U.S.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-Q
(Mark
One)
☒ QUARTERLY
REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the quarterly period ended: December 31, 2021
OR
☐ TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For
the transition period from ______________ to ______________
Commission
File Number 001-38174
Citius
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Nevada 27-3425913
( State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization ) ( IRS Employer
Identification No. )
11
Commerce Drive , First Floor , Cranford , NJ 07016
( Address
of principal executive offices and zip code )
(908)
967-6677
( Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code )
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Title of Each Class Trading Symbol(s) Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Common stock, $0.001 par value CTXR Nasdaq Capital Market
Warrants to purchase common stock CTXRW Nasdaq Capital Market
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2)
has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule
405 of Regulation S-T (Section 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or such shorter period that the registrant was
required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting
company or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,”
“smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer ☐ Accelerated filer ☐
Non-accelerated filer ☒ Smaller reporting company ☒
Emerging growth company ☐
If
an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying
with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
As
of February 10, 2022, there were 146,029,630 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value, of the registrant issued and outstanding.
Citius
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
FORM
10-Q
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
December
31, 2021
Page
PART
I.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION:
Item
1.
Financial Statements (Unaudited)
1
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2021 and September 30, 2021
1
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
2
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
3
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Three Months Ended December 31, 2021 and 2020
4
Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
5
Item
2.
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
14
Item
3.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
19
Item
4.
Controls and Procedures
19
PART
II.
OTHER INFORMATION
Item
1.
Legal Proceedings
20
Item
1A.
Risk Factors
20
Item
2.
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
20
Item
3.
Defaults Upon Senior Securities
20
Item
4.
Mine Safety Disclosures
20
Item
5.
Other Information
20
Item
6.
Exhibits
21
SIGNATURES
22
i
EXPLANATORY
NOTE
In
this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and unless the context otherwise requires, the “Company,” “we,” “us,”
and “our” refer to Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries
Citius Pharmaceuticals, LLC, Leonard-Meron Biosciences, Inc., Citius Acquisition Corp., and its
majority-owned subsidiary, NoveCite, Inc., taken as a whole.
CAUTIONARY
NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q contains “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited
to, statements that express our intentions, beliefs, expectations, strategies, predictions or any other statements relating to our future
activities or other future events or conditions. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about
our business based, in part, on assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve
risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may, and are likely to, differ
materially from what is expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements due to numerous factors discussed from time to time
in this report and in other documents which we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, such statements could be
affected by risks and uncertainties related to:
●
the
cost, timing and results of our pre-clinical and clinical trials;
●
our ability to raise funds
for general corporate purposes and operations, including our pre-clinical and clinical trials;
●
our ability to obtain and
maintain required regulatory approvals for our product candidates;
●
the commercial feasibility
and success of our technology and product candidates;
●
our ability to recruit
and retain qualified management and scientific and technical personnel to carry out our operations; and
●
the other factors discussed
in the “Risk Factors” section of our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and elsewhere in this report.
Any
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and except as may be required under applicable securities
laws, we do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the filing
date of this report.
ii
PART
I - FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item
1. Financial Statements
CITIUS
PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Unaudited)
December 31,
September 30,
2021
2021
ASSETS
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$ 65,421,424
$ 70,072,946
Prepaid expenses
2,523,552
2,741,404
Total Current Assets
67,944,976
72,814,350
Property and equipment, net
6,293
7,023
Operating lease right-of-use asset, net
779,949
822,828
Other Assets:
Deposits
38,062
38,062
In-process research and development
59,400,000
59,400,000
Goodwill
9,346,796
9,346,796
Total Other Assets
68,784,858
68,784,858
Total Assets
$ 137,516,076
$ 142,429,059
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable
$ 1,789,203
$ 1,277,095
Accrued expenses
3,136,609
621,960
Accrued compensation
2,233,690
1,906,000
Operating lease liability
182,028
177,237
Total Current Liabilities
7,341,530
3,982,292
Deferred tax liability
4,985,800
4,985,800
Operating lease liability – non current
630,745
678,234
Total Liabilities
12,958,075
9,646,326
Commitments and Contingencies
Stockholders’ Equity:
Preferred stock – $ 0.001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding
—
—
Common stock – $ 0.001 par value; 400,000,000 shares authorized; 146,029,630 and 145,979,429 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2021 and September 30, 2021, respectively
146,029
145,979
Additional paid-in capital
229,084,633
228,084,195
Accumulated deficit
( 105,273,041 )
( 96,047,821 )
Total Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Stockholders’ Equity
123,957,621
132,182,353
Non-controlling interest
600,380
600,380
Total Equity
124,558,001
132,782,733
Total Liabilities and Equity
$ 137,516,076
$ 142,429,059
See
notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
1
CITIUS
PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
FOR
THE THREE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 AND 2020
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
December 31,
December 31,
2021
2020
Revenues
$ —
$ —
Operating Expenses
Research and development
5,457,849
6,191,179
General and administrative
2,896,749
1,688,664
Stock-based compensation – general and administrative
904,604
276,582
Total Operating Expenses
9,259,202
8,156,425
Operating Loss
( 9,259,202 )
( 8,156,425 )
Other Income (Expense)
Interest income
33,982
13,484
Interest expense
—
( 3,968 )
Total Other Income, Net
33,982
9,516
Net Loss
( 9,225,220 )
$ ( 8,146,909 )
Net Loss Per Share Applicable to Common Stockholders - Basic and Diluted
$ ( 0.06 )
$ ( 0.15 )
Weighted Average Common Shares Outstanding
Basic and diluted
146,012,169
55,576,996
See
notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
2
CITIUS
PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
FOR
THE THREE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 AND 2020
(Unaudited)
Preferred
Common Stock
Additional
Paid-In
Accumulated
Total Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Shareholder’s
Non-Controlling
Total
Stock
Shares
Amount
Capital
Deficit
Equity
Interest
Equity
Balance, October 1, 2021
$ —
145,979,429
$ 145,979
$ 228,084,195
$ ( 96,047,821 )
$ 132,182,353
$ 600,380
$ 132,782,733
Issuance of common stock for services
—
50,201
50
95,834
—
95,884
—
95,884
Stock-based compensation expense
—
—
—
904,604
—
904,604
—
904,604
Net loss
—
—
—
—
( 9,225,220 )
( 9,225,220 )
—
( 9,225,220 )
Balance, December 31, 2021
$ —
146,029,630
$ 146,029
$ 229,084,633
$ ( 105,273,041 )
$ 123,957,621
$ 600,380
$ 124,558,001
Balance, October 1, 2020
$ —
55,576,996
$ 55,577
$ 104,208,958
$ ( 70,593,867 )
$ 33,670,668
$ —
$ 33,670,668
Issuance of NoveCite common stock
—
—
—
1,799,640
( 2,399,520 )
( 599,880 )
600,380
500
Stock-based compensation expense
—
—
—
276,582
—
276,582
—
276,582
Net loss
—
—
—
—
( 8,146,909 )
( 8,146,909 )
—
( 8,146,909 )
Balance, December 31, 2020
$ —
55,576,996
$ 55,577
$ 106,285,180
$ ( 81,140,296 )
$ 25,200,461
$ 600,380
$ 25,800,841
See
notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
3
CITIUS
PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
CONDENSED
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
FOR
THE THREE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 AND 2020
(Unaudited)
2021
2020
Cash Flows From Operating Activities:
Net loss
$ ( 9,225,220 )
$ ( 8,146,909 )
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Stock-based compensation expense
904,604
276,582
Issuance of common stock for services
95,884
—
Amortization of operating lease right-of-use asset
42,879
39,671
Depreciation
730
153
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Prepaid expenses
217,852
( 1,161,066 )
Deposits
—
19,031
Accounts payable
512,108
( 872,060 )
Accrued expenses
2,514,649
88,442
Accrued compensation
327,690
225,875
Accrued interest
—
3,968
Operating lease liability
( 42,698 )
( 38,272 )
Net Cash Used In Operating Activities
( 4,651,522 )
( 9,564,585 )
Cash Flows From Financing Activities:
Proceeds from sale of NoveCite, Inc. common stock
—
500
Net Cash Provided By Financing Activities
—
500
Net Change in Cash and Cash Equivalents
( 4,651,522 )
( 9,564,085 )
Cash and Cash Equivalents - Beginning of Period
70,072,946
13,859,748
Cash and Cash Equivalents - End of Period
$ 65,421,424
$ 4,295,663
See
notes to unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.
