain adequate quality controls or be unable to provide us with sufficient or timely product supply to conduct and complete preclinical studies or clinical trials of our product candidates in a timely manner, or at all; • we or our investigators might have to suspend or terminate clinical trials of our product candidates for various reasons, including non-compliance with regulatory requirements, a finding that our product candidates have undesirable side effects or other unexpected characteristics or a finding that the participants are being exposed to unacceptable health risks; • the cost of clinical trials of our product candidates may be greater than we anticipate, for example, if we experience delays or challenges in identifying participants with the eligibility criteria required for our clinical trials, we may have to reimburse sites for the cost of testing of additional participants in order to encourage enrollment of additional participants; • the quality of our product candidates or other materials necessary to conduct preclinical studies or clinical trials of our product candidates may be insufficient or inadequate, and any transfer of manufacturing activities may require unforeseen manufacturing or formulation changes; • regulators may revise the requirements for approving our product candidates, or such requirements may not be as we anticipate; and • future collaborators may conduct clinical trials in ways they view as advantageous to them but that are suboptimal for us. In addition, the ChAdOx vectors are currently being evaluated in clinical trials outside of our licensed fields conducted by Oxford and other third parties to which OUI has granted licenses. We have no control over these other clinical trials and any adverse results in these clinical trials could impact public perception and regulatory approval of our product candidates. Even after any of our product candidates obtain regulatory marketing authorization, the announcement of adverse events observed in individuals who receive these products may impact public perception and may result in increased regulatory scrutiny across our platform. For example, in March 2021, several countries announced plans to either temporarily suspend the use of a particular batch of Vaxzevria or the use of Vaxzevria altogether following reports of very rare thromboembolic events in people following vaccination. While the EMA subsequently issued an update confirming the overall risk-benefit profile of Vaxzevria remains positive, and Vaxzevria later received full marketing authorization in the EU in November 2022, the applicable regulatory authorities continue to assess available safety data as Vaxzevria continues to be administered and have made recommendations regarding updates to the vaccine’s labeling and use in certain populations. These recommendations may continue to evolve, and these types of announcements may affect public perception of the safety of Vaxzevria, which may extend to product candidates we are developing. Other very rare events have been reported in people who have received Vaxzevria, including thrombocytopenia (low platelet numbers in the blood), capillary leak syndrome, and neurological syndromes such as Guillain Barre Syndrome and transverse myelitis. Perception about the efficacy of Vaxzevria, such as its effectiveness against emerging COVID-19 variants, may also impact perception of our product candidates. Additionally, these announcements may lead to additional inquiries or scrutiny from regulators on whether similar safety or efficacy signals have been observed with our other candidates. If we are required to conduct additional clinical trials or other testing of our product candidates beyond those that we currently 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 moderately positive or if there are safety concerns, our business and results of operations may be adversely affected and we may incur significant additional costs. We could also encounter delays if a clinical trial is suspended or terminated by us, by the IRBs, or ethics committees of the institutions in which such clinical trials are being conducted, or by the FDA or other regulatory authorities, or suspended or terminated based on recommendations by the Data Safety Monitoring Board or equivalent for such clinical trial. Such authorities may suspend or terminate a clinical trial due to a number of factors, including failure to conduct the clinical trial in accordance with regulatory requirements or our clinical trial protocols, inspection of the clinical trial operations or trial site by the FDA or other regulatory authorities resulting in the imposition of a clinical hold, unforeseen safety issues or adverse side effects, failure to demonstrate a benefit from the product candidates, changes in governmental regulations or administrative actions or lack of adequate funding to continue the clinical trial. In addition, any disclosure of negative data of clinical trials being conducted by our collaborators could have an adverse impact on our business. 63 Table of Contents Moreover, principal investigators for our future clinical trials may serve as scientific advisors or consultants to us from time to time and receive compensation in connection with such services. Under certain circumstances, we may be required to report some of these relationships to the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. The FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority may conclude that a financial relationship between us and a principal investigator has created a conflict of interest or otherwise affected interpretation of the clinical trial. The FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority may therefore question the integrity of the data generated at the applicable clinical trial site and the utility of the clinical trial itself may be jeopardized. This could result in a delay in approval, or rejection, of our marketing applications by the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authority, as the case may be, and may ultimately lead to the denial of marketing approval of one or more of our product candidates. If we experience delays in the completion of any preclinical study or clinical trial of our product candidates, or our preclinical studies or clinical trials are terminated, the commercial prospects of our product candidates may be harmed, and our ability to generate revenues from any of these product candidates will be delayed or not realized at all. In addition, any delays in completing our preclinical studies or clinical trials may increase our costs, slow down our product candidate development and authorization procedure and jeopardize our ability to commence product sales and generate revenues. Any of these occurrences may significantly harm our business, financial condition and prospects. In addition, many of the factors that cause, or lead to, a delay in the commencement or completion of clinical trials may also ultimately lead to the denial of marketing authorization for our product candidates. If one or more of our product candidates generally prove to be ineffective, unsafe or commercially unviable, our entire pipeline may have little, if any, value, which would have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. Interim, “topline,” and preliminary data from our clinical trials that we announce or publish from time to time may change as more participant data become available and are subject to audit and verification procedures that could result in material changes in the final data. From time to time, we may publicly disclose preliminary or topline data from our preclinical studies and clinical trials, which is based on a preliminary analysis of then-available data, and the results and related findings and conclusions are subject to change following a more comprehensive review of the more complete data related to the particular study or trial. We also make assumptions, estimations, calculations and conclusions as part of our analyses of data, and we may not have received or had the opportunity to fully and carefully evaluate all data. As a result, the topline or preliminary results that we report may differ from future results of the same studies or clinical trials, or different conclusions or considerations may qualify such results, once additional data have been received and fully evaluated. Topline data also remain subject to audit and verification procedures that may result in the final data being materially different from the preliminary data we previously published. As a result, topline data should be viewed with caution until the final data are available. From time to time, we may also disclose interim data from our clinical trials. Interim data from clinical trials that we may complete are subject to the risk that one or more of the clinical outcomes may materially change as participant enrollment continues and more participant data become available or as participants from our clinical trials continue other treatments for their disease. Adverse differences between preliminary or interim data and final data could significantly harm our business prospects. Further, disclosure of interim data by us or by our competitors could result in volatility in the price of our ADSs. In addition, the ChAdOx vectors are currently being evaluated in clinical trials conducted by Oxford and other third parties to which Oxford has granted licenses. We have no control over these other clinical trials and any adverse results in these clinical trials could impact public perception and regulatory approval of our product candidates. The information these third parties choose to publicly disclose regarding a particular study or clinical trial is based on what is typically extensive information, and shareholders may not agree with what these third parties determine is material or otherwise appropriate information to include in their disclosure. Further, others, including regulatory authorities, may not accept or agree with our assumptions, estimates, calculations, conclusions or analyses or may interpret or weigh the importance of data differently, which could impact the value of the particular program, the approvability or commercialization of the particular product candidate or product and our company in general. In addition, the information we choose to publicly disclose regarding a particular study or clinical trial is based on what is typically extensive information, and shareholders may not agree with what we determine is material or otherwise appropriate information to include in our disclosure. If the interim, topline, or preliminary data that we report differ from more complete results, or if others, including regulatory authorities, disagree with the conclusions reached, our ability to obtain marketing authorization for, and commercialize, our product candidates may be harmed, which could harm our business, operating results, prospects or financial condition. Our product candidates are based on a novel approach to the treatment of infectious disease, autoimmunity and cancer, which makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of product candidate development. We have concentrated our research and development efforts on components of our proprietary platforms to develop product candidates that stimulate powerful, targeted immune responses against pathogens and tumor cells, which is a novel approach. Our future success depends on the successful development of these platforms. There can be no assurance that any development problems we experience in the future will not cause significant delays or unanticipated costs, or that such development problems can be solved. Should we encounter development problems, including unfavorable