Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis
of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Forward-Looking Statements
This Form 10-Q contains certain
forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements
contained in this Form 10-Q that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting
the foregoing, words such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “believe,” “anticipate,”
“estimate” or “continue” or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These
statements by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially depending on a variety
of factors, many of which are not within our control. These factors include but are not limited to economic conditions generally and in
the industries in which we may participate; competition within our chosen industry, including competition from much larger competitors;
technological advances and failure to successfully develop business relationships.
Description of Business
Overview
We are a clinical-stage immunology
company focused on developing drugs that may reprogram the patient’s innate immune system to treat disease. We believe this may
be done by targeting cells of the innate immune system that cause acute and chronic inflammation and are involved in the immune dysfunction
associated with chronic diseases such as cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. The Company’s drugs are in clinical trials and have
not been approved by a regulatory authority. The Company has two therapeutic platforms – a dominant-negative TNF platform (“DN-TNF”,
“XPro™”, “XPro1595™” or “ pegipanermin” ) and a Natural Killer (“NK”,
or “INKmune™”) platform. The DN-TNF platform neutralizes soluble TNF (“sTNF”) without affecting trans-membrane
TNF (“tmTNF”) or TNF receptors -TNFR1 and TNFR2. This unique biologic mechanism differentiates the DN-TNF drugs from currently
approved non-selective TNF inhibitors that inhibit both sTNF and tmTNF. Protecting the function of tmTNF and TNF receptors while neutralizing
the function of sTNF is a potent anti-inflammatory strategy that does not cause immunosuppression or demyelination which occur in the
currently approved non-selective TNF inhibitors. Currently approved non-selective TNF inhibitors treat autoimmune disease, but are contraindicated
in patients with infection, cancer and neurologic diseases because they increase the risk of infection, cancer and demyelinating neurologic
diseases, respectively; all the safety problems are due to off-target effects on inhibiting tmTNF. The NK platform targets the dysfunctional
natural killer cells in patients with cancer. NK cells are part of the normal immunologic response to cancer with important roles in immunosurveillance
to prevent cancer and in preventing relapse by eliminating residual disease. Residual disease is the cancer left behind after therapy
is finished. Residual disease can grow to cause relapse. The mechanism by which INKmune improves the ability of the patient’s NK
cells to kill their cancer is complex. The NK cells of cancer patients lose the ability to bind and kill cancer cells. A measure of NK
cell binding to cancer cells is avidity. The higher the avidity, the greater the bond between the NK cell to cancer cell and thus the
greater NK killing of cancer cells. INKmune increase NK avidity and further improves mitochondrial function and upregulates nutrient receptors.
These metabolic changes may help the INKmune primed NK cell to function in the hostile tumor microenvironment and persist much longer.
These mechanisms improve the ability of INKmune primed NK cells to overcome the immune evasion of the patient’s cancer cells. We
believe INKmune is best used to eliminate residual disease after the patient has completed other cancer therapies. Both the DN-TNF platform
and the INKmune platform can be used to treat multiple diseases. The DN-TNF platform will be used as an immunotherapy for the treatment
of cancer and neurodegenerative disease. INKmune is being developed to treat NK sensitive hematologic malignancies and solid tumors.
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We believe our DN-TNF platform
can be used as a cancer therapy to reverse resistance in immunotherapy and as a CNS (“central nervous system”) therapy to
target glial activation to prevent progression of Alzheimer’s disease (“AD”), and to target neuroinflammation in treatment
resistant depression (“TRD”). The drug is named differently for the oncology and CNS indications; INB03™ or XPro™,
respectively, but it is the same drug product. In each case, we believe neutralizing sTNF is a cornerstone to the treatment of these diseases.
As an immunotherapy for cancer, we are using INB03 to neutralize sTNF produced by HER2+ trastuzumab resistant breast cancers to reverse
resistance to targeted therapy. sTNF produced by the tumor causes an up-regulation of MUC4 express causing steric hindrance of trastuzumab
binding to the HER receptor on HER2+ breast cancer cells. Without binding, trastuzumab is not effective. Neutralizing sTNF reverses MUC4
expression converting a trastuzumab resistant breast cancer cell into a trastuzumab sensitive breast cancer cell. In addition, INB03 changes
the immunobiology of the tumor microenvironment by decreasing the number of immunosuppressive myeloid cells, both myeloid derived suppressor
cells and tumor active macrophages, and increasing the number of cytotoxic lymphocytes and phagocytic macrophages in the TME. The Company
has completed an open label dose escalation trial in cancer patients with metastatic solid tumors that have failed multiple lines of therapy.