4
CITIUS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2021 AND
2020
(Unaudited)
1. NATURE OF OPERATIONS, BASIS OF PRESENTATION
AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Business
Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Citius,”
the “Company,” “we” or “us”) is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and
commercialization of critical care products with a focus on anti-infective products in adjunct cancer care, unique prescription products
and stem cell therapy.
On March 30, 2016, Citius acquired Leonard-Meron Biosciences,
Inc. (“LMB”) as a wholly-owned subsidiary by issuing shares of its common stock.
On September 11, 2020, we formed NoveCite, Inc. (“NoveCite”),
a Delaware corporation, of which we own 75 % ( 7,500,000 shares) of the issued and outstanding capital stock (see Note 3).
On August 23, 2021, we formed Citius Acquisition Corp.,
as a wholly-owned subsidiary in conjunction with the acquisition of I/ONTAK (formerly E7777), but no activity has occurred to date.
In-process research and development (“IPR&D”)
consists of (i) the $ 19,400,000 acquisition value of LMB’s leading drug candidate (Mino-Lok), which is an antibiotic solution used
to treat catheter-related bloodstream infections and is expected to be amortized on a straight-line basis over a period of eight years
commencing upon revenue generation, and (ii) the $ 40,000,000 acquisition value of the exclusive license for I/ONTAK (denileukin diftitox),
a late-stage oncology immunotherapy for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (“CTCL”), a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma
and is expected to be amortized on a straight-line basis over a period of twelve years commencing upon revenue generation.
Goodwill of $ 9,346,796 represents the value of LMB’s
industry relationships and its assembled workforce. Goodwill will not be amortized but will be tested at least annually for impairment.
Citius is subject to a number of risks common to companies
in the pharmaceutical industry including, but not limited to, risks related to the development by Citius or its competitors of research
and development stage product candidates, market acceptance of its product candidates that might be approved, competition from larger
companies, dependence on key personnel, dependence on key suppliers and strategic partners, the Company’s ability to obtain additional
financing and the Company’s compliance with governmental and other regulations.
Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant
Accounting Policies
Basis of Preparation — The accompanying
condensed consolidated financial statements include the operations of Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and its wholly-owned subsidiaries,
Citius Pharmaceuticals, LLC, LMB, and Citius Acquisition Corp., and its majority-owned subsidiary NoveCite. Citius Acquisition Corp. is
currently inactive. All significant inter-company balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated
financial statements of the Company have been prepared on the same basis as the annual consolidated financial statements and, in the opinion
of management, reflect all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, necessary to fairly state the condensed consolidated
financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021, and the results of its operations and cash flows for the three months ended
December 31, 2021 and 2020. The operating results for the three months ended December 31, 2021 are not necessarily indicative of the results
that may be expected for the year ending September 30, 2022. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read
in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form
10-K for the year ended September 30, 2021 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
5
Use of Estimates — Our accounting
principles require our management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the
disclosure of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the
reporting period. Estimates having relatively higher significance include stock-based compensation, accounting for leases, valuation of
warrants, and income taxes. Actual results could differ from those estimates and changes in estimates may occur.
Basic and Diluted Net Loss per Common Share —
Basic and diluted net loss per common share applicable to common stockholders is computed by dividing net loss applicable to common stockholders
in each period by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during such period. For the periods presented, common
stock equivalents, consisting of stock options and warrants were not included in the calculation of the diluted loss per share because
they were anti-dilutive.
Recently Issued Accounting Standards
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt — Debt
with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own
Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity , which, among other
things, provides guidance on how to account for contracts on an entity’s own equity. This ASU eliminates the beneficial conversion
and cash conversion accounting models for convertible instruments. It also amends the accounting for certain contracts in an entity’s
own equity that are currently accounted for as derivatives because of specific settlement provisions. In addition, this ASU modifies how
particular convertible instruments and certain contracts that may be settled in cash or shares impact the diluted EPS computation. The
amendments in this ASU are effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021,
including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15,
2020. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2020-06 on its consolidated financial statements.
In October 2021,
the FASB issued ASU No. 2021-08, Business Combinations (Topic 805): Accounting for Acquired Contract Assets and Contract Liabilities. Under
the new guidance (ASC 805-20-30-28), the acquirer should determine what contract assets and/or contract liabilities it would have recorded
under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606 (the revenue guidance) as of the acquisition date, as if the acquirer
had entered into the original contract at the same date and on the same terms as the acquiree. The recognition and measurement of those
contract assets and contract liabilities will likely be comparable to what the acquiree has recorded on its books under ASC 606 as of
the acquisition date. ASU 2021-08 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those
fiscal years. ASU 2021-08 is effective for the Company in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. Early adoption is permitted, including in
an interim period, for any period for which financial statements have not yet been issued. However, adoption in an interim period other
than the first fiscal quarter requires an entity to apply the new guidance to all prior business combinations that have occurred since
the beginning of the annual period in which the new guidance is adopted. The Company is currently evaluating the adoption date of ASU
2021-08 and the impact, if any, adoption will have on its financial position and results of operations.
2. LIQUIDITY AND MANAGEMENT’S PLAN
The accompanying consolidated financial statements
have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal
course of business. The Company experienced negative cash flows from operations of $ 4,651,522 for the three months ended December 31,
2021. As a result of the Company’s common stock offerings and common stock warrant exercises during the year ended September 30,
2021, the Company had working capital of approximately $ 60,600,000 at December 31, 2021. The Company estimates that its available cash
resources will be sufficient to fund its operations through March 2023.