preclinical or clinical trial results, the FDA or foreign regulatory authorities may refuse to approve our product candidates, or may require additional information, tests, or trials, which could significantly delay product development and significantly increase our development costs. Moreover, even if we are able to provide the requested information or trials to the FDA, 64 Table of Contents there would be no guarantee that the FDA would accept them or approve our product candidates. We may also experience delays in developing a sustainable, reproducible and scalable manufacturing process, or developing other testing and manufacturing methods, which may prevent us from completing our clinical trials or commercializing our product candidates on a timely or profitable basis, if at all. In addition, the clinical trial requirements of the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities and the criteria these regulators use to determine the safety and efficacy of a product candidate vary substantially according to the type, complexity, novelty and intended use and market of the potential products. The FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities have limited experience with the approval of novel immunotherapies. Any novel immunotherapies that are approved may be subject to extensive post- approval regulatory requirements, including requirements pertaining to manufacturing, distribution and promotion. We may need to devote significant time and resources to compliance with these requirements. Difficulty in enrolling participants could delay or prevent clinical trials of our product candidates and prevent us from realizing the full commercial potential of any products we may develop. Identifying and qualifying participants to participate in clinical trials of our product candidates is critical to our success. The timing of completion of our clinical trials depends in part on the speed at which we can recruit participants to participate in testing our product candidates, and we may experience delays in our clinical trials if we encounter difficulties in enrollment. We may not be able to initiate or continue clinical trials for our product candidates if we are unable to locate and enroll a sufficient number of eligible participants to participate in these trials as required by the FDA, the EMA or other foreign regulatory authorities. For example, randomized clinical controlled trials for MERS are difficult due to the sporadic and low incidence of cases. Our ability to enroll participants may be significantly delayed when potential participants for our clinical trials have had previous exposure to the ChAdOx1 vector, as we may not be able to enroll these individuals in a clinical trial or their enrollment may be delayed due to the concern that neutralizing antibodies might be present for some time after ChAdOx exposure. For example, we may not be able to enroll or may need to delay the enrollment of potential subjects who received the Vaxzevria vaccine. Although we believe the presence and impact of such neutralizing antibodies is transient, we do not have full data on this yet and our assessment may change. The initiation of our Phase 1/2a clinical trial for VTP-200, our Phase 1b/2a clinical trial for VTP-300 and our Phase 1/2a clinical trial for VTP-600, were delayed due to COVID-19. We cannot anticipate the next pandemic or how that may or may not impact future clinical trial enrollment. In addition, some of our competitors have ongoing clinical trials for product candidates that treat the same indications as our product candidates, and participants who would otherwise be eligible for our clinical trials may instead enroll in clinical trials of our competitors’ product candidates. The enrollment of patients and participants further depends on many factors, including: • the phase of clinical testing; • the proximity of participants to clinical trial sites; • the increased inconvenience to patients by participating in a clinical trial, such as increased doctor visits, missed work, travel costs and time; • the design of the clinical trial, including the number of site visits, whether the clinical trial includes a placebo arm and invasive assessments required; • our ability to recruit clinical trial investigators with the appropriate competencies and experience; • our ability to obtain and maintain participant consents; • reporting of the preliminary results of any of our clinical trials; • the risk that some or all of the patients that receive Vaxzevria develop neutralizing antibodies against ChAdOx, which could limit the immunogenicity from subsequent dosing with one of our product candidates; • the risk that participants enrolled in clinical trials will drop out of the clinical trials before clinical trial completion; and • factors we may not be able to control, such as potential pandemics that may limit participants, principal investigators or staff or clinical site availability ( e.g. , the COVID-19 pandemic). Since the number of qualified clinical investigators is limited, we expect to conduct some of our clinical trials at the same clinical trial sites that some of our competitors use, which will reduce the number of participants who are available for our clinical trials at such clinical trial sites. Moreover, because certain of our product candidates represent a departure from more commonly used methods for treatment of disease, particularly in cancer, and because certain of our product candidates have not been tested in humans before, potential participants and their doctors may be inclined to use conventional therapies, rather than enroll participants in a future clinical trial. 65 Table of Contents If we experience delays in the completion or termination of any clinical trial of our product candidates, the commercial prospects of our product candidates will be harmed, and our ability to generate product revenue from any of these product candidates could be delayed or prevented. Our product candidates may cause serious adverse events, serious side effects or have other properties that could halt their clinical development, prevent their marketing authorization, require expansion of the trial size, limit their commercial potential or result in significant negative consequences. Serious side effects caused by our product candidates could cause us or regulatory authorities, including IRBs and ethics committees, to interrupt, delay or halt clinical trials and could result in a more restrictive label or the delay or denial of marketing authorization by the FDA, the EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Further, clinical trials by their nature utilize a sample of the potential patient population. Because of our dose escalation design for our clinical trials, undesirable side effects in initial cohorts could also result in the need to expand the size of our clinical trials, increasing the expected costs and timeline of our clinical trials. Additionally, because certain of our product candidates, including Vaxzevria, have been administered to substantial numbers of participants on a more rapid basis than is standard in clinical trials, undesirable side effects could result in a negative impact across a larger participant population. Results of our trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of side effects or unexpected characteristics. If we do observe serious side effects in our clinical trials, our ongoing clinical trials may be halted or put on clinical hold prior to completion if there is an unacceptable safety risk for participants. If unacceptable toxicities arise in the development of our product candidates, we could suspend or terminate our trials or the FDA, the EMA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities, or local regulatory authorities such as IRBs or ethics committees, could order us to cease clinical trials. Competent national health authorities, such as the FDA, could also deny approval of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Even if the side effects presented do not preclude the product from obtaining or maintaining marketing authorization, treatment-related side effects could also affect participant recruitment or the ability of enrolled participants to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. In addition, these side effects may not be appropriately recognized or managed by the treating medical staff. We intend to develop certain of our product candidates in combination with other therapies, which exposes us to additional risks. We intend to develop certain of our product candidates in combination with one or more other approved therapies, such as anti-PD-1 antibodies and other checkpoint inhibitors to treat certain cancers and chronic infections. Even if any product candidate we develop were to receive marketing authorization or be commercialized for use in combination with other existing therapies, we would continue to be subject to the risks that the FDA, the EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities outside of the United States could revoke approval of the therapy used in combination with our product or that safety, efficacy, manufacturing or supply issues could arise with any of those existing therapies. If the therapies we use in combination with our product candidates are replaced as the standard of care for the indications we choose for any of our product candidates, the FDA, the EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to conduct additional clinical trials. The occurrence of any of these risks could result in our own products, if approved, being removed from the market or being less successful commercially. We also may choose to evaluate our current product candidates and any other future product candidates in combination with one or more therapies that have not yet been approved for marketing by the FDA, the EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities. We will not be able to market and sell our current product candidates or any product candidate we develop in combination with any unapproved therapies for a combination indication if that unapproved therapy does not ultimately obtain marketing approval either alone or in combination with our product. In addition, unapproved therapies face the same risks described with respect to our product candidates currently in development and clinical trials, including the potential for serious adverse effects, delay in their clinical trials and lack of FDA approval. If the FDA, the EMA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities do not approve these other products or revoke their approval of, or if safety, efficacy, quality, manufacturing or supply issues arise with, the products we choose to evaluate in combination with our product candidate we develop, we may be unable to obtain approval of or market such combination therapy. Risks Related to Our Approach The market opportunities for certain of our oncology product candidates may be relatively small as it may be limited to those patients who are ineligible for or have failed prior treatments and our estimates of the prevalence of our target patient populations may be inaccurate. Cancer therapies are sometimes characterized by line of therapy (first line, second line, third line, fourth line, etc.), and the regulatory authorities, including the FDA, often approve new therapies initially only for a particular line or lines of use. When cancer is detected early enough, first line therapy is sometimes adequate to cure the cancer or prolong life without a cure. Whenever first line therapy, usually chemotherapy, antibody drugs, tumor-targeted small molecules, hormone 66 Table of Contents therapy, radiation therapy, surgery, or a combination of these, proves