The trial informs the design of the Phase II trial by demonstrating that INB03 was safe and well tolerated, defined the dose of INB03
to carry into Phase II trials, and demonstrated a pharmacodynamic end-point. A Phase II trial is planned in patients with advanced MUC4+
expressing cancer.
Likewise, we believe the DN-TNF
platform can be used to treat selected neurodegenerative diseases by modifying the brain microenvironment (“BME”). The Company believes
the core pathology of cognitive decline is a combination of neurodegeneration and synaptic dysfunction. XPro completed a Phase I trial
treating patients with Alzheimer’s disease that was partially funded by a Part-the-Clouds Award from the Alzheimer’s Association.
We believe XPro targets activated microglia and astrocytes of the brain that produce sTNF that promotes nerve cell loss and synaptic dysfunction,
key elements in the development of dementia. In animal models, elimination of sTNF prevents nerve cell dysfunction and reverses synaptic
pruning. The Phase I trial in patients with biomarkers of inflammation with AD has been completed. The open label, dose escalation trial
is designed to demonstrate that XPro can safely decrease neuroinflammation in patients with AD. The endpoints of the trial are measures
of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in blood and cerebral spinal fluid, measures of neuroinflammation by measuring cytokines in
the CSF and MRI by measuring white matter free water. XPro, at the 1mg/kg/week dose decreased inflammatory cytokines in the CSF and white
matter free water in the brain demonstrating that XPro can decrease neuroinflammation in patients with AD. We also studied downstream
benefits of decreasing neuroinflammation by measuring changes in the CSF proteome and quantifying changes in novel white matter MRI biomarkers.
XPro significantly decreases biomarkers of neurodegeneration as measured by changes in the CSF proteome including neurofilament light
chain, phospho Tau 217 and VILIP-1; decreases of 84%, 46% and 91% respectively after 3 months of therapy. Three months of XPro therapy
improved measures of synaptic function, as measured in the CSF proteome including a 222% increase in Contactin 2 and a 56% decrease neurogranin,
proteins that contribute to improved synaptic function.
The successful completion
of the Phase I trial in AD has informed the design of two Phase II trials in patients with AD; one in mild AD and the other in mild cognitive
impairment (MCI). The mild AD trial will be a blinded randomized trial to test if treatment of mild AD patients with neuroinflammation
will affect cognitive decline. The Phase II trial has six important elements. Two hundred patients will be enrolled in a 2:1 ratio (XPro
vs placebo). The patients will receive 1mg/kg/week as a subcutaneous injection for six months. An enrichment strategy identical to the
successful strategy used in the Phase I trial will be used to ensure patients have neuroinflammation. Patients will need to have one or
more enrichment criteria: elevated C-reactive protein, hemoglobin A1c, erythrocyte sedimentation rated in the blood and at least one allele
of ApoE4. The primary end-point will be Early/mild Alzheimer’s Cognitive Composite (“EMACC”), a validated cognitive
measure that is more sensitive than traditional end-points used in many studies of patients with early AD. The trial will be performed
in North America and Australia and enrolled its first patient in April 2022. All patients will be offered to stay on therapy for at least
12 months in an extension trial. Clinical and biomarker data will be collected during the extension trial.
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The second Phase II trial
will be a blinded randomized trial in patients with MCI in which the Company plans to enroll 60 patients in two arms in a 2:1 ratio (1mg/kg/week
XPro, placebo). Patients will be treated for 3 months. Patients must have at least one of the enrichment criteria used in the mild ADi
trial to qualify for the trial. The primary end-point is EMACC, a sensitive cognitive end-point validated for use in patients with early
AD. Secondary clinical endpoints include the CDR-SB, Cogstate Battery, E-Cog, NPI, and ADCS-ADL. Imaging endpoints of neuroinflammation
(white matter free water) and white matter quality (apparent fiber density and radial diffusivity in Alzheimer’s disease tracts)
and gray matter quality (cortical disarray measurement) will be will be assessed via MRI. Changes in brain metabolism will be assessed
via FDG-PET. Additional secondary measures of function include EEG, and speech and language. All patients in this trial will be eligible
to continue on XPro for at least 12 additional months. Clinical and MRI metrics will be followed during the extension trial. The
Company may amend the clinical trial design from time-to-time to improve the quality of the data or the probability of success.
