NOTE 9 – COMMITMENTS & CONTINGENCIES

License Agreement with Loma Linda University

On March 8, 2018, we entered into an Assignment Agreement (the “Assignment Agreement”) with Sekris Biomedical, Inc. (“Sekris”). Sekris was a party to a License Agreement with Loma Linda University (“LLU”), entered into and made effective on May 25, 2011, and amended on June 24, 2011, July 16, 2012, and December 27, 2012 (the “Original Agreement,” and together with the Assignment Agreement, the “Sekris Agreements”). Pursuant to the Assignment Agreement, Sekris transferred and assigned all of its rights and obligations in and to liabilities under the Original Agreement, of whatever kind or nature, to us. In exchange, on March 8, 2018, we issued a warrant to Sekris to purchase up to 10,000 shares of our common stock (the “Sekris Warrant”). The warrant was immediately exercisable and had an exercise price of $200.00 per share. The expiration date of the warrant was March 8, 2023. On March 15, 2018, as amended on July 1, 2020, we entered into a license agreement directly with Loma Linda University (the “LLU License Agreement”), which amends and restates the Sekris Agreements.

Pursuant to the LLU License Agreement, we obtained the exclusive royalty-bearing worldwide license in and to all intellectual property, including patents, technical information, trade secrets, proprietary rights, technology, know-how, data, formulas, drawings, and specifications, owned or controlled by LLU and/or any of its affiliates (the “LLU Patent and Technology Rights”) and related to therapy for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (the ADI™ technology). In consideration for the LLU License Agreement, we issued 500 shares of common stock to LLU.

Pursuant to the LLU License Agreement, we are required to pay an annual license fee to LLU. Also, we paid LLU $455,000 in July 2020 for outstanding milestone payments and license fees. We are also required to pay to LLU milestone payments in connection with certain development milestones. Specifically, we are required to make the following milestone payments: $175,000 on March 31, 2022; $100,000 on March 31, 2024; $500,000 on March 31, 2026; and $500,000 on March 31, 2027. Additionally, as consideration for prior expenses incurred by LLU to prosecute, maintain and defend the LLU Patent and Technology Rights, we made the following payments to LLU: $70,000 due at the end of December 2018, and a final payment of $60,000 due at the end of March 2019. We are required to defend the LLU Patent and Technology Rights during the term of the LLU License Agreement. Additionally, we will owe royalty payments of (i) 1.5% of Net Product Sales and Net Service Sales on any Licensed Products (defined as any finished pharmaceutical products which utilizes the LLU Patent and Technology Rights in its development, manufacture or supply), and (ii) 0.75% of Net Product Sales and Net Service Sales for Licensed Products and Licensed Services not covered by a valid patent claim for technology rights and know-how for a three (3) year period beyond the expiration of all valid patent claims. We also are required to produce a written progress report to LLU, discussing our development and commercialization efforts, within 45 days following the end of each year. All intellectual property rights in and to LLU Patent and Technology Rights shall remain with LLU (other than improvements developed by or on our behalf).

The LLU License Agreement shall terminate on the last day that a patent granted to us by LLU is valid and enforceable or the day that the last patent application licensed to us is abandoned. The LLU License Agreement may be terminated by mutual agreement or by us upon 90 days written notice to LLU. LLU may terminate the LLU License Agreement in the event of (i) non-payments or late payments of royalty, milestone and license maintenance fees not cured within 90 days after delivery of written notice by LLU, (ii) a breach of any non-payment provision (including the provision that requires us to meet certain deadlines for milestone events (each, a “Milestone Deadline”)) not cured within 90 days after delivery of written notice by LLU and (iii) LLU delivers notice to us of three or more actual breaches of the LLU License Agreement by us in any 12-month period. Additional Milestone Deadlines include: (i) submission of an IND/clinical trial application to initiate first-in-human clinical trials on or before March 31, 2022, which was extended to March 31, 2023 due to the payment of a $100,000 extension fee paid in March 2022. The Company plans to exercise its right to request the option to extend this milestone as it continues its ongoing clinical trial programs planned by its subsidiary, Adimune, (ii) the completion of first-in-human (phase I/II) clinical trials by March 31, 2024, (iii) the completion of Phase III clinical trials by March 31, 2026 and (iv) biologic licensing approval by the FDA by March 31, 2027.