unsuccessful, second line therapy may be administered. Second line therapies often consist of more chemotherapy, radiation, antibody drugs, tumor-targeted small molecules, or a combination of these. Third line therapies can include chemotherapy, antibody drugs and small molecule tumor-targeted therapies, more invasive forms of surgery and new technologies. We expect to seek approval of VTP-600 as a component of first line therapy but we expect to seek approval of our other oncology product candidates initially as second or third line therapy, for use in patients with relapsed or refractory metastatic cancer. Subsequently, for those product candidates that prove to be sufficiently safe and beneficial as third line or second line therapies, if any, we would expect to seek approval as earlier line therapies, but there is no guarantee that our product candidates, even if approved as a second or third line of therapy, would be approved for an earlier line of therapy, and, prior to any such approvals, we may have to conduct additional clinical trials. Our projections of both the number of people who have the infectious diseases and cancers we are targeting, as well as the subset of people with these infectious diseases and cancers in a position to receive a particular line of therapy and who have the potential to benefit from treatment with our product candidates, are based on our beliefs and estimates. These estimates have been derived from a variety of sources, including scientific literature, commissioned reports, surveys of clinics, patient foundations or market research, and may prove to be incorrect. Further, new therapies may change the estimated incidence or prevalence of these cancers and chronic infections. The number of patients may turn out to be lower than expected. Additionally, the potentially addressable patient population for our product candidates may be limited or may not be amenable to treatment with our product candidates. Even if we obtain significant market share for our product candidates within our addressable patient population, because the potential target populations are small, we may never achieve profitability without obtaining marketing authorization for additional indications, including use as first or second line therapy. Negative developments in the fields of infectious disease and immuno-oncology could damage public perception of any of our product candidates and negatively affect our business. The commercial success of our product candidates will depend in part on public acceptance of the use of immunotherapies and viral vector-based antigen-delivery platforms. Adverse events in clinical trials of VTP-300 and VTP-200, or in clinical trials of similar products developed by others and the resulting publicity, as well as any other negative developments in the field of infectious disease and immuno-oncology that may occur in the future, including in connection with competitor therapies, could result in a decrease in demand for any product candidates that we may develop. These events could also result in the suspension, discontinuation, or clinical hold of or modification to our clinical trials. If public perception is influenced by claims that the use of cancer immunotherapies is unsafe, whether related to our therapies or those of our competitors, our product candidates may not be accepted by the general public or the medical community and potential clinical trial participants may be discouraged from enrolling in our clinical trials. In addition, responses by national or state governments to negative public perception may result in new legislation or regulations that could limit our ability to develop or commercialize any product candidates, obtain or maintain marketing authorization or otherwise achieve profitability. More restrictive statutory regimes, government regulations or negative public opinion would have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, prospects and results of operations and may delay or impair the development and commercialization of our product candidates or demand for any products we may develop. As a result, we may not be able to continue or may be delayed in conducting our development programs. Our present product candidates consist of modified viruses. Adverse developments in clinical trials of other immunotherapy products based on viruses, such as oncolytic viruses, may result in a disproportionately negative effect for our platform as compared to other products in the field of infectious disease and immuno-oncology that are not based on viruses. Future negative developments in the biopharmaceutical industry could also result in greater governmental regulation, stricter labeling requirements and potential regulatory delays in the testing or approvals of our products. Any increased scrutiny could delay or increase the costs of obtaining marketing approval for our product candidates. We may not be successful in our efforts to identify and successfully commercialize additional product candidates. Part of our strategy involves researching and developing novel product candidates. We have developed a pipeline of product candidates and intend to pursue clinical development of additional product candidates. The process by which we identify product candidates may fail to yield product candidates for clinical development for a number of reasons, including those discussed in these risk factors and also: • we may not be able to assemble sufficient resources to acquire or discover additional product candidates; • competitors may develop alternatives that render our potential product candidates obsolete or less attractive; • potential product candidates we develop may nevertheless be covered by third parties’ patents or other exclusive rights; • potential product candidates may, on further study, be shown to have harmful side effects, toxicities or other characteristics that indicate that they are unlikely to be products that will receive marketing approval and achieve market acceptance; • potential product candidates may not be effective in treating their targeted diseases or symptoms; 67 Table of Contents • the market for a potential product candidate may change so that the continued development of that product candidate is no longer reasonable; • a potential product candidate may not be capable of being produced in commercial quantities at an acceptable cost, or at all; or • the regulatory pathway for a potential product candidate is highly complex and difficult to navigate successfully or economically. Developing, obtaining marketing authorization for and commercializing additional product candidates will require substantial additional funding and is prone to the risks of failure inherent in medical product development. We cannot provide you any assurance that we will be able to successfully advance any of these additional product candidates through the development process. We may expend our limited resources to pursue a particular product candidate or indication and fail to capitalize on product candidates or indications that may be more profitable or for which there is a greater likelihood of success. We may choose to focus our efforts on and allocate resources to a potential product candidate that ultimately proves to be unsuccessful, or to license or purchase a marketed product that does not meet our financial expectations. As a result, we may fail to capitalize on viable commercial products or profitable market opportunities, be required to forego or delay pursuit of opportunities with other product candidates or other diseases that may later prove to have greater commercial potential, or relinquish valuable rights to such product candidates through collaboration, licensing or other royalty arrangements in cases in which it would have been advantageous for us to retain sole development and commercialization rights. Our spending on current and future research and development programs and product candidates for specific indications may not yield any commercially viable products. If we are unable to evaluate the commercial potential or target market for a particular product candidate, identify and successfully commercialize additional suitable product candidates, this would adversely impact our business strategy and our financial position. Risks Related to Sales, Marketing and Competition We face substantial competition in an environment of rapid technological change, which may result in others discovering, developing, obtaining marketing authorization approval or commercializing products before or more successfully than we do, which may adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to successfully market or commercialize our product candidates. The biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries utilize rapidly advancing technologies and are characterized by intense competition. While we believe that our scientific knowledge, platform technology and development expertise provide us with competitive advantages, we face potential competition from many different sources, including major pharmaceuticals, specialty pharmaceuticals and biotechnology companies, academic institutions and government agencies, as well as public and private research institutes that conduct research, development, manufacturing and commercialization. Many of our competitors have significantly greater financial resources and expertise in research and development, manufacturing, preclinical testing, marketing authorizations and product marketing than we do. In addition, many of these competitors are active in seeking patent protection and licensing arrangements in anticipation of collecting royalties for use of technology that they have developed. Our competitors may compete with us in recruiting and retaining qualified scientific and management personnel and establishing clinical trial sites and participant registration for clinical trials, as well as in acquiring technologies complementary to, or necessary for, our programs. As a result, our competitors may discover, develop, license or commercialize products before or more successfully than we do. Product candidates that we successfully develop and commercialize will compete with existing therapies and new therapies that may become available in the future. Specifically, we expect that our product candidates will compete against alternative or more conventional approaches, including antivirals, immune modulators, antisense oligonucleotides, siRNA, CRISPR editing, capsid inhibitors, novel entry inhibitors, or other small molecules, RNA, DNA, nanoparticle, VLP, peptide, protein, whole-killed vaccines or other technologies. If our product candidates are approved for the indications for which we are currently conducting or planning clinical trials, they will likely compete with the competitor products mentioned above and with other products that are currently in development. Key product features that would affect our ability to effectively compete with other therapeutics include the safety, efficacy, formulation, stability, and convenience of our products. Our competitors may obtain patent protection or other intellectual property rights that limit our ability to develop or commercialize our product candidates. The availability of reimbursement from government and other third-party payors will also significantly affect the pricing and competitiveness of our products. Our competitors may also obtain marketing authorizations from the FDA or other regulatory authorities for their products more rapidly than we may obtain approval for ours, which could result in our competitors establishing a strong market position before we are able to enter the market. 