Effective therapy for TRD
is a large unmet need. Twenty percent of patients with a Major Depressive Disorder have TRD. Once third of TRD patients have peripheral
biomarkers to inflammation (elevated CRP). This is a large patient population. The role of TNF and anti-TNF therapeutics was explored
in a small open label clinical trial by Prof. Andrew Miller, MD of Emory University demonstrated the patients have elevated TNF levels
and treatment with infliximab treated their depression (Miller, 2011). The Company received a $2.9M USD award from the National Institute
of Mental Health (“NIMH”) to treat TRD with XPro. The blinded, randomized Phase II trial will use biomarkers of peripheral
inflammation to select patients with TRD for enrollment. Patients will be treated for 6 weeks. Primary end-points include both clinical
and neuroimaging measures. The final trial design is ongoing and discussions with the FDA are not complete. The Company anticipates receiving
authorization to initiate the clinical trial once the pending clinical hold is lifted.
We believe that INKmune improves
the ability of the patient’s own NK cells to attack their tumor. INKmune interacts with the patient’s NK cells to convert
them from inert resting NK cells into memory-like NK cells that kill the patient’s cancer cells. INKmune is a replication incompetent
proprietary cell line that is given to the patient after determining that i) the patient has adequate NK cells in their circulation and
ii) those NK cells are functional when exposed to INKmune in vitro. INKmune is designed to be given to patients after their immune system
has recovered after cytotoxic chemotherapy to target the residual disease the remains after treatment with cytotoxic therapy. We believe
INKmune can be used to treat numerous hematologic malignancies and solid tumors including leukemia, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, lung,
ovary, breast, renal and prostate cancer. The Company has initiated a Phase I trial using INKmune to treat patients with high risk MDS/AML,
a form of leukemia. One patient has been treated in the Phase I trial for MDS and three patients have been treated compassionately in
AML. In the four patients, INKmune therapy is safe, produces memory-like NK cells that kill cancer in vitro, promotes development of
cancer killing memory-like NK cells that can be found in the patient’s circulation of 4 months. The Company will continue to enroll
patients in the Phase I trial. The Company intends to initiate a separate Phase I/2 trial of INKmune in a solid tumor during the first
half of 2023.
19
We believe that INKmune improves
the ability of the patient’s own NK cells to attack their tumor. INKmune interacts with the patient’s NK cells to convert
them from inert resting NK cells into memory-like NK cells that kill the patient’s cancer cells. INKmune is a replication incompetent
proprietary cell line that is given to the patient after determining that i) the patient has adequate NK cells in their circulation and
ii) those NK cells are functional when exposed to INKmune in vitro. INKmune is designed to be given to patients after their immune system
has recovered after cytotoxic chemotherapy to target the residual disease the remains after treatment with cytotoxic therapy. We believe
INKmune can be used to treat numerous hematologic malignancies and solid tumors including leukemia, multiple myeloma, lymphoma, lung,
ovary, breast, renal and prostate cancer. The Company has initiated a Phase I trial using INKmune to treat patients with high risk MDS/AML,
a form of leukemia. One patient has been treated in the Phase I trial for MDS and three patients have been treated compassionately in
AML. In the four patients, INKmune therapy is safe, produces memory-like NK cells that kill cancer in vitro, promotes development of cancer
killing memory-like NK cells that can be found in the patient’s circulation of 4 months. The Company will continue to enroll patients
in the Phase I trial.
Since our inception in 2015,
we have devoted substantially all of our resources to the discovery and development of our product candidates, including clinical trials
and preclinical studies as well as general and administrative support for these operations. To date, we have generated no significant
revenue. We have incurred net losses in each year since our inception and, as of September 30, 2022, we had an accumulated deficit of
approximately $85.2 million. Our net losses were $21,466,000 and $20,669,000 for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Substantially all of our net losses resulted from costs incurred in connection with our research and development programs and from general
and administrative costs associated with our operations, including stock-based compensation. We anticipate that we will continue
to generate losses for the foreseeable future.