License Agreement with Leland Stanford Junior University

On February 3, 2020, we entered into an exclusive license agreement (the “February 2020 License Agreement”) with Leland Stanford Junior University (“Stanford”) with regard to a patent concerning a method for detection and measurement of specific cellular responses. Pursuant to the February 2020 License Agreement, other than as described below, we received an exclusive worldwide license to Stanford’s patent with regard to use, import, offer, and sale of Licensed Products (as defined in the agreement). The license to the patented technology is exclusive, including the right to sublicense, beginning on the effective date of the agreement and ending when the patent expires. Under the exclusivity agreement, we acknowledged that Stanford had already granted a non-exclusive license in the Nonexclusive Field of Use, under the Licensed Patents in the Licensed Field of Use in the Licensed Territory (as those terms are defined in the February 2020 License Agreement”). However, Stanford agreed to not grant further licenses under the Licensed Patents in the Licensed Field of Use in the Licensed Territory. On December 29, 2021, we entered into an amendment to the February 2020 License Agreement which extended our exclusive right to license the technology deployed in AditxtScore^TM and securing worldwide exclusivity in all fields of use of the licensed technology. 

We were obligated to pay and paid a fee of $25,000 to Stanford within 60 days of February 3, 2020. We also issued 375 shares of the Company’s common stock to Stanford. An annual licensing maintenance fee is payable by us on the first anniversary of the February 2020 License Agreement in the amount of $40,000 for 2021 through 2024 and $60,000 starting in 2025 until the license expires upon the expiration of the patent. The Company is required to pay and has paid $25,000 for the issuances of certain patents. The Company will pay milestone fees of $50,000 on the first commercial sales of a licensed product and $25,000 at the beginning of any clinical study for regulatory clearance of an in vitro diagnostic product developed and a potential licensed product.

We were also required to: (i) provide a listing of the management team or a schedule for the recruitment of key management positions by March 31, 2020 (which has been completed), (ii) provide a business plan covering projected product development, markets and sales forecasts, manufacturing and operations, and financial forecasts until at least $10,000,000 in revenue by June 30, 2020 (which has been completed), (iii) conduct validation studies by September 30, 2020 (which has been completed), (iv) hold a pre-submission meeting with the FDA by September 30, 2020 (which has been completed), (v) submit a 510(k) application to the FDA, Emergency Use Authorization (“EUA”), or a Laboratory Developed Test (“LDT”) by March 31, 2021, (which has been completed), (vi) develop a prototype assay for human profiling by December 31, 2021 (which has been completed), (vii) execute at least one partnership for use of the technology for transplant, autoimmunity, or infectious disease purposes by March 31, 2022 (which has been completed), and (viii) will provide further development and commercialization milestones for specific fields of use in writing by December 31, 2022 (which has been completed).

In addition to the annual license maintenance fees outlined above, we are obligated pay Stanford royalties on Net Sales (as such term is defined in the February 2020 License Agreement) during the of the term of the agreement as follows: 4% when Net Sales are below or equal to $5 million annually or 6% when Net Sales are above $5 million annually. The February 2020 License Agreement may be terminated upon our election on at least 30 days advance notice to Stanford, or by Stanford if we: (i) are delinquent on any report or payment; (ii) are not diligently developing and commercializing Licensed Product; (iii) miss certain performance milestones; (iv) are in breach of any provision of the February 2020 License Agreement; or (v) provide any false report to Stanford. Should any events in the preceding sentence occur, we have a thirty (30) day cure period to remedy such violation.

Asset Purchase Agreement

On April 18, 2023, the Company entered into an Asset Purchase Agreement (the “Asset Purchase Agreement”) with Cellvera Global Holdings LLC (“Cellvera Global”), Cellvera Holdings Ltd. (“BVI Holdco”), Cellvera, Ltd. (“Cellvera Ltd.”), Cellvera Development LLC (“Cellvera Development” and together with Cellvera Global, BVI Holdco, Cellvera Ltd. and Cellvera Development (the “Sellers”), AiPharma Group Ltd. (“Seller Owner” and collectively with the Sellers, “Cellvera”), and the legal representative of Cellvera, pursuant to which, the Company will purchase Cellvera’s 50% ownership interest in G Response Aid FZE (“GRA”), certain other intellectual property and all goodwill related thereto (the “Acquired Assets”). Unless expressly stated otherwise herein, capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meanings ascribed to them in the Asset Purchase Agreement. Pursuant to the Asset Purchase Agreement, the consideration for the Acquired Assets consists of (A) $24.5 million, comprised of: (i) the forgiveness of the Company’s $14.5 million loan to Cellvera Global, and (ii) approximately $10 million in cash, and (B) future revenue sharing payments for a term of seven years. GRA holds an exclusive, worldwide license for the antiviral medication, Avigan® 200mg, excluding Japan, China and Russia. The other 50% interest in GRA is held by Agility, Inc. (“Agility”). Additionally, upon the closing, the Share Exchange Agreement previously entered into as of December 28, 2021, between Cellvera Global Holdings, LLC f/k/a AiPharma Global Holdings, LLC (together with other affiliates and subsidiaries) and the Company, and all other related agreements will be terminated.