68 Table of Contents Risks Related to the Development of Our Product Candidates Our preclinical studies and clinical trials may fail to demonstrate adequately the safety, potency, purity, and efficacy of any of our product candidates, which would prevent or delay development, marketing authorization and commercialization. Furthermore, success in preclinical studies or clinical trials may not be indicative of results in future clinical trials for the same or other product candidates. Before obtaining marketing authorization for the commercial sale of our product candidates, we must demonstrate the safety, purity and potency of our investigational biologics for use in each target indication through lengthy, complex and expensive preclinical studies and clinical trials. Preclinical and clinical testing is expensive and can take many years to complete, and its outcome is inherently uncertain. Failure can occur at any time during the preclinical study and clinical trial processes, and, because our product candidates are in an early stage of development, there is a high risk of failure and we may never succeed in developing marketable products. The results of preclinical studies and early clinical trials of our product candidates may not be predictive of the results of later-stage clinical trials. Although product candidates may demonstrate promising results in preclinical studies and early clinical trials, they may not prove to be effective in subsequent clinical trials. For example, testing on animals occurs under different conditions than testing in humans and therefore, the results of animal studies may not accurately predict human experience. There is typically an extremely high rate of attrition from the failure of product candidates proceeding through preclinical studies and clinical trials. Product candidates in later stages of clinical trials may fail to show the desired risk-benefit profile despite having progressed through preclinical studies and initial clinical trials. Likewise, early, smaller-scale clinical trials may not be predictive of eventual safety or effectiveness in large-scale pivotal clinical trials. VTP-100 demonstrated tolerability and immunogenicity during small Phase 1 clinical trials but did not demonstrate sufficient clinical activity during adequately powered Phase 2b clinical trials to warrant continued development of this product candidate. A number of companies in the biopharmaceutical industry have suffered significant setbacks in later phase clinical trials due to lack of potency or efficacy, insufficient durability of potency or efficacy or unacceptable safety issues, notwithstanding promising results in earlier trials. The vast majority of product candidates that commence preclinical studies and early phase clinical trials are never approved as products. Any preclinical studies or clinical trials that we may conduct may not demonstrate the safety, potency, purity and efficacy necessary to obtain regulatory authorization to market our product candidates. If the results of our ongoing or future preclinical studies and clinical trials are inconclusive with respect to the safety, potency, purity, and efficacy of our product candidates, if we do not meet the clinical endpoints with statistical and clinically meaningful significance, or if there are safety concerns associated with our product candidates, we may be prevented or delayed in obtaining marketing authorization for certain of our product candidates. In some instances, there can be significant variability in safety, potency, purity, or efficacy results between different preclinical studies and clinical trials of the same product candidate due to numerous factors, including changes in trial procedures set forth in protocols, differences in the size and type of the patient populations, changes in and adherence to the clinical trial protocols and the rate of dropout among clinical trial participants. While we have not yet initiated clinical trials for certain of our product candidates, such as VTP-1000, and are in early stages of clinical trials for certain of our product candidates, VTP-300, VTP-500, VTP-200, VTP-400, VTP-850 and VTP-600, as is the case with all novel immunotherapeutics and viral-vector based antigen-delivery platforms, it is likely that there may be side effects associated with their use. Results of our trials could reveal a high and unacceptable severity and prevalence of these side effects. In such an event, our trials could be suspended or terminated and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities could order us to cease further development of or deny authorization of certain of our product candidates for any or all targeted indications. Treatment-related side effects could also affect participant recruitment or the ability of enrolled participants to complete the trial or result in potential product liability claims. Any of these occurrences may harm our business, financial condition and prospects significantly. Additionally, some of the clinical trials we conduct may be open-label in trial design and may be conducted at a limited number of clinical sites on a limited number of patients. An “open-label” clinical trial is one where both the patient and investigator know whether the patient is receiving the investigational product candidate or either an existing approved drug or placebo. Most typically, open-label clinical trials test only the investigational product candidate and sometimes may do so at different dose levels. Open-label clinical trials are subject to various limitations that may exaggerate any therapeutic effect as patients in open-label clinical trials are aware when they are receiving treatment. Open-label clinical trials may be subject to a “patient bias” where patients perceive their symptoms to have improved merely due to their awareness of receiving an experimental treatment. In addition, open-label clinical trials may be subject to an “investigator bias” where those assessing and reviewing the physiological outcomes of the clinical trials are aware of which patients have received treatment and may interpret the information of the treated group more favorably given this knowledge. The results from an open-label trial may not be predictive of future clinical trial results with any of our product candidates for which we include an open-label clinical trial when studied in a controlled environment with a placebo or active control. Even if we obtain marketing authorization for our product candidates, the products may not gain market acceptance among physicians, patients, hospitals, cancer treatment centers and others in the medical community. The use of novel immunotherapeutics, nanoparticle and viral-vector based product candidates to target the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, and cancer and autoimmune diseases is a recent development and may not become 69 Table of Contents broadly accepted by physicians, patients, hospitals, cancer treatment centers and others in the medical community. Various factors will influence whether our product candidates are accepted in the market, including: • the clinical indications for which our product candidates are licensed; • physicians, hospitals, cancer treatment centers and patients considering our product candidates as a safe and effective treatment; • the potential and perceived advantages of our product candidates over alternative treatments, including the adoption of our treatment as the standard of care; • our ability to demonstrate the advantages of our product candidates over other vaccines and cancer, or chronic infectious disease or immune tolerance disease medicines; • the prevalence and severity of any side effects; • the prevalence and severity of any side effects for other immunotherapeutics and public perception of other immunotherapeutics; • the prevalence and severity of any side effects for other viral-vector based antigen-delivery platforms and public perception of other viral-vector based antigen-delivery platforms; • The prevalence and severity of any side effects for other nanoparticle-based therapeutics and public perception of other nanoparticle-based therapeutics • product labeling or product insert requirements of the FDA or other regulatory authorities; • limitations or warnings contained in the approved labeling; • the timing of market introduction of our product candidates as well as competitive products; • the cost of treatment in relation to alternative treatments; • the availability of adequate coverage, reimbursement and pricing by third-party payors and government authorities; • the willingness of patients to pay out-of-pocket in the absence of coverage by third-party payors and government authorities; • relative convenience and ease of administration, including as compared to alternative treatments and competitive therapies; and • the effectiveness of our sales and marketing efforts. If our product candidates are licensed but fail to achieve market acceptance among physicians, patients, hospitals, cancer treatment centers or others in the medical community, we will not be able to generate significant revenue. In addition, although our product candidates differ in certain ways from other immunotherapeutic and viral-vector based approaches, serious adverse events or deaths in other clinical trials involving immunotherapeutic and viral-vector based product candidates, even if not ultimately attributable to our product or product candidates, could result in increased government regulation, unfavorable public perception and publicity, potential regulatory delays in the testing or licensing of our product candidates, stricter labeling requirements for those product candidates that are licensed, and a decrease in demand for any such product candidates. Even if our products achieve market acceptance, we may not be able to maintain that market acceptance over time if new products or technologies are introduced that are more favorably received than our products, are more cost effective or render our products obsolete. We currently have no marketing and sales organization and have no experience in marketing products. If we are unable to establish marketing and sales capabilities or enter into agreements with third parties to market and sell our product candidates, if approved, we may not be able to generate product revenue. We currently have no sales, marketing or distribution capabilities and have no experience in marketing products. We intend to develop an in-house marketing organization and sales force, which will require significant capital expenditures, management resources and time. We will have to compete with other pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to recruit, hire, train and retain marketing and sales personnel. There are risks involved with both establishing our own sales 70 Table of Contents and marketing capabilities and entering into arrangements with third parties to perform these services. For example, recruiting and training a sales force is expensive and time-consuming and could delay any product launch. If we are unable or decide not to establish internal sales, marketing and distribution capabilities, we will pursue arrangements with third-party sales, marketing, and distribution collaborators regarding the sales and marketing of our products, if approved. However, there can be no assurance that we will be able to establish or maintain such arrangements on favorable terms or if at all, or if we are able to do so, that these third-party arrangements will provide effective sales forces or marketing and distribution capabilities. Any revenue we receive will depend upon the efforts of such third parties, which may not be successful. We may have little or no control over the marketing and sales efforts of such third parties and our revenue from product