The Company is subject to
risks and uncertainties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The extent of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s
business is highly uncertain and difficult to predict. Also, economies worldwide have also been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,
however policymakers around the globe have responded with fiscal policy actions to support the healthcare industry and economy as a whole.
The magnitude and overall effectiveness of these actions remain uncertain.
In addition, the Company’s
clinical trials have been affected by and may continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical site initiation and patient enrollment
have and may continue to be delayed due to prioritization of hospital resources toward the COVID-19 pandemic. Some patients have not and
others may not be able to comply with clinical trial protocols if quarantines impede patient movement or interrupt healthcare services.
Similarly, the ability to recruit and retain patients and principal investigators and site staff who, as healthcare providers, may have
heightened exposure to COVID-19, may adversely impact the Company’s clinical trial operations.
The severity of the impact
of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business will depend on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the duration
and severity of the pandemic and the extent and severity of the impact on the Company’s service providers, suppliers, contract research
organizations (“CROs”) and the Company’s clinical trials, all of which are uncertain and cannot be predicted. As of
the date of issuance of Company’s financial statements, the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic may materially impact the Company’s
financial condition, liquidity or results of operations is uncertain.
We classify our operating
expenses into two categories: research and development; and general and administrative expenses. Personnel costs including salaries, benefits
and stock-based compensation expense comprise a significant component of our research and development and general and administrative expense
categories.
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We qualify as an “emerging
growth company” under the JOBS Act. As an emerging growth company, we may take advantage of specified reduced disclosure and other
requirements that are otherwise applicable generally to public companies. These provisions include:
●
only two years of audited financial statements in addition to any required unaudited interim financial statements with correspondingly reduced “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” disclosure;
●
reduced disclosure about our executive compensation arrangements;
●
no non-binding advisory votes on executive compensation or golden parachute arrangements;
●
exemption from the auditor attestation requirement in the assessment of our internal control over financial reporting; and
●
delaying the adoption of new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until those standards apply to private companies.
We have elected to take advantage
of the above-referenced exemptions and we may take advantage of these exemptions for up to five years or such earlier time that we are
no longer an emerging growth company. We would cease to be an emerging growth company if we have more than $1.07 billion in annual revenues,
we have more than $700 million in market value of our stock held by non-affiliates, or we issue more than $1 billion of non-convertible
debt over a three-year period. We may choose to take advantage of some but not all of these reduced burdens.
Research and Development
Research and development expense
consists of expenses incurred while performing research and development activities to discover and develop our product candidates. This
includes conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials, manufacturing development efforts and activities related to regulatory filings
for product candidates. We recognize research and development expenses as they are incurred. Our research and development expense primarily
consist of:
●
clinical trial and regulatory-related costs;
●
expenses incurred under agreements with investigative sites and consultants that conduct our clinical trials;
●
manufacturing and testing costs and related supplies and materials; and
●
employee-related expenses, including salaries, benefits, travel and stock-based compensation.
21
We typically use our employee,
consultant and infrastructure resources across our development programs. We track outsourced development costs by product candidate or
development program, but we do not allocate personnel costs, other internal costs or external consultant costs to specific product candidates
or development programs.
We
participate, through our wholly-owned subsidiary in Australia, in the Australian research and development tax incentive program, such
that a percentage of our qualifying research and development expenditures are reimbursed by the Australian government, and such incentives
are reflected as a reduction of research and development expense. The Australian research and development tax incentive is recognized
when there is reasonable assurance that the incentive will be received, the relevant expenditure has been incurred and the amount of the
consideration can be reliably measured. In the future, the Company may elect to cease to perform research and development in Australia
at which point the Company may not participate the Australian research and development tax incentive program.
We
participate, through our wholly-owned subsidiary in the United Kingdom, in the research and development program provided by the United
Kingdom tax relief program, such that a percentage of our qualifying research and development expenditures are reimbursed by the United
Kingdom government, and such incentives are reflected as a reduction of research and development expense. The United Kingdom research
and development tax incentive is recognized when there is reasonable assurance that the incentive will be received, the relevant expenditure
has been incurred and the amount of the consideration can be reliably measured. The Company expects to receive research and development
tax incentives during 2022 for qualifying expenditures incurred prior to December 31, 2021. However, the United Kingdom recently enacted
changes to the research and development tax incentive whereby the Company does not expect to be eligible to receive the United Kingdom
tax incentives beginning with expenditures incurred during 2022.