The Company has generated no operating revenue to
date and has principally raised capital through the issuance of debt and equity instruments to finance its operations. The Company’s
continued operations beyond March 2023, including its development plans for Mino-Lok, Mino-Wrap, Halo-Lido, NoveCite and I/ONTAK, will
depend on its ability to obtain regulatory approval to market Mino-Lok and/or I/ONTAK and generate substantial revenue from the sale of
Mino-Lok and/or I/ONTAK and on its ability to raise additional capital through various potential sources, such as equity and/or debt financings,
strategic relationships, or out-licensing of its product candidates. However, the Company can provide no assurances on regulatory approval,
commercialization or future sales of Mino-Lok or I/ONTAK or that financing or strategic relationships will be available on acceptable
terms, or at all. If the Company is unable to raise sufficient capital, find strategic partners or generate substantial revenue from the
sale of Mino-Lok or I/ONTAK, there would be a material adverse effect on its business. Further, the Company expects to incur additional
expenses as it continues to develop its product candidates, including seeking regulatory approval, and protecting its intellectual property.
6
3. PATENT AND TECHNOLOGY LICENSE AGREEMENTS
Patent and Technology License Agreement –
Mino-Lok
LMB has a patent and technology license agreement
with Novel Anti-Infective Therapeutics, Inc. (“NAT”) to develop and commercialize Mino-Lok® on an exclusive, worldwide
sub licensable basis, as amended. LMB pays an annual maintenance fee each June until commercial sales of a product subject to the license
commence. The Company recorded an annual maintenance fee of $ 90,000 in June 2021 and 2020.
LMB will also pay annual royalties on net sales of
licensed products, with royalties ranging from the mid-single digits to the low double digits. In limited circumstances in which the licensed
product is not subject to a valid patent claim and a competitor is selling a competing product, the royalty rate is in the low- to mid-single
digits. After a commercial sale is obtained, LMB must pay minimum aggregate annual royalties of $ 100,000 in the first commercial year
which is prorated for a less than 12-month period, increasing $ 25,000 per year to a maximum of $ 150,000 annually. LMB must also pay NAT
up to an aggregate of $ 1,100,000 upon achieving specified regulatory and sales milestones. Finally, LMB must pay NAT a specified percentage
of payments received from any sub-licensees.
Unless earlier terminated by NAT, based on the failure
to achieve certain development and commercial milestones, the license agreement remains in effect until the date that all patents licensed
under the agreement have expired and all patent applications within the licensed patent rights have been cancelled, withdrawn or expressly
abandoned.
Patent and Technology License Agreement –
Mino-Wrap
On January 2, 2019, we entered into a patent and technology
license agreement with the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System on behalf of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer
Center (“Licensor”), whereby we in-licensed exclusive worldwide rights to the patented technology for any and all uses relating
to breast implants. We intend to develop a liquefying gel-based wrap containing minocycline and rifampin for the reduction of infections
associated with breast implants following breast reconstructive surgeries (“Mino-Wrap”). We are required to use commercially
reasonable efforts to commercialize Mino-Wrap under several regulatory scenarios and achieve milestones associated with these regulatory
options leading to an approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”).
Under the license agreement, the Company paid an annual
maintenance fee of $ 45,000 in January 2021. The annual maintenance fee increases by $15,000 per year up to a maximum of $90,000. Annual
maintenance fees cease on the first sale of product. We also must pay up to an aggregate of $2.1 million in milestone payments, contingent
on the achievement of various regulatory and commercial milestones. Under the terms of the license agreement, we also must pay a royalty
of mid- to upper-single digit percentages of net sales, depending on the amount of annual sales, and subject to downward adjustment to
lower- to mid-single digit percentages in the event there is no valid patent for the product in the United States at the time of sale.
After the first sale of product, we will owe an annual minimum royalty payment of $100,000 that will increase annually by $25,000 for
the duration of the term. We will be responsible for all patent expenses incurred by Licensor for the term of the agreement although Licensor
is responsible for filing, prosecution and maintenance of all patents. Unless earlier terminated by Licensor, based upon the failure by
us to achieve certain development and commercial milestones or for various breaches by us, the agreement expires on the later of the expiration
of the patents or January 2, 2034 .
License Agreement with Novellus
On March 31, 2020, we entered into an option agreement
with a subsidiary of Novellus, Inc. (“Novellus”) to in-license from Novellus on a worldwide basis, a novel cellular therapy
for acute respiratory distress syndrome (“ARDS”).
7
Our Board Chairman Leonard Mazur, who is also our
largest stockholder, was at the time a significant shareholder of Novellus and subsequent to the option agreement and the license agreement
discussed below, became a director of Novellus. As required by our Code of Ethics, the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors approved
the entry into the option agreement with Novellus, as did the disinterested members of our Board of Directors.
On October 6, 2020, our subsidiary, NoveCite, exercised
the option and signed an exclusive license agreement with Novellus. Upon execution of the agreement, we paid $ 5,000,000 to Novellus, which
was charged to research and development expense in the three-month period ended December 31, 2020, and issued Novellus shares of NoveCite’s
common stock representing 25 % of the outstanding equity. We own the other 75 % of NoveCite’s outstanding equity. Pursuant to the
terms of the stock subscription agreement between Novellus and NoveCite, if NoveCite issues additional equity, subject to certain exceptions,
NoveCite had to maintain Novellus’s ownership at 25 % by issuing additional shares to Novellus.
Citius is responsible for the operational activities
of NoveCite, and bears all costs necessary to operate NoveCite. Citius’s officers are also the officers of NoveCite and oversee
the business strategy and operations of NoveCite. As such, NoveCite is accounted for as a consolidated subsidiary with a noncontrolling
interest.
Novellus has no contractual rights in the profits
or obligations to share in the losses of NoveCite, and the Company has not allocated any losses to the noncontrolling interest.
NoveCite is obligated to pay Novellus up to an aggregate
of $51,000,000 upon the achievement of various regulatory and developmental milestones. NoveCite also must pay a royalty equal to low
double-digit percentages of net sales, commencing upon the sale of a licensed product. This royalty is subject to downward adjustment
to an upper-single digit percentage of net sales in any country in the event of the expiration of the last valid patent claim or if no
valid patent claim exists in that country. The royalty will end on the earlier of (i) the date on which a biosimilar product is first
marketed, sold, or distributed in the applicable country or (ii) the 10-year anniversary of the date of expiration of the last-to-expire
valid patent claim in that country. In the case of a country where no licensed patent ever exists, the royalty will end on the later of
(i) the date of expiry of such licensed product’s regulatory exclusivity and (ii) the 10-year anniversary of the date of the first
commercial sale of the licensed product in the applicable country. In addition, NoveCite will pay to Novellus an amount equal to a mid-twenties
percentage of any sublicensee fees it receives.