sales may be lower than if we had commercialized our product candidates ourselves. We also face competition in our search for third parties to assist us with the sales and marketing efforts of our product candidates. There can be no assurance that we will be able to develop in-house sales and distribution capabilities or establish or maintain relationships with third-party collaborators to commercialize any product in the United States or overseas. Insurance policies are expensive and protect us only from some business risks, which leaves us exposed to significant uninsured liabilities. We do not carry insurance for all categories of risk that our business may encounter. Some of the policies we currently maintain include general liability, employment practices liability, property, umbrella, and directors’ and officers’ insurance. Insurance coverage is becoming increasingly expensive and in the future we may not be able to maintain insurance coverage at a reasonable cost or in sufficient amounts to protect us against losses due to liability. We do not carry specific biological or hazardous waste insurance coverage, and our property, casualty and general liability insurance policies specifically exclude coverage for damages and fines arising from biological or hazardous waste exposure or contamination. Accordingly, in the event of contamination or injury, we could be held liable for damages or be penalized with fines in an amount exceeding our resources, and our clinical trials or marketing authorizations could be suspended. We also expect that operating as a public company will make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance, and we may be required to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. As a result, it may be more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified people to serve on our board of directors, our board committees or as executive officers. We do not know, however, if we will be able to maintain existing insurance with adequate levels of coverage. Any significant uninsured liability may require us to pay substantial amounts, which would adversely affect our cash position and results of operations. Risks Related to Our Reliance on Third Parties We rely, and expect to continue to rely, on third parties to conduct certain of our preclinical studies and clinical trials. If these third parties do not properly and successfully carry out their contractual duties or meet expected deadlines, we may not be able to obtain marketing authorizations for, or commercialize, our product candidates and our business could be substantially harmed. We utilize and depend, and expect to continue to utilize and depend, upon independent investigators and collaborators, such as medical institutions, contract research organizations ("CROs"), contract manufacturing organizations ("CMOs"), and strategic partners to conduct and support certain of our preclinical studies and clinical trials under agreements with us. For example, we are dependent on our regional partner, CanSino Biologics, to conduct a Phase 1 clinical trial of VTP-400 for herpes zoster prevention. We expect to have to continue to negotiate budgets and contracts with CROs, trial sites and CMOs and we may not be able to do so on favorable terms, which may result in delays to our development timelines and increased costs. We will rely heavily on these third parties over the course of our preclinical studies and clinical trials, and we control only certain aspects of their activities. As a result, we will have less direct control over the conduct, timing and completion of these preclinical studies and clinical trials and the management of data developed through preclinical studies and clinical trials than would be the case if we were relying entirely upon our own staff. Nevertheless, we are responsible for ensuring that each of our preclinical studies and clinical trials is conducted in accordance with applicable protocol, legal and regulatory requirements and scientific standards, and our reliance on third parties does not relieve us of our regulatory responsibilities. We and these third parties are required to comply with GCP, which are regulations and guidelines enforced by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities for product candidates in clinical development. Regulatory authorities enforce GCP through periodic inspections of trial sponsors, principal investigators and trial sites. If we, or any of these third parties fail to comply with applicable GCP regulations, the clinical data generated in our clinical trials may be deemed unreliable and the FDA or comparable foreign regulatory authorities may require us to perform additional clinical trials before approving our MMAs. We cannot assure you that, upon inspection, such regulatory authorities will determine that any of our clinical trials comply with the GCP regulations. In addition, our clinical trials must be conducted with pharmaceutical product produced under cGMP regulations and will require a large number of test participants. Our failure or any failure by these third parties to comply with these regulations or to recruit a sufficient number of participants may require us to repeat clinical trials, which would delay the marketing authorization process. 71 Table of Contents Moreover, our business may be implicated if any of these third parties performing services or otherwise acting on our behalf violates federal or state fraud and abuse or false claims laws and regulations or healthcare privacy and security laws. Any third parties conducting our clinical trials are not and will not be our employees and, except for remedies available to us under our agreements with such third parties, we cannot control whether or not they devote sufficient time and resources to our ongoing clinical and preclinical product candidates. These third parties may also have relationships with other commercial entities, including our competitors, for whom they may also be conducting clinical trials or other product development activities, which could affect their performance on our behalf. If these third parties do not successfully carry out their contractual duties or obligations or meet expected deadlines, if they need to be replaced or if the quality or accuracy of the clinical data they obtain is compromised due to the failure to adhere to our clinical protocols or regulatory requirements or for other reasons, our clinical trials may be extended, delayed or terminated and we may not be able to complete development of, obtain marketing authorization for, or successfully commercialize, our product candidates. As a result, our financial results and the commercial prospects for our product candidates would be harmed, our costs could increase and our ability to generate revenue could be delayed. Switching or adding third parties to conduct our preclinical studies and clinical trials involves substantial cost and requires extensive management time and focus. In addition, there is a natural transition period when a new third party commences work. As a result, delays occur, which can materially impact our ability to meet our desired clinical development timelines. We may form or seek additional collaborations or strategic alliances or enter into additional licensing arrangements in the future, and we may not realize the benefits of such collaborations, alliances or licensing arrangements. We may form or seek additional strategic alliances, create joint ventures or collaborations, or enter into additional licensing arrangements with third parties that we believe will complement or augment our development and commercialization efforts with respect to our product candidates and any future product candidates that we may develop. Any of these relationships may require us to incur non-recurring and other charges, increase our near and long-term expenditures, issue securities that dilute our existing shareholders or disrupt our management and business. In addition, we face significant competition in seeking appropriate strategic partners and the negotiation process is time-consuming and complex. Moreover, we may not be successful in our efforts to establish a strategic partnership or other alternative arrangements for our product candidates because they may be deemed to be at too early of a stage of development for collaborative effort and third parties may not view our product candidates as having the requisite potential to demonstrate safety, potency, purity, and efficacy and obtain marketing approval. Further, collaborations involving our product candidates are subject to numerous risks, which may include the following: • collaborators have significant discretion in determining the efforts and resources that they will apply to a collaboration; • collaborators may not pursue development and commercialization of our product candidates or may elect not to continue or renew development or commercialization of our product candidates based on clinical trial results, changes in their strategic focus due to the acquisition of competitive products, availability of funding or other external factors, such as a business combination that diverts resources or creates competing priorities; • collaborators may delay clinical trials, provide insufficient funding for a clinical trial, stop a clinical trial, abandon a product candidate, repeat or conduct new clinical trials or require a new formulation of a product candidate for clinical testing; • despite agreements, collaborators may develop our product candidates to standards that only meet their local regulatory requirements and therefore clinical data cannot be applied in support regulatory submissions in other jurisdictions; • collaborators in certain countries may require joint ventures to manufactures and commercialize products in their territory, which may increase costs, increase dilution to shareholders, and offer lack of clarity on revenue and intellectual property sharing; • collaborators could independently develop, or develop with third parties, products that compete directly or indirectly with our product candidates; • a collaborator with marketing and distribution rights to one or more products may not commit sufficient resources to their marketing and distribution; • collaborators may not properly maintain or defend our intellectual property rights or may use our intellectual property or proprietary information in a way that gives rise to actual or threatened litigation that could jeopardize or invalidate our intellectual property or proprietary information or expose us to potential liability; 72 Table of Contents • disputes may arise between us and a collaborator that cause the delay or termination of the research, development or commercialization of our product candidates, or that result in costly litigation or arbitration that diverts management attention and resources; • collaboration and grant funding agreements may be terminated and, if terminated, may result in a need for additional capital to pursue further development or commercialization of the applicable product candidates; and • collaborators may own or co-own intellectual property covering our products that results from our collaborating with them, and in such cases, we would not have the exclusive right to commercialize such intellectual property. As a result, if we enter into additional collaboration agreements and strategic partnerships or license our product candidates, we may not be able to realize the benefit of such transactions if we are unable to successfully integrate them with our existing operations and company culture, which could delay our timelines or otherwise adversely affect our business. We also cannot be certain that, following a strategic transaction or