Substantially all of our research
and development expenses to date have been incurred in connection with our current and future product candidates. We expect our research
and development expenses to increase significantly for the foreseeable future as we advance an increased number of our product candidates
through clinical development, including the conduct of our planned clinical trials and manufacturing drug to be used in those clinical
trials. The process of conducting clinical trials necessary to obtain regulatory approval is costly and time consuming. The successful
development of product candidates is highly uncertain. At this time, we cannot reasonably estimate the nature, timing or costs required
to complete the remaining development of any product candidates. This is due to the numerous risks and uncertainties associated with the
development of product candidates.
The costs of clinical trials
may vary significantly over the life of a project owing to, but not limited to, the following:
●
per patient trial costs;
●
the number of sites included in the clinical trials;
●
the countries in which the clinical trials are conducted;
●
the length of time required to enroll eligible patients;
●
the number of patients that participate in the clinical trials;
●
the number of doses that patients receive;
●
the cost of comparative agents used in clinical trials;
●
the drop-out or discontinuation rates of patients;
22
●
potential additional safety monitoring or other studies requested by regulatory agencies;
●
the duration of patient follow-up;
●
the efficacy and safety profile of the product candidate; and
●
the cost of manufacturing, finishing, labelling and storage drug used in the clinical trial.
We do not expect any of our
product candidates to be commercially available for at least the next several years, if ever. We expect to continue to incur significant
expenses and increasing operating losses for the foreseeable future, which may fluctuate significantly from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year.
We anticipate that our expenses will increase substantially as we:
●
continue research and development, including preclinical and clinical development of our existing product candidates;
●
potentially seek regulatory approval for our product candidates;
●
seek to discover and develop additional product candidates;
●
establish a commercialization infrastructure and scale up our manufacturing and distribution capabilities to commercialize any of our product candidates for which we may obtain regulatory approval;
●
seek to comply with regulatory standards and laws;
●
maintain, leverage and expand our intellectual property portfolio;
●
hire clinical, manufacturing, scientific and other personnel to support our product candidates development and future commercialization efforts;
●
add operational, financial and management information systems and personnel; and
●
incur additional legal, accounting and other expenses in operating as a public company.
General and Administrative Expenses
General and administrative
expenses consist principally of payroll and personnel expenses, including stock-based compensation; professional fees for legal, consulting,
accounting and tax services; overhead, including rent and utilities; and other general operating expenses not otherwise classified as
research and development expenses.
Other income (expense)
Other
expense consists primarily of interest expense incurred on debt.
23
Results of Operations
Comparison of the Three Months Ended September
30, 2022 and 2021
The following table summarizes
our results of operations for the periods indicated:
Three Months Ended
September 30,
(in thousands)
2022
2021
Change
Revenues
$ 98
$ 14
$ 84
Operating expenses:
Research and development
5,159
6,520
(1,361 )
General and administrative
2,382
2,515
(133 )
Total operating expenses
7,541
9,035
(1,494 )
Loss from operations
(7,443 )
(9,021 )
1,578
Other expense, net
(282 )
(437 )
155
Net loss
$ (7,725 )
$ (9,458 )
$ 1,733
Revenues
During the nine months ended
September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company sold MSC’s to one third-party and recognized $98,000 and $14,000, respectively, of revenues.
General and Administrative
General and administrative
expenses were approximately $2.4 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to approximately $2.5 million during
the nine months ended September 30, 2021. The decrease in general and administrative expenses is largely due to $0.4 million lower consulting
fees, partially offset by $0.3 million higher compensation, including stock-based compensation.
Research and Development
Research and development expenses
were approximately $5.2 million during the three months ended September 30, 2022, compared to approximately $6.5 million during the three
months ended September 30, 2021. The decrease in research and development expenses during the three months ending September 30, 2022 compared
to the three months ending September 30, 2021 is largely due to incurring $1.8 million less expenses associated with our Alzheimer’s
and mild cognitive impairment clinical trials.