Under the terms of the license agreement, in the event
that Novellus receives any revenue involving the original cell line included in the licensed technology, then Novellus shall remit to
NoveCite 50 % of such revenue.
The term of the license agreement will continue on
a country-by-country and licensed product-by-licensed product basis until the expiration of the last-to-expire royalty term. Either party
may terminate the license agreement upon written notice if the other party is in material default. NoveCite may terminate the license
agreement at any time without cause upon 90 days prior written notice.
Novellus will be responsible for preparing, filing,
prosecuting and maintaining all patent applications and patents included in the licensed patents in the territory, provided however, that
if Novellus decides that it is not interested in maintaining a particular licensed patent or in preparing, filing, or prosecuting a licensed
patent, NoveCite will have the right, but not the obligation, to assume such responsibilities in the territory at NoveCite’s sole
cost and expense.
In July 2021, Novellus was acquired by Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics,
Inc. (“Brooklyn”). In connection with that transaction, the stock subscription agreement between Novellus and NoveCite was
amended to assign to Brooklyn all of Novellus’s right, title, and interest in the stock subscription agreement and delete the anti-dilution
protection and replace it with a right of first refusal whereby Brooklyn will have the right to purchase all or a portion of the securities
that NoveCite intends to sell or in the alternative, at the option of NoveCite, Brooklyn may purchase that amount of the securities proposed
to be sold by NoveCite to allow Brooklyn to maintain its then percentage ownership.
License Agreement with Eisai
In September 2021, the Company entered into a definitive
agreement with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories SA, a subsidiary of Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Ltd. (collectively, "Dr. Reddy's"), to
acquire its exclusive license of I/ONTAK (denileukin diftitox), a late-stage oncology immunotherapy for the treatment of CTCL, a rare
form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
8
Under the terms of this agreement, Citius acquired
Dr. Reddy's exclusive license of I/ONTAK from Eisai Co., Ltd. ("Eisai") and other related assets owned by Dr. Reddy's. Citius's
exclusive license include rights to develop and commercialize I/ONTAK in all markets except for Japan and certain parts of Asia. Additionally,
Citius retained an option on the right to develop and market the product in India. Eisai retains exclusive development and marketing rights
for the agent in Japan and Asia. Citius paid a $40 million upfront payment which represents the acquisition date fair value of the in-process
research and development acquired from Dr. Reddy’s. Dr. Reddy’s is entitled to up to an aggregate of $40 million in development
milestone payments related to CTCL approvals in the U.S. and other markets, up to an aggregate of $70 million in development milestones
for additional indications, as well as commercial milestone payments and low double-digit tiered royalties on net product sales, and up
to an aggregate of $300 million for commercial sales milestones. We also must pay on a fiscal quarter basis tiered royalties equal to
low double-digit percentages of net product sales. The royalties will end on the earlier of (i) the 15-year anniversary of the first commercial
sale of the latest indication that received regulatory approval in the applicable country and (ii) the date on which a biosimilar product
results in the reduction of net sales in the applicable product by 50% in two consecutive quarters, as compared to the four quarters prior
to the first commercial sale of the biosimilar product. We will also pay to Dr. Reddy’s an amount equal to a low-thirties percentage
of any sublicense upfront consideration or milestone payments (or the like) received by us and the greater of (i) a low-thirties percentage
of any sublicensee sales-based royalties or (ii) a mid-single digit percentage of such licensee’s net sales.
Under the license agreement, Eisai is to receive a
$6.0 million development milestone payment upon initial approval and additional commercial milestone payments related to the achievement
of net product sales thresholds (which increases to $7 million in the event we have exercised our option to add India to the licensed
territory prior to FDA approval) and up to an aggregate of $22 million related to the achievement of net product sales thresholds. We
also are required to reimburse Eisai for up to $2.65 million of its costs to complete the ongoing Phase 3 pivotal clinical trial for I/ONTAK
for the CTCL indication and reimburse Eisai for all reasonable costs associated with the preparation of a BLA for I/ONTAK. Eisai will
be responsible for completing the current CTCL clinical trial, and chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) activities through the
filing of a BLA for I/ONTAK with the FDA. Citius will be responsible for development costs associated with potential additional indications.
The term of the license agreement
will continue until (i) if there has not been a commercial sale of a licensed product in the territory, until the 10-year anniversary
of the original license effective date, March 30, 2016, or (ii) if there has been a first commercial sale of a licensed product in the
territory within the 10-year anniversary of the original license effective date, the 10-year anniversary of the first commercial sale
on a country-by-country basis. The term of the license may be extended for additional 10-year periods for all countries in the territory
by notifying Eisai and paying an extension fee equal to $10 million. Either party may terminate the license agreement upon written notice
if the other party is in material breach of the agreement, subject to cure within the designated time periods. Either party also may terminate
the license agreement immediately upon written notice if the other party files for bankruptcy or takes related actions or is unable to
pay its debts as they become due. Additionally, either party will have the right to terminate the agreement if the other party directly
or indirectly challenges the patentability, enforceability or validity of any licensed patent.
Also under the agreement
with Dr. Reddy’s, we are required to (i) use commercially reasonable efforts to make commercially available products in the CTCL
indication, peripheral T-cell lymphoma indication and immuno-oncology indication, (ii) initiate two investigator initiated immuno-oncology
trials, (iii) use commercially reasonable efforts to achieve each of the approval milestones, and (iv) to complete each specified immuno-oncology
investigator trial on or before the four-year anniversary of the effective date of the definitive agreement. Additionally, we are required
to commercially launch a product in a territory within six months of receiving regulatory approval for such product in each such jurisdiction.
4. NOTES PAYABLE
Notes Payable – Related Parties
Prior to June 31, 2021, we had outstanding notes payable
held by our Chairman, Leonard Mazur, in the amount of $ 160,470 and notes payable held by our Chief Executive Officer, Myron Holubiak,
in the amount of $ 12,500 . Notes with a principal balance of $104,000 accrued interest at the prime rate plus 1.0% per annum and notes
with a principal balance of $68,970 accrued interest at 12% per annum.
In June 2021, we repaid the $ 172,970 principal balance
of these notes and paid accrued interest of $ 38,917 . Accrued interest of $ 59,917 was forgiven and was recorded as other income in the
year ended September 30, 2021.
Interest expense on notes payable – related
parties was $ 3,563 for the three months ended December 31, 2020.
9
Paycheck Protection Program
On April 12, 2020, the Company applied for a forgivable
loan through the Small Business Association’s Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”). The loan accrued interest
at a rate of 1% and was forgivable if it was used to pay qualifying costs such as payroll, rent and utilities. On April 15, 2020, the
Company received $164,583 from the PPP.
On July 28, 2021, the Small Business Administration
gave full forgiveness of the PPP loan and the Company recorded a gain from debt extinguishment of $ 166,557 consisting of the principal
balance and related accrued interest expense.