license, we will achieve the revenue or specific net income that justifies such transaction. Any delays in entering into new collaborations or strategic partnership agreements related to our product candidates could delay the development and commercialization of our product candidates in certain geographies for certain indications, which would harm our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations. We currently rely and expect to rely in the future on the use of manufacturing suites in third-party facilities or third parties to manufacture our product candidates, if approved. Our business could be harmed if we are unable to use third-party manufacturing suites or if the third party manufacturers fail to provide us with sufficient quantities of our product candidates or fail to do so at acceptable quality levels or prices. We do not currently own any facility that may be used as our clinical-scale manufacturing and processing facility and must currently rely on outside vendors to manufacture our product candidates. We will need to negotiate and maintain contractual arrangements with these outside vendors for the supply of our product candidates and we may not be able to do so on favorable terms. We have not yet manufactured our product candidates on a commercial scale and may not be able to do so for any of our product candidates. Manufacturing of biologic and synthetic products is complex and requires significant expertise and capital investment, including the development of advanced manufacturing techniques and process controls. Manufacturers of biologic products often encounter difficulties in production, particularly in scaling up, validating the production process and assuring high reliability of the manufacturing process, including the absence of contamination. These problems include logistics and shipping, difficulties with production costs and yields, quality control, including lot consistency, stability of the product, product testing, operator error and availability of qualified personnel, as well as compliance with strictly enforced federal, state and foreign regulations. Furthermore, if contaminants are discovered in our supply of our product candidates or in the manufacturing facilities, such manufacturing facilities may need to be closed for an extended period of time to investigate and remedy the contamination. We cannot assure you that any stability failures or other issues relating to the manufacture of our product candidates will not occur in the future. Our anticipated reliance on a limited number of third-party manufacturers exposes us to a number of risks, including the following: • the production process for our product candidates is complex and requires specific know-how that only a limited number of CMOs can provide, as a result, we compete with other companies in the field for the scarce capacities of these organizations and may not be able to secure sufficient manufacturing capacity when needed; • we may be unable to identify manufacturers on acceptable terms, or at all because the number of potential manufacturers is limited and the FDA or other regulatory authorities may inspect any manufacturers for current cGMP compliance as part of our marketing application; • a new manufacturer would have to be educated in, or develop substantially equivalent processes for, the production of our product candidates; • our third-party manufacturers might be unable to timely manufacture our product candidates or produce the quantity and quality required to meet our clinical and commercial needs, if any; • contract manufacturers may not be able to execute our manufacturing procedures and other logistical support requirements appropriately; • our future contract manufacturers may not perform as agreed, may not devote sufficient resources to our product candidates or may not remain in the contract manufacturing business for the time required to supply our clinical trials or to successfully produce, store, and distribute our products, if any; • manufacturers are subject to ongoing periodic unannounced inspection by the FDA and corresponding state agencies to ensure strict compliance with cGMP and other government regulations and corresponding foreign 73 Table of Contents standards and we have no control over third-party manufacturers’ compliance with these regulations and standards; • we may not own, or may have to share, the intellectual property rights to any improvements made by our third-party manufacturers in the manufacturing process for our product candidates; • our third-party manufacturers could breach or terminate their agreements with us; • our third-party manufacturers may prioritize another customer’s needs in front of ours, especially in the event of a global pandemic; • raw materials and components used in the manufacturing process, particularly those for which we have no other source or supplier, may not be available or may not be suitable or acceptable for use due to material or component defects, may be in short supply, and may significantly increase in price; • our contract manufacturers and critical suppliers may be subject to inclement weather, pandemics, as well as natural or man- made disasters; and • our contract manufacturers may have unacceptable or inconsistent product quality success rates and yields, and we have no direct control over our contract manufacturers’ ability to maintain adequate quality control, quality assurance and qualified personnel. Additionally, if any CMO with whom we contract fails to perform its obligations, we may be forced to manufacture the materials ourselves, for which we may not have the capabilities or resources, or enter into an agreement with a different CMO, which we may not be able to do on reasonable terms, if at all. In either scenario, our clinical trials or commercial distribution could be delayed significantly as we establish alternative supply sources. In some cases, the technical skills required to manufacture our products or product candidates may be unique or proprietary to the original CMO and we may have difficulty, or there may be contractual restrictions prohibiting us from, transferring such skills to a back-up or alternate supplier, or we may be unable to transfer such skills at all. In addition, if we are required to change CMOs for any reason, we will be required to verify that the new CMO maintains facilities and procedures that comply with quality standards and with all applicable regulations. We will also need to verify, such as through a manufacturing comparability study, that any new manufacturing process will produce our product candidate according to the specifications previously submitted to the FDA or another regulatory authority. The delays associated with the verification of a new CMO could negatively affect our ability to develop product candidates or commercialize our products in a timely manner or within budget. Furthermore, a CMO may possess technology related to the manufacture of our product candidate that such CMO owns independently. This would increase our reliance on such CMO or require us to obtain a license from such CMO in order to have another CMO manufacture our product candidates. In addition, in the case of the CMOs that supply our product candidates, changes in manufacturers often involve changes in manufacturing procedures and processes, which could require that we conduct bridging or comparability studies between our prior clinical supply used in our clinical trials and that of any new manufacturer. We may be unsuccessful in demonstrating the comparability of clinical supplies which could require the conduct of additional clinical trials. Each of these risks could delay or prevent the completion of our clinical trials or the approval of any of our product candidates by the FDA, EMA or other appropriate regulatory authorities and result in higher costs or adversely impact commercialization of our product candidates. In addition, we will rely on third parties to perform certain specification tests on our product candidates prior to delivery to patients. If these tests are not appropriately done and test data are not reliable, patients could be put at risk of serious harm and the FDA, or other regulatory authorities could place significant restrictions on our company until deficiencies are remedied. Our manufacturing process needs to comply with FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authority regulations relating to the quality and reliability of such processes. Any failure to comply with relevant regulations could result in delays in or termination of our clinical programs and suspension or withdrawal of any marketing authorizations. In order to commercially produce our products either at our own facility or at a third party’s facility, we will need to comply with the FDA’s cGMP regulations and guidelines and similar requirements from comparable foreign regulatory authorities. We may encounter difficulties in achieving quality control and quality assurance and may experience shortages in qualified personnel. We are subject to inspections by the FDA and comparable foreign regulatory authorities to confirm compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. Any failure to follow cGMP or other regulatory requirements or delay, interruption or other issues that arise in the manufacture, fill-finish, packaging, or storage of our biologic products as a result of a failure of our facilities or the facilities or operations of third parties to comply with regulatory requirements or pass any regulatory authority inspection could significantly impair our ability to develop and commercialize our product candidates, including leading to significant delays in the availability of our biological products for our clinical trials or the termination of or suspension of a clinical trial, or the delay or prevention of a filing or approval of marketing applications for our product candidates. Significant non-compliance could also result in the imposition of sanctions, including warning or untitled letters, fines, injunctions, civil penalties, failure of regulatory authorities to grant marketing approvals for our product candidates, delays, suspension or withdrawal of approvals, license revocation, seizures or recalls of products, operating restrictions and criminal prosecutions, any of which could damage our reputation and our business. 