24
Other Expense
The Company’s other
expense is lower during the nine months ended September 30, 2022 due to the Company incurring higher interest income on its cash.
Comparison of the Nine Months Ended September
30, 2022 and 2021
The following table summarizes
our results of operations for the periods indicated:
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(in thousands)
2022
2021
Change
Revenues
$ 277
$ 18
$ 259
Operating expenses:
Research and development
13,657
13,475
182
General and administrative
6,929
6,666
263
Total operating expenses
20,586
20,141
445
Loss from operations
(20,309 )
(20,123 )
(186 )
Other expense, net
(1,157 )
(546 )
(611 )
Net loss
$ (21,466 )
$ (20,669 )
$ (797 )
Revenues
During the nine months ended
September 30, 2022, and 2021, the Company sold MSC’s to one third-party and recognized $277,000 and $18,000, respectively, of revenues.
General and Administrative
General and administrative
expenses were approximately $6.9 million during the three months ended September 30, 2022, compared to approximately $6.7 million during
the nine months ended September 30, 2021. The increase in general and administrative expenses is largely due to higher compensation, including
stock-based compensation ($1.4 million higher during the nine months ended September 30, 2022), partially offset by lower consulting expense
($1.4 million lower during the nine months ended September 30, 2022).
Research and Development
Research and development expenses
were approximately $13.7 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2022, compared to approximately $13.5 million during
the nine months ended September 30, 2021. The increase in research and development expenses during the nine months ending September
30, 2022 compared to the nine months ending September 30, 2021 is largely due to additional amounts incurred related to the Company’s
Alzheimer’s and mild cognitive impairment clinical trials ($1.2 million higher), higher compensation expense, including stock-based
compensation ($1.6 million increase), partially offset by incurring less costs in connection with the Company’s terminated COVID-19
clinical trial ($2.3 million decrease).
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Other Income (Expense)
The Company’s other
expense is higher in 2022 due to the Company incurring interest expense from a loan the Company obtained in June 2021.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Liquidity is the ability of
a company to generate funds to support its current and future operations, satisfy its obligations and otherwise operate on an ongoing
basis.
We incurred a net loss of
$21.5 million and $20.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Net cash used in operating activities
was $17.0 million and $18.7 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Since inception, we have funded
our operations primarily with proceeds from the sales of our common stock. As of September 30, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents
of approximately $57.4 million. We anticipate that operating losses and net cash used in operating activities will increase over the next
few years as we advance our products under development.
Our primary uses of capital
are, and we expect will continue to be, third-party clinical and preclinical research and development services, compensation and related
expenses, professional fees, patent and other regulatory expenses and general overhead costs. We believe our use of CROs provides us with
flexibility in managing our spending.
The Company incurs various
expenses in Australia and the United Kingdom. Fluctuations in the rate of exchange between the United States dollar and the pound sterling
as well as the Australian dollar could adversely affect our financial results, including our expenses as well as assets and liabilities.
We currently do not hedge foreign currencies but will continue to assess whether that strategy is appropriate. As of September 30, 2022,
the cash balance held by our foreign subsidiaries with currencies other than the United States dollar was approximately $0.3 million.
We do not have any material financial exposure to one customer or one country that would significantly hinder our liquidity.
As a publicly traded company,
we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as rules adopted
by the SEC and The Nasdaq Stock Market, require public companies to implement specified corporate governance practices that were inapplicable
to us as a private company. We expect these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will
make some activities more time-consuming and costly.
As of September 30, 2022, the Company had an accumulated deficit of
$85.2 million and working capital of $59.8 million. Losses have principally occurred as a result of stock-based compensation expense as
well as the substantial resources required for research and development of the Company’s products which included the general and
administrative expenses associated with its organization and product development, as well as the lack of sources of revenues until such
time as the Company’s products are commercialized. As of September 30, 2022, we had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $57.4
million. We believe our cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund our operations for at least the next 12 months following
the filing date of this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q based on the balance of cash available as of September 30, 2022. We
anticipate, however, that we will continue to generate losses for the foreseeable future, and we expect the losses to increase materially
as we continue the development of, and seek regulatory approvals for, our drug candidates, and seek to commercialize any drugs for which
we receive regulatory approval. We will need to raise additional capital to fund our operations and complete our ongoing and planned clinical
trials. Although we expect to finance future cash needs through public equity or debt offerings, no assurance can be given that any future
funding will be available to us, or if available that such proposed funding will be on terms that are acceptable to us. If we are unable
to raise additional capital in sufficient amounts or on terms acceptable to us, we may be required to delay, limit, reduce or terminate
our drug development or future commercialization efforts or grant rights to develop and market drug candidates that we would otherwise
prefer to develop and market ourselves.