Interest expense was $ 405 for the three months ended
December 31, 2020.
5. COMMON STOCK, STOCK OPTIONS AND WARRANTS
Authorized Common Stock
On June 21, 2021, our stockholders approved an amendment
to our Articles of Incorporation to increase the authorized number of shares of capital stock from 210,000,000 to 410,000,000 and the
authorized number of common shares from 200,000,000 to 400,000,000 .
Common Stock Offerings
On January 27, 2021, the Company closed a private
placement for 15,455,960 common shares and warrants to purchase 7,727,980 common shares, at a purchase price of $1.294 per common
share and accompanying warrant, for gross proceeds of $20,000,012. The 7,727,980 warrants are immediately exercisable at $1.231 per common
share for a term of five and one-half years. The Company paid the placement agent a fee of 7% of the gross proceeds totaling $1,400,001
and issued the placement agent 1,081,917 immediately exercisable warrants at $1.6175 per common share for a term of five and one-half
years. The Company also reimbursed the placement agent for $85,000 in expenses and incurred $64,601 in other expenses. Net proceeds from
the offering were $18,450,410. The estimated fair value of the 7,727,980 warrants issued to the investors was approximately $7,582,000
and the estimated fair value of the 1,081,917 warrants issued to the placement agent was approximately $1,025,000.
On February 19, 2021, the Company closed a registered
direct offering for 50,830,566 common shares and warrants to purchase up to 25,415,283 common shares, at a purchase price of $1.505 per
share of common stock and accompanying warrant, for gross proceeds of $76,500,002. The 25,415,283 warrants are immediately exercisable
at $1.70 per common share for a term of five years. The Company paid the placement agent a fee of 7% of the gross proceeds totaling $5,355,000
and issued the placement agent 3,558,140 immediately exercisable warrants at $1.881 per common share for a term of five years.
The Company also reimbursed the placement agent for $85,000 in expenses and incurred $80,160 in other expenses. Net proceeds from the
offering were $70,979,842. The estimated fair value of the 25,415,283 warrants issued to the investors was approximately $42,322,000 and
the estimated fair value of the 3,558,140 warrants issued to the placement agent was approximately $5,850,000.
Common Stock Issued for Services
On November 2, 2021, the Company issued 50,201 shares
of common stock for investor relations services and expensed the $ 95,884 fair value of the common stock issued.
Stock Option Plans
Pursuant to our 2014 Stock Incentive Plan, we reserved
866,667 common shares for issuance to employees, directors and consultants. As of December 31, 2021, options to purchase 855,171 shares
were outstanding and no shares remain available for future grants.
On February 7, 2018, our stockholders approved the
2018 Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan and we reserved 2,000,000 common shares for issuance to employees, directors and consultants. As of
December 31, 2021, options to purchase 1,820,000 shares were outstanding.
10
On February 10, 2020, our stockholders approved the
2020 Stock Plan and we reserved 3,110,000 common shares for issuance thereunder. The 2020 Stock Plan provides incentives to employees,
directors, and consultants through options, SARs, dividend equivalent rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, or other rights.
As of December 31, 2021, options to purchase 1,870,000 shares were outstanding and the remaining 1,240,000 shares were transferred to
the 2021 Omnibus Stock Incentive Plan (“2021 Stock Plan”).
On May 24, 2021, our stockholders approved the 2021
Stock Plan and we reserved 8,740,000 shares for issuance thereunder. The 2021 Stock Plan provides incentives to employees, directors,
and consultants through options, SARs, dividend equivalent rights, restricted stock, restricted stock units, or other rights. As of December
31, 2021, options to purchase 4,475,000 shares were outstanding and there were 4,265,000 shares available for future grants.
The fair value of each stock option award is estimated
on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve
in effect at the time of grant commensurate with the expected term assumption. The expected term of stock options granted, all of which
qualify as “plain vanilla,” is based on the average of the contractual term (generally 10 years) and the vesting period.
For non-employee options, the expected term is the contractual term.
A summary of option activity under our stock option
plans (excluding the NoveCite Stock Plan) is presented below:
Option
Shares
Weighted-
Average
Exercise
Price
Weighted-
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term
Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value
Outstanding at October 1, 2021
5,755,171
$ 2.13
8.02 years
$ 3,589,392
Granted
3,265,000
2.03
Exercised
—
—
Forfeited or expired
—
—
Outstanding at December 31, 2021
9,020,171
$ 2.09
8.49 years
$ 1,799,433
Exercisable at December 31, 2021
3,365,325
$ 2.55
6.87 years
$ 1,163,643
On October 11, 2021, the Board of Directors granted
options to purchase 2,515,000 shares to employees, 375,000 shares to directors and 175,000 shares to consultants at $ 2.04 per share. On
November 1, 2021, the Board of Directors granted options to purchase 200,000 shares to an employee at $ 1.87 per share. The weighted average
grant date fair value of the options granted during the three months ended December 31, 2021 was estimated at $ 1.72 per share. All of
these options vest over terms of 12 to 36 months and have a term of 10 years.
On October 6, 2020, the Board of Directors granted
stock options to purchase a total of 800,000 shares to employees, 175,000 shares to directors and 125,000 shares to consultants with an
exercise price of $ 1.01 per share. The weighted average grant date fair value of the options granted during the three months ended December
31, 2020 was estimated at $ 0.87 per share. All of these options vest over terms of 12 to 36 months and have a term of 10 years.
Stock-based compensation expense for the three months
ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 was $904,604 (including $33,333 for the NoveCite Stock Plan) and $276,582 (including $12,556 for the
NoveCite Stock Plan), respectively.
At December 31, 2021, unrecognized total compensation
cost related to unvested awards under the Citius stock plans of $ 7,755,214 is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period
of 2.4 years.
On November 5, 2020, the stockholders of NoveCite,
approved NoveCite’s Stock Plan and we reserved 2,000,000 common shares of NoveCite for issuance thereunder. The NoveCite Stock Plan
provides incentives to employees, directors, and consultants through grants of options, SARs, dividend equivalent rights, restricted stock,
restricted stock units, or other rights. As of December 31, 2021, there were options outstanding to purchase 2,000,000 common shares of
NoveCite and no shares available for future grants.
As of December 31, 2021, NoveCite has options outstanding
to purchase 2,000,000 common shares at a weighted average exercise price of $0.24 per share, of which 376,665 are exercisable as of December
31, 2021. All of these options vest over 36 months and have a term of 10 years. The weighted average remaining contractual term of options
outstanding under the NoveCite Stock Plan is 9.14 years. At December 31, 2021, unrecognized total compensation cost related to unvested
awards under the NoveCite Stock Plan of $283,111 is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 2.17 years.