74 Table of Contents If our third-party manufacturers use hazardous and biological materials in a manner that causes injury or violates applicable law, we may be liable for damages. Our research and development activities involve the controlled use of potentially hazardous substances, including biological materials, by our third-party manufacturers. Our manufacturers are subject to national, state, and local laws and regulations governing the use, manufacture, storage, handling, and disposal of medical and hazardous materials. Although we believe that our manufacturers’ procedures for using, handling, storing, and disposing of these materials comply with legally prescribed standards, we cannot completely eliminate the risk of contamination or injury resulting from medical or hazardous materials. As a result of any such contamination or injury, we may incur liability or local, city, state or national authorities may curtail the use of these materials and interrupt our business operations. In the event of an accident, we could be held liable for damages or penalized with fines, and the liability could exceed our resources. Compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations is expensive, and current or future environmental regulations may impair our research, development and production efforts, which could harm our business, prospects, financial condition or results of operations. Risks Related to Government Regulation The marketing authorization processes of the FDA, the EMA, MHRA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities are lengthy, time-consuming, and inherently unpredictable, and if we are ultimately unable to obtain marketing authorizations for our product candidates, or the marketing authorization is for a narrower indication than we seek, our business will be substantially harmed. The time required to obtain marketing approval from the FDA, the EMA, MHRA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities is unpredictable but typically takes many years following the commencement of clinical trials and depends upon numerous factors, including the substantial discretion of the regulatory authorities. In addition, approval policies, regulations, or the type and amount of clinical data necessary to gain approval may change during the course of a product candidate’s clinical development and may vary among jurisdictions. We have not yet obtained a marketing authorization for any product candidate and it is possible that none of our current or future product candidates will ever obtain marketing authorizations. Our current and future product candidates could fail to receive marketing authorizations for many reasons, including the following: • the availability of financial resources to commence and complete planned clinical trials; • the FDA, the EMA, MHRA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may disagree with the design or implementation of our clinical trials; • the data collected from clinical trials of our product candidates may not be sufficient to support the submission of a Biologics Licensing Application ("BLA") to the FDA, or an MAA to the EMA or other comparable submission to regulatory authorities in other regions, to obtain authorization in the United States, the European Union, or elsewhere; • we may be unable to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the FDA, the EMA, MHRA or regulatory authorities in other regions that a product candidate has an overall suitable benefit/risk profile for its proposed indication; • the FDA, the EMA, MHRA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may find deficiencies with or fail to approve the manufacturing processes or facilities of third-party manufacturers with which we contract for clinical and commercial supplies; • the approval policies or regulations of the FDA, the EMA, MHRA or other comparable foreign regulatory authorities may significantly change in a manner rendering our clinical data insufficient for approval; and • the risk that foreign regulatory authorities may not authorize our clinical trial protocols and other clinical trial documentation, including manufacturing documentation, even when previously authorized by the FDA, EMA or MHRA, which could lead to a delay in starting such clinical trials. For example, the conduct of our HBV002 clinical trial in South Korea experienced delays due to additional regulatory review of our clinical protocol. We have limited experience obtaining such approvals in foreign jurisdictions and therefore may need more time to navigate the regulatory process as a result. The unpredictability of clinical trial results may result in our failing to obtain marketing authorizations for any product candidate we develop, which would significantly harm our business, results of operations and prospects. The lengthy approval process in many regions may cause delays in market access, particularly if regulatory authorities have a large number of objections to the initial applications for marketing authorization which need to be addressed. We have conducted, and intend to conduct, clinical trials of certain of our product candidates outside the United States. Although the FDA may accept data from clinical trials conducted outside the United States, acceptance of these data are 75 Table of Contents subject to certain conditions imposed by the FDA, including compliance with all applicable U.S. laws and regulations. For example, the clinical trial must be well designed and conducted and performed by qualified investigators in accordance with GCP, including review and approval by an independent ethics committee and informed consent from participants. The trial population must also adequately represent the U.S. population, and the data must be applicable to the U.S. population and U.S. medical practice in ways that the FDA deems clinically meaningful. In general, the participant population for any clinical trials conducted outside of the United States must be representative of the population for whom we intend to label the product in the United States. There can be no assurance the FDA will accept data from trials conducted outside of the United States. The FDA, the EMA and other comparable foreign regulatory authorities have substantial discretion in the approval process, and determining when or whether marketing authorization will be obtained for any product candidate that we develop. Even if we believe the data collected from future clinical trials of our product candidates are promising, such data may not be sufficient to support approval by the FDA, the EMA, MHRA or any other comparable foreign regulatory authorities. Even if we were to obtain marketing authorization, regulatory authorities may approve any of our product candidates for fewer or more limited indications than we request, may not approve the price we intend to charge for our products, may grant approval conditional on the performance of costly post-marketing clinical trials, or may approve a product candidate with a label that does not include the labeling claims necessary or desirable for the successful commercialization of that product candidate. Any of the foregoing scenarios could materially harm the commercial prospects for our product candidates. We may seek Orphan Drug Designation for drug candidates we develop, and we may be unsuccessful or may be unable to maintain the benefits associated with Orphan Drug Designation, including the potential for market exclusivity. In addition, even if we obtain orphan drug exclusivity for any of our product candidates, such exclusivity may not protect us from competition. As part of our business strategy, we may seek Orphan Drug Designation for any drug candidates we develop, and we may be unsuccessful in obtaining such designation. Regulatory authorities in some jurisdictions, including the United States and the EU, may designate drugs for relatively small patient populations as orphan drugs. Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may designate a drug as an orphan drug if it is a drug intended to treat a rare disease or condition, which is generally defined as a patient population of fewer than 200,000 individuals annually in the United States, or a patient population greater than 200,000 in the United States where there is no reasonable expectation that the cost of developing the drug will be recovered from sales in the United States. In the United States, Orphan Drug Designation entitles a party to financial incentives such as opportunities for grant funding towards clinical trial costs, tax advantages and user-fee waivers. Similarly, in the EU, the European Commission grants designation after receiving the opinion of the Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products on a designation application. Orphan Drug Designation is intended to promote the development of drugs that are intended for the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of life-threatening or chronically debilitating conditions affecting not more than five in 10,000 persons in Europe and for which no satisfactory method of diagnosis, prevention, or treatment has been authorized (or the product would be a significant benefit to those affected). Additionally, designation is granted for drugs intended for the diagnosis, prevention, or treatment of a life-threatening, seriously debilitating, or serious and chronic condition and when, without incentives, it is unlikely that sales of the drug in Europe would be sufficient to justify the necessary investment in developing the drug. In Europe, Orphan Drug Designation entitles a party to a number of incentives, such as protocol assistance and scientific advice specifically for designated orphan medicines, and potential fee reductions depending on the status of the sponsor. Generally, if a drug with an Orphan Drug Designation subsequently receives the first marketing approval for the indication for which it has such designation, the drug is entitled to a period of marketing exclusivity, which precludes the EMA or the FDA from approving another marketing application for the same drug and indication for that time period, except in limited circumstances. The applicable period is seven years in the United States and ten years in the EU. The EU exclusivity period can be reduced to six years if a drug no longer meets the criteria for Orphan Drug Designation or if the drug is sufficiently profitable such that market exclusivity is no longer justified. Even if we obtain orphan drug exclusivity for a drug candidate, that exclusivity may not effectively protect the drug candidate from competition because different therapies can be approved for the same condition. Even after an orphan drug is approved, the FDA can subsequently approve the same drug for the same condition if the FDA concludes that the later drug is clinically superior in that it is shown to be safer, more effective or makes a major contribution to patient care. In addition, a designated orphan drug may not receive orphan drug exclusivity if it is approved for a use that is broader than the indication for which it received orphan designation. Moreover, orphan drug exclusive marketing rights in the United States may be lost if the FDA later determines that the request for designation was materially defective or if the manufacturer is unable to assure sufficient quantity of the drug to meet the needs of patients with the rare disease or condition. Orphan Drug Designation neither shortens the development time or regulatory review time of a drug candidate nor gives the drug candidate any advantage in the regulatory review or approval process. The FDA may further reevaluate the Orphan Drug Act and its regulations and policies. We do not know if, when, or how the FDA may change the orphan drug regulations and policies in the future, and it is uncertain how any changes might affect our business. Depending on what changes the FDA may make to its orphan drug regulations and policies, our business could be adversely impacted. While we may seek Orphan Drug Designation for applicable indications for our current and any future drug candidates, we 76 Table of Contents may never receive such designations. Even if we do receive such designations, there is no guarantee that we will enjoy the benefits of those designations. A Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA, even if granted for any of our product candidates, may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process and it does not increase the likelihood that our product candidates will receive marketing approval. We may seek Breakthrough Therapy designation for certain of our current and future product candidates. A breakthrough therapy is defined as a drug or biologic that is intended, alone or in combination with one or more other drugs or biologics, to treat a serious or life-threatening disease or condition and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the drug or biologic may demonstrate substantial improvement over existing therapies on one or more clinically significant endpoints, defined as those that measure an effect on irreversible morbidity or