The obligations of the Company to consummate the closing are subject to the satisfaction or waiver, at or prior to the Closing of certain conditions, including but not limited to, the following:

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

From time to time the Company enters into short term research and development contracts. These contracts have payment provisions which require payment once regulatory and completion milestones are met. As of September 30, 2023, the Company has approximately $1.8 million outstanding, subject to these milestones.

Departure of Officer

On July 21, 2023, Matthew Shatzkes tendered his resignation as Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of the Company. In connection with his resignation, the Company entered into a Separation Agreement and General Release (the “Separation Agreement”) with Mr. Shatzkes. Pursuant to the Separation Agreement, Mr. Shatzkes’ employment with the Company terminated on August 4, 2023 (the “Termination Date”). In addition, the Company agreed to pay Mr. Shatzkes’ within seven days after the Termination Date: (i) $122,292, representing all accrued salary and wages (inclusive of Base Compensation and earned Subsequent Quarterly Bonus amounts, as those terms are defined in Mr. Shatzkes’ employment agreement), and (ii) $32,576, representing Mr. Shatzkes accrued, but unused paid time off (collectively, the “Initial Payment”). The Company also agreed to pay Mr. Shatzkes: (i) $385,000, representing 12 months of Mr. Shatzkes’ Base Compensation (as that term is defined in Mr. Shatzkes employment agreement), and (ii) $290,000, representing Mr. Shatzkes Subsequent Year Minimum Bonus (as such term is defined in Mr. Shatzkes employment agreement), on the 60^th day following the Termination Date. In addition, the Company shall reimburse Mr. Shatzkes COBRA premium for a period of 12 months and shall cause any restricted stock units granted to Mr. Shatzkes to immediately vest as of the Termination Date. As of September 30, 2023, the Company has completed all obligations under the Separation Agreement.

Contingent Liability

On September 7, 2023, the Company received a demand letter from the holder of certain warrants issued by the Company in April 2023. The demand letter alleges that the investor suffered more than $2 million in damages as a result of the Company failing to register the shares of common of the Company’s common stock underlying the warrants as required under the securities purchase agreement. The Company denies the amount of the liability claimed by the investor and intends to defend itself vigorously against any such claims. The Company is engaged in ongoing discussions with the investor and, as a result, has accrued a loss of $1.6 million relating to the potential liability.

Letter of Intent Termination

On August 1, 2023, the Company and Natural State Genomics and Natural State Laboratories mutually agreed to terminate the Amended and Restated Non-Binding Letter of Intent dated June 12, 2023.

NOTE 10 – COMMITMENTS & CONTIGENCIES

License Agreement with Loma Linda University

On March 15, 2018, as amended on July 1, 2020, we entered into a LLU License Agreement directly with Loma Linda University.

Pursuant to the LLU License Agreement, we obtained the exclusive royalty-bearing worldwide license in and to all intellectual property, including patents, technical information, trade secrets, proprietary rights, technology, know-how, data, formulas, drawings, and specifications, owned or controlled by LLU and/or any of its affiliates (the “LLU Patent and Technology Rights”) and related to therapy for immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (the ADI™ technology). In consideration for the LLU License Agreement, we issued 13  shares of common stock to LLU.

Pursuant to the LLU License Agreement, we are required to pay an annual license fee to LLU. Also, we paid LLU $455,000 in July 2020 for outstanding milestone payments and license fees. We are also required to pay to LLU milestone payments in connection with certain development milestones. Specifically, we are required to make the following milestone payments to LLU: $175,000 on March 31, 2022; $100,000 on March 31, 2024; $500,000 on March 31, 2026; and $500,000 on March 31, 2027. In lieu of the $175,000 milestone payment due on March 31, 2022, the Company paid LLU an extension fee of $100,000. Upon payment of this extension fee, an additional year will be added for the March 31, 2022 milestone. Additionally, as consideration for prior expenses incurred by LLU to prosecute, maintain and defend the LLU Patent and Technology Rights, we made the following payments to LLU: $70,000 at the end of December 2018, and a final payment of $60,000 at the end of March 2019. We are required to defend the LLU Patent and Technology Rights during the term of the LLU License Agreement. Additionally, we will owe royalty payments of (i) 1.5% of Net Product Sales (as such terms are defined under the LLU License Agreement) and Net Service Sales on any Licensed Products (defined as any finished pharmaceutical products which utilizes the LLU Patent and Technology Rights in its development, manufacture or supply), and (ii) 0.75% of Net Product Sales and Net Service Sales for Licensed Products and Licensed Services (as such terms are defined under the LLU License Agreement) not covered by a valid patent claim for technology rights and know-how for a three (3) year period beyond the expiration of all valid patent claims. We also are required to produce a written progress report to LLU, discussing our development and commercialization efforts, within 45 days following the end of each year. All intellectual property rights in and to LLU Patent and Technology Rights shall remain with LLU (other than improvements developed by or on our behalf).