11
Warrants
As of December 31, 2021, we have reserved shares of
common stock for the exercise of outstanding warrants as follows:
Exercise
price
Number
Expiration Dates
LMB Warrants
$ 7.50
53,110
March 24 – April 29, 2022
2016 Offering Warrants
4.13
69,316
February 10 – 27, 2022
2017 Public Offering Investors
4.13
1,622,989
August 2, 2022
2017 Public Offering Underwriter
4.54
65,940
February 2, 2023
December 2017 Registered Direct/Private Placement Offering Investors
4.63
640,180
June 19, 2023
December 2017 Registered Direct/Private Placement Offering Placement Agent
5.87
89,625
December 19, 2022
March 2018 Registered Direct/Private Placement Offering Investors
2.86
218,972
October 2, 2023
March 2018 Registered Direct/Private Placement Offering Placement Agent
3.73
46,866
March 28, 2023
August 2018 Offering Investors
1.15
3,921,569
August 14, 2023
August 2018 Offering Agent
1.59
189,412
August 8, 2023
April 2019 Registered Direct/Private Placement Offering Investors
1.42
1,294,498
April 5, 2024
April 2019 Registered Direct/Private Placement Offering Placement Agent
1.93
240,130
April 5, 2024
September 2019 Offering Investors
0.77
2,793,297
September 27, 2024
September 2019 Offering Underwriter
1.12
194,358
September 27, 2024
February 2020 Exercise Agreement Placement Agent
1.28
138,886
August 19, 2025
May 2020 Registered Direct Offering Investors
1.00
1,670,588
November 18, 2025
May 2020 Registered Direct Offering Placement Agent
1.33
155,647
May 14, 2025
August 2020 Underwriter
1.31
201,967
August 10, 2025
January 2021 Private Placement Offering Investors
1.23
3,091,192
July 27, 2026
January 2021 Private Placement Offering Agent
1.62
351,623
July 27, 2026
February 2021 Registered Direct Offering Investors
1.70
20,580,283
February 19, 2026
February 2021 Registered Direct Offering Agent
1.88
2,506,396
February 19, 2026
40,136,844
At December 31, 2021, the weighted average remaining
life of the outstanding warrants is 3.5 years, all warrants are exercisable, and the aggregate intrinsic value of the warrants outstanding
was $ 5,890,469 .
Common Stock Reserved
A summary of common stock reserved for future issuances
as of December 31, 2021 is as follows:
Stock plan options outstanding
9,020,171
Stock plan shares available for future grants
4,265,000
Warrants outstanding
40,136,844
Total
53,422,015
6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
The Company had outstanding debt due to Leonard Mazur
(Chairman of the Board) and Myron Holubiak (Chief Executive Officer) (see Note 4).
Leonard Mazur was a director and significant shareholder
of Novellus until July 2021. On October 6, 2020, the Company, through its subsidiary NoveCite, entered into an exclusive agreement with
Novellus to develop cellular therapies (see Note 3).
In April 2021, we extended the term by three years
for 1,294,498 warrants held by our Chairman and our Chief Executive Officer (see Note 5).
12
7. OPERATING LEASE
Effective July 1, 2019, Citius entered into a 76-month
lease for office space in Cranford, NJ. Citius will pay its proportionate share of real estate taxes and operating expenses in excess
of the base year expenses. These costs are considered to be variable lease payments and are not included in the determination of the lease’s
right-of-use asset or lease liability.
The Company identified and assessed the following
significant assumptions in recognizing its right-of-use assets and corresponding lease liabilities:
● As the Company’s current
Cranford lease does not provide an implicit rate, the Company estimated the incremental borrowing rate in calculating the present value
of the lease payments. The Company estimated its incremental borrowing rate based on the remaining lease term as of the adoption date.
● Since the Company elected to
account for each lease component and its associated non-lease components as a single combined component, all contract consideration was
allocated to the combined lease component.
● The expected lease terms include
noncancelable lease periods.
The elements of lease expense are as follows:
Lease cost
Three Months Ended
December 31,
2021
Three Months Ended
December 31,
2020
Operating lease cost
$ 59,705
$ 59,706
Variable lease cost
—
194
Total lease cost
59,705
$ 59,900
Other information
Weighted-average remaining lease term - operating leases
3.8 Years
4.8 Years
Weighted-average discount rate - operating leases
8.0 %
8.0 %
Maturities of lease liabilities due under the Company’s
non-cancellable leases as of December 31, 2021 is as follows:
Year Ending September 30,
December 31,
2021
2022 (excluding the 3 months ended December 31, 2021)
$ 179,783
2023
244,165
2024
249,024
2025
253,883
2026
21,460
Total lease payments
948,315
Less: interest
( 135,542 )
Present value of lease liabilities
$ 812,773
Leases
Classification
December 31,
2021
September 30,
2021
Assets
Lease asset
Operating
$ 779,949
$ 822,828
Total lease assets
$ 779,949
$ 822,828
Liabilities
Current
Operating
$ 182,028
$ 177,237
Non-current
Operating
630,745
678,234
Total lease liabilities
$ 812,773
$ 855,471
Interest expense on the lease liability was $ 16,826
and $ 20,035 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively.
13
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion and analysis of our financial
condition and results of operations for the three months ended December 31, 2021 should be read together with our unaudited consolidated
financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report and in conjunction with the audited financial statements of Citius
Pharmaceuticals, Inc. included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2021. The following discussion
contains “forward-looking statements” that reflect our future plans, estimates, beliefs and expected performance. Our actual
results may differ materially from those currently anticipated and expressed in such forward-looking statements as a result of a number
of factors. We caution that assumptions, expectations, projections, intentions or beliefs about future events may, and often do, vary
from actual results and the differences can be material. Please see “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements”
on page ii of this Report.
Historical Background
Citius Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Citius,”
the “Company,” “we” or “us”) is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to the development and
commercialization of critical care products with a focus on anti-infective products in adjunct cancer care, unique prescription products
and mesenchymal stem cell therapy. On September 12, 2014, we acquired Citius Pharmaceuticals, LLC as a wholly-owned subsidiary and on
March 30, 2016, we acquired Leonard-Meron Biosciences, Inc. (“LMB”) as a wholly-owned subsidiary. On September 11, 2020, we
formed NoveCite, Inc. (“NoveCite”), a Delaware corporation, of which we own 75% of the issued and outstanding capital stock.
On August 23, 2021, we formed Citius Acquisition Corp., as a wholly-owned subsidiary, but no activity has occurred to date.
Through December 31, 2021, the Company has devoted
substantially all of its efforts to business planning, acquiring our proprietary technology, research and development, recruiting management
and technical staff, and raising capital.
Patent and Technology License Agreements
Our patent and technology license agreements are discussed
in the footnotes to our unaudited consolidated financial statements included in this Report.