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Common Stock – Issuance to Directors
and Officers
During the nine months ended
September 30, 2022, certain directors and officers of the Company purchased 82,900 shares of the Company’s common stock for $0.7
million.
ATM Sales Agreement
During the nine months ended
September 30, 2021, we issued and sold 1,439,480 shares of common stock at an average price of $20.17 per share under the 2020 ATM program.
The aggregate net proceeds were approximately $28.4 million after BTIG’s commission and other offering expenses.
During
March 2021, the Company entered into the 2021 ATM program with BTIG, as sales agent, to establish an ATM offering program of up to $45
million of common stock. The Company had no sales of common stock during the nine months ended September 30, 2021 under the 2021 ATM program.
During July 2021, the Company sold 713,192 shares at an average price per share of $21.73 for net proceeds of approximately $15.0 million
under the 2021 ATM program.
Cash Flows
The following table summarizes
our cash flows for the periods indicated:
Nine Months Ended
September 30,
(in thousands)
2022
2021
Net cash and cash equivalents (used in) provided by:
Operating activities
$ (16,991 )
$ (18,724 )
Investing activities
-
(15,000 )
Financing activities
729
96,357
Change in cash and cash equivalents
(16,262 )
62,633
Impact on cash from foreign currency translation
(1,143 )
(129 )
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period
74,810
21,967
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
$ 57,405
$ 84,471
Operating Activities
Our cash used in operating
activities was primarily driven by our net loss.
Operating activities used
approximately $17.0 million of cash during the nine months ended September 30, 2022, resulting from our loss of $21.5 million and changes
in our net operating assets and liabilities of $1.1 million, partially offset by non-cash stock-based compensation of $5.4 million. The
change in our net operating assets and liabilities was mainly due to an increase in prepaid expenses of approximately $2.3 million, partially
offset by a decrease in other tax receivable of $0.5 million and a decrease in research and development tax credit receivable of $0.5
million.
Operating
activities used approximately $18.7 million of cash during the nine months ended September 30, 2021, resulting from our loss of $20.7
million and changes in our net operating assets and liabilities of $1.4 million, partially offset by non-cash stock-based compensation
of $3.3 million. The change in our net operating assets and liabilities was mainly due to an increase in prepaid expenses of approximately
$1.1 million, and an increase in research and development tax credit receivable of $3.3 million, partially offset by an increase in accounts
payable and accrued liabilities of $2.7 million and an increase in deferred liabilities of approximately $0.4 million.
27
Investing Activities
During
the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company paid Xencor $15.0 million to settle an option to acquire 10% of the Company’s
common stock on a fully diluted basis which was issued to acquire the Company’s acquired in-process research and development intangible
asset.
Financing Activities
During the nine months ended
September 30, 2022, the Company sold 82,900 shares of its common stock to certain officers and directors for approximately $0.7 million.
During
the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company sold 1,439,480 shares of its common stock under its 2020 ATM program for net proceeds
of approximately $28.4 million.
During
the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company sold 713,192 shares of its common stock under the 2021 ATM program for net proceeds
of approximately $14.9 million.
During
July 2021, the Company completed a registered direct offering whereby the Company sold 1,818,182 shares of its common stock to investors
for net proceeds of $36.9 million.
Critical Accounting Policies
Our discussion and analysis
of our financial condition and results of operations is based upon our unaudited consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared
in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements
requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities and expenses. Actual results may differ
from these estimates. Our critical accounting policies and estimates are discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended December 31, 2021 and there have been no material changes during the nine months ended September 30, 2022.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures
About Market Risk
Pursuant to Item 305(e) of
Regulation S-K (§ 229.305(e)), the Company is not required to provide the information required by this Item as it is a “smaller
reporting company,” as defined by Rule 229.10(f)(1).
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