mortality or on symptoms that represent serious consequences of the disease. For product candidates that have been designated as breakthrough therapies, interaction and communication between the FDA and the sponsor of the trial can help to identify the most efficient path for clinical development while minimizing the number of patients placed in ineffective control regimens. Drugs and biologics designated as breakthrough therapies by the FDA may also be eligible for other expedited approval programs, including accelerated approval. Designation as a breakthrough therapy is within the discretion of the FDA. Accordingly, even if we believe one of our product candidates meets the criteria for designation as a breakthrough therapy, the FDA may disagree and instead determine not to make such designation. In any event, the receipt of a Breakthrough Therapy designation for a product candidate may not result in a faster development process, review or approval compared to candidate products considered for approval under non-expedited FDA review procedures and does not assure ultimate approval by the FDA. In addition, even if one or more of our product candidates qualify as breakthrough therapies, the FDA may later decide that the product no longer meets the conditions for qualification. Thus, even though we intend to seek Breakthrough Therapy designation for certain of our current and future product candidates for the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases and cancer, there can be no assurance that we will receive breakthrough therapy designation. A Fast Track designation by the FDA, even if granted for certain of our current or future product candidates, may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process, and does not increase the likelihood that our product candidates will receive marketing approval. If a drug or biologic is intended for the treatment of a serious or life-threatening condition and the product demonstrates the potential to address unmet medical needs for this condition, the product sponsor may apply for FDA Fast Track designation for a particular indication. We may seek Fast Track designation for certain of our current or future product candidates, but there is no assurance that the FDA will grant this status to any of our proposed product candidates. Marketing applications filed by sponsors of products in Fast Track development may qualify for priority review under the policies and procedures offered by the FDA, but the Fast Track designation does not assure any such qualification or ultimate marketing approval by the FDA. The FDA has broad discretion whether or not to grant Fast Track designation, so even if we believe a particular product candidate is eligible for this designation, there can be no assurance that the FDA would decide to grant it. Even if we do receive Fast Track designation, we may not experience a faster development process, review or approval compared to conventional FDA procedures, and receiving a Fast Track designation does not provide assurance of ultimate FDA approval. In addition, the FDA may withdraw Fast Track designation if it believes that the designation is no longer supported by data from our clinical development program. In addition, the FDA may withdraw any Fast Track designation at any time. Accelerated approval by the FDA, even if granted for certain of our current or future product candidates, may not lead to a faster development or regulatory review or approval process and it does not increase the likelihood that our product candidates will receive marketing approval. We may seek approval of certain of our current or future product candidates using the FDA’s accelerated approval pathway. A product may be eligible for accelerated approval if it treats a serious or life-threatening condition, generally provides a meaningful advantage over available therapies, and demonstrates an effect on a surrogate endpoint that is reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. As a condition of approval, the FDA may require that a sponsor of a product receiving accelerated approval perform adequate and well-controlled post-marketing clinical trials. These confirmatory trials must be completed with due diligence and the FDA is permitted to require, as appropriate, that such studies be underway prior to approval or within a specified period after the date of approval. Sponsors must also update FDA on the status of these studies, and under FDORA, the FDA has increased authority to withdraw approval of a drug granted accelerated approval on an expedited basis if the sponsor fails to conduct such studies in a timely manner, send the necessary updates to the FDA, or if such post-approval studies fail to verify the drug’s predicted clinical benefit. In addition, the FDA currently requires sponsors, unless otherwise informed by the agency, to request pre-approval of promotional materials for products receiving Accelerated Approval, which could adversely impact the timing of the commercial launch of the product. Even if we do receive accelerated approval, we may not experience a faster development or regulatory review or approval process, and receiving accelerated approval does not provide assurance of ultimate full FDA approval. 77 Table of Contents If approved, our investigational products regulated as biologics may face competition from biosimilars approved through an abbreviated regulatory pathway. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the ACA, includes a subtitle called the BPCIA which created an abbreviated approval pathway for biologic products that are biosimilar to or interchangeable with an FDA-licensed reference biologic product. Under the BPCIA, an application for a biosimilar product may not be submitted to the FDA until four years following the date that the reference product was first licensed by the FDA. In addition, the approval of a biosimilar product may not be made effective by the FDA until 12 years from the date on which the reference product was first licensed. During this 12-year period of exclusivity, another company may still market a competing version of the reference product if the FDA approves a BLA for the competing product containing the sponsor’s own preclinical data and data from adequate and well-controlled clinical trials to demonstrate the safety, purity, and potency of the other company’s product. The law is complex and is still being interpreted and implemented by the FDA. As a result, its ultimate impact, implementation, and meaning are subject to uncertainty. We believe that any of our product candidates approved as a biologic product under a BLA should qualify for the 12 year period of exclusivity. However, there is a risk that this exclusivity could be shortened due to congressional action or otherwise, or that the FDA will not consider our investigational medicines to be reference products for competing products, potentially creating the opportunity for biosimilar competition sooner than anticipated. Moreover, the extent to which a biosimilar, once licensed, will be substituted for any one of our reference products in a way that is similar to traditional generic substitution for non-biologic products is not yet clear, and will depend on a number of marketplace and regulatory factors that are still developing. If competitors are able to obtain marketing approval for biosimilars referencing our products, our products may become subject to competition from such biosimilars, with the attendant competitive pressure and consequences. Even if we obtain FDA, EMA or MHRA approval for our current or future product candidates that we may identify and pursue in the United States, Europe or the United Kingdom, we may never obtain approval to commercialize any such product candidates outside of those jurisdictions, including in Asian markets wherein we intend to commercialize VTP-300, which would limit our ability to realize their full market potential. Obtaining and maintaining marketing authorization for our product candidates in one jurisdiction does not guarantee that we will be able to obtain or maintain marketing authorizations in any other jurisdiction, while a failure or delay in obtaining marketing authorization in one jurisdiction may have a negative effect on the approval process in others. In order to market any products outside of the United States, we must establish and comply with numerous and varying regulatory requirements of other countries regarding safety and effectiveness. Approval processes vary among countries and can involve additional product testing and validation and additional or different administrative review periods from those in the United States, including additional preclinical studies or clinical trials, as clinical trials conducted in one jurisdiction may not be accepted by regulatory authorities in other jurisdictions. In many jurisdictions outside the United States, a product candidate must be approved for reimbursement before it can be approved for sale in that jurisdiction. In some cases, the price that we intend to charge for our products is also subject to approval. Seeking foreign marketing authorization could result in difficulties and costs and require additional preclinical studies or clinical trials which could be costly and time-consuming. Regulatory requirements can vary widely from country to country and could delay or prevent the introduction of our current or future product candidates in those countries. The foreign marketing authorization process may include all of the risks associated with obtaining FDA, EMA or MHRA approval, in addition to country-specific risks and challenges. For example, we are developing VTP-300 for chronic hepatitis B, which is most prevalent in China and other countries in Asia. We have limited development experience in this market and we may need to rely on a local, third-party partner to help us navigate the applicable regulatory requirements. Additionally, governments in this target market may deem the eradication of HBV infections to be a national priority which could impact the framework for available reimbursement or our ability to achieve a standard commercial return based on the value of our product, if approved. We do not have any product candidates approved for sale in any jurisdiction, including international markets, and we do not have experience in obtaining marketing authorizations in international markets for our current or future product candidates. If we fail to comply with regulatory requirements in international markets or to obtain and maintain required approvals, or if marketing authorization in international markets is delayed, our target market will be reduced and our ability to realize the full market potential of our current or future product candidates will be harmed. Future changes to tax laws could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations, and reduce net returns to our shareholders. We conduct business globally and file tax returns in multiple jurisdictions. The tax treatment of the Company or any of the group companies could be materially adversely affected by several factors, including: changing tax laws, regulations and treaties, or the interpretation thereof; tax policy initiatives and reforms under consideration (such as those related to the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project, the European Commission’s state aid investigations and other initiatives); the practices of tax authorities in jurisdictions in which we operate; the resolution of issues arising from tax audits or examinations and any related interest or penalties. Such changes (which may be retroactive) may include (but are not limited to) the taxation of operating income, investment income, dividends rece