The LLU License Agreement shall terminate on the last day that a patent granted to us by LLU is valid and enforceable or the day that the last patent application licensed to us is abandoned. The LLU License Agreement may be terminated by mutual agreement or by us upon 90 days written notice to LLU. LLU may terminate the LLU License Agreement in the event of (i) non-payments or late payments of royalty, milestone and license maintenance fees not cured within 90 days after delivery of written notice by LLU, (ii) a breach of any non-payment provision (including the provision that requires us to meet certain deadlines for milestone events (each, a “Milestone Deadline”)) not cured within 90 days after delivery of written notice by LLU and (iii) LLU delivers notice to us of three or more actual breaches of the LLU License Agreement by us in any 12-month period. Additional Milestone Deadlines include: (i) the requirement to have regulatory approval of an IND application to initiate first-in-human clinical trials on or before March 31, 2022, which has been extended to March 31, 2023 due to payment of a $100,000 extension fee paid in March 2022, (ii) the completion of first-in-human (phase I/II) clinical trials by March 31, 2024, (iii) the completion of Phase III clinical trials by March 31, 2026 and (iv) biologic licensing approval by the FDA by March 31, 2027.

License Agreement with Leland Stanford Junior University

On February 3, 2020, we entered into an exclusive license agreement (the “February 2020 License Agreement”) with Stanford regarding a patent concerning a method for detection and measurement of specific cellular responses. Pursuant to the February 2020 License Agreement, we received an exclusive worldwide license to Stanford’s patent regarding use, import, offer, and sale of Licensed Products (as defined in the agreement). The license to the patented technology is exclusive, including the right to sublicense, beginning on the effective date of the agreement, and ending when the patent expires. Under the exclusivity agreement, we acknowledged that Stanford had already granted a non-exclusive license in the Nonexclusive Field of Use, under the Licensed Patents in the Licensed Field of Use in the Licensed Territory (as those terms are defined in the February 2020 License Agreement”). However, Stanford agreed to not grant further licenses under the Licensed Patents in the Licensed Field of Use in the Licensed Territory. On December 29, 2021, we entered into an amendment to the February 2020 License Agreement which extended our exclusive right to license the technology deployed in AditxtScore^TM and securing worldwide exclusivity in all fields of use of the licensed technology.

We were obligated to pay and paid a fee of $25,000 to Stanford within 60 days of February 3, 2020. We also issued 10 shares   of the Company’s common stock to Stanford. An annual licensing maintenance fee is payable by us on the first anniversary of the February 2020 License Agreement in the amount of $40,000 for 2021 through 2024 and $60,000 starting in 2025 until the license expires upon the expiration of the patent. The Company is required to pay and has paid $25,000 for the issuances of certain patents. The Company will pay milestone fees of $50,000 on the first commercial sales of a licensed product and $25,000 at the beginning of any clinical study for regulatory clearance of an in vitro diagnostic product developed and a potential licensed product. The Company paid a milestone fee for a clinical study for regulatory clearance of an in vitro diagnostic product developed and a potential licensed product of $25,000 in March of 2022. We are also required to: (i) provide a listing of the management team or a schedule for the recruitment of key management positions by March 31, 2020 (which has been completed), (ii) provide a business plan covering projected product development, markets and sales forecasts, manufacturing and operations, and financial forecasts until at least $10,000,000 in revenue by June 30, 2020 (which has been completed), (iii) conduct validation studies by September 30, 2020 (which has been completed), (iv) hold a pre-submission meeting with the FDA by September 30, 2020 (which has been completed), (iv) submit a 510(k) application to the FDA, Emergency Use Authorization (“EUA”), or a Laboratory Developed Test (“LDT”) by March 31, 2021 (which has been completed), (vi) develop a prototype assay for human profiling by December 31, 2021 (which has been completed), (vii) execute at least one partnership for use of the technology for transplant, autoimmunity, or infectious disease purposes by March 31, 2022 (which has been completed) and (viii) provided further development and commercialization milestones for specific fields of use in writing prior to December 31, 2022.

In addition to the annual license maintenance fees outlined above, we will pay Stanford royalties on Net Sales (as such term is defined in the February 2020 License Agreement) during the of the term of the agreement as follows: 4% when Net Sales are below or equal to $5 million annually or 6% when Net Sales are above $5 million annually. The February 2020 License Agreement may be terminated upon our election on at least 30 days advance notice to Stanford, or by Stanford if we: (i) are delinquent on any report or payment; (ii) are not diligently developing and commercializing Licensed Product; (iii) miss certain performance milestones; (iv) are in breach of any provision of the February 2020 License Agreement; or (v) provide any false report to Stanford. Should any events in the preceding sentence occur, we have a thirty (30) day cure period to remedy such violation.