Mino-Lok® - LMB has a patent and technology
license agreement with Novel Anti-Infective Therapeutics, Inc. (“NAT”) to develop and commercialize Mino-Lok® on an exclusive,
worldwide sub-licensable basis. Since May 2014, LMB has paid an annual maintenance fee, which began at $30,000 and that increased over
five years to $90,000, where it will remain until the commencement of commercial sales of a product subject to the license. LMB will also
pay annual royalties on net sales of licensed products, with royalties ranging from the mid-single digits to the low double digits or,
in the event the licensed product is not subject to a valid patent claim, the royalty is reduced to mid- to lower-single digits. In limited
circumstances in which the licensed product is not subject to a valid patent claim and a competitor is selling a competing product, the
royalty rate is in the low single digits. After a commercial sale is obtained, LMB must pay minimum aggregate annual royalties that increase
in subsequent years. LMB must also pay NAT up to an aggregate of $1,100,000 upon achieving specified regulatory and sales milestones.
Finally, LMB must pay NAT a specified percentage of payments received from any sub licensees.
Mino-Wrap - On January 2, 2019, we entered
into a patent and technology license agreement with the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System on behalf of the University
of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center (“Licensor”), whereby we in-licensed exclusive worldwide rights to the patented technology
for any and all uses relating to breast implants. We intend to develop a liquefying gel-based wrap containing minocycline and rifampin
for the reduction of infections associated with breast implants following breast reconstructive surgeries (“Mino-Wrap”). We
are required to use commercially reasonable efforts to commercialize Mino-Wrap under several regulatory scenarios and achieve milestones
associated with these regulatory options leading to an approval from the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”).
14
Under the license agreement, we paid a nonrefundable
upfront payment of $125,000. We paid annual maintenance fees of $45,000 and $30,000 in January 2021 and 2020, respectively. The annual
maintenance fee increases annually by $15,000 per year up to a maximum of $90,000. Annual maintenance fees cease on the first sale of
product. We also must pay up to an aggregate of $2.1 million in milestone payments, contingent on the achievement of various regulatory
and commercial milestones. Under the terms of the license agreement, we also must pay a royalty of mid- to upper-single digit percentages
of net sales, depending on the amount of annual sales, and subject to downward adjustment to lower- to mid-single digit percentages in
the event there is no valid patent for the product in the United States at the time of sale. After the first sale of product, we will
owe an annual minimum royalty payment of $100,000 that will increase annually by $25,000 for the duration of the term. We will be responsible
for all patent expenses incurred by Licensor for the term of the agreement although Licensor is responsible for filing, prosecution and
maintenance of all patents.
NoveCite – On October 6, 2020, our subsidiary
NoveCite entered into a license agreement with Novellus Therapeutics Limited (“Licensor”), to develop and commercialize a
stem cell therapy based on the Licensor’s patented technology for the treatment of acute pneumonitis of any etiology in which inflammation
is a major agent in humans. NoveCite paid a $5,000,000 license fee and issued 25% of its outstanding equity to the Licensor. We own the
other 75% of NoveCite’s currently outstanding equity. If NoveCite issues additional equity, subject to certain exceptions, NoveCite
had to maintain Novellus’s ownership at 25% by issuing additional shares to Novellus. In July 2021, Novellus was acquired by Brooklyn
ImmunoTherapeutics, Inc. (“Brooklyn”). In that transaction, the stock subscription agreement between Novellus and NoveCite
was amended to delete the anti-dilution protection and replace it with a right of first refusal whereby Brooklyn will have the right to
purchase all or a portion of the securities that NoveCite intends to sell or in the alternative, at the option of NoveCite, Brooklyn may
purchase that amount of the securities proposed to be sold by NoveCite to allow Brooklyn to maintain its then percentage ownership.
Under the license agreement, NoveCite is obligated
to pay Licensor up to an aggregate of $51,000,000 in regulatory and developmental milestone payments. NoveCite also must pay a royalty
equal to low double-digit percentages of net sales, commencing upon the first commercial sale of a licensed product. This royalty is subject
to downward adjustment on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis to an upper-single digit percentage of net sales in any country
in the event of the expiration of the last valid patent claim or if no valid patent claim exists in that country. The royalty will end
on the earlier of (i) the date on which a biosimilar product is first marketed, sold, or distributed by Licensor or any third party in
the applicable country or (ii) the 10-year anniversary of the date of expiration of the last-to-expire valid patent claim in that country.
In the case of a country where no licensed patent ever exists, the royalty will end on the later of (i) the date of expiry of such licensed
product’s regulatory exclusivity and (ii) the 10-year anniversary of the date of the first commercial sale of the licensed product
in the applicable country. In addition, NoveCite will pay to Licensor an amount equal to a mid-twenties percentage of any sublicensee
fees it receives.
Under the terms of the license agreement, in the event
that Licensor receives any revenue involving the original cell line included in the licensed technology, then Licensor shall remit to
NoveCite 50% of such revenue.
I/ONTAK - In September 2021 the Company announced
that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Dr. Reddy's to acquire its exclusive license of I/ONTAK (formerly E7777) (denileukin
diftitox), a late-stage oncology immunotherapy for the treatment of CTCL, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Under the terms of this agreement, Citius acquired
Dr. Reddy's exclusive license of I/ONTAK from Eisai and other related assets owned by Dr. Reddy's. Citius's exclusive license rights include
rights to develop and commercialize E7777 in all markets except for Japan and certain parts of Asia. Additionally, Citius has an option
on the right to develop and market the product in India. Eisai retains exclusive development and marketing rights for the agent in Japan
and Asia. Dr. Reddy's received a $40 million upfront payment and is entitled to up to an aggregate of $40 million in development milestone
payments related to CTCL approvals in the U.S. and other markets, up to an aggregate of $70 million in development milestones for additional
indications, as well as commercial milestone payments and low double-digit tiered royalties on net product sales. Eisai is to receive
a $6 million development milestone payment upon initial approval and additional commercial milestone payments related to the achievement
of net product sales thresholds. Eisai will be responsible for completing the current CTCL clinical trial, and chemistry, manufacturing
and controls (CMC) activities through the filing of a BLA for I/ONTAK with the FDA. Citius will be responsible for development costs associated
with potential additional indications.
15
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Three months ended December 31, 2021 compared with the three months
ended December 31, 2020
Three Months Ended
December 31,
2021
Three Months Ended
December 31,
2020
Revenues
$ —
$ —
Operating expenses:
Research and development
5,457,849
6,191,179
General and administrative
2,896,749
1,688,664
Stock-based compensation expense
904,604
276,582
Total operating expenses
9,259,202
8,156,425
Operating loss
(9,259,202 )
(8,156,425 )
Interest income
33,982
13,484
Interest expense
—
(3,968 )
Net loss
$ (9,225,220 )
$ (8,146,909 )
Revenues
We did not generate any revenues for the three months
ended December 31, 2021 or 2020.
Research and Development Expenses
For the three months ended December 31, 2021, research
and development expenses were $5,457,849 as compared to $6,191,179 during the three months ended December 31, 2020, a decrease of $733,330.
Research and development costs for Mino-Lok® increased
by $256,000 to $975,653 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 as compared to $719,653 for the three months ended December 31, 2020
due to the initiation of post-mixing, in-solution stability studies.
Research and development costs for our Halo-Lido product
candidate increased by $766,703 to $997,577 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 as compared to $230,874 for the three months
ended December 31, 2020 due to an increase in the costs of our clinical trials.
Research and development costs for our Mino-Wrap product
candidate were $68,273 for the three months ended December 31, 2021 as compared to $237 during the three months ended December 31, 2020,
an increase of $68,036. The increase was due to measuring the stability of minocycline in the wrap.
During the three months ended December 31, 2021, research
and development costs for our proposed novel cellular therapy for ARDS decreased by $4,761,864 to $478,551 as compared to $5,240,415 for
the three months ended December 31, 2020. We expensed the $5,000,000 license fee paid to Novellus during the three months ended December
31, 2020.
Research and development costs for our recently licensed
I/ONTAK product candidate was $2,937,795 during the three months ended December 31, 2021.
We expect that research and development expenses will
continue to increase in fiscal 2022 as we continue to focus on our Phase 3 trials for Mino-Lok® and I/ONTAK, progress the Halo-Lido
product candidate and continue our research and development efforts related to ARDS and Mino-Wrap.
16
General and Administrative Expenses
For the three months ended December 31, 2021, general
and administrative expenses were $2,896,749 as compared to $1,688,664 during the three months ended December 31, 2020. General and administrative
expenses increased by $1,208,085 in comparison with the prior period. The primary reason for the increase was additional compensation
costs for new employees and performance bonuses. General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation costs, consulting
fees incurred for financing activities and corporate development services, and investor relations expenses.
Stock-based Compensation Expense
For the three months ended December 31, 2021, stock-based
compensation expense was $904,604 as compared to $276,582 for the three months ended December 31, 2020. For the three months ended December
31, 2021, stock-based compensation includes $33,833 in expense for the NoveCite stock option plan that was adopted in November 2020 as
compared to $12,556 for the three months ended December 31, 2020. Stock-based compensation expense for the most recently completed quarter
increased by $628,022 in comparison to the prior period primarily due to new grants made to employees, directors and consultants.
Other Income (Expense)
Interest income for the three months ended December
31, 2021 was $33,982 as compared to interest income of $13,484 for the prior period. We have invested the remaining proceeds of our early
2021 equity offerings and common stock warrant exercises in money market accounts.
There was no interest expense for the three months
ended December 31, 2021 as compared to $3,968 in interest expense for the three months ended December 31, 2020. Interest expense was $4,563
for the three months ended December 31, 2020 on the notes payable – related parties that were repaid in June 2021. Interest expense
was $405 for the three months ended December 31, 2020 on the Paycheck Protection Program loan that was forgiven in July 2021.
Net Loss
For the three months ended December 31, 2021, we incurred
a net loss of $9,225,220 compared to a net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2020 of $8,146,909. The $1,078,311 increase in
the net loss was primarily due to the increase of $1,208,085 in general and administrative expenses.
17
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Liquidity and Working Capital
Citius has incurred operating losses since inception
and incurred a net loss of $9,225,220 for the three months ended December 31, 2021. At December 31, 2021, Citius had an accumulated deficit
of $105,273,041. Citius’ net cash used in operations during the three months ended December 31, 2021 was $4,651,522.
As a result of the Company’s common stock offerings
and common stock warrant exercises during the year ended September 30, 2021, the Company had working capital of approximately $60,600,000
at December 31, 2021. At December 31, 2021, Citius had cash and cash equivalents of $65,421,424 available to fund its operations. The
Company’s primary sources of cash flow since inception have been from financing activities. Our primary uses of operating cash were
for in-licensing of intellectual property, product development and commercialization activities, employee compensation, consulting fees,
legal and accounting fees, insurance and investor relations expenses.
Based on our cash and cash equivalents at December
31, 2021, we expect that we will have sufficient funds to continue our operations through March 2023. We expect to need to raise additional
capital in the future to support our operations beyond March 2023. There is no assurance, however, that we will be successful in raising
the needed capital or that the proceeds will be received in an amount or in a timely manner to support our operations.
Inflation
Our management believes that inflation has not had
a material effect on our results of operations.
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements.
Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates
The preparation of our financial statements and related
disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates
and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as
of the date of the financial statements and the amounts of revenues and expenses recorded during the reporting periods. We base our estimates
on historical experience, where applicable, and other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results
may differ from our estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Our critical accounting policies and use of estimates
are discussed in, and should be read in conjunction with, the annual consolidated financial statements and notes included in the Company’s
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2021 as filed with the SEC.
18
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures
About Market Risk
Not applicable.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
We maintain disclosure controls and procedures designed
to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in reports filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
as amended (the “Exchange Act”), is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the specified time periods and accumulated
and communicated to our management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow
timely decisions regarding disclosure.
Our Chief Executive Officer (who is our principal
executive officer) and Chief Financial Officer (who is our principal financial officer and principal accounting officer), evaluated the
effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) promulgated under the Exchange Act)
as of December 31, 2021. In designing and evaluating disclosure controls and procedures, we recognize that any disclosure controls and
procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can only provide reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objective.
As of December 31, 2021, based on the evaluation of these disclosure controls and procedures, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial
Officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were effective in ensuring that information required to be disclosed by
us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified
in the SEC’s rules and forms.
Changes In Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no changes in our internal control over
financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2021 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect,
our internal control over financial reporting.
19
PART II - OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings
None.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
There has been no change in the Company’s risk
factors since the Company’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on December 15, 2021.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
and Use of Proceeds
On November 2, 2021, we issued 50,201 shares of our
common stock to a consultant for media relations, public relations and investor relations services pursuant to the agreed upon compensation
terms in the consulting agreement with the entity. The issuance of the shares was exempt from registration under Section 4(a)(2) of the
Securities Act.
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
None.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
Item 5. Other Information
None.
20
Item 6. Exhibits
31.1
Certification of the Principal Executive Officer pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a).*
31.2
Certification of the Principal Financial Officer pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a).*
32.1
Certification of the Principal Executive and Principal Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002.*
EX- 101.INS
Inline XBRL Instance Document*
EX- 101.SCH
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document*
EX- 101.CAL
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document*
EX- 101.DEF
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document*
EX- 101.LAB
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document*
EX- 101.PRE
Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document*
EX- 104
Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)*
* Filed herewith.
21
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
CITIUS PHARMACEUTICALS, INC.
Date: February 10, 2022
By:
/s/ Myron Holubiak
Myron Holubiak
Chief Executive Officer
(Principal Executive Officer)
Date: February 10, 2022
By:
/s/ Jaime Bartushak
Jaime Bartushak
Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
22
Text extracted from the filing as submitted to EDGAR. Formatting, tables and exhibits are simplified for reading; the original document is authoritative for anything you rely on.